Hey Arnold Season 1 DVD Review

I used to watch Hey Arnold on Nickelodeon. It was a great cartoon and really funny. So, when I had the opportunity to own the first season on DVD, I was excited. I want to share shows I watched when I was younger with Noah. Hey Arnold is one of those shows that aren’t too full of weird potty jokes, which find their way in to kids’ shows these days. It always seems like there is a lesson in each episode. There is just something endearing about Arnold. He is a good kid that always does the right thing.  Arnold has a football shaped head, and is occasionally referred to as Football Head.  Arnold lives with his grandparents in the boarding house their family owns. Grandpa is the typical tall tale telling grandfather. Arnold’s grandma likes to go on crazy adventures that usually have her dressed head to toe in black. You get to know the boarders who are all very funny.

Gerald is Arnold’s best friend and partner in crime. I mean if Arnold would commit a crime.  He is a cool cat that loves listening to jazz music.  Then there is Eugene, he is a typical nerd that gets hurt in almost every episode. It’s nothing serious, just a lot of broken bones.  Eugene is considered very unlucky and even thinks that Arnold is a jinx.  Helga is the bully of the school. She is very mean to Arnold, she treats him badly. Arnold is always really nice to her, even when she treats him badly. We quickly find out that she is secretly in love with Arnold.  She even has a diary of poems about him and a secret Arnold shrine.  There are so many more characters, all very lovable in their own way.

I hope you enjoyed Hey Arnold as much as I do. Hey Arnold is out on DVD now. Check it out and share your favorite Football Head with your children. Hey Arnold is at major retailers now.

Thank you to Nickelodeon for providing me with Hey Arnold Season One for my family to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Cutter Insect Repellant Review

I love summer. It is my favorite season. I love being outside at night talking to friends on the phone, watching fireworks and simply playing outside enjoying the weather. I personally think there is something magical about summer. I can’t really explain it, but I have had some of the best times in my life during the summer. I have so many fond memories that take place in the summer. I am not sure if it is the heat or if there is something in fact different about summer, it just has a different feeling to it.  Everyone seems to be in better spirits and more friendly. You see neighbors outside, kids playing and yard sales. One thing I don’t like about summer is the bugs, especially mosquitoes.  I am not sure if my sweet personality seeps through my skin or what, but I am always the victim of multiple bug bites. I am not someone who journeys out in to the woods often, so it isn’t like they find me there.  One summer I went to Kentucky to visit a friend and I ended up with many bug bites after picking raspberries with her children.  So, when I had the opportunity to try out some Cutter Products I was excited.

Last summer I decided I would sit in my yard and watch the fireworks. I wasn’t out there very long and I was covered in bites. My grandma taught me that if you mix baking soda and water in to a paste it will help with the itching. She taught me that when I was very young and I still use the recipe to this day.  I was hesitant to sit outside this summer until I received my awesome package of Cutter products. 

This is what I received:

Cutter All Family Mosquito Wipes

Cutter Natural Insect Repellent

Cutter Natural Fogger

Cutter Skinsations Ultra Light

Cutter Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent

Cutter Backwoods Insect Repellent Aerosol

Cutter American Holiday Candle

Cutter Backyard Bug Control Spray

My favorite thing was definitely the Citronella candle.  I love the scent of Citronella and I was able to sit outside at night on my patio and talk on the phone or just relax while looking at the pond.  I used the Mosquito wipes on Noah because I know that he doesn’t really like sprays and I could just wipe his skin and he was free to play until bedtime without getting bitten. He has sweet skin like I do.  I remember going to camp and always having to pack insect repellant. It was probably the most important thing to pack. If you forgot it, someone would always share with you. Now, with the West Nile Virus the reason of always needing insect repellant is more serious than just itchy bites. While there isn’t a lot of case of Malaria in the US, West Nile Virus can be deadly. It is nothing to mess around with.  Always make sure you wear insect repellant, it’s important like sunscreen. Don’t play or hang out around stagnant water where bugs are known to hang out waiting for “dinner”. Keep your family safe with Cutter Insect products.

For more information, please visit the Cutter Website.

Thank you to Cutter for sending my family a selection of products to try out. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Castaway Cay and The Crab Race

                                             This picture was taken from our private verandah.



When we were on the Disney Dream, Noah and I did so many activities. One of the days we went to Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island. Cay is pronounced key; because that is the way it is spelled in the Bahamas. Castaway Cay was not only beautiful but a lot of fun. Before we left I decided to look at the excursions. I found a glass bottom boat ride that I thought Noah and I would love. It was going to be on his birthday after all. I excitedly called my mom to see what she would think. I wasn’t 100% sure that Noah would like it. We both agreed that he would. I went to order tickets and my heart sank they only had one ticket for each ride. Obviously, we couldn’t take turns going. I decided to check later to see if there was any openings. I didn’t realize that I couldn’t check merely a couple days before we set sail. I decided to maybe check when we were on board, hoping while not getting my hopes up. We went to the Port Adventures desk and they had lots of tickets for the Glass Bottom Boat ride. Just a tip if you are doing a Port Adventure, do it later in the day because we almost missed ours. I planned on going back to the ship and getting our tickets and my digital camera before. Well, we didn’t make it back to the ship before. More about that in a little bit.

Noah’s favorite thing of the whole cruise was The Crab Race. One of the Bingo people told Noah about it and he wanted to race a crab. So, we promptly went to the gazebo and talked to the crew to find out information. I wanted to know how much the crab race cost, what it was, etc. I was very excited when I found out it was free. There were all kinds of free activities on the cruise, but there were some with an expense. We were crab #1 and Noah named our crab Pet Crab. Since you probably don’t know what a crab race is, I will explain it to you. There are two big circles on pavement and all the hermit crabs are let go and the first one to the outer circle wins. It is pretty goofy, but so much fun. They have four races. The first race Pet Crab came in second. In the second race, Pet crab was the winner. After the four races, they take the winners and have The International Crab Race Championship. You might have seen it on ESPN and ESPN 2. Well, Pet Crab was all ready to win; he took off his little crabby robe and was ready to crawl. Pet Crab is the Champion of The International Crab Race Championship. Noah was so proud, he told everyone about winning. We even won a few prizes, as if the title wasn’t enough. I took some pictures so we could commemorate the occasion.

Next we went to The Family Beach. Noah and I could have played in the water all day. It was beautiful. It was shallow, but not too shallow to where I couldn’t enjoy myself too. We had a lot of fun being able to splash about. It’s hard to explain. I would just occasionally float a long. Noah was wearing a float vest so I felt better about letting him roam a little. We had an underwater camera that we took in the ocean with us. I can’t wait to see those pictures. We ended up staying in the water too long, to where we had to scarf down our lunch to make it to the glass bottom boat. I was able to get a receipt for the tickets that were locked in the safe in our room. The Glass Bottom boat wasn’t exactly what I pictured but it was still really cool. The water was really choppy so I had to sit down most of the time, but I could still see. We saw lots of fish. We even fed the fish oatmeal. I had never seen so many tropical fish. When we got off the glass bottom boat, I decided it was time to go back to the ship. We were both covered in sand so we had to rinse off in the outside showers. We made it back to the room and got something to drink and just relaxed while I took a shower to remove all the extra sand. Castaway Cay was awesome. I can’t wait to go back someday.