What do I do with Noah's DVDs?

I can’t believe how old Noah is getting.  When he was three, he loved to watch Thomas, Barney and Caillou.  I would buy him DVD’s to watch. He would watch some of them many times.  When he was almost six, he informed me that those are baby shows.  I couldn’t believe what he was saying.  I knew he was going to grow out of Barney that was just going to happen.  I thought he would love Caillou for years. We didn’t watch Caillou’s Holiday Movie every time it was on at Christmas time.  He won’t watch anything on Sprout any more.  He has started watching less Nick Jr. I know soon he will no longer love Max and Ruby or Team Umizoomi.  He has moved on to more nonfiction shows.  He loves to still watch NASA of course. He also watches Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman, How it’s Made and of course anything to do with fish and sea life.  So what do I do with all the kid’s DVD's he has grown out of?  Since Noah is an only child, at the moment, I don’t want to save them. They are taking up so much space. He has so many Barney DVDs and Thomas DVD’s. I think at one point I counted 50 DVD's that he will no longer watch. I have given some away to friends with young children but I am still left with quite the collection. There are some that he won’t watch that I will keep because they were his first DVD's. I am definitely saving all of the Baby Faith DVD’s.

Thankfully, with the wonders of the internet, I can sell DVD's online. This way they get out of my house and go to a new home where they are loved just as they were once loved by Noah.  The DVD’s will bring joy to children. They are just sitting on a shelf collecting dust here.  I love sharing things with other people that I no longer need or want.  If I didn’t share my stuff, I would be one of those hoarder shows.  I love to see people smile when I am able to give them something.   I will say it makes me a little sad when Noah grows out of his favorite DVD’s or toys.  He is really growing up so fast.

What are some shows your children have grown out of?

Cocktails for Women

Not everyone likes to drink beer and wine. I am one of those people. I don’t like the taste of beer or wine. I tend to drink what is called girly drinks.  I prefer to call them cocktails.  Surprisingly enough not everyone knows how to make cocktails for women.  I have a friend who doesn’t know what is in basic cocktails.  I thought I would share some recipes of my favorite cocktails that I enjoy. It is general census that most women like these drinks as they are very popular in bars and restaurants. I don’t like to drink at bars and restaurants because it is expensive and I don’t want to be the only one enjoying a drink.  I prefer to make drinks at home so I can really relax while I enjoy them. You can also make many drinks for the price of two drinks out.  Here are some of our favorite women’s cocktails.

Sex on the Beach

1 1/2 oz Vodka
1/2 oz Peach Schnapps
2 oz Cranberry Juice
2 oz Orange Juice

Add vodka and peach schnapps to a glass over ice. Fill with equal measures of cranberry juice and orange juice, and stir.

Sex on the Island

1 ½ oz Malibu Rum

½ oz Peach Schnapps

2 oz Cranberry Juice

2 oz Orange Juice

Add Malibu and peach schnapps to a glass over ice. Fill with equal measures of cranberry juice and orange juice, and stir.

Screw Driver

2 ½ ounces of Vodka

6 ounces Orange Juice

Combine vodka and orange juice over ice and stir.

Cosmo

1 1/2 oz Vodka
3/4 oz  Triple Sec
3/4 oz Cranberry Juice
1 oz fresh Lime Juice

Combine the vodka, triple sec, cranberry juice and lime juice into a shaker with ice cubes. Shake well, strain into a glass, and enjoy.

Mojito

6 ounces Light Rum
12 mint sprigs
6 tablespoons fresh lime juice
4 tablespoons sugar
Club soda
4 slices lime

Place ice in the shaker then add in the rum, Muddle 8 sprigs of mint, lime juice and sugar. Shake well and serve over ice in a high ball glass. Top off each glass with a splash of club soda.  It is very important to muddle the mint because it makes the best mojito.

Garnish each with a slice of lime and a sprig of mint.

Makes 4 drinks

I hope you try out some of these recipes the next time you have a party with your girlfriends or when you are just hanging out by the pool.  They are all extremely delicious and refreshing on a hot summer day. Don’t forget that you can look online for more cocktails, if you want to be more adventurous. If you are one of my guy readers and are nervous about making drinks for your lady I found an article about how to make cocktails women will love with some excellent tips. I know that there are a lot of men who will not touch a girly drink with a ten foot pole regardless of how good it tastes. I think it is an ego thing.  So,when you have a pool party or a cook out you should probably have some drinks for the men too. Believe it or not, not all men like to drink beer. Here are some drinks you can try out on your partner or friends to see if they can handle the most manly drinks out there. Regardless what drinks you make, have fun and drink responsibly.

What are your favorite girly drinks?

Win a $2000 Educational Grant from Desire2Learn

Noah's education is extremely important to me. I always make sure he does his assignments; he follows directions and have great communication with his teachers. I know that he is extremely smart and that someday he will want to go to college. Right now, he says that he doesn't want to because he doesn't want to be away from me. I know how expensive college is now and by the time Noah is old enough to go to college, it will be so much more expensive.  He wants to be a marine biologist so, that will require a special school. It isn't something that can be taught at a community college. I know lots of parents hope that their child receives scholarships in high school for college, but unfortunately not every child can receive one. Parents have to come up with different ways to earn money or look to other scholarships and grants to provide an education for their children.  Thankfully there are companies that realize this, and offer to help by having contests to take off some of the burden. I have to tell you guys about a really cool contest for your child to win a $2,000 education grant.

Desire2Learn Incorporated is starting the summer off right with a Facebook video contest that awards the winner a $2,000 education grant. The edtech company is providing K-12 students and their families with the opportunity to win education money by simply by uploading a 30 to 60 second home video to YouTube and posting it to the Desire2Learn Facebook page. The videos of K12 students must describe their greatest lessons, achievements and accomplishments from the previous school year.

The three-step process for making a submission is easy: 

1.  Create a 30 to 60 second video of your child where they talk about what they learned this school year and then upload it to YouTube
2.  Go the Desire2Learn Facebook page and “Like” it; 
3.  Submit your video, share it with your friends and family and ask them to VOTE FOR YOU!

 Contest judges will be selecting the top videos every week, which will be posted to the company Facebook page. Nominees are given easy tools to “share” their videos with their friends and family to help increase their vote totals and check their progress in the standings. Videos can be submitted to Desire2Learn’s Facebook page until July 8 and awards will be given out to noted participants on July 11.

“Desire2Learn’s core focus is to promote a lifelong learning among students of all ages,” said Desire2Learn CEO and President John Baker. “This Facebook competition is a fun way for the company to give back to the very people that inspire us every day− the learners. We wish everyone the best of luck in this contest and can’t wait to see the entries.”

About Desire2Learn

Desire2Learn is helping to transform the way the world learns. Providing the next generation learning environment and solutions to engage and inspire lifelong learners, Desire2Learn helps clients break down barriers to access the highest quality learning experiences, and is recognized for its leadership in accessibility. Desire2Learn is a global leader in cloud (SaaS) based learning solutions and provides an open and extensible platform to over 750 clients and over 10 million learners in higher education, K-12, healthcare, government and the corporate sector, including the Fortune 1000. Desire2Learn has personnel in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, Brazil and Singapore.

For more information or to contact, visit: http://www.Desire2Learn.com.

I hope you all enter; I can’t wait to see your videos!