10 Things - New TV Shows - Fall 2013

The Originals

I gave 10 new shows a shot this fall (OK, maybe I tried more than 10 but this is about 10 Things, OK?).  Some were good, some were bad and some are on their way to being cancelled!  My opinions, in no particular order, are below:

1. Michael J. Fox's Show - OK but I am only keeping it on my Season Pass because my hubby likes it.
2. Sleepy Hollow - I LOVE this show!  I really like Abby & Icky.  And,  together they are pure TV magic.  They are hunting down clues and working together as a great team.
3. The Tomorrow People - I like this show and may attempt to pick it up again some day.  But, it had to go for now as I have too many shows.
4. The Blacklist - Still hanging in there.  But, if my DVR gets too full this is probably the next to go.
5. Hostages - I currently have 4 or 5 episodes on my DVR.  I like it and I like that it has a finite life span.  But, somehow I haven't got around to watching this show.
6. Dracula - I had incredibly high hopes for this show because I love me some Jonathan Rhys Meyers and some vampires.  But, so far it just isn't grabbing me.  I don't care too much about any of the characters except the butler.  I don't think that was the network's plan.  I do wish JRM luck with his sobriety.  Maybe he needs the junk to be a convincing mad man.
7. The Witches of East End - I really like this show!  But, I just don't have enough time for it now.  I noticed that Lifetime makes episodes available online.  I may try to catch up over Winter Break.  But, as I already have a stockpile of shows to watch during winter break, this may have to wait until summer.
8. The Goldberg's -Critics of this show mentioned that they thought people would like this show and laugh JUST because they were having fun reliving the 80's.  While I agree with this, I also think that the show is just funny!  There is a great cast and I like the writing about the family.  The Grandpa is one of my favorites.
   
9. The Crazy Ones -I thought that a show with this cast would be amazing!  However, I do have a really strong aversion to 30 minute comedies that came about from investing in 30 minute comedies that were too quickly cancelled.
10. The Originals -I watch The Vampire Diaries and decided to give this a go.  I am not a Claus fan.  I really wasn't feeling this show after the first couple of episodes .  But, I kept watching and now it is one of my favorites.  I was sucked in by the baby-hybrid story line and the vast cast.  I really like how we get to know so many other supernatural creatures in this show.

10 Things: Nicknames for Jack

I did this same type of post for Juliette a while back and now it's Jack's turn.

Jack having Dad's BDay Cake

1. Jackie T.
2. Wacky Jacky
3. JT
4. Little Boy
5. Pumpkin
6. Munchkin
7. Buddy
8. Jack Thomas
9. Speed Racer
10. Baby Boy

Jack & Juliette's Favorite Things (almost 4 years old)

Toys for 4 Year Olds: Lincoln Logs

Another blogger recently updated us with her twin girls' favorite things.  And, yet another blogger does an annual "Toys That Get Played With, by ages" that I look forward to every Fall.  I though it would be fun to do my own list, too. 

Jack & Juliette are almost 4.  To my great surprise, Juliette is our little athlete.  She loves soccer, baseball and most of all basketball.  She also enjoys crafts and coloring and paint.  Luckily, they can paint at preschool.  I limit the amount of paint that we do at home because I am continually cleaning enough messes as it is.

Jack loves trucks, cars, trains, planes, helicopters and more trucks!  He has a couple of rugs in his room that have roadways on them that he utilizes in his play.  He also enjoys puzzles and connect-the-dots.

Both kids like to play on the computer and enjoy Apps like Dora, The Magic School Bus and a drawing App.  They have a Diego game for Wii that they will both play occasionally.  I wonder if it's time to introduce them to Nintendo's Super Mario Brothers?  Thankfully both kids love to be read to.  I hear stories of 3 year olds who can read, but, me & Dad do the reading around here for now.

Here are the Top 10 Toys that get played with (in no particular order): 

1.  Lincoln Logs:  We have actually had these Lincoln Logs for a few years but, they are just now becoming favorites.  I am happy that they are finally interested because Lincoln Logs were one of my favorites as a kid.  You can build the buildings on the box and instructions or you can make whatever you feel like making that day.

2.  Talking Soccer Ball Net:  This net is great but my kids both like toys that DO NOT TALK.  Whoops!  I actually knew that but chose this net anyway.  You can take the batteries out and it will be silent.  I like the praise when you get a goal, but, apparently J&J do not.

3.  Bikes:  J&J are really, REALLY, REALLY into riding bikes. Jack wants to ride pretty much every single day.  Juliette likes to ride, too.  But, after a few minutes she usually moves onto another activity.  We are getting them Scooters for their birthday.  I am curious if the Scooters will be the new favorites or if the bikes will continue to rule the driveway.

4.  Mickey Mouse Clubhouse:  The Big Splash DVD:  One show that both kids can agree on is The Mickey Mouse Club House.  This particular disk has Pluto's Bath episode which is a particular favorite of both kids.

5.  Mighty Machines:  Jack loves to watch TV.   He will even watch the news, the weather and my TV Shows.  We really limit TV but he still has his favorites like Mighty Machines.  If Mighty Machines gets removed from the Streaming Netflix line-up, we might have a revolt on our hands.

6.  Hungry Hungry Hippos: We have the traditional version of HHH.  But, I know they have a travel version and if I were to buy this again, I would be this version because the marbles STAY INSIDE.  We have 2 dogs and a kitten so watching marbles fly around the house is a bit stressful for this Mama!

7.  Legos:  Who doesn't love Legos, right?  We have a lot of fun with Legos but I feel like the kids still need some more coordination skills before they are able to do Legos without an adult.  We have a boy starter set and a girl starter set.

8.  Mega Blocks & Table:  I actually thought that we had Duplo's brand blocks.  But, as I wrote this post, I realized that we actually have the Mega Blocks Table and Mega blocks to play with.  I thought that once the Legos came out the Mega Blocks would be history.  However, J&J really enjoy building towers and competing over who will build the tallest tower. 

9.  Guitar & Keyboard:  The kiddos received these play instruments for their last birthday and they really love to jam.  I was nervous about the noise when they first got them!  But, they just rock out for 10 minutes or so and then they move onto something new. 

10.  Barbie Pool: Actually, this is called the Barbie Glam Pool!  We bought this last year sometimes.  We brought it camping with us and both kids played with it a lot!  Jack especially loves to play with Barbie in the pool!  He usually prefers brunettes so I was surprised that he likes Barbie so much.  And, yes, I know that he will really appreciate this post someday!

DISCLAIMER:
You can see my Amazon Affiliate links in this article.  I was not paid or provided with free products to write any of this. 

10 Things - New TV Shows - Fall 2010

I gave 10 new shows a shot this fall.  It was tough to spend my time watching new shows because they have a tendency to get canceled so quickly these days!

1. Undercovers - I gave it 2 epis
2. Nikita - OK but I don't DVR it
3. Running Wild - I gave it 1.75 epis
4. Hawaii 5-0 - I think that I like it
5. Terriers - I like it
6. Boardwalk Empire - already renewed for 2nd season
7. Lonestar - ALREADY CANCELED
8. The Event  -I like it
9. Mike & Molly - cute!
10. No Ordinary Family - I think that I am going to dump it.

P.S.
I didn't plan to watch it, but, My Generation has been canceled.

from the blog: true blood news

10 Things - Goldfish Snacks

from: dealseekingmom Blog

A friend and her husband came to town over Labor Day weekend.  They came for a visit and brought S'mores Goldfish!  I never even heard of this variety.  They were delish - especially when you eat the marshmallow, graham cracker and chocolate together in one bite.  I bought our babies the Baby Goldfish a while back.  While chomping up a few, I remembered how much I like Goldfish!  I bought a package for us.  While chomping those up, I remembered how much I used to like the pretzel ones and the pizza ones.

Today's Top Ten List - My Favorite Goldfish:

1. Pretzel
2. Regular Cheddar
3. S'Mores
4. Baby
5. Pizza
6. Parmesan
7. Colors
8. Sour Cream & Onion
9. Saltine (especially in tomato soup)
10. Red Hot

Apparently there are ranch flavored Goldfish?  I have to try these out!

10 Things - Nicknames For Juliette

10 nicknames that we have coined for Juliette:

1. Julie
2. Jules
3. JC
4. Sugar Babe
5. Sleeping Beauty
6. Baby Girl
7. Baby A
8. Julia Goolia
9. Pumpkin
10. Honey Bun

Does anyone know where we got Julia Goolia from?  I think it was from a book that I read.  But, I have no idea which book it was...

Sugar Babe herself, Sept 2010

10 Things - Newbury Comics

Rubber Ducky

True Blood Poster

Hello Kitty Wallet

I heart Newbury Comics!  I always forget about this store until it is time to fill up my husband's Christmas stocking.  But, I love that store!  They have so many funny stickers, pins, T-Shirts and so on.  They have a a great selection of Beatles and Hello Kitty (we may do Jules' big girl room in Hello Kitty).  Not to mention the CDs and vinyl.  I loved so many of these guys as a kid!  It certainly brings back the memories.

Here are 10 items that I thought were great:

Papa Smurf

Harry 

Gizmo Backpack

Smurfette Tote

Whale Bag

Super Mario Brothers

Legend of Zelds

10 Things - TV Shows that I no longer watch

On Thursdays we will do a segment called 10 Things.  I think the new fall TV season has me all excited and I am in a TV frame on mind!

Here is my list of TV shows that I no longer watch (and why):

1. House  This saddens me greatly as I once loved this show.  We didn't watch it when it first aired but we caught up on DVD.  Even the House/Cuddy teasers for the upcoming season haven't been able to lure me back in.  I stopped watching after a couple of new epis last season.
2. Grey's Anatomy I hardly miss this one.  I stopped watching 2 seasons ago.  I couldn't take it - I thought that most of the acting was terrible and I didn't care about the characters at all.
3. Private Practice I only watched this because it was a spin off of Grey's.  It failed to capture my attention pretty much from the beginning.  I liked Addison's character.  I <3 Taye Diggs.  Maybe their issue was that they should have never replaced Merrin Dungey with Audra McDonald.
4. The Mentalist I enjoyed this series at about a 75% enjoyability rate.  But, when the twins were born, some shows had to go and The Mentalist was one of them.  Someday I may catch up on DVD.
5. thru 7 CSI, CSI Miami and CSI NY All 3 of the CSI franchises had to go!  There just wasn't enough time with the twins so I scrapped all 3.  I miss CSI NY, but, I hear that Stella left.  I always hoped that she would find some romance on the show.  I was very tired of the original CSI and I have to say that I hardly miss it.  We actually stopped watching CSI Miami about 2 season ago - but we would occasionally watch an episode when Tivo wasn't taping other shows.
6. see above
7. see above
8. Nip/Tuck When this show started, it blew me away!  It was the most outrageous thing on TV.  It was sexy, scandalous, interesting and crazy.  I loved the serial killer plot line.  And then...  They actually had their finale this past season and I did not watch it.
9. 24 Another show that had it's finale this year.  I did watch the finale and was really upset at Jack's ending. I felt like he needed a happy(ier) ending than he got.  He's a Ggrandpa and he's SOL.  I have not watched the past 2 seasons of 24.
10. Desperate Housewives This show seems to still be going strong.  I gave this up just last season.  It fell victim to my too-many-Sunday-night-shows chop.  I enjoyed Desperate Housewives for it's quirky cast, silly humor and drama.  It is the kind of show that I could jump back into if the time ever presents itself.