WW: Star Wars {Linky}

I used to love Star Wars when I was a kid. When I got to college there were some serious Star Wars fans. We're talking about figurines in their dorm rooms. I decided that I really didn't love Star Wars anymore.

I checked out the 3 from the 70s at the library. Mica was in love with the series. One of my friends saw that I posted that Mica was so into Star Wars. She wrote me to ask if we wanted the whole series? I of course said, "Yes please!"  I'm indeed thankful for friends (blogger friends included), and family.

Mica said, "She must look exactly like Princess Leia to give me the whole Star Wars set!" 
 

We've watched the very first one. Mica's read all the backs of every DVD.

Isaak took his bubble wand he got for Easter, and kept swinging it around calling it his lightsaber.


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NuNaturals Review + Giveaway

I got a lot of stuff in the mail from NuNaturals to try and out. It's all so good.
  
I was very excited about their new industry first Cocoa Syrup, Simple Syrup, and Cocoa Mint Syrup. They are:

• Stevia Based
• "0" Calorie
• Sugar-Free
• Dairy-Free
• Gluten Free
• Vegan

  
The morning after I got these products I made a Cherry Smoothie.

This is for a family of 4. The adults get medium sized glasses, and the kids get tiny glasses.

• 1 cup of spinach leaves
• 1 bag of frozen dark cherries
• 1 banana
• 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk (the amount can very depending on how thick or thin you like your smoothies)
• 1 cup of water
• 4 teaspoons of NuStevia Cocoa Syrup

I paired this up Cherry Smoothie up with our breakfast:

1 Buckwheat Waffle (Not Dad's favorite, but I enjoyed it.), Steamed Collard Greens, 1/2 a banana, a small amount of blue berries, a small amount of dark chocolate covered almonds, and coffee for the adults.

 The smoothie was so good!

The next day I made Cocoa Mint Smoothies.

This is for a family of 4. The adults get medium sized glasses, and the kids get tiny glasses.

• 1 cup of spinach leaves
• 4 frozen bananas - basically fill up most of the blender with frozen bananas
• 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk (the amount can very depending on how thick or thin you like your smoothies)
• 1 cup water
• 4 teaspoons of NuStevia Cocoa Mint Syrup

The boys went and bragged about their mint drinks to Grandma and Grandpa.

I also got a lot of flavored Pure Liquid NuNaturals NuStevia. I use either the orange flavor or the lemon flavor to make lemonade, or limeade.

The next day I made Sparkling Limeade.

This for a full sized pitcher.

• Squeeze 1 lime
• Add 2 cans of lime sparkle water
• Fill up 2 droppers full of NuNaturals Pure Liquid Lemon NuStevia
• Fill the rest of the pitcher up with water and ice

This is so good on a hot day.

Other flavors of  Pure Liquid NuNaturals NuStevia are: Vanilla, Cherry, Unflavored, and Peppermint.

I also made up a recipe for Sugarless Cookies. I was so nervous that I'd majorly mess this up, but I didn't. I looked at other recipes online, and based mine off of some I saw. I have to admit sometimes I don't know what this or that is when I look at gluten free recipes, nor do I have everything mentioned.

I used the following NuNaturals products in this recipe:

Recipe for Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies:

• 2 cups gluten free all purpose flour blend. I get mine at Costco.
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1 Tablespoon of NuNaturals Oat Fiber
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground Chia Seed
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 Tablespoons NuNaturals NuStevia No Carbs Blend
• 1 Tablespoon protein powder or powder peanut butter 
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans 
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 2 Tablespoons almond butter, or peanut butter
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 local honey
• 1/2 a ripe banana
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips 

I'm not entirely gluten free. I just try and watch it. I know oatmeal, and chocolate chips you have to buy special if you have Celiac Disease.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. I used my 1 inch scoop, flatten them with a wet spatula. They do not spread. You can place them really close together on the cookie sheet. Cook two sheets at a time for 7 minutes, and switch the sheets to cook for another 7 minutes. Total baking time = 14 minutes.

The boys absolutely loved them. My main critic (Travis AKA Dad) came back for a second one.

I also got 100 packets of White Stevia Powder.

Overall I love the NuNaturals products. They ship fast and taste really good! The owner always gives a lot, which is so nice! 

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Check out their facebook page, twitter page and recipes. 

Disclaimer: The opinions on the post are my personal take on the product. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. I am not compensated to provide my opinion except for receiving the products themselves to test out. I received samples from NuNaturals to assist with this review. I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review.

MakerStudio Propellers Set Review

We got MakerStudio Propellers Set By ThinkFun. This can be purchased on Amazon as well. 

ThinkFun has MakerStudio Gear Set and MakerStudio Wrenches Set to. 
 
All of the MakerStudio Sets are $19.99. 

About:

Maker Studio is meant to inspire the imagination for budding engineers. In this set featuring propellers, you can build: 

• A Chopper
• A Biplane
• A Windmill 
• A Plane 

Isaak made a Chopper with Dad.

For Each Build the Child is Given Engineering Challenges:

• Experiment with friction
• Torque and propulsion  
• Skills in Science
• Skills in Technology
• Skills in Engineering 
• Skills in Math (STEM) 
• Stimulates Imagination and Creativity 

Once you’ve mastered all four builds, get creative and design something that’s all your own!  

Isaak and Dad kind of built something all on their own due to the fact that there was a few missing things in the kit. They couldn't make the back of their Chopper. That's ok they still had fun.

Parts:

• 1 X-Linkage
• 1 Spool
• 2 Exra Long Connectors, 3 Long Connectors, 4 Short Connectors
• 2 Small Wheels
• 1 5.5" Rod, 3 4.25" Rods, 5 1.5" Rods
• 24 Hub Caps
• 1 Hole Punch
• 3 Rubber Bands
• 10 Engineering Challenges

Make sure after opening the packaging the pieces are cross-referenced with the instruction booklet. The pieces are lightly colored and blend in easily with the cardboard. Also, some of the items, which can be seen in the window on the front of the packaging, aren't included with the majority of the pieces inside the box. If you open the box too quickly or throw out the packaging, you may miss them given the separate location.

  
Top View

Back View

Side View

3 Quarter View

What We Thought:

This set was harder than we originally thought it would be. I think it should be for ages 8 and up. Isaak's almost 7, but thinking back to when Mica was that age I don't know if he could have done it at age 7 by himself. Both our boys are good at building things. It was really hard when we noticed a bag a parts were missing. I know that happens. It's just makes it hard to review when that happens. 

Isaak did however have fun making this with Dad. He had to show it off to Grandma and Grandpa. He was proud of his new made toy. 

I liked that it is creative, makes kids think, fun, and resourceful. You use things in your house to complete the construction. 

Check out that smile on Isaak's face! :)

Like ThinkFun on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Google +, Pinterest and Instagram.

 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above from ThinkFun. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Badminton

One thing I won awhile back was a freestanding Badminton set from Lizventures. I hang on to things I've won for holidays. Easter seemed like a great time to give it. The Easter Bunny left it as the kid's big prize. 
 
I tell you with Travis' job loss, and other downfalls in income I'm so happy that I've won things and reviewed things. Thank you bloggers!
 
They had no clue what it was. Once we told them they couldn't wait to set it up. They kept asking over and over again to set it up to play.

They had a lot of fun playing with their cousins. Only 2 things went wrong - 1. Isaak got nailed by a racket because he got too close to his cousin when he was serving. I saw it coming, but couldn't react fast enough. No worries, he's ok. 2. It was windy. It's best to play when it's not so windy. The birdie wasn't going straight. 

They loved it regardless of the wind!

Over my own kids I liked watching my nephew Elijah play. He's big into sports, and the birdie matched his outfit perfectly. He also was facing me, which made for better pictures.

Have you ever played Badminton?

Egg Toss

My Aunt Sam loves Easter. It's one of her favorite holidays. She divides the kids up into two groups - including the biggest kids in college, and high school. They have to take a spoon with an egg in it and go touch my Aunt Becky, and go back to the next person in line. The process continues. If they drop their egg, they get another egg, but it slows them down. Whichever group is done first wins.

That's not the only game played. Our generation has to throw an egg back and forth to our husband. After each throw we have to take a step back. If someone's spouse isn't there a high schooler steps in. 

I got hit hard. Travis' nail hit it, and I caught it, but it broke in my hands. Talk about a mess! I even had egg in my hair. Yuck!

The kids have an egg hunt. It's mostly eggs filled with money, and random prizes. Some I've donated in the past with blog winnings.

Run Mica run!

Isaak runs from the camera. That kid only poses for pictures on his terms these days.