Idiocracy is one of those movies that you don’t intend on watching but you get sucked into it (trust me, I’ve seen it 3 times now and none where on purpose). The basic premise of this movie is that Luke Wilson becomes part of a government experiment and wakes up to find himself 500 years in the future. What he finds is truly sad. He instantly goes from average Joe to the smartest man in the world! The people in the future no longer think for themselves and buy into pretty much anything you tell them. You could easily tell them land for sale Branson, and they would be wanting to buy that, Hollywood, and the Golden Gate Bridge from you! It was a sad state. The movie is actually quite humorous, and it is scary that, at times, you can actually see some of this happening in our society now. People buy into commercialism and don’t bother doing research on a product. They just take the company’s word for it (Watch the scene in the movie about actually using water to get crops to grow). Heck, last election cycle worked like that too, didn’t it? Overall, this isn’t a movie that would make it to my top ten movies. However, it is a great Sunday afternoon flick to watch that doesn’t require a lot of thinking, and you definitely get some good laughs.

The one gift that I thought I would never want, because we would never use it is our George Foreman Grill. Honestly, I never dreamt in a million years that we would use it as much as we do!  It makes dinner so much easier and healthier.  I love that you can see the fat draining off your food.  However, your food remains just as tasty if not more so.  We often season our steaks and burgers right on the grill.  It doesn’t heat up your entire house, and cleanup is a breeze.  All you have to do is take a wet cloth to it.  We have made things like hot dogs, brats, steaks, chicken breasts, and hamburgers on there.  I even know people who have done bacon!  This is a must have in everyone’s kitchens!

If you like having music in your house, Caillou Songs I Love (A Magical Book That Features 12 Great Melodies) is a book you should have. Not only is it a book , but it has a piano at the bottom of the pages that actually works. Each page has a story and and song on it. The song part of the page shows you the notes to play on the piano. Each note and key is numbered and color coded so children of any ages can figure it out. It has popular songs like London Bridge, Brother John, and Old MacDonald on there. The only song that it is missing is the one that goes “mamas gonna buy you and mocking bird, and if that mocking bird don’t sing, mammas gonna buy you a diamond ring (or is it wedding rings?)” I don’t remember the title of that song or the words for that matter but I think it should still have made the list. However, this book is still very enjoyable. My husband won’t admit it, but I think he likes playing on the piano just as much as the kids!

The Backyardigans did it again with Jungle Colors. They are able to take something that could be considered boring to children and make it exciting and interesting. They are learning without even realizing it! The cool thing about the Backyardigans is that their adventures really take place in their back yard, but through their imagination they able to go anywhere from the Outer Banks to the Jungle. As you can tell, this story takes place in the jungle. While reading about their adventures, they include the colors of some of the things they are doing. For example, they are walking over white stones and seeing a blue river. The pages are cardboard so it is a great book for babies and toddlers alike.

I can’t remember if we got When I Was Little: A Four-Year-Old’s Memoir of Her Youth before or after Will was born. However, Madison uses the state “when I was little” a lot, so this book is quite fitting for her. The book itself is about a 4 year old talking about all the things she no longer does or uses because she is big. She talks about using words, sleeping in big girl platform beds, going to nursery school, and getting teeth just to name a few things. As a parent, you actually can visualize your little one growing up.   Madison often tells me the things that aren’t listed in the book that she did when she was little.  It is a great conversation starter with your children.  The pictures in this book are awesome.  This book is perfect for the 3 - 6 age group.  It is especially perfect for any 4 year old you may know.

The Monster at the End of this Book ranks as one of my top ten books of all time for kids. I love this book as a child and was super excited when my sister bought this for my daughter. Madison and I often read this together with her giggling at all the funny ways Grover tries to get you not to turn the next page, because he is afraid of the monster at the end of the book. (Spoiler here) What Grover doesn’t realize is that he is the monster at the end of the book. The closer you get to the end, the more upset and scared he gets. By the end, he really needs to go on some carnival cruises, because he gets that worked up.  It is a great book with humor and suspense and a happy ending.

I know it is past Christmas, but I just came across Jingle Babies in my bookshelf. I love this book! This book is a hit with toddlers, babies, and moms. I love all the little ones in there. They are so cute. These babies definitely do not need the best diet pills out there. They just have the baby fat in all the right places. On each page of this book there is a baby dressed up for the Christmas season. The first page has a snowman, then an elf, and then an angel. There are also words on each page. The pages are cardboard, so they are not easily torn and can be chewed on. The book takes less than five minutes to read, so it is great for kids that don’t have much of an attention span. It is beyond super cute. This would make a better gift around Christmas time but is great to look at year round.