MagiQuest - A Review & Tips

I've been wanting to do a review of this place for years, ever since we first became addicted, but of course other things kept getting in the way and before I knew it months would pass before i would have time. Magiquest has locations all over the USA and Japan too! It's an awesome place for families, not just kids. We go year round and once you invest in the wands, it becomes a great deal, since you will easily spend all day there. 

TIP: Call ahead and double check the hours, get there at opening and you will find you have the entire place (along with the employee and all their knowledge) all to yourself!!

TIP: Wear comfortable shoes or socks, since they let you run around barefoot (remember they are attached to a water park!) You will be up and down stairs non stop and the elevator only goes to the 2nd floor, not floors 3 & 4.

First things first, get the wands! You will be tempted to save money and have the whole family use 1 wand and then let the kids wander off while you sit and enjoy some coffee and conversation...don't! Make it a fun family outing that is worth the investment, because with so many locations, you never know when you will be at another one! We have been over 7 times already and cannot wait to do more!
TIP: Don't waste money on the toppers! You will notice that we have a few, although super cool, they weigh down your wand too much and often unscrew the cap, which makes your wand not work properly or effectively. It's a MAJOR disappointment and I wish it is something Magiquest would fix, but so far it's been a no-go.

TIP: Wear something with pockets or have some kind of a small bag (that won't get annoying). They hand you a booklet that you will need for completing your quests and they charge you if you lose it! Be sure to save them every time you complete the quest and bring them next time you come back, in case you do lose it, then you know you have extras!

My daughter even made her own cape, that's how into this we all are! If you stay in the attached Great Wolf Lodge, you will add more fun as there are Magiquest stations throughout  the resort as well, they bring many things to life and turn on lights or other fun things that always make people turn and look at what you are doing. You will be asked upon arrival to Magiquest if you want to play both ShadowQuest & MAGIQuest or just 1, go with just 1, you WILL NOT have enough time to play both games and you will just be out the additional money. 

TIP: This is a long day and you most likely won't be able to drag your kids away, pack a lunch or have something delivered. The one in Wisconsin Dells has a tucked away eating area with soda machines but nothing else. Having food in a cooler bag for the kids to graze as they play works great and then we go out for dinner after we play!

TIP: Once you have bought your wands and activated them, next time you go back you can still open treasure chests and activate things, you just cannot play the game without paying again. Sometimes my kids just like to go to play with all the net slimbers and slides, they bring their wands to open the chests and play with some of the things but have no interest in the games themselves. On these days my husband and I only activate our wands and challenge each other....I'm a level 7 magi you know ;)

Have fun with your family by eliciting a challenge before you begin, we like to say that the winner at the end of the day gets to pick where we eat or what movie we see or whatever we plan on doing that evening. You WILL work up an appetite with all the running up and down the stairs, using the net climbers and flying down the slides. It's an activity palace! Our kids are all old enough to venture off on their own, they know where the cooler bag of food is, where the bathrooms are and know to never leave the area, this makes playing to much more fun for all of us. 

TIP: USE THE EMPLOYEES!! Stuck on a challenge or battle? Run in and ask them for help, that's what they are there for! We learned many a trick while in there with them. 

TIP: As you solve riddles and find parts of your quests, be sure to wave your wand at everything! Stars in the sky, suits of armor, shields and pictures on the walls...they all add up coins, gold and points to your score and you only increase your levels by adding up more gold and points! Many people just solve the riddles and wonder why they don't make the high scores for the day and this is why! It's so easy to do and adds more fun to the game!

This place is 4 floors of pure adventure! You will find many parents sitting on the sidelines, but I fully believe it's because they have never tried it themselves! Get involved, and have fun with it, it's the only way to be when you are on vacation!!

TIP: DO NOT take your wands on the slides, the static electricity sometimes deactivates them. It's no big deal, as they only have to restart them and  you don't lose any information but it is a pain if you have to wait in a long line! We usually go up to the slides in pairs and 1 person goes down while the other takes the wands and just switch off doing that.

At 30.00 a person, it adds up fast your first time but please believe me that it is so worth it! This is one of those times that the money is well spent and if you are dead set on never going back, sell them to people as they walk in! We took friends with us one time and bought them wands, which they gave back as they don't live near a magiquest and this last time we were there, we were able to sell both 17.00 wands for 25.00, not too bad!

TIP: Still not sure about the cost? Check out Ebay and try and win wands there, they can delete the information on them when you arrive to a new Magiquest and then you are free to start from the beginning!

Hope this convinces you to try it out! Enjoy every minute my friends!

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How to Prepare for your Disney Trip!

You're going to Disney!!! Congrats and be prepared for the trip of a lifetime. In order to make Disney affordable, we book a year in advance (in fact we book while we are still on Disney Property!!) and pay it off monthly. Doing this means our trip is SO FAR AWAY, but it also makes for some awesome things we can do as a countdown!! Disney sends you packets of information from booking all the way up to your trip, which is awesome when you have little ones! We love yelling DISNEY MAIL!!! Then everyone gathers and we open it all together. This is a fun way to count down to Disney, not the mundane 'what to pack' type of posts. You can find those anywhere and for us, packing is the least of our worries! LOL!

Once you book your trip, QUICKLY order the current DVD planning video. Yes, you have already booked your vacation, but this video is PERFECT for getting you all in the Disney mood and you can watch it often. It's important to arrange for Disney Mail to arrive at least once every 3 weeks or so, so that the countdown seems real. If a few things arrive at once, save some for another week to keep the suspense. Onve we get down to 2 months before we head out, I usually have enough for once a week DISNEY MAIL packages!

Head on over to Your Disney Side and create your own decal! Let your children each create themselves, so that it becomes a fun fun family activity and once again more Disney Mail to look forward to!

Get your guide book on! Many libraries carry these guide books, but we like to buy our own so that we can write in them, fold pages and constantly refer to them. We usually pick one up every month as a countdown to our trip. Many can be used year after year and others that are dated, we just cut out for our scrapbooks when we get back or hand them over to friends that are headed there next. Some of these books like Hidden Mickey's are AWESOME for bringing with you on vacation, because they will keep you and kids occupied while in lines and during down times. Order them online and you have more Disney mail arriving at your house. Start with planning guides far in advance and work your way towards dining guides when it's time to book your dining reservations (180 days). Work your way to Trivia, Engineering and specialty guides as you get closer and then be sure you have your Planning Guide ready and marked up to book your Fastpass + reservations (60 days).

Next, head on over to the WDW website and it's time to create your own park maps. Be sure to have your park guides with you so that you all can discuss rides and you can be sure that everyone meets the height requirements. This part is a lot of fun, we usually do this with dessert one evening around the dining room table. These usually arrive within 3-4 weeks but have sometimes arrived in 2 weeks, I guess it all depends on how much they have going on at that time!

Now it's time to head on over to EBAY and order your pin trading lanyards. No only are you saving money by doing this on Ebay and NOT at the parks, but you are adding to the fun of the trip. Disney sends awesome luggage tags with your Magical Express information, but if you don't need that many,  let the kids put those on the bottom of the lanyard and they will also have your cell phone # on them in case of a worst case scenario. Another option is to let your children put their spending money on a Disney gift card and put that on the bottom of the lanyard, that way it is always with them. Now it's time to begin buying a handful of pins for each lanyard. Keep these pins to hand out on weeks that you have no Disney Mail coming and don't do them all at once, it makes it more fun for them to add as they go.

When it comes to Disney Pins, why spend top dollar on ones your children are just going to trade anyway, especially when you don't want to influence what they trade for.  When buying from Ebay, be sure they are OFFICIAL Disney Trading pins ONLY! They will be marked on the back that way, you don't want cheap pins that the cast members will NOT trade for as it is. Pin trading keeps the kids engaged and having fun, without any additional monies being spent while in the parks. We usually then let the kids pick out one special non-tradeable pin in the parks. All the pins hit our shadow boxes at home once we get back from our trip.

Before you know it, it's time to go and THE DISNEY PACKAGE arrives. This is the one with your Magic Bands and you are now READY TO GO! Before these arrive, there are a few more things you can do to prepare for them! On Ebay, you can find a plethora of Bandits and Coverbands. These are things to decorate your Magic Band with. Let me inform you that if you WANT these items, to get them through Ebay and do not pay a lot for them. We lost so many bandits, I am glad I didn't pay full price for all of them. They pop off easily, so be sure to use E-6000 glue to glue them in place once you have sized the bands. This will go towards saving your sanity. The coverbands are a complete waste of money, the bands slide around non-stop and you can't always get a good connection with the wand when you are entering the park or using a fast pass. Of course, you are then holding up the line while you try and fish the band around. Disney claims that they can read through the material and for the most part they can but every now and then (usually with the longest line behind you), they don't. All of these fun little gadgets and do-dads help the time go by so much faster and add more levels of excitement that also lead you to save money when in the parks. You aren't spending on extras and your trivia guides give you something to do instead of wandering into the shops! We attempt to do Disney once a year and follow this plan as much as we can. Our break in our streak came when we bought the house and we had to put 2 years on hold and now we are preparing for a 3 week stint in Mexico next year and Europe the year after. 

While waiting for that last week to DRAG BY....head on over to your local drug store and pick up some glow in the dark polish, glitter polish, favorite color and then a base and topcoat. Now you are ready to decorate your magic bands! We kept it simple by just painting the mickey head (this does not affect how it works AT ALL) with glitter polish and then the entire thing in glow in the dark polish. This is awesome in the evening and even better in dark rides and shows. The kids loved this part the most. You will need around 4-5 coats to get the most out of the glow polish.

How true! I always hear about how people think their children are too old or too young for Disney but this is just not true. My kids have gone as young as 2 months old and I was still going with my parents through college! Disney has no age restrictions on Magic and that is exactly what a trip to Disney is!

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Homeschooling in Town Review

On Monday, we had a Dunkin Donuts open in our town...actually it's less than a minute from my house (DANGEROUS!), the good thing it that I love Starbucks so much more, but the bad thing? It's shiny and new. We decided to head on over and hang out for a day of homeschooling and see how it was.  Yes, I know that opening day is when they will obviously be at their best, but I wanted to see how they could handle opening day crowds. The staff was friendly but their prices were higher than other DD we have frequented. Their line moved quickly, but their selection was minimal. Their restaurant was kept clean after a busy morning and we were not disturbed or given dirty looks for staying and working for a couple hours. The parking lot cannot handle the crowds it had, but I expect it to taper off once the novelty has worn off. We will definitely revisit this place for another day of work and see what has changed since opening day!

A fun tip for flashcards is to keep them in a library checkout card holder while they are being used. We normall put all of our cards onto a binder ring for easy study, but during a lesson, my children use them to take notes on and jot down reminders. They also like to keep them flat in the book when we take our school on the road. This envelope stays neatly tucked into the book and is perfect for their active lesson. 

Chat pack for kids is an AWESOME way to get the chatter going on around your dinner table.

 These are awesome conversation starters. We pass them around and each person asks a a question and each person gets a chance to give their answer. 
More info HERE!

Too cold to play outdoors? Bring the snow inside and let your kids have some fun! 

A simple cilantro-lime crema for tacos, veggie bowls and pretty much anything you can think of, it's absolutely delish! All you need is the juice of 2 limes, half a bunch of cilantro (just the leaves) and 1 cup of greek yogurt. Pop it all into a food processor and it's all set!

Enjoy every minute my friends!

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Tips & Tools of the Classroom!

It's  Wednesday and honestly? I was thinking it was Thursday already! When battling evil in the real world out there, I tend to want to just bring on the weekend so I can be safely entombed in my own little casa! Anyway though, I told you all about how my husband won't even let me go into a hardware store alone right? Well this is just a small show as to why! These are just a few things that are tools of my classroom!

These drywall hooks dot the classroom, holding colorful pails full of a variety of items. I love that they are low cost but hold serious weight. Now if only I had the patience to spray paint them first!

Cafe rods! These are a dime a dozen and can extend for longer display or shorten for smaller ones. On this one I have a display of flashcards on binder rings. They easily slide on and off as the rod is just supported with cup hooks.

Did someone say cup hooks?! Yup, I use these THE MOST! They are so easy to pop in and leave a barely noticeable pin hole in the wall when you want to move them. I use them to hold things, display posters and clipboards and so much more!

Wooden Dowels! These are AWESOME!! So cheap and they will cut them down for you there! I have small ones for individual pointers, medium ones for pointing to the board and long ones for pointing to posters! Add a colorful and fun eraser on the top and this pointer cost a FRACTION of what they cost at teacher supply shops!

I happen to use yardsticks for what they are supposed to be used for, but the kids? They always get creative with them. This week they made a cross for their CHURCH skit!

These clamps are less than .50 each and they are AMAZING! They clamp tightly and can be used anywhere really! I use them for display purposes, holding papers together, on charts that have multiple pages...everywhere! 

There are so many different tools that I use, I will have to share more in another post!
Enjoy every minute of the day my friends!

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Homeschool Conference Notes and Tips!

Hello readers! I am so sorry for my disappearance, but my children headed off to camp last week and I took a Mommy Break! I hung out with old friends, had some quiet time and did a lot of shopping. It was great to finally have kids at an age that they could ALL attend camp together. They had so much fun and learned a lot. The best part? They made great friends.

Over the weekend I attended a homeschool conference and really got lost in everything there was to see and do. There were so many speakers, things for sale and people to chat with. I have a few tips to share in the event that you have a conference coming up!

Ahead of Time:

1. Sign up for conference updates ahead of time, even if you JUST MISSED one, sign up to keep updated. This will allow you to find out the exact dates of the next conference and all the information that you will need to ensure you keep that day or weekend free.

2. AS SOON as the schedule is available, print it out and begin to plan your day. There are many speakers that will be there and many topics that will be covered. Do your research if you don't have time to listen to them all. Some may have their speeches on You Tube already or information on their websites/blogs. This will assist you in proper time management.

3. Check the list of vendors if available. Do your research on each vendor so you know if it's a table you will have questions at or just like to browse. Sign up for their updates as well and you may find that they will be offering a conference only coupon! Keep tabs on their facebook pages as well.

4. Have a list of your MUST-Do's. If there are speakers you MUST hear and vendors you MUST visit, have them written out along with times that you need to block out.

5. Prepare of list of items that are needed for your curriculum and what you are looking for.

6. Find a sitter. Our conference didn't allow children, but if they had it would have been better to let them have fun with a friend of family member. This leaves you free to shop and not have to constantly entertain. It also allows you to listen to speakers and stay all day if you wish (I did!).

7. Start saving early! You may have a budget but there will be things that you have not seen before or ones that catch your eye that you will not want to miss out on. (Many vendors offer free shipping at conferences for attendees!)

8. Pre-Register if allowed, this allows you to walk in, find your name tag and move quickly past the registration table.

Day of Conference:

1. Set an alarm on your cell phone or watch for 5-10 minutes before each speaker you would like to hear. You may get caught up with a vendor or see a friend and miss the announcement.

2. Bring sturdy, reusable bags for all your purchases. Most companies offer plastic bags that are not enough to carry 1 book let alone the tons you will purchase!

3. Bring a notepad and pen to take notes during speakers and to jot down certain book titles that you are considering purchasing but not positive about while at that table.

4. Bring the list that you created of books that you are looking for and check it off as your purchase, so that you know what you have left to buy.

5. I kept 3 crates in my trunk to represent my 3 children. When our bags would get full, we would head to the trunk and divvy up the books to where they belong. This gave us a visual representation of what had been purchased and also didn't make for such a headache once we got home.

6. Arrive before opening. There are plenty of vendors offering used books for sale and you can get the pick of the bunch if you are one of the first in the door.

7. Make 1 round of the convention hall BEFORE purchasing anything new. (You want to pick up used books if the prices are very reasonable and there are not many copies of what you need) This allows you to take notes and keep track of who has the better prices on things you need.

8. Keep an eye on your time at all times, so you don't miss speakers or meet-ups that you may have going on.

9. Have a bottled water and snacks in your purse to keep your energized and not spending so much time taking breaks.

10. During your 1st break or while waiting for the first speaker to begin, check out your lists and get ready to start purchasing.

Additional Tips:

1. Try to allow time to go to the conference on closing day as well. After lunch, many used books sellers tend to go to 50% off and you could save considerably on things. It's worth paying a visit to see if there is anything you may need. I have picked up maps, flashcards and posters for less than a dollar!!

2. If you make it the day of closing plan on staying until the very end. Many vendors will try to get rid of some items at bargain basement prices just to not have to pack them up Or some used books will even go for free. (Note: This does NOT happen at every conference, but you never know!)

3. If vendors are asking for help packing up after the conference, see if you have time to stay! They often offer a coupon for the website to helpers or even gift cards! (Note: This may not happen with everyone you help, but at least you did a good deed!)

This is everything we came home with and though our wallets are a bit empty, the price does not even come close to paying someone else to educate our children! Do you have any tips to share??

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Crafting Stop!

 

 During the average week, I will make about 3 trips to Michaels and I love to check out every single nook and cranny and to see what's new and what all I can use in upcoming projects! I'm there constantly, since I am usually running in for custom work that someone requests from my shop. This week their 1.00 carousel has a VARIETY of alphabet stamps!! I love these for learning projects, making cards with the kids and all around just fooling around! These were such a steal, I took 3 different ones!

One of my favorite tips to do when I shop, is to print out my coupon and write my list on the back of it!! Since I constantly have my list with my as I shop, I know that I will not forget to hand over my coupon! I always get my craft store coupons online.

Here is this weeks coupon, just click to enlarge and then print! Enjoy your weekend readers!!!

~Michelle!~

Blogging Tips and Tricks

My Diary Brooch by MichellesCharmWorld 7.00

It's nearly impossible to keep up with a blog right? Thinking of topics, finding photos, hoping for comments all that good stuff! I have so much that goes around in my head daily, but when it comes time to sit here and actually start blogging, I can never get it straight! I figured that there are probably other people out there like me that just need a little nudge in the right direction! These tips are for you!

Cute Can Be Dangerous Knife Earrings by MichellesCharmWorld 7.00

Topics are always the place to start, since without a topic there is no blog! Sometimes coming up with a good topic is like cutting down a tree with a knife, impossible! Just keep a notebook with you for when those ideas do pop up! Decide what kind of a blog you want to have, more personal or business like. I want to try and keep mine related to business as much as possible, but I will totally be all about personal stuff when good things happen! If you are going to promote your blog as a business tool though, keep an eye on the language and selection of topics, you may not want your customer base to know too much about you! I use the SAVE NOW draft feature a lot. When I'm up late and I get loads of ideas, I start NEW POSTS and just give it a title and tags and then in the body I put a few bullet points, so I know what to build on when I'm ready to finish that topic. Then when I'm stuck for ideas I head there and finish one up! There are some days when you just don't feel like typing anything at all, I'm a big fan of the wordless posts! (I've seen Wordless Wednesday, Things to Think About Thursdays, Word Free Friday) These are just posts of photos with or without captions. I usually try and do a Sunday post like this and call it: The Weekend In Photos. It's an easy way to not neglect your blog and give yourself a break. Just don't overuse that one, it's never good to not get any context out of a blog. Another good way to use up some posts is to do features on fellow sellers or reviews of recent purchases! People love to know all about what you like and buy if they are already following your blog!

Say Cheese Camera Necklace by MichellesCharmWorld 13.00

On to the photos! These are HUGE! Even if you only have a one word post, use PHOTOS! Readers love having something to look at! Most importantly be sure your photos link back to something! If someone clicks on something from your shop, have it take them to that listing. If it's a photo of your kids in a playhouse, have the click take them to that playhouse for sale. Remember links are good! If you feel your photos are too plain, add some fun borders or a little text in them. If you don't have any photos to get your post across, promote other sellers by using their photos and have them link back to their listings! Featuring people is good! This is your chance to feature items from your shop, to show everyone a little bit of what you do! Keep the photos as relevant as possible though to keep your post flowing.

Typewriter Necklace by MichellesCharmWorld 10.00

Link Links Links! Links are the most important! The more places you link to, the more people will find you. There are a lot of programs out there that are telling web owners who is linking to their sites and from where. It will get you traffic!! If your readers are falling in love with whatever you are talking about, you need to let them know where to find it!

The road to a friend's house is never long

Time! We never have time anymore. There is always something going on and believe me, I know all about being busy! I'm a mom to 3 kiddies (3,2,1) and they keep me busy non stop. Assign yourself a time to blog EVERY DAY! Even if you are only able to churn out 2 sentences (add 2 photos above and below the sentences and you have a post!!), do it! I blog every morning as soon as I get up. I wake up early enough to check my computer goings on and what not. It's quiet time before the kids get up and while husband is in the shower. I make it a point to blog at this point. Life does get in the way, but sometimes a pretty photo and a quote from somewhere will be great and just may make someones day. There is ALWAYS time for something. It's easy to say you will blog tomorrow, but then that becomes the next day and that becomes the next. It's a vicious cycle. There are so many blogs out there that I admire and love to read, the ones that keep me coming back for more all the time. I love those blogs! I want to be those blogs! I aim to help and really hope that this helps you all become great bloggers!!

MOST IMPORTANTLY Don't forget your Etsy Mini or a collage of your goodies and a LINK to get people to your shops!!! I go to so many blogs and CANNOT for the life of me figure out how to get to where they sell! Get going!

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