Every two weeks we have our turtle aquarium cleanup. As you can see from the photo the water gets really dirty due to food leftovers (you can see a few in the photo) and other “leftovers”.
The water has to be removed with a manual vacuum or as we do now, with a water vacuum cleaner. We just suck the water out of the aquarium, clean the glass with paper towels and we fill it with water again.
What I like in Turtles is the quiet and hair free environment they create. They don’t jump on us,they don’t lick our face and they don’t fill our clothes with hair. However they show me they know who I’m. As soon as I arrive home and start calling them at least one (the not shy one) starts swimming around the aquarium, gets near the glass and just moves its feet until I go near the aquarium. This particular Turtle likes to be fed by hand.
Although it’s not a beautiful reptile I believe it’s a great pet for kids especially those suffering from allergies.
This contest is closed, the winner will be known tomorrow. Thanks to all that participated.
I’m also giving away a Fandango Voucher on my Buy Better and Have a Better Life blog, after leaving your comment here head over there and leave a comment there. Double your chances to win.
Have you already seen the movie Journey to the Center of the Earth featuring Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson and Anita Briem ? I haven’t but I can’t wait to watch it. Here is a sneak pick:
This movie is played in 3D at RealD* locations across the U.S.
Guess what, now we can take our own journey to the Center of the Earth. How? With the Race to the Center new game.
This is a very interesting game for all family members because it is family-friendly, interactive and educational.
First: you have the Scavenger Hunt where you have to answer some Trivia questions to capture the Scavenger items.
Second: you’ve got a free fall where you have to get away from rocks and pick up the diamonds we find on our way down.
Third: Rock hop across the magnetic rock field.
Four: If you want more fun, join the Core Club and have access to exclusive content.
If you haven’t seen the movie Journey to the Center of the Earth you can take advantage of my $20 Fandango Voucher giveaway. The Fandango Voucher has no restrictions, there is no expiration date and you can buy a ticket to any movie you like.
How can you win the Fandango Voucher?: One entry: Leave a comment on this post and let me know which movie would you like to watch using the Fandango Voucher. Please leave your name and a valid email address so that the Voucher can be email to you if you win.
Two Entries: Leave a comment and subscribe to my feed, stumble or digg this post (In your comment mention what was your option).
Three Entries: Leave a comment plus mention this giveaway on your blog/site.
The winner will receive the Voucher Codes by e-mail directly from the sponsor.
The Contest will start now and will end on August 4st. The winner will be known on August 6th. Good Look to you all!!!
Before going to the mountain cabin we spend a whole day in the Zoo. We had to drive to the capital, find our way through the traffic to the Zoo, buy expensive Zoo tickets and there we go.
We had been there 5 years ago with Dani but as he was 4 at the time this was like a first time for him. I was a little afraid of Catherine’s reaction towards the animals but I was happily surprised to find out that she wasn’t cared at all. She was very well informed the days before our visit that all the animals were in cages or in closed environments so she didn’t have to be afraid.
I had the shows schedule so I tried to organize our time in order to be present in every show. First show was the Live Bird’s Fly where falcons, eagles and other birds fly freely on a restrict area following the keepers orders.
Then we went to watch the Sea Lion’s Feeding and this brought an interesting reaction on my daughter. During the presentation one of the Sea Lions comes outside the pool and distributes “kisses” to the visitors. My daughter was the first one to say that she wanted to touch it. She hadn’t the chance because there were too many people but she was really excited about it.
Afterwards we went to see the Dolphins show that also has sea lions and here she received a “kiss” from a Sea Lion, and she wanted more kisses.
Dani and I went to travel on the cable car that crosses the entire Zoo, I was not scared but Dani was always asking: What if this falls?
Overall the Zoo Visit was a very positive experience, Catherine was exhausted at the end of the afternoon so we went to McDonald to eat some fast food and drive back home.
I posted about this Shoe Wheel on my Buy Better and Have a Better Life blog but I though about posting about it here too because this gadget can be very interesting to store our children shoes.
This seems to be very practical and easy to use.
easy shoe insertion
expandable pockets
tension control
holds up to 20 pair of shoes (depending on the shoes)
mounting is required but the instructions are easy to follow
Yesterday it was my first working day after my vacation and being whole day using the computer made my back pain worse. I had difficulty sleeping so this morning I got an appointment with my family doctor.
The diagnosis is almost done, the doctor told me that the pain on my back, especially left shoulder, is not caused by stress but due to a Tendinitis I probably have.
The doctor says that spending 21 years working on a computer can cause this type of conditions and every day new cases show up because people use computers very often. When I said that usually I spend a few hours on a Laptop at home, he told me: that’s even worse than a normal computer because we tend to carry it around the house and type in not appropriate positions.
Next step, make a scan to my left shoulder and X-rays to my shoulder and back to find out what is going on on my back and where is the nerve that is causing me this pain. Exams are scheduled for August 11th and then I will have to wait until September, when my doctor comes back from his vacation, to know the results.
The treatment that will be prescribed is physiotherapy but I can only start it when we know the exact location of the nerve.
Although I’m in pain and I know tendinitis is difficult to treat, I’m glad I finally know what I have. Let’s wait for the exams results and let’s start the treatment.
Will I stop blogging because of this? Of course not, but for sure I will pay more attention to my back position from now on while I’m on the computer.
I’m glad we went to the Camping Park, we had a great time away from the traffic, busy streets, neighbors knocking at our door, malls and specially the house work.
This was our vacation house for 5 days. Two bedrooms, bathroom with shower, kitchen and living room, TV, fridge and a fan.
We spend a lot of time in the pool but the high temperatures prevent us from spending even more time in the pool.
With two active children it is almost impossible for me to rest. When one is quiet the other requires attention and vice versa.
I didn’t read the book I took, I was able to make 4 Sudoku’s puzzles and check two magazines.
On our last full day in the camping we were invited to participate in a Walk along the river through a tough vegetation. We walked for 4 hours, dad had to hold Catherine most of the walk due to the rough ground conditions, Dani hold himself very well and did the walk very happily. During the walk we were able to bath in three river beaches, we even jumped from ropes into the river…it was fantastic.
The walk ended up on a waterfall, in a absolutely beautiful green scenario from a very beautiful river and vegetation. The view was breath taking!
I didn’t take the cell phone to the walk therefore no photos were taken. One of the guides took a camera but I’m still waiting for the photos to be emailed to me.
We ended up the walk with several scratches, feet and legs were the most scratched due to the vegetation.
As soon as we arrived at the camping park from the walk we all went to the pool to a deserved bath!
This was an excellent experience that I hope we can repeat soon. The only negative point…the bell from the local church bell giving the hours and half hours day and night.
Today it will be the last day I will have access to Internet. Tomorrow morning we are leaving for a few days out of here, I’m really looking forward to it.
The Laptop will remain at home and my cell phone provider doesn’t provide Internet service so I won’t be able to check my email or read blogs.
I hope I regain energy during these days so that I can write more posts than I’ve been writing these last weeks.
My kids were requesting it for a long time so last Friday we had a Circus in town and the three of us (dad is not very fond of Circus) were there. Dani went to the Circus five or six years ago but he doesn’t remember it so I can say this was the first time for both.
I was a little afraid of Catherine’s reaction to the Tigers because she is afraid of cats and dogs (and other moving animals and insects) so when the Circus started and the tigers came to the cage I said to myself: this is it.
As soon as Catherine heard the initial music she started shivering, she hid her head on my chest and grabed my arms. The tigers came into the cage and she refused to look at them. It took me a while to convince her that they were like cats, just a little bigger and that they were not coming out of the cage. She started looking at them after a while and even smiled but she continued to shiver and grab me until the tigers left.
Then came the clowns, jugglers, dancers, snakes, crocodiles, ponies, ostriches, more clowns and other artists and she was thrilled with all the show.
Dani liked the show but as usual he was always moving from his seat, talking and well…the usual.
Circus is quite expensive therefore this was a show we won’t repeat for a while. I regret not having taken the camera to take a few photos but what really matter is what we saw…live.
Big decision. As we have the beach 15 minutes away from here and we don’t have money to go to the south of the country where is warmer and better weather, we had decided to spend our vacation at home.
Camping was not on my plans, I have one very active kid and my daughter is only 4 so camping with a tent was out of question. A friend told me about a few camping parks in the mountains, where we can find cheaper prices because it is away from the coast. I did a little search on the Internet and we decided to rent a Bangalow on a camping park in a mountain, near a river and with a river beach.
Next Saturday we will be staying on a Bungalow for 4 people, with bathroom, kitchen, TV, fridge and also access to a big pool, soccer field, activity field and several possible activities like canoing, fishing, etc.. We will also have all the other facilities that a camping place has like a coffee shop, barbecue, laundry room and much more.
This is the first time we will be “4 on vacation”, this is the first time my daughter will be away from home so I don’t know how she’s going to react.
I hope we can have a quiet and relaxed time. Although I could, I’m not taking the laptop with me, I believe I’m not going to survive without it for 6 days. I’ve already set my vacation dates on Payu2Blog (I write for them on other blogs) because I can’t write any assignments on those days.
My son talked about taking is PlayStation 2 but…no, I said no PS2 are allowed there (I lied…I know).
What I’m taking are: board games, cards, puzzles, coloring books, activity books and magazines. Family activities, quiet and rest are the things I will be looking for.
September is less than two months away as well as the time to renewal my host subscription.
Last year I was really reluctant to have my blogs on a paid host but after chatting with several bloggers about it and reading several blogs and forums I realized that own domains and own hosting for my blogs was the best choice. Choosing a host provider was not difficult, I read several reviews and I decided for the one that had a low monthly price and that was offering quality service.
Today, while checking Web Hosting Geeks, I was happy to find that my web hosting company is #1 on the Top 10 Web Hosting, I have no doubts about renewing my subscription with them again.
Almost every day we receive e-mails informing us of new web hosting providers but, how good are they? Web Hosting Geeks is a reliable source of information when we are looking for web hosting reviews. This site is very useful because it shows us rates and reviews from several hosting providers. We can check what each one offers, how much it will cost us and what is the rate it has among the subscribers.
If you are looking for a web hosting provider for the first time or just want to change to a better one definately you should take a look at WebHostingGeeks.com, read the reviews, check the rates, see the offered services and choose the web hosting provider that you feel will serve you better.
Today my son did the scan to his axilla to check on the node he had and it is a normal node, called reactive node. The doctor said it was great that the node swelled because it was a sign that the body was defending itself from an infection or inflammation.
The node has perfect size and it’s PERFECTLY NORMAL.
One of my problems that prevents me from going on a long car vacation is that my car is too old and has many problems. When I have to go somewhere far from where we live I’m always afraid that my car will break on the way. Renting a car has already crossed my mind.
Advantage Rent a Car is site that offers car rental at low prices. Advantage is a company that not only is available in the United States but also in some countries worldwide.
The site is very easy to navigate, has detailed information and answers almost all questions customers might have. A rate quote can be requested online, it’s really easy and free.
There are several featured specials available that you can check regularly for discounts, promotions and savings. Right now you can take advantage of a major discount, to be more exactly 50%, on luxury and convertible car rentals.
Car Rental can be a great solution for those that don’t own a car or have an old car that no longer can be trusted for long trips.
I had the shows schedule so I tried to organize our time in order to be present in every show. First show was the Live Bird’s Fly where falcons, eagles and other birds fly freely on a restrict area following the keepers orders.
I posted about this Shoe Wheel on my 
This was our vacation house for 5 days. Two bedrooms, bathroom with shower, kitchen and living room, TV, fridge and a fan.
Next Saturday we will be staying on a Bungalow for 4 people, with bathroom, kitchen, TV, fridge and also access to a big pool, soccer field, activity field and several possible activities like canoing, fishing, etc.. We will also have all the other facilities that a camping place has like a coffee shop, barbecue, laundry room and much more.
