I Finally Watched The Princess Bride @foxhomeent #FHInsiders #princessbride

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Special Features

TRUE LOVE: THE PRINCESS BRIDE PHENOMENON (Pts. 1 & 2) For 25 years, viewers have watched and loved The Princess Bride. But why does it resonate so strongly for all ages? This two-part featurette offers some answers, along with funny and touching tributes from Rob Reiner, Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Billy Crystal and William Goldman just to name a few. Other bonus features includes but not limited to:

Audio Commentary by Rob Reiner

Audio Commentary by William Goldman

As You Wish: The Story of The Princess Bride

Cary Elwes Video Diary

Miraculous Makeup

The Dread Pirate Roberts: Greatest Pirate of the Seven Seas

Love is Like a Storybook

The Princess Bride The Untold Tales featurette

The Art of Fencing featurette

Fairytales and Folklore featurette

Original theatrical trailer

Easter Eggs

The 411:

I think I saw this movie way way back in 87. Parts of it I remember and others not so much so I believe I had never seen it in it's entirety.

As a huge Rob Reiner fan I was excited to sit and watch the whole thing from beginning to end.

We start off with Peter Falk reading his sick grandson Fred Savage a story that has been passed down from generation to generation. A classic love story filled with adventure and excitement as Westley searches for his childhood love Buttercup.

He left her on a farm when they were much younger to find a way to make his fortune and come back to marry her. She hears his ship was attacked and believes him dead and is heartbroken.

Prince Humperdink, heir to the throne of Florin forces Princess Buttercup to be his bride but before they could wed she is kidnapped.  She is saved by a black masked man who she believes killed her dear Westley. She send him down a hill but realizes he is her love and jumps down the hill herself.

Westley and the Princess must fight all kinds of obstacles to be together but true love prevails.

The message; true love never dies.

What I enjoyed about the movie is how I could watch it with my kids. It's a love story but there is adventure, sword fighting, giants, bad guys, quicksand, weird creatures, comedy, and more. It is a fun movie full of action and fantasy.

It was a fun ride and I am not sure why I waited so long to enjoy it. AND there is Billy Crystal as Miracle Max

Disclaimer: I received a copy for my honest opinion as a Fox Home Entertainment Insider.

My Crazy Baby Cracks Me Up! #TBT

I love, love, love my kids. I also love, love laughing and I have a lot of very funny people in my life. My sister, my friends, Bek and Teresa, my husband but honestly there is no one that cracks me up as much as my daughter. She is 3 months shy of 3 years old but she is FUNNNNY!!!

Maybe it’s because she is so tiny that you don’t expect the random things to come out of her mouth. Maybe it’s because she is just friggin funny. I don’t know, the point is this…she makes me laugh more than anyone else I have ever met. On top of being funny she can be the sweetest baby girl on earth.\

I love her “I’m sorry”, whenever she hears that you hurt yourself, or don’t feel well, or when she walks by you and knocks into you (even if she doesn’t). I love her roars when she plays with dinosaurs or other animals.

I adore the way she holds your face (one little tiny hand on each cheek) and demands a kiss, “give me a kiss.” Then she plants one on your lips and says, “thank you.”

I love all the made up songs she sings and the way she wants to dance whenever you put a dress or skirt on her.

I love when she asks you to sing with her.  I love that she knows so many songs. “I want Fabulous“, and “The Sun will Come Out Tomorrow”, coupled with most Christmas songs, Nursery Rhymes, T.V. Themes, whatever her heart desires and she has no problem singing them at the top of her lungs as we walk through the supermarket. She usually does a medley of about 10 songs complete with “everybody” as she gets to the chorus. She’s my natural born entertainer, making up her own songs too.

But sometimes she just says thats that are so funny. Like today when she put her hands behind her and said, “I’m shaking my booty. Look at me, I’m shaking my booty.”

Friday, she left her little TY Wilbur pig at my son’s school. She almost hyperventilated in the car when she realized. “Oh, oh no…I left my pig at school. He’s on the table where I was eating snack. Oh no, he’s going to be all alone. Oh no!!” I told her we would call the school and that Ms. Kate would take it home for the weekend and it would be ok. She seemed fine after that. Then at about 7:30 p.m. last night she said, “I miss my wittle pig.” I turned and said, “awww you miss your little pig?” She said, “yeah, I want to see him.” How friggin cute is she? I told her that Ms. Kate was taking care of the pig and we would see him soon.

Last night when she and my son were using me as their own personal jungle gym, they both ended up sitting on my lap at the same time. She turned to me and said, “Mom, are you Santa Claus?” I laughed saying “why, because you are sitting on my lap?” I was actually concerned about the question and what she actually meant because she is just too damn smart.  She said, “yeah, we are sitting on your lap, do you feel like Santa?”

Today she was lying on the floor moving her arms and legs, I asked her what she was doing and she said making snow angels. Cute!!

She has no problem telling me or anyone else, “no, I don’t want to.” If we don’t give her what she wants she also has no problem screaming like the banshee girl she is.

Standing Steady After Hard Times Takes Patience And Unfortunately, A Whole Lot Of Practice

Life has a way of really kicking you in the pants sometimes. You are going through life sometimes feeling great, other times feeling moody but if you are like most of us you really try to make the best of it. Why be moody and miserable when you can choose to be happy.

While we all have different circumstances, different upbringings and different methods of dealing with things, I think we can all agree that we are generally all the same.

We are people who feel deeply, get stressed, love unconditionally, work hard, feel weak, drained, unexcited, excited, blessed, we can go on and on with this. However even though we all feel the same things, the things that take us to those emotions are different.

Maybe you get stressed over bills while another gets stressed over driving on the highway. Or maybe you get excited when you see a new pair of boots that you absolutely must have while another could care less about new boots but gets excited over a song they haven't heard for years. What I am trying to say is we are different but the same. Get it!

My life last year took me to some of the darkest places I have ever been. I cried like I haven't cried before. I am shocked that I can still muster up a good cry now after the river I cried in 2014.

It could have been the worst year of my life. It could have been. However, even after all the crying I managed to smile at work, greet everyone with a kind word and a smile because I was taught that you may be the only kind word or kind face someone sees. So always treat people with kindness.

During my dark days I woke up and kissed and hugged my children telling them all the loving things parents tell the little people they love. Coming undone wasn't an option. I had to still stand steady and get through my life. There was never a day I didn't think I couldn't do it. I would cry at night when my kids were sleeping. I would cry and pray for strength and the words that may or may not be necessary when it came time to tell everyone what was happening.

Handling my personal stress this way is something that has been present in me for way longer than I care to write about. Life for me, like a lot of people, has always been a struggle. There are too many heartbreaking things to even write about here because that is not what this post is about. Let's just say, as a child from 7 there were people in my life who didn't do the right things by me either out of fear or for their own personal gains. Whatever! That was then! I cannot change the past. I will never as long as I try no matter how much I change, pray, beg, be able to change MY past.

So...

When you feel like you can't; know that you can.

When you feel unloved or uncared for; know that you ARE loved! Someone loves you. You may not even be aware, or maybe you think they don't because things have changed. Maybe you haven't even met them yet. BUT there is someone who loves, will love or wants to love you.

If you are religious and believe in a higher power, YOU ARE LOVED.

When you feel like life is better off without you; know that LIFE is better! You are necessary! Maybe your best time hasn't happened. Things happen for a reason.

Whether the cause was someone else, something else, or even yourself. It will get better. It Will! I know because for more years than I care to write about, my life has taken so many twists and turns that I am amazed I can remain standing steady. With that said,  I am not surprised I am still standing steading. Life is hard for everyone. It is just different things that make it hard.

Being your best self doesn't mean having the newest boots. It doesn't mean having another person in your life to make you complete. Being your best self means, being YOUR personal best. It is your journey but do yourself a favor and do whatever you can to make your Journey the best for YOU!

Smile at another person today. You may be the only smile they see! While you are at it. Smile at yourself today. Walk up to the mirror and get to know yourself again. That person is pretty damn amazing.

Never Have To Clean Hair Out Of Your Tub Again! Drainwig Giveaway - #giveaway #unclogthedrain #grossphotos ARV $19.95

Warning: This post contains gross photos of my tub

This house has hair a ton of it. I have enough hair for two people at least and my daughter is on the way to the same head of hair. I lose hair everywhere and even my friends tell me when I leave they tell me they clean hair up for days so you can only imagine that when I take a shower, the drain gets it's fair share of fallen hair which equals a clogged drain every few days.

The Drainwig was something I was eager to check out considering the amount of time we spend unclogging and sticking a snack into the drain to find the clog!

Our home was built in 1972 and not much has been done to update it. The bathroom and kitchen are the two most dated rooms with the tub in some sad shape.  I have to use a plunger on the tub at least once a week or the water sits in the bottom as it slowly drains out sometimes taking over an hour. UGH...nasty soap scum rings are a problem due to the slow drain. It is one nasty tub! Since getting the Drainwig two weeks ago, I have not had to use a plunger and have not had the bathtub fill as I shower.

The simple design of the Drainwig is an interesting one.

It's a decorative piece that sits atop a chain with rubber whiskers that catch the hair as it drops down the drain.

After 2-4 months you simply remove and toss! No more taking hangers, drain snakes or harsh chemicals to remove a clog. There will be no clog. It catches everything.

I put this in two weeks ago and look how much hair was caught already. *Warning! Nasty Pics of My Tub*
 

Day 1

Day 15 - My drain on cleaning day Saturday

Only two weeks but I wanted you to see it

OMG Look at that! So nasty

I loved that I could take it out and toss it in the trash!

Honestly I was pretty amazed at how much hair it grabbed in such a short time!

The Drainwig can be purchased at Drainwig.com where you can order a 4 pack. Either a multi-pack where you will get two for tub and two for shower. 4 for shower or 4 for tub.  You can even set yourself up and receive a new pack every 3 months so you never have to worry about ordering. You save BIG if you do it this way.

AND...one of my readers gets a chance to win a 4 pack.

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Disclaimer: I received a complimentary product for my honest opinion. No monetary compensation was offered or received.

How To Turn An Amazon Fire TV Box Into A Monster High Doll Bed #tutorial #monsterhigh @amazon

My niece got us an Amazon Fire TV for Christmas this year. It is pretty damn cool and we love it. But this post is not about that. I noticed the box was pretty cool with it's overhead compartment which had housed the power cord. In the past I have saved boxes thinking I would do something with them but end up tossing them a few weeks later during a clean up purge.  Not this time!



Last month I grabbed the box while waiting for my daughter to finish reading her homework to me and stated playing with it. I must have tried about 15 different configurations before settling on the one that would eventually become a bed for Monster Toralei.

The box!

Settling on the layout

I taped the sides down

At first I thought the legs would be made of crayon then worried about marks on the furniture

So I rolled up some magazine strips with a pencil and wrapped it with the tape

The legs

Ta Da...legs!

Next I measured some foam sheets to go with the bed colors

And hot glued it down. I also hot glued at this point the sides of the bed and added a coordinated bed for the cabinet

We added a strip of the foam across the top

A Monster High banner as decoration

And Toralei now has a bed

We had another box saved and at the moment I can't remember what came in it but we made a little shadow box for a Valentine's photo which I have yet to print out but will post as soon as I do.

Great box! I had some letters from a Staples Giveaway I won

We decided on LOVE and used some Scotch Dots to hold them on

We love the way it came out. Photo of Handsome and Goddess going in as soon as I can print it

Purex's PowerShot Shows That A Little Does Go A Long Way #Purex #PurexInsiders #Laundry #PurexPowerShot

New Purex® PowerShot detergent simplifies the laundry routine by taking the guesswork of measuring. Purex® PowerShot is the only bottle that automatically dispenses the right amount of super concentrated formula with 50% more stain fighting power in every drop.  

This Purex Detergent actually does all the measuring for you. Now if only it could also do the laundry for me.

I am sure you can imagine how excited when I get a box from Purex. Right before I open it I wonder what it will look like, how much laundry I can do and the fact that I just got a beautiful, free bottle of laundry detergent.  

This bottle wasn't only from my favorite brand but it looked pretty damn cool too! It is see-through and shows it's stunning cobalt blue self through the entire bottle except where the label is. Look at that color. Exactly the color I selected every time we moved into a new apartment when I was a kid and my parents let me paint my room.

Sitting on top of the bottle is this science fiction type ball! This is where the magic will happen. 

That is it, you simply flip the bottle, and your dose is ready. 

Beside the bottle, you don't need a whole lot to get the job done and it smells amazing!

NICE!

I am always happy to be able to hook one of  my readers up with a new bottle of Purex's latest and greatest. You know they are always coming up with something new. LOVE THEM!

To Win Enter The Giveaway Tool Below OR go wherever you get your detergent and pick up a bottle! It is worth it! 

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Disclaimer: I received a complimentary bottle for my honest review and coupons for a giveaway as a Purex Insider. No monetary compensation was offered.

General Mills & Skylander #Giveaway Making Breakfast Fun #BigG #generalmills

Breakfast just got more fun!

General Mills is upping America’s breakfast game through a new partnership with the most popular children’s video franchise, Skylanders.

Beginning in March and for a limited time, fans will find Skylanders Skystones cards playable on the game board printed on the back of the cereal box. Collect all four Skystones game card sets, each with a downloadable code to unlock characters in the popular mobile Skylanders game. The Skystones game is great for family fun and promotes imaginative and cognitive play.

The participating Big G brands include some of your favorite cereals:

Honey Nut Cheerios

Frosted Cheerios

Fruity Cheerios

Reese’s Puffs

Cookie Crisp

Lucky Charms

Trix

Cinnamon Toast Crunch

We are huge Skylander fans. My kids collect the figurines and were so excited to check out the cards that can be played on the game board on the back of the box.

My kids have brought the game to school for indoor recess and all the kids were excited about it and loved the cards and took turns playing. Everyone was excited to tell their parents they wanted cereal containing the game.

To Win, Fill Out The Giveaway Below:

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Disclaimer: No monetary compensation was offered to host this giveaway. I received the same item that will be given as giveaway.

Melissa and Doug & Thomas The Train TOY Sale at #indigo #onlinedeals

Just some of the toys on sale at Indigo

20% Off Melissa & Doug at Indigo.ca!
20% Off Thomas & Friends Wooden Toys at Indigo.ca! February 21-27.
 Spend $50 Get 20% Off Regular Priced Items at Indigo.ca! Excludes Books & Electronics.

#TBT Play Date Central

Originally Written - Thursday, September 08, 2005

Mom has had me so busy with play dates lately that I have had no time to blog. Bitch! She thinks I need friends and need to be popular. I hate it! I have to share my stuff, have kids messing up my room, taking my snacks, pushing me off my own ride on car, sitting on my Wiggle couch, saying "Mine" when they know damn well it isn't.

Why the hell is it whenever mom meets a new mom with a kid my age that she suddenly sets up a play date?

We were at the library the other day and there was another kid there. She was nice enough; she said, "chase me" so I did, she said, "sit with me" so I did, she pushed me down, I got back up thinking, "ok, buh bye B'otch. I walk to the door to leave and mom is handing over her phone number to make a play date. Hello, did she not see me trying to escape this little pain in my diapered butt?

 Anyway I guess this means another play date is being scheduled for the near future. Wish me luck.

IEP Meeting Continued Part 3 - To Send To Kindergarten or Not To Send To Kindergarten

Originally written January 25, 2008

The longest story in history continues….

If you are interested, here is part 3 of the IEP meeting.

Anyway…

So there I was sitting in the meeting listening to a Kindergarten teacher and Nina talking to my son on various things. He was counting, writing, playing Leapster, answering their questions, whatever when  I heard “Mom is concerned about Kindergarten. She is not sure if she is going to hold him back a year or not.” The other says, “hold him back? He is so ready. He is so smart. He is actually ready for 1st grade.”

Part of me was beaming with pride and the other part was horrified. Did they not hear what I have been saying for the past 2 years?

I have NEVER doubted how intelligent my son is. I am the first person to state that he amazes me with what he knows. Hell he even had his own blog when he had time to write.

My son knew his letters, numbers up to 20, shapes and colors before he was 22 months old. He knew how to spell house, blue, cat, dog and various other words before he was 3 and he taught himself how to write his letters the summer of his fourth birthday and Spy Kids, Xbox and a few other words over the past few months.

I am well aware of how smart he is. So I turned and said, “please don’t misunderstand why I am thinking of holding him back”. I know how smart and ahead of his peers he is. The reason I am considering holding him back is because he is not socially aware. He does not know when someone is picking on him, mad at him, hurt by him, directing a question at him in a crowd or even if someone is about to beat the crap out of him.” I saw it happen with my girlfriend’s son, he was really angry with my son and my son thought it was fun and games. He walked into the room to see my son laughing and my friend’s kid hitting him with fists. My son had no idea there was a problem with this. He thought it was fun and they were playing. Eventually a kid in school would notice this and he would become a punching bag with the other kids jumping on the band-wagon”.

[Excuse me as my son tells me to take him to time-out. What the F?] OK I am back...

Anywhoo where was I…”although I see him getting better and becoming more assertive I am not ready to throw him to the sharks”.

The kindergarten teacher leans back in her chair and says with a smile, “well, I don’t know about us being sharks. We are more like dolphins.”

“I meant the students, sorry.” I tell her.

Before the meeting Nina had offered up the option of a self contained class. It is a smaller class with kids needing extra help with various things, mostly speech.

I actually have a friend whose daughter is in this class and she speaks very highly of it.

So as I had mentioned in my last post, I have a decision to make on how I proceed. I can hold him back in Pre-K to give him an extra year to catch up or not. I can start him in regular K which everyone says he is ready for or I can do the self contained class but wait there is something else..I can do the self contained class with the regular kindergarten class.

Nina mentioned that she would work with us to keep him as mainstream as possible and while she hasn’t done this often she wants me to consider if I plan sending him to the self contained class that I also bus him over half a day to stay with his peers in the regular kindergarten class. He would do gym, art, whatever with them. They call it “the specials”.

If you know me, you know that I will not be putting him on a bus. So this means I would be shuttling back and forth 5 days a week along with my daughter who will be going to pre-school 2 days a week in September.

If this is the course I chose I will do whatever it takes for the better of my son, now I just have to decide.

I am going to go through the registration process and eventually after I weigh all options and sit down with everyone to see what will best benefit my son I will come to a conclusion.

ahhh….now that I have that off my chest. I can move on with the potty training of my Goddess.
Tomorrow is another day!

Penguins of Madagascar Blu-Ray + DVD Combo #Giveaway #PenguinsOfMadagascar #FHEInsiders

“Hilarious! A zany blast the entire family will enjoy.
Nothing but non-stop fun and laughter!" – Shawn Edwards, FOX-TV 

Perfect for Easter Gift Baskets, the Blu-ray™ and DVD Come With Two Hopping Penguin Toys Available for a Limited Time

LOS ANGELES, CA – They’re cute...they’re cuddly...they’re back!  From the creators of MADAGASCAR comes the hilarious new movie that proves global espionage is for the birds!  In DreamWorks’ PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR, your favorite super-spies—Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private—join forces with the elite North Wind team to save the world.  It’s a side-splitting, globe-trotting adventure the whole family will love!  Introduce the Penguin family to your family on March 17 when Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment releases DreamWorks’ PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR on Blu-ray™ and DVD.

And for a limited time, get 2 hopping Penguin toys only with the DreamWorks’ PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR Easter DVD and Blu-ray™ pack on March 17 making it the perfect gift for Easter baskets.

 PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR is “a fun, smartly conceived film that will appeal to all movie-goers,” proclaims Bill Bregoli of CBS Radio. A hit with audiences and critics alike, the film received an outstanding audience reaction with a coveted “A-” CinemaScore® and certified fresh on RottenTomatoes.com.

Directed by Eric Darnell and Simon J. Smith, PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR features the voice talents of John Malkovich (“Crossbones” Red 2), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), and Ken Jeong (The Hangover), joining Tom McGrath, Chris Miller and Christopher Knights, who are reprising their roles as the Penguins from the beloved Madagascar franchise.
The Blu-ray™ and DVD feature hours of bonus materials that uncover the covert operations of the PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR including several exclusive featurettes, a deleted scene, a music video by Pitbull, a dance tutorial by tWitch, and more.

As a Fox Home Entertainment Insider I am able to host a giveaway for a Blu-ray, DVD, Digital Copy Combo. I cannot wait to see this myself. Here is your chance to win!
 
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Disclaimer: No monetary compensation was offered to host this giveaway. I will be receiving a Blu-ray Combo for my honest opinion

FREE Preschool Online: CHALK Preschool Review #freeschool #preschool #education

We have had so many snow days in the very short start of 2015 that these kids will never get used to a 5 day work week again. Averaging at 4 days or 3.5 days due to early starts and early dismissals the kids in my town as well as many across the East Coast have a need for home education programs that will keep their mind working and learning. 

Although we don't home school we are always looking for ways to keep the kids minds on education. If they are going to be plugged in we want to balance it with computer websites and games that they learn and love. Sometimes they don't even know that a particular website is educational. They simply think they are learning and Chalk Preschool is one of these sites.

Chalk Preschool is FREE to try. Not only this but it is full of really fun, educational, interesting information that will become your go to online source for activities, printables, lesson plans, and more. Using songs, colors to teach basic concepts about weather, shapes, numbers and reading. 

These days preschool needs to be supplemented. Education has taken such a turn and my kids would never have been ready based on today's school. This is a great way to add to what you are doing at home and what they are getting in structured preschool.

The CHALK Preschool also has a Parent Portal where you can create a username and password, put in your child's name and birthday so that you can personalize the schooling based on your child's age.

What I love most:

• They use colorful, fun, edits including cartoons and real life that get kids interested and laughing. Whether they are talking about weather, colors, spelling, sounds, math, animals, months, seasons, geography, kids will be entertained, engaged and eager to learn!
• There is so much to see: Music Videos, Webisodes, Kid’s Talk Shows, Interactive Books, Step By Step activity projects with colorful photos and videos, Daily Lessons that change daily. 
• Watch Ms. Christina and the kids with your kids. They will  love it. You will love it. It is fun for all. 
• Tons of songs that you won't be able to get out of your head but your kids will absolutely love!
• Kids love watching kids! The Chalk Preschool uses a lot of real kids in their videos. Even my 9 year old was entertained.
• You can also play on any device. Perfect for on the go kids

My daughter loved the videos about How Do Things Work especially the one on recycling. She was shocked to see what happens to her water bottle during the recycling process.

This site is great for Summer too. Keep the kids engaged and learning. It will give them the head start they are going to need in this world's elementary education curriculum. 

For more information please head over to Chalk Preschool, Chalk Preschool Blog, or the Chalk Preschool News Room. Chalk Preschool is on Facebook too!

Disclaimer: We had an opportunity to review for our honest opinion. No monetary compensation was offered or received.