Hunting for Easter Eggs w/ Pixar

I love Easter. There's something fantastic about the whole thing.



Pixar Films has released this cute short video where you can join the hunt for Easter Eggs!



How many hidden gems can you find in your favorite Pixar Films?

Hunting for Easter Eggs w/ Pixar

I love Easter. There's something fantastic about the whole thing.



Pixar Films has released this cute short video where you can join the hunt for Easter Eggs!



How many hidden gems can you find in your favorite Pixar Films?

Letting Go… Kinda

Last week, I was brave enough to take 7 little girls to Epcot for the day (not alone, don't freak!) for a special visit.  My oldest was one of those 7 girls.

And I'm not really sure how to explain it, but something shifted that day for the two of us.

It happened when we went to Turtle Talk with Crush and the kids got to sit on the floor in the front while the parents sat on the benches behind them. Roo and I got separated and normally I would be right behind her on the first bench, close enough to touch. This time I was back on the third bench on the opposite side of the room.

And inside, I kinda freaked.

I was all the way away from my big girl, at Disney! She wasn't in my reach, she wasn't near me… she could have been in Africa for all I was feeling.

I managed to wiggle around and able to score a line of sight on her and I could breathe a bit better.

That's when another parent in our group made a comment… something about the umbilical cord.

Roo is seven years old.

She's a fantastic seven year old that has a good head on her shoulder. Plus, she's with her friends (and just as a side note, Roo will not let me kiss her goodbye when I drop her off at school if other kids are around… heartbreak, huh?) and for a second, I thought… maybe I could take a step back (but not too many, hey, I'm not stupid!).  Maybe I could let the umbilical cord out a little and give her some freedom.

And it all completely shifted in me.

She's grown up.

She doesn't need me hovering over her and holding her hand all the time. She needed time to be with her friends and explore, and learn, and be a kid without a maniac Mama beside her worried about everything.

For the rest of the day I hung back. She walked in front of the group, holding hands with her friends… she rode with them on rides while I was two cards back. She did her thing with her friends and I just tagged along a few yards back.

It was so odd… but so needed.

I needed to realize that my baby, isn't a baby anymore.

She's grown up!!

And I'm sure you know, this breaks my heart, but I'm just neurotic and weird, but you know that!

When we parted ways with her friends, she was happy to hang out with me and hold my hand, and to ride rides with just me.

And I felt like I took a huge step as a parent while she took a huge step as a kid.

And I think… that maybe I'll be okay.

Birds of Paradise DVD Review

I really wish I could tell you that my daughters don't watch a lot of movies… but they do.

We watch movies all the time!

It's a family thing, really. We pile into one bed, pop some popcorn, cuddle up under a blanket and hit play.

The latest DVD to hit our movie night was Birds of Paradise. Birds of Paradise is a movie about Jack, an average sparrow bird who isn't very happy with who he is. When he is covered in paint by accident, suddenly he is a whole new bird, an exotic bird at that. Now that he is camouflaged, he can impress the beautiful Aurora, a canary that finds herself without a cage. The story follows Jack and Aurora on their adventures and Jack learns that it doesn't matter what you look like on the outside, but it's what's inside that matters!

 

Included on the DVD, available only at WalMart, you get bonus features included: Bringing the Characters to Life and a sneak peek at minuscule shorts. 

Birds of Paradise features the voice talents of Drake Bell, (from TV's "Drake & Josh), Ashley Tisdale (TV's "High School Musical"), Ken Jeong (Despicable Me 2), Jane Lynch (TV's "Glee"), Jon Lovitz (The Benchwarmers), Keith David (Free Birds) and Dallas Lovato (Snowflake And The White Gorilla)!

You can purchase your own Birds of Paradise DVD at WalMart today!

I have a copy of Birds of Paradise to giveaway to one lucky reader! All you need to do is tell me what you favorite movie night snack is!

Easy, huh?

This contest will run until April 15, 2014 and is open to US Residents.

Good Luck!



I received a copy of this DVD for review purposes. All opinions are 100% mine.  

IESODO DVD Review

Roo is a big bird girl, meaning she loves anything to do with birds. She has numerous stuff animals, apps on bird calls, books on how to draw birds… You name it, she's got it.

We recently got asked if we wanted to review some faith based animated DVDs with birds, we jumped on it. 

Two of Roo's favorite things in one DVD, Jesus and birds. 

The brand is IESODO, which stands for "the way of Jesus." and they have a handful of DVDs with episodes revolving around Bible Stories.

From the press release: "Meet Iesodo (pronounced Yay-Sa-Doe), a wise dove whose name means "The Way of Jesus"! He and his lovable feathered friends live in the Holy Land in a beautiful Cypress Tree on the shores of a vast Lake (or as we know it, the Sea of Galilee). The birds are an unlikely group of friends, and though they have their differences, they have one thing in common: since they met Iesodo, their lives have never been the same!"

The series is super cute and each DVD comes with a theme: love, believe, and faith. The girls really enjoy watching them and I love that they are learning great faith based lessons and bible stories! 

Their website has great trailers, music videos and fun activities! Make sure you check it out for more information. 

I received these DVDs for review purposes. All opinions are 100% mine, Thanks. 

Tinker Bell and The Pirate Fairy

Tinker Bell is my favorite Disney character. I've loved her forever and when they started the Tinker Bell movies, my daughters fell in love with her too.



How can you not?



Ever since the first Tinker Bell movie, we've been hooked.



The latest in the franchise is Tinker Bell and the Pirate Fairy.



And lemme tell you, it's adorable.



It's everything a good Disney movie should be. Cute, lovable characters and singing!



It's not a true Disney movie without singing!



Oh, and this Disney movie has something that none of the others have: LOKI!



Well, not Loki but Tom Hiddleston!



Tom Hiddleston plays a young Captain Hook who makes friends with Zarina, a fairy gone bad.



The fairies have to save the fairy dust when Zarina steals it and the adventure that comes along are fun.



You can never go wrong with a Tinker Bell movie. The girls have watched it numerous times (three times in the long car ride today!!) and I doubt it will be pulled from their rotation anytime soon. :)



Check out the official trailer.













You can purchase a copy of Tinker Bell and the Pirate Fairy online and in stores today!





I received a copy of this DVD for review purposes. All opinions are 100% mine. 

Frozen Storybooks and App

Books are huge in this house.

I have shelves and shelves of books and my love of books has spilled over to my daughters. I started buying books for Roo as soon as I knew I was carrying a baby… and that means that they too have shelves upon shelves of books.

I've been known to say no to toys, but I've never said no to buying books.

Books have an amazing way of transporting you anywhere and I love that my kids have started to enjoy exploring what books bring to the table.

Add in the Frozen craziness and you have the perfect books for my little princesses.

We recently downloaded the new Disney Digital Book, Frozen and my girls are obsessed with it. Not only can they read the book (it can be read to them as well), there are games and puzzles they can play with. I also love the option that I can record myself reading the book so they always have Mama close with them.

I love that they can bring this "book" anywhere with them when they tote along the iPad… but there's nothing better than getting your hands on a true book.

We got our hands on some other great Frozen books, including the Read Along book which comes with a CD of the book. Roo LOVES this one because she can read along with it and work on straightening her reading skills. We've listened to it a dozen times and I don't mind, it helps her learn the words.

We also received the chapter book of Frozen that we've been reading one or two chapters every night . And we got the wildly popular "A Sister More Like Me." This book is gorgeous! A hard-backed book full of beautifully illustrated pages.

Each and every book is loved fiercely by my girls and I couldn't be happier about it.

A kid that loves books is a-okay in my books!

You can purchase all the books online or in your local favorite bookstore.



I received these books and the app in exchange for my review. All opinions in this post are 100% mine. Thanks!