News & Reviews Archives - Page 23 of 32

Maleficent comes to DVD and Blu-ray November 4th {with Halloween villain fun downloads}

Ever since my childhood, I have been obsessed with all things Sleeping Beauty. I have definitely passed this love down to my children and there is nothing they love more than exploring Sleeping Beauty's castle in Disney Land, dressing up like Princess Aurora, or admiring my miniature model of the Wood Cutter's Cottage I've had since my teens.

How could you possibly resist the magic of the fairies, the beautiful scenery, and the amazing Sleeping Beauty castle? More importantly, how can you not love to hate Maleficent? I think we can all agree that she’s one of the best Disney villains of all time. Even though she made her debut decades ago, her role has proven to be timeless. So, isn't it time we learned her side of the story?

Surely she wasn't that distraught over not being invited to a baby shower…. right? So, why bestow such an awful gift on a helpless baby? Where does her hatred for Aurora come from? And why on Earth would she trust a crow to be her eyes and ears in going about her evil plans?Clearly, there is a lot more to know about about this ruthless villain, which is why I love the new Disney movie Maleficent and cannot wait for the DVD and Blu-ray release next week.

Our Beaches Turks & Caicos Babymoon

I can’t even count how many people asked if our recent trip to Beaches Turks & Caicos was a “Babymoon”. Although I had heard of the idea of a Babymoon before, I honestly had no idea that they were such a well-known thing. As it turns out, Babymoons are a very big thing for the travel industry and many parents are using the opportunity score special packages and discounts to take one last big trip before baby.

In our case, our Babymoon happened by accident as our Turks & Caicos trip was planned mere days before we saw the positive pregnancy test. But while the pregnancy didn’t play much into the planning of the trip other than getting the okay from the doctor that travel during the 3rd trimester was fine, I’m still calling this a Babymoon.

And, why not? Babymoons are a relaxing time to reconnect as a family before sleeping in and diaper-free travel are a thing of the past. Of course, there were a few things I couldn't do while pregnant, like indulge in their adult beverages or go scuba diving, but I honestly didn't miss them with all the other amenities I could enjoy. For us, Beaches Resorts was a great way to celebrate as well as holding numerous luxuries I couldn’t have even dreamt up on my own. Amenities at Beaches resorts that pregnant moms will love:

10 tips to keep your kids safe this Halloween

Did you know that Halloween night is one of the most dangerous nights of the year? In fact, kids are twice as likely to be hit by a car on Halloween over any other day of the year. With little kids in costume sharing the road with vehicles of all types and lights turned down low, it's really a recipe for disaster. While those are certainly sobering statistics, that doesn't mean you can't keep your kids as safe as possible this Halloween by planning ahead and helping teach your child basic safety rules before they head out hunting candy.

Big things are happening at Rave & Review

A few days ago we made our big announcement on Facebook and wanted to announce it here as well. That's right, in just a few short months we will be welcoming baby #3. Hello, party of 5. Goodbye, compact sedan.

This has felt like the fastest pregnancy ever so far, but I will likely be singing a very different tune come December. I imagine the last month is going to drag by with all the Christmas craziness and I'm exhausted beyond belief, so I'm just going to enjoy the fact that I still have a good amount of energy to expend each day.

So, everyone wants to know: are the kiddos excited for their little sister to arrive? I could tell you how they lovingly kiss my belly a few thousand times a day, or all the sweet things they say to me about all the things they can't wait to do with their baby, but I think these pictures say it all. These kids were clearly made to be big siblings.

Cheesy Broccoli Pasta recipe

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. #CollectiveBias and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.When I was little, I loved helping my grandma cook and I would help her measure, stir, and taste test whatever we were cooking for our family. Aside from actual cooking, I vividly remember one of my main jobs was to carefully remove all the Campbell's Labels for Education so I could add them to her stack she collected in her kitchen drawer.

At the end of every visit, she would place that thick bundle of labels in my hand so I could take them to my elementary school that was saving them to earn much needed playground equipment. When I returned to school next, I remember taking that huge bundle of labels secured tightly with a rubber band, setting it on my teacher's desk, and hearing an audible gasp from every table at the sheer number of labels I had collected.

From soup, cereal, and snacks to dairy products, beverages, and school supplies, there are over 2,500 items that can earn points for your school and I've been saving Campbell's labels ever since I was little. Before I had kids, I would give them to my nieces and nephews, but now that I have kids, I have my own helpers in the kitchen whose job it is to remove those labels, clip them, and then collect them in our little tin canister on our counter to take to their own schools.

Bumbershoot? {August 30 – September 1 2104 at Seattle Center}

Yes, Bumbershoot. Not the often mispronounced “Bumpershoot”, which I’m pretty sure doesn’t mean anything at all. We’re talking Bumbershoot, as in the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival that takes place at the end of every summer in Seattle. This weekend thousands of music and art lovers will descend upon the Seattle Center in the shadow of the Space Needle for concerts, comedy shows, and so much more. It’s this variety that truly sets Bumbershoot apart from other festivals, and that keeps us coming back year after year.

Corolle Dolls have our hearts

Corolle Dolls is a brand that I will never grow out of. My love of the brand started in my own childhood when I grew up playing with their baby dolls and then later collecting their older dolls as a young girl.

Even well after I was done playing with dolls and had purged all my old stuffed animals, my old toys, and my once-sentimental items, I just couldn't get rid of those Corolle dolls I had loved so much. Instead, I packed them away and hoped that one day I would share this love of Corolle with my own children. I was thrilled when not just one, but both of my children gravitated towards the brand at a young age, and even more excited that they loved their dolls as much as I used to. In fact, I think it would be fair to say that they love their Corolle dolls even more than I had as a child, which I never, ever thought was possible. Their babies are not treated merely as dolls, their babies are truly friends that go everywhere with them, sleep with them, and are part of nearly every game they play.

We need your help to give kids a Childlike Summer

I partnered with The Motherhood and ConAgra Foods to help spread the word about a Hunger Free Summer, but all opinions are my own. I know I’ve said it before, but I love summer. The past few weeks have been a blur of playdates, farmer’s markets, library visits, and playing at our local parks. But, even with all this fun we’re having, I never forget how lucky we are.

Lucky because even though money is always a little tight with only one steady income, we never worry about whether we will go hungry. We have a well-stocked fridge and pantry, a small neighborhood co-op of small urban gardens that can provide anything we couldn’t afford otherwise at the grocery store, and we are able to give what we can to those less fortunate.

All kids deserve to have a Childlike Summer in which they don’t worry where the next meal will come from. If we all do our part and give what we can {whether it’s time, energy, money, food donations, or even simply watching this video below}, we really can make a difference for the children in our communities.

Simply view this video to find out more about child hunger this summer. Or, better yet, share the video so your friends can watch/share/like it as well. For each of these actions, the ConAgra Foods Foundation will donate the monetary equivalent of one meal to Feeding America, up to two million meals*.

Disney Planes: Fire and Rescue is in theaters now

On the morning of my son’s third birthday, he came running into our bedroom to wake us up. He wasn’t wondering about cake or parties or even presents, what he really wanted to know was when he could be a fire fighter. When I explained to him that he had to be grown up – not just merely older – to fight fires, his face fell. I felt so bad for the little guy that I promised him that we would get him a fire fighter outfit and make him a fire engine so he could play fire fighter all day long. It’s been 9 months since then and his obsession with fire fighters has only grown, so as soon as I heard about Disney Planes: Fire and Rescue coming to theaters this summer, I knew I had to take him. He already had a deep love for Dusty from the first Disney Planes movie, so I was anticipating he would fall hard for the new film as well.

As it turns out, he loved it even more than I ever imagined. All week long, the kids have been fighting their own pretend fires at home while playing Planes: Fire and Rescue and I couldn’t be happier.

Laundry room re-do with Blinds.com

When we moved into our house almost 7 years ago, I was so excited to finally have a laundry room. It seemed like a pretty nice upgrade from our “laundry closet” of our rental house and an awesome improvement over our “laundry kitchen” at our past house.

But, then I didn’t quite know what to do with the room once I had it. It was an awkward, L-shaped space that came complete with an ugly Utilitub, a useless wire shelf, and no good place to put the washer and dryer. Thank goodness I found Blinds.com, because it gave me the inspiration I needed to finish the space and create a separate and functional room that is truly fun to enter.