Movie Mondays

I watch a lot of movies - kids' movies, family movies, chick-flicks, action movies, sci-fi and fantasy movies...you get the point.  I love to watch movies in the theater and at home, but given the opportunity, I will always choose the theater.  There is something about sitting in the dark with a bunch of strangers in front of a giant screen that is oddly appealing to me. I will even go to the movies by myself if there is no one available to go with me! As long as I have a large Diet Coke and snack, I'm happy!

One of the things that I do before I go to any movie is check the reviews. I don't typically care what the critics have said because they use a totally different set of criteria than I do to decide if a movie is worth seeing or not. I'm not looking for Oscar winning performances in every movie that I see. I don't necessarily care if there is a big name actor as the lead character (although it usually helps get me there), and I don't care if the movie will ever win an award. I only care that I will have a good time watching it. So I don't look to the critics, I look to other movie-goers!

Before any movie, I'll check the Fandango app on my phone to see what other reviewers have said. As long as it didn't bomb with other reviewers, I'll usually go see the movie to make my own decision about it. If I have any doubts, or if the movie has been out for a while, I will ask around to see if anyone I know has been to see said movie. If they have, and they give it a good review, I'll usually go see it. I have only been burned a few times by this method, most recently for The Muppets movie. I heard from several people that it was good, but my family and I didn't care for it.  In fact, I was ready to leave after the opening scene!

After I see a movie, I love to talk about it with the people that I saw it with, or other people who have seen it. Sometimes there isn't much to discuss beyond whether or not someone liked it, but usually there is a sequel or a book to compare it to, or you can compare an actor's performance to another movie that he/she has been in. I love a movie that makes me think beyond the scope of the film (if it's appropriate). I also love a movie that keeps me in suspense throughout the movie.

I figured that if I like to hear others' reviews about movies before I see them, and I like to discuss them afterward, there just might be a few other people out there who would enjoy the same thing! So I've decided to add a new feature to my blog - Movie Mondays! It gives me an excuse to go to the movies (or rent one) every week, in order to have something to write about (but shhhh...don't tell my hubby that's why I'm doing it).

The plan is to give you my  candid feedback unbridled opinion, along with feedback from those who went to the movie with me (my kids for a kids' movie,  my husband for a date night movie, my BFF for a chic flick, etc.). I'll also make some comparisons and maybe even a Cul-de-sac Mom rating. I hope I'll get some interaction in the comments section each week from those who have seen the same movie!

First up -  Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. I'll be posting tomorrow!

Lunch at Chili's - On Weight Watchers

Today is Valentine's Day, but I don't expect to have a fancy and/or romantic dinner with my husband. We have 3 kids and Valentine's Day is on a Tuesday. It's just not practical for us to go out alone. What is practical is a lunch date with our 3 year old son. So that's what we did. I met my husband at Chili's yesterday for our "date." I was craving the sweet and spicy chicken entree that I had the last time we went there.

I figured the sweet and spicy chicken was a pretty good option for Weight Watchers. It's grilled chicken with broccoli and rice...AND it's one of the "lighter" choices, which means under 750 calories and 25g of fat. I ordered and ate the whole thing before looking up the nutrition information. Thanks to my iPhone and the WW calculator I figured out that the meal I thought would be 10-12 points+ was actually 18 points. 18 points for grilled chicken, broccoli and rice?! Well...I guess there was a very sweet glaze, probably made with oil...and the rice has a ton of carbs...but the portions aren't huge, and the broccoli isn't drenched in butter, so I just thought it would healthier. Good thing I had cheese and a banana for breakfast because now I only have 7 points left for the rest of the day!

So at first I was really irritated that I didn't research the nutrition information before I went today. I hadn't expected my meal to cost me more than half of my points from my daily points bank. Then I had an idea. I decided to look up my favorite meal at Chili's, which I would have eaten if I hadn't been on Weight Watchers.  Had I eaten the Buffalo Chicken Ranch Sandwich and french fries I would have used 37 points! That's 10 more than my daily allowance, and it doesn't include the extra ranch that I usually dip my sandwich into, and the honey mustard that I would dip my fries in.

So in retrospect, I guess the 18 point meal that I had wasn't all that bad! I wouldn't eat it every day, but it was worth it for a special Valentine's Day treat. Now if I can stay away from the sugar cookies that I'm making for my kids today, I'll be all set!

We're Going To Disney World Again!

We just booked our 5th trip as a family to Walt Disney World. I am so excited! This time we'll be going with a friend of mine (who I've known since 7th grade) and her family. Together we will be a party of 10, which makes us a "Grand Gathering" in Disney speak. We'll have 4 adults and the 6 kids will range in age from 2.5 to 14 - 5 boys, one girl (the oldest). We're staying at Port Orleans Riverside for 6 nights in mid-October. We bought the dining plan (as we always do) and saved 30% on our rooms. Because my husband is our unofficial Disney Planner, we will be booking our restaurant reservations exactly 190 days before we arrive - the earliest you can make reservations if you have purchased a vacation package (10 days before the general public). We plan to eat at some of our favorites like Chef Mickey's (the kids' favorite) and The Garden Grill (one of my favorites). We'll be there for my birthday again this year, and the plan is to go to Fulton's Crab House without the kids on my actual birthday. It will be our first time going there, and I have high expectations!  I know we won't be disappointed!

What do you like to do when you go to Disney? Do you stay on property? Do you have a timeshare? Do you visit other theme parks while you're in Florida or do you keep the focus on Disney?

I thought this would be a good time to look back at the first 4 Disney trips we took. Please feel free to share your experiences in the comment section! (WARNING: LOTS OF PICTURES AHEAD)

Our First Night in Disney World 2007

September 2007: The first time we went to Disney World the boys were 4 and 6 years old (the baby wasn't born yet). We stayed at the Coronado Springs Resort on property and loved our entire stay...minus the rain. We went during the last week of September and it rained. every.single.day. Fortunately, the rain was short lived each day, so we would just put on our rain ponchos and keep going! It was such a magical trip, especially for our 4 year old who still thought the characters were real!

The boys got to be guest conductors on the Disney World Railroad 

They participated in the Jr. Chef class at the Land Pavilion in Epcot

Our youngest was invited to join the Main St. band performance!

We got lots of autographs and met LOTS of characters

In addition to all of the magic that Disney normally has to offer, we experienced Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party for the first time, and it was a blast! We've made it part of our trip every time we've been in October since.

Our little Harry Potter

Remy (Ratatouille) wasn't ready to wake up from his nap yet!

All in all, the trip was more than we could have hoped for. We fell in love with Walt Disney World, and couldn't wait to go back!

December 2008/January 2009: Our second trip to Disney World was for the week of New Year's. We went with my husband's brother and his family, and we also brought my teenage cousin with us. The boys were 4 months, 5 and 7. Their cousins were 1, 5, 7, 15 and 16. We got there a day or two before New Year's Eve and we stayed a few days past New Year's Day. We stayed in the suites at the All Star Music Hotel - one of the value level resorts. It was so nice to have a separate bedroom and 2 full bathrooms! We also had a small kitchenette which came in handy to wash bottles and store food for the kids!

The parks were insanely crowded that week and we will probably never go that time of year again, but I am happy that we had the chance to see the fireworks on New Year's Eve over Cinderella's castle at least once.

The Hubby and our youngest son watching the fireworks 12-31-08

The best part of going to Disney for New Years was being able to see the parks all decorated for Christmas. They have special parades and every inch of the parks is Christmas-y! The Osborne Family of Lights is one of my favorite Christmas things in Disney World. It's at Hollywood Studios and they play loud Christmas music and have fake snow flying. It's great!

 The Osborne Family Street of Lights in Hollywood Studios

I also really enjoy Cinderella's castle all decked out in lights! The colors change and it is such a beautiful sight!

The castle draped in color changing lights

On New Year's Eve my cousin turned 15, and it was really cool to see her treated like a princess everywhere we went. She wore her birthday button everywhere, and got a lot of attention from cast members. Even Santa wished her Happy Birthday during the parade!

My cousin being "punished" at 50's Prime Time Diner for putting her elbows on the table.
We had so much fun! 

My 7 yr. old niece - the only little girl in our group- after getting the full treatment at the Bibbidi  Bobbidi Boutique

My cousin having a birthday meal at Cinderella's Castle

The oldest cousins 

Our youngest was kissed by Snow White :)

October 2010:  We went to Sea World in May 2010 and felt really weird going to Orlando without visiting Disney World. I ended up making our reservations for our 3rd trip to Disney on the way home from our long weekend at Sea World. We weren't even an hour outside of Orlando when I made the phone reservations on my cell phone! 

We went by ourselves this time, and the boys were 2, 7 and 9. It was the last time we would go when we wouldn't have to pay for our youngest, and our oldest would still be considered a child. We stayed at the All Star Sports Resort. We had such a good experience with our last value level hotel, we decided to try it again. We requested a "preferred" room so we were closer to the main building and the buses, and I'm glad we did. We were close to the pool and didn't have to walk far when we got back to the hotel at night (usually carrying a sleeping 2 year old).

Every day (morning and night) the boys had to play in the x's and o's outside our building

All 5 of us

Mickey's Not so Scary Halloween Party. Yes, my oldest went  as Harry Potter  again.
The youngest went as Mickey Mouse, but he didn't keep his ears on!

Our first time seeing Daisy in the park.
The baby was afraid of the characters the entire trip, but loved waving to them from afar.

He kept asking for "more candy" and they ALWAYS gave him more!

This was a great trip. We were a little disappointed that the youngest was afraid to meet the characters until the last day when we went to Ohana at the Polynesian Resort. We thought he was going to be more like his brother was at 4 years old. Since he wasn't, we decided to plan our next family trip for when he turns 4. That trip will be this October!

May 2011:  We were supposed to go to Paris for our 10 year anniversary, but it didn't pan out, so we decided to go to Disney without the kids! It was such a good idea, and we really enjoyed ourselves. We went during the Flower and Garden Expo, so there was so much to see around the parks, especially in Epcot. We were also there for the Pixar weekend, which would have been awesome for the boys to experience. I wrote about that trip in  2011 Year in Review: Our Anniversary.  Here are just a few of the pictures from that trip. Everything was so beautiful!!!

May 2011

So with all that we've done, and all that we have planned, I am super stoked about our next trip! It will be nice to have our friends there with us, and the baby will be 4 by the time we go, which will make it easier than last time! Maybe I'll tweet while I'm there this time...updates in real time! :)

Anybody else going to Disney World this year?

Get Your Children to Do Chores Without Being Nagged!

My oldest boys are 8 and 10. They have been asking for a while if they can earn an allowance. Every time they ask, I tell them the same thing. "When you do the things you are supposed to do, regularly and without constant reminders, you can then do extra things to earn money." I don't believe in paying kids to do the everyday things that they need to do. Being a part of a family means you take care of your own things and help out with a few other things. I don't get paid to make dinner, or do the laundry, so why should my kids get paid to pick up after themselves?  I've been trying for a long time to come up with a way to put them in control of their chores without increasing the burden on me to keep track and/or nag. Here is what I came up with.

Everyday, Monday through Friday, they can earn one "token" for doing the things that are required of them daily, such as hanging up their book bags, putting their shoes away, putting their dirty clothes in the hamper, hanging up wet towels after a shower, etc. I haven't decided what I'm going to use for a token yet, but it will be something visual, like a marble, a poker chip or a ping pong ball. They'll each be placed in a can/jar that the boys have decorated.  At the end of the school week, they can count up the tokens that they have earned and that will be the number of dollars that they can earn by doing other things.

To make it easy I will post the daily requirements where they can both see them. They will be able to refer to it as many times as necessary to make sure they're doing what they need to to earn the token. I won't give them constant reminders, and I won't nag. If they don't do it, they don't get a token. Simple as that!

On the weekends, they will have a list of chores/duties that they can do and each one will have a payout assigned to it. Since nobody likes to pick up the dog poop in the back yard, that one will probably be worth $5 (the max amount they can earn). Something easier like wiping the counter in the bathroom with a Clorox wipe, will probably only earn $1. I'm still working on all of the things that I want to put on the list, but I plan to include things that will make my life easier like: changing the sheets on your bed, windexing the sliding glass door, cleaning toilets, helping make dinner, setting the dinner table, clearing the dinner dishes, etc. The payout values will be based on how much it helps me, and how often I think they'll choose it. If they don't earn the entire amount by the end of the weekend, they lose their chance. Tokens won't roll over to the next week.

I'm very hopeful that it works as well as I think it will. The boys are excited and my husband is even on board! Next week will be our first week, so I'll let you know how it goes!

Have you tried anything similar to this? Did it work? What would you change?

Starting off 2012 on the Right Foot

We are now 2 weeks into 2012, and although I haven't finished my Year in Review of 2011, or really set my goals for the rest of this year, I have made one decision that I hope will have a lasting effect in 2012. Last week I joined Weight Watchers with my friend, Chrissy. I have put on about 20 pounds since my mother got sick in August, and I had pretty much stopped exercising. In all fairness, I didn't have a lot of time or energy to devote to eating right and exercising, and my emotions were definitely getting the best of me.

Ok, hold on. While that last statement is the truth, it is a cop-out. The decision I made after the new year was not to make any more excuses. I decided that I was tired of eating my feelings and using any excuse not to take care of myself. I mean, seriously. How hypocritical was I?! I was treating my body like crap, and ignoring my mental health, all while blaming my parents for not taking care of themselves enough to still be on this earth!

It's not like losing weight isn't on my list of resolutions every year. In fact, getting healthy and losing weight were #1 on the list last year! I had a good start in 2011. I joined a gym, lost some weight, and felt a little bit better about myself. That all came to a screeching halt in the middle of August when my mother went into the hospital. From that point on I spent a lot of time travelling, grieving and trying to avoid my feelings. Food was my go-to mood enhancer. Well, not anymore! I'm using diet and exercise (Zumba and workout videos) to get back on track.

With Weight Watchers I am focused on every food that I put in my mouth. I'm learning to pay attention to portion size, and make better decisions about which foods I want to spend my points on.  I'm drinking a lot more water and I'm down to 1-2 diet cokes per day, which is a huge success in my book!

I guess we'll see how my choices translate on the scales. Tuesday is weigh-in day. My starting weight (and I can't believe I'm going to put it in print) was 184.2. Of course that's with capris, a t-shirt and a fleece jacket on. I'm hoping to see 180 lbs. on Tuesday! I worked out 4 days this week, and I intend to work out pretty hard tomorrow.  My ultimate goal weight is 145 lbs so I have a ways to go. Wish me luck!


Are you making healthy changes for the new year? I'd love to hear about it in the comments section!

Out of the Mouths of Babes

My Youngest Monkey

My three year old is chatter box. He moves easily from one topic to the next, asking lots of questions and giving long drawn out explanations for things. There are times where I'm not sure he is breathing between sentences.

We were in the car the other day, and this was the conversation that we had:






Him: Mommy, I need to have a birthday. I need to be 4.

Me: (Thinking this is because he knows we are going to Disney World after he turns 4.) Why do you need to have a birthday? What happens when you turn 4?

Him: I won't be 3 anymore!

He was dead serious.! I love what their little minds think up!

2011: A Year in Review - Top Blog Posts

I started the year strong, with lots of blog posts, but I had a huge lull from May to November. Despite that, there were some posts that stood out as the most visited. Here they are again, in case you missed them!

5. Chocolate Chip Irish Creme Cupcakes: These are some of the best cupcakes I have ever tasted!

4. Tuesday Tutorial: Cupcake Tower: I have now made several of these and they are a lot of fun!

3. Soccer Party Printables: Taking a queue from TomKat Studios, I designed my own soccer cupcake toppers and posted them as a free download!

2. Mickey Mouse Birthday Party: I made a cupcake tower, homemade cupcakes and lot of other Mickey shaped goodies!


1. Recipe Review: Cinnamon Roll Pancakes from Recipe Girl: I didn't even have time to take pictures of my final product, but this post was a big hit! The pancakes were an even bigger hit. My family went nuts over them!

Well, that about does it for my top 5 blog posts of 2011. Here's to an even better 2012!