Fandango and Monte Carlo

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Monte Carlo for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
Sometimes I’m not a fan of movies based off of books. I’ve found it’s hard to translate from one form to another. But with that said, I’m really excited to see Monte Carlo when it hits theaters Friday. If you haven’t heard, Monte Carlo stars Selena Gomez, Katie Cassidy, Leighton Meester, and Andie MacDowell.is a film based off the book, Headhunters by Jules Bass. In the movie, a girl is traveling to Paris with her best friends and soon-to be uptight step-sister. Then the girl, Grace (played by Selena Gomez), is mistaken for a spoiled British heiress, and Grace and her friends find themselves caught up in a whirlwind of attention and going on a dream vacation to Monte Carlo.
I’m really excited to see this movie. I love all the main characters of this movie and it just looks like a really cute movie. I really like movies that are great to see with the girlfriends, and also something mother-daughters/Aunt-nieces etc. can see. Also who doesn’t love a romantic comedy with a dash of adventure? A great thing is that if you’re like me, you don’t have to wait to get tickets. Starting June 29th, you can get tickets online through Fandango, and for more fun you can ‘like’ the movie on Facebook for more fun. So fire off in the comments if you are going to see this or how interested you are to see it.

Also if you haven’t seen it yet, here is the awesome trailer:

Wordless Wednesday: A boy and his Uncle

Ebeanstalk Makes buying toys simple

I’m one of those parents that spoils their kid rotten, though in my defense he is my only child … my baby, and he doesn’t act like a spoiled brat much so this makes me feel a bit better ha! But I also prefer getting him toys that are fun AND don’t seem like educational toys even though they totally are. Now that the monster is almost 7, this is getting to be a bit tricky, that is until I browse through Ebeanstalk.com.  I think that my favorite part of the Ebeanstalk site is that they make it easy to browse by age and gender. I do most of my toy shopping for my son & nieces (who are 6.5, 4, and 2) through Ebeanstalk because I know that they have some really fun, creative, and educational toys that they will love.

With that said, I also love Ebeanstalk  because I mean at the prices on their sites,  I don’t feel bad for buying way too much for him! One of the favorites of Oj’s is the Melissa and Doug toys. He just adores their wooden car carrier, especially since he likes to watch the Repo shows with us lol. He calls it his Repo Truck. I like that the car carrier is made of something that isn’t going to break in 20 minutes and it’s like 2 toys in one;  you have the carrier as a whole & then you get the option to play with the cars just by themselves … what parent doesn’t love toys that are like that? It not only stretches your buck but helps hold their interest longer I’ve noticed.  Now on the other side of the coin, I’m shopping for a gift for a 2 year old I decided to look under the section for 2 year old toys  and one of the first things that jumped out at me were the Bathtub Finger Painting kit. I mean what kid doesn’t love to finger paint and this way the fun and mess stays where it belongs …. in the tub! It’s a win-win for everyone right?

Add in these reasons, plus the added benefit of shopping at home in my p.j.s; where the only weird stares I get are from my monster-child, and the discounts and you have one happy mama. So have you visited Ebeanstalk yet? What are you thinking of getting?

*I was given a free free product and/or was paid for this review. Any opinions expressed are my own and are not influenced in any way.

Wordless Wednesday Grad Party

Saturday we had my baby brother’s Graduation/Leaving party as he’s shipping out July 6th, for the Army and I was excited that he let me get this photo of Owen, him, and myself. I think it came out really good.

Bnter Blog Tour

Who remembers that show Kids Say The Darnedest Things?! I loved this show and remember watching it with my grandma. Who doesn’t have a kid, niece/nephew, sibling, friend …. or even themselves that has said something share-worthy?! I know I do this ALL the time .. haha! This is where Bnter comes in. Here is a brief summary of what Bnter (pronounced “Banter”) is all about from the Mom Central Team:

Bnter.com (pronounced “banter”), a social network designed for capturing conversations, proves a modern way to save those precious moments and share them with family members, friends, and followers. Web- and app-based, Bnter.com can be accessed from your laptop, ipad, or smart phone. Simple to use, free and fun, Bnter.com offers an organized means of sharing those funny moments in a more visually appealing way than simply sharing them in your Facebook or Twitter stream.

My thoughts on the Bnter.com site:

At first glance it looks like an iphone/facebook conversation and of course it’s easier to follow than a twitter conversation. I also get that since you can share it on Facebook and Twitter why you would even need to use this site. Well for me, my favorite part is that you have an easy way to share the conversations automatically to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr all the while keeping them in conversation form! What’s neat is you can even email them if you’d like. I like this because well it’s easier to follow along and it helps since Facebook and Twitter have their character limits to keep the conversation going in an even flow. I agree with some other bloggers that the site is still a work in progress but I think it’s going to be a great site. I mean the first couple times I used Facebook before it became popular I thought it sucked so I’m going to keep using Bnter.com as I really like it.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of the Bnter Campaign and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Here Home Hope Review

I’m a book-aholic if there ever was one. I love a good book and Here, Home, Hope sucked me in like nobody’s business. I couldn’t put it down and finished it in about a day and a half. With that said,  I like my books a certain way. I love the books that are not always a clear cut happy ending. I mean after all life is tough, scary, and a lot of work. Here, Home, Hope definitely sums up this. Without killing it all, I can say that  Kelly, the main character, has her share of all of the things that life is; and the way that Kaira wrote about Kelly’s happy moments & even heart-breaking moments, you could feel the real life coming out of the book.

I was really interested when I seen this Opp in my One2OneNetwork account. Going against the age old tale, I have to tell you I judged this book based on it’s cover. Speaking of the cover; there is a line on the back cover that I think sums the book up well: “This absorbing, witty story of one mother’s journey from midlife crisis to reinvention.” I think this spoke to me because yes even though I’m only 25, I’m thinking of this daily and it doesn’t help Owen starts not only 1st grade this year, but his first year of full day school. This is going to be hard because I’ve become one of those mother’s that have lost their identity in their child. So now that Oj’s going to be in school all day I’m trying to find myself again and figure out how to separate myself from Owen …. and get my mind to realize this doesn’t make me a bad mother for wanting to do so.

I just have to say (again) that the one thing I absolutely love about this book is Kaira Rouda’s writing style. It makes you feel like you were right there next to Kelly and her friends talking on the porch or that you were as angry and panicked as Patrick and Kelly were to find the party going on at their house. I will admit that I was so sucked in I may have shed a few tears in parts of the book, but I give credit to having the similar life experiences (ex: depression/cutting/eating disorder *yes these are mentioned in the book) and this is one of those happily ever after novels BUT that happily ever after doesn’t come without a struggle and I know that’s one thing I loved about this book. It showed everyone’s life isn’t as perfect as it looks on the outside and we shouldn’t judge because we don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes of their lives.

Now if you’d like to keep up-to-date with Kaira Rouda you can fan her on Facebook, follow her on Twitter, and even check her Official Website for updates and Book signings as well!

My final thoughts on this book are that it’s an easy read and perfect for those lazy summer days when you’re relaxing by the pool, or in the backyard with the kids. If you read this I’d love to have you sound off in the comments with your thoughts!

*I received a copy of the book from One2One Network to facilitate my review.

Wordless Wednesday Baseball

KinderCare saves Summer Vacation

Have you been experiencing sweaty palms? Is your heart racing? Are you running around screaming in a panic? If not you should be SUMMER VACATION is here. Yes that time of year when the teachers release those monsters angelic children of ours back into our care 24/7. Oh the sheer terror!!

Now if you’re like me, you’re thinking what in the world can I do to not only keep my loving child out of my hair, from arguing with everyone out of boardeom, AND still make sure he keeps his mind sharp for school next year? Well have no fear, KinderCare is here to help with their awesome Summer Camps. Now if you’ve never heard of these programs before here is a little information about them:

KinderCare, the nation’s largest private provider of early childhood education, asked 1,000
parents across the U.S. about plans for their preschooler’s summer. Day camps earn a top
place on families’ must-do list, with parents of preschoolers confirming that they want kids’
bodies and minds to stay active.

What more could a Super Mom ask for? I know my son butts heads with me a lot, I mean it’s not like we’re both extremely hard-headed or anything, and this would be perfect for him. He’s really excited to do the Kid’s Kitchen program. I may or may not watch A LOT of Food Network shows and he keeps telling me how we need to have our own “cooker” show. We’ve even done mock shows here at home that he thinks is so much fun. I really like that they offer their programs in two groups; Pre-k and School age kids. With the school-age kids they show them how to cook a meal but also create centerpieces, fold napkins, and set tables in preparation for their meal. Interesting enough they will even learn how to play the spoons … how cute is that?!

So what fun plans do you have for your kids this summer?

*I was given a free free product and/or was paid for this review. Any opinions expressed are my own and are not influenced in any way.