I don't know about you, but Disney's Finding Nemo is one of my all-time favorite animated feature films. This epic adventure came out when my oldest child was just a baby, so of course, I was forced to watch it over and over and over again. Not that I minded, of course. With characters like Nemo, Marlin, Crush, Dory, and Gill, I never got sick of the film, despite my toddler's insistence that he just HAD to see it about 10 times a day, EVERY day. The only issue I ever had was that Dory's little ditty "Just keep swimming" got stuck in my head and I would end up singing it as I did my housework, much to my son's amusement! Yes, we're a Nemo loving family, and this tradition has continued now that I have 2 more toddlers in my home. Sophie and Xander absolutely love all of the brightly colored fishy friends, and they sit and watch this movie in complete amazement. That's why I am so excited that Disney and PIXAR will be releasing Finding Nemo 3D this September! How cool is that?! I cannot think of a better movie to convert to 3D! This will be absolutely incredible, and it may just get me out of making the 3 hour trek to the Baltimore Aquarium. Do you think I can fool them? Hmm...I guess we'll find out in September! Check out this newly released Finding Nemo 3D trailer. If this doesn't get you excited about the release, nothing will! How awesome is that?! I know my kids will be thrilled by all of the action as Dory and Marlin search for Wallaby Way, especially now that the adventure will be 3-Dimensional! Leave it to Disney and PIXAR to make this fantastic journey even more magical for a new generation of Disney lovers!
HOW TO CONNECT: Be sure to become a fan of Finding Nemo 3D on Facebook!
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One thing I love to do after a long day is sit down with my toddlers and enjoy story time. (When I can get them to sit still, that is!) It's a great way to bond, and it also helps foster an early love of reading. Plus, I have to be honest, I absolutely love having my babies snuggled up in my lap. There is nothing better than being able to love on my babies. After all, they're only little once, and I intend to enjoy every moment of it! I am always on the lookout for great children's books that have a positive message. One book I recently discovered is part of the Cougar Cub Takes series, which is written and illustrated by Sharon Cramer. It's called "The Sneezy Wheezy Day". The Cougar Cub Tales series is one I hadn't heard of before, so I was eager to read this book and share it with my children. Cramer wrote the first book in the series, Lost and Alone about sibling rivalry, when her youngest son was born 18 years ago. As a mom to two older sons at the time, Cramer says she felt like an expert on “brotherly love” already. The second installment in the series, I’m Just Like You addresses intolerance.Cramer illustrates the Cougar Cub Tales books in watercolor, with each picture taking her between 18-24 hours to create. She chose cougar cubs because she wanted to create characters that spoke strongly of the Pacific Northwest, where she lives. This book is actually the perfect story for the winter season, since this is the time of year when colds and flus tend to run rampant. In the winter, noses will run, there will be sneezes, and at some point, everyone will experience their own sneezy wheezy day! (We haven't been afflicted yet in my home, knock on wood!) In "The Sneezy Wheezy Day", Brother Cub isn't feeling well. As a matter of fact, he feels downright awful! Sister Cub is concerned about her brother's illness, so they decide to venture into the forest to seek advice from their woodland friends. They encounter a funny variety of home remedies from their well-intentioned friends, such as "Tickle your nose with the tail of a goose and do it before the next blue moon rise!" While they get some interesting suggestions, it seems that the best remedy of all is a sibling's love. In my home, this is a very important lesson to learn, especially since my little brother and sister "cubs" are only 12 months apart in age! I really enjoyed this book, and so did my children. The story have a wonderful message with lots of laughs along the way. As you follow Brother and Sister Cubs' journey, you meet several friendly characters and can enjoy Ms. Cramer's flawless writing style and absolutely gorgeous illustrations. In my house, we HATE the Packers. (Sorry, Green Bay fans!) Despite the fact that we live in Virginia, we're actually die-hard Bears fans! Yes, I know...We were BAD this past season. Cutler got sacked 19 times in one game. We didn't even make the play-offs! In my personal opinion, we should have kept Orton. But what's done is done, and regardless of how bad the Bears have played, we still have team pride. My husband was born in Chicago, and has a life-long loyalty to "Da Bears", so I have hopped right on board and like them, too. It makes things so much more bearable on Sundays if we are rooting for the same team! When we met, I hated football, but once I started learning the five billion rules and understanding the game, I was hooked. I probably yell at the TV more than the hubby does during the games! Recently, I was looking for a humorous, unique Bears tee for my husband. Where we live, finding Chicago tees in general is impossible, so I get all of our spirit apparel online. Sure, loads of people have generic looking Bears logo tees, but I was looking for something different...Something goofy...Preferably something that showed Chicago love while dissing the Packers, our biggest rival. Sounds like a pretty tall order, huh? Much to my surprise and delight, I found exactly what I was looking for at TShirt Laundry! The Tshirt Laundry concept started in late 2009 as the brainchild of a small marketing firm. What was once a few inside jokes quickly turned into an idea for an online Tshirt company, when the owner, who loves himself a funny tee, cleverly remarked, “That would be HILARIOUS on a Tshirt!” The designs at TShirt Laundry are inspired by anything and everything – jokes, Youtube videos, TV shows and movies, current events, and more! They even have a team of designers and idea generators just itching to create your next favorite shirt! I spent quite some time looking at the great selection of tees at TShirt Laundry, and I found myself giggling at so many of the unique designs. They have everything from geeky tees to old-school, retro-inspired tees, (think 8 bit Mario!) to even some dirty tees for those who like to walk on the wild side! I absolutely love cooking. Since I make almost everything from scratch, I do have to watch for splatters, flour "explosions", and other potential mishaps that can leave my clothing in less than perfect shape. No, I am not an overly messy chef, but when there are toddlers running amock, a clumsy preteen that tends to bump into me, and a pesky little dog that seems to always be underfoot, accidents can (and often do) happen! I had never really considered wearing aprons before. After all, the vast majority of them are clunky and shapeless looking, and are anything but cute. I don't know about you, but when I am in the kitchen I don't want to feel like a boxy-looking short order cook that you'd see in a school cafeteria somewhere. So these garments, while convenient, have never been my "thing." That's until I discovered Flirty Aprons! This awesome company offers a wide variety of super-feminine, fashionable aprons that are flattering for every figure. They even make them for men and kids, too! The thing I like most about these must-have kitchen apparel is the fact that the company spares absolutely no detail, offering designs that feature great color combinations, adorable prints, and even girly frills, such as ruffles and extra-long ties, ideal for making that perfect bow! They are very reminiscent of old-school Hollywood, if you ask me, and are anything but shapeless! So I may have mentioned about 15,000 times that my husband does not like anything with tomato sauce. Weird, huh? This has forced me to get creative with recipes that call for tomato-based sauces, such as chili, spaghetti, lasagne, and many other comfort foods I crave. Recently, I decided to put a new spin on a classic: Stuffed Peppers! Rather than using marinara sauce, I decided to use salsa! Enchilada sauce or taco sauce would work well, too! These came out fantastic, and they're so darn easy, too! We all loved them! I've decided to post my recipe. If you decide to try this Mexi-fied spin on stuffed peppers, let me know what you thought! Ingredients:
I have to say, buying a Memory Foam mattress 6 years ago was the best investment I have ever made! (With the exception of cloth diapers, of course!) Memory foam mattresses are wonderful, since they can ease aches and pains by conforming to fit you body perfectly. Not to mention, they are ridiculously comfortable! The only problem? Once you sleep on a memory foam mattress, you will NEVER be able to get comfy on a traditional innerspring mattress ever again. That, and the price. They ARE expensive, but worth every penny.
Right now, you can enter to WIN a Nature's Sleep Memory Foam Mattress at Makobi Scribe! How cool is that?! To enter, simply click on the photo below to be taken to this amazing sweepstakes. Good luck! I know what you may be thinking. I can hear you now. "But Brandy, you say all the time that you don't eat seafood, and now you're reviewing it? What's the deal?" Well, one of the things I have made it a priority to do in 2012 is to try new things. I am, and always have been, the pickiest eater around. I don't eat onions, peanut butter, eggs, breakfast foods, sweets, and the list goes on and on...I think there are more things I don't eat than things I DO eat, to be honest! For the past 2 decades, seafood was at the top of my "Will Not Eat List." Why? Blame it on childhood! One year, we went to my Granny's house for some sort of family gathering. Everyone brought a dish, and food was served buffet style. I got what I thought was spaghetti. (What little kid doesn't like spaghetti?) Anyway, as I started eating my pasta dish, I noticed something rubbery and really chewy in my mouth. I took it out of my mouth, and noticed, this thing had tentacles! It was squid, hidden cleverly in my pasta. I immediately freaked out, and swore off seafood for what I thought would be the rest of my life. My irrational aversion to all things seafood has been one of my husband's major annoyances for the past several years. He loves seafood, but I am never willing to buy it. Sure, I have bought frozen fish sticks and fillets for the kids, but this does not qualify as being the "real" seafood my husband tends to crave so often. Since it happens to be a New Year, I have decided to throw my inhibitions out of the window and try something new for once. My husband's first request to test my bravery? He wants to have a Super Bowl party with a few friends, and he wants a seafood menu. I am a huge football fan, and while my team played horribly this year and didn't even make it to the Playoffs, I do watch the Super Bowl. So I quickly agreed to his suggestion, and started hunting for the BEST seafood I could find. After all, if I was going to try something new, I may as well start with the best, right? 2 Words: Bruno Mars. WOW...Just wow...This guy is so amazingly talented. He's a songwriter, has a voice of an angel, and is oh-so-versatile in his musical style. Who else can bust out some Nirvana, then go into Michael Jackson, followed by The Police and even Bob Marley? Not to mention his own songs! Oh, did I mention he can also play guitar, piano and the drums? And to top it all off, he has such an adorable personality. He's smart, sweet, and a total freaking goofball! I am completely in awe of this guy's immense talent, and frankly, have become quite obsessed. (Not in a scary, stalker-ish kind of way, though.) I even have my husband and kids grooving to some Bruno. I'll tell you, if I were not a happily married woman with kids, Bruno would be in trouble. There is nothing sexier than talent, if you ask me. He's not normally what I would consider my "type", but WOW...Just WOW...These videos speak for themselves...AMAZING!!!! You may recall I posted awhile back about a beautiful little 4 year old from my local area named Emily Hubbel. Emily loves many things that your typical little girl loves, from Justin Bieber to Barbie. She loves baking cupcakes, playing with her sisters, and always has a huge smile on her face. Sounds like any little girl, right? Well, for the past year, Emily Hubbel has been battling Neuroblastoma, a form of childhood cancer. She has been fighting for her life, and has endured several rounds of chemo-therapy, stem-cell transplants, and even 2 rounds of a more aggressive therapy called MIBG Therapy. While Emily has been very brave and maintained a positive attitude throughout her battle, treatment options are dwindling for little Emily, and her family is being forced to look into other options for their daughter's care, such as St. Jude's. Recently, the folks at Mattel have been toying with the idea of creating a Cancer-Awareness Barbie Doll. They would name her Hope. This is an idea that over 130,000 people support on Facebook, and one that little Emily would love to see come to fruition. There are so many little girls like Emily, who are suffering from childhood cancer. What better way to show them they're still beautiful, despite the effects of chemo, than to offer a Barbie that looks like them? This is an idea that I wholeheartedly support. As a matter of fact, this idea is getting a lot of buzz, and Emily and her family were featured on a local news channel last night! Take a look! Be sure to head over to Bald and Beautiful Barbie on Facebook to share your support of this awesome concept designed to raise Cancer Awareness! With enough support, this Barbie will be made and will help the self-esteem of pediatric cancer patients!
Also, be sure to help spread the word about little Emily Hubbel. You can learn more about her fight at her website. Her family can use all of the love and support that they can get as they battle NB, and they want Emily's story to be shared! I am very lucky to have 20/20 vision. I don't need glasses of any kind, and I always pass the required vision tests at the DMV with flying colors. My husband, however, is an entirely different story. He cannot see to save his life. Especially at night. I always end up reading the street names for him when we're out and about, since he just cannot see them. Dan, like a lot of men, is very stubborn, though. He refuses to go get his eyes checked. He KNOWS he needs prescription lenses, but is in severe denial. Maybe he just doesn't want to admit he's not 18 anymore, but I also think he doesn't want the added expense of prescription glasses. They can be incredibly expensive, particularly when you want higher quality, designer looking frames. Who wants to shell out hundreds of dollars on glasses? Not me, that's for sure! With one income and 3 kids, this is something that we simply cannot afford to do. So recently, when I learned about the inexpensive, high-quality prescription glasses at Just Eyewear, I couldn't pass up the chance to work with them. I dragged my blind-as-a-bat hubby over to the computer and showed him their extensive selection of frames. The first thing we noticed is that while they carry a ton of different styles, their prices won't break the bank and are very budget-friendly. Since Dan will not go see an eye-doctor just yet, he opted to choose a pair of sunglasses for our review. What better way to experience the quality of the frames and lenses than to try sunglasses? After all, many of us wear them on a daily basis! |
PR Friendly Mama!
I'm Brandy, a happily married, proud Mom of 3 amazing kids. If you're interested in building a working relationship, please feel free to e-mail me at: NewlyCrunchyMamaOf3@gmail.com Links We Love :Archives
June 2023
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