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Buy General Mills cereal and go to movies – Giveaway

Posted on November 16, 2009 10:00 am by TheAngelForever

Since I had my oldest son, over six years ago, I can count the number of times I have seen a movie in the theater on one hand. Sad to say, but very true. At first it was trying to find time to go with a newborn, then it was what to see with a child and quickly after that can we afford to go with the skyrocketing price of admission?

Imagine buying some of your favorite cereals and being able to submit codes to get free tickets to see a movie. The great news is that this is a reality. There is a current promotion from General Mills called e-movie cash.

When I was contacted about this promotion, it was news to me. We buy a lot of the participating cereal, but I had not seen the boxes in our stores yet. I was sent a "Movie Moment" prize pack that included 4 e-movie cash certificates ($12 each) and one free coupon for a free General Mills Cereal.

As soon as our tickets arrived, my husband and I started to think. Should we see what family movies are coming out and try to take both of the boys? Or, should we do two date nights to the movies for the two of us? We still have not decided, but are working on that now that several new movies that look interesting are coming out.

Details about the e-movie cash promotion:

Starting in November, you can receive a free movie ticket when you purchase two specially marked packages of General Mills’ Cereals. After purchasing two cereals, visit generalmills.com/moviecash to enter the code found inside each box of cereal and print your free movie certificate good for admission to any movie.

Participating brands include select sizes of: Honey Nut Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms, Trix and Reese’s Peanut Butter Puffs.

To find a participating theater near you, log onto http://emoviecash.com/dis_locator/.

I know that we will be buying more of the participating cereals (love Honey Nut Cheerios and Cinnamon Toast Crunch in our house) and log the code from the specially marked boxes to obtain some additional e-movie cash for our family. At this time every little bit helps, especially when you can use something you already buy to score some nice family entertainment for free.

Giveaway:

Thanks to MyBlogSpark and General Mills, one lucky reader will win their very own "Movie Moment" prize pack. Remember, this includes 4 e-movie cash certificates ($12 each) and one free coupon for a General Mills cereal.

Rules for Giveaway:

MAIN RULE – Answer the following question: What was the first movie that you or your child saw in a movie theater?
1 Bonus Entry – Follow me on Twitter @TheAngelForever and Tweet about the giveaway. Be sure to include @TheAngelForever and General Mills "Movie Moment" prize pack in the Tweet. Please leave a direct link to your Tweet in a separate comment for each daily entry. Example Tweet (feel free to use): Would you like to go to the movies free? Enter for a chance to win a "Movie Moment" prize pack from @TheAngelForever http://bit.ly/1WVIJ2
1 Bonus Entry – What is your favorite General Mills cereal?
1 Bonus Entry – Subscribe to my RSS feed (or let me know if you already are) in a separate comment.
1 Bonus Entry – Who will you take to the movie and what would you like to see?
1 Bonus Entry – Leave a comment on any of my non-giveaway posts from the month of November. Be sure to leave a comment here to let me know which one.
3 Bonus Entries – Write a post on your blog linking to my blog about the General Mills "Movie Moment" prize pack giveaway. Be sure to leave 3 comments about this to get credit for all of your extra entries

To enter, please follow the rules above within the comment section. Contest starts today November 16th and ends at 10:59 EST on December 3, 2009. You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but must leave a valid e-mail address for me to contact you for mailing address once the giveaway is over. I will select the winner using random.org and contact you via e-mail. You will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If there is no response, another winner will be selected. Open to U.S. residents only.

Disclosure: I received the "Movie Moment" prize pack from MyBlogSpark and General Mills as a thank you for sharing this information with my readers. No other compensations was given. The opinions expressed in the review are my own feelings about the promotion.

Categories:
fun giveaway Movies Product review

For the love of Legos

Posted on November 14, 2009 10:46 am by TheAngelForever

Dear NHL & JSL,

The two of you are constantly playing with your Lego blocks the last few weeks. We had one big container of the Quatro and Duplo blocks together in the living room. Of course, the problem was creative differences between the two of you. NHL, you want to build things and leave them to be admired for extended periods of time. JSL, would rather keep taking down creations and building new items. This has become an issue since NHL created his bench of Legos that prominently sits in the living room.

This morning as you were fighting over Legos and your creative differences, I asked Daddy to head to the basement. Little did you know that we have had a treasure chest just waiting for you. Thanks to Aunt S and Uncle M, we had their giant box of Legos waiting for just the right time. (Thanks again to Aunt S and Uncle M)

I wish I had gotten a photo of your faces when you saw the monster box . I think it is safe to say that you were both very happy. Almost an hour later you are still sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor with Daddy exploring all that there is within that fabulous box of Legos.

No doubt there will still be creative differences, but now there are so many more options to be had. I can not wait to see the things that you both build with your imaginations.

Love,

Mommy

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If you want to participate in Dear Kid Saturday, head on over to Cutest Kid Ever by clicking on the button below.

Categories:
brothers Dear Kid Saturday fun jsl nhl photos play time weekend

A warm November day

Posted on November 10, 2009 10:17 am by TheAngelForever

Typically, temperatures in November get quite chilly here. Lows are usually in the 30’s and highs could climb into the 40’s. It is certainly not the type of weather that one would take their child to the park for an extended length of time. The temperatures have soared to highs in the 60’s the last few days. Thanks to this, I took JSL to the park yesterday. It was just the two of us for an hour or so and we had a fabulous time. Every day, he has been begging me to take him to the park to go "Wheeeee" on the slides. It was so nice to be able to grant him this simple desire.

When we arrived at the park, he bolted away from me. Usually when we are at the park, JSL follows his big brother around. It was so fun to watch and see where he would go on his solo mission.

Of course, my camera was in the car . . . so I used my new cell phone to snap some of our precious memories. There was no way I could rip the little guy away from the park to go and get my camera. They may not be the best, but they certainly capture the moments. After he let go of my hand, he made a beeline for the little train slide.

Once he did this a few times, JSL was ready to run to the bigger slides. Over and over again, he climbed up the ladder. Why go up the easy steps when you can give Mom gray hairs? He would stop on the bridge area to jump a few times and look through the bars to laugh at me.

Then he would go over and over to the big twisty slide. JSL had no fear since the playground was empty and loved the freedom to pick what he wanted.

After a few times down the twisty slide, I convinced him to try the tunnel to another section. He hesitated, but then realized he could play peek-a-boo with me. He kept going over and over and of course I kept missing him. He was too fast and thought it was funny that I was getting bad "cheese" (= photos to a 2 year old) over and over. Eventually I got this which is a big favorite of mine.

Soon, JSL decided it was time to check out more of the park. On our way, I noticed there was a single tree that actually had leaves on it. The tree was gorgeous and a vibrant red color. I went under it and took the following photo.

Then it was time for JSL to channel his inner dinosaur. He needed a boost to get up. Once he was on the dino, he was roaring and rocking out. He had a great time, but quickly wanted to move to more things.

I was shocked he did not want to go on the giant slide at this point. Instead, he picked the "round and round wheee" ride as he called it. This did not last too long. In an attempt to grant me even more gray hairs, JSL kept letting go and trying to stand up while it was moving around.

I was able to convince him to follow me to the swings. He wanted to go on the regular ones, but those are not made for a two year old little boy. I put him into the swings for kids that look more like odd contraptions and he could not see anything. I tried to take a photo, but had used up my cell phone memory (oops!). This seemed like the perfect time to call it a day. I told JSL it was time to head home. We only had an hour to eat lunch before it was time to head to school to pick up NHL.

The weather is supposed to be mild again today, but not as sunny. Perhaps we will have another adventure in the park together. It is days like this that I remember why I am so lucky to be a stay-at-home Mom!

Categories:
fun jsl kid talk photos play time sahm weather

Kid concerts then and now

Posted on November 6, 2009 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

As a child, I remember going to quite a few shows. One of my favorite memories was seeing Rosenshontz. They were wonderful at engaging the audience, getting the kids to sing/dance and even got the parents to act silly. This was back in the day when you saw singing groups in small intimate groups and were all close to the stage. To this day, I still remember some of the catchy and fun tunes. . . they are classic! Here is the cover of one of my favorite albums:

Flash forward to the other night. We took our boys to see The Wiggles. This year, it was in a much different venue and the show style had changed. Not only did The Wiggles sing and dance, but they also showed althleticism. I kid you not, the Wiggles Go Bananas tour seemed like a hybrid of Cirque du Soleil meets The Wiggles. It was amazing watching Anthony stand on his head, do cartwheels, and fly in the air. Even Captain Feathersword got into the act. Here’s a video that we took of one of the classic Wiggles songs. At the end of the clip, you will see a little of what I mean with Jeff and Captain Feathersword (there was so much more with crazy props and things).

This weeks question is inspired by The Wiggles and my memories of Rosenshontz.

What was your favorite concert that you went to as a child? Do you take your children to concerts? If you do which ones?

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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the MckLinky there if you are participating.

Aloha #73

Categories:
Aloha Friday fun looking back Music show video

Going Bananas for The Wiggles

Posted on November 5, 2009 11:49 am by TheAngelForever

For over a month, we have been telling the boys that we are going to see The Wiggles soon. That day finally arrived. NHL understood what we were talking about. He is a pro and has seen The Wiggles twice before this. JSL had no idea. This was his first Wiggles live experience (Six Flags does not count). He probably figured we were taking him to watch a DVD in a new location.

When we arrived at the venue, we bought the program for the show. We really did not need shirts, we have tons of DVDs/CDs, and can get the stuffed toys from Wiggles World at Six Flags if we need/want them. The boys were thrilled with this. While the little guy looked around the theater, NHL and I browsed through the program. Then JSL saw it and well, it was his from this point on.

The theater filled up pretty nicely. Of course before the show, TechyDad and I joked that tons of sick kids would probably be there to spread things like the flu and more. Sure enough, a group sat next to me. As I was feeding JSL a snack I heard her on the cell phone telling someone that her child had been sent home from daycare. Why? Oh, because the child had a fever. The best part – several other kids in the facility had already tested positive for H1N1. GRRR!

About 20 minutes before the show, they put on a DVD that was advertising The Wiggles and their affiliation with Sprout.

The sad part is, anyone in our area that has Time Warner Cable does not receive Sprout – like us. JSL was so thrilled. When it was over he was upset. We tried to explain that this was not the show and The Wiggles were really coming. They played this video one more time and then the show started soon after.

JSL sat on my lap so he could see over the railing near our seats. His body stopped cold in it’s tracks the second he saw Jeff come onto the stage. Of course, this was nothing. Each time a new Wiggle arrived onto the stage he grabbed my hand and just kept staring and the smile got bigger and bigger!

The part that really got him was when the Big Red Car came onto the stage.

While JSL took it all in and watched The Wiggles, big brother NHL was up dancing and singing the entire concert.

He had a fabulous time watching this very different Wiggles show. At the end of the night, as we were walking to the car, I asked NHL which was his favorite Wiggles show. He said this one since he did not remember the others too much and then complained. Why was he complaining – the poor kid had no voice from singing along with The Wiggles for an hour and a half!

TechyDad and I both loved the show. Not only was it wonderful watching the boys as they enjoyed the show, we thought it was a great production. The Wiggles Go Bananas tour was like a Cirque du Soleil and Wiggles production combined. Confused? Not to worry more photos coming soon to explain what I mean. TechyDad took some amazing photos and fun videos that I will share to tell the store. The Wiggles actually encourage their fans to take as many photos and videos as you like – sweet!