Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

Walking around Costco and other stores this past week, all I could think about was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 . Warner Brothers released Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part one on Blu-ray DVD on April 15th 2011. Seeing it on all the shelves made me want to watch it. I LOVE Harry Potter. I read all the books, I even read the last two to my daughter out loud when she was a baby. I didn’t read anything to scary, but reading out loud was the only way that I had time to actually finish the books. You know being a mom you just don’t have time for things like reading. harry potter and the deathly hallows

My husband and I had the opportunity to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 on blu-ray and I have to admit that I was actually in suspense in certain moments. I had forgotten how much had happened. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry is about to become of age and will no longer be protected under Dumbledore’s spells. Everyone that knows how important the “Chosen One” is helps to move him to a new secure location. Harry has no plans of staying there though, because he has work to do. He MUST find the remaining Horcruxes and destroy them. Even though he has no idea where they are, what they are or where to begin, he sets off with Ron and Hermione to find them. In the middle of the search Harry becomes aware of the three most powerful items that exist in the magical world; the deathly hallows. If a wizard obtains all three objects then he will be able to defy death.

Now that I’ve seen Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 I’m ready to watch the finale. I can’t wait until July 15th when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 comes out.

 

Also soon to come is the final installment of the Harry Potter saga, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™ – Part 2 the videogame the sequel to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 . Based on the upcoming Warner Bros. Pictures film, and featuring the most epic battles to date, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 the videogame promises an unforgettable interactive finale. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 the videogame, licensed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, will be available for Xbox 360®, PlayStation®3, Wii™, Nintendo DS and PC in July 2011.

 

Disclosure – A product was provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the writing of this review; however, opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation

$250.00 SavvySource Summer Camp Sweepstakes

Speaking of Summer Camp do you have your summer camp check list. Sending your kids off to a week of summer camp takes preparation and organization, two things I’m very lacking in. Labeling everything they own is one of those things that should be on your todo list too. But before I can even think of those things, I’m thinking about the COST of summer camp. So is SavvySource!!!

SavvySource is giving away $250.00 to use towards summer camp to five different families. You know, because summer camp can get pretty pricey, I guess it just depends on what you are looking for. And the SavvySource Summer Camp website has everything you need to find a great summer camp right at your fingertips.

If you are interested in learning more about their summer camp $250.00 sweepstakes then all you need to do is check out their sweepstakes page. But here are the basics!

Summer Camp

To Enter:

Visit the sweepstakes page and give them your name and e-mail address. Then you tell your friends about the sweepstake and every time they visit you get an entry. You have the opportunity to share a direct link to the site to your friends over e-mail, or you can share your link directly over twitter and Facebook from their page. Remember, the more people you get to enter, the more chances you have to win.

 

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Easter Memories at Grandmas with Angie

Many of us are preparing a menu for Easter Sunday, and I can tell you many of the dishes that I will be serving are those that have been served by my mother, grandmother and other wonderful cooks in our family. I love the featured dishes of course like potatoes, ham, rolls, and veggies but what I have always loved the most have been the delicious pudding salads that in my family are not considered dessert but part of the meal. At grandmas you could always tell the difference because you never got dessert before you ate your dinner.

One recipe I really enjoy making is Watergate Salad. Another is Orange Mandarin Salad and the recipe is shared here.

Orange Mandarin Salad Recipe

1 large package orange Jell-O
3 C. water
1 large package Cook and Serve Vanilla pudding mix
2 small cans or 1 large can mandarin oranges, drained
1 pint whipping cream, whipped or 1 8 oz. Cool Whip

Cook together in a saucepan the pudding mix and water. Add Jell-O and refrigerate until thickened, but not set. Add whipped cream or Cool Whip. Fold in mandarin oranges. Refrigerate until set.

imageHave you planned your dinner for Easter? Will you be eating out, going to visit at another home, or preparing the meal at home. When I was a child my parents always went to our grandparents for Easter dinner. We would attend church dressed in our Easter best and then after church we would head to the house of my moms mom. My mother would help prepare the meal for the crowd of individuals who would soon be there. My dad would most times take us to the park for an Easter egg hunt that the town community leaders hosted. So much fun.

I am sure that if you will be hosting the Easter dinner you will be making plans let me share with you a few tips that I hope will help you make your plans:

Planning a menu (this you may have did all ready) is something that is best done as soon as possible. Printing out the recipes for each dish you will prepare allows you to have all at hand and if others are interested in helping they can easily do so. My grandmother always had my mom, her sisters and even us older girls busy with dinner prep. I am like my granny in many ways, I like to delegate jobs to my teens, hubby and sometimes even friends that come for dinner. One thing that I remember our family always doing is bringing a dish to share with the dinner my mother did this often when we would eat at my Grandmothers house and she does it even when she comes to a dinner party that I plan at my house. I often take dishes when I go to eat at others homes as well. One great thing is that when you know what you have planned for dinner you can make suggestions of what dishes your friends and family to bring.

A day or two ahead of time make sure that you have all the dishes, utensils, serving tools, napkins, candles, and what ever else you will need for the dinner available. As far as where guest would sit there were no real rules. My grandmother only had one rule no kids in the dining room where there was carpet on the floor. Rather we could eat in the kitchen at the table and an adult would often sit with us. I always hated this as I wanted to know what the adults were talking about. Their conversation always seemed more important as if any news was going on it was discussed there. The announcements of new births, marriages, and upcoming surprises were announced at the adult table which was in another room away from us. Perhaps that is why in my house when I entertained I always had the adult table and the child’s table in the same room. That way there is no way to miss out on any juicy gossip or great news. It is best to plan how guest will sit at your table prior to guest arriving so if you have not thought about this may be a great time to do so.

Drinks are another thing that you must consider when planning a party. This is one area that I do not think that neither my grandmother, mom or me had a plan for. My mom and grandma were always individuals who liked to serve their guest. The guest never had to leave the table after dipping their plate as they would serve drinks, dessert and cleanup as well. As far as me these are areas delegated to my teens to make and serve drinks, dessert and cleanup is something I feel my guest can help with. One cute idea you may want to try if you do not like to serve or have others serve is to get a large tub and place ice and drinks in them for guest to serve their selves.

Dinners were always served banquet style at my grandmothers house with dishes prepared and set out in line to be dipped on the counter and table. There was always large amounts of everything and sometimes it seemed too much. At my mothers house the dishes were served family style with dishes being passed around for all to serve their selves. My home has been a bit of everything from cafeteria style where I dipped most plates, buffet style and at times but not as many family style like at my mothers. How will you serve your meal?

My hope is that you enjoying your Easter preparation and gain great memories while doing so.

thanks Angie,

Angie will be taking a break from bringing us her memories every week. She’s quite busy with her own successful blog, and working outside of the home. We will miss her and hope she returns soon.

About Angie:

Angie is going to be bringing us meals and memories as a weekly contributor here at Mom Start called Memories at Grandmas. She writes daily at Shop Annies, Annies Home where she constantly shares recipes, tips, and wonderful products she and her family of six children uses.

Unique Ways to Use Scotch Magic Eco-Friendly Tape

A Unique Scotch Magic Eco-Friendly Tape from 3M Review By Rachel.

Tape is a very handy tool. I think that goes without saying. It’s kind of an emergency around here when we run out of tape. Especially Scotch tape! Ever wrapped a present using blue painter’s tape? Well, I have. More than once. It’s kind of embarrassing. I also have a very creative, crafty daughter who comes up with more ways to use up our stash of Scotch tape than I ever thought imaginable. I generally buy it in bulk at Costco.

clip_image002Out here in the great Pacific Northwest, we like to ‘be green’. You know, recycle and compost and grow organic wheat grass and stuff like that. We have a bit of a reputation for being ‘tree huggers’ and hippies and wearing wool socks with our Birkenstocks… I admit it, the shoe fits! I have been known to hug trees while wearing Birkenstocks (wearing a flannel shirt and a down vest, in the rain, no less!), and when possible, I try to make environmentally conscious decisions about the products we use. But honestly, it never occurred to me to be concerned about the type of tape I used. Other than using a refillable dispenser, I didn’t know there was an option, other than your run-of-the-mill, Scotch tape.

Not so! Scotch has come out with new Magic Eco-Friendly Tape! Just like normal Scotch tape, but eco-friendly! So I tried it out. We used it just like we would use regular tape… Meaning, I left it on the desk, and my kids found all sorts of uses for it: Taping papers together to make books; Making huge signs and taping them in the front windows of my house (We’re classy like that.); Repairing torn pages in library books; Taping toy trucks to our feet to make roller skates…

clip_image004No, seriously. My daughter did this, just today! And it’s not the first time she’s done it either.I figured that was pretty good timing, since I was reviewing the product! This tape worked just as well for all of the above uses as regular Scotch tape. And it takes some pretty good tape to hold these suckers on your feet while skating around the living room!(You’ll have to excuse the dirt on my carpet and the dog hair on my daughter’s socks… Maybe somebody will send me a really good vacuum cleaner to review???) as you can see, this looks just like the regular Scotch tape that we all know and love. The dispenser is the same, the logo is the same. The tape looks, feels, and sticks the same! The only thing I can say about it that is NOT the same is the small. You know that Scotch tape smell? I love that smell. I know that’s probably kind of weird, but I like it. This tape really doesn’t smell like much of anything, and honestly, that’s probably a good thing.

Scotch Magic Eco-Friendly Tape, as described by the company:

  • Refillable dispenser (including packaging and tape) is made from more than 75 percent renewable or recycled materials
  • Tape is made with plant-based adhesive and works just like the original Scotch Magic Tape
  • Refill rolls of Scotch Magic Eco-Friendly Tape are also available
  • MSRP: $2-4 for a refillable dispenser and roll of tape; $5-7 for a two-pack of refill rolls
  • Same great adhesive strength and performance of original matte-finish, invisible Scotch Magic Tape
  • Photo-safe
  • Can be written on with pen, pencil or marker

 

Disclosure – A product was provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the writing of this review; however, opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation

About Rachel

Rachel is also a MOMS club member. She is thankful for the blessing of staying home to raise her three crazy, wonderful kids. In addition to scrapbooking, she likes knitting, gardening, reading, blogging and otherwise avoiding the housework she should be doing. You can read about her adventures and disasters at rachel’s ramblings.

The 75,000 American Express Membership Rewards Points Program Level

In celebration of their 20th Anniversary, American Express launched a new advertising campaign that showcases the endless possibilities that exist within the Membership Rewards program. American Express Membership Rewards Points Program is so easy to navigate, the only trouble is with all the choices how in the world do you make a decision to redeem your program member points? More than likely we would redeem our points for gift cards, American Express Gift Cards. Or I might just use the points to shop through one of the merchants that they have partnered with.

American Express LogoRemember the Key Points:

Points don’t expire

Travel Your Way/ Pay with Points

Find some really great deals

More Options

Redeeming is EASY

Now, I’ve been going through different points levels every week. I picked out my top 5 at 25,000 points, my top five at 50,000 points and now my top five at 75,000 points. And here they are in three different categories.

In The Technology

My husband needs a new set of Bose QuietComfort 15 Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones with Graphite 8GB Apple iPod Nano

Bose CineMate GS Series II Digital Home Theater Speaker Systemimage

Samsung 32” 720p LCD TV with Monster ScreenClean

Microsoft Xbox 4GB with Kinect Sensor Quick Charge Kit and Wireless Headset

Samsung 10.1 Netbook with Built Sleeve

In the Home

Dyson Air Multiplier Bladeless Tower Fan

Viking Professional 5 Qt Stand Mixer and Blender

Victorinox 8-Piece Forged Block Set Victorinox Swiss Army

KitchenAid Professional 600 Series Bowl-Lift Stand Mixer with Bonus Food Grinder Attachement

Hoover Platinum Collection Lightweight Bagged Upright with Canister

In the Fashion and Accessories Category

The Jewelers Collection Parikh 14K White Gold Diamond Stud Earrings

Roberto Coin 18K white Gold Diamond Star Necklace

Burberry Giant Check Cashmere Scarf

Burberry Penrose Wallet

Antwerp Diamonds Diamond “Star of Brilliance” Fashion Ring White Gold

 

What would you choose for 75,000 American Express Program Points?

 

 

Disclosure: I am being compensated for my participation in American Express’ Membership Rewards Program through complimentary Membership Rewards Points. Thanks to American Express for providing the $100 American Express Gift Card giveaway prize. Information about the Membership Rewards Program has been provided by American Express. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

Disneynature Presents African Cats

African Cats Movie PosterLast weekend Zoe and I had the opportunity to watch African Cats in the theater. We headed off to have a mommy daughter day and started off with a great walk in the mall. Then we went to watch the movie, African Cats, and I showed her the poster of what we were going to watch, and she looked up at me with her big blue eyes and said, Mom, Those are LIONS not cats.

Yes, she’s right African Cats is about a family of lions, some cheetahs and a male lion with territory issues. In the African Savannah where this story takes place there is a north pride and a south pride of lions. The family in the south is known as the river pride and they have one male protector named fang. Now Fang is getting older and doesn’t seem to have any sons to take his place, but the male in the north, he has four male sons all old enough to fight, but the south pride is protected by the river but seasons do change and rivers dry up.

clip_image001

Samuel L. Jackson narrates the story of how Mara one of the lion cubs to Fang and one of the many lionesses belonging to him. Mara strives to be just like her mother in spirit. Who is one of the older lionesses and will do anything to protect her daughter even if that means that she has to stay behind because she is too old to go on. She even convinced her sister in the pride to adopt her daughter Mara, it was amazing to watch how the two lions communicated their needs to each other. She then left the pride to die on her own

Zoe loved watching all of the animals interact with each other. And I let her ask as many questions as she wanted as long as she whispered. One of her questions was, Mommy, why do Lions eat other animals. Thankfully, it really wasn’t graphic, but we did watch when the Cheetah took down a gazelle. Speaking of the Cheetah family, Sita is the mother of five baby cubs when the movie begins and she is all alone taking care of her babies. She doesn’t have a pride like the lions do to help her in any way. She has to care for them, feed them, and protect them all at one time. As we follow Sita she loses two of her children one night to a pack of Hyenas. I almost cried my eyes out as Zoe was aksking me what happened. We didn’t see it happen but we could hear how sad Sita was as she called out to her lost babies.

We then follow the families through the seasons as each family has to learn some very hard lessons.

 

 

African Cats is very educational and does not shy away from any of the facts of life, or the “circle of life”. Animals are born, babies and old animals die. Animals eat other animals, and even though Zoe was scared of some of the scenes she also found it to be one of the best movies she’s ever seen, “Mommy, this is a really Fun movie” I also greatly enjoyed watching Afican Cats and was quite impressed with how close they were or seemed to be to these wild animals.

During opening week, April 22-28th a portion of the proceeds from the ticket’s sales will be donated to the African Wildlife Foundation to protect the Amoseli Wildlife Corridor.

 

We received screener passes to preview this great movie. No compensation was received.

Giveaway Jingle Link Up Your Giveaway Here

You’ve got a giveaway, I want to know about it! Oh, and if you list your giveaway on Mom Start facebook page then I will tweet it out to all of my twitter followers. At 8800 followers and growing all the time! Cool? I hope so!

 

boy with ballons

 

I’ve got a few giveaways you might want to check out too!

Prepare Your Lawn for Summer TruStories TruGreen Sweepstakes & Giveaway

Oh wow, it’s Spring, Of course if you live where I live you would hardly know it. My neighbor sent me this the other day and it cracked me up…

INSTALLING SPRING…

███████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 44% DONE.

Install delayed….please wait.

Installation failed. Please try again. 404 error: Season not found.

Season "Spring" cannot be located. The season you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable. Please try again.

Well, for much of the country I’m pretty sure it’s arrived and then summer will be here before you know it, unless you’re already in the 90’s and if feels like summer is upon you. Anyways according to Ben Hamza, Ph.D., director of technical operations at TruGreen, there are a few spring lawn and landscape tips to prepare your yard for a healthy summer:

1. Clean Area: Thoroughly clear dead leaves and debris from flower beds and lawn that may impede new spring growth.

2. Prune: Conduct corrective pruning of trees and shrubs to enhance plant appearance and vigor, and thin rather than top-shear overgrown shrubs and trees to preserve their overall shape. Make sure not to prune trees and shrubs that bloom in early spring, with the exception of removing dead branches.

3. Mulch: When your lawn is actively growing, return grass clippings back to the soil for added lawn nutrients and consider using composted materials to nourish plants. Apply three inches of organic mulch to base of shrubs and trees to help conserve soil moisture and to reduce weed pressure, but be mindful not to cover the flare of the tree base.

4. Right Plant, Right Place: Plant the right type of grass for your lawn to ensure a green, healthy turf. Where grass has difficulty growing, plant shade-adapted ground covers for landscape appeal.

5. Feed: Spring lawn, tree and shrub roots seek nourishment after the dormancy of winter. Keep fertilizer on target to prevent run-off and sweep fertilizer granules that may reach pavement back onto your lawn. Use a trained professional company, such as TruGreen, that offers customized solutions to lawn and landscape problems based on your region’s needs.

6. Check Irrigation: Follow the owner’s operating manual to take an automated sprinkler system out of hibernation. Ensure sprinkler heads and related water lines are working properly. Give your lawn a slow, steady watering about once a week, but adjust depending upon rainfall, grass and soil type in your area. Also ensure the irrigation system covers your landscape efficiently. For example, you can place a one-inch deep food can in the middle of the lawn area to measure the depth of water collected after each watering cycle to ensure uniformity.

7. Protect Against Elements: The beautiful blooms of spring are vulnerable to frost. With an expected cold snap, cover flowering plants before the sun goes down to maximize heat trapped by the plants. Create a tent of warmth with plastic tarps, cardboard, bed sheets or special plant frost protection blankets available at your local nursery or home improvement retailer.

My Botanic Planet.com

TruGreen collaborated with Memphis Botanic Garden to launch My Botanic Planet.com, a free online educator resource to inspire K-5 students’ interest in the diverse plant world. Go towww.mybotanicplanet.comto access national standardized lessons in botany and related games and activities to organize with your children.

mybotanicplanet-trugreen

About the TruStories Sweepstakes:

SweepsLogo

TruGreen wants to know your stories, yes your lawn stories. To celebrate your real stories for creating your ideal outdoor living rooms by offering the TruGreen TruStories Sweepstakes. The Grand Prize winner will receive a $25,000 MasterCard reward card, perfect for creating a backyard oasis to share with family and friends. WOW, 25,000.00. what an awesome prize!

In addition, 50 first prize $500 MasterCard reward cards and 38 weekly prize $250 MasterCard reward cards will be awarded. The sweepstakes is open to legal U.S. residents 18 years or older. Go to www.TruGreenSweepstakes.com/winnow through October 16, 2011, to enter and to obtain official sweepstakes rules. Entrants can also participate by printing their name, complete address, daytime and evening phone numbers, age, email address and “The TruStories Sweepstakes” on a 3”x5” card and mail it to: “The TruStories Sweepstakes,” P.O. Box 511215, New Berlin, WI 53151 or “The TruStories Sweepstakes,” P.O. Box 511425, New Berlin, WI 53151. No purchase is necessary to enter or to win.

Here on MomStart…TruGreenTreeandShrubSpecialist

Enter to Win:

$125 TruGreen gift card good for approximately two TruGreen treatments for lawn, tree and shrub care. Because each homeowner’s lawn is different, a licensed TruGreen specialist can recommend what treatment would be best for the card recipient’s yard.

To Enter:

Tell me about your lawn and what it needs?

Extra Entries:

Tweet or RT this post and include the link to the post

Prepare Your Lawn for Summer TruStories TruGreen Sweepstakes & #Giveaway @Momstart http://bit.ly/gRtDG8

and or

Enter to Win 2 TruGreen treatments $125.00 Value #Giveaway @Momstart http://bit.ly/gRtDG8 Ends 5/9 http://fb.me/PpjaUIlB

Subscribe to MomStart
Comment on any non-giveaway post
List this giveaway on any giveaway site, dig, stumble, like or share on Facebook (or use any of the share options listed below)
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This giveaway ends May 9th. All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

Our Recycling Progress

For the longest time, I’ve been worried about how we had the largest trash can on the block. We don’t have the biggest size you can get but our next door neighbors, a family of six had a smaller trash can than us and we only have four family members. So I set out to lower our trash can size by recycling more. Inside, we had to get some fancy trash cans,which are also known as brabantia bins. Ours are actually just like a brabantia touch bin that you don’t actually have to touch. (You just swipe your hand over them to open them, so no touch).

RecycleSymbolWith a double style fancy trash can, two cans in one bin, we have one side, the right side (r for recycling, r for right) for recycling and one side for trash. So we’re trying really hard to keep our recycling and trash at 50/50 at least, but I would say we’re much closer to 70/30 recycling to trash. Which means we were able to go down in our trash can size saving us about 34.00 on our trash bill. Woo Hoo! We’re saving the environment just a little and putting some green (money) back into our pockets.

Living in The Pacific Northwest recycling is a way of life. We’re fined in some areas if recycling material is found in our trash cans. So I err on the side of it’s recyclable and needs to be recycled rather than it’s trash. Remember, when you’re doing your spring cleaning, think of other uses for what you have. Have a garage sale. Sell your electronics or find an electronics recycle day. Do the same thing for chemical products such as paint and cleaners. There are ways to get rid of most items we use every day in ways that will reduce the amount of trash you have every day. Check out our post on 31 ways to make your life more green.

 

 

Promotional Tag

How about a Hawaiian Luau Accessory Package Giveaway

If you noticed on our Melba Toast Review, Zoe is quite ready to go to a Luau. And then if getting that Lei wasn’t enough to put her into the Hawaiian spirit in Sunday School on Sunday she received another special necklace from Hawaii. Her teacher went there and gave everyone necklaces. Well this girl is ready to pack her bags and go off to Hawaii.melba 

I can’t send her there or you guys, but perhaps I can help you guys all get in the Hawaiian spirit with a hawaiian giveaway. We’ve teamed up with Annie’s Costumes again, or rather her partner Luau Costumes and we’re giving away an accessory pack!

About Annie’s Costumes and Luau Costumes

Annie’s Costumes  and LuauCostumes is part of the Extreme Halloween Network. The amount of costumes to choose from is the largest that I’ve seen around.

clothingbutSince 1996, we have provided customers the most unique adult costumes, children costumes and costume accessories that add detail and will make your costume so memorable! We have thousands of costumes to choose from. Our child costumes range from size newborn to teen. With every kind of costume from Care Bears to Nickelodeon characters to Disney characters and, of course, those classic costumes such as fairy princesses, pirates, witches and cowboys, we sell children costumes they will play dress-up with all year! Our adult size costumes range from petite up to 3XL. Adult selections include costumes from every period in time from biblical to the futuristic fantasy realms, movie and television characters and every costume style in between.

 

Enter to Win:

Luau Accessory and Party Decor Package worth $25

To Enter:

Tell me what you do for Easter!

Extra Entries:

Become a Fan of Annie’s Costume on facebook

Follow Annie’s Costumes on Twitter

Tweet or RT this post and include the link to the post

 

Follow me on twitter tell me your twitter ID
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Comment on any other non-giveaway post 
List this giveaway on any giveaway site, dig or stumble
Blog About this Giveaway (5 extra entries, linking to the giveaway)
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This giveaway ends May 9th, All rules can be found under giveaway rules.