2011 November — MomStart

DreamWorks War Horse Seattle #TweetDrive 2011 Swag Bag Sponsor @SeaTweetDrive

November 27, 2011 By Momstart 3 Comments

I love working with Disney and Dreamworks and I’m super excited about walking the red carpet next weekend with Steven Spielberg. Well, he’ll be taking photos for the media while I’m walking the red carpet with 20 of my best blogging buddies. But good news SEATTLE!!! War Horse is coming to you too!

I have War Horse Screening tickets to give to the first 100 people that show up for the Seattle TweetDrive December 1 2011 at 5:30 at the Hard Rock.

Screening Date: Wednesday, December 14

Screening Time: 7:00PM

Location: AMC Pacific Place (600 Pine St, Seattle)

Join us on Thursday December 1st for a Kick-off to the Holiday season party at The Hard Rock! "Price" of admission to this fabulous party is a new toy for Treehouse! Last year, we gathered 330 toys. Can we break that record this year?

Come for the Tweetup at 5:30; stay for the music at 8:30.

The Seattle Tweet Drive is part of a national event, Holiday Tweet Drive, taking place in 36 cities. We’re collecting toys for Treehouse. Treehouse serves over 5,000 foster kids annually.

In conjunction with the Seattle Tweet Drive, MySeattleNightOut.com will hold the finale of an 8-week Jammin’ Challenge at 8:30 p.m. Come for the Tweet Drive; stay for the music! If you arrive after 8:30pm, admission to the event is a new toy for Treehouse or a suggested cash donation of $15.00. Seattle Wave Radio Jammin’ Challenge will give one lucky and talented local artist or band an opportunity to play on-stage with some of the “greats” in the Seattle music scene at Play it Forward, the All Star, Icon Jam with Music Aid Northwest on Jan 14, 2012.

Follow @SEAtweetdrive on Twitter, and please use #TweetDrive when tweeting about the event.

Filed Under: charity Tagged With: dreamworks, Seattle Tweetdrive, tweetdrive, tweetdrive 2011, War Horse

Quick & Easy Snowflake Snack Recipe

November 27, 2011 By Momstart 19 Comments

For a fun treat I made the kids edible snowflakes. It was really quite an easy and quick snack to make. I found the recipe in the Family Fun Kids magazine that comes out in January.

Snowflake Snack Recipe

Ingredients:

Scissors
Tortillas
Cinnamon
Sugar
Butter Spray

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees
Fold Tortillas in half and then half again
Cut shapes out of the tortilla
Unfold
Spray with butter
Sprinkle with cinnamon & sugar
Heat for 5-10 minutes

Let cool and serve

Filed Under: recipe Tagged With: holiday recipe, snowflake snack, tortilla

Robot Making Crafts with Zoe and Miles: Disney Family Fun Kids Magazine

November 27, 2011 By Momstart 11 Comments

We need craft ideas, one because Zoe adores art and crafts two because it rains a lot here. So when Disney Publishing offered to send me a copy of Disney’s new Family Fun Kids magazine I said yes please do send my way.

From the editors at Disney FamilyFun magazine, Disney FamilyFun Kids celebrates and enhances kids’ creative abilities with ideas, games, and puzzles that they can explore on their own. The magazine is designed to be a tactile product with high quality, family and kid-tested activities. There are no rules – kids can write in it, cut it up or fold pages – and they’re encouraged to do so!

So to make our robots this is what we did. We got out all our supplies and rounded up some boxes and construction paper.

How To Make A Robot out of a Box

Directions:

We wrapped up two boxes with construction paper

Then the kids decorated the boxes

We put on legs and wings

And we ended up with these fun box robots.

We received a few supplies and magazine from Disney Publishing.

Filed Under: crafts, personal Tagged With: crafts, Disney Family Fun Kids, how to make a robot, junk robot

Johnsonville Kitchens Comment For a Cause Sausage Recipes

November 26, 2011 By Momstart 36 Comments

Back in September I attended Johnsonville Kitchens Blog for a cause. There we wrapped presents for charity and learned even more about Johnsonville Kitchens and all the fabulous things you can do with sausage. I can’t wait to try a new meatloaf recipe. I’m creating one tonight, it’s going to be unique! Hopefully my family will say delicious instead of that’s interesting.

One of the very fabulous things that Johnsonville Kitchens is doing for me is that they’re giving up to $1000.00 to the charity of my choice. All we have to do is try out some fabulous Johnsonville Kitchens recipes.

I picked a charity: Special Delivery

You leave a comment.

Tell me what you like to make with sausage and tell me if you’d be willing to try Johnsonville Sausage next time in that recipe. You’ll love it, Johnsonville sausage is unique because it is so full of flavors you won’t need any seasoning. Just buy the Johnsonville sausage flavor for what you’re recipe needs. Just in case you don’t even have a sausage recipe here are a few of my favorite sausage recipes (use Johnsonville Sausage anytime it calls for sausage):

Savory Pork Sausage Balls Recipe

Puff Pastry Sausage Turnovers Recipe

Sausage Pops Italian Meatballs on a Stick Recipe

Sausage Stuffed Mushroom Bites Recipe

Hash Brown Sausage Casserole Recipe

Maple Sausage Corn Bread Pudding Recipe

Remember, please leave me a comment with your favorite sausage recipe and if you would use Johnsonville sausage, I need 20 comments for a donation of $1000.00 to Special Delivery.

Johnsonville provided my travel expenses.

Filed Under: charity, recipe Tagged With: blog for a cause, charity, comment for a cause, Johnsonville, recipe, sasuage recipes, Special Delivery

Victorious: Time to Shine on Kinect for Xbox 360

November 26, 2011 By Momstart 3 Comments

We received Victorious Time to Shine for Kinect Xbox 360 and it’s by D3 Publisher one of our favorite video game publishers. Based on Nickelodeon’s hit live action comedy series Victorious, the games allow players to dive into the world of Hollywood Arts High School where they can star in their very own music video or in a big showcase along with Tori Vega and her wild, crazy, artsy friends! Have you seen the show? I haven’t, so if you’re like me I thought I would include the show’s bio:

Chaos is coming to Tori Vega’s life. The 16 year old is starting at a new high school; but not just any school. This is Hollywood Arts, a performing arts school where crazy talented students learn how to become real artists.. Until now, Tori didn’t think she had much talent of her own, and was content to live in the shadow of her older sister, Trina. Now, that’s all about to change… if Tori can see herself in a new light, even a spotlight! But Hollywood Arts is still a high school, and Tori is still the new kid. She’ll have to find new friends, do homework, and just try to fit in. Will Tori grab a starring role in her new life?

Now, Victorious is a video game for all of us to play.

Game Details:

Take part in crazy adventures with Tori, Beck and all the stars from the show
Explore Hollywood Arts and find hidden items and unlockables around every corner
Create and customize your own character with clothes, accessories, locker decorations, and more!
Exciting and intuitive mini-games using the stylus such as dancing and singing with Tori!

Game Features:

In Victorious: Time to Shine for the Kinect, players create their own Hollywood Arts performance where they act, play an air instrument, sing, dance and star in a music video featuring hit songs from the series!
First of its kind, based on the hit live-action comedy series – The video game is based on Nickelodeon’s hit show, Victorious.
Reach Hollywood Arts stardom – Players will feel as if they are a student at Hollywood Arts High School and the game includes the voices of the Victorious cast, including Victoria Justice, who stars as Tori Vega.
Be the next superstar while enjoying hours of gameplay – The game is loaded with mini-games, activities, hit songs from the show such as "Freak the Freak Out" and "Beggin’ On Your Knees," and players can even wear the same outfits as Tori Vega and the cast!
Exciting family-friendly competition – The perfect game for sleepover parties, family gatherings and more, Victorious: Time to Shine offers multiplayer gameplay so friends can either work together or compete to create the best music video ever! Full body motion tracking with the Kinect™ Sensor for both players makes the game even more fun and active for everyone involved!

In Victorious: Time to Shine, exclusively for the Kinect, players can partner up with friends in co-op or competitive gameplay to create a Hollywood Arts talent show where they can act, sing, dance and more, all to the soundtrack of hit songs from the series. Victorious: Hollywood Arts Debut, exclusively for the Nintendo DS, takes players right to the heart of Hollywood Arts High School, where they join Tori and the rest of the Victorious gang on crazy adventures throughout the school year.

Victorious: Time to Shine is developed by High Voltage Software; Victorious: Hollywood Arts Debut is developed by Behaviour Interactive, and both titles are rated “E” (Everyone – Comic Mischief and Mild Violence) by the ESRB. For more information about Victorious: Time to Shine and Victorious: Hollywood Arts Debut, please visit www.d3press.us.

Filed Under: Video Games Tagged With: Kinect, review, Time to shine, Victorious, video game, XBOX 360

Michael Phelps: Push the Limit for Kinect Xbox 360

November 26, 2011 By Momstart 2 Comments

Earlier today I reviewed Twister Mania with a glowing review as a family game, Michael Phelps Push the Limit is MY GAME! I love swimming, it’s my favorite sport. I used to swim so much that I became a lifeguard in college. It was my part time job, I was quite excited to try out Michael Phelps: Push the Limit for Kinect Xbox 360.

Michael Phelps: Push the Limit offers players the chance to compete against each other as well as against one of the most decorated athletes of all time, Michael Phelps. I don’t really know much about Michael Phelps, I just wanted this game so that I could get some exercise pretending to swim. This game is INTENSE. And I have to mention that it’s picky. It’s not easy for the kids or for me because it’s picky about your body position and your location on the screen, it’s not very forgiving and I think Kinect games need to be forgiving, but I still liked this game for me, it’s just not an easy to play as a family game. It’s not easy to compete against each other.

It’s also fun creating your character

You can play in quick matches in the single player or local/online multiplayer against friends or immerse yourself in the challenging and fun Career Mode where they swim their way to the podium through some of the most breathtaking locations across the world, finally facing Michael himself in the final. But it’s a long difficult road to getting there. I knew what I was doing and it took me quite a few times just to get past the first race. Most of the time I didn’t finish fast enough to even qualify. Even though, I really liked playing this game, I think it should have started off a little easier, and yes we were playing on easy mode.

It’s fun hyping up the crowd, achieving the perfect dive from the start which somehow Zoe figured out how to do, swimming at the optimum rhythm, timing the perfect turn, or timing the last gasp reach to the wall, Kinect for Xbox 360 allows the game to accurately replicate those elements in the most fun and accessible way possible, by using simple body and hand gestures.

Michael Phelps: Push the Limit was developed by Blitz Games and published by 505 Games. For more information, including screenshots, movies and gameplay tips, visit www.michaelphelpsgame.com

I received this review as a member of the Game Review Network, no compensation was received

Filed Under: Video Games Tagged With: 505 Games, Blitz games, Game Review Network, Kinect, Michael Phelps: Push the Limit, video game review, XBOX 360

The ABC Family Countdown To Christmas

November 26, 2011 By Momstart 4 Comments

I love holiday movies and family entertainment. Many of my favorite movies are Christmas movies. From The Grinch the movie to The Grinch Who Stole Christmas animated version, to National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation to A Very Pink Christmas ABC Family has it all.

From December 1 – 25, you can ring in the holidays with original movies, holiday specials and returning favorites. This year, “25 Days of Christmas” will feature the world premiere of the ABC Family original holiday movie, “12 Dates of Christmas,” starring Amy Smart (“Just Friends,” “The Butterfly Effect”) and Mark-Paul Gosselaar (“Franklin & Bash,” “NYPD Blue”). Premiering Sunday, December 11 (8:00 – 10:00 PM ET/PT), “12 Dates of Christmas” follows a young woman who re-lives the same first date on Christmas Eve over and over again until she learns to open up her world to new things and stop living in the past.

Just the first day alone looks quite entertaining.

Thursday, December 1

(6:00–6:30 PM ET/PT) MICKEY’S CHRISTMAS CAROL

Charles Dickens’s famous story is retold with Mickey as Bob Cratchit, Uncle Scrooge as Ebenezer Scrooge, Goofy as Jacob Marley’s ghost, and Donald as nephew Fred. (Animated)

(6:30–7:00 PM ET/PT) WINNIE THE POOH AND CHRISTMAS TOO

In this Christmas classic, Winnie the Pooh and Piglet rush to get Christopher Robin’s letter to Santa before it’s too late. With many obstacles before them, they learn the true meaning of Christmas. (Animated)

(7:00–9:00 PM ET/PT) THE SANTA CLAUSE

Tim Allen stars as Scott Calvin, a divorced father whose strained relationship with his son Charlie (Eric Lloyd) begins to mend only after a bizarre twist of fate transforms him into the new Santa. (Live Action)

December 2nd belongs to Dr. Seuss

(6:00–6:30 PM ET/PT) DR. SEUSS ON THE LOOSE

This half-hour special is hosted by The Cat in the Hat, who introduces three of Dr. Seuss’ popular stories: “The Sneetches,” “The Zax” and “Green Eggs and Ham.” (Animated)

(6:30–7:00 PM ET/PT) DR. SEUSS’ THE LORAX

In this Seuss tale, The Lorax “speaks for the trees” in a desperate effort to save his beloved “Truffula” forest from extinction. (Animated)

(7:00–7:30 PM ET/PT) DR. SEUSS’ THE CAT IN THE HAT

“Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat” tells the story of the adventure of two youngsters, housebound on a rainy day, whose boredom is shattered by a visit from the magical, mischievous Cat and his helpmates, Thing One and Thing Two. (Animated)

(7:30–8:00 PM ET/PT) DR. SEUSS’ THE GRINCH GRINCHES THE CAT IN THE HAT

The Cat in the Hat must find a way to get to Grinch’s soft spot in order to save the world from the clutches of the Grinch! (Animated)

(8:00–10:30 PM ET/PT) DR. SEUSS’ HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS

Jim Carrey stars as the title character in this live-action adaptation of the classic children’s story by Dr. Seuss. (Live Action)

December 3rd belongs to Harry Potter

(7:00-10:30 AM ET/PT) HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE

Based on the first of J.K. Rowling’s popular children’s novels, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” tells the story of a boy who learns on his 11th birthday that he is the orphaned son of two powerful wizards and possesses unique magical powers of his own. (Live Action)

(10:30–2:30 PM ET/PT) HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

In the second installment of the “Harry Potter” film series, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) returns to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to discover a long-buried secret threatens the school and all its students. (Live Action)

(2:30–5:30 PM ET/PT) HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN

The magic and excitement are back with Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) and his friends as they prepare for their third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! But danger lurks in the form of Sirius Black – a convict from the Prison of Azkaban – who is on the loose and after Harry. (Live Action)

(5:30–9:00 PM ET/PT) HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE

It’s Harry Potter’s fourth term at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and, for the first time in hundreds of years, a competition will be held between three schools of wizardry, with contestants magically chosen by the Goblet of Fire for the very dangerous event. (Live Action)

(9:00 PM–12:00 AM ET/PT) – HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX

A summer has passed since Harry’s (Daniel Radcliffe) encounter with Lord Voldemort, and now, with the entire wizard community in peril, the future of magic may depend on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. (Live Action)

For more details and the rest of the holiday schedule check out 25 days of Christmas on Facebook and on twitter

ABC Family sent us a blanket that we’re going to donate.

Filed Under: Announcement Tagged With: 25 days of christmas, 25DAYs of Christmas, abc, ABC FAMILY, Disney, Family

Twister Mania Kinect Xbox 360

November 26, 2011 By Momstart 1 Comment

Growing up I always loved playing Twister. It’s such a fun party game to play with lots of friends and I loved the challenge. Thinking about playing this as a family on the Xbox 360 Kinect left me wondering how is that going to work when we merge into one solid shape as we get all twisted up. That’s where the mania came in turning Twister Mania for the Kinect into a smash hit in our house. The interface of the game gets an A+ because it was so easy for our family to use. This game works quite well for little ones and is an easy to play Kinect game.

This interactive digital Twister® experience allows up to eight players to twist into the action with 16 fun, unique ways to play in a TWISTER- inspired environment filled with iconic, colorful flair. We had the most fun playing as teams, we did two teams of two and it worked out fabulously. Most kinect games with the kids drive me crazy because it’s so hard to tell a 3 and 4 year old how to make the kinect work, but for Twister Mania it just worked and it was fun. I really enjoyed playing it.

To Play Twister Mania you use your body as the game piece. It challenges you to twist yourself in thousands of different ways and the quicker the better.

We chose from 3 main game modes:

Party Play: Twirl the virtual spinner and advance around the Twister® mat with up to four teams of two in Party Play, a metagame that combines all game challenges. Party play was the easiest mode for us as a family. the kids could understand that when the color wheel came up with their color it was their teams turn. So we all jumped in and out of the living room and laughed as everyone tried to do the different objectives in party play.

Play It All: Try your hand at every game challenge from start to finish in this campaign mode for the overachievers. I think my husband spent hours doing this game mode the other night while I was out having a moms night out. It was so funny to come in and see him making more poses, but I wasn’t just laughing at him, I was happy to see him enjoying a game. We haven’t enjoyed a Kinect game like this since it first came out.
Quick Play: Jump right in and directly select any of the 16 ways to play and difficulty level for a quick challenge. Is a great way to just get started.

Now within each of the different game modes there are certain activities within each. Here is just a sampling of what you’ll find. (a total of 16 ways to play)

        Shape Frenzy: Mimic the shape (there are over 1800!) that appears on screen and earn points based on how well you fill its silhouette.
        Twist & Fit: Avoid the wall and fit your silhouette through cutouts coming at you on a moving wall. Score points by passing through a wall without touching a thing; the more wall you hit the lower your score.
        Break It Down: Work your way through a stack of colored blocks by assuming their form. When a shape is removed, the wall above will begin to crumble.
      Spot On: Challenge up to three players (or four teams of two) in a game of contortion H-O-R-S-E. Create a shape and see if your friends can match it.
    Team up with another player for cooperative play or go head-to-head in any game mode. TwisterTM Mania supports up to eight players in turn based pairs.

I love how we can all look at the photos at the end of each game session, it’s fun to see who had the best pose, of course, we took actual photos too.

I received this review as a member of the Game Review Network, no compensation was received

Filed Under: Video Games Tagged With: Hasbro, Kinect, review, Twister, twister Mania, video game, video game review, XBOX 360

Holiday Recipe: A Cinnamon Spiked Eggnog

November 26, 2011 By Momstart 9 Comments

I would recommend making your own eggnog if we had success with it. Quite a few years ago, my husband made his own home made eggnog from scratch. It was AWFUL, he even colored it blue because at the time he was really into using food coloring, so he colored everything he made. Who am I kidding he still loves to play with the food coloring. Anyway, our homemade eggnog was a disaster. So, this year, I’m just recommending you create a special treat with simplicity. Just BUY the Eggnog. Ok!

Spiked Eggnog Recipe:

(this recipe is from Angostura Bitters Facebook page.

4oz Chilled Eggnog
1 1/2 oz Angostura 7 year Rum
1/4 oz Angostura aromatic bitters
1/4 oz Chilled Heavy Whipping Cream
1 Barspoon Simple Syrup

Directions:

Chill all ingredients
In a mixing tin, combine ingredients without ice and shake to fluff the liquids
Add ice and shake briefly (about 3 seconds)
Strain into a stemmed glass
If desired grate cinnamon over the cocktail

As a Mizkan Ambassador this is a compensated post.

Filed Under: recipe Tagged With: agnostura, cocktail, holiday, holiday recipe, mizkan, recipe

Doctor Who Complete Series 6 Blu-ray

November 26, 2011 By Momstart 385 Comments

So, I have to admit that I was freaking out this entire season/series. Is this the end of Doctor Who? What’s going to happen next what is the question? I was freaking out so bad that before my husband and I could finish watching the DVD that BBC sent us to review, I checked on the BBC website to see when the next series begins. There is hope that Series 7 will begin airing for an Easter special which means, this is not the end of the Doctor. Of course the time traveler found a way to cheat death!

Watching the complete Doctor Who series six made me remember just how much I love watching Doctor who. I LOVE Doctor Who. Doctor Who: The Complete Sixth Series is excellent

Matt Smith and Karen Gillen make their triumphant return as the Doctor and his companion in an all-new series of Doctor Who coming to DVD and Blu-ray in 2011. This release combines the two halves of series six with the 2010 Christmas Special plus hours of bonus material to make a spectacular collectible that no fan will want to miss! The new series includes the first ever episodes shot in the US and promises new thrills, new monsters, and new adventures which will leave fans pinned to the edge of their seats.

Includes:

A Christmas Carol
The Impossible Astronaut
The Day of the Moon
The Curse of the Black Spot
The Doctor’s Wife (not who you think)
The Rebel Flesh
The Almost People
A Good Man Goes to War
Let’s Kill Hitler
Night Terrors
The Girl Who Waited
The God Complex
Closing Time
The Wedding of River Song

Matt Smith has completely proved himself to be a fantastic Doctor Who. I can’t wait until we go back and watch series 5. I haven’t seen it at all. In fact, I’d like to go back an start in series four or whenever it was when we first met River Song. I love this story line.

This giveaway has ended. Congratulations to the winner, Danielle E.

All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: Doctor Who, Doctor Who The Complete Sixth Series, giveaway, Karen Gillen, Matt Smith

DreamWorks War Horse Seattle #TweetDrive 2011 Swag Bag Sponsor @SeaTweetDrive

Quick & Easy Snowflake Snack Recipe

Snowflake Snack Recipe

Robot Making Crafts with Zoe and Miles: Disney Family Fun Kids Magazine

How To Make A Robot out of a Box

Johnsonville Kitchens Comment For a Cause Sausage Recipes

Victorious: Time to Shine on Kinect for Xbox 360

Michael Phelps: Push the Limit for Kinect Xbox 360

The ABC Family Countdown To Christmas

Just the first day alone looks quite entertaining.

December 2nd belongs to Dr. Seuss

December 3rd belongs to Harry Potter

Twister Mania Kinect Xbox 360

Holiday Recipe: A Cinnamon Spiked Eggnog

Spiked Eggnog Recipe:

Doctor Who Complete Series 6 Blu-ray

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