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Justice Ultra Squad Inspiring Girls

November 14, 2018 by Momstart Leave a Comment

This post is sponsored by Justice and our opinions are our own.

Justice is our one stop shop for clothing, accessories and everything tween fashion. My daughter always wants to stop at Justice every time we go to the mall, even if we are just window shopping. And honestly, I don’t mind because their clothing fits her so well and perfectly matches her personality!

Just in time for the holidays, Justice has just released a new graphic novel titled “Ultra Squad.” Ultra Squad is the first release from Justice Studios, a new entertainment division of Justice, that tells the story of a group of four ordinary girls who end up becoming a Secret Inter-GIRL-actic team with new ultra supergirl powers! We recently received a very special box from Justice that contained the new book and some special swag to celebrate the new book! Both of my kids are interested in comic books so it couldn’t be more perfect. My daughter is actually in a comic book-making art class right now, so the new book from Justice is right up her alley.

The Ultra Squad, together with their bizarro-cute sidekicks, the PALLIES, find out that ultra-unstoppable girls can make a difference in and out of this world! Zoe read the book in about five minutes, and now Miles is reading it on the way to school. I love that it’s a super girl book to inspire girls and that my son is interested in it as well.

Zoe said to me, “It was an inspiring book that teaches girls they can do anything they want to. It follows the story of four girls who learn that they get to be a team of superheroes called the Ultra Squad, and on their journey they make friends called the Palidorians, who are going to be their PALLIES. And they team up to save the world.”

Ultra Squad is available online and in stores for just $8 while supplies last.

#ParentsWithHeart #JusticeStudios #UltraSquad #LiveJustice

Ralph Breaks the Internet World Premiere

November 8, 2018 by Momstart Leave a Comment

Just a few days ago I was at the Ralph Breaks the Internet World Premiere and it was a busy busy place. The carpet was FULL of people excited to see the movie for the first time. I mean, what would you expect when you are in front of royalty, princess royalty. By now everyone knows that Ralph Breaks the Internet has what is belovedly called “The Princess Scene”. Well not to give you any spoilers or anything, but there is more than just the scene to look forward to.

So while trying to walk my way down the BLUE carpet, I walked by some of the actresses that play the Disney Princesses giving interviews. They all looked so beautiful, even the newest addition, Sarah Silverman, who somehow changed after watching the movie and before the after party. It was like she used her magic Disney princess wand and transformed into Vanellope.

Speaking of the after party, it was amazing. I walked around with a few friends and took some phots, had an amazing dinner and then found a quiet place to sit. Shortly after, I realized we were sitting across from princess Moana, Auli’i Cravalho. She was nestled in a corner enjoying the after party when all of the sudden she was visited by almost every other princess that came to the party. It was amazing because I was suddenly surrounded by all the princesses. They hugged each other, and then Sarah Silverman jumped into the party of hugs too. Because I kept my phone down, I was able to just watch and enjoy the whole thing. As Sarah was leaving the party she jumped in my face said enjoy the party and bounded out of the room. It was most certainly a night to remember.

So here are some photos from the Ralph Breaks the Internet World Premiere and after party.

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ABOUT THE MOVIE:

In “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” video-game bad guy Ralph (voice of John C. Reilly) and best friend Vanellope von Schweetz (voice of Sarah Silverman) leave the comforts of Litwak’s arcade in an attempt to save her game, Sugar Rush. Their quest takes them to the vast, uncharted world of the internet where they rely on the citizens of the internet—the Netizens—to help navigate their way. Lending a virtual hand are Yesss (voice of Taraji P. Henson), the head algorithm and the heart and soul of the trend-making site “BuzzzTube,” and Shank (voice of Gal Gadot), a tough-as-nails driver from a gritty online auto-racing game called Slaughter Race, a place Vanellope wholeheartedly embraces—so much so that Ralph worries he may lose the only friend he’s ever had.Directed by Rich Moore (“Zootopia,” “Wreck-It Ralph”) and Phil Johnston (co-writer “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Zootopia,” writer, “Cedar Rapids”), and produced by Clark Spencer (“Zootopia,” “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Bolt,” “Lilo & Stitch”), “Ralph Breaks the Internet” hits theaters on Nov. 21, 2018.

http://disney.com/ralphbreakstheinternet

https://www.youtube.com/user/disneyanimation

https://www.facebook.com/WreckItRalph/

https://twitter.com/wreckitralph

https://www.instagram.com/wreckitralph

Amazon Black Friday Device Deals Sneak Peek #BlackFriday

November 2, 2018 by Beeb Leave a Comment

This post contains our Amazon Associates link.

It’s November! Can you believe it?! This year has gone by in the blink of an eye. So to help you get a jump-start on your holiday shopping, today we’re sharing a sneak peek at the upcoming Black Friday deals on Amazon devices. The deals start on the 16th and will only be available for a short time on Amazon.com, so bookmark this page, make a note on your calendar, and get ready to snag some deals on gifts that will delight your whole family:

·         Starting November 16:

o   Fire 7 Kids Edition tablet is $30 off—just $69.99

o   All-New Fire HD 8 Kids Edition tablet is $40 off—just $89.99

o   Fire HD 10 tablet with Alexa Hands-Free is $50 off—just $99.99

o   Fire HD 10 Kids Edition tablet is $50 off—just $149.99

·         Starting November 18:

o   Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote will be $15 off—only $24.99

o   Fire TV Stick 4K with all-new Alexa Voice Remote is $15 off—only $34.99

o   Fire TV Cube with Far-Field Voice Control and 4K UHD/HDR is $60 off—just $59.99

·         Starting November 21:

o   Blink XT 1-cam system is $51 off—only $78.99, or get a 3-cam system for $90 off—just $229.99

·         Starting November 22:

o   Echo Dot (2^nd gen) is $20 off—only $19.99

o   All-New Echo Dot is $25.99 off—just $24.00

o   Echo (2^nd gen) is $30.99 off—only $69.00

o   All-New Echo Plus is $40 off—only $109.99

o   All-New Echo Show is $50 off—just $179.99

o   Echo Spot is $40 off—only $89.99

o   Amazon Smart Plug is just $5 with purchase of an Echo device

o   Fire 7 tablet with Alexa is $20 off—only $29.99

o   All-New Fire HD 8 tablet with Hands-Free Alexa is $30 off—just $49.99

o   All-New Fire HD 8 tablet and Show Mode Dock bundle $39.99 off—just $79.99

o   Fire HD 10 tablet and Show Mode Dock bundle $59.99 off—just $144.99

o   Kindle Paperwhite (7^th gen) is $40 off—only $79.99

Wall Art From Canvas Champ: The Perfect Holiday Gift

November 1, 2018 by Beeb Leave a Comment

This is a sponsored post in partnership with BraVoMark and Canvas Champ.

Personal, thoughtful gifts are the ones that we always remember. I’ve found that photo gifts are some of the most memorable and appreciated presents I’ve given – taking a treasured old photo and transforming it onto a new medium allows you to enhance and share a special memory with your family and close friends. Although there are many different kinds of photo gifts, I’m really partial to canvas printing. A canvas transforms a photo into a special work of art for your home – it’s the best way to display pictures, in my opinion, as I’ve found that it really draws out and enhances every part of the image. That’s why a photo canvas from Canvas Champ is the perfect way to surprise your loved ones with a piece of wall art they will enjoy for years to come!

Our wedding day! Photo by Jason Hill Photography

With prompt service and delivery, affordable prices, and beautiful, high-quality products, you can rest assured that your order from Canvas Champ will turn out just the way you want. There are a variety of options for customizing your canvas, and you’ll receive a digital proof to review before placing the order so you can make sure everything is literally “Picture perfect”! I used Canvas Champ to create a large canvas print of one of our favorite bridal photos earlier this year, and we enjoy looking at it every single day – it’s perfect. So if you want to immortalize your own special memory and give the best Christmas gift ever, Canvas Champ has you covered!

Have you ever given or received a photo gift before?

SONIC Limeades For Learning Needs Your Help

October 14, 2018 by Momstart 2 Comments

SONIC has provided us with a gift card to use at one of their amazing locations. They also provided us with a gift card to DonorsChoose.org in exchange for this blog post.

I love when a company is making a different in our community and today we have a second company making a difference. The first was Comcast, and now we have SONIC. It’s that time of year again for SONIC’s Limeades for Learning. 10th annual Fall Voting campaign has begun. Limeades for Learning® is a national award-winning initiative to support U.S. public school teachers in local communities.

For 10 years now SONIC is helping teachers and you can help in a few different ways. Since the launch of SONIC’s Limeades for Learning philanthropic campaign in partnership with DonorsChoose.org, SONIC has donated $10.4 million to public school teachers and impacted over 600,000 students nationwide to fund essential learning materials and innovative teaching resources to inspire creativity and learning in today’s youth.

How to Help Teachers with SONIC

Throughout the month of October, SONIC will distribute $1 million to public school teachers across the country. Projects with the most votes at the end of each week will receive funding, while remaining projects get a chance to be fulfilled the following week as votes roll over.

During the voting period, Monday, Oct. 1, through Sunday, Oct. 28, SONIC encourages you to visit LimeadesForLearning.com and vote daily on specific teacher projects that inspire you. And as I look through them, I find that it is really hard to choose. I love the First Robotics Team – Take a Leap for Our… and the Robot “Brain” to Help Expand… projects because I find STEM to be such an important topic students need in schools.

There are four ways to earn votes for teacher projects throughout the Fall Voting campaign:

You can vote once daily after signing up with a valid email address
You can visit a SONIC Drive-In to get a bag sticker code worth two votes
You can vote ten times to receive two extra votes via email
You can share on social media to earn two extra votes

Recognizing that public school teachers needed more support, SONIC Drive-In partnered with DonorsChoose.org ten years ago. In 2009 SONIC launched Limeades for Learning with its first Fall Voting campaign. This is I think our third year to partner with SONIC and share with you this amazing program. This year, I want to help one of the neighborhoods impacted by one of the hurricanes Florence and Michael.

With the help and support of SONIC fans, by 2021 SONIC’s total contribution to local public school classrooms will exceed $20 million.

Comcast Changing Lives: Internet Essentials

October 14, 2018 by Momstart 5 Comments

This post is sponsored by Comcast and our opinions are our own.

Last week I attended an event with Comcast and Olympic Gold medal winners Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux. These two women are inspiring others to be strong and make a difference wherever they go. They have so many important passions like equal pay, fitness in children, and social responsibility.

Jocelyne and Monique have been fighting for gender equality and equal pay for hockey players. They are quite passionate about how this transcends to all employment opportunities. As they continue to work towards this equality they told us that they had to do a lot of research. They had to learn about the wages men were getting and it was a challenge to push forward but they did. They also fought hard for maternity leave saying, “you shouldn’t have to choose between being a mom and your career in hockey”. This carries over into so many different career paths in our country. They recently joined the “Know Your Value” platform, an NBC News digital media platform that supports women to advocate for their value that was founded by Mika Brzezinski, co-host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

What were they doing in Seattle?

Jocelyne and Monique are using their platform to help bridge the gap for children in lower-income areas. With the help of Comcast they are giving away computers to students across the country in an initiative to raise awareness to Comcasts Internet Essentials. They gave away 150 computers to 5th and 6th grade students in Seattle just last week. Students were so excited they were in tears from receiving this amazing gift.

For 7 years now Comcast has been offering a subsidized internet plan for low income families. For only 9.99 a month families can get a Terabyte of date allowing students to be able to do the homework they need to do to be successful in life.

Imagine this:

(this is a story we were told during the round table Comcast event)

A young child has to go to the library to get her homework done. She has to put her name on a list because the computer has to be shared. While she is waiting for her turn she works on her other homework. Once it’s her turn she has 30 minutes to use the computer. If she doesn’t finish she has to put her name on the list and wait again. She does this until the library closes at 9 PM and then walks home. Comcast asked her how often she did this and she said every day Monday – Friday. They gave this student a computer and 1 year free of Internet Essentials. When she told her mother what was happening her mother was so appreciative. What may seem so small to some of us is going to make a huge difference in this young girl’s life. She will be able to get her homework done at home.

How do you qualify for Internet Essentials?

There are quite a few ways to qualify for Internet Essentials. For families, if your student goes to a school where 40% of the students are on the free lunch program, all families are elibilble for Internet Essentials. The program is also open to low-income veterans. Comcast is reaching out to people in low-income areas through different charitable groups. They are working with HUD through public housing initiatives. They are also working through the VA, the Elizabeth Dole program and Psych Armor Institute.

Comcast Corporate Responsibility

As part of its effort to promote equal opportunities for all in its own workforce, Comcast publishes an annual diversity and inclusion report, sharing information about workforce, governance, procurement, programming, and community impact. According to this year’s Corporate Social Responsibility and Diversity and Inclusion reports, Comcast:

Provided approximately $470 million in cash and in-kind contributions to nearly 5,000 nonprofit organizations

At year end 2017, women or people of color made up 61% of the company’s overall workforce

Hired over 15,000 military community members since 2010

Helped more than 4 million individuals access low-cost internet service at home through Internet Essentials, the nation’s largest and most comprehensive high-speed Internet adoption program

During the company’s 17^th annual Comcast Cares Day, more than 115,000 Comcast NBCUniversal employees and their families, friends and community partners spent nearly 700,000 hours volunteering at over 1,200 projects in 23 countries around the world

Matching Wine and Beer with BBQ

October 3, 2018 by Momstart Leave a Comment

The desire to throw the perfect summer barbecue is in every amateur and professional griller. From start to finish, serving the ultimate meal that your friends will be raving about for years can be the highest form of praise a griller receives.

But even with the most tender, delicious cut of steak and the most carefully chosen and cooked sides, without the right beverage to complement your meal, you may find there is still something lacking.

It’s true – you have to match your drink selection with your meal, and many people pair wine and beer with barbecue as the definitive finishing touch.

So how do you know what drink to serve with what foods?

Barbecue and Beer or Wine – The Basics

It’s summer. The last thing anyone wants to do on those long, hot, lazy days is spend hours poring over menus and wine and beer lists to put their meal together. Instead, wouldn’t you rather learn some basic serving rules that work any time of year with any food and go with those?

When you are putting together your meal, there is so much to consider, from the appetizers and dessert to the length of time it will take to get your meats to just the right temperature (the right meat thermometer is crucial for this!).

Luckily, there are a few tried and true methods that can help you choose the right beverage to complement your food without a lot of thought involved.

Consider these general rules of thumb when you are putting together your next barbecue meal:

If you are serving spicy foods, pair them with a lightly sweet beer or wine.
Strong, robust flavors of wine and beer should be served with the same types of food.
Contrarily, light, delicate flavors of wine and beer go best with light and delicate foods.
Rich, heavy foods can use a bitter beer or wine to help offset the heaviness.
Ending a meal with a bubbly drink is a good way to pair up fatty foods.

Ready for a Little More Detail?

Once you have those basics down, you can hit any liquor aisle or store and find a bottle of wine or choice of beer to serve with your meal. But if you want something a little more involved to be sure your drink selection hits just the right note with your meal, we’ve got you covered there, too.

Most barbecues have the same categories of foods served, so if you are making any of the following dishes, we’ve given you a little more detail, and if that still isn’t what you need, you can check out this pairing chart for even more.

For stronger grilled meats like burgers, chicken, and richly flavored fish, serve a pale ale beer or a strong red wine (a Beaujolais is always a good choice).
Barbecue ribs are in a league of their own and need the right drink to finalize their perfection. Choose a rich, moderately bitter amber ale with a slight caramel touch to it, or a full-flavored or spicy wine.
Greasier foods like grilled sausage and potatoes need an amber lager with a caramel hint or a crisp, dry sparkling white wine.
Light seafoods like shrimp or scallops need a gentle, citrusy type of beer or a slightly acidic white wine.

Your Meal is Perfect, the Rest is Up to You

Now that you have matched the perfect complement of drink to your food, you can focus on your guests. No matter how good the food is going to be, you have to be a great host to keep them there for the meal!

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A Special Kids Treat

October 2, 2018 by Momstart 5 Comments

I like to occasionally do something fun and special with the kids. It’s almost like I like to give them a reward from time to time. For example, a week of doing their chores without complaint or we went on a long walk. I would say that their favorite thing to do would be to go out for Ice Cream.

With it getting really close to the holiday season Baskin Robbins has some fun monthly flavors. The frighteningly-friendly and fuzzy Fang-Tastic Monster Cake is a festive orange cake that can be customized with a guest’s favorite ice cream and cake flavors, including Trick OREO® Treat, the October Flavor of the Month.

Trick OREO® Treat is a classic Halloween favorite featuring the perfect combination of some of the best Halloween candies in one indulgent bite. This festive flavor features vanilla ice cream with orange crème-filled OREO® cookies, Baby Ruth® and Butterfinger® candy pieces and can be enjoyed in a cup, cone, sundae or even blended into a thick, creamy milkshake.

And you can get a kids scoop for only $1.50. I think it’s the perfect way to celebrate something special your kid accomplished this month.

The Middle School Supplies List

September 5, 2018 by Momstart Leave a Comment

This post is sponsored by Amazon and all opinions are our own.

I love shopping on Amazon.com, I would say that most of our shopping is done with Amazon. We need something and then we order it. My husband always knows what the deadline to order something is to get it delivered to our house for free with Amazon Prime. It’s crazy sometimes how he knows. Well our shopping includes our Back To School needs.

We just started school this week and in middle school we don’t get a supply list until after school starts. High School is the same way, and since we need the supplies in a very quick turn around we’re going to be using Amazon Prime and the Back To School Store Front that Amazon has put together.

There you can find everything you need. Of course on Amazon you can find, Elmer’s Glue, Sharpies, Clorox wipes, Kleenex, and Snacks of all kinds. I mean if you really think of it, you can find anything the classroom or your students needs on Amazon. We have curated our list of top 5 items for your middle school student may need.

Backpack – My son seems to go through backpacks as fast as he goes through shoes. Either the zipper breaks or it somehow rips, and I guarentee it’s him not the bag. So our Backpack pick this year was the JanSport Big Student Classics Series Backpack. The JanSport Backpacks have plenty of pockets to help keep the kids organized They also have a spot in the back that is cushioned to keep their laptops safe.

Calculator – Our school days are partially at a campus and the rest of the time is at home. Their math class this year is at home with me and we are going to be doing statistics and Pre-Algebra and I’m going to try to start them graphing on a calculator. I’m quite partial to the Texas Instruments TI-84 because it’s like the one I had when I was in school. The TI-84 is preloaded with Apps and images they need for class. It is also 30% lighter and thinner than previous generations. It’s perfect to prepare them for the SAT and ACT test.

Art Supplies – My son is an artist and will be taking three different art classes this year. They go to a STEM school that offers a lot of programming and art classes. So he needs:

A Drawing Pad – for this we chose the Strathmore Series 400 Sketch Pad. He loves to draw and keeping him stocked on paper has been easy with Amazon. We actually purchased him one over the summer before we even though of school supplies. I like this one because it is spiral bound and easy for him to flip back and fourth.
Colored Pencils – Prismacolor 1774800 Premier Colored Pencils, Manga Colors. These pencils have a soft core and the colors are perfect for his comic book art class. They are high quality with lightfast pigments.
Markers – Most school supply lists ask for Crayola markers and I do find them to be excellent markers. But for my son’s art classes we need some fine point markers. I’ve picked the BIC Intensity Fineliner Marker Pen, Fine Point because they are quite vivid in intensity and won’t bleed through the paper. They are perfect for doodling, drafting, and writing.

Binders, Paper & Dividers – Picking out folders seems like such an easy thing. My kids like SMEAD Economy Two-Pocket File Folders, Five Star Loose Leaf Paper, and Avery Insertable Big Tab Plastic Dividers with Double Pockets. We also like Oxford 1-Subject Poly Notebooks and Avery Binders. This year Avery Binders are even more fun because they feature DreamWorks Trolls.

Organizational Items – my daughter loves to be organized. She needs a good calendar for her room, she needs one of those organizational notepads that includes a calendar and she likes to have a desktop organizer like the Safco Onyx Mesh Desktop Organizer with 5 Tiered Sections.

It’s crazy how different my kids are and their school supply list was so different this year. Each one is taking unique classes and I love seeing them learn and grow. I’m sure in the next few days we’ll find they still need a few things to have a successful school year so I’m glad Amazon is only a click away.

Easy Snow Cones in Seconds

August 28, 2018 by Momstart 3 Comments

Little Snowie 2 sent us a sample to review and my family LOVED it. We had a fantastic family night and made a quick little video of using the Little Snowie 2.

The Little Snowie 2 is so easy to use. We took it out of the box, plugged it in, put ice in it and put a bowl down to catch the ice and pushed it down and it made shaved ice in seconds. It was amazing. They also sent us so many samples of syrup the kids had a sugary blast, you can see it on Zoe’s face here.

The Little Snowie 2 produces the closest thing you’ll find to the smooth fluffy shaved ice from your neighborhood snow stand without having to fork out $1000 or more on a commercial shaver. That’s right, it’s commercial grade and portable at the same time. My cousin ended up taking it to her house after we used it in Florida. Yep, she stole my Little Snowie and took it to Texas.

There are over 50 different syrup flavors.

Nobody knows snow cones and flavored shaved ice desserts better than Snowie LLC. Having manufactured commercial ice shavers for the restaurant, outdoor event, and roadside snow stand industries for over 30 years, this small but proud USA Company has now taken their world leading expertise and developed the best home shaver on the planet.

Little Snowie 2(TM) pumps out smooth icy desserts in just seconds. Say no to hand cranking, or weak motors and blades that fill a cup with crunchy ice chips. Little Snowie 2’s™ ice has the texture of freshly fallen snow – fluffy and soft, it melts in your mouth.

We even created a few adult beverages using the Little Snowie 2™.

To USE:

simply use ice cubes from your refrigerator, or any bulk ice cubes from the store; there’s no hassle of having to pre-freeze a large custom shaped ice cylinder

The Snowie motor and power switch has passed commercial use testing by ETL at over 100,000 repetitions, that’s a lot of cups of shaved ice. It is worth the price because it pays for itself after a couple of uses!