Bee Friendly Friday

It is almost Friday and that means its getting closer and closer to my 30th Bday. I have a sense of panic intertwined with happiness. Panic being the greater of the two lol.

I thought Friday would be a great day to meet some new online friends. After all you can never have too many bloggy pals!

Welcome to mine, my sister and moms small part of this big world! We welcome you to be our friend, enter our giveaways and laugh along with us as we share our adventures as we branch out in life.

What did you do with your time before kids?

The other day I sold a smaller memory card I had in my camera on Ebay. I thought oh I better make sure there is nothing on there before I ship this. Sure enough there were pictures from about 3 years ago on it. It was so weird to see the pictures. I told my husband these are before Bubba (our son) was born. We looked at them and thought to our selves what on earth did we do with our time before he was born. The obvious of work and stuff but like our spare time we wondered about, especially now that there is no "spare" time.

Other than the pictures of us on the memory card there were ones of my old hobby nature photography. There were over 50 pics of trees, flowers, clouds and animals. One time when my husbands grandmother came to visit a few years ago she asked if I had any friends since I only had pics of nature. Of course she was messing with me she is a hilarious lady but at the time I thought nothing of it. Now as a mom I realize how much fuller my life is having my sweet guy. I no longer have a zillion pictures of nature but I do now have a gazillion pictures of the greatest little creation of nature in my eyes.

What was a hobby you had before your kids were born? Did you give it up or find a way to incorporate it into your life as a parent?

Ella's Kitchen Organic Fruit Pouches Review and Giveaway

I am a huge fan of fruit in a pouch. It makes it a million times easier to get my son to eat fruit. Often times he thinks its hilarious to throw his bananas, blueberries or orange slices across the kitchen. He claps when he sees them splatter onto the floor. But when I give him Ella's Kitchen pouches he thinks they are something special. He won't throw them at all, heck he won't even let me take it once its empty! I am happy to see him love the flavors since they not only have fruit but they also have veggies in them.

Ella's Kitchen is 100% organic and they taste really great. My son enjoyed all the flavors they sent us.  I knew he would love the Apples and Bananas since anything with banana in it he goes, well bananas for! I was surprised how much he enjoyed the Broccoli, Pears & Peas pouch. Normally he will not eat broccoli but he does love peas so I think the two flavors with the sweetness of the pears made it perfect for him. As a picky eater myself as a kid I love the idea of products like Ella's that hide the veggies in with the sweet fruit. I think any way I can get more veggies especially organic ones for him to eat is wonderful!

Strawberries in this one, most times strawberries end up throw across the room!

 One of the products I did not know Ella's Kitchen made was the Smoothie Fruits. I took a taste too it was hard to resist the flavor combos. My son enjoyed them both I loved the Green One. I am sure these would be great in any diaper bag or lunch box for the new school year. Its easy to eat and so good!

An awesome way to get him to eat broccoli!

There are two more flavors I really want my son to try. The Sweet Potatoes, Pumpkin, Blueberries & Apple flavor and the Spinach, Apples & Rutabaga flavor. They sound so tasty I would even like to try them. You can buy Ella's Kitchen products at most Target stores, Babies R Us and Toys R Us.

GIVEAWAY

Win a box with Ella's Kitchen Pouches like the one I received.

 

To Enter This Giveaway: 

What is the fruit or veggie your kids or grandkids will not eat?

 *Leave a comment answering the question and be sure to leave your email address*

Extra Entries: Can be done after leaving a comment for mandatory entry. If the extra entry says 1 extra entry leave 1 comment and 2 extra entries leave me 2 comments and so on. 

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*Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts July 19, 2011 and ends on July 31, 2011 at midnight PST.  Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. I was provide the item in this review for free by the company or PR firm representing them. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others.

Are you near the Sacramento Ca Area? Mel Rapton Honda Kids Day 7/31

If you live near the Sacramento CA area Mel Rapton Honda will be hosting a Day of Play on July 31st from 11am to 3pm. The event will be held at the Mel Rapton Honda location at 3630 Fulton Ave. The event will have bounce houses & slides, face painting, carnival games, balloon animals and more! The mobile Video Game Bus with the PS3, XBOX360 and Wii playing Guitar Hero and Rock Band will be there. Dance performance by Fancy Feet Dance Academy at 11:30 and the Radio Disney Road Crew performs from 12:00 to 1:30. You can also see a fire truck from the Sacramento Metro Fire Department and have your car seat safety check by the CHP. Special prices on BBQ lunches with the proceeds benefiting the Children's Receiving Home of Sacramento. You can also purchase raffle tickets to win River Cats tickets, a bedroom set from Goore's Furniture and more. This will be a fun event for a good cause that all kids are welcome to attend and have fun. You can read more about the event on the Mel Rapton website.

New Flavors Create New Faces

I adore the faces my son makes. He is so comical and you can see every emotion on his face. We have been trying new flavors of food and having fun doing so. Last night we had combo pizza that has red and green bell peppers on it. He made the most annoyed look on his face! He loves the olives but the bell peppers not so much.

 

Ice Cream is his new favorite treat. For a hot summer day its a perfect way to cool off after being at the park. Previously he had only tried Strawberry and Vanilla ice cream and Chocolate was a new flavor for him. I wasn't sure if he was sharing it or trying to give it back to me lol.

When I find a new product he enjoys its awesome! Smiles all around when we recently tried Fruit Simple juice. I liked it too so its a win win!  Although he did make a silly face when we tried Acai Cherry, I was laughing to hard to take a pic of that funny expression. Tart will be something we will save for later for now we will keep his treats sweet just like him!

What foods do your kids eat that  make them have a silly expression?

Movie Review: Rio coming to Blu-Ray & DVD August 2nd

When I first saw the previews for Rio when it was in the theaters I knew we had to see it. The bright colors and music were the hook for me. I could picture my son dancing to the music and when we had the chance to review the movie he danced so much he fell over! Back in May my sister Sam her husband and son JJ went to see Rio in theaters thanks to Chiquita banana you can read about their review here.

I have now watched the Rio DVD close to 20 times! Each time I sing along more and more. It is a sweet movie that has the classic parts of all good movies, excitement, adversity, friendship, love and a happy ending. I LOVE how colorful, vibrant and vivid the movie is, it makes me wanna go to Rio! The characters are great. Its something kids can relate to and adults can too. The line where the Toucan character Rafael says "These kids are giving me gray feathers" when referring to his bird babies made me laugh out loud.

From the opening scene in the rain forest my son began to dance. Everyone knows by now hes a dancing machine and this movie had lots of great music. There is even a dancing game with the characters that kids can play at the Rio the Movie website. The only part of the movie I did not care for was when the mean bird Nigel sang the song about why he is so mean. I know its meant to make everyone not like him since he is the antagonist of the story but some of the words he used I thought were not good for a kids movie.

I liked that Blu (the main character) over comes his fear of flying to save someone he loves. We all have fears in life that make us feel like we cannot do what we are meant to do and when we overcome them a world of possibilities opens up. I thought it was a great lesson for kids to learn.

Watching Rio on DVD

The other day my son was watching Rio and fell asleep. After I put him in his crib I left the movie on so I could finish watching it while I blogged. I knew then it must be a great movie since most of the movies he watches I will turn off if he falls asleep or goes in his room to play. He can even say "Bird" when he watches it. So cute!

He loves Rio so much he can't even take his eyes off the screen to drink his juice!

Rio Activity Sheet

Movie Summary:
"As summer heats up, spread your wings and celebrate with the funniest birds in town! The all-new comedy-adventure RIO comes to Blu-ray and DVD from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. RIO brings together vivid characters and colorful backdrops amidst energizing Latin and contemporary tunes, creating the ultimate family-friendly music and dance experience for audiences of all ages. In addition to more than one hour of special bonus features and materials, consumers will have access to all-new exclusive levels of the smash video game hit Angry Birds Rio® that showcase your favorite characters from the film!

Captured as a young bird from the wild, Blu (Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network) is a domesticated Spix Macaw living thousands of miles away from his homeland, Brazil. When his human owner Linda (Leslie Mann, 17 Again) discovers that he is the last male of his kind, they head south to Rio de Janeiro to meet the only other female. But it's far from love at first sight between the socially-awkward, flight-challenged Blu and the fiercely independent, high-flying female, Jewel (Anne Hathaway, The Princess Diaries). Shortly after Blu's arrival, the two rare birds are captured by greedy animal smugglers and find themselves lost in the Brazilian rainforest. Unexpectedly thrown together, they embark on a hilarious and clumsy adventure where they learn about friendship, love, courage and spreading one's wings to fly."

The Bonus DVD was full of fun activities for the whole family. We played a fact game that shared info about Rio and of course there was music and dancing. You can get the DVD and bonus material when you buy the 2 disc DVD set. There is also a Party 3 disc set available on August 2, 2011.

 

*I was not paid or compensated for this post. The opinions in this post are 100% mine and may vary from other opinions. I was provided for free a copy of the Rio DVD  for my review.

Barney 123 Learn and Thomas in Charge DVD Review and Giveaway

As always we enjoyed Barney. He has become a staple in our home as my son adores him. He spotted a Barney stuffed animal at the toy store and went nuts. I told him we will see Barney as soon as we get home, he gave me a funny look so I don't think that was good enough for him. But we did see him on the new DVD Barney 123 Learn so I was not technically fibbing lol. 

I liked that Barney was teaching stuff and having fun. My son loves to dance along and pretends to sing what they are saying. The way he mimics the dancing is so cute! The part of the movie where Riff plays a music concert my son had a blast. We smashed on cooking pots with wooden spoons like we were rock stars. He does have a drum but he always tries to stand on top of it so the classic kitchen drum set works great! We always have a fun time watching Barney and he gives me hugs at the end when Barney sings the song. It makes watching it a zillion times worth it to get those sweet hugs!

He had to organize his books so he could use the whole floor to DANCE!

Synopsis:

Tee-riffic adventures are waiting around every corner in this fabulous Barney 123 Learn DVD. Journey into the wonderful world of shapes, numbers, and letters! Get ready for some amazing fun in this Barney 123 Learn DVD. Baby Bop discovers that counting can lead to secret treasures and that there's a kaleidoscope of shapes and colors for everyone to admire. Riff is gearing up for his music concert in the park and BJ lends a hand using the alphabet. Run time 47 minutes.

We are Choo Choo aka Train fans in our home. Thomas the Train is great to watch for the lessons learn and the cool trains. We live near the railroad so we see and hear trains all the time. I always yell out "Its Thomas!" when we see them going by. My son waves to the trains and smiles. I enjoyed this DVD Thomas in Charge  since it was about cleaning up messes. My son loves to clean which is funny and great. He picks up stuff he finds on the floor and throws it away or gives it to me. He even picks up things and the park for me to toss out. I am lucky in that area since he also loves to make messes. Any Thomas fan will love this newest Thomas DVD for their DVD collection.

He pays close attention when the live conductor talks.

Synopsis:

Help the clever Thomas and his friends prepare for the Railway Inspector's visit to Knapford Station in this widely loved Thomas in Charge DVD. All aboard with Thomas and his friends for some locomotive fun! Gordon gets covered in soot when the coal trucks crash and Thomas comes to the rescue. Find out if he comes up with a solution to clean up the mess in this Thomas in Charge DVD. Full steam ahead! Run time 50 minutes.

GIVEAWAY

Win Barney 123 Learn and Thomas in Charge DVD

To Enter This Giveaway: 

What was Your favorite cartoon character as a kid?

 *Leave a comment answering the question and be sure to leave your email address*

Extra Entries: Can be done after leaving a comment for mandatory entry. If the extra entry says 1 extra entry leave 1 comment and 2 extra entries leave me 2 comments and so on. 

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*Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts July 17, 2011 and ends on July 31, 2011 at midnight PST.  Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. I was provide the item in this review for free by the company or PR firm representing them. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others.

Mimicking is so Darn Cute!

He was thinking about taking a leap!

 Over the last few weeks my son has turned into quite the mimicker. What ever he see he tries to do. Which is cute but also a bit like whoa I need to be careful what he sees. But in the cute department he has been hilarious.

We were at the mall play area and he was running around having fun when he saw a boy a few years older than him leaping from leaping from one object to another. My sons eyes got huge, I could see the wheels in his mind spinning like "Why did I not think of that!" It was so cute he was making shooshing sound effects as the boy jumped from bug to bug right in front of him. He was laughing and clapping for him. As soon as the boy stop he climbed up there and tried to do it as well. He couldn't since his little legs don't reach that far but he made the body motion and threw his arms in the air like the other boy did.

It melts my heart to see him interact with other kids. He adores babies and thinks big kids are fascinating. I am grateful for places like the mall play yard and our local parks as a place for him to go and play with other kids.

One part that does make me sad is all the parents I see on their phones texting or talking while their kids are looking back to see if they are watching only to see that no one is. I have learned that my little guy grows so fast and one day he will be too tall to go in the play area and if I don't soak up every moment I will miss it. And don't get me started on the parents who don't follow the play yard rules! I feel like if we don't follow the rules such as no shoes, no food or drinks and no strollers in the play area, how will our kids learn we need to follow the rules if we don't. I know its simple and just a play area but it is a learning experience for them.

Do you take your kids to the mall play areas? If not why?

Tom and Jerry: Fur Flying Adventures Volume 2 Review

Starting July 5th Tom and Jerry: Fur Flying Adventures Volume 2 will be available on DVD. I was really excited to see that Tom and Jerry is now on DVD. I remember so many Sunday mornings watching the cartoon with my brothers and sisters. Its definitely a classic cartoon. A bit more rough and tumble than I remember but that might be just me and my always safety thinking mind! lol

I love to share cartoons I watched as a kid with my son. Makes me get very reminiscent of the fun childhood we had. I also totally forgot that Tom and Jerry don't speak! I love that the orchestra tells the story as the characters move. It was very fun to watch with my guy and he loves Cats so he yelled it over and over as we watched it.

One of my favorite and a sweet episode is the one about the dog Spike and his son. It was really sweet since my son and husband are my two pups! My sons other favorite word Dog was said many and I mean many times during this episode lol. He cracks me up so much!

Synopsis:  One flustered feline + one resourceful rodent = 14 wild and wacky cartoons! Tom – the eternally crabby cat – and Jerry – the hopelessly adorable mouse – find themselves in a fracas once, twice and many times again in this latest bunch of 14 fast and funny cartoons! This time around the dizzy duo takes their tiffs to the beach (Surf-Bored Cat), to the Alps (The A-Tom-inable-Snowman) and to the orchestra (Tom and Jerry in the Hollywood Bowl). In Top with Pops Spike the dog pounces into the fray and Jerry learns a mouse’s best friend is a dog! Even vampire hunter Van Helsing gets in the middle of the cat/mouse combat in Monster Con. Your hunt stops here: this new collection of animated antics will delightfully drop you into the middle of non-stop family fun!

Available on DVD July 5th and you can purchase it online from the WBShop.


*I was not paid or compensated for this post. The opinions in this post are 100% mine and may vary from other opinions. I was provided for free the products mentioned in this post for my review.

Imperial Toy Little Tikes Bubble Leaf and Lawn Blower Review and Giveaway

As a Mom Who Mows I like a nice looking yard but what I like even more is when I can have fun with my son while I work on the yard. We recently had the opportunity to review the Imperial Toy Little Tikes Bubble Leaf and Lawn Blower for our event. We had a blast with it! At first I could not get it to make bubbles but then I realized I had not filled up the blower with enough bubbles. After we filled it up it was bubble mayhem and so much fun!

Cleaning up the yard with his Lawn and Leaf Blower

When my son realized it made bubbles he grabbed it from me and ran off. It was cute to watch him use the Leaf Blower like mom does. He was making sound effects for it as he "cleaned up" the yard. Even the neighbors commented on how cute he looked out there in the yard helping his Mama.
After he had fun with it he handed back to me and wanted me to do it. I think he wants to know if I think something is fun too. He has realized I am the coolest person he knows lol. I held the Bubble Leaf and Lawn Blower above my head and made it rain down bubbles onto us. He giggled with excitement and ran all over the yard with his mouth open to catch the bubbles. We have to work on the part about eating the bubbles but we were having a great time.

We have even taken it up to the park so he could run all over the fields there using his Leaf and Lawn Bubble Blower to clean up the park. The only improvement or tip I have to share is to let off the trigger every minute or so to keep the bubbles flowing. Otherwise its like its blowing too much and it will not make a big amount of bubbles. My son got the hang of it after a bit.

Little Tikes Garden Bubble Leaf and Lawn Blower Product info:

Imperial Toy introduces the new Little Tikes Garden Grow product line for Spring 2011. Driving the Garden Grow line is the battery operated Garden Bubble Leaf and Lawn Blower that blows tons of bubbles and makes real revving sounds with every simple squeeze of the trigger. The clear window on the side conveniently allows kids to see when it's time for a refill at which time is poured into an easily accessible opening on top of the blower. With its realistic look and feel of daddy’s yard blower, the Garden Bubble Leaf and Lawn Blower not only supplies kids with endless hours of fun, but may help them to learn the value of grown up chores, and build confidence in the act of doing a good job. Little Tikes Bubble Solution is included. 

GIVEAWAY

 

Win a Imperial Toy Little Tikes Bubble Leaf and Lawn Blower.

To Enter This Giveaway: 

Visit the Imperial Toy website and tell me another toy you would like to have.

 *Leave a comment answering the question and be sure to leave your email address*

Extra Entries: Can be done after leaving a comment for mandatory entry. If the extra entry says 1 extra entry leave 1 comment and 2 extra entries leave me 2 comments and so on. 

-Like Imperial Toy on Facebook and tell them FrugalFamilyTree sent you +2 

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-Share this giveaway on Twitter or Facebook using the Share Button at the bottom on this post. +2 for each share you do. (can be done once a day)

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-Vote for us on the Were On the Fence  +2 (left hand side just click it)

 

*Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts July 12, 2011 and ends on July 23, 2011 at midnight PST.  Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. I was provide the item in this review for free by the company or PR firm representing them. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others.