Six Flags Halloween Fright Fest: 3 More Weekends Left

Last weekend my family and I went to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo CA for Halloween Fright Fest. It was such a FUN day! I thought since it was fright fest that it would be too much for my son but they day was filled with family friendly events.

For kids there is a Twick or Tweat area for candy, meeting Looney Toons characters, picture opportunities and fun pumpkin patch with a maze. My son loved it all.

The classic dolphins in the fountain were replaced with spooky creatures and the fountain water was dyed red for a creepy and fun look. There were all sorts of spooky and some creepy Halloween displays all over. We even saw a few witches!

I will say when the day turned into night it was a wild and spooky place! Funny enough my son fell asleep in his stroller at 7:30 as we were pushing him back to the Looney Toons area to ride the carousal. I am glad he did though! The place began to fill with spooky fog, zombies and monsters were lurking about and the Fright Fest was fully underway!! I did see tons of kids there, many getting scared as Halloween is intended and they all had smiles on their faces. We did a little bit of shopping before the 8:30 pm Halloween themed Dolphin show. All day my son had asked to see the dolphins and now he was sleeping like a rock!

But as soon as the music started for the Dolphin show my son woke up and said Dolphins! I am so glad he woke up to see the fun show. We loved it!! The show was so action packed my camera did not get any good shots but I got a fun clip to share.

We saw a fun Sea Lion show, penguins up close ( Happy Feet as my son says) and the super cool Tigers. My son so made me laugh when the Tiger splashed the audience he said "No Cat Cat You Stop That" so funny!

We rode a ton of rides! My son loved it. We went into the Butterfly house that was closed last time we went and it was amazing. My son was trying to grab them and then karate chop them so our trip in there was a quick one but still so wonderful.

If you live in Nor Cali or planning a visit during the weekend of October Six Flags Fright Fest is a fun experience!

There is a few more weekends to visit Fright Fest this month through October 28 including Friday, October 19 and October 26.



Kid Friendly Things to do at Fright Fest:

-Children's Hay Maze
Find your way out through the twists and turns of this autumn favorite located in the Pumpkin Patch (next to Sharky's Snacks).      
-Witches Lair Cookie Decorating Room
Literally eat your own art at our cookie decorating room. Decorate a delicious cookie and munch away! Pumpkin Patch. Fee required.
-Children's Puppet Show
You will laugh along with your kids at this autumn-themed puppet spectacle. Pumpkin Patch.
-Giant Pumpkin
Have any questions or just want to say hello? Your kids can ask the animated giant pumpkin anything during their visit to the patch. Pumpkin Patch.
-Scream Contest
Warm up your vocal cords and get ready to scream in the Scream Contest! The loudest tyke takes home the title of Scream King or Queen. Pumpkin Patch.
-Costume Contest (Children 12 and under only)
Calling all witches, goblins, and ghosts! Dress the kids in their Halloween finest for the park's daily Costume Contest. Looney Tunes Seaport. Only children 12 and under can participate in the Costume Contest. All guests who are not dressed according to our Costume Policy (see above) and Code of Conduct may be subject to management review and discretion.
-SNICKERS® Twick or Tweat Twail
Kids can follow Tweety's Twick or Tweat Twail, visit their favorite characters, and receive sweet treats along the way. Looney Tunes Seaport.
-Monster Party Show
The family can join the Halloween dance party and get their groove on with favorite costume-clad characters. Looney Tunes Seaport.
-The Spoofy Sea Lion Show
This frightful sea lion romp brings lighthearted scares with a twist!


You can learn more about Fright Fest at Discovery Kingdom in CA by visiting the website, facebook and twitter. 


* I was not paid for this post. We will be guest of Six Flags Discovery Kingdom for Fright Fest.

Vtech Two Handset Cordless Headset Push-To-Talk & HD Audio Phone Review

Having a reliable home phone is important to me. Many people have their cell phone as the go to phone but for me I like to have my cell as for emergencies or to talk to family. For work, blogging and things for my son I like to have the home for that. Its always on ready to answer a message and it cant get lost or broken like my cell phone, which it does often lol. When I wanted to get a new phone for the house I went with a brand I have had since my first duplex I moved into when I moved out on my own, Vtech. I had a super cool purple one that worked for many years. But now I need an adult phone that is super functional and sleek looking.

I selected the Vtech Two Handset DECT 6.0 Expandable Cordless Phone with One DECT 6.0 Cordless Headset, Push-To-Talk & HD Audio for my home phone. Its perfect to be able to conduct business on for my family and blog. It has an awesome headset so I can type and talk (multi tasking is a must!) and it has HD audio so I can hear people clearly. Very unprofessional to say "huh or what" on a business call since people often have cell phones that can be unclear, this phone makes it much clearer to hear. The answering machine is great and easy to turn off the ringer like when my son is napping.

I think this would also make a great gift for family members. I know my mother in law could use one of these. So many people have out dated phones. Having two handsets makes it easier for my to answer the phone from my office rather than having to go to the kitchen.

My two favorite functions are Voice Announce® Caller ID Audibly announces the name of the caller on all handsets and the base unit. No need to find the handset to see who's calling—making screening calls that much easier. Push-to-Talk No more shouting through the house—this system doubles as a multiple-handset walkie-talkie to instantly communicate with any or all of the units in your home. I can see these coming in handy to tell my husband dinner is ready from the other room. Plus its an Energy Star labeled phone!

• Backlit keypad and display
• Expandable up to 12 devices (2 devices can be cordless headsets) with only one phone jack
• DECT 6.0 Digital technology
• Digital answering system
• Remote access
• 50 name and number phonebook directory
• Voicemail Waiting Indicator**
• Up to 14 minutes of digital recording time
• Call Screening
• Call Intercept
• Message Retrieval from handset
• Message time and date stamp
• Intercom between handsets
• Conference between an outside line and up to 4 cordless handsets
• Last 10 number redial
• Mute
• Any Key Answer
• Volume Control
• Trilingual prompts allow you to choose between English, Spanish or French.

If you want another great reason to select Vtech as your phone of choice other than the great features they have a great program right now to help the kids of Make A Wish Foundation.

Make A Wish Foundation and Vtech Phone Donation Terms & Conditions:

From July 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012, VTech will donate $2.00 per Qualifying Product sold on www.vtechphones.com and www.babymonitors.vtech.com to Make-A-Wish®, with a minimum guaranteed contribution of $50,000. For more information visit wish.org

“Qualifying Product” shall mean cordless telephones, corded telephones, cordless headsets, or baby monitors, and specifically excludes batteries and parts. VTech offers customers the opportunity to match VTech’s $2.00 donation for each Qualifying Product, at the time of purchase on VTech’s website.

 * I was not paid or compensated for this post. I was sent the Vtech phone pictured  for my review. The opinions are 100% mine and may vary from others.

Today I cried like a baby...

JJ and I at Six Flags while on vacation this summer.

Every morning since school started this fall I have take my kindergartener to school. I get out of the car and walk him to his class, remind him to turn in his homework and we say our good byes (no kiss, he is too grown for that now don't you know). Yesterday morning we saw JJ's little school friend walking from the "drop off" spot right in front of the school to class. I asked JJ if he wanted to walk with his friend. He told me he wanted to walk with him and me to class. So we all walked to class together.

This morning we saw his friend again in the same spot. JJ was so excited to see him and squealed with excitement, he had made an official real friend cause they walked to class together yesterday. Five year old's are so funny! I asked him again today if he wanted to walk with his friend to class. And he told me YES. Ahhh!! I know I have been prompting him to ditch me and shouldn't be surprised when he wanted to, but still. He is my baby and him walking away with his friend, leaving me standing there was a huge step towards independence in my eyes. So we said our quick good bye's and he walked off with his new friend, the two of them side by side.

At that point as I watched him walking away he suddenly looked taller, older and down right cooler to me. And I ached for that baby boy of mine. I want to keep his little sweet and innocent self and store it in a bottle for safe keeping. Silly really, I know. I didn't even cry when I dropped him off the first day of school, but here I was crying like a baby on a random Thursday in the parking lot of the Elementary school that my baby is now attending. This growing up thing has been a little bit hard for me to swallow. But with every milestone I am seeing JJ grow into this sweet, independent, confident kid and it is awesome.

A great place to find your favorite movie quotes, tv quotes and political quotes!

                                         

Hi everyone! Hark.com is a rich media platform that enables communities to upload, find and share their favorite quotes, images or sound bites though any device. Each month, Hark is holding a new contest where you have the chance to win one of several prizes. The prizes change each month and this month we are giving away Fandango giftcards for you to use on any movie out in theaters. And don't forget to check out Hark for your favorite movie quotes, tv quotes and political quotes!



*This is a sponsored post. The opinions are 100% mine and may vary from others.

No baby dolls for this little girl!

After having two boys you could imagine all of the excitement I felt when I found out we were having a GIRL!! I thought of all of the pink clothes, the pretty bows and all of the baby dolls we could play with. There are no baby dolls on this little girls agenda...at least not yet. For the life of me this girl will not play with "her" toys. She has baby dolls already and some pink girlie toys but so far all she does is play cars with the big boys. I know she is still a baby and "monkey see monkey do" and that is what she sees her brothers do all day. It is so funny to see her crawling around on one hand while the other is pushing a car or truck. Soon she will be playing dolls (or not and that is ok too) and think that the boys are too loud (at least I think they are) and I will be able to log in all of my baby doll playing hours. Until then I will enjoy watching Ashley playing right along side her big brothers.

Big Fish Unlimited Review

                                           

                                                         

Are you looking for a way to play premium games on your computer or other devices of all genres? Big Fish Games is a great way to play games at home and online. It is the leading online marketplace for premium casual games. Big Fish offers a new game every day for Mac and PC players, with more than 100 games for your iPhone and iPad. Big Fish now offers Big Fish Unlimited and with this service it allows you to try casual games played on the cloud free for 7 days! Here are a few games for example:

The Lost Kingdom Prophecy

Help Serena save the Kingdom of Rosefal and keep the dreaded Prophecy from happening in The Lost Kingdom Prophecy! The evil wizard, Balaak, has appeared and is determined to destroy Rosefal! Serena and her friends team up to go on a mind-blowing adventure and save the entire world from tragedy. Dive into this Hidden Object game and become a hero, today!

     

Jane's Hotel

Help Jane make her dream come true and build a beautiful 5 star hotel in Jane`s Hotel! You begin with a small 2 star hotel at the outskirts of town and work your way to the top by upgrading accommodations and achieving an excellent reputation. Keep an eye on customer moods and make them happy by building a gold course, serving them exquisite drinks and good meals, or simply cleaning their room.

Fitness Dash

Dinertown`s gotten soft in the middle! Help Jo run a successful chain of gyms in this high-impact Time Management game! After a staggering tug-of-war defeat against the Meatropolis Mashers fitness-minded Jo decides to get Dinertown`s citizens off the burgers and shakes and onto the treadmill! Get physical with Fitness Dash!

Awakening: The Goblin Kingdom

After overcoming the Dreamless Castle and Moonfell Wood, you have come to the rugged, mountainous snow-peaked Goblin Kingdom. Princess Sophia, the only human seen in over a century in this part of the world, seeks answers from its wise King about the fate of the rest of her people. But dark portents await: things are not well in the Kingdom, and dark shadows lurk waiting to trap the unwitting Princess in Awakening: The Goblin Kingdom!

Browsing the games.

Got a little addicted to Jane's Hotel!

Here is info about Big Fish Unlimited and how it works-
Big Fish Unlimited enables customers to play casual games that are running in the cloud and are instantly accessible on a variety of connected devices via interactive streaming video. As the games are physically playing in the cloud, game progress is saved remotely, allowing customers to easily continue their sessions across devices, which now includes PC browsers and Android devices, and will expand to support Connected TVs.

What I like about Big Fish Unlimited is that you don't have to download the games your computer. I also like that you can try out Big Fish Unlimited FREE for 7 days, a preview before you decide this is the subscription for you! And if you are a big gamer a subscription access to the Big Fish Unlimited premium catalog is available for a $7.99 monthly fee. A really good price considering they have more than 100 instant streaming games, and they are adding new games every week! I am the type of person where I really get into the game and the in's and out's of it, like buliding a hotel chain or playing a great Hidden Object game. I like that I can play games at home or on my phone while waiting at places like the doctors office or soccer practice. 


*This is a sponsored post. The opinions are 100% mine and may vary from others.

Do you buy Pink Items for October?

 By Laura

Each year when October arrives I am excited for Halloween. But I also am keeping my eyes out for products that "go pink" for October Breast Cancer Awareness month. I enjoy putting my money where I think it will be donated to research for a cure. Just this week I bought soup and chicken sausages since they both had the pink ribbon on them.

If you are a local reader, Sacramento / Citrus Heights / Roseville CA reader there is an event at the Fountains of Roseville.

HOT Pink 5k
21 Oct 2012 8:45 am

Placer County Breast Cancer Endowment will host the Fifth Annual HOT Pink Run to raise money for breast cancer research. This year’s family friendly run will feature a NEW 10K, 5K Run/Walk and 1 Mile Fun Run/Walk. The chip-timed 5K & 10K races start and finish at the Fountains in Roseville. Register at www.hotpinkfunrun.org

Do you purchase products that are Pink for October or participate in fundraisers like a marathon?

Champions for Kids Dial Into Giving Donation #DialCFK

By Patricia

This month's Champions for Kids Simple Service Project is all about providing personal care items for children in need. Champions for Kids has teamed up with Dial Soap in the month of October to encourage donations of these very important items that children need to be and stay healthy.

I went to my local Walmart to purchase items to donate to my favorite place that helps those in need, the Kingston Food Bank. I bought lots of Dial hand soap and Dial bar soap for donation.

Did you know that Dial Complete is the #1 Doctor Recommended antibacterial hand wash? According to the Centers for Disease control, 80% of infectious diseases are spread through hand contact. You can go here and find out how to teach your children the importance of regular hand washing, and the best way to do it effectively.

I decided to make some personal care kits to donate for kids. I was also asking friends and family for their own donations to my project. For the care kits, I included Dial Soaps, kids shampoo/conditioner, toothbrushes and toothpaste, and fun nylon scrubs.

Low income families that receive food stamps are not allowed to use them to buy any personal care products, and some families struggle to obtain them on a regular basis. #DialCFK

My grandson helped me put together my care kits. We wrapped them in cellophane and a bow so that they would look cheerful and make the child that receives them will feel like they are getting a gift. 

My grandson has helped me on Simple Service Projects before, and I am so happy that he understands that when he is helping me, he is really helping other children.

I chose to make my donation to the Kingston Food Bank. It is run with love and devotion by Barb Felton,

whose own parents started the food bank over 50 years ago. I love donating here, and knowing my donations are always needed, and put to good use right here in the community.

Here we are making our donation of care kits to the food bank. Barb and her volunteers distribute much more than food. Household items, clothing, baby clothes, diapers and more are available. I am happy my donation will be able to be given to kids that really need them.

You can Dial into Giving and help the children in your community by getting involved in the October Champions for Kids Simple Service Project. Simply gather donations from family, friends, or co-workers and donate them to a charity that benefits children. You can be one of millions to help Champions for Kids meet their goal of helping 20 million people by 2020.

To learn more about Champions for kids and how you can get involved in Simple Service Projects, go to their website  Champions For Kids. You can read my Google+ story about my shopping trip to Walmart for Dial Soap products for ideas for your donation.

You can learn more about Champions for Kids and Dial by following them online:

Champions for Kids Twitter 
Champions for Kids Facebook
Dial on Facebook
Dial on Twitter

*I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Dial Soaps  #DialCFK  #CBias #SocialFabric

Oh Please Burt's Bees!

I have been obsessed in a way with Burt's Bees since I was in my early 20s. I love the way the Honey and Milk lotion smells, the way the tomato soap feels on my face and oh my the lemon cuticle cream AMAZING! I have cut back on my use of the products as my budget has been smaller for me since becoming a Mom. Then I discovered Baby Bee! I love using the products on my son, the one product I ALWAYS have in my house is the Burt's Bees All Better Baby Balm. This balm can heal bruises, scraps, bumps and the allergic rash my son gets on his face from time to time since the poor guy inherited my sensitive skin. I had a stock pile of it and this last week it ran out. I thought no biggie I will go get more. Well heck I was wrong! I have frantically looked at Target, Walmart, Safeway, Burt'sBees.com all over the net to find it always says Product Not Available or Not in Stock. I messaged Burt's Bees on Facebook, did not hear back. I am freaking out a bit that I cannot find this product. Its my favorite thing for my son's owies and I NEED it! I am on a mission to find some. I am planning to call the head quarters of Burt's Bees to get some answers.

So please do tell me if you see it in a store near you so I can rest easy knowing its still out in the world I just have to find it! I will be so sad if its been discontinued.

World Market's HGTV Room Make Over Inspiration

In the last few years I have really enjoyed home decor. I have always loved the books and magazines but never really tried to apply it to my own life. I always thought it was too expensive or not my genre of expertise. Since my son has been born I have wanted to create a home feel for him. I find great items at World Market that are unique and affordable. World Market has been a place I have shopped for picture frames, gifts, delicious food and now home decor. I have many rooms in my house that I would love to have redecorated. The room I would pick first would be my dining room. Let me show you a few pictures of what it looks like.

I like the color of the walls but I need more color. The phone is on an odd place and the table has seen better days!

This corner I had a shelf there but it was knocked down by accident and now the elliptical is pushed in the corner. I do not like it in that spot I would love a book case there.

For me the dining room is a place for my family to come together at night and reconnect for the day. I love eating together at the table. Sadly the dining room is not the put together place I would like it to be. For one we are missing a chair that was broken so there is 3 chairs, for now there are only 3 of us but when people come over for dinner its a mix match of other chairs added. I always say when I win the lottery I will get the set I want. BUT I don't have to wait for the lottery winnings if I end up winning the World Market HGTV Passport to Style Sweepstakes! The Grand Prize package includes a $10,000 World Market shopping spree and design consultation with an HGTV Designer. I could decorate the whole house with World Market for that much money! Since I have entered the sweepstakes I have started to imagine what I would want my room to look like.

Here is my dream dining room collage:

I want my room to have rich wood colors but splashes of fun colors like the Lime Ella Chairs. The Ochre Khadi Yellow Linens and a beige rug keep the room soft with the dark wood colors. The Augustus Book Shelf I would fill with cookbooks and decor items like some of the Owl stuff I have seen at World Market.

You can check out my great Pinterest Board for my World Market Dining Room Makeover Inspiration. I found so many great items online at World Market it was hard to pick just a few items I would want. I could spend all day on the site browsing for all the rooms in my house. Hopefully I will win the World Market HGTV Passport to Style Sweepstakes so you can all see my home transformed!


Win a Room Makeover with World Market’s HGTV Passport to Style Sweepstakes

HGTV Passport to Style Sweepstakes

• Grand Prize package includes: A $10,000 World Market shopping spree and design consultation with an HGTV Designer
• There will also be 3 runner up prize winners that will each receive a $1,000 World Market gift card!
• The HGTV Sweepstakes runs from September 22, 2012 until October 26, 2012.
• If you share the sweepstakes with 5 of your friends (via FB share or email) you can receive 5 additional bonus entries. This is part of the registration process when entering. Users can also enter daily for more chances to win.
• Enter online at http://worldmarketsweepstakes.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/worldmarket/app_315124871876517

Have you heard about the World Market Explorer Program?  It is a rewards program where member earn exclusive perks, like coupons, offers, previews, and beyond. Spend $100 on Gourmet Foods and Non-alcoholic beverages and you will receive a $10 reward that you can use to purchasing almost anything in store or online. You can also earn FREE COFFEE Rewards! (Buy 6 12oz. bags and your 7th one is free!)

Head on over to World Market Sweepstakes page to enter to win! Who wouldn't LOVE a house decorated by World Market!

*This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™, but all my opinions are my own. http://cmp.ly/3/KqtZiE