Easy Recipe for a Pirate Fairy Family Movie Night on the Fly (plus Blue Pixie Dust Cookies!) #ProtectPixieHollow #shop #cbias

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This #ProtectPixieHollow shop has been compensated as part of a Disney The Pirate Fairy social shopper amplification for #CollectiveBias and its advertiser.

I'd love to say that our household is very zen and stress-free, but I can't . . . not even a little bit.  The truth is that ours is a very high stress household.  Everyone works hard and even the children rarely get downtime on weekdays during the few hours between the time they get off the school bus and the time they go to bed.  My oldest son just completed two big projects for school and all 3 children just recovered from a terrible stomach bug.  That's why I thought a surprise family movie night in the middle of the week would be just what the doctor ordered!  Since Disney's The Pirate Fairy released earlier this week on April 1st, I went to Walmart to pick up the Blu-ray/DVD combo pack and a few other things I would need for planning a family movie night on the fly! (Get it?  Pixies . . . fly?).


Here is my recipe for a quick mid-week family movie night . . . 

Step 1.  Get your children to do extra homework the night before to free up their time for a weekday family movie night.

Step 2.  Go to Walmart and buy Disney The Pirate Fairy (in the New Releases section).  I saw that the Walmart Exclusive gift set with the bonus Bake Off DVD, which also includes 10 animated shorts, was the same price as the regular Blu-ray/DVD combo, so I grabbed it.

Step 3.  If you don't already have the the following, you can grab these at Walmart too:  large cupcake liners that look like flowers (I bought Wilton cupcake liners, but you could probably cut the shapes out of regular ones), iridescent ribbon (like Tinker Bell's wings), green cellophane Easter grass, covered straw cups, refrigerated sugar cookie dough, blue sugar crystals, a small round cookie cutter, confectioners sugar, and some Pirate's Booty snacks (Arrrrrrrgh!!!).

Step 4.  Bake and decorate the mini Blue Pixie Dust cookies in advance (see the super-easy recipe at the bottom).

Step 5.  Set up a little "Pixie Hollow Patch" with everything you need for the movie with one serving of Blue Pixie Dust cookies, one serving of Pirate's Booty, and one cup of milk per child.

Step 6.  Eat an early dinner.  If you didn't have time to cook, then order takeout to make things as stress-free as possible and to ensure that the children don't get to bed too late since it's a school night.

Step 7.  Sit down with your children and enjoy the movie!  (I totally enjoyed it as much as the children did.)


Other ways to make your family movie night fun . . . 

• Read a Disney Fairies book for your bedtime story after the movie
• Bookmark The Pirate Fairy games online, so the fun can continue the rest of the week.
• Print out these free printable Pirate Fairy coloring pages for use in the days to come.

Captain Zarina - The Pirate Fairy Scene on Disney Video
Although I've watched several Disney Fairies movies in the past, I have to say that this is honestly my favorite one.  Although I had been introduced to most of the fairies in past movies, this was the first one I've watched that really focused on each fairy's special talent and showed off how amazing and magical each talent was.  I think my favorite fairy is Rosetta because she is such a lady and she beautifies everything she touches.  Still, it would be exciting to have the talent of alchemy, which belongs to the newly introduced fairy, Zarina.

Something else about The Pirate Fairy that both I and my children very much enjoyed is that this movie had a place in time.  To me, other Disney Fairies movies were just adventures pulled out of no specific time from Pixie Hollow.  This one included the winter fairies, whom we were introduced to in the movie Secret of the Wings.  The viewer also eventually realizes that one of the characters is actually a young Captain James Hook (pre-hook) and a newly hatched crocodile named Crocky grows up to be Tick-Tock, the ticking crocodile from Peter Pan.  If your children have not already seen Peter Pan, it might be a good choice for your next family movie night as a follow-up to The Pirate Fairy.

Overall, this movie sends a great message about the flaws of not making an effort to see the potential in the new and nontraditional.  It also shows how important the ability to forgive is, something I want my children to be reminded about as often as possible.

Due to it being a school night, we had to save the bonus features and the Bake Off DVD for the following night.  The Bake Off also contained the theme of tradition vs. innovation and tied in very nicely with the story of Zarina, the pirate fairy.

If you're able to get The Pirate Fairy Blu-ray/DVD and Bake Off DVD gift set at Walmart before they sell out, let me know how you and your children like it!


Now as promised . . . 

Recipe:  Easy Pixie Dust Cookies

WHAT YOU NEED:

refrigerated sugar cookie dough

small round cookie cutter

blue sugar crystals

confectioners sugar

milk (or water)

Step 1.  Preheat the oven as directed on cookie packaging.

Step 2.  Slice the cookie dough per package instructions.  Then use your small round cookie cutter to cut your mini cookies out of the cookie dough slices.  Combine and flatten out the remaining dough to cut additional circles.

TIP:  Because of the small size of the cookies, I do not recommend using shaped cookie cutters.  I used a scalloped one, but it still baked into circles with smooth edges.

Step 3.  After the cut dough has been placed on a cookie sheet at least one inch apart, bake them for HALF the time recommended on the cookie dough package.  Watch the cookies carefully and remove them from the oven as soon as the edges begin to brown slightly.  Let them sit for a few minutes, then remove them with a spatula and put them on a plate to cool.

Step 4.  While your cookies are cooling, put 1/2 cup of confectioners sugar in a small bowl.  Then add a teaspoon of milk (can be substituted with water).  Stir until the icing is smooth and spreadable, but not runny.  If it's too thick, add another 1/4 teaspoon of milk.  If it's too runny, then add a little more powdered sugar.  Keep doing this until the icing is the desired consistency.

Step 5.  Neatly apply the icing to the top of one cookie.  Then sprinkle the blue sugar crystals on top of the freshly iced cookie immediately.  (If the icing begins to set, then the sugar crystals won't sink into it and will fall right off.)  Do this for all your mini cookies.  Serve after the icing has set completely.

Eat and enjoy!!!

Ad: Turn Dinner and a Movie into a Fun Smurfy Low-Stress Family Night (Smurfs 2 Free Printable) #TastyTenders #shop #cbias

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This Smurfs 2 shop has been compensated as part of a family night social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and its client.

When you think of dinner and a movie, what most likely will come to mind is a night out without your beloved children.  However, when that is not possible, it might be fun to turn movie night into family night.  If your family is busy like ours or if your children have early bedtimes, fitting in a full-length movie after dinner can be a bit of a crunch, so why not combine the two?  If allowing your children to eat in the living room is not one of your favorite things to do, let me tell you how we were able to have an easy low-stress Smurfs 2 dinner and movie without dragging out tray tables or worrying about our children spilling their food and drinks.

There were four key factors that made our family night a success . . . a fun movie, a low-mess finger food dinner for kids, a sturdy container for the food that a child can hold steadily with one hand, and a virtually spill-proof straw cup that can be lifted one-handed.  I also added some fun Smurf-themed printable labels to the food tubs and the cups.  Luckily, I was able to find everything I needed in one shopping trip to Walmart.

For the food tubs, I used white Limited Edition (for the Holidays) Ziploc medium square containers and placed a Great Value clear 16oz cup inside each.  I was going to use acrylic straw tumblers for the children's drinks, but then I saw these adorable handled mason jar mugs complete with lids and straws at Walmart.  They came in a variety of colors, but the blue and white seemed especially perfect for our Smurfs-themed family movie night.

To add a little fun to these functional tubs and mugs, I used a downloadable image from www.SmurfHappens.com to make these printable blank Smurfs 2 tags.  You can print them out and use them for name tags, favor tags, or whatever you like.  Instead of putting our children's regular names on the tags, we gave them each names inspired by the Smurfs.  You can write the names directly on the tags after you print them or save the image to your computer to add text digitally before you print the tags out.

TO PRINT:  Make sure your printer is on and ready to print.  Click on the image below to enlarge.  Then right-click and choose print.  Use your browser's back arrow to return to this page.

My husband and I named our children Trendy Smurf, Gamer Smurf, and Hungry Smurf.  I punched holes in one set of tags and used elasticized string to tie them around the mugs.  You could also use regular string, yarn, or ribbon to tie the tags onto the handles.  To attach the labels to the tubs, I simply put rolled pieces of tape on the backsides of the paper.

I was just going to pick up the Smurfs 2 DVD for our family night, but found the Holiday Blu-ray & DVD Movie Gift Set on sale at Walmart, so I could not resist buying it.  Papa Smurf was always my favorite Smurf!

For beverages, we gave our children milk because that is what they usually drink at dinner.  Also, it doesn't hurt that it's not sticky, doesn't stain, and it goes with our Smurfy blue and white theme!

For the finger foods, we chose to serve kid-friendly Batter Dipped Chicken Breast Tenders made by Tyson in Original and in Honey paired with fries.  Both were easy to prepare in the oven and easy to serve.  The fries were served inside the clear cup, which was surrounded by the batter tenders.

This family night was a huge success because of the hot, tasty, and filling batter chicken dinner, the kid-friendly tubs and mugs, and a movie that all 3 children found to be hilarious.  We will definitely be doing dinner and a movie with the whole family again soon.  It was such a fun, stress-free, and mess-free evening.  Which movie would you recommend for our next movie night?

By the time we were done with the movie, our children were stuffed and it was getting close to their bedtime.  If you start your Smurfs movie night earlier, here are some fun activity ideas for after the movie . . .

• Play Hot Potato with your plush Smurf toy.
• Serve blue M&M chocolate chip cookies (baked in advance).
• Print the Smurfs 2 coloring pages for your children to color while watching the movie's bonus features.

What other ideas do you have for fun ways to wrap up family movie night?

Plan a “Teen Beach Movie” Family Movie Night with Disney Channel on July 19th (8pm EST) #TeenBeachMovie

Thank you to Child's Play Communications for providing the trailer and promotional items to facilitate this post. All opinions expressed are my own.

If you are planning on hosting at least one family movie night or sleepover this summer, July 19th would be the perfect evening for it. That is when Disney Channel's "Teen Beach Movie" airs for the first time!  This fun summertime musical is geared towards tweens and young teens, but any adults who enjoyed the movie "West Side Story" will likely also enjoy this tribute to the film.

My family was sent a wide array of props to create a fun beach-themed family movie night of our own.  Read on to see how easy it was to add some fun elements to the standard movie night event, but first checkout this "Teen Beach Movie" trailer . . .


Fun things to include in your "Teen Beach Movie" Family Movie Night . . . 

1.  Inexpensive inflatable beach or pool toys to sit on, such as a raft, a surfboard, or inner tubes.

2.  One or two beach blankets would be great for anyone who likes to sit on the floor.

3.  An inflatable beach ball

4.  A beach bag to hide goodies and treats within.

5.  Whistles to wear around the neck like a lifeguard.

6.  Summer-themed temporary tattoos.

7.  Beach-friendly snacks, like popcorn and fruit.

8.  Leis from the party store or make your own like we did using the free printables from the Teen Beach Movie party kit.

For more fun ideas, such as banners, games, and recipes, checkout the free Teen Beach Movie party kit.  To learn more about this family movie starring Ross Lynch, Maia Mitchell, Grace Phipps, and Garrett Clayton, visit DisneyChannel.com.

Tune into Disney Channel on Friday, July 19th at 8pm EST to catch the premier of "Teen Beach Movie"!

Have a Men In Black 3 Family Movie Night Before the National Release Date! (#SeeMIB3 #CBias)

Now that our oldest son is almost 9 years old, my husband and I have decided that he should be able to watch carefully selected movies that our 5-1/2 year old twins are not yet allowed to watch.  Having Family Movie Nights that are just for the 3 of us is something special we can offer him.  He shares his parents, his toys, and his room, so it is nice to be able to plan something that is just for him.  Our first "big boy" Family Movie Night movie was Men in Black 3.  We waited until the twins went to bed on a weekend night and let our son stay up to watch the movie.  He thought it was so cool that we were able to watch MIB3 2 weeks before the movie was to be released for purchase in stores!

Planning our movie night was actually super-easy.  Here are the 5 things you will need to do . . .

1.  Visit your local Walmart store to pre-order the MIB3 movie on Blu-ray or DVD by purchasing a special pre-purchase box.

2.  Redeem the pre-purchase code inside the box by visiting Vudu.com.  If you do not already have an account, it is a quick process to register on Vudu.  Once you have redeemed your code, you will see Men in Black 3 (Pre-Purchase) available under the MyVUDU tab.

3.  Although you can view the movie on your PC, you can also watch it on your television via Vudu on your D-Link MovieNite Plus or Roku streaming media players.  Simply go to Vudu HD on your streaming media menu and search for MIB3.  Then select the "watch" option to view the movie.

4.  Have some space-themed snacks on hand.  Since it was evening-time I did not want to offer our son anything too sugary.  I decided to serve Space Adventures Goldfish, Cheese Balls (they sort of resemble planets, don't they?), and green Gatorade.

5.  I had our son wear black sunglasses and a black tie I made using black construction paper, black ribbon, and a piece of tape.  All I did was turn a piece of black construction paper diagonally and cut a tie shape out of it, making sure I had an extra inch or so at the top.  Then I made a one-inch fold at the top of the tie and secured it on the back with a piece of tape.  Then I fed the black ribbon through the loop I had made on the back and tied the black necktie loosely around my son's neck.

What do you think? . . .

If you want to be able to say that you were one of the first ones to have a Men In Black 3 Family Movie Night, head over to Walmart to pick up your special pre-purchase copy.  Our movie night was so much fun and we made some great memories with our son.  He cannot wait to watch MIB3 again when our DVD copy arrives in the mail next week!


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 Sony #CBias #SocialFabric #SeeMIB3.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Have a Disney Pixar "BRAVE" Family Movie Night at Home with On Demand

 If you are looking for your next family movie night movie, look no further because Disney Pixar BRAVE is now available on demand.  If you had read my review of this PG movie and you have younger children, you may have decided to hold off on seeing the movie on the big screen because of two intense scenes in the film.  Well, now is your family's chance to watch the movie on a smaller screen in the comfort of your own home.  Other than the two scenes, my children thoroughly enjoyed this movie, which is filled with humor and adventure.  Princess Merida has such heart and is a true heroine.

Take a peek for yourself . . .


To order BRAVE on demand, contact your local cable or satellite TV provider.


Thank you to Disney ABC Domestic Television for providing a prize pack for our contest, as well as for my family.

Our BRAVE On Demand Prize Pack (ARV $63) includes the following:

• $25 Visa Gift Card (so your family can enjoy BRAVE on demand)
• The official BRAVE soundtrack CD
• BRAVE stationary set
• BRAVE t-shirt

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck in the drawing!

Holiday Gift Idea: Tinker Bell in Disney's "Secret of the Wings" on Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/DVD

For our most recent Family Movie Night, we watched the latest Tinker Bell movie from Disney, Secret of the Wings.  I have to say that this movie was delightful and would make an especially wonderful gift for sisters this Holiday, although it is a movie that would be enjoyed by both boys and girls.  It is filled with adventure, surprises, magic, and even what possibly could be classified as a miracle.  Also, it is a treat to have such famed actors like Anjelica Huston, Lucy Lui, Timothy Dalton, Mae Whitman, and more, providing the voices and personalities behind each character.

In this movie, Tinker Bell's curious and adventurous nature leads to the discovery that she actually has a sister who is a frost fairy named Periwinkle.  With so many things in common, such as identical wings, pompoms on their shoes, and their hobbies of collecting lost items, there was an instant sisterly bond.  The pair were determined to change the rules that have always separated winter fairies from warm-weather fairies.

(Click any image to enlarge)

As part of their shared adventure, Tinker Bell experiences many firsts, such as sledding, while Periwinkle sees her first rainbow, fish swimming in water, and fluttering butterflies.  In the end, Tinker Bell suffers one of the worst things that could happen to a fairy, but that is where the miracle comes in . . .

In addition to some fun music videos, our children's favorite DVD bonus feature was the "Pixie Hollow Games." Even though they had seen this 22-minute adventure before, they thoroughly enjoyed it as much this time as they did the first time they watched it.

You can find Secret of the Wings at most major retailers of Disney movies, such as the Disney Store, Amazon.com, Target, Walmart, and more.  It is available in a Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/DVD combo, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, DVD, and digital download.


Thank you to Click-Communications for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon.

Introducing the Next Generation to the Movie "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial"

My family and I sat down and watched the E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray/DVD box) and what a wonderful treat it was to share something that was such a giant part of my childhood with my kids.  E.T. dominated my childhood nearly as much as Star Wars did, chiefly because the main character, Elliot, was the same age as I when I saw it in the theater. Elliot and I played with the same toys, rode the same bike, had the same sibling relationships, and we both were dealing with separated parents. Elliot was me in so many ways and, as a result, E.T. impacted my life immensely.

When Karen and I had the opportunity to receive and write about the anniversary edition of E.T. I couldn't say yes fast enough. It was exciting to see if my kids would have the same reaction I had as a child 30 years later.  You know what? They did! They loved it! I was worried that some of the intense scenes would be too much for my nearly six year old twins but they sat right through it (with a few extra squeezes on their favorite stuffed friends). It is refreshing to see kids so entertained by 30 year old storytelling without all the gee-whiz effects that dominate movies today.  What a pleasure it was to relive the joy of seeing this movie with my family, and what an even greater pleasure it was to see my kids enjoy it as much as I did. My nearly nine year old son was moved to tears, as was I when I saw it for the first time. ET still has that power after 30 years!

The E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Anniversary Edition set includes Blu-Ray, DVD, Digital Copy, and Ultraviolet versions of the movie. You can see this movie on any device you wish, as a result, even on somebody else's device via the Ultraviolet cloud based service.

In addition to the movie there are all the extras you would expect, including deleted scenes and special anniversary features. The extra scenes are light and entertaining and the bonus feature interviewing the actors added insight into the making of the movie.

The movie was digitally remastered and looks fantastic compared to any previous edition. The picture was crisp and the audio was excellent in the DVD copy. I can only imagine how wonderful the Blu-ray would look on a giant HD TV!

With the availability of streaming and on demand movies, people don't buy a lot of movies today, but this one is a must-own. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Anniversary Edition would be a great Holiday gift this year. What a no-brainer gift for some otherwise difficult to shop for people. I cannot wait for my friends and relatives to relive their childhood like I did watching this movie.  You can find it here on Amazon.com currently selling for just $17.74 with Free Super Saver Shipping.  This movie retails for $34.98 and can also be found at most major movie retailers.


Thank you to Click-Communications for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon.

8 Musts For a Fun Easter "HOP" Movie Viewing Party

For those who like to plan family movie nights with their children, the recent release of the movie HOP on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital download may inspire you to go one step further.  I had an enormous amount of fun planning a mini viewing party for my family and our children just loved having something a little different than the usual popcorn and a movie.  If you would like to do something special this year with your children for Easter, I have shared my easy low-cost party ideas below.


8 Things You'll Need for a Fun HOP Viewing Party . . . 

1.  HOP on DVD or Blu-ray - If you haven't already, you can purchase the movie HOP at retailers, such as Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and Amazon.com.  Many retailers are promoting this movie with limited time special offers.  For example, Best Buy is offering a FREE 7" Bunny Minion Plush toy with the purchase of the HOP Blu-ray/DVD combo pack.  (All special offers are only valid while supplies last.)

2.  Easter Bunny-themed books - HOP:  Chicks Versus Bunnies and HOP:  Meet the Easter Bunny are the perfect titles to include in your viewing party.  They can be used for a short storytime before the movie begins or to use as a special bedtime story later that night after the party.

(Click any photo to enlarge)

3.  An assortment of Easter candy - The candy factory on Easter Island in the film HOP will surely impress your children.  They will likely recognize some of their favorite candies in the movie, so it would be fun to serve at least some of the candy seen in the film.  I used ceramic flower pots (just $2.50 each at Target) and chalkboard plant markers (only $1.00 each at Target) to create a candy display.  I lined each pot with wax paper since I was not sure if they were safe for serving food.  The selection of candy I chose to include were classic jelly beans, Hershey's Assorted Filled Easter Eggs (filled with Hershey's Kisses, Mini Peanut Butter Cups, Cadbury Mini Eggs, and more), and Whoppers Malted Robin Eggs.

4.  An easy Easter-themed sticker craft - We had our children decorate two paper cups each . . . one for their beverage and one to hold their candy during the movie.  You can find pads of Easter stickers for about $1 each at A.C. Moore or Target's dollar section.  Our children had lots of fun with this easy mess-free activity and could not wait to fill their cups with candy.

5.  Pizza with your guests' favorite toppings - We opted to serve pizza because it is something that everyone likes and the children usually eat it fairy quickly.  They each only ate one slice because they wanted to leave room in their bellies for treats during the movie.

6.  Lots of balloons - An inexpensive way to create a party atmosphere is to use lots of balloons when decorating.  We only needed a manual balloon pump (like the ones used to make balloon animals), balloons, and curling ribbon.  Then we used transparent tape and hung the balloons over the viewing area from the ceiling.  We also put some balloons around and above the television.

7.  Bunny ears - What party would be complete without some kind of party favor?  Bunny ears would make great favors for younger children to have as a keepsake of the event.  Our 8 year old son did not wear his during the movie, but our preschoolers loved them.

8.  Freshly popped popcorn - I served movie theater butter microwave popcorn in reusable plastic popcorn tubs I had purchased from iParty last year to use during our family movie nights.  I wanted to make sure the children were full on popcorn before I let them loose on their cups filled with candy.

Of our 3 children, our 8 year old son enjoyed the movie the most.  I heard him laugh out loud on many occasion, such as when E.B. demonstrates how he can product jelly beans.  This film does contain live action and quite a bit of dialogue, so it did not hold our preschoolers' attention during some parts.  Still, everyone had a very fun time at our viewing party.

Visit www.HopMovie.com and HOP on Facebook to learn more about this film.  Also, remember to checkout the limited time special offers from select retailers of HOP on Blu-ray/DVD.


Thank you to Universal Studios Home Entertainment for providing a complimentary copy of the movie, books, party supplies and, a gift card to help us plan our viewing party.

"Game of Your Life" is the Perfect Family Movie Night Choice for Gamers (Dec. 2nd at 8pm EST on NBC)

The newest Family Movie Night film from Walmart and P&G, Game of Your Life, does an excellent job of engaging the general population of tweens, teens, adults.  This movie is centered around gaming, a pastime enjoyed by people of all ages.

There are three concepts in this movie that makes it successful in speaking to today's youth.  The first is that geeks are cool!  In fact, there are several references made in the film that only a true geek would understand and appreciate fully.  The second is the idea of an elite gaming academic program in college.  What hardcore gamer has not dreamed of going to school for game design and then ultimately being paid to create the same games he or she loves to play?  The third concept that many young people can relate to is the pressure of having to contribute financially to help their family in today's struggling economy.

Two important themes introduced in this film that will open opportunities for discussion with your children are plagiarism and what it really means to be on a team.  It is a common misconception that the team members who perform better are more important than the others.  This film shows this to be untrue, but rather every team member is important to the success of the whole team.  Other themes are having to experience the loss of a parent and the inner struggle of deciding when it is acceptable to break the rules.




As an adult, I found this movie to be very entertaining.  I never found myself to be bored or to be looking at the clock.  I would recommend it for anyone from middle school age to adult.

You can catch the premiere of Game of Your Life on NBC this Friday (Dec. 2nd) at 8pm ET/7pm CT.  Visit FamilyMovieNight.com and Family Movie Night on Facebook to learn more about this and past Family Movie Night films.


I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of P&G and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Family Movie Night Made Easy with Verizon FiOS Flex View

Our household of five is busier than we would like most of the time.  Even if we are all home at the same time, we are rarely all in the same room together.  We actually have 3 televisions and more computers than we have household members.  Simply stated, although we enjoy some of the same things, we all have our own favorite list of shows that we like to watch.  When Comcast raised their prices and we switched our cable, Internet, and phone services to Verizon FiOS, the variety of channels that came with the Triple Play plan was one of the reasons I was happy with our decision to make the change.  There are shows appropriate for preschool-aged children all the way to adults everyday from morning to bedtime.

Since our household is always so busy, I like to have the children eat at the table for all three meals.  It is nice to sit together, enjoy a meal, and talk about anything that is on their minds.  I also find that they eat more quickly at the table than when they are seated in front of the television.  Once in awhile though, when we do have two hours to devote to dinner, we will eat in the living room and watch a movie together.  That is what we did tonight using Verizon FiOS Flex View.  We looked through all the new releases available on the on-screen menu and our children chose Rango, which none of us had seen in the movie theaters.

Flex View worked out very well for us because we could pause the movie for bathroom breaks and rewind it to see what we missed when the children were talking too much.  For a family like ours who only has Family Movie Night once a month at the most, a service like Flex View makes the most sense.  We would not get much use out of a monthly unlimited video service.  Paying just $4.99 for the entire family to watch a movie (without having to leave the house) that would have cost us $50+ to see in the theater was perfect!

My husband and I also liked using Flex View to watch movies we are not positive that both of us would like.  That way, we start watching the movie together in the living room, but if one of us does not care for it, then the other can go finish watching it on one of the computers by him or herself.  You should know that you will need to download Verizon Media Manager before you can access Flex View on your computer.  I recommend your doing that ahead of time instead delaying your movie the first time you want to watch one on your computer.  Flex View is also available for mobile devices and you do not need to be a Verizon Wireless customer to use it.  Unfortunately for us, our Windows Phones are not on the list of compatible devices yet.

If you would like to learn more about Verizon FiOS, start by checking to see if FiOS is available in your area.


I wrote this review while participating in a brand team campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Verizon FiOS. Verizon will send me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Review: "Who Is Simon Miller?" Premieres 8/6 on NBC at 8pm EST

With young children in our household, Family Movie Night usually only consists of an animated film that is Rated G.  Our oldest son is approaching the age of 8, but I am still wary about what types of films he is able to watch.  The element of danger still makes him very anxious, whether it presents itself in a video game, a television show, or a movie.  Walmart and P&G are about to air their 7th Family Movie Night made-for-TV movie . . . Who Is Simon Miller?  This is a spy film I am considering allowing our son to watch since he has been "playing spy" so often in recent weeks.  I was on the fence until my husband and I attended an online screening.  Now I am confident that Who Is Simon Miller? is a movie that our 7.5 year old son will be able to watch and enjoy.

(Click any image to enlarge)

Who Is Simon Miller is about an average dad (Loren Dean) that is secretly leading a double life as an undercover government operative.  When he goes missing, his wife Meredith (Robyn Lively) along with his teenage son Kevin (Drew Koles) and daughter Sarah (Skyler Day) take off to Europe to track him down.  Finding themselves in unexpected danger, the trio uses their individual skills and knowledge to work as a team to hopefully retrieve their father safely, whomever he may really be.

As you will see from the short trailer below, this film has the intrigue of a light spy movie without any violence and gore.  Who Is Simon Miller? would make the perfect first spy movie for a grade school-aged child.  The only thing I could suggest to make this movie more kid-friendly is the addition of a few more spy gadgets.  You can never have enough of those.



You can watch the premiere of Who Is Simon Miller? on Saturday, August 6th at 8pm EST on NBC.  To learn more about this movie or to stay up to date about future Family Movie Night projects by Walmart  and P&G, visit FamilyMovieNight.com and Family Movie Night on Facebook.


I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of P&G and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.