Win 4 Day Passes To Castaway Bay [Giveaway]

As I blogged earlier this week, we had a great stay at Castaway Bay last Friday. I am honestly wishing we were headed there again! I am thinking I am not alone in this wish.


This trip was a great way for us to recharge during this long, LONG winter.

If you're interested in staying at Castaway Bay as a family as we did, they do have some great family packages. The best, in my opinion, includes 4 color your own activities, a pizza dinner, a family photo with a Peanuts character, 2 arcade cards and free kid meals at TGI Fridays and Mango Mikes. Often times, a lot of the cost of traveling is eating, so cutting down on kid food would be a huge help--not to mention that Castaway Bay also has rooms with refrigerators, so this helps, as well.

But what if you live close enough to travel in a day or you're staying nearby? Castaway Bay also offers day passes to the waterpark.

For one reader, I have four day passes to Castaway Bay to giveaway. These passes are valid through October 26, 2014 and will admit four people to one day of fun at Castaway Bay (you can take me). As I commented in my last post, there are many fun things to do in this area. Go in the summer and you can hit up Cedar Point and then spend the next day cooling off on water slides. Or go now and spend an entire day warming up in the hot tub! All you need to do to enter is comment on this post and tell me what you do to recharge during the winter.

Giveaway closes Tuesday, February 18th. Good luck!

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Movie Pack {Giveaway}

Giveaway closed. random.org chose comment #1, Megan. Thanks for entering!

I always think of The Hunger Games as the trilogy that launched a new genre of dystopian young adult lit, so like many people, I'm pretty excited for movie two: Catching Fire (click that to watch the exclusive trailer if you haven't already!).

Catching Fire is set to release on November 22 and as book 2 of The Hunger Games trilogy begins with Katniss and Peeta returning home safe after the 74th annual Hunger Games. But like life in any dystopian society, nothing is truly as it seems and along her victory tour, Katniss senses that rebellion is brewing, one surely to simmer over as President Snow announces his plans for the 75th annual Hunger Games.

In celebration of the release of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, I have a prize pack for one lucky reader!

The prize pack includes:
*One (1) movie poster
*One (1) official movie T-shirt with Mockingjay logo
*Two (2) wristbands
*One (1) iPhone cleaner
*One (1) iPhone dot

To enter, leave a comment telling me which book of The Hunger Games trilogy was your favorite. Me? Catching Fire was my favorite. Haven't read the series? GASP. Go out and buy the books right now! You can still enter, just let me know who your favorite character is.
Giveaway closes Tuesday, November 19th. Only open to US residents.

I received the same prize pack in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own.

The Odd Life of Timothy Green {Giveaway}

**Giveaway closed! Congrats to Thea**

Given that I have two young kids, I don't get the chance to see many kid movies that aren't cartoons. So when I was given the chance to review The Odd Life of Timothy Green, I jumped at it. A kid movie that isn't a cartoon? Sign me up!

To be honest, I wasn't quite sure if the boys would be into it because as I said, they're still in the cartoon watching stage. To my surprise, they both loved it and have watched it three times since we received it. This is big for Tommy who struggles to sit through feature length cartoons, let alone movies that have actual humans in them.

And as for me? Well, I cried. I could relate to so many of the parenting struggles in the movie, the wondering if you're doing it right and questioning yourself constrantly. I loved the magical theme and the humor. Simply put, I loved this movie--and if you haven't seen it, I believe you will, too. It also opened up some good discussions with my five year old on these struggles and the way we sometimes don't always do our best, but we try so very hard.

Want a chance to enjoy this movie, too? The Odd Life of Timothy Green releases tomorrow, but I have a copy of the two-disc combo pack for one lucky winner (*cannot ship to PO boxes and will need a phone number to ship to Canadian readers). To enter, simply leave a comment telling me why you would like to win this DVD. Good luck! Giveaway closes Wednesday, December 5th.

I was given a copy of the DVD to review, but opinions are all my own.

Disney/Pixar's Brave [Giveaway]

**Giveaway closed! Congratulations to Heather, comment #17**

I have a confession to make: as a little girl, I was never really into princesses. My favorite Disney movie? Alice in Wonderland. I just wasn't your princess loving little girl. I liked to climb trees and run through the woods. I was the type of kid who came home muddy at the end of a day and fought getting dressed up, so I didn't really understand the whole princess in a frilly dress thing. While I thought that Belle was very nice, I definitely had no interest in wearing that uncomfortable looking dress.

This makes me think that I would've loved Merida.


Merida is not the princess of my childhood and for that, I am glad. Merida is a princess who I would've loved, riding on horseback through the woods shooting with her bow and arrows. Merida is determined to carve out her own path and sets out on a chaotic adventure full of twists and turns that leave the viewer wondering if she'll find her true path in the end.

I love so much about this movie. I love that it's set in Scotland with stunning views of the Scottish highlands, along with a score that combines Gaelic melodies alongside songs by Mumford and Sons. I was a little worried that my boys (ages 3 and 5) would find some parts of this movie scary, but they were okay with being talked through it. There's also a great deal of comic relief with Merida's little brothers, all of whom reminded me of my three year old! Overall, my boys thoroughly enjoyed this movie--and I enjoyed it as an adult, which is always a bonus. I love that Merida is a strong female protagonist. I feel that it's important for little girls to follow strong female characters, but I also feel that it's important for boys to do the same. Also, as an adult woman, I could empathize a lot with Merida's relationship with her mother. I think all women have been there!

Have you seen it yet? Did you love it? Have you not seen it but want to? Brave debuts on November 13th and I have a copy of the Five-Disc Ultimate Collector's Edition for one lucky reader! The bonus features are so much fun, including one that goes through the animation used in creating the brawl in the hall--one of my favorite scenes in the movie.

To enter, all you need to do is comment and tell me if you were more of a Merida or a Belle as a child. Giveaway will run through Wednesday, November 7th. Winner will be chosen by random.org. Good luck!

Although I received a copy of Brave to review, all opinions are my own.