Mommy Brain

Disney’s irresistible talking puppies return in a heartwarming holiday adventure on Blu-ray with theater-quality picture and sound! Take a fantastic journey with your beloved Buddies to the magical world of the North Pole! Join Budderball, B-Dawg, Rosebud, Buddha and Mudbud in this classic Christmas tale that will have you believing in miracles. When Puppy Paws, the feisty son of Santa Paws, forgets the true meaning of the season, it’s up to the Buddies to remind him that the true meaning of Christmas spirit is about things you can’t wrap in a box or tie with a bow. Unleash a stockingful of Christmas cheer for you and your family with this fun-filled film, featuring never-before-seen bonus materials. It’s sure to be a holiday classic – especially in Blu-ray High Definition.

Noah’s review: Santa Buddies is probably the cutest of all the Buddies movies, because Tiny looks just perfect and had the perfect voice.

Jonathan’s review: It was a cute and very good movie. Everyone who watches it will think it’s great.

Josiah’s review: The Buddies series is a cute series. My favorite one was Snow Buddies cause I liked the cute little Husky – it was my favorite character. What I think is funny about Santa Buddies is that they call the dog catcher Mr. Scrooge.

Santa Buddies is available now on DVD.

Disclosure: Santa Buddies was provided to me by Click Communications for the purpose of review. The above link is an Amazon Affiliates link. If you click the link and subsequently purchase anything, I receive a small percentage.

~ Book Review: Finger Lickin’ Fifteen by Janet Evanovich
~ Whatcha Watchin’? Wednesday: V, Fringe, Bones, etc.
~ Book Review: The Sky Inside by Clare B. Dunkle
~ Movie Review: UP
~ Book Review: The Geography of Love: A Memoir by Glenda Burgess
~ Book Giveaway: The Purloined Boy by Mortimus Clay

Laura Carrot’s Christmas stocking might be empty this year because her dad is in danger of losing his job. While Larry thinks a letter to the North Pole should fix the problem, Bob knows what will really help…and tells the story of a little boy named Nicholas who made a discovery in Bethlehem that changed Christmas forever. But what did Nick learn and how can it possibly help Laura and her family? Find out as the Veggies discover the true joy of giving to others – at Christmas time and throughout the year!

The kids and I have been celebrating Christmas a bit early – at least in our DVD choices lately. We haven’t watched a Veggie Tales DVD in a long time, and I was a bit concerned the kids might have grown out of the funny, music-loving Veggies. They still seemed to enjoy this simple story, though, and I enjoyed the message that it promoted. This year’s Christmas will be one of the most difficult in a long time for a lot of people, thanks to our current economy. What better time to remember what Christmas is really about – and to learn that we can make Christmas a bit better for others by giving of ourselves.

Veggie Tales: St. Nicholas – A Story of Joyful Giving is available now on DVD. The DVD special features include: Give This Christmas Away, a music video featuring Matthew West and Amy Grant; a sing-along with Larry; a discussion guide; and a family activity.

(Disclosure: Veggie Tales: Saint Nicholas – A Story of Joyful Giving was provided to me by Special Ops Media for the purpose of review. The link in this post is an Amazon Affiliate link. If you click on the link and then purchase something, I receive a small percentage.)

So, it’s day 5 of NaNoWriMo. I’m at 8,853 words – a bit over where I need to be, which is good, since I didn’t get to write yesterday at all. Michelle and I met at a local internet cafe, and against all odds, actually got some writing done! (Kevin was convinced the writing was just an excuse to get together and gab.)

Saturday is my birthday, so I’m looking forward to Mom and Dad coming over for dinner – Mom’s making lasagne, Dad’s making cheesecake. Yum!

Here’s the latest at Books and Movies:

~ Book Review: The Dead of Night by John Marsden
~ Book Review: Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
~ Book Review: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
~ Movie Review: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
~ Movie Review: Aliens in the Attic
~ Book Review: Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
~ Book Review: The Financial Lives of the Poets by Jess Walter
~ Book Review: Dear Fatty by Dawn French
~ Book Review: The Watsons by Jane Austen
~ Lines you’ll only read/hear in a Stephanie Plum mystery
~ Movie Review: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
~ Recommendations from a non-blogger: Jonathan
~ Book Review: Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich
~ Book Review: Fire by Kristin Cashore
~ Movie Review: Cheri
~ Recommendations from a non-blogger: Noah
~ Two perfect books for curious kids and their parents
~ TV on DVD Review: Legend of the Seeker: The Complete First Season
~ Book Review: The Deep End of the Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard

Today is Jonathan’s birthday – he’s turning 10. Which means that our house will be inundated with Playstation-playing boys this evening. Three extra boys, plus Natalie’s friend for a sleepover equals 8 kids in our tiny house. Kevin may run away.

I haven’t done an Extreme Health Makeover post in a couple weeks. We didn’t have a meeting on Labor Day and I had a week where I gained 1 1/2 pounds, then the next week lost 1 1/2 pounds, so no further loss so far. Workouts are going well – starting to get into a routine. Listening to the fourth Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants book on audio – makes the workouts go faster.

We’re in a routine with our homeschooling, too – the kids are doing well. The boys love the Horizons Math (we switched from Saxon). Natalie’s not completely thrilled with her history, though I don’t think that’s the curriculum’s fault. She’s enjoying her science and I’m enjoying the short stories we’re reading and discussing.

Even though my web surfing time has been seriously curtailed, I still managed to save a few links to share with you all:

~ Ten Scariest Sea Creatures – and Kevin wonders why the ocean is one of my biggest phobias.

~ The Telegraph: 50 Things That Are Being Killed By the Internet

~ New trailer for New Moon – two people in this house are very excited to see it.

~ Our own Andrea of HJ has an awesome post: Why I Still Homeschool

At Books and Movies recently:

~ Literary Road Trip: Author Jennifer Bradbury
~ Book Review: The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
~ Whatcha Watchin’? Wednesday – Grey’s Anatomy: The Complete Fifth Season
~ Book Review: The Twelve by William Gladstone
~ Book blogs you should be reading
~ Still time to enter my BBAW Giveaway – win one of eight books. Enter by 11:59 pm PST tonight.
~ Book Review: Girls in Pants by Ann Brashares
~ Literary Road Trip: Author Terry Davis
~ Book Review: Holly’s Inbox by Holly Denham
~ Whatcha Watchin’? Wednesday – Monk: Season 7
~ Monday’s Movie Review: District 9
~ Book Review: The Maze Runner by James Dashner

(Disney Nature: Earth was provided to me by Click Communications for the purpose of review.)

On Disney Blu-ray, Earth is an absolutely stunning example of cinematic storytelling with its crisply detailed images and theater-quality sound.

An epic story of adventure, starring some of the most magnificent and courageous creatures alive, awaits you in Earth. Disney Nature brings you a remarkable story of three animal families on a journey across our planet – polar bears, elephants and humpback whales. Filmed with spectacular clarity and beauty, Earth is both majestic and intimate as it captures rare footage of nature’s wildest and most elusive animals. From the landmark Disney Nature collection, Earth is an astonishing and heartwarming film filled with adventure, suspense and humor that will take your breath away – especially in Blu-ray High Definition.

The kids and I enjoyed watching this DVD very much – the photography is beautiful and breath-taking. At times the sheer magnitude of nature – the number of birds in a flock, the height of a waterfall, the endlessness of the desert – simply astounded me as we watched. James Earl Jones’ voice is the perfect match for the grandeur of this film.

Noah’s review: This is a very good nature movie. I completely love animals, so this was a good movie for kids who love animals.

Jonathan’s review: It’s an inspiring movie. It’s really cool how the birds make a clicking noise to communicate and how they try to attract a mate by looking like a big face.

Disney Nature: Earth is available now on DVD. The DVD special features include filmmaker annotations and a making-of featurette.

Well, we made it through our first week back to homeschooling – it went well, we are all still speaking to each other, so far, so good. Natalie is getting used to her bigger load – she’s in junior high now – and will start her weekly babysitting gig next week. (It’s hard to believe that the baby girl I used to take to Bible Study nursery, where a homeschooled teenager would babysit her, is now the homeschooled (almost) teenager doing the babysitting!)

I only have a couple minutes before I’m heading to the gym. Fun way to spend Friday night, right? Actually, I love the gym on Friday nights – it’s so empty and quiet.

I just finished reading The Maze Runner by James Dashner – if you like science fiction, dystopian fiction, YA fiction – actually, if you just love a mind-blowingly good story that keeps you turning the pages, you should definitely read it. It’s being released on October 13th. I was lucky enough to be sent an ARC for review – my review will be up at Books and Movies in the next couple of days.

~ A Life in Pages: Send a man to the grocery store – this video is a bit long, but so funny.

~ Mommy Brain was linked to from the Rural Health Blog, as part of the Get Fit Colville program.

~ Scribbit: Should children have allowances? Some good thoughts here.

~ A Life in Pages: Funny wedding moment – another fun video.

~ Moomin Light: For Star Wars fans – this guy is incredibly talented.

~ Don’t forget to enter my Ginger Kids giveaway – it’s a great tool for teaching cooking and geography!

At Books and Movies:

~ My ever-expanding list of must-reads
~ Literary Road Trip: Author Michael Harmon
~ Whatcha Watchin’? Wednesday: Scrubs, Season 8
~ Book Review: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
~ Book Review: The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares
~ My Life According to Literature Meme
~ Favorite classics (so far)
~ Literary Road Trip: Author Meghan Nuttall Sayres
~ Book Review: Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff
~ Whatcha Watchin’? Wednesday: Psych
~ Found in the pages of Bookmarks Magazine, September/October 2009 Issue
~ Book Review: Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner
~ Monday’s Movie Review: Stop-Loss

Whew – it’s been a whirlwind week, with no signs of slowing down. Adding in my weekly support meetings and weekly training sessions, plus three trips a week to the gym on my own, has made things feel very busy – not that I’m complaining, since it’s working. Plus we have one more week of summer vacation before our homeschooling year starts back up on the 31st, and the kids want to suck as much free time and fun up as they can, while they can, so there has been a lot of shuttling kids to the city pool and park.

Friday, the kids and I headed down to Silverwood for our once-a-year amusement park day. We went with a friend and her daughter. The kids all read their 10 hours (outside of school reading) for a free ticket. Why don’t they have a similar program for adults? My admission ticket was $43.75. Add to that snacks – not even a meal, just snacks, because they won’t let you bring in any of your own food – and it was a very expensive day. Glad it only happens once a year. And also grateful that they do have the reading program for kids, or we would never be able to afford it.

The kids were all at sleepovers last night, so Kevin and I went out to Mexican food to split an order of chicken fajitas, and then came home and watched Psych on DVD. I love that show. Slept in this morning. I have to go pick up the boys here in a couple of hours, and then this evening we head south to Mom and Dad’s to celebrate Mom’s birthday.

The upcoming week will be just as busy, but with fun stuff. We’re having an extra play date with Michelle Tuesday afternoon, because she leaves on her dream trip to Edinburgh and London on Thursday. For four weeks. Sob. I’m so happy for her that she gets to go, but what will I do without our weekly gabfests?

Then, next weekend is the fair, and Natalie is competing. She will be singing twice for auditions on Thursday, and then if she moves on, again for the Talent Show on Friday, and, possibly, the Grand Revue on Saturday. She had an extra lesson with her voice teacher on Saturday, and I cried: she sounded so beautiful and looked so grown up.

After our fair weekend, it’s time to get back into our school routine. I’m ready. I think the kids are, too, though they might not admit it.

Well, it’s almost time to go pick up the kids, and I haven’t even put my makeup on. I just have enough time to share the links I’ve been collecting:

~ Win some cool Simply Fun family games at 5 Minutes for Giveaways.

~ Sherry has a great post about Miley Cyrus’s recent exhibition of poor choices.

~ Project 2996 is a project for bloggers to help commemorate the Americans lost on 9/11.

~ Am I the only grammar geek who has dreamed of doing this?

~ This little boy is an amazing guitarist.

~ Ever feel stumped for the perfect retort? Check out this list of imaginative insults.

Here’s what’s been going on at Books and Movies lately (By the way, Books and Movies was nominated for two Book Blogger Appreciation Week Awards: Best General Review Blog and Best YA Lit Blog, so thanks to anyone who nominated me!):

~ Book Review: Daniel X: Watch the Skies by James Patterson & Ned Rust
~ Literary Road Trip: YA Author Chris Crutcher
~ Book Review: Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant
~ Book Review: The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall
~ Enter to win a copy of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
~ Movie Review: Lost in Austen
~ Book Review: Ten Big Ones by Janet Evanovich
~ Some movie links and trailers
~ Author Interview: Elle Newmark, author The Book of Unholy Mischief
~ Book Review: Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon

(Delgo was provided to me by Click Communications for the purpose of review.)

The land of Jhamora is torn apart by the mutual prejudice of two peoples – the winged Nohrin, masters of the skies, and the terrestrial Lockni, who harness the mystical powers of the land. When Delgo (Freddie Prinze Jr.), a reckless Lockni teenager, forms a forbidden friendship with the spunky Nohrin Princess Kyla (Jennifer Love Hewitt), hostilities between the two peoples escalate, setting the stage for an exiled Empress (Anne Bancroft) to exact her revenge and reclaim her rule.

Noah’s review: This is a very funny movie, but something about the story – I can’t put my finger on it – but I just didn’t like it. Besides that, though, I loved all the creatures – so 3 stars.

Jonathan’s review: It was a real good movie. My favorite part was when the army came and the battle started. 5 stars.

Delgo is available now on DVD. The DVD special features include audio commentary, making-of featurettes, and deleted scenes.

(Hannah Montana: The Movie was provided to me for the purpose of review.)

Get ready to be dazzled by Disney’s big-screen smash hit Hannah Montana: The Movie – now even better on Blu-ray Disc with sensational visuals and theater-quality sound! Plus, this 3-disc set has exclusive extras, including “The Hoedown Throwdown Dance-Along” and more! Hannah Montana: The Movie Deluxe Edition: More Music & Moves! delivers laughs, adventure, family fun and fabulous music as Hannah returns to her roots, mixes it up with awesome guest stars (Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts and Vanessa Williams), and faces the most important decision of her life! When Miley Stewart (aka pop star Hannah Montana) gets too caught up in the superstar celebrity lifestyle, her dad decides it’s time for a total change of scenery. Miley must trade in the glitz and glamour of Hollywood for some ol’ blue jeans on the family’s Tennessee farm, where she’ll have to decide if she can truly have the best of both worlds. Bring home heartfelt entertainment for the entire family.

I am the first to admit that I’m not a huge fan of the Hannah Montana television series on Disney. It’s not horrible, just a bit cheesy for my taste. So when Natalie wanted me to take her to see Hannah Montana: The Movie, I expected more of the same. I was wrong – and I ended up enjoying the movie very much.

First of all, Miley Cyrus is a much better actress than you would think from the TV series. When given a script that isn’t hokey and exaggerated, she does well. I also enjoyed the music – and it was fun to see Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts perform.

This is a great family movie – my sons even enjoyed it. So don’t hesitate to give it a try, even if you’re not a huge fan of the TV series.

Natalie’s review: My mom took me to see this movie at the drive-in and then we got it on DVD. I really like this movie; the singing and acting are great and it is just a great girly-girl movie to watch with girlfriends! The stars that sing in this movie are Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts, and Steve Rushton!

Hannah Montana: The Movie will be available on DVD on August 18th. The Blu-ray edition includes the movie on regular DVD, plus seven music videos, bloopers, deleted scenes, and more.

Thanks to Click Communications, I have an extra copy to give away to one of my readers. Here’s the scoop:

~ Simply leave a comment on this post for one entry.

~ Blog, tweet, or in any way link to this post, and leave me a comment with the details or link for more entries – one for each link.

~ I’m shipping this myself, so the giveaway is open to readers in the US and Canada only.

~ All entries must be received by 11:59 pm PST, August 21, 2009. I will draw the winner on August 22nd.