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Dad's Diaper Bag Disney Movie Review Review Toy Story

Review of Toy Story 4 for Parents of the Toy Story Generation [spoiler free!]

Note: We were provided with a complimentary screening for this movie. All opinions are my own.

Welcome to the latest Diaper Dad Confessions movie review!  If you’re here to find out whether Toy Story 4 is worth taking your kids to see in theaters, or later on digital release and Blu-ray Disc, I’ll save you the effort now:  They’re gonna LOVE it. Go see it. It’s great.

In fact, for your kiddos, here’s an official Disney guide on how to make YOUR VERY OWN FORKY! (Trust me, after you go see this movie with your kids, and I’m sure you will, they’re going to want their own Forky – or rather, make their own Forky):

Click here to download – Make your own Forky! [PDF]
Review over?  Chances are you already want to go watch this movie regardless of this opinion, but if you are interested in whether this movie lives up to the Toy Story name, especially for adults who grew up with Toy Story in our lives, read on.  It’s no secret that the Toy Story franchise is a significant piece of modern animated cinematic history – and of course Disney·Pixar wouldn’t release a major motion release of this brand without ensuring it would continue and grow the love and appreciation audiences have grown to have over 20 years.  

And that, is what brings us to the focus of my review of Toy Story 4 – A parent’s retrospective on over 20 years of talking toys and the impact it has had on my story of parenthood.

The original Toy Story movie premiered on November 22, 1995. I was in seventh grade, and when I heard the first fully computer animated feature film was coming out, as an early computer aficionado (before doing so was ‘cool’) you better bet I was all about its release. While most others my age at the time simply a new world of talking toys, I was enthusiastic about this new era of digital animation and the promise of what computers would bring to entertainment. Months later, during an opportunity to come up with an individual special project of my own choosing. I chose to write a research paper on, you guessed it, the original Toy Story movie.  Sure, as a typical 7th grader I also thought the characters of Woody and Buzz were just plain cool – but I was entering teenagehood and my nerdy self was overcome with the idea of computers being the start-to-finish in the creation of this standalone masterpiece.

Fast forward to 1999. Toy Story 2 came out. With an ever-growing interest in technology as a career, my focus for the film’s first sequel was in just how much digital animation had clearly progressed in just a few short years. Sure, Buzz and Woody, along with newcomer Jessie and the entire gang played into a solid second storyline, but I was more compelled to TS2’s significant increase in detail, lighting, and general cinematic quality.

(Spoilers ahead for Toy Story 3 – but let’s face it, it was a 2010 film and you’re here to consider watching its sequel nearly a decade later)

Hyperspace jump again (yup, cross-Disney franchise reference) eleven more years to 2010 – time for Toy Story 3.  At this point I’m a father of 2, including a 4 year old who was HUGE into Toy Story. My interest in the franchise hit a crossroads – half me with continued interest in the *significant* jumps in digital animation quality after years of great Pixar hits. The other half excited about the ability to hand down to my children my love of these characters and the imaginative world of talking toys when we aren’t looking.  The joy in my oldest son’s eyes when he later got a robotic talking Buzz Lightyear for his birthday was just plain unmatched! And the initial fear he felt (oh let’s face it.. we ALL felt) when we saw the gang’s near demise at the dump displayed a sense of empathy I still have yet to see in my now-teenage son’s eyes for anything else. 😀 This sparked a dramatic epitome in the way I saw this beloved franchise: As a parent, I started to see Toy Story as a way to truly share a sense of joy and caring for a piece of entertainment with my own offspring. And the way TS3’s story brought a proper send-off for Andy’s connection with these toys. I now saw myself as a Toy Story fan in the sense that its filmmakers had primarily intended all these years – to empathize with the evolution we all take in our own lives, human and perhaps even those non-human objects we’ve come to hold so dear through our own growth.

So that takes us a full 9 years later – welcome to 2019. Never did I actually think Pixar would consider another continuation of this franchise. Andy’s moved to college! The toys have found their next generation to support with Bonnie. To me, it was a proper enough ending — or was it?  When TS4 was formally announced towards the end of 2014, the “adult” in me first said “okay, well that make sense.. From an Investor’s perspective. Of course they’d keep the money train of Toy Story running!” — but the storylover in me just couldn’t see it. Even when the trailers started pouring out over the past few months leading up to the release, I joined in on the quick laughs but still just didn’t understand where they’d take this story – and why they’d want to risk a well-appreciated franchise that already had a commonly-agreed proper ending.

Turns out folks, after taking 3 (of my now 6) kids to see this movie, I can truly understand why they’ve made this film. Sure, they’ve completed the story arc of our human pal Andy – and alluded that ‘the toys will be fine’ as they start a new life with Bonnie.  BUT… Have we really wrapped up the story of our main pal Woody? Despite all his adventures to support his ever-faithful bond with his humans, is it really enough just to say that ‘at least we know he’s moving on to continue his mission’? After TS3 my answer was a resounding ‘YES!’ — and now after watching Toy Story 4, I have to admit I feel kind of bad for making that assumption. Because Pixar has proven to us that we should have continued to care, all these years later, for what has happened to the fate of our western roundup toy star. And I must say, through yet another adventure of grand scale, we come to a proper story bookend for our main man Woody, galactic star Buzz, and all our Andy’s Room and Bonnie’s Room pals. We even find reprise in Woody’s original character love, Bo Peep, and meet some new friends along the way like Forky, Ducky, and Bunny.  (by the way, if by the time you come home from seeing TS4 and your kids aren’t already trying to make their own Forky, I’ll be shocked). These new characters add the proper amount of freshness to supplement the Toy Story franchise without doing too much as to upstage the appreciation value we already have for our existing toybox crew. This movie ultimately shows us that, while the first 3 movies tear at the heartstrings of what our children’s playthings do to affect our human lives, this 4th movie allows us to take that resulting love for these otherwise-inanimate characters and allow us to care for what ultimately becomes of their fate. I’d say *now* we have a proper ending for Buzz, Woody, and the gang – that is, should Pixar choose to call it good at this point. Sure, I would no longer be surprised if they decide to keep the train going for some or all of these great characters. But if they really are done this time around, my inner 12 year old feels peace for the fully-rounded story arc for these great toys.

And speaking of that inner 12 year old, who originally was enticed to this story for the behind-the-scenes reasons that brought these stories to life – 9,707 days from first movie release to this movie’s release – was simply so immersed into the story and the reality of how great today’s modern computer animation just simply *is* that I had finally been able to just appreciate the movie as it was intended: To share in this magical not-so-distant world with my children and the inner child of my own appreciation of the world of Toy Story from all these years. Great job Disney and Pixar – you knocked this one out of the park. All 4 movies in this franchise.

Go see it! If you’ve made it this far in my story / review – how can you not?  Disney and Pixar’s “Toy Story 4” ventures to U.S. theaters on June 21, 2019.

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Dad's Diaper Bag Disney Kids Parenting Summer Uncategorized

May the 4th be with you! Let’s celebrate Star Wars Day with some “Solo” activities.

With 5 boys (6 if you include my husband..) Star Wars is a HUGE hit in our house. Though, truth be told, I loved Star Wars long before I had kids. Always a Leia fan, and a huge sucker for those Ewoks. (Wicket is life!!)

Naturally, this means we love anything related to Star Wars, especially Star Wars Day on May the 4th! I was thrilled when I received these fun printable activities for the new movie “Solo” to help celebrate this May!

I hope you and your kids enjoy them as much as we do! (Click on link below each photo to get saveable image)

⭐ Have fun, and May the 4th be with you!

HanSolo

HanSoloWordSearch

HanSoloMillenniumFalcon

HanSoloCracktheCode

HanSoloAsteroidField

HanSoloFollowthePath

HanSoloLando

HanSoloChewy

HanSoloQiRa

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Dad's Diaper Bag Disney Finding Dory Movie Review Uncategorized

Finding Dory – Review and Family Activity Printables!

Note: I was provided admission to a screening of this film for this review.
All opinions stated are my own.

Well, hello there! It’s time for another edition of Dad’s Diaper Bag Confessions, guest posts brought to you by the male contributory arm of The Diaper Bag Confessions. In this post, I’ll share with you my SPOILER-FREE review of Disney Pixar’s Finding Dory.

I know many of you want to know the answers to a couple big questions. So, channeling my day job where I often have to take big complex situations and summarize into straight-forward executive summaries, here’s what I think most of you want to know:

  • Is this movie good = YES
  • Is this a proper sequel to the excellent Disney Pixar classic “Finding Nemo” = YES
  • Will my kids enjoy this movie = YES

Okay, now that you know the big points, let’s dig into this big list of “YES” Or is it.. “Nope! Nope! Nope! Nope!” (not a spoiler per-se, just an inside joke you’ll be in-on after you see the film) 🙂

FINDING DORY – Marlin and Nemo get guidance from a pair of lazy sea lions in an effort to catch up with Dory. Featuring Idris Elba as the voice of Fluke and Dominic West as the voice of Rudder, "Finding Dory" opens on June 17, 2016. ©2016 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Is this movie good?

Oh man is this movie good. Disney Pixar has been knocking hits out of the park for a long time now, so we all know to expect some level of greatness with every release. But for me some Pixar animated films are great, some are amazing, and some are epic. Finding Dory fits somewhere between amazing and epic!

SO MANY STINGRAYS — In "Finding Dory," memories of her past are sparked for forgetful blue tang Dory when a stingray migration whizzes by her. Featuring the voices of Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Ed O'Neill, Kaitlin Olson, Ty Burrell, Eugene Levy and Diane Keaton, “Finding Dory” swims into theaters June 17, 2016. ©2016 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
Finding Dory has all the components of the best Pixar films… Captivating story? You got it. Witty and hilarious one-liners? Absolutely. In fact, it’s taking all my being to not quote them all here! I guarantee when you exit the theater though, you’ll be exclaiming all the silly character-defining lines that are running through my head as I type this!

Finding Dory carries forward the Pixar tradition of top-notch voice talent, welcoming Ellen DeGeneres (“The Ellen DeGeneres Show”) and Albert Brooks (“This is 40”) back to the sea as favorite fish Dory and Marlin. Joining the crew for this sequel includes Ed O’Neill (“Modern Family”), who lends his voice to “septopus” Hank, Kaitlin Olson (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) who voices whale shark Destiny, and Ty Burrell (“Modern Family”) voicing beluga whale Bailey. Portraying Dory’s parents Charlie and Jenny are Eugene Levy (“Schitt’s Creek”) and Diane Keaton (“Love the Coopers”). And while the story takes place not long after the events of Finding Nemo, we are talking 13 real-life years later. So we welcome 12-year-old Hayden Rolence (“Beta Persei”) who stepped in to help bring Nemo to life. And each of these characters, new and old, animate on-screen with such realism and intrigue, where you can see the hard work of Pixar’s many animation teams pay off in a great way for the entire cast on-screen!

FINDING DORY – When Dory finds herself in the Marine Life Institute, a rehabilitation center and aquarium, Hank—a cantankerous octopus—is the first to greet her. Featuring Ed O'Neill as the voice of Hank and Ellen DeGeneres as the voice of Dory, "Finding Dory" opens on June 17, 2016. ©2016 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Is this a proper Finding Dory sequel?

This is what I am pretty sure most of us are watching for, at least among us who were old enough in 2003 to appreciate the depth of Finding Nemo’s heart-wrenching story (see what I did there? Ocean deep joke… Anyway..). I was more than relieved as the story unfolded, where we pick up not long after Finding Nemo left off. This time, the focus turns to our favorite Blue Tang Fish, in an epic adventure where she endeavors to find her family – and as an effect, herself. Finding Nemo was a heartstring-pulling, family-appreciating, family adventure whose story stands today as one of the most memorable among any animated film to-date. It would take an equally warming tale to truly do justice to Finding Nemo’s great storyline, and Finding Dory certainly EXCEEDS this standard. It unashamedly structures as a true sequel to Finding Nemo, even though the spotlight is truly for Dory this time around. Because it isn’t afraid to acknowledge itself as a sequel, Pixar was clearly focused on making it the best darn sequel that could be made for Nemo. It succeeds in answering so many questions in the Finding Nemo universe about Dory, even several questions I’ll bet you didn’t even knew you wanted to know about her!

DO I KNOW YOU? -- In Disney?Pixar's "Finding Dory," everyone's favorite forgetful blue tang, Dory (voice of Ellen DeGeneres), encounters an array of new?and old?acquaintances, including a cantankerous octopus named Hank (voice of Ed O'Neill). Directed by Andrew Stanton (?Finding Nemo,? ?WALL?E?) and produced by Lindsey Collins (co-producer ?WALL?E?), ?Finding Dory? swims into theaters June 17, 2016.

Another thing that was big to me as a Finding Nemo and general Pixar fan, I was curious to see how they would handle the major advancements in digital animation between 2003 and 2016. The untrained eye might not have taken any notice, but because digital animation has evolved SO MUCH in the past decade I truly believe many of us would notice if Pixar had simply done one of two very-valid options: Maintain a 2003-like animation quality & style to closely resemble what Finding Nemo looked like… Or just go all-in and acknowledge it’s 2016, and animate the sequel as such. I really believe the problem with the latter is that, whether we know it up-front or not, making a sequel 13 years later look as much better as animated movies in 2016 look, will take away from the plot that is supposed to occur not long after the original story.

FINDING DORY – Hank is an octopus—or actually a "septopus": he lost a tentacle—along with his sense of humor—somewhere along the way. When Dory finds herself at the Marine Life Institute, a rehabilitation center and aquarium, Hank reluctantly agrees to help her navigate the massive facility. Directed by Andrew Stanton, "Finding Dory" opens on June 17, 2016. ©2016 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Instead, Pixar appears to do something pretty magical (as Disney movies do) where they blend an animation style that mimics very much what Finding Nemo looked like, but with just enough added detail that is possible in today’s standards to make you not feel like you’re just watching a decade-old film. But then, there are several scenes, particularly outside open ocean waters, that pull us in with so much fine detail and quality even more than the best digitally animated films of today – all while somehow blending back-and-forth without feeling like any of this is going on! I may be overthinking this, but I will say however they did it, they managed to pull off managing the risk of an animated sequel nearly a decade-and-a-half later.. Both in story and in technical advancement!

Will my kids like this movie?

"Finding Dory" introduces new characters to the big screen, including a whale shark named Destiny who's nearsighted, and a beluga whale named Bailey who thinks his biological sonar skills are on the fritz. Featuring Kaitlin Olson as the voice of Destiny and Ty Burrell as the voice of Bailey, "Finding Dory" opens on June 17, 2016. ©2016 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
Have you seen her?

I get the idea behind it, but I am surprised to hear a lot of people out there wondering if anyone as a kid after the 90’s or so, those who were old enough to understand Finding Nemo when it came out, would even enjoy this movie. All I should have to say is a quick reminder that this is a Disney Pixar movie after all – you know they’ll all love it! Will they get every joke or reference if they’ve never heard Dory “just keep swimming”? No, but that won’t stop them from appreciating Dory’s innocent lovability! Plus, this film is full of new characters, such as the “septopus” Hank, whale shark Destiny, and beluga whale Bailey – all those fun new characters stand on their own in this story! We took our youngest two (of 4) boys to see this movie, at the ages of 2 and 4 that I can guarantee were not around when the original came out! Sure, they have seen Finding Nemo at on home video, but at 2 and 4 even if they saw Nemo in theaters at first, Finding Dory would have been just as new to them regardless. This is truly a film for nostalgic Nemo fans to appreciate in parallel to the next generation of Dory fans to join in!

I agree with this so much that I’m sharing with you here a few free printable Finding Dory activities for your littles – enjoy!

Create Your Own Finding Dory Mobile Printable (PDF)

Finding Dory Maze Printable (PDF)

Finding Dory Connect-the-Dots Printable (PDF)

Finding Dory Coloring Pages Printable (PDF)

In Summary

So again – You’ll love this movie. Your kids will love this movie. And it more than just did Finding Nemo justice… It gives us a new love and appreciation for Dory’s story that we’ll be referencing for years to come!

djfamilyafterdory

Oh, and about the Short

BIG ADVENTURE — A hungry sandpiper hatchling ventures from her nest for the first time to dig for food by the shoreline in "Piper," a new short from Pixar Animation Studios. Directed by Alan Barillaro (supervising animator "WALL•E," "Brave"), "Piper" debuts in theaters on June 17, 2016, in front of "Finding Dory." ©2016 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

I can’t leave this without a quick comment about the short film featured before Finding Dory. The short — “Piper” – touched my heart and visually fascinated me ALMOST to the fault of distracting my mind for the first couple minutes transitioning into the main attraction. Among my favorite Pixar shorts to date, including For the Birds, La Luna, The Blue Umbrella, and last year’s Lava… Piper is my new top fav. It’s beyond adorable, but what really did it for me was the incredible realism. I couldn’t help but think of how we continue to push the envelope of something artificial looking so real to the extent that you start to lose that clear definition/difference between what’s real and what’s not. There’s something about the ruffles in Piper’s feathers, the bubbles in the water, the sand… Oh the sand… until the birds started making faces in that anthropomorphic way I had to genuinely ask myself whether I was watching animation or video footage, and even then it was subtler unrealism as opposed to say, human-like in Zootopia (also a great film in a different way)! We’ve come a long way, and Disney Pixar is leading the path to the future of our animated entertainment.

And this isn’t a one-off masterpiece – some of these advanced techniques are clearly applied in the great animation we see in Finding Dory itself! I also saw this and Finding Dory in 3D – While Dory looked great in 3D (echolocation Oooh’s coming at ya!), Piper was truly the first animated film in some time that I truly recommend seeing in 3D! The last animation that utilized 3D this effectively was Walt Disney Animation’s “Get a Horse!”. So while most films these days I would suggest saving a few bucks and watching in traditional 2-dimensions, if you’re even somewhat considering it – go watch both “Piper” and “Finding Dory” in 3D!

FINDING DORY is now playing in theaters everywhere!


Like FINDING DORY on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PixarFindingDory

Follow FINDING DORY on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FindingDory

Follow Disney/Pixar on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PixarFindingDory/ 

Visit Disney/Pixar on Tumblr: http://disneypixar.tumblr.com 

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Dad's Diaper Bag Disney Marvel Movie Review

Suit Up for Marvel Phase 3 – Review of Captain America: Civil War

Note: I was provided admission to a screening of this film for this review. All opinions stated are my own.

Welcome to the inaugural post of Dad’s Diaper Bag Confessions, the new male contributory arm of The Diaper Bag Confessions. I couldn’t be more excited to kick things off with my SPOILER-FREE review of Disney Marvel’s latest major motion picture release, Captain America: Civil War.

CivilWar56554b7d983ad

Get Ready

I’ve seen all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films released to-date, with the one exception that I somehow missed out on Thor: The Dark World (…or I miiiiiight have rented it once on a flight and fell asleep watching it, if I can be honest)… Otherwise, I’ve got a good grasp on what’s going on with our favorite Avengers and other various Marvel movie characters coming in to Civil War.  However, in doing my homework before watching Civil War, I stumbled upon this article from Gizmodo that does a great job summarizing, without Civil War spoilers (though possibly some spoilers for previous films), where each known character is emotionally & physically at in the Marvel Cinematic Universe prior to this latest film. I highly recommend it as a separate primer before seeing this movie, though I suppose watching all the previous flicks wouldn’t hurt either!

Alright already – Suit up!

Let’s finally get to the point… I am SO glad to share with you that Captain America: Civil War is exactly what I expected out of a Disney-owned Marvel movie, and that is such a good thing!  Civil War is the next great Avengers movie we crave for and expect, and the transition to MCU Phase 3 that we need. Let me elaborate…

Disney-Marvel Goodness

If it’s anything we have come to know about Marvel movies since being independently developed through Marvel Studios and subsequently under the parent Disney ownership, it’s that we’re getting top-notch budget and quality in our ears and eyeballs with every release. Civil War is certainly no exception, and this is great considering anything less would be a big disappointment this far into the franchise. While some great movies out there become cult favorites on tiny budgets, that’s not what we pay to expect for this caliber of a film. Marvel cannot afford to step off the podium they made for themselves, from the original Iron Man motion picture in 2008 all the way through to-date, where big budget has consistently equated to quality writing, giant-but-believable special effects, and top-quality acting. Captain America: Civil war followed suit (haha, like a super suit) just perfectly, mixing thrilling action sequences with Hollywood’s best acting talent and tossing in light-but-punchy humor from end-to-end. The very opening sequence of the film draws us right to where we left off after Captain America: Winter Soldier and Avengers: Age of Ultron, quickly reintroducing us to Captain America, Iron Man, and most of the Avengers to-date using an action scene that was filled with explosions, tons of background information, and hilarious one-liners that inflicted humor to the entire theater I was in. The best part is that this movie managed to keep it dialed to 110% from that opening scene all the way to the credits (I’ll leave it to you to decide whether or not to stick through the end credits on whether Marvel continued their tradition of post-credit bonus teaser scenes). 😉

It’s a long movie, 2 hours and 26 minutes runtime not including your usual barrage of pre-film advertisements, so make sure you’ve hit the potty beforehand because you’re about to be in it for the long haul! I know that by the time I finally got out, it took a moment to settle back into reality (and out of the imprint I started on my seat) because it was just that immersive throughout the film.

Reach out!

Marvel's Captain America: Civil War Falcon/Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) Photo Credit: Film Frame © Marvel 2016I watched this movie in 3D, and while I am a strong believer that 3D in-general is losing its luster in the theatrical world, this opening scene alone gave me some good reason to appreciate 3D’s additional immersion. Without giving anything away, there was this one scene that captivated me merely because of how the film allowed us to feel how the flight of a particular character’s accessory was critical beyond the abilities of your full-sized super human. Again, I do think this movie would be just as enjoyable in traditional 2D, but this scene is certainly one among a few in this film where the 3D effect helps pull you in deeper to the action!

Welcome to Phase 3

For the uninitiated, Marvel’s Cinematic Universe (which from here forward you’ll see as MCU… because acronyms are cool) is notoriously structured in three phases.

  • Phase 1 is all about origin stories and laying down the early world of MCU as we start to understand and explore how the typical human-led world we live in is shaken up with the existence of other worlds, and humans on this planet with extraordinary abilities of various forms. Ever wonder how weird it would be for a flying Iron Man or freeze-restored crazy-old-but-still-young-adult-hot Captain America to actually exist in the world you and I live in today? Phase 1 was all about getting us as an audience to accept this alternate universe, introducing us to a world where Iron Man, War Machine, Hulk, and Black Widow exist among the rest of us.
  • Phase 2, on the other hand, starts to build us into why we should care about their existence, bringing us movies like Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, and Winter Soldier… All movies that build onto deeper stories after the events of New York in the first Avengers movie – the movie that really set us into a global awareness of the existence of superhumans and aliens. We are also introduced to movies like Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man, which brings in additional characters to MCU that serve supplemental or secondary roles, at least in the world to-date. All this culminates in The Avengers: Age of Ultron, which introduces us to yet a few more key characters while closing out Phase 2 acknowledging that we do indeed live in a world populated with superhumans and aliens, but cliffhangering us at the end of Age of Ultron (plus the post-credits at the end of Ant Man) on how we come to manage coexisting in this mixed-up world.
    CivilWar56e1afbfae417
  • By contrast, Captain America: Civil War gives us a proper dropkick into Phase 3, by diving our beloved Avengers into two separate groups, split based on a moral opinion and related decision that essentially divides us (both as in-movie characters and audiences alike) into a #teamcaptain vs #teamironman situation. This is also something I extensively love about MCU – in this event, we have an opportunity to see each of the current/existing Avengers and how their individual stories and sense of moral drive which side they end up joining. One side is driven by the confidence that freedom and autonomy is necessary to use their super powers to stop evil, the other side is driven by data-driven observations that The Avengers’ autonomy to-date has caused way too much destruction and unplanned deaths, and that government oversite is necessary to oversee that the Avengers keeps things “in check.” And while this may seem cut-n-dry, another reason I enjoyed this movie that the sense of evil/bad is never just clear & dry. I jumped into this movie with my personal affiliation to Team Iron Man, based on my following of his sense of morality and known individual decisions made prior to this movie, but I can assure you that more than once in this film I have had to question my own choice of which team to root for! You have to remember that at the end of the day, both “teams” are filled with Avengers, both original and new, and in their own ways each mean to do “the right thing.” There are clear enemies in this film, and they aren’t Avengers. But in the events that go down in Civil War, characters are still divided into teams by their morality differences, and you’ll find yourself questioning at least once (2-3 times likely) which team is more “in the right.” Perhaps that means that in the end, no one was right, or maybe both teams were right in different ways. You’ll have to see for yourself and I’d love to hear how others found themselves questioning/altering their favorite/aligned “team” throughout the movie! I encourage comments below, but remember to keep things SPOILER-FREE!

This division kicks us off on the start of a larger plot that will clearly carry us through Phase 3, and actually it introduces a few new branching stories that will all contribute to the greater actions that I’m sure will lead us into the Avengers: Infinity War movies scheduled for 2018 and 2019.

ALL the Avengers. Okay, minus some. Add others.

CivilWar56e1af9f673d5Marvel's Captain America: Civil War Spider-Man/Peter Parker (Tom Holland) Photo Credit: Film Frame © Marvel 2016

This includes new characters to the MCU, Black Panther and Spider-Man, who we already know have confirmed movies of their own focus & title in the next few years as part of Phase 3.  Black Panther is new to me entirely, but Spider-Man was of particular interest since prior to this movie I’m still largely influenced by Sam Raimi films where Tobey Maguire donned the webbed suit (circa 2002-2007). I didn’t get into the Marc Webb-edition of Spider-Man that featured Andrew Garfield in the same mask in 2012-2014. With these two established “versions” of theatrical Spider-Man stories out there, it was key that Marvel find a way to make a clean reset of the franchise for this key younger superhero. This meant that Civil War had to be yet-another origin story for both Black Panther and Spider-Man, and this movie amazingly managed to do well for both of them, smoothly integrating both characters into the fold of these growing list of Avengers.

Marvel's Captain America: Civil War L to R: Falcon/Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), Ant-Man/Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), Hawkeye/Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), and Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) Photo Credit: Film Frame © Marvel 2016

In the meantime, characters only recently introduced towards the end of Phase 2 such as The Falcon, Scarlet Witch, The Vision, and Ant-Man managed to receive their fair share of supporting content so they too can integrate into the overall fold. And not to be left off, our Phase 1 mainstays of Iron Man, Black Widow, and Captain America continued to build upon their deep-rooted storylines in this film, heavily influencing key decision points through the story.

Phase 1 supporting characters of War Machine and Hawkeye even folded deeper in, with War Machine now a full-blown and influencing Avenger himself, and Hawkeye’s relationships with the various lead characters and his own story adding depth to this already deep cast of characters.  What may seem like a whole mess of individual storylines for each character here, actually resulted in the film in a symphony of subtle story blending in the midst of nonstop action – even writing this review, I reflect on trying to understand how this single movie managed to cram so many characters in with sufficient storyline and screen time for each, not feeling like we were just overwhelmed with character after character for the sake of doing so! And where blatant “hey, it’s THAT character” callouts were needed, the movie shined with the signature self-aware humor audiences have come to know from an Avengers movie.

Yes, this is certainly titled as a “Captain America” movie, and it certainly does The Cap justice in his own struggle and evolution kicking in to Phase 3, but you saw all the characters I listed off (and that’s not all of ‘em! I think..) – this is just as much an Avengers ensemble flick as the original and Age of Ultron! It’s also very much an Iron Man movie in its own right, driving much of what we want to find out about Tony Stark’s story to come in the films ahead. Even the few lead characters we’ve come to know so far that aren’t in this film, were called out as such knowing we’ll need to soon find out after this movie where they’ve been and what they’ve been up to.

Captain America: Civil War L to R: Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) Ph: Zade Rosenthal ©Marvel 2016

So yes, Captain America: Civil War was everything I wanted / expected / anticipated and more. It’s the type and scale of movie that you didn’t need me to tell you to decide whether to go see it – You’ve read this far and I’m sure you knew before reading this whether you were going to watch this film – But I hope you find it reassuring that this movie does not disappoint!  For me, as a Marvel Cinematic Universe-focused fan, it gave me just enough closure to Phase 2 and all the intrigue and anticipation for what Marvel will do with the Phase 3 movies to come.

I also was excited to bring my good friend to see this movie with me, who unlike me is a long reader of most Marvel original comics and graphic novel series. Knowing MCU movies consciously take alternate paths based on the graphic novel characters and stories, he too had a blast with this film.  As I’m sure was their goal, we both cannot wait until the next few Marvel movies to come as we see what happens coming out of this next evolution into the divided Avengers world and the growing cast of cinematic Marvel characters!


Categories
Babies Disney DisneySMMC DisneySMMoms Vacation

Planning for Disneyland.. again.

Gates 1Gates 3We typically do Disneyland every 18 months, give or take. So far, it has been a fun gap between trips. Our children have a vastly different experience each time we go. They are a little older, a little braver.. a little taller. (this is important hahaha)  Our most recent trip was last August/early September. On that trip, our kids were 8, 5, 3 and 4 months. Several people asked how we managed it with a small baby. (It wasn’t hard.. Rider Switch Passes are wonderful things!!) Often commenting things like “I had no idea there was much a baby could do there..”Castle 2Gates 2

 

 

That trip was so much fun! Each child managed to have a different experience from one another.. but all enjoyed it beyond what I had imagined. So much so, we are planning another trip.. much sooner than our typical 18 month gap. With the upcoming Disneyland 60th anniversary coming up and our recent #Disneyside parties we’ve hosted.. we have the Disney vacation bug and I’m excited to see how different it is going with less of a gap between trips.

Splash Mountain 2It will have been about 9 months between trips when we go.. and I already know that it will be a bit different.. we will have a toddler instead of an infant, a preschooler instead of a toddler, and two very different children, who have both gained about an inch or more in that 9 month time frame. (Our 6 year old is hoping that this means he will be tall enough for the majority of the rides now. He was barely skating under the 42″ mark last time we went, and depending on his shoe choice.. sometimes couldn’t ride some that he really wanted to.)

Random ParkOur biggest debate this time around is how to handle our 3 year old’s compromised ability. I hesitate to call it a disability.. but it is a struggle. Disneyland, which he thoroughly enjoys it, send his Sensory Processing Disorder into a mad spiral. The noise. The colors. The crowds. The characters. Add to that his muscle fatigue… and it can be a lot to handle for a little guy. His first time going, he was non-mobile so it wasn’t much of an issue. He was carried around anyway. This last visit, however, he was mobile and we had to think about how to handle his SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder) and his muscle fatigue. Cars Land 2When we arrived, we spoke to the wonderful people at Disneyland’s City Hall and they suggested a “stroller as a wheel chair” pass for him.For the most part, it worked wonderfully. Occasionally the cast members either wouldn’t notice the pass or wouldn’t think to look and jump quickly to the “Strollers aren’t allowed here” remark before we could point it out. But when it worked, he was much happier. His stroller is his “happy bubble” – it keeps his legs rested and he can pull the sunshade down when he is feeling overstimulated. Parade 9We did go in a large group, though, and there is a maximum number of people that can enter a ride with the “Stroller as a wheelchair” pass — so often part of our group would have to wait in a LONG line while the other part of our group got on rather quickly with the pass. It got to be somewhat chaotic. So, we are trying to decide if it’s worth using for him once again. As avid baby/toddler wearers, we are contemplating just carrying him around in our Lillebaby when he needs it.. which might just work out a little better. Then our group can stay together and he can rest his legs in that secure environment he needs.

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Parade 6We really want to strive to do the park in a way we haven’t yet. We have yet to do a character meal. (Which one do we choose?) We haven’t done much pin trading or hidden mickey spotting. (We tended to just run from ride to ride..) The candy shop, bakery and most of the stores got brushed over. (Again.. the rides!) All of this considered.. our goal is to do Disney differently this go round. That’s part of the fun of Disney, there are so many things to do and see, you can go hundreds of times and have a different experience each and every visit.

So now my question for you lovely people, in your opinion what should we strive to do? What is the most memorable part of Disneyland for you? Do you have any Disney traditions for your trips? Show me your #Disneyside and help us plan our next trip!! Parade 3

 

 

Categories
Disney DisneySMMC DisneySMMoms Kids Parenting Uncategorized

A Piston Cup worthy Disney “Cars” party

I was honored, once again, to have been selected to host a #disneyside @Home party. This time around, we were chosen to host a “Cars” themed party, much to my children’s delight. What more does a house full of boys love than cars?

I decided to take the party a little healthier this time. Typically when we think about kid parties, they are usually full of candy and cupcakes and kids leave on an epic sugar high. While I did have a sweet treat (chocolate dipped Marshmallows!) the rest of the food was aimed towards balance. Thanks to Stonyfield Farm, the most popular snack was YoKids Organic Yogurt Squeezers. We also had berry muffins instead of cupcakes. Organic Fruit Leather instead of fruit snacks. And a simple chicken salad with pita chips —  and by simple, I truly mean simple. Nothing more than rotisserie chicken, apples, grapes, and organic plain yogurt! While the kids enjoyed it, the adults really liked it.

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Besides the food, the kids had a blast playing games. In our #disneyside box, we were sent a “Pin the smile on Mickey” game. It was so much fun for the kids. It was definitely most fun for the slightly older kids, but all of the children enjoyed the game very much. Also – what is better entertainment for parents than blindfolded children wandering around the room attempting to stick a smile on random pieces of furniture (or sometimes other children..)?collage

 

Another popular game that we were sent was #disneyside Bingo. Even the young kids were really good at finding the matches that were called. They also enjoyed eating the popcorn that they used to mark their spaces once the game was done.

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I got creative for one last game. What else does one do with a room full of young kids? Help them burn energy while playing an easy to understand game! So, going with the “Cars” theme, we played “Lightening Says.” This also proved quite entertaining.”Lightning says… jump up and down!”

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Pit Stop! It wouldn’t be a social media party if it didn’t include a place to take themed selfies. Starting kids off young, wouldn’t you know? Haha. We had two wall posters where they could pose with the “Cars” stars and hold the #disneyside chalk board. They enjoyed it more than I thought they would. The Radiator Springs characters were the favorite, for sure. The other poster had all of the “Cars 2” characters in it and it was not quite as popular as Lightning and Mater. Even the baby had to show his #disneyside!

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Outside of organized games, the kids had fun playing with the Disney Cars we had out and the simple road way I created with Washi Tape on our kids’ table. Amazing how fun something so simple can be! (Naturally, they had to use it for Baymax to save the world, with a little help from The Hulk.) This was incredibly popular with the younger, preschool aged crowd. A place to play alongside one another.. and without all of the grown ups bothering them with instructions.

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We ended our fun with some amazing parting gifts. Of course, a lot of #disneyside fun was included thanks to Disney and the #disneyside sponsors. We are all excited to start planning our next Disney Parks Vacation. My kids even filled out their luggage tags. The bags were made even better thanks to my friends at Mattel for helping brings some car fun along and Stonyfield for providing even more yogurt!

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Note: This party was sponsored by Disney and the wonderful people at MomSelect, They kindly sent a party kit for this #disneyside @Home party. I was also provided product by Mattel and Stonyfield Farm. All opinions expressed are my own and I was not otherwise compensated for this post.

Categories
Disney Giveaway Kids

Sofia the First: Songs from Enchancia Review and Giveaway!

Sofia the First

If there are two things that my children love almost equally, it’s Disney and music. Having kids in the age spans that mine are, it is often hard to find things that they all enjoy and can get into equally. The Disney Junior television show “Sofia the First” is one of those things! My toddler is the biggest fan of the show, but even my 8-year-old loves it. Yes, I have all boys.. but they don’t find the show “too girly” at all.

When I was given the chance to review the new CD from Disney Records, “Sofia the First: Songs from Enchancia” I instantly jumped on it. I knew my boys would love it.. and if I’m completely honest, I knew I would enjoy it as well.

The CD arrived and my children wanted to listen to it immediately. They weren’t disappointed by it in the slightest and so far, we parents aren’t tired of it yet! This is always a good sign. The kids know most of the songs already from watching the television show, so they gleefully sing along. It even helps calm my toddler down when he is in one of his “I am tired of being in the car!!” tantrums. That alone makes it an instant hit, if you ask me.

The Sofia the First songs are catchy and easy to sing along to, but they aren’t irritating or annoying. They tend to have good morals to them and strive to teach a lesson in each upbeat tune. Something I love as a parent.

You can order your own copy of Sofia the First: Songs from Enchancia here and here. I have also been given THREE CD’s to giveaway to you fabulous readers! Feel free to enter below for your chance to win a copy!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I am a participating Influencer at The Entertainment New Media Network. I have received free product for review and to give to my readers. I was not compensated for this review and all expressed opinions are strictly my own.

Categories
Disney DisneySMMC DisneySMMoms

The Power of Moms.. On the Road – Part 2

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Now that I’ve hit you all with the emotionally driven Part 1 of my Disney Social Media Moms: On-the-Road adventure.. I’m going to attempt to fill you up with some useful information. You may be wondering why Disney does these events? Why is the blogging community so important to them? Why moms?

IMG_2523We were warmly welcomed by Maria Bailey taking the stage. If you’ve never heard of Maria, you should look her up. She’s an author, a radio host, an entrepreneur and most of all — a mom. You may even venture to say that she is the expert on marketing to moms. Her credentials are mighty.. but her passion is mightier. She started out the event by giving us a few very interesting statistics about moms. Eye opening statements regarding why moms are such a critical market for companies. Obviously, running a blog about baby and children’s products, this intrigued me. How many of you, my readers, knew that moms — you — contribute 1.7 trillion dollars to the general economy? More than Spain, Portugal and Australia combined! Next time you see an ad targeted at you, I want you to remember that! Those companies know this statistic. They know that you are the market to hit. More than just marketing, though.. Were you aware that there are more than 5.5 million mom owned businesses today? So we aren’t just spending money, we are making money.

You, or should I say we, are having an impact larger than just on the economy, though. “When you follow your passion, your kids pick up on those behaviors..” Maria stated. This led into why Disney invests so much in this conference.. in moms and mom owned business. “They (your children) learn from you. That is the magic.. and Disney is here to support that.” We are setting a precedence for our children. Our passion? They see it. Our determination? They observe it. Our dedication? They learn it. This also means that our doubts? Frustrations? Priorities. They are witnessing.. absorbing.. all of that, too.

IMG_2550While we let all of this information sink in, Michele Himmelberg, Public Relations Director for Disneyland Resorts, took the stage. She wowed us with a fabulous look at all the new happenings at the Disney parks.  From the newest expansion at Magic Kingdom, Fantasy Land, (which happens to be the largest expansion in Disney history) and the Art of Animation Resort to Disneyland’s recent Fantasy Faire and the one year anniversary of Car’s Land. Along with the new Fantasy Faire comes the Royal Theater with two new shows, Beauty and the Beast and Tangled. I guarantee, about 10 seconds into this video presentation, that entire room of women.. moms.. were plotting out their next Disney Park vacation. Disney wants to know what we want. They want to empower us. They want to support us. Let us realize our potential. It was made clear in those moments, that while yes, Disney has an amazing marketing department.. they honestly saw us as more than just 1.7 trillion dollars. That is why they put together these invitation-only conferences.

Michele was followed up by Mindee’s presentation that I spoke about in Part 1.. and then Maria took the stage again. She said one thing that really jumped out at me (and no, it wasn’t just that my contact info should be easier to find..) Remember, I told you that our role as moms and business women.. it’s about more than our success, but the behaviors that we are instilling in our children. Right? Maria said “The next time your child is talking to you and they ask you a question.. see if you are looking at the whites of their eyes. If you do that, it will start to bring you around to being really present.” I always try to look at my children when they speak to me.. but the whites of their eyes.. that’s hard. Try it.. you’ll be amazed at what a difference it makes. You connect differently. Being present for your children – that is ultimately the most important part of being a mom.

IMG_2551After we were all blown away by Maria, Michele and Mindee (I just realized they all have M names.. Just like Mickey Mouse! Haha!) and desperate for a Disney Parks vacation, they introduced a panel of inspiring ladies. I told you, Disney wants to empower us as more than just a consumer market.. this panel was 3 lovely moms. More so than that, they were three recipients of the Huggies Mom Inspired Grant. The Huggies Mom Inspired Grant is a $15,000 grant awarded to mom inventors. (They happen to be taking applications now!!) Our panel consisted of Erin Kelly – Owner and creator of Hulabye Happy Changer, Alma Moussa – Owner and creator of Babee Covee 6-in-one blanket, and Romy Taormina- Owner and Creator of Psi Bands.

Maria asked them a series of very helpful questions.. it was quite inspiring to hear their stories. Moms who saw a need for something, took a leap and made something of it. They, like Mindee, spoke of both the highs and the lows and kept the journey of a mompreneur honest. The infamous work/life “balance”? Some are still working on it. While we learned a lot and had several “oh!” moments.. there was a quote from Romy that jumped out at me. I think it hit me because it applies to more than just business. As a blogger, as a mom, as a person.. We all experience rejection. Maria asked “How do you deal with rejection?” and Romy replied “Unyielding passion. It may be a no today, it may be a no today and tomorrow, but it may not be.”

At this point, we were all inspired. All of these amazing moms, just like us, who followed their passion and made an impact. Then Maria introduced the final presenter. Another “M” name.. (I’m beginning to think they planned this! Haha!) Michelle Stepney – The Public Relations Director for Global Content Development at Disney. She spoke to us about the media and how to conduct yourself around them. While you may think “Why do bloggers need to know how to deal with the media?” – it was extremely helpful. Several bloggers do media consultations, and honestly.. even those who don’t, you are still portraying yourself in the public eye. You don’t want to do or say something that will always be there to haunt you. Michelle showed us some hilarious “what not to do..” video clips that had the room laughing hysterically. My goal is to ultimately never be that person. Haha. She gave us a little glimpse into the media training they give the Disney cast members and provided such fabulous advice. She was such a pleasure to listen to!

IMG_2520I learned so much in this short 1/2 day event. It made me yearn for more. Most of us left going “Just one more day! Pleeease!” The knowledge and advice from those women was unbelievable. I walked away knowing that I may just be one mom, you may just be one mom, but like the wave at a sporting event.. it just takes ONE person to start something big.

Thank you, Disney. You have proven that you care. That you notice. Your drive for empowerment. Support. We appreciate you and look forward to many family vacations full of your magic. Thank you Maria Bailey and the M-Squad (That’s what I’m going to call you all.. yep!) Mindee, Michele and Michelle. You’ve inspired us all and we will never forget this gathering. Last, but not least, thank you to the Huggies Mom Inspired panelists. As a baby gear guru, I am extremely excited to have had the chance to experience your products. (Especially those Psi Bands.. can you say Tea Cup Ride??)

For my readers.. Thank you. It’s because of your support that I was given the opportunity to experience this event. I am now armed with an artillery of knowledge on how to be the best I can be in all my fields. Mom, Blogger, Consumer.

 

Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.” – Walt Disney

Categories
Disney DisneySMMC DisneySMMoms

Magic.. On the Road – Part 1


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If you read my previous post, you saw that I was stressing out over leaving my children and going to Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. You’ll be happy to know, I did it! I survived leaving my kids for the first time. Sure, the night before I left I cried a river full of ugly tears.. but we’ll keep that between us. What matters is that I came away from this not regretting a single thing. My children got to have two amazing days of fun with their daddy and I got to experience the most amazing opportunity with a room full of women I will never forget. The Disney Social Media Moms Celebration On-The-Road was more than I could have imagined.

IMG_2552If you’ve ever been to a Disney park, you know that Disney doesn’t fail at delivering magic. This event stayed true to that, not necessarily in a “Disney Magic” sort of way.. (though, they did provide that too!!)  this magic was different. The energy alone resonated throughout the hotel lobby before the conference had even started. Picture the smile on your child’s face when you first spot the gates at Disneyland. That look was plastered on the faces of each and every woman waiting for those doors to open. Okay.. maybe it was more that look, accompanied by a little sleep deprivation and a deep need of coffee.

Registration opened. We each obtained our lanyard with name tag and our gift bag.. and immediately went to socializing. This is a social media event, after all. Even the shy and reserved moms were chatting up a storm with the women around them. Several of us had been communicating on a Facebook group for a few weeks prior to the event, so we set out to find one another. I already feel a connection to so many of these women. We entered the room, interacted more.. then we took our seats to experience the most amazing ride. It is Disney, after all.

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The 6-ish hours I experienced at this event are going to take more than one post to share with you. Even then, I likely won’t even get to touch on everything. However, in this post I am going to focus on the keynote speaker, Mindee Doney. (You all may know her as “The genius creator of Boogie Wipes!”) While the entire event had a profound impact on me.. the time she was standing on that stage resonated with me the most.. and if you look at twitter (#DisneySMMoms) you will see I am not alone.

I struggle to put into words the impact she had on that room and I’m a blogger.. words should not be hard to come by! From the moment she was introduced, she had engaged the room. Her energy, her emotion. All of it came through so clearly. She began by talking to us about what most of us knew of her.. Boogie Wipes. What mom hasn’t heard of Boogie Wipes? My household even has several of those little “Boogs” stuffed booger creatures floating around. She explained how she came about creating the amazing product and led us on her journey. She took us through the highs.. and ultimately the low. More than the journey of business.. she spoke to us about motherhood. How the two areas of life played with one another. Or, perhaps how they battled one another? To say she was honest doesn’t even explain it. She didn’t sugar coat anything. She didn’t hide anything, either. I’m almost certain that the honesty and transparency is what hooked us all. Her message was loud and it was clear. Embrace, Empower and Accept. I can say those words over and over in my head and hear her declare them so passionately.

  • To embrace you and what you do
    Accept your responsibilities
    Rock your talents
    Believe in the big picture
  • Empower yourself and empower others. HELP is not a 4-letter-word
    Know when to say no
    Nurture what resets you
    Ask for help.. specifically and honestly
    Believe in your village.. their way works too
  • To expect life will go on
    Cherish the highs, be in the lows
    Set regular goals according to your chapter
    Choose a pace that balances needs versus wants

She ended her presentation with as much energy as she started with. Her message will continue to inspire us all. In fact, this post has taken me days to write because she showed me that I can walk away from work. Work can wait. “Know when you can walk away from it. Don’t go back to it. It will be okay.”  The schedule I put in place today sets the expectations for the schedule I live tomorrow.. a year from now.. five years from now. “Start as you mean to go. If you don’t want to be working the way you’re working in 5 years.. you don’t need to be working that way right now. The way that you work. The attitude that you work with, should be the same.”

“There is no pause button, rewind or fast forward when it comes to the journey. Peace hangs out in our scrapbooks, itineraries and gratitude. When we choose daily to embrace life and empower potential, we can easily expect our journey to be happily ever after.”
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At the end of her presentation, that room full of social media moms (all of which were glued to some sort of electronic device.. typing, tweeting, posting, facebooking, instagraming..) dropped the device in their hand  and stood up with applause. Have you ever seen a room full of bloggers not have a device in their hands?? It was surreal. And deserved. I wish I could have recorded every moment of her presentation to relive it over again.

Please do me a favor. Go to Mindee’s blog “Get your OWN Juice Box“,  “Like” her on Facebook and follow her on twitter to experience a little bit of what I had the opportunity to experience. I feel fortunate to have been included in this event and to have the ability to share so much of it with you. I can’t wait to share more!

Categories
Disney FaVe Parenting

Uncharted Territory..

When I first started this blog, I never actually thought it would catch anyone’s attention. I figured that my readers would likely be limited to the few friends asking me for advice to begin with. It is clear to me now, that is not the case. People are actually reading.. and noticing.. and enjoying… and that makes me extremely happy. My blog is still technically a baby. It’s roughly only 9 months old. If it really were a baby, it would be trotting around the floor on all fours.. perhaps even still doing the notorious army crawl. However, it is not a real baby.. it’s a blog.. and it has decided to fly by the seat of its pants and earn itself an invitation to the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration “On-the-Road” – Quite possibly my first real “squeeeee” moment as a blogger. I was so thrilled.. excited.. honored.. to be invited to this event. I decided to use the chance to meet up with some fabulous other mama’s that I’ve come to know via the internet and have some fun. (Like FaVe Mom) It is going to be so exciting!! We plotted which hotel to stay at. More excitement. I got my confirmation email. Still excited. Booked my flight. Wait.. this is real. Insert panic.

Why panic, you ask? You see.. in my almost 8 years of motherhood, I can count the number of times I have been without my children for any reason, on one hand. My youngest? Well, the longest I’ve ever left him (and only with his dad!) was 3 hours. He’s a bit of a mama’s boy. (Okay, I’m lying.. he’s extremely a mama’s boy!)  I am about to board a plane.. fly a state away.. and be gone for a good 38 hours. I know, I know. It doesn’t seem like much.. but in my mind it’s an eternity. blog edit tulip
I keep going over all these dramatic scenarios in my head. Will my husband really be able to handle our THREE children, by himself, for TWO DAYS? Will he manage to balance bed time for all three boys without sending someone into a crying fit that lasts until I come home the following night? What if he decides to venture out? I know this is all ridiculous. My husband is a fabulous father and my children will be in very capable hands. Will I be okay, though?

I think I rely on my daily moments with my kids more than they rely on them. Watching my toddler drift off to sleep. Listening to my oldest do his daily reading.. listening to the giggling coming from our play room. Can I really go two whole days without those little moments? What if I miss something? What if they need me? What if something happens and I’m not there?

Deep down, I know that this will all be fine. Deep down I know that the opportunity that has been placed before me is so fabulous and I get a chance to go somewhere I have never been before (San Francisco!) but the mama in me can’t help but be sad. Nervous. A little scared, even. And when I come home, I will look back on this post and laugh while eating my Ghiradelli chocolate.

How old were your kids when you left them overnight for the first time? Were you scared? Nervous? Ecstatic?