• Uncategorized

    2017 Disney Movies to see!

    Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures has released it’s 2017 lineup, and it’s looking like my family will be spending quite a bit of time at the movies this year. From live-action remakes of a favorite classic to more sequels of Disney favorites, along with another wonderful Disneynature film in time for Earth Day to a new adventure, there is a lot in store for fans. Here’s the scoop on the 2016 Disney movie releases! Disclosure: Film details, photos and trailers are courtesy of The Walt Disney Studios.   March 17, 2017 – BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (Walt Disney Studios) #BeautyAndTheBeast “Beauty and the Beast” is the fantastic journey of Belle, a bright, beautiful and independent young…

  • The-BFG
    Books

    Disney, Roald Dahl and the BFG (and a Movie Trailer)

    I’ve always been an avid reader, and one of my favorite childhood authors was Roald Dahl. The BFG, The Magic Finger, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Danny the Champion of the World – all of them wonderful, comic (sometimes darkly so) stories where the children triumph over the wicked adult villains (usually with the help of one “good” adult”).   The aspiring writer in me delighted over his made-up words (like “snozzcumber” and “whizzpopping”).  As an adult, my time in Wales was particularly sentimental as we browsed through the used bookstores in my lovely Hay-on-Wye to find copies of his books for my own children to discover. The BFG tells the tale…

  • The-Jungle-Book
    Reviews

    Thoughts on The Jungle Book (and a few Printables, too)

    Last night, while my family huddled in the bathroom as tornado sirens went off and baseball-sized hail fell on surrounding suburbs, I was comfortably kicked back in the IMAX-3D theater waiting to see The Jungle Book at the AMC North Park Cinema. Without a doubt, I won twice over. Long a fan of both Walt Disney’s 1967 animated film and the book by Rudyard Kipling, I’ve been looking forward to seeing Jon Favreau’s take since the first teasers landed in my inbox.  If you aren’t familiar with the tale (and if not, what kind of childhood did you have?) The Jungle Book is the story of Mowgli, a boy (“man-cup”) orphaned in the…

  • Uncategorized

    Monkey Kingdom

    Monkey Kingdom opens today, April 16, in theaters everywhere. And while that is exciting enough news for my nature loving daughter who has been waiting impatiently to see this film, I was pleased to learn that for everyone that goes to see Monkey Kingdom during opening week (April 16-23), DisneyNature will make a donation to Conservation International to protect monkeys and other endangered species, to save and restore natural habitats and to support community education and forest-friendly jobs in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Cambodia. Through donations tied to opening-week attendance for all five of their prior films, DisneyNature has provided for the planting of three million trees in Brazil, created 40,000 acres of marine protected…

  • Uncategorized

    A Sneak Peek at “Frozen Fever”

    Disney junkies that we are here in Momma’s house, you better believe that my daughter and I are anxiously awaiting the upcoming release of Disney’s new live-action Cinderella movie! While the guys hole up with their soccer matches on the TV, we’ll be heading to the cinema the week of March 13 to check it out as a special mommy/Maddie date, just in time for her birthday Which is perfect timing, as an added treat for us both will be the animated short “Frozen Fever” that will be screened with the Cinderella. A happy two-for-one birthday treat! And I have a sneak preview of it for you. Right. Here. Yup. In…

  • adventures,  blogging,  Travel

    I’m Sailing….Sailing Away

    Today is the day. The day that has got me through this dreadful winter. Through 70+ inches of snow and who knows how days of many sub-zero weather. (Ok, Tom Skilling from WGN probably knows, but whatever.) Through the down coat, the pale, dry winter skin and hair electrified by static. I’m in Florida. Port Canaveral to be exact. And I’m boarding the Disney Fantasy. For seven days, I won’t be cooking, washing dishes, scrubbing toilets or folding clothes. I won’t be making beds. I will be kicking back, reading my book, splashing in the pool, trying not to eat too much fattening stuff, and generally  turning off my brain.…

  • Uncategorized

    Fun “Muppets Most Wanted” Activity Sheets

    It looks like my kids aren’t the only ones excited about the next Muppet movie: We’re counting down the days to the Muppets Most Wanted release  because we love the Muppets here – and because we set sail on the Disney Fantasy the day after the March 21 release, we’ll get to see it at sea – double the Disney love! In the meantime, we’re experiencing another wave of sub-zero temps here in “Chiberia” and the cabin fever is getting bad. Thankfully, Disney has provided some Muppets activity sheets to help pass the time.  We will be making door hangers (which my nine-year-old is keen to make to keep his little…

  • Books

    Sing Along With Disney’s Frozen

    My family absolutely fell in LOVE with Disney’s animated feature Frozen, and when I received news that they would be releasing a sing-along version nationwide on Friday, January 31, Miss M and I were thrilled. THRILLED. Today I was sent a link to a sing-along version of “Let It Go”, one of our favorites. I played it for Miss M as she was getting ready for an after-school snack. She sang loudly and with much GUSTO and with no particular affinity to note or key. And loudly. Did I mention she sang loudly? I appreciated her enthusiasm, I really did. I may have to consider going to a later, less…