I am soooo excited about this! I love any thing Wizard Of Oz. 

Synopsis

When Oscar Diggs, a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot – fame and fortune are his for the taking – that is until he meets three witches, Theodora, Evanora and Glinda, who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone’s been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity – and even a bit of wizardry – Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well.

This sounds really interesting. It is staring:

James Franco -Oscar Diggs/Oz
Mila Kunis – Theodora, Wicked Witch of the West
Michelle Williams – Glinda
Rachel Weisz – Evanora

I can’t wait!

After spending the whole day at Sea World San Antonio we were exhausted! Courtyard Marriott San Antonio SeaWorld® Westover Hills is only 7 miles from Sea World which left us delighted. We need some down time from all the Sea World excitement.

The front desk was wonderful. The guy working there was very polite and informative. The lobby was really spacious and very welcoming! The check in experience could not have gone any better.

Our room was on the 3rd floor, room 333 in fact. Wow, it was a nice room. Our room has 2 queen beds that were beautiful with lots of pillows (we love pillows). The room its self was spotless.

We had a really nice balcony that had a table and 2 chairs. You could see Sea World from it. At night it was really pretty. And even though you are close to the highway, it was fairly quite at night.

The room had a work desk with all the plugs and connections you needed. It also had WiFi (no additional charge). I loved the desk because it was actually 2 desk in one. The bottom desk could be completely removed form the main desk! So you could set your laptop up any where in the room you wanted. We used it for dinner that night.

 

Our room came with a mini frig and coffee pot. If you need more sugar, cups or creamer they have all that in the lobby 🙂 I always need more sugar!

The hotel had a very large pool and hotub that the kids too full advantage of. The view of the courtyard was really nice.

 In the morning there is a buffet breakfast with every thing you could imagine. They also have The Bistro  that is open breakfast, lunch and dinner. And if you are a Starbucks person, they have Starbucks coffee there too 🙂

On a final note, as we were leaving I noticed that the have a full wash room available to guest. This is really great! With kids you never know when you may need to wash something.

If we are ever going to be in San Antonio in that area we will fo sure be staying at Courtyard Marriott San Antonio SeaWorld® Westover Hills. We had a great time and I think you will too.

Courtyard San Antonio SeaWorld®/Westover Hills
11605 State Highway 151
San Antonio, Texas 78251 USA

View Larger Map

 

Disclosure / Disclaimer: No monetary compensation was obtained for this post. I received a complimentary 1 night hotel stay to facilitate this review. The opinions expressed here are mine and may differ from yours.

 

 

This is so sweet!!! Ron Perlman brought his “Hellboy” alter-ego out of retirement for a very special cause — applying the makeup once again to help a Make-A-Wish come true.

“Zachary wanted to meet and become Hellboy. When Ron Perlman heard about it, he couldn’t refuse to don the horns once again.”

Read more here.

Have you ever been to Carino’s Italian? Do you love Italian food? If you have never been there, you will want to keep reading. If you have then you will know what I am talking about!

My family and I visited Carino’s Italian in San Marcos Texas off IH 35. It was a really great experience.

Our waiter, Kristopher was absolutely amazing! We never had to ask for any thing. He was very attentive but not in an annoying way. He would bring us drink refills before we could ask. He was great with the kids and I really appreciate that.

They have an extensive menu from pizzas to pastas to soup to salads. I love that they have a children’s menu with affordable prices and many options.

I ordered the Chicken Milano and it was really, really good. My husband ordered Spicy Romano Chicken and he was very pleased. Both my girls ordered pizza from the children’s menu. The adult meals came with a lovely salad.

Last came desert. They have a Gelato bar and they give you samples so you can try out the different flavors. They have a kids Sunday for $0.99 and that is what the girl’s chose. I chose the Chocolate Cake with ice cream.

I would defiantly go back to Carino’s Italian! If you have never been, you really should.

Carino’s Italian Website
Carino’s Italian Facebook
Carino’s Italian Twitter

 

Disclosure / Disclaimer: No monetary compensation was obtained for this post. I received a complimentary product to facilitate this review. The opinions expressed here are mine and may differ from yours.

Little Me Tea is a brand new kids’ drink – the only organic tea beverage for kids – that is now being sold at south west Whole Foods Market stores.

Little Me Tea comes in a convenient 32 ounce Tetra Pak carton in two flavors – Tropical and Grape. They call it the healthiest kids’ drink on the planet because it’s got the healthful benefits of tea and it’s 70% lower in sugar than juice.

 

Little Me Tea is the bran child of a mom, Melinda Hicks. This is her story:

As my baby daughter grew, I became frustrated with the high-sugar content of kids’ drinks on the market. Some 100% juice beverages have as much sugar as a Snickers bar! Being a tea lover, I started giving my daughter caffeine-free teas splashed with a little juice; she loved them, her friends loved them, and an idea was born! Little Me Tea is a blend of healthy teas infused with fruit and veggie juices – low sugar, no caffeine and organic to the core. It’s a really tasty, refreshing drink that is great on its own or blended into smoothies or Fros-teas (our version of popsicles)

 Review

I was provided with both  Tropical and Grape Little Me Tea along with some extra goodies 🙂 Recipes, stickers and tatoos for the kids. Too cute! The cartons are very easy to open but are also easy to seal and store in the frig with ease.

Honestly, the kids could not chose which flavor was the best. The loved them both! I would note that if your child have a taste for sodas and sweet drinks alike, they may not jump on the ban wagon. But for small children that has not destroyed their taste-buds this is a great drink alternative for them.

There are some great tasting and very inventive recipes  on the Little Me Tea website here that you will want to check out for sure! You will also want to visit the website to get a $1 off coupon here. You can also  Like Little Me Tea on Facebook and follow Little Me Tea on Twitter for updates and special offers.

I will defiantly be buying more Little Me Tea!

 

Disclosure / Disclaimer: No monetary compensation was obtained for this post. I received a complimentary product to facilitate this review. The opinions expressed here are mine and may differ from yours.

 

The Hits Keep Coming… And Coming… And Coming As Larry, Moe and Curly Nyuk-Nyuk Their Way to Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Download July 17

 

The Farrelly Bros. (There’s Something About Mary, Dumb & Dumber) bring back a beloved classic comedy act with THE THREE STOOGES, a contemporary take on America’s favorite trio of boneheads coming to Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Download July 17 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.  Sean Hayes (“Will & Grace”), Chris Diamantopoulos (“24”) and Will Sasso (“MADTV”) portray the troika of knuckleheads in three hysterical misadventures.

 

Left on the doorstep of an orphanage run by nuns, newborns Moe (Diamantopoulos), Larry (Hayes), and Curly (Sasso) grow up finger-poking, nyuk-nyuk-nyuking and woo-wooing their way to uncharted levels of knuckleheaded misadventure. Now, out to save their childhood home, only The Three Stooges could become embroiled with an oddball murder plot…while stumbling into starring roles in a phenomenally successful TV reality show.

 

The Three Stooges is fun for the whole family. With hilarious supporting performances from Larry David (“Seinfeld”), Jane Lynch (“Glee”), Sofia Vergara (“Modern Family”) and Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls), THE THREE STOOGES “Just Say Moe” edition Blu-ray is loaded with special features including a collection of entertaining and punchy pieces and a unique blend of classic “Stooge” elements in a contemporary setting.

The Three Stooges Hit Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Copy July 17

 

School is out for summer; the kids are home; and it is hotter than ever. As if the AC running nonstop isn’t enough to drive up your energy bill this summer, parents’ pet peeves are racking up along with unnecessary and costly energy usage, such as: the fridge wide open, the backdoor never seeming to close and the TV, the laptop and the Wii all on at the same time.

To help put an end to these bad energy habits and find out which ones are breaking the bank and which just drive you nuts, Reliant has identified parents’ top five pet peeves for home energy use and some helpful solutions to these problems. These small actions by the kiddos may seem harmless, but they can make a big impact on the environment and summer energy bills.

Check out the videos here!

And remember – just because the temperature is rising doesn’t mean your household energy bill should as well. Do your part to help keep energy use and parental annoyances down this summer.

 

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment has officially announced their Best of Comic-Con Sale!

The sale runs from today through 7/16.  Some examples of deals include Alien Anthology on Blu-ray for $37.99 and X-Men: First Class on Blu-ray for $17.99.

Go here for the sale!

In April I was invited, along with many other mommy bloggers to the Moments and Milestones Tour Event held by Hallmark. It was at the Judges Hill Mansion in Austin Texas. This was my first and only blogger event I had attended. So I was nervous to say the least.

We were severed a really great breakfast with every thing you could image. That was really nice because I had been so nervous I did not eat that morning. We were on the second floor over looking a garden area just behind the Mansion.

Before the event Hallmark requested some personal information from each of us, a snip of something that I had blogged about that pertained to my children or husband and a photo. Little did I know, they created a video with all this info from my fellow bloggers and me. A very touching video that moved every one in the room.

Hallmark provided each of us with a shirt that said “Tell me……” and then a white space for you to write out what you wanted to say. People came up with some very inventive and funny things to day.

Then we played a game. Well it was not really a game per say. It was a way of showing us how they come up with what is going to be on a card. They showed us a picture and then we had note cards that we wrote what we think the card would say. It was a really great exercise! There were some really talented and witty women in that room!

It was really great to learn about the in and out’s of Hallmark. They make cards and products for every kind of occasion and non-occasion. Life is a special occasion!

In the end I was sent home with a bag full of goodies from Hallmark! Lots of beautiful cards, Mom & Me A Conversations To Keep recordable book & Christopher Interactive Story Book & Story Buddy!

 

Giveaway Closed!

I would love to share my experience with my readers. Hallmark has allowed me to select one item to give away to one of my readers! I have selected Mom & Me A Conversations To Keep recordable book. They grow up so fast. Capture them just the way they are now with this fun-filled Mom & Me activity book. You ask the open-ended questions on each page, then record their little voices giving the answers. Hear the answers played back with the touch of a button. They’ll love starring in their own book, and you’ll love remembering these special years. This is a hardcover book that is 16 pages.

 

I am still in shock. You enter contest all the time. And once and a while you will win something small. But this is so amazing! This fall my husband and I will be going to Las Vegas. Thank you to Miller Lite. This is an ongoing contest! You can enter here Taste Points 🙂 Good luck to every one and thank you again Miller Lite!

Have you ever won an amazing trip contest?

 

 

THE RECORD-SHATTERING MOVIE ASSEMBLES AS YOU’VE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE ON BLU-RAY 3DTM, BLU-RAYTM, DVD, DIGITAL & ON-DEMAND, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

And For The First Time Ever, Marvel Launches An All-New Second Screen App 

That Provides Fans With Unprecedented Access To Exclusive Content

 

 Coming this fall, the third highest-grossing movie of all time and the #1 movie in the world, “Marvel’s The Avengers” assembles as you’ve never seen it before on Blu-ray 3DTM, Blu-rayTM, DVD, Digital and On-Demand platforms on September 25, 2012. In anticipation of this release, Marvel is also launching an all-new App in July – “The Avengers Initiative: A Marvel Second Screen App” (available for the first time on iPhone) – that gives fans unprecedented access to exclusive content building up to the home entertainment release.

The announcement comes as “Marvel’s The Avengers” crossed the incredible $600 million domestic box office threshold on June 26 – only the third film in history to do so. It has now grossed an estimated $1.44 billion globally.

Providing viewers with the ultimate in-home experience, the premium 4-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack provides 5-unique ways to enjoy “Marvel’s The Avengers” (on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, DVD, Digital Copy and Digital Download of “Avengers Assembled” Music from and inspired by the film) and brings to life the Super Hero team-up of a lifetime in a whole new dimension on Blu-ray hi- def with stunning visual effects, superior sound and unparalleled bonus content.

Extras include a gag reel, a first for a Marvel Studios film, the chance to hear from the cast and Joss Whedon on their experiences in bringing these larger than life characters to the big screen, a behind-the-scenes look at the groundbreaking visual effects and stunning cinematography, the creation of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Helicarrier, Soundgarden’s “Live to Rise” Music Video, deleted scenes and more!

Also for the first time ever, fans will be able to enjoy even more of the Marvel Universe via the all-new “The Avengers Initiative: A Marvel Second Screen App.” By downloading this onto a secondary device, consumers will be able to gain unprecedented access to exclusive content building up to the home entertainment release on September 25. Pieces will be unleashed bi- weekly in July & August and weekly in September leading up to a full immersive experience accompanying the film on Blu-ray. Content includes special access to the S.H.I.E.L.D. database, becoming a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, invitations to “special missions” either remotely or in the field, links to character profiles, stories and scenes, interactive Marvel digital reader comic books and more. App owners will receive push notifications whenever new content is uploaded and available for their viewing.

 

 

Adding yet another flavorful option to McDonald’s McCafe Real Fruit Smoothie line is the Blueberry Pomegranate Real Fruit Smoothie. Testing in the Austin market, Greater Austin Area McDonald’s will offer regular-sized Blueberry Pomegranate Real Fruit Smoothies for just a $1 from June 26-July 3! Hurry while this limited time offer is available! To find your nearest local McDonald’s, visit www.mcdonalds.com.