When my four-year-old was searching for a movie to watch at my parents’ house last month, her little heart began to race when she spotted an old VHS tape of The Sandlot.  Since then, we have watched this movie no less than a dozen times because… well, because she’s boy crazy & convinced that watching the movie will enhance her baseball skills.  

Yesterday, while we were running errands, she casually asked me from the backseat, “So, Mom… do you want to talk about sports or something?”  {She was clearly talking to the wrong parent.}

“Sure, Honey,” I replied, “What sport do you have in mind?”  

“Baseball.  I think I really know how to play.  Do you have to wear a helmet when you’re the glover or only when you’re the batter?  I’m not sure if you have to wear a helmet all the time like skateboarding or if you can take it off.  I’m a little bit afraid that the helmet will get stuck on my head and I’ll have to wear it like forever or something.  And then do the girls & boys play on the same team or do the girls try to beat the boys?”  

She rarely takes a breath.  

Before we went home, we stopped at the world’s most depressing discount retailer {Rose’s} & picked up a wiffle bat & ball.  If the girl wants to play baseball, then let’s play baseball.  Only one problem… it meant that I was going to have to play baseball because waiting for Daddy to get home feels like an eternity when you’re four. 

It was 93 degrees outside when we got home and I couldn’t stand the begging anymore so I suggested that we play baseball in the house.  Lizzie & I were on one team and Ellie & Yeah-Yeah {her newest imaginary playmate straight from the movie} were on the other.  

“Mom, I’ll just stand here and put my glove out like Smalls, okay?  And you be like Benny and get it right in my glove.”  And for the next hour we went back & forth between a movie reenactment & learning to play catch.  

Now if you’ve ever watched The Sandlot then you may remember that the boys use some choice words that you most definitely don’t want your kids to repeat.  Since Ellie doesn’t really know many swear words, she thinks “stupid” is the most offensive thing to come out of the boys’ mouths.  And of course, I should know better but talking about baseball for seven hours made me delirious.  

“Mom, what’s that line they say in the movie?”  

“You’re a pee drinking, crap face?”  Oops.  Did I really just say that?

“Mom!  That’s a bad word.  I was just going to say, ‘watch out… I’m gonna throw the heater’.”  

I love taking photos and I love sharing photos — that’s how I got into blogging in the first place.  When Ellie was a little baby, I splurged and purchased a big DSLR camera {which I absolutely adore} because my little point & shoot was taking terrible photos.  I take a lot of pictures, but I’m not an expert at photography and I don’t always remember to share them with family & friends.   And with my parents, siblings, and entire extended family over 500 miles away, posting pictures to Facebook & talking on the phone is how we all stay in touch.  This is why I was so excited to get my hands on a Samsung Smart Camera.

When I was asked to try out the new Samsung Smart Camera, I expected it to function like my old point & shoot, but I was wrong.  I am amazed at the technology — 16 megapixels & the ability to capture video in full HD.  It is by far the best purchase I’ve made in a long time and I got it at Sam’s Club {believe it or not}.  

Let me show you how this camera is making my life easier.  On Tuesday, we went to the Science Center to see the new Butterfly habitat exhibit.  Instead of dragging my big camera out & attempting to shoot on manual while wearing a baby, I tossed this camera into my diaper bag:  

 It weighs half a pound, has a cute little zip-up bag, & it’s small enough to fit in the pocket of my baby carrier, too.  While I carried Lizzie around, here are some of the cool photos we snapped and THEN {here’s the cool part}… I uploaded them to Facebook while we were still at the Science Center from the back of the camera.  My smart phone can’t take photos like this but my SMART CAMERA sure can!

By selecting Wi-Fi, I can connect to Facebook to upload my photos immediately.  The viewing screen on the camera is a touch screen – when Wi-Fi is selected a number of different options are available.  Using my Samsung cell phone {just download a free app}, I can upload the pictures from the camera to my phone just by putting them next to each other.  Imagine all the amazing, high quality photos you could take, transfer, & then use with Instagram.  Additionally, I can set up the camera on a tripod & then use my camera to take photos remotely.  How smart & convenient is that?    That means I can actually start being IN the photos of my family and not just the one taking the photos!

In picture viewing mode, I am also able to edit my photos RIGHT ON THE CAMERA by selecting Menu, then Edit Photo.  I can select fun filters, crop, change the saturation or brightness of a photo all in the camera without having to mess with Photoshop.  I know this will come in handy, especially when I’m blogging on the road all summer long.  

Here’s an example of two photos that I edited in the camera:

{I could never accomplish an edit like this with my computer software.}

{I like the way this edit blurs around the edges & draws my eye towards Ellie’s sweet face.}

To see more photos that I’ve taken with this camera & where to purchase it, see my google+ album.  Thank goodness I have another camera {a SMART camera!} to capture family moments — one that I can toss in my purse or diaper bag and quickly share photos with family and friends.  I know that somewhere, 500 miles away, there’s a lady who looks a lot like me who is *really* happy about that.  {Right, Mom?}  And keeping Mama happy?  Well, that’s SMART, too!

Alright, so you can’t really send your kids to France for the summer, but if you’re looking for something fun & educational for your kids this summer consider joining the Little Passports program.  With Little Passports, your children will join Sam & Sofia as they journey around the world.  Each month a new country is delivered directly to your child.  Ellie can hardly wait to rip open her package when it arrives.  

The first month, you receive an Explorer’s Kit which contains a suitcase, map of the world, welcome letter from Sam & Sofia, a passport, stickers, & access to online games.  

Below is a photo of Ellie digging through a Pyramid that came with her package from Egypt.  Even cooler?  Ellie asking, “Hey, can we get some books about Ancient Egypt from the library?”  

Included in the package every month is a sticker of the country’s flag for her passport book & a marker to place on the map.  At just four years old, she can locate places like Australia, Egypt, France, & Japan on the map.  Plus, I’m pretty sure her Japanese themed kit had something to do with her trying sushi.

Full disclosure: I am an affiliate of the Little Passports program.  {Mama’s gotta pay for that minivan.}  I would not promote this product if we didn’t love it.  If you’re a blogger, consider becoming an affiliate:  Join Little Passports Affiliate Program Now!

Living for eight years in a town that is well known for its perfection, it has been a difficult adjustment living in our new neighborhood.  I get the whole “bloom where you’re planted” mentality, but folks… my neighbors have silk flowers in their garden.  And there are dogs chained to trees and people parking their cars on their front lawns.  

I’ve gotten to know Frank down the street.  His yard still looks like an episode of Hoarders: Home Depot Edition with unfinished landscaping projects and  boards on his windows, but he’s a nice guy.  He keeps an eye on us and let’s us know which neighbors he “don’t care for none”.  He loaned Coach a whole stack of Tom Selleck movies — I guess he thought he might be a fan?  

But Frank is one of the good guys and it’s good that he’s keeping watch over the South West.  In my last neighborhood, we had two police officers who lived on our street.  Now when I say “the police live on our street”, I mean that in an entirely different way.  Hunting down suspects on our block is becoming way too routine.  BUT, Bloom Where You’re Planted!  

I got to know Margo & her husband Mr. Boombastic a bit more last weekend when they stopped by just to say hello.  Mr. Boombastic aka Chris likes to crank his tunes up even louder now since Frank called the cops on him.  ”Yeah… I sit a little longer at the stop sign just to get on Frank’s last nerve.”  It is working.  Margo wants me to teach her the fine art of Goodwill shopping.  ”Yeah…” her husband said, “She need to.  She want a Coach bag, she go buy a Coach bag, and she call the power comp’ny and tell them she need a payment plan.”  

In that conversation I also learned that the neighbors up on the other side of M & C are none other than Grasshopper & Possum.  ”I don’t think they eat,” Margo said. “Nah, they’re so skinny.  I think they sell their food stamps.  You can get like $200 for them.”  

Bloom Where You’re Planted.  

Oh, and that dog tied to the tree in the neighbor’s front yard?  That’s just Cujo & he’s Possum’s dog.  Margo said not to worry – “I told Possum.  I got five kids.  Your dog touches one of my kids and I will.put.you.six.feet.under.  If that dog gives you any trouble, you come find me.  I will *pop*pop*pop* that dog.  I’m licensed to shoot, girl.”  

Bloom Where You’re Planted.

I don’t spend much time outside in our neighborhood.  It turns out, however, that there’s a lovely little downtown with great shops, a movie theater, and places to eat.  So, I think we’ll just plant ourselves there & see what grows.

The following is a sponsored post on behalf of invisalign®.  I received compensation for this post, but all opinions & stories are my own.

I used to be very self conscious about my teeth.  It took a very long time for my canine teeth to come down, so every time I smiled I thought it looked like I had fangs!  But seeing what my poor little sister went through with braces and after witnessing a dumpster dive in search of a retainer and miserable looking head gear, there was NO WAY I wanted braces.  

In early elementary school, my sister had to endure the tightening of wires & changing of rubber bands.  Painful — but now kids {and adults} have other options.  

If invisalign® had been an alternative to metal braces when we were kids, I know my sister would have begged for this option.  Although it costs about the same as traditional braces, invisalign® is the clear alternative to braces and provides a modern approach to teeth straightening.    With invisalign®, kids can take out the aligners to brush their teeth & floss unlike metal braces that require extra tools and extra time.  

Teens who use invisalign® can also continue to eat all of their favorite foods and not be fearful of any mouth injuries caused by playing sports.  Can metal in the mouth & sports really be such a good idea?  And all those after hours emergencies of broken wires & snapped rubber bands are of the past when braces are replaced with clear aligners.  

In just 90 days, patients will start to see changes in their teeth.  {You can see exactly how invisalign works on their website.}  With traditional braces, you don’t really get a good look until all the metal comes off.    

Since not all doctors provide the clear alternative to braces, be sure to visit their website to find a doctor near you.  

And be sure to connect with Invisalign here, too:

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I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and Walmart Family Mobile.  

I love saving money, don’t you?  That’s why I went searching for the best wireless plan with unlimited minutes – something that wouldn’t put such a big hole in my pocket.  I found a cheap wireless plan and it’s saving me $70 a month — that plan is Walmart Family Mobile.  

Last month, I took my new phone to the Disney Social Media Moms Conference & really put this phone and plan to the test.  With a baby in my arms, tweeting can get tricky, but my Samsung phone from Walmart allows me to “swype text”  and I can do that one-handed.  

The other app I used a lot at the conference and in the park is Instagram.  I could share my photos with other conference attendees and then text the pictures to my husband who had to stay behind.  In all, I’ve taken 493 photos so far.   

One thing I like better about my new phone is the video component.  Check out this short clip of Ellie riding Test Track at EPCOT.  With the self-recording feature, I was able to capture this as we went from 0-68 mph in just a few seconds.  

 In case you didn’t catch that, “it was really fun”.  

So, for just $40 a month, I am getting all the same features that I was receiving from AT&T but without the hefty price tag.  That extra money in my pocket adds up — that’s a total savings of $840 a year.  I bet you can think of what to do with that much money.  A week at the beach?  A trip to Disney World? 

I can access all the features of my Walmart Family Mobile plan online including paying my bill.  The best part — when it’s time to pay my bill, I get a friendly text message reminder.  Ready to get started?  My google+ album will show you step by step how to make the switch.  

The Disney Social Media Moms Celebration in Disney World was an elaborate affair.  It was the VIP experience of a lifetime, but one thing you must know if you travel to Disney World…

they roll out the red carpet for all of their guests.  

The customer service you receive throughout the resorts, over the telephone, & in the parks is incredible and unlike anywhere else you’ll ever visit.  Traveling with a child who has a severe peanut allergy can be difficult because you have to put your trust in others to keep your kiddo safe.  

 As a kid with a peanut allergy, Ellie rarely gets to experience selecting a mouth watering dessert.  

Except… for in Disney World.  

On our first night of the conference, we were served dessert in EPCOT while watching the fireworks.  Ellie, with sad puppy dog eyes, looked longingly at the dessert table — our body language caught the attention of a cast member.  

“What is she allergic to?” he asked pulling out a spreadsheet of ingredients.  He quickly directed us to what was made in a peanut free area and warned us of foods containing nuts.  Brownies.  The kid got to eat a brownie with the other children and it made my heart happy.  

On the second night, we were treated to another amazing dinner at Hollywood Studios.  When it was dessert time, we didn’t get so lucky.  The cast member consulted his sheet, shook his head, and said, “I can’t say for sure that these would be safe.  I’ll be back.”  

About 20 minutes went by, which prompted my mom to say, “I guess he’s not coming back.”  Of course, that’s not Disney’s style.  Two minutes later, the cast member resurfaced with a giant chocolate chip cookie AND a brownie…

He had gone to the kitchen & READ EVERY LABEL on EVERY DESSERT.

Is that a happy girl, or what?

but…

Don’t you dare try to steal a bite of her cookie!  

Now maybe you’re thinking that they only did this for me because I was attending the conference, but they do this for everyone.  At the ice cream parlor, they have a special tablet where they take your order separately, mark your allergy, and then dip from a container of ice cream in the back.  Is that amazing customer service, or what?   

Thanks, Disney World for taking so many extra precautions to keep my girlie SAFE & for the opportunity for her to indulge just like everyone else.   

This is the face of a third generation Disney Fan.  Taken from the backseat of the minivan, this photo captured the exact moment when Ellie first spotted Cinderella’s Castle.  

And this is the face of the first generation Disney Fan:

Oh, Mickey.  If you only knew about his curio cabinet full of Disney Collectibles, his bookshelf filled with Magic Kingdom titles, Walt biographies, and his cabinet filled with behind the scenes Disney footage.  Mickey, you are in the presence of your biggest fan.  

Growing up Disney meant a lot of things in our family — we were one of the first families I knew to order The Disney Channel.  We had it before we had a remote control television and we loved the early shows… Donald Duck cartoons, Mousercize, Pooh Corner.  

To grow up Disney meant extra pixie dust at bedtime and what fun it was to travel to the second star to the right just by opening up a book.  Growing up Disney meant listening to the Mainstreet Electrical Parade soundtrack over and over and over again… and then getting quizzed on it.  

My childhood was magical and it’s all thanks to my parents.  Being invited to the Disney Social Media Moms Conference was an honor & I was thrilled to be able to take my parents along with me.  

Three generations…

When I’m done writing about all of our experiences, I promise you’ll be a Disney fan, too.   

{more to come!}

Within each of us is the ability to make a difference in the world, to reach out to others in a loving positive way. Camp Ladybug for women was created for women to take care of themselves, to pamper themselves with a massage or Reiki treatment, discover or rediscover their creativity through art. Come enjoy singing & campfires at summer camp. Reunite with the girl inside and have some fun!

Camp Ladybug was created for YOU, yes YOU.  Okay, and maybe it was created a little bit for us, too.  Truth be told, we are big fans of getting away from it all.  There’s something very special about a day filled with possibility and no responsibility.  Just imagine… waking up in a quaint little cabin under a canopy of trees.  Fresh air, hot coffee, and days filled with whatever YOU want to do!  Maybe it’s yoga or painting, writing or swimming, whatever you choose… it’s all your own.  Your time to reconnect with yourself, to rediscover yourself, make new friends {or bring one along!}, and we’re giving away a spot at Camp Ladybug for Women for FREE.

It’s an online giveaway open to anyone who wishes to participate & it’s easy, easy, easy!  Earn entries painlessly by sharing this contest on your Facebook or Twitter accounts.  Want to earn more entries?  Blog about this contest and you’ll earn a tremendous amount of points.  To get started, follow the directions in the Rafflecopter below.  Good luck & we hope to see you there!

Prize:

4 Day All-Inclusive Stay at Camp Ladybug for Women

July 17-21, 2013

Prize value:  $345

{Transportation to Camp Ladybug is the responsibility of the winner.  Thanks!}

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias®  and Walmart Family Mobile.  #FamilyMobileSaves #cbias #SocialFabric  All opinions are my own.  

Bills, bills, bills… we all hate them, but the one that I’ve been dreading the most lately has been our cell phone bill.  When Coach lost his job in November, he had to turn in his cell phone.  He has never had to pay for his own cell phone so when I told him how much it would cost to purchase & pay for another smart phone, he was shocked.  With one year left on my contract with AT&T, we decided to add another line to my phone because they advertise the price as just being an extra $10 a month, but this is deceiving.  His basic phone {it calls & texts, that’s it} was costing us another $50 a month for a total of $140 or more every.single.month.  Painful!  Time to search for a cheap wireless plan.  

When I heard about Walmart’s Family Mobile plan, I knew I wanted to get involved in this project.  I gladly gave my iPhone to Coach in favor of exploring my options for an affordable smart phone plan.  It turns out, that with Walmart Family Mobile you can buy affordable & unlimited cell phone service for just $40 a month.  

As part of my compensation for this project, I was sent a brand new Samsung Galaxy S-II smart phone from Walmart Family Mobile.  Before heading to the store, I plugged in the new phone so that I could set up my email & download my favorite apps.  I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about the change, but I quickly realized that my new phone is VERY MUCH like my Nexus 7 tablet.  

With one year left on my contract with AT&T, I was unable to cancel my service but instead I transferred my phone to Coach and disconnected the extra line.  To get that done, the whole family met at the AT&T store after work and it took forever.  They have all the technology in the world behind the counter, but it was not an efficient process.  

Once that was done, we headed to Walmart so that I could shop for new cell phone service that included calling, text, & a data plan.  

Getting new cell phone service through Walmart Family Mobile was very easy and at just $40 a month for unlimited talk, text, & web it is a steal of a deal.  At first, I was confused by some of the options but the gal working behind the counter told me not to worry and that she’d get me set up.  I purchased a Walmart Family Mobile Starter Kit for $25 which includes the little SIM card that goes into the back of the phone.  I filled out a quick form {paper & pen} and within minutes we were all done & off to dinner.  

I am so pleased with my new phone and cell phone service — it is saving me A LOT of money.  Money that I can use to go to Disney World next week.  AND, now that we both have smart phones again, I can text Coach pictures of the girls having a blast because unfortunately, he has to stay back & recruit.  

And, as you can see… someone else is having fun customizing my phone with all of her favorite apps! She is likely, as she says, “nailing” things on Pinterest.  

I can easily manage my account both online & in the store — I like having options, don’t you?  To see more pictures from my in store experience, please see my google+ story.