This weekend I had my 7 year old all to myself. My other 3 kids are visiting relatives in another state, so I took the opportunity to spoil my son a little.

We decided to head out for an afternoon at the movies and at first it was a toss up between Madagascar 2 and Bolt, but as soon as I realized that Bolt was 3D, I knew we had to see it. I haven’t seen a 3D movie in years and my 7 year old never has, so it was a real treat for him.

I’ll be honest. I wasn’t thrilled about sitting through this movie at first. I thought it would be boring and cheesy. But to my surprise I got sucked in to the story really quickly and it held my attention throughout. The movie had just enough action, drama and comedy to be entertaining for an adult without overpowering a child.

First of all, you can’t help but fall in love with Bolt. He’s totally adorable and John Travolta doing the voiceover adds to the appeal.

If you’re not familiar with the story, it’s about how Bolt discovers that he’s not really a superdog with special powers, but rather he is the star of a popular TV show. He gets separated from his on screen owner, Penny, and the movie follows his journey back to her.

My favorite character was actually Rhino, the tiny but courageous gerbil with the heart of gold. Rhino is a huge fan of Bolt’s and is absolutely convinced that he’s a real hero. It’s his belief in him that actually spurs Bolt on in the end. Rhino had me laughing out loud.

I thought the movie had some important lessons about friendship, loyalty, living your dreams, what it means to be a hero, and family. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

And I think my 7 year old had a good time too!

Watch a trailer of Bolt here.

Leave it to moms to invent a product that solves a need. I came across this news article and thought it was a really cute idea.

Heartstrings Baby’s Companion is a baby safe necklace/toy/teether that moms (or dads!) can wear to keep baby’s attention. For a nursing mom with an older baby it would be very convenient to help solve that problem of baby looking everywhere in the room instead of getting down to the business of eating.

And if you’ve ever had a baby who had wandering hands that pinched or “twiddled” the other side, you probably wished you had had this product! This was certainly the case with me. I had a determined “twiddler” and had to get really creative about getting him to stop.

This product is also a bit safer than jewelry which might have small pieces that can be a choking hazard or that will get ripped off mom’s throat. And less painful than a chubby fisted baby death grip on your hair too!

You can find other necklaces for breastfeeding moms that have a similar concept.

Overhearing some coworkers raving about a pumpkin facial they had given themselves…I just had to ask what the heck they were talking about? I’d never heard of using pumpkin as a facial, cucumbers and yogurt have long been common staples for facial care inspired by food from your kitchen, but pumpkin?

It all started when Rosie decided to make some pumpkin pies, being one shell short after opening all of her canned pumpkins, you guessed it, she had leftover filling. What to do? She decided to look to the internet for various uses for leftover or unused pumpkin.

She ran across several recipes for homemade pumpkin facial masks before settling on one. She then added some of her own ingredients to improve upon the results and here they are:

2 teaspoons cooked or canned pumpkin, pureed

one-half teaspoon honey

one-quarter teaspoon soy milk one-quarter teaspoon oatmeal

one-quarter teaspoon cranberry juice

Mix all ingredients together, apply to face, leave on for 5-20 minutes, rinse, continue with normal makeup or bedtime routine.

The best thing about this recipe is that most people will have the ingredients in their kitchen already. Rosie improved on the idea by making up large batches and then separating them out into freezer baggies that she could get out and thaw and use anytime she likes. I thought this was a wonderful way to naturally give yourself a facial – and economical too.

After discussing with the group, the suggestion was made that you could include the recipe and get a gift basket full of the unopened ingredients to give as a Thanksgiving Day gift or even Christmas. I just might do that!

I have never been so torn about a movie in my life! With big name stars such as George Clooney (yum), Brad Pitt (daddy yum) and John Malkovich, I felt sure that this would be a great movie. The previews I saw on t.v. looked very promising and Brad Pitt’s part looked hilarious. The movie, I believe, was intended as a comedic thriller spoof on the CIA type of movie. I’m not sure how close to the mark they came, but here goes.

There were so many “gotcha!” moments in the movie that I cannot even really put to words my shock level for some scenes. Not a goody two shoes shock, just a general “oh my God, did that just happen?” or “is that what I think it is?!?” On one hand, the movie has a bunch of random events that were all somewhat connected and left the viewer with an on purpose feeling of “what the heck?” On the other hand, you can’t quit watching the movie because you are morbidly curious to see what happens next (kind of like Pulp Fiction).

Will I watch the movie again? No. Will I recommend it to friends? No. Will I become engrossed in conversation with other people that have seen the movie? Probably. So this one gets neither a thumbs up or thumbs down from me. I will say that each actor in the film did superb. They are the actors, not the writers, so whatever was missing in the movie, I wouldn’t blame them per se. There are moments of awkwardness, hilarity, and shock sprinkled throughout, but the ebb and flow between all of those items was missing.

Not the best way to spend a Saturday night, but not the worst either.

For a lot of cooks, there are times when we don’t have the appropriate ingredients in the pantry to make our desired recipe. If you find yourself in this situation, don’t despair, you probably have a suitable substitute on hand, saving the cook a trip to the grocery store. Here are a few ingredients that can easily be substituted if you’re in a pinch.

Milk
Many recipes call for milk. If you find you are out of milk or short on the amount necessary to finish a specific recipe, make sure you have a supply of evaporated milk on hand. Evaporated milk or reconstituted milk can be kept for long periods of time and once mixed with water and usually a drop of butter, can easily taste as fresh and delicious as regular milk.

Baking Powder
If you don’t have baking powder readily available, use baking soda and a drop of buttermilk. For a tablespoon of double acting baking powder, substitute 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda and a 1/2 cup of buttermilk.

Self Rising Flour
Self rising flour is convenient to create at home, just combine one cup of all purpose flour with 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of baking powder.

Butter Milk
Out of butter milk? You can easily prepare your own. You can substitute 1 cup of butter milk with 1 cup whole milk and a tablespoon of vinegar. You can also substitute 1 cup of butter milk with 2/3 cup of plain yogurt and 1/3 cup whole milk.

Garlic
Need garlic, but don’t have any? Replace it with garlic powder instead. About 1 clove of garlic equals 1/8 of a teaspoon of garlic powder.

Honey
You can simply replace honey with sugar and water. 1 cup of honey is equal to about 1 and 1/4 cup of sugar and a 1/4 cup of water.

Substituting Sugar
If you are short on sugar on hand or would like to replace it because of health concerns, here are some hints to substitute sugar:

Sugar can be exchanged with maple syrup, corn syrup, brown sugar, honey, Stevia, and molasses. However, some recipes will call for sugar or a granular sweetener instead of syrup due to baking and texture requirements.

If you would like to reduce the amount of sugar you eat because of health issues, consider the many sweeteners, sometimes called sugar alternatives at the supermarket. They include, Sweet and Low, Splenda, Equal, and plant derived Stevia.

As you can see, there are several suitable ingredients that can be easliy substituted, allowing you to finish preparing your meal without making a trip to the store.

Dine Without Whine is a great menu planning service for active families. Visit their site to discover even more rewards to menu planning.

(Want to republish this content on your site? Click here to join the Dine Without Whine Affiliate Program)

I hate to admit it but I think Jessica Simpson singing country is WAY better than anything else she’s tried before. I didn’t want to like it, didn’t want to like her, etc. But, I do like her new sound off her latest cd “do you know” (Epic/Columbia Nashville).

I normally am not one to fall for “so and so did a duet with this person so it MUST be good”…think of how many duets are out there that sucked (Nelly and Tim McGraw, boooo). I am a fan of Dolly Parton, one of the last good ole gals; and she’s done Jess justice by teaming up with her on this CD.

Now if Dolly could just help Jessica sort out her man-drama (including her overbearing father) then all would be right with the world.

I suspect that country is what Jessica should have been doing all along…do I think she will last in this genre forever? No, the bottom line is she’s not much of a singer to begin with, but I can see this current gig lasting for at least a little while, a girl’s gotta pay her bills, right?

Ok…gave this one a try too “Captivating Curls” by the Sunsilk line. It’s suppose to be de-frizz shampoo and conditioner. It wasn’t “horrible” but it wasn’t great either. I can find way better things to spend my money on. It’s made with aloe-e….

This might explain why things seemed very slippery instead of “conditioned” – I am not a fan of over-moisturized hair that then looks greasy. I rinsed very well and after blow-drying my hair, it was still curly, but my ends were dry and my scalp looked shiny. I’m ok with shiny as long as it’s the whole head.

This exaggerated frizz at the ends, shine at the base, just made it look like I hadn’t washed my hair in 2 days instead of having just used a de-frizzing shampoo/conditioner.

The shampoo and conditioner both have a pleasant scent but ultimately fall short of the claim to “hydrating your curls” – a stick of butter would have done the same.

Are you looking for a great way to save money on your groceries? A Menu Planning Service can come to the rescue. These ingenious services help you plan, save on grocery costs and manage your dinner meals simply and easily.

Menu Planning services provide moms with a simple to follow dinner menu for each week. Not only do you get awesome dinner meal ideas including main dishes, side dishes and desserts that are satisfying, simple to prepare and healthy, but you also get a personalized grocery list to simply shop for the ingredients for the upcoming week. You can save loads of money, because when you know which meals you will be preparing and which ingredients you will need you won’t wastefully purchase ingredients and items that are not required.

Many people spend hundreds of dollars each year buying food ingredients that they don’t need. In many cases foods are wasted, because they sit around not being used in any meals you prepare. Once you find a meal idea for these ingredients, they are usually too old, spoiled or stale.

By utilizing a menu planning service you will also save on fast food and casual dining restaurant bills. Many families become frustrated when there is no food in their refrigerator. Instead of preparing a healthy and low cost meal at home, they opt for the ease of visiting fast food and casual dining restaurants that can easily cost $20, $50, $100 or more. If you are looking for a reason to keep you at home rather than at high priced restaurants, a meal planning service is an affordable and practical solution.

Another way you can reap the rewards from menu planning is with all the time you will save. Now that everything is planned out for you, you won’t have to spend time each day running back and forth to the grocery store to buy needed food items, you can have your whole week’s meals planned out and have a comfortable and relaxing time at home with your family.

If you are looking for an awesome way to save on your grocery bills, check out a menu planning service.

If you’re unsure where to look, Dine Without Whine is a great menu planning service for active families. Visit their site to discover even more rewards to menu planning.

(Want to republish this content on your site? Click here to join the Dine Without Whine Affiliate Program)

I was so excited to peruse the 2008 Black Friday Ads, I gleefully clicked my way through all of the online previews of the ads, as well as special online only deals. I am disappointed. Where are all the good deals? I will be curious what the report on Monday will be for this year’s weekend-after-Thanksgiving spending spree.

I know that the forecast for the shopping season this year wasn’t good but does that mean the retailers should offer less deals? One relative theorized that perhaps the retailers knew that 500 people instead of 5,000 people would show up, thus, why go through the trouble? True, true, but to offer limited discounts on just a few items? That makes me not want to shop in their stores at all.

A few examples that come to mind are the following:

T.V.’s – Most of the deals I saw out there were for brands known for low-quality products (television wise) – such as Emerson and Polaroid. My grandfather was in the market this year for a new t.v. but has now decided to wait and see if he can find one on clearance later this year.

Clothing – I typically will drop a couple hundred dollars on black Friday sales (shopping online exclusively as I do not want to end up on the evening news as the shopper who lost her cool) but this year one of my favorite retailers, Lane Bryant, has left me high and dry. They are having a buy one get one free sale in their store and online this weekend. Now, in some cases, this does add up to great savings, I’ll give them that. But in one particular department, BRAS, this is not a huge sale. At least three times per year they have buy one get one free bras. So to call this a “Black Friday Special” is false, in my opinion. Black Friday should mean wonderful once a year savings, not something you offer throughout the year anyway.

Toys – Kohl’s is offering 40-50% off of all of their toys – um, Kohl’s is almost always offering 40-50% off their toys – now tell me again how that is a black friday event? Yeah, thought so.

In the end, I am really hoping that the shrewd shopper prevails and realizes that not all, but many, of the “deals” being offered today and this weekend are not exactly stellar – and hopefully they will bypass purchasing them altogether.

The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything (Veggie Tales) is coming out on DVD for those moms whose kids watch them (mine does). The coming to DVD has taken quite some time (according to a 5-year-old); the movie originally came to theaters in January 2008.

It is worth the wait! While our daughter loved the movie going experience (she wore a t-shirt advertising the movie and everything) I think she will enjoy having the movie here at home even more.

The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything is an elaboration on a former veggie tale short that appeared in earlier DVD releases…it is also a spoof on the Pirates of the Caribbean fame.

Either way this is a must see for you and your child, as always, the writers from Big Idea Productions have a nice mix of fun for kids and laughter for adults (and not the Spongebog Squarepants variety if you’re wondering). It comes to DVD on October 14, 2008, and we plan on snatching up a copy as soon as it hits the shelves (if we can beat Grandma to it).

You can also order it from the Veggie Tales Website (with free shipping) but I am guessing it might be cheaper at Walmart or Christian bookstores and the like.