When Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs came out in the theaters, Madison’s aunt had taken her to the movies to see it.  She loved it!  This is one of the few movies she’s actually been able to tell us everything that happened.  I was disappointed that this movie wasn’t out for Christmas, but ecstatic when I found out this would be released January 5th!  (This is 2 days before her birthday).  Haven’t heard of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs yet?  You can see the movie trailer here.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is about a boy wants to live his dream to be an inventor.  When this boy’s (now a man), latest contraption accidentally destroys the town square and rockets up into the clouds, he thinks his inventing career is over.  Then something amazing happens to Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader) as delicious cheeseburgers start raining from the sky. His machine actually works! However, everybody starts getting more and more greedy, it causes the food machine to go crazy.  Spaghetti tornadoes and giant meatballs threaten the world!  Now, if you want to know how it ends, you’ll have to watch the movie. 

We were able to watch a copy of this DVD, and I have to admit that I think I like Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs just as much as Madison.  It has a catchy story and nobody breaks out in song.  It has some great lessons in it — the best of which has to be “be true to yourself”.  I gladly sat through watching it a second time in a row, because my kids wanted too.  (On a funny side note, Will loved naming off all the food he saw that he knows the words for.  For a kid in speech therapy, it was kinda cool to watch).

With this last season of The Biggest Loser over, we are all wondering how we are going to lose those extra pounds we seem to gain at Christmas.  Have no fear, Julie Hadden is here.  Julie is the first runner up on Season 4 of The Biggest Loser.  Like me, Julie is a stay at home mom who put everyone else in front of herself.  In reading her book, you get to learn about how she learned to make herself a priority.

I am a person who believes things happen for a reason.  Julie didn’t win The Biggest Loser.  Instead, she lost by 8 lbs.  However, she was able to adopt a little boy (which wouldn’t have been possible if she had won due to a media tour should would have had to do).  Here’s the weird part — her little boy was 8 lbs when they got to bring him home!  Another weird yet cool thing that happened to her was that they had gotten rid of their second car to save money, so she could stay at home with her kids.  On the show, she won a challenge.  The prize?  A brand new car!

The book gives us a glimpse into what it’s like to be on The Biggest Loser (I won’t tell you how long they work out daily!).  Fat Chance also provides tips that we can all do.  I love the exercises that you can do standing in line at the grocery store, washing dishes, or even doing  laundry.  There are even some recipes for you to try!

This is great book to get you on pace for the New Year.  With it’s great tips and real life story, Fat Chance is a book you should read.

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There are certain scents I associate with the holiday time. For example, if I smell pumpkin pie, I think Thanksgiving. If I smell pine needles, I think Christmas. Glade must know this, so they came out with some great holiday candles.  Some of the yummy (and I mean yummy flavors) Glade has this year include Bayberry Spice, Homemade Gingerbread, Hollyberry Wreath, Peppermint Crush, French Vanilla, and Apple Cinnamon.  There is nothing better than walking into your house and smelling gingerbread or cinnamon. It’s a great way to set the scene for some holiday parties and just enjoying the holiday overall.

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If you have young kids like me, they often want to help in the kitchen. I know Madison, my 5 year old, always wants to help me bake.  Now that we are heading into Christmas time and prime baking time, the Curious Chef’s 6 piece cookie kit is perfect for your little ones to help you.  The utensils in this kit are real.  They aren’t toys.  However, they are made to be much easier for your kids’ hands to hold and to use.  Best of all, they are dishwasher safe!  With them having their own utensils, your kids have a sense of ownership over their supplies and even the goodies they make.

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Veggie Tales: Saint Nicholas: A Story of Joyful Giving is a great movie to start watching with your kids.  My kids are Veggie Tale fans, so this movie fits perfectly in our collection.  When you are feeling that Christmas is becoming way to commercialized, then give this movie a view.  Veggie Tales: Saint Nicholas: A Story of Joyful Giving takes Santa out of the picture (though you do get a couple of glimpses into that story thanks to Larry) and instead tells the story of Saint Nicholas.  I even learned a few things about Saint Nicholas that I didn’t know (SPOILER ALERT:  His parents died.)  This movie really reminds you of what Christmas is suppose to be about.  The DVD includes ways for kids and families to help a long-established charity called Samaritan’s Purse and a catchy video by Matthew West and Amy Grant, “Give This Christmas Away.”  I love that my kids are learning about charity and giving and not even realizing it (though we just did a food drive at school for the homeless, so we talked about that after watching this).  This is a great holiday movie that will be pulled for years in my house.

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