Bill and I had went a saw Hellboy II:  The Golden Army on Friday night.  My goal is not to give out any spoilers with this review.  If you saw Hellboy and like it, you will love Hellboy II.  However, if you thought the first one was cheesy, you’ll think this one is too.  The story is that the the mythical world starts a rebellion against humanity in order to rule the Earth.  Hellboy and his team must stop them to save us. Obviously, some of these characters are going to have wanted to buy some term insurance on their lives, since they don’t make it out alive (don’t worry, I won’t tell you who!)  The plot was good.  However, it was pretty predictible.  I had guessed the ending half way through the movie (and yes, I had guessed it right).  There were a few twists and turns that I didn’t see coming.  The special effects were awesome.  The humor was great too.  After seeing this movie though, you’ll never think of the tooth fairy the same again (okay, one little sort of spoiler).  Personally, I would have waited to see this on video. However, my husband was glad we saw it in the theater.

For the last couple of weeks, we have been trying out a projector from Projector123.  Let’s just say that it has been such a big hit in our house that Bill now wants to buy one.

Can you guess the movie on the left?  It’s Cars.  That picture is on one of my walls in the basement.  We didn’t have any white walls to use, so that picture is on a blue wall.  It made it slightly darker (we shined it on the white door to see the difference).  I’ll be honest — I was impressed.  The picture was so clear and crisp.  It also was huge!  I wouldn’t have needed my contacts to see it!

Now, I didn’t take a picture of this but we set this up with our PlayStation 2.  Madison tried both Star Wars Legos and Indiana Jones Legos on here.  It was awesome. The characters were taller than Will.  He just ran up and down the wall touching the characters.  It was quite humorous to watch (and I should have video taped it but I didn’t think of it at the time!)

After the kids were in bed, Bill and I tested it out with a non-kid friendly movie.  Madison and Will’s movie were made to be crisp and clear.  How would a real movie hold up?

You should be able to guess this movie pretty easily.  I took this picture from the side to show you how movie theater like it was.  We just hooked up two speakers, and it was like being in the theater (we were just missing the popcorn).

Even though we used this for a lot of fun movie nights at my house, there are so many more uses for it.  I have seen these used at weddings, graduation parties, and memorial services that I have been too.  Its a great way to show a montage of pictures easily.  At the rate of $99 for a weekend, you can’t go wrong.  They FedEx it to you and they even give you a return label to FedEx it back!

Now that we are heading into summer, I have been on the lookout for sunscreen for me and kids (more so me though — I have some spf50 for them already).  It is really hard to find a facial product that isn’t greasy and slimy.  I find that the more greasy that a sunscreen feels, the more it makes my face break out.  Trust me, I do not need any more help in my breakouts — I do fine enough on my own on that one.  When I saw that Screen Inc. had some dermatologist approved facial sunscreen, I knew that I had to try it.

The first kind I looked at is chicscreen.  Now, this is spf 16+, and you should be reapplying every two hours to keep the protection strong.  The nice thing is that you can apply this under your makeup.  I had to giggle a bit when I read the warnings on this.  The two things I found humorous was the warning that I was a smart gal so I shouldn’t eat it and that no boys are allowed to use it since this product is was designated for the feminine crowd.  This was not tested on animals.

Secondly, there was the manscreen.  I loved this stuff.  This also is spf 16+ and should be reapplied every 2 hours.  Directions for use:  shower, shave, screen.  No man can screw that up.  Bill liked that it didn’t smell fruity.  For some reason, he doesn’t want to smell like a dozen of roses when he walks out the door.  The warnings on here also made me smile:  apply only to you dapper face, for manly men only — no youngsters, and use your noodle — don’t swallow this stuff.

Next, there is the teenscreen.  Same as above — spf 16+ and make syre you keep applying it for protection.  To quote the directions, just like deodorant, use Teen Screen daily.  The warning I liked the best is “as much as you love avocado and green tea, don’t swallow this product”.

Lastly, there is the tweenyscreen.  This one has a tropical fruit scent (you know, the one Bill didn’t want to smell like when using sunscreen which makes me want to use it all the more!).  It is spf 16+ and needs to be reapplies after 2 hours like the rest.

This sunscreen is already in complience with the upcoming standards on testing and packaging from the FDA.  They also have received the Seal Of Recommendation from the Skin Cancer Foundation.  Personally, I liked the sunscreen so much that I am extremely excited to see that they are going to be coming up with a spf30 lipscreen and a spf 35 extreme sunscreen.  I am also able to extend a special discount to all of you.  If you enter BLOGGER10 with your order, you will save 10%!  This is a sunscreen you should try out this summer and you’ll never go back!

One of the my favorite shows that Madison watches is called The Upside Down Show. It is on Noggin, and it is about two guys named Shane and David. They have an imaginary remote control that causes them to do silly things. They even allow “you” to control their activities. The show is about all the new things they learn about. It is truly a silly show but so educational. The learning goals that are worked on are:

Imaginative Play

* boosts creativity by modeling pretend play (they even check the time with their Chopard watches!)
* fosters a humorous approach to problem-solving
* models a think-outside-the-box attitude

Language and Early Literacy Skills

* introduces new vocabulary in surprising and funny ways
* reinforces phonological awareness with use of alliteration, rhyming, and other kinds of language play

Cognitive Skills

* reinforces logical thinking skills such as making predictions and noticing connections
* models using abstract thinking and imagination to find new ways of looking at a problem
* demonstrates and explores relational concepts (high/low, inside/outside, light/dark)

Social and Emotional Development

* models cooperation and negotiation
* models accommodating and supporting the needs of others

If you are looking for a great show for your kids to watch, The Upside Down Show ranks pretty high up there at our house.

I love a blogger with a sense of humor and A Bird’s Life definitely fits that bill. Maybe I am just weird, but I found this statement on her about page incredibly hilarious: I currently live in Albany, NY with two human roommates and three hamsters. (I got a kick out of the human roommates part in case you don’t get my sense of humor.)  The template on this blog is one the most pleasing ones that I have seen in a long time.  It is very calming and uncluttered.  Almost all her posts, make me laugh.  I love her post about corn not qualifying as a fruit and her hamster video.  If you want to be entertained and enjoy yourself reading a blog, A Bird’s Life is one place you should stop.