Even wonder what life is like on other planets?  Planet 51 answers that question for us!  American astronaut Chuck Baker (Dwayne Johnson) lands on a planet that is suppose to be lifeless.  Instead, Planet 51 is home to aliens (which oddly enough looks like 1950s America).  To make matters worse, the aliens think he is an alien and that there is going to be invasion.  Lem (Justin Long) is the only one who believes Chuck comes in peace and helps him get back to his ship.

Since I know my readers love a great kids movie, I have arranged to give away one copy of Planet 51.  Here’s what you need to leave a comment telling me:

What is your favorite kids movie and why?

Each of these gives you one additional entry:
1. Twitter about this contest. Please leave me your username so I can verify. Or use something like this:

Win a copy of Planet 51 from @blm03 http://su.pr/25157y

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3. Comment on any other post on this blog. (1 entry for each post). Let me know which posts you commented on.

Each of these gives you 5 additional entries:

1. Blog about this on your blog. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.

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If this isn’t working, please let me know. For some reason, Wordpress seems to be eating the code up when I post.

Each of these will give you 10 additional entries:

1. Sign up for my free newsletter!

This contest will end March 25th at noon CST! Good Luck!

Extraordinary Measures releases in the theaters on January 22nd. Bill and I were lucky enough to be invited to a special viewing last night.  I’m going to start off this review by stating that there may be spoilers in this review!

I researched this movie before we went, because I didn’t want to go to a movie where two kids die.  I’m glad to say that they don’t (and in real life, they are actually still alive).  The synopsis of the movie is this:

“Extraordinary Measures” is inspired by the true story of John Crowley, a man who defied conventional wisdom and great odds, and risked his family’s future to pursue a cure for his children’s life threatening disease. From his working class roots, John Crowley (Brendan Fraser) has finally begun to taste success in corporate America. Supported by his beautiful wife Aileen (Keri Russell) and their three children, John is on the fast track. But just as his career is taking off, Crowley walks away from it all when his two youngest children, Megan and Patrick, are diagnosed with a fatal disease. With Aileen by his side, harnessing all of his skill and determination, Crowley teams up with a brilliant, but unappreciated and unconventional scientist, Dr. Robert Stonehill. (Harrison Ford) Together they form a bio-tech company focused on developing a life-saving drug. One driven to prove himself and his theories, the other by a chance to save his children, this unlikely alliance eventually develops into mutual respect as they battle the medical and business establishments in a fight against the system – and time.

What did I walk away with from this movie? That one person can change the world. If Crowley didn’t fight the world for his children, this drug that saved his childrens’ lives would not be around for them or others with Pompe Disease.  Even knowing how the movie would eventually end, I still was riveted by what I was seeing on the screen.  Extraordinary Measures is one of the best movies I have seen in a long time.

The kids were 6 and 8 in the movie.  My kids are 2 and 6, so Bill and I definitely drew some parallels in our life.  We know what it is like to deal with doctors who don’t know how to treat your children to make them better (Madison has a genetic condition that makes her extremely ill when she’s got the flu).  The other reason I think the movie really touched us is that the little girl, Megan, reminded us soo much of Madison.  Her fiesty determination is Madison to a tee.  Bill thought she kinda looked like her too.  Without making the movie too sad or sappy, they were able to tell the story.  I can’t tell you how many times during the movie I felt my heart breaking in my chest.  Bill agreed it was a tearjerker and that even he teared up a few times.  Seriously, the movie is that good.

Extraordinary Measures is the first movie I’ve went to that people started clapping before the end of the movie.  As soon as we realized that the drug Dr. Stonehill was working, the audience erupted with applause that continued till the end of the movie.  That is how moving this film is.

It’s amazing what a parent will do for their children.  I know I’d move heaven and earth and that is exactly what Crowley did.  He beat the odds and played the drug companies games.  It’s amazing the hoops he had to jump through to make this happen.  It truly makes you realize you can change the world.  Though a tear jerker, it’s ended as a very uplifting movie.

Few movies are worth movie admission nowadays (its $10 a person here), but I’d gladly pay more than that to see this movie again.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/2

Most people are terrified of public speaking. I personally can do it, but I tend to talk to fast and use way to many “ummms”. There aren’t a lot of good books out there to teach you better public speaking, but Confessions of a Public Speaker is a book you should definitely read if you have any public speaking in your future.

The author of Confessions of a Public Speaker is Scott Berkun.  He is a former Microsoft executive who now is a writer and professional speaker.  I love that this book is written at a level that anyone can understand.  I also like that the advice he gives can be used for any sort of presentation you will have to do.  There are plenty of real world examples, and lot of usable do’s and don’ts.  Berkun suggests that presenters first consider the needs of the audience — Who are they? What are they interested in? What do they want to learn? How are you going to keep them entertained?  You would be amazed at how many presenters don’t take any of these questions into consideration and their presentations will show that.  One of the most important tips that he teaches is to keep your audience entertained and they’ll forgive all kinds of other mistakes.  I also have to agree that you need to keep your speech in ten minute chunks due to attention spans.  I also recommend that you read the entire book including the very last page and the back of that page.  Trust me on that.

Confessions of a Public Speaker  is a must read for all public speakers.  It’s also a great read even if you aren’t.  It’s a quick funny read, and you’ll walk away with a lot of really great knowledge.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/2

You know you are a mom when you get all excited about a new winter coat for your 5 year old. However, this Lands’ End’s Kids Sport Squall Parka is Madison’s new winter coat and we couldn’t be happier! First of all, it is windproof with a  3-ply nylon shell with a DriOff™ finish.  For us here in Chicago, this means it keeps the kid dry and warm.  We’ve had plenty of icky weather so far, and this coat has passed that test!  I love the adjustable cuffs (which you can’t really see on this picture that they really are adjusted for her arms.  It’s a great way to keep the cold finding it’s way in.  I do like that the trim is reflective.  It makes it easier for her to be seen when we are in the parking lot (like at school for drop off and pick up.  I can only imagine I’ll be dropping her off in the dark come winter!)  A feature we don’t use but is on there is a MP3 player pocket with a cord port.  The waist also cinches so make the coat fit better and be warmer.  I can see us getting (hopefully) two years wear out of this.  The first day I had Madison wear this to school, her teacher complimented her on such a nice coat! The Lands’ End’s Kids Sport Squall Parka is available in 12 colors (differing for boys and girls) and come in youth sizes S, M, L and XL.  Your kids definitely want one of these for this winter!

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/2

One of the reason we got a wii was because I wanted our kids to be active.  I wanted me to be active too.  That is why when games like Active Life:  Extreme Challenge come out we definitely try them out.  This game is all about doing extreme sports like base jumping (which I always wanted to do for real) and rock climbing (which you get to do on the Grand Canyon!).  There are 15 activities, a time trial, and even a multiplayer portion (note:  don’t talk smack to your significant other until you’ve tried the game first).  I also love that you can use your own Mii and don’t have to use one of their characters (if you don’t have a Mii, then you can definitely still use their characters).

This is a game that is a ton of fun, for all ages, and will get your heart rate up!  Try it out!

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/2