August 21st, 2010

Back to School with Staples

Back to School with Staples

August always brings me back to back to school shopping. Even years after graduating from college and grad school, and despite no longer teaching, I still get excited about buying new supplies for the upcoming school year. And I love sharing this with my daughter, 4, who we currently homeschool. Unfortunately, our needs nowadays don’t really require the extensive shopping sprees of my youth, but they are still just as much fun.

I was invited by Mom Select to the Back to School event hosted by Staples in NYC on July 14. Due to a prior engagement, I was unable to attend, however, I received a sampler pack of some of the latest items being offered at Staples just in time to go back to school. And I was as giddy as a school girl as I opened the box to admire my treasure!  There are so many new items to choose from. Here are a few of my favs:

Do Something Produts

The Do  Something Product Line: I firmly believe that teaching children early on that they can make a difference is so important in developing strong moral and social character. These DoSomething.org-inspired products consisting of planners, composition notebook, spiral notebooks, pocket folders, and pencil cases, encourage children of all ages to get active in community service. The artistic and inspirational designs coupled with facts about the importance of involvement serve to motivate and educate. ($.99 – $11.99)

Check out DoSomething.org for information about this great organization.

Glam Rocks Product Line

Glam Rocks Product Line: While the previous products were a stylish call-to-action, the Glam Rocks products are simply stylish! The studded calculators, pens, and matching staplers will make your child feel like a star. They are hand-studded and offered in purple floral, pink color fade, royal blue, and crystal clear. And while you may want to keep these babies for yourself (I did), they are inexpensive enough should you decide to purchase an additional set.

Be sure to keep an eye out for Glam Rock thieves in your family. You know how that goes, right?

(all sold individually $4.99 each)

Zip-it Pencil Case

Zip-It Pencil Case: This pencil case is unlike any you’ve seen before. Deigned by a student whose assignment was make an everyday item into something new and unique. He created this pencil case out of one long zipper! That’s right, you just keep unzipping and it opens up into a long strip that you can roll and store quite easily. Ready to use it again? Simply start zipping until it becomes a pencil case once again. Available in black, pink with rainbow stripes, and purple, this zipper pouch is a great companion for the Glam Rocks line.

( $9.99)

Omnitech Swivel Flash Drive

Omnitech Swivel Flash Drive: No modern student’s book bag is complete without a flash (USB) drive. It’s the best way to transfer info from once source to another and a lot smaller than those floppy-disk of yesteryear.

My personal frustration with these are the little caps that come on many of them. I always lose them leaving my drive vulnerable to environmental dangers. However, the Omiteach has a built in case. Just swivel to use and swivel to close.

Children beware! With this available, you’l have to come up with much better excuses as to why your paper wasn’t printed on time…

($11.99)

So what did I do with all of this stuff? Well, my original plan was to give the who pack to my niece who was visiting from Florida- well everything but the Glam, Rocks set and the USB Drive. But my 4 year old daughter had other plans. Let’s just say that she was inspired to do something! Well, I guess I just need to make a special trip to Staples!

Disclosure Policy: Compensation Level I: Kristina Brooke received the above products to review. All content is solely her own and review is based on her own experiences. For more information regarding disclosure policy at Mom on the Rise please see http://www.mom on the rise.com/about/disclosure.

July 16th, 2010

The WNBA: Basketball at it’s finest

On Sunday, July 11, 2010, I took the family to their first WNBA game at Madison Square Garden (thanks to the One 2 One Network for providing us with three free tickets).  My husband is an ex-NBA fan who has a love for basketball, but has grown sick of the current NBA game and it’s players.  I love basketball. I was a baller in high school, long before there was a WNBA, and was supposed to play in college. Unfortunately, I suffered a knee injury  ending my college career before it started.  This game was special for me because I was able introduce basketball to my four year old daughter.  So we jumped at the chance to get back to the Garden for a professional game.

We drove down the Henry Hudson Parkway to Manhattan from our Yonkers home with ease and parked on 9^th Avenue between 33^rd and 34^th Streets, for free thanks to Sunday parking rules.  The two block stroll was pleasant thanks to a nice breeze that cooled what had to be a 90*F afternoon and highlighted by the site of the circular structure that is the Garden with the Empire State Building in the backdrop.

The New York Liberty were playing the Chicago Sky and the game was incredible.  The WNBA is professional basketball at its best.  The players play their hearts out with an intensity that could only be maintained by people who truly love basketball.  It was great to see the teamwork and fundamentals displayed during each offensive possession as you could see each set play develop right before your eyes.  Someone who wants to learn or teach basketball should use WNBA games as visuals.  The game was great as the Liberty were down by nine at the half and clawed their way back in the last seconds of the game to win 57-54.

The fans were rabid as they cheered for the Liberty and I have been to a lot of games and never have seen so much fan excitement for a regular season game.  The fans are loyal too as we sat next to a women who drives down over two hours from Northern Connecticut to catch every weekend home game and the Liberty honored a season ticket holder who has purchased her season tickets every year since the Liberty’s creation  in 1997.  It really stuck out how much the WNBA interacts with its fans.  They have fan contests between every quarter.  They have several raffles throughout the game.  Most commercial breaks pass with dance shows performed by very talented kids who also launch t-shirts into the crowd.  Half time entertainment included a Zumba Fitness demo performed by 160 instructors and members.  Overall, the entertainment level is high and well worth the price of admission with tickets ranging from $10 to  $260 per ticket for the Liberty.

It didn’t take long before my husband and I were screaming for “our” Liberty and my daughter was dancing on her seat and cheering “Let’s Go Liberty” and “De-Fense” with the PA Announcer.  We also received passes to an autograph session after the game but had to leave before it started. Luckily those passes are good until August so we may be able to use them again.

The first thing we did when we got home was to start planning our next game.  I plan on picking up season tickets next season because we are hooked.  If you are looking for excellent family fun then the WNBA is for you.

* thanks to my husband who helped write this review.

Disclosure Policy: Compensation Level I: Kristina Brooke received three tickets to the WNBA game. All content is solely her own and review is based on her own experiences. For more information regarding disclosure policy at Mom on the Rise please see http://www.mom on the rise.com/about/disclosure.

July 15th, 2010

THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE: A Premiere Event

Disney invited me to the World Premiere of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice at the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York City last Tuesday, July 6.  This was the red carpet event attended by cast members Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, and Teresa Palmer, and producer Jerry  Bruckheimer, and director Jon Turteltaub.  It was the first time I (along with my husband)  have ever strolled down the red carpet  and it was certainly an interesting experience.  The whole event was far more organized than I pictured from watching these sort of things on TV.  The carpet extended down about half a block on 42^nd Street between 8^th Avenue and 7^th Avenue.  There were about 6 staging areas where camera and press equipment was setup to photograph and interact with the celebs.  Of course, for us non “fabulous” people there was an express path to walk behind all of the action and I was OK with that. I did not want to end up on Page 6 as a “Fashion Don’t!”

The New Amsterdam Theatre, complete with it’s old-styled charm, has three levels and numerous private balconies.  The internal structure was very beautiful with intricate woodwork and delicate marble murals.  The high arching hallways and exquisite chandeliers really send you back to a time when a night out required suits and even tuxedos.  We were seated off to the left a bit and about 5 rows from the bottom, but unlike most theaters we were not straining our necks to view the movie.  With the three levels of seating and the private balconies, we figured the stars would be seated separately from the general audience.  We were, in fact, wrong as our seating was 1 row ahead and about 10 to 15 seats away from both Nicolas Cage and Jay Baruchel.  Of course, to my determinate I am a rule follower and did not bring a camera so we could not get any pictures to share.  However, there were plenty of pocket digital camera flashes popping. I do have 6 pictures that I took with my phone of Nicholas Cage but they are so dark that only my husband and I know that he was really there.

Enough of the fan stuff, let’s get to the movie.  The Sorcerer’s Apprentice was a fantastic movie and thanks to its PG rating, fun for the whole family.  The movie is a fast paced adventure with a running time of 1 hour and 51 minutes, but feels much shorter.  Nicholas Cage’s performance, as Balthazar Blake,  was one of his best.  He was so natural and seemed very comfortable as the master sorcerer.  I am a huge Cage fan and he can overact a bit, but not in this flick though.  Cage and Jay Baruchel, as Dave Stutler, had great chemistry that really stood out throughout the film.  Baruchel successfully held his own onscreen with the superstar Cage.  Their great chemistry is most illustrated in how witty the movie was with I would say at least six occasions where the crowd genuinely burst out laughing.  The jokes were not forced and just flowed naturally, which is a true testament to chemistry of the lead actors and the talent of the  writing team.   Alfred Molina, Maxim Horvath, showcased his talent as the film’s antagonist and added to the overall wittiness of the picture.  The Sorcerer’s Apprentice was full of CGI effects that were well done and looked realistic even in the absence of IMAX or 3-D viewing as this screening was normal viewing.

A few down points include the rushed feel of the beginning of the movie as it felt as if the movie began at the introduction of the present day Dave and everything leading up to this was added as an afterthought.  Also, Monica Belluci, the Italian bombshell playing Veronica, deserved a larger role with more screen time.  In all seriousness she is a seasoned actor and her character played a large role, but lacked screen time.  Finally, Morgana, played by Alice Krige, needed to be developed more as she was the ultimate evil threat, but the plot lacked the proper build to her climatic fight scene.  If I were to enter this film without some prior knowledge of the story of Merlin I would not really get why Morgana was so feared and powerful.

Overall, the experience was unforgettable as the world premiere lived up to all the hype that I had built up in my head from seeing these sort of things on TV or reading about them on the internet.  The temperature on that July 6^th went above 100*F and the event was just as hot.  I mingled, sort of, with celebrities, walked the red carpet, watched an exciting and enjoyable movie, got free popcorn and soda, and shared a great evening with my wonderful husband.

Enjoy the clip below and make sure that you head to this Family-Friend movie.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice — Film Clip “Sorcery 101″

Become a fan of THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE on Facebook

Disclosure Policy: Compensation Level I: Kristina Brooke received two tickets to the Premier of the Movie. All content is solely her own and review is based on her own experiences. For more information regarding disclosure policy at Mom on the Rise please see http://www.mom on the rise.com/about/disclosure.

June 2nd, 2010

Product Review: Incredibeds are Simply Incredible

My family was recently given the opportunity to review an amazing new product in children’s beds. Incredibeds are lovable over-sized stuffed characters who are sure to provide your child with one of the coolest bedrooms around. I was excited about this product because recently my daughter has been experiencing horrible nightmares and has been running into our room in the wee hours of the morning looking for comfort between mommy and daddy. And as you can imagine, sometimes the timing is a bit off. So when we were asked to review the bed, I joyously agreed hoping that this would provide her with some much-needed security. My daughter thought so too, and as we look through the images on the Incredibeds website, she became very excited at the idea that one of these beautiful characters would soon be hers.

We received Daisy last week but were awaiting the arrival of my daughter’s new twin mattresses. Luckily, despite the three-day weekend, she did not have to wait long. My husband was able to pick-up the mattresses from my mother-in-law’s house and bring them home Monday after work. I spent most of Monday cleaning and rearranging her room to accommodate the new bed. It was a rather big job as no matter how often I clean her room it seems she accumulates more stuff than it can possibly hold. By the time my husband and I finished cleaning and rearranging, breaking down furniture, and sorting through the toys (many of which she never plays with) it was rather late at night and my we were not looking forward to setting up the bed. Nonetheless my husband and I put on a big girl and big boy panties and marched on.

It wasn’t an easy task at first. The bed comes in three pieces which ultimately end up being the right and left side of the characters body and the head. Included are also four pillows and two foam tubes that need to be stuffed inside the body to create the shape. All pieces are connected via zippers providing a mattress cover with arms legs and a head. We watched the video available on the Incredibeds website to learn how to put the bed together, but because we were so exhausted it seemed like a near impossible task. The truth is when all was said and done, putting the bed together was actually quite simple. It does require a bit of patience and a second person to help you lift and fit  the pieces as needed and future buyers of the bed will receive it with the pillows already in the appropriate spots. This will  save parents a lot of time when putting the bed together. A word of advice, the beds come with four lifts that are supposed to be attached to the bottom of the box spring lifting it slightly off the floor and making it easier to slide the box spring around. Use them! We did not and the task of putting the bed together was made more difficult because of our lack of compliance.

So what do we think of the beds?

These beds are absolutely adorable. Not only are they original, the Incredibeds are also cuddly, and beautifully made. While some parents may think that young children will be scared because of the size, trust me when I say that kids will be absolutely delighted to have such an oversized friend keeping them warm. If you don’t believe me just watch the video below and check out my daughter’s reaction to her wonderful new bed. Her first night sleeping in the bed was the best night of sleep for us in a long time. She did not wake up once. Even when I sneaked into her room to take a picture of her sleeping, she did not budge. Maybe it’s the comfort of the twin mattresses, but my best guess is that Daisy offers her protection and the big loving arms of a Mama Bear.

Incredibeds are available for purchase(here’s a coupon for you) via that website. You have a choice of male or female T-Rex, Bear, or Dog. In addition, the BedJammies (or sheets) come in a variety of styles from solid colors to cute printed designs.

Disclosure Policy: Compensation Level I: Kristina Brooke received one Incredibed for review. All content is solely her own and review is based on her own experiences. For more information regarding disclosure policy at Mom on the Rise please see HTTP://www.mom on the rise.com/about/disclosure.