One of our favorite family pastimes is movies. Watching ‘em at home. Road tripping to a movie. Even getting an invite to one of those oh-so-fun-I-saw-it-first screenings. Heck, I’d even watch a movie on our rickety car DVD with the family. With a busy mom and dad, and three kids in a myriad of activities, well I’ve said it before…family time is precious to us. Doesn’t matter if we are able to sit down to dinner for 20 minutes. And some nights 20 minutes is the only time we are all in the same location. Or if we are only a family of 4 instead of a family of 5. Family time is golden.

One movie has my teen in stitches. My teen is not one to get overly excited about much. She has her likes and her dislikes. And if she dislikes something she’ll let you know LOUD and CLEAR. A movie trailer has become something that is clearly in her Likes column. Brave, the new flick from Disney and Pixar makes her chuckle and literally laugh out loud.

In fact, all of us are itching to see Brave. How could I resist a film set in my native land? Now Brave is actually set in Scotland…but the geographers among you will know that England is ever so close and by close I mean attached to Scotland. So, I’m claiming Scotland as my pseudo homeland!

Brave is about a little girl who is not about to let people tell her what to do. I have three kids — two girls and one boy — who embody this sentiment every day. One of our all time favorite movies is Mulan and Brave reminds me very much of what we loved about Mulan. Mulan featured a young Chinese girl who fought to bring honor to her family and China. From what I can see, Brave is the type of movie that every little girl should see. No fairy princesses in this movie! Not that I don’t love princesses, because I do. But I love a movie where girls are the lead character.

Here’s a short clip to whet your appetite for Brave…and it’s funny, too!

Want to find out more about Brave?

• Like Brave on Facebook.
• Opens in theaters in the U.S. June 22.
• Go to Disney’s Brave site for more info.
• Follow @DisneyPixar on Twitter

I was not compensated to write this post. What can I say? I love all things Disney! The views expressed in this post are my own. I follow the tenets of Blog With Integrity.

I’ve been a little quiet lately. Not quiet on Facebook. No, I’m never quiet on Facebook. Quite the contrary. I’m kind of a talking machine on Facebook. Online friends “get” that talking on Facebook seemingly all day is what I do for a living. Offline friends fall in to two camps. One group probably think I have nothing better to do with my time than hang out on Facebook. The other group are a little more social media savvy and “get” what I am doing.

In a strange, but oh so gratifying, turn of events, I will be speaking about what I do at a conference. And I’ll be speaking about it soon. This weekend in fact. Now in my former working life I was the behind-the-scenes PR/communications person at conferences. I recall prepping for speeches by General Colin Powell and Dick Cheney quite a few years ago. Soooooo, it will be fun and nerve-wracking to be on the other side of the podium. But, I was asked to speak about a topic — monetizing your blog — that I am very familiar about.

I’ll be speaking at SheCon Expo in Orlando. Yes, my kids and husband are more than a little jealous that I get to see the mouse. Don’t worry, we’re probably heading back to Orlando in June for the teen’s big volleyball competition. The kids will get to see the mouse then, you can be sure of it.

So, if you are at SheCon Expo give me a holler or catch me on Twitter — @MusingsfromMe — or follow the conference on Twitter — @SheConExpo — or catch up with conference chatter with the hashtags — #SheCon #SheCon12.

Oh, before I forget, here’s what else I have been doing lately…

• I was quoted in a MomCrunch article about blogging after 40. Thanks, Cecily!
• I threw in my two cents’ worth about the iPad. No, I don’t have an iPad. Yes, I can pretty much express an opinion about anything!
• I took a deep breath and calculated how much money I sent in to my child’s elementary school. Yikes! I’m a regular contributor to AboutOne’s blog.
• Also for AboutOne’s blog I wrote about keeping school supplies at the ready.
• One of my other writing gigs is for 5 Minutes for Mom…check out this giveaway for an enormous bucket o’ blocks.

Speaking of conferences…are you BlogHer 12 bound? I am. Before you plan your itinerary and travel schedule, don’t forget to check out the Mom Spark Forum for all things BlogHer. In ’10, I met a ton of people before the conference through the Mom Spark Forum. And the forum is free to join.

There’s that moment. You know the one. The moment when you walk in to a room, look at the carpet, go eewww! I’m sure you have experienced this. In my house, I have this experience every day.

You wouldn’t think that 5 people who never wear shoes in the house could cause so much wear and tear to a carpet. No pets either. But, our carpets are old. Ancient even. Carpets were installed in our new house by the builder in 1994. At almost 20 years old, the carpets are in need of replacing. Actually, I want to replace the carpets with hardwood floors, but replacing all the carpets may be a long way off.

So, while we wait and hope that the carpets last, we are cleaning each rooms’ carpets. So far the family room has been tackled 2 to 3 times. The living room and dining room are next on the list as each room contains furniture only. My thought is that if I can move furniture from one section of the room to another, I should be able to get both rooms done over the summer. But, the upstairs is another story. The master bedroom is relatively uncluttered…furniture only. But, the three children’s bedrooms are packed with furniture, chairs, toys, beds, and too many bags, boxes, storage bins. Not to mention all the little pieces on the floor. Why, oh why, would children rather throw items on the floor than walk 10 paces to a bedroom trashcan? Oh right kids would do anything to avoid walking or expending more energy than is absolutely necessary.

A few weeks ago, I was sent a gift certificate to Stanley Steemer. The certificate was for $100. I had planned to get all the bedrooms done with the gift certificate. Or the living room and dining room. But, the prospect of moving furniture and assorted junk…uh precious items was overwhelming. So, instead I focused my attention on the extremely high traffic areas of the staircase, landings, and upstairs hallway.

I booked my appointment online. Choosing which rooms to do was very easy. Also, once I entered which rooms I wanted to do, I was immediately given the total. This running total was helpful as I vacillated between doing a couple of bedrooms, or the staircase/hallway, or even the interior of my minivan. Once I had decided on the staircase/hallway cleaning combination, I selected a day for the service. I had to commit to being on the day of service for the morning or the afternoon. I was able to get a date about two days in advance. I was surprised at how quickly I was able to schedule the cleaning.

A few hours after I scheduled the cleaning online, I received a call from Stanley Steemer checking with me on the services I had selected. She reminded me of the $99 minimum required to schedule a service. I got a reminder call from Stanley Steemer the day before the cleaning, the morning of the cleaning to tell me that the van was on its way, and after the cleaning to see if I was satisfied or not. Great customer service at its best!

The cleaning went very well. The team arrived on time. The technician explained what he would be doing. I opted to spend another $36 on deodorizing the carpet on top of the $100 certificate. Carpet cleaning can bring odors locked in to the carpet to the surface. I have a carpet cleaning machine and I have noticed the same thing with odors.

Since I know that everyone has a room or two in need of cleaning, I’m going to giveaway a $100 Gift Certificate to Stanley Steemer. Here’s what you need to do to win!

Winning is easy. First, leave a mandatory comment. Second, leave one or more of the optional comments. Remember, you must leave the mandatory comment for the other comments to count. Oh and don’t forget to leave your email address in the comment. so I can contact you if you win!

Mandatory Comment — Leave a comment.

• Subscribe to Musings from Me by reader.

Optional Comment — Leave a comment.

• Follow @MusingsfromMe on Twitter.
• Like Musings from Me on Facebook.
• Tweet this giveaway and leave a link to your tweet: @MusingsfromMe is giving away @StanleySteemer Gift Certificate! Enter for a chance to win! http://bit.ly/Jzyz4I #giveaway
• Like Jill MusingsfromMe on Facebook.
• Follow @StanleySteemer on Twitter.
• Like Stanley Steemer on Facebook.
• Stumble one of my posts that is not a giveaway. Use your Stumble toolbar or use the Share button that is placed to the left of the post.

I was sent a Gift Certificate to facilitate my review provided by Stanley Steemer through My Blog Spark. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. The giveaway ends May 31, 2012, at 11:59 p.m. EST. The views expressed in this post are my own. I follow the tenets of Blog With Integrity.

You know a broken record. The way it plays over and over again. And you kind of want to throw it against a wall. Wait. You do know what a record is, don’t you? Please, don’t make me link to Wikipedia! So, the sound of a broken record is not unlike the voice of one of my children asking for candy while we are waiting in the checkout line. “Mommy!” “Mommy! Candy!” “Mommy, I want that candy!” Spin. Rinse. Repeat.

Little kids think money grow on trees, don’t they? Kids think that Mom or Dad can buy them ANYTHING. I’m not speculating about this, only stating a stone cold fact. I’m sure you’ve been in the checkout line when your preschooler asked for candy. It doesn’t matter to your preschooler that she just had lunch before coming to the store. Or that you don’t want to buy the candy. Or that you haven’t budgeted for buying any candy on this shopping trip. No, your preschooler simply wants the candy. And that’s that.

So, how do you teach your child how to save their nickels and dimes rather than spending them? PNC Bank wants to help you. PNC Bank has created a savings account especially designed for young children. “S” is for Savings is a children’s savings account offered by PNC Bank. Through “S” is for Savings, your child will learn about the value of money by playing fun and interactive activities. The activities on “S” is for Savings allow your child through play to learn about spending, sharing and saving, and the value of things that he might want to buy with that money.

“S” is for Savings can help parents help their children develop strong financial habits from an early age. This children’s savings account will establish a firm financial educational foundation for children aged 3 to 5 and the concepts can be used by children up to age 8.

Knowing that parents are their child’s first teacher, ”S” is for Savings is designed to be played by the parent and child together in a “lap-learning fashion.” By playing the interactive games with a child, the parent can teach financial basics, like how to save money and what to buy with that money.

In PNC Bank’s online banking experience you and your child can set goals for saving, sharing, and spending in the “S” is for Savings Learning Center. “S” is for Savings,  part of PNC’s Grow Up Great financial education initiative, is based on Sesame Workshop’s lesson “For Me, for You, for Later: First Steps to Spending, Sharing, Saving.” PNC’s Grow Up Great program is a $350 million, multiyear initiative that began in 2004 to help prepare children from birth to age 5 for financial success in school and life.

How does it work?

• Parents can start an “S” is for Savings account for a minimum deposit of $25 with no service charges for account holders under 18.
• Parents can create a separate login and password for their child’s savings account to keep it separate from the parent’s bank account at PNC Bank.
• Interest will accrue on balances starting at $1.
• A bilingual kit (English/Spanish) for parents and caregivers is available from PNC Bank, pncgrowupgreat.com, and sesamestreet.org.
• The “S” is for Savings kit includes a children’s activity book and an original Sesame Street DVD featuring Elmo, Cookie Monster, and other Sesame Street friends learning about the financial basics of spending, sharing, and saving.

My Review of “S” is for Savings by PNC Bank.

The Musings from Me family had the chance to play “S” is for Savings. I logged in to www.pnc.com/sisforsavings where I was able to create a Username and Password for my son. Once we got the business-y stuff out of the way, it was time to play.

Who did we see when we arrived? Cookie Monster! Elmo! It’s always fun to see old friends, isn’t it? The first tabbed screen — “Stuff for Kids” — showed that my son had $25 in his account and asked him “How much money do you have?” Cookie Monster told him that his money was in three jars — Saving, Sharing, and Spending. He could click on each jar to see what was inside. I liked this feature as kids have a hard time imagining what $5 is like if they can’t see it.

I was interested in checking out the second tabbed screen “Learning Center.” In this parent section, there are about 10 “Learn about” financial topics to choose from. Each topic gives you a talking point to start a conversation with your child. Also, included are examples of ways your child can spend money he has saved.

I like the way you have four options for explaining a topic like “Spending” to your child through the Learning Center. You can talk to them about it, listen to a sound clip together, watch a video showing a kid using money,  printing out a worksheet, or listening to a tip from Elmo. The four buttons can be clicked by the parent or the child.

While your child can “play” with his money on “S” is for Savings, you can decide how much money will go in each of the three jars. This service is a great way to help a young child understand money in a fun way. Perhaps, the next time I am in the checkout line, my child will tell me why I shouldn’t buy him a candy bar!

I was compensated for this post. The views expressed in this post are my own. I follow the tenets of Blog With Integrity.

I always plan to post a Wordless Wednesday, but when do I remember that I need to post? Thursday, of course! I’m either late or early for next week. Better late than never…my Wordless Wednesday…our Pirate Adventure in Ocean City, Maryland. What a great day!

Hoist the mainsail! Shiver me timbers!

My Mother's Day Gallery for Everyday

I like to think of myself as a rock. Steady. Not prone to bursts of emotion. The one with the clear head who rises above it all. The truth is that I am cool under pressure. I can be relied upon to get it done in a crisis situation. But, show me a Hallmark commercial and I melt. So my toughish exterior is just that…an exterior.

It’s not just commercials that get me going. In fact every time I walk up the stairs in my house, I tear up. There in pride of place is my Mother’s Day Gallery. Except that my “gallery” is not just for Mother’s Day…it is for every day. A set of most unique Mother’s Day gifts!

On three special days, I received the most precious of gifts from my three children. All three poured their little creative selves in to a most precious hand and foot print masterpiece. What is absolutely awesome about these hand and footprints paintings is that each shows the character of my children. I want to take a moment to thank their preschool teachers. Can you imagine the time it takes to get a group of feisty, fidgety 3-year-olds to stay still long enough to do this? Ahem. But, back to their creations…

My older daughter is an independent, out-of-the-box thinker and I love how she used her feet on her painting. Makes me think of all the times she has been a trailblazer in our family. She’s the oldest child in our family and the oldest grandchild on each side of our families. She does EVERYTHING first…and wouldn’t have it any other way.

My younger daughter’s creation is a hand and footprint flower on a hessian cloth. I love the dark green of the cloth in contrast to the light purple hand print flowers. And it’s a little foot…a foot as a leaf…how cute is that?? She took so much pride in her painting and was insistent that I only open her Mother’s Day gift on Mother’s Day morning. No sooner. Makes sense, doesn’t it? Except that she brought the wrapped gift to me every day for about a week. I was DYING to open the gift. She would say “Mommy, you can’t open it…until MOTHER’S DAY!” I could see that it was a rolled print of some sort. By Mother’s Day morning I tore in to that wrapping paper…like, well, a 3-year-old!

My son’s creation is very like him. Big, bold, and in charge. He gave his masterpiece to me on Christmas. He was the only one of my three to go to a church preschool. I treasure his hand print wreath. He did a good job, didn’t he? You can’t see the red berries very clearly, but I am impressed by how neat he was. His teachers made sure that we not only had a wonderful memento from our son, but also a Christmas decoration for years to come!

Wondering what to get mom or grandmom for mother. How about a memento of family memories? YesVideo is a service for turning those old videos in to treasures that you can watch today. You can even buy a YesVideo gift certificate for the special mom in your life.

Want to learn more about YesVideo?

• Twitter: @YesVideo
• FB: http://fb.com/yesvideo
• Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/yesvideo
• Google+: http://gplus.to/YesVideo

I was compensated for this post. The views expressed in this post are my own. I follow the tenets of Blog With Integrity.

A few months ago, I received a mystery package. The package was actually two envelopes stuffed in to one large padded envelope. The contents were shiny and new. The envelopes bulky. I know I never requested them. But, I am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. I don’t know who the package was from. All I know it was a stack of DVDs. Thank you mysterious sender!

As I looked through the stack, I noted which ones I had seen and which ones I hadn’t. Eat Pray Love was one I had seen before. Since I already had a copy, I recently gave away the extra copy of Eat Pray Love to a lucky reader. At the same time, I gave away a copy of Just Go With It to another fortunate reader. I like to spread the wealth, if you will. I had a giveaway set up for a few CDs so I popped the soundtrack for The Big C in to the winner’s prize pack. Let me tell you that my winner was thrilled. In fact, all my winners were excited about their prizes!

But, I’m still left with a number of DVDs. What should I do with them? I could watch them. I’m sure I would love Damages: The Complete Third Season. I always love seeing Glenn Close in movies. In Damages, Close plays litigator Patty Hewes. Hewes is either in battle with or an ally of Rose Byrne, Campbell Scott, Lily Tomlin, and Martin Short. Sounds like a great show, but rather than hang on it I want to let one of you have the chance to watch it. So…

I want to share Damages: The Complete Third Season with you. I have the DVD for one lucky reader!

Winning is easy. First, leave a mandatory comment. Second, leave one or more of the optional comments. Remember, you must leave the mandatory comment for the other comments to count. Oh and don’t forget to leave your email address in the comment. so I can contact you if you win!

Mandatory Comment — Leave a comment.

• Subscribe to Musings from Me by reader.

Optional Comment — Leave a comment.

• Follow @MusingsfromMe on Twitter.
• Like Musings from Me on Facebook.
• Tweet this giveaway and leave a link to your tweet: @MusingsfromMe is giving away Damages on DVD! Enter for a chance to win! http://bit.ly/ICLtQP #giveaway
• Like Jill MusingsfromMe on Facebook.
• Stumble one of my posts that is not a giveaway. Use your Stumble toolbar or use the Share button that is placed to the left of the post.

I was sent Damages on DVD to facilitate my review. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. The giveaway ends May 18, 2012, at 11:59 p.m. EST. The views expressed in this post are my own. Links are to my amazon affiliate account. I follow the tenets of Blog With Integrity.

For as long as I can remember one of my children has had opinions. I can remember as an infant that this child would not take a pacifier. She would take a bottle, but only when the bottle was offered to her a third time. That’s right, she wouldn’t take a bottle the first or second time offered, but only when I would offer it to her a third time. Yep, this kid was in control. Not me.

As a toddler and preschooler, my child would not under any circumstances wear any of the clothes I chose for her. Battles would ensue. Wars would start. Tantrums would begin and really never end. Until I came to a realization. As if I had been hit on the head with a brick, I realized that she needed choices. The battles dies down. The wars ended. And the tantrums subsided for the most part. Why? Because I let her choose her own clothing.

I don’t know about you but I love seeing fashions for children in stores or at the mall or even online. I can scroll and peruse and take a gander at fashions for kids. Boys or girls clothing. Little or big kids. Special occasion or everyday. Seeing kids clothing is just super cute, isn’t it?

Recently, I discovered a site showcasing not only children’s clothing, but designer children’s clothing. The site — la-di-da — is home to a large numbers of designers of children’s clothing.

As I perusing la-di-da I happened upon the cutest little monkey. Who can resist a monkey logo and especially a monkey logo for children’s clothing? Not me, obviously! Appaman has a range of rugged boys’ clothing. You know the type of clothing that just looks great on your little guy. Jeans that are roomy, but not baggy. And a cool windbreaker. Both items are gray, which is perfect for my little guy who likes to get dirty.

I only had to glance at Imps & Elfs to know that I needed to click on the link. Names make the company, am I right? Imps & Elfs have a very unique range of baby and toddler clothing. I say the range is unique because the clothing has a certain spirit that is unlike other children’s clothing companies I have seen. Imps & Elfs have cardigans, two-piece sets, shorts, and tees for boys and girls. Some of the styles are gender neutral, which is always awesome when you have two children close in age, but one is a boy and the other is a girl. The grays, blues, and yellows are muted so that boys and girls can both wear some of the pieces.

This post was brought to you by your friends at la-di-da. The views expressed in this post are my own. I follow the tenets of Blog With Integrity.

Let the Tips On Trips And Camps team of advisors help you find the perfect camp

Summer is nearly here. I can almost taste it. This year of pickups and drop offs and homework and projects and band concerts and sports practices and games is drawing to a close. It wasn’t that long ago the school bus picked up the kids for the first day of school.

But, summer will start in a few short weeks. Are you ready for summer? Vacation planned? Your flight and hotel may be booked, but what about the rest of the summer? For working moms and dads, the summer is a long stretch of time. Camps and other activities for kids, tweens, and teens can fill a much-needed void.

As you plan for what to do for childcare for the long, hot summer, check out Tips On Trips And Camps. What is it? Well, Tips On Trips And Camps is a free service that provides expert advice on overnight camps and trips for kids, tweens, and teens aged 8 through 18. The site is a quick and easy way to find the best summer experience for your child.

All camps and trips are screened by Tips on Trips And Camps’ staff. The site provides online resources as well as expert advisors who can guide you from beginning to end of your camp search. You can call 1-866-222-TIPS to speak to a camp advisor.

Tips On Trips and Camps can guide you to the many and varied options for summer experiences for your child including:

• language study/immersion
• wilderness expeditions
• teen camps and tours
• sports and specialty camps
• sleepaway camps
• creative and performing arts camps
• academic programs
• camps for kids, tweens, and teens with special needs

For more information…

• Visit Tips On Trips And Camps.
• Call 1-866-222-TIPS to speak to one of the camp advisors.
• Register here to be sent information on camps and trips.

This post was brought to you by your friends at Tips On Trips And Camps. The views expressed in this post are my own. I follow the tenets of Blog With Integrity.