Princess & The Frog Family Fun Fest

My daughter has been DYING to see the Princess and the Frog since last November. I kept meaning to take her to see the movie in the theater but it just never came to pass because we had her little brother to worry about and no baby sitter. When she sees the movie or any paraphenalia in the store she practically has a seizure over it "OHHH!!!! Mommy!!!! The PINZESS AND THE KROG!" "OH LOOK!" and it destroys me to have to tell her no.




She doesn't know it yet but that ole Easter Bunny is leaving this movie for us Sunday and we are going to get to have a Princess and the Frog Family Fun Day!!!


I figured I'd share with you folks in case you want to do something similar with your kids. I totally stole this idea from Kristin over at Couponing to Disney. She posted about wanting to do it and I was like "OH WOW!!!!!"





So here is the game plan:





Setting the scene:


We are in a swamp in Louisiana:


We have a Discovery Kids Indoor/Outdoor Play Tent that the kids LOVE to play in. It normally lives in the play room but I took it down tonight when I moved my daughters car bed in there at her request. On Sunday I am going to set it up in the living room with a sheet under it (Brown for the swamp!) and put a blanket in it and have it sticking out like a "Porch" for me to sit on because Mommy is far too big to fit in the tent. I am going to gather all of our little frog & lizard & Snake toys to play with because they belong in the swamp! also any gators and crocs we have ;)



I want to turn the lights off in here and eat by flashlight and the dim light coming in through the window - then turn on the movie.



Casting the Players:
Mommy = the old voo doo witch woman from the movie (haven't seen it so i don't know her name)
The Girl = A PRINCESS Of course :)
The Boy = A frog ..maybe just in all green or i might dress him as a duck or we may just pretend ;)


The FOOD!


Here is our menu:

Red Beans & Rice with smoked sausage
"Alligators" (going to fry some green beans and call them "Alligators") ooo or might go with "Fried Dragonflies" :)
Apple slices with peanut butter & raisins on them...."Flies on a leaf"
Mud Pie (dirt pudding! complete with worms!)

After we eat dinner we may play a game or two but i'm not sure what we'd play with just me and two babies. :) (I am NOT Lithe OR thin enough to play leapfrog!!) Then we'll watch the movie.



I wanted to stay away from eating "Frog legs" (Chicken nuggets cut to LOOK like frog legs) or frog cupcakes because 2 and a half is that very WEIRD age where that might upset and/or scar her :)
Thinking about maybe busting out some marshmallow snakes but I have several marshmallow orders to make this week anyway and a marshmallow snake is a LOOOOOT of sugar for a 2 year old!! We'll see :)

Do you have any ideas???? :) How do you entertain your kids and make things special?

I need help with Disney Family Fun Movie Night!!

So, you all know I have small children.  29 months and 1 year old.  Both of my kids love disney movies.  Kristin over at Couponing To Disney posted about the cutest idea ever and I wanted to share with you!!!!

She does family movie nights with the movies & eats appropriate foods etc. I think that is an absolutely AMAZING idea.  I want to do it too!!!

Do any of you currently do this and can you share your ideas with the rest of us?

The Easter Bunny wrote me a letter to tell me that He has the Princess and the Frog and that we could expect it Easter morning ;)....

So here is Kristin's post about this.  So here is my idea for a family fun night for Princess & The Frog

So here are ideas i’ve had:

My kids have a tent...It is their size. ... I am thinking about turning off all of the lights in here and getting a camping lantern (I'm sure we have a minimum of 5 around here) or even hanging some white Christmas lights like stars on the mantle etc. (OOO!) to make it semi-dark. and "Camping out" in their tent.  well on the porch of their tent (place the tent on a blanket and the part that sticks out is the "porch") and maybe pretending like we are in the swamp...dressing up...I'll be an old voo doo hang, the boy can totally be a frog or a lightening bug or I actually have a duck costume here too....and the girl can dress as a princess!!!

Food wise - I think we will have dinner in the living room together, thinking before the movie comes on. and here is the menu i'm thinking of:
Red Beans & Rice with smoked sausage – I don’t think my babies will be too thrilled with gumbo.
fried okra (batter dipped flies)
Salad of some sort (Swamp greens/swamp grass!!)
For dessert - Thinking an ants on a log type thing with apples…but calling it flies on a leaf….you know? Cause prince naveen & princess tiana try to eat the fly….
also going to have marshmallow caterpillars...

I thought about using chicken tenders as frog legs or something but I almost think that would be creepy and maybe traumatic for my kids. What do you think?

Maybe chocolate milk could be called "Swamp water" ????

then we can get that all cleaned up & come back in here and watch the movie... Maybe I could mix a little sparkling juice with some food coloring and call it "magic potion" or something.  I dunno!

Suggestions? :)

Have you ever done this with another movie? Please share! :)

FREE Day at Disney

My friend Ginger is ON IT when it comes to finding really COOL stuff. Her facebook alerted me to this deal. When you give a day of service with a participating organization you get a day at Disney!!! They want to inspire 1 million people to donate a day of service!! You can go here to learn more about the program. The program starts january 1, 2010 and when you donate a day of service to one of a few select projects that they post on the website (You must sign up through them at their website) you earn a day at the park...There are limitations as to when you can use the free ticket.

A few tidbits:

•Must be a participating organization
•You must sign up for eligible volunteer opportunities through the disney site.
•One ticket per person no matter how much you volunteer.
•The program begins January 1, 2010 and continues until tickets are distributed or December 15, 2010, whichever occurs first.
•Eligible volunteer opportunities are located in the United States, including Puerto Rico, or Canada only and you must have a residence in the United States, Puerto Rico or Canada to sign up.
•You must be at least 18 years of age to sign up, and you may sign-up up to a maximum of 8 additional members of your same household. Children must be at least 6 years of age to volunteer under this program and receive a theme park ticket. Children ages 6-17 must be accompanied by an adult when volunteering. Other age restrictions may apply to certain eligible volunteer opportunities.
•Volunteer opportunities are posted a limited time in advance of the date of opportunity.
•Volunteer service must be verified.
•Once verified, you will receive an email with instructions on how to print a voucher to redeem for the free theme park ticket. Please print the voucher and present it at the designated will call ticket window at Walt Disney World® Resort or a ticket booth at the Disneyland® Resort, along with valid photo ID, to redeem for your free 1-day, 1-theme park ticket. Valid ID is one of the following: valid Government Issued Passport, valid Driver’s License including a photo, or valid Government Issued Photo ID. For children under 18 who do not have any of the previous listed IDs, a copy of a Birth Certificate is acceptable. School IDs or children security IDs are not deemed government-issued photo IDs and will not be accepted.
•The theme park tickets distributed under this Program will not be valid for use on the following dates:
◦For Walt Disney World® Resort: March 29 - April 8 and July 4, 2010
◦For Disneyland® Resort: February 13-14, March 21, June 21-22, July 4, November 21, and December 11-12, 2010.
•Tickets are non-transferable.
•Vouchers must be redeemed for tickets or Passholder and multi-day ticket holder options, as applicable, by December 15, 2010. Theme park ticket must be used by December 15, 2010.

Ticket Prices for a 1 day ticket:
Adult (Ages 10+) : $79.00
Child (Ages 3-9): $68.00
Under age 3: Free????

There are lots of other fun things to do in Orlando and this could be a way to REALLY help you reduce the cost of your Disney Vacation :)

Thanks Ginger!!

FREE BOWLING Saturday 9/5

So do you like to bowl? I love it! but i'm very bad at it and haven't been in 3 years. . i have plans this weekend so won't be able to do this but I have seen this listed ALL OVER the Blog-o-Sphere today.

Want a free date night or free family fun night???

You can go bowl for FREE at certain places around the country tomorrow. The catch? You have to have a printable coupon and go to a participating bowling alley to redeem it.

Clickity-Click to find your nearest Free game center. I can tell you if you are local to me (And you know if you are!) Hermitage Lanes is the closest to our Zip code. But there are others - maybe you will be closer to Antioch this weekend - you could go to Tusculum Lanes etc. :)

Oh looky what I found Here is the coupon...go print him - he is so lonely ;) Be sure to print enough for everyone who is going bowling with you - it's one coupon per person.

Now you do have to register with them to get the coupon. If you are registration-phobic I suggest that you go to gmail and sign up for a web mail account (it's totally FREE) and use that address for all of these super deals that require registration - that way you don't have to worry you will get spammed in your regular account!

The fine print states:
Value of free game up to $6.00. Coupon valid for one free game of bowling and has no cash redemption value. Limit one free game of bowling per person, per valid email address, per coupon. Valid September 5, 2009 at participating bowling centers, when lanes are available and unreserved. Not valid for shoe rental or concessions, and not to be combined with any other bowlling offer. No age restrictions apply. Offer good in the 50 U.S. states and D.C., its territories and military addresses only. Void where taxed, prohibited or otherwise restricted. By redeeming your coupon you are accepting these terms and conditions.