Disney On Ice Presents Let's Celebrate review and discount code

Yesterday was was my daughter's 10th birthday and I surprised her by taking her to see Disney On Ice presents Let's Celebrate. She was so excited and so was I! We always enjoy when Disney On Ice comes to Rochester and this was no exception.

Let's Celebrate is probably on the top of my list of favorite Disney On Ice shows. All of our favorite Disney characters were there and the ice skating was fantastic! I don't want to spoil anything but there were even some pretty cool special effects!

Disney On Ice would be a great way to celebrate the new year and you still have a chance to catch a show while they're still in Rochester.

Show times are:
Friday, Jan. 1st at 2 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 2nd at 7 p.m.;
Sunday, Jan. 3rd at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

If you buy your tickets on Ticket Master use the code "BLOGD30" to save $5 

*Tickets were provided to me by Feld Entertainment 

Fast Transcripts (high school transcript program) Review

As a homeschool parent with a child in 9th grade, I'm already feeling a lot of pressure to get these last few years right! Whether or not he chooses to attend collage, I want to be sure that that I'm doing all I can to have everything in place to make sure his transition is smooth. Who knows? He may postpone collage for a while after he graduates only to change his mind a year or so later. Whatever he decides, as his teacher it's my responsibility to keep accurate records including professional high school transcripts. I was clueless about how to do this until I was introduced to Fast Transcripts.

Fast Transcripts is an online program that keeps record of your child's high school courses and helps you produce an official transcript. Signing up was simple and the program is easy to use. I just entered Ethan's academic information for this year including, course title, grade (when a course is completed), and credits. Fast Transcripts will automatically calculate the yearly and cumulative GPAs and gives you the option of printing the final transcript on watermark protected, academic record stock.

I love that with Fast Transcripts I'm able to update and store Ethan's transcripts without the worry of misplacing anything (I may have done that before with other homeschool paperwork) and their FAQ section was very helpful with the couple of questions that came up.

Right now they are offering a 30 day free trial (no credit card info is required) of Fast Transcripts so you can try it before you subscribe. If you decide to subscribe the cost is only $16 ($12 for HSLDA members).

*Although this review was sponsored by Fast Transcripts, this is an honest review and I plan on using their services in my own homeschooling journey.

Disney On Ice presents Let's Celebrate! Discount Code and GIVEAWAY!

Are you ready to party? Disney On Ice presents Let's Celebrate! (presented by YoKids Organic Yogurt) is coming to Rochester on December 30th to January 3rd.

Join Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald and Goofy as they celebrate a Very Merry Unbirthday Party with Alice and the Mad Hatter; a Royal Valentine’s Day Ball with your favorite Disney Princesses, including Cinderella, Ariel, Belle and Tiana; a Hawaiian luau with Lilo & Stitch; a whole new world with Jasmine and Aladdin; a winter wonderland with Woody, Jessie and Buzz Lightyear; a Halloween haunt with the Disney villains and more in a magical medley of holidays, celebrations and festivities from around the globe. Come join the celebration you’ve been waiting for when Disney On Ice presents Let’s Celebrate! skates into your hometown!

Our family loves Disney On Ice and I'm so excited to be hosting this giveaway for a family 4 pack of tickets to opening night, December 30th!

How to enter: Leave a comment here telling us about your favorite character or your kid's favorite character that they would want to celebrate with. And an email address where I can contact you if you've won.

I'd like to celebrate with Prince Charming ;)

Winner will be chosen: On December 27th (using Random.org) from the list of people who left a comment.

The winner will be notified asap and the family 4 pack of tickets will be left in your name at the Will Call window on Dec. 30th.

Can't wait to see if you'll be the lucky winner? Use the special discount code BLOGD30 to receive $5 off when you order your tickets online at Ticketmaster 

*Code is valid on the $35 and $25 price levels for the following 5 showtimes* 
Thursday, Dec. 31th at 12 p.m.; 
Friday, Jan. 1st at 2 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 2nd at 7 p.m.;
Sunday, Jan. 3rd at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Don't forget to leave a comment about your favorite character for your chance to win the 4 tickets and feel free to share this post with your local friends! Good luck!

-Tickets for the giveaway were provided to me by Feld Entertainment.

Disney On Ice presents Princesses and Heroes Review

Last night I took my youngest 3 kids to see Disney On Ice presents Princesses and Heroes at the Blue Cross Arena. It had been kind of a hard day around here so It was a perfect way to get the kids out of the house and get their mind off things for a while.

We've been lucky to have seen a bunch of previous Disney on ice shows that have come to Rochester but this was by far our favorite! The special effects were better, the skating was beautiful, and Elsa and Anna were there! 

You should have heard the audience cheering when the characters from Frozen started to show up! The best part of the show for me was hearing the crowd singing along to Let It Go and all the other favorite songs from Frozen! It was so cute to see dads singing right along with their little girls.

All the favorite Disney princesses and heroes were in the show. My boys really loved the part when Prince Phillip slayed the dragon which wasn't a surprise since there was fire and sword fighting going on!

If you have a chance to go see Disney On Ice presents Princesses and Heroes do it! It really is the best one yet.

Date and Time of Performance:               

Feb. 4, 2015: 7 p.m.

Feb. 5, 2015: 7 p.m.

Feb. 6, 2015: 7 p.m.

Feb. 7, 2015: 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m.

Feb. 8, 2015: 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Tickets start at: $25

To order tickets by phone: 1-800-745-3000

To order tickets online: www.ticketmaster.com

*Tickets were provided to me by Feld Entertainment

Heat Holders Hat and Gloves Review

The cold weather has arrived which means I'll be complaining about being cold until may :/  It seems like no matter what I do, I can't get warm! If it was socially acceptable I would walk around all winter wrapped in a blanket. I'll probably end up being one of those old ladies that don't leave the house in the winter. Or maybe I'll get lucky and win the lotto and move to Florida for half the year ;)

Heat Holders

The people from Heat Holders were kind enough to send me a pair of gloves and hat to review.

Heat Holders gloves are the most comfortable gloves I've ever owned. For real! Their web site says they have newly developed heat weaver thermal lining. I say, it feels like my fingers are all wrapped up in their own mini blankets! My son tried them on too and now he keeps trying to claim them as his own. He said the gloves' extra long cuffs were perfect for protecting his wrists when he was outside shoveling.





The hat is super warm and cozy. The fur-like lining is sooo soft! My little model didn't want to take it off!

*Why do my kids always try and steal all my stuff?!

I think my husband who may be missing a little hair would love a Heat Holders hat! And I would love not having to see him in his ugly Green Bay Packers hat any more :)

Check out the Heat holders web site for other things like sock, tights, and blankets.

Ethan's First Job

At 13 years old it's only volunteer work, but it's still a job.

My mother in law had a stroke a few years ago that left her in a wheelchair and very different than she was before. I'm always touched when I see how Ethan is with her. He's so loving and not timid in anyway. So when I got an email a few days ago from another homeschooling mom asking if any teens would be interested at volunteering at a near by nursing home, I thought Ethan would be perfect! I contacted the volunteer coordinator at the home that day and she agreed to meet with Ethan the next morning.

It was so cute watching him get ready for his "interview"! He spent waaay too long fixing his hair and added waaay too much gel! He was pretty nervous when we got there, but the lady really liked him and asked him if he wanted to start THAT AFTERNOON! We already had plans that day so he signed up to come back the next morning.

If I ever have to be put in a nursing home, I want to go in one like this place! It's beautiful! They took us on a tour and showed us the beauty salon, the cafe, and where they set up the bowling alley. The rooms are huge and they all have big flat screen TVs! Some of them even have patios. And this isn't an assisted living home where they can come and go as they please! It's a nursing home. A nursing home that I kind of wanted to move in to ;)

So for the past couple of days I've been dropping Ethan off at "work". He stays for just a couple of hrs and helps with things like transporting the ladies to and from the hair salon, helping the residents with activities like bingo, and just spending time with them. On Monday he's helping a lady with their cooking show :) 

The way it's all set up is really nice. They just send us an email and Ethan just puts himself into the schedule for whatever and whenever we want. No pressure. Because there's no pressure, and he has so much control, I told him that he should try and stick it out for at least a few months but I'm hoping that it turns into something more long term. 

I am soooo proud of him! He loves it as much as I though he would and he's already received some positive feed back from the activities director. I love hearing him talk about the residents he's meeting and the funny little thing they do! He says it may just be volunteer work, but at least he's doing something that makes a difference!

 

First Big Purchase : Foster Care

Right now Jonathan is out making one of the bigger purchases in our attempt to be ready for foster care. We start our 10 weeks of MAPP classes in just a few weeks and need to have everything ready to start accepting kids before our last home visit. That includes getting a new twin bed, crib, car seats, etc.clothes. We've decided to move our oldest son up to the finished attic and use his old bedroom for our foster kids. Tonight Jonathan is picking up a twin bed so we can start putting it all together.

I have mixed emotions about...everything right now. On top of the list is stress. I'm stressed out about getting everything ready and the cost. What if we spend all the money only to end up not actually getting foster kids. I don't see why that would ever happen but that doesn't keep me from stressing about it.

The paperwork that we're supposed to fill out and bring with us to our first MAPP meeting is still sitting untouched by my bed. I can't quite figure out how to describe my personality in one sentence or how to write an autobiography. Someone recently told me that I have a "sparkly" personality. I wonder how that would look to the social workers? ;)

I read, and have been reading lots of blogs and anything I can about being a foster parent. Sometimes reading those blogs makes me feel excited and I feel even more sure about our decision. Other times what I read scares me a little and I start to worry. I worry that the kids we get will be too much for us to handle. I worry that I'll fall in love and end up with a broken heart.

But then I saw this...

and I remember that it's not about us. It's about the kids we can help even if it's for a short time.