P&G "Game of Your Life" Family Movie Premieres Friday, December 2nd at 8/7c on NBC!

P&G and Walmart have done it again! They have a great new movie for your Family Movie Night. Premiering Friday December 2 at 8/7c on NBC, Game of Your Life is a great movie to cuddle up to! We are HUGE fans of P&G Family movie nights- have enjoyed the past eight films with my kids(you can check out our reviews here) !  With family friendly films like " Change of Plans", " Who is Simon Miller", and "Field of Vision" your family can enjoy movie night without the fear of subjective material. P&G films have teachable moments, and themes that are relevant to today's families. Be on the look out for these movies on DVD in stores near you in time for gift giving!

The newest movie coming on Friday- "Game of Your Life" was a huge hit with my video game obsessed little boy( We got a special preview)! Here is a sneak peek of the movie...............

Synopsis:

When industrious high school gamer Zach Taylor lands a prized scholarship to the prestigious Digital Institute of Game Design (DIGD), his future breaks wide open. The opportunity to study under gaming legend Marcus Bentton and alongside the country’s most creative minds will certainly propel him into a successful career as a video game designer. That is, if he can pass the infamous freshman project that eliminates more than half of the class within the first three months.
Paired with brilliant yet socially awkward teammates Phillip and Donald, the trio persuades Sara Ramirez – a determined and striking team leader with whom Zach has a history (and possibly a future) – to join their team. Working off-campus in the teched-out Lincoln Alley loft, the four set out to involve the entire campus in a quirky new social interactive game. But as the group becomes entrenched in the project, Zach learns that his father Billy, a widower, is facing growing financial woes at home. To help out, Zach accepts an opportunity to work directly with Marcus Bentton on a secretive side project that seems too good to be true. The effort requires nearly all of Zach’s time and energy, which he should be devoting to the project. Struggling to keep it together, Zach is torn between his responsibility to his team, his admiration for Bentton and a chance to help his father.
Everything comes to a breaking point when Zach’s team threatens to remove him from the group and the deceptive truth behind Bentton’s project comes to light. With the guidance of Professor Abbie Lambert, Zach must make a decision that not only affects his future, but the lives and livelihoods of the people around him as well. It’s a revealing story that recognizes the magnitude behind the choices we make and the importance loyalty plays in making good decisions.

With a video game theme to relate to, I found my son really got into the movie. This opened up the door for discussion about right and wrong, and about making decisions that affect others around you. P&G movies all have a great lesson to be learned in their movies, and in such a discreet way that it doesnt deter teens from wanting to watch. Great opportunity to talk and connect with your child.

Game of Your Life premieres Friday December 2 at 8/7c so don't miss out! To see more photos and learn more about the cast check out the P&G Family Movie Night Website and connect on Facebook!

“I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of P&G and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

Buzzed Driving IS Drunk Driving!

With the holidays right around the corner, we need to talk about Buzzed Driving.

Buzzed Driving isn't just a teenage right of passage.  It kills real people.  Check out this video.



Home Grown Families is partnering up with  Resourceful Mommy Media and the Ad Council to warn our readers about the consequences of drunk driving!

Watch Emily's story



It really hit me when she said "Never in a million years did I think..."  There are so many things that have happened that I've said "Never in a million years..."  It could be that easy to really mess up!

Make sure you head over to the Ad Council's website and sign the pledge to not drive buzzed and, check out their FB page for non-alcoholic drink recipes!

Also, check out this list of alternative ride programs!  Program yours into your phone NOW~ before you need it!!

Buzzed driving IS drunk driving and it is serious!  Please, be careful this holiday season!

Discalimer: HGF was not paid for this post nor did we receive compensation.  We partnered with Resourceful Mommy Media and the Ad Council to bring you this message.  All opinions are our own.

Mega Bloks House Party- Just in time for the holidays!

Before baby girl arrived, we had our friends over for a Mega Bloks party sponsored by MommyParties! Blocks, building, and everything hands on is our number one favorite way to play! It is great for the imagination, and great for hand eye coordination! We received a HUGE bin of farm blocks- a 96 pc set in a great container with a build on lid.  The kids ages 1-7 built towers, cars and much more with these large building blocks !

The Mega Bloks are the perfect size for little hands, and allow them to easily build a creation all on their own. Each guest received a cute back pack filled with 18 pcs of  jungle friends blocks for the boys, and flower blocks(The Garden Collection) for the girls. My daughter loved decorating the blocks with the stickers the most! So did the other kiddos. These little bags are great to throw in the car for a quiet activity at sibling sports practices etc.

Although these blocks were geared for ages 1+, I found the older kids having a blast building with the Mega Bloks. I GREATLY appreciate how easy these are to clean up, compared to the micro sized building blocks. No more hurt feet! Easy for mom and kids to pick up!

 On top of the great products received for the party, one mom guest was randomly selected to win a 52 pc Rescue Center! Just in time for the holidays! Be sure to keep Mega Bloks in mind this holiday season, if you are on the hunt for great building blocks!

 Thanks Mega Bloks and Mommy Parties for selecting us to host a Mega Bloks party!

Disclaimer:

HGF was not paid for this post. We were provided with a product to review, and we have provided our honest opinion as mothers. Thank you to the sponsoring company for working with HGF. You can view our complete PR policies here. All children photographed during party were done sooo with parental permission.

Welcome Our New Baby Girl :)

I am pleased to announce our new baby girl is here. The road was long and rough, and I feel so blessed to have her in my arms. The weekly ultrasounds, weekly shots, and daily meds were all worth it.

Born Nov 17th, weighing 5 lbs 6.6 oz 191/4 inches.I am sorry for the delay in sharing her with you, I had a very traumatic birth that rocked me to the core. You can read our story below.

 We expected some complications with the surgery as I have had extensive damage to the uterus but we had never planned for this. It took approx 40 minutes to get her out through the layers of scar tissue, and the Dr explained that the bleeding was excessive and was not stopping. I just sobbed and held my amazing husbands hand.

Once she made her entrance, I got to hold her and love on her but the pain started up. I started feeling twinges I shouldn't have been feeling, so they gave me some pain medication. That's all I remember. My husband said the Dr looked over the screen and said " If I can't stop the bleeding she could die". He was escorted out of the room while the staff started calling for blood and for more Drs. 

My husband stayed with the baby, and prayed to God to watch over me. My mom was alone in the waiting room on her knees. It breaks my heart to think of the pain they went through. I had 4 transfusions of blood products, and multiple others of plasma and platelets. I woke up in recovery after the 4.5 hour surgery, feeling like I was hit by a semi truck. The Dr came in and said "I am sorry but we had to take out your uterus". 

That felt like a whole other semi truck.

I feel broken, and just got to the point where I can make it a few hours without crying. I feel emotionally drained and just broken.

I love this baby to death and feel so blessed to have her in our life but I am grieving the fact that it is over. I will never be pregnant again. I will never feel that life growing inside me. I will never get to pee on a stick again(I love it- call me silly).

Yes, I have 4 children but it doesn't make the pain go away. It hurts. I just keep asking God to send me peace. I need it. I have faith that he will provide for my needs, it is just a matter of waiting. 

Please keep me in your prayers, as I recover physically and emotionally. 

Mommy Loves Tuesdays Giveaways

Do you love to win stuff?

Do you have a great giveaway going on?

 

Come over and win some free stuff or show the Linky love and link up your giveaway. Make sure you come back EVERY Tuesday!

 

Follow us for updated giveaways! You can find other places to link up with our new and improved GIVEAWAY LINKY LIST!! Comment if you would like to be added! * You can also find the list under Bloggin in our header menu!

 

*Please keep everything family friendly!*

Make sure you check out the right sidebar and ENTER!!!

Here are some of our favorite ones:

Gear Zone Balance Bike from Heirloom Toys 12/7

B Cowan hand made bag 12/2

Lotus Jayne SS necklace and silk scarf 12/2

Lisa Leonard hand stamped jewelry 12/5

Doodlebuckets $100 GC 12/5

Don't Forget!!  Our Green Christmas Gift Giving Guide has started!!  Check out the BEST in GREEN Christmas gift!

 

Disney Toys

Are you looking for great Disney Toys for Christmas?

Check out Hauck & I'coo for great deals on solid wood doll accessories!

Pray for me Mondays~ children

JAMES 5:16 "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." (NIV) 

PSALMS 116:2 "Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live" (NKJV) 

Welcome to this weeks Pray For Me Mondays with Home Grown Families and Pamela from Troop Petrie.  We are so excited to be working together on this journey!

Basically, PFMM will work like this:

• Pamela and I will write posts on relevant topics and post
• You can link up your own post, comment or e-mail us your prayer requests
• We'll pray for you and hopefully others will, too

Tiffany {the single one} says:

Proverbs 22:6 

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. 

Children, of course we love them~ we just don't always like them, at least for the moment.

As I write this, I am arguing with my 2 year old to go back to bed.  She's tired and a bear and, honestly, I don't want to deal with it anymore.

While I know what is wrong with her, the reasons the other 2 {they just turned 8!} do things aren't so clear.

What is the Autism?  What is from their extreme immaturity?  What is from their social problems?

And, it's not only their actions.  I have a hard time deciding what I'm doing when we're working on school work.  What is from one of their LD's and what is lazy?  How hard should I push?  What are they really capable of?

Push too hard and it will turn them off of learning.  If I don't push hard enough, they will never live up to their potential...

Keep us in your prayers as we struggle along in our everyday life.  It will get better, I know, but just keep praying for us in the meantime.

Pam {the married one} says:

Psalm 86:11 

Teach me your way, LORD, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. 

Do you ever think that your spouse or children should change? What they are doing is wrong. How they respond is wrong. You know it is wrong; you live with them, right? 

Have you ever taken a step back and thought why do they do it that way, why do I think what they are doing as harmful to me. 

For a year I saw my son pull back from the world more and more. I could not understand it. He would complain about not having friends but yet never wanted to get out and make friends. One day his counselor explained it. 

He wants friends but the problem is wanting them does not mean he is willing to do the work. In Michael’s eyes, if he got involved with others they could reject him, they could dislike him. It was easier to step back and not have friends. 

It broke my heart when it was explained that way to me. 

This week my prayer is that I will have my eyes open to what is going on before I pass judgment on what I think my spouse and children are thinking. That instead of assuming my husband is ignoring me I will ask him what is on his mind. It may be that he just needs a minute to relax before I start asking questions.

"Winner Wonderland" Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Winner Wonderland Giveaway Event. This event is hosted by Put A Little Umbrella In Your Drink, Seeds of Life, And The Little Ones Too and Taking Time For Mommy.

This event features giveaways with a value of $25 or more at each of the participating blogs! Check out all of the great Winner Wonderland Sponsors being featured in this event!

Be sure to visit each blog from the linky below and enter for your chance to win! This event will close on December 4th at 11:59 pm EST.

One thing my family eats a TON of is POPCORN!!  We eat it any way we can get it!!

My girls {and my Dad} were so excited when I received my big box of Kernel Seasoning popcorn seasonings and popcorn.

 

We tried the Popcorn Seasonings first.  We lined up every thing we received and started shaking!  My favorite, by far, was the Kettle Corn popcorn seasoning! It made my popcorn taste like real Kettle Corn!!  I also liked the butter flavor. 

We also received some of their Popping Corn.  My Dad, the Popcorn King was so excited to try this along with the Movie Theater Butter Popping and Topping Oil.  My Dad says "That's good popping corn.  You can tell because there aren't any un~popped kernels left over."  Here is the top secret recipe for popping AWESOME popcorn!  It's easy and fast!!

Put 3 TBS of popping oil in a heavy duty pan.  {We use a dutch oven.}  After a minute or 2, add 4-5 kernels of popcorn~ when 2-3 of them pop, it's time to add the kernels.

Add 1/2 cup of kernels {plus a little more} and cover.  Every 30 seconds grasp the side of the pot and lid with hot pads and slide the kernels back and forth so the kernels don't burn.

Remove lid and add your favorite Kernel Seasons popcorn seasoning!

Kernel Season's also offers bags of pre-seasoned popcorn for more passive popcorn lovers. Perfect for those that prefer their popcorn ready-to-eat.  Again, I prefer the plain Butter and Kettle Corn flavors.

Did you know that you can find Kernel Season's popcorn seasonings in theaters across the country?  In fact, I saw it at our Cinema Center when I was there with my Mom!

BUY IT: You can buy Kernel Seasonings popcorn seasoning, popcorn kernels, topping and popping oil and preseasoned popcorn bags on their site. Prices vary!  Free shipping on orders over $40!

WIN IT: One lucky HGF follower will win an assorted pack of Kernel Season's products valued at $25+!

After entering to win our great prize, make sure you scroll down to the linky and check out the other giveaways! 

Click READ MORE to enter via Rafflecopter

Winners~ 11 more!!

YAY!!! More winners!! 

We have been busting our humps on our Green Christmas Gift Giving Guide and we hope everyone has enjoyed it!  It has been 3 weeks of LATE nights for me {Tiffany} but it is almost over!  I am looking forward to some "rest" leading up to our family vacation.  Yeah, right... 

So, on to the winners!

The winner of the Boogie Board LCD Writing Tablet giveaway is:

#7779 Karen P.

The winner of the Rock N Learn DVD or CD giveaway is:

#284 Liz R.

The winner of the Fill in the Blankie giveaway is:

#803 Carrie M.

The winner of the Baby Bible Board Books giveaway is:

#368 Bakah K. {Bekah has won a few other prizes during our promo, too!  Enter & WIN!!}

The winner of The Couponizer giveaway is:

# 76 Karla T.

The winner of the Uncommon Goods giveaway is:

 #3011 Angela C.

The winner of the Wild Dill giveaway is:

#949 Dana B.

The winner of the Lamp Post Homeschool Store giveaway is:

#868 Carrie M. {again!!}

The winner of the Sibu Beauty giveaway is:

#744 Jessica B.

The winner of the Andrew's Reclaimed giveaway is:

#710 Megan E.

The winner of the Gyro Bowl giveaway is:

 # 1056 Megan E.~ {again!!}

Thanks again for entering our contests!  We really appreciate the support!!  We have some great giveaways going on now,too!

Lisa Leonard hand stamped sterling silver jewelry.

Smart Gear Wooden Balance Bike from Heirloom Wooden Toys

B Cowan Bags custom bag {one of my favorite products EVER!!}

And this gorgeous silk scarf and a SS pendant from Lotus Jayne

12 Days of Christmas Giveaway Blog Hop

Welcome to 12 Days of Gifts Galore Giveaway Hop hosted by Tales From the Nursery, Formula Mom, and Mama on a Green Misson.

There's over $5,000 in prizes offered to help you get the gifts you need this holiday season. After you are done entering our giveaway you'll want to check out everyone else's AND enter for a chance to win one of three GRAND prizes sponsored by Kudzoom!

Each blog you stop and enter at will be another entry!

We have put together a great package for you from two great companies that we know you're going to love!

We love Christmas ornaments in our family!  My girls are nuts about them and manage to buy about 500 each a year!  Then, after the holidays when they go on sale, I buy more.  It never fails...

We don't have a lot of personalized ornaments, though.  They coast an obscene amount of money~ I'm sorry, but I'm not paying $25 for a piece of glass with our names on it...  But now, thanks to Ornaments with Love, I don't have to!  They have over 2,000 personalized ornaments at very affordable prices!

For the past 16 years, we have taken our experience and applied it to selling personalized Christmas ornaments in Connecticut and Washington, DC area malls, 6 years on the Internet.

And, you should see their selection!  Like I said, over 2,000.

I picked the Personalized Baton Twirler Christmas Ornament - Brown Hair for the twins dance teacher.  She has been teaching National Baton Twirling Champs for decades and I thought this would be perfect!  

There are so many other ornaments from which to choose, that I know you'll find something for everyone on your list!

Do you know a newly married couple?  How about the

Personalized First Christmas as Mr. & Mrs. Ornament?

What about a Military hero?  Ornaments with Love has one for whatever branch your hero is in~ like this

Personalized Army Uniform Christmas Ornament.

So, whomever you are shopping for, make sure you check out Ornaments with Love first!

We are also happy to be offering a prize from Nalgene!

Nalgene started long ago by a scientist in a lab.  Eventually, a Boy Scout discovered an alternative use for the lab products when he went camping.  The rest, as they say, is history.

I reviewed 2 bottles from their Translucent line, the 16 oz narrow mouth water bottle and the 32 oz wide mouth water bottle.

Both bottles are BPA free and help reduce the waste associated with plastic water bottles.

I , personally, love the wide mouth 32 oz.  I drink a lot and having a larger size means I have to refill it less often. Plus, the wide mouth allows for gulping~ perfect for athletes!  However, the baby tried to use this bottle and ended up wearing 1/2 the contents.

The 16 oz narrow mouth is perfect for kids!  It holds just enough for them and the smaller opening means that they won't spill all over themselves.

Nalgene also has a few other lines of bottles that I would LOVE to try!  Especially the kids Grip 'n Gulp and the On The Fly~ OTF!  I love the girly options in each line!!

Nalgene is perfect for the outdoors lover or athlete on your list!

BUY IT: You can buy the Personalized Baton Twirler Christmas Ornament - Brown Hair for $12.50, the 16 oz narrow mouth water bottle for $9.00 and the 32 oz wide mouth water bottle for $10.20.

WIN IT: One lucky HGF follower will win an ornament of their choice and a 32 oz Nalgene Translucents water bottle. PLUS!! To make sure I reach the $25 minimum~ I will include a $5 Amazon GC!
A second place winner will win a 16 oz Nalgene Translucents water bottle.


Also, don't forget about the GRAND PRIZE! 

Kudzoo is offering:

{1}$150 Kudzoom GC

{1}$100 Kudzoom GC 

{1}$50 Kudzoom GC  {open US/Can}

  

And, it's simple to enter!  Just go here and make sure you say HOME GROWN FAMILIES REFERRED YOU!!

Click READ MORE to enter via Rafflecopter