Rox and Roll

A Time-Out for Twins

This is a sponsored post.  Details appear at the end of it.

My second and final child, Dash, turned seven years old this past weekend.  While I have a whole post forthcoming about that momentous event, it also reminded me of the moment I learned that I carried only a singleton and not twins, a surprise both times.  On my father's side, twins appeared with regularity, and my grandfather was a twin; on my mother's side, my great-grandmother was a twin.  For generations on both sides, eager relatives have been waiting for twins to reappear -- to no avail.  I have to admit that I'm a wee bit bummed that they didn't appear for me, for I've always envied twins; no playdates are necessary, for a friend is always available... right?  (According to some twin-mom friends, yes; according to others, no.)   I'm intrigued on a numer of levels, not the least of which is how twin relationships are portrayed in the media.  Twins seem to be fodder for some funny, funny stuff. 

For example, in Adam Sandler's recent comedy Jack and Jill, his annual "playdate" with his twin sister comes in the form of an annual visit as they're both adults.  The juxtaposition of a pretty laid-back brother with a sister who can be described as passive-agressive at best sets a pretty tense scene, interrupted periodically by high-profile cameos (hello, Johnny Depp!).  The release of this movie on DVD inspired me to think about twin movies that I've enjoyed in the past -- and for someone of my generation, The Parent Trap stands out first and foremost.

Whether your favorite, like mine, is the original Parent Trap from 1961 starring Hayley Mills, or the redone LiLo verson (1998), the movie is so engaging because of the twins at its heart.  Divorced parents each take a twin and raise her.  The pair ends up at the same summer camp, at total odds with each other until they are forced to spend time together -- at which point they figure out their twinship.  The movie is spent plotting how to reconcile their divorced parents, neither of whom ever remarried.  The girls ultimately bring the parents back together by returning home in the other's place, one to California and one to Boston, necessitating a switch-back.  For the rest of the story, you'll just have to watch it... What I enjoy most about this movie is the plotting of the kids because of their strong desire to be together; but as a mom, now, it takes a lot to get past the "how on earth could parents separate twins?" sentiment.

 

Then, too, Twins, from 1988, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito, is another twin-touchstone film of my youth.  Schwarzenegger plays Julius, a child created from a lab experiment to be genetically perfect (athletic, smart, etc.) while DeVito plays Vincent, a good-for-nothing "accident" of a twin, considered to be genetic trash.  The experiment is considered a failure because of Vincent's birth alongside Julius's.  The whole premise is hilarious because of the obvious difference in size, stature and -- well -- everything between DeVito and Schwarzenegger, neither of whom knew they had a twin at the start of the movie.  It's part comedy, part action-movie, part social commentary, and all-around fun.  And the best part is the very end of the movie (spoiler alert!), where the brothers work alongside each other, happily raising their own families -- including, of course, twins for each.  What I enjoy most about this movie is simply watching two funny actors at their craft -- not Oscar-worthy, but certainly a laugh riot.

Do you have a favorite twin-themed movie?  I'd love to add to my list through your comments below!  And if you're interested, click here for an Amazon link if you're interested in adding it to your twin movie library.  Enjoy the show!

Sponsored by "Jack and Jill",  Now on Blu-ray™, Combo Pack & DVD

*Note: The thoughts and opinions in this post are my own. 

Video Game Review: The Smurfs Dance Party

When I was 8 years old, the Smurfs debuted on TV, and they were a very big part of my siblings' and my TV-watching experience for years to follow.  We made up games about Smurfs, and, once, I convinced an unsuspecting much-younger sister to go underwater in the swimming pool by promising her that she'd see Smurfs on the bottom of the pool.  (She still hasn't forgiven me for their absence!)  So, when given the opportunity to review The Smurfs Dance Party, I leaped at the chance, recruited my kids to dance with me, and we partied like it was 1980-something again! 

And oh, did we laugh, and laugh, and laugh -- in fact, I think we did more laughing than dancing!  The songs are so fun for kids and the grown-ups dancing along, especially the smurfed-up parodies like "Who Let the Smurfs Out?" or "Mr. Smurftastic."  The game itself is much like the Just Dance games, with points for following the choreography correctly, but the game seems more lenient somehow when it comes to the moves, which feel simplified for kids.  My daughter, Petunia, age 10, loved that there was a Katy Perry song ("One of the Boys"), and my son, Dash, age 6, really did not love the "Barbara Streisand" song, but I noticed that he played along anyway, which is remarkable, as he wanted nothing to do with other dance games we've tried.  (He refused to be photographed playing it, though, so the picture at left is only of Petunia, who later invited a friend over to try it.)

Weighing the pros of this game, I especially like that it inspires movement, a big PLUS in my book, as opposed to passive, sit-there, point-and-shoot kinds of games.  It's also silly fun, and I like that you can just play it for a song or two and enjoy it without some big hurdle to get over or level to pass.

As for cons, well, it's a game for kids, really.  I can't see playing this on my own.  (Just Dance, on the other hand...)  And if you don't like Smurf music, well, you're outta luck.  Lastly, since there are only 23 songs, too, I think it'll get old after a few more months, just like many other song-based games.

For age range, I'd recommend this for family play, from a preschooler who can hold the remote properly all the way through grandparents.  I also think it'd be great for preteen sleepovers coupled with a screening of the movie or the old TV shows (just think of the theme: blue punch, blue ice cream, blueberries...).  For entertainment value, I give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars -- fun, and lots of laughs, but a mid-range rating because the game is fixed to only 23 songs and not super-exciting graphics-wise.  (In all fairness, I wouldn't rate Just Dance much better, though... The only dance game I prefer, because you advance to unlock more complicated numbers, is Michael Jackson: The Experience.)

You can purchase your own copy of The Smurfs Dance Party through this link at Amazon.  Enjoy!

Thank you to Ubisoft for sponsoring this blog post. Please click here to learn more about Ubisoft. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions are my own.

The Best Gift I Ever Gave

SWAGG is a free mobile app (download here) that lets you shop smarter using your mobile phone. Buy, send or swap SWAGG GIFTS and organize your old school plastic gift cards.

For every download of the app between now and Dec. 31, 2010, SWAGG will donate $1 to Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) , up to $125,000. 

Clever Girls Collective and SWAGG are sending a pair of movie fans to the Sundance Film Festival! Download the SWAGG app and then visit the Ultimate SWAGG Getaway Sweepstakes site to enter to win a trip for two to the Sundance Film Festival. Entry deadline is January 3, 2011, 11:59pm, PST.

I've spent over a week now conjuring up memories of the best gifts I ever gave.  I remember my childhood pride in the late-70s gifting my grandfather with a Pittsburgh Steelers pencil cup that was made from a recycled frozen OJ can covered with black construction paper and a crudely made Steelers logo.  (If you know anything about football, you know what a big deal the Steelers were in the 70s, and my grandparents were their biggest fans ever.)  As a high school student, I remember giving my parents an ceramic Geisha mask for their new Asian-inspired bedroom; I didn't have much money at the time and gave up weeks of pizza with friends to save for it -- but it was my first year away at boarding school, and I wanted to give them a grand gesture of "thank you" for sending me there.  Over the years, I've hand-painted at least a dozen baby and wedding gifts, all well-received, pouring my time and artistry into something that I'm sure no one else will give them -- something made genuinely with love.

But what, of those things, is best, really?  They're all special items, and they're all memorable to me -- maybe more so than to the recipients! -- but really, we all know that the best stuff in life isn't stuff at all.  So I thought perhaps the best gift I've given wasn't a thing -- the money I've sent to Africa with my mom to buy a goat for the man who acted as her sherpa while she lived there, for example.  Or maybe the best gift is signing up to be an organ donor in memory of my uncle, who received several transplants before his still-too-early death.  Or perhaps the best gift is that of time -- time to help a friend move house, time to another stressed-out mom so that she can have a late lunch with friends without the worry of having to make it to school pick-up on time, time to de-clutter our home office (a gift the Guv asks for every. single. time.).  Recently a friend reminded me of a sincere inquiry of "how are you?" (he was down) accompanied by a conversation and a hug eight years ago.  What, of these things, is the best gift?  In truth, it's no grand gestures, but perhaps the smallest ones of making time for people, sincerely caring about them, and trying to live with the intention of being good: but that shouldn't be a gift.  That should be how we all live all of the time.

So after racking my brain, I thought and thought of the best gifts that I give, and I came up with one special thing that I've given for six straight years to the same group of 15 people.  It costs me between $10 - $15, and my aunts, uncles, grandparents, parents, kids' godparents and a few special cousins appreciate more than the rest of the gift cards, food baskets, books and elsewhat that I send.  In fact, none of the rest of the stuff I give gets mentioned because this gift -- my annual photo book of our family, featuring my kids -- steals the show.

It started when we first became a family of 4, and, suddenly, instead of having time to work, to attend grad school, and to mother an ideal first child, I barely had time to shower most days.  Instead of regularly mailing pictures (not e-mailing -- many of these folks weren't even using it then!) of my firstborn, Petunia, as I had for 4.5 years at least every other month, after my secondborn (Dash) came along that March ... well, I realized in November that I hadn't sent out a single picture except for that in his birth announcement.  There were a few websites making 5x7 simple photo books out of digital pictures, reasonably priced, so I decided that would become everyone's gift from the kids.  We're a pretty big family, pretty scattered to the winds, and this photo book, it turns out, really brought us all together.  First my grandmother called, absolutely thrilled with the pictures of her then-only great-grandbabies.  Various aunts and uncles and cousins called my parents, grandparents, and each other to talk about the kids.  As next Christmas rolled around, I prepared another book; now, this year, it's the sixth annual.  They've come to expect it, and I'm glad, since I still haven't caught up from the whirlwind of having two kids, both in school now, and soccer, and t-ball, and the addition of a dog ... and yes, there's still that office to clean.  Someday, I'll get there -- someday when I don't have to stay up late to make photobooks that I know are deeply treasured by every recipient.  It'll all happen someday, because for now, I'm too busy making memories with little ones that -- I can see from the pictures -- really are growing up way too fast.  They're the best gift I've given to my extended family and, through these pictures, my grandparents in West Virginia, my parents in Florida, my in-laws in New York, and everyone in between can watch them grow up as if we don't all live so very far apart. 

P.S.: Please take the time to click through and learn about some of Stand Up To Cancer's amazing work.  If you still owe someone a holiday gift, maybe you can find the best one ever in their on-line store!  Please note that neither Clever Girls Collective nor SWAGG (nor Stand Up To Cancer) asked me to include this postscript note.  I just really get excited when I see corporations with which I'm affiliated partnering with great charities to effect real change in this world, especially when it comes to health concerns.  I applaud all of these companies for banding together to do some good in the world.

P.P.S. And the Sundance Film Festival Sweepstakes... WOW!  The Clever Girls Collective and SWAGG are pulling out all of the stops!  It includes:

• 2 night/3 day stay at Yarrow Hotel in Park City Utah (Jan 21 - Jan 23, 2011)
• Ground transportation to and from hotel to airport in Park City, Utah
• Dinner for two at Tao Lounge, including 2 nightclub passes
• All access to The House of SWAGG Gifting Suite
• 2 tickets to a movie premiere on Saturday, January 22nd -- movie tbd
• $4,000 value

Just think: the best gift you ever give to one of your loves ones might be one that you win -- so enter, and best of luck from me!  (CGC and SWAGG also didn't ask for this postscript, but I thought more details might be appreciated for this awesome giveaway.)

Learn more about the coolest new app that revolutionizes the whole shopping, gifting, and gift card-organizing experience and Download the SWAGG app to your iPhone or Droid. I was selected for this sponsorship by Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity.  (I do, too.)

Our Ultimate Family Vacation

Sponsored By

Cheerios® is giving you the chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, your ultimate family vacation. As part of a paid promotion for their “Do What You Love” Sweepstakes, Cheerios® is sponsoring my post today about what my ultimate family vacation would be. Read mine, Enter the Sweepstakes for a chance to actually win your own fantasy family trip or one of a bunch of other great prizes.

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Finally, our kids are at an age where our Ultimate Family Vacation could be really exciting and fun-filled.  With the Guv and I in our late-30s, still young enough to try just about anything, Petunia (age 10) and Dash (age 5), if I could plan any vacation I wanted, I'd be planning a sports-related vacation soon.  Both kids can swim, so a trip to some kind of all-inclusive resort by the sea might be in order.  Right now, I have my eye on Costa Rica, specifically.  There, we could all take surfing lessons, snorkel, paddleboard, kayak -- anything on the water.  Both Petunia and I have always wanted to swim with dolphins; maybe we could do that while the guys do some deep-sea fishing!  When we're waterlogged, it's important for us to be in a place where there's some fun to be had on land.  We enjoy hiking, and I'm thinking that Costa Rica's rainforest might be the perfect spot since that country's beaches are supposedly gorgeous, too.  It'd be great to couple fun on the water with some eco-tourism, something in which our family is interested and something for which Costa Rica is known. 

For this mom, staying at an all-inclusive resort is an important distinction.  I don't want to have to think about where to eat, to have to weigh the costs of various choices, to have to plan enough time to get to a location and wonder how long the wait to be seated is... It's always fun to go out to eat, but, with a 5 year-old in tow, time often is of the essence when it comes to eating.  Knowing that everything is covered at our resort, that we can eat when we want and will have a variety of no-brainer options would give me great peace of mind.

The other benefit of these types of resorts -- or so I hear, as I've never stayed at one -- is babysitting.  It'd be nice if the Guv and I had a couple of opportunities to sneak out during a family vacation for a little alone time.  Petunia is still a couple of years away from being able to babysit, so I want to know that wherever I stay has some trusted, qualified adults on-site to look after my kids.  Better yet, it'd be great if there's a kids' "club" so that they can play with other vacationers from around the world as the Guv and I wine and dine (or play tennis, swim or explore a town).  As much as the kids love time away with us, they miss being with other children, so a place with a kids' club would be a win-win situation.

So for our ultimate family vacation, I seek a mixture of opportunities to try new, fun, challenging things (sports, in our case) coupled with some creature comforts (all-inclusive food and babysitting among them) as well as an exotic location.  Costa Rica beckons!  I'm not sure if our budget would allow such an ultimate vacation, especially to such a resort, but we can always dream!

Tell me: if you could plan your ultimate vacation, what would YOU do?

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Don't forget to enter the “Do What You Love” Sweepstakes, for a chance to win your own ultimate family vacation. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.