Category: Netflix

September 19, 2017

Simplify the Birthday Planning Process #StreamTeam

I love love love party planning. I look forward every year to planning our boys birthday parties. They are both summer babies so it gives me quite a bit of flexibility with the themes, planning and execution of their parties (not to mention we have generally had great weather). We usually only include family and close friends but every year I like to come up with a new theme and recipes to try out.

While I love planning birthday parties from the pre-planning to the actual day of, trust me I do still get overwhelmed.

As parents, we have a huge amount of pressure on our shoulders to throw the most memorable and fun party ever for your child. But really it shouldn’t be like that! The focus at the end of the day is your child and them reaching another important milestone. Sadly though, 2 out 3 parents feel pressure to be party perfect with 69% wishing that birthdays could be easier to make special.

So how do we simplify the birthday planning process and make the day special for our child?

Don’t invite every person your child has ever known or come in contact with. Keep it simple – family and a few friends. The day becomes easier and a lot less stressful when there are fewer people. The bonus? Family love helping out – use this to your advantage, maybe have a few family members bring over a special dish, ask for help with the clean up and help with supervision during the party. Every year we keep the invite list low and put the focus on our son and ask everyone to come prepared to get wet in the pool. My family gets to play with our boys and I have the pressure of direct supervision off of my shoulders so I can focus on having everything ready for our guests.

Keep the meals simple – think hot dogs, burgers and pizza. One year I went all out making exotic dishes but really and truly all my children and their cousins wanted was the basics. Funny enough, the adults felt the same too. If you plan ahead a couple of months, you can take advantage of sales and stock up on hot dogs and meat.

Instead of doing elaborate decorations, choose one focal point for the party. For us, that has always been the loot bags. For a Spider Man theme one year, I wrapped up the loot bags in spider webs and the kids loved it (although it was quite a pain to put together). We also did plastic fish bowls one year for a Nemo themed party and filled them with treats. You really don’t have to go over board when choosing loot bag items, some parents purchase a gift card whereas I like to include water balloons, plastic bouncy balls and candy.

Start the morning of your child’s birthday off with an extra special birthday wish from the characters from some of their favourite shows on Netflix, including LEGO, Troll Hunters, My Little Pony, Skylanders and much more! What child wouldn’t love a special birthday song going out to them from their favourite character to watch on tv?

Check out this quick trailer to learn more about Birthdays On-Demand on Netflix.

Above all else, enjoy each and every moment of the planning and the actual day. Your child is one year older and wiser! Cherish every moment on their special day.

What do you do on your child’s birthday to make it memorable?

Disclosure: I am a #StreamTeam member and receive perks with this affiliation. All opinions expressed are my own.

September 18, 2017

Fuller House Returns Back and Better #StreamTeam

One of my favourite Netflix spin offs, Fuller House, returns in Season 3 on September 22nd, 2017! Fans young and old will love the comedy and family fun in this original series.

About Fuller House

In the spinoff series, Fuller House, life can take you into unexpected directions and also back into familiar territory when veterinarian and recently widowed D.J. Tanner-Fuller finds herself living in her childhood home with younger sister and aspiring musician Stephanie Tanner and DJ’s lifelong best friend/fellow single mother Kimmy Gibbler. The women reunite to help support one another navigate careers, parenting and relationships with the kind of love and humor you can only get from the people you grew up with.

The Tanner childhood house is fuller than ever with not only DJ’s three boys — the awkward 13-year-old Jackson, neurotic 7-year-old Max and baby Tommy Jr. — but also Kimmy’s feisty teenage daughter Ramona and Kimmy’s not so estranged ex-husband Fernando all under the same roof.

Fuller House stars Candace Cameron Bure as D.J. Tanner-Fuller, Jodie Sweetin as Stephanie Tanner, Andrea Barber as Kimmy Gibbler, Juan Pablo Di Pace as Fernando, Soni Nicole Bringas as Romona, Michael Campion as Jackson, Elias Harger as Max, Dashiell and Fox Messitt Twins as Baby Tommy, Scott Weinger as Steve Hale, John Brotherton as Matt Harmon, and Ashley Liao as Lola.

Our Thoughts

I grew up watching Full House so I was already a huge fan but this season of Fuller House seems even funnier and heart warming than ever. I was given the opportunity to watch the first two episodes in season three and couldn’t wait to watch it with my niece who is a HUGE Fuller House fan.

The very first episode had me going from laughing out loud to getting a bit teary eyed. The opening of the first episode was priceless and even had my youngest laughing and copying the song. What I love the most about this show is the real life portrayal of family life – it is honest and full of the ups and downs of life. Life and family can be ugly and beautiful at the same time. We have our moments of losing our minds and then other hilarious moments that make everything worth it. This is what Fuller House captures – the love, the sadness, the frustration and the humour.

Season Three of Fuller House is definitely going to be a must watch season! Get ready to catch the new season starting September 22nd, 2017.

Fuller House Trailer

Who is your favourite Fuller House character?

Disclosure: I am a #StreamTeam member and receive perks with this affiliation. All opinions expressed are my own.

August 23, 2017

Learning the Art of Persuasion Netflix Style #StreamTeam

Bribery. Compliments. Little white lies. Hugs and kisses.

We have used all of these persuasion styles in our house when it comes to ensuring that we get to watch the movie or episode we have been dying to watch on Netflix instead of something else that another family member has chosen. The biggest offenders? The kids! And wow are they amazing at persuading us to watch Power Rangers (or any superhero show) for about the thousandth time (only slightly exaggerating here – I think I know some of the episodes by heart).

Here are their top three Netflix Persuasion tips:

1) Compliments are always key!

I always know something is coming when I am about to put my show on and they start their sentence with, “Mom, you are the best Mommy in the whole entire world” or “Mommy you are so pretty”. I always fall prey to these one liners, who doesn’t love hearing how you are the best person in the world?! So I go from getting ready to watch Kurt Seyit and Sura to Just Go With It or Power Rangers or Paw Patrol.

2) Hugs and Kisses.

I am a complete sucker for this one and they know it. We have watched Sharknado way too many times for me to count but every time they say just one more and give me a kiss – I can’t resist them. We then usually end up watching all four movies in the Sharknado series.

3) I will do *insert chore* here for a whole week.

This one is a wicked persuasion tool! They will offer laundry, dishes, cleaning up after the dog and more just to ensure they get first pick when it comes to movie time. While they are great at completing their chores and follow their chore list, this extra offer of help can’t be passed up.

So how do we as parents fight back against their adorableness and re-gain control of the television?

Here is what I do:

1) Use the Netflix Recommendations

I am sure many of you have already noticed those super handy recommendations but they are the best at helping you encourage your child or spouse to break out of their comfort zone and watch something new. Over the weekend, my son wanted to watch Just Go With It again but when we logged in I saw RV was on our recommendation list and I thought they would LOVE that movie. The first reaction I got when I suggested we watch RV? No. So I told them it has exploding poop in it, trust me – you will love it. That won them over and we watched RV. Guess what – they loved it.

We also found the Luther series this way and while my kids were at their Grandparents for a week, my husband and I binged on this series. It is definitely a must watch show – one that I am so glad that Netflix popped up as a recommendation on my husband’s profile for us to watch.

2) Use humour to get your way.

We all love to laugh, especially kids and they usually have a great sense of humour. Get them excited for new movies with one liners, I love this Star Wars one from Netflix: “Watch this new movie, we shall. Or come for you the Rebellion will”. It gets them into the concept of the movie while making them laugh.

And when all else fails?

Play the it’s my way or the highway card. I am not going to lie, I have used the ‘I carried you in my tummy for nine months so you are going to watch Full House with me’ card a few times. It definitely works!

Watching movies together as a family is a great way to unwind after a stressful work and school week. Choosing new and different shows helps lend variety and excitement to family movie time and can even spark a love of a new series (this is how I fell in love with Star Wars!).

What is a movie or show that you initially were not interested in watching but someone convinced you to and you fell in love?

Disclosure: I am a Netflix #StreamTeam member and receive perks with this affiliation. All opinions expressed are my own.

July 31, 2017

Carving out “Me” Time #StreamTeam

Our family life is hectic. Both of us work full-time (thankfully no more night shifts!), both of our boys play competitive soccer which means we are on the pitch four to five nights a week plus weekends, I am finally finishing up two diploma programs and my husband coaches too. I wouldn’t change our life for a second, I love watching the kids on the pitch, I love my work and I even love the non-stop moving but sometimes we just need a break.

With this go-go-go lifestyle, I find I am sometimes worn out, irritable and there are some nights I just crash on the bed exhausted at the end of the day not even wanting to move. Last week, both of my kids spent five days at their Grandparents house about an hour away from our home. While I cried the whole way home after dropping them off (completely irrational I know), after day one I realized this was just what I needed to recover from the busy lifestyle we were leading. Not only did we need it as parents, our kids needed it too.

While this is a bit of an extreme example, as I know most of us don’t leave our children at family for the week, taking a much-needed “me” time break is so important for both our physical and mental health. When Netflix asked Moms what this me time did for them, they received responses from it helped them to be a better parent to getting peace to decompress alone. Dads, I know you will feel the same too!

We know it’s important so how do we take it? Here are my tips for taking time for you!

Get Up a Little Bit Earlier Before Your Kids

While this may seem hard at first, trust me you will love it. My first hour of my day is time for just me, my coffee and catching up on my latest shows that are not kid friendly (i.e. Luther, Orange is the New Black, Grace and Frankie!). It gives me such a sense of peace and relaxation – it allows me to focus on the day ahead and unwind before it all starts. When I don’t get it, watch out! I feel like I am thrown off my game all day and I even find myself getting irritated at little things that normally wouldn’t bother me.

Take a Nice Hot Bath

We all deserve a nice hot soak in a bubble bath at the end of the day. Pour yourself a glass of wine, get the iPad out and lock that bathroom door – headphones are optional if you really want to unwind!

Go For Daily Walks

These walks don’t have to be long but just get out there. The physical activity will really help you de-stress and unwind after a busy day. I usually bring my kids along and we stop for ten minutes at the park. It goes a long way for both of us.

However you sneak in “me” time, there is no question about the importance of it. You deserve time alone, doing whatever you need to so that you can be a better parent and spouse. Whether it be catching up on your favourite Netflix hit or listening to music, you deserve that time so make sure you take it!

How do you take time out in your busy day for yourself?

Disclosure: I am a #StreamTeam member and receive perks with this affiliation. All opinions expressed are my own.

June 27, 2017

A Passport to Adventure: Igniting a Love for Protecting Animals #StreamTeam

We love to watch documentaries together as a family, especially anything and everything to do with animals and nature. We love learning about the habitats of an animal, watching them grow up, their unique personalities and traits and even how they survive. Our world is an amazing place and it is so important to my husband and I that our children learn as much about the world around them so that they can fully appreciate and cherish it’s beauty and wonder. It helps them to understand how the world works and to show compassion for the creatures that are our neighbours.

Growing Up Wild is our FAVOURITE animal show to watch on Netflix at home! We have watched this documentary from Disney Nature over thirty times (and that is low balling it). This movie follows five animals from birth as they grow up in the wild. We learn how they are raised and nurtured, who teaches them, their predators and their unique traits. While at times the movie can be sad (especially when the babies are hunted), it is such an important lesson for children to learn how much they are like humans. Their parents love their babies and would do anything to protect them, they play with their siblings like children do and they show affection like humans do.

Our second favourite documentary on Netflix is Wild Ones, which has thirteen episodes in one season. This series explores the habitats of some of the strongest, fastest and cutest animals in the world. We can travel from Madagascar to the Amazon to the Savannah. We learn everything that there is to know about the important animals that live in these habitats, how they grow, hunt and work together to survive.

Over the winter, we went on an incredible trip to South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe to visit family. We were very blessed to have had our family take us on amazing adventures while we there which included a safari and boat cruises both in Chobe, Botswana and in South Africa. All of the amazing animals that we had been watching for months on Netflix were brought to life. It was an incredible, humbling and amazing experience that has stayed with us. The animals, the countries and the people who do everything they can do protect them was inspiring and gives you hope for the future.

Our youngest son, who is so fond of animals, has decided that when he grows up he wants to move closer to his family in Africa so that he can do everything he can to protect these beautiful animals! As an animal lover myself, I was so proud of him, even though I know I would miss him so very much.

All of this love and passion for protecting these animals started with a simple movie on Netflix and a trip to visit family. This ignited a dream for our son that I can’t wait for him to pursue as he gets older. As we begin to plan our next trip back to South Africa and Botswana, I know that this summer will be full of more amazing adventures and education from Netflix.

What are your favourite documentaries to watch on Netflix? Have they helped to inspire a dream? What will you be watching this summer with your children?

Disclosure: I am a Netflix #StreamTeam member and receive perks with this affiliation. All opinions expressed are my own.