Category: Netflix

March 28, 2016

The Power of LEGO #StreamTeam

LEGO has always given us hours of family fun and encouraged fine motor skill practicing for our children. LEGO is one of those toys that anyone can play with, age and gender doesn’t matter! Although they have some pretty cute new sets that are geared towards girls that I would have loved as a child.

I still remember as a child building farms, houses and castles with my brother and sister. We had huge boxes to play with and used our imagination to create our own master pieces. We didn’t have a lot of instructions to follow and would literally spend hours creating on the kitchen table.

While the LEGO has changed, the educational and creative benefits of the toys are undeniable. Children can literally build anything with their kits now, from Star Wars ships to boats and ambulances. Schools use them in kindergarten for math skills and social skills (my son’s personal favourite section at Kindergarten is this section, he comes home telling me all about what he has created on a daily basis).

Spring time is perfect to break out the LEGO kits and get those creative minds and hands working. The weather can be so unpredictable which cancels outdoor playtime, so it is important to keep your children entertained. We can do this through building model ships, cities, hosting battles and more.

Netflix understands the love children hold for LEGO and have brought the world alive with brand new shows. Their play list includes: Bionicle, Power of Friendship, Superheroes, City and Elves. There are so many different themes of LEGO to choose from, your child will love choosing the next inspired episode – they may even be able to reenact scenes with their figurines and worlds they have built.

Check out this Netflix clip from the new Bionicle Episode One: The Journey To One:

Looks awesome right? Don’t forget to check out the full episode on Netflix this month! What is your favourite LEGO themed show/kit?

Disclosure: I am affiliated with Netflix and receive perks with this affiliation. All opinions expressed are my own.

February 24, 2016

Because Family Time Matters #StreamTeam

Life is busy, trust me I know – between work, school, soccer, swimming and yoga, it can be hard to just take a minute to breath and unwind. But doing so is so important for not only your own mental health well being but for you families well being too. Taking the time to press pause on life, relax and unwind as a family unit builds stronger family bonds. We love our family time – we can choose one family activity and then spend time talking, listening and just living in the moment.

Our sacred family time is Saturday night. We love to stay in, just the four of us and unwind together. Staying in the comfort of our home, gives us the freedom to focus on each other without the background noise public places offers. Not to mention we can be as silly as we want to be – dance parties, fashion shows, baking and karaoke – yes please!

When all the active fun winds down and it is time to start thinking bed time, it is time to create our impromptu camp out in front of the television (sometimes we even let Grandpa join us – even if he falls asleep first – sorry Dad!!).

That is when we can find family hits on Netflix that the WHOLE family can enjoy. With the premiere of Fuller House coming up in two days (squeal!!), I can not wait to show my children this series and explain to them how this was a huge part of my own child and teen years. I loved Full House and to think of them as adults (although it brings home how much I have aged as my kids like to point out!) is mind blowing. The adventure picks up many years later with new Tanner additions, not to mention a Gibbler addition! After having a sneak peek at the first couple of episodes, it had me in tears, it had me laughing and most of all anticipating the next episodes.

Check out this trailer for Fuller House now:

And if you are a huge Full House fan like me, check out these other great family inspired titles: SuperMoms Like DJ Tanner, Steph Tanner Presents “How Rude” TV and Kimmy Gibbler and Other Pesky Friends – HAVE MERCY! 🙂 I have to admit, I can’t get all of my favourite Full House sayings out of my head and have been using them like crazy. This weekend will definitely be all about Fuller House.

What are your favourite family themed movies currently streaming on Netflix?

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

February 11, 2016

Come Together with Beat Bugs and Netflix #StreamTeam

BEAT BUGS, an animated series inspired by the songs of the Beatles welcomes international music artists Eddie Vedder, P!nk, James Bay, Sia, The Shins, Of Monsters and Men, Chris Cornell, Regina Spektor, James Corden, and Birdy to inspire hope and melody.

About Beat Bugs

Beat Bugs incorporates songs from the Lennon/McCartney ‘Northern Songs’ catalogue, to tell uplifting and life-affirming stories filled with hope and melody. World-leading artists, animators and writers have come together to work on this show. The Beat Bugs are charming, funny, adventurous, and have a knack for getting themselves into mischief and mayhem. Each of the five friends (Jay, Kumi, Crick, Buzz, and Walter) has a distinctive personality, and they display the charm and energy of five lovable kids. They are best friends who band together to explore and learn in an overgrown suburban backyard, which to them is their entire universe!

The show will feature some of the most well-known Beatles songs woven into the narrative of each episode, with Eddie Vedder, P!nk, James Bay, Sia, The Shins, Of Monsters and Men, Chris Cornell, Regina Spektor, James Corden, and Birdy each recording their rendition of an iconic song. Further artists joining the project are expected to be announced in the coming months. Among the songs featured include Help!, All You Need Is Love, Come Together, Penny Lane, Yellow Submarine, Lucy In the Sky with Diamonds, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and Magical Mystery Tour.

Beat Bugs will be coming to Netflix this summer so get ready for some Beatles musical fun!

Beat Bugs Trailer

January 14, 2016

A New Year, Time to Focus on Me and New Goals#StreamTeam

The new year has begun and with it I am sure many of you had made New Years resolutions, or as I like to call them ‘new goals’. I find that whenever I label them as ‘resolutions’ I give up that much quicker on my goals! So this year, I am writing these goals down and sharing them with all of you. I hope you can keep me on track and in turn I can motivate you to keep up with your own goals.

Since writing a goal down helps you keep on track, here are my goals for the New Year:

Focus on a healthy lifestyle which includes loosing weight, dealing with stress in a better manner and be active every day for thirty minutes. This is an extremely important goal for me as they recently found my liver to be enlarged and I am currently in the process of having this worked up. Talk about a health scare to wake me up! I know that I need to get healthy for not only myself but my kids too. Stress always plays a huge role in this and has at times led to a worsening of my depression. CBT has helped a lot but I can always do better.

Family times matters. This year I want to focus that much more time on my family, maybe more movie nights (yay for Netflix!), more travel, more experiences and even more story times at night. I want my children to know just how important they are to me and feel my love every moment.

Become more environmentally friendly. I want my children to grow up and live in a world that has not been ruined by pollution. I want us to start using environmentally friendly options, grow more of our own vegetables and volunteer more of our time to clean up outdoor space.

Now that I have shared my goals with you, I want to hear about you! What are your goals this year? What would you like to accomplish?

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

December 29, 2015

The New Midnight on New Years Eve #StreamTeam

I don’t know about you but ever since I had children, I have not made one New Years Eve ball drop countdown! Our family usually falls asleep around nine and my husband tries to wake us up at the midnight mark. Sometimes he is successful and other times we just can’t get up out of bed. The problem? I am just too tired to stay up until midnight even though I would love to celebrate as a family together.

While I thought I may have been one of the few people who fall asleep early, studies have shown that I am not alone. While 97% of families celebrate together, here is how we stack up to other families globally:

Parents in the US, UK, Canada and Australia agree 9 p.m. is the new midnight. Nearly half of parents in these countries say they’d countdown those famous 10 seconds by 9 p.m. (49%).
Parents down under can’t wait for bedtime. One-third of Aussie parents (34%) admit they’d hit the sack themselves after kissing the kids goodnight — long before midnight.
Italian and French parents are getting cozy with their significant others after lights out. Parents in both countries most look forward to spending time with their other half after putting the kids to sleep (51% and 43%, respectively). Now I wouldn’t mind that!
Parents love a good party in Spain and Mexico. 50% of parents in both countries can’t wait to kick off the parents-only party after tucking in their little ones. I wish I could do this!!!

Netflix is helping parents with the midnight countdown by bumping up midnight to whenever you want to start the countdown. That way your child can experience all of the magic of the New Years countdown and as a family you can enjoy the time with them. Netflix has six on demand specials launching today, including your favourite characters such as:

Puffin Rock residents Oona and Baba re-live their adventures from the past year and celebrate with the Northern Lights, nature’s very own fireworks.
Care Bears & Cousins head to Share Bear’s Shake Shack to gear up for a belly badge-tastic countdown in Care-a-Lot.
Inspector Gadget saves New Year’s Eve from a mischievous M.A.D. agent just in the nick of time for a dazzling firework display.
King Julien lives up to his party animal persona with a countdown to dance your way into the new year. My personal favourite guy!
Mr. Peabody and Sherman venture around the world to gather their favorite talk show guests for a star-studded countdown event featuring Hiccup and Toothless, Puss in Boots, the Croods and the entire Dinotrux team.
Project Mc2 stars McKeyla, Adrienne, Bryden and Camryn team up for NOV8’s most important mission yet: Party!

Check out the Netflix: It’s Almost Midnight Trailer to get a sneak peek.

Enjoy your New Years Eve celebrations!

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