Milk Unleashed Shelf Safe Fun #Giveaway #winningwednesdays

ChiIL Out with Shelf Safe Milk that doesn't need to stay out in the cold!

ChiIL Mama's Winning Wednesdays are back with loads of great holiday giveaways listed EVERY Wednesday!


 Unspoiled Holiday

It’s the holiday season, and for us that means Circus Winter Show Rehearsals, team gymnastics, pottery, visiting family, extra shopping, fun winter events, and a gazillion live concerts, plays and musicals to review. It's a challenge to have an on-the-go lifestyle and Milk Unleashed is here to help! 

With handy single-serving shelf safe milk there’s no need to ever run out or keep running to the fridge!  You can take it anywhere at anytime!  Milk Unleashed goes wherever your family goes, whether it’s a lunchbox, a cooler, purse or a diaper bag!  We're huge fans of organic shelf safe chocolate 1% milk.   My daughter packs it in her school lunches and I dig it in my coffee.

ChiIL Out with ChiIL Mama and we'll get you set up with a chance to win a sampler pack below.   When your family is on the run, it's a huge help to have shelf safe milk boxes along that don't require a fridge.   

Santa's not the only one who likes cookies and milk this time of year!  Enter right here for your chance to win a variety gift pack!  Open through midnight 12/4/12.    

Winner will be announced on ChiIL Mama's Winning Wednesday 12/5.

Milk Unleashed variety pack consists of:

            a) One liter of Shelf Safe Milk (Grand Pre or Baboo)

            b) Three single serving shelf safe milks (white and chocolate) from: Chokeo Chocolate Milk, Grand Pre or Baboo

            c) A calendar and brochure with information about Shelf Safe Milk

            d) Cool stickers and Tattoos

            e) Plus, one bonus prize!

 *Milk will be chosen by random from the previously mention brands.   If you're our winner, let me know if you have small children under 2 and we will send the Infant Pack with Baboo Milk!

*Wait for Rafflecopter to load up right here (if you've gone through RSS feed or are scrolling down the blog and don't see it, click on the actual page title or "a Rafflecopter giveaway link" and it should pop right up).   Enter like we vote in Chi, IL...early and often.

 Click here to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Free Games & Tips for your Adventures:

Click here to check Out the Milk Unleashed Blog App

•           On-The-Go Games and Tips! Even cruising down the freeway can be an adventure!  With these fun games and tips you can have some family time even when you are out on the road! 

•           On-The-Go Snacks! Have you ever wanted to try the world’s best smoothie?  Well Milk Unleashed is here to make all your dreams come true!  Find out the best snacks to grab that will make your next outing even more thrilling!

•           Get Social! Tweet with the #MilkUnleashed hashtag to get revved up for your next family adventure!

*Disclosure:   Thanks to PartnersHub for sending us a milk sampler for review and one to give away for our readers.   All opinions are our own.

 

Signing Santa Rocks Woodfield Mall 12/6/12

Woodfield Mall Designates First-Ever Signing Santa Day 

Deaf and hard-of-hearing children will have a chance to enjoy their own special Santa experience, thanks to Woodfield Mall’s first-ever Signing Santa Day on Thursday, Dec. 6.  Signing Santa will welcome all shoppers, both deaf/hard-of-hearing and hearing, from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m., on the set of Woodfield’s multi-sensory Ice Palace.
            
In partnership with Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, this holiday season’s 30-foot, walk-through Ice Palace features the beloved prehistoric herd from ICE AGE: CONTINENTAL DRIFT, debuting Dec. 11 on DVD and Blu-rayTM.  Woodfield is hosting Signing Santa Day in celebration of the Blu-ray featuring on-screen, picture-in-a-picture sign-language interpretation – a first for a feature film – by deaf actors Sean Berdy, star of ABC Family’s “Switched at Birth,” and stage and film actress Amber Zion.
            
Located at Route 53 and Golf Road in Schaumburg, 25 miles from downtown Chicago, Woodfield is the Chicago area’s largest shopping center, with nearly 300 stores including nationally-recognized anchors Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor, Macy’s, jcpenney and Sears. For additional information, including updates on seasonal events and holiday hours, log on to Woodfield's main site here.

Jeff Kinney-Diary of a Wimpy Kid Author Original HD Video Interview #greatgifts #giftguide

ChiIL Mama caught up with Jeff Kinney--author and illustrator of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series & father of two sons, 7 & 10.    Jeff swung through Chicago on 11/16/12 on his impressive 50 book stores in a week tour!

Check out our original HD video interview above.   We began the interview on the big bus--decked out in Diary of a Wimpy Kid--The Third Wheel characters--different on each side.   Jeff was busy getting a leg up on his book signing duties.   Then we caught up with a group of elementary kids from St. Matthias and a lucky group of ticketed families, for an intimate book signing at The Book Cellar in Lincoln Square, Chicago.   

I was so impressed with the author and his team after a couple kids got in line to meet him without any books or money to buy one.   They were going to have him sign a scrap of paper, but he surprised them with copies of his new books instead!   Good people indeed.

We are stoked to see that someone so creative, amusing and positive is getting the recognition he deserves.  It was cool to read that Jeff Kinney was named one of Time magazine's 100 "Most Influential People" in the world in 2009.

Although, I personally got more excited by this clip from his website:

Diary of a Wimpy Kid author Jeff Kinney didn’t grow up wanting to be a children’s author. His dream was to become a newspaper cartoonist, but he wasn’t able to get his comic strips syndicated.

In 1998 Jeff came up with the idea for Diary of a Wimpy Kid, a story about a middle-school weakling named Greg Heffley. Jeff worked on his book for almost eight years before showing it to a publisher in New York.

Success is all the more sweet when it follows failure!   I used to keep a newspaper clipping above my own writing desk about how one of my idols and all time favs, Dr. Seuss, got twenty seven rejection letters for his first book and didn't give up.  It went something like this from the rockin' site One Hundred Famous Rejections.  After that, Dr. Seuss went on to win two Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, the Pulitzer Prize, and a Peabody Award.  He sold over two million books.

It was truly a treat to meet Jeff Kinney, the beloved, best selling author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and Poptropica Website.  Thanks for the signed book, Jeff!   My son devoured it in 1 sitting as soon as he got home from school, laughing out loud as he read.   We're working on getting a give away copy or two for our readers as well, so check back with ChiIL Mama like we vote in Chi, IL...early and often and we'll let you know what's up.

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series, movies and merch make ChiIL Mama's Great Gifts List for 2012.   They celebrate the creative, nerdy, artistic kids.   And the gift of instilling a love of reading in children is one of the best gifts EVER.   We're also huge fans of the funny...so gifts that make you laugh top our list every year.





Check out our past coverage about The Wimpy Kid--Third Wheel mega tour by clicking right here.

Check out our original still photos below.

Books in the core series by Jeff Kinney include Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2007), Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2008), Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw (2009), Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (2009), Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth (2010), and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever (2011). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel will release on November 13, 2012. Jeff Kinney has also written and illustrated The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book and The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary. Wimp-ebooks editions of the series for tablets and e-readers become available on October 30, 2012. The series is a fixture on the USA Today bestseller list and the Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. It has also remained consistently in the top spots on the New York Times lists since publication of the first book in the series in 2007.

More than 75 million Diary of a Wimpy Kid books are in print in 41 languages in more than 44 countries around the world. Published by Amulet Books, an imprint of ABRAMS, Kinney's work has been widely praised for its ability to turn reluctant readers on to books. 

Jeff Kinney was named one of Time magazine's most influential people in the world. There are three major motions pictures based on the books, which grossed more than $200 million worldwide in box office sales. The book series won Favorite Book at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards in 2010, 2011, and 2012, and Jeff Kinney won a Children's Choice Book Award in 2012. Books in the series have won numerous awards voted on by students and teachers in schools around the globe. Kids can also share in an interactive experience with Greg Heffley on Poptropica.com, a site visited by millions of kids each month.

Check out the Wimpy Kid Main Site Here for more great info and purchasing details.

ACT OUT: CircEsteem Winter Circus Shows Are Coming

CircEsteem's Winter Circus promises to excite and delight audiences of all ages and is the perfect affordable outing for those seeking a fun wintertime activity for the family. This year we have two shows to pick from with different acts each day. Come to one or both days! Over 100 youth will perform from the Saturday Circus program, the School Outreach program, the HomeWork & CircusWork program and our advanced performing troupe.  Proceeds benefit CircEsteem's mission of uniting youth from diverse backgrounds and building self-esteem through the practice and performance of circus arts. Purchase your tickets now. Buy two adult tickets and get one kid ticket free Event CircEsteem's 12th Annual Winter Circus CircEsteem's winter circus highlights students work in Trapeze, Silks, Gym Wheel, Unicycling, Chinese Pole, and Clowning. This annual winter treat is fun for the whole family.   Each weekend will be an entirely different show, so come back and see it again. December 15th 11am and 2pm December 16th 1pm and 4pm

Sign Up Now For Winter Circus Classes The next 16-week session of classes begins on Saturday January 12th with 30 classes to pick from.  Join us for Aerial Arts, Juggling, Trampoline, Tumbling, Clowning, Unicycling, Stilt Walking and our newest class, Circus Tots for kids ages 3 and up.  Space is very limited so sign up now. To register online for classes and learn more about all the offerings, visit CircEsteem.org

The Evil Green Box Pirates & The Compassion Clause

If you speak the words green box within Chicago's City limits, you're bound to be met with a disgusted rant.   They are universally detested.   During the end of the Daley era, Da Mare sold off Chicago's parking rights and the beaches and huge stretches of previously free street parking are now a cash cow for some fat cat private investors.

The meters can't be topped off, often end at 2 hours, even near theatres where movies and plays often exceed that time limit, and they're often far down the block, making parking & paying tough on the elderly, injured and families with young kids.   Even short errands end up adding up to big bucks in parking payments over time.   And woe to the citizen whose meter expires, even by a few measly minutes.   That'll be $50, thank you very much.

A few months back, my 9 year old daughter, Sagezilla, was demonstrating Chinese Pole for a circus open house, and after two years of doing circus arts safely and injury free, she did a face plant into the pole and broke her permanent front tooth.   She was screaming in pain and I was tending to her with a paper towel soaked in milk so the air didn't kill her tooth so much, while I called the dentist to squeeze us in for an emergency visit.   Amid all this chaos, our meter expired (by just THREE minutes) and we got a $50 parking ticket.

I appealed it, including the photo above, with the poor kid missing a quarter of her permanent tooth, and an explanation of why were were a minuscule few minutes late to the car.  But we got the bright orange harbinger of bad news back in the mail with our appeal rejected and our ominous sounding final determination made.   We didn't have a legally accepted alibi, IE:  our car was not stolen and the meter was not broken, so we were SOL.   Thanks LAZ.   Thanks city parking peon judge.  You suck.

Who thinks there should be a compassion clause and/or 15 minute grace period in addition to the meager accepted get outta ticket free reasons?

P is for PIRATES

One of Chicago's infamous parking fiasco green boxes that has been "Yarn Bombed", decked out in colorful knitting.

Got My Car? #greatcarhunt #Chevy #GMC

G. M. C....Got My Car?!

The great car hunt has begun in earnest now that winter's nearly here.  We're a family that keeps our cars, and my 1996 RAV4 has been an excellent car.   Still, it's getting to be time to say goodbye for something Chicago weather worthy that won't cost more to fix than it's worth.

We're super stoked to be able to borrow a Chevy Equinox for an extended test drive for a week, starting this Monday.  We'll have photo and video filled features for you as our Great Car Hunt progresses.   We're looking for a crossover to take us through the next decade of family life and beyond.   With kids who are 9 & 11, I've still got a good 5 years of full time family taxi driver detail before we have an eligible young driver.   Yet, he's already taller than me, so back seat space and leg room has to factor in, too.

Safety, is a no brainer, and we're looking for something that will still go in the snow, with good traction.   We're also looking for dependability, longevity, staying power, and fuel efficency.   We need a car that acts like a truck for hauling camping gear, groceries, a Husky and a 100+ pound Akita.   We need something still short enough to be able to parallel park in the city with ease, and negotiate urban traffic.

I'm very excited about this adventure and that we'll be able to bring our readers along for the ride.   

Power The Creativity With Energizer & Crayola #greatgifts

Great gift givers give batteries.   

There are few things more frustrating to a child than opening a cool toy and discovering it's powerless, and won't do it's thing until the adults can duck out and buy the appropriate batteries.   I LOVE to see brightly colored gifts with a pack of batteries taped to the outside.   That's a way cooler gift topper than a bow!

I've dug Crayola since I was a child myself, and my husband could be the poster child for Energizer.  As a location sound engineer he goes through literally thousands of batteries a year working on TV shows, documentaries and movies.  So, I was pretty jazzed to be invited to a “Power the Creativity” event where Energizer and Crayola teamed up!   When I walked in and saw all the cool, light up, glow in the dark fun they had assembled for the blogger kids I exclaimed "I wanna play with the art too!"   Happily, they reassured me I could!  

 

All of my husband's mics and gear run on batteries, and all the ones that aren't giant rechargeable bricks are Energizer Ultimate Lithium.   He's super brand loyal because they're the best, and when he's shooting in the field, there are no retakes.   He's got to know his gear will work or he won't.

This dependability and quality isn't just for the pros.   Who really enjoys undoing all those minuscule toy screws any more often than absolutely necessary?!   Energizer now last longer than ever--try up to 10 years on shelf! 
Energizer Max Batteries with Power Seal Technology are the ones with staying power.


  
At the party we all got to check out Energizer Flameless candles, with a realistic flicker and sweet scents, and creative Crayola toys all powered by Energizer Max Batteries.   The candles are more realistic and appealing than others I've seen.  It's reassuring they're safe to leave glowing when you leave a room, or have little ones around.



It was so much fun to check out some of Crayola's hot offerings for the 2012 holidays like the Glow Book, Glow Dome, Digital Light Designer, Marker Airbrush and more!   

 

We also enjoyed hanging out with other bloggers and their littles at Family Grounds Coffee Shop & Indoor Play Cafe in Chicago



We were thrilled to bring home a Crayola Light Up Tracing Pad and a packet of mind blowing Color Wonder Metal Effects Kit! 

Both were huge and immediate hits and make our highly recommended toys list.   



We've dug Color Wonder for years, for those situations where art supplies are a fun way to pass the time, but Grandma's cream carpet isn't as marker friendly as home.   But we've never seen Color Wonder like this!   These works of art seriously look metalic.   They're quite impressive and fun.   Check out my 9 year old daughter's Color Explosion Metallic creations right here.

Crayola art supplies make ChiIL Mama's Great Gifts List.   They encourage creativity, fine motor skills, and group play.   Their crayons still rock...but Crayola has gone waaaay above and beyond.   Check out their cool collection of art gadgets and supplies for art lovers of all ages on your gift list.

Power the creativity with Energizer® and Crayola®

Buy specially marked packs of Energizer® MAX® AA-16 and AAA-16 batteries and save up to $20 on select Crayola® products!   Look for your coupons inside.

Participating Crayola® products include:

• Crayola® Digital Light Designer™
• Crayola® Sketcher Projector™
• Crayola® Light-Up Tracing Pad
• Crayola® Glow Book or Glow Dome
• Any Crayola® Color Wonder® Product

© 2012 Energizer  Energizer, Energizer Bunny design, card and label graphics and other marks are trademarks of Energizer. © 2012 Crayola LLC

For more information on Energizer, check out their main site here and follow them on Facebook for great deals.





Disclosure:
"I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Energizer. I attended an event and received a promotional item to thank me for my participation."

Hitchcock Opens TODAY #Review

Looking for a little escape from or with the adults in your family this holiday weekend?   Hitchcock opens today.   We had a chance to catch Hitchcock at an early press preview on Tuesday and highly recommend it.   

Anthony Hopkins as Alfred Hitchcock in Sacha Gervasi's HITCHCOCK

HITCHCOCK is a love story about one of the most influential filmmakers of the last century, Alfred (Anthony Hopkins) Hitchcock and his wife and partner Alma Reville (Helen Mirren). The film takes place during the making of Hitchcock's seminal movie PSYCHO.

Helen Mirren and Anthony Hopkins in Sacha Gervasi's HITCHCOCK

The casting for Hitchcock is spot on, and it was a pleasure to see the strong, smart, creative woman behind the genius finally get her due.   This film is more of a relationship flick than horror film, although Hitchcock's lecherous voyeurism, leading lady crushes and obsessions are a bit horrifying.   It's cool to get a glimpse into the Hollywood machine of yesteryear, when morality and censorship resulted in suggestions of sex and violence much scarier still than some of today's show all, tell all bloodbaths.

Jessican Biel as Vera Miles, Scarlett Johansson as Janet Leigh and James D'Arcy as 
Anthony Perkins in Sacha Gervasi's HITCHCOCK

I'm also a sucker for films about projects that were dinged and turned down repeatedly and then ended up being huge success stories.   I love the message of determination, believing in yourself, and gambling all on an idea that everyone said couldn't be done.

Hitchcock's film have changed our society, stood the test of time, and inspired countless creatives in the horror genre.   Whether you're a fan or merely curious, this film is well worth the time to check out.   I'm completely enamored with Alma (Helen Mirren), the Hitchcock who used to be Alfred's boss, and who gets the job done with competency, creativity and brilliant insight.   She stands behind and beside her famous husband even when he was difficult to live with and put their home and all their savings on the line to make a questionable investment in Psycho.   She is every bit as much of a true Hitchcock genius as her husband ever was.   

Scarlett Johansson as Janet Leigh in Sacha Gervasi's HITCHCOCK

Despite a PG13 rating, we'd recommend saving this one for the adults--not because it's particularly violent, but because of the complex adult relational themes.   The acting is excellent, and the subject matter is compelling.   So go already.


Click here for advanced tickets, more info and show times/locations near you.