NEW RELEASES: Earth to Echo on Blu-ray and DVD October 21

Available on Digital HD™ October 7 and Blu-ray and DVD October 21

Earth to Echo

This wonderful journey, “full of adventure, bravery, excitement, and friendship…has something for audiences of all ages” (Claudia Puig, USA Today). The “lively and likable” (Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times) tale is told through the eyes of Tuck, Munch and Alex, a trio of pals who make an out-of-this-world discovery. After receiving signals on their phones, they meet Echo, a small, but amazingly energetic, alien trying to make his way back to his home planet. As they race to help their new friend, the boys will discover that little Echo has touched their hearts in unexpected ways and changed their lives forever.

Blu-ray Special Features
●	Creating the Truck Scene
●	Casting the Characters
●	“We Made That!” The Making of Earth to Echo
●	Friends No Matter How Far
●	Six Deleted Scenes
●	Theatrical Trailer

DVD Special Features
●	Friends No Matter How Far
●	Theatrical Trailer

Earth to Echo Blu-ray
Street Date:	October 21, 2014
Prebook Date:	September 17, 2014
Screen Format:	Widescreen 1.78:1
Audio:	English DTS-HD MA 5.1
	Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles:	English / Spanish
Total Run Time:	133 minutes
U.S. Rating	PG
Closed Captioned:	Yes

Earth to Echo DVD
Street Date:	October 21, 2014
Prebook Date:	September 17, 2014
Screen Format:	Widescreen 1.78:1
Audio:	English Dolby Digital 5.1
	Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0
Subtitles:	English / Spanish
Total Run Time:	106 minutes
U.S. Rating	PG
Closed Captioned:	Yes

About Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is the industry leading worldwide marketing, sales and distribution company for all Fox produced, acquired and third party partner film and television programing. Each year TCFHE expands its award-winning global product portfolio with the introduction of new entertainment content through established and emerging formats including DVD, Blu-ray™ and Digital HD™. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox.

COUPON: NEW One-Click Photo Book From Collage.Com #discount #freebie

Here at ChiIL Mama I'm an avid photographer. So if you know me personally or professionally, you already know I take a LOT of pictures on a daily basis. My in laws joke that I have THE most well documented kids EVER. But I know I'm not the only one. Many of our readers are documenting childhood moments all the time too! 

Sometimes it's overwhelming to get all your photos off the phone or camera cards and into a hard copy for yourself or relatives. So we were excited when Collage.com offered us a couple books to review. We haven't tried them out yet, but it sounds like a simple process. We'll be checking it out in the next few weeks and letting you know how it goes. In the mean time. We've got a great discount for you.

Disclosure: As members of the US Family Bloggers Network, we've been given 2 sample photo books for review purposes and a discount for our readers. As always, all opinions are our own.

Deal: Use this link for 51% off a 20-page 11.5"x8" Hardcover Photo Book From Collage.com

Creating a photo book just got a lot easier. Collage.com's new One-Click Photo Book is the fastest photo book builder available. Our innovative auto-placement engine instantly suggests a perfect layout, placing photos of any size in chronological order over the desired number of pages. This puts your photos front and center - No more shoehorning them into prefab templates. Best of all, our aerial overview allows you to quickly swap and resize photos from any page instead of making you work one page at a time.

Create a professional photo book with a single click using Collage.com's One-Click Photo Book. Select photos of any size from Facebook, Instagram, Flickr, or your computer and they will instantly suggest a clean, professional layout that you can further customize.

Disclosure: Once again, as members of the US Family Bloggers Network, we've been given 2 sample photo books for review purposes and a discount for our readers. As always, all opinions are our own.

“Vikings” Season Two Returns On Blu-ray™ and DVD October 7

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and Fox Home Entertainment 
Will Invade Once Again With Second Season of 
The Hit Dramatic Series “Vikings”

 

“Vikings” Season Two Returns On Blu-ray™ and DVD October 7 
with 10 Unrated Episodes, Extended and Alternate Scenes

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment are back with another season of the hit dramatic series “Vikings” Season 2. The hit HISTORY drama, created and written by Michael Hirst (“The Tudors,” “Elizabeth”), arrives on Blu-ray™ and DVD on October 7.

“Vikings” centers on Ragnar (Travis Fimmel), a restless young warrior and family man who longs to find and conquer new lands across the sea and claim the spoils as his own. Now he is an Earl, allied with King Horrik (Donal Logue). With more power than ever before, his desire to sail west and explore new kingdoms remains unquenchable.

Yet there’s a heavy price to pay for Ragnar’s ascent to greatness. Season two brings crises of faith, of power, of relationships. Brothers rise up against one another. Loyalties shift from friend to foe, and unlikely alliances are formed in the name of supremacy. Ragnar’s indiscretions threaten his marriage to Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick), tearing him and his beloved son apart. Plots are hatched, scores are settled, blood is spilled…all under the watchful eyes of the gods.

New to the cast of VIKINGS this season are Alexander Ludwig (The Hunger Games) as Bjorn, the intelligent and bold warrior son of Ragnar Lothbrok, and Linus Roache (Law & Order) as Ecbert, King of Wessex, a man of strength, knowledge and undisguised ambition. They join Travis Fimmel as Ragnar Lothbrok; Katheryn Winnick as Lagertha, a fierce shield maiden and Ragnar’s wife; Clive Standen as Rollo, Ragnar’s impulsive, wild, care-free brother; George Blagden as Athelstan, a young and not-so-innocent Monk; Jessalyn Gilsig as Siggy, beautiful wife of the late Earl Haraldson; Donal Logue as King Horrik, who desires to make the increasingly famous Earl Ragnar an ally and supporter; Gustaf Skarsgard, a ship builder who designs the new generation of Vikings ships; and Alyssa Sutherland as Princess Aslaug, Ragnar’s new love interest.

Creator and writer Michael Hirst – one of the premier historical story-tellers in the industry (Academy-Award winning film Elizabeth; and the Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated series “The Tudors”) – serves as Executive Producer along with Morgan O’Sullivan of World 2000 (The Count of Monte Cristo, “The Tudors”), Sheila Hockin (“The Tudors,” “The Borgias”), John Weber of Take 5 Productions (“The Tudors,” “The Borgias”), Sherry Marsh, Alan Gasmer and James Flynn (“The Tudors,” “The Borgias”). Dirk Hoogstra and Julian P. Hobbs are the Executives in Charge of Production for HISTORY.

“Vikings” is an international Irish/Canadian co-production being co-produced by World 2000 and Take 5 Productions. HISTORY broadcasts domestically in the U.S. MGM Television brought the series to the network and brings “Vikings” to the global audience, serving as the worldwide distributor outside of Ireland and Canada. “Vikings” is produced in association with Shaw Media, and the series also airs on HISTORY in Canada.

In addition to all 10 fan-favorite episodes, the “Vikings” Season 2 Blu-ray and DVD include bonus features – such as “Imagining and Executing Climactic Battles,” a behind the scenes exploration into every aspect of planning and execution of the key battle sequences. The Blu-ray contains more than 16 hours of exclusive content, 10 unrated episodes with extended and alternate scenes and two episode audio commentaries, in which Michael Hirst and Gustaf Skarsgard dive deeper into the making of the sophomore season.

“Vikings” Season 2 Blu-ray Special Features:
●	BD Exclusive - 10 Unrated episodes that include extended and alternate scenes
●	BD Exclusive - The Viking Sagas – An Interactive Archival Exploration of the Viking Sagas. Use the BD remote to select an icon within the Sagas to hear a detailed deconstruction told by Viking historians.
●	A Warrior Society: Rites of Passage - Viking Historians unravel more fascinating mysteries of the Viking culture delving deeper into their rich history revealing the real world practices of the Viking people. Topics for exploration include: Viking Birthing Rituals, the significance of a young man receiving an armring, and the preparation undertaken before a young man or shieldmaiden’s first battle.
●	My Family, My Enemy - Creator Michael Hirst details the story arcs of season two and how compelling stories from history influenced the script, with further insights from the cast members and their roles in this season.
●	Imagining and Executing Climactic Battles – A behind the scenes exploration into every aspect of planning and execution of the key battle sequences, before intricately deconstructing every stage of preparation for the climactic VIKING battles in season 2.
●	Audio Commentary on “Blood Eagle” featuring Michael Hirst and Gustaf Skarsgard (EXTENDED)
●	Audio Commentary on “The Lord’s Prayer” featuring Michael Hirst and Gustaf Skarsgard (EXTENDED)

“Vikings” Season 2 DVD Special Features:
●	My Family, My Enemy
●	A Warrior Society: Rites of Passage
●	Imagining and Executing Climactic Battles

About Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) is celebrating 90 years as a leader in the entertainment business and as an innovator in the industry. Today, MGM is an entertainment company focused on the production and distribution of film and television content globally. The company owns one of the world's deepest libraries of premium film and television content. In addition, MGM has investments in domestic and international television channels. For more information, visit www.mgm.com.

About Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is the industry leading worldwide marketing, sales and distribution company for all Fox produced, acquired and third party partner film and television programing. Each year TCFHE expands its award-winning global product portfolio with the introduction of new entertainment content through established and emerging formats including DVD, Blu-ray™ and Digital HD™. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox.

Kidecals Rock! #ChiILPicksList #discount #freebie #backtoschool

There are few back to school supplies we truly can't live without. Name labels are one of them, and Kidecals are our favorite, hands down. They're easy to apply and have serious staying power. And they have awesome design choices like MUSTACHES! 

ChiIL Mama's readers can use the code: ilovelabels for 15% off any orders on their website.

Disclosure: Thanks to Kidecals for providing us with review samples and a discount code for our readers. As always, all opinions are our own.

Highly recommended. ChiIL Mama's ChiIL Picks List. Back to School Basics We Can't Live Without.

We've tried numerous labels over the years and some are impossibly hard to peel off the backing and frustrating to apply. Others fade and fall off after a few washings. Kidecals are the best out there. We tagged stuff with Kidecals two years ago, and the labels are still well stuck and unfaded!

We also love that they'll let you add a name and phone #--key to getting lost stuff found! You can even glam up your keyboard, personalize party favors, embellish a chalk board, or jam out on jams or other canning projects. 

Kidecals on the Oregon Coast. We tagged all our luggage, water bottles, and outerwear and didn't lose a thing at the airport, on the drive, or at the Pacific Ocean beaches--even in a beach house we shared with 8 people & 2 dogs!

Kidecals in the kids cozy loft in our cabin near Mt. Hood-a gorgeous glacier covered volcano. The kids tagged their luggage & "snuggles" in case any Ugly Dolls went adventuring.

Kidecals are great for tagging towels, picnic stuff, and water gear! (Mt. Hood/Trillium Lake--Oregon)

Kidecals rock for back to school. The kids tagged their new backpacks, water bottles, outerwear and all their school supplies.

We've sent our kids and Kidecals off to numerous overnight camps, out of town and back to school, and miraculously, all our stuff came back! Sure, some things inevitably had to be rescued from the lost & found, but with Kidecals on our side, that was easy, even with lookalikes. Check em out here and stick with the tried & true, Kidecals.

Disclosure: Once again, thanks to Kidecals for providing us with review samples and a discount code for our readers. As always, all opinions are our own.

WIN With The Red Gold Slow Cooker Promotion and ChiIL Mama #giveaway #recipe

It's that time again! Red Gold Tomatoes is taking a closer look at slow cooker recipes to celebrate harvest season with tomatoes. 

Disclosure: ChiIL Mama is happy to be an official Red Gold Blogger (and I have the spoon to prove it). We have been sent samples for review purposes, promotional items, and items for our giveaway. It's our pleasure to partner up with Red Gold once again. As always, all opinions are our own.

Red Gold will be hosting a promotion starting Sept. 17 during which they will give away two slow cookers a day for three weeks on their facebook page — that's 44 Crock-Pots!!!! 

Just go to https://www.facebook.com/RedGold to enter!

ChiIL Mama is also excited to offer a Red Gold Kit to one of our lucky readers. Enter RIGHT HERE for your chance to WIN:

A variety-pack of tomatoes plus an apron, wooden spoon and recipes from family-owned and Indiana-based Red Gold. 

*(Winner receives 2 cans crushed tomatoes, 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 can diced w/ green chills, 1 diced with lime juice and cilantro and 1 diced with garlic and olive oil, plus a Red Gold apron, wooden spoon and recipes, such as Pulled Pork Sliders, Sausage & Sweet Potato Chili)

ChiIL out with ChiIL Mama and focus on slow cooking this fall. Crock Pots are an easy, time saving way to fit in a healthy, hot meal during busy school & work days. Using tomatoes in soups, stews and casseroles may also offer more nutrition than fresh. 

Did you know? When tomatoes are heated, the antioxidant lycopene (linked to several health benefits) is released.

Red Gold has been around since the 1940s growing tomatoes in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan, where true seasons positively impact flavor — with just the right angle of the sun, perfect temperature, and soil that seems made for growing tomatoes.

Here's one tasty dinner that's perfect for late summer into fall:

Slow Cooker Macaroni & Cheese

Servings: 8    |    Preparation Time: 15 minutes    |    Cook Time: 240 minutes

2	cups pasta of choice, uncooked
2	tablespoons butter
8	ounces processed American cheese, cut into cubes
8	ounces cream cheese, cut into cubes
1	teaspoon Dijon mustard
1	cup low fat milk
1/2	cup whipping cream
1	(12 ounce) can evaporated milk
1	(14.5 ounce) can Red Gold® Petite Diced Tomatoes With Green Chilies, drained or 2 (10 ounce) cans Red Gold® Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies , drained Place the uncooked pasta in the bottom of a 3.5-qt. crock pot that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Add the remaining ingredients, except RED GOLD® PETITE DICED TOMATOES with GREEN CHILIES, to the slow cooker and stir until well combined. Cook on LOW for 4 hours. Just before serving add RED GOLD® PETITE DICED TOMATOES with GREEN CHILIES; stir to combine. Click here to check out the main Red Gold Website for more tasty recipes for fabulous fall meals that are nutritious and delicious. Disclosure: ChiIL Mama is happy to be an official Red Gold Blogger (and I have the spoon to prove it). We have been sent samples for review purposes, promotional items, and items for our giveaway. It's our pleasure to partner up with Red Gold. As always, all opinions are our own.

NETFLIX NIGHT: Who's Down for Pizza & A Movie? #NetflixKids #Streamteam

Ahhhhh zaaaaaah. Four of the sweetest words in the English language: 

PIZZA AND A MOVIE.

Now that my kids are in 6th and 8th grades, their weeks are busy with gymnastics team, yoga, mentoring, ultimate frisbee, & Anime Club, not to mention school work and homework. My husband and I are both busy freelancers, who work quirky hours, so it's a special treat when we all manage to land on the couch together. One thing we can all get on board with is a family night of pizza and Netflixs movies. 

Disclosure: ChiIL Mama is a proud member of the Netflix Stream Team. We've been compensated for sharing monthly posts with our readers.  As always, all opinions are our own.

Fall is the perfect time to start a Family Movie Night Tradition and make some memories with Netflix. 

I love the tween age and teen years because the kids are still young enough to get a kick out of new animated offerings, like Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, and give me a great excuse to relax and watch with them. I'll admit it. I'm not too mature for kid flixs. 



They're also old enough to "get" classics from our teen years including iconic Chicago flixs like Ferris Bueller's Day Off. They've chosen it twice already and love seeing the city they were born and raised in on screen. Hopefully they're not getting too many devious ideas, but we sure have had a lot of laughs rediscovering old favorites from our own teen years, and enjoying the kids seeing the movies we loved, for the very first time. It's one of my favorite things about parenting... getting to introduce your kids to pop culture you dig and enjoying it anew WITH them.

Check back with ChiIL Mama like we vote in Chi, IL... early and often for great nationwide giveaways & Chicago tickets. We gave away complete seasons of DVDs of H2O to some of our lucky readers as well as loads of advanced screening tickets to Free Birds when it played in theatres, and more. Of course now you can see these movies and shows any time you want, with Netflix! Netflix Titles for Family Movie or TV Night For your little kids: 1. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 2. The Pirate Fairy 3. Hoodwinked 4. Angelina Ballerina 5. Bob the Builder 6. The Muppet Movie For your big kids: 1. Strange Hill High 2. The Avengers 3. The Smurfs 2 4. Star Wars: The Clone Wars 5. Free Birds 6. Mako Mermaids: An H2O Adventure For teens (and you!): 1. Clueless 2. The Breakfast Club 3. Friday Night Lights 4. The Vampire Diaries 5. Ferris Bueller's Day Off 6. 13 Going on 30 Before you sit down to watch one of these titles - or your own family favorite - check out these tips from Common Sense Media on how to make family movie or TV night a success.

Disclosure: Once again, ChiIL Mama is a proud member of the Netflix Stream Team. We've been compensated for sharing monthly posts with our readers.  As always, all opinions are our own.

WIN PROPS FROM how I met your mother Out on DVD 9/23

“HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER” THANKS FANS WITH A CHANCE TO WIN SOME “LEGEND…WAIT FOR IT…DARY” PROPS INCLUDING THE ACTUAL BAR FROM MACLAREN’S “The Prop-Erty Vault” Tumblr Page Will Showcase Incredible Items From The Show’s History and Allow Fans To Take Home Some Memorable Props from Seasons Past “The Whole Story” Featuring All 208 Episodes of the Legendary Series, Including The Highly Anticipated Alternate Ending Comes Home on DVD September 23 It’s time to suit up for a virtual trip down memory lane as Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment launches the ultimate destination for “How I Met Your Mother” fans and a chance for them to take home some of the most iconic props from the show’s nine season run. Over the course of the next five weeks the all-new HIMYMProps.com website will feature props you can enter to win each with an official certificate of authenticity, including such unforgettable items as “Robin’s Vancouver Jersey,” ”Ted’s Hot Dog Costume,” “The Goliath National Bank Hard Hat,” “The Parking Meter” ripped from the street by Barney's father and many more surprises. One lucky fan will have a chance to win the ULTIMATE prize – the actual bar from MacLaren’s complete with bar stools! That’s not all. Tune-in to the site each Monday night at 8:00 PM EST / 5:00 PM PST through October 20 for the “Flash Sweepstakes,” which gives fans a chance to win one amazing prop within a limited three-hour window of time. The first item up for grabs on September 22 is the “Robin Sparkles Pink Boom Box” from Season Two featured in her infamous “Let’s Go to the Mall” music video. ““How I Met Your Mother” has always belonged to the fans,” said show creator Carter Bays. “You guys rooted the show on, made it a part of your life, and spent every Monday night with us for nearly a decade. We will always be grateful for that. As a way of saying thanks, we'd like to give you the opportunity for a piece of “How I Met Your Mother” to actually, physically belong to you. From all of us at “HIMYM,” thanks for watching, and good luck!” Show creator Craig Thomas added, “We hope that you treasure and enjoy these beloved pieces of “HIMYM's” soul, or that you at least don't sell them on eBay." The HIMYMProps.com website allows fans to revisit some of the most recognizable and memorable items from the first two seasons through images, shareable memes and interviews with prop master David Baker and costume designer Reiko Kurumada. Simply find the props that say “Win Me!” on the site and enter for a chance to take them home. First up, fans can enter to win “The Great Lakes Plates” hand-painted by Marshall’s mom from Season One, with the site being updated each Monday with more props and items for fans to learn more about and potentially take home! A complete schedule of when the site will be updated can be found below. With its limited-edition Bro Code Playbook packaging, “How I Met Your Mother” - The Whole Story is available September 23 and makes the perfect gift for the holidays. The collection includes all nine seasons of the Emmy® Award winning show along with the show’s alternate ending fans have been eager to see. A brand new bonus disc comes loaded with featurettes including a complete series retrospective documentary of the series, a piece focusing on the casting of the infamous mother, a look back at how the Mosby kid sequence from the finale was shot back in 2006, the San Diego Comic-Con introduction and panel from 2013, a live table read of the touching series finale and an in-depth look at “The Pineapple Scene” where the mystery of the pineapple is FINALLY revealed! HIMYMProps.com Update Schedule ● Tuesday, September 16 – Seasons One and Two ● Week of September 22 – Seasons Three and Four ● Week of September 29 – Seasons Five and Six ● Week of October 6 – Seasons Seven and Eight ● Week of October 13 – Season Nine About Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment  Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is the industry leading worldwide marketing, sales and distribution company for all Fox produced, acquired and third party partner film and television programing. Each year TCFHE expands its award-winning global product portfolio with the introduction of new entertainment content through established and emerging formats including DVD, Blu-ray™ and Digital HD™. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox.

ChiIL Mama's Adventures With Sassy Moms In The City Back To School Soiree #Sassymomsbts

Ah yes. THAT time of year again. All the kidlets are finally back to school. Thanks to our friends over at Sassy Moms in the City we have some pretty, practical products to make your life easier. And it's not all about the kids either. Chauffeurs, personal shoppers, chefs... AKA: MOMS deserve fun boots, new frames, killer scarves, and fantastic finger foods too!

Sassy Moms In The City Back to School Soiree was a fabulously fun chance to network, see old friends and check out some seriously sweet products to bring put the fun back in functional for back to school.  

Disclosure: Here at ChiIL Mama we love to partner up with the uber organized and always lovely Alison Ray from Sassy Moms in the City, and all the sponsors for this excellent event. We came home with not one but two goodie bags full of great samples for review purposes!

Check out ChiIL Mama's full set of photos in the slide show here and our favorites throughout the post below:



First off, the location was great. I dig blog and press events at Chopping Block. Their cooking demos are excellent and delicious. 

My daughter, Sage, is so stoked with her new favorite self filtering water bottle from Refresh2Go that she's taking to school daily now. We're working on partnering up with them for a giveaway for our readers, so check back with ChiIL Mama like we vote in Chi, IL... early and often!







It was great to get the scoop on comfortable bedding from Dacron, pediped Footwear, air freshners from Fresh Wave, and funky fun frames from Iristocracy. 









Here are a few Instagram shots of ChiIL Mama chiILin' with Iristocracy. We even got to keep the sweet scarves! 

Check out the official event photos from Kevin Hammett Photography right here.

Disclosure: Once again, here at ChiIL Mama we love to partner up with the uber organized and always lovely Alison Ray from Sassy Moms in the City, and all the sponsors for this excellent event. We came home with not one but two goodie bags full of great samples for review purposes!