ALADDIN Diamond Edition Digital Copy

The next evolution of the Marvel Cinematic Universe brings a founding member of The Avengers to the big screen for the first time with Marvel Studios’ “Ant-Man.” Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, master thief Scott Lang must embrace his inner hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.
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Visit the official ANT-MAN site
ANT-MAN opens in theaters everywhere on July 17th!

Traveling with kids can be exhausting and sometimes a logistical nightmare, especially when you’re in need of extra sleeping arrangements. With 4 boys it’s always hard to find sleeping arrangements for everyone…they usually end up on a pile of blankets in the floor, which isn’t always fun for the older one. This holiday season, pack Kid-O-Bunk – a new travel sleep solution for kids.
Because it uses patented lock-in discs, there are no tools needed for assembly – just snap and lock in the discs to configure into a stackable bunk, two single cots or a bench. The hygienic, machine-washable polyester sleeping deck conforms to the child’s body shape for contoured comfort.
It packs down into its own zippered carrying bag for easy storage and transport and comes with matching side organizers. Available at Target.com and Cabela’s in lime green and teal.
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Hop aboard the Sit-to-Stand Ultimate Alphabet Train by VTech! This train is designed to grow with your child and can be used for floor play or as a ride on that also transforms into a walker. When your little conductor gets older, the caboose converts into a wagon they can fill with toys and pull along to develop gross motor skills. Play ten activities while learning letters, numbers, colors and more. The train also helps build fine motor skills with a variety of manipulative features including a storybook, clock, gears and 13 doubled-sided letter blocks that your little one can plug into the side of the train to learn letters and build their vocabulary. The train also counts the blocks when they’re dropped down the chute! For role-play fun, pick up the walkie-talkie and press the number buttons to pretend to talk to animal friends. Take a ride on the learning express with this ultimate alphabet train!
Sit-to-Stand Ultimate Alphabet Train (Ages 12-36 months; MSRP: $49.99)
Kids can play ten activities while learning letters, numbers, colors and more
The train helps build motor skills with six manipulative features including a storybook, clock, gears and 13 double-sided letter blocks that little ones can plug into the side of the train to learn letters and build their vocabulary
When little conductors get older, the caboose converts into a wagon they can fill with toys and pull along to develop gross motor skills
My 2-year-old absolutely LOVES this toy! There are so many ways to play! It has lights, sounds and songs, plus it is a rideable train or push toy ! It only took minutes to put together, just a few pieces snap on and a few stickers to place. He loves pushing all the buttons to see what sounds or music will come out, and he loves that he can ride on it! It provides letter activities which will be great to continue to work on as he grows. Each “Block” fits in a slot on the side of the train and has corresponding “activities”. He also loves the slot where you can place your “blocks” and they slide down into the space under the seat.
Right now he’s mastered so many things just in the last 6 months! He learned to climb stairs all by himself…balance on his balance bike, and most recently we are working on counting, colors, alphabets, animals, and potty training…so much for such a little guy, but he can already count to 3 and knows most of his animals!
Ever wonder how some of these toys come to life? I know ME TOO!
VTech® works closely with a panel of children’s learning experts on the development of its infant and preschool learning products. In this panel are 6 experts including Dr. Lise Eliot, Early Childhood Mental Development Expert. Insight from these experts are featured in an online Developmental Milestones resource that offers parents guidelines and recommendations to help them select toys based on the individual needs of children from birth to nine years old. The categories explain different characteristics and occurrences that your child is faced with at each specific age and developmental stage, and are then followed by recommended products that are the most appropriate and beneficial. The milestones are broken down by age and three categories of development:
Language and Cognitive
Social and Emotional
Physical and Motor
We were able to send out questions over to the panel to be answered…below you will find the questions and answers to help you with your concerns about your childs’ development.
In this day of pushing children to do everything earlier and earlier, what age range is truly developmentally appropriate for early reading skills?
As always, it depends on the child, but for the average kid, age 5-6 is plenty early to begin formal reading instruction. Before that age, focus on your child’s mastery of the alphabet and letter sounds. ABC books are great for this, especially if they have clever pictures that tell a story using many words with the same beginning sound. Rhyming books and songs are also great for teaching letter sounds, so once children start focusing on letter patterns, they will already be familiar with the rhyming sounds they make. You can also look for toys that serve as vocabulary builders, like VTech’s Spinning Lights Learning Hippo, which promote phonics and language development that can help with early reading skills.
My youngest seems to be developing later than her older siblings, is this normal and is there anything I can do to encourage her progress? If she is delayed when it comes to early Milestones, will it affect her progress later?
Every child develops differently, so if you have two kids, there is almost no way they will develop on the same timetable. Parents and teachers tend to focus on the more overt milestones, like vocabulary and motor skills. But children are learning in many domains simultaneously, and chances are that your child is absorbing plenty about the social and physical world which may not be obvious from her behavior. Unfortunately, our school culture awards children who mature faster, so look for ways to counteract this for your daughter by finding other areas (art, music, crafts, building toys, sports, dance, etc.) in which she can develop confidence.
What are some inexpensive toys or games that will help encourage gross motor skills in my children?
The least expensive way to build motor skills is to go outside! The extra room is often all kids need to start running, skipping, and jumping in ways that parents often frown on indoors. Your nearest playground adds opportunity for climbing and swinging that also build children’s strength, stamina and coordination. If you are looking or something for your own yard, hang a tree swing, or purchase a jump rope or a soccer goal and ball. A tumbling mat is also a great addition for indoors if you have room in your basement or playroom. And if your child is old enough (5+) for organized sports, many communities have recreational leagues that are less expensive than the fancier club sports.
If my 18-month-old is not speaking words yet, what can I do as a parent to help them with their development?
The most important stimulation any young child receives is verbal–talk to your baby; sing to him; read to him; engage him in “dialogue” even if you are only pretending that his babbles make sense. Your child understands words, even if he cannot say them, and will appreciate the sense of being understood. However, if your child really has no spoken vocabulary at 18 months, you should talk to your pediatrician, who may refer you to a speech therapist.
How do I encourage my 12-month-old to walk, when he seems content to crawl everywhere?
Don’t worry about it! Crawling is a delightful, too-short phase that many children skip outright. And yet, there is evidence that crawling develops a child’s visual-spatial abilities in unique ways that walking cannot replicate. As long as your child is learning to balance on two feet (holding on to a coffee-table or walker toy like VTech’s Sit-to-Stand Ultimate Alphabet Train) he will eventually master those first independent steps. Before long, he’ll be running and racing and you will barely remember this adorable crawling phase.
WIN IT
One (1) lucky My Sparkling Life Reader is going to win a VTech Sit-to-Stand Ultimate Alphabet Train!! This giveaway is open to residents of the US who are 18+ until 11:59 PM EST Dec 4, 2015.
The Fine Print: Entering this giveaway means that you accept both my rules & disclosure. I will notify winner via e-mail and they will have 48 hours to reply before I am forced to redraw winners. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Each household is only eligible to win this prize via blog reviews and giveaways once. Only one entrant per mailing address per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you will not be eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification. Many will enter, few will win! Please allow 8-12 weeks for delivery of prizing. My Sparkling Life is not responsible for any lost or misdirected packages. Prizing provided and shipped by VTech. In the rare occasion that a prize does not arrive (which has happened), please notify me.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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Wanting to be an ally to a struggling friend or relative is a beautiful start, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to be helpful past your intent. After all, you may wish to simply help them live life by taking care of everything for them, only to realize that this is suppressing their growth and even enabling their habit. Sometimes tough love is needed, and sometimes it is not. With our following advice, you should be able to navigate this confusing space with care and compassion:
Be Objective & Reasonable
Be as objective and as reasonable as you can be when communicating with them. Instead of blaming them for acting differently, trying to guilt-trip them or come across as aggressive, be firm and fair with your responses. Let them know that you are concerned about them, an that you’re here for them. Don’t sugarcoat the work that may need to be done, or how you hope for them to recover. It can sometimes be that having an objective and totally honest friend like this could be the most hopeful part of their lives right now.
Help Them Help Themselves
You cannot help someone who refuses to help themselves, but if they are willing to try, this can be a fantastic thing to consider. Remember, recovery is rarely linear, but it can be that when struggling they learn to slowly get stronger each time they try. Driving them to the Doctor, or to their job shifts to help settle their debts, or helping them write a CV and allow them to practice their interview technique could help them gain that vital first step out towards achieving their independence once more.
Recommend Professional Help
Sometimes, a friend truly needs professional help. If addicted to a harmful substance, for example, there’s no much you can do as a friend who maybe untrained in such matters. It could be helping them take that first step to a heroin addiction treatment center, for example, will set events in motion that lend to their recovery, potentially even saving their life. Sometimes, alongside their family, it’s important to apply tough love and to put them in the right circumstances for help, without force or aggression, but with a caring and loving attitude. This can help you also lose some of the impossible burdens you may have otherwise placed on yourself – as you need to take care of your life too.
With this advice, we hope you can be a great friend to a struggling individual – just as you intend to be.

It’s almost Valentine’s Day and you should see the SinfulColors Flirt With Heart display up at your local retailers! This years Valentine’s Day display features your traditional reds and pinks, but they also throw in some bright purple and teal.
I have 4 shades to share with you…
Daredevil was hands down my favorite of the 4 I received…if you spot it and love pinks grab it before its gone! This is a neon pink with a shimmer throughout. I used 2 coats…
Love Sprinkles is a Limited Edition glitter top coat for Valentine’s Day! Love Sprinkles contains pale pink hexagons and white hearts. I used 1 coat of Love Sprinkles over Dare Devil. I did have to fish for the heart I got in these photos…but I think once I use it a bit more, I will have no problem getting them out.
GoGo Girl is the perfect candy apple red. Red is my second favorite nail color to use…the Love Sprinkles would look fab on top of GoGo Girl too! I used 2 coats.
I’ve never really been a blue fan, it’s just not my color…but I LOVE this teal Rise & Shine color! It might not be your traditional valentines day color, but it would really look great on a v-day night out. I used 2 coats.
I am happy with the 4 shades I received. Daredevil is the stand out for me and a must have for pink lovers. Love Sprinkles is limited edition, so if you see it and think you might want it…grab it so you don’t miss it.
cost: $1.99
Do you do the standard pink and red shades, or would you step out in the teal for Valentine’s Day?
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”