Holiday Gift Guide 2017 ⋆ My Sparkling Life

The story of Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment’s Minions begins at the dawn of time. Starting as single-celled yellow organisms, Minions evolve through the ages, perpetually serving the most despicable of masters. Continuously unsuccessful at keeping these masters—from T. rex to Napoleon—the Minions find themselves without someone to serve and fall into a deep depression. But one Minion named Kevin has a plan, and he—alongside teenage rebel Stuart and lovable little Bob—ventures out into the world to find a new evil boss for his brethren to follow. The trio embark upon a thrilling journey that ultimately leads them to their next potential master, Scarlet Overkill (Academy Award®-winner Sandra Bullock), the world’s first-ever female super-villain. They travel from frigid Antarctica to 1960s New York City, ending in ‘mod’ London, where they must face their biggest challenge to date: saving all of Minionkind…from annihilation.
Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side, Gravity) heads up an all-star voice cast including Golden Globe and recent Emmy Award®-winner Jon Hamm (“Mad Men,” Bridesmaids), Academy Award-nominee Michael Keaton (Birdman: (Or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance, Toy Story 3), seven-time Emmy Award-winner Allison Janney (“The West Wing,” “Masters of Sex,” “Mom”), Academy Award-nominee Steve Coogan (Despicable Me 2, Philomena), BAFTA Award-winner Jennifer Saunders (“Absolutely Fabulous,” Shrek 2), and Academy Award-winner Geoffrey Rush (The King’s Speech,Pirates of the Caribbean series). The inimitable voices of the Minions are again voiced by Academy Award-nominee Pierre Coffin (Despicable Me, Despicable Me 2) who co-directs with Kyle Balda (Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax). Minions is produced by Illumination Entertainment CEO and founder Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy. Brian Lynch wrote the screenplay, and Chris Renaud serves as executive producer of the film.
Minions, available on Digital HD November 24, 2015, and on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, DVD and On Demand on December 8, 2015 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
Keep up with the Minions #Minions
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In honor of DreamWorks Pictures’ charming new movie THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY starring Helen Mirren, Food Network star Chef Bar Arneson was inspired to create 6 absolutely delicious dishes after she saw the film.
In keeping with the theme of the movie “Every bite takes you home” I am curious to read about what bite takes YOU home…For me it’s my moms homemade meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans. Nothing like a little southern food to lift your spirits!
So, What bite takes YOU home?
Disclosure: This posts materials were provided by a representative of DreamWorks. Momof-3boys.com received no compensation as a condition of this publication. The disclosure is done in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 10 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. For questions or to have your product featured on Mom of 4 Boys, email Becky at fryrebecca3@gmail.com.

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links
Whether there is two of you or ten, you can find everything you need to outfit a family at BuyCostumes.com.
From a legion of superheroes to the cast of Harry Potter, you can find costumes for the entire family, even your dog! Just the two of you? Why not pick from a selection of your favorite crime-fighting duos, pop culture lovebirds or many of the other couples’ costumes and accessories available at BuyCostumes.com.
Here’s a list of costume themes perfect to outfit a cute couple or an entire clan:
If you’ve found the perfect costume theme for your family this Halloween season, head on over to BuyCostumes.com.

5 Tips For Creating Safe Havens for Your Anxious Child
The school environment can pose unique problems for a child with anxiety, especially if the type of anxiety is social anxiety. Often considered a “performance-related” anxiety, children exhibiting social anxiety are often triggered by both the social demands of a school setting and the performance demands within the classroom. The five tips below can help you, and the school, create “safe havens” within the highly social school setting, supporting your child’s anxiety before it develops into school avoidance or worse:
Partner with the teacher and school at the first indication of concern. Don’t wait until the problem is significant to approach the teacher. As soon as your child begins to avoid school or indicate a problem, speak with the teacher to develop strategies early. Doing this can help you avoid the more serious cases of school avoidance.
Develop strategies with the teacher for use within the classroom environment. Many anxious children are triggered by the typical performance demands of a classroom. Work with the teacher to incorporate some of the strategies listed below to minimize the negative impact:
Seat the child next to helpful and calming peers
Work out non-verbal signals to use with the child to signal when the teacher is going to call on him or her.
Provide advanced warning to the child for changes in routine
Establish “safe zones” for the child to use during recess and/or lunch. It is easy for a child with anxiety to be triggered by the noise and energy of the other students during lunch and recess. If this is a trigger for your child, work with the school to establish alternative places for your child to go. Working in another classroom and using the library often work very well for children with anxiety.
Establish “safe” people on campus to function as coaches to your child. Although schools can be huge triggers for children with anxiety, they also provide great opportunities for children to learn and refine social skills and coping strategies. Enlist the help of someone on campus that your child trusts to help your child learn and use social competencies at school.
Make sure the home environment is safe and supportive. As important as it is to mitigate the possible negative impact of the school environment for children with anxiety, it is important to remember that everything starts at home. Making sure that home is a calm and secure environment can establish a foundation of safety that can support the anxious child.
Children who demonstrate extreme shyness and social anxiety-like behaviors can really struggle in school and during social events. Following these tips and adapting them to your specific situation can go a long way toward supporting these children and improving their outcomes. Social anxiety disorder doesn’t have to dominate a child’s life. Providing safe havens can help your child find the balance needed to manage his or her anxieties.
Raising the Shy Child
By Christine Fonseca
The fear of being judged by others in social activities is a common human experience, especially during childhood. But when the fear becomes all-consuming, it can disrupt daily functioning and the development of social competency. Raising the Shy Child: A Parent’s Guide to Social Anxiety takes a fresh look at social anxiety disorder, coupling the latest in research trends with evidence-based strategies and real-world stories to untangle the complexities of this disorder. Presented in an easy-to-read, conversational style, the book uses a combination of real-world examples and stories from adults and children with social anxiety disorder to show parents and educators how to help children find a path through their fear and into social competence. With specific strategies to address school refusal, bullying, and identity issues, Raising the Shy Child is a must-read resource for anyone dedicated to enhancing the lives of children.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Christine Fonseca is a school psychologist and award-winning author of nonfiction and teen novels dedicated to helping children and adults find their unique voice in the world, including the books “Emotional Intensity in Gifted Students,” “The Girl Guide,” and “Quiet Kids.” When she isn’t crafting new stories or working with student groups, she can be found sipping too many skinny vanilla lattes at her local coffee house.
BUY IT
Prufrock Press
March 1, 2015
ISBN: 9781618213983
$16.95
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | IndieBound

There are plenty of myths about diet and exercise, but one of them that isn’t a myth is that when it comes to weight loss and fitness, diet and exercise come hand in hand. It is more effective to increase your activity and start to each more healthy at the same time than it is to do either alone.
Choose a form of exercise you enjoy. It could be that you like dancing, so you go to a dance fitness class at the gym. Maybe you decide to walk to places you would usually drive to. Whatever you choose to do is better than no exercise at all, however, don’t try to do too much before you are ready as it could overwhelm you.
Make sure you are never hungry
A diet plan that leaves you hungry will never work because you will end up caving in and eating something you are not ‘supposed’ to, to rid you of your hunger pains. Not only will you be more likely to give up on your diet if you feel hungry, but you will also be more irritable and unable to concentrate properly. If you want a diet plan, it is better to choose one that allows you to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables so that you do not feel hungry during the day. Foods full of fibre can also help you to feel full, and if you use a smaller plate, you will start serving yourself smaller portions.
Do not ban yourself from eating foods that you love. Stopping yourself from eating them will make you want them more, and there is no harm in treating yourself now and then.
Plan your meals
Having a plan for what you are going to eat in the week will reduce the temptation of a last-minute decision to eat something unhealthy that you bought from the shops. It will also allow you to keep track of what you are eating, and you can make sure that you are not eating as much unhealthy and processed foods. You should also stop buying junk food to have at home, stock up on alternative snacks instead because if you do not have junk food at home, it will reduce any temptation to eat it. Soon you’ll find yourself reaching for the healthy snacks.
Professional help
If you find that you are struggling to lose weight through diet and exercise, then you might have to consider weight loss surgery. If you book an appointment with a bariatric surgeon, they will be able to talk you through the options that might work best for you and explain to you how it would help you through your weight loss journey.

Steven Spielberg returns to executive produce the long-awaited next installment of his groundbreaking Jurassic Park series, Jurassic World. Colin Trevorrow directs the epic action-adventure from a screenplay he wrote with Derek Connolly. Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley join the team as producers.
Twenty-two years after the events of Jurassic Park, Isla Nublar now features a fully functioning dinosaur theme park, Jurassic World, as originally envisioned by John Hammond. After 10 years of operation and visitor rates declining, in order to fulfill a corporate mandate, a new attraction is created to re-spark visitors’ interest, which backfires horribly.
Jurassic World will be released in 3D by Universal Pictures on June 12, 2015.
Genre: Epic Action-Adventure
Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ty Simpkins, Nick Robinson, Irrfan Khan, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jake Johnson, Omar Sy, BD Wong, Judy Greer
Director: Colin Trevorrow
Written by: Derek Connolly & Colin Trevorrow
Based on Characters created by: Michael Crichton
Produced by: Frank Marshall, Patrick Crowley
Executive Producers: Steven Spielberg, Thomas Tull
Continue to follow the countdown on
JurassicWorld.com and visit JurassicWorldMovie.com
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Jurassic World is in theaters everywhere June 12!