my all-time favorite animated children's movies

with the new disney movie brave coming out, it got me to thinking about my favorite children's movies. not in a long time have i wanted to see a disney movie more than this new movie.

movies have always been a big part of my life. my dad took me to my first movie when i was 2 to see the fox and the hound. although i don't actually remember going to see the movie, i take comfort in knowing that just my dad and i went to see that movie together.  

i grew up watching the original animated disney version of cinderella. it was back when vcr's were how you watched movies at home, and it was pretty much the only vhs movie we owned for my age. i loved that movie. when i think back to my childhood, laying on our living room floor watching cinderella was definitely one of my fondest memories. 

for years after that, i never missed a new animated disney movie in the theater...the little mermaid, aladdin, beauty and the beast, the lion king (the movies of my younger days)...but i never loved any of them more than cinderella. 

as i've gotten older, and had children, i have seen my fair share of animated disney movies...finding nemo, toy story, monster's inc, and tangled are all great. i have even enjoyed some of the animated dreamworks movies like shrek, despicable me, and madagascar. there's even some pretty cute animated movies done by sony pictures (cloudy with a chance of meatballs) and warner bros. (happy feet).

but, my absolute favorite has got to be the movie UP. 

death was touched in a way that would not be too dramatic for children in the movie, bambi, and even in dumbo. however, UP was able to depict death with human characters that was beautiful and real. but, not just because the movie has a "great death scene", does it make the movie my favorite.

all too often these days, children's movies have an adult undertone, with jokes and sarcasm only adults will get. although UP has a bit of this, it is definitely a fun, feel good, movie, filled with beautiful color and a wonderful message of friendship. it is an instant mood lifter, and even great to watch when you are sick in bed (been there, done that).

have you seen the movie, brave? what did you think? what is your all-time favorite children's movie? 

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Silly for Silly Bandz!

If you are a parent of a school-age child, then you know all about these Silly Bandz.  At first, I was reluctant to buy into the whole fad of it all, but then I had a flashback of my younger years looking a bit like this...

Silly Bandz of the 80's! 

How could I tell my children "No"? I was sportin' these babies all up and down my arm.  I was in elementary school then, so it doesn't seem to odd that soon-to-be 4 and 5 year old love them too.

Some days, Red will wear them all the way up her arm and then there are days she will wear just a few.  She will even coordinate them with her outfit.  Lately, our afternoon ride home has turned into a show-n-tell of her newest trades.

 Look closely and you can see that Red is wearing a few purple Silly Bandz to match her outfit.

Originally made as fun rubber band shapes for office workers, they now come is a variety of shapes, hundreds in fact! Farm animals, zoo animals, fantasy animals, rain forest animals, sports, dinosaurs, and on and on.  They even come in a variety of colors and styles.  Glitter, camo, tie-dye, glow-in-the-dark.  Silly Bandz usually run between $2-5 depending how many come in the pack.

What a great gift idea!

Wow! Something inexpensive that my child is into.  Thank Goodness!  She just told me the other day that all she wants for her birthday is CLOTHES!  When did this happen?

Are your kids crazy over the whole Silly Bandz fad?