A few weeks ago Redbox contacted me and asked if I would be interested in having a little get-together with family & friends, and a few movies and/or game rentals, courtesy of them. Redbox provides a super-convenient DVD, Blu-ray, and video game (supported systems: Nintendo Wii, Sony Playstation 3, and Xbox 360). Rentals start at just $1 per rental per day. Besides offering thousands of new releases and popular hits at an affordable rate, Redbox offers the utmost convenience in terms of their kiosks being located in many popular locations. In our zip code alone there are 50 kiosks – one of which just four miles away (I live in a very rural area, and in these parts, four miles is practically “within walking distance”).
Redbox kiosks are incredibly easy and intuitive to use. Simply use the touch-screen controls to browse selections based on genre, and narrow down your selections based on format (DVD or Blu-Ray; the appropriate game system, etc.). Of course, there’s also the alphabetical option, which is great if you know exactly what you want and don’t want to waste time browsing. You can add as many items as you’d like to one order, and the checkout system is easy and quick.
We picked out several movies, including Mr. Popper’s Penguins as the chosen family movie, Super 8 for Dan, and The Help for me.
We made several attempts to plan small parties with family and friends, but due to the holidays, illnesses, and a few other issues, it just didn’t happen before Christmas, or even before New Year’s. Our opportunity came last weekend – Dan was off, all of the kids were home, and our friend Jason came over. We had perfect family-friendly/party-appropriate food: mini-cheeseburgers; deliciously seasoned fries; sodas, tea, and juice; and for snacking, some candy and a giant bowl of freshly popped buttered popcorn. Prior to eating and settling down for a movie we even played a round of Bingo!
Thanks to Redbox, we had an excellent Family Movie Night! The kids are old enough to sit through entire movies without fidgeting, and both Alyssa and Ryan really enjoyed having quality time with them and us, and without any interruptions, for several hours. Having delicious movie-theater-quality popcorn to go with a movie-theater-quality movie (thank you Blu-ray, HD television, and surround sound!) was just icing on the cake. ♥
Winter weather may be keeping most of us indoors these days, and post-Christmas budgeting may mean limiting ourselves to cheaper activities, and that’s where Redbox comes in! For less than $10 (movie rental + drinks + popcorn), you’ve got yourself a very fun night of family enjoyment set up for yourself.
Disclosure: Smiley360 & Redbox provided me with free products in exchange for my honest opinion.
This morning I asked Alyssa (and, okay, there may have been some bribery involving hot pink glitter) to let me put her hair in pigtails. Only while I was parting her hair (something I still suck at, despite having a daughter with hair of partable length for a good seven years!), I decided to braid the pigtails, instead. Alyssa’s only concern was that they might stick up or out, so I made sure to do low braids that started behind her ears. Alyssa is definitely a girly-girl – I can definitely envision titanium womens jewelry and Sephora gift cards in her stocking when she’s a teen. But she’s so opposed to doing anything with her hair, or letting me do anything with it. Yet she complains when I have to douse her hair with detangler and water and go after the knots and tangles as gently as possible. But she doesn’t want it cut short, either. Alyssa needs to learn that when it comes to long hair, there is styling and maintenance involved – she can’t have her cake and eat it too. 
Yesterday Amanda, Krystal, and Brandy all came to my house! Earlier last week Amanda asked if I’d like to come to her house on Sunday, and I said sure. Then, closer to the weekend, she’s all, “Not to change plans but…WE’RE COMING TO YOUR HOUSE!” and asked about Krystal coming, and then we were like, “Well Brandy should come too, since she and Krystal live so close to one another!”
So everyone made it, which is extra awesome because I made a double batch of egg noodle lasagna (of course I overdid the noodles1, and finishing off the lasagna in the crockpot instead of in the oven made the whole concoction a little mushier, but it was still well-received, so oh well), Dan put together a cute meat & cheese tray, I had dinner rolls warming in the oven, fixings for Italian salad, and mini-cupcakes for dessert. What can I say? I like to feed people. EAT UP! I also sent home leftovers with everyone.
Alyssa wasn’t overly flouncy or dramatic, as she sometimes is when people come over, and Ryan kept his pants on and his hands out of everyone’s cleavage (except mine). In fact, the three kids (Amanda brought Sophie) did great with occupying themselves, first with playing outside, then playing inside, even though after a short period of time it looked like a Littlest Pet Shop factory threw up in my living room. Alyssa was charming, and Ryan was oh-so-endearing with his continued inability to pronounce Ls and Ws (Kwystal, Bwandy… does it get any cuter than that?!). Leah, for once, didn’t bark her stupid head off, and of course the cats (Fritzy, mostly) were curious about the newcomers.
(Photo-bombed by sproglets clutching stuffed animals and crackers!)
I had SUCH a great time, horrific, hellalicious menstrual cramps aside (I kept myself nicely medicated on Midol, muscle relaxants and pain meds, and only felt like I was going to nod off a few times), and I hope we can all get together again sometime soon!
- I always forget that they cook faster than regular spaghetti ↩
Three day weekends. Blech. I never understood why parents moaned about them so much until I became a parent. Now I get it. I love my kids, I love spending time with them and doing things with them. But I work from home, and I need a good 4-6 hours of uninterrupted time in order to take care of everything that’s on my plate day after day. With kids in the house, I’m lucky to get 15 minutes of uninterrupted time. And it can be kind of difficult to write a research-style article about mens titanium rings when Alyssa wants me to read with her or Ryan wants to show me his latest words and sentences.
Oh well. On days like this I just shut off the computer and relax in the living room with a good book – and sproglets. And once they’re in bed — like now — I can get back to writing about mens wedding bands or doing whatever it is I need to do on a particular day.
