Last month I tweeted about how some lawmakers in California were trying to get laws passed to ban toys in McDonald’s happy meals.  Their reasoning — combating childhood obesity.  Apparently it’s the toy in the Happy Meal that is making our children fat.

Ok, they aren’t exactly arguing that it is the toy that is making our children fat but more so that the toys are drawing the children into wanting those unhealthy meals.  Their thought is that if we get rid of the toys, then kids won’t want the meal.  Really?  Really? Do they really believe that it’s the toy that has minivans lining up in the drive-thru line come dinner time?  I disagree.

Now, don’t get me wrong, some of the toys that McDonalds (and some other fast food chains) offer in their kids meals are pretty cool!  My girls love the Disney Princess dress-up stuff we got a while ago.  And some of the technology involved in their toys is really amazing, for “free” toys.  But I’m not packing the kids up and heading to McDonalds for the toys, no matter how cool they are.  We’re going because it’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s cheap.  Not the healthiest of choices, I’ll admit that!

Today the ladies of The View were talking about this push to rid the Happy Meals of their toys and they brought up some interesting points.  They mentioned making the meals healthier, of course, but if you really want your child to eat a salad instead of a cheeseburger, then order the salad.  You can buy the toy separate if your child can’t live with out it.  The truth is most 8 year olds don’t want the salad.  And if they did, they’d be going somewhere else for dinner.  The truth is that most moms and dads going to McDonalds don’t want the salad either.

Whoopi brought up a really great point, the best point I’ve heard on the topic thus far.  Why punish everyone by removing the toy?  There are a lot of people who do go to McDonalds (children included) who are not obese.  It is a treat for some kids to get a Happy Meal now and again.  Why punish those who don’t have a weight issue by removing the toy just because some people have a problem saying “no” to the daily french fry?

Again, my overall thought on this is that it is not the toy making your kids fat!  I am willing to bet that, even if McDonalds does get rid of their Happy Meal toys, the majority of people who go to McDonalds now will continue to go.  I don’t believe that the lack of Hot Wheels or mini Barbie dolls is going to slow down the traffic in the drive-thru.  Also, from what I’ve noticed and through my experience, it seems that those kids who are obese aren’t necessarily ordering the kids meals off the menu but are going for the larger adult meals instead.

Now, I’m not this huge advocate or spokesperson for McDonalds.  I believe this is true in so many other venues and restaurants.  Let’s take cereal, for example.  They pretty much got rid of toys in cereal boxes a long time ago and I’m willing to bet that the lack of toy has not slowed down the purchase of the sugary cereals lining store shelves.  I don’t believe for one minute that even one customer said, “What? No toy in my Lucky Charms? Forget it! I’ll take the All Bran instead.” Toy or no toy, a majority of kids want the sugary cereal.  Toy or no toy, a majority of kids will still want McDonalds.

We need to stop placing the blame for our health and weight issues, our kids health and weight issues, on others.  On McDonalds.  On sugary cereals.  We need to start taking responsibility as parents for what our children are eating.  Did you watch Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution?  I thought it was so interesting that, despite all of the efforts Jamie was making to get healthy food in the school, kids were still coming to school with lunches packed full of sugar and processed foods.  It all starts in the home.

If you want children to choose healthy foods, then offer them healthy foods…at home.  Don’t rely on McDonalds to do it for you.

What do you think?  Are you all for this Happy Meal toy ban?

This should probably go under one of my Mommy Confessions because I am so terrible about displaying photos of my kids around my house.  It’s not that I don’t love having pictures of my girls on my walls or displayed on shelves, it’s just that I’m so bad about actually printing and then framing those photos!  I have a ton of really cute pictures but they are sitting, cooped up on my computer hard drive.  Right now, the only pictures I have displayed in my house are of Abbi from when she was about 9 months old (she’s almost 4.5yrs now).  Poor Zoe, I don’t even have one photo of her displayed!  And I have zero excuses…especially with an opportunity like this:

I first learned about Canvas People this past fall when my friend Tara told me about them.  I decided to try it out and bought a canvas print of my daughters for my parents for Christmas.  It turned out great!  And I’m a little jealous that I didn’t keep it for myself!

I love canvas prints because it just adds an element of depth and texture to the photos hanging around your house!  There are also so many ways to display them: hang them unframed, frame them, or set them on a shelf or photo stand.

Creating a canvas print at Canvas People is so easy and fast!

Step 1: Simply upload your image.

Step 2: Decide on a size (8×10, 11×11, 11×14, 16×16, 16×20, 18×24).

Step 3: Select a frame or opt to go without a frame.

Step 4: Choose to jazz your photo up a little by changing it to Sepia, Black & White, Pop Art, or Color Enhancement.  Or go with your original photo!

It’s that easy!  And, the very best part about Canvas People is that they are offering 8×10 canvases for FREE! Just pay shipping and you get a beautiful canvas print absolutely free, a $55 value!!!  Now, if you’d rather have a larger canvas, maybe a 16×16 or 18×24, you can use your $55 credit toward that purchase instead.

You are going to love the quality of Canvas People canvases.  And, since they are so affordable, you’re going to love giving them as gifts…if you can bear to part with them! Also, you can be a totally rock star friend and pass along this amazing deal by sending your friends a Free $55 Gift Certificate from Canvas People. At no cost to you, your friends are going to love you even more!  Just look for the link on CanvasPeople.com.

So, now with absolutely zero excuses left, I need to start digging through my photos and get a few more recent photos displayed of my girls before this becomes a pent-up issue for their therapy later on!

*Disclaimer: I am a member of Canvas People’s affiliate program.  However, I am not getting paid to write this post. I just wanted to share this great deal with my readers!

I am hanging my head in shame over here as I tell you that I am, indeed, one of the five people who did not see AVATAR in the theater.  This was a film that both my husband and I really wanted to see in the theater but things just didn’t work out for that to happen.  So, imagine my excitement (and my husband’s extra magnified excitement) when AVATAR was released to DVD yesterday (4/22/10)!

I’m sure you’ve all heard about AVATAR — the film premise, breaking the record as the highest grossing film of all time, and it’s wins at the Oscars® and the Golden Globes®.  The interesting thing is that I actually didn’t know very much about the AVATAR storyline.  At least I realized that I didn’t know very much about it, or that I had the wrong idea of what it was about, when I finally did watch it last night!

Warning:  If you are one of the other five who have not yet seen AVATAR you might want to come back and read this post later.  I’m sure I will be giving away a few spoilers!

It’s the classic Romeo/Juliet story — boy from one world meets girl from another world.  They fall in love.  Their worlds collide and choices have to be made. The difference between this film and other Romeo/Juliet type stories are the themes of loyalty, showing and truly respecting the world around us, and the connections throughout nature, both living and not.

The film itself has incredible cinematography and some amazing action.  The acting, of course, is great (I feel as though every character was casted perfectly) and the storyline draws you in from beginning to end (which is very helpful since the film is over 2.5 hours long).  I know the themes running throughout the film (military vs. “tree-huggers”, preservation of nature vs. industry, to name a few) have resulted in quite a few heated debates, but, at the very least, they provoke conversations and really make you take a look at things going on in our world.  At least they did for me.

Regardless of how you feel about the themes or messages being taken from the film, AVATAR is an extraordinary all-encompassing experience and I would highly recommend watching it!

The release of AVATAR (rated PG-13) to Blu-ray and DVD seems a little early, by film standards, but was timely with the celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day.  This seemingly early release is a very basic Blu-ray/DVD, featuring only the film and no special bonus features (a more extensive dvd is to be released this November).  This may disappoint some fans but the dvd does come with a  special that you can enter online at www.avatarmovie.com/register and gain access to exclusive first looks and sneak peeks, content and updates, and money saving offers.  Also, as a part of the AVATAR Program, fans can be a part of the worldwide effort to plant one million trees!

Chairman & CEO Fox Film Entertainment Tom Rothman, actress CCH Pounder, Producer Jon Landau, director James Cameron, wife Suzy Amis and Chairman & CEO Fox Film Entertainment Jim Gianopulos plant first tree in North America symbolizing the one million tree initiative on behalf of the “Avatar” Blu-ray disc and DVD release on Earth Day held at Twentieth Century Fox Studio Lot on April 22, 2010 in Los Angeles, California.

The extra features that you have access to as an AVATAR dvd owner are actually downloaded to your computer.  While glancing through the extras was pretty neat, I don’t see myself accessing that program again on my computer.  Sadly I could not get the “Become an AVATAR” feature to work for me.  I do see these being something a real AVATAR fan will enjoy much more!

With all that said, I would definitely give the film itself two very big thumbs up and the bonus materials just one thumb up.  I am definitely looking forward to the November release of the more extensive dvd, which will hopefully include more “behind the scenes” and “the making of” documentaries!

AVATAR is currently available on Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo and Standard DVD, is rated PG-13, and has a runtime of 162 minutes.

*Disclaimer: I did receive a complimentary copy of AVATAR on dvd from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment so that I could bring you a personal and accurate review.  Receiving complimentary product in no way influences my opinions stated here.

This is more of a “Me Confession” than a “Mommy Confession” but it something I wanted to talk about for a while, nonetheless. Public Bathrooms. They completely freak me out. It’s really has nothing to do with thought that the bathroom might be filthy or stink like something died in their or even the looking infestation of germs or disease or bugs or whatever! It’s the idea that there might be some creepy person lurking in the stall down the way. Crazy, I know!

I think my fear comes from all of those stupid horror/suspense movies I’ve watched and even a few episodes of Law and Order.  You know the scene — girl goes into the bathroom…creepy man/stalker/killer appears from one of the closed stalls…girl winds up dead.  I did mention I was crazy, right?  It’s not the restrooms where it’s a single stall that you’re the only one in there and you can lock the door behind you.  It’s the bigger restrooms with more than one stall where you have no idea if someone is hiding in one of those other stalls.

Case in point — Copycat (1995) starring Sigourney Weaver, Holy Hunter, Dermot Mulroney, and Harry Connick, Jr.  I really blame this film for my irrational fear.  There is a scene in the film where Sigourney Weaver’s character is in a public restroom and there is another lady a few stalls down.  But it’s not a lady.  It’s her stalker who is wearing women’s shoes to disguise himself.  Of course he ends up trying to kill her in the bathroom.  And…well I won’t completely spoil the film if you’ve never scene it.

Here is how much this fear affects me: I would rather use a nasty, dirty, stinky single stall gas station bathroom than a perfectly clean multi-stall bathroom.  If I have to use a multi-stall public restroom, I make sure I’m with someone…either in the bathroom or they are waiting for me outside.  Yes, crazy.

So, what are some of your crazy fears or ways that movies/tv has influenced you?  What’s your confession?

A few weeks ago, the girls received a package from Angela, their old babysitter who is now off living in the real world as a nurse.  In the package were items for them to play dress-up as nurses/doctors.  The girls were so excited that Miss Angela sent them their very own nurses outfits and love dressing up in them.  They even got their daddy to dress up one night!

For more Wordless Wednesday fun and to link up your WW post, visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

Last week was the Ultimate Blog Party at 5 Minutes for Mom and, like all good things, it just had to come to an end.

Just like most good parties, I feel like I just didn’t get enough time to visit as many blogs/meet as many people as I would have liked to.  Thankfully the list of the 2300 blogging participants is going to be permanent fixture at 5 Minutes for Mom!  I’m planning on revisiting that list often this summer and finding some new blogs to read during those lazy summer afternoons!

Even though I didn’t get a chance to visit a ton of blogs last week, I did find quite a few that I have added to my reader list, including these:

Eli’s Lids — I’ve been following her on Twitter for what seems like forever but just found her blog at the UBP.  She had a fun blog and also makes some really amazing hats for kids!

Mommy Moment

Hope Springs Eternal

It Feels Like Chaos

Moomette’s Magnificents

Nugglemama’s Handful

And, an after party just wouldn’t be complete without some after party drinks!

Each of those drinks are made with Old Orchard Healthy Balance juice, which I had the opportunity to personally try and love it!  Healthy Balance features 13 flavors that have 75% less sugar, calories, and carbs than traditional varieties of 100% juice.  The juice is delicious as is, in a smoothie, or, of course, in a cocktail!

As a “Thanks for coming to the After Party” gift, I am giving away FREE Healthy Balance Juice!  The first 9 people to fill out the form below will receive 2 “FREE 20oz of Healthy Balance Juice” coupons!

One of my favorite ways to celebrate Earth Day is to be reminded of the awesomeness of our planet.  The power that can be found in a sand storm across the African desert.  The playfulness of a mother polar bear as she emerges from her den at the onset of Spring. The sense of community as thousands of caribou migrate together.

It’s no secret, I love animals.  I love watching nature shows as they follow these amazing animals through their battles with the elements, seasons, and predators.  How male penguins huddle together to keep their eggs, and each other, warm and protected from the fierce arctic wind.  Or how the monkeys tiptoe through the spring rivers with a complete look of disgust on their face (reminds me of my kids).

The nature videos that I’m talking about specifically is the BBC Earth series Planet Earth.

Planet Earth an the 11-part video series that presents an amazing story of life on Earth.  The videos take you on a journey to 204 locations in 62 different countries as you explore and follow the lives of the creatures that live there.  Experience everything from the Cave of Swallows in Mexico to the icy worlds of the Arctic and the Antarctic.

This video series, originally airing on the Discovery Channel in 2007, is the precursor to Life, the BBC nature series currently airing on the Discovery Channel.  Planet Earth is currently available to download through the iTunes Store with episodes priced at $1.99 SD/$2.99 HD or purchase the series for $20.99 SD/$31.99 HD.  This is a great video series to enjoy with the family and I must say that the HD video is amazing!

As a special Earth Day treat, from now until April 26, 2010, you can download and enjoy a FREE episode of Planet Earth!  Simply visit the iTunes Store and begin downloading your free full-length episode of “Pole to Pole”.  Remember, this offer is only good until April 26, 2010, so don’t wait!

Watching amazing nature videos like Planet Earth and Life are great ways to celebrate Earth Day and remind yourself (and your family) of the true awesomeness that exists on our planet and the importance of protecting it!

It’s Earth Week!  Ok, I know that technically it’s just supposed to be Earth Day (April 22) but, I figure if I can declare the week of my birthday my Birthday Week, so can the Earth!  So we’re going to celebrate Earth Week here at Stacey Says with some fun posts!

I’m going to go out on a limb (no Earth Day pun intended) and say that it is no coincidence that the blockbuster hit, AVATAR, is being released to dvd and Blu-ray on April 22, Earth Day! One of the major themes in this Oscar® and Golden Globe® winning epic is the importance of preserving the natural world around us.  That is why, with the dvd and Blu-ray release of AVATAR, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is teaming up with Earth Day Network to bring you “The Avatar Program“.

The AVATAR Program

Between the April dvd release of AVATAR and November, when an ultimate edition of AVATAR will be released on dvd with immersive bonus materials, fans will find a unique code inside the AVATAR Blu-ray/DVD.  That code allows them to register at www.AvatarMovie.com and gives them exclusive access to first-look bonus materials, special content, money saving offers, and more!  The best part though…that code allows you to be able to adopt one of the 1 Million trees being planted on behalf of Earth Day!

“I am pleased to have the opportunity to share the environmental messages from AVATAR through the efforts during the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day and with Earth Day Network,” said James Cameron. “Earth Day Network’s commitment and actions to promote a healthy, sustainable planet go hand-in-hand with the themes of AVATAR.”

This initiative to plant 1 Million trees is being spearheaded by Earth Day Network, an international non-profit organization that coordinates Earth Day programs annually.  The planted trees will be distributed over 15 different countries and will be indigenous to each region.  The 1 Million trees will be planted by the end of 2010 but Earth Day Network and its international partners are committed to caring for and nurturing the trees to maturity!

“AVATAR sends a universal message about the danger of exploiting our natural resources and brings to the forefront of the global consciousness the need to protect our planet and humanity,” said Kathleen Rogers, President, Earth Day Network. “We hope this commitment from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment to plant one million trees, will inspire others to stand up against climate change for Earth Day.”

If you are thinking of picking up the AVATAR Blu-ray/DVD this week (or any time), I hope you’ll consider taking a few minutes to register with the “The AVATAR Program” online and help plant a tree!  As a participant in “The AVATAR Program” you will receive a virtual hometree that you can locate on a map and actually see where it is being planted!

This is a great and simple way to get your whole family involved in Earth Day!  Your kids will have fun seeing where their tree has been planted and will learn that Earth Day is a global initiative.  I would even challenge you to plant a tree in your own backyard or check to see if organizations in your area are joining together on an Earth Day project.  The Earth Day Network has some local events listed right on their website!

Also, check back later this week for my review of the AVATAR dvd, where I will be talking more about some of the special features from the dvd!

This morning I was up and showering before the rest of the family made their way out of bed. I had my sneakers on and was leaving the house before breakfast hit the table. An hour later I was freezing as my thin fleece pullover was no match for the wind whipping across the lake, but I was happy. I was with friends. And I was walking for Olin!

This morning was the March of Dimes March for Babies in Holland.  I was walking in honor of Olin, the son of Christine and Brad (friends from college), who was born 14 weeks early.  Weighing just 1 lb 9 oz., Olin spent the first 115 days of his life in the hospital.  Now he is home and on his way to being a healthy and happy little boy.

Olin and his parents are my personal connection to the March of Dimes.  They are what sparked my interest in walking this year and it is because of them that I will walk next year and the year after that, in hopes of raising more money to help March of Dimes in their efforts to fight infant mortality and premature births.

So, I did mention that it was pretty cold this morning, right?  As in 40 degrees.  And windy.  Oh the wind!  But it didn’t stop hundreds of people from coming to walk, including Lisa and Jenny (also college and sorority friends) and even a few current active members from our sorority:

Then there is Jodi.  Jodi has no actual personal connection to Olin or his parents.  Other than the fact that she has a huge heart!  When I said that I would be walking at the March of Dimes March for Babies and asked if anyone would join me, Jodi was the first to say Hell YES! Or maybe it was Count Me In.  One of those.  Anyhow, this is just another reason why I love being around Jodi!  We spent the entire 5 miles chatting, running into people she knew, and freezing.  Together.  I could not have asked for a better walking partner!

The biggest Rock Stars of this whole event were the amazing people who sponsored me for this walk!  Not only did I meet my goal of $250, but, because of their amazing generosity, my sponsors helped me raise $300!  Seriously?  You guys are awesome.  So thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to:  Bernie & Paula, Ben & Laura, my parents, my in-laws, Rachel & Brandon, Marc & Laura, Aunt Karen, Aunt Deb, Carmen, and Tara & Scott! You guys have humbled me with your generosity!

Despite the fact that my legs hurt and I still feel like I’m unthawing (yes, I’m a wimp), walking this morning for such an amazing cause made every little bit worth it and I’m looking forward to doing it again next year!  Oh, and I’m rooting for Brad, Christine, and Olin and their team who will be walking in Chicago next weekend…Keeping my fingers crossed for warm and wind-free weather for you!

A few months ago my sister asked me why my husband was always telling people where he was. Isn’t he worried about people stalking him? She was talking about his status updates on his Facebook account that were coming his Twitter account that were coming from his FourSquare account.  Did you follow that?

First off, no, he’s not worried about stalkers.  But we’ll discuss that topic in another post.  Right now I want to introduce you to these new Location-Based Social Media apps and talk about why they are becoming so popular.

Location-Based Social Media is simply another way for people to connect with others.  The difference is that, instead of just telling people what it is that you are doing, you are telling people where you are doing it. The simplest breakdown is that you go to a place (restaurant, store, park, etc.), open the app (via your mobile phone or computer), and check-in (tell people you are there).  The two most popular of these Location-Based Social Media apps are FourSquare and Gowalla.

FourSquare is the pioneer of sorts of Location-Based Social Media.  At least it’s the one that I first heard about and tried.  FourSquare has a pretty simple and classic user interface, which I really like.  You can add places if no one has been there, see if anyone has made a suggestion for the place you are at (or you can make a suggestion), and see where your friends have recently been.  You earn points for your different check-ins that you can then compare where you rank with your friends and earn “badges”.  And you can even become Mayor of these different locations!

Gowalla has a user interface that is a little more jazzed up.  The premise is basically the same — go somewhere, check in, add it if it’s not in the data base — but the images and icons are a little more fun.  Instead of earning points for your check-ins, on Gowalla you earn “stamps”, “pins”, and “items”.  You can also create and participate in “trips” which are basically a set of check-ins that you group together and share with your friends.  And, by checking in on Gowalla, you can see who else has checked-in at that location.

Both apps allow you to share your locations and check-ins with your friends either through the push notifications  by that app or through Twitter.

So, why use Location-Based Social Media?  Well, a few reasons…

1. You’re connecting with others. Isn’t that why we are using social media to begin with?  FourSquare and Gowalla just take your social media experience another step further.
2. You’re competitive. Not so much with Gowalla (I still haven’t figured out the purpose of the “stamps”, “pins”, and “items you’re carrying”), but the point system on FourSquare creates a little bit of competition between you and your friends.  I love pointing out to my husband when I’m ahead of him on the Leaderboard and get a little excited when I see “Congratulations, You’ve become the Mayor of…” come up on my phone!  (And I get pretty irritated when someone takes that mayorship away from me. Yes, you can lose your mayorship just as easily as you can get it!)  I believe it is this competitive feeling that keeps me checking-in at each place I go to during the day.
3. It’s your own personal travel guide! If reasons 1 & 2 don’t really jive with you, then maybe this one might.  While you may not use FourSquare or Gowalla on a daily basis, these are great tools to use when in a new city.  Just by opening the app you can see the different stores, restaurants, coffee shops, museums around you and even get suggestions as to what you might enjoy eating, drinking, or doing in that area.

I’ve been using both FourSquare and Gowalla for about a month (actually, I’ve been using FourSquare longer than that) and I personally like FourSquare better.  Call it egotistical or chalk it up to my competitive nature, but I like being the Mayor of IHOP and Jet’s Pizza and it bothers me that I was ousted as the Mayor of Meijer!  I guess you could say that FourSquare and Gowalla are a little like the Farmville of Facebook.  You start out just checking it out and then you get sucked in!

If you want to know more about FourSquare and Gowalla you can check them both out online.  But the best way to really experience them is to download them and try them out!  Both apps work with iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, and Palm software.  I’d love to hear your thoughts!

In the mean time, in the upcoming weeks, I’m going to be doing posts about the relevance of Location-Based Social Media for businesses and the safety of putting your personal information out into the internet with apps like FourSquare, Gowalla, and Twitter.