Pixar scores big with UP

Today my son and I went to see UP. We both loved the movie. I'll say right up front that this was a near flawless film and it was one of the few animated films that kept me captivated every single second of the film. Pixar movies just keep getting better and better. I didn't think they could top Wall-E, but I think they did with UP.

A few comments. I do not think that this is a great film for very young kids. There were plenty of the two-year old set at our matinee and a lot of serious crying at the scary parts. And there are a couple of REALLY scary parts.

If you have a child that is unsure or unfamiliar with dogs, you're going to have a lot of explaining to do. This film does not portray dogs in the best light, especially pit bull-type dogs. They were scary and threatening and I know that my children would have been scared within an inch of their lives had them been younger than 5 or 6.

Adults should bring a hankie with them. This is a very poignant film with some pretty adult themes, like infertility, and it's a real tearjerker. The love story you've heard about is lovely, but death is going to be hard for young kids to handle.

Otherwise, loved everything about it. There were a lot of good laughs, especially around the young scout who reminded me so much of my own son. Ed Asner did a magnificent job of combining his curmudgeon side and his very loveable side. He's always been one of my favorite character actors anyhow, but now my love for him is even stronger.

Doug the dog. Hilarious. So sweet and so misunderstood. He was the only nice dog in the entire lot of dogs, and I like that they made him a golden retriever rather than a doberman, rottweiller, or pit bull like the other dogs. It made him easily distinguishable for younger kids.

The house. It flew by balloons. Incredulous, but hey, it's a movie.

The bad guy was really really bad and he brought the tension up every time he appeared on screen. And the fact that he was living in an airship from the 40's kinda bothered me. Just how did he keep the zeppelin inflated? And what was he feeding those dogs and how did he get that food all the way up atop paradise falls? Hmmmm.

I highly recommend this film and give it my 5 popcorns stamp of approval!

A sight you've never seen before

And will probably never see again.

This is Route 128, aka Rt 95 which makes an inner loop around the city of Boston.

This is at 2:30 pm on a Friday.

There are no cars in front of us.



There are no cars behind us.



There are state troopers blocking off every single entrance between Newton and Sharon disallowing anyone to get on the highway.



Not one single car.



Except a very long funeral procession.

The cleared the highway just for us.



This wasn't a famous person. He wasn't a government official. He was just a guy, an engineer, a dad, a husband, a boy scout leader. Nobody you've ever heard of.

But for some reason, which nobody seems to know why, they closed the entire highway for his funeral.

The procession went 35 miles a hour down the empty highway. It was decidedly weird.

Save a life, blow up a dummy

Mom Central asked me to review a kit called Family & Friends, CPR Anytime, that teaches adults and older kids how to perform CPR. The kit contains a video, and a funny and slightly scary blow up dummy. Both of our cats were petrified of the dummy. This kit was sent out for review in honor of CPR and AED Awareness Week sponsored by the American Heart Association.

We watched the video which was informative and went through each of the steps for saving a life in a manner that older kids could understand easily. It was well done, and not quite as panicky as it might have been, so I give the manufacturer, Learning Technology by Laerdal big kudos for that.

The dummy... well, it has kind of a creepy face. I mean it wasn't a smiling clown or a porn doll with a huge mouth or anything, it was what they call a learning manikin named "mini Anne". Only Anne wasn't so mini, and she looked just like a man. Or a very bald rubber woman with a face, a padded but flat chest, and that's about it. No arms or legs are needed for CPR so poor Anne didn't get any! She is, however, Latex Free, something mentioned several times in the packaging and directions.



With Anne and the video comes a Adult CPR and AED reminder card, a Choking and child CPR reminder card, manikin wipes (which cracked me up no end as there really wasn't anything TO wipe except her mouth), and printed directions. Everything is in English and Spanish.

We watched the DVD along with Anne, and practiced on her. It was a lot of fun, oddly enough, and the kids ended up on the floor laughing their butts off. You wouldn't think CPR would be so enjoyable but Anne was just so weird that it turned out to be not only a good learning tool, but a lot of laughter as well.

I then passed off Anne and the kit off to a friend with two teens as well, and her husband and kids took Anne through her paces. They had just as much fun as we did. I know it sounds odd, but teenagers are hilarious when they are confronted with a dummy. Who knew?

I think the kit was well done, and that it would be a valuable addition to any home where CPR isn't yet part of your family's learning. I would recommend it, even with creepy Mini Anne.

Mold and Mildew no more!

You know, my house is over 100 years old. During that time, not much work has been done on it. It's as the designers and real estate agents say, "of the period." Of course that means that my landlady collects top dollar for rent and does absolutely no upkeep.

When you live in a very old house and you have a landlady that does no upkeep, eventually problems occur with mold and mildew. Our bathrooms aren't the problem, although a nice spray of the X-14 Mold & Mildew Stain Remover that Mom Central asked me to revew solved the beginning of a mildew issue on the tub caulk.

Our problem is the kitchen sink. When I had to have it replaced, because God Forbid my landlady would pay for it to be replaced, I had the plumber put in a stainless steel model that wasn't an undercounter mount. So the sink fits over the counter fresh from 1955 complete with the lovely aluminum trim around the edges. And when you have a sink installed that fits over the counter and you don't want it to leak, you caulk it with a clear caulk that makes the sink edge watertight. Sounds easy, but when you have the plumber's teenage son installing your sink and leaving a full inch of clear caulk around the entire rim, well, you're gonna get some really gross mold and mildew.

Mold and mildew on that particular set of circumstances has been difficult to remove until I gave the X-14 a try. Now, there are two caveats I have about this product. One, it leaked in the shipping box so my house smelled like a 55 gallon drum of bleach had been shipped rather than a very small bottle, and two, my children both abhor the smell of bleach. Me, I like the smell. It smells like fresh laundry and clean clean clean to me, but my daughter gags if she smells it.

Thus I had to wait to try the product until the kids were out of the house for a long while, as the odor is very strong. Very strong.

But X-14 works! I mean it really really works. It ate right under the caulk and the hideous black mold spots disappeared like magic. And boy, was my sink shiny clean.

I think that this is a product that is great to have around, but it's not something I'd use on a weekly basis. When you need to get rid of mold or mildew, this is your go-to products. Great for cleaning outdoor furniture, bathrooms, and stuff in your basement. But if you just have a bit of mildew, I think I'd go with Comet with bleach. X-14 really works, but I'm guessing that it's overkill for small projects. For something big or super moldy, I'd go with X-14 any day.

GameStop has it all!

As soon as the temperature rises and school starts winding down, kids nationwide begin preparing for summer vacation. For us parents, this "vacation" can sometimes be anything but, as those so-called lazy days of summer often mean more time spent shuttling kids to and from friends' houses, the pool, and summer camp. It also means we're on the lookout for fun and safe activities that will keep the whole family entertained and fill the endless days of summer.

As we gear up for summer, MomCentral is spreading the word to moms to think of GameStop as a family-friendly source for video games of all kinds and for all ages, from Final Fantasy VII and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon to Crosswords DS (a nice option just in case Mom or Dad can squeeze in a turn). I also love that the GameStop employees I've run into always seem to have helpful suggestion while keeping in mind the ESRB standards. In fact, they will actually refuse to sell mature-content games to a child who isn't of the appropriate age. And they're also incredibly helpful to a sad mom who doesn't have a clue as to what her teens are playing these days, never mind on what platform. With the XBox, the WII, and Playstation3, I don't know how anyone can keep track of what game plays on what platform, but the Gamestop folks are great with this kid of help!

With the rise in popularity of gaming, it seems like every week there's a new game my kids are pleading for, and yet a week later it's in the corner and they're on to begging for the next one. Thankfully, GameStop offers a trade-in program that lets you bring in the old games and get credit towards new titles or systems (especially important with the way the economy is going). In addition to keeping more money in your pocket, this will help ensure that your whole family has fun all summer long. GameStop also sells used games, which is an excellent option when you're spending money on pricey games. Every used game is checked out before they sell it, to ensure that it works correctly and has been cleaned off the former owners scores.

One of the things we seem to spend Gift money on are the "essential" peripherals, like extra controllers for when you have a bunch of friends over.

Another thing I love about our local GameStop is it's location. Ours happens to be in a strip mall right next to both DSW and Old Navy. If I need to get my teen son new shoes or clothing and he's, say, resistant to shopping, I can always bribe him with a trip to GameStop. Heh. Us moms have to be crafty, eh?