The Sensible Mom

Disney PLANES: Printables, Activities, Family Time, and More!

July 10, 2014 by Sandra 4 Comments

I’m working with Disney to share fun ways families can get excited about the new PLANES Fire & Rescue movie
that will be in theaters starting July 18, 2014. #FireAndRescue

We love Disney movies.

Who doesn’t?

I know that we’re obviously not alone, because when we placed a library hold on the movie Frozen, (if I remember correctly) there were well over 100 people ahead of us. Crazy.

Ruben had taken four of our kids to see that particularly awesome movie while it was in theaters and which happened to be when David and I couldn’t leave the hospital during his transplant last December.

They liked the movie so much that they wanted us ALL to be able to sit down and watch it together as a family. We finally did and, of course, I loved it.

Disney has Another Movie Coming Out in Theaters

In the not-too-distant-future, on July 18th, 2014, Disney is releasing yet another film that is sure to delight your kids! The upcoming new movie is PLANES Fire & Rescue, and because of the new release, we decided to get excited about PLANES ahead of time with a Planes-themed family time event that took place right in our living room. 🙂

To make this time extra-special, I put on my thinking cap, searched Pinterest, and finally settled on these four airplane-themed snacks:

1. “Baggage” filled with freshly popped popcorn
2. Cotton candy “clouds”
3. Classic “airplane” peanuts
4. PLANES fruit snacks – a rare treat for my kids

Let’s just say that the snacks were a big hit. We ate them while we watched the first PLANES movie that’s currently out on DVD.

Just a side note: My oldest son, who is 14-years-old, wasn’t incredibly excited that we’d be watching a movie he thought was for little kids. However, in the end, he sat through the entire movie and liked it!

We had a great time together taking in the movie and eating the airplane-themed snacks. I need to remember to plan these little extra-special things more often.

More Ways to Get Excited about the New Movie

Below you can take a peek at the Planes Fire & Rescue Trailer

Thunder – Planes: Fire & Rescue Trailer on Disney Video

And if you visit the Disney Planes website, you’ll find a ton of good stuff there. You can also find printables, games, and crafts on a separate Disney Planes Fire & Rescue website.

The activities on both of the sites mentioned above are totally free to download.

Here’s a peek at what’s there:

If you click on any of the three Planes images above, you’ll be able to download and print those particular activities and coloring pages.

Also, you can stay up-to-date on the Disney Planes movies and more by visiting the Facebook page or by following Disney Pictures on Twitter.

Are you planning on seeing the new Planes movie? What’s your favorite Disney film (or character)?

Entertainment for the Whole Family: Raging Waves Waterpark

July 10, 2014 by Sandra 4 Comments

My family and I enjoyed an amazing, fun, free Family Day at Raging Waves Waterpark in exchange for sharing this review. #WelcomeToSummer

We make a big deal about “Family Days” around our home.

They are must-do.

Can’t miss.

We’ve got to schedule a Family Day and make it happen at least once a week.

And if it looks like we aren’t going to be able to enjoy family time on our regular “Family Day” of the week, Sunday, then we plan ahead and schedule it for a different day. It’s that important.

Plus, we love this time together, because we realize that our days together are precious. And they’re not guaranteed. In fact, that truth became far too real for me this past year, and I guess that’s part of the reason why I strive to make family time a high priority — every single week.

Raging Waves Waterpark

Most of the time, we spend family days at home. But recently, we were able to experience an unforgettable time together at Raging Waves Waterpark, which happens to be located in the Chicagoland city of Yorkville, Illinois.

Seven Hours Later…We Barely Scratched the Surface

It was our very first time at Raging Waves, and we can see why it’s Illinois’ Largest Waterpark. Raging Waves is enormous, and it has something for everyone!

The Fun at Raging Waves Includes:

17 Waterslides

The Lazy River

1 Wave Pool

2 Huge Kiddie Areas

Good Food

Sandy Beach Areas

A Family-Friendly Show

So Much More!

We split most of our time between the two kiddie areas and the wave pool. David and Isaac loved the slides in the kiddie area, and everyone had a blast in the wave pool! We hung out at the shallow end of the wave pool. And that turned to be a good idea, because those waves are powerful and have the ability to knock little ones over. 😉

When Fire and Water Make Great Entertainment

Besides everything you can do in the water at Raging Waves, there’s also a new show you can sit down and take in with your family. It’s called “Sinbad and the Search for the Golden Pineapple.” And if you wait to see the last show of the day, you can watch one of the performers be lit on fire before jumping into a giant pool of water.

It’s pretty spectacular.

Cleanliness, Friendliness, and Safety

While we were at the park, we had the opportunity to learn more about the people who work there and how they go all out and do their best to make sure that Raging Waves is a clean, friendly, and safe place to be.

As a mom (and germaphobe because I have to be), this made me incredibly happy to hear.

Our family day at Raging Waves was awesome. I’m thankful for all the memories made and know that my kids will remember all the fun for a long time to come. 🙂

Have you visited a waterpark this Summer?

10 Goals for the Week

July 8, 2014 by Sandra 4 Comments

I was able to cross almost everything off my list for last week.

I completely missed drinking a single one of my lemon (or lime) water concoctions. And I only wrote one blog post last week, but this week should be different.

Now that the July 4th holiday has passed, and my neighbors are no longer having ~~illegal~~ fireworks competitions in their backyards… My kids should be able to sleep a little better, and I should (hopefully) get back to having more time to myself after they go to bed. 🙂

Here’s what I accomplished last week:

Family/Mothering Goals:

1. ~~Continue to work on memorizing two verses of scripture as a family — We tend to go around the table during mealtimes and practice each verse.~~

2. ~~Organize a fun Family Day at home~~

Personal Goals:

3. ~~Read 20 pages of Virtual Freedom (affiliate link) by Chris Ducker~~

4. ~~Walk a total of 90 minutes on the treadmill~~

5. Drink water with lemon (or lime) and cayenne pepper 5x

6. ~~Read 20 pages of Tasty Food Photography by Pinch of Yum~~

Home Management Goals:

7. ~~Clean bathrooms~~

8. ~~Unpack one box in the basement~~

Business Goals:

9. ~~Fix recipes on my blog that are no longer working because of a plugin that I had to deactivate~~

10. Write 3 blog posts

Here are my goals for this week:

Family/Mothering Goals:

1. Continue to work on memorizing two verses of scripture as a family

2. Plan a fun Family Day at home — Our family days usually happen on Sunday afternoons, and lately, they’ve involved a movie and fun snacks. To be completely honest, we’ve been watching The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings films week after week for a while now. We went through all five movies and now we’re checking out the extended versions from the library. 🙂

Personal Goals:

3. Read 20 pages of Virtual Freedom (affiliate link) by Chris Ducker

4. Walk a total of 95 minutes on the treadmill

5. Drink water with lemon (or lime) and cayenne pepper 5x

6. Read 20 pages of Tasty Food Photography by Pinch of Yum

Home Management Goals:

7. Organize Elisabeth’s play area — It’s become overridden with LEGOs.

8. Unpack one box in the basement

Business Goals:

9. Get caught up on emails

10. Write 3 blog posts

What are your goals for this week?

10 Goals for the Week

July 2, 2014 by Sandra 5 Comments

I did pretty well knocking out nearly all of the goals I set for last week.

But after thinking about the area I struggle with most – my business goals – I’m going to make a little change moving forward. I realize that week after week I keep biting off more than I can handle in terms of my business goals, and it’s just not good or helpful.

So, instead, I’m only going to create two business goals per week, and I’m going to add an additional personal goal in order to maintain ten goals per week.

It’s so much easier to work on personal goals around my kids anyway.

Business goals? Those generally have to be saved for after they’re in bed or for when I’m able to get some time alone to work on them.

Anyway, here’s what I accomplished last week:

Family/Mothering Goals:

1. Continue to work on memorizing two verses of scripture as a family — This has been such a blessing to our family. Even Elisabeth, my 2-year-old daughter, is doing great with her memorization. It helps that we work on the same verse for a few weeks at a time.

2. ~~Enjoy a Family Day outside of the house~~

Personal Goals:

3. ~~Read 25 pages of Virtual Freedom (affiliate link) by Chris Ducker~~

4. ~~Walk a total of 80 minutes on the treadmill~~

5. ~~Read 25 pages of 52 Things Kids Need From a Mom (affiliate link) by Angela Thomas~~ — I finished reading this book and plan on sharing some of what I gleaned in a future post.

Home Management Goals:

6. ~~Clean the microwave — I’m not really looking forward to this.~~ — Thanks to my hubby for getting this done for me. 🙂

7. ~~Unpack one box in the basement~~

Business Goals:

8. ~~Add a header to my email newsletter~~

9. ~~Attend a local one day blog conference~~

10. Write 3 blog posts — I only wrote two posts.

Here are my goals for this week:

Family/Mothering Goals:

1. Continue to work on memorizing two verses of scripture as a family — We tend to go around the table during mealtimes and practice each verse.

2. Organize a fun Family Day at home