For the Love of Screen Time

This post is sponsored by Hulu.

I’ve met some moms in my day who are totally anti-screen time. Maybe you’ve met them, too. Maybe you are one of them!

My theory on motherhood goes something like, “If that works for you, great.” This applies nicely to a lot of mothering topics, and applies well to the families I’ve known who don’t allow much or any TV watching, movie nights, tablet time, etc. If that works for you, great.

But in our house, the kids love their screen time. I think I might love their screen time even more. And here are a few reasons why.

The quiet. I am sorry to say that these sweet angels don’t have the most angelic behavior. It’s a rare day when I don’t have to break up multiple fights, negotiate toy swaps, and convince them that they ought to still be friends after one has wounded the other (whether physically or emotionally). But when these two are placed in front of one of their favorite shows? It is so peaceful. So quiet. I bask in the absence of whining and crying and arguing and feel rejuvenated to handle another round of parenting when their show ends.

The influence of great shows. Sometimes I turn on the TV and feel bleak about the world. There’s so much garbage out there. But at the other end of the spectrum, there are shows that I love to let my kids watch, because they inspire their curiosity, or teach them kindness, or expose them to new ideas or places or people. I’m selective with the shows my kids are allowed to watch, and our favorite for years has been Curious George. I love that after watching George, my kids have exciting new thoughts and ideas, and they’ve learned new things. I can’t tell you how many times Forrest has told me something interesting he’s learned, and when I ask him where he heard it, the answer is Curious George. My kids are obsessed with that little monkey, which is fine by me, since it’s a show I’m happy to let them watch!

Curious George is now streaming only on Hulu, so you can easily watch all 9 seasons (that’s more than 100 episodes!) as well as the animated film Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey, exclusively on Hulu. We have had a Hulu subscription for quite a while, so I love the convenience and easy accessibility.

Screen time as a reward. I’m not above using a little bribery to squeeze good behavior out of my kids, and offering screen time is one of the most effective ways I’ve found to reward the kids. Their all-time favorite treat for good behavior is being allowed to stay up 15 minutes past bedtime to watch a show, and knowing that this reward is waiting for them has helped us survive many grocery trips and boring errands.

Getting stuff done time. Every day when Jeff gets home from work, he’ll list off all the things he accomplished that day, then asks me what I did. And I reply with an embarrassing average of 3 tasks I’ve completed (and sometimes those tasks are as simple as “I fed the kids lunch”), because it’s nearly impossible to get anything done when I’m constantly being interrupted to fetch snacks or referee arguments or change diapers. I’m amazed at how much stuff I can get done when the kids stay put on the couch for a few episodes of a show. I love being able to complete a chore uninterrupted, or work on dinner without having to stop every few seconds to help someone. I feel better about my day when I’ve ticked a few items off the to-do list, and the kids’ screen time helps me get important things done.

All 9 seasons of Curious George, as well as the animated film Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey, are now streaming only on Hulu. As with all kids programming on Hulu, Curious George streams commercial-free.

How do you handle screen time in your house? Do you have Curious George fans, too?

Super Easy Minions Movie Night

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MinionsMovieNight #CollectiveBias

Forrest absolutely loved seeing Minions in theaters when it came out, and he hasn't stopped talking about it since. He begs for every minion toy he sees, and has asked over and over when the movie will come out so we can buy it. I couldn't resist for long--I didn't get to see it with him in theaters, and I've been so excited to watch it after seeing how much he loves it, so I picked it up recently for us to watch together. And I thought it would be fun to invite a few of the kids' friends over for an awesome Minions movie night! They had such a blast together, eating yummy snacks and watching their new favorite movie with their buddies.

Today I want to show you a super simple party you can easily recreate at home to celebrate the release of Minions © 2015 Universal Studios. All rights reserved. I think I spent about 30 minutes getting everything ready for our little movie night, and the kids had such a great time watching one of their favorite movies with their friends. You seriously can't beat a fast, simple party--quick decorations, easy food, and the kids having a fantastic time watching a great movie with buddies!

Super easy setup, but it looks so fun, right? I started by clearing off a small entry table and draping a yellow plastic tablecloth over it and tacking it up against the wall. You can find these disposable plastic tablecloths in lots of colors at the dollar store, and they make the perfect party backdrop because they're so inexpensive and make a great colorful background. Yellow and blue balloons are perfect for representing the minions and their signature colors, and I tossed some blue paper confetti over the tablecloth for a little extra color.

I wanted the food spread to be simple and easy to prepare, and also relatively healthy for the kids to snack on while they enjoyed the movie. I set out plates full of sliced fruit as well as 2 yummy dips for the kids to dunk their fruit in.

To keep with the blue and yellow theme inspired by Illumination Entertainment's Minions, I made two yummy fruit dips: Pineapple Vanilla and Blueberry Marshmallow. Oh man, they were good, and so perfect to go along with the movie since they kept with the yellow and blue colors! You can find the recipes at the bottom of this post.

I also set out wooden skewers so the kids could make fruit kebabs to dip. Forrest stuck to a strict grape theme when making his kebabs. (Notice that there are little girls' hands reaching in from both sides of the frame. Ha! Hungry little cuties.)

I made really easy blue popcorn by simply popping a bag of popcorn, placing it in a big bowl, melting a bag of blue candy melts, and stirring it into the popcorn. So easy, and so festive and fun for a minions party! I also set out pretzels and blue raspberry juice with yellow straws.

They snacked on the food spread while watching the movie, and then we played a quick game of 'pin the goggles on the minion' when the movie ended. I cut the minion shape out of yellow posterboard, and made overalls out of blue construction paper. Easy and fast!

They also got a kick out of seeing themselves in homemade goggles inspired by the minions. I cut them out of black construction paper and taped them onto a wooden skewer for a photobooth type of prop, and they thought it was hilarious to wear goggles like the minions. "Say bee-do!"
 

Now, for those delicious fruit dip recipes!

Pineapple Vanilla Fruit Dip
adapted from Mandy's Recipe Box

8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 (3.4 ounce) box vanilla flavored instant pudding
16 ounce can crushed pineapple with juice
8 ounces frozen whipped topping, thawed

Beat cream cheese with electric beaters in a medium bowl until smooth and creamy. Beat in the pudding mix and pineapple; stir until smooth. If you want a more intense yellow color, add a few drops of yellow food coloring. Gently fold in the whipped topping. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Blueberry Marshmallow Fruit Dip
adapted from My Sweet Sanity

7 ounce jar marshmallow fluff
8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 cup frozen blueberries, thawed

Beat cream cheese with electric beaters until smooth and creamy. Beat in the marshmallow fluff and blueberries until thoroughly combined. Gently fold in whipped topping. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

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Make sure to visit the Minions website to see where you can purchase your copy, as well as some special offers from retailers! Have you seen Minions yet? What was your favorite part?

Inside Out Inspired White Chocolate Popcorn

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #InsideOutMovieNight #CollectiveBias

I've been excited about seeing Inside Out ever since seeing the first previews for it, but the sad truth is, I could count on one hand the number of movies I've seen in a theater since having kids (seriously!). So we've been counting down until its release day, and as you can imagine, Forrest has been super excited about it, too. I decided that the occasion called for a special movie night treat, inspired by the characters of Inside Out.

Forrest was lucky--he actually got to see the movie in theaters, a rare treat for him. He did some modeling for my sister's shop over the summer, and she gave him the choice of accepting payment either in cash, or in a special date with her. I'll give you one guess what he chose.

He couldn't pass up the opportunity to go on a date with his "vewwy favowite" Aunt Bekah, and requested that they go see Inside Out together. My sister texted me this picture from the theater, and I thought it was precious. (I believe he's mimicking Disgust with that pose?) And he hasn't stopped talking about the movie since then.

Needless to say, he was very eager to see it at home, and was thrilled when I told him I'd buy us a copy of Inside Out at Target. And was even more thrilled when we got to the store and I promised to pick up everything I'd need to make a special treat for us to snack on while we watched the movie together. I love the vibrant colors of the characters in the movie, so I thought an Inside Out snack ought to bring in those colors. I went with a delicious salty and sweet white chocolate popcorn, studded with chocolate candy in the characters' colors. It's fast and easy to make, and so good!

All you'll need is popcorn, white chocolate chips, and colorful chocolate candy. Pop up two bags of microwave popcorn, empty it into a big bowl (make sure to remove any unpopped kernels!), and melt the white chocolate in another bowl (along with a spoonful of shortening to thin it out and make it easier to stir).

Then you'll just pour the chocolate over the popcorn and stir until it's evenly coated, tossing in the candies as you go. Spread it out on a large baking sheet and let it cool and harden up. An optional addition at this point is a sprinkle of coarse sea salt, if you are like me and can't resist a sweet and salty combination.

Once the chocolate has cooled, gently break it apart and enjoy.

White Chocolate Popcorn with Colorful Candies

2 bags microwave popcorn, popped (avoid ultra-buttery flavors)
1 bag white chocolate morsels
1 tablespoon shortening
1 cup colorful chocolate candies
1/2 tablespoon coarse sea salt (optional)

Empty the popped popcorn into a large bowl. Place white chocolate chips in a separate microwave-safe bowl and melt in microwave, removing to stir every 30 seconds, until it is nearly melted. Add shortening and microwave a few seconds more to melt completely, then stir thoroughly to combine.

Pour chocolate over popcorn and gently stir to evenly coat the popcorn. Add the candies and stir to distribute. Spread popcorn onto a large baking sheet lightly sprayed with nonstick spray, and allow it to cool and harden. If desired, sprinkle with sea salt while the chocolate is still wet for an awesome sweet and salty flavor.

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Make sure to head to Target to pick up your copy of Inside Out for a fun at-home movie night! And I think you should know that the Inside Out DVD and Blu-Rays at Target include 20 minutes of exclusive bonus content and deleted scenes--awesome, right?

What's your favorite movie night snack?

Movie Night Chocolate Drizzled Peanut Butter Popcorn

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BigHero6MovieNight #CollectiveBias

Movie nights were a weekly tradition in our house when I was growing up. And they were such a fun part of our family life that my parents converted the room above our garage into an amazing theater room, complete with a projector and movie screen. It was pretty darn cool.

The movie setup at our house isn’t nearly that impressive, but now that Forrest is getting old enough to really pay attention to movies (and enjoy a lot of the same movies that Jeff and I want to watch!), I am more than happy to carry on the family movie night tradition. It’s such a simple, fun way to spend time together.

And of course, having an awesome snack to enjoy doesn’t hurt, either.

Years ago, before we had kids to join in our movie nights, Jeff and I hosted a movie night for some friends who offered to bring peanut butter popcorn to serve. I’ll admit, I was skeptical. That just doesn’t sound like a flavor combo that should work, but of course, I was wrong and it was incredible.

So for our most recent family movie night, we picked up Big Hero 6 from Target, along with the ingredients for peanut butter popcorn. Definitely a great way to spend an evening.

The popcorn is so simple to make, especially since it can be made in the microwave—no pots or pans to wash. And the finished product is irresistible—crunchy and rich and delicious.

Start with some basic ingredients (you probably already have everything you need in your pantry).

Place the butter and marshmallows together with the brown sugar in a microwave-safe bowl.

And microwave it, stirring every 30 seconds, until it’s well-combined and smooth. I can’t tell you how much I loved not standing over a hot stove for this recipe.

Add the peanut butter and stir until it melts, then pour it over your popcorn and stir to coat. You could certainly stop here if you like your popcorn to be sticky and gooey and chewy.

Personally, I prefer it to be crunchy and to lose some of that sticky gooeyness, so I recommend spreading it out on a greased baking sheet to bake at a low temperature, stirring every 10 minutes. It will keep some of that yummy chewiness, but will have an awesome crunch to it and won’t stick to your fingers or teeth nearly as much.

After 30 minutes in the oven, drizzle with melted chocolate and let it cool, then break it into chunks and enjoy. That peanut butter and chocolate combo is always divine, and this is no exception.

Chocolate Drizzled Peanut Butter Popcorn

10 cups popcorn
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
20 large marshmallows
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 squares chocolate candiquik/almond bark

Preheat oven to 250 degrees and prepare a large baking sheet with a nonstick baking mat (or grease the pan lightly).

Place popcorn in a large bowl. In a separate, medium microwave-safe bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, and marshmallows. Microwave for 90 seconds, removing from the microwave to stir every 30 seconds. When it is smooth and melted, add the peanut butter and vanilla and stir until the peanut butter melts (feel free to pop it into the microwave for another 10-15 seconds to melt the peanut butter if necessary). Pour over popcorn and gently stir until evenly coated.

Spread popcorn out onto the prepared baking sheet and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring gently every 10 minutes.

In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate. When the popcorn is finished in the oven, drizzle the chocolate over it and let cool, then break into chunks and enjoy.

Note: if you prefer, feel free to use 1/2 cup chocolate chips in place of the almond bark. I love using almond bark because it hardens up so nicely, whereas chocolate chips stay somewhat soft after being melted.

Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com.

If you’re gearing up for a family movie night soon, I hope you’ll try this recipe out! Forrest was crazy about Big Hero 6, and has told me he’d like to start calling me Baymax instead of Mama. Ok, kid.

 

And be sure to keep up with great deals from Target on their Facebook and Twitter.

What’s your favorite snack to munch on during movies?