FREE & $1 Summer Movies

Every summer Regal offers Free Family Movies. For more information visit Regal Movies.

Selected G & PG movies start at 10AM each Tuesday and Wednesday during the festival. First-come, first-served seating is limited to theatre capacity. The Free Family Film Festival is safe, lots of fun and a great way for kids to spend a weekday morning in the summer.
Tickets for our 2009 Free Family Film Festival are exclusively available at select theatres’ box office on the day of the show.

Here's the schedule for the La Verne Stadium 12
950 East Foothill Boulevard La Verne ,CA 91750-3557 /909-392-4894

06/16/2009-06/17/2009 Space Chimps (G) Igor (PG)
06/23/2009-06/24/2009 The Tale Of Despereaux (G) Nim's Island (PG)
06/30/2009-07/01/2009 Horton Hears A Who (G) Spiderwick Chronicles (PG)
07/07/2009-07/08/2009 Kit Kittredge: American Girl (G) Hotel For Dogs (PG)
07/14/2009-07/15/2009 Charlotte's Web (G) Kung Fu Panda (PG)
07/21/2009-07/22/2009 Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Veggie Tale Movie (G) Inkheart (PG)
07/28/2009-07/29/2009 Everyone's Hero (G) Madagascar 2: Escape To Africa (PG)
08/04/2009-08/05/2009 Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (G) Alvin And The Chipmunks (PG)
08/11/2009-08/12/2009 Doogal (G) Surf's Up (PG)
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AMC Theatres also offers $1 Movies:
These you must purchase a ticket for in advance!
For more information visit AMC Theatres.
AMC Covina 30
1414 North Azusa Ave. , Arrow Hwy. and Azusa Blvd.
Covina, CA 91722
Guest Services: 626-974-8628

All admission and concessions proceeds* from AMC Summer MovieCamp will benefit Variety – The Children's Charity and the Will Rogers Institute. Families, schools and organizations alike are invited to see great kids' movies during AMC Summer MovieCamp.

Available at select AMC theatres, this fun-filled program brings you:
$1 movies from June 17 – August 5
Shows starting at 10:00 a.m. every Wednesday
Great field trip opportunities – groups can purchase tickets one week in advance starting June 10 at the box office or online at participating theatres .

Movie Schedule
June 17: Space Chimps
June 24: Kung Fu Panda
July 1: Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
July 8: Tale of Despereaux
July 15: Horton Hears a Who
July 22: The Spiderwick Chronicles
July 29: Nim's Island
August 5: Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Sibling Rivalry

My morning has been full of 'stop hitting your sitter', 'you two need to seperate', 'Emma stop...', 'Audrey stop...', 'No', 'Stop', 'That's NOT okay', interspersed with yelling, tears, giggling and laughing - this mommy is going nuts and its only Monday morning!!

Have you ever had one of those moments, when you come across something at just the right time without even looking and you just have to sit back and say, "Okay, Thank you Lord, I see the billboard!"

This morning I saw the billboard. It had neon lights and arrows pointing to it. This morning I came across this blog Like A Warm Cup of Coffee and an excellent entry Ten Tips for Dealing with Sibling Rivalry chalked full of great wisdom.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who's dealing with sibling rivalry, if you aren't yet, I'll give you a couple weeks, now that school is out and they're spending more time together. Either way, this is a great read, so grab a cup of tea or some lemonade and give yourself 5 Mommy Minutes!

LA Zoo 20% Off Membership Coupon

The Clipper Magazine that comes in the mail has a coupon for 20% off LA Zoo membership for new members. Anyone want my code? You can use it online or over the phone.

Free Summer Activities

Okay, as my summer callendar fills up with vacation and swim lessons and pint-sized adventures and the like, I thought you all might like to know some of the things I've come across in planning our summer callendar.

Glendora Library: has several different year round Story Times, Family Crafts and the like. This year they will also be having some free afternoon activities, which I will list here. For a full list of summer activities and details for the events below check this link .

WILDLIFE COMPANY ANIMAL SHOW - Tuesday, June 23 at 1:30 & 3:30 p.m.
MAGICWAYNE - Wednesday, June 24 at 7:00 p.m.
SWAZZLE PUPPETS - Tuesday, June 30 at 1:30 & 3:30 p.m.
THE CAT IN THE HAT MOVIE - Tuesday, July 7 at 1:30 & 3:30 p.m.
MUSIC, MUSIC EVERYWHERE - Tuesday, July 14 at 1:30 & 3:30 p.m.
CURIOUS GEORGE MOVIE - Tuesday July 21 at 1:30 & 3:30 p.m.

Family Craft of Musical Instruments & Activities
Thursdays, June 25, July 2, 9, 16 & 23 at 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.

Blue Chair Bookstore - has Story Time, Music Time, Family Nights and a new bouldering wall coming soon. Blue Chair also hosts theme parties on Saturdays - these events are free!

Flag Retirement Ceremony: The 24th annual flag retirement ceremony, conducted by Boy Scout Troop 482 and the Serrano Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, will take place at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 13, 2009, at the United Methodist Church, 201 E. Bennett Ave.

Family Movies in the Park: Movies start at dusk in Finkbiner Park. Bring a blanket and some chairs and some movie treats and take in a flick outdoors with the whole family! FREE.
July 1 Madagascar (PG)
July 8 Kung-Fu Panda (PG)
July 15 Wall-E (G)
July 22 Tale of Despereaux (PG)
July 29 Hotel for Dogs (PG)

Concerts in the Park: Concerts start at 6pm in Finkbiner Park at the bandstand. Bring blankets and chairs and maybe your dinner. I gaurantee there will be dancing for all ages. FREE.
July 12 The Answer (Classic Rock)
July 19 Stone Soul (Soul & Motown)
July 26 Disco Diva (’70s Dance Music)
August 2 Elvis
August 9 The Wiseguys (Big Band)
August 16 All American Wranglers (Country)
August 23 Cold Duck (Classic Party Favorites)

San Dimas Farmers Market: From 6-9 on Wednesdays, check the link for the concert schedule. San Dimas also has concerts at city hall and other events this summer too! You can check those out here.

Citrus College Pool Open Swim: Daily, 2pm to 4:45pm, Fee: $1

This post has already gotten to long, so I'll be stopping here. What events are you looking forward to this summer?

Happy Father's Month?

Father's Day, its coming...and every year I forget or wait until the last minute to plan something. So this year, with the start of this month, I'm doing something. Want in?

This year for Father's Day I'm committing to pray for my husband for 31 days. We talked about such things before, especially in relation to our children. But as I thought about what to do to show my appreciation it dawned on me that I could be doing something that would make him a better father, deepen our marriage and build good habits (and cross something off my 101 things in 1001 days list) over the entire month.

I'm going to be using this list which is the printable version from reviveourhearts dot com.

So, do you want in? Are you up to the challenge? Post a note if you're making the commitment!

New Gum'mer

I'd like to introduce you to Benjamin Michael Rubio born today at 2:46pm. He weighed in at 7lbs 12oz and 20inches. Please continue to pray for mama's recovery and for this new family of 4!

Happy Mother's Day!

To each of you mother's. To my friends, and confidants, to my encouragers, inspirers, role models, commiserators and co-horts. THANK YOU. On this mother's day I want to thank you for being there, encouraging, sharing, loving, teaching, guiding, playing, talking, laughing, loving, crying, dancing, singing and crafting with me. You make each day brighter, easier, and more fun. I couldn't do it without you! Happy Mother's Day!

Cleaning Commiserating

Let me just say that this big conversation on cleaning, sparked my cleaning bug. I came home got the kiddos situated with lunch and then attacked my bathroom. Now we never use this bathroom (its just a 1/4 bath off our bedroom), and it needed some serious attention, and its been on my to-do list for months.

So I picked up what had migrated there over the last ... (I'll plead the fifth on how long its been since I've cleaned this bathroom) and put those things away and picked everything off the floor. This bathroom also houses the cat food and water, not sure why, but it does. So I picked the cat food dispenser and water bowl up too and sat them on the edge of the since and on the toilet respectively.

Then I pulled out my wet vacuum, which scrubs, squigy's and vacuums up all in one (love it!!). Cleaned up the floor in a jiff (why don't i do this regularly??) and then promptly knocked the entire dispenser of dry cat food on the floor. Sigh. So then I vaccumed up that and wiped it all down with my clorox wipes and by now the girls wanted in on the action so they each got a baby wipe and helped clean the sink and wipe down the toilet. (Yah!! Setting good habits now!!)

So there you have it, I cleaned the bathroom twice because of this mornings GUM conversation.

So how about the rest of you? Were you inspired enough to come tackle some big cleaning job? What recently happened to you while cleaning? Got a favorite product or tip you forgot to share this morning? Post a comment and share with us!

Cleaning Tips

If you missed it, here's the sum up (Karen-style) from this mornings focus on cleaning. I mean there's so much of it, its always good to take a little time and commiserate, encourage and pass on tips.

First up: Melissa's Corner, where she shared some of her favorite cleaning tips and products.
1. SOS pads for cleaning the grime on stove tops and other tough cleaning jobs.
2. Magic Eraser used to scrub anything dirty, soap scum in the bathroom and sinks, clean the microwave with a little disinfectant spray.
3. Toothbrush and Toothpaste used to clean your jewelry.
4. Dreft Laundry stain remover for stains of all sorts.
5. Microfiber towels for dusting!

Then Judy shared with us about teaching our children responsibility (doing what has to be done, when it has to be done), especially in the area of keeping a tidy home. Check out Titus 2, tucked in there among those virtues is keeping a tidy home. This brings new meaning to cleaning with a smile - but I'm giving it my best go, and I'm teaching my kids along with me.

Some of Judy's tips:
Start giving chores early. Even little ones can help with something and it should be daily. Keep in mind small responsibilities should be given to small children and big responsibilities to big children.
Start an allowance at age 8. It doesn't have to be much and should be age appropriate. With that you can charge for having to pick up after your children.
Start a Box Lunch tradition. This meant taking the child out once a year and introducing a new responsibility. If the child mastered this responsibility by the end of the year, a new one was added. If not, repeat the year. Ideas include keeping your own room clean. And this was recommended at age 13.

My new motto: Pick up, clean up, throw away.

Remember what she said about her mother using vinegar and baking soda? These products still work today! (yes I'm pro-green!) So I'm putting my own plug in here. Save money, the environment and don't live with all those chemicals. For more green cleaning tips, check out this site with Natural Healthy Home Cleaning Tips.

Judy also recommended DisneyFamily.com which has a good size parenting section where I came across this article on Green Cleaning and Clutter Busters

These are just the things that caught my fancy. I'm sure there are things that stuck with you, and I already know several of you went home and did some cleaning. Post a comment and let us know what I've forgotten that was shared or other tips you have!!

COD Disneyland Date Night

Remember when Lindsay talked about making regular date nights? And you know how we've been talking about being intentional in our parenting and relationships. Well here's your chance to start the summer off right!

I know a number of us have annual passes, so before many of us are blocked out for the summer (at the suggestion of the lovely Kara Gray) we're planning a COD Disneyland Date Night.

All you have to do is take your significant other and head down to Disneyland on May 8th. Come early or stay late (Disneyland will be open till midnight) , come after work or ditch early, but be sure to meet at the castle at 8pm for a COD Disneyland Date Night group photo.

Before and after you're welcome to wander the park to your hearts content with your bestest COD buds or just your significant other. Grab dinner at the Blue Bayou, catch the fireworks show at 9:25 or just loose your voice on Screamin' in California Adventure.

If you have one be sure to wear your COD Relationships of Purpose black sweatshirt. If you don't have one, I think we still have a few available for purchase if you'd like to pick one up (check with me).

This is not a GUM only event, but I know this is a great way to start getting the word out. If this is a hit, we'll do it or other events like it again!