I had the wonderful opportunity to once again preview a Family Movie Night presentation. This time is was “Field of Vision” presented by Walmart and P&G and starring Faith Ford of Murphy Brown fame. I also had the wonderful opportunity to chat live with Faith while watching the movie which always gives me a thrill.

Storyline: Through mysterious footage captured on an old malfunctioning video camera, Sinclair High School’s star quarterback, Tyler McFarland, learns that some of his teammates have been bullying Cory Walker, a troubled new transfer student. Aware that sharing this information with the coach might get his friends kicked off the team and ultimately cost the school the state championship, Tyler must choose what’s more important: winning or doing what’s right.

As these events unfold, the camera also reveals more surprising footage to Tyler’s kid sister Lucy. She learns that Cory has a secret past, unknown even to him. Now Lucy must convince her mom (Faith Ford, Murphy Brown) and family that the camera’s revealing insight is not a product of her imagination as she enlists their help to find the answers Cory so desperately needs. It’s a compelling and intriguing story that shows both the challenges and rewards of doing the right thing even when it’s tough to do.

I really enjoyed watching this movie with my boys. Bullying is something that everyone has had happen to them at least one point in their life. I know for me, school wasn’t always a great place for me to be. I was teased and bullied because I was shy and then because I was heavy in High School. It is a very painful thing to go through and I still carry the emotional scars with me to this day. That is why a movie like this is so important in the day and age where kids are actually killing themselves over being bullied. This breaks my heart.

As parents, it is important to talk to our kids about bullying and when gentle ribbing goes too far. Field of Vision does a great job showing all angles of bullying and how we as parents, teachers and adults can help stop this from happening. But it also does a great job of showing how kids can help stop the bullying themselves by speaking up and telling an authority figure as well as talking to those who are doing the bullying.

All of the actors in this movie do an amazing job and if you have children, this is a must watch Family Night Movie! The more we can teach our kids about bullying, the better their lives will be.

If you would like to watch another great family movie, the premiere of “Field of Vision” is on Saturday, June 11th on NBC at 8et./7ct.  You can find out more at the official Family Movie Night “Field of Vision” website and you can fan the Family Movie Night Facebook page.

Want a sneak peek? Watch the “Field of Vision” trailer……………..

I had the greatest opportunity to preview the new Family Movie Night presentation of “Truth Be Told” presented by Walmart and P&G and starring Candace Cameron Bure and David James Elliott.

Here’s a little about the storyline to get you familiar:

When leading marriage counselor Annie Morgan (Candace Cameron Bure) is offered an opportunity to host a relationship talk show, she jumps at the chance. But fearful that being single might ruin her big break, she conspires with an old college friend and recent widower, Mark Crane (David James Elliott), to pose as a married couple with kids. Their story starts to unravel when Annie and Mark join her eccentric soon-to-be boss (Ronny Cox) for a weekend at his ranch in New Mexico. Comical misunderstandings mark the event as Annie struggles to keep up the ruse, finding herself emotionally invested and conflicted by her own conscience. Will she confess the truth about her marital status and her feelings for Mark… and will the truth set them free?

I was provided with a family movie night kit of popcorn and candy to enjoy the movie and boy did we ever! Family movies are very important to me and although they are few and far between theses days, I love that we have the opportunity to watch together. Watching movies is one of our favorite things to do, it’s so much better to watch a movie in the comfort of your own home, all together. Plus it’s very frugal, and I am all about that!

We try and have a family movie night at least once a week, and we all look forward to it. I am so glad that Walmart and P&G are bringing this tradition back as I can remember many nights as a child watching movies with my parents, memories that I cherish to this day.

“Truth Be Told” was such a great movie and I loved being able to chat with Candace will watching our private viewing, you could tell she loved making this movie and is proud that families can all watch it together. The main concept of the movie revolved around lies, and how one lie leads to more lies.

My boys both went through a lying phase as I think all kids do to test the waters. I have always instilled in my boys that lying is wrong and they will get in more trouble for lying than by telling the truth. As a parent, you have to watch those little white lies too, kids are always listening, so it’s best to just tell the truth at all times, or else your child is gonna bust you for what you tell them not to do, LOL!

This movie shows this way of thinking and how ultimately how the truth can set you free. Not to be corny, but more good comes from the truth than from lies. This movie told is beautifully, the actors were great and very relateable and I can’t wait for the next Family Movie to come on. I feel good that I can watch a movie with my children and not have to worry about inappropriate content.

If you would like to watch a great family movie, the premiere of “Truth Be Told” is on Saturday, April 16th on FOX at 8pm/7ct.  You can find out more at the official Family Movie Night “Truth Be Told” website and you can fan the Family Movie Night Facebook page.

Want a sneak peek? Watch the “Truth Be Told” movie trailer……………..

AND THE WINNER IS NIURKA! CONGRATS!

Now that the weather is getting warmer and Spring is almost here, my kids are itching to get out of the house and play! The extra hour of daylight means, an extra hour of fun with friends.  Every Mom knows the importance of physical activity and so does Hershey.

Since 1978, The HERSHEY^®’S Track & Field Games has helped more than 10 million children get active and learn valuable lessons such as sportsmanship and hard work. Now in its 34th year, HERSHEY’S Track & Field Games hosts thousands of boys and girls, ages 9 to 14, in nearly 4,000 North American communities. They will compete this spring and summer in track and field events ranging from the standing long jump and softball throw to a variety of running and relay races – and all at no cost of entry. All you need is a pair of shoes.

To program culminates each year with the HERSHEY’S Track & Field Games North American Final Meet in Hershey, Pa. Held each year in August, the North American Final Meet hosts 450 outstanding young participants in a fun and exciting, all-expenses paid weekend trip to Hershey. During the weekend, participants tour the world’s largest chocolate factory and visit Hersheyparkamusement park, among other exciting activities.

Nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis and Olympic decathlon legend Rafer Johnson will again return as HERSHEY’s Track & Field Games ambassadors in 2011.

Hershey is teaming up with the Nike Reuse-A-Shoe program to collect old, worn-out athletic shoes to be recycled into Nike Grind, a material used in creating athletic and playground surfaces, as well as select Nike products. Program participants will be invited to bring used athletic shoes to state and provincial meets, which will then be recycled into Nike Grind. A HERSHEY’s Track & Field Gamesplayground will be awarded to a participating local community as part of the program’s work with Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe program. Since its inception in the early 1990’s, Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe program has recycled more than 25 million pairs of athletic shoes into Nike Grind.

So lace up your children’s favorite pair of sneakers and get ready to cheer them on at the finish line! To learn more about HERSHEY’S Track & Field Games, and to find a local event in your area, please visit www.hersheystrackandfield.com.

WIN A HERSHEY’S TRACK & FIELD GAMES PRIZE PACK

(HERSHEY’S Track & Field Games prize pack, includes a drawstring backpack, visor, water bottle and rubber band shoelace stoppers.)

TO ENTER: YOU MUST DO ONE OR ALL OF THE FOLLOWING TO ENTER

** For each entry, please leave a separate comment with information you performed the task.

1. Follow Free Sample Momma on Twitter – PLEASE LEAVE YOUR TWITTER ID.
2. Tweet about this giveaway – leave a link to your tweet(s) – PLEASE TWEET ONCE PER DAY
3. Like Free Sample Momma on Facebook
4. Share this post on Facebook – leave a comment.
5. Sign-up for FSM Blogs email alerts (located on the right hand side of the main page)

• Giveaway will end on March 23rd, at 8 pm est.
• Giveaway is open to the United States Only
• 1 winner will be chosen using “And The Winner Is “(Random).
• The winner will be notified by email and will have 48 hours from the time the email is received to claim their prize or another winner will be chosen

Disclosure: The prize pack, information and additional prize pack to giveaway were all provided by The Hershey Company through MyBlogSpark.

Having two boys and homeschooling both of them, I am always looking for fun, educational games for them to play. We like to take breaks from the normal “school” day where I just let them play what they want, but I prefer it to be a game of substance where they might actually learn something while playing.

The Travels of Wiglington and Wenks is just that game. Launched in December of 2009 Wiglington and Wenks is one of the fastest growing virtual worlds for kids with over 70,000 registered users from more than 150 countries. The greatest feature of this game is the ability for the player to travel and explore various locations throughout the world all the while learning as they play. They will learn all about historical places, figures and countries as well as important environmental issues, inventions and so much more.

I signed up my youngest son and he was super excited to get started. I loved that I could disable the chat feature as he hasn’t quite got the knack for chatting just yet. The site is also heavily moderated, so safety is no issue, another plus for me.

He had fun creating his very own avatar and discovering all of the various games and places he could travel too. He loves figuring out quests, so this is perfect for him, plus it allows him to play a multi-player game just like his big brother does. Once he learned all he needed to in order to travel, he was ready to explore! I imagine he will be playing this game daily with the excitement of each new adventure.

To get a preview of the game, take a look at this:

If you would like to share this wonderful game with your children The Travels of Wiglington and Wenks is free to play for everyone. Their are special features, areas and extras that can be accessed by purchasing a Membership. You can check out the various packages here or……………………….

WIN A ONE MONTH PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP TO THE TRAVELS OF WIGLINGTON AND WENKS
5 winners will each receive a one month premium membership

TO ENTER: (This is mandatory) Visit The Travels of Wiglington and Wenks site and tell me why you think your child would enjoy this game.

DUE TO LOW ENTRIES, THIS GIVEAWAY HAS BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL JUNE 8TH, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD.

EXTRA ENTRIES – For each extra entry, please leave a separate comment with information you performed the task.

· Follow Free Sample Momma on Twitter
· Follow The Travels of Wiglington and Wenks on Twitter
· Tweet about this giveaway – leave a link to your tweet
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· Grab My Button (located on main page right, code is under pic) – leave a link

· Giveaway will end on ???? LEAVING IT OPEN UNTIL I HAVE ENOUGH ENTIRES
· Giveaway is open to the United States Only
· 5 winners will be chosen using Random.org
· The winners will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to choose and claim their prize or another winner will be chosen.

Disclosure: I was contacted by the creators of The Travels of Wiglington and Wenks to facilitate a review and giveaway. I was given a premium membership, all views are strictly my own.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Hampton Hotels. All opinions are 100% mine.

Now that the end of the school year is near, where will you be going to this summer? My family takes a lot of day trips mainly because my husband’s  work hours are all over the place and also, I’ll be honest, there just never seems to be enough funds to stay overnight somewhere. This economy has struck us hard but we are trying to at least go on one overnight trip.

We would all love to go to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The boys have never really been to the Ocean and I would love to relive some of my childhood memories. My family used to rent a summer home and we would go every summer. I miss it so much!

I would definitely like to stay at a Hampton hotel and luckily, there is one right in Rehoboth Beach.

Right now, you can enter the  Hampton Chain of Friends Sweepstakes and be eligible to win one of the 100 weekend stays or their awesome grand prize: The ENTIRE hotel for a weekend, that’s 100 rooms for 2 nights! The winner will also receive $5000 to help pay the tax for the weekend! *The sweepstakes is open to everyone!

I can only imagine the fun I would have with 100 of my friends and family. Wait, I don’t even think I know 100 people to invite, lol! I think it would be great to just invite everyone I know and tell them to bring their families too. We would just have a huge party!

Who would invite if you won? What would you celebrate? Let me know if you enter and if you win!

I had told you guys in the post for the Zylie giveaway about my affinity for Teddy Bears and wanted  to explain why. When I was born I was given a Teddy Bear by an Aunt, in fact, every newborn in the family was given a Teddy Bear as a welcome to the world gift.

My sister, who is two years older received a Teddy that was golden in color with jointed arms, legs and head, as did all of the babies before me. When I was born the wrong Teddy arrived. He was dark brown, didn’t have jointed arms, legs or head. My Aunt wanted to send it back immediately, but my Mother, being the smart woman she was said no. You see, she figured that if we had two different bears, the likelihood that we would fight over them as we got older would be nil. If we had two that looked the same, well then you know what would have happened.

So from the time I was born until now, almost 40 years later, “Bear” (I never gave him a name although he was always a “he”) never left my side, he was my best friend, he was with me every day, night, on trips and even when I moved out on my own at 20. As you can imagine, Bear took one heck of a beating and was operated on quite a few times by my Mother. He has the scars to prove it.

At 19 I met my husband to be and by 1994 we were living together. While unpacking his things one night, he brought out his “Bear” which was also just called “Bear.” He started to tell me that he had Bear since he was born and to that I found my “Bear” and told him that mine had been with me just as long. Our Bears looked so much alike, the missing fur, the open wounds with stuffing falling out, the countless sewing scars, it was really strange but with the both of us being born in the same year, 1970, it sort of fit that they were so similar.

In my mushy heart, I like to think that our “Bears” were brought together by us or maybe it was the other way around.

WARNING! The following pictures are not for the faint hearted, there are open wounds and various innards coming out, beware!