Max #YourTaxCash With Walmart Family Mobile + Somewhere Under The Rainbow Movie Night

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

Momma Told Me: Some things in life are year-round.

Hopefully, by now, everyone has filed their taxes for the year, as the deadline is imminently looming. I know, it's not exactly high on the 'fun list' but it's definitely one of the 'joys' of adulthood you want to get done and over with so you can reap the benefits. Whether it's the peace of mind knowing you don't have to worry about paying taxes for another 365 days, or the cushy refund check hitting your bank account- tax time inspires many to celebrate. In fact, this year we're celebrating with Walmart Family Mobile's Unlimited* Talk, Text, & Data which *includes up to 10GB of 4G LTE then 2G and a free movie credit on VUDU every month ($7 value) for $49.88 per month, per line. It's how we're keeping the family connected throughout the year, and stretching those tax time dollars.

You might remember, earlier this month, I shared how I replaced my old Samsung phone with a new Samsung Galaxy On5 handset, on rollback at Walmart now for just $69*. (* All prices for phones and plans included in this post are accurate as of the date of posting; however, these prices are subject to change. Please refer to http://cbi.as/7e-jr or your local Walmart for current pricing.) Thanks to Walmart Family Mobile's $19.88 SIM Kit I was able to choose, or bring, my phone of choice to the Walmart Family Mobile plan without any additional start up costs. And that's a true blessing considering the 4 digit number I just handed over to the IRS!

Of course the phones aren't the reason we've been using Walmart Family Mobile for several years now- it's the affordable plans like their Unlimited* Talk, Text, & Data plan which *includes up to 10GB of 4G LTE then 2G and a free movie credit on VUDU every month ($7 value) for $49.88 per month, per line. Since we don't have to commit to multiple lines to qualify for special pricing, or calculate any hidden taxes and fees both Jay and I enjoy fast service with unlimited* data at a price that leaves a decent chunk of Jay's refund in the bank for some family fun time. Of course, that's when I can get him to put his phone down from catching critters with apps and streaming his favorite music. 10G of 4G LTE data goes a long way!

Inspired by the FREE monthly (per line) VUDU credit (a $7 value, equal to a new release rental) with out Walmart Family Mobile Plus Plan, I decided to bring the family together for a special movie night. My theme? Somewhere UNDER the rainbow, of course! Now, don't get caught up in that wizard movie with the ruby slippers- This UNDER the rainbow themed movie night is about everything colorful and magical. Anything goes, and it doesn't jut have to be frills and sparkles, dragons and sea monsters are welcome too! Just make sure everyone arrives wearing their favorite colors- bonus points for a color-themed outfit!

Movie night just isn't movie night without a great big, comfy, blanket. I've seen no-sew knot blankets online plenty of times, and I recently bought a crocheted mermaid tail blanket, but I hadn't seen anything unicorn inspired. Since I have absolutely NO sewing skills I dreamed up a super simple knot blanket that the entire family will want to steal!

Start with 2 giant pieces of white blanket fleece. (2 even cut pieces of 4 yards in total length, aka 2 cut yards, will make a Full size blanket. Overlap your white fleece being mindful that any surface you set them on may be linty and ultimately fuzz up your pretty white surface. Measure out to the middle of the fleece, horizontally, and then measure down about 16" from the top edge. Pinch the fabric and place a 1" slit horizontally through both layers of fabric. Place a second 1" slit about an inch down from the first. Move 3" down from the bottom slit and repeat until you have 6 pairs of slits down the center of the blanket.

Cut 4 even strips of approximately 6' in length and 3" in width from each of your 'mane' fleece colors. Loop all 4 of each color through both notches, red through the first set of notches, orange through the second, etc. The notches should be snug enough to hold the mane in place . Feel free to tie or braid the strips if desired. I chose to leave my mane free-flowing to cut down on bulk and weight, and give it a more playful feel.

During family movie nights we like to have an intermission, so I decided to plan a fun and quick game that everyone could enjoy. Balloon darts have long been one of my favorite carnival games, but I don't love the idea of tossing sharp objects around with kids and pets present. Instead, I used a foam board to mount some air filled balloons with tack pins lightly pressed through the back. A few of the balloons were filled with surprises such as toys, candy, or confetti to add to the fun.

Dart free balloon darts may not require quite as much skill and precision as the traditional game, but bean bags can still pose a bit of a learning curve. They also, apparently, incite a family wide game of tag involving the hurling of bean bags throughout the house.

To make our family movie night a little more special I wanted to add a few 'wow' decorations that wouldn't cost much, or take too much time. A 6-pack of these 32" jumbo clear balloons require a decent chunk of helium (if you're using those portable party tank kits, like me) but are completely work it. Just use a paper punch to punch confetti through colored tissue paper and fill these balloons with rainbows before you blow them up. If you don't have helium on hand, you can blow these up by mouth (they'll still be huge and fun, they just won't float.) If your confetti loses some of it's 'stick' before movie night arrives just rub the edges of the balloon on the carpet to generate static!

*PRO TIP: Use biodegradable tissue paper and give the balloon a pop outside at the end of the night for a celebratory shower of confetti!

It doesn't take a lot of time, or money, to really turn your living room into something magical. We bought most of our supplies at Walmart, and the rest we had on hand from craft projects or other events. I'll admit, I may have spent a few late nights on my Samsung Galaxy On5 browsing Pinterest boards for party ideas and inspiration, but that was half the fun!

While our coffee table and couches served as the main hub for our movie night, I wanted to bring a little rainbow to our mantel as well. A few white daises in colored water and glasses of varied heights helped offer a special touch that I particular appreciated as an adult participant. Of course I snapped tons of photos to send to Jay while I decorated and prepared. It was nice to be able to communicate, and even video chat, reliably thanks to our unlimited* data. (Includes up to 10GB of 4G LTE† data then 2G)

I won't lie the very thought of a single rainbow makes me giddy, so this rainbow fantasy themed movie night really put a smile on my face. I tossed some white wrapping paper across our coffee table to provide a blank canvas and really let my snacks and decor pop. The white paper also happens to double for a literal canvas where family and friends can doodle and make their mark with provided crayons and coloring pencils! As a 'centerpiece' I cut some hula-hoops in half and taped them together to make a mini rainbow. A sprinkling of rainbow swirl lollipops and leftover confetti added an instant splash of fun.

We can NEVER agree on what to watch in our household. Movie night is no exception. We've tried 'taking turns' and it just never works out. To help make the task of agreeing upon a movie to use our VUDU credit on a little more fun I decided to take a bunch of colored popcicle sticks and write some themes on them. The idea is that everyone pulls a stick and the family browses the thousands of titles available for streaming to find a film that best fits the requirements on the sticks. For our movie night we drew a 90 minute (or less) comedy, which was also a remake. Try to guess what we ended up watching with VUDU on our ROKU®!

For those who have short attention spans, such as children or husbands, or those who have seen the movie a million times I also made some fun I-Spy printable coloring sheets that everyone can enjoy. Click here for the dragon printable, or here for the unicorn printable.

Print these coloring sheets out and write a few objects, themes, or events in the clouds. This could be anything as obvious as 'an animated character' or 'a dog house' to something a bit more obscure such as 'time travel' or 'a flashback'. Use your judgement when you choose based on the age of the person filling our that particular sheet. The person with the most clouds colored at the end of the movie wins!

It wouldn't be movie night without plenty of snacks to munch on. Rainbow fruit skewers with strawberries, mango, pineapple, blueberries, kiwi, and grapes make for a fresh and fun snack while various rainbow colored candies or crackers will allow family members to indulge a little. I also added a few drops of blue coloring to our soda, and a few double headed serpent gummies to add a bit of whimsy to our drinks!

Lastly, the key to a successful family movie night isn't really in the decorations, food, or games. As awesome, and productive, as it is to be plugged in and online during the day when everyone is out and about family time requires a disconnect. Jay likes to argue, "But how will we get out money's worth with ALL of the free data?" Regardless, I make him hand over this phone for movie night too. In fact, I even have a special tray for those electronics to nap in when the lights go out and the big screen comes on. After all, they can text all their friends and tell them how awesome movie night was after the final credits.

Thanks to our free, monthly per-line, VUDU credit with out Walmart Family Mobile Plus Plan we'll be enjoying a lot more family movie nights. We'll also be maxing our tax cash with smarting spending on our unlimited*mobile plan which helps us stay connected year-round for one low monthly cost. (*Includes up to 10GB of 4G LTE† data then 2G) Tell me, how would your family decide on a movie each month if your phone plan gave you a free (*7 new release) movie credit?

 What Daughter Says: Tax time may shine a spotlight on money, but making smart decisions year-round will set you up for success!

Heart Pounding Play Time With Chrono Bomb! A Great Kid's Party Game!

***We received a product sample in hopes we would share our honest experiences here on the blog. Photos copyright Momma Told Me Blog 2015.

Momma Told Me: Don't touch the floor, it's hot lava!


When I was a young girl I liked to rough house. Nearly all of my friends through grade school were boys and I often was caught leading extravagant pretend play scenarios of cops and robbers, secret agents, and super heroes. We'd turn an ordinary yard into a mine-field or river of lava, the neighbor's dog into a dragon, and  fallen pine cones into grenades. Climbing trees, camouflaging in bushes, and a general battle between good versus evil often ensued without a single toy or physical prop. Yes, I remember those days- but the children of today's generations, well, they seem to have a harder time disconnecting from their smartphones, tablets, and gaming systems.

Once a week we like to take our play group outside. Yes, we're fortunate enough here in Southern California that we can still enjoy mild afternoon weather in December- but today's game can be equally enjoyed indoors. In fact, that's one of the selling points for us on one of 2015's hottest games, Chrono Bomb. While this creative 'Spy' play game has a sophisticated battery operated element, it can be enjoyed just as much with absolutely no electronics at all, indoors or outdoors, with 1 child or 7 children.

What you'll find included with Chrono Bomb is a base 'Bomb' timer (that resembles a bundle of TNT with an LCD display, a Sensor Clamp, 4 clip guide hooks, a deck of 8 Secret Agent gear cards, and 2 Mission Cards. From the sensor and sensor clamp nearly 28' of guide string will feed, which is intended to be looped around the hooks on each of the provided clamps. Clamp the hooks at various heights to various pieces of furniture and create an imaginary string 'laser' field for young spies to navigate.

When we first saw this demonstrated, by a very nimble professional performer, at Sweet Suite 2015, we were skeptical of the ease of set up and re-play value. When we got our sample game we were again a bit overwhelmed- but the kids were eager to begin playing immediately. For the sake of honestly, despite two sets of brand new batteries and 2 adults initially setting Chrono Bomb up, we were never able to get the wire to trigger the 'countdown' feature on the timer. The game is intended to be played in such a manner that simply brushing into one of the 'laser' wires will remove time from the countdown timer on the TNT/bomb, but we were unable to produce this effect nomatter how we leveled the trigger/timer or the feed wire.

As a result, the game moved outdoors- where we could have more freedom to play with the setup, and where the kids were still told their time would be reduced if they touched the wires. In all honesty, they never noticed they weren't having time deducted, because they were so engulfed in the activity of navigating wires and hunting for cards.

Essentially, what worked for us, was to create an imaginary 'spy' space outside in the yard using some bamboo gardening poles, old kid's play furniture from the backyard, and some random elements we'd introduce or add with each reset (a hammer, some books, a plant, etc.) The real play-ability value comes in with the included Chrono Bomb 'gear' cards, which you can creatively stash high and low throughout your spy field. While we kept the 'laser' strings in the sane configuration for all 7 kids, through 2 runs a piece, we played around with hiding the cards to make each run different.

I'd highly suggest Chrono Bomb as a sleepover or party game, as the child/agent preparing to run the spy field was blindfolded during the game's 'reset,' the kids who were onlooking played a part in giving verbal clues and encouragement  as they had the chance to help hide the cards. No matter who was playing the spy, or who was watching the game, every child was excited and engaged. We encouraged agents outside the playing field to use clues such as colors, textures, and hot/cold/warm to help guide the child navigating the spy field through to the next card. Not only did we notice the children building dexterity and coordination when twisting through and under the guide wires, but creative thinking in searching for the hidden spy gear as well.

While we were unable to get the guideline to subtract time when hit- the decision to move the game outdoors and forego this feature really gave us a much broader area to play with and a more engaging/evolving playing field. The timer still counted down and timed each player as they collected all 8 cards- so we definitely had a competitive sense, but there was a little less anxiety over touching the wires- and more of a focus on creative thinking and having fun. Sure, the game never quite worked as intended for us- but it turned out to be an afternoon of fun every single child was engaged in from start to finish. In the end, those really are the best types of games! You can buy Chrono Bomb at a variety of mass retailers nationwide, including Toys R' Us. Our 'secret agents' ranged in age from 4 to 11.  Did you ever pretend to be a secret agent as a child? What was one of your favorite pretend play activities as a kid?

What Daughter Says: Bring imaginative play back in style with a secret agent game that blends Twister and spy games.