Here's What's Playing at the Caffeine Court Multiplex...

The holidays are here again, which means it's time to spend quality time with our loved ones.

My girls love movies, but it's tough to find films that appeal to them AND me! Some movies like "Ice Age" and "Madagascar", I find painful to sit through, and I only tolerate them because they make the kids happy. Scary movies are out of the question, so we don't watch any Harry Potter, Batman, or Spiderman. (Brad and I save those for date nights!)


Comedy is the genre that we all love, so here is my short list of movies my that my whole family loves!






1. Elf




Will Ferrell plays Buddy, a very large human who was raised by Santa's Elves at the North Pole. Will Ferrell is a total trip and we never get tired of watching this holiday flick. Classic scene: when a dwarf kicks Buddy's ass.

(Bonus: James Caan plays Buddy the elf's long lost Dad-and I LOVE James Caan!)



2. School of Rock






Yeah, I know, there's some adult language..but other than that, this movie is hilarious and the kids like fantasizing that they could be in a rock band.

Even if you don't approve of letting your children watch a movie about a loser alcoholic who lies and breaks the rules, rent it on your own and watch it. Jack Black is absolutely hilarious.





3. Shrek



No bad language, great music and funny as hell. Pure genius and it never gets old, no matter how many times you watch it.



4. Daddy Day Care







This movie relies on pratfalls and poopy jokes, which makes it our kind of movie!

Late additions:

I just thought of a few more that my kids and I LOVE...

"Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." I love it so much that for years I got myself spray tanned just so I could look like an Oompa-Loompa!

"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" A bizarre remake of the original with an amazing sountrack!!

The 1998 re-make of "The Parent Trap. " Lindsay Lohan was adorable before she got all messed up - and Dennis Quaid is smokin' as usual!

This is the last one, I PROMISE. Here's another good one with Lindsay L. The remake of Freaky Friday. VERY ENTERTAINING. Especially for girls.

What movies do you actually LIKE that you can watch with your children?

Let's welcome a new blogger to our little club!

A person very near and dear to my heart has just started a blog.

Go check her out and give her some positive reinforcement!

You can find her at SimplyNotSo.

Tell her that her big sis sent you!

(Oh and if she tells any stories about me, don't believe a word she says, she's a PATHOLOGICAL LIAR!)

Princeton, Pancakes and Poker

As I mentioned, Brad and I had a little 10th anniversary getaway Friday night. Originally we planned on going to New Hope, Pennsylvania. Our plans changed when Brad had to work late so we decided to go to Princeton, NJ.

If you are ever in Jersey, you HAVE to visit Princeton. What a great town! We ended up walking into an amazing restaurant called The Ferry House without reservations. I thought for sure we wouldn't get in, but we got really lucky and someone had just cancelled a reservation, so we were seated immediately and enjoyed a FABULOUS meal. (I started with the Roast Portobello Mushroom Bisque with Goat Cheese and Fried Leeks, Brad had the most adorable little crab taco appetizer with mandarin oranges and avocado. Our entrees consisted of, for me, Seared Tuna, rare with goat cheese mashed potatoes and steamed asparagus and for Brad, a Cajun blackened grouper with crab mashed potatoes and steamed mussels.) So yummy I didn't have room for dessert OR coffee. (And you KNOW I never turn down a cup of java!)

We stayed at a hotel about a mile out of town and in the morning we had pancakes at PJ's Pancake House...quite the institution in Princeton.

The town Princeton is chock full of great things to do, coffee houses, restaurants, bars, awesome shopping, and the university which made Brad and I wish we had studied harder in high school. We checked out Albert Einstein's house and did lots of walking. I can't wait to go back.

On Sunday we were stuck inside, so while the girls worked on their scrapbooks and played the Wii, we pulled out the Poker set had a really fun (and long) game of 5 card draw with my parents. Other than the tense moment, when my Dad told me I could get my fingers broken for trying to look at his hand after a bluff-a good time was had by all!

If you've never played Poker, you should learn! My nieces and nephews taught me last year at the beach, and now I'm hooked. Trust me...it's a great game. (As long as you follow the rules, I promise no one will break your fingers!)

I want to have a Poker night at our house sometime..no money involved, just chips. Whoever has the most chips at the end of the night will bring home a prize...like a nice bottle of wine. I like to do something a little different than a typical cocktail party every once in awhile.

So that was our weekend here in beautiful Central Jersey. Princeton, P.J.'s Pancakes and Poker. How about you?

Hangin' with the boys...

Nothing exciting or funny has happened to me in awhile, so bear with me.

I don't think I've mentioned that my 17 year old nephew has been staying with us this week. He wants to go into advertising and he's been doing a mini-internship at an ad agency all week.

I have to say that I've enjoyed having him around. The other night the two of us stayed up late telling stupid jokes and watching TV. It reminded me of college, just hanging out and being goofy. Since I have the mentality of a 17 year old, we got along quite well!

Last night my Dad, my husband, my nephew and myself saw "The Dark Knight." It wasn't exactly my type of flick, but I enjoyed it. Heath Ledger was incredible. I've always loved him and his performance in this movie was really intense, funny and creepy all at the same time.He was an amazing talent.

Aaron Eckhart who plays Harvey Dent in the movie was a standout too!

My father commented on Maggie Gyllenhall and how in his opinion, she isn't that attractive, but I liked that she is pretty in a regular way and that she had two handsome, successful men chasing after her.

Footnote: This is not a movie for the kids...very violent and dark.

Tonight my mom is watching the girls and Brad and I are going to spend the night in New Hope, PA wining and dining...

Right now I'm sitting covered in sweat after 1 1/2 hours of singles at my perfect friend Marybeth's house. (Some day I'll write about her. She's the kind of person you could hate, because her life is so awesome, but I can't bring myself to it because she's so damn nice!!)

I always feel so much better after a game of tennis-but you knew that about me already!

Have a fun weekend.

The Real Me...

I want to put your minds at ease. I am NOT a 500 lb. pervert....

As a matter of fact, I didn't mention it earlier, but I'm in Maryland babysitting my sister's children while she's in St. Lucia with her husband. I can assure you, my sister would not let a 500 lb. perverted man babysit for her kids. (Or a 200 lb one for that matter!)

We're having alot of fun. My parents are here, and my other sister lives a half hour away, so all the cousins get to hang out.

I got my nephew in trouble yesterday, because I went on my Facebook page with my sister to look at his prom pictures and there was a message that my nephew was participating in "Act Sexually Inappropriate Day" or something like that. (My nephew is 17.) It was just a joke, but my sister was livid...(sorry Jake.)

My sister is constantly monitoring her teenaged children's text messages and e-mails. Her kids know that at any moment she could grab their phones, or jump on their computers and see what they're up to. Does it stop them from cursing, or complaining about their parents to their friends...not really, but it does get them into hot water from time to time...my sister is TOUGH...if (and when) her kids step out of line WATCH OUT.

Speaking of teenagers...I finally saw some of the YouTube video of the teenaged girls beating up their "friend." (It was on Greta Van Susteran last night.) That was really disturbing. I felt physically ill watching it.

I am going to cherish these days...while my daughters are 4 and 8, and I know where they are every minute of the day.

I know that the toughest days as a parent are yet to come...

I can see through my sister that the teenage years bring so many challenges and blessings!

The fun of sports, proms, parties and college tours is mixed in with the drama of curfews, gossip, alcohol and student loans. It makes the sleepless nights of nursing and diaper changes look like a walk in the park!

"Small children disturb your sleep, big children, your life."

-Yiddish Proverb

Footnote: If any of you are on Facebook and want to be on my friend's list, e-mail me at jillyou@comcast.net and let me know your name...I only have about 5 Facebook friends right now, and most of them are under the age of 18!

Do I OFFEND??? Apparently the answer is YES!

I have received quite a bit of backlash regarding my previous post. Many of my friends and readers have implored me to remove the post from my blog, arguing that this time I've gone too far.

I'm sorry if I have offended any of you. I was as grossed out as anyone when I received this e-mail from Daily Candy. My point is...yes, this product is about as gross as it gets, but isn't it sad that the beauty industry has us worrying that even our most private areas are less than perfect!

Next thing you know there will be a $200 cream formulated to make our spleens smoother and wrinkle free. And guess what? I'm sure there will be plenty of suckers out there who will buy it!

Aunt Ellen goes to jail (almost!)...

My aunt live 5 minutes away from my sister. (The one that has four children ranging in ages from 17 down to 5.) Anyway, she needed a photo taken for an I.D. card. She went to my sister's house and my sister took her picture with her digital camera. She then gave my aunt her CF Card. My aunt proceeded to go to CVS to get the photo printed. Since my aunt is not technologically savvy she asked an employee to assist her with printing the photo.

He inserted the CF Card into his computer and called up the images. (THIS IS WHERE IT GETS INTERESTING...)

Up pops about 25 pictures of my 5 year old nephew's bare butt, private parts and face! (There were some pictures of the dog's butt thrown in to add some variety to the mix!) Before you call the cops, it was pretty obvious that he had taken these photos of himself! My aunt was flabbergasted and I think the CVS employee could tell by the look on her face that she was as shocked as he was.

Needless to say my sister had a little talk with my nephew. Apparently he was "festering", as we call it, while mom was busy with his siblings and decided to have a private little photo session. Thankfully Aunt Ellen was not brought up on charges and the offending photos have been deleted from the family camera.

Whew. That could have gotten ugly.

Just another day in the life of my sister who if she had enough time should start her own blog!

*festering (verb)-when a child (usually the youngest) is left to his or her own devices while mom and dad are otherwise occupied. Festering activities may include cutting ones own hair, spilling nail polish on the couch or photographing ones private parts with the family camera.

Wonders never cease...

I received a very surprising phone call from my mother today, my father was released from the hospital! Since they live in Florida, he is recuperating at my house.

I was completely shocked-but the hospital feels it lessens the chance of infections to get patients out ASAP. (I'm sure insurance has something to do with it as well!) Anyway, we will have our hands full for the next couple of weeks. He is still sore, but he is GIDDY to be alive and home.

We are still thanking God every day. He is a very, very lucky man.

Dad Update

Thanks for all of your sweet comments. My father is doing really well. My sister and Mom are with him today-I've been busy trying to organize my family's life so I can spend the next few days at the hospital.

My sister tells me that he is in EXTREME pain (understandable after 11 hours on the table) but is making incredible progress. He's off the breathing machine and talking (he even made a couple of jokes).

The doctor who operated on him, Dr. Allan Stewart is a miracle worker (and he's pretty cute too-but maybe I'm biased because he saved my father's life).

He was part of the team that operated on Bill Clinton when he had heart surgery. The right doctors (as well as luck in my Dad's case-knock wood) can make all the difference in the world!

If you live in the Northeast and ever need a heart specialist-the ladies and gents at New York Presbyterian/Columbia are the ones to see.

P.S. I love parentheses. (I really do!)