Happy Friday! Today for show and tell I have a lot of movie and tv talk. Sometimes I just can’t help myself.

First, Cate and I went to see The Giver this week and it was so good. The movie doesn’t have high ratings on Rotten Tomatoes and I don’t understand why, it was great! The book really is one of the best books ever, so Cate and I were worried about how it would be adapted to film. We didn’t need to worry – the film was beautiful. There were a few changes to the story but the changes made sense, and the visual interpretation was lovely. Plus, Cate and I were both sobbing at the end, which earns the movie extra points for sure. Definitely a great movie, go see it! (If you haven’t read the book, do that first!)

Second, Netflix is starting to overwhelm me! I was super excited about the final season of The Killing coming on the service this month and totally liked it. Since the series is now done, I kind of figured I was sort of all caught up on my Netflix originals viewing. And then I heard about Bojack Horseman and Happy Valley and had to add them to our list. Then Nate and I watched the first episode of An Idiot Abroad, which was hilarious and necessitated another addition to our list. Make it stop! My playlist is too long! Sidenote: I will be forever bitter that Ricky Gervais didn’t win the Emmy this week for his acting on Derek. Don’t even get me started on Jim Parsons…for crying out loud.

One fun food link this week on Babble: 12 Clever, Tasty Recipe Hacks for the Dorm Room.

You know the drill…share your stuff!

Please note: the giveaway in this post is now closed.

It’s Saturday. And I’m kind of feeling like a movie. And a giveaway. Let’s do it!

First off, we love Netflix in our house. The kids especially love Netflix. It’s actually a little terrifying how adept they are at using the iPad. Even little 2-year-old Owen can find his way around an iPad, inevitably landing himself on the Netflix app watching an episode of Thomas the Train. In fact, if the house is ever a little too quiet, I usually find him hidden away in a corner with a stolen iPad cuddling with Netflix. It would be cute if it wasn’t so naughty!

So, you know, I have to be the mean mom who says “no” like twenty times a day when the kids ask if they can “watch a show on the iPad.” It’s not that I never let them watch shows, it’s just that they would seriously go onto Netflix 24 hours a day if they could. But, when I think back to my own childhood, I realize I must have watched way more TV than my kids do. I mean, I have about 3 billion movies completely memorized. Not to mention all the TV shows I remember watching. I’m not saying my mom just stuck me in front of the TV all the time. I also remember roaming with friends outside everyday, too. (Ah, the good old days.) But what I am saying is that I think I can cut my kids some slack.

But I have decided it’s time that the kids don’t always get to choose what they watch. (I told you I was a mean mom.) There are just so many great movies from back in the day that they have never seen. They prefer watching shorter shows like Wild Kratts (which I actually think is fabulous). But, kind of like our music education, I think it’s my responsibility as a parent to make sure my kids see all the awesome, especially the awesome that takes me back to my own childhood.

So, whenever I tell them “Movie Time!” they get excited. And then when I tell them “And you’re watching this!” they groan at me. They say things like, “I only like watching what I’ve seen already.” Or “That’s going to be too SCARY.” (We have wimpy kids. The Little Engine That Could was too scary for them, even our 3rd grader. Wimps, I tell ya.) But I hold my ground and insist that they are watching what I’ve chosen. And I tell them they will love it, just like I did when I was a kid. And, you know what, they always do. And then I say, “I told you so.” (Okay, not really, but I want to.)

Today I decided it was time for them to watch The Sword in the Stone. I LOVED that movie when I was little and it turns out Nate did, too. The kids complained so much when I started to put it on, it was like I was torturing them. (Silly kids.) But I persevered. I made them cuddle on the couch and suck it up. And they loved the movie. Owen honestly guffawed through the whole thing. It was awesome.

In celebration of my victory over my children, I think a Netflix giveaway is in order! One randomly-selected person will win a 3-month subscription to Netflix streaming! To enter, simply leave a comment telling us your favorite tv show or movie from childhood. I can’t wait to read all your comments and take a little walk down memory lane with you! (Comments must be posted by Midnight, PT on Thursday 5/1.)

The giveaway winner was Karen G., who said, “The Jetsons was good! My brother and I would fight over a time slot that showed GI Joes on one channel and Jem and the Holograms on another. Jem is outrageous! :)”

I am a member of the Netflix Stream Team, which means they send me cool stuff from time to time. For the record, I would be addicted to Netflix in spite of said cool stuff.