Funky Polkadot Giraffe: Amazon

Thursday, March 23, 2017

{{NEW}} An American Girl Story - Ivy and Julie 1976: A Happy Balance #IvyandJulie

Disclosure: This American Girl post was sponsored by KidzVuz for Amazon Studios. All opinions are my own.

I love the American Girl brand because it inspires girls to be their best, stand

up for what is right, and encourages them to follow their dreams. My Isabella

loves her Melody and Grace American Girl dolls and she was in heaven when we

went to the American Girl store in Los Angeles at The Grove this last October.

She loves reading the stories and learning more about girls from different time

periods and locations. I like that it broadens her perspective and helps her to

appreciate all that she has been blessed with as a girl growing up now.

On Friday, March 24th Amazon Original Special An American Girl Story -
Ivy and Julie 1976: A Happy Balance will be released on Amazon Prime
Video in the US, UK, Germany and Austria. This new American Girl Story is
set in 1976 San Francisco and chronicles the life of Ivy Ling - a 10-year-old
Chinese-American girl who is trying to find a balance between her Chinese
traditions and obligations and her desire to be like her all-American
best friend, Julie.

I think that all girls go through a period in their life when the grass looks greener

on the other side and you wish you could trade places with your best friend. I

know there were times I wished my mom and dad would let me go to sleepovers

like Jenna's parents or that I could go to the NKOTB concert in 5th grade like

Tiffany's mom took her. However, I think there comes that awakening when you

appreciate all that your parents and grandparents have done to give you the life

that you have and your grass, though maybe a different shade of green, is just

as beautiful as those around you!

Ivy loves gymnastics and it is the most important thing to her - it's her signature

piece. She would definitely prefer to spend her Saturdays getting in extra
practice than at Chinese school learning Mandarin. However, when her
All-City gymnastic competition happens to fall on the same day as her family's
big Chinese New Year dinner she is torn.
She turns to her best friend, Julie, to help her make a difficult choice - the
gymnastic meet or the the big family dinner.

I love the scene when Ivy's grandparents share their stories how how they came

to America and how it was difficult for them to find their place in a country. As

she listens to their stories Ivy comes to realize that grandparents also struggled

to find the balance between their Chinese heritage and being "an American".

Another one of my favorite scenes is when Ivy and her mom come to understand

one another and find a compromise that makes both of them happy. I love when

daughters are portrayed as honoring and loving their mothers instead of

resenting them - as is prevalent in media these days. My mom is one of my best

friends and I appreciate all she has done for me and I hope my daughters will

feel that way about me as they grow up. Not to say that I always agreed with her
and didn't wish to wiggle my toes in the grass on the other side every once in
awhile, but I grew up knowing I was loved and that my mom wanted the best
for me and my future.

We popped some popcorn, grabbed Melody and Grace, and snuggled on the

couch to watch Ivy and Julie 1976: A Happy Balance. It was a lot of fun to spend
time with Isabella and watch an uplifting movie and encourages her to find her
own way and make important choices, but to also value her mother's opinion
and remember that family is very important.

Will Ivy follow her dreams and compete in the All-City gymnastic meet or will

she honor her family obligations and go to the Chinese New Year dinner? You'll

have to sign into Amazon Kids Prime Video on March 24th and watch the movie

to find out!

Friday, October 21, 2016

{NEW} An American Girl Story - Melody 1963: Love Has to Win Debuts on Amazon Prime Video #LiftYourVoice

Disclosure: This post has been sponsored by KidzVuz on behalf of Amazon Studios. All opinions are my own.

We had the fantastic opportunity to attend the red carpet screening of the new Amazon
Studios movie An American Girl Story - Melody 1963: Love Has to Win at the
Pacific Theatres at the Grove in Los Angeles. It was such a magical experience to be
there with the actors and creators of the film and it enjoy such a powerful film as mother
and daughter. Isabella was giddy to not only be at a red carpet event, but the fact that it
was a new American Girl Story movie put her over the moon. She wore her cutest
dress and made sure to bring her American Girl Grace doll that she got for Christmas
last year so that they could enjoy the movie together.

An American Girl Story - Melody 1963: Love Has to Win is an Amazon Original
live-action special that tells the story of 10-year-old Melody in 1963 Detroit during
the civil rights movement. She begins to question the promises in the Pledge of Allegiance
as she experiences injustices and tragedies that show we aren't "indivisible"as a nation.
I was so surprised how the theme and messages of Melody's life in 1963 story mirror a
lot of what is happening in our country right now and how the message is very relevant
today. It struck me how I need to be brave like Melody and "stand up for what's right,
even when it's hard or scary."

I was glad to share this experience with my 7-year-old daughter so that we could
discuss what happened during the civil rights movement and how excluding others or
treating them terribly because they are different than we are is never acceptable. We
discussed how we are all children of God and that we all deserve to be treated kindly
and with respect, and if we see someone doing otherwise, it is our responsibility to
speak up and help those around us.

After the movie we headed to the American Girl Place for the private after party.
It was amazing! We had never been to the American Girl Place before so even just being
in the presence of all that American Girl amazing-ness was magical for Isabella. It really
was a dream come true for her. Amazon and American Girl know how to throw a party!
And we had such a great time on our mother/daughter night out.

There was a live DJ, delicious food, fun activities, a photo booth and the opportunity to
shop to our hearts content. She truly was a kid in a candy shop or rather, a girl in an
American Girl store and she would flit from one thing to another, always exclaiming,
"Mom! Look at the this!"

We started with the delicious food. They had mom and kid friendly options and the
drinks were yummy. She loved the different flavored lemonades and I was thankful for
a good Diet Coke. They had tables set up in the American Girl rooms of the store and
so we got to enjoy our food in the ambiance of the American Girls. It was so fun! Our
favorite were the bite sized pizzas with itty bitty pepperonis and the miniature milkshakes.

The adorable Marsai Martin - from Black-ish - starred as Melody in
An American Girl Story - Melody 1963: Love Has to Win and she was there at the
after party too. She was so sweet and took a picture with all her young fans. She did an
amazing job as Melody and portraying a character experiencing very hard things at such
a young age. I was very impressed with her ability to make you feel the heartache and
triumph that Melody experiences in the movie.

There were fun activities for the kids and we enjoyed making the little planting pots

and cute pennants with positive messages for them to decorate and color. She is truly

her mother's daughter and loves to create and make things, so she made sure to finish

her projects before we left the party that night.

We had a blast dressing up for the photo booth. If you know me, you know I'm not a
fan of being in front of the camera. But how could I say "no" when she asked me to
dress up and take pictures with her. You know I couldn't! So I put my fear aside and
we hammed it up together for our fun photos! Such a great memory to have together!

The Melody American Girl doll is adorable! She is dressed up in a historically

accurate 1960s outfit and she has many more fantastic outfits and accessories

you can purchase to go with them. On the way to The Grove Isabella kept saying,

"Wouldn't it be so cool if they gave us a Melody doll?!" And I kept telling her that it would

indeed be "very cool", but that I didn't think it was very likely and we were just excited

to be able to see the movie and go to the party. So, when we walked into the party and they

handed her a Melody doll of her very own, she was over the moon!

It really was a magical night and I am so glad that were able to make these memories
together. I appreciate how Amazon and American Girl have taken a topic that is hard
to talk about with your kids, but is so important, and made it accessible and relevant to
them. This is imperative because they are are our future and if we can affect change with
them, then hopefully we are on a better path than we are right now.