Our Five Ring Circus: Family Matters - Netflix #StreamTeam

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Family Matters - Netflix #StreamTeam

When Liam was born, and we heard the words, "It's a BOY!" the vision of a picture perfect family flashed through my mind.  A mom and dad, 2 girls, 2 boys, a cat, and a dog.  Pretty much perfect.

What I didn't envision was having a child with Down Syndrome.  A child society would label not so perfect.  Truth be told, his birth diagnosis felt like a prison sentence.

Thankfully, that feeling of dread only lasted a few hours.  It didn't take long for Liam to capture our hearts, and we were able to see him as a beautiful person, not just a diagnosis. 

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My family is not the traditional family people envision having.  The "special needs" aspect is unappealing to many.  But we can't picture a more perfect family than the one we have.  Liam made us stronger.

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As parents, Grant and I really focus on teaching our kids just how important family is.  We teach them that it's important to love each other despite any flaws, cheer each other on, and stand up for each other.  I do believe our lessons are sinking in, because they all have an incredible bond.  Their love for each other is evident in every picture I take.

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Grant and I believe in making family time a priority.  Of course we do the mandatory eat dinner together at least 5 nights a week thing, and discuss our days while doing so.  We also go on many fun adventures with our family and friends.  All the time we spend together makes our family bond even stronger.

This year, we added to our family time by having Family Movie Night once a week.  Each week, one family member got to choose a movie, and we all curled up on the couch after dinner to watch it.  We rotated through our family, so each person got a chance to pick.

We often turned to Netflix for inspiration!

We laughed our way through Night at the Museum, rediscovered old favorites from Grant's and my childhood (Labyrinth, The Princess Bride, The Dark Crystal, The NeverEnding Story), and discovered why Lily loves Tangled and Frozen so much!

Eventually, we moved on to watching series.  We recently flew through the Harry Potter series and the Back to the Future Trilogy.  What started out as a weekly event, turned into a twice a week event!

Tonight, for Family Movie Night, we're taking a break from our traditional family movies and streaming the Planet Earth Collection on Netflix.  Grant and I watched these when they first came out. This documentary covers all of Planet Earth, from the oceans to the mountains and everything in between. The footage is absolutely breathtaking!  I know the kids will learn so much just by watching this series!

While raising our family is incredibly important, it's just as important for Grant and I to strengthen our relationship.  Enter Netflix Date Nights!  These occur 3-4 nights a week after we tuck our four kids into bed!

We grab snacks, curl up next to each other, and work our way through TV series that are no longer on the air. Some of our favorites, which featured some awesome families (and some framilies!), were Cheers, Frasier, Everybody Loves Raymond, and The Office.  We're currently working our way through the Gilmore Girls for the third (or is it fourth?!?) time.  Rory and Lorelai are not your typical family, but their love for each other can't be beat.  We're nearing the end of the series, and just like each time before, I know I'm going to feel sad about it being over!

Here are a few more Family Friendly titles to stream on Netflix:

For your little kids:

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1. Lily's Driftwood Bay
2. The Tigger Movie
3. Guess How Much I Love You: S1E5 Big Like You
4. Angelina Ballerina: Superstar Sisters


For your big kids:

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1. Crash & Bernstein
2. Life with Boys
3. Spy Kids
4. Russell Madness 


For teens and adults:

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1. Raising Hope
2. The Fosters
3. Gilmore Girls
4. Life Unexpected


New on Netflix for Kids and Families:

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Puss in Boots
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1. All Hail King Julien (new episodes 4/3)
2. Littlest Pet Shop: Season 3 (4/21)
3. Lalaloopsy: Festival of Sugary Sweets (5/2)
4. Puss in Boots (new episodes 5/8)
5. H20 Mermaid Adventures (5/22)
6. Richie Rich: Season 2 (5/22)
7. Mako Mermaids: Season 3 (5/29)







What are your favorite movies/shows to watch with your family? 

There is no such thing as the perfect family.  I happily embrace the family I was given, and feel nothing but pride and overwhelming love when I think of them!


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*I'm a member of the Netflix #StreamTeam.  All opinions are my own. I was given a free year of Netflix Streaming and promotional items in exchange for my monthly review.





10 comments:

  1. What sweet pictures! We really love the Princess Bride too!

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    1. It was one of my childhood favorites! The big kids loved it, too!

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  2. I tried to show my boys The Dark CRystal and my twins started crying. It was too scary for them! Guess we'll wait a couple of years. Love your pictures!

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    1. I was terrified of certain parts when I was a child! Dylan and Lexie weren't scared, and Lily slept through it!

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  3. Every picture I see of your kids I think how much they look like they really love one another so much. I picture Dylan and Lexi like Lucy and Edmund from Narnia - the two older, almost parental siblings taking extra special care of their two younger siblings!

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    1. Awww, thank you so much! XOXO They are really good with Lily and Liam!

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  4. My family always did Saturday night movie and pizza. Those nights are some of my best memories growing up. Netflix is so convenient for the family, I love it!

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    1. That's so much fun! I'm glad you remember it so fondly. I hope my kids do, too!

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  5. I love how your children are always close to each other with a huge smile in your pictures. It's evident how much they love each other. I have to commend you for being able to have family dinner night five times per week and alone time with your hubby at least three or four times per week. There's only three of us, and we do struggle to get home on time to all be able to sit down for family dinner. I suppose we try to make up for it on the weekends... Love that you guys are now all watching Planet Earth; it's wonderful!

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    1. Thank you so much! It was so much harder when my husband wouldn't get home until 7:30, but we're successful most of the time!

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