If you have been paying attention to movie releases lately, then you've definitely heard of the new Disney Pixar film Turning Red. It's streaming on Disney+ and as fans of Pixar, we had to watch it. It follows Meilin "Mei" Lee, a 13-year-old Chinese-Canadian student who, due to a hereditary curse, transforms into a giant red panda when she feels a strong emotion. It also chronicles her journey into puberty and her relationship with her family, specifically her mom.

We have heard about the controversy surrounding it so we all watched it together as a family. It is rated PG but we wanted to be able to talk about any scenes that we felt were a little mature for our younger boys. However, in the end, I didn't see what all the fuss was about. I thought the movie illustrated what most teenagers go through as they are learning about their emotions changing and how to deal with them. Of course, my teenage daughter loved the part about the boy band 4*Town. She now wants to be a 4*Townie. 

St. Patrick's Day Shamrock Easy Lunch Recipe Idea

 

It's not easy being green, except on St. Patrick's Day! My family loves celebrating St. Patrick's Day by dressing in green and of course eating green food. Every year we find green cheese at stores like ALDI. One of my favorite things to do is to make corned beef and cabbage. I found a good sale on it this week so I even bought two packages. If you are looking for an easy food art lunch to celebrate, you've come to the right place!

To make corned beef you don't need to do anything fancy. Many times it even comes with all of the spices that you need. You can make it in the oven or in a pressure cooker. We find it easiest to make in our Instant Pot and used this recipe. For the rest of this lunch, you just need a knife, cutting board, and the other ingredients!