This post is sponsored as part of my participation in the Netflix Stream Team.

Don’t tell 2015, but we rang in the New Year a little early.

Last night, we ate good food, hung streamers and balloons and brought out party hats and noise-makers; half the reason was to celebrate my daughter’s birthday, half was to enjoy the new, original Netflix series, All Hail King Julien and the other half was to send 2014 out with a bang. Hey, when we throw a party we give it 150%.

After cake and ice cream, Pa and I nestled all snug in our bed, while the kids stayed up singing Move It, Move It! and watching Netflix until 5:00am. FIVE. A. M. Which, ironically, is when I got up for the day.

So, tonight our ball is dropping early thanks to King Julien and his kid-sized countdown special. (Hey, he caused this lack of sleep – it’s only right that he fix it!) You can start streaming the kid-sized countdown at any time of day and ring in the New Year without staying up until midnight. That word you’re looking for? Genius.

You won’t have as much mess to clean up and you’ll have plenty of energy for a series-long Friends marathon which starts streaming on Netflix tomorrow! Could I BE any more excited?

Happy New Year, everyone! If you need me, I’ll be on Netflix.

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I’m feeling thankful for my friends lately. Maybe it’s because it’s Thanksgiving week, maybe it’s because I’ve really needed them lately, or maybe it’s because Netflix is bringing us all 10 seasons of “Friends” starting January 1st!

Remember the Thanksgiving episodes of “Friends”? Who didn’t want a group with whom you could play football in Central Park? Who didn’t want a Monica preparing dinner? Who didn’t want Brad Pitt at the table?

If I invited my closest friends to Thanksgiving dinner, it would be a crew that looked a lot like those six, crazy kids. Though we’re in our 40s, not our 20s, and none of my male friends look like Brad Pitt. But, we would laugh a lot. You can be sure of that. My friends have to make me laugh.

My husband would probably want someone with whom he could talk sports and my kids would both want friends who stimulated their minds. My 12-year old son would pick the Kratt Brothers and my daughter would choose Sherlock and John Watson, even though they’re British and probably hold a grudge about the whole Mayflower thing.

Any of us would probably want to hang out with Jennifer Lawrence – you can catch her on Netflix right now as Katniss Everdeen in “Catching Fire”, where she plays a friend who would give her life for you and in “Silver Linings Playbook”. I just watched that again. I think it’s one of my favorite movies, ever. Everyone needs a friend who will put up with our manic side. Just sayin’.

So, our Thanksgiving table would include a girl who’s great with a bow and arrow, two guys who are fantastic with zoo animals, six NYC 20-somethings, and a couple of British guys.

I call the wishbone!

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My husband really wants my daughter to watch Halloween. You remember it, right? Jamie Lee Curtis stars as the babysitting teen, chased and tormented by Michael Myers; not the one of Shrek fame, but rather the escaped psychiatric inmate and slasher. I hate that movie. I hate scary movies in general, but my daughter is at that tender age where her parents need to show her that it’s never okay to answer the door when she’s home alone and that she can never, ever trust a landline. Life lessons, we haz ’em.

Thankfully, we’ve decided to scare her with something a little more tame and less likely to occur in real life, which is “LOST”, also known as, “My favorite show, EVER.” Okay, the plane crash could happen, but the chance of landing in paradise with ample fresh water and tubs of Dharma Initiative ranch dressing is not usually the end result. Also, smoke monsters.

In addition to sharing the experience with my daughter, the beauty of rewatching “LOST” is that my husband and I are catching all kinds of stuff that we never noticed the first time around. There are subtle, and not-so-subtle, clues of what’s to come. Our daughter not knowing what’s going to happen is just plain fun for us. We rub our hands together and evil laugh, nod, raise our eyebrows and say, “Hmmm…I wonder what THAT means?” a lot. Then our daughter rolls her eyes.

Of course, getting her to sit down to watch “LOST” means that we’ve pulled her away from “Dr. Who”, “Sherlock” or “Merlin”, which are also good for this spooky season (and all available for streaming on Netflix). They’re not too scary, but they are suspenseful and they make me feel intelligent on account of all the British.

It’s fun to have my daughter at a point in her life where we can introduce her to shows we enjoy. It may not be a traditional milestone, but you can be sure we’re making memories. Anyway, we aren’t a traditional family because when she eventually watches Halloween, I bet my husband will be really proud.

I am part of the Netflix Stream Team. Check back here, monthly, to see what I’m watching.

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This is a sponsored post written in partnership with One2One Network and Crest.

Have you ever bitten into an ice cream bar and felt searing pain in your teeth? How about feeling like you’re being stabbed when you drink hot coffee, eat tomatoes or something sweet? If not, you’re lucky, and if you don’t, that doesn’t mean you never will.

Some 30 million households suffer from sensitive teeth which is caused by exposed dental tubules (microscopic holes) which can be caused by overbrushing or receding gums. The exposed tubules are basically a passageway for fluid to travel through your tooth, directly to the nerve. OUCH!

But, if you know what it’s like to suffer with sensitive teeth, Crest has some good news for you!

I was lucky enough to attend an informational meeting with Dr. Robert Gerlach, a Research Fellow in Worldwide Clinical Investigations at Proctor & Gamble, and Dr. Travis Stork, Emmy® nominated TV host of The Doctors and board-certified emergency medicine physician. They spoke on Crest’s latest achievement that will bring you relief from painful eating and drinking.

Introducing Crest Senti-Stop Strips – a revolutionary, new product that can be used at home, applied directly to affected teeth, and blocks pain in just 10 minutes.

If you’ve ever used White Strips, you know how easy they are to apply and the Sensi-Strips work much the same way. Only, these strips are covered with oxolate gel (Don’t worry, oxolate is natural. You can even find it in apples!), which reacts with your teeth to form crystals that block the dental tubules and, therefore, block the pain! Why didn’t I think of that?

Luckily I didn’t, because then I wouldn’t have been able to meet this guy. Cute, smart, nice, funny, and super clean teeth thanks to Crest Pro-Health products which deliver comprehensive protection for your teeth; cavities, gingivitis, plaque, sensitivity, tartar, whitening and fresh breath. We all know that clean teeth and healthy gums are important to overall health, but when Dr. Travis Stork tells you to floss, you listen.

If you, or someone you know, has sensitive teeth leave a comment on this blog post before 9/26/14 at noon Eastern for a chance to win a free package of Crest Sensi-Stop Strips and a coupon for a future purchase. Your teeth will thank you for it!

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