The kids and I had so much fun in NYC last week at the @BirdsEye #Playwithyourveggies event! The girls got to meet Nick star Jennette McCurdy! The event was to show kids how fun it can be to eat their veggies. The host was Nickeloden star Jennette McCurdy and Birds Eye Chef Michael Christiansen was on hand to showcase and help create recipes and play games. As you all know I cannot cook so it was nice to taste the recipes and have them available afterwards. The event was set up in stations reminding parents and kids to Re-write the dinnertime rules this summer! Here are some of the fun stations and photos!
The whole family at the pizza making stationBirds Eye Re-writes The Rules of Dinnertime. Rule #3 Celebrate Every BiteThe Birds Eye event had such cute decorationsRelaxing before the event started. I loved the plush stuffed veggiesEven though my little one’s face looks horrified the smoothies with the VEGGIES was so good. In fact when we came home they requested the veggie smoothie!
The kids and I had so much fun in NYC last week at the @BirdsEye #Playwithyourveggies event! The girls got to meet Nick star Jennette McCurdy! The event was to show kids how fun it can be to eat their veggies. The host was Nickeloden star Jennette McCurdy and Birds Eye Chef Michael Christiansen was on hand to showcase and help create recipes and play games. As you all know I cannot cook so it was nice to taste the recipes and have them available afterwards. The event was set up in stations reminding parents and kids to Re-write the dinnertime rules this summer! Here are some of the fun stations and photos!
The whole family at the pizza making stationBirds Eye Re-writes The Rules of Dinnertime. Rule #3 Celebrate Every BiteThe Birds Eye event had such cute decorationsRelaxing before the event started. I loved the plush stuffed veggiesEven though my little one’s face looks horrified the smoothies with the VEGGIES was so good. In fact when we came home they requested the veggie smoothie!
In July we were so busy with swim and dive team that we really did not get away that much. I was so excited to be able to go to an event in NYC with the kids and tied it into my husband’s business trip. Even though we were only in NYC for 24 hours there was still lots to do. Our visits included stops at Times Square, Bryant Park, The New York Public Library, Central Park, The Gramercy Park Hotel and The Plaza!
There are so many places that we say we are going to visit so next time on our list is visiting The Statue of Liberty, The Natural Museum of History and the Empire State Building!
Trendymommies at The PlazaA visit to central park or as my older one calls it grand central park!Dylans Candy Bar – kids favorite stop!A stroll at night @BryantPark
No back to school blog posts here as there is still plenty of summer left. Today on @NECN we walked through the best packed beach bag with a few neat items. Here they are!
·       Of course love the traditional bag from LLBean and they make great towels as well but what is very trendy now is the nautical bag. https://www.sailorbags.com a are made with actual sails! So cute in red and blue and they have great accessories to go along with the beach bags.
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·      I do have a ton of flip flops but love the Oka b. line of flip flops as they are comfortable and colorful and the starfish is pretty trendy right now.  They are available at retailers locally including Fairmont Copley in Boston.
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·      I am always looking for new trends in sunscreen. The Vichy line of sunscreens available from local CVS stores have great technology like the mousse lotion sunscreen and dry finish lotion.  I also love supergoop.com spray and their sunscreen wipes! The Paul Mitchell line of sun care for hair is a must have for moms that color their hair. The Sun recovery Hydrating Shampoo and after sun masque is so soothing and both have a UVeil™ to lock in color before sun exposure. The Sun Shield conditioning spray softens hair and adds shine as well as protects hair from the sun and prevents color fade
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·      Sand toys for the kids are a must and we love this cupcake set from Melissa and Doug available at Boston-based wayfair.com   Wayfair.comis the largest online retailer of home goods. The cupcake set comes with its own bag and its pretty portable and will keep the kids entertained for hours. They also sell this portable speaker from ihome – a must on the beach!
Disclosure: the above companies sent me the products to test out and review. All opinions are my own.
No back to school blog posts here as there is still plenty of summer left. Today on @NECN we walked through the best packed beach bag with a few neat items. Here they are!
Of course I love the traditional bag from LLBean and they make great towels as well but what is very trendy now is the nautical bag.  SailorBags are made with actual sails! So cute in red and blue and they have great accessories to go along with the beach bags.
I do have a ton of flip flops but love the Oka b. line of flip flops as they are comfortable and colorful and the starfish is pretty trendy right now.  They are available at retailers locally including Fairmont Copley in Boston.
I am always looking for new trends in sunscreen. The Vichy line of sunscreens available from local CVS stores have great technology like the mousse lotion sunscreen and dry finish lotion. I also love supergoop spray and their sunscreen wipes! The Paul Mitchell line of sun care for hair is a must have for moms that color their hair. The Sun recovery Hydrating Shampoo and after sun masque is so soothing and both have a UVeil™ to lock in color before sun exposure. The Sun Shield conditioning spray softens hair and adds shine as well as protects hair from the sun and prevents color fade.
Sand toys for the kids are a must and we love this cupcake set from Melissa and Doug available at Boston-based wairfair.com   Wayfair.com is the largest online retailer of home goods. The cupcake set comes with its own bag and its pretty portable and will keep the kids entertained for hours. They also sell this portable speaker from ihome – a must on the beach!
Disclosure: the above companies sent me the products to test out and review. All opinions are my own.
No back to school blog posts here as there is still plenty of summer left. Today on @NECN we walked through the best packed beach bag with a few neat items. Here they are!
Of course I love the traditional bag from LLBean and they make great towels as well but what is very trendy now is the nautical bag.  SailorBags are made with actual sails! So cute in red and blue and they have great accessories to go along with the beach bags.
I do have a ton of flip flops but love the Oka b. line of flip flops as they are comfortable and colorful and the starfish is pretty trendy right now.  They are available at retailers locally including Fairmont Copley in Boston.
I am always looking for new trends in sunscreen. The Vichy line of sunscreens available from local CVS stores have great technology like the mousse lotion sunscreen and dry finish lotion. I also love supergoop spray and their sunscreen wipes! The Paul Mitchell line of sun care for hair is a must have for moms that color their hair. The Sun recovery Hydrating Shampoo and after sun masque is so soothing and both have a UVeil™ to lock in color before sun exposure. The Sun Shield conditioning spray softens hair and adds shine as well as protects hair from the sun and prevents color fade.
Sand toys for the kids are a must and we love this cupcake set from Melissa and Doug available at Boston-based wairfair.com   Wayfair.com is the largest online retailer of home goods. The cupcake set comes with its own bag and its pretty portable and will keep the kids entertained for hours. They also sell this portable speaker from ihome – a must on the beach!
Disclosure: the above companies sent me the products to test out and review. All opinions are my own.
I love a good beach bag but I love the must have items that I carry in it: Sunscreen, bug spray, a good cover up and of course sunglasses are in my bag. Check out my favorites this season!
A good Cover-Up – I never really noticed a difference in cover-ups until I tried one from Coolibar.  This company makes clothing, swimwear and hats with what they call at UPF (ultraviolet Protection Factor, which is a rating given for fabrics similar to SPF on sunscreens). They were nice enough to send me one to test out and it is sooooo multifunctional!  The color block tunic makes a great cover-up but is also perfect for a summer night out. If it is cool out pair it with leggings for a bright summer outfit. I received so many complements when I wore mine out!
Bug Repellent – people stare at me funny when they see this little contraption on my hip but I swear it works so I don’t leave home without it.  The New Terminix ALLCLEAR SideKick Mosquito Repelleris an all natural, clip-able mosquito repeller. The fan-based diffusion technology circulates 100% safe, all-natural repellent of lemongrass, cinnamon, peppermint, & geranium oils. It is non-toxic. The cost is $9.99 and includes 1 clip-able unit, 2 AAA batteries, 1 refill. Available at terminixallclear.com, homedepot.com, amazon.com.
Beach Bag – since my kids are older they tend to carry their own bags so I have opt for a smaller bag to carry my items in. My favorites include of course Lands End and LLBean but my new favorite are the Scout bags and I am loving my mini vineyard vines find from several years ago! I still get complements on it!
Disclosure:Â Coolibar as well as Terminix sent me the products to test out and review. All opinions are my own.Â
@coolibar coverup: perfect for beach and pool (and an evening out!)
Summer is flying by! It is especially busy this week as my girls birthdays are 5 days apart. Where does the time go? Birthday parties can be challenging in the summer (hot days, kids away, moms exhausted!) but as I have learned they can be easy to plan. Here are my top tips:
·      Get outside – if you have a winter b day this can be challenging but use the warm weather to your advantage. Summer is the best time to have a party at home because the kids will not be in your home! Set up stations outside – one water (drip, drip drop!) one creating something (that will keep them occupied)
·      Creating something – this is always good if you need to occupy time during an at home birthday party. I used to have kids over for HOURS, but now the standard is less than 2 hours.  My favorite creative ideas are making flip flops with fuzzy strips of fabric, duck tape creations, putting teams together to create something (newspaper dresses??). Find something that will occupy their time while you set up the pizza, cake, goodies.
·      Make the theme easy – it’s hot and not a lot of kids like to run around after a busy summer day. We love movie nights (as the party will start after 5:00 when most kids are home from camp) and end when the kids are tired and ready to go back home!
·      Save the sleepover – We have done the big sleepover once for each child. It is so difficult to keep them occupied, settle them down (try that with 12 girls) and usually with girls some drama will occur. If it’s a big birthday and you want to have the sleepover (or should I say…your child wants to!) Limit it to a smaller group, set the ground rules in front of the parents and the kids (no running around at 2:30, or use the dog as an excuse – no more noise or the dog will freak out!)
·      Plan the Birthday off-site – especially during the summer there are so many options for having a birthday somewhere other than at home.  Especially when the kids are older a trip to a local water park, movie theatre, or amusement park (with adult supervision of course can be a blast) Check out our photo from many years ago on a trip to the American Girl doll store – even an afternoon at the mall can be an adventure!
We love hats, especially during the summertime as they protect us from the sun. Baseball caps, sun visors and funky fedoras – we have them all in this house!Â
These two adorable fedoras are ones I picked up at the christmas tree shops while at the cape. So affordable at only $3.99 each!
While searching the web I found this site e4hats.com. They have quite the selection at many different price points so check them out!
We love hats, especially during the summertime as they protect us from the sun. Baseball caps, sun visors and funky fedoras – we have them all in this house!Â
These two adorable fedoras are ones I picked up at the christmas tree shops while at the cape. So affordable at only $3.99 each!
While searching the web I found this site e4hats.com. They have quite the selection at many different price points so check them out!
