Archives for February 2013

5 Fun and Exciting Family Activities for Your Next Beach Vacation

Are you looking to create some great memories on your next family vacation? If so, why not go to the beach where the water is warm, the salt air is refreshing and you can spend hours on end just walking along the beach?

beachOf course, if you are planning to take some children along with you, they are definitely going to want to do more than swim; they are going to want to find some other ways to be entertained. And so, we have provided you with a list of five fun and exciting family activities that everyone can join in on to make the time just that much more fun.

Go fishing. Whether you’re a fishing pro or you’ve never gone fishing before, most beaches will allow you to go fishing so think about taking a couple of poles along with you or renting a boat if they have some available. Even if you decide to “catch and release” them, it can be a lot of fun to see what kinds of fish you can find.

Hunt for shells. Beaches provide beautiful scenery and one of the things that come with that are all of the pretty shells that you can find in the sand. If you or one of your children either likes to collect items or enjoys making arts and crafts, take out a couple of hours to walk along the shore to go shell hunting. You may find a couple that will be perfect for a bookshelf or dresser or that you can even turn into pieces of jewelry.
[Read more…]

Snow Ice Cream!

Well, we have been wishing and hoping for snow for over 2 years now! We might get a little here and a little there, but I am happy to say that we finally got snow. Not only did we get snow, but we got 16+ inches of snow, and the possibility of more snow within the next couple of days.

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Both of my daughters have really not seen much snow (sad to say, since we live in the Midwest), so they were a little apprehensive about playing in it, but finally were ready to get out and play all that we could.

I remember when I was a kid, we would always make snow ice cream when we got a big snow. I was so happy to get a big snow [Read more…]

Kohl’s Cares for Kids

dr seuss kholsKohl’ s Cares newest campaign is up and running this spring with a $5 Dr. Seuss book as well as a Dr. Seuss plush. When purchasing keep in mind Kohl s donates 100% of its profits from these sales to children’s health and education initiatives across the country. The perfect combo of cute plush, good book and donation to a cause all make for a very rewarding purchase.

cat in hat

The current line up consists of:

Cat in the Hat plush and book, Horton and Horton Hears a Who! book, the sleep book and Sleeps plush as well as the ABC book and Alligator plush. If buying online there are special exclusives like the Happy Birthday To You book and the ABC book’s Rhino plush to round out the collection.

As with all Kohl’ s Cares items the books are hard cover and big. Prefect for story time before bed. The plush are well made and soft to complete the bed time set. Little Man loves when he has a plush from the story while reading the story, according to him it puts good dreams in his head.

Check out the official press release below:

Hats Off to Helping Kids with Kohl’s Cares Books and Plush Toys for $5 Each

100 percent of the net profit supports children’s health and education initiatives nationwide

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis., January 8, 2013 – Kohl’s Department Stores (NYSE: KSS) is bringing the charming stories from legendary author Dr. Seuss to children and families across the country with playful and affordable books and plush toys that will delight readers with their magical rhymes and quirky illustrations. This spring, Kohl’s offers exclusive hardcover editions of classic Dr. Seuss books including The Cat in The Hat, Horton Hears a Who!, Sleep Book, ABC’s and Happy Birthday to You! along with coordinating plush toys for just $5 each through the Kohl’s Cares cause merchandise program. Since the program’s inception in 2000, the Kohl’s Cares philanthropic [Read more…]

The Art of Getting Lost

Recently, I was on a trip in Upstate NY with my son. We were forced to take a detour, and wouldn’t you know it- there were no signs to tell you how to get back on the main road. My GPS was also failing me, and wanted me to turn about and take the closed off road. It was raining, and I was starting to run late for a tour- this was getting aggravating.

My five year old was pretty happy in the backseat, telling me about the things he was seeing out the window. I have to admit that I was not really listening, but was trying to figure out where I was and how to get where I wanted to be. I pulled over, and yanked out my giant map, and pondered. As I put it back down in anger, I noticed something- There was a beautiful church ahead of me. I had been looking for a country church to photograph, and there it was, out in the middle of nowhere. And? It stopped raining. I took it as a sign that I should just go with it. And that is what we did.

country church
As we ambled onward, we found a roadside pumpkin patch that had the gourds in all shapes and [Read more…]

MACs 4th Annual Kids’ Expo

Kids Expo 2013 Front

What to do on a chilly wet lazy Sunday? Why not make is a super fun-day?

It may be cold outside but the fun will be going on this weekend : Sunday, February 24, 2012

Where: Life the Place To Be

2 Lawrence Street, Ardsley, NY 10502 (Right off the Saw Mill River Parkway; Exit 16).

Northbound (Make Right) Southbound (Make Left) Free Parking on premises!

 

Time: 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p. m.

MACs Kids Expo 2013 is in its 4th year bringing fun-filled activities, educational and informative information to families all over Westchester County and the Tri-State NY areas. All day activities including Rock Climbing, Laser Tag, Live musical performances, Social Media Lounge for Mommy bloggers Powered by Happy Family! Where you can tweet to your heart’s content!

Tickets are [Read more…]

Safe Vacationing: Top 5 Items Most Commonly Stolen from Homes

Vacation is when you’re supposed to relax, but that’s not easy if you’re worried about your home being broken into while you’re gone. One thing that can help is knowing what items would make your home a likely target of burglary and making sure to protect those items. Here are the top five things you’ll want to keep safe while you’re away.

1. Cash

 

Everything burglars steal will be sold for cash. If they can their hands right on the cash, they’d take that over anything else. It’s also easy to transport and usually easy to find in a home. If you have large amounts of cash in your home, one good recommendation is to keep it in a safe that’s bolted to the floor. Otherwise, keep your money in the bank to keep it safe.

2. Jewelry

 

The old movie pictures of burglars going through your jewelry box is absolutely true. Jewelry is easy to transport and profitable to sell, so it’s one of the first places they’ll look. Fortunately, jewelry is also smaller [Read more…]

In the Car Games and Tunes for Family Trips

Long family car journeys, and even some of the relatively short ones for that
matter, are often made much more problematic by the kids getting bored in the back.
We all seem to moan about it and complain that they’re “doing our heads in” and that
“we’ll turn this car around in a minute”, but we’ve been in their booster seat in the
past – trips in the car can be very, VERY dull at times.

car ridesEndless motorway miles are dull enough for the driver, it’s no surprise that the
passengers are bored and even your partner might start to go into “child-mode” and
start asking if we’re nearly there.

A lot of the problems stem from the type of car you have. A lot of the older or
more uncomfortable models can make your body go numb on the journey, which
makes you fidget and want to start stretching out. Fortunately, the majority of the
latest family cars are much more child and family friendly, with plenty of space and
comfortable seats, (take a look at some of the latest models in the range at www.twwhiteandsons.co.uk
for examples of some of the latest new and used cars).

To liven the journey up a bit for all parties, you could do a few things. Just
keeping each other entertained for a while is a great way of keeping the tensions
away and also ensuring that you stay alert – which is key for the driver who may
find [Read more…]

Tollytots: My First Disney Baby Princess (Baby Belle) Review and Giveaway

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With girls, I already know that there are going to be plenty of babies and princesses in our future! My oldest is already obsessed with Baby dolls, and goes through stages of which one must go everywhere with her! Ella’s most recent obsession is Beauty and the Beast , which works out perfectly for our Tollytots: My First Disney Baby Princess : Baby Belle that we got to review.

About Tollytots:

Tollytots carries an extensive line of girls dolls, accessories and preschool collections. They bring a wonderful play experience to children with a very special emphasis on the dolls and accessory category.

With Tollytots, children as young as 6 months old can develop pretend play skills by nurturing and interacting with toys.

The company works closely with Disney, Fisher Price, and Graco, to [Read more…]