Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Create Your Best Home with Robin Wilson Clean

Disclosure: I am a compensated brand ambassador for Robin Wilson Clean; all opinions expressed are my own.



As Women's History Month comes to a close I'm sharing exciting news about Robin Wilson, an entrepreneur making her own history in the design and wellness space. I've featured Robin Wilson Home for nearly 3 years here on my blog, and I'm thrilled to announce the introduction of Robin Wilson Clean. The stunning redesign of her brand will help you create your best, healthy home from the foundation all the way to the decor.


Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Grayson's Happiest in His Doodle Pants

Disclosure: I received complimentary Doodle Pants to facilitate this review; all opinions expressed are my own. 



As Grayson nears 2 years old (he just turned 21 months on Sunday - GAH!), I'm remembering how opinionated that age is, and lately he's getting plenty of practice! We were recently introduced to Doodle Pants, a New England-based company which makes the most adorable leggings for babies and toddlers. These aren't regular leggings - they have bright motifs full of personality that your little one will be excited to wear (and you might wish they were in your size too!). When Grayson received his Blue Alligator Doodle Pants I held them up to show him the back, and he immediately started growling - that's his automatic sound for any animal lately!

Easter Recovery 101


I love the big sister grip she has on him! He's a runner, and she knows it!
We didn't travel this year or host family so who'd think we'd need Easter recovery? Well we did and yesterday's rainy downpour was the perfect catch-up day! I shared before how Nia and I were participating in our church's Good Friday Easter service, and it ended up going really well (I even had a small acapella solo, and although I'm SO not a singer I didn't embarrass myself too bad LOL!). The theme was "United" and it was so beautiful seeing the cultures represented at our church:

Friday, March 25, 2016

How My 5 Year Old Reacted to Her First Easter Basket (& a Winner!)

Happy Good Friday! I'm coming in late to share a little story and the winner of my Chuck E. Cheese's giveaway...



Nia watches our doorstep like a hawk waiting for packages and yesterday when we received an unexpected box in the mail I let it sit in my office until Nia got home from school. She eagerly watched as I opened it and was surprised to see it was an Easter basket. Thing is, I had never given Nia an Easter basket before, but she clearly knew what it was!

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Giveaway: Celebrate National Volunteer Month with Chuck E. Cheese

Disclosure: I received a guest pass for my family to facilitate this post; all opinions expressed are my own.


{Image via Chuck E. Cheese's}
It's hard to believe April is next week, right? April is also National Volunteer month and Chuck E. Cheese's is celebrating nationwide with Little Big Night Out on March 31 from 3-9p.m. in support of Big Brothers Big Sisters.

It's a perfect after-school activity and a chance to give back to your community with 15% of your sale donated to Big Brothers Big Sisters when you mention Big Brothers Big Sisters at your local Chuck E. Cheese's. So easy, right?

 

I'll be taking my kids when Nia gets out of Kindergarten that day - I've planned it as a surprise since we haven't been since her visit last fall which I wrote about here. Grayson wasn't with us, so it'll be fun to have him with us this time around!


Would you like to visit Chuck E. Cheese's with your family too? I'm giving one lucky reader a prize pack including:

  • 1 large pizza
  • 4 drinks
  • 30 tokens
  • BONUS 1,000 tickets (I don't know about your kids, but Nia would go crazy for these!)
Easy entry via Rafflecopter below. Giveaway starts today, March 22 and ends on Thursday, March 24 midnight EST with the winner announced this Friday, March 25. Open to U.S. residents, ages 18+. 

Good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Click here for more details about Little Big Night Out, and if you're interested in how you can work with Chuck E. Cheese's for your own fundraiser click here!


 

Monday, March 21, 2016

Our Spring's Got Jokes


I just knew we were going to get another dumping of snow and lo an behold it arrived on the first day of spring. How fitting, right? It was actually quite pretty, and the kids enjoyed Nia's subsequent 2 hour snow delay today doing a bit of window coloring and piano practice

Friday, March 18, 2016

3 Steps to Prep Your Daughter for Her First Salon Visit


Wednesday's post and a few others from my Instagram feed in December shared a peek of Nia with straight hair. She's 5 years old and her hair is natural like mine. She's watched me change my style over the years and while she's been curious about how I style my hair, she's always been sensitive about actually having her hair done, even when brushed as an infant. Now is no different, so I was nervous when she asked last year to have her hair "flatted." When a fellow Wellesley alum here in New Hampshire suggested Simply Erinn's in Cambridge, MA I went for my own appointment, saw young girls getting their hair done, inquired about an appointment for my daughter and was left feeling confident so I booked her an appointment in time for our family's Thanksmas trip to Texas. It would be Nia's first salon visit (apart from just hair braiding shops) and her first trim - it was a big deal!

Here are 3 important steps I learned from our experience to help prep your daughter for her first salon visit:


Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Lovebirds in Dallas (SO Many Pictures!)

My favorite pic from our trip thanks to my sister Lauren!
As we're gearing up for our first camping trip with my side of the family in Tennessee this spring, it seems just like yesterday we were in Texas for Thanksmas, our compromise between traveling to Dallas for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Since my parents moved there last year, and it was our first visit down there, it was a very economic and efficient compromise - the cost was about half of what it would've been for either holiday, and we still got the holiday effect with all the decor and festivities. This really might be the way to go going forward! 

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Life with Gray: 18 Months

Grayson turns 2 years old in 4 short months so what better time than now to do his 18 months update? 

I posted this on Instagram back in December - he looks like a big kid, right? ::tears:: 
December was when he turned 18 months and going back through the pictures for this post I realized what a big month it was for our family: we traveled to Dallas, Texas and New York City for Thanksmas and Christmas, respectively and we took advantage of so many fun activities here in Portsmouth, which I wrote about here (one of my favorite posts about our life in New Hampshire!). 

Here are more details just on Gray's 18 months experience:

Monday, March 14, 2016

DST Recovery and 2 Winners

Oh my daylight savings time did us in today, but a little bit of the blow was softened by our weekend trip to CoCo Key Boston North Shore - we had an amazing time! Surprisingly no tears were shed (well a few from Grayson when it was time to leave), and the kids played so, so hard sleeping an incredible 12 hours Saturday night even with the time change. I'm working on my recap, but in the interim here are a few pics from Instagram:



I also wanted to share the two winners of my Kidfresh coupon giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Congrats Erin and David - I'll be in touch so you can receive your prizes!


Does DST affect your kids? I feel like it has more of an affect on me and Uka than them O_o


 

Friday, March 11, 2016

We're Headed to CoCo Key (& a Winner!)

As we close out winter I'm still holding out for one last snow storm. Anyone else in the north feel nervous like that? 


{Image via CoCo Key}
To get a jumpstart on warmer weather we're heading to our first family visit to an indoor water park as guests of CoCo Key this weekend! The kids have been taking swimming lessons for over a year now so it'll be fun to see them put their skills to use. Be sure to follow along on Instagram for snippets of our visit. 

Now for the winner of my AllerMates giveaway:


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congrats Erin - I'll be in touch so you can receive your prize!


And don't forget there's still time to enter to win my Kidfresh giveaway - there will be two winners so your odds are good. 


What are you up to this weekend? Have you ever been to an indoor water park with your family?


 

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Win It!: Kidfresh's NEW Totally Rockin' Tots

Disclosure: I received samples to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.



With Grayson rapidly approaching 2 years old this June, I find myself thinking back to how Nia was still nursing at this age! Grayson's current favorite foods are a very short list: meatballs, milk, strawberries, cashews, french fries and crackers. Thankfully he's an avid smoothie drinker so that's how we get some veggies in him (he can drink his smoothie down faster than I can!). 

Thanks to Kidfresh we now have another way of getting him veggies: Totally Rockin' Tots in Russet Potato + Cauliflower and Yukon Gold + Yellow Squash.




Monday, March 7, 2016

Safeguard Your Kids with AllerMates (& a Giveaway!)

Disclosure: I received AllerMates products to facilitate this review; all opinions expressed are my own. 

I grew up allergy-free, but having much younger siblings who had allergies, I was sensitive to how serious they could be. Once I had children I kept this in mind and thankfully with Nia she was also allergy-free, but before his 1st birthday, I'll never forget when Grayson broke out after I gave him eggs:




He was too young for allergy testing via blood work, but from the prick test the allergist could tell he was allergic to peanuts, eggs and dairy. His reaction to eggs was the strongest and once he turned 1 and had his blood work it was confirmed that it was still a significant allergy - serious enough that we do not give him eggs until we revisit his blood work when he turns 2. 


Wednesday, March 2, 2016

March Betta Go Out Like a Lamb


February was probably the roughest health month I've had in my life, and I'm so glad to be moving on to March. I started the month with an upper respiratory tract infection diagnosed at my annual physical which was actually a bit overdue (although according to this that's up for debate). That appointment created a domino effect of blood work, consultations, additional diagnoses and prescriptions. It's also prompted me to start seeking out a holistic health practitioner. 

Thankfully my family has been super supportive, and I've felt so blessed with friends who have been checking up on me, but it looks like I still won't get to the bottom of things until the end of this month. 


The good news is this winter has been significantly more mild up here in New Hampshire, and I'm excited that we can officially say spring will be here in a couple weeks. I'm SO ready!


Here's to a healthier March!


What are you looking forward to this month?