Back-to-School Snacking with Hood Milk

This post was sponsored by Hood as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

Remember that color-coded schedule going around during the first round of distance learning? My kids' favorite color was "snack time!" With a few more weeks left until school starts, I'm partnering with Hood Milk to share my family's back-to-school snacking strategy. Hood Milk contains no artificial growth hormones and has important nutrients for my growing kids!

Here's what's working for us this back-to-school snacking season...

Happy 9th Birthday, Nia!

As I type this, Nia is just a couple hours shy of officially turning 9. She is quite serious lately and has specifically requested no birthday party this year. I knew there was a shift when for the first time last year she decided to have a birthday party at the house. It turned out that it rained for the first time ever on her party day, so it was perfect!  

Hey June: Thoughts on Fun, Guilt, and Sponsored Posts

June is a celebratory month for my family, and I'll admit it's been hard in the wake of everything happening lately in the world to balance festivities while being concerned and informed. There's some level of guilt there, and I'm thankful to have finally started therapy earlier this spring to help manage it (amongst other things). 

Summer Rewind: Nia's 8th Birthday

Kicking off Nia's birthday weekend on Cape Cod

Anyone else feel like time is collapsing? I certainly do and wanted to take a step back and share how we celebrated Nia's 8th birthday last month. This was her first year requesting an indoor birthday, and out of all her eight birthday parties it was also the only year that it has rained. Good call, Miss Nia! 

Now on to picture overload...

Easy Deconstructed July 4th Flag Cake

One of the hardest parts of celebrating July 4th with kids in the in-between stages of babyhood and pre-teens is the tricky timing of fireworks and bedtime.  Add rain on top of that and it's sanity saving quite tempting to completely skip over the holiday with a young family. Our first July 4th as a family of four was super easy: we lived in Jersey City at the time and had an amazing 360 degree rooftop view that allowed us to see about 5 sets of fireworks from Manhattan to deep into New Jersey. 

Here's a throwback pic...

How We Spent 30 (Edible) Hours in Seattle

At Volunteer Park {captured by my friend Mary}

A few months ago I asked on my personal Facebook page if anyone had traveled on Amtrak from LA to Seattle. With Mr. Lovebird accompanying me to Mom 2.0 I was thinking it might be fun to extend our trip and travel up the coast. I had done a solo Amtrak trip from Chicago to LA in my early 20s, and I thought a kids-free trip with Uka might be fun. I got a few positive responses on my question, but looking at the timetable, however I realized the trip would limit our time with our friends so we ended up booking our first flights on Alaska Airlines thanks to our Hopper low fare alert combined with a discount code they gave to attendees of Altitude Summit. 

Mom 2.0 ended on Friday night with the Iris Awards then after spending time with friends and family in LA-metro we flew up to Seattle early on Sunday morning.

Here's how it deliciously played out...

Eating Local with Just Add Cooking

Disclosure: I received a Just Add Cooking meal kit to facilitate this review; all opinions expressed are my own. 

As the seasons change I'm inspired to start switching up our meals accordingly to lighter fare (hello grilling season!) as we ease into spring here in Boston, so when I was invited to try Just Add Cooking, a meal kit subscription, I was especially excited because it's New England-based.

Here's what I love most about Just Add Cooking...

My Spring Break Sweet & Sour Mocktail

Exactly two weeks from today Mr. Lovebird and I are surprising the kids with an epic spring break cruise so when Wayfair invited me to create a drink that's beach worthy I thought it would be fun to make a kid-friendly mocktail. I was inspired by my favorite fancy drink growing up as a kid: a Shirley Temple and because my kids are quite the Sour Patch kids I thought it would be fun to incorporate sour gummy bears. 

Here's how simple it is to make...

Celebrating Chinese New Year with Ling Ling Asian Kitchen

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Ling Ling, all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

Since moving to Boston there's something my family has been in search of, mostly motivated by the New York City upbringing of Mr. Lovebird: delicious Chinese food. When I was invited by Ling Ling to cook alongside Chef Katie Chin, author of Katie Chin's Everyday Chinese Cookbook, I knew it might help with my family's search. Perhaps I could pick up some techniques so that I could create the meals my family misses from our time in NYC. 

Vlog: Our Crowd-Sourced Trader Joe's Haul!

Unlike when we lived in Portsmouth, NH, we're now about a 23 minute ride from our nearest Trader Joe's - before it was only 6 minutes! Since moving back to Boston this was only my second trip there so I decided to crowdsource my trip: about 30 minutes before I was set to arrive, I reached out to my Facebook friends to crowdsource their favorite items. 

Here's the results shared on Facebook Live (with a bit of help from Grayson!):

Making Healthy Meals with Farmers to You

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Farmers to You; all opinions expressed are my own. 

Despite having lived in cities with amazing farmers markets from the world-famous Union Square Greenmarket to Portsmouth, New Hampshire's community-building farmer's market at City Hall I never quite made them a regular part of my routine with my children. Part of the reason is I know I would lose self control and just get cookies my kids would be begging for things, but I also feel a sense of guilt for not exposing them to it regularly. 

Contest: Where Do You Take Your Welch's?

Disclosure: I received samples to facilitate this post; all opinions expressed are my own. 

Do you admit to stealing your kids' treats sometimes? I absolutely do. If you're like me thankfully there's a reward for that with Welch's "Where Do You Take Your Welch's?" contest. 

Back to School with Roche Bros. and the Dinner Daily

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post in partnership with Roche Bros. and The Dinner Daily. All opinions expressed are my own. 

In a few weeks my family and I will celebrate the one year anniversary of home ownership and our return to Boston after a 9 year hiatus. Pre-kids, when I was a student at Wellesley College, I had fond memories of shopping at Roche Bros., a 65 year old grocery store chain, not only for myself while I was in summer housing on-campus, but also for families I babysat for. Now with kids of my own, I was thrilled to learn about Roche Bros.' partnership with the Dinner Daily and how it's making meal planning during back-to-school season so much easier. 

Pursuing Wellness with Nature Made

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Nature Made as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

One of the things I noticed when I became a mom is that my own health has taken a backseat to my children's. I've shared a bit here on the blog about some of my health challenges and throwing in a lot of life changes the past year, I'm working at getting better at pursuing wellness. Before becoming a mom I was an avid exerciser even getting up at 5a.m. for years Monday through Friday to make it to the gym. No excuses! Quickly those routines changed, but I've learned to now focus on those little things that I can control (I'm all about Kaizen).

Here are 3 of those "little" things:

Grayson's Superfoods Snacktime with The First Years

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of The First Years; all opinions expressed are my own. 

Ahhh the struggles of getting kids to eat! I've gone to educational sessions, read books and commiserated with fellow parents over the challenges that have plagued parenthood for eons. With Nia we found that seeing her peers eat various foods at preschool helped her try new foods, but with Grayson starting school this fall I've been trying to jumpstart the situation. When The First Years reached out to me to try their array of products now available at Walmart to help make snack time easier it was perfect timing!

Announcing Boston's Shake Shack Newbury Street Function Room

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Shake Shack; all opinions expressed are my own. 

Do you remember the first time you went to Shake Shack? I do. When I was living in NYC a friend mentioned to me she had recently gone to the original location in Madison Square Park for the first time and that it was so good that she had returned for subsequent visits - like 3x in 1 week! I was alarmed and had to go for myself. 

I did, and I was HOOKED!

My Ode to Portsmouth, New Hampshire

It's hard to believe we're fast approaching the 6 month mark of when we left Portsmouth, but this past weekend when we were back in the area visiting friends in the beauty of the snow I had a bit of nostalgia for our 2 years experience there.

My Tasty Tropical (Toddler-Approved) Green Smoothie

Growing up in Ohio my parents always made sure my siblings and I ate a warm hearty breakfast (I think I was the only kid in my class who ate Cream of Wheat!). Breakfast is still my most important meal, but now as a parent I stand in awe of my parents who were able to get all four of their kids on board with breakfast since my two kids are definitely not breakfast fans. 

Just chillin' with his smoothie

Welch's Fruit Snacks Christmas Challenge

Disclosure: I was provided with samples to facilitate this post; all opinions expressed are my own. 

One of the Christmas traditions I was finally excited to be a part of now that we're in our first home is putting stockings up for each of us on our fireplace mantle. I have fond memories of this as a kid and would get excited to for the surprises my parents would put in them, mostly beauty products! When I asked my Facebook friends about their stocking memories as I sought to create ours, many responded with treats such as candy and fruit. 

FLASH Giveaway: Kids' Movie Night with Kidfresh and Ice Age: Collision Course

Disclosure: I received promotional items to facilitate this post; all opinions expressed are my own. 

My kids and I have been longtime fans of Kidfresh so when I learned about their partnership with the newly released DVD Ice Age: Collision Course I was thrilled to surprise them. Nia saw the movie in the theater as part of our church's play date over the summer, and she raved about it and even asked to watch it again a few weeks ago before she knew she'd be receiving the DVD.