Friday, December 23, 2016

Avoid the Hazards of the Holidays with Tips from Northwell Health-GoHealth Urgent Care #GoHealthUC #Sponsored


I'm sure I'm not alone in this sentiment, but somehow the holiday's managed to sneak up on us! And as I type this I stare at the twinkling white lights of our tree with no star on top and my hubby's crutches laying nearby. This year we're breaking tradition and I'm helping lift up our youngest son to crown our tree with it's golden star, because somehow the hubby ended up losing his balance on the subway staircase as he lunged to try and catch his train no thanks to a woman with lots of shopping bags. With all the hustle and bustle of the holidays it's so important to remember to stay safe, calm and collected as we all do our last minute holiday shopping, house cleaning and everything else in between to welcome guests and the New Year! Northwell Health-GoHealth Urgent Care has great tips to help keep families safe this season so that everyone can enjoy the festivities worry free!


Monday, December 19, 2016

Gift the Love of Reading with Books for the Holidays from 3 NYC Bookstores #Sponsored


"There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. A Love of books is the best of all!" ~ Jacqueline Kennedy 

One of our most favorite holiday traditions as we countdown to Christmas morning is to gift our lil' monsters with holiday themed story books and age appropriate reads that they can dive into well into the New Year. The coolest thing about a book is that it allows the reader to relate through emotions, travel to different lands and through numerous time periods, without ever having to leave their chair. Both of our boys were gifted shelves of books that welcomed the home as soon as they were born and we've added to their collection year after year. There's nothing more magical or as powerful as ones imagination and as a parent and educator I've always felt pride in watching little one's love of reading unfold and expand as they get older and discover various genres. 

Disclosure: Young adult fantasy author T. A. Barron has sponsored this post and opinions expressed are honest and one hundred percent our own.

Friday, December 16, 2016

Get to the Bottom of Digestive Wellness with Renew Life Probiotics #RenewLifeProbiotics #Sponsored



Having lived and persevered with Crohn's, a chronic auto immune disease {affects the gastrointestinal system} for almost 17 years, I'm the furthest from shy when it comes to chatting about my "yucky" gut, you have to have a sense of humor when you've had week long hospital stays, NG tubes that run through your nose to your stomach and 4ft. of intestines resected to help you alleviate painful symptoms - but apparently having the conversation is not the norm. Shockingly, nearly 2 in 3 {64%} of women are not willing to talk about gut issues with their friends because it seems so taboo. Ellie Krieger, RDN, the rock star culinary nutritionist, who is the host of “Ellie's Real Good Food” show, author of several cookbooks, and a columnist for The Washington Post hosted a private lunch to talk about ways that the gut impacts overall health and wellness.
Disclosure: This post was sponsored by the Role Mommy Writer's Network. Opinions expressed are 100% our own.  

Monday, December 12, 2016

Holiday DIY's are a Blast with Crayola's Air Marker Sprayer #ad


Deep down, as parents we all want our kids to explore their creative side while they engage in fun arts and crafts but the idea of the huge colorfully textured mess that surfaces afterwards probably deters the majority of us from letting our Lil monsters create their next masterpiece. This holiday season you can stop stressing the clean up and get a little crafty for the holidays with the easy to use and mess free Crayola Air Marker Sprayer. There's nothing more thoughtful than a handmade gift infused with love and your kids will have a blast with numerous creative options to choose from as they emulate real graffiti artists.

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Crayola and contains affiliate links. We were provided the product to facilitate this review & opinions expressed are 100% our own. 

Friday, December 9, 2016

2016 Must Haves for Lil' Monsters Holiday Gift Guide and #Giveaway



What's on your Lil' Monsters must have list to receive for the holidays? Whether you're looking for the perfect gift to encourage their love for science and the arts, or If they've been crossing all their little fingers and toes hoping to see some of their favorite television and movie characters recreated as brightly colored, fun toys under the tree, there seems to be some pretty amazing products out this year that we've had the chance to preview and play with. Last Year we had so much fun hosting a giveaway for all of our readers, we've decided to do one again!

Disclosure: There are affiliate links within this post

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Big Sparkling Shoes to Fill: Kinky Boots on Broadway PLUS 40% OFF Tickets #KinkyBoots



The saying goes: "If you're going to chase your dreams, you need a good pair of shoes!" I was beyond excited to treat my cousin Tommie to an evening where we had the chance to view 6x Tony Award winning Kinky Boots the Musical, for my second time and his first.  We both work in creative industries here in the city and are dream chasers who are passionate about what we do, so I thought this would be the perfect show for us to kick back and enjoy! 

Disclosure: We were provided tickets to facilitate a review no other compensation was received.

Friday, December 2, 2016

Prep Your Family for a New Pooch with Peppy Pups on National Mutt Day #PeppyPups #MustHavesforLilMonsters


National Mutt Day, founded by Pet Lifestyle Expert and Animal Welfare Advocate, Colleen Paige, is observed Dec. 2nd and July 31st to celebrate the many wonderful attributes of Mutts to promote adoption WORLDWIDE. Hubby and I had always known we'd get a dog or two because we had never had one as kids and there are so many different breeds we'd been dreaming of bringing home from Labradors and Bulldogs to the Pitbull and Terrier we have today. A new puppy may be topping your kids wish list, but is your family not quite ready for the real thing? Young children and parents alike will love the irresistible personality of Peppy Pups from TPF Toys, the official plush dog of National Mutt Day.
Peppy Pups™ brings to life the authenticity of puppy friendship, complete with a pup that follows its owner everywhere.The cuddly plush puppy has a spring in its step and when walked by its owner, can run, jump and wag its tail like a real dog.

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Encourage Children to Think Outside of the Box and Learn to Code with Cubetto #ad #MustHavesForLilMonsters



Disclosure: This post is part of a sponsored campaign for Primo Toys. I received compensation for my participation, but my review and opinions are my own.

Limits on screen time for our two boys are necessary during the week otherwise they turn into zombies. They typically aren't allowed to play any video games or use their tablets until Friday unless it's something we deem educational and even then we have to set boundaries because they'll end up playing Minecraft for hours and when I've said enough is enough they'll quickly answer back with a response like "but mommy we're learning how diamonds are made" and dive right back into playing because they assume there's no way I could refute that they are truly engaged and learning. Our lil' monsters are extremely tech savvy they love making stop motion videos together, edit their own YouTube videos and create their own background music with various apps. With all that said we're certainly concerned about all the actual time spent staring into screens, I know it affects me as I bounce from laptop to cellphone to tablet to desktop in heavy rotation. Created by Primo Toys, Cubetto is the only screen-less programming system, powered by a revolutionary coding language made of colorful blocks that lets children ages 3 and up write their first computer programs. 

Kids of All Ages will Revel in the Modern Day Magic of HGTV's Santa HQ #loveHGTV


Can you believe it? CJ's 12th birthday is slowly creeping up on us and it's usually right around Christmas that I realize that soon my mini me will no longer be my baby. Which leaves me beyond anxious as I wait year to year for the moment when he realizes for the 1st time or finally comes clean to playing along about Santa's existence. CJ has questioned the realness of Santa in the past and we've always just asked him If he wanted to believe in him and if so then to revel in the seasonally fleeting moments. We've waited in 3 hour long lines in the city to see Saint Nick so it was a very welcomed opportunity to check out a new, fun & interactive twist on the North pole so close to home {two blocks away from my parent's apartment building} with HGTV's Santa HQ in Queens Center Mall.

Disclosure: We were invited as Media to HGTV's Santa HQ to facilitate this review. We received a gift bag and no other compensation was received. Opinions are 100% honest.

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