Camp DreamWorks: A Family-Friendly Summer Camp Experience to Spark Imagination and Creativity

Whew, moms and dads, we've made it!!! We're kicking off the official first week of Summer and making plans to keep our kids busy and engaged as we continue to practice safe social distancing. Starting Monday, June 22, our friends at Dream Works will launch #CampDreamWorks with daily activities every day at 4PM EST/ 1PM PST themed around your favorite characters from their awesome animated collection. 

How are They Really? 100 Resources to Help Kids and Teens Cope with Anxiety Surrounding Daily Stressors and the Coronavirus

Disclosure:  This post is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, medical treatment, or therapy. Always seek the advice of your physician or qualified mental health provider with any questions you may have regarding any mental health symptom or medical condition. This was originally posted on April 9th. Resources will be updated weekly. 

In a recent article I read from the Daily News, it's mentioned that there's been a 60% increase in calls to the NYC branch of the National Alliance for Mental Health but sadly children aren't being accounted for.  How are the kids doing really? Listed in this guide you'll find over 100 resources on everything from expert articles with tips for parents and caregivers with kids of all ages, meditation apps, podcasts, teletherapy services, books, and indoor activities.

Spring Themed Crafts & Treats with Wonderful Halos #MTHalosFun #ad

It takes a lot to keep us indoors on the weekends here in New York, with so much to do we're typically out and about looking to start a new adventure & it's always a must to have a few sweet treats on hand to energize us throughout the day. Bonus points if it's something that's not only tasty but healthy to boot! That's the wonderful thing about Halos, they're juicy and sweet and definitely a favorite among my citrus loving boys! This month my oldest & mini me CJ and I headed out on one of the windiest days in New York to enjoy a morning of spring time crafting at the Children's Museum of the Arts.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post, opinions expressed are 100% our own.

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. 

Must Haves for Lil' Monsters: Crayola Paint Maker Review and Giveaway (3 Crayola Paint Makers + $50 Visa Giftcard) #MustHavesforLilMonsters

Disclosure: The Crayola product, gift card, information, and additional gift pack have been provided by Crayola. The opinions expressed are 100% honest and my own, no other compensation was received.

When searching for gifts I usually have the hardest time deciding on what type of product to purchase and get so caught up in the idea of what's trending for lil' monsters vs. what the kid's parent would appreciate the child receiving. More times than not when I ask a parent what should I purchase, they request getting board games or puzzles, books and supplies for arts and crafts. With the weather changing and more time being spent indoors, I think arts and crafts activities like painting are the perfect way for children to pass away the time by allowing them to express themselves creatively. 

Recently my boys got the chance to try out the Crayola Paint Maker and just loved making their own colors and how simple it was. Their cousin in Arizona was born on Christmas day and so we're sending her a package to celebrate and we thought it would be fun to paint stencil designed shapes in various colors. Personalized gifting always seems like a sweet touch and both the kids that help to create it and the person receiving it feel extra special.

Steps:

After pouring the white base paint into the pot, you would tear the required number of (primary colors: red, blue, yellow) strips to put into the paint pot to make the colors liked best.

Then you would place the small pot of paint onto mixer and stir it up to make your color, just make sure to put the perforated strips as far inside the white base paint so that the color dissolves .

            

Benefits

• Allows kids to be in control of their creative experiences while

also sparking their imagination

• Enables kids to make a REAL Crayola product in the colors they

want to create with

• New paint strip technology and washable paint base

• Fun, easy process

Features

• Create customized washable paint colors

• New color strip paint technology reduces mess

• Built in storage

• Includes:

• 1 Paint Maker base unit

• (1) 2.5 oz bottle of paint base

• (10) 6” x 9” sheets of white paper

• 75 Paint Strips

• 15 Paint pots

• 15 paint pot labels

• 1 Coloring Mixing Guide

• 1 Paint Brush

• 1 Instruction Sheet

Age: 8+

SRP: 24.99

The boys then grabbed some stencils and their inner lil' artists got to work while they painted birthday decorations and used crayola broadline pastel markers to stencil in a message.

Using the Crayola Paint Maker is really simple and relatively mess free! I must say the coolest part for the boys, was naming their paint color : Elmo red, Graper purple, Sonic blue and Kermit green.

Because we loved it so much we want our readers to enjoy a little paint maker fun in the new year, so we're choosing 4 winners & offering to giveaway:

(3) Crayola Paint Makers and (1) $50 Visa Gift Card 
to anyone 18+ years and lives in the continental U.S.. Closes 12/31/14

First Step: leave a comment down below: What would you name 2 of your paint colors? and then enter the Rafflecopter for additional Entries.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

8 Sweet Suite 14' Must Haves for Lil' Monsters at Blogger Bash NYC #Sweetsuite14 #bbnyc

It's that time of year again where educators will be looking for toys, crafts and technology to fill their classrooms with and where parents and loved ones will be on the hunt for the latest and greatest new products to gift the lil' monsters in their lives for the holiday season. During Sweet Suite 14 at Blogger Bash NYC parent bloggers were able to preview and play with some of the awesome, fun, new kids toys hitting store shelves as early as this month, with more products launching in the fall. I decided I'd round up a few of my favorites that you will surely want to get your hands on early or will end up finding yourselves on line for after stuffing your face full of turkey and stuffing on Black Friday. Be sure to click on the product name for more details on these great toys.


Treasure Trax  (USAopoly) :  Grab your preschooler and go on an adventure filled scavenger hunt through your home. Kids can actively play & learn daily with prompts that will help them with colors, letters, image and word recognition by using their thinking skills.
Ages 3-5 // $19.95

Zoomer Dino- Boomer (SpinMaster Toys): Dino lovers will have a roaring good time with this remote controlled prehistoric friend.  Boomer has sounds effects, mood indicating eyes that light up & can do a handful of tricks like his robotic predecessor Zoomer the pup can do, like follow your hand with its motion sensory. But beware, if you pull on his tail you may just make him angry! Kids will love that it can be programmed to guard their room from nosy parents and siblings who steal their toys. Take a peak at Boomer the Dinosaur in action during Sweet Suite. (Image Courtesy of Janice Croze)
Ages 5+ // $99.99

Leap TV (Leap Frog) As a parent to a 3 year old who is always trying to get it in on the gaming fun with his 9 year old brother and his dad, I'm always concerned about the content he is being exposed to at such an early age. I am really excited about Leap Frog introducing the new Leap TV gaming system for younger gamers because it allows them to get active while developing their reading, math, science and problem solving skills through games with their favorite characters like Sofia the First and Spider-man. I think it's ability to give audio instructions is a great feature for younger children that can't read just yet.
(Image Courtesy of Janice Croze)
 Ages 3-8 // $149.99

Moxie Girlz (MGA Entertainment): The positive message behind these fashion savvy, fun dolls is that girls can be amazing by having the courage to accomplish anything they set their minds on doing. Children will love that these stylish dolls have colorful, adorable poopsy pets and lots of accessories and clothes for them to dress these fashionistas in.
(Image Courtesy of Janice Croze)
Ages 3+ // 14.99 and up 

The Big Creativity Can (Faber-Castell): Let imaginations run wild in the classroom or at home! Perfect for a rainy day or just because your lil' monster's creative juices are flowing, the Big Creativity Can has 100+ crafty materials that include googly eyes, pipe cleaners, feathers and more!  (Image Courtesy of Janice Croze)
Ages 4-94 // $19.99

Paw Patrol Rescue Racers (SpinMaster Toys): These push and play character race cars will have your Paw Patrol fan excited for lots of adventures with Rubble, Chase, Zuma, Skye, Rocky, Ryder and Marshall as they race out to save the day!  
(Image Courtesy of Janice Croze)
Ages 2+ // $5.99

Lalaloopsy Color Me Trace E. Doodles This latest Lalaloopsy doll (from MGA Entertainment) will provide endless hours of fun for your lil' creative because they can draw + color new looks on her clothes and pet with 4 vibrant neon markers and two stamps. As soon as the masterpiece is  complete they can wipe it clean and start the fun all over. 
(Image Courtesy of Janice Croze)
 Ages 4+ // $29.99

 Kidizoom SmartWatch (Vtech):  If your kids are anything like mine, they are always trying to use your phone or camera to take pictures or record video. Now they can be their own independent photographers and videographers with this smartwatch which is pretty awesome wearable technology for kids. Aside from taking pics and recording, this smartwatch will help your children learn to tell time and will keep them engaged with educational games. These stylish watches come in 4 colors and is splash-proof and comfortable for active kids.
Ages 2-9 // $59.99
 
Which of these Must Haves do you think your Lil' Monsters will add to their holiday wishlist?


*photo credit: Janice Croze photography



                                                     

Hop Along the #Bunnytrail & Discover New Products from Hershey's in Time for Easter

Disclosure: The opinions expressed are 100% my own. I was invited as Media to preview licensed products. I received a gift bag & no other compensation was given.

When you think of Easter, what are the first things that come to mind? Cute photos with the Easter bunny, Easter egg hunts and of course baskets filled with chocolate and fun surprises. As a mom of two kids and one 3 year old monster in particular who enjoy's negotiating for sweets "Mommy if I count them, will you give me this many?"[the number of fingers he raises increases with each syllable as he poses the question] I have to be cautious of how many treats fill their baskets.

I was really excited about my invitation to join in on the early Easter fun, and couldn't wait to checkout the latest products from Hershey's. It's nice to know that in addition to their yummy treats there are so many other cool options to fill your baskets up with. Everything from accessories and apparel to bath and body, electronics and collectible products from various Hershey brands such as Jolly Rancher, Hershey's Kisses, Twizzlers, Reese's, Almond Joy, Whoppers and Bubble Yum.  Take a peak at a few of their products and head to some of your favorite stores; Target, Walgreens, Walmart, Best Buy, Sears, Dollar Tree and Claire's to score some of these fantastic finds.

Hershey's Health & Beauty : Products are sold separately or in sets and come scented and flavored. Lip gloss, lip balm, body lotion, bath wash, hair products and nail polish come in various Hershey Brands. The small size of the products make them great for hiding in an Easter egg or around the house.

Retail Price: $3.50-$12.50

Hershey's Woven Accessories: You can gift unique Hershey's woven wrapper accessories that are made with real Hershey's wrappers. Choose from handbags, wallets, totes, bracelets, headbands & other stylish items. Retail Price $9.99-$20.00

Hershey's Shirts:  This Spring you can wear or gift a colorful and fun designed Hershey's Brand T-shirt,     sweatshirt or sleepwear. Products come in long and short sleeves, for both men and women in sizes XS-XL. Retail price: $9.99-$20.00

Hershey's Electronics: Listen to your favorite tunes in style with Hershey's branded earbuds, mini speakers and DJ-style headphones. The brightly colored products make for really awesome gifts. Retail Price $7.99

Hershey's Model Trains and Toy Train Sets: Train lovers of all ages will love the Hershey's branded model train sets to add to the favorites they already have, or to help them get started on a new one.

Retail price: $54.99 per train set item, $74.95 for Little Lines Playset.

If you are in need of an easy, Easter activity to do with the kids during the Spring break or over the weekend, try out this really adorable Easter Critter Cup craft that you can fill with lots of Hershey's goodies. Continue the fun and head over to their site to Celebrate with Hershey's and have a fantastic Easter!