End the Summer Snack Time Struggle with Jif Power Ups

It never fails! Once the kids start summer break us parents know dang well that the one line we'll hear on repeat over and over is "I'm hungry can I have snack?"They don't even care that they just had a fully loaded, protein filled breakfast unlike most school mornings where you toss them a banana and a bagel as you all rush your way out the door. These lil' monsters are un-phased by what time of day it is, or how much time has passed since they last asked for something to eat. They seem to want to munch on goodies non-stop, and god forbid you run out of their favorites! The snack time struggle during summer break can be really funny at times, so to introduce the launch of their new Power Ups chewy bars and creamy clusters Jif invited a few of us parents our for a night of laughs at Caroline's comedy club with funny dad and actor Neil Patrick Harris. 

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post and the opinions expressed are 100% my own. 

The Release of Disney's Aladdin Diamond Addition with The Moms #AladdinMoms

Aladdin has always been a favorite Disney movie of mine & I'm happy I got to share it with my daughters, Naya 4 and Lanna 2. My girls have watched movies before but this was their first time watching one in a real movie theater, buttered popcorn and all. It was so much fun singing along and watching it with them through their eyes during the screening event with The Moms Network.

Aladdin and Jasmine have always been great role models: Aladdin is so determined and was out to prove that he was more than just a street rat while Jasmine was strong willed and wasn't the type of princess that just wanted to get married.  Princess Jasmine was the first Disney princess doll that my older daughter owned. There aren't that many dolls of color out there and I felt it was important for my daughters of mixed heritage (Trinidadian and Filipino) to have dolls that looked more like them. 

The kids were so adorable in their Jasmine costumes and got to show them all off on stage. After the movie we were lucky to have Scott Weinger and Linda Larkin, the voices of Aladdin and Jasmine make an appearance and answer questions from the audience. Weinger may look familiar to you if you were also a fan of a little show called Full House in the 90's. He played DJ Tanner's boyfriend Steve on the show. He mentioned how he actually took Candace Cameron to the screening of Aladdin when it opened in 1992. Both Weinger and Larkin we're excited to be sharing Aladdin with a whole new generation again. 

Surprisingly Weinger's 6 year old son, Mischa has only recently seen the film. It's one of those movies that is perfect for boys, girls and even adults. Larkin said, "The Genie resonates with adults, there are jokes in there that I got when watching it again." Both Weinger and Larkin were visibly emotional when an audience member asked who played the voice of the Genie. Weinger gathered himself and replied, "A great actor named Robin Williams played the Genie."  It was also my first time watching the film after his passing over a year ago and I too got emotional. 

The two answered more questions from the audience, "Is there going to be an Aladdin 2?" They're too young to know that there was already a sequel. Weinger mentioned a few that went straight to video, Aladdin and the King of Thieves and Return of Jafar. Larkin adds there was even Aladdin the series.  One of The Moms, Melissa Gerstein asked, "Have you seen the Broadway show?" They actually were on their way to see it that afternoon. I think Naya actually saw it on Broadway first before she saw the cartoon movie. I loved how they really brought it to life! 

When they're not playing Aladdin and Jasmine, Larkin is a New Yorker and does a ton of voice over work, most notably on the Royal Caribbean seashell. She's traveling to Florida and California promoting the release of @Disney's Aladdin Diamond Edition. While Weigner is based out in L.A. writing and producing, most recently for Black-ish and Galavant. 

Disney's Aladdin Diamond Edition is now available in stores nation wide and would make the perfect gift for kids of all ages! A special thank you to The Moms for having us.

What's your favorite scene from this classic Disney 

Contributor: Grace Andrews is a Queens mom to two little girls, 4 and 2. She loves taking them on adventures all over the city. When she's not busy doing that, she works in the Education Department at the New York Hall of Science (NYSCI). Opinions expressed are 100% her own and she received no compensation for this post.

Celebrate Your Pregnancy, Channel Your Everyday SuperModel and Capture the Moments: #BigBelliMoms Mamarazzi Breakfast with Molly Sims

Having been pregnant twice I can honestly admit I never truly embraced my own physical beauty as I transitioned through each trimester.The journey itself and the fact that I was caring for these little tiny humans for a time span that seemed to fly by was absolutely amazing. But I personally had a hard time embracing my mama glow. Maybe it's because both my pregnancies were high risk (I have Crohns which is an auto immune disease, that Ididn't have under control at the time) with the later being more difficult than the first, and although both my hubby and I were excited for our lil' monster's arrivals we definitely had our fair share of obstacles and I just was overwhelmed with it all.  Which just solidified for me that there's just no such thing as "The right time to have a baby" or the "perfect pregnancy" so just live in the moment and celebrate every single thing because through all the excitement and anxiety, it all goes by so quickly.

A few weeks ago,  NYC lifestyle/mom bloggers and other press outlets were invited to the Artisanal Bistro in Midtown for a #bigbellimoms Mamarazzi event hosted by The Moms Network with special guests: Super Model Molly Sims & Big Belli media.

Over lunch guests in attendance were introduced to Big Belli media, which is the parenting content and social networking brand behind the documentary 40 Weeks. Filmmaker Christopher Henze and his wife Dominique Debroux were on hand to share with us the story of how expecting their first child led to them researching all things pregnancy and realizing that there was a need for more visual sources of information. 4O Weeks is a full lenghth documentary that takes an intimate look at the journey through pregnancy and touches on the physical, medical (partnered with Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses for accurate & current information) and emotional aspects of having a baby. Starting March 1st, 2015, 40 Weeks will be available on DVD, or download through the website and itunes, you can also learn more by visiting 40weeksthemovie.com  

^ 2 photos above courtesy of Freddy Mfuko of Mission 101 Media ^

"I feel and look better know at 41 then I did at 21!" I loved that Molly Sims, (who was so real and down to earth) admitted this to the luncheons audience of media and Lifestyle/Mom bloggers. I don't think anyone could disagree that Molly has aged beautifully and in her newly released book "The Everyday Supermodel" My Beauty, Fashion and Wellness Secrets Made Simple; Molly shares how she wasn't always the hot face and body you've seen grace the covers of Sports Illustrated and Allure.

Molly's Motto: If you look good, you feel good ----and when you feel good, you look good. So you might as well fell f***ing fabulous!

After perusing through her gorgeously put together book, I stumbled upon some relatable reflections and great tips on food, fitness, fashion, skin, hair and feel-good advice. Here's a summary of 4 out of 10 tips for three of the six chapters. I really love this book because it's like your super-model bestie giving you some real talk on how to be a better you!

 

The everyday model TOP takeaways ( food is not the frenemy)

• Buy Organic When it Counts: If you can't spend the extra cash on organic buy conventionally grown fruits and vegetables but remember to wash them well and peel those that you can. Helpful guides to refer to: "The Dirty Dozen Plus" and "Clean 15".
• Get Fiber focused. Don't avoid carbs like the plague, instead eat a balanced diet.
• Treat, don't cheat and avoid binges.
• Try to replace a meat based meal with a vegetarian one a few times a week.

The everyday model TOP takeaways (fashion institute of Mollyology)

• Build your core wardrobe. Be Frugal but not afraid to invest good money into forever pieces.
•  Dress to impress yourself. We are all a work in progress.
•  Your tailor needs to be on speed dial . Getting clothes tailored makes a piece of clothing look chic, sophisticated and expensive.
• It's never just about the clothes, polish is about the total package: from hair to skin to nails.  

The everyday model TOP takeaways ( I made that sh*t happen)

• Start being in charge of your life right now. There is no reason to wait. You only have one life to live, you might as well live it!
• Face your fears and chase down your dreams.
• Get a plan. Put it on paper. Write down steps to making it happen.
• Know when to fold'em; let it go and move on.

^ above photo courtesy of Freddy Mfuko of Mission 101 Media ^

These days I love how there are so many women documenting their pregnancies with professional photo shoots and sharing their #pregnancystyle across social media and I regret not taking more photos of my bump to look back on now. However I think I've made it up for it by taking loads of pictures of the boys over the last 10 years and have them spread out on my cellphone(including the ones that fell in the toilet or on the sidewalk and no longer work), digital cameras, on Facebook, on Instagram and on two iPads. 

Being a new mom, and watching your kids grow up are perfect reasons to take an abundance of pictures to capture the day to day moments like, the first time they had solid food, moving up day in preschool or their first school show. The only problem with snapping so many pictures is where to store them all? I can't even tell you how many times I've been at a family fun blogger event and had my iPad or cellphone tell me it was out of space and I had to delete a few of the 2,300+ photos on my phone just to squeeze in 2 more photos, can you relate?

Imagine how freakin' excited we all were when we were introduced to Lyve  an amazing, FREE app that enables you to collect all the photos & videos you have on all of your devices into one single library, so that it's so much easier to find, view and share them.

I couldn't wait to get home and try it out, because as you can see from the photo above, having 4,000+ photos in just 1 of my 47 folders on my cellphone is insane and I'm always so worried I'd lose them. I'd totally recommend you download this app if you take tons of pictures because it will save you the worry of having those priceless moments lost somewhere, makes them more easily accessed and you'll free up some space on your other gadgets and gizmos!


Many thanks to The Moms Network for a fantastic lunch date! If you'd like to see more snaps from the event, check them out here!

*Disclosure: I attended this event as media, and received a copy of The Everyday SuperModel to assist in facilitating this review. No other compensation was received and opinions expressed are 100 %  my own.