Monthly Archives: June 2012

We’re Having A Party: A Birthday Bash

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For the past two weeks I’ve been stressed out over finding the perfect venue, booking talented entertainment, loading up on exotic decorations, choosing the menu and deciding what will go in each special guest’s gift bag.  No, this isn’t for some big shindig for wealthy VIPs or gala event tied to my job.  It’s all been over a birthday party for a bunch of five-year olds!

It seems to me that birthdays have become the new “event” for children.  I’ve seen some parents go totally overboard, pulling out all the stops to throw “the best party ever” for their kid.  Of course some parents compete with each other to see who can throw the “biggest” and “most elaborate” party for their kids – spending outrageous amounts of money for things like fireworks, elaborate cakes or the latest teeny-bobber to sing “Happy Birthday.”   Frankly, it’s pretty ridiculous. If you’ve ever watched MTV’s “Super Sweet 16” or Wealth TV’s “Party Mamas” some of the parties featured on those shows make my wedding seem like a cheap backyard tea party!

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I Found Mary Poppins, Living in NJ!

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A few weeks back I posted about my family’s search for a new after-school nanny.  When our former nanny “A” took the gig last winter, she told us she could only commit to us thru the end of June.  The Hubs & I were clearly in denial about it. We had hoped that we could convince her to stay on, but to no avail.  Before we knew it, it was late May and we needed to find a new nanny pronto!

We had found “A” through our kidlets’ nursery/pre-school so she came to us already vetted by the school as required by our state’s childcare laws.   We saw first-hand the great rapport she had with our kidlets in the classroom, so it was a no-brainer in hiring her.

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Wordless Wednesday – The Snack of Super Heroes

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While I was getting my 2 1/2-year-old daughter dressed for nursery school yesterday morning, she announced that she was a Super Hero. She then proceeded to march down the hall to the bathroom stark naked except for a pair of pink sunglasses and sat on the toilet.  After bursting out in laughter, I managed to ask her what kind of Super Hero she was.  Without skipping a beat, she told me Rockstar Super Hero.  Clearly, the teenage years with her are going to be interesting!

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“Monster” Of A Mom Moment

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This weekend I had one of those “you know you’re a mom when” moments.    It came as I sat with the Hubs and our two kidlets at Monster Jam**.  In case you’re not familiar with Monster Jam, it is the world’s largest monster truck tour and features the biggest names in monster trucks vying in events such as truck racing and freestyle competitions.  My 2 ½ year old daughter asked me the names of the monster trucks and without hesitation,  I started rattling off  their names — Grave Digger, El Toro Loco, Spiderman, Madusa, Grave Digger “the Legend,” Maximum Destruction and my personal favorite, Monster Mutt, without even looking at the show program.

                    Grave Digger                                                                 El Toro Loco

Monster Mutt (all photos credit: Monster Jam)

How could an almost 40-year-old woman who has no interest whatsoever in anything motor-sport related know this info?  It’s because I’m a mom who has been playing with miniature versions of these guys since the moment my son started playing with toys.

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Make Everyday Desserts Special With COOL WHIP!

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AdvertisementThank you COOL WHIP for sponsoring this post. Join us on Facebook for inspiration and recipes for everyday treats. What you add makes it. #coolwhipmoms

I love dessert! Growing up, my favorite part about eating dinner was getting to dessert.  To this day, if someone offered me dessert before dinner, I’d happily comply.  I find that the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree with my two kidlets. I think my son’s favorite question is, “Mommy, can I have a treat?”  He’s a smart boy.  He totally knows that his mom can’t resist a sweet treat and that more times that not, I’ll partake in the deliciousness right along with him!

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My First Cravebox: “A Taste of The Tropics”

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I love trying new things and discovering great new products.  Whether it’s food, home products or clothing – if it’s something new on the market or a trial size, I usually buy it and try it out.  So when I heard about Cravebox, a monthly product discovery service that searches and selects the best products and puts them directly in the hands of its members to try and review, I signed up right away.

The box was very festive, very “A Taste Of The Tropics”

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A Fun Day Out! A-MAZE-ING Water at New York Aquarium

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Looking for fun and cool way to spend a day with the kiddies and you live in the New York City tri-state area or even if you’re planning a visit to the city this summer, you should definitely check out the New York Aquarium’s latest interactive extravaganza A-MAZE-ING Water.

A-MAZE-ING Water is a fun, new summer-only exhibit that features a 1,500-square-foot maze called “Water’s Extreme Journey” which draws attention to the environmental threats that plague the world’s oceans, lakes, rivers and watershed habitats along with the importance of water conservation. Continue reading →

The “Grill-More” Girls – Pizza De Resistance

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This week, this “Grill-More” Girl is serving up Grilled Pizza.  Yes, you read that right – pizza on the grill.  I’ll be honest, the first time I heard about this from a mom friend all I could think of was “how on earth can you cook that on the grill!”  To me it would seem to come out as such a mess, the dough would fall into the grates of the grill and would never be cooked all the way through before turning into a half-charred, half-raw mess.  I was certainly skeptical, but I have to tell you that it is so super easy and the results will have you tossing your take-out pizza menus into the trash!  Grilled pizza is a great go-to dish for either casual dining or entertaining with friends.

Pizza cooking on the grill, who knew?!

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Who Do You Trust? Finding A New Nanny…..

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June is always a chaotic month. Though the school year is winding down, my kidlets have quite a busy schedule!  Field trips and parties a-plenty are on tap this month plus my son will also graduate from pre-school!  There will also be plenty of changes in store for this summer! My son will start his first-ever summer camp program and my daughter is excited to move up to her new classroom and teacher.  But undoubtedly the biggest change will be a new after-school nanny.

Do nannies really look like this aside from the movies?

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