Disney Paint Mom Room Reveal Party {Sponsored}

In just a few days, my boy will be a three-year-old!  There are so many huge milestones that come with this move away from toddler-hood.  In a few months, Adrian will be in a formal nursery school program, and he recently transitioned into a big-boy-bed. Thanks to a campaign with Glidden's Disney Paint via MomTrends, I finally remade the children's bedroom to reflect my darling son.  The process was fun and easy, and something that I've been hoping to tackle for a very long time.   Best of all, it was a simple project that I completed myself. 

BEFORE                                                                                              AFTER

The daylight before and after photos do not reflect a tremendous change.  I relocated a hide from another room to the kids room and added a smaller hide to Lucia's corner.  I also organized and donated the toys, and stenciled the walls with Glidden's Disney Ready Set Glow! Specialty Finish from Walmart.  I created my own stencils and the process was simple.  The paint provided a subtle look during the day with a big impact at night - exactly what I was hoping for.   

I told my kids that the paint on their walls is infused with a secret magical power.  The thing is, it really is...

Our new bedtime routine has shifted to preparing the room with the chandelier to "charge" the paint while the kids are in the bath.  They are so excited to fall asleep in their intergalactic galaxy, and the glow from the paint eventually fades so the kids won't be in "da club" all night long.

Adrian has since transitioned to an amazing toddler bed from Delta (more on that later).  It was literally on a UPS truck the day of the party and arrived the morning after.  We were determined to have Adrian's first night in a bed coincide with his big-boy-party, so Adrian and his Daddy changed his crib into a toddler bed the morning of the party.

I was lucky enough to receive Buzz Lightyear themed bedding from Walmart.  Since the comforter I received was a twin/full size, I turned it into a toddler blanket and sewed a little bunting flag with the excess material to better define Adrian's space.  I had the intention of sewing a grey quilt to compliment Lucia's bedding, but am pretty sure that my labor of love wouldn't stand a chance against Disney bedding.  Especially now that Adrian discovered a giant Buzz and Woody on the reverse side of his new bedding.  I managed to hide the comforter (and all of the remaining fabric) until the day of the party.  Adrian was beyond thrilled when I set up his bed!

We recently threw a room reveal party.  It was so much fun!  I really love party planning and purchased a great deal of my supplies at Walmart with a budget of $200. 

Guest arrived to rainbow colored fruit skewers, cheese and crackers, empanadas, chips and dip, star shaped cream cheese raisin bread sandwiches, and a veggie platter.  A full dinner was also served in the evening.

I added candy eyeballs to the star shaped sandwiches which were a big hit with the little ones.

The treat table consisted of a blue jello tower, cupcakes, blue and green M&M's, handmade star shaped chocolate lollipops and specialty Oreo cookies.  I had so much fun making Toy Story alien cookies by simply dipping half of each Oreo into melted green chocolate and then adding three eyeballs.   I made star shaped decorations for the cupcakes and table out of card-stock, glitter and toothpicks.  I was able to purchase all of the supplies to make chocolate lollipop, star decorations, Oreo green-chocolate dipped cookies and party supplies at Walmart. 

Our little big boy was very pleased and clearly felt incredibly special.  

 After feasting the kids moved on to the Glow Stick and Tattoo station that was set up on the bar. 

They also decorated stars with glitter glue and stickers. 

We decided that the $50 Walmart gift card door prize would go to the "most enthusiastic" and it was won by the littlest attendee. I'm pretty sure that his mom is going to purchase the same Glidden specialty finish from Walmart to decorate his room with glowing fun. 

For the goodie bags, I cut excess fabric from Adrian's bedding into star shapes and modpodged it onto brown paper bags.  The kiddos seemed to be thrilled with the loot inside!

The best part of the night was watching the kids dance in the room.  We set up a black-light (just for the party) and the kids literally went bonkers.  They danced, made several costume changes and made up games with the glow sticks and stars. All of the kids seemed to genuinely love the glowing room. 

The moms were really interested in the project and the fact that the specialty paint was so affordable and simple to apply.  There may be an impeding move in our near future and I will definitely use Glidden Disney Paint again. 

Best of all, Adrian is so proud of his new shared space!

Compensation and products for review were provided by Glidden via MomTrends.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions of Glidden.

Sesame Place Visitor Tips

I often wonder what specific pieces of early childhood my children will remember most.  Undoubtedly, they're likely to remember my responses, actions and displays of love (one can hope!).  I'm also pretty sure that some of our adventures will become stand out memories.

We haven't yet been to Disney World, but we do have a place of childhood magic just ninety minutes away from NYC at Sesame Place.  Lucia and Adrian go absolutely bananas at the prospect of visiting, and we've been lucky enough to have attended a handful of media events at Sesame Place.  

Sesame Place recently opened for their 2013 Season and we decided to surprise the kids by not filling them in on our plans to visit on opening day.  We arrived to a bambini parking lot freak out (the good kind!) and thoroughly enjoyed watching the immense joy through excited eyes.  Each trip has been incredibly memorable with fun filled experiences.  This time Lucia was big enough to ride her first roller coaster (the vapor trail) and Adrian had plenty of running hugs to give to his favorite furry friends. I even had my own moment of massive public embarrassment when the staff was kind enough to shut down a kiddie ride on my behalf when motion sickness nearly got the best of me (memorable indeed!).  

Here are a few of my visitor tips:

Book A Character Meal 
If your children love character interaction than a character meal is the way to go.  You will not be paying for the experience of amazing food, but for the experience of watching your child/children interact with every single one of the characters. The characters also make their way to the tables during the meal, and a Conga line and dance party take place in the end.  It is hands down a worthwhile (and photo worthy) experience.  If character meals don't fit into the budget, there are still plenty of opportunities to catch characters around the park and at the designated Smile With Me photo stations (just be prepared to wait in a line).  


Plan Food and Drinks ahead of Time
For some families, dinning at Sesame Place is part of the experience. You can leave with the BPA-free Elmo plates and character cups to reuse at home as a memory from your trip.  Although Sesame Place has made great efforts to become more healthy with salad options and substitutions of apples for french fries - I find it helpful to pack a small cooler of snacks and water for the entire family.  It's especially important to hydrate as the day will most likely involve a lot of walking and sun exposure!

Rent a Locker
Lockers are available to rent in the front of the park and renters can visit them as many times as needed.  Locker are a great place to stash an extra set of clothes, towels, and things that would generally weigh you down during your day at the park.

Stay in a nearby Hotel
There are so many affordable near by hotels, and it's fun to turn the Sesame Place experience into an entire weekend.  In addition, second day admission is FREE with the purchase of one ticket.  I also think that it is exhausting to drive home after a full day in the park. 


Give Proper Warning
As in many aspects of parenting, it's important to give kids proper warning about when the day will come to an end.  We always leave after the magical parade experience and sort of assumed that our children would remember our arrangement.  On our recent trip, I only mentioned our exit plans once to the little guy, and he had a serious meltdown when it was time to go.  Make sure to give the little ones warning to keep the excursion fun for all!

As a Sesame Place Sunny Day Blogger, Sesame Place provided Media Tickets and an invitation to a media day happy hour event.  All opinions in this post are strictly my own. 

Every Mother Counts

On Mother's Day, my thoughts are with the two mother figures in my life. My own mother - who gave me an incredibly love-filled childhood, and my mother-in-law who gives me steadfast support.  

I'm also naturally reflecting on my greatest gifts - my two children whom today bestowed me with trinkets, homemade art and messages of love that I will forever treasure.  I'm beyond grateful for the safe delivery of my babies, with sophisticated medical care in a small minimally invasive practice.  Yet I'm acutely aware that this is not the case for all.  According to the Centers For Disease Control, in the United States about 650 women die each year as a result of pregnancy and delivery complications.  However, in developing Countries, the maternal mortality ratio is 240 per 100,000 births, with approximately 800 women dying each day from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth (World Health Organization).  

Photo via Every Mother Counts

Reducing the maternal mortality ratio by three quarters by 2015 is one of the Millennium Development Goals, and last week I learned about an organization that is committed to helping this cause. Thanks to the coordination of Culture Mom Media, I had the chance to speak directly with Christy Turlington Burns the founder of  Every Mother Counts.  Although many of us know Christy Turlington Burns from her modeling career, she is profoundly dedicated to reducing maternal mortality around the world, and has worked extensively in resource poor Countries.

I am no longer working in a formal public health setting and am especially happy to share ways that we can all help out.  Every Mother Counts launched a Mother's Day campaign (taking place all year long) via Pinterest called "Give Mom a Thought". Through social media, a "thought" can be given to show appreciation to the women we love as we recognize the disproportionate amount of women around the world who do not survive childbirth.

To learn more and get involved with Every Mother Counts, visit everymothercounts.org where donations can be made (in a loved one's honor).  

The Talent Show

Today we experienced our  first Elementary School talent Show. One by one, so many brave children walked up to the large auditorium stage to showcase their talents.  Lucia was among them, and she was one of the few Kindergartners who signed up to perform.  

She decided on a "fairy dance" that she didn't want to practice at home.  But when she got up on that stage she danced her little heart out.  I applaud her bravery and truly hope that it sticks.

Mommybites Summit 2013 {Sponsored}

Last Wednesday I enjoyed a fun Moms' night out with some good friends at the 4th annual Mommybites Summit at the New Yorker Hotel's Grand Ballroom. The event connected over 80 parent/baby focused brands with attendees and also hosted amazing raffles.

I was able to catch the keynote speech by organizational expert/author Andrew Mellen and my friends and I actually whipped out our notepads.  In some aspects of my home, organization is often my Achilles heel as our storage space is extremely limited.   Andrew's words of wisdom have not left my mind, and I'm striving for some sort of practical implementation soon.  A few of  his wise words that resonated with me include:

• "Nothing freely given is a burden.  You are not obligated to keep anything from anyone that does not make your life more comfortable, convenient, or beautiful."

• "Clutter equals deferred decisions"

• "More Love, Less Stuff"  

As the evening moved on, I was able to chat with several brands with a specific focus on two.  I first met with representatives of the NY Kids Club  - a childhood enrichment center known for their exemplary preschool program and innovative classes in several Manhattan locations.  I learned about their plethora of summer options, included a camp with flexible schedules and enrollment, drop-in classes and summer classes with an unlimited make-up policy. The NY Kids Club also caters to a variety of age groups with Super Awesome Saturday Parties (with themes including Circus Boot Camp) for children in the 5-9 age bracket (I must check this out for Lucia!).  They also offers preschool options for two and three year olds for those who are still undecided about fall placement.  The people I spoke with were all so nice and enthusiastic, and I've experienced their awesomeness first hand at birthday parties in their Upper East Side location.  One lucky Mommybites attendee left with their raffle prize of $200 off a class enrollment.

I also spoke with UrbanSitter, founded by four parents who understand firsthand the demands of busy schedules.  This online resource allows parents to find and book babysitters recommended by individuals that they know.  The site finds available sitters and displays the ones that come with recommendations from parents in the sitter-seekers social circles.  Jobs can be booked and payed for on line.  Although my life is pretty sitter-less at the moment - I hope to test out this service in the near future.  I also love the fact that they offer gift cards  as they are an awesome gift to give to a fellow mom!

I definitely think that the Mommybites Summit provided a memorable moms' night out, with treats, wine, tons of information and shopping.  Mothers left with generous goodies bags, and many won fabulous prizes including Britax car seats and strollers to family photo sessions and prints.  Mommybites continues to be a valuable resource for mothers/expecting mothers and upcoming events can be found on their website. 

  
This post is sponsored by Mommybites, however all opinions are my own. 

Kids Clothes Week - Sewing Round Up {Spring}

I started sewing for my children two years ago, and since that time, my machines have accumulated more dust than I'm happy with.  I'm on a quest to create time for things that I enjoy and decided to join in on Elise Marley's Kids Clothes Week to carve out some serious sewing time. 

I decided to start with a simple skirt from cute Japanese fabric that I had in my stash.  When I messed it up (who messes up a skirt? I mean!)  I thought about calling my friend and sewing guru Caroline over at Hungie Gungie.  Feeling like I already bugged her enough this week (with photo texts questioning my fabric's ugliness factor), I decided to stalk her site instead, in search of her sister Erin's Vintage Pillow Case Tank Dress Tutorial.  Cutting up a tank and attaching it to the skirt was a perfect and easy solution to my Kids Clothes Week skirt fail. 

I decided to call this The Whoopsy Daisy Dress:

I liked it so much that I made another:

And another:

Most importantly the little-big-girl was pleased with squeals of delight.  I believe she likes the mermaid dress (and wand) the most.  The fabric, from Spoonflower, was sitting in my fabric collection for well over a year.  The third Whoopsy Daisy fabric (by Anna Salander) was purchased from Ikea with the intention of making sectional covers. It looked hideous in my living room (whoopsy daisy!).  Although I wasn't sure how well it would translate into a dress, I'm happy with the outcome (I'm into triangles these days).   I steam-a-seamed an additional triangle onto the tank and zig-zag stitched around it.  I also added a grey pom pom trim because my girl LOVES pom poms.

I didn't accomplish as much as I wanted with visions of (yet unmade) cool shorts for my boy in my head.  We had a bit of a rough week when both bambini's were admitted to the hospital with severe gastroenteritis.  They had excellent care, quickly recovered as I received a swift dose of mama-gratitude. 

I did manage to crank out an Oliver + S Popover Sundress in pretty Amy Butler fabric for one of my new favorite tiny human's baby Anya.  I met her mama when we were teenage lifeguards and I can't wait to reunite with her in person someday soon.  I also had the chance to connect with some amazing talent via Instagram and am sure that I will continue to be inspired by their creativity.  I've been drooling over the Kids Clothes Week Wrap Up Post and flicker group photos and am determined to dedicate a bit more time to this sewing thing - even when faced with big old whoopsy daisies.