Wordless Wednesday

All you ever need is your girlfriends <3

A Kick Ass Mom

My newest tv show addiction is ABC's Missing starring Ashley Judd as Becca Winstone. The show is about a former CIA, now PTA mom whose son is kidnapped while studying abroad in Italy. She goes on a massive search through out Europe for her son. The show is amazing. Ashley Judd shows true courage & strength as she fights off anyone in her way. The show's producers do an incredible job of showing how someone will go through any lengths to find a loved one.
It makes me wonder how far will I go if God forbid anything ever happened to my son. I may not have the training of an agent but I sure as hell know how to kick some ass if I needed to for my family.
Congrats to ABC for putting a program worth watching on tv that shows how a woman can be strong, & brilliant besides be used for her sexual assets.

My own personal angel....

When this year started, I intended to do so many things. This was going to be MY year. I was turning 40 in February and I was ready to party like it was 1999. But God had other plans in store for me. I found out we were going to have a baby. We weren't trying to conceive. It was a complete surprise. I was completely and utterly nervous because of the increased risks of pregnancy at 40. But I was ready to welcome this sweet & pleasant surprise in September.
I went for a routine check up on a Friday eager because I was starting my 11th week. I was nearing the end of the 1st trimester after a few bouts of nausea, heartburn and cravings. All new to me because I didn't experience any of this with my son. In my heart, I wondered if this would be the little girl that I secretly desired.
Then as the doctor looked at the sonogram monitor, I feared the worst. Her expression said it all. "There's no heartbeat." she said. I felt like I was in another world. I just heard the heartbeat a few weeks ago, how could it have stopped. As a mother how could I not know that something was wrong with my baby? I was supposed to be 11 weeks but the baby measured at 9 weeks and a few days. Two weeks ago my baby died within me and I had no clue.
But I should've realized when the nausea had stopped. When I didn't crave that turkey & cheese sandwich anymore. When I developed this weird rash on my upper body & legs. The weird thing is I think I did know. Everywhere I looked I heard that someone miscarried. It was either on the news or in magazines. The word "miscarriage" was hovering over me like cheap perfume.
I won't ever know if it was a boy or a girl, but in my heart of hearts I know she was my princess. He/she was a part of me & I have nothing but sonograms to look at to remind me. I feel empty inside. Someone is missing in my little family. My son won't ever know that he was going to have a sibling. Thankfully we decided to wait till later to tell him the news. I am so glad we did that. I couldn't bear to explain the details to him.
Now I've become a part of group that I never thought I would be in: women who have miscarried. As I've reached out to online groups, I find the support knowing that I'm not the only one. I have found comfort from friends that I didn't know have miscarried as well. Something so heartbreaking yet so common in us all.
Fridays won't be the same to me. For the next few months I know its going to be a challenge especially in September. I am getting back to my normal routines at work & home. I catch myself thinking about my baby & I get teary eyed. As I listen to people talk about their friends' pregnancies or how I should have another baby I just nod & smile. I feel like the whole damn world is having a baby. Jeez even Snooki is pregnant. And I'm mad. Mad that they get to enjoy this amazing experience & add to their family. Mad that I will be taunted by this experience. Mad that I've decided I don't want to go through this again and have decided not to consider trying again. We will forever be a family of 3. And I will forever have my own personal angel watching over us.

UPrinting Rolled Canvas Giveaway!

UPrinting is an online printing company that offers a vast amount of products for your everyday business & personal needs. My family has used them for business cards and brochures. One item that peeked my interest is their rolled canvas prints. They are available in standard or custom sizes which you can have a 2 inch border or not. They will turn your favorite photo to a beautiful print on a premium canvas material.

One lucky reader will receive a 16 x 20 rolled canvas print from UPrinting!

• With 2-inch border or No border
• 1 Business day turnaround
• Free shipping

 Please enter below using the Rafflecopter form.


Disclaimer: “You should assume that the owner of this blog will receive free print product in exchange for the post. Any and all reviews posted are based solely on my own experience and may be atypical. Please practice due diligence in making any related purchase decisions.”

a Rafflecopter giveaway   

Oasis Day Camp at Central Park

One of my favorite memories growing up in New York city will always be my summers. If I didn't go away with my grandparents to Martha's Vineyard, I was in day camp. Raised by a single parent, it was difficult for my mom to stay home with my siblings & I. So camp was always an option for us. I loved attending camp. Hanging out with friends, swimming, going on trips & just having a great summer is a memory I want my son to have growing up.
In New York City, there are numerous options for day camps that can have parents feeling a little overwhelmed. One option is Oasis Day Camp. I haven't heard much about Oasis except for some narratives that I read on other mom blogs. I had the opportunity to speak with Bernie Tessler, CEO of Oasis Children's Services, to gain a better perspective of what they had to offer my family.
The Central Park location is their largest day camp. They are the only program that has use of New York City's premiere park during the summer. A majority of the children's day is spent in the outdoors utilizing various parts of the park either doing sports, swimming or arts/crafts.

Core values of Oasis:

1. Oasis gives children the tools they will need to succeed in school and in life.

2. Oasis creates communities for children that are safe havens emotionally and physically.

3. Oasis staff members build self-confidence by being positive, supportive and kind.

4. Oasis encourages children to embrace new experiencs and to learn new skills.

5. Oasis staff members are role models who teach through their own behaviors and attitudes.

Oasis offers conveninet bus pick ups/drop offs from a number of locations in the city. Campers have the option to either bring lunch from home or enjoy a hot lunch provided by the camp.
What I enjoyed about my conversation with Bernie is how enthusiastic he is about this program. One of my concerns were the counselors. I wanted to be sure that they were reliable & knowledgable people that would be with my son for a long period of the day.. Bernie advised me that all staff are either undergrad or graduate students. High schoolers are not hired. Many of them are education, social work or psychology majors. The vast amount of information he gave me fills me with excitement. This just sounds like such an outstanding program that I know my son will enjoy. These will be memories that he will have for years to come. I look forward to the summer.

Camp dates: Camp runs from July 2,2012 - August 24,2012. Online registration is through June 20,2012.

Check out Oasis Day Camp's website for prices and further information.

StinkyKids the Musical Review

This past weekend my son & I had the honor of attending the debut of the StinkyKids musical. I had heard about the dolls and was curious about seeing the show. Anything that is a musical & kid friendly I always try to attend with my son. I was so pleased about this one!
The show is based on the award winning children's book series, StinkyKids written by Britt Menzies. She's a mother that was inspired by her children, her own little stinkers. What I love about the books are the 10 diverse StinkyKids characters. Each look & act differently from each other, thus creating individual personalities that we can all relate to. These kids learn from their mistakes to make right choices & follow their motto of "always be a leader of good."
Program synopsis:
StinkyKid Britt never gets into trouble and loves making everyone happy! She's convinced her parents to take her friends Max, Hannah, Jen, Johnny and Billy to the opening of the new Mega Jumper 3000. But when Britt gets a massive wad of gum stuck in her hair, she must rely on her friends to help her get out of a sticky situation before her parents find out and cancel the trip.
My son & I thoroughly enjoyed the show. The music was entertaining as well as the characters. It gave a descriptive portrayal of how kids make bad choices & discover along the way on how to learn from those mistakes. My son walked away realizing that he is most like superhero Johnny. He went home eager to bring his book to school to share with his kindergarten class. He was very impressed with getting author Britt Menzies autograph as well.

Andre & author Britt Menzies

StinkyKids the musical is currently playing at the Vital theatre now through April 22nd. Tickets can be purchased through their website. The StinkyKids book series can be purchased at Barnes & Noble. They are even available to add to your NOOK! If you have the chance I would suggest you take your own stinker to this fabulous show. They will no doubt leave with a feeling of "Always be a leader of good."

Disclosure: I received tickets to review the show. No monetary compensation was received.  This is my completely honest opinion above & may differ from yours.. Congrats Britt Menzies on the success of StinkyKids! 

Become a member of Houseparty.com

Do you love to get free products? What about hosting parties for family/friends to share the products with? I wanted to let you know about this great site called HouseParty. Its free to join. Basically they list brands & products that they want to have parties. You apply for them and if you're lucky enough to get selected they will send you the products for FREE to host a party. I love this site. I've hosted parties for Sabra, Tapena Wines & now I will have a party for Benefit makeup. I've been to parties for Huggies, Chef Boyardee and Rice Works. Its a wonderful reason to get together with your friends or family. You get to be a voice for these products. There's absolutely no gimmick. So why not try your luck today! Sign up!

Kidtoons The Gruffalo Giveaway

The Gruffalo is the feature film at your local Kidtoons theaters this month.

Synopsis:
A mouse is taking a stroll through the deep, dark wood when along comes a hungry fox, then an owl, and then a snake. Since the mouse “looks good” to all, he explains that he’s meeting the Gruffalo! As Mouse explains, the Gruffalo is a creature with terrible claws, and terrible tusks in its terrible jaws, and knobbly knees and turned-out toes, and a poisonous wart at the end of its nose. But Mouse has no worry to show. After all, there’s no such thing as a Gruffalo.

Giveaway:
One reader will win a Gruffalo prize pack which includes the following:

One The Gruffalo Book

One The Gruffalo DVD

One The Gruffalo Rhyme Game

One The Gruffalo Kidtoons Movie Poster

Ringling Bros. And Barnum & Bailey Presents Dragons! Review

The circus is in town & we couldn't wait to see Ringling Bros. new show Dragons. We went to the Izod center's opening night this week. It was an early birthday celebration for one of our boyz Julian.
The show didn't disappoint! It was spectacular. The clowns were hilarious as usual. They had great up beat music that had the entire stadium on their feet dancing. The boyz were breaking out their dance moves. It was hysterical.

As a kid, I went to the circus frequently. I remembered being amazed by the trapeze artists, the tigers and just trying to keep up with the 3 rings. I am happy that they didn't disappoint. My son was eager to see the tigers & lion perform. They were a little feisty with their trainer but he assured us it was all part of the act.

My favorite part were the Sizzling Sirens of the Sky as they hung about 35 feet above spinning, and twirling from their hair or while in a large clear ball. My stomach was in knots just looking at them.

 My son loved the amazing Torres family as they dazzled with their daredevil displays of riding motorcycles in a 16 foot globe of steel at a speed of 65mph. At one point there were a total of 8 in there!

When the Dragon made its grand entrance, the boyz were mesmerized. It was a beautiful replica complete with fire blazing from its mouth.

The circus is currently showing at the Izod Center till March 18th. You can purchase tickets here. The Izod Center is hosting a ticket giveaway. Follow the rules & enter for your chance to win.

Disclosure: All reviews & opinions are my own. I was given a family four pack of tickets.

How To Succeed in Buisness Without Really Trying The Musical Comedy Review

I recently won a set of tickets from Mommy's Mingle to see the Broadway comedy How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying starring the talented Nick Jonas from the Jonas Brothers.
I have to admit that I had some hesitations about Nick Jonas as the lead. I must say I was pleasantly surprised as well. He was amazing as the career minded J. Pierrepont Finch. It was great to see him as a solo act away from his brothers. He has such a strong voice and energy. The musical number was full of up beat songs and high impact dancing. We were seated third row center of the theater. We were able to catch it all up close & personal. My family & I enjoyed the show. The entire cast including Emmy winner Beau Bridges did an outstanding performance.
If you're looking for a night out on the town and want to catch a New York City Broadway show, I definitely suggest this one. You will be in for a night full of laughter and sheer brilliance.
Tickets can be purchased directly at their website or at the Al Hirschfeld Theater.

Disclosure: I won tickets from Mommy's Mingle.  The review is my honest opinion of the show.

#WIN ZHU ZHU BABIES NINTENDO DS GAME

Has the Zhu Zhu craze hit your household? It did for us. Those little hamster like animals used to run around our home all the time. I would secretly try to hide them from our son just so I could get some quiet time from their squeaks!
Nintendo has jumped on the craze and created ZhuZhu Babies for DS. These furry little animals are geared to give your little one some fun!

Game Description:
Hurry, your Zhu Zhu Babies need you! They wandered away during a trip, and now you need to go on an adventure to get them back. Travel around the world as you race to recover your Zhu Zhu babies. Visit some of the world's most popular vacation spots in 35 levels. Get to know 11 new Zhu Zhu Babies just waiting to win you over with their irresistible personalities. Care for them, keep them safe, and give them  disguises to help sneak them through airports and bus stations on your way home.

This game is rated E for everyone 6 years and up. It currently retails for $19.99 and can be purchased at Toys R Us.

One lucky reader will win a Zhu Zhu Babies Nintendo DS game & a Zhu Zhu baby! 

Disclosure: . This review is based on my own thoughts and opinions. I received no compensation for this post.