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  • Car Review, Events, Lifestyle, Sponsored

    Inspiration to Change the world | Hyundai Hope on Wheels

           This post is sponsored. As usual, all opinions are my own.

    Last week, I received an invitation to attend the Hyundai Hope on Wheels 20th anniversary celebration hosted by Soledad O’Brien on media night at the New York International Auto Show. I’ve heard of Hyundai Hope for Wheels, but I knew very little about the organization, or it’s origins. I have to say that sitting there in the audience; I was inspired when I learned the nonprofit started in Massachusetts when a few Hyundai car dealers came together and decided to donate money to a Boston children’s hospital for pediatric cancer research in 1998. One of those car dealers had visited the hospital, and after seeing the young patients suffering, he was moved to help. Right there, he made a decision that changed the world in a big way.

    Hyundai Hope on Wheels

    They never imagined Hope for Wheels would grow the way it has. The number of dealers who joined in to participate increased quickly and over the past 20 years Hyundai Hope for Wheels has been able to donate $145 million for pediatric cancer research and treatment. It’s truly inspiring how much one person’s decision can change the world and during the ceremony $15 Million new awards were awarded.

    Hyundai Hope on Wheels

    During the ceremony, Elizabeth Blair and Carter Gates who are 11 and 12 years old and pediatric cancer survivors were named the new Hyundai Hope on Wheels ambassadors for the next two years. Both kids shared their stories from diagnosis to recovery. Elizabeth shared her memory of her dad on the floor of their kitchen crying when her doctor called with her diagnosis. She was only five years old but based on her dad’s reaction she knew it was something terrible. These kids are very confident, and I’m happy that they will be able to inspire current pediatric cancer patients with hope and encouragement to fight.

    Hyundai Hope on Wheels

    Hyundai Hope on Wheels

    Most of us can’t support kids with cancer in this way although we want to because we don’t understand what they’re experiencing. Elizabeth and Carter know what they’re going through because they’ve been there. We can support in other ways like volunteering at hospitals and even buying a Hyundai (I shared the 2019 Sante Fe which is the perfect mom car in my Instagram stories, and many of you loved it). A portion of the sale of every Hyundai goes to the hope on Wheels.

    What’s one way you would want to save the world?

  • Baby, Motherhood, New Born, New Mom, Product Reviews, Sponsored

    6 Ways to Entertain a Baby

    This post is part of a paid partnership with BJ’s Wholesale Club. All opinions are based on my experience as a member.

    Now that she’s four months old, my baby girl is past the newborn stage, and she’s not sleeping as much as before. When she’s up, and her little eyes are always searching around whatever room she’s in looking for fun. We love this about her; it’s like she’s looking for the party. When I tell my friends that she’s always looking for the party they laugh, but it’s true, she loves to have a good time. So keeping this little girl happy and entertained is what we do these days. I remember the days when I was a first time mom and struggled to entertain my baby. I would bore her by singing the same songs over and over or just tickle her nonstop because I couldn’t think of anything else. Now, three kids later I’m confident and know some practical ways to keep my baby from getting bored. If you’re looking for ideas, here are six ways to entertain a baby based on my experience:

    Entertain a Baby

    While I can’t create a hard schedule, I know her daily routine, so I drop everything at certain times of the day and give her my undivided attention. Limited time means finding clever ways to get my work and errands completed while she’s sleeping. I work after she goes to bed at night, and I do online shopping or wholesale shopping for our home at BJ’s Wholesale Club. We joined BJ’s in May 2013 while I was pregnant with my son and we’ve been using it since to get everything from board books to groceries, diapers, wipes, baby wash, to cupcakes for class parties. Joining BJ’s was a good money move because we save on brands that we trust and have used for years as well as BJ’s exclusive Berkley Jensen line.  We save time too because we get everything in one store giving us more family time.

    Entertain a Baby

    Read to your baby.

    Entertain a Baby

    As most of you know by now, I love to read to my children. Cuddling up with a book is something we all enjoy. I read to the baby at least once a day and her big sister reads to her too. I shared some of our favorite books to read her here if you need ideas and you can also find a great selection of baby books at your local BJ’s club.

    Play in the Mirror.

    Babies love to stare at their image and your image in the mirror. It’s fascinating to them, and if you make funny faces in the mirror, you’re sure to get bonus giggles from your little one.

    Play Peekaboo.

    Entertain a Baby

    Peekaboo is an old favorite because babies love surprises. Sometimes when we play peekaboo with her, you could see astonishment in her little eyes.

    Listen to music.

    Babies enjoy music too! You may notice a change in your baby’s demeanor when music is on. I play lots of neo-soul during the day, and it seems to relax the baby.

    Entertain a Baby

    Make diaper changes fun.

    There is no other time you get the complete attention of your baby than during diaper changes so using that time as an opportunity to have some fun. My voice isn’t the smoothest, but I sing her songs and play with her while changing her and she always giggles. If singing isn’t your thing, a nursery rhyme, beatboxing or a poem will work just as well.  I try my best to make it a comfortable experience for her by using products like Berkley Jensen ultra sensitive wipes which I love because they’re fragrance-free and do not contain questionable ingredients like parabens, phthalates, dyes or alcohol. I started using BJ’s Wholesale Club Berkley Jensen diapers a few weeks ago, and I was surprised by how absorbent they are and how well they fit her little body.

    Entertain a Baby

    I hope you can have fun and create some beautiful memories and moments with your baby using these tips. Don’t worry, babies get tired fast so you wouldn’t have to do all six of these at one time. If you’re not already a member, sign up for BJ’s Wholesale Club here with my refer-a-link here so you can get a $25 gift card as my friend. If you enjoy couponing, BJ’s also accepts manufacturers coupons. Over the next year, I will be sharing more of our favorite BJ’s Wholesale Club items for babies and the family here on the blog and social media so stay tuned.

     

     What’s your favorite way to keep your baby entertained?

     

     

     

  • Activities, Lifestyle, Motherhood, Sponsored

    4 Ways to Engage and Educate Kids Over Spring Break

             This post is sponsored by Amazon, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

    Engage and Educate Kids

    As of noon today, my kids are officially on spring break! I’m happy that I wouldn’t have to pack lunches that they probably wouldn’t eat for a week and a half and I’m looking forward to sleeping later than usual. We don’t have any major plans since the weather in New York City is a far cry from spring weather. I want them to enjoy their time off and to keep them intellectually stimulated during the break. I wanted to share three ways to engage and educate kids during spring break with the Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids tablet which many of you know is our family’s favorite tablet. I love it because of the Parent Dashboard, that allows me to monitor everything they do on Amazon FreeTime mode including how much time they spend reading as well as a summary of the books they read. I use the parental control to set up the LearnFirst feature which ensures that they get a little education before they play games or watch videos. Since we’re going into the last trimester of the school year and my daughter completed the first two with honors, it’s really important for me to keep her excited about learning so she can finish the year strong. Here are 4 fun ways to engage and educate kids over spring break:

    Engage and Educate Kids

    1. Reading

    By now most of you know that books are a big part of my family’s lifestyle. All three of my kids (yes the baby too) love books, and we read on a daily basis. There are over 15,000 books on the Amazon Fire
    HD 8 Kids Edition tablet, which means that there is no chance they would ever run out of new books to read. Those of you who follow my Instagram stories know that I took them to pick out books to read last weekend, so they have hard copies and digital options. Actually, I’m buying less hard copies these days as we’re running out of shelf space and our children’s book collection is already taking over our New York City apartment. Plus, my oldest who is into the Dork Diaries and Diary of the Wimpy Kid series and reads these books so quickly that it’s easier to get her the Kindle version to read on her Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Edition tablet or start reading the hard copy I purchase with my Amazon Prime account.

    To ensure that she understands what she’s reading the Discussion Cards feature have come in really handy. We plan to start a little book club once my son can read a little bit but right now he benefits from listening to the discussions.

    2. Kindergarten Preparation

    My son is going to Kindergarten in the fall, and honestly, since he’s the second kid, I think it took me a while to realize how quickly this happened. I’ve been teaching him sight words, helping him improve his writing skills and getting him prepared to learn to read with sight words. He loves learning them on the  Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Edition tablet, and I’m happy because I don’t have to deal with flashcards thrown all over our home.

    3. STEM Stimulation

    My daughter is nothing like me, she LOVES math, and her class uses Xtramath to digital reinforce the math skills they’re taught in class. When her teacher first sent home her membership information, I had her do it on the computer, but since she found the app on her Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Edition tablet, she likes doing it there. It’s such great app for kids because she’s so focused on the points she gets to practice and improve their math skills. Besides Xtramath other STEM apps, she also likes MathSlicer, ScratchJunior (coding), Medieval Math Battle and Pocket Penguins.

    4. Creativity

    I don’t know about your kids, but my little ones are always doing “projects”  some they finish and other they don’t. These range from science experiments, musicals, story writing, DIYs to paintings. They use their Amazon Fire Kids Edition tablets to document all of their creativity, by making videos and taking photos. The camera on the Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Edition tablet is pretty decent, and I love watching them film each other talk about what they made; it’s both inspiring and hilarious. Unlike other tablets, I never have to worry about paint and slime causing damage. Their Amazon Fire Kids Edition tablets bumpers are kid safe and can withstand everything including falls but if they do break the two-year guarantee means they will be replaced no questions asked. I told y’all before that we’ve had to request a replacement a few years ago and it was a seamless process.

     

    The best part of the kids having their Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Edition tablet during spring break is that they would never be bored while we’re on the go. They can download shows they want to watch in the car while I run errands etc. so it’s going to be fun yet intellectually challenging spring break.

    How do you plan to engage and educate your kids during spring break?

     

    WAYS TO ENGAGE AND EDUCATE