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  • halloween, Motherhood, Sponsored, Toddler

    The Super Knight as Iron Man

    This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #AvengersUnite#CollectiveBias

    This Halloween my favorite toddler will take a break from potty training and morph into Iron Man. If you remember, Mr. Rattles is a MARVEL Avengers fan and he loves Tony Stark in particular.  Back when he was growing up, he always wanted to dress up like Iron Man but his mom thought the idea of him in the costume was just too funny to take him seriously. So here we are a few decades later, realizing his longtime desires through The Super Knight.  The Super Knight is really his own superhero running around and screaming “Soupy Powers” all day, but he’s down to morph into Iron Man if it would make “Doddy’s” childhood dream come through.

    ironman

    I’ve learned over the years that the earlier I get the kids Halloween costumes the better! During the month of October, we attend many events that the kids get dressed up for including MARVEL Avengers: Age of Ultron watch party we’re planning for the movie’s Blu-ray/DVD release on Friday evening (October 2nd). 

    iron-man-costumekids

    I was fortunate enough to find my little guy an adorable Iron Man costume at Walmart.

    walmart-avengers

    When I saw the fake muscles and the mask, I let out such a loud “Awwww” that everyone turned around and stared at me. I couldn’t wait to get home and have him try it on.

    marvel-costumes-toddler

    But first, I thought that it would be nice to get my husband an Iron Man character as a gift and reminder of his good old boy days.  I headed to their toy section where I found this Iron Man character for him. Walmart also had Mr. Rattle’s some MARVEL Avengers: Age of Ultron themed snacks.

    ironman-costume-children

    Once, I got home I had my little fella try on his costume. He was feeling so super in it that he asked me to take him outside so he could play and I am that sappy mama so that’s exactly what we did. Doesn’t he make a convincing Iron Man?

    [Tweet “”You know it’s times like these that I realize what a super hero I am” – Iron Man”]

    Are your kids dressing up like MARVEL characters this Halloween?

  • Activities, Events, Family Travel, New York City Kids, Sponsored

    5 Things to do with Kids in NYC in the Fall

    It’s time to plan some fall fun activities for the kids and for those of you in New York City, I wanted to share all the cool things that we plan on getting into this season. We love the fall especially the food, festivals and family fun across the city. We plan to get out as much as possible and make the best of the weather before it gets really cold. In a big city like NYC there is so much to do that it can get overwhelming, so I wanted to make life really simple for you by sharing 5 things to do with kids in NYC in the fall:

    1.Children’s Museum of the Art festivals

    childrensmuseumofarts

    We visited the Children’s Museum of the Arts in Soho for the first time a few weeks ago and the kids loved it. This is going to be one of our favorite museums to hang out in during the Fall. My kids didn’t want to leave after making animals at the clay bar, beating drums at Wee Arts session and playing in the ball pond.

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    My daughter still has her clay leopard on display on her bookcase.

    CMA

    This fall there will be two really cool festivals at the Children’s Museum of the Arts; the West African Cultural Festival on September 20th, 10 AM – 5 PM and the Caribbean Cultural Festival on October 25th. You can find out more about the festivals and the Children’s Museum of the Arts on their website here. 

    2. Sesame Place: The Count’s Halloween Spooktacular

    Escape the city and head out to Langhorne, PA for Sesame Street: The Count’s Halloween Spooktacular. It’s about two hours drive from the city, so make sure to hit the highway very early so you don’t get stuck in traffic. If you watched my October Vlog last fall (you can watch it here), you would be familiar with all the fun we had there and we plan to go again this year. The kids loved getting dressed up in their costumes, the fun parades, maze, rides and the amusement park treats. My daughter couldn’t stop singing the song from the Neighborhood Street Party for days. We happened to go on a Saturday with really beautiful fall weather which made the day even more awesome. There is a Starbucks at Sesame Place which made me really happy 🙂 I was also impressed with the attention paid to detail with the Halloween decorations and overall experience. I went with a 7-year-old, 4-year-old and 1-year-old and all three kids had a good time. There was something fun for all of them. The Count’s Halloween Spooktacular opens on September 26th. You can find more information on their website here.

    sesameplace-spooktacular

    3. Kidz Bop Concert

    Kidz Bop LIVE will be in New York City this fall. My daughter LOVES Kidz Bop as most kids do, if you follow me on Twitter you’ve probably seen my tweets about her requesting to listen to Kidz Bop and singing really loud in the backseat. She’s a self-proclaimed rockstar so I think it’s time that she gets to see the band in person. You can find more information about the concert here.

    4. Dora & Diego: Let’s Explore! Exhibit at Liberty Science Center

    I’ve shared how much fun we had at the Liberty Science Center last spring and we plan to visit again this fall to check out the new Dora & Diego exhibit that opens on October 3rd. This will be a great exhibit for The Super Knight but the museum has tons of cool exhibits for the bigger kids too. You can get more information here.

    5. Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade

    This year, I would love to take my kids to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. We’ve never been and I don’t want them to grow up without having this quintessential New York City Thanksgiving experience. Here is some more information about the route and floats that will be participating in this year’s parade.

    What do you enjoy doing with your family in New York City during the fall?

  • Car Review, Sponsored

    Saying “Bye Bye” Summer in the 2016 Mazda 6

    OMG summer will officially end on September 23rd! I plan to immediately start counting down to the next summer. Most of you know, that Olaf and I share a ridiculous amount of love for summer. This one was really awesome and it’s been cool to share all of my family’s adventures with all of you through the blog. Anyway, since I love summer so much I wanted to say “Bye Bye” with a bang! Between getting The Princess Fairy ready for school and fall shopping, I managed to squeeze in a week where I committed to spending time by myself enjoying some kids-free fun in the new 2016 Mazda 6 Grand Touring. I drove the Mazda 6 for one week at the end of August for this review.  This car is the epitome of fabulousness! It’s fly, fast, fun and functional. Shall we break it down?

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    Flyness

    mazda-2016-grandtouring-review

    Listen everywhere I pulled up in this car someone was staring. I went to a wedding and the valet guy couldn’t stop gushing about how much he couldn’t believe it’s a Mazda. It’s such a stylish design that I felt like I was in my twenties again driving around, getting it. This car actually motivated me to wear something cool to complement it. I mean you can’t pull up in a fly car and not have matching swag. No Bueno! Definitely stepped up my stylish mommy vibe.

    mazda6-2016

    Fast

    While I personally prefer to drive within the speed limit (plus no one would see all your swag if you go too fast) this car is very tempting to get a little need for speed. Mazda has a reputation for building great race cars and this car definitely lives up to it. Don’t let the fact that this car is fast fool you though it’s really safe. The i-ACTIVSENSE feature makes sure that you stay within a safe distance from the car in front of you.

    Fun

    Of all the cars, I drove this year I must say that I had the most fun driving this car. While most of that is tied to the fact that I drove it mostly by myself, listening to my music there are some features that really made my drive more fun. My favorite was the Intuitive Control System that I used to switch radio stations or make phone calls without having to take my attention off of the road.

    2016 mazda 6 grand touring

    Functional

    While I decided to use this car mostly by myself, I did let The Princess Fairy roll with me to the wedding that I mentioned earlier. Although the Mazda 6 is much smaller than our SUV, she was comfortable in her booster seat. This car seats 5 and while it was a bit tight for my husband who is 6’2″ I think the cabin is a comfortable size.

     

     

    Driving around NYC by myself didn’t mean that I was let loose of my parental responsibilities so I did some grocery shopping in the 2016 Mazda 6 and I was seriously shocked by how big the trunk is.

    It felt so good to get to spend some time by myself and reflect on a wonderful summer and enjoy the last of it. As moms, it’s important for us to get that “me time” because it gives us the chance to connect with our true selves. I started wishing that our we had a second car that like the Mazda 6. It makes you feel like you don’t have responsibilities but have enough space to ensure that you take care of them.  A car that would make you feel excited about date night again without bringing two car seats along.

    If you’re looking for a cool fuel efficient second car (this car is really good on gas) and you want some cool points I would highly recommend this car.

    2016-mazda6-review

    The 2016 Mazda 6 Grand Touring starts at $30,195. You can find more information on Mazda’s website.

    What do you think about the 2016 Mazda 6 Grand Touring?