>This Saturday at Symphony Space

>Hi any fellow New Yorkers out there.
As part of the Symphony Space "Just Kidding" performances, this Saturday you can See Milkshake.

Here is a little more information that I extracted from the website:

Sat, Feb 5 at 11 am
Peter Jay Sharp TheatreADULTS $25, Members $21, Day of Show $27
KIDS $15, Members $13, Day of Show $17

In Milkshake's short seven years together, the band has released three award-winning CDs, a Parents Choice Silver Award for their DVD Screen Play, and they have had music videos on Noggin, PBS KIDS and Discovery Kids' Emmy-winning ToddWorld. The band has never stopped growing and evolving. Great Day is Milkshake's fourth CD for kids and kids at heart. It was nominated for a Grammy for "Best Musical Recording for Children" in 2010. In keeping with the band's desire to grow with their own children, the songs on Great Day touch on issues of friendship, age, self-esteem, goals and ambitions among other things--things that matter to a 6 to 10 year-old. Like all Milkshake CDs, the music transcends age, and both younger and older fans will enjoy this new release. As Parents magazine says: "If kids don't push the replay button, parents will." This special performance features Lisa Mathews, Mikel Gehl, Tom Moon, Cord Neal, Brian Simms and Michael Sheppard of the Milkshake Band.
Presented by Zabar's and zabars.com

If you are in New York, it definitely looks like a lot of fun. Click here for more information or to purchase tickets.

*I was not compensated in any way for this post. I received information about this event and wanted to share it with my readers.

>My Ideal US Family Great Getaway

>What is your ideal US Family Getaway? Are you into excitement or relaxation. Me, I prefer excitement. I want to see and experience everything around me. My husband would prefer relaxation. Which I do not really understand taking a vacation just to lounge out in a different scenery. For that stay home and relax.

Gosh I do not remember the last Getaway I had, though I think about it very often. I love my family to bunches but it is the stress around us I would love to get away from. Some time off from work and life, oh and snow. The last vacation that we had as a family out of New York was when I was pregnant with Samantha. My husband and I went to the poconos for the weekend. It was sweet. It was unfortunate that we never had a real honeymoon together. Perhaps one day we will make up for that.

At this point in our lives our ideal getaway would be Disney World. I mean when I think of fun and carefree I think about spending time at a hotel pool and days watching the kids laugh and enjoy themselves. What place is more magical and fun than Disney World.What makes my husband and I most happy is being able to give them experiences and happiness. Also, you do not have to be a kid to enjoy Disney World. It would be an awesome trip for my family.

I imagine that a getaway to Disney World would satisfy all of our desires. Samantha would love the rides and the characters. Madeline would love the characters and probably the pool most. She has a blast in the bath tub. I imagine the pool would be very exciting for her. Did I mention that it would be great to get away from all of this snow. Well yea, just to say it again, that would totally be a plus.

In June we are headed down to Florida for my husbands' Grandfathers birthday. We were thinking of perhaps extending our stay. That would be pretty sweet. Perhaps I can soon start planning our Ideal US Family Great Getaway. Even though I would much rather be getting away now, I will settle for June. I will keep you posted on that once we start planning our trip.

About Alamo

Founded in 1974, Alamo Rent A Car is a value-oriented, internationally recognized brand serving the rental needs of airport leisure travelers. Alamo offers low rental rates and a hassle-free customer experience at the most popular travel destinations throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Latin America and Asia. In addition, Alamo customers in the U.S. are able to conveniently choose their own vehicles, based upon their advance reservation and requested car class, and then simply drive away from the airport.

The Alamo membership club, Alamo Insiders, offers its members numerous perks including exclusive, member-only deals, quick and simple reservations, and frequent traveler miles with each rental.

*I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Alamo blogging program, for a gift card worth $50. For more information on how you can participate, click here. All the opionions in this post are mine.

>Freckleface Strawberry The Musical

>

Loved It!!! That is my complete and honest opinion. We went to see Freckleface Strawberry on a Special Mommy Daughter Day.

Based on the book by Julianne Moore, Frecklface Strawberry. I bought Samantha to see the Musical. It was totally awesome! Freckleface Strawberry is about a young girl who has in her opinion the worst imaginable thing - Freckles. She is teased at school and tries everything to erase her freckles. Then she decides to put on a funny hat so no one will see her freckles. Her friends then missed her being around. By the end she realizes that having freckles is not that bad and her friends like her for who she is on the inside.

The show iss great for children. It is a short show with no intermission. All the kids in the theater were quiet and very attentive. It takes a great show to make that happen. On the day we went they were giving out Strawberry silly bands, whcih my daughter completely loved.

The Aftermath:
Nearly four times a week we get a special performance by Samantha of Freckleface Strawberry. She makes up words and does some dances pretending to be Freckleface Strawberry. It is adorable. She was in love with the show. I bought her the book which was a huge hit. My daughter has no freckles. Weeks after seeing the show, she insists she can see a freckle on her hand from time to time. Sometimes she even brushes over her cheeks and says "Mommy, do you like my freckles?" Oh and Strawberry Shortcake, she now calls Freckleface Strawberry. To her the two are the same.

Conclusion:
I definitely recommend going to see this show. It was awesome!

About the Show - From the Freckleface Strawberry Website
Freckleface Strawberry was just like every other girl – except she had bright red hair and something worse…FRECKLES!

Now in the brand new family musical, Freckleface Strawberry, based on the beloved New York Times Best Selling book by celebrated actress Julianne Moore, you and your family can step inside the book's pages with Freckleface and friends as they learn to love the skin they're in.

And what a story you'll see!

Freckleface Strawberry will do anything to get rid of her freckles – from scrubbing them with soap, to caking on makeup, and even wearing a ski mask to school! Will her schoolmates realize it's her under the mask? Will Freckleface be brave enough to finally face her complexion in the mirror?

With the help of her loveable schoolmates including an amazingly talented ballerina, a cutie jock, a charming ditz, and a totally kooky teacher, Freckleface learns that everyone is different - and that's what makes everyone special!

With soaring live music, awesome dancing… and a freckleface full of laughs, your whole family will love this brand new musical for all ages . . . freckles or not!

* All the opions in this post are mine, I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is just a family experience that we had and I wanted to share.

>Strawberry Shortcake: Puttin' on the Glitz Preview & Coloring Pages

>

Strawberry Shortcake: Puttin' on the Glitz from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and American Greetings is coming to DVD on March 22nd, just in time for Easter!

SUMMARY :

Fabulous new fashions, sparkling musical ‘Glamicures’ and delightful new ‘Dos’ have Strawberry and her friends ‘Puttin’ on the Glitz’!  But all that dazzles quickly unravels with a misunderstanding until the girls find creative and kind ways to be honest with their feelings and with their friends. It’s heart-to-heart makeover magic as the girls learn that nothing looks as beautiful as friendship feels!

Our family is very excited about Strawberry Shortcake: Puttin' on the Glitz. We absolutely love the 'new' Strawberry Shortcake and all her movies. I find her to be a very positive character for my daughter.

Soon to come: Review of Strawberry Shortcake: Puttin' on the Glitz Preview

Until then, Prepare yourself for the fun!

I was given some awesome cororing pages for my readers.

I am sure your kids will love them!!

Click here to print out coloring pages

I was also given some awesome coloring sheets for my readers.

* All the opionions in this post are mine, I was not compensated in any way for this post.

>This is the Sound of Me SCREAMING!

>

Can you hear it? Yea, well neither can anyone else. However, right now I am going nuts. I don't know the truth of it but my husband says everyone has mom issues. Perhaps some are worst, but mine are pretty bad. However, underneath it all I have to maintain a relationship with her partially over the yearning for mother daughter relationship and partially because she watches my children.

Today my husband and I bought Samantha for a haircut. I LOVE it and I think she looks adorable. Later on my mother calls and asks about our day. I told her I got Sams haircut. Which by the way Sam has been asking for. She wants to be more independent and brush her hair herself and this makes it more manageable and less knotty. Well, to get to the point my mom told me that she likes long hair on girls. Then went on to say that she was going to tell Samantha - MY 3 YEAR OLD - did I mention she is THREE, that long hair is for girls and short hair is for boys. SERIOUSLY??? I have short hair too. I lilke short hair. I like long hair too. Then she went on to say that she thinks I did it because I am a lazy mom and I just don't want to take the time to put it in poneytails and braids and whatnot.

Honestly, I got her hair cut so that it is more manageable. I got her haircut so that she can have some independence and take care of her own hair. She wants to, so why not. And yes our mornings are crazy. It will probably make our lives a little easier. Is there anything wrong with that?

Bottom line, she is my daughter and I can cut her hair if I want to. I do not have to answer to no one.

Ahhh, seriously just want to scream.........

Before



After



* All the opionions in this post are mine, I was not compensated in any way for this post.

>Two Pieces of Important Advice

>I joined SocialMoms, Formerly known as TwitterMoms. It is an awesome community for bloggers. If you are not yet a member I would suggest you join.

Something new that they have there is blogging prompts. It is a topic another blogger suggests as something for other bloggers to blog about. I thought it would be fun. You can also participate too.

So todays daily writing prompt was submitted by Anastasia Borisyuk. The topic being:

What two pieces of important advice would you share with first time or soon-to-be parents?

As some may know, I have two daughters and live in a 2 bedroom apartment. I had a baby shower when I was pregnant with Samantha. My husband went totally trigger happy at Babys R Us. Luckily they link the account online and you can edit it as much as you would like. But gosh baby things are expensive and they come out with things and make you feel like you need it when really you don't.

My first piece of advice to soon to be parents would be - You do not need everything -
Consider the things you really do need. Then consider the amunt of space you have. Also try to find convertible items which you will get more use out of. Such as Convertible Cribs and Convertible Toys. Try to buy things that are going to last longer.

Once my daughter Samantha was born, she didn't come with a handbook. Sure we had that book "What to Expect When Expecting" but it did not have all the answers. A week after coming home her poop was really soft and diarrhea. Both my husband and I were a little worried. Especially being that dehydration is one of the top killers of infants. So we worried and worried then came to this great realization. We have health insurance, call the doctor.

My second piece of advice to soon to be parents would be - don't be afraid of the doctor -
You pay for health insurance. Or pay for the doctors, whatever it may be. Do not be afraid of the doctor. Even when you are pregnant. If you feel like something is weird. Do not be afraid to bring it to the doctors attention. This is their job and that is what they get paid for. That is what you are paying for.

Good luck to all the soon to be parents and good luck to all the parents out there. It is not easy. But it is all worth it!

* All the opionions in this post are mine, I was not compensated in any way for this post.

>The Disney Store in Times Square

>

We finally made it to the Disney Store in Times Square and Samantha loved it!Outside there are TV screens all over and you see all the characters. It bought on such excitement within my daughter. Once we went in her words to be exact were "WOW". Then soon after was "Mommy can I have this, Mommy can we get that."

I was extremely surprised. Considering the store is in Times Square and attracts so many tourists, the prices were pretty reasonable. But we didn't go crazy (although I think if my husband was not there I would have!) Oh, and the day we went it wasn't crazy crowded.

They had a couple of the Princess costumes on sale for $19.99. Then the Princess and Me dolls were 30% off. Like I said it was pretty reasonable. We bought accessories for the Disney on Ice show we were going to see that evening. I think the toys that they sell there are extemely overpriced and a huge ripoff. We bought a Princess Sweatshirt, a crown, a wand and 2 cups (They were 2 for $10 and really nice). It all came out to about $ 35.00.

My daughter loved the large screen playing movie clips and music videos. When the Hannah Montana song came on one of the workers came over to do a dance. The workers there were very pleasant and extemely helpful to customers. I don't think there was a vibe of negative energy in this store.

In Conclusion,
The Disney Store was a blast. If you are ever in New York, your kids will love it... and so will you!


They say if you dream a deam more than once

it's sure to come true.



Coloring and watching show clips



The Princess in her Castle



My Baby Princess



It's the Mickey Mouse CLubhouse



Hugging Nemo




* All the opionions in this post are mine, I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is just a family experience that we had and I wanted to share.





>Family Shows ~ $15 for 15 Hours

>

For 15 hours you can get tickets for family fun shows for $15 or save $15 off your purchase.
Use the code Fifteen

Shows:

Disney On Ice Princess Wishes
Madison Square Garden
Jan. 21- Jan. 23

Sesame Street Live
Madison Square Garden Theater
Feb. 17- Feb. 21

Thomas & Friends
Madison Square Garden Theater
March 5- March 6

Madagascar Live
Radio City
April 15- April 24

*  I was not compensated in any way for this post.

>Disney On Ice : Princess Wishes

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Chances are Disney On Ice: Princess Wishes will be coming to a venue near you soon. I was lucky to have gone to see it at Nassau Colliseum last weekend. For you New Yorkers, the Princesses will be at Madison Square Garden January 21-23.

Our Experience at Disney On Ice: Princess Wishes was very special. It was a "Big Girl" night out. Meaning, my husband and I brought Samantha (our 3 year old) and left Madeline (our 7 month old with Grandma). We kept it all a secret until we got there. Earlier that day we went to the Disney Store in Times Square and bought a crown, wand, cup and Princess sweatshirt for the total Princess experience.

Samantha was very excited. She had no idea what the surprise was. The first hint we gave her was dressing ehr up in the Princess sweatshirt. We held onto the rest secretely until we got to the show.

Upon arriving at Nassau Colliseum we were very early. The great thing about that was getting awesome parking. We sat in the car until 45 minutes before the show. Then we went in. To our surprise they had all the disney princess desses and accessories on display. Then Cinderella was there waving to all her fans. It was a very pretty display and Samantha was REALLY excited to see Cinderella so close. Any seat in Nassau Colliseum is a good seat, and the seats we had were great. Samantha was so excited.

Every Princess has a wish and this show was about how the magic came alive and all their wishes came true. The show featured Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, Mulan, and Cinderella. Also there was Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Tink. I was a little disappointed to see that the newest pricesses "Tiana" and "Repunzel" were not in the show.

Conclusion:

The show was incredible and very much magical. We all loved it.

I would definitely recommend it.

For those of you that decide to go, get there early to see the Princess display.

                                 

* All the opionions in this post are mine, I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is just a family experience that we had and I wanted to share.

>Woohoo - I got to work

>Perhaps we should give Mr. Mayor Bloomberg a pat on the back.
The snow removal is MUCH better this time than last.
The last storm it took 4 days for one plow to come up our block.
Last night 3 plows came down ouor block and there was not nearly as much snow as last time.

However, Mr. Mayor we will not forget what you put us through the last storm.

* All the opionions in this post are mine, I was not compensated in any way for this post.

>Dear Mayor Bloomberg, Please Clean Our Streets!

>This is a message from my daughter.
The news played in the background and the mayor is speaking to the press and all of New York.
My 3 year old daughter sat on the couch and pleaded to the mayor to clean the snow from the streets.

Hopefully the snow cleanup is better this time than it was last.                     

http://www.youtube.com/get_player

Mayor - Please just clean our streets.

*Sorry I can not figure out how to rotate the video. *

* All the opionions in this post are mine, I was not compensated in any way for this post.

>Holiday Train Show at The New York Botanical Garden

>I was fortunate to have the opportunity to take my family to The Holiday Train Show at The New York Botanical Gardens. The Holiday Train Show consists of replicas of buildings and landmarks around New York. They are made from all natural materials such as plants and twigs. According to the NYBG there are "140 landmark buildings constructed entirely of natural materials: nuts, tree bark, fruits, pinecones, and leaves, housed within the warmth of the historic Enid A. Haupt Conservatory."

Pro's: I am glad that we went. It was really an awesome display. The art of it was beautiful and it was amazing how much detail there were to the buildings and landmarks. We were lucky the day we went my daughters got to take a picture with Thomas the Train after the Holiday Train Show. My husband was able to wait on line for Thomas while I waited in the auditorium with the girls. They were playing Thomas shows in the auditorium and giving out Tattoo's, Coloring Sheets and stickers.

Cons's: We went 2:30, which I guess would be considered one of the more busier times. The wait to get in was tedious and it was so crowded. The Enid A Haupt Conservatory definitely had a warmth to it. Actually it was really hot. Stollers are not permitted, which is a good thing. With how crowded it was, that would have made it worst. Madeline may be only 7 months but she is heavy, especially holding her for such long periods of time. Then Samantha, my 3 year old was tired of the wait and walking. It felt like Thomas the train was on the other side of the garden. Then when we got there it was a half hour wait to take a picture with him.

Conclusion: In all honesty, it was a once in a lifetime experience. I really do not see us going there ever again unless by chance it was guaranteed to be empty. Then I would definitely. Honestly, I do not think I would recomend it.

                                         

* All the opionions in this post are mine, I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is just a family experience that we had and I wanted to share.

>Please NO More Snow!

>I live in Queens, NY. This wonderful City of ours kid of don't care about Queens. Well at least it seems that way. The last blizzard, due to lack of plowing, we were not able to get off our block for four days. It really sucked. I was not able to get to work. I was not able to get to the supermarket. I was not able to go anywhere. My husband was able to get a ride to work on the 3rd day. Me, I had to work from home with 2 lovely children with cabin fever. All day everyday all I heard from Samantha (my 3 year old) was "Mommy come play with me." I would reply "Sweety I have to work while I am home, let me just finish this quote." Then Samantha would say "mommy please, how 'bout you sit on the floor and play with me while you work." Along with that was the challenge of caring for and entertaining Madeline (my 7 month old). Working from home always sounded fun. But after experiencing it I can say it is quite a challenge.

I am really hoping this storm that they say is coming misses us.