Lake Buena Vista Factory Stores Giveaway

I can't believe I'm writing this... but... here goes.

It's almost time for back to school.

(Oh, this makes me sad).

Can you believe it?

Summer has just flown by for us and now it's time for Mommy to start looking for the best deals and steals for everything on her shopping list.

Thankfully, the wonderful people that run the state of Florida have given us a break, a tax break. 

The Florida Sales Tax Holiday will be August 1-3 and it's a great saving incentive to get all your shopping done in one weekend (remember, every little penny counts!).

I've teamed up with Lake Buena Vista Factory Stores to host a little back to school giveaway for you. Lake Buena Vista Factory Stores has over 50 amazing outlet stores to choose from like Old Navy, Gap, Justice (Roo's favorite!) and more. Plus, it's got great merchandise at up to 75% off! 

Plus, my favorite part: AMAZING PARKING! (LBVFS is located at 15657 S Apopka Vineland Rd Orlando FL 32821*6316 Near Disney World!) 

Seriously, you can park right in front of the store you want and get in and get shopping. 

So, here's how you win a $50 gift certificate to the mall.  Tell me what you're not looking forward to about your kiddos going back to school.

I'll start.... car line.

Easy peasy, huh?

Enter with Rafflecopter and GOOD LUCK! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I participated in a blogger campaign with LBVFS and received a gift certificate for my time! All the opinions are 100% my own. Thanks, FTC

Review: X-Why-Z Animals, Big Book of Who

Roo is crazy about animals.

And she's all about the questions when it comes to animals. Why do birds sleep in trees? Where do bats go during the day? Why are chickens closely related to dinosaurs?

It never ends.

Not that I mind.

Except for when I have no clue what the answer is.

This summer we've fallen in LOVE with the new series of Time for Kids books about who, what, when and most importantly, WHY?!

Roo got the X-Why-Z Animal book in the mail and she's in love (and I'm in love with not having to run to Google every five minutes!)!

This is the 2nd book from the new Time for Kids book series and it's got over 200 facts about animals in 96 full color glory.

Each chapter is divided into a section for animals, like mammals, reptiles, dinosaurs, etc. I love that when she's looking for a specific animal, all she needs to do is flip to the table of contents, find her animal and she's one step closer to figuring out why snakes don't have ears or why dolphins make clicking sounds to communicate.

If you have a kid that is full of constant questions, you seriously need to get your hands on this book, as well as the others in the series (there's a sports one too!). Check them out at your local bookstore today!




I received a copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions in this book are 100% mine! Thanks! 

IKEA is Feeding the Future

I remember when IKEA first opened in Orlando. It was THE event around town. My first trip included feeling like cattle as thousands of people shuffled through the designed rooms and functional furniture.

I was hooked.

So hooked that after spending four hours looking, I came back the next week and did it again (this time it only took 2 hours).

Now when I am looking for a piece of furniture, I head there first to get ideas and ultimately end up buying.

We make the trek to IKEA at least three times a year, sometimes more and we always load up on essentials because, seriously, IKEA has everything (including some of the best chocolate around).

Recently, I attended a media event to help spread the word about IKEA's new partnership with Feeding the Future where we tried out their new organic meals (yummy mac and cheese and grilled chicken).

How they are helping is that in the month of July, with every "Kids Organic Pasta" or "Kids Grilled Chicken" meal you buy, IKEA will donate $1 towards the Feeding America program against childhood hunger (you can also donate a $1 if you do not purchase one of these meals, the cashier will ask you when you checkout).

It's a great, easy way for you to help feed the children in our country and I like that the food is staying here in America. Our children need just as much help as anywhere else, did you know that 1 out of 5 children in the US are living in a house that has food insecurity?

You can find out more information by visiting the IKEA store in Orlando or checking our the Feeding the Future website.



I participated in a blogger promotion in exchange for this information. All opinions are 100% my own. Thanks! 

Degree Mens and Walgreens Do More

Soccer isn't a big sport in our house… and to be honest, we're not a huge sports family at all. But (yes, there's always a but) yesterday, that all changed.

World Cup is dominating everything lately. Twitter, the news, the papers (yes I still read actually papers), Facebook… You name it. Yesterday, America was buzzing on World Cup.

And we were one of them.

We set the reminder on the TV for the big game against Germany and made signs that said GO USA.

And we watched along with the rest of the country.

And it was fascinating! I didn't think I could get anxious watching sports. I could feel the pride, the excitement, the disappointment along with everyone in that stadium, on the field and watching all over the world.

It was awesome.

And although we lost, we were cheering our boys on. And we weren't alone, Walgreens and Degree Men are cheering them on! Degree is the official deodorant of the US Soccer Team and they want you to get in on the action.

Walgreen is offering a great deal where you can earn 1K Balance Reward points when you buy 2 Degree Men deodorants between June 29th through July 5th.

You can pick up Degree Men's new MOTIONSENSE deodorant, (the only antiperspirant that releases extra protection as you move about your fay) and feel like one of the guys on the field!

Head on down to Walgreens today and Do More!

I participated in a blogger campaign sponsored by Global Influence and all opinions are 100% mine. Thanks, FTC! 

CFAMily Days at Rollins

On June 20th, the Cornell Fine Arts Museum at Rollins hosted their CFAMily Day. The event is a free event in Winter Park that allows families to come on down and experience some culture while letting their kids become little artists themselves.

And my family is all about art. 

We attended the event and were treated to hands-on art activities, docent-led tours (thanks Louise!), and a scavenger hunt.

My kids got to see amazing art.

Get tons of questions answered and participate in the discussion of art. 

And participate in art activities.

As a parent, I could not ask for more! 

This event, which ran from 2pm to 6pm, was amazing. I'm an Alumni of Rollins so I have a connection to the place just from my days as a student. My kids had an amazing time and the museum is a great one. It's not too big to have the kids get bored and it's not too small so that they are getting antsy. 

The staff is wonderful and able to answer any question you have.

The next CFAMily day will be August 8, 2014 from 2pm to 6pm and you can join in on the fun by visiting them. They are located on the Rollins campus at 1000 Holt Ave in Winter Park down by the lake. Check out their website for all the details. 

I attended a media event for bloggers for CFAMily Day. All opinions are 100% my own. Thanks! 

Time For Kids: Big Book of When

My oldest is full of questions.

Where do babies come from? When did dinosaurs die? Why are we going to the grocery store again? When are we going swimming?

She's is a never-ending question asker.

Thankfully, TIME For Kids has a series of books right up her alley.

Enter their Big Book Of… series. There's five books in total answering the tough questions of why, what, how, where and our favorite: when.

The Big Book of When is packed with 801 facts like,  WHEN was the first oil well drilled (in 1859), WHEN was TV invented (the )1920s and my favorite, WHEN did peanut start eating peanut butter (around the 1300s!!)? 

Our WHEN book is great because it has a bunch of categories (11 total) to satisfy your curiosity about animals, flight, energy, sports and more.

Roo was determined that we sit down and read the entire book in one night (192 pages total). We didn't but we're slowly making our way through it and she loves it. All those burning questions of hers (well, most of them) are answered in this book! And I love that it saves me tons of time on the computer researching her questions.

And I also love that some of my endless questions were answered while reading the book (did you know an airplane first broke the sound barrier on October 14, 1947?).

The entire TIME For Kids series are available online and in book stores now. Make sure you check out the entire series and satisfy your kid's constant questioning.



I received a copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions are 100% mine though! Please ask if you have any questions! 

TMNT #SummerofShell at Nick Hotel

Having children means that you spend a lot of time watching cartoons. You find that you're able to hold a frank discussion on Spongebob and Patrick's relationship, can sing the theme song to Bubble Guppies and actually don't mind having to watch Avatar.

My kid's are big Nick fans.

So when we were asked to attend a media event at the popular Nickelodeon Suites Resort, you can guess what we said.

The Nickelodeon Suites Resort s a one-of-a-kind resort in Orlando. With 24 acres all devoted to the stars of the Nick shows, kids are awed.

Seriously, mine could not believe the place. They had their mouths open in surprise the entire time.

The Nickelodeon Suites Resort  has 777 suites, two water parks (one that slimes!), Studio Nick (where you can watch live shows like Double Dare), a Kid's spa, a 4-D Experience movie theatre, and a massive arcade. There's also the Mall which has restaurants, shops and entertainment and is home to the character meetings.

When we arrived on property, which you are only able to access if you are a resort guest, we checked out our 2-room suite that came with a Spongebob mural that the kids LOVED (and Mom loved that she got her own room and didn't have to share the bed with a wiggly kid!).

We also checked out the massive lagoon pool. The girls loved this area because it had a zero interest pool with water features and slides and slime.

We spent hours in the pool and then had the chance to explore everything.

Turtle works on her putt on the green, uh, blue. 

Meeting childhood friends

The reason for the media event was to experience the Summer of Shell with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The hotel hosted Retro Weekend, (to honor the 30th anniversary of the TMNT comic book) with complete with meet-and-greet opportunities to meet the Turtles

AND we got to meet the original voice cast of the show! These are the guys that voiced the characters when I watched it and it was so cool to put voices to faces. They were very nice and super entertaining.

Retro Weekend also showed old school TMNT episodes and unveiled 10 new suites with the TMNT theme.  The Summer of Shell is packed with lots to do including an attempt to break a Guinness World Records on August 9th with the most amount of people dressed like the Ninja Turtles and a brand new dance show with the Turtles (you can even dance with them yourself if you want!). 

You can find all the information on the Nick Hotel by visiting their website and keeping an eye on their Facebook page (they post deals there!!)

Overall, the girls had a blast and that's what this trip was about: them. The pool, the slime, the room, everything was for them and they loved it. Yes, there were issues that didn't make us as parents too thrilled (rude employees, smelly room) but the kids were happy, so we were happy.

And I call that a success.



I was part of a media event and stayed at the hotel in exchange for this review. All opinions are 100% my own