events

elmo’s alphabet challenge

Melissa

You know how much we love Elmo! So we were excited to head up to NYC last week to see a screening of the new DVD, Elmo’s Alphabet Challenge. How excited? THIS EXCITED!

The new 45 minute video was completely adorable and the kids were laughing hysterically. So fun. Elmo, Abby & Telly are transported into Abby’s “Fly Pad” (iPad) – and must conquer and win a series of Alphabet Challenges in order to safely return to Sesame Street. Parents will appreciate the humor of each of the video games too – they work their way through Angry Birds (“Angry Words”), Pacman, MarioKart and even Just Dance. So funny!


Kids will LOVE Elmo’s Alphabet Challenge! And you can download the FREE Elmo’s Alphabet Challenge app too! Play games and your DVD will activate other features of the app too.

Then, THEN we got a special performance by Elmo and Abby! We played the Alphabet Game and sang songs!

We were so excited to meet Elmo and Abby:

Even Mommy and Daddy got to get in on the action!

It was such a fabulous event – the kids had a blast. We had hardly walked in the door of our house when they were begging to watch the “Alphabet Challenge” again! This is great for preschool kids, like Colin, who are learning letters and letter sounds. I’ve been working on this with his over the summer – and a love that he can practice what he’s learning by watching Alphabet Challenge!!

 

disclosure: thank you to sesame street for inviting us to this preview screening event. we received a free copy of the movie to bring home. as always, all thoughts and opinions are our own.

it can wait. stop texting and driving.

Melissa

I just watched a documentary from AT&T on dangers of texting-and-driving.

You guys, It can wait.

This film, called “The Last Text,” is about 10 minutes long and features stories about people whose lives have been tragically changed by texting and driving.

The documentary has been viewed nearly over 3 million times since its release last year. And I think more people need to see it.  Here’s the thing… its not just teens. 8 percent of children ages 12-14 have ridden in a vehicle with someone who was texting while driving. Among those ages 15-17, the percentage of teens who have ridden with a driver who was texting increases to 64 percent.

Parents are texting, too. First, we need to be setting an example about this so our kids know not to text and drive. But – more importantly – we are putting our children at serious risk when we do. You are 23 TIMES more likely to be involved in an accident if when you text and drive. If someone endangered the life of my kid, my mama-bear mode would go into full swing. Yet, how many times have I glanced at a text, call or email while driving?

Too many.

It ends now. Join with me, moms. Go to the AT&T Facebook page and take the pledge to stop texting and driving.

It can wait.

 

AT&T even offers the AT&T DriveMode app that auto-replies to incoming texts, letting friends know you’re behind the wheel and will respond later. How cool is that?

Disclosure: I am proud to be part of an AT&T Family Safety Ambassador program. This is a compensated position

BlogHer 12

Melissa

I spent the last few days in New York at BlogHer 12 – where 4,500 women gathered for three days of fun, networking, parties, networking, learning and… networking.

I have no voice.

But I had so much fun. Especially hanging out with the lovely people that went from cyber buddies to real life friends this weekend!

Photo by Sherry

Today I’m unpacking and snuggling my kids, who I haven’t seen in a week!

Disney Social Media Moms Celebration 2012

Melissa

I attended the very very first Disney Social Media Moms Celebration two years ago and it was an amazing, spectacular time. My kids all still talk about it! We weren’t able to go last year, since my brother got married that weekend. SO I was thrilled to be able to return this year – this time on my own with the three of my favorite blogging buddies — Jo-Lynne, Sarah, and Debbie.

We had a ridiculous amount of fun, even with traveling hijinks. (But, seriously, if you ever see the four of us on your plane or bus, just get off. Just leave. You’ll thank us later when you get there faster by walking. ) But we made it to our hotel, the lovely Yacht Club, and our bags arrived in the nick of time before we headed down to dinner.

The first night, we were treated to a Pirate Party on the beach at the Beach Club, located next door to the Yacht Club. Families were welcome, and there was music and games, super yummy food and drink, and a great group of bloggers to chat with. It was a great party, although I missed my pirate-obsessed Colin very very much.  I talked to Jake, and he waved ‘hi’ to Colin for me!

After the party, we all ran to Epcot before it closed and just made it onto Soarin’ with our media Fast Passes. I’ve never been on Soarin’, but since it was Jo-Lynne’s very very very favorite ride, we had to go. It was amazing. So so cool! Then, just as we came out of the ride, the fireworks started!! GORGEOUS!! Check out the picture Jo-Lynne got:

by @JoLynneS

Somehow, despite my standing right next to her and having the exact same phone, she got great pictures and mine are all blurry. Humph.

Anyway, the next day was the conference sessions, which were totally incredible, as usual. Disney Social Media Moms is always the most inspiring conference of the year for me. With speakers like Peter Shankman, Amy Jo Martin, Chris Brogan and Maryellen Hooper, how could it not be? But that’s a whole ‘nother post.  I mean, just look at the centerpieces. Talk about a company that totally gets bloggers!!

After the conference, we spent some time lounging by the hotel pool (something I have never, ever done at Disney. I’m always too busy with the kids in the parks!

Then – the highlight of the night – after dinner, we headed over to Magic Kingdom and caught the Main Street Electrical Parade. Which I have not seen since I was about 12. Jo-Lynne and I were practically squealing in delight.  I LOVE that parade. We typically travel to Disney off season – which is good for avoiding crowds – but we miss things like the electrical parade! It was even better than I remembered!

But Saturday. Saturday was my favorite. On Saturday, I went onthe Wild Africa Trek at Animal Kingdom. It was incredible. Its a privately guided small group tour that takes you on a VIP safari through the “African savannah”. You see the animals up close, talk to the animal caretakers, you cross a high rope bridge suspended above a riverbed fulled with hippos and crocodiles, get a private safari ride in your own truck (one that stops so you can take pictures, unlike the Kilamanjaro Safari) and then you get to experience an African-inspired lunch in a safari camp. Its about three hours – it went by so quickly, but at the same time I felt like we were gone to another world for awhile! So cool. TONS of pictures and videos to come! Best of all, I got to spend it with two of my very favorite people on the planet.

Then after the trek, I got to run over to Epcot (LOVE staying walking distance from resorts!!!) and met up with some friends who were down visiting. I even got to ride Nemo with my little buddies Xander and Elle… which made me miss my kiddos even more! I miss those kid squeals and excitement at seeing all the Disney magic. Later that night, we went over to the brand new Art of Animation Resort – its amazing.

Sunday was a crazy day of travel, but I made it home just before my kiddos went to bed. I was able to cuddle the heck out of them and had to promise, promise, pinky promise that they could come with me next time.

Now that’s a promise I can keep!

Disclaimer: We paid a fee to attend this conference, but as attendees, we received complimentary items, special discounts, and other exciting benefits such as food and entertainment, so we could experience the magic of Walt Disney World Resort.

therapon face to face

Melissa 3 Comments

Saturday, I was pampered into a little puddle of Melissa by Therapon!

Jo-Lynne hosted a lovely little spa morning with Therapon skin care at a local hotel. It was fabulous. We had manicures, mimosas, mini-facials by Therapon and makeup by Ulta!

image via jo-lynne

My facial was divine. I love the NuPeel Natural Enzyme Peel – instead of using ebrasives, NuPeel relies upon natural enzymes to gently loosen dead skin cells, evening skin tone and allowing make-up to go on smoother. My skin felt amazing after she used it! Then I headed over to get my makeup done my the girls from Ulta. They did an amazing job!

Jo-Lynne took a great picture of me tweeting that shows you how pretty and springy my nails are!

It was such a lovely time of relaxing and chatting with friends.

Thanks Therapon and Jo-Lynne for a wonderful morning! Can we have more events like this please? Maybe every week?

Linking up with the Best of Beauty linky!

ellie’s best moment

Melissa 2 Comments

Life is full of little moments. Once in awhile, you get a best moment. A moment you will always remember. A moment you will treasure forever.

Last week, we had what had a best moments in Ellie’s life. She got to play soccer with World Cup Champion Brandi Chastain.

Ellie has played soccer for years. Its her favorite sport – and when she found out she was going to get to meet a real, professional soccer player. A real, professional, GIRL soccer player. She asked me every single day how much longer it would be. She was jumping around the car on the way there. We got there, she put on her uniform and pretty much charged onto the field.

(Oh, yeah, Kelly Ripa was there, too.  Ellie was like, “LOOK! Its BRANDI!! Hey, isn’t that the lady in the bank commercials?)

It was amazing. AMAZING. I was in heaven watching my girls have the experience of a lifetime. They were running around, running ‘laundry drills’ with the Electrolux Perfect Steam Washer and Dryer, and finally, playing a game.

I love how Grace is fixing her hair and Ellie is shoving Julie‘s son – who was
on her own team – out of the way to get the ball.
Those are my girls, all right!

After the event, the girls got their photo with Brandi. This was so very important to Ellie. She kept saying, “Mom, make sure I get my picture with her, okay? I really, really want my picture with her.”
Then Ellie really blew me away. Ellie is a little shy around new adults. She almost never says much to them (except when we give her the evil eye to make her make polite conversation). But she stopped Brandi and started talking to her, telling her how much she loved soccer and how she had 4 soccer trophies and she is so proud to meet her.
And Brandi was amazing. She was encouraging Ellie to keep playing and was so excited about her 4 trophies. Brandi Chastain was excited that Ellie had four soccer trophies.

It was amazing. I was tearing up watching them. You don’t have moments like this everyday!!

Electrolux understands how important these little moments are. They make so many appliances that save moms time so that we can spend less time in the laundry room and more time having special moments – everyday and best moments – with our families.  We’re researching washers and dryers now, since our dryer is no longer a dryer, merely a “thing that we put clothes in for several hours at a time” and our washer now slowly moves across the laundry room when the spin cycle is on. We’ve looked at so many brands and Electrolux is clearly the top of the top! They are the stars of my dream laundry room!!

Please go and share your “BEST” moments with Electrolux! Every time you do, Electrolux will donate $1 to OCRF. That’s all you have to do and you can help fight ovarian cancer! Every dollar is needed to help this important cause. Despite huge improvements in detection and treatment, ovarian cancer remains the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers in the United States and is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among American women. Please take a minute to support OCRF!

disclosure: we received transportation to this event and a gift bag. we were not compensated for this post and, as always, all opinions are my own.

philadelphia flower show

Melissa

Today the kids and I bopped into the city (literally – MMMbop was definitely played at one point) for an event at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society for a sneak peek at the 2012 Philadelphia Flower Show. We have gone to the flower show several years now, and it is always a treat. Despite my definitely not being a gardener, I do love flowers.

We arrived and my kids immediately got inspired and started making signs to advertise the flower show. Ellie’s was greeting people at the door:
We watched a sneak preview of the show this year, and the kids were enthralled. They were all asking, “When can we go there?” “Are we going there this year?” “Mom, please can we go?” I don’t blame them. The show looks even more incredible than previous years. Watch this and tell me it doesn’t look amazing:

One thing I appreciate as a parent is how family friendly the Philadelphia Flower Show is. They are partnering with Sprout to bring families some truly unique experiences – kids can meet characters from The Lorax, do crafts, see puppet shows, play with toys, see live performances of their favorite Sprout shows – and more in the totally free Family Lounge.  And for an additional charge, kids can meet their favorite Sprout characters in the Sprout Snack! How cool is that? Honestly, if my kids had this much fun at the preview, they’re gong to love the show!

Check out the PHS Family Fun Pack tickets, which includes tickets for the whole family and a one-year family membership to the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society!

disclosure: we received a gift bag as a thank you for attending this event. as always, all opinions are our own.

happy birthday, elmo!

Melissa 4 Comments

On Friday my little man and I took the train up to New York. He was very very very very excited about the train. The commuters in our car were all giggling at his excitement. He waved to people on the platform at every station – and you would be amazed how many people waved back!

Then we were in NYC! We got there a little early, so we decided to head a few blocks north to Times Square before catching a cab up to the event.

After a cab ride that was much too short for Colin’s taste, we arrived to find Cookie Monster waiting to greet us!! We went upstairs to a kid’s paradise! I love Sesame Street: its like every one who works there has channeled their preschool self and knows exactly what preschoolers love! Colin hardly knew where to look first – Balloon animals? Decorate cookies? Color? See Abby? Play with stickers?  Personally, I loved the balloon animals. I’ve never seen  balloon animals like this. Check out how realistic: Cookie must have felt like he was looking in a mirror.

After a yummy lunch, we headed over to watch the “Birthdays” episode of Elmo’s World. The kids were all giggling and singing along – and then… then… ELMO WAS THERE!

I almost died. It was really the REAL Elmo. Colin was literally shaking with excitement. He had a birthday cake (with 3½ candles) and then – we sang. Colin and I sang with Elmo. An old song that I grew up singing along with on Sesame Street – I am now singing along with my son . It was incredible. I love that a huge part of my childhood is now a part of his.

Then, we met Elmo. I was starstruck to meet Kevin Clash. Such a talented man! Colin was chatting with Elmo, Elmo gave him hugs and kisses… I was practically in tears. What a moment. We will never forget it.

We came home with a copy of Elmo’s new DVD, Elmo’s World: Elmo’s Favorite Things. It has eight episodes of Elmo’s World – including the birthday episode we saw at the event and Colin’s favorite episode ever, dinosaurs!!  We’ve already watched it – and by ‘we’ I include my older kids as well. You know, despite being “too big for Sesame Street,” I know that my girls still love it. They sat and enjoyed the DVD, laughing right along with their little brother. And I can tell you that at Busch Gardens this summer, those ‘big girls’ were the ones running to get their picture taken with Big Bird. 😉 I think Sesame Street is one of those things that we never outgrow!!

By the way, check out SesameStreet.org – it is an amazing resource for parents! We recently viewed the section about  helping kids deal with grief, who are dealing with the first death of a family member in their memory. I’m so thankful for organizations like Sesame Street who are helping us talk to our kids about subjects that are so hard to explain.

disclosure: we received a gift bag for attending this event, including an elmo’s world dvd.

sole society soiree in nyc

Melissa 3 Comments

On Wednesday, Jo-Lynne and I headed up to NYC with our friend, Cecily, to go to a blogging event hosted by Barbara Jones and Catherine Connors for Sole Society. Jo-Lynne and I said when the invite came, “Shoes? Did you say SHOES?! Of course we’ll come!” We met up and took the hottest train ever up to New York City. (The train was seriously eleventy billion degrees. What the heck?) But what with the chatting at the speed of light that I’m sure all the businessmen in the train car greatly appreciated, we were able to still have a good trip. We even made it early enough to wander around a bit.

photo by @JoLynneS

New York at Christmas is amazing. I really, really want to take the kids up at some point to see it… when its not super freezing. I say this every year. Maybe some year we’ll actually have time to do it. December is so crazy. Sigh.

photo by @JoLynneS

Then we had to find a restaurant, which you’d think would be simple in a place like Manhattan, but somehow last night, we were carrying some sort of restaurant curse. Everywhere we went was closing in a few minutes for a private event or the oven was broken or they couldn’t seat us or whatever. Only we could go to a place with 20 restaurants per block and not find a place to eat, right?  We ended up having a yummy dinner at Lulu and me, then headed over to Hotel Lola for the event. Which, as I mentioned, involved one of my favorite things… shoes! The setting was gorgeous, even more so as we were surrounded by amazing bloggers and fabulous shoes and yummies like this:

I ate a lot of those chocolates. They were amazing. The shoes were so fantastic. It was hard to pick just one, but Jo-Lynne and I had to make a decision. And, as usual, we picked the exact same shoes. We do that a lot:
photo by @BarbaraJones

We had so much fun that we almost missed our train home. That’s the sign of a good night.  I can’t wait to share these fab shoes with you guys! Check out Fashion Friday tomorrow 😉

disclosure: we attended this event as guests of sole society and were provided with a gift bag. As always, all opinions are my own.

cyber monday events party

Melissa 1 Comment

On Monday night, I had a fabulous girls night out with the ladies of Philly Social Media Moms.  Jo-Lynne, Debbie and Sarah threw a great party! The idea behind Cyber Monday Events is to have one last hurrah before the holiday season, where brands can get their best products into the hands of influential mom bloggers and in front of their audiences. SUCH a great idea – I’m going out of my mind looking for great products for gift guides and actual gifts for family members!

photo from jo-lynne

The event was hosted by Dave & Busters at the Plymouth Meeting location. (Note to self: go to Dave & Busters more. SO FUN!) They had a gorgeous room for parties with great food and tons of fun activities right there! The sponsors were amazing. That was a crazy number of awesome toys in one room!! I’m a huge fan of BigJigs Toys: I think the  King Arthurs Castle and Princess Palace are so cool! Look – wouldn’t you have loved to find this under the tree on Christmas morning?

Overall it was a wonderful event benefiting Cradles to Crayons: attendees brought socks and underwear to donate to needy families in our area. Mega thanks to Little Miss Muffin, KooKoo Birds, BigJigs Toys, Corolle, Paddywhack Lane, KaZAM Bikes, LEGO, Villeroy & Boch, ASTRA, Fairy Tales Hair Care, Horizon Dairy, Mabel’s Labels, Ohanarama, Suave and Bai for making this night possible.

disclosure: i received a swag bag and prizes at the event. as always, all opinions are my own.