First Time Mom and Losing It

When I went to the Toy Insider HoliDAY of play event in October I was most excited to see the toys that taught while being fun. Being a former teacher and a mom of a soon to be preschooler I know the types of toys that would keep her engaged. Since she will be going to Pre-K4 soon I want her to learn at home as much as possible while she plays.

At the HoliDAY of play event they had a whole category just for STEM. STEM covers Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. When I first went to the STEM station I didn't think that there would be many things for a three year old, boy was I wrong! The Thames & Kosmos company has some amazing engineering kits and three of them were aimed at kids 3+.


The one that mostly caught my eye was the Amusement Park Engineer kit. My daughter is at the age now that she can finally get into some rides at the arcade we go to. I love that this kit is a part of a fun story involving two very curious kids. They build simple models to solve problems that their family encounters while at the amusement park. While reading the story you can help your child build 20 different structures and machines. Some of these structures include a Ferris wheel, carousel, pirate ship pendulum, bumper car and so much more.

The Amusement Park Engineer kit is made up of large and colorful plastic building pieces that are perfect for little hands. While the kids are having fun building the structures it helps develop fine motor skills. It is also helping with science and math skills, and reasoning and development skills.

Click on the link to learn more about the Amusement Park Engineer. They also have an Automobile Engineer Kit and an Aircraft Engineer Kit.


Which one of the kits would you have most fun playing and learning with? 

**This post is part of a sponsored campaign. I received compensation for my participation, but my review and opinions are my own.


I have been homeschooling my 3 year old for over a year now loosely and for about a month now more structured. I found a curriculum I like and I wasted paper and ink on tons of sheets and activities and bound them up. It was hard for my 3 year old to sit still while I went through the curriculum. When I heard about Learn with Homer I jumped at the opportunity to try it out with my daughter. Learn with Homer is a learning program that was developed by top literacy experts and proven to give results. The program is perfect for children ages 3-7.


She has been expertly using an iPad even before she was one so I thought the Learn with Homer program on her iPad would be more interesting to her. I asked her to hand me her iPad and went to the app store to download the Learn with Homer. She was excited that I was getting her a new app. I asked her if she wanted to play with me and she quickly agreed.


I logged in and set up her profile. She loved that she got to take a picture of herself and pick a hat for her profile picture. Then we went to the sections of learning and picked learn to read first. The first lesson was the "ah" sound and with the colors, cute characters and fun lessons my daughter surprisingly got all of the answers right. At the end she had fun recording her voice and listening to herself say the "ah" sound.


We continued to work on the lessons, read the stories and poems for a while and then I was the one to tell my daughter she can have a break. She was having so much fun learning with the Learn with Homer app that she didn't even realize that we were doing a learning activity. I love that she can begin to learn to read without my help. It is more than just practice drills like most of the reading apps out there. It actually teaches the basics of reading and doesn't assume that she already knows certain things.


The Learn with Homer program offers more than 1,000 lessons and activities including stories, games, history, science, art and music and real world context. The program is even better now with a new navigation set up and an introduction of a new interactive themed world.

The Learn with Homer is available for free 30-day trial from learnwithhomer.com or on the App Store on iPad. Unlimited access to the entire curriculum is available for $7.95 per month or $79.95 for a full year’s membership. Use my link to get 50% off of one year of Learn With Homer.

**The toddler and I were invited to the #PlayAllDayElmo Event and received a gift bag for attendance. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be a good fit for my readers. All opinions are 100% my own.


When I received the invitation to attend the #PlayAllDayElmo Event by Hasbro I quickly RSVP'ed! My toddler has been an Elmo and Sesame Street fan since she was an infant. I have bought her every big Elmo toy for Christmas and they have always been a big hit. As soon my toddler woke up in the morning she yelled in excitement because today was the day! I might have told her a few days too early about the event! We took a long train ride to Spring Street and headed to the Crosby Street Hotel.


We went down to the event space and was greeted by an amazing staff. They took the care to decorate everything in cheerful colors, balloons and Elmo decorations! Cookie Monster and Grover was there to take pictures with the kids and then my daughter got escorted to a huge play room full of amazing Sesame Street toys.


We got to play with the Play All Day Elmo and given a little demo on it. The Play All Day Elmo has two modes, one for toddler play and one for a preschooler. This was perfect to use with my toddler because once she became an expert on that mode and becomes a preschooler next year I can switch up the mode and she has a whole new Elmo and games to play with. The Elmo has 8 different modes of play and 150+ play responses like turning him upside down and tickling his tummy. It also has a Nap switch when you are done playing with him where he will sing a song and go to sleep.


After playing with the toys we went to a screening room and the real Abby Caddaby and Elmo were there! All off the kids (and parents) squealed in delight when we saw them. We got to watch the new Play All Day with Elmo DVD while the kids jumped and clapped and did what the DVD asked them to do.



The Play All Day Elmo is the perfect holiday gift for kids ages 14 months to 4+. The Play All Day with Elmo DVD would be an amazing stocking stuffer too.

**I received the product below free for my review. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be a good fit for my readers. All opinions are 100% my own.


When I went to Blogger Bash in July one of my favorite booths at Sweet Suite was Educational Insights. Being a teacher made me appreciate how every one of their toys has some educational aspect to them. They create toys that are not only educational but extremely well made and fun. The amazing people at Educational Insights sent us some toys to play and learn with. My daughter was so excited to play with the big box of toys.


First we played with the Magic Moves® RainbowJam™. You just take the wand and press it onto whatever color you want. Every time you press on a color it will tell you what color it is and play a song to go with the color. It has different musical styles like Latin and jazz. It comes with a 16-page musical activity book. My daughter loved playing the songs with the colors and singing to them. She had the most fun running around the house clicking on every color she could find.


Next was the Puppet-on-a-Stick™ Rainbow Prancers, Set of 3. My daughter is a huge fan of ponies and unicorns are even better! I love that the Prancers had hair she could comb and stickers she could decorate with. First we played pretend with them by just moving the wands around. Then I taught her how to use the lever to move the mouth. It took her a few tries to do it but when she got the hang of it she had so much fun making them talk and sing.


Her favorite of the bunch was the Design & Drill® Flower Power Studio™. I love how cute the floral design was and the bright colors. Having the base fold and close was a big plus to contain all of the little pieces. Once I put the batteries into the drill my daughter was in love! She felt like a big girl using the drill and got the hang of it pretty quickly. She wouldn't stop until each nut was drilled in place. I love how it came with a booklet of designs to try.


We also got the GeoSafari® Jr. Jungle Crew Lab Set™. It is a 6-piece, animal-themed science set. I love that it comes with 10 hands-on activity cards with fun and easy experiments to try. I will be adding this set to our science curriculum and will be posting pictures soon of them in action.


Which one of the bunch is your favorite? 

**I received the products below free for my review. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be a good fit for my readers. All opinions are 100% my own.


My daughter LOVES to sing! It started almost two years ago when she saw Frozen for the first time. She loved all of the songs and since she watched the movie over and over she memorized all of the words to all of the songs. I got her these little plastic pretend microphones and she went to town making shows for her family!

I was so excited to get to review the Kids Sing Along CD/MP3 Karaoke Machine to see how my daughter would react to hearing her voice come out of a real microphone. I love how the karaoke machine is colorful with easy to press buttons that are perfect for little kids. I love that this one came with an AC adapter so I didn't have to worry about buying batteries. When my daughter really loves a toy she can play with it for hours so this was perfect.


With the Kids Sing Along Karaoke Machine you have to choice to listen to the music from a CD or MP3 file through the flash drive port. It also has a Line-in jack to connect it to your smartphone. It has anti-skip protection so the kids can hold on to it while they dance to the music. It has a  3 digit LED display to show you which setting and track your are on. The sound is pretty loud and clear too. It is also fully programmable so you can choose random play, repeat play, etc. My daughter has specific songs that she can sing all day to so its perfect to program ahead of time. You can use batteries to operate the karaoke machine if you want to take it on the go.


The best part of the Kids Sing Along CD/MP3 Karaoke Machine is that it has two microphones. Since my daughter and niece are both 3 they sometimes don't like to share so this is a great feature. They love playing together so it was so cute to see them sing in harmony!


You can find the Kids Sing Along CD/MP3 Karaoke Machine at Amazon. Click on the link to find out more information and to purchase one for yourself.

**I received the product below free for my review. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be a good fit for my readers. All opinions are 100% my own.


A couple of months ago I went to the New York Baby Show and got to see the latest products for pregnant mamas, babies and toddlers. One of my favorite picks of the show was the GB QBit Stroller. I was so impressed at how it folded up into a small cube and was super lightweight. About a month ago I was sent one for my review even before they came out to the public!


I have been using the GB QBit stroller for a month now and have to say that GB really thought out all the features that would be helpful to a parent. First of all I love that the stroller folds into a cube and stands up by itself. Every other stroller I have owned closed up long and narrow so I always had trouble leaning it against something to stand up or walking down the stairs with it being so long and banging all over the stairs.



I take the QBit stroller with me whenever we are going to be walking for a long time and I know my toddler will eventually get tired. Since we live in NYC and take public transportation a lot, it's nice to have the QBit fold into a cube and fit right underneath the seat on the bus or next to the seat on the train. I also love that it has a handy little travel bag right underneath the stroller seat. This is especially useful to keep the stroller clean when are on crowded NYC trains.


At only 15 pounds the stroller is also super easy for me to handle and really take it anywhere I am going. I feel completely safe as I hold my daughter's hand and the stroller in it's bag around my shoulder when we are walking down stairs. I love that the seat has a nice cushion and the harness makes my daughter secure. It also has a huge canopy that has great coverage when it is sunny outside. The spacious under seat storage is perfect for shopping trips or for my huge mommy bag and some toys.


The GB QBit Stroller is now available at Babies "R" Us stores and babiesrus.com in three beautiful colors and at specialty stores in two more colors.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.




About a year ago we got my daughter a cute little soccer ball and she has been kicking it around ever since. Once the dance season officially ended we enrolled her in a little soccer team with kids her age. She has been playing soccer for about a month now and since she enjoys it so much we enrolled her for another month in August.

Since the summer is here and  we are out and about with soccer, play dates, park days, beaches and more,these are the things I do to keep her safe.

1. Prepping Ahead: When I enrolled my daughter with the soccer organization I made sure to read as much as I could about them. I knew exactly what was expected of me as a parent and my daughter as a team player. Weeks before her first class I explained to her what was going on during class and got her excited about it. I was pleased that the soccer coaches emailed us the songs and cheers so that my daughter would be familiar with them.

2. Staying Hydrated: I make sure to always have ice cold water on hand during soccer class. On especially hot and sunny days the coaches stop on regular intervals for water breaks. My daughter loves water so this is super easy for us. I saw moms in her team begging kids to drink water and not juice so it is important that your child is used to drinking water.


3. Sunscreen: Whenever we are going out I make sure to slather on some sunscreen. We use a baby sunscreen that is waterproof and tear-free so I never have issues with sweat and dripping sunscreen hurting my daughter's eyes.


4. On-the-Go First Aid Kit: I always have antibacterial spray, bandages, ointment, after bite spray and sanitizer in my mommy bag.


5: Having piece of mind with accidental and supplemental coverage: Accidents are bound to happen and more often if your child plays summer sports. Aflac can help make sure you are prepared for the unexpected. A study from Bankrate.com showed that when it came to unexpected expenses like emergency room visits, only 38% of those that took the survey could cover the bill with money they already had on hand. With Aflac I know that if I find myself in a situation like this they have me covered and I don't have to deplete our bank accounts and savings. This is also especially important for us as a family with one income. Aflac’s new One Day PaySM promise can process accident claims in just one day so you can help get help you need right away.

How do you keep your kids safe in the summer? 

I have been homeschooling my toddler since September so that I can prepare her for pre-k. We have been doing pretty good and I love downloading and printing out worksheets for her to work on. I usually laminate the worksheets that she will use over and over and give her a dry erase marker. I wanted to try something different as she was getting bored of the same worksheets.


I got to review these amazing and brightly colored liquid chalk markers that work great with glass. I decided to get some frames that I could slip the worksheets in to write on top of the frame. Since the liquid chalk markers were so bright, colorful and liquidy my daughter really had fun using them. They wrote really smoothly on the glass and were easy to clean up with just a baby wipe. She loved having so many colors to choose from and it helped her practice all the different colors she knows.


I made some worksheets for her to work with that you can download below:

• Shapes Worksheet
• Numbers Worksheet
• Letters Worksheet
• Colors Worksheet