We are excited to bring you a fabulous giveaway featuring these great baby products! Buttons Diapers cloth diaper cover + 3 inserts - Buttons Diapers are all-in-two cloth diapers that consist of adjustable waterproof diaper covers and snap-in-place absorbent diaper inserts. Choose a cover and an insert, and you’re set! Winner may choose cover style. BeliBea NOURISH CAMI - For both breastfeeding and hands-free pumping convenience! An innovative dual-panel design allows mothers to keep the garment in place whether breastfeeding, pumping or reveling in the moments between. The inside panel features a unique opening that holds a breast shield in place for hands-free pumping! NOURISH CAMI is a great layering piece and excellent tummy coverage when breastfeeding or pumping! Yummi Pouch Brights (Set of 4) - These reusable food pouches combine style and convenience in an Eco-friendly reusable drink container you can fill with homemade smoothies and blended snacks. Easy to fill and clean through the top zipper opening and simple for kids to drink from the side spout. Back Buddy Deluxe Support Pillow - Award-winning Back Buddy Support Pillow now with an ultra-plush minky cover. All-In-One covers are not removable and may be spot cleaned as necessary. Available in several high-quality colors and designs. Cozy Baby Sleeper by Revelae Kids - Keep baby cozy and secure in this enclosed baby sleeper that provides a baby with cozy boundaries without restricting movement. The sleeper unzips from the bottom up for easy diaper changes and the enclosed sleeper design helps with startle reflex and even discourages a baby from sucking their fingers or thumb. Motif Duo Breast Pump - The Motif Duo is adaptable to meet your individual needs, no matter where you are in your breastfeeding journey. The single or double pumping option allows you to pump how you want, the memory feature saves your settings, and the lightweight portable design makes this pump ideal to take anywhere you go. Milkmaid Goods Nursing Poncho - A nursing cover has never been so functional! These Full Coverage Nursing Ponchos double as a car seat cover, swaddle, shopping cart cover, & eliminates the need for costly breastfeeding clothing. Any new mom's best tool. This giveaway is coordinated by Mommy Scene and is open to US entries ages 18 and older. No purchase required to enter. One (1) winner will be randomly chosen and contacted through e-mail, and their name displayed on the giveaway widget after the giveaway ends on October 18th, 2017. Mommy Scene and participating blogs are not responsible for fulfilling brand-sponsored prizes. Prizes will be shipped directly from each brand. a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Here's our roundup of the kids' activities and family-friendly events going on in the Greater Bay Ridge area of Brooklyn for the week of September 28 - October 4, 2017! Don't forget to sign up for our e-newsletter and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to stay in the loop of all the local goings on!!
All the events and ads below are linked, so click away for more details and to double check before heading out for an event (time changes, cancellations, and mistakes do happen on occasion).
Click here to submit your Bay Ridge area family-friendly event or program for a complimentary listing in an upcoming events roundup! Businesses are invited to read more about advertising with us and to sign up for our advertisers' newsletter to receive occasional ad specials and upcoming deadlines.
**HALLOWEEN GUIDE**
We'll be publishing our first annual Bay Ridge Families' Halloween Guide with the best places to trick or treat, see amazing Halloween decorations, and local fall or Halloween related parties and activities!! Be sure to send us your tips and recommendations ASAP!!
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Being a mom of 3 toddlers, I'm always on the lookout for great play spaces in the Greater NYC area, especially inclosed ones that allow my kids some freedom to explore but also allow me to sit back and not lose track of anyone! While not in NYC proper (i.e. requiring a car), I found one recently just across the Hudson in West New York (New Jersey) that is ah-may-zing!! I'm pleased to introduce you to Hudson's House of Play!! Hudson's House of Play is an indoor play space focused on imaginary play for children ages 5 months to 5 years. The carpeted playroom was custom built to mimic a little downtown city center, with a house, an animal clinic, fire station, grocery store, cafe, and school bus! Kids can go inside each of these "buildings" to find toys and dress-up to play pretend as a veterinarian, fire fighter, cashier, and more! My 1.5 year old twins were especially obsessed with the grocery carts and the school bus. They even have a separately inclosed soft play area for the littlest guests (shown in image below right). They also have a bookshelf, a couple of benches for the parents to sit and watch (with free wifi), doll houses, a wooden train table, and more. Two bathrooms (with a changing table) are located within the closed off play space, but strollers must be kept in the outter lobby area. Socks are required for all, even adults, but can be purchased for $2 a pair if you forget (seen on my kiddos below, we came in sandals, oops!!). Having been to my fare share of play spaces, I was incredibly impressed with how meticulously clean and well taken care of Hudson's was. I loved that they had a bucket out and instructed you upon admission to toss any items in there that your littles put in their mouths. I saw staff continuously cleaning item from the bucket and placing them back in the play area, so nothing was out of rotation for too long. It was great!! Open play is limited to a 2-hour session, and your child will find plenty of fun ways to fill their time! Admission is $16 (plus tax) for 1 child (over 10 months), $13 (plus tax) for each sibling, $11 (plus tax) for siblings 6-10 months, and there's a shorter 1-hour admission option for children under 24 months for $13 (plus tax). They have a little cafe area with snacks and toys for purchase, and of course. Hudson's House of Play does birthday parties and classes, too (including Preschool of Rock, Indian Cultural Immersion, Mommy and Me Dance, Tot Shabbat, and Mommy and Me Yoga)!! In fact, they have a FREE SUPERHEROES IN TRAINING CLASS tomorrow, Saturday, September 23 from 10-10:45am for ages 3-6 years. Register here! In case you're like us and don't live nearby, there are a couple of places to check out in conjunction with a visit to Hudson's House of Play. Mitsuwa Market is just a couple miles up the river - it's a large Asian grocery store with a Japanese food court, bakery, book store, and more. It's really fun to browse around. Also, if it's a nice day, there's a beautiful promenade along the river by Hudson's and Mitsuwa (but you can't go the whole way from one to another thanks to some horrible construction). Bring the stroller and some snacks and take a nice long walk! If you want to go further, Field Station Dinosaurs and Turtle Back Zoo are each about a half hour drive (in opposite directions) from Hudson's. Have you ever been to Hudson's House of Play? Know of another great play space we should review in the greater NYC area?? Leave a comment below!!
Looking for more great ways to spend the day with kids in the NYC area?? Be sure to check out my list of Day Trips & Getaways as well as my kid-friendly guide to each of the 5 NYC boroughs! Disclaimer: Though we did receive complimentary admission in exchange for our honest review, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Here's our roundup of the kids' activities and family-friendly events going on in the Greater Bay Ridge area of Brooklyn for the week of September 21 - 27, 2017! Don't forget to sign up for our e-newsletter and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to stay in the loop of all the local goings on!!
All the events and ads below are linked, so click away for more details and to double check before heading out for an event (time changes, cancellations, and mistakes do happen on occasion). Click here to submit your Bay Ridge area family-friendly event or program for a complimentary listing in an upcoming events roundup! Businesses are invited to read more about advertising with us and to sign up for our advertisers' newsletter to receive occasional ad specials and upcoming deadlines!
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Whether you're a parent of twins or triplets, about to become one, or are simply fascinated by multiples, I am very excited to present to you an awesome video I created featuring the fun tell-alls of a handful of YouTube parents of multiples! We've got parents of triplets, twins plus one, and twins twice over (yes, 2 sets of twins, it happens!!) weighing in on everything from how they reacted to finding out they were pregnant with multiples to what the hardest and craziest parts are of being a mom or dad of twins or triplets. Here are the amazing YouTubers featured in the video:
Alright, now what are you waiting for!! You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be in love!!! Watch the video below and don't forget to like, subscribe, comment, and watch the other videos in the play list!!
I don't know about you, but I'm constantly looking for cute graphic tee sets for my kids. They tend to be quite pricey - I paid about $40 for a set of "I Rock / I Roll" newborn onesies for my twins - yowza!! But, I have exciting news because Target has just released a whole slew of graphic tee family sets that are 1) cute and 2) super affordable ($4.50-10 per tee for baby, toddler, big kid, men, and women)!! I actually bought a couple of the sets myself, but haven't received them yet... I'll update this post after they arrive with some pix and my thoughts on the quality!
You can browse through Target's family graphic tee sets here (you really have to scroll through since only the holiday shirts are conveniently grouped together as a set on their site, poor planning by Target). I've created images below of the sets all together to make it easier for you guys, if you like a set below that isn't linked, just click the general family set link here and browse through til you find each item. Disclaimer: I'm not working with Target to promote these items, I just wanted to share for those interested! Links below are affiliate links (meaning I get a tiny % of the sales to help fund the blog, at no extra cost to you, can you say WIN-WIN!? LOL).
Best sets for TWINS!
What do you think? Which ones are your favorites? Did you order any? Have another place to recommend selling great twins, siblings, or family tee sets!? Leave a comment below!!!
Here's our roundup of the kids' activities and family-friendly events going on in the Greater Bay Ridge area of Brooklyn for the week of September 14 - 20, 2017! Don't forget to sign up for our e-newsletter and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to stay in the loop of all the local goings on!!
All the events and ads below are linked, so click away for more details and to double check before heading out for an event (time changes, cancellations, and mistakes do happen on occasion). Click here to submit your Bay Ridge area family-friendly event or program for a complimentary listing in an upcoming events roundup! Businesses are invited to read more about advertising with us and to sign up for our advertisers' newsletter to receive occasional ad specials and upcoming deadlines!
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We all feel the pressure as parents. The pressure to provide our children with the best education, the newest toys, the cutest clothes, the healthiest food, and the most amazing childhood ever. If we fail in any one area on any single day, we have failed as a parent. Right? WRONG! Thank goodness. Let me just say, parents, give yourself a break. You're doing a great job raising your little humans! Now that we've cleared that up, South Brooklyn parents of children under the age of 4 - nervous about how to prep your kids for going off to school, bored of your regular routine, wanting to socialize your toddlers and yourself - I'm very pleased to introduce you to Union Church Playgroup (or UCP) in Bay Ridge!! Running for 20 years now, UCP is an amazing playgroup for toddlers and preschoolers and their parent or caregiver, serving about 100 families a week in the heart of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. They have two types of (non-drop-off) playgroups: mixed-age (for walkers through age 4) and 3's & 4s (kind of a preschool alternative or pre-preschool). Personally, I've only been to the mixed-age playgroup, which consists of 90 minutes of open play followed by 30 minutes of structured teacher-led activities (I'm told 3's & 4's program is more of a 50/50 split). Read on for more elaboration and how to check out a class for free! Open Play: The play room at UCP is a toddler's dream come true. Basically, any toy you can imagine is in here, and there are a number of themed centers spread out around the very large carpeted room. You've got kitchens, sand box, dress-up, puppet theater, ride-ons, rocking toys, blocks, train table, musical instruments, books, and much more!! There's also an arts & crafts table set up with a project of the week, usually related to the book that will be read later. Families come in at their leisure since there's no official start to the class. Open play continues (parents and caregivers stay and monitor their children) for the first 90 minutes of the class for mixed ages and the first hour for 3's and 4's, after which there's a massive cleanup and the start of the structured teacher-led portion, usually led by the wonderful Jennifer Kruger, who's been running Union Church Playgroup for a decade now! Teacher-Led Period (Mixed-Ages Playgroup): After cleaning up all the toys, children are seated at the table (grownups stand around behind them supervising), and are provided snacks - usually goldfish or animal crackers, and water or apple juice. You're welcome to bring your own snacks if you wish, just no peanuts or nuts due to the concern about allergies of other children. You're also provided with wet wipes, and there are bathrooms (with toddler seats) as well if you prefer to wash hands. While the children are eating, the teacher enthusiastically reads a story, asking questions and engaging the children. After story and snack comes cleanup, followed immediately by music circle - the kids grab a musical instrument and jam along to one song on the floor. Next up is a finger play, sometimes related to the book and craft from earlier. Something along the lines of The Wheels on the Bus or The Itsy Bitsy Spider. Last but certainly not least, as it's my personal favorite, is the beloved "RUN AROUND" which is exactly what it sounds like. They turn on a song and the kids run in one giant circle, high fiving adults as they pass by. There are giggles and squeals, and the occasional face plant, it's fun for all! In my experience, the transitions during the teacher-led period can be rather abrupt, which can be difficult for some kids. Some toddlers are getting cranky (ready for a nap) by this time. Cleaning up toys and moving from snack to music circle are always the hardest for my kids, but they all learn quickly and get used to the flow. Teacher-Led Portion (3's & 4's Group): For the older preschool-aged kids, story and snack are at separate times, as they want to encourage the children to notice each other and chat during snack time. The teacher-led portion is longer, about 1 hour, consisting of snack, circle time with a story and a preschool concept related to the story (ex. counting, colors, shapes) and every child has a chance to come up and answer a question, gross motor activity (ex. Ring Around the Rosie, London Bridge, playing with a parachute), table top activity (in small groups so children can work together), and last but not least, the Run Around. Open House: They hold free open house week before the start of each session (Fall - September through December, Winter - January through March, Spring - April through June)! Through Friday, September 15 you can attend one of their Open House sessions for free, no registration needed!! Open House classes are always a bit chaotic so take it with a grain of salt - the regular weekly playgroup will be less crowded but run in the same manner, so you'll get a good idea of the program. You'll have a chance to sign up for the session you prefer, but they fill up quickly so don't delay! Check the schedule here! Sessions run from $148 for 8 classes to $240.50 for 13 classes (the number of classes varies by season), with a 25% discount for extra days and extra kids. And Union Church members pay half price!! Go here to see their 2017-2018 schedule and prices. Held in the basement of the Union Church of Bay Ridge (7915 Ridge Boulevard, just a block from bustling 3rd Avenue and less than half a mile from the R train's 77th Street subway station), I really can't recommend this playgroup highly enough. It's an amazing way to socialize your child and yourself! While your little one is playing alone or with other children, you can meet lots of other parents and caregivers and maybe even make some lifelong friends (I'm not even kidding, many moms have become besties here!). Worth Noting:
So, what do you think? Have you been to Union Church Playgroup before, or have another activity to recommend in the Greater Bay Ridge area? Leave a comment below, and click the "share" button if you have a friend you think might be interested in UCP!! Also, be sure to check out our list of Classes & Activities for Bay Ridge Babies and Toddlers, a great resource providing a vast array of places your children will enjoy, and sign up to receive Bay Ridge Families' weekly kids' events roundup by e-mail!! This review was sponsored by Union Church Playgroup, however all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Here's our roundup of the kids' activities and family-friendly events going on in the Greater Bay Ridge area of Brooklyn for the week of September 7 - 13, 2017! Don't forget to sign up for our e-newsletter and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to stay in the loop of all the local goings on!!
All the events and ads below are linked, so click away for more details and to double check before heading out for an event (time changes, cancellations, and mistakes do happen on occasion). Click here to submit your Bay Ridge area family-friendly event or program for a complimentary listing in an upcoming events roundup! Businesses are invited to read more about advertising with us and to sign up for our advertisers' newsletter to receive occasional ad specials and upcoming deadlines!
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About ME:I'm a NYC metro area mom blogger living in NJ with my Japanese husband & our 3 kids (twins plus 1), focusing on fun and honest product and travel reviews, saving moms time finding the best for their families! Find what you need in the menu bar or search section above! Categories
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