Fashion Playtes Review; Where girls can design and wear their custom creations!

Several weeks ago, the princess and I got a fabulous opportunity thanks to Fashion Playtes and Boston Parent Bloggers.  She was able to  design an outfit of her choice on their website.  Then we attended a blogger event at their headquarters to participate in a fashion show where she modeled her one of a kind creation!

How cool is that?  Ask any girl who is OBSESSED with fashion and she'll tell you it's a little girl's dream come true!

And would you look at this place!  Very inviting and welcoming!  What a cool place to work!


Their website:  www.fashionplaytes.com is extremely user friendly.  You can shop and design by categories such as: tops, dresses, bottoms, outerwear, accessories, lounge wear, and get this, dolls!!  Want to have matching outfits that you created for your American Girl Doll?  This is the place!

To get started simply  pick your clothing, choose the color, and begin to embellish.  Simple as that.  You can add as much or as little as your like.  When your finished your designer clothing will appear on your model right on the website.  Your child can create as many designs as her little heart desires and keep them in her style book.  (They don't all need to be purchased.  That way they can be creative and play online without breaking the bank.) Whatever you decide to purchase gets shipped right to your door.


The princess chose a dress for her one of a kind creation.   (Any chance to get dressed up and she's all for it!)  

Here she is during her modelling shoot with another little friend from home who was also chosen for the event and came with us!

Before the fashion show the girls visited several stations set up around the room.  Hair and makeup, interview, and photo shoot.  All this went on while us moms got to learn more about the Fashion Playtes website and give our own input to the website "guru".  All this while drinking sparkling cider and munching  fabulous little sandwiches!

The event capped off with a walk down the runway  for all the girls to show off what they had proudly created.

Here are all the girls acting goofy for Justine, the awesome lady from Fashion Playtes who coordinated the whole event.

We had a wonderful afternoon and the little princess really enjoyed showing off her custom made dress to all her friends at school the next week!  It was a big hit.

If you have a fashion diva at home or know someone this would make a fabulous gift!  Fashion Playtes offer gift certificates that you can buy and print out right from your computer.  Go check them out and see what all the fun is about!  www.fashionplaytes.com

Disclosure:  I received a gift certificate to design and purchase an outfit from FashionPlaytes.com for a review.   All opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Vicks Winter Warmup Event with Dr. Meg Meeker...

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of attending the Vicks Winter Warmup Event in Boston.  The speaker for the event was pediatrician, author, and mom of 4, Dr. Meg Meeker.

The first thing that struck me about Dr. Meeker was how down to earth and easy to relate to she was.  In her opening she explained how moms today put a ton of pressure on themselves to be the "perfect mom", and how we set ourselves up for constant internal criticism because being a perfect mom isn't realistic.   She further explained that being perfect isn't really what our kids want.  What they want is unconditional love.   When she asks the children in her practice what they love most about their moms, most often their responses are:  "My mom gives the best hugs!"

 In her book The 10 Habits of Happy Mothers,  Reclaiming Our Passion, Purpose, and Sanity,  Dr. Meeker reveals the 10 most habits of healthy, happy moms.    It offers ways to get rid of the mom guilt.  (I haven't read her book yet, but we were each given a copy to take home for ourselves!)
Dr. Meg also discussed several beliefs she feels are very important as a mom. 

1.  You know your child best.

2.  Trust your gut.  When something doesn't feel right go with that feeling.  If you aren't getting the answers you are looking for from your child's pediatrician, don't be afraid to push.  You are your child's advocate and it's your pediatrician's job to find out the answers. 

These little gems of wisdom I whole-heartedly agree with, in fact it's probably the best advice you could give to any first time mom. 

With cold and flu season right upon us, it was the perfect time to discuss tips for dealing with a sick child and cold and flu prevention. 

When your child has a fever treat it with a fever reducer such as Tylenol or Motrin.  As long as the fever starts going down within the hour your good.  If you aren't seeing any improvement or the fever goes higher you need to call your pediatrician. 

Something interesting I learned from listening to Dr. Meg was that when a child has a fever and a febrile seizure occurs it is not caused from how high the fever is, but how FAST the temperature rises.  Also once a child has a febrile seizure they are more likely to reoccur, so always be prepared.  Always have a working thermometer in your home. 
Another thing to remember:  colds are caused from viruses and do not respond to antibiotics.  Only a bacterial infection is treatable with antibiotics. 

This doesn't mean you can't do anything to make your children feel better if they have a cold.  You can do any of the following as needed:

*Use saline drops in the nose for congestion.

*Elevate the bed or crib by placing a pillow or folded blankets UNDER the mattress,  never in the mattress it's poses a suffocation hazard.

*Give lots of fluids, especially with a fever, Pedialyte for children under 2.  Gatorade or clear liquids for children over 2.  Stay away from soda.

*Run a humidifier in the bedroom at night, it helps soothe vocal cords and prevent you nasal passages from drying out.  Vicks has come out with a new line of humidifies, there is a type for everyone!

These two were my favorites!

Starry night displays stars on your child's ceiling in three different colors!  How cool is that?

And for all you germ-a-phobes out there, Vicks makes a Germ Free humidifier!

As far as stopping the spread of germs:  practice good hygiene and teach your children too.

Wash hands frequently with soap and water.  Teach your children to cough and sneeze into their elbow, not their hands!  Drink from paper cups when someone is ill in the home.  Replace toothbrushes after an illness or monthly.

The thing to remember, and not beat yourself up about is this:  Kids are going to get sick.  We can do many things to reduce the amount of colds and sicknesses they get by practicing and teaching good hygiene.  But when they do inevitably get sick and run a fever, trust your gut and do what you need to do to help your child get well. 

Disclosure:  I was compensated with lunch and a gift bag with Vick products.  No monetary compensation was given.  The opinions expressed here are my own.

I wanted roller blades, he wanted Heelys...

When I was growing up the traditional roller skate was replaced by something more fresh and streamlined, the Rollerblade.  Every kid wanted a pair.  You would see kids rollerblading all over town, to school, to the park, at the track.  It was great exercise and a lot of fun.

Today however, kids can't be bothered with lugging their roller blades around, or even taking the time to change out of street shoes and fasten a pair of roller blades to their feet.  In this fast paced world their accustomed to growing up in, anything that takes longer than 3 minutes to get ready, isn't worth their time.

The athlete used to have a pair of roller blades but he stopped using them because he would get so frustrated trying to put them on securely.  He would say to me, "Mom, if I had a pair of Heelys, you wouldn't have to help me and I could skate around whenever I wanted."  If you've been living under a rock the past few years, Heelys are the original shoes with wheels in the heels allowing  the user to "roll along"  rather than walk simply by shifting their weight to the back of their heels and lifting their toes.

That's why when I was asked to review a pair of Heelys, through Business2Blogger, I jumped at the chance.  The athlete picked out what he deemed, a "super cool" pair and within a week they were at my door.

The set up was so quick and easy he did it himself.  (For those of you who don't know him IRL, he is incredibly book smart, but common sense wise?  Severely lacking.) 

Within 5 minutes he had them laced up and on his feet and was gingerly scooting across the kitchen floor.

15 minutes later he was zooming back and forth down the hallway.

Later that night he felt so confident in them, he wore them to the store and when he thought no one was looking he would take a few running steps and proceed to "Heely"  his was down the aisle.

For those of you who aren't as athletically gifted as he is, have no fear.  You can check out Heely's  How To page.  There they offer tips, tricks, and even instructional videos to help you learn.

The best part for me:  Dual uses.  He can Heely around outside of school and burn off some steam, and he can take the wheels out in a matter of seconds and wear them to school.   If your a frugal mom it's easier to justify the expense because it's like buying a pair of sneakers for your child, but with an added benefit!  To check out all Heelys has to offer including special promotions check them out on their Facebook page, Twitter, and UTube.

He got the approval from all his 6th grade friends who agreed that the black and neon green colors were "wicked cool".  Bostonian stamp of approval right there, my friends!

Disclosure: I was given a pair of Heelys to review through Business2Blogger, but no other monetary compensation was received.   All thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely my own.