books – The Next Kid Thing

New York is My Playground Review + Familiar Cameo

May 25, 2016May 25, 2016 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

With photography by Jane Goodrich and written by Bob Raczka, New York is My Playground is a new book with a collection of fun and artistic portraits of kids enjoying the beauty of NYC. As an NYC/NJ transplant, this book celebrates everything that I’ve ever hoped for my kids. The city’s beloved structures, everyday motions of life, landmarks and art installations are the perfect backdrop for a storied childhood for those who live in and around NYC.

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The photos are compelling, the text is relatable and the story is timeless. New York is My Playground embraces the innocence of children and the simplicity of the juggernaut that is NYC. The 32-page hardcover book is geared to the 3-7 age range, but would be a perfect addition to any family’s library.

As a blogger, I’ve had the unique opportunity to meet and work with some of the most artistic and creative minds in the business. Jane Goodrich, an accomplished photographer based in Larchmont, NY, has a penchant for storytelling. Her playful spirit and candor resonates with kids; we have gorgeous portraits of our kids as proof.

One fall afternoon in 2013, Jane asked us to meet her at Central Park for a shoot. We took some fun photos near the Conservatory Water. This was actually a rescheduled meeting because Littles had a seizure and was hospitalized the day before we were supposed to meet. All’s well that ends well.

Littles was about 20 months old at the time, and because of his medical issues and requisite delays, he couldn’t walk yet, so I remember Big Brother having to help lug him into various positions. At one point, I thought Littles was going to fall into the pond, but thankfully, we averted any impromptu swims. You can see Bigs trying to hold him back below.

We followed Jane’s lead and took more photos at the Alice in Wonderland sculpture and even threw some leaves around.

Just as we were finishing up, though, we passed the iconic Hans Christian Andersen sculpture and Jane asked J to hop on and take a nap. It was spontaneous and silly, something that J can tackle well. The final pose yielded the photo in New York is my Playground, which captured a smirking 6 year old J, who is play-sleeping on the Hans Christian Andersen sculpture in Central Park.

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Family Portraits with Jane Goodrich

The first time we met Jane 3 years ago, she photographed our family at our family’s favorite local backdrop, our lake. 2013 was in the thick of our family’s turbulent times. In fact, Littles had a 2-hour EEG the morning before we had our photoshoot. I think Josh was having some questionable behavior relating to his meds, so our dr. called for an immediate EEG. Looking back, you’d never guess that hours before the photos were taken that my baby had 20-something electrodes glued to his scalp.

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You’d never know that my older boy was starting to develop anxious behavior relating to his brother’s condition. And you most certainly couldn’t tell that our world was unraveling in real life. The absolute best family photographers can see beyond the surface and capture the essence and underlying beauty.

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Time and again, Jane has been able to capture Biggie’s charm and effervescence. She’s been able to frame Little’s bold and mischevious side and the juxtaposition of personalities of our whole family. As a writer who’s often behind the camera, I treasure all of my family’s photos, especially the rare ones where I’m included.

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If you’re looking for a talented family photographer who has a gift for capturing the essence of kids, be sure to reach out to check out Jane Goodrich Photography.

I know books see many proofs before the final copy, so it was a honor that J was included in this fun book. New York is My Playground ($14.95) is on bookshelves now, and it’s something we’ll cherish for a very long time! Congrats, Jane!

Read Across America Day: Tips for Reading with Kids

March 2, 2016March 2, 2016 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Happy Read Across America Day and Dr. Suess Day! Today marks what would have been Dr. Suess’ 112th birthday.

In honor of his birthday, many families, schools and libraries across the nation are celebrating by reading, and doing lots of it. In fact, in a few, I’m off to the kids’ school to read to the kids’ class.

There’s so many wonderful ways to engage with kids to help them develop a love for reading, books and literature. Here are just a few helpful tips that have help me and my guys along the way.

1. Let them see you read

Kids model behavior, whether it’s good or bad. If they see you reading, even if it’s a few minutes a day, this model behavior will undoubtedly provide a foundation for a love of reading. Because I have a print background, I still love magazines and newspapers. Admittedly, I don’t read the physical paper as much as I’d like, but I read the New York Times daily and various magazines. We’ve become a society that thrives on fragmented, viral news. Why not help the kids embrace a well-crafted story in kids’ magazine of their choice. J’s learning the basics of writing and we’re big on pointing out descriptive words in feature stories. Ranger Rick and Sports Illustrated for Kids are popular picks for my guys.

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2. Read together

I know a lot of families who love reading together. After a long day of school and work, it’s often the only way that some kids get to bond with parents on weekdays, before starting the cycle again. Our board books are tattered from all the love they’ve received, but man, are those always the best books! If your kids are older, pick a few chapter series that get them excited and take turns reading aloud every night. The Magic Tree House series is my older guy’s favorite series right now. Next up is the Harry Potter series!

3. Enjoy the Library

One of our absolute favorite weekly dates is our trip to the library. I feel as though we’re on a first name basis with librarians these days, not just because of our hyperlocal site, but also because the library is our happy place.

With Little’s significant speech delay, he’s in therapy 5 days a week. He gets to play a lot at school, but there’s still so much structure in his rigorous special ed preschool schedule. Weekly story time at the library is a way for us to engage with other young readers. Our librarians are so enthusiastic and encourage imagination with their varied stories and fun crafts.

4. There’s an app for that!

If you know me, then you must know that I love technology and the way it helps make our lives as parents easier. While I will always choose a physical book or magazine first, apps for reading are an excellent way to encourage reading. With intuitive reading apps such as ABC Mouse, Speakaboos and MeeGenius, my preschooler is able to enjoy books at his pace, and in a fun kid-friendly format. For my 8 year old, we’ve been using the Kids’ Kindle Fire and enjoying books on the Amazon platform. With the Kindle Fire, it’s helpful when my son needs to look up words or wants to search for a new title. His classroom uses an app called Raz-Kids, which is an interesting app that tracks activity and encourages comprehension and reading aloud.

However you choose to read with your kids, make it fun!

Kicking off the Holidays in Style with Momtrends

November 25, 2015November 25, 2015 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

It’s been a yearly tradition to kick off my holiday season with my friends at Momtrends their Annual Holiday Soiree. This year, they celebrated their 5th annual event!

Nicole Feliciano, the trend-spotting and style savvy founder of Momtrends, has a true knack for gathering the most influential voices in the Tri-State and beyond. Every event is filled with fabulous brands and amazing products, and this year’s Soiree was no exception.

Momtrends’ Holiday Soiree featured a myriad of brands who help make the season brighter, ranging from Cabi to Pom Wonderful.

Epson showcased their Ecotank printer that boasts high quality prints and photos, and an impressive printing capacity. Apparently, with this printer, you don’t have to change the tanks for 2 years! My blogger pals and I had a blast posing in the backdrop and we even took some Epson prints home!

The Cabi fashion show was a highlight of the night. It was so lovely to see Cabi’s functional styles on real women, including my friend, Divina of DancingHotDogs.com. The cape and tailored skirt makes for a polished look for the holidays!

Telaflora once again showcased their beautiful flowers, which would be perfect as centerpieces or hostess gifts. Among the beautiful red and white arrangements, I really loved the Peanuts collection!

While hanging out with friends, we noshed on the various snacks dipped in Tessemae’s sauces and sipped on Pom-tinis. The all natural sauces from Tessemae’s has quite the back story. Some brothers began bottling the salad dressing upon realizing the true demand of their mom’s delicious recipes. Many years later, these dressings are available at Whole Foods, among other retailers.

With pomegranates in season right now, it was great to taste various cocktails with this delicious fruit. After learning how to open this delicious fruit, I’m excited to include it in more recipes and snacks!

What are delicious beverages without containers to serve and transport them? I loved learning all about Igloo’s latest products, including that very cool party tub! As a major sports family, we use those Igloo coolers and containers incessantly!

On to the baby and kid stuff:

I always love seeing my friends from Hasbro showcases their awesome toys. Hasbro was in the house and had their classic games to highlight. They have so many fun toys and games this holiday season, but it’s the classics that make family time so fun.

I loved learning all about Bedgear and their very cool textile technology. This company makes waterproof crib sheets, wicking pillowcases, among other cool products. They were super cozy and perfect for napping after Turkey dinner.

Perhaps one of my favorites of the night was Mudpuppy! As a kid product enthusiast, I loved the aesthetic and range of innovative books, games and other stationery product from Mudpuppy.

From the cool chalk board posters to the magnetic puzzle kits, I am totally smitten with this fabulous brand. And as luck would have it, I won a very generous prize kit from Mudpuppy as part of the evening’s raffle. Though I’m unlucky in so many other aspects, somehow, my luck balances out whenever I attend Momtrends’ events. So, thank you to the Momtrends team and to Mudpuppy for this awesome prize kit! After sharing a separate review on the products, I will be making a donation to the children’s hospital for kids to enjoy while receiving treatment.

Thank you, as always, to the Momtrends team for including me in such a lovely event. It’s always an honor to be included with so many smart and savvy women! Be on the lookout for more thorough reviews of more products spotted at the Holiday Soiree!

Summer Reading Fun with PBS Kids

August 5, 2015 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Like so many of you, our summer has been an endless list of outdoor fun. Between summer sports and fun at the lake, we’ve rarely had time to sit in and veg in front of the tv. Before we start our day, however, I tend to do some work and let Biggie enjoy some unstructured play and reading time. Before any screen time, he has to read or create something for at least 30 minutes. So far, we’ve read a Ronald Dahl book and worked on the latest Wimpy Kid book.

Our friends at PBS Kids are always encouraging educational fun. In fact, for this summer’s reading initiative, they sent us a kit to have a little reading party with friends. Since we’re all about integrating reading in our day, we happily obliged, and had some friends over for a dessert reading party!

In addition to our desserts, we all hung out and shared our love of books. The older kids had fun reading to the younger kids and the younger kids loved telling fun stories to the older kids. We chatted about what makes reading so fun, and also what kinds of books catch our eyes.

In honor of the reading party, PBS Kids sent us fun goodies to share with our guests. We loved sharing bookmarks, reading charts, badges, booklets, and yes, even books! Harper Collins sent over a selection of I Can Read books, which were perfect for my soon-to-be 2nd grader and our young reading friends. I loved that so many favorite books were included, such as Fancy Nancy and Amelia Bedelia!

Beyond the party, our friends have been loving keeping track of their reading time and sharing what books they’ve loved. We’re well on our way to finishing our new I Can Read favorites and reading aloud to little bro!

A big thank you to PBS Kids for sending us supplies to host our Summer Reading Party. We loved sharing the reading fun with our friends! For more information about PBS Reading programs, be sure to check them out online.

Full disclosure: As a PBS Kids VIP, I was sent supplies to host a summer reading party. As always, all opinions on NKT are our own.

2014 Holiday Gift Guide Sneak Peek

October 20, 2014 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

And because Christmas is just two months away, I’m reluctantly, but excitedly looking ahead to the holidays. Actually, I’ve been thinking about the holidays since the summer because of all of the holiday press previews. I’m finally organizing my thoughts and ideas for this year’s holiday guide. As in years past, I will be categorizing my guide, starting age and possibly by theme. So, as a fun preview, here’s a sneak peek of The Next Kid Thing Holiday Gift Guide, babies and toddler edition.

NKTBabygiftguide14 The items feature above have been included in NKT at one point or another. Here’s a round up of just a few of the items I’ll be featuring in our gift guide:

Starting with the Stokke Steps, babies and tots can grow with this sleek seating system.
The Jack Spade/Kate Spade for Gap collaboration has my heart all aflutter, so I couldn’t help but include the fun blue oxford and striking red ballet flats with a gift bow detail at the bottom right.
Feeding gear and other practical baby items are among some of my personal favorite stocking stuffers and add-on gifts. As always, Tommee Tippee keeps it cool with these sweet section plates and Truly Spill Proof Straw Cups.
Stride Rite’s Isaiah Motion will keep the kids on their toes for the holidays.
Aden + Anais will forever be one of my go-to baby gifts because of its versatility and sustainability. liam the brave sweet dream gift set would double as a gift for mama and babe.
When it comes to classic kid powered toys, Melissa and Doug can do no wrong. Throw some pancakes into the mix, Melissa and Doug’s delicious playset is certain to be a toddler must-have.
Kitchen sets are a favorite when it comes to toddler big ticket gifts. Plan Toys’ newly redesigned kitchen set keeps its same small footprint and sustainable design, while showcasing its modern aesthetics.
And, perhaps some of my favorite baby board books to date, Baby Lit turns classic literature into baby board books. With fantastic imagery and graphics, simple one-word story lines, these line of books are perfect baby (or rather, parent) gifts for classic lit aficionados or English Majors like yours truly.

Stay tuned for more holiday gift ideas to come!

Review: Disney Boys’ Book of Fun and Boy Stuff-Paper Planes

August 15, 2014 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

In between road trips and time at the beach, we’ve been reading quite a bit this summer. My soon-to-be first grader absolutely enjoys reading everything in sight, so it’s been quite fitting to be a part of Parragon’s Book Buddies program.

Last month’s Book Buddy titles included Disney Boys’ Book of Fun and Boy Stuff- Paper Planes. Both books were perfect for my six year old to bring along on our road trip to Va to my high school reunion. The books kept him entertained for most of the seven hour trip. He loved flipping through the different planes and learning how to perfect his craft.

Disney Boys’ Book of Fun is a beautiful hardcover book filled with colorful pages of beloved boy-centric characters. From Mickey and pals to Lightning McQueen to Buzz, this deluxe activity book is geared to boys who appreciate reading, doing mazes, drawing and doing puzzles.

Each page is a different activity that keeps kids engaged and unplugged. My son, who has recently discovered the joy of comic books, loves the different comic-style pages included in the book. I love how comics teach kids the importance of story sequence, something that’s of importance for young, eager readers. Another feature that I absolutely loved is the different games that can be played just like a board game. Again, so perfect for traveling or simply unplugging at home.

Boy Stuff-Paper Planes is yet another relevant title for my young reader. This book helps kids to make cool paper airplanes with simplified templates. This kit includes a book with instructions on how to fold 25 different airplanes, a pad of pre-printed templates and a variety of stickers to decorate the planes. The planes range from standard rockets to Birds of Prey to Robots—you name it, this book covers it. My son loved how practically everything is included for handcrafting a fleet of super cool paper planes. The only thing we were missing were scissors for several of the templates. This kit is absolutely perfect for any kit who appreciates the art of making and flying paper planes.

Full disclosure: These books were provided to facilitate this review. As always, all opinions on NKT are my own. Affiliate links are included above.

Parragon Books Makes Summer Reading Fun

July 22, 2014 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

It’s an exciting time in our house these days. Not only are we having fun being outdoors all day, but we’re enjoying our downtime with reading. My older son is reading fluently now, in time for First Grade in a few weeks. He’s at that cool/funny phase where he’s spelling everything—his answers to questions, all the signs he reads and even the things he’s thinking about out loud. It’s both hilarious and borderline a-n-n-o-y-i-n-g.

Just in time for this special time of further cultivating my book lovers, we were asked to join a fun program with Parragon Books. Parragon Books has a cool Book Buddies program where a select group of bloggers read and review their titles.

For June, we had a great time checking out Stickersaurus and Discovery Kids 1000 Strange but True Animal Facts.

Stickersaurus is a quirky novelty book that has hundreds of dinosaur stickers and pullout pages. With the stickers and word bubbles, it has a comic book feel. I especially love the thick pages, which makes the application and re-application of stickers easy and fun. Stickersaurus not only encourages imagination and creativity, but it reinforces story creation and story sequence. It’s ideal for ages five and up.

Discovery Kids 1000 Strange but True Animal Facts is perfect for curious animal lovers. As a kid, I loved books with lists and fragmented thoughts, so books like these would keep me occupied for hours. I love how the book is full of education and eye-catching lists. Most of the facts are weird facts that I never knew, but ones the big kid and I enjoyed poring over on a rainy day.

We loved checking out these great books and can’t wait to read even more fun titles from Parragon!

Oscar Buzz: The Wizard of Oz Tribute + First Look at Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return

March 2, 2014March 2, 2014 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

At the Oscars tonight, The Wizard of Oz will be honored by Judy Garland’s three children: Liza Minnelli, Lorna Luft and Joey Luft. It’s been 75 years since the classic made its debut, and it’s time for a new generation to be introduced to Dorothy’s picturesque adventure down the yellow brick road.

Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz trailer

Perfect timing for new movie buzz, as the trailer for Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return is set to debut during the Oscars. The all-star cast to this classic story with the twist includes Lea Michele, Dan Aykroyd, Jim Belushi, Kelsey Grammar, Patrick Stewart, Bernadette Peters, Martin Short, Oliver Platt, Hugh Dancy and Megan Hilty.

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In addition to planned Oz themed TV shows, films and Oscar tribute, Roger Stanton Baum’s (L. Frank Baum’s great-grandson) books are the inspiration for this new 3D-animated musical Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return, which is set to release on May 9, 2014.

The trailer can be viewed here.

And with a new movie, that must mean new toys!

While at Toy Fair, I actually first heard about Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return while touring the Bandai booth. The pr rep breezed through this part of the tour; however, it was truly one of the most interesting toys they were showcasing. From the toys, especially the dolls, you can really get a feel for Dorothy’s Return. Dorothy’s crew looks more modern, more vibrant and will, no doubt, be more commercial. As much as I love Wizard of Oz, the thought of this new animated feature is starting to growing on me.

Christmas books and instilling family traditions

December 24, 2013 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Christmas brings with it a myriad of traditions and nostalgia. Perhaps my favorite traditions are reading Christmas-themed stories with my brothers and fully divulging into the Christmas spirit through festive stories.

I’ve tried to instill this fabulous tradition with my boys by reading stories with them throughout the season. I recently received two new books that are worthy of adding to our library and Christmas tradition. The Magic Christmas Key and My Snowman and Me, both from Pine Tree Publishing embody the beauty of the season and all that I hope to share with my kids.

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The Magic Christmas Key by Leeann Smith is about Andy’s adventures with a magic key, which his grandfather gave to him for safekeeping. With this key, Andy learns about Christmas and Santa and the magic of believe firsthand. In the story, the key finds its way into the wrong hands, but with his bravery and courage, Andy’s adventures lead him to the big guy in red himself.

This is a beautiful and well-written book that keeps kids engaged in the Christmas spirit. For younger kids, it’s a special book that can be read over a course of a few days. And for older kids and families, it’s well worth sitting and reading together. The beautiful metal key that comes in the book set is a fun tactile extension of the book that kept my kids intrigued. There’s so much beauty and mystery with a beautiful Christmas key, and one worth sharing.

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My Snowman and Me by Leeann Smith also comes in a fun gift set, complete with a stuffed and detachable snowman. This story is an easy read, and totally appropriate for that first snowfall, or if you’re lucky, a white Christmas. This is such a cute, fun read that teaches kids the magic of building a snowman, and that despite him going away because of warmer weather, the snowman will always be back when it snows. The end of the book has a great way to engage kids even further and to capture memories for days to come.

Kidz Vuz Holiday House Party Highlights

December 13, 2013 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

A couple of weeks ago, Biggie and I had a much-needed mom and J day. But it wasn’t just a regular day out, it was a day well spent getting our hands on some of the best gear for tweens.

Though J is a few years away from the official tween stage, we were in great company at the Kidz Vuz Holiday Party. In case you’re not familiar, Kidz Vuz is a safe online hub where tweens gather to dish and disseminate their thoughts on any and everything, including the latest gadgets and gear.

The Kidz Vuz Holiday Party, held at Gary’s Loft just footsteps away from the hustle and bustle of Herald’s Square, was abuzz with a slew of tween-appropriate goodies. From tablets to gaming consoles to books to broadway, The Kidz Vuz House Holiday Party had everyone covered.

Here are some highlights of the wonderful day we had at the House Party of the season:

Samsung

Samsung was front and center showcasing their Galaxy Tab 3 Kids 7.0. Just as the name suggests, this 7 inch tablet is geared to kids and packs a punch in a colorful little package. Heavy on the parental controls, this wi-fi enabled tablet allows kids a safer, yet simple interface. There’s also a standard mode so parents can use the tablet as a fully functioning tablet.

I didn’t get that much time with this cool device, but I was quite impressed with this kid-friendly tablet. My only reluctance about this device is the yellow and orange, which, for us, wouldn’t be as appealing in a year. At just six years old, my older son is already turned off by electronics or “babyish” devices. We’ll group him into the spoiled Apple generation.

Nintendo
We didn’t spend much time at the Nintendo Lounge, but it was quite the hotbed for the tweens and teens, which meant the target audience was satisfied. We did, however, have a chance to check out a few of the Nintendo DS games, which were fun. Unfortunately, we’re not a big DS family since we mostly co-play on our XBox and PS3 and J prefers the iPad to a DS. Nevertheless, I always enjoy Nintendo’s expansive offerings on their various platforms.

Spinmaster

J spent almost the entire afternoon at Spinmaster’s nook. He was immediately drawn to the Tenkai Knights building sets. Along with several other dudes, J built creation after creation until he could build no more.
We are longtime Spinmaster fans, so we have been testing out the other toys they had on display. I loved seeing how my favorites, Kawaii Krush and Zoomer, were well-loved. Tenkai Knights have firm placement on our Christmas list.

Hasbro

Hasbro, another longtime favorite of ours, had several fun toys for the kids to explore. The most popular of the Hasbro corner, though, was definitely the Rebelle shooting range. This fun extension of Nerf includes the Heartbreaker, Guardian, Sweet Revenge and Pink Cross.

À la Katniss from Hunger Games, the Rebelle Heartbreaker underscores the popularity of archery, especially for our fearless females. Make no mistake though, plenty of boys were giving the gear a spin for themselves.

The Furby Boom, which is looking like a hot item this holiday season, was also a featured product from Hasbro. This new take on the quirky character is interactive via an app, is responsive and loves to dance. This latest iteration of Furby is much more vibrant (if that’s even possible) and has more flair than ever.

Downtown Bookworks

This fun children’s publishing company had a selection of superhero books that made quite an impression on us. With board books featuring DC Superheroes, such as: DC Superheroes, ABC 123 and My First Batman Book, this publisher has numerous titles that would make our littlest superhero fan stand proud.

But it was The Official DC Super Hero Cookbook that kept my biggest superhero fan completely engaged. I love that this book combines two of our loves: superheroes and cooking. The Downtown Bookworks table let the kids decorate their own superhero cookies with a stencil. J made his own Flash cookie, which we devoured on the bus on the way home. By the way? This Wonder Woman apron was EVERYTHING!

Green Mustache Smoothies

One of my favorites of the day was Green Mustache Smoothies. Created by a mom of a picky kid, these smoothies are made with a full serving of greens and fruits. It’s non-GMO, organic and tastes amazing. My younger guy is showing picky tendencies or textural issues, but he absolutely LOVED these smoothies.

We normally buy another brand of smoothies, but after tasting these, we are sold. In fact, I’m headed out today to pick up a few flavors at our closest store, which is 20 miles away. I will be dropping off an info sheet at my local organic store, in hopes they pick this product up.

Chloe’s Fruit

Chloe’s Fruit was another delicious treat, this time featuring frozen fruit. With quite a few flavors to choose from, I can see myself choosing this delicious treat over Tasti d-lite anyway.

The Lamp NYC

The Lamp NYC is an organization described by NYCcharities.org as an organization that educates and equips people to shape the media landscape through hands-on training. The Lamp NYC teaches young, impressionable minds about news, reporting, commercials, digital media and more. The purpose of this charity is to immerse kids head-on with the different types of media that shapes our ever-evolving informational landscape. I love the purpose and meaning of this charity, and it’s one that I hope to get my kids involved in, when the time is right.

Kids’ Night on Broadway

Kids’ Night on Broadway takes place on Feb. 24- March 2. For this program, kids 6-18 see a Broadway show for free with a full-paying adult. Tickets go on sale on January 8th for this fabulous experience that gives kids a taste of culture as well as a peek behind the scenes during a fan festival. This is definitely something I’m hoping we can take part in, so I’ll be penciling in the dates now!

Stonefire Flatbreads

Lunch was catered in part by Stonefire Flatbreads. J and I ate some delicious sandwiches made with these amazing breads. These are the fluffiest flatbreads and pitas I’d ever tasted. Seriously, so fluffy and filling! A big thanks to Stonefire for introducing me to a new family staple.

Homewood Suites

One of our absolute favorite places to stay when we’re on the road is most definitely Homewood Suites. In fact, during Hurricane Sandy last year, we had a family member who was staying at a local Homewood Suites and we had the opportunity to stay there for a week. We had the chance to experience the great complimentary weekday meals, fabulous indoor pool and impeccable service. Whether traveling for business or with family on vacation, we personally seek out the comfort and convenience of establishments such as Homewood Suites.

Dermalogica

I had the opportunity to get my face mapped while at the Kidz Vuz House Party. The well-versed aesthetician told me things about my skin that I had no idea about, such as I could still have acne prone skin and it still be dehydrated. I also learned a bit about the Dermalogica’s teen line, which is more concentrated for problem skin that is often brought about during those hormonal teenage years.

Justin Case

Kidz Vuz had a lovely raffle going towards Lamp, which I was more than happy to make a contribution. As luck would have it, I won a fabulous Justin Case Rechargeable Power Case from Innovative Technologies, which is a back up battery and iPad case all in one. I read all about it on NYTimes.com, so I’m quite excited about this win!

A big thank you and congrats to my friends Rebecca and Nancy of Kidz Vuz. I attend a lot of events throughout the year, and this was, by far, one of the most well-organized and informative events where my kid and I both came away with a lot of great information and fun goodies to boot.

Full disclosure: I was not compensated, although I did receive a generous swag bag from the event. As always, all opinions on NKT are my own.