Back to School and Football Shopping at Sports Authority

October 5, 2015November 13, 2015 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

When it comes to outfitting the kids for back to school, we entered a new frontier this year. Not only was it Biggie’s first year in public school (hello, regular clothes), but we also had 2 kids to buy new clothes for this year! We have our perennial favorite clothing stores, but I love being able to hit stores like Sports Authority to pick up clothes and sports gear.

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A few weeks ago, we hit our local Sports Authority to grab some shorts, athletic wear, some new Mets paraphernalia (Yay for clinching the NL East!) and of course, some football gear. I followed J as he made some important gear decisions and picked out some cool new duds for school.

We came home with a varied list of gear—actually more than we were anticipating. That’s what I love about Sports Authority, though: you can find a great deal for everyone in the family. I personally grabbed a few new Mets shirts that were on clearance and a new hat for the Littles. I got a kick out of J’s proud purchase of Big League Chew! ha!

Full disclosure: I received a gift card to share my shopping experience at Sports Authority. As always, opinions on NKT are my own.

Fun with Educational Insights: Crowded Waters and Hot Dots Tots

October 1, 2015 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

When it comes to fun new toys, we’re always game to check them out. Educational Insights sent us a few toys a few weeks ago and we’ve been having fun with them.

Hot Dots Tots

I was first introduced to Hot Dots Tots at Toy Fair a few years ago and I was immediately smitten. These interactive books come in a variety of themes and are ideal for early and beginner readers.

We received the Animals version of Hot Dots Tots, which was suited my toddler perfectly. Elliott, The Musical Teaching Bear, makes these fun book engaging and fun to navigate. The reading tool, Elliott, is powered by 2 AAA batteries, which are inserted in the head and secured with a plate that is screwed in.

I liked how the book asks questions and encourages problem-solving and reinforces healthy reading habits for young and eager readers. My 3 year old loves reading conventional books, so was very intrigued when using Elliot with his Hot Dots Tots books. We can’t wait to get more books to build our library.

Crowded Waters

As Shark Week and Sharknado fanatics, we were thrilled to have a chance to play with Crowded Waters.

This strategy game is ideal for older kids who are able to insert logic and strategy into gameplay. The board game has a board that mimics the sea with spaces to insert game pieces. Players get to choose their color and then go on to strategize their path to stay afloat in the game.

Admittedly, this game was hard to understand at first, but once we re-read the instructions, we caught on. I like that this game makes kids think, but isn’t an intensive game where kids may lose interest. This is definitely a new mainstay for game night!

Full disclosure: I received the games to facilitate this review. As always, all opinions on NKT are mine.

Toca Boca Celebrates Major Milestone

September 16, 2015September 25, 2015 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

If they’re on the iPad or my phone, at any given moment one of my kids is probably playing a Toca Boca app. Like so many others, we are obsessed with these fun and interactive apps. This is one of Little’s latest creations from just yesterday! I love finding crazy hair dos or concoctions in my photo stream!

Whether it’s crafting the craziest ‘do in Toca Boca’s Hair Salon or cooking it up in Toca Kitchen, my kids can’t get enough of these great apps—it’s no wonder that they’re the number 1 mobile-first kids’ brand in the App Store.

On Tuesday, the beloved developer just hit a mega milestone with a 100 million downloads across their 28 apps! Check out this infograph they created to document all those downloads!

Toca Boca Celebrates 100M Downloads

Congrats, Toca Boca! Here’s to a million more! To download any of the classic or latest Toca Boca apps, be sure to head to the App store!

#ParentOn with Tommee Tippee

September 9, 2015 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

The absolute best parenting advice I’ve ever received was from a family member almost 8 years ago. “Always trust your instincts,” they told me. So, whenever I’m second-guessing myself, whether it comes to feeding, disciplining or normal day-to-day parenting, I always think about that tidbit advice.

Our friends at Tommee Tippee are heralding this same advice with their #ParentOn campaign. #ParentOn encourages parents to ignore the unsolicited advice they may receive, trust their instincts and embrace all of the perfectly imperfect parenting moments as their children grow!

Mother s Instinct 2

In honor of my bigger guy turning 8 in a few weeks, I thought I’d share a parenting moment that we recently had:

Went to our local ice cream shop to celebrate the first day of school. My 7 year old asked for a cone, told him to get a kiddie cup. Against my better judgement, I got him the cone. And we received a generous small scoop. Told kid to lick it so that it doesn’t fall off. Ice cream fell off. Scolded him quietly, and thought it would be a good teaching moment. Had him look at the numbers to see how long the wait would be. It was about 25 numbers back. I told him there is always a next time.

There was a teenager standing near us who watched our whole ordeal go down. As we were getting ready to leave, she handed us her ticket that was a few numbers away. She felt so bad for my kid and insisted that we have her ticket. I felt obligated to buy my kid a replacement ice cream bc of the gesture. So, I went up to buy a kiddie cup and the person who originally served me our ice cream noticed me and joked, “more ice cream?” I sighed and said, “of course my kid dropped his after a few licks.” The owners would not let me pay for my replacement after I offered several times. Instead, I paid it forward and paid for the young lady who gave us her ticket.

Originally, the teaching moment for my kid was to show him that life isn’t always fair, and that you have to deal with the consequences. But after a series of kind gestures from the young lady and then ice cream shop, the teaching moment underscored generosity and how we live in a fantastic community.

Sometimes, it’s more than just teaching a lesson and letting kids be kids. Mistakes happen and life carries on. I’m so glad I was able to learn and #ParentOn!

Giveaway

In honor of Tommee Tippee’s #ParentOn campaign, we’re giving away a set of Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Bottles. If you could use some new bottles, tell me about a recent #ParentOn moment that you had.

TT3

Going Back to School with Target

September 8, 2015 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

The other week, I had the pleasure of attending a back to school event hosted by Target. The event highlighted great back to school gear and cool new styles that the retailer is featuring this season.

As a lunchbox fanatic, I was thrilled that model, actress and mom of 3, Camila Alves was onhand to personally share lunchbox tips!

For those of you in the throes of back to school shopping, Target had several tips to offer that I’d love to share:

School supplies
DIY notebooks, markers, stickers and washi tape to add a personal touch

One of the biggest trends in back to school supplies is personalization. Graphics are always awesome, but kids can truly make their gear unique with vibrant stickers and washi tape.

Backpacks & lunch bags
Target has some cool new gear that’s worth checking out. The Eco-friendly Embark Backpacks, Embark Crush Resistant Lunch Bags and Circo Light up Backpacks

While I love and am now carrying around the Embark Crush Resistant Lunch Bag as my kids’ drink container these last few days of summer, it was that light up backpack from Circo that really caught my eye!

I love that it can be switched on and off, unlike those flashing sneakers that always blind me. I thought this was a cool feature that could double as a safety feature when out at night!

Lunch items
Market Pantry and Simply Balanced products to make back-to-school snacks easy peasy.

Truth be told, one of the main reasons almost everything I own is bought at Target is because I can get all of my shopping done under one roof! And that goes for lunch box supplies. I appreciate that Target has organic and inexpensive drinks and snacks to fill the kids’ lunch boxes. Even better, Camila shared several amazing recipes to make back-to-school snacks even more delicious!

Kids’ Fashion
From Stevie’s Shoes to the new stretchy denim assortment to plaid—lots of plaid, Target has all of the best trends in stock at reasonable prices.

Styles from my teenage years are back: moto boots, mixed patterns and plaid consumed me in the early 90s, so it’s fun to see them back on racks as my kids start school. I loved that Target had talented kid dancers at the event showcasing the stretchy jeans. With two very active boys and one who would rather see my kids in clothing other than athletic gear, I appreciate jeans and styles for active kids!

And leave it up to Target to make school shopping totally seamless. Target’s new tool: School List Assist. The tool, which is in beta, is a curated assortment of the most common K-8 supplies on the list making it quick and easy for guests to find what they need. With a few clicks, you can purchase the supplies you might need and pick them up in store or have them shipped to home. For those of us who are still traveling and soaking up every last minute of summer, School List Assist sounds like it’s key in the time managment assistance department!

Be sure to check out your local for the latest deals for back to school gear and supplies. And don’t forget to match and stack deals with your Cartwheel App!

Back to School Shopping Tips at The Mills at Jersey Gardens

August 27, 2015August 27, 2015 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

I take my shopping very seriously, and that goes for our back-to-school shopping! So, imagine the elation when I learned that one of my blogging pals was going to be a featured speaker at a back-to-school luncheon hosted by my absolute favorite outlet mall in NJ. 10915046 10153528552209972 238288810995648385 o
Last week, The Mills at Jersey Gardens hosted a power lunch and featured lifestyle blogger and fashion trendspotter, Corine Ingrassia of Complicated Mama, and consumer and money-saving expert, Andrea Woroch. Together with several fellow NJ influencers, I got a guided tour and some Insider tips from The Mills at Jersey Gardens, as well as some great fashion and savings tips from the experts.

Since we’re all about spotting the hottest trends while saving some money, I thought I’d share some great insight from the experts.

Back to School style tips from Corine Ingrassia:

Plan to layer- Think: cardigans paired with swing dresses, hoodies peeking through denim or leather moto jackets, crop tops over chambray button downs

Layering allows you to mix, match and stretch some of your kid’s favorite summer styles long into fall.

Choose quality over quantity

While we all love a good bargain—ultimately—with all the wear and tear kids give their clothes, we need them to last. Look for sales on brands you know will last the long haul.

Know your kid’s personal style

When kids are little we have more to say in what they wear, but as they reach the tween years, they develop their own sense of style (for better or for worse).

Top trends for 2015 BTS:

Mix and match prints

Jogger pants

flannel, florals, moto/chunky ankle boots, just like the 90s!

Neon is still holding strong

Textures and prints

Slip-ons are top picks for kids: ballet flats, vans, Nike Roshe Runs, Bobs, ankle boots and moto boots

According to NRF’s Back-to-School Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, the average family with children in grades K-12 plans to spend $630.36 on electronics, apparel and other school needs, down from $669.28 last year. As for where consumers will finish their shopping, discount stores will see the most traffic (53.4%), while 46.8 percent will shop at department stores.

Money Saving Tips for BTS Shopping from Andrea Woroch

Andrea Woroch had some excellent tips on saving money while back to school shopping at The Mills at Jersey Gardens.

List and plan: always devise a plan when heading to any outlet mall.

Research deals in advance

Hold out for Holidays: While outlet centers offer discounts of 30-40% on clothing throughout the year, the best time to shop for serious savings is over holiday weekends like upcoming Labor Day when you can expect deals to be as big as 70% off.

Look for coupons, including the coupon book that you can buy at the mall.

Pay with cash

Buy off-season

Review the return policy

Tips for Shopping at The Mills at Jersey Gardens from an experienced (obsessed) shopper

Having been a loyal shopper of The Mills at Jersey Gardens even before I became a parent—or a blogger for that matter—I was quite thrilled to learn several things that I didn’t know about this mall. (I had no idea about the coupon book!) I do my major shopping trips here, such as back to school and my Christmas shopping because I get the best bang for my buck. Here in the northern NJ and the NYC area where retails stores are plentiful AND top dollar, maximizing your money on name brands is a big deal, and to me, so worth the few extra miles.

When shoe shopping goes awry. #4hrsofcrazy

A photo posted by Jen Rabulan-Bertram (@jenrab) onAug 29, 2013 at 11:41am PDT

Timing: Get there early on a weekday if you can swing it. Weekends can be crowded and overwhelming, even moreso at an outlet mall for BTS time. If possible plan to spend a long time at the mall. Bargain hunting takes time! Definitely don’t shop at this mall if you’re on a time crunch because you will be late! (speaking from experience!)

Parking: I never park at a mall’s main entrance. I always park at larger store’s entrance and walk into the mall that way. I always park at Bed Bath and Beyond along the right side of The Mills. Parking doesn’t fill up as fast and it’s centrally located. I’ve been known to drop off bags to my car often because I buy so much here, so closer parking can be key!

Coupons: Like Andrea’s tips above state, be sure to look for coupons before shopping. Since I shop at this mall so often, I’m on mailing lists for most of my favorite stores. In addition to printing out coupons from online, make sure to grab those coupons from the mail. Also, check out your memberships for extra discounts. In my AAA newspaper, I found a coupon for 40% off at Reebok! Also, be sure to mark your digital coupons as favorites on your phone so you can pull it up when you check out. The mall has free wi-fi, so if you find yourself in a long line, Google “current coupons” for that store.

Six hours later, here’s our outlet shopping haul. All these for less than $100. The boys should be good on shoes for the year.

A photo posted by Jen Rabulan-Bertram (@jenrab) onAug 29, 2013 at 1:42pm PDT

Discount stores: These stores have the best selection for name brands! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve scored deals upon deals for brands that we love at this Marshalls or Saks off Fifth Avenue. We’re big into surf and skate brands; considering the demographic and popularity of these items in northern Jersey, we tend to score them on clearance racks because they’re just not that popular here.

And speaking of deals, since I finished most of my boys’ schools shopping earlier this summer, I splurged on a few items for myself for our trip to Va!

The Mills at Jersey Gardens is located at 651 Kapkowski Rd., Elizabeth, NJ 07201, a few minutes from Newark airport and right by the Turnpike and Garden State Parkway.

Full disclosure: I received a generous gift card and gift bag as part of my partnership with The Mills at Jersey Gardens. As always, all opinions are my own.

Review: PuroSound Kids’ Bluetooth Wireless Headphones

August 6, 2015October 22, 2015 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

As technology continues to evolve, as does tech specifically geared to kids. We recently had the chance to review PuroSound Kids’ Bluetooth Wireless Headphones, and it’s safe to say, we were immediately smitten with these cool headphones.

The sleek white headphones were a comfortable fit for my 7 year old, as well as for my 3 year old. The size is easily transitioned from small to bigger, with maintaining a smaller kid-size frame. I was able to try them on for size; though a bit snug for my head, they fit and I was able to listen to the excellent audio from these great headphones.

PuroSound Kids’ Bluetooth Wireless Headphones says:

We designed them especially for kids, but adults can wear them too. They have the most advanced noise limiting solution on the market and they sound great! The volume automatically limits to 85 dB, plus 82% of back ground noise is blocked. They are studio grade audio quality and have an 18 hour battery life.These headphones are amazing and kids love to wear them. We designed them especially for kids, but adults can wear them too. They have the most advanced noise limiting solution on the market and they sound great. The volume automatically limits to 85 dB, plus 82% of back ground noise is blocked. They are studio grade audio quality and have an 18 hour battery life.

As far as headphones for kids, PuroSound developed a great product. They’re aesthetically pleasing, functional, durable and a great fit for kids and tweens. My 7-year-old loved that these headphones are bluetooth-enabled. I can’t tell you how many kid headphones we’ve had to toss because the cord became dysfunctional. I appreciate that these headphones are sleek, have a longer battery life and offer a volume-limiting solution, ideal for my kid who insists on blasting his headphones.

PuroSound Kids’ Bluetooth Wireless Headphones can be found on Amazon for $79.99.

Full disclosure: we received a sample to facilitate this review. As always, opinions on NKT are my own.

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.

Highlights from the Kidz Vuz Back to School Bash

July 31, 2015 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Our friends at Kidz Vuz always know how to throw a party. And luck us, we had the chance to participate in their really cool Back to School Bash.

Held at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel, the Kidz Vuz Back to School Bash was a great mix of fun family and tween brands, many of which we already know and love. We did, however, have a chat to chat with brands or products that were definitely the epitome of The Next Kid Thing! I’ll have to do several posts about the Kidz Vuz Back to School Bash, but for now, I wanted to share some of our favorite new and upcoming things in the kid realm.

MetKids, one of my personal favorite concepts at the BTS Bash is a digital aspect made for kids, with and by kids. I was shown a cool app that kids can use in collaboration with the Met. There’s a cool app that kids can use while at the Met, as well as on its own. The features will launch soon, but I loved learning about MetKids. What a fun way to get the kids more engaged while at my favorite NYC cultural institutions!

LegoDimensions seemed to be Jack’s absolute favorite booth, considering we spent most of our afternoon there! Lego Dimensions is a new game that merges physical LEGO brick building with digital gameplay.

It will feature some of your family’s favorite brands including DC Comics, The Lord of the Rings, Scooby-Doo and The Simpsons…all in the Starter Pack! Players begin the LEGO Dimensions experience by building the LEGO minifigure heroes, LEGO Batman, LEGO Gandalf and Wyldstyle from The LEGO Movie, and fire-up the game.

Following the in-game build instructions to assemble the loose bricks, creating the LEGO Gateway and placing onto the LEGO Toy Pad to transport the characters into the game. It will be available for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation4, PlayStation3 and the Wii U system from Nintendo. On the heels of the popularity of Skylanders and Disney Infinity, we’re absolutely loving this concept and can’t wait for it to be released on September 27, which just happens to be Biggie’s birthday!

Biggie had a great time checking out Wonder Workshop. He had a chance to play around with robots, Dash and Dot and get a glimpse of the fun of coding and engage in STEM! I loved seeing all the kids control these cool robots. I even had to jump and raise my feet a few times when the robots went rogue! So fun!

We had such a great time at Kidz Vuz Back to school bash and will be sure to share more of my favorites!

SwimToday and Dara Torres Promote Swimming as #FunnestSport

June 17, 2015June 17, 2015 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

A few weeks ago, I had the distinct pleasure of joining an informative media event at the Asphalt Green for SwimToday, hosted by our friends at MomTrends. SwimToday is a joint, industry effort created to promote and grow participation in the sport of swimming. The campaign is led by USA Swimming, Arena USA, Speedo USA and TYR Sport.

Dubbed the #FunnestSport, this campaign hopes to highlight the many benefits of swimming as a sport. SwimToday and MomTrends brought together influencers to listen to Ambassador and Olympic Gold Medalist, Dara Torres, and hear several swim moms share their kids’ experience as swimmers.

Before Dara shared her experience, I enjoyed learning some benefits of swimming as shared by SwimToday:

·       It’s closer than you think – 62 percent of families live within 10 minutes of a pool; 52 percent of households with combined income of $50,000 or less report they have access to a pool nearby

·       Everyone participates – Swimming is inclusive, there are no benchwarmers (nor benches)

·       Swimming is a team sport – Only 16 percent of non-swimming parents view swimming as a team sport but parents of swimmers associate the sport with teamwork more than any other sport

·       Suit up and go – Only a swimsuit, cap and goggles are necessary to get started

·       Life skills – Swimming increases self-confidence, self-esteem, time management, goal-setting and social development

·       Easy to learn – 76 percent of parents said the ease of learning to swim was high

·       Low risk of injury – No contact makes for a safer environment

·       Swimming = total body fitness– Burn 650 calories in an hour – more than walking, biking or team sports

·       Sport for life – Once you learn to swim, you can enjoy no matter your age

·       Swimming is FUN – Parents confirm that swimming is the #FunnestSport

I appreciated the swim moms’ different perspectives about their children’s involvement as swimmers. For some, their kids love for swimming began as tots, for others, swimming opened brand new avenues and camaraderies. I enjoyed how the moms shared how swimming rounded out their kids altogether.

Dara Torres shared how her career as a swimmer didn’t always go swimmingly. In fact, there was a time she said that she didn’t always come in first. Since her youth, however, she said she worked hard and never gave up. She was constantly reinventing herself and striving to do more as a swimmer. I loved listening to her speak as a swim mom and how her career has molded her outlook as a parent. She was so down to earth and well-spoken. I think we could’ve listened to her talk longer, had there not been any time restraints.

Since we live at a lake, I’m proud to be a current swim mom. My older guy enjoys being active and participating in sports, and swimming is one of those sports that we’ve just recently added to our summer schedule.

Unlike the contact sports that he prefers, swimming is a challenge because it’s still new to him and he’s constantly competing against himself in addition to participating as a team. As the other swim moms mentioned at the SwimToday event, swimming competitively allows the kids to develop special bonds with teammates. It gives kids a chance to challenge themselves and learn how to better themselves with every lap. At 7 years old, my guy isn’t the strongest swimmer, but I appreciate his willingness to try hard and to pull through for his team.

I see us continuing to be a swimming family, especially now knowing that my younger guy loves the water. For someone who’s had so many challenges, being in the water seems to make him feel invincible. It didn’t take much for SwimToday to convince me that swimming is the #FunnestSport. We are pretty lucky to live by the water and are able to enjoy swimming almost every day in the summer!

To learn more about SwimToday and the #FunnestSport, be sure to check them out on Facebook. Head to SwimToday.org to find a swim club near you.