We have all heard about the benefits of fish oil in our diets. Fish oil contains Omega-3 fatty acids of which eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and decosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and the most important. These acids are believed to have many health benefits including keeping the heart health and improving mental function. But what do you do if your kids won’t eat fish?
Ascenta has recently introduced NutraSea Kids, a pharmaceutical quality fish oil with a balanced EPA/DHA ratio. This food supplement can be taken daily and is for children ages 2-13. NutraSea is a berry flavor liquid. If your child has fish allergies, they should contact a physician before using the product.
I was sent two bottles of NutraSea: NutraSea Kids and NutraSea +D. My son tried the NutraSea Kids and found it to be ok. The berry flavor was good, but the liquid is a little oily. I tried the NutraSea +D and found the flavor a little fishy and it was oily as well. I thought that it was tolerable though and I will take it again. I just need to make sure to drink water afterward. I don’t like fish at all so the fishy taste was probably heightened for me, but since I don’t get fish in my diet, I think this is a good alternative.
I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of NutraSea Kids campaign and received NutraSea samples to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.
Yesterday was the first day of school! My kids were not that excited to go back. My high school daughter found that here schedule was completely wrong, my 2nd grader got “yelled” at, but my middle daughter LOVED here first day of middle school. She has some of the same teachers that my older daughter loved and I think it is going to be a great year for her.
Now I get to work on all my new projects. Painting the kids rooms (one done, two to go). Installing new Elkay sinks or something similar in the upstairs bathroom. Organizing all my crafting supplies. Planning a birthday party for my daughter that was supposed to take place in July. Getting up to date with my blog and other businesses. I think I will be busy for quite a long time!
Once every week, we have a family night. We try to come up with different ideas to keep everyone interested. Since I have three children that range in age from 16 to 7, that is sometimes difficult to do. Here are my five favorite family time ideas:
One of the new games that my son has been begging me to buy is Minotaurus by Lego. These new games come with Lego blocks where you actually help build the game. He loves Legos and this game looks great for all ages!
I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and LEGO blogging program, making me eligible to get a prize pack. For more information on how you can participate, click here.
This summer, our family took a long three week vacation. With three kids, this can lead to fighting, teasing and tears. Fortunately, this happened rarely. Instead I was amazed how my kids helped each other and loved each other on this trip. When I saw this picture, it made me contemplate how sweet life can be!
Talking about sweet moments, have you tried the new Strawberry Milano cookies! Yum! Right now they are offering a $1.00 off coupon and you can get even more specials and discounts on the Pepperidge Farm Milano Facebook page.
I have always loved the Milano cookies (Mint being one of my favorites), but these new Strawberry Milano cookies are at the top of my list now.
If you have a teen, you may have heard of a new alternative retro-pop band that is becoming quite popular – Never Shout Never. I have heard their single What is Love and I really liked it. Their debut album, Harmony, was just released last week and fans are super excited because you can get the album for 50% OFF until Saturday, August 28th at your local Target Store. The price is just $7.99. That is about two dollars cheaper than iTunes.
You can listen to some of their songs on their YouTube channel. After letting my teen and tween daughters listen to their music they are insisting that I run out and get them the CD! They also have tour dates coming up, see if you can find a city near you that is hosting Never Shout Never!
Oct 19 2010 The Showbox @ The Market Seattle, WA
Oct 20 2010 Wonder Ballroom Portland, OR
Oct 22 2010 The Grand Ballroom @ The Regency San Francisco, CA
Oct 23 2010 House of Blues Anaheim, CA
Oct 24 2010 House of Blues San Diego, CA
Oct 26 2010 The Wiltern Los Angeles, CA
Oct 28 2010 Marquee Theatre Tempe, AZ
Oct 30 2010 La Zona Rosa Austin, TX
Oct 31 2010 Cain’s Ballroom Tulsa, OK
Nov 2 2010 House Of Blues Houston, TX
Nov 3 2010 House Of Blues Dallas, TX
Nov 5 2010 House Of Blues Orlando, FL
Nov 6 2010 The Ritz Tampa. FL
Nov 7 2010 Revolution Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Nov 9 2010 Center Stage Atlanta, GA
Nov 10 2010 Lincoln Theatre Raleigh, NC
Nov 11 2010 The National Richmond, VA
Nov 12 2010 Rams Head Live Baltimore, MD
Nov 13 2010 Theatre Of The Living Arts Philadelphia, PA
Nov 14 2010 Theatre Of The Living Arts Philadelphia, PA
Nov 16 2010 Webster Theatre Hartford, CT
Nov 17 2010 House of Blues Boston, MA
Nov 18 2010 Nokia Theatre Times Square New York, NY
Nov 19 2010 Paramount Theatre Asbury Park, NJ
Nov 20 2010 Crocodille Rock Cafe Allentown, PA
Nov 21 2010 Club Zoo Pittsburgh, PA
Nov 23 2010 House of Blues Cleveland, OH
Nov 24 2010 Clutch Cargo’s Pontiac, MI
Nov 26 2010 The Rave Milwaukee, WI
Nov 27 2010 House of Blues Chicago, IL
My daughter had her first day of soccer tryouts today. Fortunately, the weather is cool and it even rained a little. The rest of the week, though, will be hot and muggy. I make sure that my daughter has enough water and Gatorade to keep her hydrated at tryouts and practices.
Gatorade is promoting its “Beat the Heat” campaign to educate parents, coaches and athletes about heat related illnesses. They are also stressing the importance of hydration and proper nutrition before, during and after practices and workouts. Gatorade has partnered with the NFL to help raise funds for two organizations dedicated to preventing heat-related illnesses – the Korey Stringer Institute (KSI) and the Kendrick Fincher Memorial Foundation (KFMF).
You can download the Gatorade Heat Safety Kit at www.nfl.com/trainingcamp. The kit will help parents, coaches and athletes about heat related illnesses and how to prevent them. For each download of the kit, Gatorade will donate $1 to Beat the Heat charities.
The Kit gives helpful tips that are very useful. For example, sports drinks help replace electrolytes, especially sodium lost in sweat. It is very important to hydrate during practice AND also before and after.
If you have a child involved in sports or any other outdoor activities, take a moment to download the useful information and read through the tips. This information could save your child’s life.
I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Gatorade’s “Beat the Heat” campaign and received Gatorade samples to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.
To me, vacationing is all about family. Each year we try and get together with some of our extended family and spend time together. Since all of my family lives across the country, this can be difficult. When my sister told me that she and her family would be willing to travel out east to visit us next summer, the first thought that popped into my head was Outer Banks, North Carolina. This is one place that both of us have been dreaming of vacationing. The Outer Banks is a 200 mile long string of narrow barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina.
I thought it would be a good idea to “envision” my family at the Outer Banks. Can you find my family members in the beautiful Outer Banks pictures?
The Outer Banks is a great place for a fun, family vacation. There are plenty of Outer Banks rentals and Carolina Designs is a good place to start. Take a look at this beautiful house that is available for rent. This Seahawk rental is close to the beach and includes two master suites and a lower lever game room. Plus there is a Private Pool, Hot Tub, 10 TVs and more!
The great thing about the Outer Banks is there is plenty to do. If you love gardens, visit the Elizabethan Garden. This 16th century garden was created by The Garden Club of North Carolina has a living memorial to the lost colonists. There is a thatched gazebo, herb garden and sunken gardens.
If you love history, you have to visit the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills. This is the site of the first controlled power flight that took place on December 13, 1903. The Visitor Center features full-scale reproductions of the Wright 1903 Powered Flyer and there are special exhibits. The grounds have historical markers of each attempted flight and a replica of camp buildings.
Who doesn’t love lighthouses? There are five different lighthouse to visit. The lighthouse pictured here, Cape Hatteras, is also known as America’s Lighthouse. It is the tallest lighthouse at 208 feet. The lighthouse was built in 1870 and used whale oil and then kerosene to light the lamp until 1934 when electricity was introduced.
And of course, my favorite, are the beaches and sand dunes. We could spend days at the beach, playing in the sand, building sand castles and swimming in the water. There are miles of seashores, wildlife refuges, ecological parks and state parks. All with the wonders of North Carolina nature. If you love to fish, there are public fishing piers where you can reel in the big one!
The Outer Banks is a great place to vacation! Hopefully, this will be the place that my family and I get to experience next year.
PS – Did you find my kids in the pictures? I hope you had a a fun time looking for them!
One of the places we visited on our three week vacation was Yosemite. We love going here. When I was little, this is one of the places that we would frequent on our vacations so it brings back a lot of memories. Living in New Jersey, I had forgotten how dark it gets at night with out all the buildings and streetlights. Good thing we had a few led flashlights to light our way.
My kids favorite part of vacation was the river that was only a couple hundred feet from the house we rented. In the heat of the afternoon, they would head down and take a dip in the cool waters. The river was not very deep at all and we could see them happily playing from the balcony. I only wish that we had stayed a few extra days!
I have been debating about getting a smart phone. I just hate to pay the data charges every month, but they are so convenient. I know I don’t want to get an iPhone, since I want my carrier to remain with Verizon. But other than that, I don’t know which one would be better. Do you have a smart phone? Do you like it?
If you have a young son or daughter who love Star Wars, you MUST attend the Jedi Training Academy at Disneyland or Disney World. I wish that I had read up on some camcorder reviews before my trip and bought a new camcorder. While my camera is good at taking pictures, sometimes the video is not a good as I would like.
Make sure to arrive early and have your child sit in the front. If both Darth Vader and Darth Maul show up they pick about 20-30 kids to participate. If only Darth Vader is available, your chances of getting chosen are a lot lower since they only pick about a dozen kids. Pick a good area to stand if you want to film you child. There are a lot of parents with video cameras hoping to get a good shot of their child.
Fortunately, my son was picked the first time we attended. He was so excited. They give you a robe and a light saber and teach you the basics of Jedi Knight defense (never fighting!). Save room on your camcorder since the big thing you want to record is the actual fight (opps defense) against Darth Vader!
After the event, each new Padawan receives a certificate! Please make sure that your child knows that he or she may NOT be chosen. My nephew went three times and was not chosen. It seems that they pick children between the ages of 4 and 8 the most. This is a MUST on any Disney itinerary.
One mama duck raising three little ducklings! Join me as I find a balance in life, review great products, host giveaways and talk about living and raising kids in New Jersey!
