Garden State Discovery Museum Birthday Party

July 29, 2019 by Larisha Campbell Leave a Comment

Thinking of having a Garden State Discovery Museum birthday party? This fun South Jersey birthday party location is a great time for all littles involved! Read on to see our thoughts!

Disclosure: This Garden State Discovery Museum Birthday Party is sponsored. Thoughts and opinions are 100% our own.

I have a confession.

I was dreading this year. The closer and closer we got to November, it was like a giant pit in my stomach. We were reaching this huge milestone. Our baby girl was turning five. FIVE. How did this happen?

I feel like we were just announcing her birth a few weeks ago. No way in the world has five years gone by already. I may have cried a little bit. Y’all, she’s growing so fast and there’s nothing slowing her down.

Serenity is a bright, determined, independent, and funny little kid. I’m so blessed to have her call me mom and so grateful for the moments we have and memories created together. I know there’s not much more time before I blink again and she’s 10, then 15, then off to college.

We are trying to savor all of the time we have.

It was time for a CELEBRATION at Garden State Discovery Museum

We celebrate birthdays every year, but we don’t have parities for every birthday. We only do parties on big occasions and five is a big one. I wanted a place that we could celebrate her and the great time we’ve had together.

Garden State Discovery Museum had everything we were looking for in a party:

Themed party
Ample time in a party room with a host
Dedicated independent play time in the party facility
Clean Up done for us
and more

How the Parties Work at Garden State Discovery Museum

The celebration was all about the birthday girl, so a few weeks before her party, I showed her party choices.

They ranged from an art party to science party, princess party to pirate party. Naturally, she picked the pirate party. If you know our girl, she’s always had a fascination with pirates. It was her first Halloween costume when she was old enough to verbalize what she wanted to be and she’s loved them every since. So pirate day it was!

See our birthday video complication:

When you have a birthday party at Garden State Discovery Museum, you get an hour and a half in a private room for just your party. During this time, you can have food (by there or bring from outside), cake, open presents and anything else you have planned. This happened at the beginning of the party for us and I believe it at the beginning for all.

One of the coolest things about your time in the private room is that a special guest (a pirate in our case) arrives with fun for all. Our pirate captain brought in a bounty of treasure in her chest. Inside all the kids were invited to make pirate hats equipped with their names and own decorations. They also got tattoos and a treasure before she headed out.

In total, the pirate stayed for approximately 25 minutes.

Our hostess for the day also helped us get our food handed out, played an eye spy game, helped with the kids decorating art pieces (tablecloths) and ended our time with a birthday song and cake.

After the Party Room

After the hour and a half inside the private room, our friends were allowed to roam the Garden State Discovery Museum for themselves and see what they could discover.

I will note here that once you leave the party area to go out into the play area, the party is pretty much over. There is no way to keep your entire group together. And, while Garden State Discovery Museum isn’t a huge facility, it’s large enough that you just can’t keep everyone together.

Updated information: I did learn that you are able to rent out the entire facility. If this is an option for you, then obviously you could keep more tabs on your entire party.

There are so many play spaces set up for kids including:

theatre
art center
rock wall
sports area
dinosaur discovery
vet
diner
automobile
and more

We literally love the Garden State Discovery Museum. Our kids would play they all day every day and constantly be immersed in a new learning experience every day.

Here’s some more pictures from our fun day:

Our big girl is on to braver adventures. She’s growing before our eyes and we can’t wait to see the amazing things she accomplishes in her life. She’s a fighter and she’s going to do big thing. Our hope for her is that she never gives up, always stays true to her beliefs, and follows her own dreams and goals.

See you at Garden State Discovery Museum

Garden State Discovery Museum in located in Cherry Hill, NJ. In addition to birthday parties, they have an amazingly interactive learning facility for children to engage in independent, role based play.

Currently, if you purchase a membership you get 10% off a party! Learn about joining Garden State Discovery Museum today. We hope to see you there soon!

Update: Garden State Discovery Museum updated all of their party rooms in 2019!

Our post was originally published on 12/11/2017 and updated in July 2019.

Teacher’s Favorite Things – The School Supply That You Must Have!

July 15, 2019 by Larisha Campbell Leave a Comment

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #KleenexCareForClass #CollectiveBias #ad

When it comes to back to school, we know the kids need supplies. But in order for a super smooth year for everyone, this Teacher’s Favorite Things printable will be the key to a successful year for all!

Whether you send your kid to public, private or home school like we do, you are going to need school supplies. Every year it seems as though, the lists get longer. You find yourself wondering how in the world these kids go through so many school supplies. I can tell you first hand, since we homeschool, that they really do go through all those school supplies. Especially things like pencils, glue, and paper. Kids loose pencils. They doodle on the paper. And the glue? Well, sometimes it seems as though they eat the glue when my back is turned.

I remember the first year we dove into homeschooling, we thought we would save money. One of the ways we did that was buying school supplies that were generic brands or from dollar type stores. We quickly learned that there’s a reason the products were cheaper. They didn’t work as well.

Truth be told (and I’m not just saying this), but the saying “you get what you pay for” when it comes to school supplies is 100% true. Since then, going into our fourth year of homeschooling, we know now that quality products are where it’s at.

This isn’t just for homeschool though. Teachers around the globe will confirm that quality products are more dependable. We surveyed some of our teacher friends and they all agreed that you will get more money for your supplies if you buy quality brands. Sometimes though, unless we are in the classroom, we don’t understand why some things are on the list.

I remember seeing a friend’s list and I was like why does your kid need paper towels and tissues. They explained that in smaller grade classrooms, they have sinks and need paper towels for the kids to dry their hands. The school supplied towels are harsh and especially in the winter can really hurt the little hands.

Also, kids are germ-y and therefore tissues, ones that are durable and soft, are a must.

The best Paper Goods

It was a no brainer that those supplies should be Kleenex® and Viva®. I remember the first time I used a Viva paper towel. It was like sorcery. It was so soft! I know that when it comes to kids these are the best, especially in the harsher winter months of school. Whether the teacher needs to wipe tears or a runny nose, you know that your little has the softest option available.

Viva® Towels Signature Cloth not only deep clean quickly and more efficiently, but it’s great for wiping off dirty knees or cleaning desk. There are 2X more durable which means your kid’s teacher needs to use less and you’ll have to send in less later in the year. Viva helps to make a cleaner environment so you can worry less while your littles are away. And even if you homeschool, you can rest assured that all these things benefit your own classroom too!

You can grab these products and all your school supplies at your local Target! There’s deals coming your way too! Offers will be good for both in store and Target.com. Check back for great deals on household paper at Target from July 29-August 4th and August 11-17th.

Teacher’s Favorite Things – The School Supply That You Must Have!

You get a supply list and you know that you need all of those things. However, if you really want a terrific year, you need one more thing! You need a questionnaire of your kids’ teachers favorite things!

This free printable will really make a difference in your year and the year the teacher has. No more wondering if the gifts you buy are wanted or going to be thrown away (what a waste of money!).

Instead, you know the exact things that your kids’ teachers want and are able to buy accordingly. Natural favorite things like candy and drinks, but also where they like to eat and shop so that if you want to buy giftcards you can to places they will actually shop at.

What’s even better is that there are even places for them to write in what they always run out of or things that they need in their classroom. If you even feel compelled to do more or see a sale, you are able to know that you can pick up these things and it will be very appreciated by the teacher.

It’s really a great way to make sure that the year goes great!

Click on the photo below or click here to be able to print out the printable for free!

Healthy Pregnancy Tips to Own Your Pregnancy

June 25, 2019 by Larisha Campbell Leave a Comment

Congratulations! If you are reading this, you are likely expecting (or know someone who is!). We are going to be discussing healthy pregnancy tips to own your pregnancy.

*Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Inspira Health. Thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.

From the moment you find out that you are expecting, tons of thoughts flood your brain. The goal that we have here is to quiet those thoughts a little and help you come up with a creative plan of healthy pregnancy with tips that are specialized to fit your lifestyle. You really need to have a plan for all three trimesters of your pregnancy (we’ll get into owning your birth experience in another post!).

What do I mean by own your pregnancy? Well, it’s quite simple. You should be in charge of all aspects of your pregnancy and this experience should be joyful for you from start to finish. We are going to share with you 10 tips for having a pregnancy experience that you dream of having.

Now, we know that if this is at the beginning of your pregnancy, maybe only one or two people know, so it’s really your own thoughts that are all over the place. Once you get further along and tell more people, lots of people start having opinions and ideas with what you should or should not be doing with your own body and pregnancy.

We don’t want this to be overwhelming for you, especially when it comes to others, so the best thing to know is to tell yourself from the start and often throughout that this is your pregnancy and you are going to do what you see is best fit for both you and your child.

10 Healthy Pregnancy Tips

1- Find a practice that is onboard with the lifestyle that you live.

As soon as you get a positive pregnancy test, you should make sure that you find a practice that will suite the pregnancy that you wish to have. For example, if you know you want a natural birth without an epidural, a midwife may be something you consider.

It’s important to try to get prenatal care as early as you can. You will be checked for a variety of things like blood pressure, weight, lab work, and urine sample, all to make sure you have a safe and healthy pregnancy. As well as an ultrasound to get close to an accurate due date for you.

The sooner you are able to build a trusting relationship with your care provider, the better you will feel about this aspect of your pregnancy.

2- Make sure that doctor or midwife is able to assist in delivering at the hospital of your choice

In addition to the first tip, you want to make sure that the hospital that your care provider has rights to assist in delivery with, is on board with your pregnancy and birth plan. Check into their c-section rates, rooming in policies and rates of breastfeeding success and more if those things are important to you.

At hospital maternity centers, like the three Inspira Health offers in southern New Jersey, they believe that you should have it all. From high-end amenities to award-winning nurses, they want to provide the best experience for expecting mothers.

3- Ask questions and then ask some more

Part of owning your pregnancy and making healthy pregnancy choices, is to ask all the questions. And if you don’t remember an answer, don’t be afraid to ask again. Remember that this is supposed to be a joyous occasion for you and if you aren’t sure of an answer or not sure why the answer would be what your practitioner says is the answer, ask follow up questions. You are paying someone to fully understand you.

This also goes back to the first healthy pregnancy tips idea above. If you feel like your concerns or questions are being dismissed or not answered to your liking, never feel like you have to stay. Find another care provider that is going to allow you to own your pregnancy your way.

4- Eating for Two

I know. I know. You get pregnant and then the joke is always, “it’s okay, you’re eating for two.” While you are actually eating to feed two, you want to make sure you are fully nourishing your own body and your growing baby with the right nutrients. This doesn’t mean that you should have a half dozen tacos every night because you used to eat three and now you double it.

You want to make sure that you are making healthy choices like plenty of water, as well as enough fruits and vegetables. Fully cook food, limit caffeine and avoid a lot of sugar. Your care provider can come up with a plan for you for the right tip of diet, especially if you have food allergies or preferences, like a vegan or pescatarian diet.

5- Exercise

If you didn’t exercise before, you are probably already rolling your eyes at me when you read that. But unless there is a concern, you should try to get regular exercise during your pregnancy. This can actually help ease some discomfort of pregnancy. 30 minutes of exercise a day is perfect and it can be anything from taking a walk or swimming safely.

Never overdo exercise, especially if you weren’t active before pregnancy and avoid contact sports and activities that may make you fall. Talk with your provider about a plan that works for you.

6- Take the Nap. Go to bed early!

As a mom of two, I can’t recommend this enough. Bank those sleep hours while you can; however, sleep is extremely important while pregnant. Pregnancy is demanding and it’s normal to feel more tired than usual. Take the nap when you can if you are feeling tired and try to make a habit of going to bed around the same time every night (not 2am though!).

7- Take Your Vitamins

If you didn’t take vitamins before getting pregnant, it make be hard to remember now. The best way to remember is to set a reminder in your phone to go off at a time when you know you’ll always be able to take it.

Ask you care provider what prenatal vitamins they recommend and take it regularly to ensure that you are getting all the nutrients that your growing baby needs.

8- Avoid the Big No-Nos

There are definitely a few things that you want to avoid while pregnant. No smoking, illicit drugs, or alcohol.

Depending on your dietary preferences, you also want to avoid listeria that can come from eating the following foods:

deli meat and hot dogs
raw or undercooked meats (like sushi)
raw eggs or recipes that call for raw eggs
soft cheeses like feta, Brie, and bleu cheese

Ask your care provider for a full list of foods and other products to avoid during your pregnancy.

9- Track Your Mood Levels

It’s normal to feel swings in your moods as your hormones are drastically changing during the 9 months; however, it’s not uncommon for anxiety and postpartum depression to happen during the prenatal time and not only after giving birth. Talk with your care provider about any concerns you have often and never be afraid to ask for help.

If you have thoughts of suicide, please contact your care provider right away or call 1-800-273-8255 24 hours a day.

10- Indulge in Self-Care

Once baby comes, your time is going to be even more limited. Take the time now to get your hair done, get a prenatal massage, go on a last (or few last) vacations with your significant others and just enjoy the time you have before baby makes their arrival.

We hope you found this healthy pregnancy tips to own your pregnancy helpful! Leave a comment below and let us know what your favorite tip is or if you have another helpful tip, we’d love to hear that as well!

Thanks to Inspira Health for sponsoring this series of posts about owning your pregnancy your way. We will be sharing more with and from them over the next few month, including the opening of their brand new facility in Mullica Hill, New Jersey. Stay tuned for the fun!

15 Hair Washing Tips for Kids Who Hate Their Hair Washed

June 20, 2019 by Larisha Campbell Leave a Comment

Some kids literally love all aspects of bath time., However, for some parents bath time, especially hair washing time is a nightmare. We’re sharing hair washing tips for kids who hate their hair washed.

*Disclosure: This post is sponsored on behalf of Baby Magic.

If you have a child that hates their hair being washed then this post is for you. We are going to share hair washing tips for kids that just don’t like it.

Let’s rewind just a bit. I have a child that skewed my perception of bath time early on because she’s literally in love with anything water. You can put her in the shower, spray water in her face, dump a cup of water on her head, it doesn’t matter. Anything water equals love for her. And it was like that way from the beginning. Still to this day she loves water.

Then, there’s the little one. If you are reading this, your little is probably similarly aligned with my little one. She came out of the womb and hasn’t liked bathing since day 1. She does like swimming and will happily take a bath, but tell her you are going to wash her hair and there are instant meltdowns.

I’m talking full blown, tears and screams. If you were standing outside our house you would think I was hurting her and at that point I haven’t even touched her.

Luckily, we are almost completely on the other side of this. There are definitely still times (usually when she’s really tired) that we still have meltdowns, but with a few hacks and tips, we are doing so much better.

I know I’m not the only who has struggled with this so today I want to share our hair washing tips for kids who hate their hair washed.

15 Hair Washing Tips for Kids Who Hate Their Hair Washed

1-Always tell them to look to the sky

One of the easiest ways for most kids is to tell them to look up to the sky. This tips their head backwards and helps them focus to not get it in their eyes. You can even put glow in the dark stars or something similar on the ceiling so they know exactly where to look. Bonus points for having a built in nightlight in their bathroom if you take that option.

*As a note, some children have sensory issues with tipping backwards as it causes them to feel like they could fall backwards. If this is your child, keep reading below for a different idea than this one that will work for your family.

2-Change the time of day you wash hair

As I mentioned above, our little one would and still does break down if she’s over tired. If I know she needs her hair washed, sometimes I will switch her bath/shower time to right after she wakes up so she’s not as grumpy and more willing to go along.

3-Make it play time with washcloth puppets

If you are up to it, buy a pack of washcloth puppets and make a game out of hair washing time. Be silly, make up stories or songs, and just have fun. Sometimes a slight distraction is all kids need to get through a few minutes of hair washing.

4-Have a water doll with hair

Speaking of playing in the tub, have your little one wash their dolls hair while you wash their hair. It’s a great distraction. You can explain to them how to wash hair while you do theirs. It’s a learning experience and can show kids exactly what’s happening to give them a sense of calmness. Make sure the doll is a water safe doll like a baby alive.

5-Use a bath visor

A bath visor fits around the little one’s head and keeps them dry. Definitely a convenient way to solve the problem of water in their face.

6-Wash hair in bubble bath

There’s tons of bubbles already in the bath that sometimes it’s easier to wash their hair in their too. You can tell them to put some bubbles in their hair and wash around with a little more shampoo.

7-Let them wear goggles

Swimming goggles have been a huge hit for days either girl just isn’t up for it. It makes them laugh and keeps water and soap out of their eyes! Win win!

8-Try doing it in the shower instead of bath

Both of our girl actually prefer showers instead of the bath. If you haven’t tried a shower with your little one yet, try switching it up and see if that helps your.

9- Let them wash your own first

Sometimes, kids need to know that it’s okay. A lot of times they want to know that for a variety of situations. Letting them wash your hair first can let them see it’s okay to do it.

10-Give them a cup to do it themselves

We all know that kids love doing things themselves. Washing their hair is no different. This may or may not work, but it’s worth a try depending on your child. Have a small cup and tell them to learn their head back and try to get it out themselves.

11-Install a shower sprayer

Having kids put their head under the spout or even with a cup like above can be too much water at once. Installing a shower head that comes with a detachable sprayer can help with less water at one time. Also, let them try it for themselves like tip #10.

12- Have a dry cloth or towel nearby

Knowing that you are prepared to dry their face helps a lot of children. They know that you are prepared and will feel calmer knowing so. It’s a tip that has worked for us well.

13- Try doing it in the sink with just a washcloth

Sometimes you need to build up their trust. If you are having a really hard time. Try just using a washcloth in the sink and working your way up to more in the future.

14 – Don’t wash their hair often

Children don’t have all the oil glands that adults do, so we don’t need to wash their hair often. We have been conditioned to thinking that we do, but we really don’t. You can easily get away with going 5-7 days, up to 2 weeks in between washes given that they aren’t super dirty or anything.

15- Always use a tear free shampoo

Getting soap in your eyes is enough to turn anyone off from ever wanting to wash their hair again, but especially little ones who are learning about this process. One of the best ways to is use a year free shampoo or wash, like Baby Magic.

Baby Magic has more than 65 years of creating baby products and just recently they relaunched all their new products, including the Baby Magic bunny, their new mascot.

These brand new products are free from sulfates, dyes, parabens, lanolin, talc, and phthaltes. Baby Magic new that parents wanted change, including wholesome ingredients and they worked hard to create a product that was gentle and safe on our little ones. There are lotions, 2-in-1 wash, calming bath, cleansing gel, and creamy baby oil, depending on your scent preference.

The scents available are Original Baby Scent, Lavender Lullaby, and Sweet Buttercup Scent.

You can find Baby Magic products that we discussed and more of their offering BabyMagic.com.

Pin these tips hair washing tips for kids for later:

30+ Outdoor Activities You Didn’t Know You Could Buy

June 3, 2019 by Larisha Campbell Leave a Comment

Outdoor family friendly entertainment is a big hit! Whether you are have summer get-togethers, want to plan your own summer camp, or need a way to keep the kids busy for hours, we’ve got you covered! Check out 30+ Outdoor Activities You Didn’t Know You Could Buy, but that you need!

Buckle down. If summer break hasn’t started for you yet, it is soon and that means the kid(s) will start driving you crazy in 5…4…3…2…1… We are coming to the rescue today though with more than 30 outdoor activities you didn’t know you could buy. These are super fun and creative ways to get your kids out the door and out of your hair for more than three minutes. Whoops, I mean, fun ways to keep them entertained!

Why consider buying these outdoor activities

Listen, Summer is so close I can almost taste the salt in the air. Every year since having kids, we have found ourselves at the beach more and more. Days that we aren’t at the beach, we find ourselves lost for time as we play for hours and hours outdoors.

We love it. Whether with friends or family, outdoor time is the best. The girls love playing, I love gardening, and Andrew…well, he does something. (not always sure what he’s doing).

As the girls get bigger though, I’ve come to the realization that chalk and bubbles aren’t going to work as entertainment outdoors for much longer.

We also, for the first time, have a decent yard where grass is actually growing. Because of that, we’ve been looking for some fun outdoor activities that we can entertain our guests with.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve found a lot of really cool outdoor activities that I wanted to share with each of you.

Why you need these outdoor activities for tweens and teens

We all know that the closer in age our kids get to moving out of the house, the more they don’t want want anything to do with us. You are desperately trying to keep them at your own house for as often as possible. However, all they want to do is get as far away from you as possible and hang out at someone else’s house.

There’s hope for you yet!

With these outdoor activities you didn’t know you could buy, there’s a chance that you could turn your house into the fun and exciting place that all the kids want to hang out (I know this may be the exact opposite of what some of you want, and that’s okay too.)

Kids, even at this crazy stage of wanting nothing to do with their parents, love to have fun. And they love to do silly things. Bump and Bounce Body Balls or Inflatable Giant Twister are definitely things that will keep the kids around for longer.

And who knows, it may even be a way for you to bond together!

Endless outdoor fun for all ages!

It doesn’t matter if you have tweens or teens, toddlers, or are single with no kids yet, these 30+ outdoor activities you didn’t know you could buy are going to be a hit no matter if it’s a family activity, something for your older kids to do alone, or an adult only outdoor party! There’s literally something for everyone, no matter the age!

Ready? Let’s go!

30+ Outdoor Activities You Didn’t Know You Could Buy (But You Need)

Disclosure: Affiliate links contained within this post.

We’ve broken this down into four categories. Those categories are:

Fun for everyone (no matter the age)
Outdoor Inflatables
Water Activities
Glow in the Dark Outdoor Fun

No matter who you are trying to entertain this summer, these will be perfect. Something for everyone’s budget!

Fun for Everyone

These are 15 ideas that everyone will love no matter their age!