Say Cheese! with Mightee Kids

There is something lovely about getting packages in the mail.  I call them little surprises.  Every month I look forward to my monthly beauty subscriptions - which send me goodies that I just love.  I've seen so many great boxes come through, but I've never seen anything as lovely as what I am about to share.

When I get my monthly packages - Zion is always excited to see what I get.  This month, Zion got a package of her own, from Mightee Kids.  This organization has created one of the best boxes ever - because it has immeasurable value.  Each box contains a children's t-shirt featuring a very special cause of the month.

 This month's charity is Smile Train, an organization dedicated to providing life-saving Cleft-lip/palate surgeries to children in need.  For every tee that is purchased $5 is donated to the charity.  Inside the each Mightee Kids box is a special notecard that explains the cause of the month as well as talking points to discuss with your kids.

 

The tee is super cool, and I feel good about it knowing that it stands for a great cause.  Zion is excited because not only is she helping other children, she gets her own very special package in the mail to look forward to!

 

Check out Mightee Kids to view the details - you can purchase a single tee or subscribe for a monthly box.  Oh, and for the rest of the month - they are doubling their contributions to Smile Train - so $10 of every purchase will go directly to the Smile Train!

Connect with Mightee Kids via: Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest!

I received this month's Mightee Kids box complimentary to review - however; I plan on signing up right away because I love the concept so much.  All praises expressed above are sincere! 

Tumbling, Balancing & Charity Little Gym Grand Opening Event

Right before the craziness of BlogHer began, I was invited to a special grand opening event at the  newest The Little Gym on the Upper Westside in Manhattan.  I'm always excited to attend special events and activities in New York, especially those which offer a fun and unique experience for Zion.

Zion, now 2, is in full curiosity and exploration mode - its hard to keep her interested in any one thing for too long before she craves something new and different.  It is as if she senses the scale of the incredible world that exists and wants to taste, see, touch, feel and experience anything and everything she can.  I love this stage for that reason!

The event was really top notch.  Zion was able to experience some of the variety of activities she would participate in if enrolled in their programming, as well as just have free play in their incredible gym!  From tumbling - to swinging on bars - to walking the balance beam - she enjoyed every single moment!

While Zion and the other children were experiencing the thrill of endless mats to somersault, roll around and jump on - I had the chance to learn a about the Little Gym's philosophy, history and curriculum.  I also feel honored to be given a first look at the partnership between the Little Gym and Soles4Souls!

The Little Gym has a really cool "Three Dimensional Learning" curriculum - based on 35 years of experience, parental feedback and early childhood research.  The goal of the curriculum is to get kids moving, help them foster a love of learning, and equip them with life skills - like sharing, listening and taking turns.

The Little Gym and Soles4Souls have recently joined forces to launch their "Big Hearts, Little Shoes" campaign to collect shoes for those in need.  The Little Gym has set a goal of collecting one million pairs of shoes - and have set up special Soles4Soles drop-boxes on all of their campuses for the 2012/13 season.  What an awesome and powerful way to get the kids involved in being charitable and generous at an early age!  One of the biggest highlights to me was that any shoe could be donated - and nothing is wasted - so even heavily worn shoes will be recycled and not wasted!

The Upper Westside just got a little brighter by the addition of The Little Gym! We had an amazing time at the event, finishing it off with a nice little reception and mingling with some other New York City mamas and their little ones.  Thanks to MomCentral for inviting us to the event!

I was invited to this event by MomCentral.  A post was not required - however; this event was just such a great experience I wanted to share it! All opinions expressed in this post are my own.  :)

Lessons Learned: Seasons of Lack

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When Jerry and I moved back to NYC in the Fall of 2009, we had no idea that we'd be literally living out of our car, and at the grace of good friends for the first whole month. We had spent the last year and a half completely oblivious to the very real struggles that the dwindling economy were causing people in places outside of Southern Louisiana.

We were reading the articles and seeing the news about millions of Americans being jobless, but we weren't feeling the effect at all. We were in a bubble, making above average and paying below average, in the small community where we lived.

When we knew it was time to head back to NYC, we just packed up our car, made arrangements with a friend to stay for what we thought was going to be a week or so, (just until we got an apartment and jobs) and hit the road. It was a complete shock when finding an apartment became a nightmare, and jobs were few and far between. It became less about choosing a career path for ourselves, and more about just finding a job for some income.

After about 3 weeks at our friends house, we knew our welcome was wearing out, and we headed to a hotel in New Jersey where we reflected on the absolute madness of our very miscalculated plan to just "wing it" when we got back in the city.