Product reviews and videos of stuff for parents and their children
Four Generations united yesterday for a visit with Great Aunt Kay, our 94 almost 95 year old matriarch of the family. Kenzie was able to take a peek at all of Aunt Kay’s old swimming medals and now that Kenzie is a little swimmer herself she was VERY impressed to hear that Aunt Kay just missed making the Olympics by a mere place so many years ago.
One week from today I’ll be running the race course through the Magic Kingdom and Epcot for the Disney Princess Half Marathon.
Mixing my love of Disney magic with my love of running could not be a better combination.
I am beyond excited to experience what I hear is a thrilling and exhilarating race. I’m thrilled that I’ll also get a behind the scenes peek at the Run Disney phenomenon as last week I received a super magical invite in my email in box to attend the Disney Princess Half Marathon as a special media guest.
I signed up for this race last October – and even gutted out a 10K on the morning of hosting Kenzie’s 6th birthday party back in October- talk about exhausting – to secure my corral placement for race day according to my running pace.
The goal of running the Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon kept me happily trying to train through the cooler winter months and I hit a 10 Miler two weeks ago running 90 minutes on the trail for my long run. Yesterday I hit the track to see how my race pace might feel – I’m hoping to run 9 Minutes per mile or faster so I wanted to run relaxed and easy for 1 mile on the track. I ran 8:30 for the mile- it felt good but was faster than I probably need to go for the race – in these distance runs super slow and steady will help me break 2 Hours for the 1/2 Marathon.
I would have done another long run last week but my kids and I were hit with bad respiratory infections – bronchitis, ears, sinus, pneumonia you name it we had it. I took off running for 12 days to get well – not ideal before a big race but the best way to get healthy is by resting. It doesn’t matter how fast I run next weekend – my super fast high school and college days are long behind me. I just want to have fun and feel accomplished at achieving my goal of running a 1/2 Marathon since becoming a Mom.
And now that I’m going with the media, they invited the kids to join me for a 5 K the day before. I have a feeling that running the 3 miles with Kenzie might be the most magical experience of all of it as she is beyond excited to run 3 miles and earn her very own super duper fancy race medal.
I’m packed and ready to go with my energy gels, sports watch, and running clothes – Next stop – Disney!
I said the kids were obsessed with Potter and I meant it. Take a peek at Kyle sporting his scar & home-made glasses. Doesn’t he look like Harry Potter?
He has also now requested to start wearing a tie which looks totally adorable. He wants to buy the official “Harry Potter” tie when we visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter next week along with a wand so he can take the look to a new level.
Looks like I’ll be out a ton of money as Kenzie and Kyle prepare to hit the shops of Diagon Alley……. You can buy a bunch of these Harry Potter props online too it looks like but certainly the experience of shopping in Diagon Alley will be the kids shopping excursion of a lifetime.
It’s official. My house has turned into Hogwarts with every scene and spell being reenacted by Kyle and Kenzie. Here’s Kyle’s Hogwarts ID Card:
The kids have been dreaming big of Harry Potter – so much so that they have literally transfigured into Harry & Hermione in their imaginary games over the last 36 hrs. This makes me Professor McGonagle and Dad is now Severus Snape- who teaches a wild and explosive potions class too.
With the news that we’d be visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in about 10 days, the kids – recovering from being sick with lots of movies, requested to watch the Harry Potter movie again to prep for their visit. I read the book aloud to them last summer and topped the book off with the movie. Seeing the movie the 2nd time this weekend was thrilling for the kids. It’s amazing how repetition continues to captivate kids and in this case it has completely absorbed them into Harry Potter’s world.
So what makes the Harry Potter game so fun for the kids? Besides their own imagination all the props we helped them set up to complete their vision definitely made it exciting. Here’s what we did:
Experimenting with Pig Snot! 
Toying around with shark skin magic – aka blue food coloring!
Adding a touch of flower juice!
A big set up for all their potions magic.
It’s an Olympic year and I’m already feeling the excitement even though they are still 6 months away.
I think of the Olympics and literally just FEEL for the athletes and families dreaming of competiting in the games and those who ultimately get there to represent their country. I remember my dreams of the Olympics as a little girl when I was a competitive swimmer. And now, my own daughter is 6 years old and on the swim team for the very 1st time. I see her following in her Mother’s footsteps with her own athletic dreams.
Here’s Kenzie holding her very first swimming awards – ribbons for placing 5th in the 25 yard Backstroke and 6th in the 25 yard Freestyle. She is so thrilled with herself and I feel so proud of her accomplishments – but most of all proud of the hard work and dedication she has shown to improve her skills as a swimmer. Just last summer she could not even swim 1 full lap of the pool! And now here she is RACING and COMPETING in swimming. Diving (or should i say belly flopping?) off the starting blocks. Incredible.
And here’s me….. in 1983 and 1984 holding some of my very first hard earned swimming awards. I can remember feeling so proud of myself and I love knowing that my daughter is experiencing those same feelings of accomplishment.
Here is me with my 5th place medal – the very first prize I ever won.
And a year later winning the gold medal – 1st place – at our Championships after a year of practice at my sport.
Yes, the Olympics are a beautiful pipe dream – but the competition and training is really about the journey and the life lessons you learn along the way. From dedication to perseverance to a commitment to train.
The lessons I learned from being involved in sports gave me my self confidence in all aspects of life – in the classroom and on the field – as a runner, swimmer, tennis player, and more as a youth. Those same lessons shaped the person I am today as a Mom, Wife, Daughter, and Entrepreneur.
I want to give those feelings & lessons to my daughter – and someday to my son when he’s old enough to participate in competition. Asa Mom myself, I now realize so much of that journey is about the Mom’s role to make it all happen for her children. And the sacrifices Mom makes to juggle her schedule – and dinner – literally be a chauffer driving her children to practice, missing her own engagement to instead drive to practice or watch a competitive meet, match or game for their kids. I’m seriously feeling wildly grateful to my Mom & Dad now for all they did for me over the years to help me find success in athletics and life.
That’s why I love the “Thank You Mom” campaign from P&G. Check it out here. I love it! Follow them on Facebook and take a peek at this video from “Carole Brady”.
Iconic TV mom Florence Henderson sharing some of her best mom wisdom gained from years of playing TV mom Carol Brady as well as being a real-life mom of four and grandmother of five. Florence is partnering with P&G’s Thank You, Mom campaign, which celebrates and thanks moms for everything they do for their families and communities.
In addition to passing along some sound advice, Florence also encourages viewers to share their favorite mom wisdom on P&G’s Thank You Mom Facebook page (www.facebook.com/thankyoumom)
Hooray! We are are so excited to wake up this morning and see that ClassyMommy’s YouTube Channel crossed the coveted 1 Million Views on YouTube milestone. 5 years, 542 videos, and 1,003,214 views as of today. Wow!
As we’re reflecting on the time the family has spent in front of the camera, here’s our favorites and those that stood out for whatever reason. Some are serious quality product reviews, others are happy moments of the kids being kids, and others are quick natural video reviews shot in the kitchen in one take.
And yes 99.99% of everything is in one take. That’s how we roll.
A huge thanks to Kenzie for her love of starring in videos with Mom, for Mike for filming us, and for Kyle for being the best supporting actor for his adorable moves in the background.
Here’s a rundown of our Top 10 Favorite YouTube moments over the past few years.
(Where Kyle says at the end that he wants to “marry mommy!” )
(where Kenzie yells, “Get the knife for me!”)
(at 2:38 Kenzie dolls up her brother Kyle with eye shadow & lip gloss)
I’m in heaven. Take a peek at the view from my hotel room in Santa Monica. Crazy right? Seriously I feel like I’m living someone else’s life when I go on these press trips for work as I leave the ordinary days of Mommyhood in suburbia for the glam excitement of California – complete with mountains, palm trees, ocean view rooms, and the chance to get up close & personal with movie stars.
Tonight I’m seeing the soon to be released movie Big Miracle. I’m so intrigued about this story and can’t wait to meet Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski, Ted Danson, and Kristen Bell tomorrow. More to come on details about the movie!
Like I said – going on these trips is surreal. Sometimes I think I’ve been body snatched…..
Yet, it’s always bittersweet when I go on trips for work. California and interviewing movie stars is a GIGANTIC wow. But missing my kids and trying to connect the dots for all of their child care is a juggling act since I’m a full time Mom.
This time I’m personally feeling energized and excited to get great content for my site and to meet new people after laying low for almost 3 months to focus on the family after the craziness of last year writing The Digital Mom Handbook and all that went with it. But like any Mom who leaves her kids for work obligations, I feel the Mom Guilt is an ever present force.
The good news is that my kids will be ultra appreciative of my return on Saturday so it’s great for my “mom” confidence even if it means saying prayers long distance on the phone for nightly tuck-ins and getting calls from the Kindergarten center about confusion on transportation when they lost my note yesterday explaining logistics !
It’s Winter Craft Time! Your kids will adore making a Snowman Craft out of Shaving Cream – it’s super easy too! Here’s my 4 year old Kyle’s sweet snowman made out of a shaving cream & glue mixture – otherwise known as Homemade Puffy Paint.
Playing with shaving cream is always fun and I’m amazing how much you can do with it. During the warm weather, my kids go wild with Shaving Cream when I let them do it as an “outdoor” craft activity in the summer – basically just diving into the shaving cream with their hands after I spray it on an outdoor play table. We just hose down the kids after!
Here’s the scoop on creating homemade Puffy Paint by adding glue to Shaving Cream:
It’s as simple as can be. Truly!
1. Just add regular glue (aka Elmer’s or any other typical brand) to Shaving Cream to thicken it.
2. Mix in a bowl and in general use about equal parts of both. This will make your shaving cream sticky and enable it to thicken into a homemade puffy paint substance.
3. Add food coloring! For a variation on the white shaving cream puffy paint look which is perfect for Snow or Winter themed crafts, just add whatever color your heart desires to your glue & shaving cream mixture.
Finally! I’ve been waiting for the cute boy hairstyle for years – and looks like the little guy (and his hair!) are ready for Spikes.
Mission accomplished yesterday at Snip-Its. With the help of some spiky sticky gel 
We caught Kyle last night quickly glance at himself in the mirror – pause, and then look back and say, “Wow! I’m handsome. ”
Love it. And I love my sweet boy. I can’t imagine life without this cutie.
How did you spend your New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day? No wild partying for us – instead it was all about family time. And we loved it! For the first time since becoming parents, we FINALLY actually did something on New Year’s Eve with the kids out of the house so that was exciting for them & thrilling for us.
Pre-kids, we always used to do neat things with friends, hit NYC, or travel. Since the kids – it has literally been a string of “nothing” plans for years. To treat the kids, we took them to a tapas restaurant that Mike and I love and normally only hit on date night. The kids were delighted and we loved having a special meal to celebrate.
On New Year’s Day – little Kyle, age 4, was finally baptized – in what was a non-traditional but extremely special ceremony.
My Uncle Jim baptized him at my Grandmother’s house with holy water from Ireland. He performed this same very special baptism for Kenzie when she was a newborn – with the same holy water – while my Grandma was holding her. This was weeks before my Grandma died – so doing this again with Kyle in the same way was very sentimental and special.
In Ireland, back in the old days, this was how things were done frequently – so a baby would be baptized as soon as possible – never knowing what life would bring.
Surrounded by my entire Costello family on our annual New Year’s Day celebration too – this couldn’t have been more perfect or more special to me than if it had actually been in a church. Kyle did great, loved it, and had been literally BEGGING for me to have Uncle Jim do this for him just like he did for Kenzie when she was a newborn. Kyle was great about the water spilling down his face and carefully tried to capture a handful of it in his hands – to save & share with his sister “Lilly”. Adorable!
