Things to do this weekend in PHILLY!

 Philly has SO much to offer for local families ... Here what one of our wonderful sitters Brittany B  rates as her top 3 rated family friendly places:

1. Please Touch Museum- it's a museum for kids! They offer so much for all ages of children to do. A great event for families and kids or kids and their babysitters to attend would be the Story Book Ball which takes place on Saturday April 21st from 6-9PM. The event happens to be a fundraiser all proceeds will go to the museum's new program "Play Without Boundaries" which helps all children of socio-economic backgrounds, especially children with disabilities, enjoy new ways of learning at the museum and in their community. In the meantime the museum is hosting "Story Time in the Story Castle" Sunday the 4th at 12:30 and 3:30. 
2. World Cafe Live- it's the home of WXPN a radio station here in Philly but they always have concerts and events for families. Their most popular events for families and kids is called Peanut Butter and Jams. A kid friendly artists usually a musician puts on a show for children and their parent(s) every weekend. 
3. The Franklin Institute- Best Place for kids to explore, learn and have a great time. The best part of the Franklin Institute is the IMAX theater which shows great educational yet really exciting films. 

Brittany B comes to LLD referred by one of our LLD families in ny. She is both gracious and kind with a slew of Childcare experience!

Windy City Families what are your plans for the weekend?

One of our Chicago sitters did some digging, and here is what she found going on in Chicago for the weekend:

• There are always great activities for kids/families at the touristy-type locations such as The Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium, Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago Children's Museum, and the Field Museum of Natural History!
• Try visiting the International Kennel Club Dog Show happening at the McCormick Place this weekend! They actually put on demonstrations outside of the dogs being judged and it is supposed to be fun for all ages!
• Another great event that they brought back is Skating in the Sky at the John Hancock Observatory. How about some ice-skating while looking over the city of Chicago?? Beautiful right!

Have a great weekend to all our LLD families!

Plan your child’s birthday party with Blast Events!

Annie Steinberg–Joachim has been in the events industry for 10+ years. She has built her reputation on being an upbeat event planner who is extremely detail oriented. 

What sparked Blast Events? 

Blast Events NYC was sparked by the birthday of my nephews Jackson and Truman. They are the most fun little guys in the world. I was in event planning for 10 years and feeling like I needed a change, once the boys were born I realized I could still do event planning, but for children. After my sister in law let me plan a few of their birthday parties and all the moms started to inquire about my services, I had the confidence to start Blast Events NYC.

Tell us a bit about the events that you work on? 

We work on all types of events, they just have to be about children. We do baby showers, a briss, a baby naming, birthday parties and everything in between. My favorite is a birthday party. When you see a child walk in to their own party and they light up, it's such a good feeling. We work on events of all sizes, we've done events in a Manhattan apartment and events located in Cipriani - so really no job too big, no job too small - when your job doesn't feel like work you just go with the flow and enjoy! 

What is your favorite project thus far? 

Well this is my favorite question, thus far.. I love the parties we produce, they are all special to me, but my favorite project was a 1st birthday for a child named Jacob. The theme was a safari and it was held in their beautiful Chelsea apartment. I would say it was my favorite because the family was lovely to work with. His mommy was very involved in the planning process, but was very gentle and welcoming to our suggestions. It was the perfect balance of an involved mom but one who wasn't a control freak. When you hire a party planner you have to know that they are the expert, not you! This mom welcomed our suggestions and still gave her opinion, it was just perfect. Once we arrived at the party her guest treated us like guest. The entire party, family and friends were by far the nicest people we have ever worked with. We made them a beautiful photo album of pictures from the day to say thank you. My wish is that we will be able to work with them on more events in the future. 

 For more info on blast events click here!

Downtown Parents: Your Winter Woes have been Solved!

Prior to the Super bowl this Sunday, I enjoyed the launch of 40-year old family run business J&R’s new baby…you guessed it J&R Jr. 

Kid zone at J & R

Thank goodness, a solution for downtown parents on where to take their tikes during those long winter weekends in NYC!

Father of two Jason Friedman, and son of J&R founder Joe wanted to develop a family hot spot that offers parents and particular new and expectant moms and dads a mix of excellent products and expert service.  Major brands that you can find in the store include: Quinny, Melissa & Doug, my personal new favorite LAZOO, Leapfrog & more!

A few of our LLD kiddies about to watch the Princess show!

 Thanks to Dada Rocks for inviting LLD to be a part of the event!

Check out New York Family’s interview with Jason here.

For more information on J&R Jr. click here

-LB

Snack time made Fun!

Once again it is snack time and I have just returned from the grocery store with a hungry, fussy three year old. 

I have just started to unload the car full of groceries and out of the corner of her eye she spots the bight colored FunBites. I explained to her that they are for making food fun to eat. With that, she pushed me out of the way to start making her very own creative snack. I showed her just once with a slice of cheese. She LOVED  the fact that she could make it solo. Ms. Independent. Not only did she make it herself, but she counted and grouped all her bites together before she ate EVERYTHING. 

The best part for me was that it kept my daughter entertained so I could put all the groceries away!  Thank you FunBites for a great way to eat a healthy snack and giving mom a quiet ten minutes to put everything away!
 

Funbites is the first and only kitchen tool to cut kids’ food into FUN-SHAPED BITE-SIZED PIECES.  It goes beyond sandwich cutters and works on a variety of foods like pancakes, burgers, brownies and more!  FunBites promises to get kids to try new things and eat healthier.  It’s mealtime made stress-free and fun. Use code FreeShipJan at checkout for 15% off your entire order until 1/31/12.

Written by Ilene Young, mother of one and LLD City Coordinator in Connecticut. Ilene can be reached at ilene.young@luckylildarlings.com

I'm obsessed with CleanWell wipes

It's cold season. Gross I know. LLD families know better and are prepared. A common household item my sitters and I have spotted recently is CleanWell's To-Go Disinfectant Spray. It cleans, disinfects & deodorizes + kills influenza virus including H1N1. Nice.

This no fuss spray can be easily packed into your purse or diaper bag. Quickly clean the kid’s toys at daycare or sanitize the high chair at your favorite local diner or spray down the table before serving the kids their meal. 

Use code CWECQ1 for 20% off plus a free gift now through 3/15/12!

Spray may not be the best choice for wiping down the kids face after he/ she finds your chocolate stash in your bag and smears it all over their face, so opt for the To-Go Disinfectant Wipes. They work like a charm.

There are very few products I can't live without and these CleanWell wipes are quickly becoming one of them. Click here to purchase CleanWell

Use code CWECQ1 for 20% off plus a free gift now through 3/15/12!

Kids + Relaxation=The Beloved

Confused on matching kids + relaxation?

The cure is The Beloved in Playa Mujeres, Mexico.

This place is parent’s paradise meets kids playground. I have been to many family resorts in my years of babysitting and The Beloved joins the big leagues in my holiday handbook. As you know I'm not yet a mommy, but many of you parents can relate on being completely unfazed by kids splashing in a pool or throwing sand on the beach. There was plenty of that, but in a way it made me feel more at home having all the families nearby. It was a sense of safety being in far off 

Mexico.

The Kids Club is free to guests ages 4-12 and includes activities like mask making, face painting, and traditional Mexican pinata making. The building is so cool in the shape of a huge spool of thread fully loaded with activities to wear out you lil' ones.

This all inclusive hotel serves up top- notch gourmet meals, you are served beach & pool side by the friendliest of staff who will bring you an array of snacks and alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverages. It is absolute bliss.

Hey I even picked up on some great new baby names from the shouts at the kids life size chess game. Ainsley was my favorite.

The resort is only about 25 minutes from Cancun airport an easy hike into paradise.

-LB

Eating Healthy

This week we really wanted to look into the phenomenon that has been sweeping the nation. Eating Healthy! We interviewed one of our favorite mothers of four who also happens to be a health consultant know as Nutrimommy by her dedicated followers on her blog. See what Anne has to say about eating healthy!

LLD: We love how creative you are in making fruits and vegetables into tasty treats that your four children love, and are extremely healthy. Can you give our moms out there some tips on making healthy, easy-to-make snacks for the little ones? Or even, what is one of your favorite healthy snacks to make for your kids?

Anne: Focus on vegetables as snacks. One of our favorites is the peanut butter cucumber caterpillar, but even plain cut carrots, celery and pepper to dip in hummus or black bean spread is simple, easy and tasty.

LLD: More often than we like, we’re learning about new foods or ingredients that could cause health problems. We all want to keep our families healthy, but when does it stop! In your opinion, what are the most important things to avoid in a healthy diet?

Anne: Avoid anything processed. By eliminating processed foods, you will avoid all preservatives, coloring and artificial sweeteners without having to ciphon through lists of which are or are not especially hazardous. They are all bad and none stand up to completely fresh foods with a few packaged but not processed items, like puffed corn thins, rice cakes or a very plain chip.

LLD: Many parents think that it would be very hard to follow a primarily vegan diet with growing children that are already picky eaters. You say so honestly in your blog that life does get in the way sometimes, and you can’t always avoid animal products or milk or butter. Do you have some advice for parents that want to try a more vegetarian or vegan diet but aren’t sure how to bring their kids on board?

Anne: Mostly, make it delicious and involve children in the shopping and cooking processes. My children love to chop, grind and blend so they are more amenable to the end result. They are also really involved in which farms we buy food from and they have developed a general understanding of what grows when and where. And, do not forget to make the food visually appealing. After all, first impressions matter.

LLD: We were fascinated by your blog from May 1st of this year about genetically modified corn. With the recent health revolution sweeping the nation, more people are concerned about what is going into their food. For those of you that don’t know, agribusiness today is inserting a BT toxin, or synthetic bug spray, into corn so that it has its own bug repellent. But what happens once you eat this corn with the bug spray in it? No one knows! The FDA is not researching or testing the effects of these genetically modified substitutes, but there are many claims that this is harmful to the human body, and additionally to the environment. Could you comment on the suspected health problems associated with genetically modified foods, and how important it is to find natural fruits and vegetables to feed your family?

Anne: While the claims against genetically modified foods include many illnesses from cancer and superviruses to infertility, the risk of fatal food allergies is one of the most studies and flagrant examples of the downside of GMOs. Bringing cod fish genes into potatoes or brazil nut into soy has clearly caused death and a rash of odd soy allergies heretofore unseen. http://www.nutrimommy.com/search/label/GM%20foods

LLD: When shopping for organic foods, it can get overwhelming visiting a Whole Foods where there are aisles and aisles of various brands and “all-natural” claims on packaging. How do you know where to start and when is it worth paying the extra couple dollars for the organic label?

Anne: Sometimes the organic label is meaningless. At your local farm stand you can always ask about growing practices and you will find many fruits and vegetables are unsprayed, sprayed with only organic products or very lightly sprayed unlike large agribusiness produce. In the packaged food realm, it is best to lean organic whenever possible, for snacks and crackers, and be especially diligent when the product has corn or soy. There is a whole profitable and growing market of organic junk food which should be avoided based on fat, salt and sugar content regardless of the source of the food. It is preferable to aim for sprouted nuts or raw snacks like kale chips rather than oily chips and floury crackers regardless of the organic label.

Thanks for all the great advice Anne! Check our her blog at http://www.nutrimommy.com/.

Don't forget to follow us on twitter @LuckyLilDarling and "Like" us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LuckyLilDarlings

Keep your skin safe this summer!

With summer in full swing, we really need to make sure we’re keeping our skin, and more importantly, the kids’, safe from the harsh rays of the sun while we’re out and about at the beach, park, or playing outside on the jungle gym. While reading through the Big City Moms Parenting Center, we stumbled across a really interesting article by a skin care expert. Take a couple minutes to read through the facts and advice that we think is so so important this time of year!

Did you know the skin of a newborn baby can be five times thinner than an adult’s? We had no idea! Because the skin is still developing at this stage in a baby’s life, it is not able to produce enough melanin (or our natural form of sun protection), and therefore is much more susceptible to sun damage. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents try to keep children younger than 6 months out of the sun completely. If you don’t have some article of clothing to cover as much of the skin as possible, parents can apply small amounts of sun screen to the face and other areas of the body. These days, companies have even created clothing that has built in UV protection! My Swim Baby has a ton of cute UV Protection Clothing on their website. We love this iPlay Tie Rash Guard & Swim Diaper! Visit My Baby Swim at www.myswimbaby.com!

Now when it comes time to pick a sunscreen, there are several things to keep in mind. First, you should decide if you want to go with the more typical, chemical sunscreens, or something more natural. With natural sunscreens, you’re keeping the chemicals to a minimum and still keeping your kids’ skin safe. Mineral-based sunscreens are a little different than chemical ones because the sunscreen creates a reflective layer on the surface of the skin, whereas with chemical sunscreens the ingredients work within the cells to prevent sun damage. After picking which type of sunscreen is for you and the kids make sure you select a product that protects against both UVA and UVB rays. The U.S. FDA does not require sunscreens to guard against UVA rays! Crazy, we know. Most experts suggest picking a sunscreen with an SPF higher than 35, which protects for 97% - 98% of harmful UV rays, but you can always go higher!

If you have a second, visit the Big City Moms website at bigcitymoms.com. You can learn about so many great events for families going on in the New York Area. Also, if you want more sun-safe information, the American Academy of Pediatrics at www.aap.org has tons of information!

Don’t forget to “Like” our new Facebook page at www.facebook.com/LuckyLilDarlings

and

Follow us on Twitter @luckylildarling.

Now, go have some fun in the sun!

The sweetest event of the year! Dream Water’s “Sweet Dreams” Event

Here’s a great event for you & your kids! This June Dream Water®, created by Dream Products, is partnering with the popular LA based The Bigg Chill Frozen Yogurt Shop to promote an exclusive yogurt selected by you (soon to be Dream Water Facebook fans). For those of you wondering what all the hullabaloo is about, Dream Water is the first water that helps you relax and fall asleep! That’s right, its just water! Great for all you parents who have trouble falling asleep after putting the little ones to bed, Dream Water is all-natural sleep enhancer, has zero calories, and no preservatives! It even comes in fun flavors such as Snoozberry, Lullaby Lemon and Pineapple PM.

So all you frozen yogurt lovers, Dream Water fanatics, and Moms and Dads, grab your kids and visit www.facebook.com/dreamwater to vote for one of three Dream Water inspired flavors: Honey Lavender, Cranberry Hibiscus or White Peach Tea. Voting is super easy! Just “Like” the page then vote on your favorite “Sweet Dreams” Frozen Yogurt. The flavor with the most votes by June 24 at 2:00 p.m. PST/5:00 p.m. EST will be crowned the “Sweet Dreams” flavor and will be created and available at The Bigg Chill June 29 & 30.

For all you LA Lucky L’il Darling families and supporters out there don’t forget to join us for the event at The Bigg Chill where you can taste the winning flavor and win Dream Water prizes. Just to give you an idea, every customer who purchases the new “Sweet Dreams” yogurt in stores will receive a FREE Dream Water 2.5 oz sample. And if you get there early, the first 50 customers in line on June 29th will receive a FREE 6-pack of Dream Water.

Don’t worry all you East-Coasters, there are prizes available for you too! After you visit and “Like” Dream Water on Facebook to vote, you will be automatically entered for a chance to win fun prizes such as t-shirts and 6-packs of Dream Water, OR, the Grand Prize of a FREE 3-month supply of Dream Water.

Remember, vote online at www.facebook.com/dreamwater now through Friday, June 24th. LA locals don’t forget to stop by The Big Chill In-Store event on Wednesday, June 29th and Thursday, June 30th.

And as Dream Water would say, Dream Responsibly!

Thanks to everyone for coming!

We hope everyone had an amazing time at the trunk show last month organized by BrightZoo and Modern Mommy! The event was hosted in a beautiful space in downtown New York where parents could take in the beautiful views of NYC while shopping for their little ones. Even better, Lucky L’il Darlings was right there with them! While the parents shopped, we supervised their kids in a conveniently located playroom.

The clothes were the absolute cutest around from such stylish brands as Purebaby, Siaomimi, Serendipity, Three Little Trees, Masala, Soft, Pink Chicken Swimwear, shirin and much, much more. Round of applause for all those trend setter parents that made the trip because a portion of the proceeds are being donated to The Autism Society of America. Shopping and charity, what could be better!

If you missed out, don’t fret! You can check out more of the collection of baby products at MD Moms website. These pediatrician mommy’s have created a whole line of products for babies and kids that are coveted by moms everywhere!

Keep checking back at the Lucky L’il Darlings Blog, Twitter, and Facebook for upcoming events and info for all you loving parents out there!

Photography by Willy in NYC & Brooklyn!

Mother's Day Special 2011
Book Portrait Sessions (Mom & Dad With Kids or Just Kids ...)

http://www.willamain.com/mothersday.html


Contact Willy at willysomma@gmail.com

$250 / 1 hour shoot with CD of images
$500 / 2 hour shoot with CD of images plus (2) 8X10 prints
$750 2 1-hour sessions with CD of images
$1,000 2 2-hour sessions with CD of images plus (2) 8X10 prints