Month: July 2017

When you live in New York City, you happen to be blessed with direct flights to pretty much anywhere. Growing up in St. Louis, I remember connecting multiple times to get to our destinations. Since living in NYC, I have been to several of the Caribbean Islands, but this was our first time to Aruba.

Many of our friends had visited the island before and spoke about all the activities and the nightlife and many had compared Aruba to Hawaii. They said there was an easiness of walking out the front door of your hotel and being a part of the town and the people.

With many things in motion with all the kids at different camps this summer, we decided to go in early July with our little one. I thought summertime would leave the Island empty; boy was I wrong. It was packed and full of life.

We arrived Mid-day and got to our hotel, The Hyatt Aruba, just in time to take in an afternoon swim in the ocean. When you walk from the front hotel lobby down towards the beach, you discover that the property has the most amazing tropical birds and fish and even swans placed along the paths, you almost feel like you are in a tropical jungle.

The ocean and beach were buzzing with so many people, boats, and floats and huts with people everywhere loving the white sandy beaches. The water was crystal blue and we plopped ourselves down till the sunset. Later that evening we dined at the hotel and went to sleep early dreaming of the next gorgeous day.

We were up and out early the second day and we took in the pools and waterslides. The water was so warm, that our daughter who was a timid swimmer became an actual swimmer on this day. She learned to jump in the water for the first time and made friends with so many little girls at the pool that we then became friends with other families. Late afternoon we explored the boardwalk along the beach, which was filled with people and amazing food shacks. While some people would have made a beeline for some of the more money-focused attractions (not that there’s anything wrong with casinos – I have friends who use JBO and have a blast!), we were happy to soak in the atmosphere.

This is what makes Aruba different than any other island we have ever been to. You can walk right out of your resort, turn right or left and be around the most amazing restaurants and food shacks you have ever seen. Most island resorts have security and guards and a gate when you pull in. You are locked into your resort unless you book a taxi ride somewhere. We were so surprised and pleased that you could go for long walks along the beach and boardwalk and also around the town so easily.

We discovered a gem called Edwardo’s Beach Shack that had every Acai Bowl you could ever imagine. They had every type of smoothie to fresh juices and fruit soft serve. This Edwardo’s had a line of people everyday and became a staple of ours. Another unbelievable discovery was dinner at Madame Jannette. We didn’t realize that there isn’t an actual Madame Janette. Madame Janette is a spicy pepper grown in Aruba. I did however leave the restaurant with their famous almond crusted grouper that I will attempt to make one day and share the recipe.

The other magic of the Hyatt Aruba is that it is perfectly located on Palms Beach. You have the most unbelievable views from your room, and you will never be bored with 4 indoor/outdoor restaurants, 5 bars, including swim-up and beach bars, a gym and tennis courts, plus a casino (this could be a great alternative to using the Bitstarz website!) and a spa. After all, who doesn’t love the idea of having access to a casino whilst on vacation? Not me, and I’m going to guess not you either. Being in a physical casino is such a different experience than an online one like thisisstory.com. If you’ve never been to one before, you now have the perfect chance to do so, and what’s even better is that you have a prime opportunity to win some extra money too. All you need to do is make sure that you’ve brushed up on your skills, which you can do by visiting apps like kiss918 apk malaysia whenever you wish. Just remember that while the games are the same the experience of being physically there with the other players and the house can be astounding. It could definitely come in useful when it comes to playing at land casinos like this one. But the fun doesn’t stop there. We thought about all the water sports but we were quite contempt just building sand castles with our little one and being lazy on the complimentary rafts for all the guests.

As the song says “Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I wanna take you to….” Back to Aruba I would say. Aruba Baby!

I grew up with grandparents who lived in Orlando Florida.  Every year we visited them and made an annual trip to SeaWorld.  SeaWorld was one of my favorite places to visit as a little girl.

 I remember the feeling of sitting next to my Dad at all the shows waiting to get splashed.  I can still hear his laugh and him saying “Get ready Missy!”  That was our favorite part.  I was 8 years old and my sister was 5.

Today it is my turn.  Not I get to take my daughter to SeaWorld.  She is just about how old I was when I started visiting, and now I get to relive everything I did with my mom and dad, and see it all again in her eyes.

Just this past week, we went to SeaWorld San Diego for one of our Word of Mom programs where we bring together families from all across the country.  This group came from the Southern California area and they got an up close and personal experience with some of San Diego SeaWorld’s new adventures.  We started the day with a beautiful catered lunch with some surprise animal visitors that included a Penguin, a Sloth and a Porcupine.  To be able to interact with the animals in this intimate setting was something quite special.  

Following our lunch we went to see the new Orca Encounter Show.  It was mesmerizing.  There is now an infinity screen behind the water that brings their story to life.  I watched my little one stare in awe as she learned all about the Orcas and watched them swim beautifully and leap out of the water.  After the show, we got to stick around and ask the trainers some questions and learn more about their habitat, the training and their life here at SeaWorld. 

We then got to see the hilarious Sea Lion Show and the Dolphin Show where we got our own private splash moment as well as the opportunity to pet the Dolphins, feed the Dolphins and learn more about what inspires the trainers.

The most important moment happened towards the end of our guided tour, we were brought behind the scenes to the animal rescue and rehabilitation area of the park.  We were able to learn about their rescue missions, and talk first hand about what is endangering our oceans and animals.  I had no idea that SeaWorld is often the first responders when an animal is in trouble and washed upon the shores. The questions from the children were so smart and now our kids know how important it is to deflate and throw away all the balloons they get.  This is just one of so many dangers to our sea life as these balloons end up in our waters and killing our sea life.  

After this education, we had downtime to explore the park on our own.  I took my daughter on the Bayside Sky Ride, which was one of my favorites as a little girl.  You get to go high above the park and look down at everything on this relaxing gondola ride. I told her my stories of when I was 8 years old at SeaWorld and how she is now experiencing what I got to experience.  Maybe it registered, not sure, as she was busy waving to everyone else on the ride that we passed.

We ended the evening with the new incredible Electric Ocean.  There is a brand new Cirque show that happens just as the sunsets over the Pacific Ocean.  This all happens after dark at SeaWorld San Diego.  First, we stumbled upon a kids’ disco, which had us moms even shaking it.  They had dancers and a DJ and everyone was dressed up in glow costume and the kids were having the time of their lives.  We wandered with tired feet to see all the beautiful lights at night and left the park before it closed petting the entry fish one last time.

I leave you with this thought; Education is powerful, information is powerful. To all the naysayers of the SeaWorld parks because of Blackfish…. It might be time to immerse yourselves in all the positive work they do for Ocean life and animals today. You might find yourself pleasantly surprised and wanting to take your children back again and again, just like I did with my daughter this past week.

This post was in partnership with SeaWorld.  These are my own opinions.

Thank you Poise® for sponsoring this post. Follow Poise on Facebook and Twitter and share how you Seize Your #PoiseMoment.

I thought there was something seriously wrong with me after I had my 3rd baby. I will never forget the day. I went to the gym a few months after she was born as I was wanting to get back on top of my fitness routine, so I looked into loads of gym clothes, and my husband even looked into some mens twin sets for himself so we could both give it a go and would hopefully get physically healthy again! So, when the time came, I went to do some jumping jacks, and realized that I had leaked. I called my Mom, because I was so worried, she explained that I had LBL and not to worry. Following the days after the gym, there were more LBL moments while sneezing and laughing.

1 and 3 women experience LBL (light bladder leakage) and many aren’t comfortable talking about this. That is why I chose to partner with Poise to help empower other women and bring this topic and conversation to the forefront. It was liberating and important to share my story so that other women don’t feel like they are alone.

Just this past month, I hosted an event at BlogHer, (the biggest blogging conference for women in the world) where we brought together women from all across the country in an intimate setting for wine, yoga and conversation. I was joined by OBGYN, Dr. Jessica Shepherd and pelvic health expert, SarahHaag to discuss my personal story and to learn how to take control of LBL with better solutions. They also spoke to me about other vaginal health concerns and how to potentially improve the health of your vagina with products similar to these capsules you can find on amazon as well as other alternatives.

I was surprised by the community of women in the room and how open so many women were about their own LBL struggles. Everyone shared their own personal stories and so many women had so many questions. Sarah brought in an actual model pelvis and many women didn’t even understand this area of their bodies. There were laughs and comfort and we all discovered that LBL does not have to slow you down, thanks to Poise.

Poise has a variety of products – from Pads and liners to Poise Impressa Bladder Supports which is an over the counter product designed to stop bladder leaks before they even happen. Women were relieved to learn about this as they discussed their own struggles with working out, sneezing, laughing, and even sex. In fact, after this revelation, some of these women went on to say that they wouldn’t mind trying specific sex toys, like bullet vibrators, to celebrate their newfound confidence when it came to their LBL. If products such as pads and liners are able to help combat their issue, it only feels right to them to make the most of what they can now do. For me personally, I found myself feeling for the first time, not alone and not ashamed. I finally felt like I could have just gone on somewhere such as Find a fuck buddy and found a random person that I could have sex with and not worry about my LBL! I had felt for some time that there was something wrong with my body or that I didn’t focus on those Kegels enough, but what I realized is that so many women have this problem and so many are ashamed too when you just don’t have to be.

At the end of the yoga class and pelvic demonstration, all the women gathered with a glass of wine on their yoga mats and it was kind of like sitting around a campfire with your friends. We all just opened up about our LBL issues, our kids and bodies. It made me realize again, why I love what I do and how we have to continue the conversation, so that so many more women, don’t feel alone like I did.

Go ahead and Poise a try! Choose a free sample kit to experience the comfort and protection of Poise^®.

Disclosure: I was selected for this opportunity and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.