Prima Princessa's TutuZone

Snow Tubing at Campgraw

Not everything we do has to be about a ballerina or a fairy or a princess. Last week, my husband, son (8), daughter (5) and I spent a great morning snow tubing at Campgaw in Mahwah, NJ. This ski resort is blissfully only 40 minutes away from our home in NJ. It also ended up to be a freaky, warm day for winter- 55 degrees! I hate the cold, so the warm temp was right up my alley.

Campgaw is a relaxed, family friendly resort. The parking lot was just a couple minute walk from the bottom of the mountain and its lifts. We ordered tickets online around 8:30 am that morning for the 10-noon slot and then headed out. I personally, would not head out to snow tube without reserving your tickets ahead of time. When we ordered our tickets that morning there was plently of room in this first session, but the 12-2 PM session only had 5 tickets left.

You sit in your tube and a line pulls you up the mountain. The kids got a kick out of the ride up even my little princess, but of course the zippy ride down was the biggest thrill.

Going down the lanes are divided up and they staff is very concientious about making sure people are accordingly staggered so there's really no possibilty of crashing into anyone. My year old held her own quite nicely.

Right next to the tubing slope was the bunny slope. Lots of young  kids were learning the ropes. We have not taken our kids skiiing yet so it was a great opportunity for them to peak at what's to come.

-Mary Kate

at PrimaPrincessa.com

Indoor Sandbox Fun

My Little Sandbox Play Set, DinoLand is the newest toy in our house. So it's a little more masculin than a ballerina yet fun enough for anyone. Here at Primaprincessa.com we have discovered an adorable little mini wooden sandbox, complete with shovel and rake for digging up hidden dinosaur bones. When I took it out of the box, my 8 year old son and 9 year old neighbor princess girl were very excited to put it together and hide all of the dinosaur bones for my 3 and 5 year old children to find. My little ones waited patiently in the living-room while the older kids maticulously hid the bones in the sand. "Ready!" Yelled my son, as the little ones came squeeling as they ran to the excavation site in the middle of my kitchen floor.

Once the excavations were done, my 8 year old put the dinosaur together, only to have it taken apart in minutes for the next round of hide and seek digging.

This went on for quite some time, held their attention, and provided a fun group activity for a variety of ages. One word of advise would be to do it on your outside porch or a hard wood table or floor so that clean up of the stray sand will be a snap. All in all at my house, My Little Sandbox DinoLand was a big hit with kids from 3 to 9 years old!

Everyone at Primaprincessa.com loves my little sandbox!

-Stephanie- fairy or maybe princess in training

Has your little darling become a little terror?

Is your little prince or princess perfect? Life is not always perfect here at Primaprincessa.comI knew I was in trouble when, at the grocery store with one of my little darlings; I refused to let him have a pack of gum. A level 4 tantrum of hurricane magnitude occurred. Arms flailing around, screams filled with spit and froth spewing from his mouth. The entire store screeched to a dead halt, all eyes were on us as I, in slow motion, tried desperately to reach him before he could pull the entire candy stand by the cash register down. Too late. Gum and chocolate bars everywhere, and only the quiet rolling sound of a single pack of life-saves could be heard amongst the throngs of horrified shoppers staring right at me! All right, all right, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but it sure felt like all that happened when I just could not get my kid to stop screaming.

We came home and I knew we had to make a change. I took a tip from my son's Kindergarten teacher Mrs. McKnight, and we created the “Cards”. We have used the Cards on our children who range from 3 to 8 years of age (the older the child the quicker the success). Anyone tells you that a 3 year old can not understand discipline or the consequence of their actions is in my humble opinion dead wrong.

Anyhow, what are the cards? Well, first you take a piece of 8 ½ x 11 paper, and draw a grid with six squares going across and six up and down, 36 total for you math wiz’s. Then you buy a whole bunch of really fun stickers. Each kid then gets their own card with 36 squares on it, and then colors their own individualized card.

Now comes the fun part. The title on top is “Acts of Kindness Card”. Each time your little princess does an act of kindness they receive a sticker. When the entire grid is full they get a small yet meaningful prize, like a pack of baseball cards, squishy gooey slimy rubber insect that sticks to the ceiling and leaves a permanent mark, or a new pack of their favorite bubble gum, which by the way also leaves a permanent mark when stuck to the ceiling.

The wonder of the “Acts of Kindness Cards” is that you can tailor it to the issue of the moment. If your kids just will not clean up after themselves, leaves toys all over the place, etc. then give them cleanliness as their focus. If one child has a tendency to be really mean to one of your kids, then explain to them that for every nice thing they do or say to their sibling they get a sticker. If they behave in a kind way, give ‘em a hug and then a sticker. Usually after a week or two of one focus we switch to something else so that their actions remain sincere and the goals are achievable.

Remember never ever take away stickers that have been previously earned. That type of negativity will sabotage any progress that you make. They will not always do the right thing, and you just gotta go with the flow and keep working towards improvement, not perfection. To this day, 4 years later, from time to time as a family we do “The Cards”. Actually, when things start getting out of hand, my kids are the first ones who ask for them!

-Stephanie- ballerina de jour

Parenting.com's Daily Fave is Prima Princessa!

 

Parenting.com selected our children's DVD "Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake" as their Daily Fave for today Tueday, February 19! They wrote a wonderful review of our favorite fairy princess. Parenting has been a great resource of information for me over the years since I had my son 8 years ago. As you can then imagine, seeing our DVD on their website is quite a thrill for me. The Daily Fave is a great place for parents to keep track of hot new products for your budding ballerina or any inspired kid. Thanks Parenting.com from all of us princesses at primaprincessa.com.

From the review: "Pop in this DVD and give your kids a low-key but surprising sophisticated introduction to the joy of dance. An animated ballerins introduces a small crowd of tutu-clad gilrs to Swan Lake, performed by the Paris Opera Ballet......"  Read more!

-Mary Kate

at PrimaPrincessa.com

ClassyMommy.com Loves Prima Princessa!

Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake

We at "Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake" are soooo exited to be honored with a wonderful review from ClassyMommy.com on February 18th. Check it out and scroll down to Feb.18th & our fab review. Thank you everyone at Classy Mommy for the kudos and support!

In case you have not already heard of this incredibly cool site, ClassyMommy.com is one of the hippest Mommy Blogs around, founded by Colleen, an MBA toting super-stay at home mom with a huge social conscience. She is striving to make Classy Mommy "an indispensable website for moms featuring fabulous products while at the same time highlighting important social issues facing women and children in the US and around the world"- Classy Mommy

Colleen really puts her money where her mouth is, because 100% of the profits from any products purchased through their partner sites go directly to charity! You are a hip smart chick with heart (and of course good taste). Thanks again from all of us at PrimaPrincessa.com!

From the review: "This was a fantastic DVD to review and we've seen nothing like it so far in our reviews. If your little girl aspires to be a ballerina and yearns to be a princess, she'll dig this DVD......" Read more!

-Stephanie-

How to Prevent Scars

My little princess accidentally crashed into some play equipment outside during school recess. There was no cut, but rather a nasty bruise which eventually dissappeared leaving a scar. The doctor said the scar will most likely disappear within 6 months, but in the meantime make sure to keep it mosit with cocoa butter and make sure to apply suncreen to it regularly. I happened to have this tiny handy tub of Burts Bees which has got alot of Cocoa Butter in it. It worked great for my little princess, hope it works for your princess too!

-Mary Kate

Cool Mom Picks picks us!

Our "Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake" children's DVD was just reviewed by one of our favorite blogs, Cool Mom Picks this Saturday, February 16. We are excited that more moms out there will learn about our new dance DVD for children and each and every princess. If you have not yet discovered Cool Mom Picks, I suggest you check it out soon. It is full of "non-mainstream products and services, particularly those from indie or emerging designers and mom/women-run companies." quoted from the Cool Mom Picks site

Thanks Cool Mom Picks for picking us you make us feel like a princess!

-Mary Kate

Amazing Toys from Cambodia:

www.LotusJayne.com

Here at PrimaPrincessa.comwe are in love with a truly unique and inspiring line of products for children which has just arrived from the far off land of Cambodia.

We have discovered a rare and wonderful treasure in www.LotusJayne.com. If you love unique and affordable handmade items that are in tune with contemporary fashion yet support the artistry of indigenous cultures everywhere then Lotus Jayne is for you.

Each toy is lovingly made by disadvantaged women, who are working hard to improve their lives and those of their families. They create traditional handicrafts that are also eco-friendly and fairly traded. These adorable hand-sewn critters are meticulously made with charming details and bright colors, brimming with personality.

All of the Lotus Jayne products are lovingly made in collective where formerly homeless women of Phnom Penh Cambodia are given an education, job training and other rehabilitative social services.

These are wonderful toys that you can feel great about buying and are available exclusively at www.LotusJayne.com

Adolphie$12.00 Lil' Double Hug$15.00 Monsieur Mouse$15.00 Ollie Octopus$15.00 Turtle-O$14.00

“Cambodia today remains one of the poorest countries on earth. Survivors of the Pol Pot regime during the 1970’s endured the worst kind of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. Yet the resilience and creativity of Cambodians is remarkable. With a wonderfully rich tradition of silk weaving and other handicrafts to offer the global marketplace, Cambodian artisans are embracing the future while reviving their rich cultural traditions.” –from Lotus Jayne

Along with jovial stuffed animals Lotus Jayne, which launched it's web site Feb.10 2008, offers a variety of hand made treasures, often from hand woven silk made from looms right in the homes of disadvantaged Cambodian women. Lotus Jayne offers dolls, recycled paper bead jewelry, scarves, pillows and handbags, and beautiful jewelry made from recycled bombshells. “From swords into plowshares was never so true, or so poignant.” –Lotus Jayne

-Stephanie- your resident princess

How To Be Hip For Your Hubby on Valentine's Day

O.K. so it’s been quite a few years since this princess has fit into her favorite jeans, and maybe longer since you’ve even used the word hip, but at the end of the day we moms deserve to look and feel great about ourselves.

In my pre PrimaPrincessa.com days, when I was pregnant (all four times), I felt a tremendous sense of freedom that I could look however I was going to look, simply because I was pregnant. And over the past 8 years fashion designers became hip to the fact that pregnant women want to look cute and cool, not like a circus tent with a ginormous floral pattern and bulbous bow around the neck. Women want to be beautiful, hip, young and fun at every stage of life, and we can.

So I went into a new clothing store in town recently and the woman working there (a gorgeous 20 something blond woman from Russia) came up to me and said, “Your pants are terrible. Try these”. It was the beginning of the end. I tried on my first pair of designer jeans “Rich and Skinny”. I always pooh-poohed the idea of designer jeans, until I tried them on. Their form fitting structure and soft lustrous fabric with silk lined waist band, coupled with my wearing cute boots with a nice sized heel, made me look 10 years younger, taller, and I might even say a bit glam.

When I came home my 7 year old ballerina noticed right away and said “mommy, you look so pretty. You’re not wearing mommy jeans. Can I have a play date with somebody so I can show you off?” Then my husband came home and did the once-over head to toe and said “I never thought of jeans as being… well you know…you look great honey!”

Since then I have graduated on to “Genetics Jeans” which I love just as much. I love the fact that as a mother of 4 little kids, driving, shopping, cooking, and lugging everyone all over town I can still make my husband have a double take. Thanks to you designer jean people, I feel hip and pretty for the first time in a while and it feels darn good. Bring on Valentine’s Day at PrimaPrincessa.com.

-Stephanie-

Valentine's Day Prep

Been very busy getting ready for Valentine's Day. I hosted a Valentine Making Party for every little ballerina on our block last weekend. All the children crowded around the kitchen table gluing, cutting and drawing. The dollies were a big hit. Today I was back at the craft store replenishing my stock. Unfortunately, they were all out of felt hearts, so I stocked up on small red and white pom poms and packs of assorted sequins fit for a princess. I'm taking in all the crafty loot this Thursday morning to my daughters kindergarten class for another round of valentine making.

After the craft store, it was on to the grocery store to get stuff for making cupcakes for my son's class Valentine Day Party. I'm not much of a baker so I grabbed some cake mix and pre-made icing. I'll top each cupcake with a Chocolate Kiss and some red sprinkles. You can't make a candy much cuter than a Chocolate Kiss!

Fortunately, we all picked up class Valentine Cards awhile back at the drugstore. I Just need to get  my kids to sign them all.

- Mary Kate