(Giveaway Closed) Summer Travel Series: Travel Essentials + Gulf Island Waterpark Family 4 Pack Day Ticket Giveaway Ends May 7th 11:59pm

Packing for a family trip can be stressful. Whether the trip is for a weekend or a full week, every family must have basic essentials within reach. I am currently planing a short weekend trip to Florida. Although I’m not leaving the Gulf Coast area, I need to make sure I have certain items handy.

One thing on my mind is safety & emergency planning. I will be making this trip without my husband & children. While some might think this sort of trip would be liberating, for me it’s mostly about planning for the unknown.

I’ve created a short list of Travel Essentials every family must plan for.

Travel Essentials:

1. Emergency Tool Kit
All vehicle travelers must plan for an emergency, whether it be a break down or a flat tire. I like to carry a 12 pack of water for other emergency purposes, but having water handy can also assist with vehicle overheating.

2. Copies of Any Legal or Vehicle Documentation
If traveling Internationally, having additional copies of legal documents can help if any pertinent information becomes lost or stolen while traveling. I once had to have my insurance company fax me updated copies of my ID cards due to policy renewal being updated while I was on vacation. I went on vacation in between one 6 month period into another 6 month period and I had old documentation in my car at the time.

3. Pack for Weather Change
Nothing is worse than traveling in the Summer, only to find out your travel destination is currently experiencing a Cold Front! If your traveling to Louisiana, that is exactly what you will get. Cold one day-hot the next!! Make sure you bring light windbreakers & a few pant selection just in case.

Also, make sure you bring comfortable shoes during any trip. It may take up suitcase space, but you will regret walking all over a major city in cute spring sandals!

4. Restock the First Aid Kit
You may already have an amazing First Aid kit, but when was the last time you updated its contents? When I travel with my family, I always carry a backpack filled with essentials. The very day I think I will not be needing it, is the day a chaotic medical situation occurs. Don’t forget about your seasonal allergy medicines, insect repellant & sun supplies!

5. Travel with Emergency Hydration & Nutrition
Packing extra hydration or snacks is not just for the kids. There are times it can become a medical emergency. Blood sugar can drop or someone have have a coughing/choking episode. Having those essentials items can make a huge difference.

Logo courtesy of Gulf Island Waterpark

Giveaway:
May is here! The sun is shining and our families are itching for family fun & relaxation! One of my families favorite spots to do both is by visiting Gulf Islands Waterpark in Gulfport, Mississippi. Gulf Islands Waterpark is a short drive from the New Orleans Area or the Mobile Area. If your planning a trip to the Gulf Coast soon, Gulf Island Waterpark needs to be on the top of your attraction list.

Opening Day is May 12th but if your a Gulf Island Waterpark Season Pass Member, you can visit May 5th for their preview day. Gulf Island Waterpark has plenty of ride for the children and a full calendar of special events. This summer your child can meet ROCKY (ZENDAYA COLEMAN) FROM DISNEY CHANNEL’S SHAKE-IT-UP, MEET GIBBY (NOAH MUNCK) FROM NICKELODEON’S iCARLEY, attend KIDZ PALOOZA WITH SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS, and other fun-filled events for the whole family.

My family has been season pass members for the last 2 years. I can say that being a Season ticket Holder is the way to reach maximum savings. One of my favorite things about spending the summer at Gulf Island Waterparks, although it is a large park safety is always key. The park is well-maintained, rides lines are never outrageously long & the park staff is 100% focused on safety.

If your interested in visiting Gulf Island Waterpark you can visit their website: http://www.soaknfun.com/, on Facebook & on Twitter. If you want to have an inside look, make sure to check their fun YouTube page as well.

Who wants to WIN a Family 4 pack of Day Tickets for their loved ones?? Prized valued at up to $100!To enter the contest you must answer the mandatory entry listed below.

Go to Gulf Islands Waterpark website: http://www.soaknfun.com/. Comment below and let me know what is the one thing you learned about Gulf Island Water Park.

Additional Entries:
1. Follow Gulf Island Waterpark on Twitter .Comment below letting me know you are a twitter follower of @GIWP
2. Subscriber to their Youtube Channel Comment below and let me know you are not a youtube subscriber.
3. Share this giveaway using any of the sharing links listed below. Come back and let me know where you shared the giveaway. You can do this once a day, for an entry EVERYDAY until the giveaway is over!!! Everyday you share please comment below to let me know you get an extra entry.
4. Follow me on Twitter. Comment below letting me know your a follow of @jeffmarias2001

Remember, you can share everyday to receive an extra entry, BUT you must comment back letting me know you shared so I can keep track of the entries. All entries will be validated. Contest will end May 7th at 11:50 Central time. I have the Giveaway Prize on hand and will email winner within 24 hours of winner selection.

How Has Social Media Changed the Everyday Mom

Previously post I wrote for Galtime.com

 

 

My 11 year old daughter came to me one day and said…“Mom what did people do before Facebook & Twitter”? My initial response was a quick laugh.

Then I started thinking about it. What did we do before Social media??

I started thinking about it….before Facebook & Twitter, I was on MySpace. I remember going to Classmates.com back in 2004-2005 when my friends & I were planning a 10 yr High School Reunion. But what did we do before that??

It was like trying to find out What Came First, The Chicken or the Egg Theory.

I remember reading a few blogs here and there back in the early 2000. I was also a reader of a few money saving forums around that time-frame. In the late 90′s it was chat rooms & late 80′s- 90′s a simple e-mail….

Once I found it’s genesis I started thinking how much Social Media HAS changed us. We use Social Media as a tool.

-To Connect
Keeping in touch with Friends & Family. Finding others with our same likes or dislikes. Have a favorite T.V Show?? Now you connect with the actor or your favorite Musician! Your child’s school is probably on Facebook. what time if the Fall Festival again??

-Education
How can I get my child on a regular Sleep Schedule? What’s your recommendation for a certain product? How can I trim my family’s budget?

-Form of Release
Every tweeted to a company your likes or dislikes. When you had poor Customer Service and wanted to Rant about it? We blog….so naturally we have built up emotions that blogging allows us to release anger or any form of emotions. Irate with a family member…just tweet about it and you’ll feel better!

-Careers
Naturally, Social Media is great for Marketers, Advertisers, Business Owners, etc. Many Mom’s have dived into Blogging, Created their own companies built around Social Media weather it’s writing a book, starting a P.R Firm, or making their dream of being a well-known Pastry Chef a reality.

-News
I still watch Local/National news programming. But if there is an Earthquake or Tornado somewhere, we probably see it on the web first. If stocks are plummeting, someone on CNN or Fox is already Tweeting about it. Going to Freeze tonight? someone on Twitter/Facebook already posted tomorrow local forecast.

What did we do before Social Media? What if it went away? What is the next big thing in Social Media and will it be a fad?

Just remember…the idea of the Internet was once thought of as a fad.

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Wordless Wednesday- New Orleans Edition (Video)

One more reason I love New Orleans- It’s always 5 O’Clock in the French Quarter!

New Orleans Navy Week

Last week we were fortunate enough to enjoy Nola Navy Week in New Orleans, Louisiana. New Orleans served as the inaugural city in a three-year national celebration commemorating the War of 1812 and the Star-Spangled Banner. Since New Orleans is the first city to enjoy these festivities, I wanted to post a few pictures for the event. The event is part of Operation Sail and will have events in 5 other cities nationwide. If your able to attend the event nearby, you will not be disappointed. My children had a great time & the event was free which is always a plus in my book!

Visitors were able to tour the ships and interact with Sailors all over the world. In addition to the U.S ships, we were also able to tour a French, Indonesian, & Ecuadorian Ships. Here in New Orleans, we also had a Seafood cook-Off, sporting competitions, and other events. The Blue Angels were supposed to perform over the weekend , but with the high chance of rain and strong winds, the event was cancelled.

My son called the Indonesian & Ecuadorian ships’”pirate ships” due to the sails similar to his interpretation on a tall pirate ship. The “Tall” ships were absolutely beautiful & were very detailed with the finest craftsmanship.

I thought this was a great picture! You can see that these garbage cans were clearly marked for recycling by the materials of the contents. I thought this was perfect, since we are also celebrating  Earth Day Week!

Above- Some of the ornamental decorations on the Indonesian Ship.

Our military (and city) is always a great host, but the crew from the other nations representing the event were so friendly. Above is a picture of my kids, along with one of the 5 officers for the French Navel Crew. she did a great job. she was funny, informative, & did a great job of representing her Country!

Above: Blue Angels doing their practice runs. I wish they would have been able to perform a full set, but safety is more important!

Is Operation Sail coming to your city? Check Make sure to check out their website for more information on future events.

Photo Credit: http://www.opsail.org/

May 23-30 – NEW YORK CITYJUNE 1-12 – NORFOLKJUNE 13-19 – BALTIMOREJUNE 30-JULY 5 – BOSTONJULY 6-8 – NEW LONDONAll public ship tours are free!

Top 5 Eco-Friendly Brands/Products: Earth Day Celebration Week

Earth Day Celebration is continuing on Blogging, Babies & the Bayou. Today I am focusing on my Top 5 Eco-Friendly Brands/Product List.

1. P&G Future Friendly
I am a huge P&G Future Friendly lover. Last Earth Day I wrote about my P&G Future Friendly Facebook Challenge. Since then, P&G has taken future Friendly products to the next level by making quality Eco-Friendly products without taking away the products performance. The Brand has succeeded by emphasizing on little acts that can reduce waste which can make a meaningful impact on our environment.

2. Green Works® Cleaning Products:
Green Works is a natural home care cleaning product that is 95-99% derived of natural products. Normally these types of products can bring the consumer cost to skyrocket, but Green Works manages to maintain a low cost as traditional cleaners. Green works is made from biodegradable ingredients, sustainable packaging and of course, uses no animal testing to their products. Green works is great for children to use and cleans well.

3. Toyota Prius
Toyota was the first to offer the world’s first mass-market hybrid vehicle. It started the “green” revolution of vehicles in the U.S & in several dozen countries. Many car companies have tried to do the exact same measure in the past, but Toyota was the first to make the Hybrid a popular vehicle. The Toyota Prius is still the most fuel-efficient car available in the U.S.

4. Clif Bars
I remember having a Clif Bar and thinking I was eating “just” another energy bar. Little did I know that Clif Bars were energy bars with a purpose. Clif Bars are great tasting & organic, but they are also great for our planet. Clif Bars contains no toxin pesticides or synthetic chemicals. From the growing process, packaging, even their transport, protecting our environment is one of their most important goals.

5. Aveda
Aveda is a pioneer in the green industry. Their products are derived of natural ingredients essential natural oils. since Aveda uses only the best ingredients for their products,the have farms & co-ops that their product ingredients are imported from. From Brazil, Bulgaria, & even the U.S, the ingredients used ensure their hair & skin care lines stay Organic Certified. If you never been to an Aveda Institute or Aveda Certified Spa, your definitely in for a special treat.

What are your favorite Eco-Friendly Brands/products to use in your household??

Disclosure: Please keep in mind this is MY Top 5 Eco-Friendly Brands/Products list. I have worked with a few of the companies listed, but all opinions are 100% my own thoughts & beliefs. #llblog #EarthDay

Wordless Wednesday : Earth Day Celebration Week

My 7 year old taking his aluminum cans to our local recycling center. As you can see, he is very proud of his stash!

5 Unconventional Eco Friendly Tips: Earth Day 2012 Celebration Week

April 22nd,2012 is Earth Day. Like so many of us, we are all doing our part to be as Eco-Friendly as possible. Many households recycle, make their own cleaning products, and donate items so that they can be reused & re-purposed. But what can we do to think outside the box?

I have compiled a list of Top 5 Unconventional Eco Friendly Tips. Please keep in mind that not all tips are for everyone. But for some it’s a little something we can all do to maintain & preserve our beautiful plant!

Top 5 Unconventional Eco Friendly Tips:
1. Create a Family Compost Area
Families have been doing this for generations, but many families are still on the fence about the subject of compost. Depending on geographical area, this may not be something your able to do. You can easily create a homemade compost bin to add in any space backyard.

2. Take Gardening to the Next Level

So many of us have family gardens, but why not take it to the next level? Join a Co-op or create your own local Comminty Garden. Do you live in an apartment or have a small back yard, this is the perfect idea for you. I have a friend that helped create his Church Garden. Church Members participate in cultivating, planting, weeding, & harvesting the Community Garden. The church family reaps the rewards. Food is then used for their church food bank or to create pot luck dinners for Church Events.

3. Organize a Earth Month Challenge in your local Community

Great way to spread awareness locally within your community whether it is at your workplace, school, or Church based. Help fellow community members save water, conserve energy and reduce pollution follow end of month challenge with a party at a local park.

4. Mulch Memories

I’m going to lose many mommies here but bear with me!

Did you know paper make a great mulch? Your small children bring home tons of art drawings worthy of be hung on the Refrigerator Museum. After they have been hung, we carefully save & preserve those memories. Are you really going to save every scrap piece of paper your child creates. Why not use your digital camera to snap a picture of your child’s best Piccasso rendering, then shred (gasp) the piece to create mulch for your garden. Naturally your going to want to preserve some of their drawings, but not every piece. Why not use those memories and plant a fruit tree with the art shreddings. The art can be restored into a beautiful fruit tree creating new memories of it’s own.

Still with me? HA!!

5. Create a Workplace Recycling Center

Ever wanted to know what happened with all those soda cans in your coworker’s waste bin? Or all the misprinted pieces of paper in the shredder box? Create a Recycle Manager Position at your workplace (no extra pay of course). Rotate the position to another coworker weekly or monthly. You can take the paper or aluminum/glass cans to the recycling center. If your recycled items generate a small income use that money for an end of year party or to donate back within the community.

Have any tips you would like to share??

Wordless Wednesday- Farm Fresh Edition

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can someone say Organic?? No, we didn’t eat the chickens. But we did eat those scrumptious eggs~Yummy!

Transitions Optical- Eye Didn’t Know That

About 8 years ago my eyesight started to diminish. The first thing I noticed was light sensitivity, the second was my night-time driving. I was pregnant with my youngest child and  taking high dosage of hormones for medical reasons.  One of the side effects of the hormones I was ingesting was slight vision loss. I spoke with my Obstetrician about my vision loss and was reassured that my vision would get better once I was able to ween myself off of the hormones.

A few months after having my child, my vision failed to  return to full capacity. I wasn’t very concerned, but my family was. They encouraged me to have my vision checked. I finally caved in, but sine I never wore glasses before,  I still wasn’t too concerned. I was dumbfounded when I did the initial eye test. Right away, it was obvious I had no central line of vision in one eye. The optometrist referred me to a ophthalmologist. There the ophthalmologist then referred me to a retinal specialist.

Diagnosis-Ocular Histoplasmosis Syndrome

Say What?!?!

Basically, it’s an eye disease I had, possibly as a child, in my eye & never knew. As the years progressed it developed into Ocular Histoplasmosis Syndrome. I won’t go into detail, but it is a hole in my central line of vision plus major scarring around the eye which adds to the Photostress and Photophobia.

 

 

 

 

 

Needless to say, I’m very cautious of my children’s vision. My daughter nickname is “Hawk eyes”. I’m not joking, her eyes are that good!! That being said, she loves playing games that have to do with her vision.

Transition Optical has developed a website that does just that. The website is called Eye Didn’t Know That . It’s a fun site helps promote fun & educate about healthy sight and ways to maintain it. My daughter loves the games, coloring pages & the virtual fortune teller!! But as a parent I love how she can learn important facts about the eye, plus I get tips on how to spot potential signs of vision problems in my children.

Transitions Optical is doing great things within our community. In addition to their website created to promote healthy vision practices for children, they have also partnered with American Diabetes Association (ADA) to offer free vision screenings at the ADA Health Expos in Chicago & New York.

According to a recent study Diabetes is the number one recent agents  of blindness in patients ages 24-74 yrs. Conditions like macular degeneration, cataracts, even glaucoma can be triggered by diabetes. Latinos have a 1.7 times more likely to develops these conditions due to diabetes than non-Hispanic whites.  This is scary information for someone like myself!!

Having your vision checked regularly reduces your chances of developing serious vision conditions in the future. Make sure not only is your children aware of possible signs of vision loss, but your trying to maintain healthy vision for yourself as well.

ADA Health Expos:
Chicago, IL April 14th, 2012
New York City, NY November 3rd, 2012

You can find more information at http://www.Transitions.com or http://www.eyedidntknowthat.info/. You can find Transitions Optical on Twitter & on Facebook.

Disclosure: This is part of a sponsored campaign with Latina Mom Bloggers & Transitions Optical.  However, all opinions expressed are my own.

Happy Easter 2012

 

Taking off for a few days due to Easter/Spring Break. I hope everyone has a great Holiday. We will be back Monday will all new posts!

 

 

~~Maria

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