summer Archives - Page 2 of 3

Planning a day at the beach with kids #DadChat

February 9, 2015 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Planning a day at the beach with kids

Summer is just around the corner and nothing is more fun for the whole family than a day at the beach with kids. If you live close to a beach, a staycation is a great vacation idea for families. It’s a great way to have fun and save money.

A beach staycation can mean more than just swimming. There are many fun things to do at the beach, from boating to beach volleyball.

There are a few things to keep in mind when you plan a trip to the beach, including comfort, safety and fun. Yes, it’s true, the beach isn’t just about fun, but if you go prepared you can make sure the whole time is a fun experience and a memorable one.

Comfort

Comfort is important for a trip to the beach because you want to make sure you have a chance to relax and enjoy the sun and sand. That means having the right towels, the right wardrobe and even the right chair. Make sure that bathing suites fit, and stay in place, before heading out. This will help avoid any embarrassing moments. Make sure to bring sandals, sunglasses, a beach hat and even a change of clothes if necessary.

The right seating is important too. While it might be fun to sit in the sand, why not bring along heavy duty chairs from Beach Mall. A comfortable chair that can stand up the the beach and climbing kids is definitely a must have for the perfect beach vacation.

Safety

If you have young children that don’t know how to swim well, make sure to bring flotation devices. It also helps to choose a beach that has a lifeguard on duty.

Keep a first aid kit in your vehicle. Sometimes a trip to the beach can result in a cut foot from someone’s broken glass hidden in the sand, a bug bite, or even sunburn.

Speaking of sunburn, always bring sunscreen. Find one with an SPF of 30, or more, and make sure that it protects from UVA and UVB rays. If the sunscreen is not waterproof it may need to be reapplied numerous times, depending how much time you spend on the beach.

Fun

While a visit to the beach itself is fun, it sometimes helps to bring some fun things with you.

Make the kids leave technology at home, and set an example by doing the same. Tech gadgets don’t do well clogged up with sand anyway.

Take a beach ball, beach noodles, and other fun beach toys with you. Depending on the beach rules, you might even be able to bring the family dog to play for the day.

If your beach rents out any kinds of boats or wave runners it might be fun to rent one for a bit. Just make sure everyone wears their life jacket and follows safety rules.

Beach volleyball is also another fun sport, mainly for older kids. You can always bring your own set-up if the beach doesn’t have one, and invite other beach goers to play too.

The important thing is to make sure everyone is safe and having fun, together.

Ideas for Making #Summer 2014 the Best One Yet

January 29, 2014 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Summer is the best time of the year (IMHO). It’s the time when you and your kids can get outside, enjoy the weather, and do some fun activities (unlike during the winter when you’re pretty much snowed in). It’s also a time when you can start in on new home and yard projects to make some improvements and have some good family fun.

Not sure where to start? Well, here are some ideas to get those creative juices flowing:

Illuminated & Comfortable

The back yard deck will probably become the focal point for your summer nights. It gives you the ideal location to lounge and spend time with family and friends.

There are many guides to building a deck that are easy to follow and won’t cost an arm and a leg. They are well worth their investment since it’ll increase your property value and give you this focal point of activity as mentioned.

But let’s jump forward and list some ways to add some special touches to this area:

Consider going out of the ordinary and painting the deck with colors. There are many brands of paint that can handle the weather conditions. This splash of color (even if it’s just the railing) can be a nice addition and even more so if you use glow in the dark paint to give it a neat illuminated look after a bright, sunny day.
Consider the lighting and ambiance of your deck and try adding a little flair to it by picking out patio lights online with your family. Have a vote on which ones would go perfectly with the deck. There is a lot to choose from. You could even theme the deck to have a Tiki feel or give it a bit of a mystical look with flameless candles and such.
Consider doing a few DIY projects for the deck to add to its fun. You could install small compartments on the side to house yard games. Add a dart board on one end. Build a picnic table for a corner. Make your own hammock. All these projects would be great for spending time with your kids, teaching them a few skills, and having something neat to show at the end of the day.

These little additions can make for a truly enjoyable night. You all had fun setting things up during the day and can now relax. Not a bad idea for the summer (and spending time with the kids), eh?

Forts, Fires, and Smores

I think it’s safe to assume that each one of us wanted a tree fort when we were younger. Building a tree fort isn’t all too difficult actually, as long as you can follow some plans, stay patient during the process, and remember to measure twice, cut once.

This also makes for a great activity to work on a big project with your children. You can do the heavy lifting and the dangerous stuff but then hand it over to them when it comes to decorating the fort, painting, and adding onto the fun.

Once that’s been built you can have nights where you’re all up there telling ghost stories or down in the yard cooking smores over a small fire. It’s really fun!

Fish Fries & BBQ’s

Food brings the family and friends together but it can also be a great opportunity to spend time with your children. Make a day out of gathering up the supplies for the fish fry or BBQ.

You could:

Go to the beach or lake and spend the day fishing, then bring it back to cook
Go to ethnic or farmer’s markets to find new ingredients and take a vote
Go as far as raising your own animals (if you have the property) for food
Invest in a nice grill or deep fryer and your next food party will create quite a buzz.

Frito-Lay, Pepsi and Kroger host final Free For All Friday event #FritoLayFreeForAll Giveaway

May 4, 2013 by dadofdivas 1 Comment

Have your summer BBQ snacks all picked out? Join Frito-Lay, Pepsi and Kroger at the final Free For All Friday event– the third this spring — hosted at Kroger (and its banner) stores across the U.S.. During the event, shoppers can visit their local chain to score free samples of select PepsiCo brands, while supplies last. The last Free For All Friday event is all about taking snacking to a whole new level by offering free samples of some of its newest, boldest and most innovative PepsiCo products which include: Doritos Locos Tacos tortilla chips, Cheetos MIX-UPS snacks and Pepsi Next.

Get ready for summer snacking, and join us for the last Free For All Friday event at Kroger stores on May 17, 4 to 8 p.m. local time!

For more details about Free For All Friday and a list of participating Kroger (and its banner) stores, visit: krogerpepsifritolayfreeforall.com and let us know you’re participating by using #FritoLayFreeForAll

Featured Product Info

Cheetos® MixUps Xtra Cheezy Mix and Cheetos® MixUps Cheezy Salsa Mix

Looking for a family snack everyone can agree on? New Cheetos MixUps offer four shapes and four flavors in every bag. Something for everyone to love!
“Feeling a little zippy? New Cheezy salsa Mix-Ups spice up your favorite Cheetos cheddar puff with salsa picante, jalapeno, and chipotle cheddar!”
“New Xtra Cheezy MixUps have four cheese flavors all in one bag! Try cheddar, parmesan, double cheddar and nacho cheese flavored Cheetos!”

Doritos® Locos Tacos Flavored Tortilla Chips

“What’s better than tacos and Doritos? Taco and Nacho Doritos flavored tortilla chips all in one bag!”

“It’s like a crunchy delicious taco and your favorite Nacho Dorito all in one bag! Can you handle this much kick in one tortilla chip?”

Pepsi NEXT

A game-changer in the cola category: the first to deliver real cola taste with 60% less sugar than Pepsi-Cola
After years of research and development, we’ve unlocked the great taste of Pepsi NEXT, the choice for consumers who want real cola taste with less sugar.
If you love the taste of Pepsi but they don’t believe you can achieve full-flavor taste with a diet cola, then you have to try Pepsi Next to believe it.
Pepsi NEXT is crafted from the right mix of cola flavor and a blend of sweeteners to closely match the real cola taste you expect from Pepsi, with 60% less sugar.

My Experience With The Products

I had the opportunity to try out all of these products at a recent party that we held (thanks to Frito-Lay). We had not seen our friends in a while so it was great to be able to sit back and relax as the warm weather is finally upon us here in Michigan! We were excited also to try some of these new products, as we had not in the past, but we are fans of Frito-Lay products and Chester Cheetah is definitely a favorite among my girls. I have to say that I really liked the spicy Cheetos Mix-Ups as well as the Locos Tacos Doritos – they tasted great!!

I grew up drinking Pepsi, so when I heard about Pepsi Next, I was intrigued, I had not tasted it prior to this party, so I wanted to really see whether it still tasted like the Pepsi that I have come to love. In trying this myself I have to say that this has a much better taste then Diet Pepsi (in my opinion) and I loved that it had such a smaller amount of sugar within it (less then regular Pepsi that is). The drink tasted good, and you did not lose the Pepsi flavor, which has happened in the past in some other brands when they tried to change the overall recipe. All-in-all, this was a great new product and I may even be changing what I drink now from regular Pepsi to Pepsi Next! For my kids, though they do not drink a lot of soda, I would not have as much of an issue with giving them this, especially with the lower amount of sugar that is in this!

In getting ready for summer this was a great time just relaxing in the sun, and with temps in the 70’s, we were definitely ready to simply relax after a long week and have some great conversations with some great friends!

Of course no grilling event would be great without some great grilling! We ended up getting some gourmet burgers from a meat shop in town and had at it! Top that off with fesh corn and some dessert and we had our fill of great times, great food, and great fun thanks to the folks at Frito-Lay!

If you are ready for the spring to be over and for summer to start up, why not have a grilling party of your own with your friends with some of the great products I mentioned here. Also, you can have the chance to try out some of these products shown below as well as get a $25 gift card to help with other expenses just by entering!

Giveaway

How would you like to win this for yourself or for your family? All you need to do is fill out the below form to be entered. The contest will run for one week and will end on May 11, 2013.

Winner must be a resident of the U.S.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Winners are chosen at random, if you want all your chances counted, make sure you leave individual comments, not all of them in one!

Winner has 48 hours to contact me or another name will be chosen.

——————————————————————————————-

New to the Divadom or to Dad of Divas Reviews?

Please Subscribe to my RSS Feed! Subscribe in a reader

Questions?Drop me a line at dadofdivas@gmail.com

Making the 4th of July That Much Better With @Sears #SearsPatio #GrillingIsHappiness #cbias

July 4, 2012 by dadofdivas 18 Comments

For me the 4th of July has always been about family and celebrations. Whether it has been celebrating at home or at family or friend’s home, we always tend to get together with others to celebrate the great nation that we live in, but also just celebrating the ties that bind us together. This year, instead of traveling to my inlaw’s house, we will be having a celebration at home (much of the reasoning behind this is because of what day of the week the 4th falls this year). We will be having a few friends and their kids over and will be having our own little celebration followed by fireworks that are sent up at a church which is within sight distance of our home, so we can watch them from our deck.

I am not the type of person to go all out with decorations or anything like that, but we do plan to have our whole deck set out and allow for the kids to have their own table as well so that they can have fun too. Don’t get me wrong, the American Flag will be flying and we might even have some fireworks of our own!

I was excited to be selected to work with Collective Bias on the #SearsPatio #GrillingIsHappiness campaign, as I had not been to Sears in a while and had not really explored the Sears Outdoor Living Section lately, as the last time I was there was around Christmas time and there were no outdoor patio sets or grills available at that time (or at least the selection of grills was vastly limited). I was asked to either shop fora new Patio Set or a New Grill, and let me tell you this was not an easy decision as both were needed and Sears did offer some great options for both.

When I went to the store I was impressed by the variety of things that they offered in store, as I had explored their online site (See below for links) and I knew that they had a wide selection of grills and patio sets. I was particularly impressed with the number of grills that they had in stock. From Weber to Charbroil and many others, you have a wide variety to select from.

I weighed my options and found a number of patio sets that I liked in the store, and I would have to say that the grill conundrum was equal, as my mind was left a bit boggled as there were so many options.

The salesperson that we worked with was very helpful and I was interested to see that he and his fellow co-workers were all using IPad devices to connect customers with their online sites. He showed me the items online as well as reviews that were there and as I continued my exploration, he kept track on his IPad of the items we were considering. At the end of the shopping trip he let me know about this and that he would email me links to all of the products that I had been considering in the store. How slick is that, and all he had to do is get my phone number and based on my Shop Your Way Rewards Account, he sent everything to my home email address.

I decided not to purchase anything at first as I wanted to go home and think about all of my options, explore the links that had just been sent to me as well as the rest of the Sears site itself and then make a final decision.

When I got home, the email that the salesperson mentioned was there and there were a ton of great resources included in the email itself. I explored these and the Sears website and I found both to be very helpful. I was happy to see that they had a review section as in two cases, patio sets that I considered were not receiving positive reviews from customers in regards to their overall outdoor durabilty, so I chose to steer away from these.

In the end, my wife and I chose to go with a new grill. Why did we choose this? Well, we do a lot of grilling and have come to find that Michigan weather is many times rough on grills. I have never had a grill that has held up to the elements after only a few years, nor a grill that I would write home about saying that it cooked better than what I could do inside (which really is not grilling). I have been a fan from a distance of Weber Grills for some time, but have never stepped forward to purchase one due to the overall cost. This shop gave me the opportunity to step over this and purchase the Spirit Weber Grill. I would have preferred the Genesis (The next size up), but no Sears stores in our area had this available and I would have had to pay over $100 for shipping, so that was not really an option.

I have just put this grill together in time for the 4th and I found that it did take a little longer than I had first thought, as I misused a few screws that I thought were to be used in another area, so it was definitely user error on my part. We ended up having our 4th of July Big get-together yesterday, and the grill worked amazingly well. The meat cooked thoroughly and I was impressed with how easy it was to use. The picture below shows you the last batch of meat that I had to throw on after my first batch was complete (people were eating a lot). People remarked later that the meat tasted great and I know that in part it was because of the tools that I was able to use!

What about you? What are your plans this 4th of July and is grilling a part of the plan?

For more information on Sears visit the following links:

Catalog Link: http://bit.ly/CatalogCB
Sears Local Ad: http://bit.ly/SearsWeeklyDealsCB
Sears on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/Sears
Sears on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sears
Sears Shop Your Way Rewards on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/ShopYourWay
Sears Style Hub (if purchasing a patio set): http://www.sears.com/outdoorstyle/
Sears Grilling is Happiness (if purchasing a grill): http://www.grillingishappiness.com/

You can see more of my photos from this shop here – https://plus.google.com/photos/100572181234104788072/albums/5757915607164028161

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Sears. #CBias #SocialFabric

——————————————————————————————-

New to the Divadom or to Dad of Divas Reviews?

Please Subscribe to my RSS Feed! Subscribe in a reader

Questions?Drop me a line at dadofdivas@gmail.com

Summer Smoothies from Libby’s: Giveaway

July 23, 2010 by dadofdivas 8 Comments

Looking for a refreshing summer treat, the great people over at Libby’s are working with Dad of Divas readers to cool off this summer with the following recipes:

TUTTI-FRUTTI SMOOTHIE
Yield: 2(16-ounce) serving

1 (15-ounce) can Libby’s Chunky Fruit Mix

1/2 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup orange juice
6 ice cubes

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Pour into 2 (2-cup) glasses.

187 Calories Per Serving

DOUBLE PEACH SMOOTHIE
Yield: 2(16-ounce) servings

1	(14.75-ounce) can Libby’s Peach Slices sweetened with Splenda^®
1/2	cup low-fat peach yogurt
1/2	cup low-fat milk
6	ice cubes

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Pour into 2 (2-cup) glasses.

121 Calories Per Serving

Giveaway

How would you like to win a the fruit needed for these recipes as well as some cool glasses and straws? All you need to do 1) Subscribe to the Dad of Divas Reviews Site and 2) Leave a note on Dad of Divas on Facebook about the best drink that you drink to cool off during the summer (Leave username in comment below) The contest will run for one week and will end on July 30, 2010.

Bonus Entries

Blog about my Giveaway by linking back to this post (1 entries per blog post. Please leave each entry in separate comments with your URL link in order for it to count)

Grab my badge to your sidebar

Subscribe to this blog
Follow me on Twitter (@dadofdivas) (leave username in comment)
Follow Libby’s on Twitter (@LibbysTable) (leave username in comment)
Follow me on Google Connect
Share this giveaway on Twitter, Facebook or any forum, including the name of the prize and a link to this post. Here I’ll make it easier on you, copy and paste this:” @dadofdivas is giving away a @LibbysTable Prizepack – http://dadofdivas.blogspot.com/ ” (Then leave the link to your post. One entry per place per day)

Make sure you comment separately for each task after the required entry task so you will get credit for each one ~ and leave your e-mail where you can be contacted.

This contest will run until July 30, 2010 at approximately 11:59 pm Eastern.

Winner must be a resident of the U.S or Canada.

Winners are chosen at random, if you want all your chances counted, make sure you leave individual comments, not all of them in one!

Winner has 48 hours to contact me or another name will be chosen.

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site’s Terms of Use for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.

——————————————————————————————-
New to the Divadom?
Please Subscribe to my RSS Feed! Subscribe in a reader
Questions?Drop me a line at dadofdivas@gmail.com

Some Summer Fun!

July 12, 2010 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Summer is a time that can bring out the best in all of us within the Divadom, and the above pictures show only a few examples. Though we are not taking any specific BIG vacations, such as another Disney vacation, at least not right now, we are finding some fun ways to have fun, and best of all they have been free! (Ah, my frugal self!)

——————————————————————————————-
New to the Divadom?
Please Subscribe to my RSS Feed! Subscribe in a reader
Questions?Drop me a line at dadofdivas@gmail.com

5 TIPS AND HINTS WHEN PACKING FOR SUMMER CAMP:

July 7, 2010 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

We can all recall that when we were little, one of the major steps in growing up was the sleep-away camp. As excited kids and worried parents get ready for this landmark, it can be easy to forget to pack some crucial basics to ensure kids’ safety. With that in mind, Moishe’s Mobile Storage has put together the below tips and packing hints to provide for a smooth trip for your child.

As industry experts and leaders in the moving industry, Moishe’s has seen it all. Based on experience as well as diverse knowledge of the industry, the company has compiled the following tips and hints to help any family packing with their child for the first time or wanting to review what is needed since last year’s adventures.

5 TIPS AND HINTS WHEN PACKING FOR SUMMER CAMP:

Necessities – There is always a need for the common things when leaving home for a long time. These could include soap, shampoo, deodorant, medication, and a toothbrush. A way to have your child bring these to camp could be in an easy to carry bucket with their name or a shower caddy that they can decorated to stand out.

Nature Comforts – Not only will your child be moving in with new friends, but they will be bunking with some unfamiliar critters. Don’t forget to pack plenty of bug spray and sunscreen as part of your camper’s daily defenses. Trash bags can also be used as a makeshift poncho when rain hits but can also be used for dirty laundry.

Memory Makers – Summer camp will be full of fun memories, so be sure to include a disposable camera and perhaps a journal. Cameras should definitely be disposable since they have a good chance of disappearing throughout the camper’s stay. Journals can also be tailored to your kid so they can record their memories and keep track of friends.

Comfort Items – It may be your child’s first time away from home so it might be hard to adapt. Make sure that you pack a few surprises in their bag including family pictures and stuffed animals. These items are a quick fix for homesickness and will be a good start for the campers to share stories of home.

What to Avoid – Even though your child may use certain scented shampoos or lotions, they are not a good idea at a camp because they will attract insects. Every child appreciates their own goodies from home such as their favorite cookies and candy. However, call ahead to see if the camp allows snacks and if so, be sure to pack them in air-tight containers to avoid a visit from bugs.

Time for a Duck Drop!

July 2, 2010 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Time for a Duck Drop!

July 2, 2010 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Keep Kids’ Math Skills Sharp All Summer Long

May 19, 2010 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

KEEP KIDS’ MATH SKILLS SHARP ALL SUMMER LONG

By Frances Nankin, Executive Producer/Editorial Director, Cyberchase

Our kids are at risk over the summer months for losing the skills they’ve developed during the year in math – and the risk is greater for losing math skills than reading skills. Summer is a time when children may lose gains in math learning if they are not offered educationally sustaining math activities. Research suggests this loss is greater than the loss of reading gains and is also partly responsible for widening achievement gaps as minority students progress through school.

I encourage parents and children’s organizations to help children overcome the summer slump in math. Here are some fun things you can do to avoid this summer slump and give your kids a leg up on math for the fall.

Money, Money, Money!

Kids are always on the lookout for ways to earn money during the summer months. You can hone their math skills by helping them set a goal for the total amount they want to earn, and make a chart or graph to track weekly progress. Encouraging them to budget an amount for saving as well as spending is another way to engage them with money math.

How Far? How Many? How Much?

As parents, we get asked these questions often enough, but how often do we turn them back to our kids and share a brief math moment? If we say, About how far (how many, how much) do you think it is? and then suggest ways to estimate, we can help them recognize those times when an answer that is ‘close enough’ is actually ‘good enough!’ Estimation (or making an informed guess) is a useful math tool any time a precise answer isn’t necessary to solve a problem.

Going to the Game? Guess My Player!

Number puzzles are a fun summer pastime, and you can make them up on the spot at a ball game. Take turns picking a player’s number and making up clues to see if the other person can figure out who it is. For example: “My player’s number is an even number. It is more than 10, less than 15, and is a multiple of 3.”

Get Active!

Summer is a great time to help kids develop good habits around physical exercise. As parents, we can help our kids choose a type of exercise they enjoy (swimming, riding bikes, hiking), and then set performance goals—bike or hike a certain distance in a given amount of time, or swim a set number of laps—to try to reach by the end of summer. The trick to success is to agree on an exercise schedule, and use a chart or graph to keep track of progress after each session. Keeping track helps kids measure progress, keep them motivated, and even predict how long it will take to reach their goals.

The Waiting Game: What’s My Rule?

Everyone spends time waiting, whether it’s at the doctor’s office, in line at the supermarket, or sitting hungry at a restaurant. Before kids get cranky, here’s a fun and simple math game that helps build algebraic thinking skills while beating the boredom! Player A picks a number between 0 and 10 and says it out loud. Player B silently picks a secret rule (plus 3, for example, or minus 2), applies the rule to the number, and says the new number out loud. Keeping that new number in mind, player A says another number, player B silently applies the same rule, and gives player A the new number. The play continues until player A has enough information to guess the rule.

Cyberchase offers fun episodes, web games and hands-on activities and events and free, fun resources to strengthen children’s math skills over the summer. Visit Cyberchase online at www.pbskidsgo.org/cyberchase

or on Facebook, www.facebook.com/cyberchase to access sneak peeks at the new episodes, fan events, exclusive behind-the-scenes videos, photos and more related to the Cyberchase Summer Challenge. Watch Cyberchase on your local PBS Station.

About Cyberchase

Cyberchase – the daily animated math series on PBS KIDS GO! – is produced by THIRTEEN in association with Title Entertainment, Inc. and WNET.ORG. Executive producers are Sandra Sheppard, THIRTEEN’s Director of Children’s and Educational Programming, and Frances Nankin. Ellen Doherty is senior series producer. Major funding for Cyberchase is provided by the National Science Foundation, Ernst & Young LLP, Northrop Grumman Corporation and PBS. Additional funding is provided by The Volckhausen Family.

About WNET.ORG

New York public media company WNET.ORG is a pioneering provider of television and web content. The parent of THIRTEEN, WLIW21 and Creative News Group, WNET.ORG brings such acclaimed broadcast series and websites as Worldfocus, Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, Charlie Rose, Wide Angle, Secrets of the Dead, Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, Visions, Consuelo Mack WealthTrack, Wild Chronicles, Miffy and Friends, and Cyberchase to national and international audiences. Through its wide range of channels and platforms, WNET.ORG serves the entire New York City metro area with unique local productions, broadcasts and innovative educational and cultural projects. In all that it does, WNET.ORG For more information, visit www.wnet.org. pursues a single, overarching goal – to create media experiences of lasting significance for New York, America and the world.

« Previous Page

Related articles