Hello October! Summer ‘19 may be gone but the memories are forever

Summer 2019 is officially over and we’re saying hello to Fall!

Just this week we hit a 90 degree day which had the beach written all over it. Instead of hitting the ocean we chose to get in the feeling of fall and head to a farm in New Jersey for apple picking.

We love the actual shop of Battle view orchards in freehold, NJ. So, it was only fitting to collect as many apples as possible (20 to be exact) then head over to the shop to purchase, pies, apple donuts, apple cider, AND candy apple kits once done in the fields.

With Halloween approaching we plan to head back to one of our favorite farm locations. Maple Leaf 🍁 Farm in Manalapan, NJ or Salem NY Harvest Moon Orchard and Wilkins Fruit & Fir Farm. It’s such a privilege to live in a state that has Farming options for fresh fruit and veggies so close by from upstate New York to our neighbors in New Jersey.

Let us know where you’ll be heading during the harvest season? Pumpkins 🎃 or 🍎 Apples or both?

We’re sending Summer off with so much love!

There was less travel to far away destinations but so much love and adventure captured in our CTH (close to home) stay cation destinations.

We’re listing them below and starting with the brand new Lego Land in Goshen, NY

Summer 2020 is going to be “awesome” if you’re a lego fan living close to NY or ready to travel to this new location. It is beyond adventure in the theme park there will also be a resort filled with awesomeness.. I mean is there anything better to look forward to?! Get your passes NOW

~ The Kartrite in Monticello NY

~ The Great Wolf Lodge

~ Martha’s Vineyard

~ Dorney Park

~Hershey Park

Local weekend/Weekday fun included trips to the Zoo, summer camp fun, Partying at Luna Park Coney Island; which will be opening up their halloween 🎃 👻 fun fest “Hello October!”

🏖 Endless beach days

Brigantine NJ

All of the recap has me thinking about planning a new vacay or staycation , how about you?

Pop sugar: the new playground event for all pop culture lovers

I can’t believe that it’s been over a week since we’ve walked the pop sugar playground floors. The 2 full days of pop sugar culture was amazing.

For me it brought the Pop Sugar brand to life! There was a complete umbrella of amazing talent who make our lives in beauty, fashion, lifestyle and social so much more reachable. The roster of talent included musicians, comedians (women), actresses and boss women in business. Gracing the floors of pop sugar meant that all of this experience was tangible.

V & K, my twin doll sidekicks attended and were ecstatic. We learned How to properly slide down into a ball pit and spin the wheel of luck sponsored by Kohl’s .

They were super lucky and made a double win!!

I walked away from the 2 day event with insights on growth in pop culture, what’s trending as well as a huge amount of inspiration.

My favorite part about attending empowering events such as this, is the meeting of the awesome new brands, creative people behind them and the take away experience that can be used within my own business and lifestyle.

Here are a few links to new brands that we’ve come to know and love ❤️

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UR Bath ad Body co

SkinInc

100% Pure

Books Books and more Books at BEA & BookCon

NYC Book Expo and Book Con has become one big playground for literary lovers, publishers and creators during this amazing event.

Over the years these two amazing events have joined in to offer a full display of authors, books, opportunities to connect readers  libraries and literary enthusiast over the course of 5 days. We were so excited to spend the weekend touring the floors at the NYC Javits Center.  V & K were so excited to explore the children’s books section of scholastic as well as checking out the new “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” .  While I was happy to have them lead the way and chaperone.

Walking into the center was very exciting their faces were highlighted when noticing the huge image of our friend (in our minds) Jim Patterson. Whom introduced his new book collaboration with Bill Clinton “The President is missing”.  Which has just been added to my must read pile right after MICHELLE OBAMA’s published story, “Becoming”.

I’m always inspired by the book expo because of my background in publishing and writing.  I love to attend to refresh my visions and connections with all of the great people working the floor.  There is always something new to discover in this creative space.  Quirk Books  a publishing and creative group of leaders in the literary world set a very open and inviting setting to allow you to learn more about what they offer their readers and authors.  The nostalgic animation to the new sense of fun and pops of color was noticed in their array of publishing.

V & K’s highlights included Harry Potter’s portion of the Expo ; I mean don’t we all!

The opportunity to meet a very talented Joker during Book Con was quite frightening and exciting!

The day was made when the girls were able to take a picture with (wink) Harry and Meghan Markle while wearing crowns themselves.

All of the added animation continue to bring everyone’s imagination to life; which is why we love attending each year.

Here’s to more TwinDollicious Adventures – currently going to summer camp

Balancing it all on Spring Break

We had a balancing act of a Spring break.

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Did you know that Spring break is one of the most traveled breaks in the USA? Most all levels of schools are off at the same time including graduate level. There are also many states that share the same time for break to observe the Easter, Passover and holiday crossing paths.

We ventured off to our home away from home during the break to enjoy some fun in the sun. We enjoy any excuse to visit beautiful Florida and the April weather was amazing; especially after being bombarded by snow storm after snow storm in NYC. Seriously Mother Nature- let’s get it together “It’s SPRING!”

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We visited 2 of the many places that we blogged about prior to our trip and even made an excursion to a new favorite place; the Brevard Zoo– where we discovered that Dinosaurs are still alive and living amongst us in Florida!

I am convinced that V & K are planning a trip to London to attend school with Harry Potter after their evening at Universal Studios in Harry Potter’s corner of the world. If you haven’t visited yet, you must…….just for the Butter Beer alone… in my opinion.

April 1st happened to be Easter Sunday this year, which was quite a treat for V & K. They renamed the entire day Easter fools day and continuously played tricks on us, some including hiding our cell phones for approximately 10 minutes until we figured out that they were hidden.

Our Easter Sunday included a fun egg hunt at an Orlando resort followed by a perfect day of sun at LEGO Land!

We managed to visit some of our favorite beaches and places for work and play during this trip.

Balance during vacation is possible!

There’s something about our family that doesn’t fully turn off even during vacation. Work is fun for us; it’s a lifestyle. So, we continued down south to Palm Beach. Here is where my husband finds his time to do his morning work routine, and visit properties.

My mom balance however isn’t as easy; but I’m sure many of you can relate. However I do find a way to balance my writing and staying connected while the kiddos are by the pool, at the beach at times simultaneously while Bash is napping.

During this trip I actually connected with a fellow hey mama at Luxury Garage Sale in Miami, and scored an awesome top at the same time.

Every time we find ourselves in the city of Miami we make time to lounge poolside with an adult beverage which happens close to never during our daily routines… at times it’s as if two ships are passing each other by. When we are in need of a anchor we regroup with time away; it’s how we strive in this lifestyle that we’ve created.

During our Spring break vacation we took a minute to look around and discover that 12 years prior to having children we dreamed of including these little people to the late night beach runs, sunsets, dancing, music, adventure and fun.

We learn from our experiences and remain focused to enjoy life!

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Our adventurous Midwinter break staycation

What is a staycation?

Perhaps you’ve heard the term used loosely many a time. This could be because many people have different definitions of what a staycation is. We define a staycation as a time spent at home without obligations, schedules and deadlines just to catch up on things that we’d like to do for fun, maybe time to lounge and sleep in and definitely enjoy the goodness of our city.

In the case of our Twindollicious crew; we made sure to get out and enjoy the Spring teaser weather during our Winter break staycation.

We visited the Brooklyn Botanical gardens for a magical scavenger hunt throughout the gardens. This fun day was hosted by our friends at Mommynearest. The kids were able plant a Paperwhite to take home.. we can’t wait to share the progress and growth :):)

Our next adventure included a Day in Times Square in the heart of the big apple at the NatGeoEncounter ! The kiddos were all able to enjoy an interactive experience of 3D underwater activities along with an opportunity to be on a big Billboard in Timesquare.

V & K also learned a new skill during their vacation; which is so fitting to their personalities. We were given the opportunity to create an animation video provided by Goldfish . The girls create not one but 2 scenes of interactive moving goldfish.

1 the first creation included V & K as chefs prepping a goldfish meal for themselves when a sneaky puppy comes along to enjoy the meal. TwinDolliciousInstagram (shared here on Instagram)

2. The second creation included a goldfish parade, with confetti and moving floats.

It was so great to help support the NY International Children’s Film Festival. The children enjoyed 13 short films created by artists. After each film ballots were filled to rate their favorite films. It is always amazing to be able to surround children with art and culture.

NYICFF

We enjoyed sharing our top Staycation choices. If Grandmas house in PA was option we would link ticket info to that show; but til next time we hope you’ll take a visit to some of our favorite places during your visit or staycation in NYC.

Please enjoy a way to melt away the boredom with this fun Snowman maze worksheet. For more engaging learning activities, go to Education.com!

We were excited to partner with them in order to bring our little readers some fun!

Consulting your way to the goals

Have you ever been on a journey to start something new or make a new purchase? I’m pretty sure that this is almost everyday of life for the majority of us. When ever I am struck with a new creative idea or challenge to complete I tend to turn inwards on my thoughts to figure out what are the best strategies necessary to get the job done.

When I began writing about our Twindollicious lifestyle I knew that there was a product to create at the end. However I didn’t imagine that the creativity would continue and I’d want to add product to the story in order to bring it to life. I also didn’t realize how much continuing the stories would impact V & K ‘s opinion on their lives and how they treat each other and others. It kind of became second nature for them to embrace new friends and people we’d meet for long or short term purposes. The beginning of this process was not an easy one. I didn’t have a consultant to turn to and question my rights, wrongs or mistakes. I also didn’t have a large budget to (possibly waste/or) go big! Yes there were wastes that could have been avoided but it may be part of the journey.

I’ve been wanting to create a short cut to where I am now and share it with many people. Though when given the opportunity to hear someone’s story I appreciate the journey even more. There aren’t any short cuts.

I recently received an shipment of photo books based on my Instagram story in squares from Chat books and It brought me back to the beginning of my very own journey.

Everything that you’re passionate about takes patience!

Writing

Appearances

Creating

Blogging

Influencing

Designing

Partnerships

Friendships …..,,,,yes including those genuine partnerships and collaborations which enveloped into friendships took time and patience.

Have you ever wondered how bloggers influence the community and Brands

Did you ever ask yourself how in the world do writers actually make money when their not traveling the world and making appearances for sold out best sellers?

Ugh, well there’s a community of people who network together and who have found their place in the writing world, that make a living…… and many make a great living.

When I first began writing it was a passion project that I’d finally gained time to tackle. I began to learn more as I began to work on it as a business. I learned about the ways to make money in publishing books as well as in creating meaningful content that may help others daily, weekly even monthly. The key to it all is connecting with the correct network of people and brands that represent things that you’re interested in writing about. Brands appreciate your input. If you’re a creative person taking on a quality lifestyle you may be a great fit for a brand. There are so many influential creatives in this world that have tons to offer. The future is children and the happy parents that raise them. This may come as a surprise, but the creative community being paid by brands are usually parents and MOMS in particular.

Nancy Behrman is a brand connector on top in this community! When introducing yourself and your work to someone like Nancy Behrman you’re opening doors of opportunity to making a living doing work that you will love! Top brands trust the voices of the community that Nancy Behrman can connect with.

If writing, blogging and sharing something great that world needs to hear about this article is for you! This connection is for you!

The steps I took to begin included my love for my children and the things that they were teaching me as a parent. This always brought me joy! FIRST PLUS!

Second step was to share things that I thought others could learn from. for me it was the life of a mom of twin girls with big personalities and the love of dressing up.

Last it was taking the steps to meet other people in the writing community who have similar things in common. Families and brands receive happiness in real lifestyle adventures. Everyone wants to know how to have a great day, how to live a healthy life what are the secrets? Sometimes there aren’t any secrets it’s just starting with a few tools that fit your life and the rest will build itself.

Here, Bash and I are in a room filled with moms, mompreneurs, WAHM, SAHM, SAHD and WAHD all enjoying and networking while keeping our little community happy.

Should we be worried about our children and cyberbullying at a young age

Cyberbullying is a millennial form of bullying that all of us parents should be aware of.  As generations grow ways of life continue to change.  In todays day and age we not only have to be concerned with physical bullying possibilities in school, we must also be aware of cyberbullying in your own home.

Cyberbullying may sound a bit invasive and hard to believe that it can effect your child, but the fact of it all is that most children have their own active social accounts and phones by their pre teens.  Just as friends once shared their telephone numbers and communicated via land lines….they are now able to independently choose whom they will communicate with and connect on a networking basis.  As we all connect to new people good and bad so can our children.

Cyberbullying can occur at an early age, way before maturity has set in a recent report shows that cyberbullying can be even more damaging that physical scars. As a parent we must try everything in our power to avoid our children from enduring emotional illness because of bullying.

Our goal is to keep them emotionally stable and strong. Aaron Minc

What do we do if our child is the victim of cyberbullying? Contact a Aaron Minc

 

 

Mi Gente on Sesame Street

We decided to take advantage of this beautiful Fall Weather and spend the day on Sesame Street at Sesame Place, in Langhorne PA. http://www.sesameplace.com/

With this beautiful weather forecast of 80-85 degrees on the weekend we couldn’t resist but to take Bash to where we thought would be his favorite place.

Boy were we right! Bash and his TwinDollicious sisters enjoyed the spooktacular Halloween festivities at Sesame Place!

That hour and fifteen minute drive from NY was so worth all of the memories we will have to look back on. Bash immediately knew who his friends were, as he posed for pictures and gave hi-fives with smiles and dance moves throughout the day.

Watch the dance moves: https://instagram.com/p/BZ9bQ3kgviT/

Isnt it so awesome to watch your children enjoy something so much at such a young age? I think that we always wonder what will they remember and is it worth it to expose them to things so young that they won’t retain. The truth of it all is the experience. These little spongy people will become better adults because of the great memories they will have to look back on and the exposure to The positive things in life.

Striving to make it count !

Summer of 2017 was a BASH

You know how the saying goes.. Time flies when you’re having fun.

This summer has gone by so fast and yes we are happy to be back at school. V and K are learning new things, getting to know new teachers, friends and routine.  Yet, we can’t help but reminisce about our summer of ’17 our favorite styles and moments shared before spending 6 hours a day apart.

Here are our top favoriteS:

-Our little Bash turned one years old and we celebrated Carnival style.

Face paint just feels better at a carnival

– our summer travels included short but sweet weekend getaways. We traveled to Lake George, Twinsburg Ohio, Florida and Chincoteague Beach Va. our most memorable place is always Twinsburg. V & K enjoy their friends from all across the world that come together just to share this fun filled, bonded weekend with twins and their families. We were so excited to share our new book release there as well.

http://www.twindollicious.com/books

Summer ’17 Included lots of blue in our everyday style in celebration of our favorite boy BASH!