@Ofelianj, @MsLatina, Me & @RachlWhite

Happy WW Day!! If you want to join in on the WW fun, please link up your post below. I would love to see your WW photo!

SHOUT-OUT SUNDAY

A new trend has started here at New York Chica and I hope everyone enjoys the blogs I choose every week.

The reason for this new trend is because  I wanted to give a special shout out to those bloggers (friends & beyond) that have had great reads during the past week. There are PLENTY of great bloggers out there so if you want to be featured here, please contact me at:  Lisa [at] newyorkchica [dot] com.

I will try my best to get these out by Sunday night each week.

I hope you enjoy their sites as much as I do.

1. This mom definitely needs a “Mom Day”.

2. I’ve been wondering this for a long time now! lol

3. See what company is trying to save trees.

4. Check out this Latina’s best distraction for her kids.

5. NEVER as dull moment at her site.

6. She lives in the most amazing place with beautiful pictures from the area.

7. I really need to get some pointers on how to do this. It’s the next big thing in blogging.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Ramblers Way. All opinions are 100% mine.

When I hear the word “wool” I think about the sweaters that were given to me during the holidays that were hot, heavy, itchy or most of the time, all three.  I’ve had my share of wool sweaters that have collected dust in my closet and have gotten sent to the Salvation Army because I could not bear with the feel of the fabric. At this very moment, I don’t own anything that is wool except for a coat and that is because the coat has a very smooth lining that makes the coat very comfortable and very warm.

I’m relieved to know that there is a company that makes wool clothing that feels really smooth and very luxurious.  The company is called Ramblers Way.  They are a family business that makes soft, comfortable next-to-skin worsted wool apparel that is made entirely on American soil.

In order to make soft wool clothing, they have created a technology that is called “WINDspun”. The technology helps develop soft, light weight wool garments by using a patented enzyme treatment in order to prevent shrinkage and keep the garments fully washable.  In using this special technology, the result is an ultra-light line of worsted wool clothing that keeps a person warm and allows the garment to breathe naturally.

In addition to being entirely American-made, Ramblers Way garments are never pre-washed with chlorine that most companies use to “super wash” their garments, Ramblers Way believes in an all-natural and chemical-free clothing line so you know you are getting a product that is safe for both you and the environment.

(Note: Post is long with photos & video so please make sure to check those out! Thanks.)

Waking up at 6 am is something I usually don’t like doing in the summer. I’m a wahm (p/t)  so the summer days for us are also lazy days. We go to sleep late from watching TV, movies or playing games and usually the kids are sleeping til 9am.

This past Tuesday was exceptionally different. Several days ago I received an invitation from a representative of Tide detergent about the upcoming advanced screening of Ramona and Beezus (which is also based on the popular book Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary) and the possibility of meeting the stars of the movie, Selena Gomez & Joey King in person.  As soon as I told my girls that they may be able to meet Selena Gomez and Joey King in person, they freaked out!  They saw the trailer of the movie while watching the Disney channel plenty of times so they were extremely ecstatic.

I mentioned to my girls that it would a public event so we may or may not meet Selena but will probably have an opportunity to take a photo with her. They were gleaming with excitement. The only thing they were not happy about was waking up at 6am.

The day of the premiere, my girls surprised me by waking up with no problem. I’m sure Selena Gomez helped out with that.

When we arrived to Madison Square Park, we saw a crowd of people but the crowd wasn’t too bad. The Tide tent was up, the mural and paint were ready to be used and the crowd was getting ecstatic about seeing the stars of Ramona and Beezus.  You can definitely feel the positive vibe in the air.

Before Selena and Joey arrived, the Tide team gave out t-shirts (to cover ourselves while we help paint the mural), samples of the new Tide Acti-Lift detergent and of course free passes to see an advance screening of Ramona and Beezus that same day at Loews Theater on 19th St..

While waiting for the big stars to show up, my girls, Migdalia, her son and I decided to get a snack so I walked over to Shake Shack and waited on line to finally taste a Shack burger. It wasn’t long before I sank my teeth into a delicious and addicting burger.  I heard a lot about the Shack burger but never knew it was that tasty.  If you’ve never been to a Shake Shack in New York City, you are missing out. They are GOOD!

After our lunch, people were lining up to finally catch a glimpse of Selena and her co-stars but since bloggers are considered “media”, we had the VIP treatment thanks to Tide.  We didn’t have to stand on line, we actually went in the tent with the other Tide members and the people behind the scenes of the movie.  It was great being able to wait inside with less people than waiting outside with the crowd of screaming girls (there were a ton of girl scouts that were just too loud for me but Tide loved every minute of it).

It seemed like we waited for hours but finally the stars were walking the “red” carpet.  The first star I saw was Hutch Dano who played Selena’s crush.  He was very personable to the media who were interviewing him and smiling the whole time.  The second star I saw was Bridget Moynahan, who played Ramona and Beezus’s mom.  She is as gorgeous in person as she is on the big screen.  A few minutes later, Joey King walks in and the screams from the girl scouts grew even louder.  I bet she will do well like Selena because you can see the sparkle in her eyes as she walked down the carpet. She was loving every second of everything.  She loved being the center of attention and the fans love her too.

After everyone walked the carpet, it was time to take pictures with the stars.  It was getting chaotic once the stars got in the tent with the rest of the VIP attendees.  It got so crazy that the family photo opp was never done (Tide mentioned that this would be a possibility). Instead the kids took a group shot with Selena and Joey.  They seemed happy about it.

I asked Selena’s bodyguard if I can take a picture of my girls w/ Selena but he said no but Selena said YES!! And so it happened!! Kiss that bodyguard! Oh and don’t worry about my little one. She was upset because SHE was not next to Selena.

Once the craziness was over, it was time to walk over to AMC Loews Theaters to see the advance screening of Ramona and Beezus.

We got there a bit early so we just chilled out inside the main lobby on the floor.  It felt so nice to finally sit down after hours of standing.

Before going in the theater, we were all treated to a small popcorn and a small soda thanks to FOX.

Inside the theaters, I noticed that we were going to be sitting just a few feet away from the stars of the movie minus Selena (she had a prior engagement with David Letterman).  I thought that was really cool to be able to sit down in a theater with the actors from the movie.  It was my first experience and hopefully won’t be my last.

Before the movie started, the cutie pie Joey King announced the movie to the crowd and it was finally time to see the screening.

About the movie; Ramona and Beezus:

The adventures of young Ramona Quimby (Joey King) and her big sister Beezus (Selena Gomez) come to life in this all new film based on the best-selling books (over 30 million…and counting) by Beverly Cleary. Ramona’s vivid imagination, boundless energy, and accident-prone antics keep everyone she meets on their toes. But her irrepressible sense of fun, adventure and mischief come in handy when she puts her mind to helping save her family’s home.

Our thoughts (no spoilers ):

My girls and I absolutely loved the movie. It was better than I expected.  I laughed, had tears in my eyes and could relate with many different situations that happened in the movie. It was not in any way far-fetched either.  It was like real life. There were no huge mansions, fancy cars or anything that didn’t seem real out the world that “normal” people live in.

Bridget Moynahan and John Corbett did really well as Ramona and Beezus’s parents.  They were sincere and very genuine.  Ginnifer Goodwin did wonderfully as Aunt Bea.  She took the time with her nieces to guide them to the right path.  Josh Duhamel was the cutie (isn’t he? lol) next door who turned out to be someone’s true love (I won’t spoil it by saying who) and the guy who played Selena’s crush, Hutch Dano was pretty good too. All the tweens and teens adored him. I can see him as a future heart throb with all the young girls screaming out his name wanting an autograph.

I give Ramona and Beezus 5 stars.  It’s a great family movie and I think it’s a movie we all can relate to.

This pic was pure luck! Literally a second after the flash went off, her publicist called her and said no more photos!

If you haven’t seen the trailer, check it out below:

Ramona and Beezus will be in theaters everywhere tomorrow, July 23rd.

It was all about my girls yesterday at Madison Square Park.  They had a once-in-a-lifetime experience they will never forget.  They both met two of their favorite actresses: Selena Gomez & Joey King.

Both photos above “almost” didn’t happen. Read on to find out what happened.

The first one with Selena: I respectfully asked one of the bodyguards if I can take a pic of my girls with Selena, he replied back with a firm no but seconds later, Selena decided to say c’mon girls, and I took the shot. Thanks Selena for making my girls super happy!

P.S. My little one was upset because she was not standing next to Selena. Oh the drama! lol

The second one with Joey King: While at the premiere of Ramona and Beezus, we noticed that some of the stars from the movie will be joining in the theater with us.  As soon as Joey King came in the theater, the crowd went wild! People were going crazy taking pictures with the adorable actress. One point she walked to the other side of the theater to say hi to her family members and I asked the relative if I can take a picture of my girls with Joey. She said of course! She’ll love that! Joey came toward my girls, placed her arms around them both and I took the shot. Sadly her publicist said no more pictures so that made other kids very sad.

Overall, my girls and I had a fabulous time! The day was extra special because my daughters and I got to spend the day with Mslatina and her handsome son.

Happy WW Day!! If you want to join in on the WW fun, please link up your post below. I would love to see your WW photo!

SHOUT-OUT SUNDAY

I wanted to start a new trend here at New York Chica.  I want to give a special shout out to those bloggers (friends & beyond) that have had great reads during the past week.  I will try my best to get these out by Sunday night each week.

There will also be a linky at the end of this post so if you’d like to add your link, feel free to add yours. I would love to read your great read!

I hope you enjoy their sites as much as I do.

1. Traveling with kids can be quite fun. Check this mom’s story

2. This mom went and did the deed – she went to school.

3. The air is always sweeter here.

4. Sunday is never complete without the funnies!

5. In my opinion, coffee is a necessity every morning.

6. Never tried Fried Green Tomatoes but would love to taste them.

7. Tomorrow is unknown, seize your today!

I could find a “Shout-Out Sunday” widget so Sunday Seven is the closest I found. Enjoy your Sunday!!

I’ll admit it, I can be sassy at times but guess what? I’m a girl and I can be.  It’s just a privilege us girls have that men would never understand.

Right ladies? lol

So I took the liberty in “borrowing” one my sister’s photos she took while in Amsterdam.  I think every woman should own a tee like this one below! Maybe I’ll make an order to be a proud owner of one.

Have a SASSY SATURDAY!!

Thinking about saving my pregnancy tests often disgusted me (C’mon, you pee on it!)  so after using one after finding out I was pregnant, I would just throw it away.  Little did I know that I was going to find a long-lost ept test years later.

A few weeks ago, I was clearing out my nite stand and I found a miscellaneous envelope. I opened it and I found a pregnancy test that I used for my last child.

I forgot to throw the last one away (from my 3rd child) and now regret throwing the first two out.

The memories flowed in my brain when I held it in my hand.  At that very moment, I realized that I threw away a part of my past.  I thought to myself, why did I throw the other tests away? But then I quickly remembered that I thought it was gross to keep those things.

To be honest, it made me sad thinking that I threw away “the greatest news ever in our lives” but I was also glad I didn’t throw away the one I had.  This last pregnancy test would indeed be the “last” test for me because I got my tubes tied after my 3rd child.

At that time, I felt regrets because I couldn’t go back in time like I did when I held the test in my hands (I know that sounds weird) but to me it is a sign that miracles do happen.

You see, after having my son and my daughter, I thought I was done having children.  My husband would often ask me if I wanted to have any more kids, I would always say heck no! We were both bringing home income, traveling with our two kids was fairly easy and we were living comfortably financially.

I didn’t want to struggle with money like we did before when the kids were babies.  Before we had kids, we both agreed that I would stay home for the first year with each child and I did.  It was a struggle financially but we managed but I could not face that once again.

In June 2004, my husband and I took a trip to Puerto Rico.  It was our long awaited “honeymoon.” We left our two kids with my mother and went away for 6 days.

It was the longest 6 days ever but it was the best 6 days too!  We had a great time exploring Puerto Rico (it was my very 1st time visiting P.R. & 1st time on a plane) and I even got to visit my godmother who I haven’t seen in 20 years.  I’m dreaming about going back – but this time with the kids.

Little did we know that we’d be bringing home a special “souvenir.”  A “souvenir” that would bring us so much joy and complete our wonderful family. I will be forever grateful for that trip to Puerto Rico (& to God) because it brought back our last child, our baby.

The moment I knew I was pregnant was the instant I felt the urge to vomit.  That is the only time I feel nauseous and queasy.   At first, I was not happy. I couldn’t believe it.  I told my husband how I was feeling and we literally raced to our local CVS to purchase a pregnancy test.  He kept on saying I don’t think you’re pregnant, you’re probably coming down with something but I knew.  When you’re a woman whose gone thru pregnancy before, you just know.

After I took the pregnancy test, the two lines appeared immediately.  I was in shock.  I came out of the bathroom with tears in my eyes.  My husband on the other hand was ecstatic! He saw the tears and he said don’t worry, we’ll make it.  He knew why I was crying.  I didn’t want us to worry abut money because the more kids a family has, the more money it costs – that’s just a fact.

After he consoled me and told me everything would be alright, I was happy and relieved.  It was great to feel the joys of being pregnant again after 6 years. Everything felt like new and things turn out to be pretty good. Thank God!

P.S. My daughter was born with a birth mark on her back with the shape of Puerto Rico. No lie! LOL I’ve got a picture somewhere and when I find it, I’ll post it on twitter. @Newyorkchica.

Click HERE to receive your very own keepsake bag to store your precious memory.

Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of e.p.t and received an e.p.t. keepsake case and a $20 gift card to JustGive.org to facilitate my review.