Tag Archives: activities

Uncategorized

A Radio City Rockette Newbie

I have visited New York City countless times and even lived there for about five months for a summer internship. It’s easy to rack up the visits when you have two sisters that move there by the time you are 10 years old.

Given all of my visits, I’ve done my fair share of activities – the top of the Empire State Building, walks through Central Park, Broadway shows, golf at Chelsea Pier, games at Yankee Stadium – the list goes on and on. However, there was one thing that remained on my NYC bucket list, and that was to see the Radio City Rockettes.

A few weeks ago my dream came true and I found myself inside Radio City Music Hall (thanks Mom)! The entire experience was like no other. It all started with a preshow drink with my mom and big sis, Lindsay, at Del Frisco’s. My sister considers this move a preshow staple each time she sees it. An hour later I found myself stepping into the grand lobby with two story Christmas trees and decorations to my left and right. We soon made our way to our seats and the show started right then. Cue the orchestra, dim the lights, and here comes Santa Clause.

Each act throughout the show was a show stopper. There were shopping scenes, toys that came to life, a tour through NYC, fireworks, snowfall, and the conclusion gave you a reminder of the true meaning of Christmas (tears might have been shed). If you sat near me you would often see my jaw dropped, eyes sparkling, or constantly poking my mom who sat next to me saying, “WOW!” I’ve been to many Broadway shows and musicals, and I can honestly say that nothing has compared to the experience I felt while inside this grand music hall.

We exited out of the gold doors and onto 6th Ave, when I felt as if I should be skipping down the street and singing Christmas carols. It was like I was ten again and believing in all things Santa.

If you haven’t seen the show… go! It’s great entertainment for all ages. Take it from the toddlers to the grandparents that were seen in the audience at the show I went to. If you can’t make it to Radio City, pull up your Netflix app. Believe it or not, you can watch the Christmas Spectacular right at home! You won’t have the live fireworks or snowfall (unless your are seriously invested), but you can appreciate the story just the same.

I’ll leave you with a photo I took of my favorite act in the show. The synchronicity of these girls was INSANE!

Rockettes

Written by our Marketing & Social Media Coordinator, Taylor Bell!

Uncategorized

Girlfriends, Glam, and Giving!

Our friends at CARDAMOM are hosting a great event in New York City on Tuesday, December 6th with the help of RPZL! Bring yourself and all of your friends to a fundraiser benefiting POWERHOUSE, a non-profit that empowers young NYC moms for career success and financial independence.

At the event you can enjoy a silent auction, cocktail reception, giveaways, and even blowouts and hair services (upon request)!

And if you show your CARDAMOM profile (download the app here), you can receive a 20% off discount at RPZL!

Event details:
RPZL at 27 West 20th Street, NYC 10011
Tuesday, December 6th
6PM-9PM
To RSVP, reply to [email protected].

We hope you all attend the event and donate to a great organization!

CM icon

Written by our Marketing & Social Media Coordinator, Taylor Bell

Uncategorized

Kidz Central Station’s Plaza Hotel Event

Take in the sights of the Plaza Hotel during Kidz Central Station’s event this Veteran’s Day (November 11), from 5-7:30pm.

Make it a family early evening on the town and enjoy activities including face painting, a magician show, dj glow stick dance party, photo booth, and much more!

In honor of Veteran’s Day a portion of proceeds will be donated to the Bob Woodruff Foundation to help disabled veterans.

Don’t miss out! Join Kidz Central Station and their partners for this amazing fall event! To register, click here.

Kidz-Central-Station-1024x775

Written by our Marketing & Social Media Coordinator, Taylor Bell

Uncategorized

Time for a Staycation

Being cooped up in your apartment can leave you stir crazy, especially if you spend daytime there during the week (looking at you moms and dads at home with kids). One night when I couldn’t sleep, I did some research on staycation spots near NYC, and here is what I found.

1. Upstate New York
This Inn seems perfect once it gets a bit cooler, think fire place, hot beverage or red vino, and maybe some hiking in the good ole outdoors. The rates seem really reasonable too, around $160 a night.

2. Long Island
For food.
For wine.
For stay.

3. North Fork
This place seems the place to be in October, as I can’t find a hotel or bed & breakfast available for under $700 a night. It may be worth waiting till off season.

For additional things to do in North Fork check out Conde Nast Traveler.

And for future trips around the city check out Timeout New York!

Uncategorized

Meet Songs for Seeds!

Songs for Seeds introduces an interactive class that encourages children (newborn to 6 years old)  to sing, dance, and play along with a live, three-piece band. After being named “Best Kids’ Music Class” by New York Magazine and “Most Magical Music Class” by Red Tricycle, it’s no wonder everyone is wanting to know more about Songs for Seeds. We sat down with them for a short Q&A to learn all about their offerings. Read below, and sign your little one up for a class today!

1. What can a child and their parent(s) expect to takeaway from one of your 45-minute classes?
The biggest takeaway from our class is that it is really awesome to learn through play! Without even realizing it, the children walk away signing songs that reinforce colors, shapes, numbers, animals ad all they know is that they just had a good time! The parents walking away having just been able to enjoy themselves and their children is a relaxed, stimulating area.

2. How involved are the child’s parent(s) in each of the classes? Are they actively participating or just looking on from the sidelines? Parents/Caregivers are encouraged to participate throughout the entire class, however, it is their choice to be involved as little or as much as they want to be and feel their child wants them to be. All of the clapping, playing, dancing and questions-answer activities are designed to include a child and their adult.

3. You also make your services available for birthday parties and events. What do you provide for such events and how would someone go about hiring you?
Although we are not able to bring our roadie box (classroom setup) with us for parties or events, we do create an interactive concert. Using a lot of the songs/activities from class, we are able to engage them children with instruments, scarves, magic and of course, play! A quick inquiry e-mail to [email protected] OR a phone call (646-820-9916) is all it will take the get the conversation going and book your party or event.

4. For the moms and dads wanting to sign their little one up for a class, how do they get started?
Head to our website! You can find all schedules, classes, and pricing information directly on our site. You can also call me, Courtney Fischer-Karasin, directly 646-820-9916. We are so excited to share this AMAZING program with all of the little seedlings of Fairfield County!

SFS-Logo_600px-300x197

Written by our Marketing & Social Media Coordinator, Taylor Bell

Uncategorized

Wee Ones Club to the Rescue

Have an infant and already worrying about being cooped up in your apartment all winter log?

If you live near Midtown East, sign up for a trial at Wee Ones, and hop into their Turtles and Tadpoles class! 

It’s a quaint, clean space with what seems like very happy teachers. My son and I went on a trial pass and it was a great experience! My son is 5 months and was the youngest baby in the room. The class is for 4 to 14-month-olds, which is quite a large span.  The class started with introductions followed by “tumbling” time; one baby at a time participated, while the others sat and watched. After this, there were sing-alongs, a short playtime, a puppet show of sorts, and a very colorful parachute ending.

This is their youngest class offering designed to introduce and develop skills for children who are not yet walking. Curriculum is carefully designed to explore all developmental domains of our youngest members and includes music, gentle movement, basic sign language, tumbling, parachute, and bubbles. Class structure supports language, social emotional, physical and cognitive development.

The trial was $15, and you can sign up for a semester class which comes out to approimately  $50 per class at 50 minutes per session.

I found the class on Kid Central Station. It was easy to find and easy to book! 

Merry-go-round_edited-1

Written by our Founder & CEO, Lindsay Bell

Uncategorized

Swim Lessons with Kids

There is a lot of pressure being a mom these days. There are many factors weighing on our backs: should my child be potty trained by now, am I disciplining correctly, are they eating right, and so on. My current dilemma has been swimming, I guess because it’s the summer months and kids need to cool down.

I enrolled my twins into swim class for 3-5 year olds at our community recreational center. My husband and I took them to their first lesson with everyone in their swim suits ready to go (since last year we had to go into the water with them). We get to the rec center pool and notice all of the other parents have their street clothes on, which was kind of concerning. I did not trust that my girls get into the water by themselves, especially because on the other side of the median there were 6ft deep signs. Um, no.

I soon told the instructors my concerns and led the girls into the water. I kind of hung around (because I was super paranoid) watching them get used to the water and noticed one of my daughters start walking deeper and deeper into the water. At this point, the water was up to her shoulders. I frantically got into the water because no one was paying attention to her, and I pulled her back to the group. I stood back and watched them again, and saw that my daughter was losing her footing. She started bobbing up and down in the water, flailing her arms. I panicked. I yelled at the lifeguard who pulled her from the water and handed her to me. Needless to say she took a break from the water, while I stayed in with my other child.

I called and voiced my complaints to the director who assured me she would monitor the next class to make improvements. I was thankful, but still not comfortable. With that being said, yes, getting your kids exposed and involved in various activities is important, just make sure your child is ready.

Beach

Written by our Sitter Services Coordinator, Courtney Bell Garvey

Uncategorized

Outside of the Box Fun

Are you getting tired of playing the same games or activities when watching the kids? Let’s face it, board games and “go fish” need a dose of resuscitation.

Our Bell Family sitters are helping everyone to think outside of the box with a slew of awesome ideas! Try out one of these fun activities the next time you are watching the little ones.

1. Get cooking: Pretend to own a restaurant and have the child be the chef. Practice using measuring cups and following recipes. Have them repeat the words you use and teach them how to cook and bake.

IMG_2164

2. Play Picasso: Pretend the child is a famous artist making paintings for their museum. Then be the customer in their gallery, view their original artwork, and buy them with pretend money.

Painting

3. Play lifeguard: The sitter is the lifeguard at the city pool and the child pretends to be a grown up at the pool with his little sister or brother.

Swimming

4. Get outside and play town (a Bell family favorite growing up): Get play cars, make traffic stops, have a cop, driver, and have them direct traffic. If someone passes a red light they go to jail! Have a pretend jail.

Ava_car

5. Think outside the box (literally): Get recycled boxes and make a train station or play house. Get construction paper, have the sitter use the scissors and create your own train station with a conductor.

boxes
Written by our Marketing & Social Media Coordinator, Taylor Bell!

Uncategorized

Mother’s Day: Events, Gifts, and More!

Greetings, all!

The countdown is on to the day where we show moms everywhere just how much we love them. If you are still looking for the right gift for the mom in your life, take a look at some of the creative ideas we have listed below. We’re pretty confident you might be Mom’s favorite this year.

Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 8th.

Gifts:

Yankee Candle Bouquet (via diy-brico.blogspot.cl) If you smell every candle before checking out.
Cozy Stuffed Slippers (via Pretty Providence) If you want to be cute but your wallet funds are not.
Personalized Jewelry (via LayeredAndLong) If a little bling if her thing.
Homemade Everything (via DIY Ready) If crafty is your middle name.

Events/Activities (in NYC):

Brunch, Brunch, and More Brunch (via TimeOut) If you can eat eggs all day every day.
Picnic in the Garden (via TimeOut)  If you want a royally good time.
Cooking Class (via TimeOut)  If you want to build up your recipe box.
Choc-o-late (via TimeOut) If the key to her heart is through cocoa goodness.

12465836_10208401591428132_4904494054756223963_o

Written by our Marketing & Social Media Coordinator, Taylor Bell!

Uncategorized

CoreMotion – From Lawyer to Fitness Studio Owner

Greetings, all!

We’re bringing you a special blog post today featuring the story behind CoreMotion Studios. Located in Fairfield, Connecticut, CoreMotion brings us a story of a woman who left her career as a New York City lawyer to become a stay at home mom, and later owner of a successful fitness studio. We had the opportunity to chat with Elise Zealand, owner of CoreMotion Studios, to find out more about her journey through this short Q&A.

Q: What made you decide to leave your successful career as a lawyer and become a full-time entrepreneur?

When I was working in-house as general counsel of a media company, I discovered that what really interested me was the business side, the strategic planning and operations, rather than the legal work. And I’ve always loved fitness — a lot more than I ever loved being a lawyer. I discovered the Megaformer in New York and was blown away by how strong I felt after taking just a few classes. Pretty soon I was hooked and I wanted to share my discovery with my friends and neighbors in Fairfield County, a community where we have a home and that’s very dear to my heart. It was an enormous leap of faith to start a business rather than go back into law, but I’ve learned more from this experience than anything else I’ve ever done professionally.

Q: I know you spoke about this a bit with Lindsay, tell us why you feel being an entrepreneur/business owner is more challenging than being a mom. What advice can you give other CEO mothers out there?

Being an entrepreneur, you constantly have to convince everyone around you — your clients, employees, business partners and even family — that you’re capable of creating and managing this new entity. You have to prove yourself and sell your product. In contrast, most people will give you the benefit of the doubt that you’re a competent parent and your baby’s cute. And there are so many moving pieces to a business that the work literally just never stops. At least a baby sleeps. Sometimes. I think CEO moms might as well let go of the guilt that comes from balancing a business with family, because they’ve made the choice to do it. And it’s important to tune out the negativity around them. I’m not saying to ignore constructive feedback or expert advice. But lots of people will have opinions about what to do with your business and that noise can get distracting. At the end of the day, you’re the business’s mother. And you know best.

Q: You offer a great program through CoreMotion called, “CoreNutrition.” Tell us about CoreNutrition, and why people should join in?

We are in the process of developing our nutrition counseling business because it’s integral to overall health. We want people to come into the studio and feel successful. For most people, real body change will require changes in their eating habits. I am a huge believer that your best body, inside and out, comes from a combination of eating well and exercising intelligently and with purpose. I used to sweat it out at a big box gym without giving much thought to what I was doing. Then I’d follow up with a 20-ounce smoothie that had more sugar than a donut. We want to help lift our clients out of old habits that aren’t working for them.

Q: How does someone join CoreMotion and/or sign-up for a class?

They can just go to our website, www.CoreMotionStudios.com!

coremotion

Written by our Marketing & Social Media Coordinator, Taylor Bell!