Sunday, October 22, 2017

Super League Gaming - Minecraft Edition


In  case you did not know I am a true gamer YUP. Girls can like games too, lol. I was the middle kid of five always fighting for MY turn on the Sega Genesis. I would ask for video game consoles for my birthdays and would absolutely love my time spent ALONE when I would get beat levels or even entire games. I was all about the Mario games and Sonic was also my jam.

So with all of that said, it is a given that my Cruz Critters are gamers as well. Yup all 3, my little @rebelgirl.0504 even loves to grab my tablet and play some games. It is a nice thing we can all relate with. Believe it or not I still have to fight for my turn, LOL.



My oldest critter is all about the latest trends and will try all of the new games. He does have his favorites and Minecraft is definitely one of them. So when @justabxmom told me about a the Super League Champs MINECRAFT event I thought we have to go. We already had our day planed but I am all about trying new things so we got up a bit earlier and make it work.













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We clicked the link , below and registered right away. Check it out here https://champs.superleague.com/portfolio/new-york-fury/.

My oldest son got his own laptop for his 8th birthday. He has been buggin us to get him the full version of Minecraft on this laptop. We did download the trial version (because it was free). This was the perfect reason to finally buy the full version of the game. So as I was trying to prepare for the Super League Champs event I downloaded the Window 10 Minecraft version. Did you know that there is not only ONE version of this game available for download on a laptop. I mean me being a gamer I think I would be pretty savvy but nope. So we arrive early to event and we are ready to go. laptop is charged, charger packed and excitement high. We signed in, got our special edition jersey and tag to write our Gamer tag on, he wrote his gamer tag himself. I helped a little though, lol.


So we go into the movie theater and the seats are labeled for all the gamers. The parents were supposed to go to the lower level to just to enjoy the game on the big screen. I never made it down there because we had a lot of technical difficulties. Before I go into that I have to say the on site Super League staff was great. They were so helpful and apologetic. They did realize things were a little crazy for the first day of this event but they did their best and always smiled and thanked the gamer or gamer's parents.


So we needed the JAVA version of the Minecraft laptop edition not the Windows 10 version. So we had a lot to do and Marco, Super League staff member got it all done. We needed internet so he made his phone into a hot spot. He uninstalled the Windows 10 version, we created a new Mojang account, install the Java version and then installed the Resources Packs we needed to play on the Super League server. So does seem like a lot but because Marco was so helpful all of this got done with just enough time to play the last round. The last round was ZOMBIES, which is always fun especially right before Halloween.

                     


Once he was playing I sat back, still in gamer's section and just listened and watched the game. It was awesome to hear other kids saying good things about his gamertag, TattleTailXD.

I am hoping to get a better understanding of all the rules and rounds the next time we go.


Let's Go Team New York Fury!!

Definitely sign up for updates from both of these sites.
https://champs.superleague.com/
http://www.justabxmom.com/

Thursday, October 12, 2017

Apple Picking at Stuart's Farm


It was our second year visiting and it was as twice as nice.

The first time we went on a holiday, Columbus Day, which fell on a weekday. That time it was not a full and not as many activities to do but still a nice time. This time we went on a Saturday so there were more people but the only place we felt it was the parking lot, lol. The weekends have a lot more activities so although there were more people everyone was able to spread out so we can all have a great time.

Cruz Critter in the Pumpkin patch

They have hay rides, corn maze, picnic tables, pumpkin patch and apple orchard. The maze and the hay ride are additional fees ($2 per person) so we did not go but they looked very fun. We did buy a lot of the farm fresh items like sweet corn, butternut squash, apples, fruit rolls, cookies, donuts, lemonade and a few other items.

One of my younger sister joined us. This is her with the Critters not me, people think we are twins

The lemonade was part of the Alex's Lemonade Stand fund https://www.alexslemonade.org/ so it was $2 but part of the price went to the fund. It was tasty too so that helped. We got about six cups in total, lol yup it was good and we were hot.

The stand out must see attraction (for me at least) is the Donut making machine. It is so awesome to see to donut shaped dough drop into the hot oil then be covered in cinnamon and sugar. They are sooo good and FRESH. The a half dozen cost about 5 bucks we got the full dozen to have some to bring home. The kids really like to see the process too. I like that they can see the steps it takes to make a tasty treat. Kids think things just magically happen so it is great to show them in real life a pretty cool process.


Tips before you go:
- Use the bathroom before you arrive. Might be a little tricky for us the ride was about 45 mins but if you do have to go the only option for bathrooms are Port a Potties so be prepared with the wet ones, hand sanitizer and patience.
- Bring CASH the prices are not bad but depending on what you want to buy/do and how much of it you need you will need cash, they don't do credit/debit cards. They do have a ATM in the main bldg (where the Donut Maker is) but there was a lengthy line to use it. Luckily, I had cash so did not have the chance to see the fees but I can imagine there were the same as any ATM.
- Pack the camera, extra batteries and extra memory card. The scenery is so beautiful. I am all about the pictures so I even brought a extra change of clothes for Rebel Girl (so yes she is wearing a different outfit but the pictures are all from the same day). Even the ride there is breathtaking. Look at this view from a bridge on the way there.

- Lastly, pack lunch they have TONS of sweets (Hello a DONUT MAKING MACHINE) but not many real food options. They did had hot dogs but this was the only "overpriced" thing. $3 a pop for the dogs, I def love hot dogs but I can feed my whole crew with $3 when I buy the dogs from the supermarket, lol. I am a mom that loves coupons, deal, saving and FREE stuff so def was not going to buy my critters each a $3 hot dog. The my boys usually eat two like myself so that is going into crazy territory so we passed on those and filled up on donuts and lemonade.

                                                      2016                                     2017

It was a really nice family day. It is all about the memories you make right. I remember the times when I went apple picking with my parents & siblings so I am so grateful and blessed to be able to share with my family. We were chasing butterflies through the apple trees and watching them drink the nectar from the crushed apples with bees by their side, picture below. It was hotter than it technically should be in October but definitely worked out in our favor.


Check them out on their website for updates:
http://stuartsfarm.com/

Best part was we had some goodies left over so I had a sweet breakfast the next morning and got to relive the experience all over again.
Can't wait for next year....

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Gift Bags for Critters Classes

As we get closer to Halloween I have begun making our Halloween treat bags. The public school my older critters go to do not "do" Halloween. They have made it into a taboo day since the older kids tend to be mischievous and throw eggs, toilet paper, shaving cream, etc.

Although they are not gonna go to school in costumes and "trick or treating" I always like to help their classes celebrate. I definitely always try to give class gifts/treats. Now with two critters in school with class sizes growing it gets tricky but Dollar Tree, Oriental Trading, Etsy & Bath and Body works to the rescue (links below).

So for the kids I didn't want to be cheap so I gave Two flavored Tootsie Rolls Chews, One Dum Dum lollipop (all from Dollar tree) One Halloween shaped Eraser (Oriental Trading) and a Halloween themed sticker (Dollar tree) in a Halloween themed bags (Dollar tree).


For the Teachers who def deserve a lot MORE I gave them a little extra.  Cue Bath & Body and Etsy.
They got all the candies too but I gave them a Halloween themed hand sanitizer from Bath & Body (cant have enough of these when you have kids around) and the cutest knitted candy from Kris10Stitches wonderful Etsy shop. They can use this as a desk decoration and always remember the great kid aka mom that gave it to them, lol. Look at pics below.                                   
                   

Here are all the links so you can go shopping too:
https://www.dollartree.com/ ; http://www.orientaltrading.com/ ; http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/ ; https://www.etsy.com/shop/Kris10NStitches?ref=search_shop_redirect

I think giving these little treats/gifts will teach a lesson that it is nice to give to others and not expect anything but  thank you in return. I think sometimes we as grown ups don't give enough to each other. Not only tangible things but just helping one another. I hope that this helps all these kids to remember that sharing is caring and we should all care about our peers.

Happy Halloween Everyone!!! Cant wait to share our next class gift with you.




Thursday, October 5, 2017

Fashion Week

As we say bye to September and Fashion week I have to put up a blog about our first experience. I am a mom of 3; two boys and my third is my little princess (we worked hard on her and God def blessed us). I have never been able to attend any shows. This year I got to go to TWO.

So since she is so cute and everyone always tells us we need to put our critters in modeling we finally decided she would be the one we try it out with. She was recruited by a Modeling Agency and we are on our way to the top, or at least one paid job,lol. I think the experience is priceless but getting paid is always cool.

So since we have to start from the bottom to get to the top we have been doing some free jobs. The latest one was the Beautiful Youth Fashion Tour (http://www.beautifulmode.com/). I was hesitant to do this with a 3 year old because she has zero experience with fashion shows and run ways but she was like a fish to water, she did great. They had all the models practice a lot before the show which was a def plus. She thought after one walk she was done because she is 3 but once we practiced, ate and slept we were ready to go. I would def recommend keeping the same schedule and routine you always do with your little one. I saw a few meltdown and sleepy girls when the show was about to being. So you know your child better than anyone else so listen to them, I promise things will go a lot smoother. Also snacks and tech are also a BIG help.

Here is a runway pic taken by a photographer, Czar Photography (http://theczarphotography.wixsite.com/czarphotography)

Our second Fashion Week experience was super cool. Big thanks and shout out to JustaBXMom, she is def the BEST. (Subscribe to here blog here -- http://justabxmom.com/). She hooked us up with tickets to Vicky'z mommy and me fashion show. We had to travel far to get there and the show was a half hour but those were the prettiest 30 mins of my life, lol. I have NEVER been to a fashion show so I was anxious, nervous and doubting my fashion sense completely but I still went and took my Rebel.Girl.54 (https://www.instagram.com/kac.0504/). So if I have never been you know she has never been either. We had amazing seat (aka Sex in the City type seats) that were basically on the run way. We arrived and ran to the potty just in time. I sat first and put my mini on my lap and they show started. The lights dimmed and the music started, I was sooo happy to be in this room with all these cool people. As the models (adults and kids) passed right in front of us we just stared in amazement. I started to take pictures and videos because I def wanted to share this experience with JustaBXMom, my family & followers. I also was telling Rebel.Girl.54 to look at the kids and how some looked a little nervous and were holding the adult models hands and how some were as cool as cucumbers. I told her she would be there one day and even if she was a little scared she should do it anyway because look at the beautiful clothes they get to wear. We noticed a lot of capes as a trend so def gonna jump on that, cause who doesn't like a cape, lol

I am definitely looking forward to the next Fashion Week.