Exercising My Right to Drive a Convertible

My favorite ride on a recent trip to Disney

Disney is all about fantasy, so driving a Camaro SS was a dream come true at the ultimate fantasy land, Walt Disney World.

I was in Disney at the TravelingMom retreat and Chevrolet http://www.chevrolet.com/ brought a bunch of shiny cars for everyone to drive. There was a 2014 Impala, the 2015 Tahoe and Suburban and the 2014 Camaro.

It poured for most of our time in Florida, so we really got to test the cars in less than ideal conditions - wet roads, mist falling. So we didn’t have the top down.  But the car handled well on curvy roads in the rain; I could imagine how much fun it would be to tool along on the California coast in this sporty car.

Where to Go

Chevy MyLink has a built in navigation system, but this Camaro was also equipped with OnStar, a remarkable concierge service for your car. You press a button, and within seconds are connected to a live phone call. All you have to do is tell the person where you are going, and directions will be either loaded into the nag system for you, or spoken aloud while you drive. Amazing.

The Camaro looks great from any angle

OnStar also offers incredible peace of mind - they provide roadside and emergency assistance, even for weather situations out of the scope of the car.  If say, the car in front of you hit black ice and had an accident, you could contact OnStar and get that person emergency help.

Connected Car

Chevy MyLink has an easy to use touchscreen, with Sirius XM radio and bluetooth integration with your phone.

Eyes on the Road

Everyone else is looking at you, but you want to make sure that you keep your eyes on the road.  It’s easy with this car, which has color heads up display. There are also audio controls on the leather steering wheel, so you won’t get distracted playing with the touchscreen.

Midlife Crisis

The money shot; the Camaro with the top down

If you drive this car with little kids, there are rear child seat latch anchors.  And up to teen years, a couple of kids will fit comfortably in the back seat. 

But if you are tall, and/or have large children, they will not enjoy the rather cramped rear seat. I like to drive with my seat pretty far forward, but still, my rear seat passengers were happy to get out of the car.

However, the Camaro does offer creature comforts like heated front leather seats, remote keyless entry, parking assist and power outlets.

The Camaro starts at $41,885; extras including special headlights, racing stripe, automatic transmission, remote start and the navigation system brought the price up to $46,650. It gets 15 mpg in the city, 24 on the highway.

Note: Chevrolet provided the Camaro for my test drive. Opinions expressed are my own.

Summer Hair - Whether Traveling or at Home

When I travel, I sometimes try out new products, figuring the people I meet will never see me again.This is also why I am the family photographer, hiding behind the lens with frizzy hair or flaking eye shadow.

But I put a new hair product to the ultimate test last week - three days in the rain and Florida humidity. I had just gotten a sample of SheaMoisture's Tahitian Noni & Monoi Smooth & Repair High Shine Glosser, a silicone free styling product that promised smooth hair and controlled frizz.

My curls were even subjected to a test drive in a convertible, and a couple of turns on Disney’s newest ride, the MineTrain roller coaster.

Like all  SheaMoisture products, this is organic and paraben free. Tahitian Noni is an antioxidant, and Vitamin C is added to keep hair healthy. Monoi Oil repairs damaged hair, and keratin smooths it.

Not only that, it is sold at drugstores and is reasonably priced.

Every Mother Counts: Counting Your Blessings

My sister, on right, and me, before the More half marathon

My kids never really got why I was so excited on THEIR birthdays. But the day each of my 3 kids was born is extra special to me because on those days, I became a mother.

Ok, technically I was already a mother after the first child, but still - your child’s day of birth is a very powerful day.

That’s why the Every Mother Counts organization resonates with so many moms. Christy Turlington Burn’s maternal health organization is a sobering reminder that every day, 800 women die giving birth. That works out to one woman every two minutes.

Post run - still smiling

I was thinking of this statistic as I ran the More half marathon in Central Park. The race is a celebration of the power of women. My sister and I ran together and we got a sister chant going. Not every runner was a mother, but we all cheered as moms high-fived their kids on the race route.

One of the reasons I run now is that all three of my daughters run and we sometimes run together. My middle daughter and I are trying to get into the NYC marathon.

The day I first became a mother, I was exhausted, thrilled, overwhelmed,  ecstatic, excited. I want every mom to have such an empowering experience (well, maybe not the exhaustion) so I pledged the "Take 2 minutes to Take 2 actions."

These were simple action to accomlishs: running 2 miles using the Charity Miles app, (so that half marathon was a bit longer…) donating $2 to Every Mother Counts, asking two friends to participate.

This Mother's Day, count your blessings as a mom., and help those who were denied the chance.

Get Happy - Giveaway of a New Plush Toy, The Happy's

Stuffed animals have a place in most homes, but kids often want the ‘real’ thing. But  allergies, lifestyle, or apartment rules on pets can limit the ability to get a furry friend.

Enter the new line of plush interactives, The Happy’s™. These battery operated puppies and kittens run around on hardwood floors or tile (they don’t move so well on carpet) and may get your pet-deprived kids chasing after them.

The Happy’s are also easily trained - each cat or dog comes with a treat that makes the pet do a trick. Your pet may chase, wiggle its butt or pounce - and if you have a friend or a sister with a different Happy’s, your pet will do the other one's trick with the second treat. Unlike real animals, the cats and dogs don’t mind playing with each other, or their toys.

You can also expand the play with a Chase & Play ball. The toy doesn’t fetch, but it does chase after its ball. And again, kids are often motivated to run around after the pet. We tested this out with a tired puppy and she chased after the motorized fur ball.

The Happy’s are a new line from Cepia, makers of ZhuZhu Pets.

Unlike needing to buy kibble and treats, you only have to feed these pets batteries. And no vet bills or fleas!

Want to try out The Happy’s™? You can get them at Toys ‘R Us, Wal-Mart, Target, Justice and Radio Shack. 

Or leave your name and email below for a chance to win one of your own.

Note: this is a sponsored giveaway

Healthy Breakfast on the Go: Reality vs Fantasy

Breakfast commercials often feature smiling families sitting down enjoying a freshly made meal, or at least slurping down a bowl of cereal, the kids with their hair combed and the mom in full make up.

The reality in our house is screaming over lost shoes, misplaced homework and coffee that just won’t drip through fast enough. The dog needs to pee, the litter box has to be scooped, a soccer uniform is dirty and no one picked up the dry cleaning.

Are we having fun yet?

So my kids grab whatever they can and run out the door.  Sometimes I have planned ahead and made relatively healthy muffins that they can pop in the microwave, but that is the kind of advance planning that would have also foreseen the dirty uniform, dry cleaning slips and overdue library books.

And maybe picked up some more coffee beans.

But for those crazy mornings, Garden Lites comes to the rescue. A new line of delicious frozen vegetable muffins, Veggie Muffins hit the trifecta - they are tasty, healthy and portable.

The muffins are also gluten free, low in calories and a good source of fiber.

And they take 35 seconds to heat up in the microwave- faster than you can say," did you find your homework, remember your gym shoes, take your lunch, bring an umbrella and oh no, step over here and avoid the puppy’s accident."

Consider the zucchini chocolate muffins. The first two ingredients? Zucchini, then carrots. One muffin has 50% of the RDA of vitamin A, and 40% of the iron. And they taste great.

My daughter loved these and I had to fight her for one post workout (much more satisfying than a granola bar).

The corn muffins don’t have quite as impressive a nutritional profile - but they are also not loaded with crap.

There are also a veggie berry oat and zucchini banana chocolate chip, both with zucchini as the first ingredient, and a carrot berry with carrots at the helm.

Veggie Muffins are sold frozen, but take about 4 hours to thaw, so they are great snacks for a road trip, or for teens who can’t stomach food first thing in the morning.

Veggies to Go: Healthy Drinks

Orange Mango Smoothie

One of the first things my kids learned to make in the kitchen was smoothies. First, they just peeled the bananas and dropped them into the blender; they gradually added skills such as washing berries, cutting mangoes and pouring in milk.

As they became tweens, they took over the whole operation (minus the clean up). But as busy teens, they don’t have time in the morning to make a smoothie.  Enter Green Mustache, fruit and veggie juice smoothies. These veggie packed drinks come in grab and go 10 ounce bottles, ideal for a vitamin packed drink on the run.

The brand was started by a NYC mother of two, VanTrang Manges, who had to sneak veggies into her younger daughter’s diet. Once your kids learn to read, though, the gig is up.

The orange mango has spinach and kale, plus chia seeds, but the fruit flavors dominate. My daughters liked the strawberry banana which had pineapple (I’m allergic) and more spinach, kale and chia seeds. There is also a mixed berry, with pear, three berries and more of the healthy green stuff; soon to come is Tropical Twist, with pineapple, guava and passion fruit.

The nutrition labels will make you happy - no added sugar, great source of vitamins A and C,  plus rich in folate, iron and fiber.

The smoothies are organic, vegan and gluten free, with no preservatives, artificial colors or flavors. They are sold at sold at FreshDirect.com, some Fairways in New York and all Gourmet Garage stores in NYC.

One oddity; the FDA requires a serving size based on eight ounces, so the bottles technically have 1.3 servings. Really?

Luvo - Lots to Love

Luvo flatbreads

Finding healthy, frozen food can be like hitting the daily double: rare, but so satisfying. Luvo, a new entry into the frozen entree business, at least in the East Coast, hits the mark again and again.

Flatbreads come with whole wheat / flaxseed crusts, but they taste delicious, not virtuous. I tried the the Caramelized Onion & Mushroom Flatbread with Ricotta Cheese, which is a perfect dinner with a salad. My daughter also sampled the breakfast version, topped with ricotta, a touch of honey & apricot jam & chopped apple; for kids who get up too late to sit down for breakfast, this is a healthy breakfast on the go. There are also more combos, including an appealing sounding mushroom, egg and spinach version.

Unlike many prepared foods, the Luvo entrees are loaded with flavor, not salt. They are also made with no GMO ingredients.

And if, like me, you feel guilty about the excessive packing used in prepared foods, you can rest easy - the meals come in recyclable paper pouches that go from freezer to microwave to recycling bin.

If you aren’t a vegetarian, you can enjoy the hormone-free animal products. But anyone can savor the vegan whole grain pilaf, with quinoa, wheat berries, brown rice and kale.

Luvo meals are available in supermarkets and are a great idea when you travel - if your hotel room has microwave, you can healthy meals on the road. And now you can also have them in the air: Delta is serving them on West Coast shuttles and transcontinental flights to and from JFK, LAX, SFO and SEA.