Hasbro Sends Ari Some My Little Pony Love

The other day, I wrote a post about my son Ari's love for My Little Pony. Before I knew it, the post had gone viral! I wrote to Hasbro and sent them the post. Kristin from the P.R. department was gracious enough to send Ari over some awesome My Little Pony toys. 

Ari is holding the Applejack Equestria girl and his favorite pony of all time, Rainbow Dash.

Thank you so much to the wonderful people at Hasbro for making my son's day. He is so excited to play with his new My Little Pony toys. 

The Bronies Come Out in Support of Ari

When I posted My Son is a Brony, I never imagined the impact it would have. I was merely expressing my son's love for My Little Pony.

Shortly after I posted the article, it was picked up by one of the biggest Brony websites, Equestria Daily, which has a readership of over 800,000 My Little Pony enthusiasts, both Bronies and Pegasisters. My post went viral! It had over 10,000 views!

Suddenly I had the support of an strong community of folks who frankly were just plain awesome. In fact, one website called the Brony Syndicate created Ari and I as ponies!

Another Brony website called EverFree News welcomed Ari to the herd.

I want to thank you guys in the Brony community for being so welcoming to Ari and his love for My Little Pony and, in particular, Rainbow Dash. Our cat, Carly, likes her too.

Our other cat Egreck loves all the ponies:

And let's not forget Samara and her loyalty to Twilight Sparkle!

One more favor to ask guys. Please take a moment to visit the BuzzFeed article and comment there.

It's been a pleasure taking over the internet with you! 

My Son is a Brony

My son Ari is five years old and he loves the show My Little Pony. For months, I’ve been purchasing the My Little Pony figurines for my daughter, Samara, who is two years old. One day Ari wanted to watch a show on Netflix and he spotted the My Little Pony Friendship is Magic picture featuring six colorful ponies with enormous anime character

eyes. I figured I’d give the show a try, not knowing if it would hold his attention.

As it turned out, after the first episode he was hooked.

“Mommy, can I hold the ponies while I watch it?” He asked.

“Sure.” I said with a shrug.

“I want that one.” He said pointing to Rainbow Dash.

 He asked to watch episode after episode of My Little Pony all the while holding the tiny pony figurines in his lap.

When I had Ari, I imagined we’d share similar hobbies. I taught him to play chess and twenty questions, but our mutual love for My Little Pony was a surprise. You see, when I was a child, I was obsessed with My Little Pony. I would become infuriated when my brother would steal my precious My Little Pony figures holding them just out of my reach.

I remember one time my mom and I were in a toy store on the Upper East Side of Manhattan buying a birthday present for a friend of mine. I must have been six or seven years old. I begged my mom to get me another My Little Pony. I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t allowed to get just one more. I needed my fix.

Flash forward to 27 years later, and my son has the same obsession that I once did. Funny, when I first noticed the new My Little Ponies I was certain it would be my daughter’s thing to collect every single one and covet them like precious jewels. Maybe I’m playing into

society’s stereotypes of what are “girl toys” and “boy toys.” My son certainly knocked those stereotypes out of the water.

I asked Ari what he likes so much about My Little Pony. His answer was simple:

“I just like them.”

There you have it. He just likes them.

When I confessed to my friends that Ari was a My Little Pony enthusiast, I found out there was a name for him. Ari is a Brony. A Brony is defined as a male fan of the show My Little Pony. That’s just what he is, a boy who likes My Little Pony.

I find it funny that there is a name for a boy who likes My Little Pony. It’s perfectly fine for boys and girls to watch My Little Pony as it appeals to children in general and not a particular gender. I have a conflicted relationship with the term “Brony.” On the one hand

I think it’s kind of great because it’s something to be proud of. Yo, what’s up? I’m a Brony, a boy who digs My Little Ponies.

On the other hand, it also plays into the stigma that the show is typically one that girls watch and there’s something weird about a boy watching it. Therefore, society does what we do best and it creates a label for someone who watches the show who isn’t the typical

demographic of a female child.

My point is, we can all love My Little Pony without labeling each other boys who like it and girls who like it. It’s a fun show.

In the words of Ari, on each episode of My Little Pony, “Every pony learns something.”

Wordless Wednesday - Brony

Win Baby Magic No-Rinse Wash

My kids have perpetually dirty faces. Every time I turn around, one of them is covered in something. So when Kristi (who represents Baby Magic) asked if I'd like to review their No-Rinse wash, I was psyched.

The No-Rinse Wash is great for when your kids are dirty from the playground or have just eaten pizza, are covered in tomato sauce and you forgot to bring baby wipes with you. Maybe you stopped buying baby wipes because your children are out of diapers. In that case, the No-Rinse wash is an awesome item to keep in your bag. 

Baby Magic has been in business since the 1950's. Their products are cruelty free, paraben free, made in the USA and hypoallergenic. 

In order to test out the No-Rinse Wash, I started with a dirty face, which wasn't hard to come by in my house. 

Then I squirted some No-Rinse wash out.

Let me pause here to tell you about the scent. The No-Rinse wash has a subtle fresh scent. It's not overpowering, but rather it smells faintly like baby powder. After applying the wash, this happened:

Naturally, when Samara saw what was going on, she wanted to try the No-Rinse Wash. I don't blame her, I was the youngest child too. She didn't want to miss out on the fun. 

The No-Rinse wash isn't just for faces. You can use in the place of soap. Let's say you went to the beach and you don't feel like giving your kids a full-on bath. You can use the No-Rinse wash instead. In fact after I tried it out on my kids, Samara decided to pump out some foam and rub it all over my legs…for fun. My legs smell pretty great right now. 

Want to win the No-Rinse Wash from Baby Magic for your dirty faced kiddos? Enter below!

**Giveaway open to U.S. residents only.

***This is a product review. All opinions expressed are my own

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Win Tree Hut Shea Body Butter and Shea Sugar Body Scrub and Smell Amazing!

The smell of shea butter is one of my favorite smells of all time. So when Kristi reached out to me on behalf of Tree Hut and asked if I'd like to review and giveaway their Shea Body Butter and Shea Sugar Scrub, I wanted to jump through the computer and hug her.

When I received the body products, I was more excited than usual to take a shower. Kristi told me that the Shea Sugar Body Scrub was great for exfoliating and awesome to shave your legs with. So with that information in my mind, I hopped into the shower.

Kristi was right. The Shea Sugar Body Scrub rocks! My legs feel amazing! It definitely is an exfoliant, but it's a gentle one. For me that's important since I have sensitive skin.

Shaving cream, I think we need to break up. I have a new shower boyfriend. The Shea Sugar Body Scrub in the Almond & Honey flavor has a wonderfully fresh smell. When I smelled it I actually felt a little more awake. Take that coffee! It's made with organic shea butter and essential oils including evening primrose oil. Love it!

Then I moved on to the Shea Body Butter.

When I opened this sexy container, I immediately put my nose up to it and smelled inside. I knew it was going to smell great, but I wasn't prepared for my reaction. I actually wanted to eat it. But I held myself back and decided that I'd better rub it on my body instead.

Let me tell you guys, this stuff is awesome. I have eczema and it flares up during the winter. The Shea Body Butter moisturized my skin and made me smell like a vanilla milkshake. In the words of the 90s girl group, SWV, I'm so into you, Shea Body Butter.

One of the things I love about the Shea Body Butter is that it's made with organic shea butter and fortified with vitamins A, C and E.  I am dedicated to using natural products and it's important to me (if I can) to use organic products on my body.

Do you want to win this dynamic smelling duo? You know you do! Enter below and if you're lucky, you'll smell as good as I do right now!

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**Giveaway open to U.S. residents only.
***This is a product review. All opinions expressed are my own

What Do I Want To Be When I Grow Up?

For the past five and a half years, I've been mainly home raising my children. When Ari was born I made a decision to stay home with him so that I wouldn't miss a thing. I saw him crawl, walk and talk.

When Ari turned one I began substitute teaching. A few months later, I started transcribing for reality television. The teaching was flexible and I could do it when my parents were available to watch Ari. Transcription I could do from home and was also fairly flexible, although deadlines were tight.

My life has changed now, and I'm in need of a more steady income. I need to find a full time job.

The challenge is this: my resume looks like an impressionist painting. It's full of varying jobs. From working at a veterinary hospital to being a vocational rehabilitation counselor to becoming a substitute teacher.

I've had many jobs, but I've never had a career.

At this point in my life, it's time to decide on a career and pursue it. As a Libra, I tend to be indecisive. But once I make up my mind it's unmovable. It's just getting to that point where I make a decision that's tough.

The question is, what do I want to be when I grow up?

I know I want to do something creative.

I'd love to teach theater to kids. I looked into it, and the drama license from New York City Department of Education for theater is for Kindergarten through 12th grade. So that's an option. But that requires having the Department of Education evaluate my transcript and more coursework, so that's not an immediate option.

I need to find a job in the interim that allows me to use my creativity but also pays the bills.

Any ideas?