 This post was sponsored by Amazon as part of an Ambassador Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own. Ahhhhh snow days!!! I have such a love/hate relationship with them! When you spot a blizzard a few days before on your Echo Show, at least you have time to prepare yourself for a house full of kids and not being able to go outdoors. When you get a random ice storm in the middle of the night and receive a 6am automated call telling you schools are canceled due to freezing rain and icy conditions. Those are the “snow days” that would drive me insane. Not a single planned activity. Definitely not stocked up on those favorite snow days snacks. Unplanned snow days were the worst until we discovered all the fun we can have with our Alexa devices! Honesty, it’s hard to remember a time Alexa wasn’t there to help save the day!!! Alexa makes our unplanned snow days a tad bit more fun & exciting since we can just ask her to play music, read the news, control our smart home, tell a joke, and more! Whether you are at home or on the go, Alexa is designed to make your life easier by letting you voice-control your world. A few months ago we found out that Amazon made an Echo Dot Kids Edition and boy did we get excited!!! Families just like ours have loved using Alexa in their households so Amazon wanted to provide a kid-friendly, kid-centric Alexa experience with parental controls! My daughter loves playing with our devices, especially on those snow days and now she can have one of her very own! No more stealing mommy’s Alexa to read to her favorite stories or play the Sponge Bob Challenge, she can play with her very own Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition instead!!!  Echo Dot Kids EditionKeep your kids nice and entertained on those unplanned snow days with Echo Dot Kids Edition and FreeTime on Alexa. Kids have access to age-appropriate music! That’s right, unlike Mommy & Daddy’s devices, Echo Dot Kids Edition is filtered with FreeTime on Alexa that lets parents select which services and skills kids can use, turn off voice purchasing, and more. Parents can also block explicit song lyrics with Amazon Music, and use Household Communications for announcements, calling, messaging and drop-in within the home.WooHoo!!! You can also find features like educational Q&A, a Magic Word, and kid-friendly suggestions when kids are bored on those snow days. Parents can also manage their kids’ experience on Parent Dashboard—same as FreeTime on other devices! I swear after one day of having an Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition in your home, you will be asking yourself how you ever went without one! Especially on those snow days. Such a game changer!  Amazon FreeTime on AlexaI know there must be a few Alexa newbies out there and I know exactly what you’re asking yourself. What the heck is this Amazon FreeTime Unlimited that you speak of? FreeTime Unlimited on Alexa is how you keep your child entertained since it includes over 1000 Audible kids’ books, kid-friendly, ad-free radio stations and playlists, character alarms, and premium Alexa skills that kids will love. Amazon FreeTime Unlimited on Alexa is also available on Echo devices starting at $2.99 per month. And, families that already subscribe to FreeTime Unlimited on Fire tablets or Android devices can enjoy FreeTime Unlimited on Alexa content at no additional cost. So if your kids have those popular Fire Tablets like my daughter, hook your Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition for free!  Snow Day Entertainment With Echo Dot Kids EditionDo you struggle keeping your kids entertained on those snow days? Let Alexa help you with exciting entertainment the whole family can enjoy!!! • Alexa, start SpongeBob Challenge.” This voice-activated memory game tests your wits as you try to take meal orders at the Krusty Krab from the residents of Bikini Bottom. • “Alexa, open Sesame Street.” Your Alexa-enabled device becomes a direct line to your little ones favorite Sesame Street character Elmo! • “Alexa, meow like a cat.” This is one feature my 6 year old couldn’t get enough of when she discovered it!!! She would ask Alexa to meow like a cat and bark like a dog over and over. She did it so much our puppy though Alexa was an animal and would start barking at her lol.... According to the Animal Sounds Alexa skill creator, users can ask to hear the sounds of a “baboon, bear, bobcat, cat, cow, coyote, hippopotamus, lemur, lion, spider, monkey, spider monkey, rooster—and more.” • “Alexa, open Amazon Storytime.” Turn any time into story time with Amazon Storytime, a free Alexa skill for kids ages 5-12. Explore a collection of more than a hundred short stories featuring lively full-cast recordings. Kids can choose from story categories including bedtime, silly, family, friends, and more. Or spin the magic story wheel for a surprise set of stories. Super helpful if you just need the kids to sit still and chill for a few minutes. • “Alexa, tell me a knock-knock joke.” Alexa won’t do the back and forth thing with you, but she does have some knock knock jokes to tell. The answer is always different, so your kids might get sucked into asking for knock knock jokes all day. • “Alexa, how old are you?” Alexa will actually tell you her age (which is 3), but she will also tell you how old she is in dog years and AI years. It’s a large number, as it seems the latter age is counted in nanoseconds.  • “Alexa, launch Guess the Number.” Alexa will “think” of a number between 1 and 100 and your kids have to guess it while she directs them “higher” or “lower.” • “Alexa, Can you beatbox?” I have to say Alexa is the best at beatboxing!! Have your kids give it a try and and see Alexa throw down. • “Alexa, play [insert child’s favorite song here].” Alexa is, at its heart, a speaker made for music. So let her blast out the Sophia The First theme song if it helps cheer things up. Or, if it’s just you who needs the cheering, just make your pick and rock it out, mama! Alexa can play pretty much anything you ask of her, especially if you’re an Amazon Prime or Amazon Music Unlimited member, which gives you access to Amazon’s expansive music library. • “Alexa, Who you gonna call?” “Ghostbusters!” This one always gets my 6 year old and even my hubby giggling! •”Alexa, open Mighty Trivia. This one is geared towards a younger audience with three different difficulty levels. Alexa will pretend to be an object, person, place or animal and you must guess what she is based on questions and hints. • “Alexa, Fart” That’s right. You read that correctly! Your kid’s love for Alexa may reach unprecedented heights when they discover the perfect command to give her: “Ask for a fart. The laughs are sure to be plenty.  Let’s Chat!Are you an Alexa family? What ways do you use your device on snow days?
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 This post was sponsored by Amazon as part of an Ambassador Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own. There is no denying it. We are an amazon family! Prime is our favorite way to shop & Alexa helps hubby and run our empires smoothly, especially during the holidays! Honesty, it’s hard to remember a time Alexa wasn’t there to help save the day & make our holiday season extra festive! With all of us having type A personalities, we were one of the very first families we knew to welcome Alexa into our home. Since interacting with Alexa is as simple as asking a question. Just ask her to play music, read the news, control your smart home, tell a joke, and more, you best believe our collection of devices just kept growing and growing! Whether you are at home or on the go, Alexa is designed to make your life easier by letting you voice-control your world. When we found out about Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition, I might have gotten a tad bit excited! Families just like ours have loved using Alexa in their households so Amazon wanted to provide a kid-friendly, kid-centric Alexa experience with parental controls! My daughter loves playing with our devices and now she can have one of her very own! No more stealing mommy’s Alexa to play Santa Shark over and over, she can ask her very own Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition instead!!!  Amazon Echo Dot Kids EditionHelp your kids get into the holiday spirit through brand new holiday-themed content on Echo Dot Kids Edition and FreeTime on Alexa. Kids have access to age-appropriate music! That’s right, unlike Mommy & Daddy’s devices, Echo Dot Kids Edition is filtered with FreeTime on Alexa that lets parents select which services and skills kids can use, turn off voice purchasing, and more. Parents can also block explicit song lyrics with Amazon Music, and use Household Communications for announcements, calling, messaging and drop-in within the home. WooHoo!!! You can also find kid friendly Q&A, Audible audiobooks, Alexa skills, character alarms and more. I swear after one day of having an Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition in your home, you will be asking yourself how you ever went without one!  FreeTime Unlimited on AlexaFor all of you Alexa newbies, I know what you’re asking yourself. What the heck is this FreeTime Unlimited that you speak of? FreeTime Unlimited on Alexa is how you keep your child entertained since it includes over 300 Audible kids’ books, ad-free radio stations and playlists, character alarms, and premium Alexa skills that kids will love. FreeTime Unlimited on Alexa is also available on Echo devices starting at $2.99 per month. And, families that already subscribe to FreeTime Unlimited on Fire tablets or Android devices can enjoy FreeTime Unlimited on Alexa content at no additional cost. So if your kids have those popular Fire Tablets like my daughter, hook your Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition for free!  Get More Festive This Holiday Season!Does your family make it a tradition to see as many family and friends as possible during the holiday season? Let Alexa help you organize errands and keep track of your busy schedule and to-do lists. • Alexa, add holiday party to calendar on December 20th at 7 p.m. • Alexa, remind me set out the dining room table decor tomorrow • Alexa, where is the nearest Whole Foods? …Alexa, call them to see if they have a rib roast available. • Alexa, add go to the grocery store to my to-do list • Alexa, create a holiday dinner menu Help your kids get into the holiday spirit through brand new holiday-themed content on Echo Dot Kids Edition and FreeTime on Alexa. Here are some fun things to try: • Alexa, Call Santa Claus • Alexa, open Disney Stories • Alexa, read my book • Alexa, can Rudolph fly? • Alexa, open my Toy Box • Alexa, what’s your favorite holiday treat? • Alexa, what’s your favorite holiday story? • Alexa, open Disney Stories  The Santa LettersDoes your child ask to see Santa daily?!?! My child is Santa obsessed!!!!! Thanks to Alexa Skill Blueprints “Santa’s Letter” blueprint, your kiddo can write a letter and wish list to Santa and check back every day to track its progress to the North Pole!!! You’ll even hear a weekly response from Santa himself. And with the “Hallmark Holiday Greeting card, ” you can create and share a Hallmark greeting card with family and friends, complete with custom images and personalized messages. Go to blueprints.amazon.com to get started. • Alexa, help me send a letter to Santa. • Alexa, where is my Santa letter? • Alexa, help me send a holiday card. • Alexa, help me send a Christmas card.  Bringing Back Nostalgic Holiday Traditions with AlexaIs holiday cooking and baking together as a family part of your holiday traditions? Let Alexa help along the way! We love using our new Echo Show for picture step by step cookie directions while using my daughters Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition to play our favorite holiday tunes!!! If you haven’t heard Santa Shark, we highly recommend it if Baby Shark is your jam! • Alexa, show me a cookie recipe • Alexa, add eggs and sprinkles to my holiday shopping list • Alexa, set a cookie timer for 25 minutes • Alexa, how many tablespoons are in a cup? • Alexa, find me a holiday dinner main course recipe • Alexa, ask Food Network for popular recipes from Bobby Flay  Let’s Chat!Are you an Alexa family? What ways do you use your device during the holidays? The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service for free. I don’t know about the weather in your neck of the woods, but here in WNY, it’s about to go from sunshine to blizzards shortly! I hate to go outdoors once those temperatures dip below 60 degrees, so once those temperatures drop, I’m all about that indoor entertainment. Just call me Hermit Courtney while I binge watch my favorite shows, stream the latest movies and watch my favorite YouTube stars kill it while avoiding that snow! So you best believe when I discovered Google Chromecast, I was quite intrigued.  What Is Google Chromecast?Upgrade your TV for less!!! Google Chromecast is designed to make the most of the apps and entertainment already on your smart phone! That’s right! Those TV shows you binge, movies you’re dying to see, YouTube videos you were just alerted were uploaded and more? All just a tap away from all of your family’s devices!!!  All together now Watch movies, shows, live TV, YouTube, and photos streaming on your TV from all your family's devices.¹ Stream from your phone to TV Plug Chromecast into the HDMI port on your TV and to power and stream your favorite entertainment right from your phone with just a tap. Watch shows, listen to playlists, and more. And while streaming, you can still use your phone as you normally do. Works with the streaming apps you know and love Enjoy TV shows, movies, videos, songs, games, sports and more from over 2000 apps like Netflix, YouTube, YouTube TV, and HBO NOW.  Start streaming with just your voice Just say what you want to watch from compatible apps and control your TV hands-free, with Chromecast and Google Home working seamlessly together. “Ok Google, play Stranger Things from Netflix on my living room TV. Upgrade your TV for less Expand your home entertainment without buying a new TV. It's so affordable you can get one for every TV in the house. High-speed wireless connectivity Built-in 802.11ac Wi-Fi connects to the Internet through your wireless home network (wireless router required and sold separately). Compatible with your existing HDTV Easily connects to high-definition televisions with HDMI connectivity.  Best part of all?!?! You can find Google Chromecast at Best Buy for only $35.00!
That’s right, ONLY $35!!! Since most of us pay wayyy over $100.00 per month for cable or satellite TV, this is a fabulous way to save that cash! Just imagine all the goodies you can buy with THAT kind of savings each month!!!  Ahhhhhh LEGOLAND!!!!!! Literally one of my daughters favorite places!!! We always joke that when she grows up, she’s going to be an engineer due to her obsession with building things. So you best believe every time we are in the state of Florida, a trip to LEGOLAND is already scheduled and in the books! Since my daughter seems to be a LEGO Connoisseur these days, I figured I would give y’all our tips on getting the most out of your trip to LEGOLAND Florida!  1. Make Your Trip 2+ Days! If you are traveling during a warmer month, I would recommend making LEGOLAND a 2 day experience. LEGOLAND has an awesome water park, so our favorite way to do LEGOLAND is main park the first day, then the next day water park and whatever rides we may have ran out of time to check out on day one! 2. Check The Weather!Florida can be sunshine one minute and rainy the next. Thankfully LEGOLAND has indoor activities! If you spot rain on your weather app at a certain time, I would plan your day around that burst of rain. Save all indoor activities for when the rain hits.  3. All You Can Eat!On a budget?!? Have kids and a hubby that are bottomless pits?!? You will definitely want to take advantage of Fun Town Pizza & Pasta Buffet! All you can eat pizza, pasta and drinks for one low price!!!! Our favorite way to dine while roaming LEGOLAND Florida! 4. LEGOLAND Beach RetreatThis is another budget tip!! When people spotted our LEGO house on social media our last stay, people assumed we were total ballers! Figured a LEGO house must cost a small fortune! While our stay was hosted by LEGOLAND, the actual price per night was CHEAPER than the LEGOLAND Resort Hotel. If you want to be Boujee and you’re on a budget, check out the LEGOLAND Beach Retreat!  5. Impatient Kids? Skip The Line Pass!That’s right! For rides like the LEGO Race Coaster, you can purchase a skip the line pass for a small fee! We actually didn’t know about this until our most recent trip. Total game changer now that I know about it! 6. LEGOLAND Awesome for Special Needs! As a special needs parent, I’m always looking at how places handle working with special needs children. LEGOLAND is AWESOME and offer an Assisted Access Pass!
As a special needs mama, I can tell you that this really is a game changer when going to parks! LEGOLAND is one of the better parks I’ve been to with my daughter. Way better than the others in the C entral Florida area ;-) So if you can only choose one park, go to LEGOLAND so your kid can fully enjoy it!  Let’s Chat!Have You Been To LEGOLAND?Disclosure: The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service for free. The opinions are all 100% my own.  I’m always the girl in my group of friends looking at the newest electronics on the market. Being a blogger who works out of the home, I want my home office as high tech as possible. Some people love shopping for jewelry, I like having the newest and fastest computers & phones I can find!!! Birthdays & holidays, I will crack a bigger smile at unwrapped gadgets than a gold ring I will probably never have a chance to wear #momlife. Personally, I love heading to Best Buy for all my electronic needs. While I’m an online shopper 99% of the time, I like to play with my laptops and phones before I buy them and Best Buy usually has one fabulous arrangement of computers on display to play with before you buy! Plus, they always seem to have the best deals around town. With school just around the corner. What? A week away for you southern folks and a month for those of us in NY?!?! There are some great laptops available at Best Buy right now. Laptops are sometimes a must-have item for students, so having a nice one when the school year starts is something you might be considering for your child.  HP Envy x360 laptops When shopping for a new laptop, I try to purchase something brand spanking new, or at least something that came out within the last 6 months. I want something that will last awhile and a laptop that can be updated to the latest software updates. Right now Best Buy has an HP Envy laptop that is beyond amazing!!! HP Envy x360 laptops are 2-in-1 devices that can transfer from a laptop to a tablet in seconds. No need to buy two devices when you get two in one!!! WooHoo!!! These touch-screen laptops come with Windows Ink capabilities and a Windows operating system so you can write on the screen with your stylus. AMD processors make them fast and thin so you can take them with you anywhere you go!  Product SpecsWindows 10 operating system Windows 10 brings back the Start Menu from Windows 7 and introduces new features, like the Edge Web browser that lets you markup Web pages on your screen. Learn more › Built for Windows Ink Quickly jot down notes and ideas with ease. Full HD touch screen The 1920 x 1080 resolution boasts impressive color and clarity. Natural finger-touch navigation makes the most of Windows 10. IPS technology for wide viewing angles. Energy-efficient WLED backlight. 8GB system memory for advanced multitasking Substantial high-bandwidth RAM to smoothly run your games and photo- and video-editing applications, as well as multiple programs and browser tabs all at once. 360° flip-and-fold design Offers versatile functionality with laptop, audience, tabletop, presentation and tablet modes.  Shop at Best Buy and save $100 now until 7/28! These laptops are available in two models HP Envy 13in and HP Envy 15in.
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welcomeCourtneyLynne is former model turned mommy & wifey! When not blogging all things foodie, fashion, travel, mom life & straight up fabulousness to the masses, she can be found chasing her toddler around in 6in stilettos & laughing at her own jokes her glass of wine told her to tell. Categories
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