Let's Go to the Movies

I have a love, hate relationship with summertime. On the one hand it means sunshine and the pool, trips to the beach, and overall just being able to relax with the kids a little bit more than during the regular school year. However, the summer also mean hot, sticky North Carolina weather, getting sick of going to the pool, and trying to figure out different, fun things to do with the kids every week. Well, last summer this became a staple of our weekly routine and I really have to say it was great. Over the summer the Smithfeild Movie theater and the White Oak movie theater (also available at Briar Creek and North Hills Cinemas) host a summer children's movie series. They are awesome, both offer two different movie for the kids to view and it only costs $2 to get in. Here's the catch, the movie are shown at 10 am. I know, early right? But it's great. Get the kids up, ready, dressed and out the door! By time the movie is over its lunchtime. Usually we met up with Grandma at the theatre and went to lunch afterwards with her. Then we'd go snag an icecream at McDonald's afterwards and let the kids play on the playground there. Whoosh before you know it's 3 o'clock! It really is great, you can't beat the cost, and it's a nice break from hot weather, gets you out of the house and away from the pool for a little bit.

I Love Pinterest, Snack Edition

Sunflower Fruit

Ok, I'm not going to lie. I drank the kool-aide and am totally addicted to Pinterest, it has quickly become part of my weekly Internet routine. Well, you can find all kinds of great craft/DIY projects, recipes, tutorials, etc. and organize it all. I love it because there is so much stuff I find on the Internet and forget about but with this you can keep track of all the stuff you love and find some goodies you never would have know about.

Here are a few fun snack ideas that I think would be great for the summer, play dates, family get togethers, you name it!!

1. Frozen Yogurt Dots, what a great idea for the summertime!Also, another way to "make" yummy frozen yogurt, is to just stick gogurts in the freezer and pull them out whenever you want a yummy, healthy treat. I love these dots because it looks so easy to just pop them in your mouth and go...athough, I do wonder if they melt quickly. Might be a great idea for a birthday party.

2. Smoothie Freezer Packs, fun quick and easy. Put a couple in the freezer and you have a treat ready to go when your in a pinch. Looks like you make just about any flavor combination to make your favorites.

3. Crescent Pizza Rolls. How fun are these? I mean really, I think it would be so much fun to have the kids make these with you one afternoon. They are so quick and easy. What a great idea!


4. Owl Cupcakes how adorable! I already have an owl addiction but these just take it to another level. They are so cute and would make great treats for a party! Love, love, love.

These are just a few of my favorites and there are a ton more out there. Go, join, explore and share! Look for another post in a little bit about some of my favorite crafts I have seen up there.


xxxo.

The Garden Patch

So about six months ago C joined the girl scouts and one the first patches she was earning was her gardening badge. We started out with a small seed kit to grow herbs from Wal-Mart that quickly sprouted with plenty of sunlight. I was actually so impressed that I went back to store and bought my own starter kit to have at home and now we are overflowing with basil. After awhile, C's herbs were to the point where they needed to be repotted so once again, I picked up some really cute pots for her at Wal-Mart. To make a long story a little bit shorter, it inspired a mini-garden in the backyard that has finally sprouted! I am so proud of C and her little green thumb her garden looks great and she is learning a valuable lesson in where food comes from and the hard work required to produce it.  I think gardening is a great way to get not only get kids outside but they also learn a variety of lessons from it. Not only are they learning about what different plants look like and how they grow, they also learn valuable lessons in hard work and patience.

Here's a pic of C's garden, it looks marvelous! She most definitely earned her badge on this one :)

Clemmons State Educational Forest

I love Clemmons State Educational Forest!

 It is a great place to pass a couple of hours with D and enjoy the outdoors. A former CCC camp, Clemmons has four trails that loops around the forest and one takes you by a small lake located in the park.

D's favorite trail is the "Talking Tree" trail which is about a mile long. There are posts with buttons that when pushed talk to you about a tree that has marker on it. It's great, you learn a little more every time you go!

There is also a "Talking Rock" trail which is part of the larger geology trail and then there is the exhibition trail. I believe both the rock and geology trail are around a mile and the exhibition trail is the longest, a little over three miles.

All in all Clemmons is great! It's pretty much a shaded walk the entire time so we've never got too hot. It would also be a great place for an afternoon run. The park rangers are amazingly nice. The second time I took D there I lost my eyeglasses and no lie they called me and told me they found them almost a month later!!!

Please take your little ones here, have fun and learn a little bit about the outdoors while your at it!

Case of the Mondays

Ok, for those of you who know me, I hate Mondays. Not only because it's the end of the weekend and back to work, but also because most of the places to take the kids to are closed. I'm not sure why but Jumpin' Jax, Marbles, Tag Ur It, and on and on all close on Mondays... maybe they have the Mondays too. Anyways, on these days I usually struggle to find something to do with D.

We used to go to the Little Gym on Mondays for a morning class but D has outgrown them/taken most of the classes there so now I need to find a filler for that time. 

Here is just a little list of things we do sometimes on Monday and I frequently come to consult my list:

-Take it easy, relax, watch Nick Jr and snuggle for awhile and play.
- Go to the park and have a picnic lunch (if the weather is nice)
- Visit the train station or airport
- Go for a walk or bike ride
- Go swimming at the Smithfeild Aquatic Center or HealthQuest (also in Smithfeild)
- Story time at the library
- Bowling
- Go to the movies


I like to save things like bowling for when I have both C and D, that way it's a little more fun and the game doesn't go by so fast!

All in all, every Monday rolls around and I'm stuck saying the same thing every week. What to do? What to do?

The Mary Poppins bag

Don't you ever wish you had Mary Poppins magical carpet bag? Imagine the possibility of being able to find and pull out whatever you need at that moment. I mean seriously, you could rule the world with that bag.

While I might not have a magical bag, I do have a backpack that I try and keep all the essentials and a few extra little things so I'm alway prepared when I take C and D out for fun.

I love this backpack! I'm pretty sure we got it at the Pottery Barn. It's small and packs a mighty punch. I can fit so much in it. While we are out I usually throw my wallet it, clip my keys to the front and go! I take it everywhere. To the park, museums, play dates, you name it.



It might be small but it can hold a lot! My Mary Poppins bag includes:

- Tide to-go pen
- Lysol to-go spray
- hand sanitizer
- Spray sunscreen and a stick for the face (I usually only pack this in the summer months)
- Baby wipes
- Mini first aide kit
- Mini Kleenex pouch
- Stickers and Dum dums for rewards for good choices


And that's just the two front pouches! Since I can fit all the essentials in the small compartments in the front of my pack it leaves the whole main compartment to be filled with snacks, lunch, whatever toys C or D have to bring along, and the list goes on and on. I used to keep a spare change of clothes in this part of the backpack for when D was still potty training but we've out grown that.


Hope this helps all of you out there! Have fun out on your adventures and don't forget your own Mary Poppins bag and a little bit of your own magic.

Xxxo

Ms. Oomi

Jumpin Jax' in Garner, NC

I love this place. It is so cool and fun for the kids. There are three bounce houses and my favorite, a two-foot climbing structure that will wear those kids out! I can usually take D there on a Friday morning and he will play and play and play for about two hours. After that we get hungry and hit the Andy's down the road.

But this place is cool. They do have a little snack bar with decent prices. Watch out for the little quarter game machines though, C and D both pester me to play the games every time we go and boy is that annoying! Oh well, the place is great. Take your kids, have fun, and look forward to the nap later that afternoon.






Also, there is an Andy's right next store and is D's favorite place to eat lunch now. Kid's meals come in a cardboard car which adds that special touch while were out. 

 

Pullen Park

Alright, sorry to have been gone for so long but life has been busy around here. Today I want to talk about Pullen Park which reopened about six months ago.

IF you have kids the park is great. There is an awesome train ride that goes around the length of the park and takes about five minutes for the whole train ride. There are also kiddie boats (which are kind of lame...in my humble opinion). Both the rides only cost...$1! That is awesome and cheap. When I went with D I spent 10 on tickets and we rode the train four times and he did the boats two. Needless to say he had a blast.

Along with the trains the rest of the park is great! There are three playground areas for kids to run, climb, and slide on along with two sandboxes. And these aren't your everyday sandboxes... you can dig like your on a construction site and really make a good mountain of sand. They also have a little area in the sandboxes where you can play in a "house." When we went D and a few other kids were operating a pizza shop and slice was a low $30,000. Watch out Hermain Cain.

With the renovations Pullen Park has added a little cafe area that uses local food distributors. It was a nice touch to the end of the day. The food was pretty good and not too pricey.

Take your kids, play and have fun and wish for the nap on the car ride home. :)