Pigeon: I'm in the mood for a hot dog party!

Naturally as a Pigeon-lover, I also love this! http://dailyiowegian.com/archive/x744036059

FREE Car Seat Safety Event- Friday Oct 7th!

Google Images/Torrance CA Fire Dept

If you're a safety nut (aka, a parent) like me, you'll be very interested to know that there's a free car seat and booster seat safety check going on tomorrow in Washington, DC hosted by AAA and Dorel Juvenile Group. Please see the details below and spread the word. You may help save a child's life.

WHAT:

AAA and Dorel Juvenile Group are hosting a free car seat and booster seat safety check for families; Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians will be on hand to help properly install car seats and provide parents with safety tips for childproofing their vehicles

WHERE: 

U.S. Capitol Senate Parking

400 1^st Street NE

Washington, DC  20510

*Right in front of U.S. Capitol Police Station and Union Station*

WHEN:
Friday, October 7, 2011

10AM – 2PM

WHY?

Google Images/ES Communications

National Child Passenger Safety Week was September 18-24, but it's never a bad time to ensure your child's safety seat is properly installed. Also, data collected by National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) suggests as many as 75% of car seats on the road today are not properly installed. According to NHTSA, on average, 4 kids die in car crashes every day and more than 500 are injured. The risk, however, is dramatically decreased when a car seat is properly installed.   

Please feel free to come back here to comment and share what you learned or to ask questions. 

Safe Travels!

The Priceless Present

Google Images

Dave Ryan, the host of my favorite Minnesota-based radio show said something really deep and inspiring this morning that I was so moved by, I just had to write about it. Dave and I don't always see eye to eye on certain things, but as a parent, one of the Great Unifiers, he's almost always spot-on. Well, this afternoon as I was listening to a re-play, he reduced me to tears. Not ugly, sobbing pitiful tears, but my eyes did well a little at the remark. 

My Facebook post sums it up:

Best advice I've heard all day comes from Dave Ryan from The Dave Ryan in the Morning Show : Whenever you go to your kids' games or recitals, don't tape it ALL. Don't watch your kids through a viewfinder because you'll miss it, you can't enjoy what's going on that way. It's not that exciting when you go back and watch it, so watch it live. 

He's so on-point with this bit of advice and I'm so glad this is something I had already begun to implement in our outings. Before, I wanted to try and capture every little moment in the girls' lives until I realized I was missing out on a lot by fiddling with the camera, or these days, my camera phone. Then what was worse, I wasn't even getting the shots I thought I was, when I came home at the end of the day to review the pictures I thought I had taken, knowing I had missed out on a lot to be the photographer and "get the shot". 

A fellow Mocha Mom-friend of mine recently lost her 7-year-old son unexpectedly and although I wasn't particularly close with the whole family, his death hit me hard. She recalled a memory on Facebook the other day in which she could have reacted a hundred different ways, but instead she chose to let her son just be. He was having fun with a friend melting candles on the radiator and rather than look at the fact that he was staining it and making it a mess, she allowed him to just treasure the moment and not feel bad for simply being a kid and having the healthy curiosity that comes along with it. And, now that he's gone, she has those colorful streaks to remind her that he was once there, loving life and appreciating the simple things, and knowing, I hope, that she was the best mom ever to him.

Something parenting has really taught me, especially when they're (finally!) in the bed after a long, busy, crazy day, is that one of the best things you can do for your kids is BE PRESENT when you're with them. Shut off the tv, the radio, the phone, the computer and just relish the gift of time that you have with them, because even though it's so cliche to say it, it will be gone before you know it. 

So now when we go out, I make sure to document the memory to share and revisit later on, but I'm very careful not to spend too much time behind the lens. Keeping the memory is great, but enjoying it while it's being made, being fully immersed in that moment that will never come back around again, is so profoundly priceless.

Oodles Noodles...the Healthy Way

Anyone who's ever attended college or just been on a budget knows how delicious those little packets of ramen noodles (in our house, the kids call 'em "Oodles Noodles") can be. That's because of a little miracle ingredient called monosodium glutamate or MSG. On the up side, it makes everything taste better. On the down side, it has been linked to a whole host of health problems and other issues, which you can read about here.

Well, we love the noodles but to us the taste of MSG is not worth all of the other bad things you get along with it, so we made a happy compromise. We still buy the packets of ramen noodles but we toss the seasoning packet out and instead use one tube of Trader Joe's Low-Sodium Concentrated Chicken Broth (they have Veggie broth and Turkey broth as well) a sprinkle of salt, garlic, and pepper. It's quick, delicious and so much healthier than the alternative. Feel free to try any variation of this easy recipe to suit your tastes and comment back to share with the rest of us if you are so moved. Here's to healthier eating. Now if I could just slip in some vegetables...

All images taken from Google Images.

Day Out With Thomas- 2011

Image Source: B&O Railroad Newsletter

The 2011 Day Out With Thomas event at the Baltimore B&O Railroad Museum runs from April 29th- May 8th this year, weekends only. Last year and the year before we got together a group of friends and family and had a blast- it was spectacular to say the least. If we're being honest, the first time around, I had a really, really, really hard time spending the money it cost (about $21/ticket, even for kids!!) to get all of us in, but once we got in and saw all of the activities that were included and the subsequent pure joy on my kids' faces to see Thomas and take a ride, it was well worth it. The following year, I had no problem parting with the funds knowing how great this event was the year before.

What I loved best: The staff is very well-prepared, organized and patient with the kids. They are perfect for working with kids, both the calm and the tantrum-ridden and I was truly impressed with how well they handled everyone. This part of it was priceless, really it was.

Interesting Fact: I first found out about this from watching Jon & Kate Plus *sniffle* Eight on TLC.

Some Tips:

• Pack some snacks, drinks and/or a reusable water bottle in your backpack for the kids
• Pack a good lunch and leave it in the car for a break midday. There are lots of activities to do and you could stay the better part of the day.
• Bring your stroller, even if your kids will most likely not ride in it. There are arts and crafts and other items you'll collect along the way that you might not want to carry around all day. The Museum and grounds are extremely stroller-friendly.
• Aim to arrive at least an hour EARLY for your train to allow time to get lost (it's easy to find, though), park and use the restroom before your trip.
• Parking is free, monitored, private, fenced in, close and pretty safe. As with any time you leave your car unattended, take care to put away valuables or anything that might draw attention to a passerby, including your GPS and suction cup.
• Pack extra batteries and memory card for your digital camera and be sure to empty it before you leave home so you have space for videos and pictures. They have on-site picture taking,which is pretty affordable, but you are allowed to take your own pictures in the event you opt not to buy the professional pictures. You can also order/re-order the professional pictures at any time and the shipping is very reasonable. I figure, it's a special day and a mini-splurge was totally worth the memory.
• Once you know you're going, be sure to buy your tickets right away, as the good time slots- you know the ones where you avoid running into nap time or afternoon tantrums- sell out lightning FAST.
• If your friends can't go at the time that works for you, buy your tickets anyway, and have them meet you somewhere in the museum either before or after your train ride and you can hang out the rest of the time to do the activities together, even if you can't ride the train together. The ride is only 20-30min and they are PROMPT, a well-oiled machine.

If you go, please comment back here at my blog or Follow me on Twitter and tweet about your experience in real-time. Have fun!

Upcoming: Winter Festival in Rockville Town Square

Personally, this seems a little too chilly for my tastes, but if winter weather is your thing or you simply don't mind, check it out and comment back to tell me how it was! You can catch us here in the summer where there's no coats and boots required (no thanks!).

Free Winter Festival Activities

 

Visit with your favorite life-sized ice sculpture characters:

• Rapunzel from Tangled
• Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story
• Ariel from The Little Mermaid
• Belle from Beauty and the Beast
• Mickey Mouse

Join in the outdoor winter games on Gibbs Street:

• Snowboard Simulator
• Mickey Mouse Moonbounce
• Wintery Photo Booth
• Hose Hockey

Register to Win: Family 4-packs to Disney On Ice: Princess Wishes at the Verizon Center

 

Gift with Purchase: Simply spend $20 or more during the Winter Festival from 12-4pm and

                                  receive a FREE gift with purchase: Chocolate Covered Oreos.

                                           (Limit one per customer, regardless of purchase amount. Quantities are limited,

                                           while supplies last. No rainchecks.) 

 

Enjoy merchant activities, specials, and more!

 

For more information, please call 301-998-8288.

 

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Disney On Ice: Princess Wishes

Starting Wednesday, February 16th til February 21st,

Disney on Ice: Princess Wishes will be at the Verizon Center.

Enter a world of wishes with your favorite

Disney Princesses.

 

For more information, or to purchase tickets, click here.

 

In Response to Choosing Between Art and Motherhood post

In response to a friend's Choosing Between Being A Mother or An Artist post, I wrote the following that I also wanted to share with you:

I totally feel you, I'd forgotten a lot about me and what I used to love to do once S came along, and then Y, a couple of years later. Discovering the Twilight Saga helped to remind me of my love to read, and then eventually, my love of writing fiction.

About a year ago, maybe a little less, I dug through some old papers I had tucked away and found a story I had started when I was in high school. It was surprisingly well-written for someone that age and totally gripped me from the first sentence since I hadn't read it in many years and had totally pushed it out of my mind. I decided to update and continue it, and now that's what I stay up late working on.

One day, I hope to be published, but for now, it's just a fun release when the kids are busy or sleeping. I just keep reminding myself, like you, that they won't always be small and after awhile, I'll have more time than I know what to do with to work on it...one day, and the thought is bittersweet.