Showing posts with label children. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children. Show all posts

Monday, December 29, 2008

Hello Friends
It has been a long time since I updated this blog and I do miss it. It was a nice way to share my thoughts. However, since my website (www.kidsinstl.com) has taken off and I update a blog to go with the work web site, I just don’t have time.

So, I have come to a compromise to make me happy and still do both blogs. I am going to put just little personal bits about my life, day, family or just whatever. Then I am going to copy the info from my work blog. Please don’t let my work blog turn you off from stopping by, it is just about stuff to do with your family and kids…. Actually pretty useful stuff.

So that is it for now.. and here is some of my ‘work’ blog. It is good to be back!
Renee
St Louis Family and Kid Activities from December 22 - December 28
Want to check out the best web site for families with kids in St Louis! There are so many things to find on this site: Kids Events Around Town, Kids Birthday Party Venues , Travel Tips, Kids Eat Free Restaurants , Daycares and Preschools , Kids With Special Needs, Daily Activity Calendar, Sensory Recipes, Kids In the Kitchen, Area Parks, Everything Holiday and much more. Here is a sneak peek of the activities for the week and some info from the site. Just go to http://www.kidsinstl.com/for the full list with details.
Play Date Anyone???
This week we are going to spotlight a part of our site a little differently. Have you heard of the company Little Fishes Swim School? Not only are they one of our new advertising friends, but they are a great swim school that has a special offer for our members.

Little Fishes wants to open their doors to offer a free venue to host a very neat play date for any group of Mom’s. Your group can be an official Mom’s Club or just a few moms who want to hang out together. They have a super warm pool, a nice play area and even a snack room for enjoying your lunch. All they ask is if your call and set-up your date and time for your play date. Make sure to tell them you are a kidsinstl member!
Time for a Party….. Over 210 Places to Go!
When we started this site, we were able to compose around 50 fun places to host a kid’s birthday. Now many months later we are totally floored to see our list soar to over 210 places around town. Who would have guessed there are so many great places around town for a kid’s party? If you have not checked the list out lately, take a peek. We bet there will be at least a couple of places you are unfamiliar with and are quite surprised to see.
Monday ~ December 22
9 AM - 10 AM
Infant Play Cooper Ella
9 AM - 5 PM
Gardenland Express Botanical Garden
10 AM - 11 AM
Storytime at WholeFoods Market
10 AM - 11 AM
Paint me a Story - The Painting Paw
11 AM - 1 PM
Imaginary Theatre Company - The Little Fir Tree
2 PM - 4 PM
Imaginary Theatre Company - The Little Fir Tree
5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Wild Lights at the Zoo
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Dinner with Santa at the Zoo
7:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Dinner with Santa at the Zoo Tuesday ~ December 23
9 AM - 5 PM
Gardenland Express Botanical Garden
9:15 AM - 10:15 AM
Creation Station Museum of Transportation
10 AM - 10:30 AM
Story Time at Pottery Barn
10 AM - 11 AM
Childrens Morning Storytime Barnes & Noble Ladue
10 AM - 4 PM
Winter Celebrations - The Childrens Museum
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Preschool Story Time Brentwood Library
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Preschool Story Time Brentwood Library
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Creation Station - Transport Museum Association
11 AM - 1 PM
Imaginary Theatre Company - The Little Fir Tree
11 AM - 12 PM
Tuesday Morning Storytime Ballwin Borders
11:45 AM - 12:45 PM
Creation Station - Transport Museum Association
5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Wild Lights at the ZooWednesday ~ December 24
Christmas Eve Thursday ~ December 25
Merry Christmas Friday ~ December 26
9 AM - 5 PM
Gardenland Express Botanical Garden
9:15 AM - 10:15 AM
Creation Station Museum of Transportation
10 AM - 4 PM
ZOOmagination Station St Louis Zoo
10 AM - 11 AM
Childrens Morning Storytime Barnes & Noble Ladue
10 AM - 4 PM
Winter Celebrations - The Childrens Museum
10:30 AM - 11 AM
Babymoon Boutique Story Time
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Creation Station - Transport Museum Association
11 AM - 11:45 AM
Drop-In Play Date Babymoon Boutique
11:45 AM - 12:45 PM
Creation Station - Transport Museum Association
5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Wild Lights at the Zoo
6 PM - 7 PM
Kwanzaa: A Cultural Celebration -St Louis Art MuseumSaturday ~ December 27
8 AM - 10 AM
Musical Merry-Go Round FM 88.1 KDHX Program
9 AM - 5 PM
Gardenland Express Botanical Garden
10 AM - 4 PM
ZOOmagination Station St Louis Zoo
10 AM - 4 PM
Winter Celebrations - The Childrens Museum
10:30 AM - 3:30 PM
Penguin Pals & Polar Bear Fun Days Brentwood Library
11 AM - 12 PM
Children's Story Time! Barnes & Noble Cross Keys
12 PM - 2:30 PM
Penguin Party - Missouri History Museum
5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Wild Lights at the Zoo
7:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Saturday Night Storytime Ballwin Borders
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM
St Louis Symphony Orchestra Oz with Orchestra Sunday ~ December 28
9 AM - 5 PM
Gardenland Express Botanical Garden
1 PM - 4 PM
Art that Glitters and Glows -St Louis Art Museum
3 PM - 5 PM
St Louis Symphony Orchestra Oz with Orchestra
4 PM - 5 PM
Joga Yoga for Kids
5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Wild Lights at the Zoo

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Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Shrinky My Dinky.... Oh What Fun

What a rainy, cold and yucky day! Tuesday’s are ‘no school’ days so I usually try to set up a play date or take the kids somewhere. However, when I saw the gloomy weather… I told the kids it was crafty day! A my daughter loves crafts, my lil’ guy does just enough to appease me and moves on.

I pulled out an oldie but a goodie craft – SHRINKY DINKS! I did this great craft when I was a kid. If you are not familiar with Shrinky Dinks this is the scoop. You get these sheets of plastic and you can draw with pencils or markers anything you want on them. Cut it out the pop it in the oven…and watch in amazement. Within 2 minutes the Dink will curl up, shrink, and then lay flat again. Then you take them out of the oven and they cool super fast. You end up with a very hard little piece of plastic that you can use for jewelry, sun catchers, mobiles, etc. My daughter and I did Shrinky Dinks for a couple hours. Here is the mobile we made and here are a few of my favorite ones we made. My son kind of colored on one, then gave up and played with cars.

After the Shrinky Dink fun my daughter wanted to move on to the next craft. I told her that Mommy had to make lunch and that she was on her own. So she asked if she could do her most favorite ‘Grown-up’ thing to do…. take pictures with my camera. She loves doing this so much that I have sort of made art of the pics she takes. She has the great frame in her room that holds 7 pics. Each month I put new pictures that she took into the frame. She is very proud of this ‘work of art’ and it is always the first thing she shows her friends. Here is a sample of the pictures she took today.










My Web Site – http://www.kidsinstl.com/

Added a bunch of activities to the calendar. Trying to get it pumped up with activities for spring and summer. Here is a list of some of the activities going on around St Louis the next couple of days. Go to the site http://www.kidsinstl.com/ for more detail.

Feb 28th
9:45 AM - 10:30 AMWhere Art and Play Go Hand in Hand
10 AM - 11 AMtoddler Storytime Sachs Branch
10:30 AM - 11:30 AMCreation Station - Transport Museum Association
10:30 AM - 12 PMPiwacket Theatre Emperor's New Clothes
4 PM - 5 PMDuct Tape Extravaganza - Weber Library
6 PM - 8 PMREI Climbing Pinnacle
6:30 PM - 8:30 PMEndangered Species Near You

Feb 29th
10:30 AM - 11:30 AMStory time Fun Baby Moon Boutique
11 AM - 11:45 AMWhere Art and Play Go Hand in Hand
11:15 AM - 12 PMDrop in Play Date Baby Moon Boutique
6:30 PM - 7:30 PMDon't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
7 PM - 8:30 PMTeen Afterhours: Chocolate Fever! - Sachs Library

Hey for all of you that are not in St Louis, I want to share one of the many other parts of my site that can be used by anyone regardless of where they live. Here are some of our favorite tips we recommend for children. From the home page click on the Parent Resource & Tips then go to 12-24 months button– To see the whole list check out our site. http://www.kidsinstl.com/
Parent Resources & Tips
12-24 months
Nutrition Tips/Strategies for Picky Eaters:

*For non-veggie eaters, blend the vegetables in a stock to make a hearty soup or grind the vegetables and blend it into meat e.g., meat patties

*For non-fruit eaters - make a fruit smoothie (fruit, milk and or ice-cream). Introduce it unfrozen or if you choose to freeze it, make Popsicles in containers.

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Monday, February 18, 2008

The Human Lint Roller..... ugggg.

My Life – If you have dogs you will be able to relate to this post and if you are allergic or anti-dog you just might be a little afraid.
I am sitting at the table drinking my morning coffee and it has just stared to snow. I tell my little guy to look at the snow and he then tells me he can make it snow inside.


I said really… how? Owen proceeded to crawl behind my living room chair, and then he comes out and puts his hand over the blowing heating vent. Puff…. Up billowing through the air goes a handful of white dog hair. I am not sure whether to laugh or be grossed out… I was a little of both. Owen then yells, ‘It’s snowing!’.


Just a couple of days ago Sophia was laying on the ground in her footie pj’s holding on to the end of a blanket and Owen was pulling her around the house. After a few rounds around the room, they were standing there laughing. When I asked them what is so funny. My daughter turns to me and says, “I am a big lint roller!” Her footie pj’s are covered in dog hair. Yuk!


Welcome to my world of two kids and two dogs that shed like crazy. I sweep, vacuum and dust mop everyday but there is still dog hair. Oh well, I guess I will just call in the ‘Human Lint Roller’ when things get out of hand.


My Web Site – http://www.kidsinstl.com/

Just about finished the Summer Camp List! Boy what a big job. Here is a list of some of the activities going on around St Louis the next couple of days. Go to the site http://www.kidsinstl.com/ for more detail.



Feb 21st
9:30 AM - 10:30 AMPBS Kids Share A Story
10:30 AM - 11:30 AMTap! Tap! Tap! Woodpeckers
11 AM - 11:45 AMWhere Art and Play Go Hand in Hand
6 PM - 8 PMREI Climbing Pinnacle


Hey for all of you that are not in St Louis, I want to share one of the many other parts of my site that can be used by anyone regardless of where they live. Here is a partial list of some of our favorite baby songs with links. From the home page click on the Educational & Interactive Activities button, then go to songs – To see the whole list check out our site. http://www.kidsinstl.com/
Favorite Baby Songs
ABC song

Row, row, row your boat


5 Green Speckled Frogs





One of my Favorite Things – Mr. Clean Eraser! Oh My have you tried one! This little sucker gets stains off almost everything. Crayon or marker on almost anything…. Rubs right off. Spiffs up dirty white sneakers super fast. Now be a smart parent, don’t wipe your kids skin with this item. It is a cleaner, just like Windex. Would you ever spray your kid down with Windex and buff him to shine.
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Saturday, February 9, 2008

Don't Sweat the Small Things

My Life – Thursday was a sad day for St. Louis, in particular Kirkwood Missouri. As I was just getting ready to sit down and watch some of my favorite programs (Celebrity Apprentice – I know I have issues) the local new broke in with a special report. A man walked into a City Council meeting and shot 7 people, killing 5. Two the five killed were police officers. One of the Officers he shot was just walking across the parking lot from having dinner at a pizza parlor. Apparently this man had some on going issues with the City and just walked in shooting.
This hits very close to home for two reasons. First my husband is an architect and often works on buildings in or for the City, which requires him to attend City Council meetings. The second reason is because my Brother-in-Law is a police officer. You would never think that a City Council meeting held in a building attached to the police department would be a dangerous place to be.
Times like this just remind me not to sweat the small things and try to make the most out of each day. Most importantly I always tell my children and husband I love them at least twice a day.
So with at that said …. On a lighter side….. Anyone know what happened on the Apprentice? It was over by the time the news report ended.

My Web Site – http://www.kidsinstl.com/
Added a bunch of activities to the calendar. Trying to get it pumped up with activities for spring and summer. Here is a list of some of the activities going on around St Louis the next couple of days. Go to the site www.kidsinstl.com for more detail.
Hey for all of you that are not in St Louis, I want to share one of the many other parts of my site that can be used by anyone regardless of where they live. Here is a partial list of some of the books we recommend for children. From the home page click on the Recommended Books button– To see the whole list check out our site. www.kidsinstl.com
BOOKS RECOMMENDED FOR THE YOUNG CHILD (24-36 MONTHS)
COUNTING:
Baby Buddies: Can You Count (Baby Buddies)
One Lonely Sea Horse
INTRODUCTION TO SPANISH:
Baby Beluga (Raffi Songs to Read)
ANIMAL CHARACTERISTICS:
My Jungle Pop-up Book
SELF-ESTEEM:
From Head to Toe Big Book

My Funny – Over the last couple months I feel like my children are training me to become OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). Let me explain – I have a 2 ½ yr old and a 4 yr old and they both want to be the first to do everything… and I mean everything. Of course when you have two kids they both can not be first, so we do everything twice.
Making breakfast we push the waffles down twice. Leaving the house the first kid opens the door and walks out, and then I shut the door so the next kid can open it. We go through the same route when we walk in the house. I have stated the team work rule where they do some things at the same time together, but it does not always work. I know many of you mom’s out there think I am crazy. This is such a small thing in life, and I no longer sweat the small things.
One of my Favorite Things – Glue! I am a total Glue Crazy Mama! There is always at least one broken toy on my counter that has glue drying. I have all different kinds of glue – gorilla glue, crazy glue, foam glue, fabric glue, hot glue gun and for the really crazy stuff…. Liquid nails. I will very rarely throw a toy away without first trying to glue it back together.
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Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Super Tuesday - Up in Flames

My Life – Super Tuesday…was yours super? Mine was actually sad. Here in St Louis it was just raining all day. We even had some thunder storms… in Jan ..who would guess. The kiddos and I just had a lazy day at home, we like to call them jammie days. That is because we all stay in our pj’s. I knew I would have to get showered and dress to at least go vote, but I waited until my husband came home. Even though it was down pouring I went out to vote, the polling place is only 4 blocks from my house. While there the most incredible shot of lighting lit up the sky. It really freaked everyone out. I made it back home to switch with my husband so he could go vote. As I walk up to close the door behind him I notice the house down the street was on fire. Remember the lighting strike. The fire burned for a very long time and it was so close to our house the kids watched it from the window. The house is a totally gone, the only thing left is the front door. So sad. At one point when the flames were as high as the trees, I wanted to go out and take a picture. I am sure that makes me kind of demented. I did walk out with my camera, but I felt bad for taking a picture of someone’s loss.
Now here is the catch they had to block off the streets because the fire was huge. This means that many people were not able to get to the polls to vote. So I am waiting to hear about that controversy.



My Web Site – http://www.kidsinstl.com/
Worked on the Activity Calendar. So many places and things to do, so little time to enter them in. I am still working on this summer camp list, uggg. It never ends. Here is a sample of some of the activities for the next couple of days. Go to the site http://www.kidsinstl.com/ for more detail.


Hey for all of you that are not in St Louis, I want to share one of the many other parts of my site that can be used by anyone regardless of where they live. Here is some of our favorite links – To see the whole list check out our site. http://www.kidsinstl.com/
EDUCATION/HOMEWORK HELPERS
www.pta.org
Learn to advocate for your child & help them become successful students
Sites to assist your child with homework
Learn how your child can best be prepared for school

My Funny – My daughter now understands about looking nice and often wants to do things that ‘make her look pretty’. Santa brought her some kiddie make-up this year and dressing up her face is one of her favorite ‘pretty’ things to do. I noticed had not seen the little princess in a while, so I called her from her room to see what she was doing. When she walked in the room it took every ounce of strength not to laugh. My daughter had every barrette she owns in her hair (about 20) and big circles, lines and blotches all over her face done with very bright make-up. Of course she thought she looked beautiful, so I had to agree. I should have taken a picture, it seems like a Kodak moment happens every 10 minutes in my house!

One of my Favorite Things – My little guy does not get diaper rash very often any more. He is pretty good about telling us right when he goes poop. However, there are times when he over does it with a food, like oranges, and then he does get diaper rash. Both of my kids were the babies who would get diaper rash so bad it would bleed. It was horrible and often almost made me cry. I have tried almost every diaper cream on the market. The best one I tried was Dr Smith. It is hard to find and a bit expensive, but it is worth its weight in gold. I recommend it to everyone who has diaper rash problems.
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