A Trip to the Mystic Aquarium

This past Saturday we had planned on taking a family trip to the Mystic Aquarium but our plan was foiled when Isabelle woke up early complaining of a stomach ache. Within a couple of hours she seemed fine but I didn't want to chance taking the car sick child on a 1+ hour trip each way. I assumed that if I left her home that she would be totally fine (which was the case) but that if I brought her she would spend the day vomiting on whales. Isn't that always how it works? Since we already had the tickets for the aquarium (which the kids didn't know about anyway), we decided that I would take Henry and my husband would stay home with Isabelle and Daniel. There was nothing wrong with Daniel but there was no way I was taking the terrible twos child if I didn't have to!

So Henry and I set off and we had....the best day ever!

I had never been to the Mystic Aquarium and let me tell you it is awesome! They have beluga wales, seal lions, seals, penguins and all kinds of super cool animals like that. All of those larger animals are located outside so if you go make sure you dress for the weather. It was raining when we went and I had no idea there was so much outside but luckily I had brought an umbrella. 

Amazing, right?

Penguins - Yes!

It was so fun to go with just one child where we could focus on what he wanted to do. After we finished the outside part (where I couldn't get over how amazing it was) Henry said to me, "We haven't seen any fish yet!" Leave it to a four year old to not be in awe of the WHALE that was in front of him and just want to see some fish! Luckily, the inside part had plenty of fish for him.

FINALLY, some fish!

They have a really cool jelly fish section and Henry also liked the sharks and eels. They have touch tanks too so you can get up close and personal with some of the animals.

Since it was just the two of us, we also took in their Sponge Bob 4D show. Henry has never been to the movies and also never seen anything 3D (or 4D!) so I wasn't sure if he would be freaked out but he loved it.

We then headed to the Titanic exhibit where Henry had tons of fun playing in the mock submarine.
After all that fun, we headed to the Penguin Cafe for a late lunch and before heading out I even let Henry pick out a toy from the gift shop. That is something that I NEVER would do with the three of them! Here he is on the ride home with his new friend "Beary"...

I seriously think that we both had smiles on our faces all day long. It was such a special day to share with my little guy!

*My family received complimentary tickets to the Mystic Aquarium which included passes to the 4D show and the Penguin Cafe. As always, all opinions are my own.*

The Truth Behind Bedtime Stories

As everyone knows you're supposed to read to your children. It sounds so easy. It sounds like it will be such a nice bonding experience. It sounds like it will be a relaxing thing to do before bed. 

I'm here to tell you that it's not - well not in our house anyway. If we want to get in some quality reading time it's definitely better to do it long before bedtime and preferably with just one child at a time. 

This is how reading at bedtime to three children goes at our house:

1.      Someone is always asking questions (What's that? Why did they do that? What does this say?)

2.      Someone is always invading personal space (That's where I'm sitting! I want my foot there!)

3.      Someone is always trying to turn the page too early (Stop it!!)

4.      No one can ever see (Look out! But I can't seeeeeeeee!)

5.      Someone is always fighting (See numbers 1 through 4 above)

6.      Someone is always crying (See numbers 1 through 5 above)

7.      Someone always wants to send the kids to the orphanage (Oh, that's me.)

 

Please tell me this is happening in other houses besides just my own. Oh, and if this rings home for you, make sure you read my post Top Five Reasons I Hate the Library!
 

Customizable Labels from Kiddo Tags: Giveaway and Discount Code!

Spring always seems to fly by for me. I feel like you spend the first part of it complaining that the warmer temps haven’t arrived yet and then the second part thinking how you can’t believe summer is basically here. I already can’t believe that the kids only have a month(ish) of school left. I’m looking forward to lots of friend filled days in the sun. I’m also thinking about more structured things for the kids to do for a few weeks. Isabelle and Henry will be attending a week long camp at the church that their preschool is at and I’m contemplating if Isabelle “needs” more than that. I feel like that girl is going to run me ragged this summer with her constant need to plan things (I know, I know, I only have myself to blame).

While I figure out what to do with my constantly needing to do something five year old, let me remind you about Kiddo Tags. I’ve told you before how we received some great clothing labels and everyday labels from Kiddo Tags. Now with summer activities and camps coming up I wanted to let you know about another really useful products that they offer - allergy/medical tags and wristbands.

I feel so very lucky that this is a product that I don’t need to use but I know that’s not the case for so many other moms. I can only imagine that it must be so stressful to drop off a child at a new camp/facility and worry that not everyone is aware of their specific situation. Kiddo Tags are completely customizable so you can have it say whatever you need. With a wrist band or properly labeled bag/container you can help make sure everyone knows how to keep your child safe. After all awareness, is key.

Thinking you could use some labels, clothing tags, or wristbands? Well, one lucky Dollops reader will receive a $40 gift card to Kiddo Tags to purchase whatever they need.  To enter please use the Rafflecopter form below!

Don't want to take a chance that you'll miss out on this great product? Well, all Dollops fans will receive a 20% discount on all orders using the following code:

Coupon Code: awareness
Expires: June 30, 2013

So go ahead - enter and/or order. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
*This post is part of a compensated campaign with Kiddo Tags. As always, all opinions are my own.*  

Rosie's Bakery - Yum!

Friday afternoon, I was super excited when I saw the Fed Ex delivery man stop out front. I knew that today was no ordinary day where he would be unloading diapers and wipes. Nope, not today - today he was bringing...

Treats from Rosie's Bakery! The wonderful people at Rosie's were nice enough to send me some of their delicious menu items to sample. My package contained fudge swirl brownies, walnut dream bars, raspberry crumb bars, butter cookies, apricot rugulah, a Soho Glob cookie, an oatmeal raisin cookie, and a chocolate chip cookie. On top of that we got to try a Snow Queen cupcake and received a little pink pocketbook filled with glazed sugar cookies. I'll give you a minute to wipe the drool off your mouth.

Everything (yes, I sampled everything!) was delicious. If I had to pick favorites I would say the raspberry crumb bar and the walnut dream bar were on the top of my list.

The kids also loved the glazed sugar cookies. And how cute are they?

Rosie's is offering up all kinds of special treats for Mother's Day so if you're not sure what to get a special mom in your life you might want to check them out. Oh, and while you're at one of their locations, be sure to grab a bar (or ten) for yourself!

Eight Things I Learned from Boot Camp

Four weeks ago, I was petrified as I started a boot camp class after not working out for years. Pretty much if you looked up couch potato you would see a picture of me next to it. So now four weeks later, I’m here to give my tidbits of knowledge of things I’ve realized over the last month. They are, in no particular order:

• The first week you will hurt in just about every muscle and bone in your body. You will partially feel awesome for your accomplishment and partially just want to dig your own grave (if of course, your arms would actually work to hold a shovel).

•  You may need to pop an Advil while driving TO your second boot camp class because it hurts just to walk and you can’t even imagine having to exercise again. Not like I ever did that – wink, wink.

• Jumping rope is MUCH easier when you are child.

• You will do things that you would NEVER ever do or even think of doing before. I mean have you ever looked at a park bench and thought, “Oh, I’ll just army crawl under that – ya know, for fun.”

• Getting up at 4:45am is actually NOT as bad as you would think it would be. Your body gets used to it and the class does actually give you more energy. Of course, you have to go to bed earlier which is also an adjustment.

• Your instructor will recommend you buy running gloves partially for when you do burpees across the parking lot so you don’t shred your hands on the pavement. Instead, you will go to Target and buy $9 kid’s football gloves and call it a day.

• If you continue to say, “I worked out this morning so I can eat whatever I want” you will not lose your muffin top. I’m still reminding myself of this daily.

• Boot camp makes you swear.

So there you have it – that about wraps up my last four weeks. There are men and women from all ends of the fitness spectrum that get up BEFORE sunrise to have their asses kicked. These people are crazy – and now I am one of them. Oh, and did I mention I’ve now bumped it up from three times a week to five times a week. Seriously, what is wrong with me?!

If anyone is interested in jumping on the crazy train with us and lives in the Foxboro, MA area, check out The Extreme Challenge. We’d love for you to join us!

PS - Army crawling gives you elbow burn if you're a wimp like me.

Stop and Shop: Go Green and Win Free Groceries! (Giveaway)

 

So I have reusable grocery bags – lots of them. They actually attack me each time I open the closet. My kids hoard their toys in them while playing various imaginary games around the house. My problem is that I often forget to bring the bags with me when I shop. I use them frequently for packing up/transporting other things but often actual groceries don’t end up in them. I know some people keep them in their car so that they’re always available and I think that’s a great idea. I simply just don’t have the space in my car to keep them.  When I get the earth killing plastic bags, I at least re-use them to make myself feel better. They are most often used as liners for trash cans or bags for stinky diapers.

However, Stop and Shop’s new initiative is quite the motivator to make sure you’re using your reusable bags. From now through May 31, 20013, they will automatically enter any customer that shops with reusable bags (and uses their Stop & Shop card) into a drawing to win free groceries for a year. Yup – A YEAR! Can you even imagine how awesome that would be? It’s the kind of thing a stay at home mom dreams about!

So make sure you’re bringing those bags (I’m talking to you, Diane) and using them for a chance to win. In the meantime, I’m giving away a $10 Stop and Shop gift card to one lucky Dollops reader for you to use however you like. If you  don’t have a closet full of reusable bags, you might want to go pick some up or if you have enough bags you can use it to buy cookie dough ice cream (that’s what I’d do with it).

To enter, please use the Rafflecopter form below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Stop and Shop is providing the gift card for the winner. Please see official rules for the Stop and Shop free groceries for a year campaign. As always, all opinions are my own.*  

Unique Photo Gift Idea

On Saturday, my cousin got married. In addition to the standard wedding card with money, I also wanted to give her something a bit more from the heart. Now what's more personal than a gift that includes three cute kids? So I printed out a saying for each of my kids to hold and then glued it on construction paper. We then headed outside and I took a hundred few pictures of each child holding up their designated sign. I then picked my favorite picture of each child, had it printed, and put in a frame. I give you the end result...

"Congratulations Auntie Janet and Uncle Joe!"

The best part is you can use this idea for any event, holiday, or just for fun. You can also have the signs say whatever you want. If you have the time and patience you could also have the kids help to make or decorate the signs. If you have a baby, you can also simply place the sign in front of the baby (like I did with Daniel for his through the months pictures). Pretty much the ideas are endless and it's a gift that's sure to be a hit!