How to solve the, "Mom, I'm bored" problem this summer!

School is almost out, and before you know it the, "Mom, I'm bored, can we go somewhere's" will be starting.  And as much as I love going out and having fun with the kids all summer long, it can get pricey. 

I will be posting over the next few weeks about cheap and easy ways to keep the kids entertained this summer.

First up, how to keep them learning with age appropriate activities. 

Lakeshore Learning offers free downloadable calendars with great activities to keep their minds engaged without making it feel like homework all summer long.  Some are just quick brain benders you can solve quickly and some take a little more effort.  My son is a rising 2nd grader, so I plan on downloading this calendar and checking off the activities as we go.

Summer Learning Calendars

Another plus is at every Lakeshore Learning location they offer free crafts every Saturday 11-3.  So be sure to look up your closest location near you.  We don't have one in Charlotte, the closest one is Matthews.

He's 1/3 legal!

My baby is officially 7 years old, oh man, 7.  I still can't believe this big kid is my baby!

Height: 4 ft 0 in.

Weight: 45 lbs

BMI: 13.8 {9th percentile}

Favorites:

Food:  Steak

Sport:  Basketball

TV Show(s):  Once Upon a Time, Glee and Wild Kratts

Grown Up(s):  Mommy and Daddy
Best Friend(s):  Ryan, Samuel and Owen

Teacher:  Miss Seamster

Song:  "We are never getting back together"- Taylor Swift
Singer:  Luke Bryan

Book(s): "There's a Nightmare in my closet" and "Diary of a Wimpy Kid"

Toy(s): Fire Breathing Toothless and Imaginext Dinosaurs

Movie(s):  How to Train Your Dragon, Mary Poppins, The Little Shop of Horrors and The Amazing Spiderman

When he grows up he wants to be:  Spiderman

He's grown so much over the past year.  He loves to read.  Anytime it's quiet in the house I know where to find him, curled up reading his latest book.  He has a huge heart, at his recent birthday party he took donations for a local dog rescue.  He's loyal to a fault and will stand up for his friends no matter what.  He loves animals, no matter where we are if he spots a person walking a dog you better believe he's going to ask to pet it and he will talk to it in the cutest baby voice and let it lick his face.  He's extremely opinionated and will fight you to the death if he thinks he's right, even if he's wrong.  He's so stinkin' witty, he definitely gets that from the Downing side of the family.  There's never a dull moment in our house, that's for sure. He's a mama's boy.  He loves his daddy and loves guy nights but he thinks the sun rises and sets on his mommy.  I love it!  His relationship with God has really matured this year.  He prays a lot, is constantly reading his bible and loves to sing along with KLove radio.  He's an amazing little boy and I can't wait to see where this next year takes us.  :) 

Top 10 Disney World Tips (every first timer should know!)

My family is headed to Disney World this fall and this is our first time as a family and we are learning new things on how to make the most of our trip.  We have been talking with a few different resources and we will be sharing everything we learn along the way and our first is an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner.  Amanda Shellenbarger is a mom of two kids and is a huge lover of anything Disney.  She has been to Disney over 20 times!  

Planning a Disney vacation is overwhelming and sometimes very un-magical, that's where Amanda can come in and help!  She will design the perfect trip for you and your family all at the perfect price and all FREE of charge!

Amanda’s Top Ten General Tips for Your Walt Disney World Vacation

1. Disney World is HUGE!  The Walt Disney World property is two times the size of Manhattan!!! There are so many things to do at Disney World that you can’t possibly do it all. So my motto is to enjoy what you are doing each moment and never worry about what you are not doing! Each time you visit Disney, you’ll experience the magic in a new and exciting way.

2. Stay on the Disney property! We used to always stay off property as we thought it would be cheaper. Now, we will never stay off property again! When you stay on the Walt Disney Resort property, the magic never ends! There are some many benefits to staying on property including the time and money you save from being in the World. You can create a Disney package that will fit your family and your budget with your accommodations and tickets and even add on a dining plan. Each day at least one of the parks is open extra morning or evening hours (extra magic hours) for resort guests only! Many resorts offer free nightly entertainment with activities such as movies under the stars, making s'mores with Chip and Dale, or enjoying a nightly parade on the Seven Seas Lagoon. When you stay on property, you receive free transportation to and from the airport. The resort transportation to the parks gets you to each park quicker and you arrive closer to the opening gates! Disney Cast Members are available 24 hours each day to make your vacation relaxing and carefree!

3. Timing is everything!  If possible, book your vacation at least 180 days in advance. Disney Dining reservations can be made 180 days in advance of your arrival. If you want to be sure to get reservations for the most popular places such as the new Be Our Guest restaurant in the Beast’s Castle, Cinderella’s Royal Table in Cinderella’s Castle or Chef Mickey’s, you need to make those early!

4. Dining Plan.  If you are staying on the Disney property, you take advantage of the Dining Plan as it saves you money! At certain times of the year, Disney may offer free dining, but if it’s not free dining during your stay, I think the dining plan is worth every penny. The Disney Dining Plan includes 1 sit down meal (table service), 1 quick service counter meal and 1 snack per day. Theme park food, resort food, and characters meals are not cheap. We have found the Disney Dining plan usually saves us hundreds of dollars for our visits compared to paying for meals and snacks out of pocket. If you are doing character meals and/or princess meals which are typically your more expensive meals, then you save even more with the Dining Plan.

5. Beat the crowds with Fastpass! For the most popular rides and attractions, Disney offers a Fastpass. For these rides obtaining a Fastpass can save you hours! When you obtain your Fastpass it will tell you a time to come back to ride the ride. This time can be anywhere from 10 minutes to several hours. When it’s your time, simply show your Fastpass and enter the special line, and you will have minimal wait time.

6. Utilize Child Swap! Many visitors to Disney World do not know about the Child Swap option. If there is a ride that not everyone in your party wants to rides or a ride where not everyone meets the height requirements, all of you can get in line for the ride. When you enter the line ask the Cast Member if Child Swap is available. The cast member will give you a special ticket if Child Swap is available. When it’s time for your party to ride, those who want to ride get on board. For the child who doesn’t want to ride, one parent stays behind with that child. When the party is finished riding, the parents can swap off and the other parent can then ride with the rest of the party again without standing in line again. Both parents get to experience the ride with the child(ren) who want to ride.

7. Pack your own poncho! It is very normal to have sporadic showers in Florida. You don’t want to miss out on your precious park time for a little rain. Go to the dollar store and buy a poncho for everyone in your party. Take it in your park bag each day. When it rains, everyone huddles under cover. You can put your poncho on and avoid lines on the attractions. You can certainly purchase ponchos in the park, but you’ll pay quite a bit. So be prepared and save some money.

8. Take a stroller or rent one for kids under 8! There is so much walking that your kids will tire out quick with their short legs even if they are used to walking a lot. In every park there are sections for stroller parking. You can park your stroller and enjoy that area of the park without the hassle of having to have it with you. But when it’s time to move on to another area of the park, you’ll be happy to have that stroller!

9. Pack a small cooler to take into the parks. Disney does allow you to take in food and drinks. You will want to drink lots with all the walking you will be doing. Pack refillable water bottles or other drinks. Pack some snacks so you do not end up over spending on food in the parks.

10. Hire a planner!  Do not plan your Disney vacation yourself! Disney is overwhelming to tackle alone no matter how many times you have been. Disney is constantly changing and evolving so things may be quite different this trip compared to even a year ago. I recommend using an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner that offers first class concierge services for free. Let them do all the work for you by helping you find the best deals, choosing the best resort, booking all of your dining reservations, planning your park days and more. From the first time we used our Disney Vacation Planner with MickeyTravels, I knew I’d never do it on my own again! And now I am lucky enough to be able to help others plan a magical vacation with my free services!

Amanda Shellenbarger
Authorized Disney Vacation Planner
MickeyTravels, LLC

amanda@mickeytravels.com
704-651-1195 / 888-732-8242
www.mickeytravels.com
“Like” her facebook page: www.facebook.com/mickeytravelsamanda

Baby Update!

Okay, there were a few of you that fell for our little trick we pulled two months ago about adding a new family member to our home and you SO thought it was a baby.  You can read that post here.  Sorry!  It was but this one has four legs and pees everytime she gets excited.

Well, something changed almost days after that post.  After saying we were just going to keep her sister here until we found her a local home, we made the decision to keep her as well.  So we now have two puppies, which means double the cuteness but also double the training!

Their names are Makena and Haley.  Makena was named after a spot we visited in Maui, HI back in 2007.  All of our dogs have a name that means something to us as a family and are mostly Hawaiian or Surf related.  Haley was our oddball name.  We were thinking outside of our usual box and we picked her name from our favorite show, One Tree Hill.  Haley was Tutor Girl, the sweet one.  Haley the puppy has lived up to her name, she's so sweet and very smart.  Makena is more crazy and wants all the attention in the world, which we love, where Haley will sit back and give Makena the extra cuddle time.

They're 5 months old and officially potty trained, yes it took us a while and yes it was quite the ordeal!  But, they're such good girls and we're so happy to have them as a part of our family.

Here's a couple shots I got of them a few weeks ago.  They love each other and anything pink or animal print.  Total DIVAS!!

Makena girl, her ears can't decide if they want to stand up or be floppy!

Yea, they love eachother {Left: Makena, Right: Haley}

Haley is so silly, she sits like a person on her butt.  Love her!

Reminder and Coloring Page for The Harlem Globetrotters!

I hope everyone is excted as I am for this fun event coming to Charlotte next week! 

 

 To help with the kids excitement I'm attaching a fun color sheet for them to do!

 

Also, don't forget there's only one day left to enter for four pack of tickets to the show right HERE!!

Harlem Globetrotters Family Pack Giveaway!

 The Harlem Globetrotters are coming to Charlotte!!  Your family’s smiles will begin before you even get to the show as the Harlem Globetrotters 2013 “You Write the Rules” World Tour takes kid participation to a whole new level. For the first time ever, fans will decide the rules for the game that could affect the final outcome. Vote for your favorite, craziest rule now at www.harlemglobetrotters.com, then see the winning rules implemented live into Globetrotter basketball. After the game, Globetrotter stars remain on court for autographs and photographs with fans.*

Before the game, take part in a once-in-a-lifetime experience with your family where you get to actually spend time on the court with the Globetrotters – shooting, trying out ball tricks, autographs and photos! The unique 30-minute pre-show, “Magic Pass,” will create memories of a lifetime. #

This year's Globetrotters roster features stars such as Special K Daley and Flight Time Lang. They will join many other fan favorites, including, 7-ft 8-in Tiny Sturgess (the world's tallest pro basketball player), 5-ft 2-in Too Tall Hall (the shortest Globetrotter ever), and female star T-Time Brawner.**

* subject to availability
** rosters may vary in each city and are subject to change
# All customers must have a game ticket AND Magic Pass for entry. Magic Pass sold separately. Soft/rubber soled shoes must be worn on court.

One show at Time Warner Cable Arena - Saturday, March 23 at 1:00 p.m.

Tickets are on sale now through Ticketmaster!

http://www.timewarnercablearena.com/page.aspx?section=events&pagetype=events&id=5619

For my awesome readers, I'm going to let you in on a sweet deal!  They are offering a family pack where food is included with your ticket!

 

 

I also have something special for my readers. One lucky winner will be selected to win a Family 4 Pack of tickets to Harlem Globetrotters show!  Leave a blog post comment, share this giveaway on facebook and extra points if you're a fan of The Playful Mom on Facebook!  Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We saw dragons last night! {Circus Review}

First of all, we parked right across the street from the arena and it cost $10. With how cold it's been I'm all for spending an extra $5 for less of a walk. As media, my family and I were invited to attend an animal care clinic before the pre show. There was about 30-40 people in the arena at the time, so it was a nice intimate time to see some of the animals do their tricks up close and personal and ask their trainers questions. My son loved this part because he's an animal lover! :) My favorite was the dogs, because we're dog lovers in my house. They were so cute and their tricks were adorable. The trainer told us with just an hour a day we could teach our dogs the same tricks depending on the breed. I might make Makena a circus dog, watch out!



Then we were able to attend the pre show, which is open to any ticket holders an hour before the show. At the pre show you get to walk around the floor, meet the performers, try on fun costumes and more fun entertainment for the kiddos. If you haven't gone to the circus yet, be sure to arrive an hour early for the pre show! There is an AMAZING bounce house, but it's $5 to get in.



We made sure to grab some dinner and get to our seats, it was time for the show to start. And with a tagline of "The Greatest show on Earth", they had a lot to live up to. And they delivered! We loved it. I've been going to the Ringling Brothers Circus my whole life and every year is different and such a treat. They really out did themselves this year, I was thoroughly entertained. The show was 2.5 hrs long with intermission. We stayed the whole time, but a lot of our friends with younger kids left at intermission because they were sleepy.

 

 

There were acrobats, motorcycles on tight ropes, fire jumping, silly clowns, amazing elephants and DRAGONS!!! If you haven't bought your tickets, do so now! The kids will love it, and so will you!




I received complimentary tickets from Feld Entertainment for my family to attend this event. Any opinions expressed are mine and my families, but we're sure you'll agree.

Red, Red, Dye....

Love the title?!  I was trying to be witty and make it sound like the popular UB40 song Red, Red, Wine!  :)  Anyways, our family has gone dye-free and we're trying to eat all organic.  Once you start, the shopping is a little overwhelming.  Reading all of the labels and entertaining a 6 year old is not the easiest thing in the world, especially when the 6 year old has ADHD.  

He's the reason we started watching labels.  There are many studies that correlate ADHD behaviors to dyes and sugars.  The dyes of concern are Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6.

" Researchers say the yellow dyes deplete zinc levels enough in some kids to cause hyperactivity. The Red 40 may lead to temper tantrums, aggressive behavior, fidgeting, anxiety, and inability to concentrate." 

And you would be amazed at how many products contain it, toothpaste and even canned pickles!  You can find it in some of kids favorite products.  His favorites were Kraft Mac N Cheese, Doritos, M&Ms, fruit snacks, granola bars and the list goes on.

So, now that we're aware of what to look for when we shop it has made shopping a little easier.  I've made it my mission to go through different grocery stores just to see what they carry that he can eat.

Today I went to Aldi, we buy some of our staple items here because it's SO much cheaper.  Today I wanted to see if there were organic, dye free products that I could buy at a fair price.  I was pleasantly surprised!

Strawberry Kiwi Juice Pouches (No artificial colors, preservatives or flavors)... $1.89

Simply Nature Organic Iced Fruit Bars... $2.69

Simply Nature Organic String Cheese... $2.99

Simply Nature Twisted Fruit Rope... $2.49

Danimals Smoothie (No artificial dyes or flavors and no corn syrup) ... $2.19

Simply Nature Shredded Wheat Cereal... $1.99

Crunchy Honey Granola Bars... $1.89

Not a HUGE variety, but good to know it's there if I'm in the area!  If you're dye free in your home, I'd love to hear some of your favorite snacks and treats!  

I bet you didn't know...

Here's another secret about me, I love TRIVIA!  So, when I found some circus trivia, I had to share with my loyal readers!  Try asking some of these trivia questions to your kids, family members, friends and associates.  I'm sure they will be stumped and amazed by the answers!  Also, don't forget you can still enter our awesome giveaway.  Details at the bottom of this post :)

1) What four virtues are required to summon a dragon to Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® circus? 

Answer: Strength, Courage, Wisdom and Heart.

2) How far away can a lion’s roar be heard? 

Answer: 5 miles away

3) What Ringling Bros.® animal has 4 teeth each weighing the same as a nine-pound bowling ball? 

Answer: Asian Elephant. 

4) Shaolin Warriors performing in Ringling Bros. Presents DRAGONS practice how many hours a day? 

Answer: 7 hours a day.

5) How many bags of popcorn are consumed in each city that Ringling Bros. visits? 

Answer: Over 1,000 pounds of popcorn.

Do you want a chance to go to The Greatest Show on Earth completely free of charge?!  Enter to win a 4 pack of tickets to Wednesday nights show HERE!

I am a Feld Family Ambassador, and in exchange for my time and efforts in attending shows and reporting my opinion within this blog, as well as keeping you advised of the latest discount offers, Feld Entertainment has provided me with complimentary tickets to Feld shows and opportunities to attend private Feld pre-Show events. Even though I receive these benefits, I always give an opinion that is 100% mine.

We're adding a new family member to our home!

We love our family of three, err, six, already.  And they always say you never mess with a good thing.  

But we made the decision to 

add

one 

more!

This is Makena.  She's a sweet 10 week old puppy.  We're totally smitten, we just love her!  Isn't she adorable?!

One of other dogs got out and was missing for a few days and give or take a few weeks later we noticed she was pregnant.  (YES, we know how irresponsible it was for her to not be spayed but she has an appointment this week!)  Long story short, she had a big litter and we found homes for all of them including this little love!

So we apologize now for all the photos that may start showing up all over facebook.  She's totally rotten, and spoiled and we wouldn't have her any other way!

Sorry for those of you that read this post hoping there was a baby on the way.  HA!  Gotcha!