End of Summer Festivals, Fairs, and Fun Events

/
End of Summer Festivals, Fairs, and Fun Events

I love going out and doing things, especially on the weekends with my family. The "events" on FaceBook are both wonderful and terrible for me because I want to do all the things. Prior to having my son, my hubby and I used to do a lot more outings. Now, we have to work outings around nap time, crankiness, potty training, meal time, and every other baby/toddler thing. Additionally, we have to consider if it's kid-friendly and whether it'll be easy to keep him out of trouble. Sometimes something might be more effort than it's worth, so we have to pick our outings wisely. For instance, we don't do the outdoor concerts. It sounds idyllic: sit on a picnic blanket with some snacks and listen to the band while your toddler dances next to you. However, the reality is I would be running around all the other picnickers chasing my son whom once caught will scream and kick. I'm sure you can picture it, or maybe even experienced it. Power to you if your child isn't a "runner" - enjoy it. I get my daily exercise just chasing him. 

Anyway, overall I do love the events on FaceBook. I have my FaceBook doubts and dislikes, but the events are great. It's fun to see what my friends are interested in (maybe we can go together?!) and I find out about events that I normally would never have known about. It's hard to keep up with things when you have a toddler. 

Where are this magical events on FaceBook? On the main FaceBook page, look to the left navigation. Under "Explore" you should see the "Events" link. Cool, right?

Read More

Checking it Out: Brewers Row

/
Checking it Out: Brewers Row

The motivation for my Red Elm and the Antique Sandwich Co. reviews was that they were known in my "mom circles" as places for kids. Brewer's Row, however, isn't widely talked about as a place for kids. However, my experience there with my son, Caleb, have been great. It's casual and fast which make for a fun place to grab a bite to eat if you have little ones. Let's taco (I mean talk) about it. 

Read More

Checking it Out: Red Elm

/
Checking it Out: Red Elm

I’m back with another "Checking it Out" post where I go to restaurants and tell you about my experience. In case you missed it, my first one, it was on the Antique Sandwich Company. This time we headed to Red Elm. I feel like this place did a good job marketing to families because most of my mom friends associate this place as a kid-friendly cafe. It opened in spring 2017, and we’ve been a couple of times. I would say our last visit when we went so I could write this post, was our best experience yet. Here are the deets. 

Read More

Shaken, Not Stirred, Rice Colored Easter Eggs

/
Shaken, Not Stirred, Rice Colored Easter Eggs


I know I said I was going to do Kool-aid dyed eggs this year, but I lied. I didn’t know I was lying, but I did. I was surprised to find the markets all lacking in Kool-aid flavors in the small packets. I wasn’t about to purchase a big thing of Kool-aid powder nor was I ready to go on a crusade to different stores to find it. I went to two different Safeways and Target, but nothing. Sure, I could have gone to Fred Meyers or Walmart, but I decided it wasn’t meant to be. 

I also think the Kool-aid idea went down in favor ever since I came across this rice idea. The rice seemed like a less-mess and more kid-friendly craft. Kool-aid can be a terrible stain to get out. And I imagine Caleb would want to keep trying to grab the eggs in the cups. So I swapped ideas last minute. 

Overall, I felt like this craft a mom win moment. Caleb was intrigued by the whole process and wanted to touch and do all. the. things. I don’t think he would have been able to be as involved in the Kool-aid, or regular dye projects. He’s too hands-on — a curious fellow, I tell you. He wanted to put the egg into the container and then back out when the coloring process was over. He loved shaking the containers, although I did have to get him to go easy on the shaking a few times. When we took them out after shaking, he said, “wow!” Ahh, too cute. He even straightened the egg’s position in the crate. 

The whole activity only took like 30 minutes, or so. We did it outside so clean-up was easy and no worries about too much mess (and thank goodness for no rain!) 

Here’s how we did it…

Read More

Fun at Foss: Visiting the Foss Waterway Seaport

/
Fun at Foss: Visiting the Foss Waterway Seaport

What the heck with our weather lately? First, it was all stormy rain followed by snow. Ugh! It's keeping us all indoors trying to stay dry and warm. But being indoors is so tough with a toddler, especially an active toddler that NEEDS to move. In fact, I'm pretty sure Caleb's motto is, "why walk when you can run?!" So I'm constantly trying to come up with indoor things to do that keep my active little boy busy, but also fun for mom and dad. 

We don't often drive down to the area of the waterfront that runs down by the docks and museums--you know, where Dock Street runs along Thea Foss Waterway on the other side of the 705. If we're hanging out along the waterfront, we're usually along Ruston Way by Commencement Bay. Although on those rare occasions we happen to drive down Dock Street, I see the Foss Waterway Seaport and think how we should check it out and look into whether it is toddler-friendly. Of course, I would forget and we would never actually end up checking it out.

Until now! The other day I saw a friend posted a picture of her kids at Foss Waterway Seaport and it looked like it had some things for kids. So when we found ourselves Saturday morning at Anthem Coffee getting some caffeine, watching the pouring rain, and wondering how to spend our morning, I miraculously remembered Foss Waterway Seaport and suggested we check it out. And we did! 

Have you driven by this place and wondered, too? 

Read More

Checking it Out: Antique Sandwich Co.

/
Checking it Out: Antique Sandwich Co.

Welcome to my series, "Checking it Out." I'm checking out places, so you don't have to.

...Unless you want to. That's cool, too. 

For moms, finding a restaurant or shop that is accommodating to kids is like finding the Holy Grail of places. We are always searching for the place where both mom and kid can be happy. These rare, but beautiful places are perfect for meeting friends or just getting a change of pace from the house. With the winters here in the Pacific Northwest, we need awesome indoor activities because there are only so many puddles to jump in (and so much patience a mom has in getting completely drenched). Or, you can have my kid that doesn't like being cold, but doesn't like to wear a jacket either. Ugh!

I often find myself searching online for this Holy Grail of a place--always hoping a new place has opened or maybe the search this time will uncover something new. Or, if I hear "mom talk" about a potential place, I want to see if it'll truly be great before I actually go. Why? Because getting out of the house is a CHORE. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but you have to corral the kid from running around the house, put on socks and shoes, get them in the car seat, go back in the house to grab them a snack because you forgot, drive to the place often with a whining kid in the back, get out of the car, put socks and shoes back on (remind me, why did I put them on at home again?), and then get them inside. Given this, I like to do some research before I go. Sadly, though, you don't often find all the information you want. For instance, I want to see what food/drink options are available, what exactly is kid-friendly about this place, photos (hopefully of someone with a happy kid), cleanliness, and does it look like a fun place to chill for a bit.

Let me introduce you to, "Checking it Out." Yup, I'm going to do my best to give you the 4-1-1 all the hot kid spots (oh 4-1-1, did you ever used to use that number? Did I just age myself there?). The caveat: 99% of the time, I'm with my son, so the photos aren't perfection and my brain will be split between evaluating the place in the moment and keeping an eye on my son. 

Read More