Parenting Corner

This past weekend, we went to visit Make-A-Messterpiece in Glenview, IL with some friends.  It's a fun art center for kids, located in The Glen.

For a $10 fee per child, your child can draw with crayons & stencils and paint on an easel.  There is also a small play area and a small selection of books to read.  For parents, there is a separate lounge area with coffee, magazines, and a TV.  The idea is that parents can take a break while their kids are creating, but the reality is that parents don't really get to relax for very long.

For an extra $5 for each additional activity, your child can make a painting with bubbles, make a recipe (it was lemonade on the day we went), decorate a pencilcase, or bang on some paint drums while splattering paint.  Again, very cute & fun...but worth the cost?  Not really.  

Make-A-Messterpiece was a nice place to visit once, but our friends suggested that next time, we simply go over to their house to paint.  & That sounds perfectly fine to me!

This summer, we went to see the movie "Ramona and Beezus."  The kids have already read and loved the books by Beverly Cleary, so we were excited to go see this movie.

In this story, Ramona (Joey King) and Beezus (Selena Gomez) live in a house with their mom and dad.  Ramona is a child with a vivid imagination, gets carried away, and ends up making a fool out of herself getting stuck on the monkey bars at school.  Her 3rd grade teacher (Sandra Oh) has to come out and rescue her.

Their dad (John Corbett) loses his job and has to look for a new one.  Ramona tries to sell lemonade to earn some money for the family, but ends up messing everything up and embarrassing her sister Beezus in front of her love interest, Henry Huggins.  Then, Ramona tries to make money by washing a car and makes a mess of things, embarrassing her Aunt Bea (Ginnifer Goodwin) in the same way. 

Ramona always seems to mess everything up.  She finally decides to run away.  She can't get very far with the bowling ball that her mom snuck in her suitcase, but she tries anyway. 

Overall, this was a cute movie, very touching in parts--a wonderful choice for the whole family.

A couple of weekends ago, we went to see "The Emperor's New Clothes" at the Chicago Shakespere Theater on Navy Pier.  Honestly, we found this musical to be very enjoyable, and the kids (ages 6 & 8) loved it.

The story involves an Emperor whose only daughter is going away to college.  Unfortunately, he has stopped all trains from coming to and going from his kingdom until he finds an appropriate outfit for himself for Emperor's Day.  Everyone in the kingdom is anxious for him to make his selection--especially his daughter.

Lord Vince schemes with the tailors to try to convince the Emperor to choose a magical fabric that can only be seen by those most deserving.  Does this fabric truly exist?  What do you think? 

We were charmed by this adaptation of an old fairy tale, especially the moments when the Emperor and his daughter finally come to a better understanding of each other.

We came across this hilarious Rabbit Design Taz Ah Mug (from Theo) at woo!

It looks like a plain white mug sitting on the table, but when you pick it up to drink, there's a  little surprise on the bottom for those around you to admire.  Choose from a Rabbit, Monkey, Tiger, Pig, or Dog.

My Shimoda features the mugs, as well as these Party Animal Pick Your Nose Cups.

How fun!

After I attended the BlogHer '10 conference in NYC, my family joined me for several days of sight-seeing afterwards.  We had a blast!  Here's what we did:
 
Times Square

This place is as glittery as Vegas!  The kids enjoyed shopping at M&M World and Toys R Us, the largest toy store in the world, with a 20-ft tall T Rex and a 60-ft tall Ferris wheel.

Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States in 1886, as a symbol of freedom and democracy.  We took the ferry to Liberty Island and went up to the pedestal, where we learned how the statue was built and created.  Be sure to buy your tickets online in advance in order to go up to the pedestal or even to the crown.

Empire State Building

The elevator ride up to the 86th Floor Observatory was fast, although there were long lines in order to get there.  Be sure to print your tickets online in order to bypass the ticket line when you arrive.  Up at the top, we got to meet King Kong!  Plus, there were wonderful views of New York.

Central Park

We enjoyed the snow leopard, polar bears, sea lions, penguins, and puffins at the Central Park Zoo.  Then, we watched a puppet show at the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre called "Three."  This story is about the "Big Bad Wolf" very badly wanting to become the "Big Good Wolf" and his struggle to reform.  Afterwards, we took a short walk to Belvedere Castle, which offers a beautiful view of the park.

The Metropolitan Musem of Art

We enjoyed our time here seeing the works of Monet, Degas, Renoir, Seurat, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Matisse, Gauguin, and Picasso.

American Museum of Natural History

This giant museum houses dinosaur bones, all kinds of animal exhibits, and a beautiful collection of gems, as well as a planetarium and an IMAX theater.  We got to see Lucy at the Hall of Human Origins.  I especially liked the Hall of Ocean Life where we learned about fascinating underwater creatures.

Dim Sum in Chinatown

We ate at Jing Fong in Chinatown, at 20 Elizabeth St.  This is a very large banquet hall packed with people, offering very good, traditional dim sum.  Don't be surprised if your small group is seated with another small group at a very large table.  This is how it's done here.

Dylan's Candy Bar

This wonderful store carries 5000 kinds of candy--including gummy worms, cola bottles, wax lips, Pixy Stix, Harry Potter Bertie Bott's Beans, and Pez.  The founder is Dylan Lauren, the daughter of fashion designer Ralph Lauren, who has loved candy ever since seeing Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory at the age of 5.

Another great session that I enjoyed at BlogHer '10 was Family Foodies: Creating a New Generation of Gourmands with Stefania Pomponi Butler from CityMama, Sarah Caron from Sarah's Cucina Bella, and Danielle Wiley from Foodmomiac.

This session covered tips and ideas for how to include the kids in the kitchen and encourage them to eat healthy and learn to cook healthy foods.  Here are some helpful suggestions:

Take the kids to a farmer's market--explore the stands and get to know the vendors.

Check out localharvest.org or follow local chefs on Twitter to find locally-produced food.

Consider checking out the local Asian markets or Chinatown--try a new vegetable or seafood.

Save money with a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)--base your meals on the items that you receive.

Organic food can be expensive--focus on meat, dairy, and the Dirty Dozen.

Grow your own food from seeds--start with herbs.

Plan ahead your meals for the week, using 30-minute meals--list your ingredients needed for the week.  Make extra, and freeze it.

Prep for dinner at noon--start chopping those onions!

Have a last-minute back-up plan, in case something goes wrong--a quick & easy pasta can be done in 10 minutes.

Introduce kids to new foods--be positive!  Have them touch the vegetables and see where they came from. 

Have the kids pick out recipes to try--from cooking magazines, food blogs, or cookbooks (checked out from the library).

Give the kids their own cooking gear--an apron & a chef's hat.

Give the kids a job--peeling carrots, washing potatoes, snapping green beans, washing rice, spinning a salad.

Toddlers can play with a tupperware filled with dry rice, spoon water from 1 cup to another, cut a mushroom with a plastic knife, or scrub a table with baby wipes.

Dress the dishes up to be fancy or exotic--if that helps.

Entertain the kids--by pretending to do a cooking show.

Older kids can start cooking quesadillas, pancakes, & scrambled eggs on their own.

Include the kids in your blog post.

Most importantly, give the kids responsibility and ownership in the kitchen.

Healthy and delicious recipes from this session can be found at CityMama.

Kenmore Live Studio is hosting a free healthy cooking program for kids in Chicago.  Check out the kickoff event this Monday, August 16, 2010 from 5:30 to 7 pm.  Kenmore Live Studio is located at 678 N. Wells Street in downtown Chicago.
                             
Jennifer Blackman (founder of Youth Choice) and Chef David Blackman (Director of the Hospitality and Culinary Arts Program for CPS) are interested in teaching kids how to cook delicious food in a healthy way.  Each event will feature a chef and three students from a Chicago Public school, offering cooking demonstrations, trivia questions, giveaways, and samples of yummy, nutritious food.   Live broadcasts will be streamed on Kenmore’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/kenmore.

Future "Healthy Youth - Healthy Choices" event dates in 2010 include Aug 30, Sept 20, Oct 11 & 25, Nov 8 & 22, Dec 6 & 20.

Menu for Monday, August 16th:
Catfish Croquettes, Fruit Salsa, Apple Wontons and Ginger Whipped Cream

Catfish Croquettes
6 Cooked Catfish fillets, cooled, roughly chopped.
1 cup Red Bell Pepper, fine diced
1 cup Mayonnaise
2 Jalapenos, seeded, deveined, finely chopped
6 Green Onions, both green and white, finely chopped
½ cup Cilantro, finely chopped
¼ cup Old Bay
¼ cup Worcestershire Sauce
2 cups Panko Breadcrumbs
3 cups Corn flake crumbs
Mix first nine ingredients and form into mini patties with two-ounce scooper. Roll in Corn flake crumbs. Refrigerate until firm, about one hour. Bake in 425 degree oven for about eight minutes until heated through. Serve with Fruit Salsa. Yield: 50 Pieces.

Fruit Salsa
1 Red Pepper, fine diced
1 cup Pineapple, diced
1 cup Mango or Papaya, diced
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely diced
1 Red onion finely diced
1 bunch cilantro
¼ cup lime juice
Mix all ingredients. Chill. Yield: 1 quart.

Apple Wontons
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling
Freshly ground nutmeg, to taste
7 medium apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1 lemon, zested and juiced
48 count packages wonton wrappers
3 cups vegetable oil
Powdered sugar or cinnamon
Mix together brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl. In another bowl, sprinkle apples with the juice of 1 lemon and toss. Stir in sugar mixture to evenly coat the apples. To assemble wontons, place approximately 1 ½ tsp of filling in the center of each wonton wrapper. Moisten the edges of each wrapper and bring one corner up over the filling to the opposite corner at an angle so that two overlapping triangles are formed. Pull the two bottom corners of the folded triangle forward so that they meet one another and slightly overlap. Moisten one end and pinch the two ends firmly together; repeat. Pour the oil into a deep fryer and heat to 375 degrees. Deep fry eight to ten wontons at a time for about two minutes or until crisp and golden. Drain on paper towels. Fried wontons can be kept warm for about one hour at 250 degrees in the oven or reheated for 5 minutes in a 450 degree oven. Sprinkle powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar.

Ginger Whipped Cream
1 1/2 cups well-chilled heavy cream
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup finely chopped candied ginger plus additional for garnish
In a bowl with an electric mixer, beat cream until it holds stiff peaks, add sugar and ground ginger, and beat mixture. Fold in the ¼ cup candied ginger. Transfer whipped cream to a serving bowl and garnish with additional candied ginger.

A friend of mine shared this on Facebook, and I thought it was so cute! 

This is how the Swedish Chef makes popcorn in his kitchen...

We recently visited the Mayan Adventure Waterpark in the Chicago area.  It's an indoor waterpark located in the Holiday Inn in Elmhurst, IL.  We got a Day Pass and went for a half-day, but you'll need to call on the day you go to make sure that Day Passes are available. 

This waterpark is just the right size for our 5 & 8-year-old kids.  They just learned how to swim this summer (Yay!), and this was their first time going down a big waterslide.  The waterpark was not crowded (on a Saturday in July), and the staff was friendly & helpful.   

There is a tube slide, a body slide, a lazy river, a basketball area, and a zero-depth playstation with little slides for little ones and a giant dumping bucket.  The hot tub was not open and one of the kiddie slides was closed off the day we visited.  There's a snack station that serves pizza, hot dogs, burgers, etc.  Towels are provided, but the locker room is small and doesn't have showers. 

It's not the newest or fanciest place to go, but we enjoyed it.  The kids had a great time, and we would go again.