Parenting Corner

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.

We went to see "Toy Story 3" with the kids this past week.  I made sure we watched "Toy Story 1 & 2" first.  We had a blast--I even cried at the end--it was so touching.

"Toy Story" introduces us to the little boy Andy and all of his toys--Woody the Cowboy, Mr. Potato Head, Slinky  Dog, Hamm the pig, Bo Peep, T Rex, the little army men, and more.  They are inanimate when people are around, but come to life when no one's looking.  They are all worried about what's going to happen to them once Andy gets new toys for his birthday.  Buzz Lightyear, the shiny new space ranger, is seen an immediate threat.  What will become of the rest of the toys?

In "Toy Story 2," some of the toys are being sold in a garage sale, and Woody somehow gets stolen by a toy collector.  He meets the rest of his TV show gang--Jessie the Cowgirl, Bullseye the horse, and Prospector Pete.  They are all being prepped to be shipped off to a toy museum in Japan.  Oh no!  Will Woody ever make it home again?

Finally, we get to "Toy Story 3," when Andy is all grown up and getting ready to leave for college.  He's instructed by Mom to put away all of his old toys, either to college with him, in a box destined for the attic, in a box to be donated, or into a trash bag.  Somehow, all of his old favorite toys mistakenly end up in a trash bag on the curb.  They escape and decide to be donated to a day-care.  There, they are abused and not properly played with.  Can they ever escape and eventually find happiness again?

Overall, this is a great collection of movies, which you and your kids will enjoy.

Some more cool soap creations by twoeggplants on etsy.com:

iPhone Soap (Orangina-scented)

Game Boy Soap (Fruit Loops-scented)

To celebrate 7-Eleven Day, on Sunday, July 11, you can get a free 7.11 oz Slurpee drink at any participating 7-Eleven Store in the US.  Offer good from 8 am to 11 pm.  Yum!

 *Heard about this from Real Simple magazine.

Just came back from a trip to Boston a couple of weeks ago.  We had a great time visiting this city with the kids.  Here's what we did:

Boston Duck Tours

We went on a tour of Boston in a DUCK, a WWII-style amphibious landing vehicle.  The first part is the land tour.  We started off at the Science Museum, then saw the Prudential Tower, Boston Common, the Swan Boats, Beacon Hill, the State House, Bunker Hill, the USS Constitution, Faneuil Hall, Cheers, the Boston Public Library, and much more.  Then, we dove into the Charles River, and the kids got a chance to steer the boat.  What fun!

Swan Boats

In the Boston Public Garden, we rode on a Swan Boat around the Lagoon.  It was fun for the kids to see it, after having read about it in the book Make Way for Ducklings.  We even got to see the bronze sculpture of Mrs. Mallard and her 8 ducklings up close and personal.

The Museum of Science, Boston

We spent a long time at the Science Museum.  We enjoyed watching the baby chicks hatching and seeing the xrays of humans and other animals, as well as trying out the optical illusions.

Morses Pond Beach

We spent a relaxing day in the sand and water at Morses Pond.  There was a playground on the beach for the kids and a canopy to offer us shade to keep cool.  Ahh!

Faneuil Hall

The kids had a nice time browsing the shops and having lunch at Faneuil Hall.  There were a few entertaining street performers there, too.  We bought postcards, wrote them out, and mailed them from the Post Office there.

USS Constitution

I was impressed by the USS Constitution Museum.  We learned a lot about US history, and the interactive displays were fun for the kids.  We got to cook in the pretend galley and sleep in the hammocks like the sailors.  Plus, we learned that lemon juice was once used as invisible ink.  Pretty cool!

Don't have time to take care of an aquarium full of fish? 

You can make your own Paper Aquarium out of Matte Photo Paper at Canon Paper Craft. 

This aquarium of swinging bluespotted boxfish will be a beautiful, care-free addition to your household.

REI's Family Adventure Program starts with the Kids' Adventure Journal.  You can download it online or get one at a local REI store.

Find areas to do a local hike or bike ride.  After each outdoor adventure, write down notes about your experience.  Fill out the journal, then get your official certificate of completion online or at your local REI store.

What a great way to enjoy the summer outdoors.

 
Find out how to make these adorable Bee Cake Pops from Bakerella.com. 

You'll need a box of cake mix, a can of frosting, wax paper, candy melts, lollipop sticks, candy writers, edible ink pens, and a styrofoam block.

So cute!