Kids & Seniors

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Today we stopped by Emeritus Senior Living, the residence of my grandmother-in-law, and Theo’s great-grandmother (sidenote: when Theo was born he had 3 living great-grandmothers [out of 4] which I thought was pretty special). We were there with other moms and kids and passed out treats and sang Christmas carols.
We were only there for an hour, and it was full of chaos and kids running around; background noise for those of us who live with young children day-in and day-out, but so much entertainment for those who are past those phases of life.
I also always bring our little dog, Poe, with us when we visit Emeritus because he is such a classic therapy dog. He is super tolerant of people holding him and petting him and he is so small and cute like a stuffed animal that he is never intimidating. Animals really are magic, sometimes.
Spanning 4 generations…
This was our first Christmas outing, but we’ve done similar events the previous two Halloweens. Same basic idea: sugary treats, cute kids, a few songs, cute dog.
Halloween 2013 – Theo the Chef preparing his treats
Halloween 2012 – Inaugural Emeritus group visit.
This is one of those activities that is so simple, but so meaningful for those who get to receive the gift of the company of energetic little bodies full of life. Cost: virtually none, just the cost of the goodies you bring. Time: 30 minutes, 1 hour max. (both the kids and the seniors get tired). Reward: Lots of feel-good vibes and positive inter-generational relationships strengthened.

Chuck E. Please!

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Every parent has a time in their life when they say something they never would have imagined they would ever say. My time has come:

I like going to Chuck E. Cheese.

Today I took the car to Costco to get our tires rotated and was faced with a 3-hour wait. There is a CEC (you know I’m hooked when I start abbreviating) across the street from Costco so I decided we could wait it out there.

The picture above was taken at 1:00pm on a Monday afternoon. There were two other children in the entire place other than Theo. We ordered a pizza, I ate from the salad bar (won’t make that mistake again) and Theo was entranced by their animatronic Chuck E. Cheese robot.
My caveats regarding a successful CEC outing include:
— Near deserted conditions. You get to play whatever game you want without waiting and there aren’t a million kids with a billion germs all over the place.
— Brand new location. Our CEC is spotless and clean because it’s only been open for a few months. Once wear-and-tear sets in, we’ll have to abandon and find another, younger, newer, more attractive version. Facts of life.
— Timing it right so that you arrive right after the technicians test all the machines and leave trails of free tickets streaming out for the taking. No better lesson to teach your kids than maximum value for minimal effort and cost.
Downside: all that effort and ticket-earning grants you the privilege of choosing between all sorts of useless junk that a knick-knack averse person such as myself can’t stand. But a visit to CEC is about the journey, not the destination.

Thumbs up, indeed, Chuck E. Cheese. I can’t believe you won me over.

Thank you, Smithsonian!

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We had a blast going to Washington, D.C. with Theo and introducing him to all of the FREE* Smithsonian activities. We went to the National Zoo where we got to watch a panda snacking on bamboo and Theo made inter-species contact with a gorilla.

On the National Mall, we visited the Air & Space Museum (where we had to sidestep all of the military warplane exhibitions and graphic pictures of air battles) and Theo especially liked climbing into the cockpits and living quarters in the space shuttles.

We also went to the Natural History Museum where Theo watched a video with rapt attention about the evolution of humans.

On our last day, as we were heading out, we stopped by the American Indian Museum because I had heard that their cafeteria was the best one on the Mall. It did not disappoint! The building was beautiful as well.

Ever since our trip, Theo has been asking for “Washington D.C. songs” as lullabies before he goes to sleep. My repertoire includes: You’re a Grand Old Flag, America the Beautiful, Star Spangled Banner, This Land is My Land, and My Country ‘Tis of Thee. So patriotic.

*Is it really free in a theoretical sense? We’ve been paying for these ever since we started paying taxes. Getting our money’s worth.

Dads & Kids Outing

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Who wants to join Dave & Theo on a DADS & KIDS outing?

Harlem Globetrotters

Monday, February 10, 2014
7:00pm
Energy Solutions Arena
Tickets: $19 each in lower bowl with no extra fees

Moms of course are also welcome to go, but we thought it might be fun for the dads to have their own event. Perhaps a separate moms outing can be arranged. 🙂

Let me know who wants to go and I can order tickets together. Maybe a fun holiday gift for the kids/dads in your life?

UMFA, F Yeah!

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I have taken Theo to a lot of different types of outings, but shied away from art galleries and museums — too many tempting, expensive, and fragile items to touch and disturb. My friend Aimee told me about these fun backpacks at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts and we are hooked!

On our first trip, we tried out the Choose Your Own Adventure and Europe gallery backpacks with a friend. The kids had a lot of fun doing the activities and I got to immerse myself in the calm atmosphere of an art museum.

Theo always asks to go back to do the rest of the backpacks. We took advantage today during Third Saturday where admission is free for everyone and they have a fun craft for kids. Theo chose the Egypt bag this time and got to take home his own scarab. I became a member so we can go whenever we want (kids are free until age 6).

Additional bonus: the cafe in the lobby of the museum is available to anyone anytime without paying admission and has become one of my favorite places to “coffee shop work.” Their quinoa salad with chicken is delicious.

Holiday Craziness Begins…

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Reprinted in the blog with permission by the author (me) from an email that was distributed today:

Hello!

If you haven’t received an email like this from me before, I like to put together a list of fun holiday events for kids every year. It may seem too early to think about the holidays already but there are a lot of fun opportunities that I thought everyone would like to know about in advance. Events are listed chronologically and I have noted which events we will be attending if you want to join us. Please feel free to forward this on and let me know if there is something you recommend that’s not on this list!
Happy (almost) Holidays…!
Christina

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Molly Mouse’s Sugar Plum Debut (ballet)
Date/Time: Friday & Saturday, November 29 & 30; 1:00pm and 6:00pm
Location: Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center (138 West Broadway)
Cost: $15
Sponsor: Children’s Ballet Theatre
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The Cat in the Hat (play)
Date/Time: December 6-28; various dates/times
Location: 168 West 500 North
Cost: Adults $26, Kids $16
Sponsor: Salt Lake Acting Company
* We will be attending the 12/28, 12pm show.
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Traditional Nutcracker (ballet)
Date/Time: December 6-28; various dates/times; Sugar Plum Parties ($7.50) after 2pm matinees
Location: Capitol Theatre (50 West 200 South)
Cost: $29-$79
Sponsor: Ballet West
* I’m going to wait another year to take Theo to the “real” Nutcracker. We will be going to Nutty Nutcracker (see below) this year instead.

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Babes in Toyland (play)
Date/Time: December 6-24; various dates/times
Location: 3605 South State Street
Cost: $14
Sponsor: Utah Children’s Theatre
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The Night Before Christmas (ballet) Date/Time: Thursday & Friday, December 5 & 6; 7:00pm Location: Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center (138 West Broadway) Cost: $12

Sponsor: Salt Lake Dance Center & Ballet Jeunesse
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Arthur Christmas (movie)
Date/Time: Saturday, December 7; 11:00am
Location: SLC Main Library Auditorium
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Utah Film Center
* We are planning to go.












A Snow White Christmas (play)

Date/Time: Friday, December 13; 7:00pm (other dates: December 14-29)
Location: Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center (138 West Broadway)
Cost: Holiday Special, 5 tickets for $100 on this night only ($34-$54 otherwise)
Sponsor: Lythgoe Family Musicals
* 100% of proceeds towards this particular show benefit Primary Children’s Hospital. The special package is also only available for this night. This show will also run on other dates (http://www.arttix.org/tickets/production.aspx?performanceNumber=11044) but we are planning to go on this night.

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Here Comes Santa Claus! (concert)
Date/Time: Saturday, December 14; 11:00am and 12:30pm
Location: Abravanel Hall (123 West South Temple)
Cost: $6-$18
Sponsor: Utah Symphony
* We have tickets to the 11:00am show.

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Hatch Music & Magic Show
Date/Time: Saturday, December 14; 11:00am
Location: Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center (138 West Broadway)
Cost: $5
Sponsor: Repertory Dance Theatre, Ring Around the Rose series
* We can’t go as it conflicts with the early Utah Symphony show (above), but we went last year and it was really good.
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 Winter Solstice (crafts/activities)

Date/Time: Saturday, December 21; 10:00am – 1:00pm
Location: Children’s Garden, Red Butte Gardens
Cost: Free for Members;

Non-Members: Adults (ages 18-64): $10 Seniors (ages 65+): $8 Military w/ID: $8 Children (ages 3-17): $6

Children (under 3): Free U of U Faculty/Staff: $8

Sponsor: Red Butte Gardens
* We are planning to go.

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Third Saturdays at UMFA (crafts)

Date/Time: Saturday, December 21; 1:00pm – 4:00pm
Location: UMFA (410 Campus Center Drive)
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Utah Museum of Fine Arts
* This isn’t really a holiday event, but I wanted to put in a plug for the UMFA. It is our new favorite place!

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Community Christmas Concert (concert)
Date/Time: Sunday, December 22; Time TBA
Location: TBA
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Salt Lake Children’s Choir
* Hard to plan when we don’t know the time or place, but if it works out, we’ll go. I used to sing in this choir.

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Pupcracker – A Canine Nutcracker (play)
Date/Time: Thurs-Sunday, December 26-29; 2:30pm and 7:30pm
Location: Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center (138 West Broadway)
Cost: $18-$24
Sponsor: Intermountain Therapy Animals
URL: http://www.arttix.org/tickets/production.aspx?performanceNumber=11671

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Nutty Nutcracker (ballet)
Date/Time: Monday, December 30; 7:00pm
Location: Capitol Theatre (50 West 200 South)
Cost: $29-$79
Sponsor: Ballet West
* We have tickets to this show.

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Disney’s Pixar (concert)
Date/Time: Friday & Saturday, January 3 & 4, 2014; 7:00pm
Location: Abravanel Hall (123 West South Temple)
Cost: $18-$85
Sponsor: Utah Symphony
* We have tickets to the Friday 1/3 show.

A Great Pumpkin, Indeed

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Not gonna lie. When my friend told me she was going to be in a boat race riding her pumpkin, I thought she was insane. Yes, she grew a humongous pumpkin, hollowed it out, painted it, and sat inside it and rowed it in a race. The Giant Pumpkin Regatta in Sugarhouse Park.

When I told Dave about the event prior to going, he thought I meant that people were going to put normal-sized pumpkins in the water and race them from shore. No, I insisted, people are going to be IN the pumpkins.

The kids were thrilled and it was a great fall activity. Still can’t believe this is really a thing.

Theo’s 5th Birthday Party

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Theo’s 5th birthday party was a cooking/science theme. It was held at The Leonardo museum in downtown Salt Lake City, which is a multidisciplinary museum of art, science, engineering, etc. The birthday party package was based around two activities: making ice cream and making gummy bears. The kids would do the hands-on “cooking” and get to eat their treats!

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For his birthday cake, I went with a local baker who was known for her fanciful and unique designs. I explained what the party theme was and she gave us some ideas. I ran those ideas past Theo and he was adamant that the cake incorporate a giant gummy bear. So thus, we ended up with the completely edible, rice crispy treat based huge red gummy bear, wearing a chef’s apron. Adorable!

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The kids worked really hard to make their ice cream and gummies. The ice cream involved shaking a bag of ice with salt around the ingredients for the ice cream. Most of the kids were getting tired/bored/hands got too cold so there was a lot of grown-up involvement.

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The party favors for this party is one of my all-time favorites. It was functional, personalized, and thematic. I bought child-sized white aprons online and my good friend embroidered each of them with her fancy embroidery machine. She was a saint and even did a last-minute apron the day before the party when we learned about a last-minute guest. It takes a village to throw a great birthday party!

Ode to Paul and Scott

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I’ve been taking Theo to the ubiquitous Baby and Preschool story times at the SLC public library since he was tiny. Every branch has their own weekly schedule and we’ve been to every one. But not all story times are created equal.

A few years ago, the Baby story time at the Main downtown library was the place to go. They had a massive bubble machine and included extra props (see pinwheel above). Our favorite librarian was Paul. We lived for story time with Paul.

As Theo got older and started preschool, opportunities to go to story time grew fewer since they are all during the morning. But once in awhile we get a chance to go to the Foothill library’s story time with the magical Scott.

Yes, I have favorite children’s librarians based on their storytelling abilities.

Note: I wish that I liked the storytellers at our closest library branch (Sweet in the Avenues) but I’ve been underwhelmed every time we’ve tried it. I’ll go to the ends of the earth for Paul or Scott though. I mean, we would go. Theo and I. Not just me. (Last names were omitted for privacy reasons and also because I don’t know what they are.)

Sweetest Tomatoes

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Even before Theo was born, we would occasionally eat at Sweet Tomatoes, braving the hordes of families and noisy children for some semi-healthy buffet gorging. After Theo started eating solids, Sweet Tomatoes became our go-to kid-friendly place to eat.

The salad bar aspect was great to introduce Theo to different foods when he was a baby: banana squash, peas, corn. Which all gave way to mac ‘n cheese, pizza and soft-serve ice cream when he became a picky toddler. The restaurant layout forces you to choose from the salad bar first before you can be tempted by their other delicious hot foods.

A trick: they will charge you extra if you take a protein (grilled chicken, etc) to add to your salad. Skip the protein in the salad bar and get the yummy white breast meat from their chicken and noodle soup (minus the broth and noodles, of course) and add that for (free) protein.

Now, as a parent, being able to take your kid to a place where they can be messy and noisy and still get a decent meal is a huge win. Save Forage for a date night; take the kids to Sweet Tomatoes.

*Note: When I was organizing the Milk+Bookies book drive last year, I reached out to several local restaurants and stores to solicit food donations. Sweet Tomatoes was incredibly generous and gracious and gave us a huge amount of chocolate chip cookies and bottles of milk. Extra gold star.