CrAzY Working Mom: fun

Showing posts with label fun. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Summer Fun

I am still taking your ideas for summer fun ideas. Don't forget there is a $25 Wal-Mart gift card going out to someone for just leaving a comment on this post.

So far we've enjoyed some fun things including a quick trip to the Memphis Zoo (as mentioned in the previous post), a free magic show at the park sponsored by the Searcy Public Library. The kids really enjoyed this event and the best part about it was that it was FREE! This week we will be attending another magic show as well as Kids Summer Show at Searcy Cinema 8 where they will be showing Ramona and Beezus. You can see the schedule for the remainder of the summer by clicking this link. Admission is only $2, coke and popcorn is a buck! That's a deal you just can't beat. Doors open at 11 on Wednesday and Thursday. We also visited Splash Zone in Jacksonville. It was loads of fun for the kids. Admission is only $4 and if you have children over 48" tall who want to ride the big slides, you pay $1 extra.

Don't forget to head over to the contest post and leave a comment for your chance to win $25!

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Vacation Continues

Although I cannot consider myself a city girl just yet, I have officially made my first journey to The Big Apple. I was definitely a small town country girl caught up in the hustle and bustle in the city! While it was nice to visit, I can honestly say without a shadow of a doubt that I would not want to live there. I cannot imagine having to navigate through that place on a daily basis.

We did the typical touristy things: Visited the Empire State Building, Took a Water Tour to see The Statue of Liberty, Saw A Broadway Show, and had a NYC Hot Dog and slice of Pizza. I must say that I was very glad to have visited the city so nice they named it twice with my "bestie" of 21 years. She's been living in Maryland for 10 years now, so she's become quite the city girl herself. She's an amazing navigator and hails a mean taxi cab!

I had a fabulous time but unfortunately the camera I took was malfunctioning. I took a few pictures and when I went back to review, they weren't on the card. I assume that either the camera was malfunctioning or the memory card was not accepting the images. Either way, the only images I captured to share with you of my visit are the ones I snapped with my Iphone. Fortunately it captured some great shots.

We waited in line at the TKTS discount ticket booth. Fortunately we got there and only waited an hour in the (record!) heat. It was pretty miserable, but in Times Square there is always entertainment! The beautiful bride you see pictured here was more than blushing, she was glowing in the heat! She was beautiful and took a moment to pose with her groom atop the stairs in the center of Times Square. They were marvelously happy and she was positively breath taking in that beautiful gown. Although I didn't know who they were, it made me smile to see them enjoy their special day.

We waited in the ticket line a little over an hour to get discounted tickets to see the Broadway show, Rock of Ages, an arena-rock love story told through the mind-blowing, face-melting hits of JOURNEY, NIGHT RANGER, STYX, REO SPEEDWAGON, PAT BENATAR, TWISTED SISTER, POISON, ASIA, WHITESNAKE and many more. In 1987 on the Sunset Strip, a small town girl met a big city rocker and in LA’s most famous rock club, they fell in love to the greatest songs of the 80s. It was an awesomely good time about dreaming big, playing loud and partying on! Becca and I both enjoyed it.

Before the show, we had dinner at Bubba Gumps Shrimp Company. It was recommended by a Facebook friend and am I ever glad she did! It was awesome food and our waiter was great fun and even hit us with some fun Forrest Gump Trivia. We did great on most of it, but failed the one about which movies featured both Tom Hanks and Gary Sinise. There were three. Can YOU name them? Becca and I both had Lt. Dan’s Drunken Shrimp: Large Chargrilled Shrimp and Andouille Sausage with Mashed Potatoes and Bourbon Sauce! It was scrumptious! There was a great photo opportunity while waiting to be seated, of course I couldn't pass up! Ya love my shoes?

"That's all I hafta say about that!"

Taken atop the Empire State Building

On Friday we did the Empire State Building. is a 102-story landmark in New York City, United States, at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It is 1,250 ft (381 meters) tall. Its name is derived from the nickname for New York, the Empire State. It stood as the world's tallest building for 40 years, from its completion in 1931 until construction of the World Trade Center's North Tower was completed in 1972. Following the destruction of the World Trade Center in 2001, the Empire State Building once again became the tallest building in New York City. Although the views were breathtaking, it was a lot of waiting in many lines only to get to the top and be in mass chaos! If you got close enough to the edge to take a photo, it wasn't long before you were smashed or pushed enough you just wanted to get the heck outta there.

Of course we stopped for lunch and had a hot dog from a street vendor in New York City. It was delish! We went from there to have a fresh slice of NYC pie (pizza!) . We chose a hole in the wall place, I don't even remember the name, but I am fairly sure that it was close to the Empire State Building. Being a plumber's wife, I can tell you that they are in desperate need of one in this building, as evident in this photo. I knew I should have brought my husband with me on vacation. He could have made back all of the money I have spent on the trip thus far! ;)

Me and Lady Liberty!

We ended our NYC trip by touring the city via The Hudson River. We sailed down the Hudson, cruised around the Battery, up the East River, and under the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg Bridges. It was a fabulous time, and of course, the piece de resistance: Lady Liberty!!! I have to admit this was my favorite part of the whole trip! I had been looking forward to catching a glimpse of her on the Empire State Building, but seeing her up close on the water tour was simply breath taking!! She was definitely worth the wait in the hot sun to get tickets, and then on the boat to come back from the previous tour! I snapped a few photos while on the water, and I will share some of them here with you. Please pardon the quality, as I said before they are phone quality photos.

I really loved the bridges!

Reconstruction of the World Trade Center!

So beautiful! Her shoe size: 879!

We had a great time and made it back to Baltimore all in once piece and have enjoyed our day back here. We had lunch at the Cheesecake factory. I won't bore you with photos of my lunch and dessert, but suffice it to say it was magnificent!

Thursday, June 09, 2011

Welcome to Bawlmer, Hon!

I made it to Baltimore!! I am enjoying some bestie time with my B/F of 21 years, Becca. You might recall me mentioning previously that my wonderful hubby got me a trip to visit her for Christmas last year. I didn't want to visit in the Arctic temperatures and forty feet of snow (okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit there but I'm from Arkansas, so one foot to us is like forty feet to you Northerners!) We shot for early June so that we could go out and about and do fun things without having to be miserably hot. Wow, were we horribly wrong about that one!! Maryland (along with Arkansas) is having record breaking temperatures, with heat indexes well over 100. Insane! Today we are traveling via bus to New York City where the temperature will be 100°! YES, I SAID ONE HUNDRED DEGREES!!! Thankfully tomorrow it will only be 80, but I think that is due to rain, so I'm not sure what tomorrow will hold. But we will be seeing a Broadway show, so that will (hopefully) be air conditioned and maybe we can cool down a bit. Anyhow, I am VERY MUCH looking forward to the NYC visit. I've never been. We are spending the night there and staying in a hotel on Times Square! Whoo hoo!!! Small town girl visits big city, tomorrow's headlines. ;)

Hon Town Store in Baltimore.

So, anyhow back to my Baltimore visit. Yesterday, Becca and I had a low key morning. She did some work from home while I watched television and kicked back. We met up with a friend of hers for dinner, but first we did a little bit of boutique style shopping which included Hon Town. It is an awesomely fabulous retro-style shop. In preperation for Baltimore's Famous "Hon Fest", Becca and I tried some retro-styles. What is Hon Fest, you ask...well, I did and this is what I found: Although nowadays the city is extremely culturally diverse, the lasting image of Baltimoreans seems to be the "Hon" culture exemplified most markedly by the longer established families and residents of the Highlandtown, Canton, Locust Point, Hampden and Pigtown neighborhoods. Between the 1950s and 1970s, it was common to see working class local women dressing in bright, printed dresses with out-dated glasses and beehive hairdos. Men were often dressed casually, but with a general factory or dock worker look, as many in town did indeed have such jobs.

The name of the culture comes from the often parodied Baltimore accent and slang. "Hon" (pronounced /ˈhʌn/,[dubious – discuss] an abbreviation of "Honey") was a common informal name for someone else. Baltimore’s accent exemplifies a dialectal continuum between Tidewater American English, a southern American dialect, and Delaware Valley American English, a common coastal dialect, loosely possessing the vowel shifts of the former and general pronunciation of the latter. For instance, "Baltimore" is pronounced "Baldimore" or even "Balmer," and "Maryland" becomes "Murland," "Murlan," or "Merlin." Other common pronunciations include "ool," "amblance," "wooder," "warsh," "sharr or shaow," "dug," "couwny," "tew," and "zinc" (oil, ambulance, water, wash, shower, dog, county, two, and sink respectively). There is also a popular summertime phrase, "goin' downy ayshin" (going down to the ocean, usually referring to Ocean City, MD).

Now that you are schoold in Bawlmerese, here are a couple of photos we snapped in the store. Whaddya think, Hon?!

Becca with a pink haired Bee Hive

It's me, Hon!

After a bit of shopping we had dinner at Mr Rain's Fun House located at The American Visionary Art Museum that boasts a very culturally diverse menu pleasing not only to the eyes, but to the pallete as well! My entree of choice (after much deliberation) was the Veal Loin Chop with Polenta cakes and bayby patty pans in a demi glace. When it arrived, it was so beautiful, I almost didn't want to eat it, however that passed very quickly. The chop was cooked to perfection and full of flavor. The Polenta cakes and bayby patty pans were bursting with flavor, and I left out of there a happy woman! Of course I had to pose for a picture on the way out. No, this is not Lady Gaga in case you were wondering. Just one of many statues you will find at the American Visionary Art Museum.

Veal Loin Chop from Mr Rain's Fun House

Outside the AVM

We are slated to leave for NYC in a bit. I will not be taking my lap top with me there, so I am signing off for a couple of days. Look for lots of pictures to in the days (or weeks, you never can tell with me anymore!) to come. I hope you are all enjoying this ~~miserably~~ wonderfully HOT summer thus far.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

School's Out!

Today is the first official day that I am working from home with all three kids. So far it's great...they are still sleeping! I am going to try getting up with the boss (hubby) leaves to go to work. This should give me a few hours to get office work completed while they are asleep. Of course there will be times when I have to do office work after that time frame, but the majority of the necessary work can be completed during their sleep time. (fingers crossed)

Shelby ended the school year on the A-B Honor Roll for all 4 Nine weeks! I am very proud of her. She was promoted to 3rd Grade. Along with her class, she is also a published author now. In fact, after the awards ceremony last week, the parents were invited to an author's tea party where the children revealed their published books and were able to read their stories to us. Here are a few photos from the awards ceremony and author's tea:

2nd Grade Book of Fairy Tales

Shelby's story and artwork

Tyler ended the year with water day, and oh what fun he had! They rotated to 5 different stations and got to do all sorts of activities involving water. Thankfully the weather held out and it didn't rain on them. It also wasn't miserably hot like I remembered it being during Shelby's Kindergarten water day. Tyler's class began with a relay. It was boys versus girls as they put on rubber duckie floaties and ran around a cone and back. The boys dominated in this challenge. Next up was the bubble station. The boys tended to migrate to chasing the bubbles that the girls were making. The third station was popcicles and sidewalk chalk. This was our halfway point, so popcicles were very welcomed! The fourth station was sponge relay. The kiddos were to take a sponge full of water to a bucket, but they had to hold the sponge of water over their heads and squeeze it in the bucket. The team with the most water in their bucket at the end was the winner. This was Tyler's favorite and where I got some great shots of him running, like the "hulk face" shot you see below. The final station was a wading pool filled with water. The kids were to step in and grab out various sea life sponges with their toes. Unfortunately by the time we got to this station many other dirty toes had been in it so the water was gross and there wasn't much water left. This didn't seem to bother the kids in the least, however! They still enjoyed and had a wonderful day over all. Here are a couple of photos from Kindergarten water day:

Chasing Bubbles

Tyler's Running "Hulk Face"

Don't forget to enter our $25 Wal-Mart gift card giveaway (one post below) by leaving us some great summer fun activity ideas!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Summer Fun Activities and Ideas - (Contest Closed)

"Mom, I'm bored!!!" Those are the most dreaded words a mom can hear anytime, but even more so during the summer months. This year will be the first year all three of my children will be home all summer. In the past we've had an office outside of the home and I would work there, taking the oldest child while the other two continued daycare through the summer months. Since we've moved our office back into our home, I am presented with the challenge of how to keep my kids occupied so that I can accomplish what I need to on a daily basis both in the office and in our home.

I have always loved a good challenge and decided to present YOU, the readers of CrAzY Working Mom with the ultimate challenge of helping me come up with fun, inexpensive, and creative ways for us to enjoy these long summer days! What are some things that your family has enjoyed in the past? From arts and crafts, to outdoor activities, bring 'em on! Your ideas may be featured here, and there will be prizes for the one with the best ideas that my kids love the most. ~~Details on the prize pack to come later.~~

Since you are giving ME ideas on how to enjoy summer, I thought it only fair that I give back to you! So, for those of you who leave me ideas in a comment, you will be entered to win a $25 Wal-Mart gift card! This way you can put your ideas to work for your own summer fun! How does that sound?! We will run this contest for the month of June. If you want to Tweet/Facebook this post leave the links in a comment and you will be entered for every time you tweet/FB (once daily)! Please remember to make sure I have a way to contact you if you are the winner.

So, leave your suggestions in the comments. We look forward to hearing them.

Contest is now closed. Winner chosen here.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Feld Entertainment Presents Illuscination

I am happy to tell you that "The Circus" is coming to town! I refer to Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey as "The Circus" because there is no other like them. We've attended many Feld Entertainment Productions including Disney on Ice, High School Musical on Ice, and Monster Jam! They never disappoint. We're always amazed at the amount of work and time that goes in to these performances. It's great family entertainment and I'll have to admit that most of the time I think that I enjoy the show as much (okay probably more!!) than the kids.

Beginning on Thursday, December 2 and running through Sunday December 5, 2010, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Presents Illuscination, a fantasy-filled world where thrills, wonderment and unbelievable magic intersect with the outlandish fun of the circus. Illuscinator, and host of this all new Gold edition, David DaVinci along with performers from all over the world invite audiences across the U.S. to join them on a mystifying adventure where they will witness eye-popping illusions and thrilling circus acts all at The Greatest Show On Earth® at the Verizon Arena in Little Rock, Arkansas.

DaVinci, who set a world-record in 2007 with a free-diving card trick, thrills audiences with eye-popping illusions and mind-blowing transformations, all mysteriously interwoven throughout the show. Circus goers’ eyes will be transfixed on the center of the ring as they witness international acts that astonish and amaze Children Of All Ages. These unbelievable acts include, Viktoriya and Widny, the Empresses of the Air, who execute a never--before-seen extreme hair hang, the KungFu Kings who combine mixed martial arts with mind-boggling strength to twist solid metal poles around their bodies and dive through hoops of razor-sharp sabers, blindfolded! Anton and Alex, The Barons of Balance, reveal amazing agility as they effortlessly leap from one thumb-thin low-wire to another. Flying high and flipping furiously on the teeter board and the Russian bar are no other than the Salsations!

The action at Illuscination begins an hour before show time at the All Access Pre-show FREE to all ticket holders, where you can meet Ringling Bros. performers and animals, learn circus skills and start creating a lifetime memory for your family before the show even starts!

You can reserve your tickets by clicking this link to the Verizon Arena Website and click on which day and showtime you prefer. Tickets on opening night will be only $11 and kids tickets for every performance are only $10!!

Thank you for your interest in this post. If you plan to leave a comment to links or photos about elephant cruelty or the likes, please note that it will be deleted so do not waste your time or mine.

*Please Note: I will be given tickets for my family to attend this event in exchange for posting this information for my readers as well as reviewing the show after we attend. No other compensation has been given to me or any other member of my family. Any claims made my Feld Entertainment or Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey should be validated by those companies as I am not responsible. The opinions expressed in this post are my own and have not been influenced by any outside source. To read my full disclosure policy, you can do so by clicking here.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Inpromptu Fishing Trip

On Saturday we decided to take the kiddos on an impromptu fishing trip to Mountain View, Arkansas. We took little Emily to grandma's house because I'm certain she's not ready for a day in a fishing boat on the river. Shelby and Tyler were overly excited as I awakened them at 5am Saturday morning.

We had to make a quick pit stop to pick up a few supplies and I had to buy a fishing license. The kids each picked out their own baits. Shelby chose some girlie colored rainbow power bait. It was the fish's choice of the day. She was catching 'em just as quickly as she threw it in the water.

Tyler had a blast and was so proud of the fish he caught. He loved to hold them and show them off for the camera.
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Shelby, however was not as eager to show off her fish. She did not want it to "touch her" at all. She got close enough ONCE to pose for this photo.
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The boys enjoyed lounging around for the most part and just enjoying our time together as a family on the water.
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A fun time was had by all and we really enjoyed ourselves. We don't have lots of time to spend together as a family doing fun things like this. Brien and I spent ten days in Mountain View on our honeymoon after we were married. This was 12 years ago. I dreamed that we would one day have children that we would bring to this magnificent place and what a joy it is that this dream has finally come true.
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We did have a bit of a competition going between the boys and girls. Unfortunately, the boys did win. They caught quite a few more fish than the girls but to keep the peace with the kiddos we called it a tie.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Don't Pee In The Holy Water

Yesterday in the swimming pool, all was right with the world as I floated on my raft soaking up the sun. I heard Tyler tell Shelby he was going to Baptize her in the pool. She agreed only if she could do the same to him. I snapped this photo (with my Iphone) as the ceremony began.

They would hold one another's nose and then push them off the ladder into the water. Thank goodness real baptisms don't go this way! It went on this way for a few minutes until one pushed another a bit too hard and then (as usual!) it ended in fighting, so we had to move on to something else and the ladder was banned for a while.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Disney on Ice comes to Little Rock, Arkansas

If you live in or around the Little Rock area and are attending the Disney on Ice - Let's Celebrate show on Saturday, April 24, 2010 11a.m. showing I'd love to meet up with you! I would like to get your thoughts on the show and possibly a photo of you with your family. I will be posting a review of the show prior to the event. If you have a website, twitter, or FB page you'd like for me to link to it would be a great traffic generator.

If you're attending a different showing of the event, please feel free to e-mail me a photo of you, your kids, etc from the show with your thoughts or a link to a blog post you might have written!

If you don't have your tickets already and are interested in getting tickets, don't forget you can use the promotional code IN THIS POST to get a great deal on a family 4 pack of tickets!

*Please Note: I will be given tickets for my family to attend this event in exchange for posting this promotional code for my readers as well as reviewing the show after we attend. No other compensation has been given to me or any other member of my family. Any claims made my Feld Entertainment or Disney on Ice should be validated by those companies as I am not responsible. The opinions expressed in this post are my own and have not been influenced by any outside source. To read my full disclosure policy, you can do so by clicking here.

Sunday, January 03, 2010

We have Snow

Emily has been sick this weekend. I suspect she's got Bronchitis or possibly RSV again. We shall visit the pediatrician tomorrow hopefully. She's not been sleeping which means that her mommy (that's me!!) hasn't either. Needless to say I forgot to prepare the coffee pot for it's timely morning brew. As I added the coffee and water to the machine I groggily looked out the kitchen window and much to my surprise I noticed a white coating on the ground! It had snowed in the night and was continuing to snow. The kids were very excited and wanted to get dressed and go play outside. We allowed them to do just that. Emily wasn't out as long as Tyler and Shelby. She wasn't as impressed as they were with the snow and we didn't want to have her out in the elements any longer than needed. We got a light coating covering the ground and was so wet you couldn't make snowballs with it, but we can say it snowed and we did get a few pictures. It continues to snow now, so I am not sure what the roads will be like in the morning. I am not sure that this working momma can handle another day cooped up inside with the family. I'm ready to go back to work!!!

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from our family to yours.

We're celebrating by getting schnauckered on "swine" as Tyler calls it. ;)

Ssssssshhh...don't tell the kids that they have HI-C in their wine glass.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Just For Fun

87 words

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Saturday Photo Hunt - Protect(ion)

My 85th

This Week's Theme: Protect(ion)

We're off to see Disney on Ice. The kids are guarding their tickets with the utmost protection! We're all super excited. Hopefully I'll get to meet up with a fellow blogger...more details to come later if I do. I've already warned her that I'll have to get a picture!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Wii Fit

I splurged yesterday. I stopped by the video game store on the way home and looked around a bit. I asked the salesman if they had any Wii Fits and he informed me that he did, so I am now a proud owner. I didn't get to spend much time on it yesterday, but the body analysis wasn't pretty. Since I have Emily with me all day at the office I can't really join a gym right now, so I thought this was a great temporary alternative. I'm pretty excited about it.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

For Your Viewing Pleasure

The kiddos playing Wii:

This is fun stuff!!

Yes, Tyler screams, "Noooooooooooo" when Shelby knocks him out. Once again as they are playing he yells, "Don't knock me out!!

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Sunday's a Fun Day

Today we took advantage of this beautiful weather we've been having. Shelby and I packed a picnic basket with sandwiches, chips, and some fresh fruits. The whole gang headed to the local park for an afternoon picnic and some time for the kiddos to run off some excess energy.

We were home Friday because the kids have had Strep Throat. We've been cooped up in the house for the last two days and I thought it was much needed ~~for my sanity~~ to get out and enjoy the weather! We went to the local river side park. The kids love to go because they have a fun playground. There is also picnic tables and lots of shade as well as lots of hiking trails. We had some food, the kids played a while and I took advantage of several photo opportunities:
Next up was the big hike. The kids had a lot of fun. We didn't get off the beaten path much due to the fact that we had Emily. Well, I had Emily. I had her in the Snugly carrier. I was a bit afraid to do to much rock climbing for fear of sliding down and landing in this: So, while Brien spent most of his time with this view:
Emily and I enjoyed the beautiful rocks and trying to keep up. *wink*
Overall we had a lovely day. It's been a while since we've enjoyed some good ole family fun that was very easy on the pocketbook! Well, it would have been only I LOST my wallet! Grrr...yup, on our way home we went to Hastings to rent some movies (just another reason to get Netflix right?!) and I lost my wallet somewhere between the store and my truck. I spent the evening calling to report my cards lost. Tomorrow I have to go to the DMV to get a new license. That should be a great way to spend my Monday morning, right!?

UPDATE:

A gentleman called my former work place. Thank goodness my sister took my place. She fielded the phone call. He informed her that he'd found my wallet! :) He'd looked inside and found my insurance cards which had the employer's name printed on them. He is going to bring it by there at noon today. Can you believe it. He told her there was no cash inside. Thankfully there hadn't been any to begin with. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything else is still inside!

Monday, June 16, 2008

Family Travel

My children are a bit too young for things like a Nintendo DS, or PS3 but on our recent road trip across the state line to my family reunion I knew that we needed something besides the portable DVD players to keep them occupied. I invested in the Leapster handhelds. I must say that they were worth the investment. The kiddos enjoyed them and I enjoyed the peace and quiet. The best part is that...sssshhh...you can't tell them this, but they are educational as well as fun!!!

Friday, January 25, 2008

Monster Trucks and Girlie Stuff

I got all of the luggage packed up for hubby. He plans to take Tyler, our two year old son to his first ever monster truck show tonight! He is still not fully potty trained, so Dad will need a change of clothes and pull ups just in case. They are both pretty excited. Brien plans to take his two nephews as well. His cousin will also be bringing his son. They have never seen the show before so they are all geared up and ready to go. Since the boys will be having their night out, we girls shall not be outdone! We don't really have anything set in stone just yet. We might just grab a bite to eat at the Japanese Steakhouse and then watch a movie or rent some movies to take back home and watch. But, it should be a fun night for all involved! We're keeping our fingers crossed that the weather cooperates!

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