It's Farm Show time!

If you are from near or even heard of Central PA - than you know about the Farm Show.  It always happens right after the New Year and goes for generally about 9-10 days.  Yes, folks, it's a Farm Show.  The 100th annual Central Pennsylvania Farm Show.


10 things to know ...


1.  It smells.
2.  The buses are always busy, late, crowded, never around, etc. - parking is your only "have-to" pay.  15 dollars.  Big whoop.  Then you take a bus to the actual location.
3.  It smells.
4.  Cows and horses will knock you over ... they have the right of way if you are in the barns ... MOVE PEOPLE.
5.  The baby chicks have got to be the cutest baby animals ever ... ever.
6.  What do they do with the butter sculpture after the farm show is over?  Does everyone come on the last day with bread?
7.  Farm Show milkshakes and potato donuts are the greatest ever. 
8.  Go see an auction - cannot understand a word, but pretty cool to listen and watch.
9.  Horses pull tractors ... did you know?
10.  Let your kids climb all over the tractors - it's the coolest.  Just don't let them turn anything on ... like the hazard lights.  Not that I have any experience with that at all. 


Want to see some pictures ... ofcourse you do!

Who's kid gets pizza at the Farm Show - mine.

Milkshakes.

Milkshakes.

They really let you sit on the tractors and push buttons.

In his glory.

Which one next?

Every child must enjoy the Farm Show, at least once.

January 18th, 2016

Port Discovery's Children Museum, Baltimore

I truly believe that children this day and age have it made.  Whoever came up with the idea of having "touchable" museums was a fucking genius.


A ... GENIUS.


Please ... bring your children into this enclosed space and let them run, climb, jump, scream, throw, skip, TOUCH WHATEVER THE HELL THEY WANT.


Genius.


I have taken Max and Charlie to the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia, PA and the Hands-On Children's Museum in Lancaster, PA.  Obviously, the one on Philadelphia is much larger with a much larger budget, but both are equally fun.  The one in Lancaster is noticeable smaller which contains the children much better.  The one in Philadelphia has displays, a caroussel, sculptures, huge water play area, rock climbing, etc. (Please see my blogpost from September 2012).  Lancaster has an outside garden for bug hunting and sandbox for playtime.


This past weekend, the boys and I headed to Baltimore Inner Harbor where there is the Port Discovery Children's Museum.  Again, GENIUS.  See the website below:
http://www.portdiscovery.org/ 

The climbing structure on the inside is the main piece and everything else revolves around it.  No one sticks to the age limits and my four year old was climbing in the 10 year old structure.  Spaces are narrow and even adults were getting into the rope gym, squeezing through tubes and sliding down slides.  It was so much fun and even us adults didn't want to wait our turn.  I was really proud of Max and Charlie - they held their own.  Charlie froze up once in a huge rope tube/ladder that took the kids to the top.  He looked around ... there were so many kids.  He climbed down.  Max kept going up.  All good.

It's actually not that expensive, they help validate your parking, we packed and ate a luncheon in the car.  It was fantastic ... plus you're right on the harbor.  Restaurants galore, the National Aquarium, Camden Yards, boats, etc.  Make a weekend of it.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.  Seek out these places, jump houses, trampoline parks, anything ... get your kids moving even when it's freezing outside!

Max and I!

My love.

Clay Egyptian lettering.

climbing

climbing more

and more.

tractors

and crops

big foam Legos

shopping

Sir Charlie

January 4th, 2016

I really need to write more ...

Happy New Year ... 2016.  Weren't we supposed to have flying cars by now?  Computers in our eyes?  Robots to do it all for us?

I think we're doing alright ...

I was crafting at 7:00am this morning ... how about you?

Charlie and his paper bag cow ... for Maximo, my student, the farmer.

My Max and his pop stick puppet cow.

2015 has come to a close and 2016 has begun.  I actually made it to midnight this time, keeping myself occupied with a ROLLTIDE shut out, thank you notes, and setting up my bullet journal.    

I'm still here.

I hope you readers out there will be reading from me more this year.  That is a resolution ... I promise.

But can I make some resolutions for my sons ...

Max will ...
1.  not pick on his brother so much.
2.  brush his teeth without being told.
3.  willingly eat more vegetables than just green beans.
4.  make his bed.
5.  not move his boat from the "Happy Pirate" zone into the "Rough Seas" at kindergarten.
6.  not lose his desire to hug and kiss me goodbye every day I leave for work.
7.  stop picking his nose and biting his nails.
8.  jump off the diving board at the swimming pool.
9.  stop using training wheels.
10.  always need me.
11.  be a leader, not a follower.

Charlie will ...
1.  stop making police siren noises at all times.
2.  control his behaviors.
3.  not lose his desire to hug and kiss me goodbye every day I leave for work.
4.  will have more than one good day a week at school.
5.  successfully start kindergarten.
6.  keep waking up and calling for me, even though it is sometimes too early, I get worried when he doesn't.
6.  get over his annoyance of busy classrooms, "too many friends" and be able to hold his own.
7.  write his name legibly.
8.  name every car brand out there by symbol.
9.  not let his disability define him.
10.  use utensils for an entire meal.
11.  always need me.

Natasha will ...
1.  blog more.
2.  keep up to date with her bullet journal.
3.  be a good person.
4.  not be that mom.
5.  be a beast in the gym.
6.  sleep more.
7.  learn how to help her sons more.
8.  write for the Huffington Post 6 times.
9.  play in the dirt.
10.  figure out more than she did last year.
11.  tell her husband every day she loves him so much.
12.  stop being critical of herself.

Let's get started.

January 1, 2016