Thursday, February 14, 2013

Be My Valentine!

Happy Valentine's Day! The monkeys are at Mother's Day Out, which is giving me one of the greatest gifts ever... some peace and quiet time to myself! I love my monkeys, but I cherish these moments I get to myself as well. I conveniently scheduled all my errands in the previous days so that I'd have nothing to do today. I can't believe my time is almost up and I have to leave to pick them up in about an hour. We'll have a special family Valentine's Day dinner when Dadda monkey gets home and tomorrow we get the luxury of having him home on a weekday so the monkeys will be excited (not that they know the difference between a weekday and a weekend though).

We've been up to some fun things here, involving our family, schedules, and responsibility that I can't wait to share soon. In the mean time, don't forget to carve out some quiet time for yourselves as well because Valentine's Day means loving yourself too!


Monday, February 4, 2013

Pee Wee Bees

We attended our mock party at Pee Wee Bees and the kids have been asking to go back ever since. The owners, Steven and Sandra Alexander, took us on a tour and really pointed all the small things that they put extra thought into, like an extra wide auto opening door (perfect for those with strollers and carseats), child sinks in the large bathrooms, and extra cushioning under the carpet for our little one's tumbles and falls. If you ever want a snack, they have a surprising amount of choices in both food and drinks. They've done a good job with putting all the small baby/kids toys towards the front of the large room and the toys get larger/geared for older age group as you go towards the back, culminating in a giant inflatable bounce house and slide. There are comfortable couches lining the wall of the room for parents to sit and get a pretty good view of the whole room. Along the couch wall are also decals of characters that our kids are very familiar with (Bro Bro monkey says it might have been missing Thomas though). The cost for play is $10 per child, unfortunately there's no discount for siblings and it is geared towards younger kids. I thought my nearly 5 year old Monkey girl would be bored, but she had a great time. Also, that is for the whole day so you can come and go as you please.

If you book a party with them, you're in for a nice time and very little work. They get pizza (from Rome's, yummy!), cupcake cakes, ice cream, beverages, and the decor for you (any theme of your choosing). They also served everything (including refills) and took care of the clean up. They'll even help you get your presents to the car. One thing I liked, but some parents may not, is that they keep the play area open to customers during your party. For us, we have a lot of transient friends so our parties tend to be very small. In this environment our kids would have more fun because there would be more kids there. I do wish they'd rope off the food area when it's time for pizza, cake, presents, etc... It is a separate area, with reserved signs, but it's really easy for kids (and adults) to still wander in. If you would prefer a private party, the owners will work with you to arrange one in their after hours.

When it was time to leave, Bro Bro monkey had a minor melt down. Steven Alexander tried to soothe him with offers of stickers and other things, but to no avail. As we were saying our goodbyes, Monkey girl ran out through the automatic door towards the curb, Steven quickly raced out and grabbed her. That's the kind of thing that makes a place stand out and we're very grateful for not only the opportunity to attend the party, but also for his quick thinking and action in protecting our daughter.

PICTURES COMING SOON...