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...

Friday, January 25, 2013

Quick Veggie Soup

I'm starting a New Year Health Challenge in my neighborhood with a focus on clean eating. My doctor gave me this recipe a couple years ago and it continues to be one of our favorites for Meatless Monday (yes, yes, I know it has chicken broth...).


Quick Veggie Soup

Ingredients:
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 tbsp butter
3 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 sweet potato, chopped
1/2 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Optional: May add squash or other vegetables as desired

Preparation:
Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and carrots and saute until the onion becomes translucent.

Add the broth, celery, broccoli, potato, and spices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Pee Wee Bees

I'll preface this by saying that we have not been to Pee Wee Bees YET, but I've heard great things about it and every time we pass it, my kids are drawn to it. I will report back after we get a chance to try it out!

Pee Wee Bees is a indoor playground for kids from 6 months to 7 years old. Conveniently located in the Alamo Ranch Shopping Center, on 1604 at Culebra, Pee Wee Bees is the perfect place to bring your little ones and let them play from 10 AM to 6 PM, 7 days a week. You can even take the kids home for a nap or meal and return later that day.
Pee Wee Bees offers great, full service birthday parties which include your choice of theme, custom invitations, pizza, cake, ice cream, decorations, and goody bags. For more information click on this link.
http://peeweebees.com/


At this time, you can save $25 on a grand party at Pee Wee Bees thanks to US Family Guide!

Monday, January 7, 2013

Chef'n Grapefruiter Sectioning Tool

Every year, on Christmas morning, my Mom would make breakfast for everyone after we saw what Santa had brought us. After breakfast, we would get to open our presents. As an incentive to tear us away from the gifts, breakfast included homemade cinnamon twists and that was the only time of year she'd make them. However, we'd also have grapefruit and oranges in salad bowls.

It sounds so simple, yet for years I've failed to recreate how she made the simple fruit combination. There was nothing added to it, just oranges and grapefruit, but it was the perfect combination of fruit and juice. If I try to peel and section the fruit, there was hardly any juice. If I tried to just cut off pieces of fruit, there was too much membrane. This year, I asked her to do while I watched and while I still can't do it the same way, I've figured out she skins the fruit with a paring knife then uses the knife to cut off sections of fruit.


I love grapefruit, so I'd had my eye on this little grapefruiter sectioning tool for a while, but wasn't sure if it was worth trying. I'm glad I got it though because not only is it great for sectioning the grapefruit for east in eating, but it can also pull sections out, which makes it great for making fruit salad. I only have one problem with it, it's not quite long enough to get the entire grapefruit section so a lot could go to waste. However, for just eating the grapefruit it wasn't a problem as it had loosened the whole section and was easy to get it all with a grapefruit spoon. All in all, I'm glad I got it and would recommend it to others.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Family Christmas

It's been a while since we've had a big family Christmas. Typically, it's been Dadda monkey, the two little monkeys, and I. However, this year we've been lucky to have my parents and sister join us. I'm so happy the monkeys got to experience a Christmas with extended family. It's been really busy and tiring trying to fit everything in. It's my sister's first time in San Antonio so we're trying to fit in all the sights and tourist attractions along with all the normal Christmas festivities.

Tonight we're looking forward to going to the Alamo, seeing the holiday lights at the Riverwalk, and having a nice dinner downtown. Tomorrow, my parents head back home and the day after that my sister will go home as well. I think everyone enjoyed having a big family Christmas again and I hope we can make it happen again.

Merry Christmas!

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Devine Acres Farm

This is the first year we've taken the monkeys to Breakfast with Santa. My parents used to do it for my sister and I and I was excited to have a chance to take our family. Devine Acres Farm was about 45 minutes from our house and was an easy drive. Upon pulling into the entrance, we immediately noticed the Christmas trees growing in the fields, some chickens and ducks in a pen near the parking lot, and a large expanse of other things to see and do.

We wandered around the area up near the barn where breakfast would be served and the monkeys enjoyed dressing up scarecrows, but their favorite activity was the duck races. They have old fashioned water pumps aiming onto rows of channels where you put your rubber ducky and race against a friend with their water pump. It was difficult to tear the monkeys away from that one. Next we had breakfast, we got our pancakes and picked a seat in the decorated barn. We sat near the stage so we could see the musicians and santa's sleigh. Santa's helpers served us orange juice and Mrs. Claus even came by to let us know she'd be reading the kids a story later. Santa arrived just as we were finishing up and they've obviously had some experience with this as it was handled really well. The line wasn't too long, but they had it set up so the parents could wait in line while the kids sat on the stage listening to Mrs. Claus read them a story. Then when it was approaching our turn, we could easily go retrieve our kids for their turn on Santa's lap. Santa was his normal jolly old self and handed the kids candy canes when they were done.


From there, we wandered further onto the farm and found the maze, a huge playground area, tetherball, sack races, a fishing hole, a fire to roast marshmallows, and more. We spent a good amount of time exploring the areas and even went for a hayride where we could see the Christmas trees growing. We've already decided it's worth going back next year so I highly encourage you to make your reservations and have breakfast with Santa at Devine Acres Farm.

 There were plenty of hand washing stations around the farm.

The first view of the farm from the parking lot.

Santa's helpers.

My monkeys transformed.