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Crayola After Dark at the Mall of America (Review)

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crayolaexperienceafterdark

If you haven’t yet been to the Crayola Experience at the Mall of America with your kids, I highly recommend you take them! After visiting several times with my kids, we know there’s a lot of fun stuff to do and create, plus you can get $13.99 tickets via my site every day (vs. $19.99 regular price).

But there’s way more to the Crayola Experience than you may know about.

Did you know they offer an event every month just for adults? It’s called Crayola After Dark, and it takes place on the last Thursday of the month from 7:00 – 9:30pm.

I went with a friend in March. The art project was to paint sunflowers on a rustic wooden board that you can hang up. I am NOT an artist at all, so I’m always skeptical that I can create anything better than a stick figure. But I wanted to try it out – and have a fun girls’ night out!

When the Crayola Experience closed to the general public at 7:00pm, we and about 25-30 other adults came in little by little for the event. As we were welcomed, we were told we had some time to explore the Crayola Experience on our own before we got started.

It was weird but actually very cool to have the place to ourselves – no kids – and to just be playful and have fun. We created our own Drip Art to take home, using crayons that we melted. We also checked out the Art Alive area where we colored a space-themed object (their themes change regularly) and then chased our creations on a big screen.

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After exploring the different activities for a while, we were invited to the area near the Puzzle It and Meltdown activities. Everything was set up for us – and we chose seats that had paint and supplies ready for us.

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There were also beverages and hors d’oeuvres for us to enjoy. Beverages included a variety of beers and wines, and there were some hot snacks to try. They also offered water and sodas. [Read more…]

Top Tips for Throwing a Frugal Baby Shower

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throwing a frugal baby shower

Throwing a frugal baby shower is so much fun – I remember my own when I was pregnant with my first 8 years ago! It’s so nice feeling like a queen for a day, and getting an assortment of cute gifts for your baby.

Are you planning a baby shower for a friend or family member? While fun to do, it can be also be affordable. Thanks to Gemma Raynes for this great article on how to save money while coordinating a baby shower!

Top Tips for Throwing a Frugal Baby Shower

For excited new moms-to-be, a baby shower is a rite of passage, and one that they will cherish for a long time, particularly in the uncomfortable weeks leading to the birth of their long-awaited new born. If someone you love is expecting a new arrival then you may wish to volunteer to host and arrange their baby shower for them. [Read more…]

LIVE Streaming Camera from Saint Paul!

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saintpaulcam

Check this out!

EarthCam is excited to announce its newest live streaming camera – the Saint Paul Cam! Whether you’re interested in visiting famous landmarks like the Cathedral of Saint Paul and Fitzgerald Theater or you’d rather relax while watching the sunset over downtown Minneapolis, this camera is sure to please!

Take a virtual vacation to Saint Paul, Minnesota, with EarthCam at http://www.earthcam.com/usa/minnesota/stpaul/.

Connect with EarthCam!

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/earthcaminc

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/earthcam

Instagram: @EarthCamTV

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/earthcam

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/earthcam

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/earthcaminc

BuzzFeed: http://www.buzzfeed.com/earthcam

A Crazy October in the Life of a Frugal Mom

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autumn,branches,brown,fall,leaves,maidenhair tree,nature,plants,trees

The last few weeks have been nuts for me. How about you?

What is it about autumn that makes so many of our schedules overflow with impossible expectations – many of which are self-imposed, I’ll admit – so much that the time flies by and suddenly you realize, I have to start thinking about CHRISTMASTIME! (Especially considering how cold it’s been out there lately…OH, HOW I LOVE MY CUDDL DUDS!!!…)

Here are a few highlights from the past month. Well, actually no. Mostly the past 2 weeks…because honestly so much happened in the last 2 weeks that I can’t really remember much before then!!!

My Website got a New Look

My blog got a makeover! Did you notice? Before it had a basic design and wasn’t mobile-responsive, and I felt it just needed an overall update, so for the past year I’ve been trying to get it done (I won’t bore you with the details of why it took a year…).  [Read more…]

This made my day!

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Here’s a conversation I overheard this evening between my husband and daughter that made my day!

HEIDI (age 6): Daddy, where do pencils come from?

JASON: Well, they come from trees that are cut down, then they take the trees which are brought to a sawmill and cut down into lumber. Then they put the lumber through a lathe and cut it into thin pieces which are then shaped either hexagonal or cylindrical. After that they drill a hole through the thin pieces and put graphite through the hole which is the part you write with. Finally they put the eraser on the top of the pencils and then sell them in packs which you buy in the store. After you sharpen the tips then you can write and draw pictures with them.

HEIDI: No, they come from Pencil-vania!!!

FREE Fit4Mom Twin Cities/Stroller Strides Class & More in Mpls on Friday, June 13 (Must RSVP)

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fit4mom

Fit4Mom Twin Cities is celebrating 4 years as a Twin Cities Fit4Mom Franchise, and is offering a FREE Stroller Strides class in Linden Hills Park on Friday, June 13th at 9:00am for anyone who wants to participate!

Event highlights include:

  • A Goodie bag for the first 25 people to arrive
  • A Great Party afterward
  • Music class from Munchkin Musik [Read more…]

Papa Murphy’s Behind the Counter Tour

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I was given a really neat opportunity along with several other local mom bloggers (#PapaMurphysMoms) to visit Papa Murphy’s Pizza in Blaine for a special Behind the Counter Tour! It was so much fun to go “behind the scenes” to see how freshly Papa Murphy’s pizzas are prepared. We learned a lot and even got to prepare our own pizza!

Here’s a recap of our tour:

First we met Larry, the owner of this Papa Murphy’s store (all Papa Murphy’s are independently owned franchises). He was super nice, gave us some information about the store, said we can take pictures of anything we like and then introduced us to his staff: Darren, Calvin and Lauren. Darren and Calvin are family members so it was great to know this store is a family-owned franchise. Then we headed to the back where we were given freshly baked cinnamon wheels to share! We were so relieved as we had been smelling them since we came in.

[Read more…]

5 Tips for Taking Better Photos of Your Children

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5tipsbetterphotos

I met Nell at a mom’s group event where she discussed “5 tips for taking photos of your children.” I thought her tips were so helpful I invited her to share them here!

This guest post is written by Nell Aburto, a professional photographer. Nell lives in the Twin Cities with her family and owns Pink Parasol Photography. She does beautiful photography of children, families, grads, and more.

 

Hi, my name is Nell Aburto, and I own Pink Parasol Photography, which is a boutique photography business serving the Twin Cities area.   [Read more…]

Top Ten List: You Know It’s Summer in Minnesota When…

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I love summer in Minnesota, but have to laugh at some of the ironies about it, too! Here’s a top ten list I started thinking of while stuck in road construction traffic…

You know it’s summer in Minnesota when…

1. You’re driving and 15 miles per hour feels fast.

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2. People stop complaining about how cold and snowy it is, and start complaining about how hot and humid it is.

3. You put your beach bag on the floor of your car, right next to the ice scraper that you never bothered to put back in your trunk.

4. The parking lots at Menards & Home Depot are a sea full of trucks (& other vehicles) as people rush to get supplies for all their home improvement projects before it starts snowing again or something. (Even when storms knock the power out it’s still packed as people come to buy generators, flashlights, etc…)

5. Church attendance drops by at least 50% on Sunday mornings because suddenly everyone has a cabin or knows someone who does. Worship leaders on Sunday mornings scramble to find people to usher, greet & help serve coffee since no one wants to commit in advance, in case it’s nice out… (I know this because I work in a church!)

6. You absent-mindedly go to work in long pants & dress shoes because you’ve been doing so for 8 months, but now you regret not wearing capris & sandals because it’s hotter than you expected & your toes are covered in sweat.

7. You go to the library & your kids automatically pick out a bunch of cartoons & movies like they did all winter & spring. Then you return them a week later, unwatched because the kids played outside so much, which is a good thing but makes you feel bad about the movies being borrowed for nothing. Then you all go back to the library and do it all over again.

8. Ice cream & popsicles are now dinner.

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9. You’re shopping so much for graduation gifts, wedding gifts, grilling supplies, beach supplies, home improvement materials, road trip supplies, school supplies, & of course, bug spray (those darn little buggers), that you wonder why there isn’t a Black Friday during the summer!!!

10. You get excited about now finally having nice weather & longer days to open all the windows & get all your home organization projects done, but you get maybe 2% done because dang it, IT’S SUMMERTIME and there’s so much fun stuff to do outside! Grad parties! Weddings! Barbecues! The beach! Road trips! Summer is finally HERE!!!!! YAY!!!!!

Ten Things I Fantasize About as a Mom with Young Kids

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1. Sleeping. At random times during the day I’ll think about hiding in my bed under my blankets and enjoying an uninterrupted sleep for as long as I darn well please. When you’re a mom with young kids, sleep is as desirable as relaxing on a tropical island beach. Especially sleep that involves the kids sleeping in their own beds (NOT wanting to sleep between mommy and daddy, pushing you to the very edge and getting kicked throughout the night).

2. Snuggling under a blanket with a book, in a clean room with candles lit. I have a huge stack of books I’ve been wanting to read for the longest time, but by the time I’m done reading Dora and Fancy Nancy and Curious George books to the kids and then finally get them to sleep each night, I’m so tired that I end up just flipping through one or two and then turning off the light.

3. The kids getting along for an entire day. Notice a theme of peace and quiet here? A typical day involves lots of everything with the kids – laughter, playing, running around, then of course – fighting. Usually it’s Thor pulling Heidi’s hair or driving his toy cars into her princess castle followed by crying, calls for “Mom!” and footsteps running my way. Other times it’s both of them hitting each other and then crying, calls for “Mom!” and even more footsteps running my way. How nice it would be to see them enjoying each other’s company for an entire day. A mom can dream… [Read more…]