WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: Survivor NYC
{photographs courtesy of Gary Fong}
Aftermath of September 16th’s microburst storm in Queens, New York.
Archive | rainy day fun
WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: Rainy Day Fun!
[cincopa 10726801]
My FIRST Wordless Wednesday post! Since I had all 3 kids today and we were prisoners in our home, I decided to have a little arts & crafts fun… oh wait… this was suppose to be wordless…until talkative thursday it is!
Museum Amusement
I’ve recently had the opportunity to visit some of the amazing museums in my neck of the woods. 3 to be exact – NY Hall of Science, American Museum of Natural History and the Long Island Children’s Museum. It still puzzles me as to how my parents didn’t know about them, as if it was some sort of coveted parenting secret. They are practically amusement parks but also EDUCATIONAL, which appeals to me. Not only am I occupying or engaging my child in activity, but she’s also learning at the same time – cue chipping away at guilt when placing child in front of a TV for any given amount of time just to regain sanity.
As a parent we’re always looking for (cheap) things to occupy our little ones. I have to say Museums are a boon! A children’s museum membership is one of the best investments in my opinion for children of all ages. I also recommend shopping around your surrounding museums comparing the level which includes FREE admission to 300+ science and technology museums around the world and includes all the surrounding children’s museum. I am currently a 2-year member of the Long Island Children’s Museum which gave me a discount for my daughter’s 2nd Birthday party as well as access to all our other favorite children’s museums in the area including the Children’s Museum of Manhattan and the Brooklyn Children’s Museum. When it expires I will probably get a membership at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum and again redeem discounts on my future kid’s birthday party as well as still be able to access the other museums. Read the fine print and find the one that best fits your family. Most value is found for a family of 4 but expanding families can find a membership that best fits theirs. Most memberships practically pay for themselves after 2-3 visits and over the past year I’ve gone at least a dozen or more times. They make great playdate locations and are versatile enough for all seasons with tons of activities indoors in the winter and beautiful gardens and water activities for the warmer weather.
For the older set and by older I mean grade school age, museums such as the NY Hall of Science and American Museum of Natural History provide a lot of appeal. The New York Hall of Science was a favorite of mine as a kid. I believe it to be the only museum my parents ever took us to and mostly because we got free tickets. I could still probably could count all the visits on one hand. I do have fond memories of playing with the bubbles there. It has obviously under gone quite a few changes since my days, definitely expanded as I don’t remember, even in my small stature back then, it being that huge. It now boasts over 450 hands-on exhibits, a miniature golf course, “science” playground even a Pre-School place equipped with a puppet theater. Classics like the Bubble area still remain as well and I had fun introducing my little ones to my old friend. Neighboring Cit Field Stadium and Flushing Meadow Corona Park, it conveniently has its own parking lot as well as 7 train access at the 111th Street station.
I already know that the American Museum of Natural History is going to be a favorite of ours as the kids grow up. They have something for all age groups, even the adults and a trip to the city is always a treat. I recently had a chance to attend one of their most popular events, Dr. Nebula’s Laboratory. This event is perfect for the 5-10 age set. It is a one-hour interactive event staged in an auditorium with the lights on. The kids are encouraged to help Scooter. Dr. Nebula’s trusty apprentice, this time on an adventure to identify and get to know our hominid relative, Lucy. My 6 year old nephew had a blast and even got a chance to be center stage and helped Scooter one on one. Not to be left out, my precocious 2 and a half year old made sure to interject herself in all group activities and make her print on the “fossil” wall. The AMNH plays host to many events such as Dr. Nebula’s Laboratory every month and you can check out their Family & Kids calendar on their website. Coming up on May 16th is Dr. Nebula’s Laboratory : Water Works where kids can join Scooter as she follows the story of Drop to learn about the water cycle, conservation, and how to become a steward of this precious resource. You can make an entire day of it starting with a morning at Central Park and lunch at the famed Shake Shack before heading off to the laboratory.
ROADTRIP : Lancaster, PA
What was to be our 2 year old’s last BIG trip as a single child before becoming an older sister was almost a bust of a weekend because of the sudden NorEastern storm that hit the week of our trip… Everyone was on tippy toes… No one wanted to cancel this long ago planned trip. We were all so excited to take our first parent/kids trip, yep, that’s right, the parents were more excited than the kids. Our sole goal for the trip was to take our wee ones to Dutch Wonderland’s Happy Hauntings. The little gem of an amusement park that many still had not discovered yet. We were so determined to get to Dutch Wonderland or Bust not a single alternative plan was made despite 10 days of foreboding weather predictions. As we drove the 3.5 hour trip in the down pour, no one uttered the possibility that we might not be able to go.
What we didn’t know was that this wasn’t really a town you needed to be prepped with alternatives – Thank God! Despite being rained in we got to:
- eat lunch at Five Guys Burgers
- Shop at one outlet chain after another (Rockvale and Tanger) where the kids ran wild at the Pottery Barn Kids Outlet and watched Yo-Gabba-Gabba at the Gymboree outlet while the parental’s scanned the sales racks
- ate at the road trip favorite, Cracker Barrel for the first time and experienced fried apples and shopping in a “country store”
- finally got our hands on some SONIC! My DH got to indulge in popcorn chicken and a Chicken Club Toaster sandwich on TEXAS TOAST! I finally got my hands on one of their famous Oreo Sonic Blasts. We were in heaven
- gawk at the Amish or Mennonites people shopping at Target and riding buggies outfitted with “electric” turn signals
- going swimming at our hotel’s indoor swimming pool
Since this was a 3-day trip, we still had days to fill and one must DO, must SEE is the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia, a mere hour drive away. Having done our share of children’s museums on the road thanks to the generous reciprocal program granted to us through our home museum membership, of all the ones we’ve been to, this one is the BEST! – so far… (ask me again after our next road trip as each seems to surpass the previous ones.) This multi-level museum had an enormous water-play area that made the Brooklyn Children’s Museum version seem… well… small, an amazing child 
sized grocery store with grocery carts, checkout counters and working UPC scanners, a McDonald’s sponsored play cafe, pretend hospital wit
h nursery, uniforms, and doctor kits, a cobbler shop and an elaborate Alice in Wonderland exhibit amongst many, many, many other exhibits. You’d be hard-pressed to know if the parents or the children were more impressed. Getting the little ones to leave was of course a task unto itself, but Dutch Wonderland, rain abated, was waiting.
Upon arrival at the gates of Dutch Wonderland, kids in costume, we were greeted most auspiciously 
by a train ride around the grounds. We were able to map out which rides we wanted to tackle, not that we had to since the entire place was practically our personal playground. Not once did we have to wait in line for a ride. If the kids beckoned or ran off towards a ride, they were on it momentarily. I think all that parents were quite thankful for that perk. Imagine having to tell a 2-year-old that they had to wait patiently in line for a ride?! Ride after ride the kids went with moms and dads clicking away capturing all those precious moments. This amusement park was made for the wee ones age set. A few might have been for slightly older ones, but nothing out of reach for our group of rambunctious 2 year olds. While it was a
wee bit chilly out, we were comforted by delicious chicken corn soup and hot chocolate with $1 refills in their souvenir cups. It was the most pleasant amusement park experience ever, even for my childhood. Minutes after departing the park, our little ones were fast asleep.
After all the excitement, my daughter could be heard chanting in her sleep later that night, “sooo much fun! sooo much fun!” We’ll definitely be doing this again next year!
A few constants
There are a few constants that you know just always will be. Things like how much you’ll always love your children or how you’ll always forget one thing during your vacation packing and $20 will always be $20. One thing that I can count on with Ava and my nephew is that their love for bubbles will never wane. They jump for joy for bubbles at school, at birthday parties and go nuts when we’re outdoors for them. I have found myself wandering Target, Toys R Us and drugstore’s on more than several occasions this year looking for bubble solution, or even worse, more bubble paraphernalia to play with. What I was shocked by was the prices for bubble solution, something I assumed was nothing more than a concoction of dish soap watered down, was sometimes as high as $10 a bottle, a somewhat large bottle, but not worth $10!
As you can imagine the grand bubble exhibits at the children’s museum is a huge, huge hit and often we have to strategically maneuver ourselves around the exhibit leaving it for last otherwise it’d be the only exhibit we visit. Most recently, after taking Ava to a class there, the museum guide in the bubble exhibit gave me their “secret” recipe for perfect bubble solution. So save those gallon milk jugs and add:
- 1 gallon of water
- 2/3 cup Dawn or Joy dishwashing liquid
- 3/4 tablespoons of glycerin (available at your pharmacy counter in liquid form)
Mix the dishwashing liquid into the water, add the glycerin, mix and play!
ECO|NOTE: Now the greener side of me urges a substitution of Dawn or Joy for something like Method or Seventh Generation’s Free & Clear. You’ll have to add a little more than 2/3 cups of dishwashing liquid, but add slowly until you get the right consistency.
DIY: Board Book Fun!
Oh yes I stumble all the time…and this time I stumbled upon Creative Imagination’s Melodee Chipboard Book… if your toddler is anything like mine, not only does she love to read but she is also quite the little budding artist. How much fun would it be for her to create her own book!?! At the bargain price of $1.50 with plenty of pages to color and draw to her heart’s content – I’d get a dozen!
It would also make a great birthday party project where kids can make books for the birthday girl/boy to keep.
