Familylicious

By debra92691 · Comments (0)

Tuesday, June 18th, 2013

FTC Disclosure: This is a compensated post and I will be receiving tickets to take my own family to this circus in exchange for posting. All images in this post from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

The Circus is coming to town and you’re invited. Not just any circus, it’s the one and only original Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus. Yes, this is definitely still The Greatest Show on Earth! Tickets are on sale now for all shows in Southern California July 10 – August 4, 2013.

This year’s show theme is Built to Amaze featuring more than 100 of the world’s best performing artists and athletes — representing 17 countries around the world — as well as 95 classic and new animals doing amazing things.

Highlights of some of the unique acts you’ll see this season

Nine-time international award-winning comedic animal presenting duo Alex and Irina Emelin of Russia who will introduce their uniquely-designed brand of magic and humor with animals ranging from poodles and ferrets to rabbits, snakes and a few surprise creatures.
The Trampoline Tower Tumblers, a troupe of ten competitive aerial athletes from the Ukraine who launch themselves from trampolines to scale, rapel and pass through a three-story high translucent tower.
The popular King Charles Troupe from New York City bring choreographed, spirited and comedic one-wheeled excitement and basketball competition to the ring featuring 10 whirling unicyclists shooting hoops.

2013 Southern California
Performance Show Times Schedule
Come Early: All shows include Animal Open House and All-Access Pre-Show Experience

Los Angeles July 10 – July 16
STAPLES Center, 1111 Figueroa Street, L.A., CA 90015

Wednesday, July 10 7:30 pm
Thursday, July 11 12 pm & 7:30 pm
Friday, July 12 12 pm & 7:30 pm
Saturday, July 13 11:30 am, 3:30 pm & 7:30 pm
Sunday, July 14 11:30 am, 3:30 pm & 7:30 pm
Monday, July 15 7:30 pm
Tuesday, July 16 12 pm & 7:30 pm

Ontario July 19 – July 23
Citizens Business Bank Arena, 4000 Ontario Center Parkway, Ontario, CA 91764

Friday, July 19 7:30 pm
Saturday, July 20 11:30 am, 3:30 pm & 7:30 pm
Sunday, July 21 11:30 am, 3:30 pm & 7:30 pm
Monday, July 22 7:30 pm
Tuesday, July 23 12 pm & 7:30 pm

Anaheim July 26 – August 4
Honda Center, 2695 E. Katella Avenue, Anaheim, CA 92806

Friday, July 26 7:30 pm
Saturday, July 27 11:30 am, 3:30 pm & 7:30 pm
Sunday, July 28 1:30 pm & 5:30 pm
Wednesday, July 31 1:00 pm & 7:30 pm
Thursday, August 1 10:30 am & 7:30 pm
Friday, August 2 1:00 pm & 7:30 pm
Saturday, August 3 11:30 am, 3:30 pm & 7:30 pm
Sunday, August 4 11:30 am, 3:30 pm & 7:30 pm

Ticket Prices
Ticket prices range from $20, $26, $42 (VIP), $70 (Front Row) and $100 (Circus Celebrity). Opening Night tickets are only $12 each (not valid for VIP or premium seating). Tickets available for purchase online at Ticketmaster.com or HondaCenter.com, charge by phone at 800-745-3000 or in-person at the venue Box Office. *Tickets may be subject to service charges, facility and handling fees.

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Categories : Entertainment

By debra92691 · Comments (1)

Sunday, May 12th, 2013

Disclaimer: I received a gift card from Jo Ann Fabric and Craft stores to help with purchasing the products to create this craft.

Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores is one of my favorite places to shop. This summer they a fantastic program that has 72 wonderful Summer Crafts. These ideas are spectacular on their own but I like to put my own twist on things. When I saw the Binoculars project I knew it would be a fun project to work on with my kiddos.

We make binoculars every summer. They are fun and easy. Jo-Anns came up with a super simple way to make soft fun binoculars. I love it and it made me start thinking we need to make our binocular making to the next level. Jo-Anns has a ton of really cute craft foam in different colors and prints. I fell in love with this scrapbook paper. It is glittery and iridescent and it does not flake. Meaning the little glitter bits don”t come off with rubbing etc. This is important to me since the binoculars will be next to their eyes.

I started with two toilet paper rolls. We always have a ready supply of those. I cut my paper to the right length using the toilet paper tube as my guide. I then did a mock roll and cut the paper to the right width. You can use your first piece as a guide to make your second. I then glued the piece of cut scrapbook paper to the roll. Once that was done I glued the other end to itself. I also used glitter ribbon. I love it I got some that is self sticking and some that needs glue to stick. I love both I am totally sold on using this for craft projects it is so pretty!

Now its time to glue any other paper embellishments that will be going around the roll completely. Once that is done. Glue the rolls together to create your binoculars. You can now glue on any other goodies you would like attached. Like rhinestones, flowers, stickers etc. Once you are done doing this punch a hole in each of the outer sides of the binoculars to connect your neck strap.

In the Jo-Anns version of this project they use some cording. I wanted ours to be different. So I started thinking maybe ribbon or rickrack. And then I thought mardi gras beads. I just cut the beads. One cut anywhere on the strand. Now push the end bead through your hole you created. I added a dab of hot glue to the inside bead in the TP roll and one to the outside bead that you can see. There I added a little fabric rose to conceal and block the hole where the bead was pushed through. Repeat this on the other side.

You can see the rose up above where I added it to conceal the hole.

I absolutely love them. They turned out so cute!

Kaia loves them too. She immediately took them out and went searching for faeries. She wears them around the house and hangs them above her bed.

You can view the full online Cape Discovery Catalog & Jo-Ann’s Weekly digital advertisement to see everything that is going on! You can find a single coupon for 40% off one item there as well! There are even more craft ideas & you can find out what is on sale when you visit in store & online!

What kind of Summer crafting activities do you enjoy doing with your kids or even for yourself? Which one of the Jo-Ann Summer craft activities are you most excited about?

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Categories : arts and crafts, Imaginary Play

By debra92691 · Comments (0)

Saturday, May 11th, 2013

Disclaimer: I received a gift card from Jo Ann Fabric and Craft stores to help with purchasing the products to create this craft.

I love Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores. This summer they a fantastic program that has 72 wonderful Summer Crafts. These ideas are spectacular on their own but I like to put my own twist on things. So when I saw the fabulous Treasure Map project I knew it would be a fun project to work on with my kiddos.

First we had to decide what kind of map we were going to make. Mikey decided he wanted a Treasure Map. He wanted there to be a castle. He has been really into Knights, Dragons, castles, and swords. So I went to making our castle, It was easy. I just did a quick sketch of what I wanted the castle to look like. You don’t need it to be perfect. It’s for kids they will love it no matter what it looks like. I made a drawbridge I cut a half oval in my castle and then glued some of the same paper to the back of the oval so that the scrapbook paper would be thicker and the print would be on both sides.

After we had decided what we wanted to be on our map. I began to cut shapes to represent different landmarks. Every night Mike tells the kids stories. The kids tell him what they would like the story to be about. Kaia’s stories are almost always about Unicorns, Princesses and Faeries. While Mikey likes his stories to be about Knight ,Dragons, and other creatures. These stories have become a whole world created by Mike with suggestions from the kids. Meaning the Unicorns almost always are in a forest called the Tangle Wood Forest, The Mermaids are generally in the Singing Spring etc. So that is what we decided our Map would be. It would be a map about this world that they hear about every night.

The base of this map is made from a cork roll which gives it a fun attribute. You can stick things in it. In our case I made little Flags out of craft foam and pipe cleaners. I cut the pipe cleaners to the size I wanted and hot glued them to small pieces of cut up craft foam. I also decided that I wanted this map to have many different textures. I wanted it to not only be visually exciting but and exciting sensory experience for them as well.

Here is our castle which we call Bright Stone Tower. I glued jewels to the inside of the drawbridge so when the kids open it they can see and feel the beautiful treasure inside. There is also Dead Man’s Ditch. It is made from scrapbook paper that has a weaved texture. It feels kind of like a basket. I also used foam stickers to liven it up a bit.

The Creeping Marsh and The Worlds End. These places often make appearances in their nightly stories. There are mermaids who live at The Worlds End which was made with blue craft felt and fiber fill (usually used to make pillows). Big Bug like creatures live in the Creepy Marsh which was made from fabric (found in the scrap fabric area) and craft foam bugs.

The Sky Cap Mountains were made from textured craft felt and the white snow is made from fabric paint. The Wandering Island was made from scrap book paper, in both a water print and a textured weave. The palm trees are craft foam stickers.

Tangle Wood Forest is made from scrap book paper. I did use a tree punch that I already had. I am sure you could find something similar at Jo-Ann’s.
We decided that we love our map but that it needed a little something more. So we created figures to go along with it. I used wood clothespins to make our figures.

The first figure I made was this Knight. I used gray acrylic paint to paint the knight. I used puffy paint for the shield and a sharpie for the sword. The cape was made with felt. I used a glue gun to attach it.

The Dragon was made next. I used two different shades of green acrylic paint to paint the dragon. I used a sharpie for the face and tummy scales. The wings, tail and back spikes are made from green craft felt.

The Princess was made with pink acrylic paint. The dress, crown and cape are made from craft felt. I added a few gems with my hot glue gun. Because Princesses need some sparklies.

The Unicorn may be my favorite. I am not sure its between the Unicorn and the Dragon. I used a silver pipe cleaner for the horn cut to size. The eyes are made form small rhinestones. The hair is actually made form party blowers. I just took off the pretty foil part and turned it into unicorn hair. I added a small flower to the front because it needed it. The muzzle or nose is made from a small white pompom. The ears are made from craft felt.

The Mermaid was made using acrylic paint again. This time though once the paint dried I used teal glitter glue over it to make the mermaid tail sparkle. The bottom fin is made from craft felt.

This play set is super easy to put together and take apart. I had an extra baggy that we use to keep all the figures and flags in. Then we just take the baggy and roll it up in the map its very compact.

You can view the full online Cape Discovery Catalog & Jo-Ann’s Weekly digital advertisement to see everything that is going on! You can find a single coupon for 40% off one item there as well! There are even more craft ideas & you can find out what is on sale when you visit in store & online!

What kind of Summer crafting activities do you enjoy doing with your kids or even for yourself? Which one of the Jo-Ann Summer craft activities are you most excited about?

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Categories : arts and crafts, Sensory Play

By debra92691 · Comments (3)

Friday, May 3rd, 2013

When we visited my parents in Washington there was a great Kids Museum we visited that had a wind tunnel. Mikey and Kaia probably spent about an hour there playing with it. I didn’t mind I was there playing with it to. Ever since then I have wanted a wind tunnel of our very own. I found one made by Kodokids (that is where the picture above is from). I am completely obsessed with the kodokids wind tunnel. It is on my wish list. Unfortunately I cannot convince my husband that a wind tunnel is a necessity. So I think the beautiful Kodokids Wind Tunnel will remain a dream. Well when I obsess over something I really obsess. So I think about it often, I try to figure out how I can make something similar with what I have and so I came up with what you see below.

I looked through my house unfortunately I do not have any fans even remotely the same size as the one pictured. I did however find an old hair dryer in my garage so I had a jumping off point. I knew I had to direct the air. If you read my blog you know I have a thing for upcyling plastic bottles. I found a plastic bottle and used a box cutter to cut off the bottom of the bottle.

I placed the bottle over the hair dryer

I then used duct tape to attach the bottle to the hair dryer. I did not want the hot air to melt the bottle or to burn the kids hands so I taped down the cold air button. I now needed something to hold the dryer in place. I wanted it covered so the kids would not play with the on off switch to much. I had a Styrofoam cooler I thought would be perfect so I cut a hole in the top. I used a dowel to hold the hair dryer in place. I placed it all on top of a wire rack that came with my fridge. I wanted to make sure there was plenty of ventilation.

The result was better than I had hoped for. It works great. Mikey figured out we can have two balls going at once. He is able to move the balls without touching them. We will practice with more objects later. I am just so excited that this actually worked. While I am still dreaming of the Kodokids Wind Tunnel . I at least have my make shift wind tunnel to let the kids learn and discover with.

Let me know if you try this out. I would love to hear all about it and see pics too. Any ideas on what we should use to play with on our wind tunnel? Leave a comment I am so excited to see what you all can come up with.

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Categories : Preschool Science, Science, Sensory Play

By debra92691 · Comments (0)

Friday, May 3rd, 2013

May Madness spotlights sports and the competitive spirit that drives us all. This month’s activities highlight your child’s social, emotional, and physical development along with the fierce independence and teamwork that sports foster. Sports fans and spectators alike will enjoy a deeper understanding of the games that children relish.

In addition to the sports activities this month, Pretend City Children’s Museum is hosting a Cinco De Mayo Fiesta, as well as a Mother’s Day Celebration!

Highlights for May include:

Sunday, May 5: Cinco De Mayo Fiesta!
Time: 10:30a.m. – Lil’ Me Morning: Sensational Story Time
2:30p.m. – Engaging Afternoon: “Good to Go” Game
Throughout the day – Art Studio: Smart Art
Specifically for: Children of all ages; grown-ups
Pretend City provides an enriching environment for children to experience new cultures and learn to appreciate Southern California’s wonderful diversity. Celebrate Mexican culture on Cinco de Mayo, a day to honor the memory and bravery of the Mexican soldiers who fought for their country.
Sensational Story Time: Cinco De Mouse-O! – Que felicidad! It’s Cinco de Mayo, and Mouse follows his nose to the festival, where musicians play, dancers stomp, and delicious treats abound. This story time finishes with word play and a piñata.
Good to Go Game: Jalepeño Hop – Don your sombreros and do the jalepeño hop to authentic Mexican music. Once the music stops, be sure to freeze!
Art Studio Smart Art Activity: Personal Piñatas – Traditionally, piñatas were a religious symbol, but nowadays, they a symbol of all sorts of festivities. Piñatas come in all shapes and sizes. What will yours look like?
RSVP: Not required Fee: Included with museum admission

Saturday, May 11: Mother’s Day Celebration
Time: 10:30a.m. – Lil’ Me Morning: Sensational Story Time
2:30p.m. – Engaging Afternoon: Growing Up Great Throughout the day – Art Studio: Smart Art
Specifically for: Children of all ages; Grown-ups Mother’s Day is a special occasion to honor mothers everywhere, showering them with love, care, and warmth. On this Mother’s Day eve, Pretend City brings you some splendid celebration activities that are sure to create wonderful memories for mommies and children.
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Sensational Story Time: The Night Before Mother’s Day – This sweet story is a fun way to celebrate Mother’s Day’s. Continue all the antics at home with your very own mommy-and-me grab bag full of supplies to make your Mother’s Day the best!
Growing Up Great: Mommy & Me Yoga – Mommies, take some time to relax with your child during this mommy-and-me yoga session. Doing yoga together enhances your child’s cognitive development, improves social skills, and is just plain fun.
Art Studio Smart Art Activity: Mommy & Me Puppets – Get creative and have some fun with these personalized puppets! Pretend play with puppets builds your child’s social and emotional skills.
Fee: Included with museum admission

Sunday, May 12 – Pretend City Closed in honor of Mother’s Day

Daily Lil’ Me Mornings
Time: Monday – Friday 11:00a.m.; Saturday & Sunday 10:30a.m.
Hit a home run every morning and visit Pretend City for Lil’ Me Mornings. These facilitated activity times are specially designed to empower your family to create rhythms and routines that joyfully celebrate sports.

Mondays – Sports Songs
Tuesdays – Sports Math
Wednesdays – Sports Science
Thursdays – Sensational Sports Story Time
Fridays – Good “Sports”
Saturdays – Sports Shapes
Sundays – Sports Snacks

Daily Engaging Afternoons
Time: Tuesday – Friday 3:30p.m.; Saturday & Sunday 2:30p.m.
Children just love to play games! Provide a little music and a competitive element, and … bingo! Everyone is enjoying a sports activity together. These facilitated, interactive, team-centered activities are just the thing to kindle your child’s team spirit.

Tuesdays – Soccer Shots
Wednesdays – Football Friends
Thursdays – T-ball for Tykes
Fridays – Beginning Ballet
Saturdays – Basketball Bonanza
Sundays – Cheer City Kids

Monday, May 13: Baby Steps through Pretend City!
Time: 2:00-3:30p.m.
Specifically for: Infant (0-18 months) and their grown-ups. For the comfort of our infant guests, no older siblings please.
It’s never too early to explore play and artistic expression with your baby, and Pretend City shows you how. This Baby Steps event includes activities that help your little ones in their development and provide lots of bonding time. Be sure to visit the Art Studio, Beach, and Grocery Store for age- appropriate, facilitated activities exclusively for infants and young toddlers only. Don’t forget to pick up a free Ages & Stages Questionnaire to check how your little one is developing! They’re FREE, fast, and easy!
RSVP: max 60
Fee: $10 per adult, FREE for infants and Pretend City Members

Monday, May 27 – Pretend City Open Full Day in honor of Memorial Day

About Pretend City Children’s Museum
Pretend City Children’s Museum is the first educational facility of its kind in the western United States representing a small, interconnected city designed to “build better brains” through purposeful play, hands-on learning experiences, role playing, and educational programming. As a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, it depends on community-based funding and guest support. Through 17 interactive exhibits and activities guided by a highly trained professional staff, children learn foundational math, reading and science skills, while fostering curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, organization, teamwork, self-confidence and socialization. The museum is a unique community resource where families, educators and community agencies come together to ensure that each child gains the experiences needed for a productive and fulfilling future. Pretend City Children’s Museum is located at 29 Hubble, Irvine, CA 92618. For more information, please visit Pretend City.org

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