Halloween 2011

This is definitely one of those Holidays that's a lot more fun with kids. I feel at age 3 our son enjoyed it more than ever. He also expressed what he wanted... for his costume, the pumpkin... He asked that we carve a Mickey Mouse pumpkin. He said the ears should be two smaller pumpkins (talk about art directing...) Luckily my husband was able to make that happen (with our son's help of course) He also told us a while ago that he wanted to be a pirate. And luckily my mom was able to make that happen (with her daughter's help of course) Yesterday was an intense day – started the morning dressed up for the Halloween party at school, and then later again for the party at our neighborhood, and the much awaited trick or treating... I'm still exhausted, and he's already talking about next Halloween. He says he wants to be a pirate every year from now on. We will see...

Poisoned Apples?!

When I was pregnant with my first child I ate an apple almost every single day. I would also throw spinach on anything I could in an effort to increase my folic acid intake. Chicken and milk were also high in my diet for their protein and calcium content. I did all this of course to benefit my future child. None of the things I consumed were organic though. I just wasn't aware then of what I'm aware of now. Now it seems like I'm constantly hearing alarming news about all food.

First there are all the preservatives, sugars, high fructose corn syrup, flavors, colors, fast food loaded in saturated fat, etc. All bad, right? I can say we do pretty good staying away from these. Even though I've decided not to turn into a freak about it. As of now, the consumption of these culprits every once in a while is ok per my standards.

Then there's the milk and all the meats; full of hormones, antibiotics, etc. Now, these are things we consume often, so I switched my family to organic in this area, or at least hormone and antibiotic free in some cases. 

And last there are our fruits and veggies. The ones that are supposed to be the greatest for us. Apparently not true unless you buy organic. I recently came across all these articles referring to studies that show how all the pesticides found in this group can affect children and pregnant women. They are linked to ADHD, low IQs, and worse of all cancer. It's really upsetting to me that our food industry is poisoning everything we eat. The solution seems to be to "just buy organic". Unfortunately organic is not only a lot pricier, but also, often unavailable (at least in our area). Take strawberries for example. We go through a pack of these every two days. Last I looked, organic strawberries were $7.99 at Publix and they were WAY past their prime, making them not even an option.

Here's the list of the fruit and veggies most contaminated with pesticides. The "Dirty Dozen" list: celery, peaches, strawberries, apples, domestic blueberries, nectarines, sweet bell peppers, spinach, kale and collard greens, cherries, potatoes, imported grapes, and lettuce. 

I obtained the list from here.

And here are some of the other articles I'm referring to:

Prenatal Pesticide Exposure Can Lower Kids’ IQ

Could pesticides cause ADHD? 

Pumpkin Patch

Our 3 year old has been kind of obsessing with Halloween. I don't blame him. The stores put everything out about a month in advance and the questioning starts... "Is Halloween tomorrow?""Today?""Can we get our pumpkin?" So yesterday we decided to make a little trip to the Pumpkin Patch. He said he wanted to make a Mickey Mouse Pumpkin and that he needed one big pumpkin + two little ones for his ears. We had also bought a Mr. Potato Head Set for Pumpkins at Target the day before, so we picked out yet one more pumpkin for that. He understood we couldn't carve our pumpkin yet since it would get yucky. But we were still able to have fun creating "Mr. Potumpkin Head"

There are several Pumpkin Patches around town, usually by churches. We went to the one by the Community Presbyterian Church in Celebration and went ahead and drove trough the town and checked out the crazy decorations at some of the houses.

Here's the info for the Celebration Pumpkin Patch:
511 Celebration Avenue. Celebration, FL
Mon - Sat: 10 am - 7 pm , Sun: Noon - 7 pm 

Chocolate Croissant Contest

 I've always loved chocolate croissants. But I especially crave them when I'm pregnant. So lately, when I go to either Whole Foods or The Fresh Market I reward myself with one of these yummy pastries (neither one of these stores are close to my house, but I make the drive to buy specific items that I consider to be healthier choices for my family... so I think I deserve a treat for that, right?)

Anyway, today I couldn't decide which store to go to so I thought I should base my decision on the quality of their croissant. Hmmm... I decided to have a little contest. On the way back I stopped at Panera and picked one up there too, just to have another one for comparison.

The results:
1. The Fresh Market: Best overall taste. Soft and fluffy, with the right balance of chocolate vs. pastry. At $1.29 this one has the lowest price also.
2. Whole Foods: This one was so close to the Fresh Market's. It was really a close call. Also very soft and fluffy, with excellent taste. However, I could taste the oil or butter a bit, not badly though. It's just that the one from the Fresh Market had a bit more chocolate and tasted a tad better. This one was $1.79
3. Panera: It's an ok croissant, but just not as good as the other ones. Not very fluffy and the chocolate is kind of hard. It's inferior in flavor and smaller too. At $2.09 this one is the most expensive one. Sorry Panera, I do enjoy other things in there.

*Disclaimer: Even though I took this contest very seriously and I have excellent taste and I am pregnant, I do not posses professional taste buds. These are just my personal opinions, and are likely to differ from other's.

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween

So we went to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party the other night and got tons of candy. However, I'd say the highlights for our three year old were the parade and the dance parties. He loved dancing with Woody and Jessie in Frontierland. And loved pointing at all the characters and their costumes in the parade. 

I couldn't believe he kept every piece of his costume on throughout the night. He really wanted to be a pirate this year and was so proud of his costume, especially the beard. My camera card messed up as soon as we got to the park so I'll have to post pictures of him post Halloween.

On the negative side the Boo To You song has been stuck in my head for days.... to you - and you - and you - Happy Halloween!

Baby Shower + Fashion Show

I went to a really cute baby shower the other day. One of my friends is having a baby girl, and apparentely she's not going to make her wear her older brother's clothes... crazy, I know! Anyway, the shower was themed as a fashion show. The invitation stated "Bring an unwrapped outfit for Courtney to be featured on her Clothesline of Fashion Show" All the outfits were put on hangers and showcased. Also, the snacks at the party were all pretty AND yummy – which this pregnant designer really appreciated. 

It was so much fun to go shop for a baby girl outfit. I found the perfect little dress at Janie & Jack, and then contacted local designer Sarah Mathews from Orange Blossom Ink for the perfect headband. I sent her a picture of the dress and she made a custom Felt Flower Headband to match. I love how it turned out!

iPad Apps

There are tons of cool apps for kids for the iPad, but these are some of our favorites right now:

Plic, Ploc, Wiz - I love the simple illustrations and the colors in this app. There are different ways to play with the shapes. You can fit the shapes into the outlines or you can just have complete freedom and build whatever you want. Our 3 year old loves it. You can try it for free and then pay for additional illustrations.

Montessorium Intro to Letters - I think the best part of this app is that it allows you to trace the letters, which is perfect for 2 and 3 year olds. It also tells you the sounds the letters make and even allows you to record your voice saying them. Montessorium also has Intro to Math, and the newly released Alpha Writer. These are all fun, educational, and nicely designed!

Want to go to Ikea?

So, the kid loves Ikea. I don't think he would go to the extreme of saying it's as much fun as Disney, but for me, at least during the very hot summer, it is! By the way, that top picture in the middle is a chair that spins. He'll get in there and then ask me to spin him around. All I hear is laughter after that. There's music playing too, so on the picture at the bottom left corner he's dancing between the rugs. And then, there are of course the cinnamon buns that for some reason we don't ever seem to be able to avoid on our way out.

I was too into eating the cinnamon bun and didn't get a picture. So that shot was borrowed from the Ikea website.

Go! Get the ball!

If you've never seen a team of 3 year olds playing soccer, you're really missing something. It's so much fun to watch these kids. We had our first game today. The coaches are just going "Go that way, that way, no, turn around this way.... get the ball, get the ball" We still "won", despite all the goals scored on the wrong side of the field... I'm really enjoying this whole thing. Does that make me a soccer mom?

By the way, if you have a mini soccer player and can't find small enough gear at the local shops, visit soccerpro.com. They do carry the small sizes.

Magic Kingdom Top 10 at age 3 (and under)

We took our son to the Magic Kingdom for the first time before he was even 3 months old. The first ride he got on was Small World, which 'till this day he loves. He's 3 years old now and he loves going to the parks. And, even though he doesn't meet the height requirements for all of the rides, I can assure you there's plenty for a toddler to do at the Magic Kingdom. I actually had a hard time narrowing it down to 10. 

1. It's a Small World
2. Peter Pan's Flight
3. Mickey's PhilharMagic
4. Dumbo and Carrousel
5. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
6. Tomorrowland® Speedway - The height requirement is 32" He can't see where he's going but still always asks to drive. (See the video my husband took last weekend below)
7. Tomorrowland® Transit Authority PeopleMover
8. Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
9. Tom Sawyer Island - This is a great place to run around and explore. They have a playground too, but the best part is the very unstable bumpy bridge.
10. The Parade - what kid doesn't like to see all their favorite characters?

There are still other rides he can get on and enjoy, like the Jungle Cruise, and Pirates of the Caribbean. And also plenty of other places to explore.

And I can't close without mentioning the Walt Disney World Railroad. Riding aboard a real choo choo train with a steam powered engine is always cool.

Max & Oli, Winter Garden

We met some friends at Max & Oli and spent a few fun hours there the other day. The kids didn't want to leave. It's not a huge place but it has lots to do. There's a train, a merry go round, spaceships and cars to ride on, inflatables, and, the big hit – the pool of balls. It's basically a little indoor amusement park, which is nice considering the heat right now. The cost is $8 for children 3 and under, and $12 for 4 and up.

Max & Oli
4036 Winter Garden Vineland Rd. 
Winter Garden FL 34787

Monday through Saturday 10 am - 7 pm, Sunday 10 am - 6 pm

Update on Sunday, January 27, 2013 at 3:53PM by Zig & Zag

Max & Oli is no longer open -

FireFest tomorrow at the History Center

Tomorrow - Saturday, August 13th

10 am - 4 pm 

Heritage Square and the History Center
65 East Central Blvd. Orlando, FL 32801

Fire department history with up-close looks at antique fire trucks and equipment

More info

Update on Monday, August 15, 2011 at 4:03PM by Zig & Zag

We really enjoyed FireFest on Saturday. It was a smaller "fest" than I had imagined, but that was a positive. O was able to climb on both the new and the antique firetrucks, and he and Dad even got to pretend to put out a fire the way they used to do it way back in the day. (I wish I had payed attention to the dates) Dad pumped the water and O manned the hose. We ate lunch on Orange Ave. and grabbed a frozen yogurt at Mochi's, which gave us a chance to explore downtown a bit too.