Big Apple Circus - Dance On (Boston, MA)

Our first toddler outing after having our new son was to the Big Apple Circus in City Hall Plaza in Boston.  We left the 1 month old with gramma and drove into Boston VERY early to be sure that we parked as close as possible to the circus so that our 2 year old and 4 year old were annoyed the least amount possible.  We ended up at the Government Center Garage that cost us $35 to park from 10am - 12:30 (boooooo), but it was a very close walk, and we had a space in barely a minute. We didn't see the elevator option and walked down four flights of stairs, but it didn't matter because we found the elevators for the way up on the return.  This specific parking garage does not have any attendants, only a few security guards, so it is crucial that you pay at a machine using your ticket prior to leaving.  I am not sure what people do who are trapped at the arm trying to exit if they haven't paid and their ticket won't let them out, but I'm sure it's quite an annoyance.

Unfortunately for us, the biggest annoyance was the actual Big Apple Circus.  The tent itself was small and a little smelly.  Even though we had box seats (which was nothing more than a metal fence type thing around us), there was a row directly in front of us not far enough down for us to see, never mind our munchkins.  The background itself looked really hopeful.  It had a large slide clearly for clowns and a big bright sign that the kids loved.  Before the circus started a dj played "Into the Groove" and other parent friendly dance hits, and the kids loved it, but when the show started, the music was done by a band and was lackluster to say the least.  My 4 year old said, "I'm sick of people standing on each other.  There are no animals. Where are the clowns and the dancing?"

The answer is: there were NO ANIMALS, and there was ONE clown without a gimmick, unless the gimmick was to be a scary, 144 year old, transgender type of clown with no jokes.  On the other hand, there was dancing.  There was a guy who was probably about 4 feet tall who was the master dancer type, popping and locking circus style who would sort of introduce each act with a dance.  That little guy was the best part of each act because as soon as he left the act seemed to turn into a painful Cirque du Soleil tryout gone awry without the amazing costumes and the talent. 

There were some guys who jumped on each other using a pole.  There was a guy who "juggled" by bouncing some glow in the dark balls off of mirrors in the shape of a V that he sat between and stood in front of.  There was a team of Asian youth who rode some unicycles that were BMX style wheels and the pedals were on the actual rims.  The boys in that group came back out in different outfits and did something with basketballs that was so boring I don't even remember what the point was.  The girls came out and turned out to be contortionists.  These girls were quite amazing (as seen in the picture), but their costumes were nearly sheer and left nothing to the imagination and bordered on inappropriate.  This really could have been a great act (with different costumes), but they performed without passion.  As you can see from the picture above, it was sort of a dead stare let me do the moves sort of performance.  It was during this act that my daughter began to fall asleep in the muggy funky smelling tent, and my son began to demand, "Let's go to a circus with elephants and some clowns another time and get OUTTA here!" 

So, we left.  We went to Faneuil Hall Marketplace.  The kids got frozen yogurt on gigantic waffle cones at the first frozen yogurt place on the left if you walk in the front door.  It was VERY inexpensive and great quality.  At the front of the Quincy Market building, there was a huge high school orchestra doing a spectacular job entertaining the masses, and inside the kids loved all of the free samples and all of the sights.  We ended up at Build a Bear and played in there for a while before we headed back, and we let the kids pick out these mini type animals that were $10.  I can't find them online for some reason, but they are adorable and don't break the bank.  Outfits are $6.  This little trip made them forget about the one clown circus without animals.

In all fairness, we did not stay until the end so maybe something amazing happened and the $17 dollar tickets per person (that would have been upwards of $54 if it weren't for an online coupon code) were worth it.  The next time we go to the circus we will go see Ringling Bros. & Barnum Bailey or not go at all.

Whaling Museum (New Bedford, MA)

The New Bedford Whaling Museum is located in historic downtown New Bedford (right off of route 18) on one of the fun cobblestone roads.  We brought our three year old and one year old without a stroller and had a great time.  The museum itself really doesn't take that long to get through, but there are some cool places in the area like the Celtic Coffee House (that has an awesome "witches brew" organic coffee that is THE BEST).  The kids can enjoy some homemade desserts like blondies and other baked goods or some ice cream after their tour of the Whaling Museum or of course sandwiches if they want some "real" food.  You will definitely have some left over cash after a trip to this museum because adults are only $6 each and children under 12 (or maybe it's 10) are free.  We were given free passes to bring the family back next month because one of the rooms was closed for renovations.  Essentially, it cost us $6 per visit for our family of four.

The kids LOVED the lowest level lobby because there are two gigantic whale skeletons on the upper level ceiling.  We also happened upon "family time", so there were some people there who did a free craft with our son.  He was very proud of his whale magnet that he made.   Our daughter waddled around the rest of the lobby area shouting "whaaaaaaales!  ahhhhhhh! hahahahaha!"  She absolutely loved the huge mural on the wall.  There were no kid haters annoyed with their excitement.  The people who worked there and the people visiting were very welcoming and amused by our happy and loud children.

We ventured our way to the top and there are a few things that the kids can touch like some whale bones and a big fake whale on the wall, but their favorite was the fake boat that they got to climb on and pull some ropes and try out a fisherman's bed.  Our son didn't really understand the difference between pirates and whalers, so he kept shouting about the "pirate ships", and he really didn't like the idea of whales being hunted for their blubber to make oil, so we left it alone.

The museum is short enough to carry a one year old through it, and the kids don't really have enough time to get bored.  Our three year old even wanted to know the names of the men in the portraits by the end of the visit.  We ended the visit by hanging out in the lobby for a few minutes before we went to the Celtic Coffee House.  Because the visit will most likely be pretty short, it's a good idea to plan to go to a second attraction in the area.  We were torn about going to the Ocean Explorium or to the Buttonwood Park Zoo (where we are members, so it's free).

We decided to go to the zoo even though we had no stroller because it was the day before the new carousel grand opening and the weather was cool and misty, so we knew it would not be crowded.  We rented a double stroller for $6 and had a great time because the animals were all very active because of the light rain.  The kids LOVED the wildlife carousel even though it wasn't even running.  The carousel is made up of really cool animals to ride like birds, a tiger, a zebra and other amazing animals.  Someone had FUN designing this carousel that will be open for $2 per ride.  We will definitely head back for a Whaling Museum/zoo visit next month.  Economical and fun.

Chuck E Cheese (Dartmouth, MA)

In short, we spent $29.99 for hours of fun for mom, dad, a one year old, and a three year old, and that included dinner: large pizza and drinks.  Totally worth it!  The pizza reminded me of Elio's pizza (that I haven't had since 1994), but the kids loved it, and the amount of food was perfect for our whole family.  Once you order, you take a number and put it onto your table.  The staff come and deliver it to your table.  My one year old daughter and I were sitting there when the guy came over, and I spilled an ENTIRE fountain drink.  He was super cool and wouldn't let me help clean it up (I felt awful).

After we ate, the kids played and played.  We did use tokens, but there is a maze climber thing with a slide that our three year old son kept going on over and over again.  We didn't bring socks, and the people who worked there said absolutely no problem to go with bare feet if we didn't have a problem with it (we didn't care).  We used our tokens on the toddler sized whack a mole and other VERY easy games that our three year old could play.  Our daughter rode a few of the toddler rides, and she loved the music and going in a circle.

We arrived at 4ish on the first night that the Whaling City Festival opened, so we pretty much had the place to ourselves.  There were two dads alone with their toddlers and one other family.  It seems like a place that is probably a singles "bar" for people with kids, but there weren't enough people there for us to get to people watch any mingling or pick-ups (bummer).  They have a VERY cool kid check so you leave with your own kids and nobody else leaves with them.  They stamp your hand and their hands with a number that needs to match.  I know it's more for show, but still, it's nice.

As parents, we could have lived without turning in the tickets and getting some fake bugs, but our three year old was pretty thrilled.  It was also obvious that if there had been a birthday party or as many families as there were tables in the place, it would have been WAY to congested to be enjoyable. We will definitely go back at an awkward time for some inexpensive family time that is sure to tucker out the kiddies.

Imagination Island (Plymouth, MA)

We ended up going to Plymouth's Imagination Island because our son had SUCH an awesome day yesterday.  Our one year old daughter pulled all of dad's blue rays off of the shelf, and our son said, "Let me clean that for you because you are a baby."  He was just amazing us moment after moment, so I said, "Sweetie.  You are SUCH a good boy that I want to give you a prize.  What do you want to do tomorrow on mommy's day off?  We can do whatever YOU want!"  How could this go wrong?

So he shouts, "Yay Yay Yay!  I want to go to our vacation house and go to the Fun Zone!"  Clearly, I can't deliver.  So, I explain to him that the vacation house is in Vermont and Smuggler's Notch is just too many hours in the car to go for a visit that isn't a sleepover, BUT I promised to take him somewhere just like the Fun Zone.

Imagination Island is a VERY easy drive off route 44.  It's in a brick warehouse building, so it's kind of hard to find upon your first visit.  If you see the Boys & Girls club on your left, you have gone too far.  The parking is tight and the signs are labeled for specific businesses' customers.  Most of the Imagination Island parking is to the right of the building if you are facing it.  Also, you CAN park ON the rocks.  We did.

Overall, this place had several "imagination stations" including a calypso music room, a kitchen room, a fancy princess room, a pirate room, a fire house room, a school house room, and more.  There is a large climbing contraption that has a huge slide.  Our three year old LOVED it.  There is also the token bouncy house.  This bouncy house was great because the entrance was clearly small enough only for toddler to small elementary school sized kids, so that limited the chance of trampling, which we loved.  Immediately to the left is a baby play area with soft climbing shapes and little people, but really the entire place is baby & toddler friendly.

There are quite a few benefits to this place. It is inexpensive, and ALL adults are free and kids under 1.  The place is VERY clean, and the owners (parents) pride themselves on that.  The general admission is $9.50 per child on weekdays and $11 on weekends and holidays.  We wish we would have known about the "Frequent Island Hopper Pass" during last year's rainy spring and summer.  It's a pack of 12 weekday admissions ($6.50 per visit), and you can add $1.50 to include weekends.  There is NO expiration, you can bring a friend because it IS transferable, and grown ups get free gourmet coffee. 

The crowd was interesting.  There were way to many women with make-up and Vera Bradley backpacks for my general enjoyment, so I was thrilled that I had my black "rooted in rock and roll" shirt on for this event.  I looked like the "bad girl mommy" and got to watch mean yuppie moms glare at me if their "doesn't realize he's past his prime" husbands spoke to me when our kids were near each other.  So that added a layer of hilarity that really entertained my husband and me.  If you are concerned with appearance, I recommend that men wear a polo shirt and khaki shorts.  Women should wear something that looks brand new with matching jewelry, and if she has a newborn, the baby should match and have some sort of bow like the kind that Fairy Tale Tutus makes (love those tutus and bows).  For what it's worth, I was in sweat shorts, and it did not limit my enjoyment or my kids' enjoyment at all, and we were quite comfortable.

It was a HOT day today, and the air conditioning was blasting in there.  They also have some sort of food available, but we didn't try it because we were too busy playing, so I can't comment on that. 

The most important thing to remember about Imagination Island is BRING SOCKS, they will not let you in with shoes or with bare feet.  To avoid a stinky entrance, we all wore sandals and put on the fresh socks when we arrived.  When you pay, they take your shoes and put them into a wall that reminds me of a wall of bowling alley shoes.  Clearly, not all families decided to go with the "fresh sock" plan.  I highly discourage kids (or adults) wearing the same stinky sneaker socks that they've had on all day to play in an indoor play place.  Although our socks were fresh, mine were bright yellow sparkly butterfly socks (clearly not coordinated with my "outfit") that the Vera Bradley white boring socks girls didn't seem to appreciate, but the kids sure did!  We would definitely go here again on a day that isn't the best to play outside.  We will most likely purchase an Island Hopper pass in the near future.

(tutu photograph courtesy of Pure Style Photography - www.purestylephotography.com )

Smuggler's Notch (Smuggler's Notch, VT)

Our trip to Vermont left our family and all of its worldly items covered in mud, maple syrup, and Ben & Jerry's ice cream, but it was totally worth it!  Smuggler's Notch is INCREDIBLE.  Click the "activities and amenities" link on the website to see the HUGE list of amazing perks there are when staying there.  We stayed during their "off season" which means that there is no skiing and no water park.  That absolutely meant nothing to us because we got a deal through our RCI timeshare to get a two bedroom, two bathroom place for nearly nothing.  It had a HUGE hot tub, fireplace, deck with a spectacular mountain view, full kitchen, washer drier, and PLENTY of space for the kids to play.

We knew that it was risky to drive for 4-5 hours with a one year old and a three year old, so we implemented this strategic plan: Pack car Thursday night after kids' bed time; wake up early and go directly to Off Broadway Diner (Taunton, MA) for our kids' favorite homemade hash; go from breakfast to BJs (Stoughton, MA) for the groceries we need for the week; and drive to Vermont with two sleeping kids.  In addition to being stuffed with their favorite breakfast, we had our son (3) walk and help us pick out items in BJs, which was a special treat because he usually stays in the carriage with his sister.  We also withheld all blankies so that our daughter wouldn't pass out during the carriage ride.  The kids slept most of the ride to Vermont.  We stopped for lunch and got sushi in New Hampshire, and as soon as we were done eating, got back into the car. With the assistance of "Yellow Submarine" on the ipod, the kids were out again until we arrived.

Once we got close to Smuggler's Notch, despite the warning and directions from the resort, we had trouble due to a closed short cut that connects Stowe to Smuggler's Notch.  The GPS would NOT cooperate, and we drove right up to the barricade on the Stowe side.  In our travels, we found that if we used "The Bad Girls Club" as a "via point" on our GPS, we would avoid the closed road and the GPS would stop trying to "recalculate" in sexy british robot speak.   On the last day, we actually tried to see the door of this "bad girls" place, and it didn't seem to exist.  We haven't updated our GPS in over a year, so that tip may be no good in the future, but really choosing any place far enough away from the detour but on route 15 should work.  If you actually select "detour" on the GPS, it just tries to "recalculate" you for a VERY long time recommending a U turn.

Smuggler's Fun Zone was THE BEST for our vacation days.  Be sure that you bring socks.  You can only enter it in sock feet.  It has indoor mini golf, a mini arcade, ping pong, teen/adult bouncy challenges, and an 8 and under area that was mostly used for babies and toddlers.  It opens at 3pm and closes at 8pm.  We would go out for the day, every day, have a quick snack and hit the Fun Zone between 3 and 5.  We'd let the kids play like CRAZY, go back to the suite for a light dinner, and then put them to bed so the adults could hang out by the fire place.  We were VERY impressed with the cleanliness, the parents playing with and watching their children, and the general space.  Our son was never in the jumpy house with more than 5 kids, and most of the time, he was actually alone or with only one other child.  There were so few toddlers and babies using the jumpy obstacle course that I brought my daughter through several times, which made for an awesome video, and she LOVED it.  We tried the indoor heated pool at "Poolside" one day, but the kids preferred the Fun Zone.  One day we made the mistake of going to the Smuggler's Notch Mountain Grille after the Fun Zone, which was DELICIOUS for the adults but the kids didn't really want to eat because they were so tired, so we had to leave pretty quickly, and it wasn't as relaxing as we wanted it to be. (it's a much better set up than the picture below, must be an old picture)

Our first day, we went to the Vermont Maple Outlet to pick up some maple syrup for a co-worker of mine and for ourselves of course.  We were SO THRILLED with the wonderful woman at the counter.  She was so sincere and friendly, asking us about our "viking" family and telling us about hers.  She was really our first impression of "off the resort" Vermont, and we couldn't have felt more welcome.  There was even a little box of toys for kids to play with while their parents shopped.  I am sure that during ski season or during the summer it must be busy, but we were the only people in the store.  We bought grade A dark amber maple syrup.

We visited Arrowhead Mountain Lake area as we searched for a pizza place for lunch.  What an amazingly beautiful accident! Of course we didn't take pictures because we were worried that the GPS had taken us into the middle of nowhere, and it had, but the scenic tour of Vermont was wonderful, and we ended up at the New York Pizza Oven.  Again, the staff was SO welcoming and friendly even though this was CLEARLY not a tourist area.  The place is filled with pictures of kids who participate in local sports teams.  The kids running the place couldn't have been twenty years old, but they were very professional.  They quickly brought a high chair, recommended that we order a "special" to save money, and we had our fill of awesome pizza for $12 for all four of us (and our kids can EAT).

Even thought we packed shorts, it was actually snowing, and we had not anticipated this, so we went to the Smuggler's Notch Ski Shop before we went to Lajoie Stables to check out some animals and horse rides.  My husband bought us ALL top notch winter coats that were 50% - 70% off because ski season is over.  We bought our kids a size too big so that they can wear them next year.  The kids were bundled up, but it was a long ride to the stables, and it was raining by then, so we walked through the muddy path to see some cows, sheep, chickens, and horses.  Someone who works there came outside and offered up a pony ride in the mud, which was nice, but it would have been WAY too messy.  In the parking area, there were some four foot circular things of hay (there must be a word for them that I don't know) that the kids enjoyed touching/looking at.

We dried off from the muddy trip at 158 Main Restaurant & Bakery in Jeffersonville.  It was VERY crowded, but worth the wait.  The 158 burgers are excellent, and the kids menu is inexpensive but has plenty of choices and good size portions.  They also serve my husband's favorite breakfast choice: Irish Eggs Benedict.  Although the hash itself is better at Off Broadway Diner at home, the homemade hollandaise sauce is out of this world and so are the home-fries and freshly baked bread.   The only bummer is that we told the kids we were going to a bakery, and they'd get a cupcake at the end of lunch, but because it is the "off" season, they weren't baking anything fun, unless you think bread is fun.  One of the waitresses (secretly) suggested that we drive down the road to a little known deli (Cupboard Deli & Bakery ‎4837 Route 15, Jeffersonville, VT) because they always bake goodies.  Sure enough, we got whoopie pies, huge cupcakes, and eclairs that were a huge hit with the kids.  Regardless of the lack of cupcakes at 158 Main, we went back for breakfast on a Friday so that my husband could have a second helping of the Irish Benny and were thrilled to find out that they offer the same full menu, and there were plenty of seats and no wait. 


Another couple and their two kids stayed with us from Saturday evening until Tuesday, so Sunday night, the men went to Magic Hat Brewery.  According to them, it was not "family friendly" as the brochure proclaims and the best thing about the visit was the gift shop.  I am not sure though because the website is pretty cool, the beer is delicious, and the men may have wanted to play down their kidless fun.

The next trip was to Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory Tour.  If you are with toddlers or little kids, SKIP THE ACTUAL TOUR.  It was definitely not geared towards kids, or at least our tour guide wasn't.  He didn't even make any "moo" jokes.  It was the longest hour of the trip: waiting for the tour and being on the tour.  There wasn't even a cow on site for them to look at.  Once that was over, it was a BLAST.  We were very impressed with their company's three part mission.  All four kids ages 1, 3, 3, and 5 played at the picnic tables and ate the amazing ice cream.  We highly recommend their new Cookies and Milk flavor and Boston Cream Pie!  After the ice cream and a little clean up with some wet wipes, the kids went to the playground, and we checked out the flavor grave yard.  Strangely, Coffee, Coffee, Buzz, Buzz is listed in the graveyard, but it was being served at the scoop shop, and I know it's served in Boston too.  The kids played for a while and loved the "shaky bridge".  The grassy area would have been great for a picnic, but we didn't come prepared for that, so we eventually went back to our suite for lunch.



The wonderful family who came up for a few days gave my husband and me a date night.  We went out to dinner at Hana Hibachi, a steak, sushi, and martini bar/restaurant in Stowe.  It was worth every penny, but we wished that we had taken the kids to see the awesome show that they put on.  Because the restaurant was not crowded, it would have been great with the kids.  If it were more crowded, then they may have been overstimulated.

Because of the disastrous tour experience at Ben & Jerry's, we asked an employee if we should take the kids on the tour at the Vermont Teddy Bear Company.  They said that they would not recommend children unless you plan a large group of children.  If there is a planned children's group, they will make it kid-friendly.  The kids had a great time following the "bear prints" outside, pretending to be bears, and of course picking out a bear.  The bears have a lifetime guarantee, and YOU BET (at that price) we will be sending them in for regular maintenance.  There is a Burger King on the main road close to the Vermont Teddy Bear Company that has a huge jungle gym type thing to climb to get to a swirly slide.  It would have been a bigger hit if the Fun Zone didn't exist.

The next trip was probably THE best even though when we expected the GPS to say "take left" it said, "board ferry", which was confusing because we were in our car...on a road.  The ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center on Lake Champlain was educational and extremely engaging for both our one year old and three year old.  The variety was awesome: hands on activities, places to crawl into, water play, huge fish displays, and a "machine" room with all sorts of cool buttons to press and things to do.

There is an elevator, so we could have brought a stroller, but we didn't really need it.  ECHO is open year round, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., except Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve & Day.  Paid admission allows you to leave and re-enter ECHO as many times as you would like until 5 p.m., which is cool because there are SO many things to do in this area.  Admission is 9.50 for adults, 7.50 for children ages 3 - 17, and 2 and under are free.  There is full day parking available for $8.00, but we found a public parking lot around the corner behind the Ice House Restaurant by accident, so we parked there for $2.00.  ECHO's Think! Café is open from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m, but we chose to eat at Ice House Restaurant.

The Ice House Restaurant's view of the Lake is awesome (I am shocked to see that they don't have a website...am I missing it?). It was a little to chilly for us to sit with the kids on their deck, but most people that afternoon were enjoying lunch and drinks on the deck.  There is no kids' menu, but the kids shared a chicken quesadillia and fries.  They brought out an actual high chair for our daughter, the kind that most people have at home, not the crappy wooden box kind that are stacked to the roof at most restaurants.    Before we sat her in it, the man who brought it over (the bartender I think) decided that it wasn't clean enough (it really was fine), apologized, and wiped it down.  As we looked at the lake out our awesome window view, our son "convinced" my husband that there is NOT a sea monster in there because sea monsters are "so fake".   The waitstaff was very attentive and professional.  They did not mind that we brought some juice boxes for the kids, and they did not express any displeasure to be waiting on a family with toddlers.  Food was fabulous by the way!  Calamari recommended!

For our last full day in Vermont, we wanted to be extra sweet so we went to Morse Farm Maple Sugar Works in Montpelier.  For some reason, our GPS decided to ignore highways, and we ended up on "Horn of the Moon Road" which took us on one lane dirt roads up a twisty mountain.  We drove by some amazing estate type homes and then saw what we think were homes made from scrap metal.  The drive was like we were in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie (yes it was THAT scary) but thankfully the story ended with us tasting maple syrup, meeting some sweet locals, and feeding a goat that does a cool trick.  What's funny is that we felt obligated to buy a lot of stuff from this amazing place with 200 years of history because it is in the middle of nowhere, we thought.  However, the GPS took us through the more populated Montpelier town center that seemed to be dripping in money on the way back that is about a minute away from the farm.  Regardless, there is a cool outdoor farm life museum that has artwork that the Morse family created.  There is also a "wood" room that the kids loved.  We were also very happy with our purchases of grass fed beef, raw honey, maple syrup, knitted hats, one brownie, two pairs of socks, and I'm sure other things that I can't remember.

After that excitement, we went to The Shed for lunch.  A friend who lives in Vermont recommended the Shed Burger and Mountain Ale.  We were NOT disappointed.  My husband deemed the Shed Burger his #1 best burger of all time.  We sat in the bright solarium, but the kids were not particularly impressed.  The kids menu was great, prices were reasonable, and so was the beer sampler (presented on a ski) that my husband and I shared.  This really would have been a better place for our "date night" that we had earlier in the week so that we could really enjoy those micro-brews that they make on site. 

We ended our trip by eating a leisurely breakfast at the 158 Main Restaurant & Bakery in Jeffersonville after we checked out of our suite in the morning.  In order to get the kids good and sleepy for the drive, we went back to Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory Tour but skipped the tour and went straight to the playground.  Once we had enough playing, we got the kids some ice cream.  I got the most amazing frozen latte with the milk and cookies ice cream.  It puts Starbucks to shame and was perfect for the drive home.  We drove straight through without stopping, and the kids slept right through.  We were worried that they might stay up really late because they slept for so long, but they were so tired from our week of activities that they ate dinner and were off to bed.

We would absolutely love to go back to Vermont, especially to Smuggler's Notch, during "peak" season, but this week was really perfect for our family.  It was low stress, very inexpensive (except those bears), and filled with quality family time together.

Children's Museum ( Easton, MA)

We had a quadruple birthday party for our kids and my husband's twin brother's children.  They were all born within a month of each other, and this year they turned 5, 3, 3, and 1.  In the hopes of little planning and preparation and responsibility in general, we booked the Easton Children's Museum for a private party.  It's actually a pretty great deal.  You and your party get the museum (closed to the public) for two hours.  You can have a before hours party or after hours party.  We went for the 5:30 - 7:30 deal in hopes that kids would party their brains out then fall asleep, which they happily did.  Our son didn't even open his presents until the following morning, and our daughter got to stay up a whole hour past her bedtime, which made for a late morning the next day.

This was absolutely the best $$ we have ever spent for a birthday party.  Our kids have 14 cousins and of course friends in addition, so even a "small" party ends up a large party.  The $220 covered the rental fee and the fireman hats (the museum used to be an Easton fire station).  The other hosting family purchased 15 cheese pizzas that were delivered from Bill's House of Pizza in Easton 15 large cheese (HUGE) came to $175.  We also got some cakes from Molly B's Cakes of Distinction and Design in Berkley.  Each birthday boy/girl had his/her own six inch cake and we had a sheet cake for the masses, so that was roughly another $100.  Lastly, we hired a professional photographer from Pure Style Photography for $200 to do family portraits, our kids' birthday pictures, and pictures of the entire party so that we could focus on the kids and on having fun without viewing the fun through a tiny window.  Other smaller expenses were the goodie bags, water, juice, milk, and paper products.  At BJs, they have big pack of Hefty Zoo Pals for $12, and it comes with plates, bowls, and sippy cups (144 pieces total)!  We still have tons extra.  If you consider that this expense knocked out FOUR birthday parties in one, we really only spent roughly $175 per kid, had no preparation or clean up, got amazing professional photos with no effort from us, and have three extra Saturdays without gigantic parties.

We had ZERO tears, injuries, and drama (that we could tell) because kids were SO engaged in the museum.  Parents really didn't get to interact because they stayed with their kids, of which there were 15 ranging between ages zero and first grade - median age of 3.  We did have a few problems though: one cake had a broken three (not my fault) and the SAME cake had one of the birthday girls' name spelled wrong (totally my fault - I did not pay attention to the confirmation).  We also should have done the main cake in an orange or some other bright color because the colored cakes looked AMAZING! The other thing we would have done is actually have name tags or cards for seating so parents could sit next to their kids without having to figure out which kid has a brother or sister, which parent belongs to each kid, etc.  The table is one really long table, so it's hard for everyone to move easily to and from the table, but we made the best of it and it was quick because kids really only stayed in the party room for 15 minutes.

There are a lot of great things about this museum.  The museum has a fridge for you to keep your drinks in, four long tables one for cake/gifts and up to three long tables for guests (sits 20 kids comfortably).  There is a sink right in the party room area, trash, recycling bin, and a restroom.  The restrooms have changing tables and those cool seats on the wall to lock a baby/toddler in while you are going to the bathroom yourself.  The museum has three floors that keep the kids VERY busy, and there was TONS of room for the kids to run and play without sharing issues.  The lowest floor near the party room has a microscope and a few sciency things, the main floor has a cool ball that rolls around down a wall and through some balls - makes the kids go wild.  It also has a stage for performance, a puppet show room, a face painting station (NEW face paint crayons), a camping station, a pirate ship, a train, and of course a fire pole that kids can't slide down, but parents can hold them so they can ring the bell.  The top floor has a kitchen area, a baby area (totally cool), a craft area, a woodshop, a dinosaur area, and a doctor's office.  The doctor's office is a TAD creepy due to the nude freakshow babies in what seems to be an incubator, but only the parents were creeped out.

With 21 adults and 15 kids, we had WAY TOO MUCH FOOD.  In retrospect, we probably should have done 1/2 a sheet cake instead of a whole but still let each kid eat their own messy 6 inch cake.  Additionally, we should have had a cake ONLY party because the kids DID NOT want to stay downstairs to party, they wanted to go back upstairs to play.  It would have been fine for us to have told guests to eat before they come or just have had some double cut pizza available (maybe 5 pizzas) for anyone who is hungry. 

The girl who was working at the museum was AWESOME.  She chased around the kids and picked up any bit of trash so that we could keep with the kids.  We drove back the next day to give her a $20 tip with a note for her boss that she's awesome because she was so amazing. 

The only slight teary eyes were when the party was over, but by that point at 7:30pm, the kids were SO tired that they were thankful to sit in their car seats and get some rest.  We will absolutely do this again.  Even the first grader was having a BALL, so that gives us at least four - seven more years or merry-making at the Easton Children's Museum.

Disney on Ice: Celebrations (Boston, MA)

The TD Bank North Garden (or whatever the new name for the Fleet Center is) hosted Disney on Ice: Celebrations.  Essentially it's a celebration of all of the fun celebrations that kids love throughout the year: birthday, Valentine's Day, Halloween, a luau, a "winter wonderland" aka Christmas, and some scenes from celebrations from around the world (like a tea ceremony under a Japanese Cherry Blossom with Minnie Mouse).  Great show, talented skaters, and not overly crowded.

Because of all of the Big Dig construction in Boston, our GPS directions did NOT match the directions found on the Garden's website.  We decided to follow the directions on the website, which was a horrible idea because some of the vague directions "follow signs for North Station. Make a right at the next set of lights onto Nashua Street. Follow Nashua Street until the end and make a left at the lights. The TD Garden will be on your left."  That's where it all went awry.  There are TONS of signs for north station and TONS of lights.  We also had no idea where Nashua street ended because there is no sign.  So, we went back to the GPS and it took us the Goverment Center way, which was so much better.  Thankfully, we were there about an hour early so we got a spot in a lot beside the Garden ($20) that holds only about 25 cars, if that many.  The lot is right on causeway on a "fake" right immediately before the overpass of the  The Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge  (beautiful view). 

Our seats were about $15 each for the balcony (give or take a few dollars - a friend purchased them online for us).  Our son should have been free because he is two, but it was worth it to get him his own seat because he definitely needed one.  Even though we were above the lighting, we had a birds-eye view of the front/center of the stage.  It was really perfect.  

Because we arrived so early, my husband took our son to walk laps around the top floor.  He enjoyed some Mickey Mouse ears and a hotdog and walked and walked and walked until three minutes before the show.  I gave my daughter a bottle, changed her diaper, and prepared to sit her on my lap.  Our son was tired enough to sit in absolute amazement.  He especially LOVED the Halloween celebration that had Captain Hook and the Pumpkin King.  

Our 11 month old daughter jumped up and down on my lap (twirling now and then) for the entire show.  My arms were so sore that I had to pass her off to my husband for a little while.  He took that opportunity to walk out of the show area during the princess portion "to avoid exposing her to images that reinforce gender stereotypes".  The theme of the entire Valentine/princess portion was how will Minnie know when her prince loves her.  I actually think that's a much better message than something like actual disney movies that sometimes imply (or actually say), "you are nothing until you find your prince".  We of course didn't have this discussion until we were in the car on the way home with the kids sleeping in the back.  He also noted that for girls who might be "a little rough around the edges" or "a little manly", it's horrible for them to think that they need to be thin and princesslike to find a prince.  I pointed out that the men in the show were not chubby and unattractive either, so the princess segment was showing basically unattainable body characteristics of heroes for both sexes without prejudice.  

There was a 10 or 15 minute intermission, which was a little too long for our kids.  We got into the second half, and our son began to repeat over and over again, "I am hungry for a restaurant."  We left right after buzz light year and his dancing toys did their thing.  Unfortunately, we had no idea how to get down from the balcony area, so we TOOK THE STAIRS out to the exit.  There were a few families who had the same idea (as in leaving early, not as in using the stairs), and we all happily exited and found our cars without a big crowd crunch.

The lot we parked in was great.  There was an angry old man with an accent (possibly Italian) who yelled directions to ensure that we got out of the lot as fast as possible without hitting any other cars.  At first, we thought he was abusive and scary, but it turns out he is a parking genius.  After a quick U-turn on Causeway to get to 93S, we had no issues getting home.  It turned into quite a relaxing day for us because the kids were so wiped out. 

We recommend this for anyone with toddlers or older (we even saw some middle schoolers with tiaras on), but the baby might not have worked out if she wasn't so good with crowds and people.  We meant to bring in the Bjorn, but we forgot it in the car.   When we got home, our son asked to watch television in our bedroom so he could "relax".  That's exactly what he did: no nap, just some Oswald and Wubbzy while he held his light up Mickey wand.  A later show would have helped us get them right to bed, but the 11am show we went to had us home with the kids in slow motion mode by 2:30.