A forum-friend of mine asked for some ideas on what to do in Sarasota/Bradenton and Southwest Florida with her 2 kids (8&10) and hubby, so I jumped in with some ideas, quite a few it turns out. Below are my suggestions in any case! These could be used for ideas for spring break and summer time too.
14
Mar
Making Your Own Bubbles
Posted by: cassie / Category: Arts & Crafts for Toddlers, Food & RecipesBelow is a quick way to buy yourself a couple of minutes to finish doing whatever…
Bubble RecipeÂÂ
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 Tbsp. dish soap
- 1 Tbsp. corn syrup
Don’t have a bubble wand handy? Use a slotted spoon from the kitchen.
In honor of Easter, on March 15, 2008, TRU will be doing the Great Nickelodeon Egg Hunt. There is a nationwide prize offered of a trip for 4 days/3 nights for a family of 4 to the Nickelodeon Universe and each participating store will have several game prizes.
I recently made play-doh with Jody for the kids and used the recipe below (#1) but this one caught my eye as I was browsing a magazine so I thought I would post both.
One of my mommy’s groups is doing an Easter Egg hunt for the kids and each of us will be bringing eggs, so maybe I’ll try out the *new* version and let you guys in on the differences.
Storage tips: Small butter containers; plastic containers that Stage #2 and #3 baby food comes in; Take and Toss snack containers; and other smaller tupperware-ish products. You could also store the dough in a larger container altogether if you prefer. I just find it easiest to dole (or not) out the colors as Anthony requests them instead of giving them all out at once as you would with a single larger container.
Playdoh Recipe #1
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups warm water
- 1 cup salt
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil (canola works well)
- 1 Tablespoon cream of tartar (optional for improved elasticity)
- food coloring (liquid, powder, or unflavored drink mix) about 6-10 drops of liquid if you want it to be vibrant colors
Mix all of the ingredients together, and stir over low heat. The dough will begin to thicken until it resembles mashed potatoes. If you have a really thin-bottomed sauce pan it cuts the stirring time down significantly.
When the dough pulls away from the sides and clumps in the center remove the pan from heat and allow the dough to cool enough to handle.
Sprinkle flour on the counter or other surface and knead dough. To make different colors separate dough into desired amounts and work food coloring in. We found it easiest to cut the batch into 4 colors (conveniently the same amount in the food coloring boxes), flatten the dough out, add the coloring drops and fold dough over onto itself. The initial squishes of the dough can cause the food coloring to squirt out so wear an old shirt or something you don’t care about.
Playdoh Recipe #2 (New)
- 3 cups flour
- 1 1/2 cups salt
- 6 tsp. cream of tarter
- 3 cups water
- 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- Food coloring (optional)
Combine flour, salt and cream of tarter in a pot. Add in water and vegetable oil. Stir over medium heat until a ball forms. Let cool and knead until smooth.
My son has a fixation with birds. We’re talking he starts panting when he sees or hears them. Why panting? No idea – you get in the head of an 18 mo old. I admit we are guilty of adding fuel to the fire by taking him to feed them but it has escalated into an obsession for him. We’re even considering buying him a cockatiel or something similar to appease his desire.
We’ve also done the usual things – I bought various bird feeders and hung them around the yard to bring more wildlife around, specifically birds, for Ant to watch. We’re finally getting some birdies to come hang out at our feeder and that is very exciting for him! Of course I love it too since it is nice to hear birds tweeting.
In a typical neighborhood there are ponds with ducks that normally WANT to be fed. But I guess our ducks are too stuck up because they won’t even come eat our food when we toss it out to them. 
It’s led to us driving far and wide to find birds for Ant to feed.
The places I’ve found so far that consistently have birds are:
- Burlington Coat Factory parking lot on Bee Ridge Rd in Sarasota
- Albertson’s parking lot on Lockwood Ridge & University in Sarasota
- Best Buy/Lowe’s parking lot on Cortez & US 41 in Bradenton
- South Lido Beach Nature walk (bonus – they have fish to feed too if you go on the walk. Bring cheddar cheese to feed the fish (they are under a small foot bridge by marker #5) since it is fun to watch the cheese dart through the water, carried by the fish of course)
I hope this list helps someone else that has a bird-obsessed toddler. So far the food that seems to be the biggest hit is bread (torn into smaller pieces), gold fish crackers and graham crackers. We’ve been saving left over pizza crust, left over bread & bagels, etc. to use since this habit of his is getting expensive.
01
Mar
Spring 2008 Fancy Pants Sale
Posted by: cassie / Category: Gear, Sales, Coupons & Contests, Things to Do
Located in Tampa, FL, Fancy Pants Consignments is having their annual Spring sale. The sale will be open to the public April 25-26, 2008.
ST. JAMES UNITED
The Take-In Days for dropping off items are Wednesday, April 23 from 1 pm to 7 pm & Thursday, April 24 from 9 am to 2 pm.
The Private Super Fancy Pre-Sales for volunteers who give three hours of their time is on Thursday from 4PM – 8PM, Consignors can shop starting at 6:00 pm. The sale is open to the public Friday and Saturday, April 25-26.
Any items that don’t sell can be picked up on Sunday, April 27 from 2 pm to 4 pm. If you do not wish to retrieve your unsold items, then Fancy Pants will donate them to St. James United Methodist Church and/or to other charities chosen by Fancy Pants.
For more info visit Fancy Pants website.
So as a SAHM I am dying to get out of the house some days and find things that are on the cheap (FREE is better) side of things. I know there are several publications and websites out there already putting together lists but I figured I’d help out and post what I could. I will try to make this a monthly posting and hopefully help some other mommies out 
- Dancing with the KIDS DanceParty Kickoff Event – March 2, 3-6p – $10 adv ticket/$12 at door
This is a truly unique dance experience for the WHOLE family featuring DJ, light show, super bubbler, face painting, complimentary healthy snacks and drinks. Dance contest prizes. Two separate dance floors- one for ages 0-6 the other for 7+. Dress up in your funkiest outfit….there will be photographers for local newspapers, magazines, maybe even TV for our kick off event! Baby and new mom friendly! This is an alcohol and smoke free event. To be held the first Saturday of every month. Part of the proceeds will go to benefit “Mothers helping Mothers of Sarasota” For more info and tickets 870-257 - Little Sprout’s Club @ Selby Gardens, Sarasota – March 4, 10:30 – 11:30a
Topic: Outrageous Orchids. Grow closer with your little sprout by joining Donna Krabill, Director of Environmental Education to have fun with plants through interactive activities. Each session includes a great story, art project, and garden exploration. Call Donna Krabill at 941 366-5731 ext. 237 to register for one or more sessions. Meet at Wild Things unless otherwise notified. - Bunny Breakfast & Egg-normous Easter Egg Hunt – March 22, 8-10a, $2 pp Breakfast
Join us for breakfast and taking your picture with the Easter Bunny from 8-9a. The cost is $2 per person. Please register by March 17th – space is limited. Afterwards easter egg hunts for the various age groups will be held. The event will be held at the George Mullen Activity Center, North Port.
The Big Cat Sanctuary in Sarasota is doing their 3rd annual fundraiser event this weekend. Highlights include a petting zoo, pony rides and a “big top” show. We are going to try to take Ant so I thought I’d pass it on to anyone else looking for something fun to do. They are doing 2 shows on Saturday – one in the afternoon and the other in the evening, and 1 show on Sunday in the afternoon.
I’ve never been there before so have no opinions on the place, other than I have been DYING to take Ant there and this is the perfect reason. Cats galore putting on a show plus a petting zoo. What more could a kid want!
Our third annual Animal Extravaganza fundraiser to benefit the Big Cat Habitat and Gulf Coast Sanctuary will be held on February 23 – 24, and March 1 – 2, 2008.
Show times are: 1:30 PM on all days plus 7 PM on Saturdays, February 23 and March 1. Gates open one hour before the shows.
Be prepared to be thrilled by 90 minutes of spectacular educational animal demonstrations featuring many different exotic animal superstars.
Donation: $12.00 for adults; $10.00 for seniors over 65; $6.00 for children 12 and under. Parking is free. Tickets available at the gate.
Proceeds benefit all the wonderful rescued animals at the Big Cat Habitat and Gulf Coast Sanctuary.
We are going to this show in April. I thought maybe some of you would be interested so I wanted to pass along the information.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Other Eric Carle Favourites
Saturday, Apr. 12, 2008, 10:30 AM
Category: Saturday Morning For Kids
Tickets: $7
Kids? Carnival Come early for some morning fun featuring Circus Sarasota and stay after the show! There will be clowns, face painting, pony rides and games. Yummy food and beverages will be available!
The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Little Cloud and The Mixed-up Chameleon by award winning children’s book illustrator and writer, Eric Carle, retold on stage in black light. The Very Hungry Caterpillar follows the wonderful adventures of a very tiny and very hungry caterpillar that progresses through an amazing variety of foods towards his eventual metamorphosis into a beautiful butterfly. Children will delight in the antics of Little Cloud. High up in a beautiful sky, Little Cloud slips away from the rest and transforms itself into various shapes of things it sees – a sheep, and airplane, a shark and more. In The Mixed-Up Chameleon, a little chameleon is bored with its life – sitting about predictably changing colour all day. So it decides to embark on an adventurous trip to the zoo. Upon seeing the beautiful animals there, the little chameleon tries changing to look like each one of them. Saturday Morning for Kids is Sponsored by Boar?s Head, WUSF Public Broadcasting and Herald Tribune Media Group.
Here is the link: http://www.vanwezel.o…
We did our yearly treck over to Hunsadar’s Farm for the Pumpkin Festival and as usual, had a blast. I do have some things to complain about though. It cost 2 adults and a 14 mo old (free) $19 just to get in the door! Parking was $4 alone! Ok big deal you say right? A sandwich at most of the vendor stalls was pushing $10 if you could find a cheap-o. We spent about $40 there and it was worth it, but I cringe to think what it will cost in years to come when Anthony is big enough to want to ride everything and get every do-dad they have out there. Luckily I don’t suffer mommy guilt over not getting him everything. No is a well used word in our house. lol
The day was very comfortable since it was overcast and had a bit of a breeze. Anthony was running on a 10 min nap taken on the ride out to the festival. My darling wouldn’t sleep that morning for his usual nap But he had plenty of kids and animals to look at so he was happy as a clam! We went through the petting zoo area and he was doing great until a horse snuck up on him (sounds funny doesn’t it) when his back was turned and touched him. OOOO-EEEE! He puckered up and let out some wails over that. At least the pony was at the end of the petting area so we were able to move on.
He didn’t suffer any lasting effects though because he went for a pony ride ($4 for 4 turns) and was ok with that. I got some great pictures of Nick & Anthony hanging out with the pony train. After that we walked around some more and saw all the craft booths, etc and then picked out a pumpkin for Anthony.
He was so excited to run around in the pumpkin patch, it was just adorable. I can’t wait for him to decorate his little pumpkin. Hopefully we’ll have time to do it tomorrow. Scary thought but I’m going to let him draw on it with markers. Note to self: pick up some washable markers tomorrow before doing so!