Weekend Fun

No PB & J this week makes me sad but there still plenty of ways for you to have fun. Check out some of these events and enjoy time with your kiddos.


~Sassy Cow Ice Cream Social

~Craft-Apple-Ar! (I will be there all day selling my Poplin products so stop by and say hi)

~Good Neighbor Festival

~Orton Park Festival

In Reality

In theory a PBS Kids Open House sounded like a fun-filled morning with cool songs, hands-on activities and pictures with Martha Speaks and Cat in the Hat. This event was our PB & J Day for the week, lots of mamas were excited and expectations high. Well...in reality it was overcrowded, unorganized and too small of a space for that many strollers. We made it to our meeting spot right at 9am after learning the car was on E, following the slowest driver ever, running into road construction, being stalled by a train and then stuck behind a street cleaner. Despite all that I maneuvered through the parking ramp, lifted our mammoth double stroller out of our tiny Corolla trunk and had quiet yet excited little boys for passengers.

























No need for directions we just followed the stream of strollers, pregnant mamas, screaming kiddos and fishy crackers to the Open House. Wow, hundreds of other people had the same vision I did. The line for registration was a mile long but who needs to register, we bye-passed that and went straight for Martha Speaks. All the craft stations looked so fun with dog ears, tall hats, tattoos and more but who could really tell we couldn't get close enough, too many people.













(can you spot Steve Songs?)











Steve Songs was just an energetic in person but way more tan. The crowd was dancing and singing, some of the parents more than kids, and he sounded great. My boys did enjoy the bubble area and water tubs but we just couldn't move with all the people.









































We briefly saw our friends and I could tell by the mamas faces we all felt the same way...get us out of here. After about an hour we left, took a nice walk down by the union, fed some ducks and camped out on the sidewalk for 20 minutes watching construction equipment at work (my kids highlight for sure). Lunch was approaching and I needed an excuse for a McDonald's mocha frappe sooo "Daddy can we stop at your work and bring lunch?", "well of course!".



















Trex has been begging to go to work with daddy so this was perfect. We entered the quiet workplace a bit sweaty, arms full of frappes and bagel sandwiches and two little ones squealing for their hero, daddy. Trexen kept saying, "this is so cool", he saw daddy's desk, met the co-workers and we had lunch outside. As a mama I have learned to roll with the punches. Sometimes plans need to be adjusted, sometimes they need tweaking and sometimes they need to be scrapped all together. We turned reality into some great memories this morning, now it is nap time, ahhh.

A Chance Meeting

Last summer when I started PB & J Day I had no idea who would come. Lots of mamas were invited, emails sent and prayers asked. The Deforest Splash Pad was one of our first play date locations. It was a new discovery, looked awesome and I hoped others would come to enjoy.











A few months prior I delivered a meal to a new mama; she went to my church but we had never met. The doorbell rang as I stood there balancing a bag, cake and gift. A warm smile greeted me and instantly my inner voice said, "yes we will be friends". After a couple minutes of small talk and a quick baby snuggle I left thinking "wow I just met a new best friend".










Fast forward to that summer at the Deforest Splash Pad and she came with her baby. Lots of mamas came, kids ran through the water, sprinted around the park and it marked the beginning of lasting friendships. This random mama who I delivered a meal to is no longer random, instead a best friend and at the splash pad one year ago she met another best friend. Two mamas who had never met introduced themselves and a friendship started.







(July 2010 & June 2011)

Yesterday we went back to the splash pad, reminisced, played and photographed the memory. Ahh such great memories, can't wait to make more and see new friendships start!

Mama's Night Out

Our Tuesday night Mama's Night Out was fantastic filled with laughter, stories, adventure and sweet cupcakes.










Every Tuesday the Glitter Workshop does a "Make & Take" and this week the tables were lined with moist cupcakes, piping bags stuffed with oreo frosting and a variety of pretty toppings. I have never really decorated cupcakes before but learned some easy techniques to make them look professional.

After decorating and a bit of shopping at Glitter we headed downtown for a delicious dinner and a rainy yet pleasant walk on State Street to my newest favorite place...Campus Candy. It was amazing, every kind of candy imaginable. They even have four ice cream flavors you can choose from and then get to use the entire store as a toppings bar, yes it is true!

I for see another Mama's Night Out at the candy store...

Enjoy this gloomy Thursday, stay in your pj's and get ready for a fun day at the park tomorrow.

Featured Mama

Each week we will feature an amazing, marvelous mama. You will get a peek into the daily lives of other local mamas, see pics of their family and learn some fun facts. This week we feature...

Jenna VanderVelde














~Age- 24 yrs
~Birthday- November 17th
~Names/Ages of Kiddos-
Gavin 4 years
Grant 2 months









~Favorite Nap time Pastime- Blogging or napping with the kids.
~Guilty pleasure food item- Sweets, all kinds!
~Most Challenging Hour of the day- Between 1-2 or 8-9pm. These are the hours both boys fight sleep!














~Favorite Baby/Child Product- I really love our peg perego stroller and Bumbo.
~Blogs you like, follow or have- I love blogging, I've been blogging (our family blog) since May of 2008 and since then there have been so many blogs that I've enjoyed reading.

~Favorite local place to take kids- Henry Vilas Zoo
~Your mommy style in 3 words- Modern, Casual, Chic
~Etc... I would love to own a boutique someday! I love trying new things. I also enjoy snowboarding!

Fresh Fruit

It wouldn't be summer without a variety of colorful, delicious, fresh summer fruit. We kicked the week off heading to a friend's house for a fantastic lemonade stand. The mamas may have been a tad more excited than the kiddos but the little ones loved waving at cars, pleading for customers to stop and jumping up and down when some of the daddies, aka best customers ever, pulled up. After two hours in the sun we piled in the car bellies full of sweet lemonade, sticky fingers and heavy eyes.
































As our fruit week continued we delivered lemon cookies to neighbors, took our weekly trip to the Mackenzie Center and spent time with cousin Rowan.
















The week ended with PB & J Day picking red ripe strawberries. U Pick Strawberry Farm welcomed 15 moms and about 30 kiddos with big smiles showing us where to find the good berries, being patient as kids unintentionally crushed some of the plants and fed the goats way too much corn. To my surprise there were no major meltdowns, injuries or stressful situations. All the kids loved running through the field looking for red berries with most of them coming out dripping with strawberry juice and faces stained a nice color red.


































***Strawberry Pictures courtesy of PB & J Mama...Amber- check out her website

Can't wait for our Mama's Night Out next week where we can chat, catch up and relax a bit without little ones pulling us away. Happy Weekend!

Summer Park Tour

A really good friend of mine and PB & J mama was talking about the summer and what she could do to entertain her four year old without spending a lot of money. At the time we didn't come up with much but as I was sewing that afternoon my mind was of course going faster than they machine and I got an idea. What about a summer park tour... a list of really cool parks all over the Madison area that moms could take their kids to each week. You could visit a new park each week or two in one, pack a picnic, invite others and the only cost would be gas for the car. This option is flexible for weather, works with kids of all ages and could always be combined with mommy errands.

So after my sewing time I created the "Summer Park Tour". I researched and found some awesome parks around the Madison, WI area, included their address and made a table listing out common park features. This way your kids can check off the park features when found making it a little more thought provoking and like a scavenger hunt.

At the end of summer any family who participates can turn in their Summer Park Tour table for a fantastic prize! Have fun.

The Great Outdoors

The goats were talking, sun shining and kids running through apple trees, the great outdoors sure were great this week. Lapacek's Orchard offered a wonderful adventure and another successful playdate. The kids loved being able to run wild, sprinting ahead of the mamas thinking it was so cool to lead the way. Chocolate mini cupcakes were the perfect treat to celebrate Mia's birthday and the warm air was much appreciated after our unusually cold spring. We met little Pip and swooned over the two cutest babies.

Thanks for another fantastic PB & J Day.

Spring Fever

You are on your own this week! Once in a while we take a week off and don't officially get together for PB & J Day. This is one of those weeks. I am hosting a baby shower Friday evening for one of my very good friends which means I have lots to do! My sister is taking the kiddos Friday as I will be decorating and preparing for a vintage toy baby shower! (Pics will be posted:)

I do have a little homework for you though. Not sure about you but I have a bad case of spring fever! I want to get out, open the windows and visit the zoo. This week I would love for you to send me some ideas for the spring PB & J season. Where would you like us to go, what do you want to do, are you interested in hosting a play date?

Please comment on this post or email me with some ideas for March-May. I always try to have a variety of "free" activities mixed with ones that cost something; the majority of our kiddos are 4 and under too.

There will be a giveaway for those of you who send ideas. Winner will be picked Friday sometime!