Family « Savvy Mommas Blog

‘Family’ Category

Morgans’ Wonderland

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

I am sure each of you has seen the commercial for Morgan’s Wonderland…opening in 39 days. This place is amazing! If you haven’t seen the commercial I wanted to be sure to make sure you heard about this great new park.

The park was inspired by Gordon Hartman’s daughter, Morgan, who is disabled. The mission of Morgan’s Wonderland is to set a new standard for excellence in providing outdoor recreational opportunities for individuals with disabilities. But, the park is open to the entire public. The park sits on 25 acres and has numerous things to offer for everyone to enjoy. You can literally spend an entire day there exploring all there is to offer.

Some of the amentities and activities include: 3 playscapes, train rides, carousel, ampitheater, catch and release fishing, remote controlled boats, gymnasium where you can play basketball, volleyball and tennis, walking path around the lake, water play areas, off road adventure ride, music garden, swings, sand circle, gift shops, and a sensory village with pretend grocery shopping, theater, stable and much more. This place really has everything you could imagine to complete a fun filled day with your kids and family!

Check out their website to learn more and remember to make reservations before each visit. This is a place you won’t want to miss! http://morganswonderland.com.

Posted in Eat, Family, Party, Play, Shop, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Fishing For Manners

Friday, February 26th, 2010

Thanks Deanna for such a creative way to make a game with the kiddos. Wanted to make sure and share with everyone!

Write down 6 good manners and 6 bad manners on a sheet of paper. Cut them out so that you now have 12 pieces of paper (or 12 manners to place inside the cups).

Take 2 styrofoam cups and write “good” one one cup and “bad” on the other.

Take construction paper, draw pictures of fish and cut them out. Write the “good” and “bad” manners on the fish. Take a paperclip and put them through the mouth of the fish. Make a fishing rod with a pencil, string, and kitchen magnet.

Place all the manner fish in a large bowl. Let your child fish for a manner. When they catch a fish read the manner outloud and have them decide if it is a “good” manner or a “bad” manner. Have him put the fish in the correct cup.

You could also do this with letters on a cup and the fish could have words that start with the letters. This would make for a great activity on a rainy day! Thanks again Deanna. Go FISH!

Posted in Family, Play, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Heart Shaped Crayons…or any shape you want

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

Found a cool craft that is easy, inexpensive, fun for kids to help and makes for great party favors for little kiddos. You don’t have to do heart shaped crayons, but since it was February and this was what tins my friend found at Target that is what she used.

All you do is buy disposable muffin tins (heart, easter bunny, carrot, etc.) and a large box of crayons. Peel each crayon making sure all paper is off of the crayon (use an exacto knife down the wrapper to make it faster to get the paper off). Break the crayons into 4-5 pieces each and place all colors of crayons into the muffin tins.

Load the tins with the crayons and bake on 275 until things start to get gooey. Let them cool and then peel off the tins. You have precious shaped crayons to give to friends and for your kids to use at home. So cute! Thanks Ang and Robin for the idea!

Posted in Family, Party, Shop, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Take The Time…Are You Ready?

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

As I mourn the loss of a very close family friend (my Godparent’s son), I wanted to remind each of you to live each day to it’s fullest. Don’t let the small things ruin a friendship or get in the way of a relationship. Let bygones be bygones and cherish the one’s you love. Tragedy can strike at any time. Only God knows when it is your time to go. Only question I have for you…are you ready?

Trust in the Lord your God for He is good. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. When darkeness hides His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace. In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil. On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.

Posted in Devo, Family, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Snack Ideas For Your Kids

Sunday, February 7th, 2010

I am sure your house already is filled with great food to munch on tonight for the Super Bowl, but I wanted to make sure and leave you with 2 new easy recipes my friend Dawn sent me. You may not get around to getting these together for tonights football party, but these recipes are worth writing down and saving for your next party you have…especailly if kids will be invited too Happy healthy snack foods that you will enjoy. Thanks Dawn!

Frozen Banana Pops: banana cut in half, popsicle sticks, peanut butter, any chopped nuts, coconut, granola or rice krispie for the topping

Spread peanut butter on half of the banana, roll in favorite topping, put popsicle stick through one end of banana, freeze for 3-5 hrs. When you freeze them you may want to place them on wax paper. Delicious!

Fish In A Pond: 1 container of whipped cream cheese, blue food coloring, goldfish crackers, celery sticks

Add 5 -8 drops of food coloring to cream cheese, pour into shallow soup bowl, arrange goldfish around the cream cheese, use the celery stalks as fishing poles to retrieve the fish. Oh so fun!

Posted in Eat, Family, Party, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Rediscovering Rainbow…Play Systems That Make Your Imagination Go Wild!

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

If you are anything like I am, you are constantly thinking of activities to keep your little ones happy at home. Something that will entertain them, make them smile, educate them, allow their imaginations to run wild, give them exercise, and spend time outside exploring. So many of us mom’s are trying to raise our kids in a home that is more like how we were raised “back then” when we played outside with sticks and rocks instead of video games and computers. Although I think games and computers are a great resource for children, I feel much more strongly about getting our kids outside playing and exercising at a young age.

Offering a safe environment of playground equipment is just the right answer to making this happen. Rainbow Play Systems is the largest manufacturer of wood playgrounds. They offer modular units that start from very basic and can add components as your kids grow. These playgrounds are 100% chemical free and offer up to a lifetime warranty. The employees that work for Rainbow are completely educated and dedicated to help you find the perfect fit and design for your backyard. There are hundreds of different options to chose from and the systems even have “space savers” (smaller versions) and can work with unlevel yards.

Rainbow Play Systems has been in business for the last 15 years in the San Antonio area have 3 locations that range from New Braunfels to the heart of San Antonio. Their corporate office is located off of I-10 between Ralph Fair Rd. and Fair Oaks Pkwy. To rediscover Rainbow and learn more about a location near you contact 1-800-RAINBOW and you will be automatically directed to the closest location. You can also check out http://rainbowplay.com to look at some of their amazing playgrounds that will be sure to bring a smile to your kids face. Let the adventure begin!

Posted in Family, Shop, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Healthy Grocery Shopping On a Budget

Monday, February 1st, 2010

Creating a healthy grocery list on a budget doesn’t have to be complicated. Although it seems like there is an endless amount of unhealthy foods lining the grocery stores shelves, there are ways to bring home healthy foods and still stay on a budget. Here are a few tips on creating a healthy grocery list:

1. When buying bread and pasta check the list of ingredients. Look for the words “Whole Grain” as the first ingredient.
If you see “wheat flour” or “enriched flour” as one of the first couple of ingredients, then this is mostly refined white bread with some whole grains added.

2. Buy lean meat, fish (especially oily fish like salmon) and poultry. Try to limit deli meats, hot dogs, bacon and other processed meats due to high levels of nitrates.

3. Stop buying soda or fruit juice that is mostly sugar water and empty calories! Buy unsweetened tea or tea bags to make tea yourself and keep in your refrigerator. If you must buy juice, be sure it is 100% juice and limit your intake to one glass a day.

4. Stop buying junk food at the store like chips or soda. It will save room in your grocery budget for healthier foods.

5. Learn to read food labels. Avoid partially hydrogenated oils (trans fat), bleached flour, enriched flour, and high fructose corn syrup by checking the ingredients on packages.

6. Avoid pre-packaged meals that contain high levels of sodium, fat and calories. Try broiling fish and steaming fresh broccoli instead!

7. Try to spend half your budget each week on fruits and veggies and spend the other half on whole grains, dairy and lean meat. Start in the produce department first and work your way around the outside edges of the store. Most processed and unhealthy foods are kept in the center aisle. Limit what you buy there!

8. Stock up on lean meat, fish and poultry when it is on sale and freeze it for future use.

9. Purchase berries, peaches, mangos and other fruits when they are on sale and freeze in individual baggies for use later in smoothies or on whole grain waffles.

10. YES you can use coupons and still have a healthy grocery list!

It takes some work to pull your list together each week, but stores offer great coupons on things like frozen vegetables, whole grain pasta and whole grain waffles. But, don’t get tricked into buying processed foods just because you have a coupon. Just because a bag of candy is $0.50, doesn’t mean it needs to be in your cart! With a little effort and some planning you can have a healthy grocery list and still be on a budget.

by: Cindy Hamilton

Posted in Eat, Family, Shop, Uncategorized | No Comments »

San Antonio Zoo

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

Did you know the San Antonio Zoo is open 365 days of the year? Have you ever wanted to teach your kids more about the wonderful creatures of this world? The Zoo has reptiles, amphibians, mammals and birds. Did you know that the SA Zoo has a “Lucky” elephant from Asia? Or that the Zoo offers special classes for Tiny Tots and Wild Beginnings for ages 2-5? They also have summer camps and birthday party packages.

This Zoo has so much to offer for all ages and is a great place to spend an afternoon on a beautiful day. The zookeepers and volunteers do a lot to make this a safe, enjoyable and educational experience. We are fortunate to have such a wonderful zoo right in the heart of San Antonio. Take advantage of having it close by and pack a stroller! Your kids will have a blast!

Go here http://sazoo-aq.org to learn more about when classes are offered, events are held or to learn more about planning the perfect party for your animal lovers birthday party!

Posted in Eat, Family, Party, Play | 1 Comment »

Two Brothers BBQ Market

Monday, January 18th, 2010

After a weekend out of town I come back to my 2 kids talking all about this super cool restaurant they went to with their Aunts and Uncle. My son kept telling us they had a great play ground and my daughter was going on about the yummy BBQ sauce.

I decided to check the place out first thing today and wanted to make sure you knew about Two Bros. BBQ Market. It will definitely be a place we visit more frequently. The restuarant is open 7 days a week and located at 12656 West Avenue in San Antonio. They serve classic Texas style BBQ in a wonderful family atmosphere. They feature brisket, pork, sausage, chicken, ribs, and shrimp. Once you pick your meat you get to chose from a good amount of sides which include stuffed jalepenos, wedge salad, coleslaw, corn, potato salad, beans and delicious mac n cheese for the little ones. Two Brothers also caters for large partys or you can call in an order and pick it up for dinner at home.

Here is just one more great kid friendly restaurant that serves good food and offers a playground for your kids to run around while you sit on their patio and enjoy the day. Their BBQ is delicious too!

Posted in Eat, Family, Play, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Language of Love

Sunday, January 17th, 2010

In John 13:34-35, Jesus gives us a lofty command: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Notice the word “command.” It is not a request that He is giving His disciples; He is commanding that they do it. If you are His disciple, then you are to live out this command!

Most of us have studied, read, or at least heard of the best selling book, The Five Love Languages, by author Gary Chapman. Many of us have even applied those languages to loving our spouses. Some have even gone as far as applying them to loving other people: friends, neighbors, parents, coworkers, etc. I have even made it my goal to learn the languages of those closest to me, like my spouse, my parents, and my closest friends. But how many of us as mothers have actually attempted to apply these languages of love to our own children?

For those of you who are not familiar with the love languages, I’ll give you a brief overview. The five love languages are simply 5 ways of expressing and receiving love from one person to another: Quality Time, Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Gifts, and Physical Touch. We all fit into one or more of those categories in some way or another. My husband claims that I am clearly “ALL OF THEM!” But I, like most of us, have 1 primary love language that will make us feel deeply loved by another person.

So how do we apply these to our children? Gary Chapman has also written a book called The Five Love Languages of Children, which are the same languages, just applied to your children. By simply observing your children and how they relay love to others, you can decipher which love language will make them feel most loved. Most likely, each of your children will have different primary love languages. How do they express their love to you? To others? That most likely is their primary love language. What does your child(ren) complain about most? For example, if your child complains to you that you do not spend enough time with him/her or you never play with him/her, then his/her primary love language is probably quality time. If your child is constantly kissing and hugging on you, then his/her primary love language is probably physical touch, and so on. Once you determine your child’s love language, I challenge you to use that to love him/her like crazy! It will ‘speak volumes’ to your child’s heart.

Father God, we thank you for loving us sacrificially: That you sent Your one and only Son to die an agonizing death on a cross to save us from our sin. Although we cannot comprehend the depth or height of Your love for us, we pray that you would teach us to love others the best we possibly can, especially our children. Teach us to love them in a way that speaks directly to their hearts so that we may begin to teach them the most ultimate love…Your love. We know that we can never love them like You do, but we pray that you will empower us to love them wholeheartedly and that they would know the fullest extent of your love through us. Amen.

by: Jill Johnson