Tag: Cedar Park

A Trip to Urban Air

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Texas weather is always a fun guessing game!  Are we baking cookies in our hot car or are we counting how long thunder comes after lightning?  Sometimes a good, old fashioned indoor play place helps take the pressure off worrying about our hourly changing weather.  I grabbed the 8-year-old and the 5-year-old and we took a trip to Urban Air in Cedar Park!

Austin has a lot of amazing and unique indoor play areas for kids.  Because of that, places like Urban Air can be a little lackluster.  The kids have a blast jumping, running, and screaming.  But as an adult, you notice the duck tap holding equipment together, or the large bucket catching fluid from the dripping pipe in the ceiling. 

We arrived at Urban Air at opening on a Sunday.  The price to play is a little high at $20/person for children over five.  We also had to purchase their special socks which cost around $2/pair.  While children under five are allowed, there is not much for them to do at Urban Air.  All the climbing structures are a bit too big.  They could enjoy themselves on the trampolines, but with how many big kids are running and jumping at full speed, it isn’t the safest for the little ones. 

Once we had our socks, we began to scope out the place!  There is a giant rock wall the kids had zero interest in climbing.  But it looked like a lot of fun and they were very good at keeping the line moving for kids waiting to climb.  There is also a large ropes course and a zipline.  They, of course, cost extra and the kids had no interest in riding on those either.  This did result in me constantly getting scared every time a child on the zipline flew over my head.  I kept thinking a child was falling off the play structure!

Then we found the huge ball pit!  In the center of Urban Air is a large ball pit filled with obstacle courses.  The kids were hooked and had a blast jumping in the balls, swinging from the rings, and pretending to drown so that I could pull them out and save them.

The main even of course is the trampolines!  And I will give credit where credit is due, the kids have a blast on the trampolines!  The kids jumped, flipped, bounced off the pads, and ran up the trampoline ramps.  They have a trampoline in front of a basketball hoop for dunking.  There is a trampoline dodgeball area, and a trampoline that allows you to launch into a big, inflatable pad.  There is a reason Urban Air is so popular, and the reason is the trampolines!

After an hour of “watch me” in the trampoline area, we went in search of snacks and a bathroom.  The snack area is pretty small and very basic.  They have candy, chips, and slushies.  No outside food or drink is allowed so you have to make due with what they have behind the counter.  One very important thing Urban Air has that you don’t find elsewhere is alcoholic beverages!  We restocked on sugar, I lectured myself on why it is irresponsible to drink while supervising children, and went back out to play!

As the morning continued, the place got more and more crowded.  There were about four birthday parties happening all at once.  This would be a great spot for a birthday party for the elementary school kids!  But the crowding can make it a little tough to keep an eye on your kids.  Urban Air is set up in such a way, that if you sit in the café area you cannot see your kids on anything accept the trampoline directly in front of the café.  There are a few benches surrounding the various play areas.  But between the massive amount of kids and the layout, it is really tough to keep an eye on everyone.  Your better off camping out at a meeting spot.

I told the kids to keep playing until they got hungry for lunch.  We left at lunchtime, and the kids were tired and hungry.  Overall, it was a fun day.  We enjoyed our time at Urban Air and the kids were able to burn off some energy.  It wasn’t our favorite place to visit in Austin.  There are other indoor play areas I would probably pick before Urban Air.  But it got the job done.  Tired kids and a break for the adults!

Summer on the Cheap

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Summer is here!  We all made it through another school year and another year of uncertainty.  It is time to have some fun!  Luckily in central Texas, there are so many cheap and fun ways to keep your kids entertained for the summer.

Movies

For all the movie lovers there are so many fun options.  Many of our cities offer movies in the park on Friday nights, movies in the pool if you need to cool off, and of course Alamo’s Kids Camp that allows you to see movies for only a few bucks!

Concerts

There are always a lot of outdoor concerts this time of year!  To fully enjoy the experience without feeling like your melting into a pile a goo, here are some good things to keep in mind when attending these concerts. 

Pack a picnic with all the snacks and food!  If you are going to bring cold items, freeze them before you head to the outdoor show.  Of course, don’t forget to bring lots and lots of water! 

Bring another activity to the show like bubbles or a football.  Sitting and waiting for things to start, has never been a child’s strong suit.  Make sure you always know where the bathrooms are, and have a meeting spot in case the kiddos get lost in the crowd. 

Story Times and Summer Reading

Every library in central Texas has weekly story times as well as crafts to do during.  It is a great activity to head to the library once a week, and check out books for your kids’ summer reading.  There are a ton of great summer reading incentives through HEB, Pizza Hut or create your own reading chart for your kids!

It really is amazing all the things local libraries plan for kids over the summer. See what is going on in Round Rock, Georgetown, Cedar Park, Leander and Austin!

Splash pads

The number of pools and splash pads around the central Texas area is amazing.  Because of the lifeguard shortage, many of the pools are limiting their hours.  Splash pads do not require lifeguards and are on most hours of the day. 

When visiting a pool or a splash pad it is always a good idea to have kids wear water shoes or crocs.  Splash pads are pretty good at keeping the area clean, but it only takes one stray rock to ruin the day.

Crafting and Baking

After quarantine I am sure most of us feel like we have done every craft there is to do!  But there are always more craft activities to keep your kids busy.  Check out this great website, or enjoy scrolling through Pinterest for easy crafts and baking projects. 

Make a day of it by going to a craft store or a grocery store, have the kids get all the things they need for their project, and then go home and do the project!

Hitting Milestones

Summer is the perfect time to work on important milestones for kids.  Stay inside during the hot afternoons and work on potty training.  With more time in the morning, you can get the kids used a to a morning routine that includes more chores like making their bed or making their own breakfast. 

If your child is interested in playing a sport in the fall, summer is the perfect time to spend time and practice swimming, basketball, playing catch or any other activity your child may want to improve.  One of the first things I worked on with my nanny kids during quarantine was helping them learn how to ride their bikes! 

Embrace Boredom

There are only so many hours in the day that we can fill with activities.  It may seem like you have to fill up every single second to keep your kids busy, and get them tired at the end of the day.  But boredom can be a very helpful thing for kids. 

It helps encourage creativity as well as time management.  Don’t be afraid to tell your kids that you need to take care of something and they need to think of something to do on their own. Let kids know it’s okay if they have nothing to do.  Sometimes enjoying the quiet without screen time can be refreshing for a young mind.

We wish everyone a happy and safe summer!

Earth Day with Kids

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Today is Earth Day!  Every year we remember the ways we can help make our planet a greener and more beautiful place to live!  One of the greatest things about Earth Day is that it is very easy to get kids involved.  There are so many wonderful ways kids can learn to take care of the planet and make our Earth a little better and brighter.

Start a Garden
After quarantine, most of us probably have a garden we planted to help avoid cabin fever!  While the internet is littered with DIY garden projects, you and your children can actually make a simple garden with some dirt, seeds, and pots!  Head to Lowes or Home Depot and let the kids pick out what seeds they’d like to plant.  Make it their job to water the plants every morning.  You can also paint the pots and make a whole project out of it!

Park Clean Up
We have so many beautiful parks in central Texas and many great park clean up projects.  But even without an officially project, heading to the local park to pick up trash is a great activity!  Get your kids a fun grabber and a trash bag and make it a contest!

Meatless Mondays
How do pancakes for breakfast, Peanut butter and Jelly for lunch and mac and cheese for dinner sound?  It sounds vegetarian and kids friendly to me!  Eating fewer meat products can help reduce greenhouse gases.  While many of us love Whataburger way too much to go full vegetarian, Meatless Mondays can be a fun alternative to limit animal consumption and experiment with healthy meals for the kids!

Bird Feeder
There are so many different ways to make birdfeeders.  You can go simple with a pine cone or an apple and some peanut butter.  You can get some popsicle sticks or even be more advance and try a beginner bird house! 

Visit Farms and Farmers Markets
Central Texas has so many wonderful working farms to visit.  Many of them also allow you to pick fresh fruits and vegetables to bring home.  The farmers’ markets around central Texas are also a great activity to do with kids.  Supporting our local famers is a great way to help the planet and teach kids about where their food is from.

Camping and Hiking
Getting out in nature is a wonderful way to appreciate the beauty the Earth has to offer.  Check out the many great camping spots nearby. While Texas weather is unpredictable, now is one of the best times to get out of the house and spend a night under the stars! Many of the camping spots in central Texas offer great fishing, swimming and hiking. Your kids will have to work really hard to muster up an “I’m bored” in some of these camping spots! 

Earth Day Films and Shows
I could probably write an entire blog post featuring all the amazing movies and TV shows that talk about Earth Day! Disney Plus even has an entire section of their streaming service dedicated to all their movies about the planet! There is so much great content out there for your kids to enjoy and learn from.

Hanukkah Movies and TV Episodes

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Finding a list of favorite Christmas shows is as easy as finding your identical princess twin in a Hallmark movie.  Looking for Hanukkah movies or TV episodes for kids is like trying to find an A-list actor in a Hallmark movie.  As a 90s child, there was an episode of Rugrats that talked about Hanukkah.  Then in 2002, Adam Sandler’s film Eight Crazy Nights came out and earned Sandler a Golden Raspberry nomination for “Worst Actor in a Film”.  Fortunately, there are a lot more options for families celebrating Hanukkah who would like to see their holiday represented on the TV.

Full Court Miracle

This is my favorite Hanukkah movie to watch with the kids!  A young Jewish boy, Alex, wants nothing more than for his terrible basketball team to win a tournament.  They find a down on his luck former basketball player who is willing to coach them.  The film takes place during Hanukkah, and creates a really simple allegory for kids about Juda Maccabee and the oil meant for one night, lasting for eight.  Mix in a little Mighty Ducks style sports movie, and you’ve got a pretty good time!

An American Tail

While not exactly a Hanukkah movie, 1986 An American Tail follows a family of Russian, Jewish mice as they travel to America.  They hope to find a land with no cats and roads made of cheese!  The opening scene shows the family celebrating Hanukkah together.  Most of us remember the rest of the movie as Fievel is separated from his family, and must sing sad songs until he finds them again.  A lovely movie that still holds up with its great music and sweet story.

Love, Lights Hanukkah!

If you feel your kids must get their Hallmark fix, there actually is a Hallmark Hanukkah movie!  The 2020 Hallmark movie tells the story of a young woman named Christina who finds out she’s half Jewish.  She decides to reach out to her Jewish relatives and finds a family and, of course, a secret twin.  Just kidding, it’s love, she finds love!

Rugrats Hanukkah Season 4 Episode 1

“Hanukkah is that special time of year, between Christmas and misgivings when all the bestest holiday shows are on TV!”  The Rugrats Hanukkah episode features Tommy’s grandparents reading the story of Hanukkah.  It is told in such a charming and classic Rugrats way!  While Rugrats Passover episode is most remembered and (rightly) praised, their Hanukkah episode deserves just as much credit for it’s silliness and storytelling.

Elena of Avalor:  Festival of Lights Season 3 Episode 18

I’ve had the theme song of this show stuck in my head for about three days.  Feels only right that I give it some recognition for its Hanukkah episode.  In this episode, Elena helps Princess Rebecca throw a Hanukkah party.  The episode doesn’t feature any back story on Hanukkah.  Elena doesn’t get on her flying jaguar (yes, a flying jaguar) to go help the Maccabees defend their temple.  But we get a Jewish princess, classic Hanukkah imagery, and a new song to get stuck in your head for a few days! 

Nina’s World:  Nina Save Hanukkah Season 1 Episode 27

In this episode, Nina and her friends go on the hunt to find oil for their Hanukkah recipes and their menorah.  It once again is a very simple story.  They focus more on the symbols of Hanukkah then the actually history of the holiday.  Which can be perfect for the little kids who mainly associate Hanukkah with presents and chocolate gelt!

I’m happy to say there are so many more Hanukkah themed TV episodes.  I’ve not personally seen all of these but there is a great list below.  Get the family together and enjoy some Hanukkah stories with your kids’ favorite characters!

Hanukkah TV Episodes for Kids 2021

Bad Words

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It’s bound to happen.  As many times as you try to say “shoot” not “s***”, or “fudge” not “f***”, you will inevitably use some bad words in front of your children.  Which your children will inevitably use in the worst place possible (school, church, visiting grandma).  I have taken care of a lot of kids and had some pretty fabulous moments listening to kids drop some word bombs! 

While kids will sometimes throw out a word they hear because they are looking for a reaction, the best times are when kids actually use curse words correctly.  Once while taking care of a four-year-old, she very sweetly asked me if she could carry her ice cream into the living room and eat it in front of the TV.  I told her that was fine, but walk very slowly and use both hands.  As she slowly approached the living room, being very careful to take her time and watch her step, she carefully placed her bowl on the table and it slipped off the edge and crashed to the floor.  The four-year-old let out a heavy sigh and said “well, s***”.  I stifled down a laugh as hard as I could and corrected her, “we say shoot”. 

Cursing is pretty easy to correct.  If you don’t make a big deal about the word they used and substitute it with an age-appropriate word, you can clean up your kid’s potty mouth.  Some of my favorite replacements are “shoot”, “fudge”, “oh my gosh”, “hot as hades”, and my personal favorite “cheese and rice” for Jesus Christ.

What is interesting is when kids use normal words that for some reason just rub me the wrong way.  Like “shut-up”.  Not a bad word, but when you hear a little one say it, it feels just as bad as cursing.  One of my little boys went through a “shut-up” phase around age three.  I was concerned because he had started pre-k and I didn’t want him telling friends or teachers to “shut-up”.  I had asked him to replace “shut-up” with “hush” and then went to talk to the teachers.  I walked into the three’s classroom full of boy wrestling and saying “you shut up”, “chair shut up”, “door shut up”.  I asked the two teachers “so when did this shut-up become a thing.”  The poor sleepy-eyed teacher said “I have no idea how this became a thing.  It has taken on a life of its own.”  One group email later, all parents agreed to try help our poor teachers out by recommending “hush” to all our shut-up-saying boys!

Another word that surprisingly rubbed me the wrong way was “whatever”.  For some reason the five-year-old came home and responded “whatever” to everything I asked him to do.  He still did everything he was asked but it was like he had a “whatever” tick now.  Finally at the end of the day I decided to squash the “whatever” use.  I asked him to please not use that word anymore.  He nodded knowingly at me and said “is that a grown-up only word?”  Yes.  Yes it is.

Once you have control over the inappropriate words and the annoying words, then you have to be ready for the potty words.  Good lord help me once kids start potty training.  Then everyone is a “poop-head” or a “pee-pee head”.  Then they start learning the proper terms for their body parts.  Once I picked up the four-year-old from pre-k.  He was in my car, buckled and ready to go.  As we were driving away, he spotted one of his little friends from class.  He asked if he could roll down the window and yell bye.  I said of course, and the four-year old proceeded to roll down the window and shout “HEY CHARLIE!  YOU’RE A PENIS!”  Charlie, unfazed and to the horror of his nanny screamed back, “YOU’RE A VAGINA!”  I quickly rolled up the window and sped away in shame.

We do the best we can!  We unfortunately can’t ask all adults to watch their mouths as we are out and about.   We also can’t expect all the videos they watch will be age appropriate.  You just have to do the best to keep it clean.  If there is any advice I could give about keeping kids from using bad language it would be DO NOT LAUGH! 

Ghost Stories

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Halloween weekend is upon us!  Some good, old fashioned, scary story telling never ages.  I asked around friends and family for their favorite ghost stories from their childhood.  The nice thing about most of these stories, we have all heard them enough that we can put our own spin on it!  You can creep it up or creep it down.  Just remember, you reap what you sew with scary stories and kids.  You creep the story up, you will have a bunk mate for the evening.  Happy Halloween! 

La Llorona

  Once there was a beautiful woman named Xochitl.  She fell in love with a wealthy rancher.  They were married and had two children together.  One day Xochitl saw her husband kissing another woman.  In a fit of rage, she drowned her two children in the river by their house.  Realizing what she had done, Xochitl flung herself into the river drowning.  When Xochitl went up to heaven, they would not let her in until she finds her children.  So now she spends her days by the river, forever weeping and forever looking for her lost children.

Bloody Mary

There once was a little girl named Mary who lived in a cemetery with her family.  Her father was a gravedigger.  When he buried a body, he would always leave a string leading into the grave with a bell on the other end.  That way if anyone was buried alive, they could ring the bell and the gravedigger would be able to dig them up.

One day a terrible disease swept through the village.  It would cause people to fall into a deep sleep before dying.  They would check to see if the person was alive by placing a mirror under their nose.  If the mirror fogged up, then they were still alive.  Mary came home sick one day and fell into a deep sleep.  Her parents were devastated when they place the mirror under her nose and no breath fogged up the mirror.

They buried Mary behind their house in a grave with a string attached to a bell.  Shockingly, Mary wasn’t dead.  She awoke inside her coffin.  She pulled the string on the bell, but she pulled too hard and the string yanked the bell off its hook.  Days later her mother went to visit her grave, and saw the bell on the ground.  Realizing what happened they dug up Mary’s grave and found she died with a petrified look on her face and scratch marks on the ceiling of her coffin. 

To this day if you light a candle in your bathroom with the lights off and call Bloody Mary three times, Mary appears and scratches your eyes out!

Hook for a Hand

Once there was a teenage couple who went out on a date.  At the end of the night, they decided to go drive into the woods and gaze up at the stars.  As they are parked, they heard a radio story about an escaped inmate from the nearby insane asylum.  This inmate had previously killed several teenagers with his hook he had instead of a hand.  The girl got scared and decides she wants to go home.  The guy starts his car and pulls out of the woods when he hears a long scratching noise down the side of his car.  They continue home and when he gets out of his car to check the damage, he sees a hook stuck in the car door handle.

Babysitter ghost story

A young woman decided to take a babysitting job on Halloween night.  When she gets to the house the parents let her know the kids are already asleep.  She is welcome to watch TV until they get home.  The parents leave and the babysitter goes to check on the kids who are sound asleep in their beds. 

She comes downstairs and turns on the TV.  The house has a lot of odd collectibles all over the shelves.  The oddest being a statue next to the TV.  It appears to be a large gnome dressed in overalls and a small red hat.  Even though the gnome is just a statue, it makes her feel really uncomfortable.  She feels like it’s watching her.  She decides to take a blanket and place it over the gnome.  Then she plops on the couch and turns on a scary movie. 

After the movie is over, she gets a call from the parents checking in on their kids.  The babysitter goes upstairs, and the kids are still sounds asleep.  She tells the mom the kids are asleep and that everything is okay.  She asks if she can move the gnome statue because it is kind of creeping her out.  The mom pauses on the phone and says “we don’t have a gnome statue.”  The babysitter rushes down stairs to where the gnome statue was sitting next to the TV all night.  But all that is there is the white sheet on the floor.

Nanny Tales: Potty Training

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In my time as a nanny, I have had the pleasure (cough) of potty training four children.  I would never describe myself as an “expert in potty training.”  Mainly because it is a weird thing to brag about.  But I do have some hysterical stories from my attempts to help toddlers through this major milestone. 

Sam

When I started working for Sam’s family, he was about to turn three years old.  He had fully mastered peeing in the potty, but pooping was not going to happen.  Sam’s older brother Adam had been potty trained for several years.  The boys’ parents had used pennies as a way to encourage Adam to use the toilet, and were doing the same with Sam.  A common theme throughout all my potty training experiences is bribery.  More importantly, the right kind of bribery.  Now while Adam had been cool with getting a penny every time he used the potty, Sam didn’t really see the value in money.

I made the strategic decision to switch from pennies to M&Ms.  Sam would get one M&M if he peed in the potty, and two if he pooped.  After one day, Sam stomped into the kitchen and demanded “I WANT MY M&MS!’.  I calmly explained, he would have to go poop on the potty.  Sam turned on his heels, stomped into the bathroom, and let out a deafening trumpet of success.  He came stomping back out of the bathroom and declared “THERE”, and pointed to his masterpiece.  He received 2 M&Ms.

Lizzy

Sam’s little sister Lizzy had a different kind of adventure toward potty training.  Suddenly Lizzy would be missing for long stretches of time, and inevitably I’d find her in her mom’s closet pooping in her diaper.  It felt like it was time to start potty training.  We got out all the books, all the potty chairs, and the giant bag of M&Ms.  But as much as we talk about it, and sat on the potty, Lizzy would somehow disappear to go poop in Mom’s closet.  One day I even tried not putting a diaper on her, and watching her like a hawk so she couldn’t escape.  But somehow, she escaped from my site, and YES I had to clean poop off of the closet floor. 

As luck would have it, we were seeing her pediatrician that week.  I asked the doctor what the deal was.  Lizzy showed all the signs of being ready, but wouldn’t do the deed!  The pediatrician simply told me, Lizzy wasn’t ready.  Even though she was exhibiting the signs, Lizzy was still too scared.  I decided to leave all the potty-training things out, but I completely backed off.  We didn’t talk about it.  We didn’t practice it.  We just left everything alone.  Then one day, I was getting Lizzy ready for a bath.  I was focused on getting the water going when Lizzy gasped!  I turned and there she was sitting on her potty.  Her eyes were as big as saucers as we both listened to the pee go in the potty.  I screamed with excitement and showered Lizzy with kisses.  Adam and Sam ran in and we all had a big celebration around a little toilet filled with pee. 

Peter

I started taking care of Peter when he was eight weeks old.  I had learned by then to take my time with potty training.  When he is ready, he is ready.  Peter started showing the signs of being ready to potty train.  I’d come to get him at nap time, and would be greeted by a bare butt and a wet diaper dramatically flung across the room.  I lost Peter in the park for a few minutes and found him hidden behind a bush to pee.  It was obviously getting close to time.  I advised Peter’s mom to just buy a little potty to have for when Peter was ready.  That night when Peter’s mom showed him the potty, she simply explained that when he needs to poop and pee this is where he sits.  Peter shrugged and said “okay”, and proceeded to sit on the potty and pee and poop.  What.  The.  Heck?  It is never that easy.  NEVER!!  His mom and I hypothesized that at Peter’s Mother’s Day Out, there was a little girl in his class potty training.  We think he must have seen her and gotten used to the idea of using a potty before we even brought it up!  Maybe the universe decided to give me a break on the third toddler.  They knew I’d be potty training a lot of kids and thought “Make this one super easy to potty train.  Give her a break.  But then make him wet the bed for like four more years.  Don’t let her get cocky.”

Josie

Peter’s little sister Josie was my most recent potty trainee.  When you get to the fourth one, there just aren’t that many surprises.  Oh, you’re hiding behind the couch to go poop.  Oh, when I put you on the potty you hold it in because you’re afraid for it to come out.  Oh, there is a soaked diaper wedged in the back of your drawer.  The routine becomes the routine, and you just wait until they are ready to take the plunge.  She did ask if she could sit on my lap while she went to the bathroom.  That was a new one.  The one thing we had working for us was Josie’s love of accessories.  The idea of having her own princess underwear was a big selling point for potty training.  Then the understanding that if she peed, she would be peeing on one of her favorite characters!  Heck no, give me that potty chair!

Potty training is a literal dirty job, but I’m happy to do it.  If I could give any advice to parents, I’d say that potty training is like the weight loss secret of the kid world.  No you can’t do it in a weekend.  No there is no quick fix or easy way to do it.  It takes time, it takes patience, and if you keep at it you will reach your goal!

A Trip to Mesa Rosa

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I put out a post on Facebook asking for parents’ favorite place to take their kids for dinner.  This particular TexMex restaurant popped up several times.  I grabbed the six-year-old and the four-year-old and gave Mesa Rosa a try! 

I am a big weirdo because I love taking the kids out to dinner!  But I have very specific qualifications for restaurants I go to with the kids.  It must be a noisy restaurant.  Nobody wants to be that person with the loud, obnoxious kid in a restaurant.  But in noisy restaurants, if your toddler decides to hate the world, you only feel vaguely like you want to crawl under the table and hide. 

Having an outdoor section is also a big plus.  Sitting outside with kids, even when there isn’t a world ending pandemic, can help save a life!  Outside there are more things for kids to look at and enjoy.  They can be super noisy and you won’t be disturbing an entire restaurant.  I don’t think you need a playground to have a kid friendly restaurant, but I really appreciate how many Austin area restaurants do.  It’s nice to have a restaurant experience, that isn’t fast food related, where you can sit and enjoy your meal while the kids play on the playground.

It can’t be a breakable restaurant.  There are some great kid friendly restaurants that have good food, and a great atmosphere for kids.  But any place that brings us glass cups for our drinking water, is just asking for trouble.  We need plastic cups, cups with lids, and if you have some plastic plates wrapped in bubble wrap, we can probably get through a meal without breaking anything! 

I took the kids during the week to Mesa Rosa.  We went right around five, so it was pretty dead in the restaurant.  The inside is your standard TexMex style.  Fun pictures and bright colors cover the walls.  We heard there was great playground so we asked to sit on the patio.  The patio is fabulous!  This is the type of patio that Covid conscious people wish all restaurants had.  It is a huge patio with tons of room!  It opens up into a truly awesome playground.  It can be tough to see your kids from certain areas of the patio.  But there is still enough space for them to easily run back and forth from your table to play.

The playground itself is pretty awesome.  Lots of room for the kids to run.  They even have a water cooler to the side, with little paper, cone cups for kids.  Do the kids just end up pulling out all the cups to play with them?  Yes, they do.  But it is still a nice gesture from the restaurant.  The kids were on the playground the whole time.  When the food came, they’d run back to get a small bite, and chug some water.  Then it was back to the playground.  You’ll definitely be able to enjoy your meal and a few drinks without having to worry if the kids are having a good time. 

If I’m being honest the food is only so-so.  It is your average TexMex cuisine.  The kids ordered burgers and fries and only ate a few bites because the portions are HUGE!  You can certainly find better TexMex food in this area.  But overall, it’s an enjoyable outing with your kids.  You can sit back and enjoy some chips and queso, let your kids run around on the playground, and then wonder how they got a giant bruise on their head in under five minutes.

Always Be Prepared

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School is back and with a new year, comes new injuries.  While I’ve always had my Mary Poppin’s bag filled with extra clothes, baby wipes, and snacks, I decided to tap into my inner boy scout and learn “what are the best things to have in your own first aid kit.” 

Kids are very determined to hurt themselves.  Having the right items stocked in your house, helps you prepare for even the craziest of accidents.  Once I looked at the recommendations for first aid kits, I immediately became overwhelmed and turned off my computer.  Warning!  It doesn’t take much to go from buying bandages on the Red Cross website, to building a bomb shelter.

We all know what our medicine cabinets really look like.  A scattering of random Band-Aids litters the bottom of the drawer, random medicines loosely stacked on top, and a perfectly put together travel kit someone gave you as a gift (but you’ve never used).  A good habit to get into is regularly going down the pharmacy aisle in the grocery store to check what needs to be restocked in your own home.

A dedicated first aid kit for your sitters and nannies is good to have on hand .  As much fun as it sounds, digging through someone else’s medicine cabinet looking for Band-Aids is always uncomfortable.  Below are some good items to have readily available for anyone in your home.

Butterfly Band-Aids:  Everyone has a story about busting open some part of their body that should remain closed.  These little dudes can take care of most cuts. 

Dermoplast Spray:  This antiseptic spray is also a pain reliever! A double whammy for keeping wounds clean!

Benadryl:  No one found out they were allergic to something in an easy way.  While it would be nice to be able to keep EpiPens in your first aid kit, they require a prescription. 

The Red Cross has an amazing website where you can shop for first aids items and premade kits.  Items like a breathing barrier or an aluminum finger splint aren’t things you will probably need, but they can’t hurt to have on hand (pun not intended).

The Red Cross recommends keeping a first aid kit in your car as well as your home.  I decided to head on over to Target to make myself a small, travel first aid kit.  It was a bit overwhelming walking through the pharmacy trying to decide what I would need, and if I was missing anything vital.  I decided to look back at my years of taking care of kids, and try and remember all the things I wish I had.

Tweezers:  “I’VE GOT A SPLINTER!!!”  Dear Lord have mercy on me when a kid gets a splinter.  We all know getting a splinter in the kid world is basically the equivalent to getting your arm chopped off.  Having a pair of tweezers on hand would have saved a couple of afternoons at the playground.

Gauze:  I have seen quite a few knocks to the head in my day.  If you’ve ever seen any wound to the face you know, it bleeds a LOT.  A small cut on the lip or a nose bleed, and suddenly you’re in the hallway of The Shining.  Wipes and Kleenex just don’t do the trick when it comes to stopping blood.  Gauze are the best solution to stop the blood and get back to fun.

Tylenol, Benadryl, Dramamine:  Seeing your kid sick is the worst.  Seeing your kid sick and being unable to help because you’re not home is miserable!  Keeping a few of these medications on hand for an emergency can help you make it home. I bought kids’ chewable of each medicine.  Putting liquid medicines in a car is not an experiment I’d like to try in the oppressive Texas heat.

There is a lot of information out there on how to be best prepare for an emergency.  It can get overwhelming very quickly. I found it very helpful to think about what I experienced as a child, and as a childcare worker.  It is always better to have these items and not need them, than need them and not have them.  I certainly never needed a snow shovel in Texas, but ask me about this past February.

Having a first aid kit and updating it regularly is a good habit for everyone to get into.  Go check out the Red Cross website and see what they have to offer!

The Splash Shack

Published on by clairebooherLeave a comment

The summer of 2021 is coming to a close.  If you are looking for a last bit of summer fun before school starts, I recommend The Splash Shack!  An indoor water park in Cedar Park, the Splash Shack is specifically made for children 10 and under.  I am not a big fan of water parks.  Between the heat, the lines, and the warm bath water, it has never been my favorite place to take kids.  But this water park is indoors, always heated to 82 degrees, and limits the number of people allowed inside.  This was something I couldn’t pass up trying!

Pricing is dictated by height (at 5’2′ I was slightly concerned), and the park is perfectly made for little kids.  The Splash Shack is made of multiple water slides, and that’s about it.  The simplicity of the place is actually what makes it enjoyable.  Kids climb up the slides, go down the slides, rinse and repeat.  There is also a giant water bucket that hangs over the play area.  It fills with water and makes an absolutely epic splash! 

Tips

Prepare to get wet:  There is a lovely sitting area, where you can relax and keep an eye on your kids, but I see no way you could go to this water park and stay dry.  The building is pretty small and large splashes are inevitable.  Some productive parents came in their yoga pants and were working or reading.  One giant bucket splash later, the work was put away. 

No outside food or drink:  We could have stayed at the water park for longer, but they don’t allow outside food or drink.  There is a lovely snack bar with your standard chips and drinks.  The day we went, they were also offering pizza for sale.  But all-in-all, it would have been nicer if we could have packed a lunch.  We still got a solid two and half hours of play time.  But we definitely could’ve stayed longer!

Take breaks:  I appreciate that most pools these days clear the pool every hour for safety.  It gives you a chance to take kids to the bathroom, reapply sunscreen, etc.  Since you are inside, this is easily forgotten.  And with little kids and lots of space to pee, you can see why adding in your own break time would be a good idea!

So should you make the trip to The Splash Shack?

Baby-3 (Proceed with caution)

This water park is quite small which is nice.  There are changing tables in every bathroom.  There is space for babies to crawl and splash in the water.  However, children are not allowed to sit in your lap to go down water slides.  If you’ve got a braver toddler, this shouldn’t be a problem.  But the more cautious ones are going to have to get some courage.

3-6 (Go now!)

It is a great outing for this age group.  They climb up and slide down, climb up and slide down, over and over again until they need a snack!  The size of the place makes it perfect to keep an eye on everyone.  Lifeguards are set up all over the tiny area, making sure the kids are safe and taking turns.  

6-10 (Go now!)

While this park is great for little kids, it’s not like the big kids are going to be bored and think this place is for babies.  The same enjoyment the little kids have, the big kids will have too.  A lot of the slides are side by side and perfect for kids who want to race each other!