Pretty excited about taking the girls to see the new Dare to Dream Disney on Ice show tomorrow night.  I’ve been noticing the commercials advertising it and the other night, my 6 year old came up to me and asked if we could go see it.  I didn’t see shows like this when I was a kid, so it kind of makes me feel all warm and squishy inside to be able to experience something like this with my girls.  Eric is coming too.  Oh, he’ll love it and he knows it.  I also heard that Meg Ryan’s mom is going to be there.  Pretty stoked to see her, too.

I’ll tell you all about the show after we see it tomorrow night!

Here is a special discount if you want to take your kids to see the show, too:

Get 4 Tickets for $44 on Weekday Shows OR Save $4 on Weekend Shows.

Weekday shows include any performance Monday through Thursday. Weekend shows include any performance Friday through Sunday.

Redeem the offer with code MOM through Ticketmaster.com, Box Office, or call 1-800-745-3000

Fine Print:

Offer not valid on Front Row or VIP seating. No double discounts. Service Charges, Handling and Facility Fees may apply.

www.disneyonice.com

The fine folks at Feld Entertainment are giving me complimentary tickets to enjoy this show, which is absolutely what I plan to do.

Rudolph Camera ($)

Just like the Grinch camera. More photo fun! Turn people into rudolph, misfit toys, and even have your picture taken with the scary Bumble!

Christmas Fun – All In One, Holiday Spirit, Interactive Songs and Games for Children (entertainment) (free)

The title of the app says it all.  What it doesn’t say is that it’s just a sneak peek at the full, “paid” version.  Fun for the toddlers.  I’m not going to lie, it’s definitely cheesy.

Christmas Tale (book) (free)

Cute interactive storybook app for kids.  It comes from the same company who created the Christmas Shareable app in Part 1.  I must say, this one is way less cheesy and worth checking out if you have kids.

A Christmas Santa (game) (free)

This game is hands-down my absolute favorite Christmas app.  Besides the fact that the Santa in this game looks like he came straight outta South Park, the game is great, mindless fun.  All you have to do is launch Santa and help him fly as far as he can through the air.  My kids think it’s hilarious when Santa drops smack into the snowy bank below him.  You need this app.

Starbucks Cup Magic (interactive/entertainment) (free)

If you hit up Starbucks this holiday season, you can use this app to bring your cup to life.  Sort of.  I guess it’s neat or whatever.

Shop Advisor (informational) (free)

Shopping advice, bar code scanning, gift ideas, etc.  While I don’t rely heavily on just one deal-finding app, this one is nice to have and refer to when you’re in the gift-giving spirit.

An Origami Christmas Tree Learning Experience (informational) (free)

Learn how to make an Origami Christmas Tree.  Please note: you’ll actually need real paper to be able to make the tree.  Or, if you’re really that lazy, you can just tap through and watch as the friendly iPhone app robot makes one for you.

iSnowflake Lite (interactive) (free)

The app itself is kind of wonky.  I had placed my “cuts” and the app crashed on me…twice before I could finish.  Just like making paper snowflakes, old school-style.  However, I would recommend just making them old school style instead of dealing with them vanishing before you can finish them.  So frustrating.  Plus, you can’t hang these ones up all over the house.  Here’s one I made:

Letters for Santa (book) ($)

This is an iPad only app that I received a promotional code for.  I haven’t been able to check it out because I don’t have an iPad.  Looks cute from iTunes.  If anyone checks it out, let me know how you like it.

Angry Santa! (game) (free)

Pissed off at someone?  Relieve stress as you help Santa flick Elves across the forest.  Enjoy a nice holiday tune while doing it.  Yeah, that’s about it for this one.

Hope after reading my posts you found something new and entertaining for your iPhone or iPad!

*Check out Christmas iPhone Apps – Part 1 for the rest of the Christmas apps.

(Click on any of the app icons to be taken directly to that app in iTunes)

Toca Hair Salon – Christmas Gift (interactive app) (free)

This one can be fun for the kids or maybe for you, if you ever wanted to try your hand at being a beautician.  See how awesome I made Santa Claus look?  I’m sure he’ll be back for more…

moreNoel (camera) (free)

This is a very simple camera app with just a few features to spruce up your holiday pictures.  I use it sometimes to make my pictures look “dream-like”, such as this one:

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (story app) ($)

If you have kids around, this is a great story app to have.  It’ll give them something to do in the car on the way to Grandma’s house. You can pair it with the Grinch Camera App:

Dr. Seuss Camera – The Grinch Edition (camera) ($)

Pure entertainment.  Take pictures of unsuspecting party-goers.  You can do things like this:

Cut the Rope: Holiday Gift (game) (free)

Cut the Rope is a cute, challenging game.  The goal is to feed Om Nom (the green, booger-like thing) candy.  Takes some strategic thinking.

Christmas Wallpapers & Backgrounds with Xmas Glow Effects (entertainment) (free)

So, if you’re into this sort of thing, you’ll like the option of picking from a seemingly endless amount of backgrounds for your iPhone or iPad.

Christmas Shareable Book – Wacky Version – The Coolest Interactive Story Greeting Book (entertainment) (free)

This app is ridiculous.  It’s the epitome of cheesy apps.  I think you can send greetings to people from it but I don’t really know.  I didn’t get that far.

Cityville Holiday Town (entertainment) (free)

If you like those interactive community-building ‘Ville games, this app is for you.  My six year old really digs it.

Jingle All The Way (interactive/book) (free)

Very cute, quality app from Hallmark.  Fun for the kids.  It has a story and other interactive features.

123 Sticker: Free Musical Sticker Book (Christmas Edition) (interactive) (free)

Another one for the kids.  It’s a sticker book.  You can take the “stickers” and decorate the scenes.  The app comes with six scenes, two of them are winter-related.  You only get the Christmas tree scene for free, pay for the rest.  Eh…

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (book) ($)

A classic.  This interactive book is narrated and if you tap on the characters, you will hear the original voices from the claymation tv special.

*Click here for Christmas iPhone Apps Part 2!

As you’re searching for gift ideas for the young adults, I highly recommend picking up a copy of author Melisa Wells‘ newest book, Chicken In The Car And The Car Won’t Go.

This book serves as an excellent Chicagoland resource guide for families with tweens and teens.  If you have teens of your own or know someone who does, this guide is perfect for them.  When they are ready to head out and explore the Windy City and surrounding areas on their own, they should definitely bring a copy of Chicken in the Car along for the ride.  I know a couple of Chicago-bound teens myself who will absolutely receive a copy of this book before they venture out in our beautiful city.

I love having a copy of the book for myself.  It’s nice to have a guide of Fun (with a capital F) destination ideas close by when I want to road-trip it into city limits.  Not only does Melisa give us fantastic options for downtown, she provides suggestions for the outlying suburban areas, too.  She’s got it all covered.

So, here’s the deal.

If you know of anyone moving to the Chicago area, Chicken In The Car And The Car Won’t Go is the guide for them.  I’m talking about for families, teens, college students, etc.  This book will become their bible.  Trust.  It’s a manageable guide with tidbits of helpful information, hand-picked by the author herself.  Consider it your own personal tour guide…without the annoying gum-chewing tour guide or group of people you don’t know and that random person in the back asking if there’s a basement in the Alamo.

It’s way more simple than that.  You have the book.  You’re with your family or friends. You use the book as an informational resource to guide you to some of Chicago’s great family-friendly restaurants, beaches, parks, shows, shops, etc.

Pick up a copy of Chicken In The Car And The Car Won’t Go.  It’s totally worth it for the Fun (with a capital F) that you’ll have!

*Chicken In The Car is also available for the Kindle.

And no, there is not a basement in the Alamo.

I was asked to join Chicago’s Bump Club and Beyond at the local Microsoft Store to be a part of a panel with three other terrific bloggers and writers.  We each had a topic to talk about and mine was online safety.

My kindergartener is currently familiarizing herself with the online world, so, online safety and privacy protection are topics that cross my mind on a daily basis.  It’s part of my job to keep current on the latest technology trends, so I can effectively do my job as a parent, which is protecting my kids and steering them in the right direction.

That being said, here are some things to keep in mind for online safety and privacy:

• Social Networking – When creating an account online where you’re going to share personal information about your life, research the site’s privacy settings before posting or uploading anything.  Whether it’s Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace or Twitter (to name just a few); each service has privacy options that need attention.  It’s important that you understand how each one works, before you completely dig in.

• Blogging – Blog platforms (ie: WordPress, Blogger, TypePad, etc.) also have privacy settings.  You have the option of keeping your blog unlisted from internet search results or password protecting individual posts.  You can also password protect your blog, so that only the people you specifically give the URL and/or password to will be able to view it.

• Photo Sites – (ie: Flickr, Photo Bucket, Shuterfly, etc.)  You have privacy settings here, too.  The ability to set photo visibility to contacts only, excluding your photos from search results and setting your sharing terms are just a few of the options to review when uploading personal photos.

• Using Names – Depending on how social you wish to be online, you may want to refrain from using yours or your kid’s full names.  For example; I don’t always use my daughters’ first names.  I’ll say, “the kindergartener” or “the toddler”.  A lot of people have nicknames they’ll use for their kids, like, “little miss” or “little mister”.

• Forever is a long time – Remember that anything you post online is there forever.  When your kids are older, they may see what you posted about them when they were six.  Be mindful of their dignity.  I would specifically encourage you not to post pictures online of your babies/toddlers/kids when they are naked.  I have taken thousands of photos of my kids and yes, there is an occasional shot of their cute little bottoms as they’re scurrying past me, but those are filed away for me, not for the rest of the world to see.

• Times are changing/Announcement Etiquette – This tip is geared toward those of you who are having babies.  Chances are, many of your friends and family are using social networking sites.  Be aware, that in their excitement, these friends and family may post their own status updates, sharing your special news.  I think it is important that it is made clear to them whether or not this is acceptable.  You may have to consider sending out an email to those on your friend list, asking them to refrain from posting anything until you give the ok.  We are all pretty immersed in technology but unfortunately, not all of us are up to par on online safety and privacy.  You have no idea who will end up seeing your news if you’re not the one posting it.  The etiquette should be: You shouldn’t post anyone’s personal information or special announcements without permission or before they do.

• Disclosing your location: “Checking in” is all the rage these days.  People use social networking applications like, Foursquare, Get Glue, Facebook, etc. to log where they are at any particular time.  Remember that when you check in somewhere and you’ve made this information available to the public, the wrong people may assume you are not home and act on that.  Please check and double-check your privacy settings and only share your location with trusted contacts.

ONLINE SAFETY RESOURCES

Online safety:

http://safely.yahoo.com/
http://www.google.com/familysafety/
http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/net_safety.html

TECHNOLOGY TRENDS

Stay current with social media and technology trends:

http://www.mashable.com
http://www.techcrunch.com
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/social-media/
http://www.nielsen.com

Tomorrow, I will take a seat on a panel at the Microsoft Store with Kris, Little Tech Girl; Melisa, Suburban Scrawl; and Meagan, The Happiest Mom.  I’m excited to share my perspective of the online parenting world with some fabulous new moms and moms-to-be.

There is a whole day of Bump Club and Beyond goodness planned at the Microsoft store and there is still time to get in on some of the fun.  Here is a run-down of the day’s events:

Bump Club and Beyond Live from the Microsoft Store in Oakbrook:

Join Bump Club and Beyond & Microsoft for a FREE day of information for moms and moms-to-be

Register HERE.

Schedule of events:

8:45am Start the day with a workout for moms and moms-to-be!

The Dailey Method Naperville will be teaching a special class for moms and moms-to-be, showing modifications for those who are expecting.

Breakfast to Follow.

10am: Nutrition Basics for Mom and Baby with BCB’s Resident Nutrition Expert, Lara Field of FEED (Forming Early Eating Decisions)

11:30am: Is Your House Safe and Organized for Your Baby?  

Childproofing Made Easy with BCB’s Resident Home Safety Expert, Josh Berliant, Owner of Babyproofing Solutions

Organizing Made Easy with BCB’s Resident Organizing Expert, Sarah Nelson, Owner of Less is More

Lunch to Follow

1pm: Moms and Technology: BCB’s Mom Blogger Panel will give you the latest scoop on the best gadgets, sites, resources and Internet safety tips!

Snacks to Follow

2:15-3pm: BCB Kids’ Concert with Mr. Singer and Kerri Appleberry!

Snacks to Follow

The first 100 people to RSVP* will go home with a BCB gift bag FILLED with goodies PLUS a special gift from Microsoft.  Everyone will have the chance to take home some incredible giveaways from BCB, Microsoft, and many of our partners.

You must be present to enter to win any giveaways.  Winners will be announced following our Kids’ Concert.  You need not be present to win.

*Only the person on the RSVP will get a gift bag.  If you have registered for more than one person, there is only one gift bag per reservation.

Please note:  This event is designed to meet the needs of any mom or mom-to-be!  Please sign up for as many or as few of the seminars as you would like to attend.  the Dailey Method is a workout for moms/moms-to-be ONLY, not with kids.  There will not be childcare on-site at the event, so please plan accordingly.

Talbott Hotel (located at 20 E. Delaware Place on Chicago’s Gold Coast) was built in 1927 and is nestled in one of Chicago’s upscale neighborhoods.  The hotel has 149 guest rooms and was recently renovated.  The atmosphere was friendly and the staff at the hotel was very attentive.  We enjoyed every minute of our stay.

The reason we were invited to stay at the Talbott, was so that Hailey and I could enjoy one of their special American Girl Place packages.  We were invited to experience the Imagine package. (Retailed at $224).  This particular package includes:

• Personalized welcome letter
• Milk and two Sprinkles cupcakes at turndown
• Keepsake American Girl® doll-sized travel bed
• Access to the “girl blog @ the talbott”
• Complimentary continental breakfast for two
• Horse-drawn carriage ride from The Talbott Hotel to American Girl Place (one way)
• Personalized Talbott Hotel stationery
• Personalized guest room keycard
• Six personalized photo postcards by the fireplace and carriage
• Personalized room service menu
• One entry into the quarterly drawing for a one night American Girl Place Spirit Package

When we arrived, we were greeted by the friendly staff and met with Tim, the Chef Concierge.  He handed Hailey a personalized welcome letter, addressed to her and Felicity, her American Girl doll.  You should have seen her eyes light up and the huge smile on her face.

Tim handed me our room key and a personalized, keepsake American Girl keycard to Hailey.  We settled in to our room and then went down to the lobby.  I had scheduled our horse-drawn carriage ride with Tim prior to arriving to the hotel and I kept it a secret from Hailey.  I knew it would blow her mind and could not wait to see the look on her face when our “ride” pulled up in front of the Talbott.

(Hailey pointing at the horse-drawn carriage outside of the Talbott)

She was ecstatic when I told her that we were going for a ride.  Tim snapped some photos of Hailey with the horse and then of the both of us on the carriage.  This is part of the package.  The prints would be placed in our room at some point before we checked out the following day.

I love this picture.  It looks like the horse is giggling with Hailey. (We think her name was Callie.)

We enjoyed a lovely, half-hour ride around the immediate area.  It was a gorgeous day, lots of people were out and about and we were having a blast.  The carriage dropped us off at American Girl Place where we spent some time doing fun mother + daughter + doll things.

After our girly excursion, we walked back to the hotel and in our room, (which is around the corner from the store) and found some fun surprises.

In our room were the pictures from the carriage ride, personalized stationery for Hailey and her doll and a travel bed for her American Girl doll. (Click the picture to view larger size.)

To a little 6 year old girl, this was all pretty magical.  I had already heard her say several times how much she really loved this day.

We had the rest of the day to ourselves.  We took advantage of the beautiful weather and headed over to Navy Pier.  It was the last day of the Air and Water Show, so we got to see some pretty cool airplane stunts.  I also held my breath and took Hailey for a ride on the ferris wheel.  It was amazing and she was in awe.  There were moments where I just sat quietly and smiled as she squeezed Felicity and had this look of wonderment on her face.  She was definitely having the time of her life.

After some fun at Navy Pier, we met up with some friends for dinner back at American Girl Place and then once back in our room for the evening, our cupcakes and milk were delivered at turndown!

When we woke up the next morning, we enjoyed our complimentary breakfast at BiCE Ristorante, which is right next door to the Talbott.  Hailey preferred that we dine outdoors, so we did and it was awesome.

You can view the pictures that we took during our stay right HERE.

Of course, I recommend spending time with your kids anyway you can.  Your staycation could be a blanket picnic in your own backyard with a pretend carriage ride or cupcakes before bed in your own room.  But, if you are looking for something special to do away from home, I recommend considering a night away with your little one, with some surprises thrown in along the way.  Definitely check out the packages offered at The Talbott Hotel in Chicago.  We ware very fortunate that we could take this night away with each other.  We needed some mommy + daughter time before the big kid started school.  This was the perfect end to a summer full of fun.

The Talbott Hotel treated us to a night at the hotel and the American Girl Imagine Package, which included everything on the bullet-pointed list above.  Anything else we did on our staycation, we paid for (including our travel and anything we purchased at American Girl Place and Navy Pier).  All opinions about the Talbott Hotel and the American Girl Package are my own.

Comic Con was pretty rad.  Totally nostalgic for me.  The kindergartener was delighted to see me go ga-ga over things like old Star Wars action figures, Gizmo figurines, and anything super hero-related from the ’70s and ’80s.  Pretty sure her favorite part was when she spotted stuffed Angry Birds.

There were many big highlights for me.  Now, I’m really not hip to the comic book artists but I have always had a great appreciation for them and their work.  It was a thrill to walk through aisles and aisles of people’s artistic work.  There was total excitement in the air as comic book fans approached their idols, shook hands and told them how much they admire their work.  That’s what it’s all about.

For me, it was about seeing the people from the big screen that I’ve admired for the past 20+ years.  The people I watched and knew from favorite movies and tv shows growing up.  Like I said, it was nostalgic.

When we arrived, R2D2 was strolling around the lobby.  R2!  Hailey had no idea why I was gushing about this robotic garbage can.  Then, he started to follow her a little bit and even “spoke”.  Finally, I talked her into getting a picture with him.  I should have done what any good parent would have done and handed her the camera and had her take a picture of me with R2.

Anyway, that was cute and fun.  Once inside, our first stop was to see artist/author Phil Yeh and artist Geoff Bevington.  They have a book available about the adventures of Steve the Dog and the Winged Tiger, which takes place in Chicago.  So, automatically, we love it.

They also have a slew of other kid’s books and comics available, so definitely check them out.

Next…pictures with Storm Troopers!  Yeah!

We tried to look tough, even though we had already been captured.  I wish these guys would have come to my backyard and played when I was a kid.  Man, that would have been so cool.

Aisles and aisles of nostalgic toys mixed with toys the kids play with presently.

Got to see the Delorean from Back to the Future.  Wow.  WOW!

If that wasn’t the icing on the cake, none other than Doc Brown himself was there!  Hailey told him that she recognized his voice as Hacker from the PBS cartoon, Cyber Chase.  It was very cool meeting Christopher Lloyd.

We met the legendary Chewbacca, too.  Peter Mayhew was promoting his book, My Favorite Giant.  Watch for a review of that here, very soon.

Now for the most exciting part of the day…the panel of child actors (all grown up) from the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Oh, it was so cool to see these five together after all these years!  They were so friendly and you could tell they were having such a good time.  The audience asked questions and thanked the cast for being such a huge part of our childhoods.  It was great to see that they all appear to be doing really well.  I actually asked the group their first question.  I wanted to know what they thought of the “new” Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie.  Of course, they were all very polite with their responses.  But, hey, we know which one is the best!

Here is a couple of quick video snippets that I took during the panel:

Paris talks about one of the deleted scenes from the movie:

The convention was absolutely packed the day went went. I’m glad that I only had my kindergartener with me. You can take a look at the rest of our Comic Con Chicago 2011 photos.

This is a fun family event for Chicagoland folks. We’ll definitely return next year for more “nostalgic” fun.

We were recently invited to attend a performance of Cirque Du Soleil’s OVO in Chicago under the Grand Chapiteau on behalf of Infiniti, OVO’s exclusive automotive sponsor.  Such a fun night!

OVO is the third Cirque Du Soleil show my husband and I have seen, so we had an idea of what to expect.  We have seen O at the Bellagio in Las Vegas and I saw La Nouba in downtown Disney on the first Disney Mom Blogger Mixer trip.  Each of the Cirque shows were unique in their own way and I have really enjoyed each one of them.  When human beings perform extreme acrobatics in make-up and costume, how can you not appreciate that!?

To start out our evening, we attended the Tapis Rouge event on behalf of Infiniti.

Inside, we were treated to an array of super yummy hors d’ oeuvres, as well as drinks and desserts.  Not half bad!  Hubs and I were nearing our 9th wedding anniversary at the time, so this was a very nice date night for us.

The luxurious Infiniti M was on display.

The M is such a gorgeous vehicle!  I could never afford to own one but it sure was nice sitting inside of it and dreaming.

After filling our bellies, we headed into the Grand Chapiteau for the performance.

Ovo Synopsis:

OVO™ is a headlong rush into a colourful ecosystem teeming with life, where insects work, eat, crawl, flutter, play, fight and look for love in a non-stop riot of energy and movement. The insects’ home is a world of biodiversity and beauty filled with noisy action and moments of quiet emotion.OVO is overflowing with contrasts. The hidden, secret world at our feet is revealed as tender and torrid, noisy and quiet, peaceful and chaotic. And as the sun rises on a bright new day the vibrant cycle of insect life begins anew.

The show was fascinating!

After the performance, a group of us were treated to go behind the scenes and look at Cirque Du Soleil’s OVO from beyond the audience.

We loved the experience. (Thank you Infiniti and Cirque!)  I highly recommend checking out a Cirque Du Soleil show.  I also recommend entering Infiniti’s sweepstakes for a chance to win a private Cirque Du Soleil event in your hometown for you and 25 guests.  Here is the link to the Infiniti Cirque site where you can enter to win!

We were encouraged to take home some of the butterfly confetti, so, the following day, I “surprised” my girls with a display of orange, yellow and gold butterflies:

We recently attended a back-to-school, bargain shopping event in Chicago at T.J. Maxx with host, Audrey McClelland of Mom Generations. Audrey and I became acquainted about 5 years ago when Mom Generations was still Pinks and Blues Girls and I was co-authoring MumsTheWurd. It’s been a fantastic journey and I am all smiles when I hear that my long-time blogging buddies are coming to town.

Audrey shared some bargain shopping tips with us, like, how smart it is to shop at off-price stores.  T.J. Maxx and Marshalls are great options, if you have access to them.  I have shopped at both stores for years and years.  Another favorite of mine is Value City.  Unfortunately, my favorite location closed.

Here is an example of the apparel found at off-price stores.  Looks just as fashionable as anything purchased at department stores:

My Hailey starts kindergarten on Friday!  We’re excited and anxious.  Take a look at our video below.  Hailey has a little fashion show after her personal shopping experience with Audrey.  Let us know which outfit you think she should wear on her first day!

Thank you for the great tips, Audrey and thanks to T.J. Maxx and Marshalls for the invite and the nice bag of goodies!

(All of the above opinions are my own.)