My Twin Cities Family's Blog

Calling all Shopaholics

Adam De Young — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 17:07:50 +0000

This Friday night might be one to get the kids a babysitter, because it is the First Friday Sidewalk Sale Spectacular presented by the Downtown Bloomington Association.

What’s it all about? From the Downtown Bloomington Association:

“Join us Downtown for an after-hours event the first Friday of each month! Participating business open until 8 or later. Catch some jazz & tunes while shopping our independent retailers, having an espresso drink or a libation at one of our pubs, and eating at one of our Twin City original restaurants. FIRST FRIDAYS in Downtown Bloomington. Come downtown after work and enjoy! “

Click here for a list of the participating downtown stores or just stop by this Friday and enjoy!! I know I’ll be there.

Groovy Cupcakes…Yum-O

Adam De Young — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:18:43 +0000

You know how tough it is to be baking all the time for this ones birthday party, a thing at school, girl scouts, cub scouts and everything in between. I had to figure out a way to get the kids involved with doing some of the baking so I could manage having the time to do it myself. I searched and searched for something to bake that the kids could help with and wouldn’t get bored after 15 minutes with and I finally came across this website. The site is a great site as a general rule, but this particular video was right up my alley and exactly what I was looking to do with the kids. What a break!! We made these cupcakes over the weekend and they came out great…now the only trick is making them last without eating them until tomorrow for school!!

Boo!! Halloween in April?

mytwincitiesfamily — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:55:21 +0000

Sounds too scary to be true, but at the Miller Park Zoo this weekend, it’s Halloween in April for real. The kids will get a thrill out of this great event that includes a costume parade, a gross out table, mask making, crafts table, games and of course, what would Halloween be without CANDY!! GET CANDY GET CANDY GET CANDY!!

All of this, plus the zookeeper will be displaying all sorts of snakes and scary looking bugs that will get your skin crawling and your kids saying….COOOOOOOOOOOLLL!!

This is another great event put on by the folks at the Miller Park Zoo who always do a great job with family friendly activities. Check out all the details for the event here and get ready to be scaaaaaaaaaaaared!!

In search of Spring…

mytwincitiesfamily — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:33:01 +0000

Spring is in the air and this weekend it’s time for one of my favorite traditions with my kids, the Easter Egg Hunt. You don’t have to even celebrate Easter to have fun with this tradition. The best thing about it is the nice spring air (if the weather cooperates) and the smile on their faces when they track down that last egg that was hidden the hardest.

Here are some tips to having a successful Easter Egg Hunt.

1.) Don’t use real eggs – trust me, I tried this once before, we missed finding one and then we found it later in the summer, it wasn’t pretty!!

2.) Candy and coins – fill your colorful plastic eggs with candy (if it was my choice it would be jelly beans so I could eat the leftovers) and some coins. A quarter will do the trick. This way when the kids find the egg they’ll shake it, creating more excitement.

3.) Hide them high and hide them low. Low is always easy, to find a hiding spot on the ground, but up high sometimes gets tricky. Tree limbs work well, unless you have real little ones playing. Maybe on a bike seat or the handle of trash bin, those are usually right at eye level.

4.) Take lots of pictures and share them with us here.

Have great fun and remember, it’s as much fun for the kids as it is for you, but since you did all the planning, treat yourself to the leftover candy…YUM!!

How it all began…

mytwincitiesfamily — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:42:43 +0000

I’ve started this blog in conjunction with my friends at twincities.allinoneplace.com as a way to get the word out there about events coming up in the Bloomington-Normal area that are suitable for families.

Sometimes I’ve found that it’s hard to find the perfect thing to do on a sunny weekend afternoon with the entire family, so that’s why now you can start here.

Each week check back for tips and tricks for things to do with the kids as well as some fun arts and crafts to try when there’s nothing that peeks yours or the kids interest.

I look forward to providing you with some great insight in the happenings of our great city!!