On Thursday night, the kids and I were invited to an advanced look at the Maryland Science Center’s new fully interactive exhibit Harry’s Big Adventure: My Bug World presented by Terminix.

What a night.

Hosted by Harry, a Chinese praying mantis, and his insect friends, Harry’s Big Adventure: My Bug World! takes visitors on a unique multi-sensory journey through the habitats, sights, sounds and social structures of some of  nature’s smallest and most important contributors.

Your kids will adore it.

{My boy’s favorites were the scorpion and tarantula. Shocking, I know.}

My advice? Visit on a weekend when the special programming is in full swing.

On weekends trained entomologists from the Audubon Insectarium, allow you to get up-close-and-personal with the stars of the exhibit… the bugs!

Their specially designed interactive games and competitions had us in stitches. What kid wouldn’t want to know how far they can spit a cricket? Or root for their fav roach in the Roach Race, or  hang out in the Bug Petting Zoo?

Or even try an insect delicacy cooked up by the Bug Chef? Yes. You read right. THE BUG CHEF. If bug cuisine is on your bucket list, then this exhibit will be right up your alley…

{See how much I love my readers?  Yes, I ate a bug for my blog. It was, not surprisingly, rather crunchy. My kids haven’t kissed me in days.}

Important deets:

Harry’s Big Adventure: My Bug World! will be open during regular museum hours: Tuesday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Please note special weekend programming.) Entrance to the exhibit is included in museum admission. For ticket and admission information, call Maryland Science Center at 410-685-2370 or visit www.marylandsciencecenter.org for more information.

Looking for fun things to do with your kids in DC?

Play Today DC is a local family friendly website that is all about connecting families with kids’ classes, events, and activities happening in and around DC. Along with a calendar of events, Play Today DC allows a parent to register for the activities right on the site. No more playing phone tag with the kiddie gym! Play Today DC is free for families to sign up and enjoy. (Now in Beta version in Northern Virginia, currently serving Falls Church, Great Falls, McLean, Oakton, Reston and Vienna.  Expanding to serve other cities in the DC-area soon.)

JOIN THEM AT THEIR LAUNCH EVENT:

On Saturday, February 4th, 2012 Play Today DC will host a free  “Find the Fun Fair” event at the Westwood Country Club in Vienna, VA from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm.  There will be tons of great activities for families including a moon bounce, face painting, snacks, music, plus raffles and giveaways. (Plus and iPad giveaway! See below for details)

SWEEPSTAKES OPPORTUNITIES: 

Visit the Play Today DC Facebook fan page, become a fan and you are eligible to win an iPod Touch in their online sweepstakes! (Value $199). Print out the Play Today DC Facebook fan page, include your name, email address and phone number and bring it to the Find the Fun Fair on Feb. 4th  and be entered to win an iPad at the fair. Wow, right?  (Value $499). For more details, click here.

Disclosure: I received compensation in return for writing this post. That being said, I’m all about making lives easier. Who isn’t?

Feminists – don’t even bother to try to get offended. “Shit Girls Say” is hilarious.

I dare you to claim you haven’t found yourself uttering some of the phrases contained in the videos below. I know I am guilty as charged.

The videos (which quickly went viral) feature a man, dressed as a woman, in various life situations uttering those phrases we women are most certainly guilty of speaking aloud. (“I know, right?”) The concept originated on  Twitter via an account run by two Toronto comedians Kyle Humphrey and Graydon Sheppard.

Enjoy!

Episode 2

So which phrase are you most guilty of saying?

Ever discover something that is so unique and exciting that you just HAVE to share it?

A friend of mine recently introduced me to Rendi. INSTANTLY IN LOVE. Rendi has some of the most beautiful and customizable gifts and home decor items that I have ever seen.

Perfect for the holidays!

The minute I flipped through the catalog and website I started making lists for Christmas. (I’m here to tell you that I could find something for every single person in my life. It has become quite the addiction!) I found gift ideas for my teachers, friends, family members and colleagues.  The fact that each piece is uniquely created for each individual makes it a something that will not soon be forgotten.

A small sampling…

I ordered this beautiful customized “wall tag” on late Monday afternoon and it was completed and shipped by the next day. Talk about service!

Mary Kate Battles is my Rendi stylist. I encourage you to stop by the site today and try it out for yourself!

Note: The last day for regular shipping to get these by Christmas is the 14th, but express delivery is available! And don’t forget that these are also perfect for birthdays, graduation and other life celebrations as well.

I’m going to be honest with you, this little blog of mine sometimes brings in cool opportunities.

Like chocolate.

Anyone else out there live for the stuff like I do?

Hershey’s is coming out with a new flavor in their Hershey’s Pieces line featuring ALMONDS. And lucky moi got a chance to inhale sample the new flavor.

The verdict? Dangerously good. In fact, I powered through half of the bag before I even realized it. DANGEROUSLY good, people. There is a whole almond in each chocolaty good melt-in-your-mouth piece.

This week was an exciting one for my pre-teen. He got to see his Invisalign Clincheck and is one step closer to his new braces.

During our last visit, our doctor took x-rays, pictures and impressions of of his teeth and sent them to Invisalign. They were then converted into digital 3-D images. (Which impressed the boy to no end. Yes, I admit, it IS too cool.) At our most recent appointment, she mapped out our treatment plan for us, including the exact movements of his teeth during the process. It is estimated that it will only take 12 months for his treatment. (Wow! I remember kids having them on for three years when I was young.)

Let me just pause for a moment to say that I didn’t think that Ninja’s teeth were that out of line. Once I saw the video of how his teeth are projected to change, I was taken aback.

Here is a video of his teeth (one angle) and how they will proceed through treatment:

Technology is amazing, isn’t it? And those flesh colored dots on his teeth? Those are called “attachments.” They are glued to the teeth to help them move into place. Don’t worry, they will be clear as well.

The funniest part about this whole experience so far is the fact that my son seems to enjoy telling people (friends, acquaintances, random strangers… ) about his “invisible braces.” Their reactions range from “No fair!” to “Aww, you are so lucky!” to “Mom, I want those too!” Jeez, if he is this bad now, hate to see him when he is actually wearing the darn things.

Disclosure: I’m part of the Invisalign Mom Advisory Board and my son is receiving free Invisalign treatment so that we could share our honest experiences.

Follow the other #invisalignmoms on Twitter: @amnichols @thePOSHpreneur @HoosierHomemade @thenagainphoto @Linda_Sellers @AnissaMayhew @SugarJones

Too early to start thinking about the holidays?

I think NOT.

If you are a family with children living anywhere near the Washington DC region you are going to want to seriously look into Gaylord National’s holiday offerings.

Beginning November 18^th, Gaylord National will offer a brand new 15,000 square foot ICE! extravaganza featuring DreamWorks’ Merry Madagascar™. The animated holiday TV special is being transformed into a interactive wonderland of colorful ice sculptured entirely out of two million (yes, you read that right) pounds of ice.

But that is just the tip of the iceberg. No pun intended.

Gaylord is taking a page from Disney’s books and offering two-night one-of-a-kind Dreamworks character vacations. Families will not only get the ICE! experience but also the opportunity to rub elbows with Po, Shrek, Alex, King Julien and other Dreamworks characters in a variety of unique experiences ranging from character breakfasts, scavenger hunts, and wake up calls to poolside holiday movies, ice skating and more.

Coupled with the hotel’s already extravagant Christmas on the Potomac activities, which include indoor snowfall, simulated Northern Lights and a 7,000 pound Tree of Light, there can be no doubt that it is shaping up to be a regional experience like no other. (Our family stayed there last Christmas and were, quite literally, blown away. I spent the rest of the holiday season convincing friends and family to visit. It was magical.)

Special package pricing families is currently available. For more information on the Christmassy Dreamworks Experience at Gaylord National, ICE! or Christmas on the Potomac, take a look at Gaylord National’s website or call 301-965-4000.

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to my newest online obsession: PINTEREST

Heard of it yet?

I have to admit that at first I didn’t quite “get it.” Now, however, I am a junkie.  (As in, spending all of my free time oohing and aahing over what others curate.)

In case you are unfamiliar with the application, let me explain: Pinterest simply allows you to create virtual pinboards of your favorite images, share them with your followers, and discover amazing new things along the way.

A Dozen Ways That I Use Pinterest (And you can too!)

• Idea gathering:  For future use in event planning, entertaining and the like
• DIY creativity: There are some might creative people on the Internet. I pin their projects to attempt later.
• Inspiration: Quotes, photographs, places and spaces. I love collecting them!
• Home decor ideas
• Fashion & style finds
• Office: Design and organization ideas for the office.
• Incredibly cool and unique products that I don’t want to forget about.
• Humor: Recording hilarity on the web.
• Foodie fun: A collection of recipes and food ideas.
• Styleboards: For later use when helping clients create website and graphic design materials
• Vision boards: A collection of items serving as my online vision board
• Collaboration: To compile and collaborate with others on projects

A tip: Once you get started, the easiest way to pin items is to install their “Pin It” bookmark. From that point, anytime you find an image you like, just “Pin It” and you will be given options to pin any of the pictures on that page to your Pinterest boards. So simple!

I do think that Pinterest is a great way for blogs, Etsy shops and unique products to be discovered. If you are thinking of this as a traffic generator for your own content, some advice -  The best way to get traffic from Pinterest is to post attention grabbing photos to your own website that will get attention from readers and encourage them to “pin you.” In other words… create the content and it will naturally get shared.

Find me on Pinterest: My boards

Have you tried Pinterest? What do you think of it? How do you use it? (If you are on Pinterest… leave me your url and I’ll follow your boards.)

I don’t talk much about my husband on this blog do I? You probably think I am divorced.

Nope. The man just doesn’t make many an appearance here because, well… he is way more private than I am. (I tend to over share in case you hadn’t already noticed.)

We are incredibly different people. And yet we work, you know?

My husband hails from the great state of New Jersey. Now before you wrinkle your nose at the who “Jersey Shore” cliché that just popped into your mind… let me just say that he is cut from a different cloth.

One of the greatest things that I’ve been exposed to during my history with Michael is delish Jersey/Philly food. I never knew a real CHEESE STEAK until the man took me to Geno’s in Philly. (A close second to Jim’s Steak’s on 2nd. I heart them both though.)

Each time we visit my husband’s hometown, he waxes poetic about the local icon that is Weber’s Drive-In.

Weber’s is this kitschy orange and black roadside joint in South Jersey. My husband ADORES it.

Now I’ve visited Weber’s before and honesty, I remember not being that impressed with it. But since it was my husband’s favorite haunt as a boy, I decided to give it one more try before writing it off completely. And besides, the kids are the perfect age for that type of thing.

You know what?  We loved it.

Not gourmet by any means but it is definitely yummy roadside food. And let’s face it, drive-ins are way cool.

Our new family favorites are frosted mugs of their famous root beer and the ever classic cheeseburgers and fries combination. (Although next time I’m getting a Black Cow float!) I’ve heard that their steamed dogs are a real treat as well. And the prices are almost as nostalgic as the actual burger joint.

Making the experience even better? A random dancing Elvis at the entrance.

Prices are cheap, services is fast and the staff is incredibly friendly. (The only thing missing is roller skates.) If you get a chance, it is worth a hop off of the turnpike. Word of warning – it is cash only so make sure you come prepared.

Where to find it: Route 38 and King Road / Pennsauken, NJ.

Oh yeah, tell Elvis I said hi! (Oh and yes, I am indeed uber-proud of the fact that the pre-teen has not brushed his hair and burps in this video. Sigh.)

Dani Johnson - Secret Millionaire

REJOICING! A REALITY SHOW THAT I CAN FINALLY GET BEHIND.

Last night my family and I watched the season premier of Secret Millionaire on ABC.

Wow.

The show is about  American millionaires who gain a new perspective as they go incognito and work at minimum wage jobs in some of the country’s most poverty-stricken neighborhoods. After they work side by side with needy-and-deserving people, the “secret millionaires” meet up with those they want to help, reveal their true identity and give away at least $100,000 to the lucky recipients.

I was so moved by the show and it’s premise that I found myself in tears throughout the night.

You see, I work with non-profits every day. From free medical care to the uninsured to assistance with mental health services, organizations intent on helping children who’ve aged out of the foster care system to those providing emergency human needs, I have been privileged to work with some of the most unbelievable people. And as a former development officer myself, I’ve faced the overwhelming financial hardships that are felt by those type of organizations every day.

The generosity that Dani Johnson, the season’s first millionaire,  showed to the Knoxville non-profits CHANGED THEIR LIVES. Not just the lives of those benefiting from the non-profit’s services but also the lives of the individuals running the organizations.

They will never be the same.

My own children were so inspired that they spent the next morning gathering money and change to donate to the poor box in church.

Can you imagine what kind of an impact this type of show can have on the state of philanthropy today? If two little boys are inspired enough to raid their piggy banks in Frederick, Maryland, I know that this show can move others with more means to do the same.

If you are interested, ABC  has begun their own movement in addition to the series. Please visit their website for more information on how you can help those around you or contact your local non-profit organizations to find out where their might be a need.

Here’s a taste of what the show has to offer:

Best quote of the night? “We idolize celebrities, we idolize professional athletes, we idolize millionaires, we idolize all the wrong people. The people who have started these organizations…they are the model Americans.” – Dani Johnson (Amen!!)