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Kidzapalooza Chicago is one week away!

Amy — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 17:14:21 +0000

Alright. It’s about time we get a post up that is music-related. This family loves music, so we should be talking about it WAY more than we do. I suppose I should speak for myself because the hubs is always talking about music on his blog. I have a very good reason to talk music at ParentSphere right now and that is because Kidzapalooza is only a week away.

In case you really don’t know…Kidzapalooza is part of Lollapalooza. You’ve surely heard of Lollapalooza, right? If you haven’t, where the heck have you been?! Lolla was founded by Perry Farrell and has been around since 1991. It was the first, huge outdoor music festival that I attended and that was way back in 1995, when the festival was still touring the country. Since 2005, Lollapalooza graces its presence in one city each summer and lucky enough for me, that city happens to be Chicago.

I took the preschooler to Kidzapalooza in 2008 and we caught one of our favorite kid acts, The Terrible Twos (Matt from The Get Up Kids/New Amsterdams). Here’s a video from their performance:

It was Kidza that rekindled my love for Lolla (are you getting confused yet?). How many of us can say that we attended our first big outdoor music festival twice before we were 5 years old? My kid can.

Anyway, we’re stoked. We’ll be there on Sunday the 8th. We’re thrilled to feature Recess Monkey here on ParentSphere. We’ll be dancing with them, singing with them and interviewing them in just over a week. We’re equally as stoked to finally catch Dan Zanes. He’s been a favorite for a long, long time around here.

Here is the 2010 Kidzapalooza line-up for all three days:

FRIDAY, AUGUST 6th
11:30–11:55 12:30–12:55 1:30–1:55 2:30–2:55 3:15–3:45 3:45–4:00 4:00–4:30	The Happiness Club School of Rock The Candy Band Tim and the Space Cadets Rocknoceros Ed Kowalczyk Recess Monkey
SATURDAY, AUGUST 7th
11:30–11:55 12:30–12:55 1:30–1:55 2:30–2:55 3:00–3:25 3:45–4:10 4:15–4:35	Tim and the Space Cadets The Candy Band Rocknoceros The Verve Pipe The Happiness Club Dan Zanes and The Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra JP, Chrissie & the Fairground Boys
SUNDAY, AUGUST 8th
11:30–11:55 12:30–12:55 1:30–1:55 2:30–2:55 3:15–3:40 3:45–4:00 4:00–4:15 4:30–5:00	School of Rock The Q Brothers Recess Monkey Dan Zanes and The Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra Peter DiStefano & Tor thenewno2 Perry Farrell The Verve Pipe

Give us a shout if you’re planning on attending the festival and would like to guest post your review(s) here!

One World, One Sky: Big Bird’s Adventure

Amy — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 04:56:58 +0000

We paid a visit to Chicago’s Adler Planetarium to check out their brand new show, “One World, One Sky: Big Bird’s Adventure” and were nothing short of impressed.

We were invited to attend opening weekend and there was already a crowd lined up at the door to see the new show and to meet Elmo. Elmo was a lot bigger in person.

This was our first time visiting the Planetarium together. The line moved swiftly and soon we were in the Definiti Space Theater in our seats and waiting for the show to begin. The theater is dome-shaped and provides a 360 degree view.

The new Sesame Street show was incredible. The kids (and adults) in the audience were mesmerized by the huge, starry virtual sky surrounding them and the Sesame Street characters; Big Bird, Elmo, and Hu Hu Zhu (from China) were a plus, too. This is a fun, informative production that gives kids an insight into the big sky that surrounds us.

After the show, the kids were invited to participate in some hands-on activities that our toddler fully enjoyed.

So, if you’re in town, we recommend checking out this brand new show. It’s big fun for the whole family.

The Adler Planetarium is located on Lake Shore Drive, on the Museum Campus, just north of Soldier Field. One World, One Sky: Big Bird’s Adventure runs daily and on weekends. You can view the schedule HERE.

American Baby Faire – Part 2

Amy — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 02:23:17 +0000

Here is part 2 of our visit to the American Baby Faire in Schaumburg, IL. Sarah from What to do, Poopsy Woo? and I chat with the following exhibitors:

clek (booster seats)

Tutu Savvy

BelliDeep Design, LLC

Watch for Part 3 coming soon…

American Baby Faire – Part 1

Amy — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 14:15:19 +0000

The American Baby Faire is in Schaumburg, Illinois this weekend. Mothers-in-waiting and new moms, this show is a must-see for you! Take a sneak peak at our video of some of the exhibitors:

In this video:

Interview with Amy: Local Chicago mom

Zoobie Pets

Me Art

Valerie (Le Leche League of IL) demonstrates a Maya Wrap

Part 2 of our video coming soon

Generation Huggies Van: blowing into the windy city!

Amy — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 23:25:16 +0000

Chicago parents – the Huggies van will be in town Wednesday, October 22nd through Friday, October 24th. Follow me on Twitter and at TheMotherhood.com to find out the exact locations! Hope you can stop by and say hi!

Click the image above to head over to the Generation Huggies site to get the full scoop!

***ALSO – We’ll be running a special giveaway here in coordination with the Generation Huggies event! Check back here Wednesday, October 22nd for your chance to enter to win a really, really cool prize.

Happy Labor Day, it’s hot.

Amy — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 21:36:41 +0000

Hope everyone is having a fabulous Labor Day. We got out of the house for a bit to mill around at the Last Fling in downtown Naperville. We are usually out of town during this end-of-summer annual event, so we felt that it was our “duty” to go.

The Last Fling marks the end of the summer festivities in this suburb of 150,000 and today, it was HOT. With temps around 90, we opted to make this a “short” outing. We grabbed some chicken tenders, Idaho potato curls and fresh lemonade and hung out around the fountain.

Hailey wanted to jump in. I wish she could have but it was too nice of a day to get arrested.

If you’re ever in the area around this time of year, stop by and grab a giant corn dog on a stick. I hear they’re delicious.

Great Wolf Lodge: Our night away from home

Amy — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 03:31:31 +0000

We recently took a jaunt up north to the Wisconsin Dells (JUST before the flooding!) to visit the Great Wolf Lodge that is located just off of I-90/94.

We did the the touristy thing when we arrived and took a drive around the area, as this was our first time visiting the Dells. Our main reason for visiting was to spend a night at the Great Wolf Lodge resort and check out the amenities.

After we finished our cruise up and down the main strip and stopping to enjoy some appetizers and a micro-brew at the Moose Jaw Pizza & Brewing Co., we made our way over to the Great Wolf Lodge.

The Grand Lobby of the Great Wolf Lodge resort is very attractive with its rustic, log cabin-like features and colorful, interactive Great Clock Tower. We stayed in the Royal Bear Suite (Rates anywhere between $319-$369/night). This rate includes waterpark passes and admission, as well as your other basic room amenities. The suite had an extra private bedroom area with a king size bed, as well as a queen size bed in the main area. There was also a little kitchenette and a “living” area with a sofa, which Hailey curled right up on to watch some toons. There is plenty of room in this suite, that’s for sure.

After settling in, we jumped into our bathing suits and made our way down to the indoor waterparks. Right away when we entered, we were able to pick out a small life jacket for Hailey. They seemed to have plenty available for the tots and the bigger kids.

I was pretty pleased with the layout of the waterparks. It was very manageable and Hailey was really enjoying herself – that was the most important part. We found out quickly that she’s a little fish…a fearless little fish. There were several areas for the little ones and that’s mainly what we focused on this time around. Eric and I did manage to take turns on the adult water slides. It was so cool. I screamed on my way down the slide and felt like a big dork afterwards. : )

After prying our child away from all of the glorious water, we cleaned up and headed to The Loose Moose Bar and Grill in the Grand Lobby. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the opportunity to enjoy the northwoods-themed ambiance because Hailey decided she was not interested in dining out. So, we ordered our dinner “to go” and retired to our suite. The food was good (we ordered a pizza) and it was nice and relaxing to just finish dinner in our room.

I drifted off to sleep shortly after but was awoken by Hailey and Eric around 8 p.m. to join them for “The Rhythm of Nature” show at the Great Clock Tower. It was fun to watch Hailey become mesmerized when the animals “came to life”. After the show, Wiley the wolf made an appearance and we all gathered around for story-time. She even gave the big furball a hug before heading back up to our room.

The day was full and we were welcoming sleep, so we tucked ourselves in for the night. Some say the beds at Great Wolf are too firm but my uber-picky husband said that he “thought they were nice”. That’s like being nominated for an Oscar, believe me. I was pretty happy too because I chose to relocate to my very own bed in the middle of the night. : )

We had breakfast at Camp Critter Buffet and it didn’t take long to fill up on oodles of buffet food. I’m not a buffet kind of person but the food wasn’t half bad. I mean, it was no breakfast buffet at the Bellagio but I can think of worse. Hey, it’s quick, the food is fresh and readily available and when I have a fit-throwing toddler on my hands, I can’t complain!

After breakfast, we strolled over to Wiley’s Woods, which is part of the resort but also open to the public. We did not end up going into the (video game) play area because we didn’t have socks and didn’t really want to purchase any, although that would have been quite easy with a vending machine full of socks available at the entrance. Instead, we opted to go over to the Northern Lights Game Parlor. Anything with lights and noise will attract a toddler, so she was happy as a clam. We purchased some tokens and let her have at it.

Another great entertainment option for the pint-size ones is the Little Tikes Great Wolf Lodge Cabin and the Cub Club activity room. I love those little extra somethings for the kiddos! We were too busy doing other fun things and didn’t get a chance to hang at the Cub Club, however, Hailey was able to chill in the cabin for a few.

So, we really had a nice little get-away at the Great Wolf Lodge! I would definitely recommend planning a stay there with your family. When you’re planning your trip, remember to check out their website for great deals. For instance, right now they have a deal on their premium suites or stay for two nights with the third night free. Obviously, these deals are only available for a limited time – so you must check out GreatWolf.com for current deals.