Half-Priced Admission at Wazoo's.

If you're looking for a fun way to get through this wintry weather this holiday break, look no further than Wazoo's - South Austin's premiere bounce house and play area for children, where "Fun is Inflated!"

Wazoo's is open everyday from 10am-8pm, and kids up to twelve are welcome to play, with a special toddler area designated to keep the littlest ones safe! Admission is $8 for the entire day (including readmission if you need a break to refuel!), but you can get half-price admission from this coupon. If you don't want to have to leave and want to make a day of it, outside food and drinks and welcome, and food and drinks are available to purchase inside as well! Wazoo's also boasts five large party rooms and have some of the best rates in town for birthday parties! Come enjoy the open layout - perfect for being able to spot multiple children - and see what all the excitement is about! 

WonderKids Club Trial at The Little Gym of Round Rock.

As you know, we are big supporters of The Little Gym of Round Rock and The Little Gym of Austin at Lakeline. Ava started taking gymnastics at one-year-old, but only when we started classes at The Little Gym when she was two-and-a-half did she really start to come into her own and increase her skill levels by leaps and bounds. So when I received an email recently notifying me that they were going to be offering a new class for three- and four-year-olds called WonderKids Club, well, my interest was certainly piqued!

The class was described (per their website) as, "..an enrichment program that extends The Little Gym experience…a three-hour interactive learning experience, structured play session, and exploration of their innate sense of wonder."

After reading that, we knew we wanted to check it out, and so this past Monday, Ava attended the trial class to get a feel for what WonderKids Club is all about. Check out our experience:

During the first hour, the children enjoyed a plethora of hands-on activities, including making musical instruments out of Play-Doh (Can I just say how grateful I am for her to play with Play-Doh somewhere other than my carpet?!), playing those "instruments" and using their imaginations to create music, and spending time at two different Lego creation stations (Again, anything that keeps Legos off my floor - and inevitably from under my feet - is good with me!).

After they'd had some time to work with the different building activities, they then gathered for a circle time, featuring the story, Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Suess, sitting still with the promise of an hour in the gym to follow!

Ava loved her trial class - she's at the perfect age to really enjoy both the structured learning and, of course, active time in the gym. For me, the class was set up perfectly, with an hour of learning activities in the multi-purpose room, followed by an hour in the gym, and another hour of activities, and I know I could certainly use the three hour block of time it provides parents to get their week started off on the right foot! 

WonderKids Club is offered Mondays, from 10:15-1:15, and is specially designed for children ages 3 & 4. You can buy a ten-pack of classes this week for $150, before it returns to the regular price of $200 for a ten-pack. One of the best things about this new class at The Little Gym of Round Rock is that enrollment is flexible, with your ten classes being scheduled at your convenience. Planning to be out of town one week? Have a sick child, or just feel like not having to attempt to get everyone ready and out the door one week? No problem! You can schedule your classes at your convenience, without being locked into a regular weekly schedule! Call (512) 687-4141 today to sign up, and save 25% on enrollment through this Friday, December 20!

Of Mice and Music: A Jazz Nutcracker by Tapestry Dance

Last week, I posted about an upcoming event we were really excited about attending this past weekend - Tapestry Dance Company's Of Mice and Music: A Jazz Nutcracker. For those who are new readers, I have an almost four-year-old little girl, and she is fascinated by dance. So much so, that we took her to The Nutcracker at The Long Center before she was even two-years-old, and she sat mesmerized by the performance. Now that she's a bit older, however, it's not as easy to keep her attention unless she's really engaged by something, and so I was worried about the potential for disaster that comes from bringing a preschooler and newborn to a formal performance.

As it turned out, there was no need for worry at all! I had heard amazing reviews of this performance from friends who had attended the previous year, and one of the big selling points for me to deviate from the typical nutcracker ballet was the fact that it's a shorter performance, with a running time of around an hour. Anyone who has spent a millisecond in a preschool classroom knows how critical it is to know when to wrap things up, am I right? Tapestry's performance was the perfect amount of time to be worth the effort it takes to get two children out the door in their Sunday best, without losing my child's attention. 

Not only was the length perfect for her age group (I saw many other families with a similarly-aged child), but the energy was appealing to the whole family. The Nutcracker is a beautiful, timeless story, but the ballet can move a bit slow for an antsy child. When you throw in the tap-tap-tapping rhythm of the dancer's shoes at Of Mice and Music, however, you have a captivated audience, tapping their feet along to the rhythm in the rows. The remarkably talented cast certainly didn't hurt things, either ;)

The venue was also spectacular for the show - it was in a reputable location, but still small enough to be intimate and for there to not be a bad seat in the house. In fact, there was open seating at the performances, making a great live experience accessible to everyone! No balcony seats for this show!

Speaking of accessibility, one of my daughter's favorite parts was getting a chance to meet - and take a photo with - the cast after the show. Such an amazing memory for her to have of this experience!

All in all, I would highly recommend checking out Tapestry Dance Company's Nutcracker performance when it returns next year! It will certainly join the repertoire of our holiday traditions!

Twins?

My children are starting to look eerily alike:

Same pillow, same age, same tongue movement, same "staring into your soul" eyes. Spooky, right?

Tapestry Dance Company Presents: Of Mice and Music: A Jazz Nutcracker!

While Ava is still young, we've been giving a lot of thought to holiday traditions. Seeing as how we live in a different state than my family, and we won't be going to visit David's family this year seeing as how we have a newborn, a lot of those traditions are being established with just the four of us, centering around things to do over the holiday season in Austin.

A couple of years ago, as well as the year that Ava was born, I went to see Ballet Austin's production of The Nutcracker - a show we enjoyed very much! This year, however, we decided we wanted to see something slightly different, so on the recommendation of a friend, we are taking the kids to see Tapestry Dance Company's production of Of Mice and Music: A Jazz Nutcracker!

As the name might suggest, Tapestry Dance Company is The Long Center's resident tap and jazz dance company, and North America's only professional tap dance company! We are surely in for a treat, then, when the show commences this weekend!

From the show's description:

"Tapestry's annual and critically acclaimed holiday celebration!  A jazz, tap dance take on Tchaikovsky's classic with live music by Blue J and the best of Tapestry's professionals with a window into our academy best!"

You can catch the show this Friday and Saturday at the Stateside Theatre at the Paramount, located at 719 Congress Avenue, Austin, TX  78701. Showtimes include an evening performance both nights at 7 p.m., as well as a 2:00 matinee Saturday afternoon. You can find more info and purchase tickets here.

Who's Hungry? (Giveaway!)

So it's been a while! Oopsies! Something about a baby and a preschooler and two jobs and all that jazz has been keeping me on my toes. In fact, that's why I'm posting today. With my recent return to work, and with me being off all dairy products for little man's tummy, I've been having a difficult time finding things to eat while on the go, and boy am I ever on the go! That's where - surprisingly - McDonald's has been coming in.

Over the past few years, McDonald's has made some huge strides towards offering healthy alternatives to traditional fast food (though I'm still a sucker for their fries!). I was recently given the opportunity to visit one of their locations and tour the facility, as well as getting a preview of their healthier kids options they've recently introduced, including low-fat strawberry go-carts, a grilled chicken wrap, and bottled Dasani water. I had a great time previewing all of the tasty food, but the absolute best part of the day for this dairy-free mama was finding out that all of their items are customizable! Did you know that? Typically, when I think of fast food, I think of things being pre-made and not able to be special ordered for food restrictions and allergies, and apparently, that is just not true! Case in point: One of the things we tried out was the premium Blueberry Pomegranate Smoothie. I was bummed that I wouldn't be able to have one, but as it turns out, they made both Ava and me one without any yogurt and with just juice AND it was delicious! The best part? It was Ava's first taste of a smoothie, and she loved it!

That's just one example of how you can custom order any of McDonald's food to your specific dietary needs - something that has become increasingly important to our expanding family! My current favorites and recommendations for others who are dairy-free? I love their Chicken and Bacon wrap (just ask for no cheese and no garlic sauce, which cuts both dairy and calories!), as well as their Southwestern Chicken salad with crispy chicken, no cheese and their Italian dressing - delish!

If you're wanting a chance to try out some of their new choices yourself, here's your chance! I'm giving one lucky reader a chance to win a $25 McDonald's Arch card! Enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway