Detroit Mom Bloggers metro Detroit events.
The weather is finally starting to get nice, so it’s time to head out, stock up and cool off! Here are a few coupons that are perfect for a nice day outside!
Cool off with drinks like iced coffee and smoothies!
Get your magazine subscriptions going again just in time for some poolside reading!
Get ready to BBQ with these essentials…
In late August of 2012, I left Chicago feeling like I had just ripped out my heart and left it on the street in the South Loop. As I drove away, I watched my first-born’s shape outside of her dorms grow smaller until we turned the corner and headed for the interstate.
As proud as I was of my daughter and as much as I knew this was a “good thing,” this was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do for one of my children. Just letting go and trusting that she would be all right. That she would be okay and not get lost in Chicago, be able to get somewhat-healthy food into her stomach and that the world wouldn’t end if she ran out of toilet paper.
The first semester was the hardest. So was the second semester.
The first semester was filled with calls, asking for my help. Advice on what to do about uncooperative roommates, how she should work with a difficult professor and how she was feeling overwhelmed. It was all I could do to not jump on the next flight to give her roommates a tongue-lashing, bring her professor some brownies and just give my girl a big hug. I wanted to fix everything. But I couldn’t. These were things she would have to deal with on her own. And she did.
Very well. Too well.
As she adapted and became more self-sufficient, the calls and trips home became less and less. I barely heard from her the second semester and she only came home once. I wanted to jump on the next flight to make sure she wasn’t lost in Chicago, she had food in her fridge and enough toilet paper in the bathroom. But I didn’t. I wanted to, but I didn’t. My daughter had learned to take care of these things for herself and I was learning to let her.
Today was the last day of classes for her. She has officially completed her first year of college and I couldn’t be more proud. This weekend, we leave to pack up her dorm and bring her back home for the summer. My baby is coming home! Home, where I know she won’t be lost, she will have food in her stomach and enough toilet paper to last through a zombie apocalypse.
I’m going back to Chicago to pick up my heart in the same place I left it.
“Disney’s PLANES Takes Flight,” opens in theatres everywhere onAugust 9th!
“Like” Disney’s PLANES on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/
“Follow” Disney’s PLANES on Twitter: https://twitter.com/
Visit the website: www.disney.com/Planes
Exploring your local city can be a great way to have a family vacation without spending very much money. You’ll save on the hotels and plane tickets for sure and get to have so much fun experiencing all of the great things your local area has to offer!
Here are some of my favorite things to do in metro Detroit and if you don’t see anything here that looks like fun, check out the Pure Michigan site (here) for other things to do in Michigan.
Old and big on the outside, magnificent and magical on the inside. I would have given anything to be a fly on the wall in Edsel and Eleanor Ford’s home when they were alive!
Christmas in December is obvious, but what about in July or August or September and October? Frankenmuth is the Christmas city in Michigan and has the world’s largest Christmas store! Another bonus is the really good German food!
After some crazy winter and spring weather, summer is almost here. Celebrate it in style by taking the family to an all american game of baseball. Every Tiger game has something cool or fun tied to it like fireworks, souvenirs, special days for kids, Star Wars night, fan appreciation and so much more. Check out all of the Tiger promotions (here).
Who needs a Teddy Bear’s Picnic when you can go see where they are born? Head to the Chelsea Teddy Bear factory and take a free tour of 100,000 teddy bears!
You can see the world without ever leaving Detroit by visiting the Detroit Institute of the Arts! From Vincent Van Gogh’s Bedroom in Aries to a special preview event on Monster’s University complete with a Monster’s University auction and an opportunity to meet Disney Pixar director Dan Scanlon.
Starting at $199 you’ll get a family 4 pack of tickets to two The Henry Ford attractions (Henry Ford Museum, Greenfield Village or Ford Rouge Factory Tour) and one night stay at the Double Tree Hilton Detroit-Dearborn hotel! Check out other hotel deals and packages (here).
When I first moved to Michigan, I couldn’t get over how amazing the parks were! From summer programs to dog parks and camping to geocache there are too many activities to list! Check out the extensive list of things to do and programs (here) at the Oakland County parks website.
WHO:
All Ages, Family Event
WHAT:
Musicians from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra will join forces with the DSO ’s Civic Orchestra and Civic Wind Symphony (Michigan’s premier youth ensembles) to create an exciting performance of beloved classical favorites.
Target proudly presents Family Days — fun, educational, and FREE performances that will stimulate and nurture the enjoyment of classical music in an informal and family-friendly orchestral setting. Adults and children alike will experience world-class performances and interactive audience participation that will delight the senses.
Additional activities, including arts and crafts and face-painting will take place on the first floor of the Atrium inside the Max M. Fisher Music Center 90 minutes prior to the start of each concert.
WHEN:
Friday, May 17, 2013 at 7:30 pm RESERVE YOUR FREE TICKETS!
Ah, braces. Truth be told, I’ve always had “tooth envy” and I still do. I admire a perfectly straight smile. When I was younger, I was very jealous of girls with braces (strange, I know). My teeth were never “bad enough” to warrant braces, but it was still high on my priority list that my children have a beautifully-aligned smile.
Several years ago, our quest for orthodontia care began as my oldest daughter really did need braces. Her top teeth were very crowded and her incisor was growing on top of her other adult teeth. Funny this is that my daughter wasn’t quite obsessed with having perfect teeth as I was. In fact, when we began discussing braces, she responded that she liked her “fang.” She thought it was cool!
Still, we insisted and we started to get quotes and procedure recommendations from different orthodontists. In the process of finding the right treatment, we happened to stumble upon Invisalign. I had heard of it before, but was really only going through the motions when we visited this doctor because I had heard that they were terribly expensive. I already knew that it would be a great option aesthetically – no “brace face” and also knew that it would be nice for my daughter to not have to deal with food getting stuck between the brackets of traditional braces.
Imagine my surprise when I found out how affordable they really were! We were all in. The doctor took a mold of her mouth, used modern technology to project her treatment and order her aligners.
The aligners are clear plastic trays that fasten to your teeth with little snaps. We received two trays every visit and each tray was to be worn for about two weeks.
These trays should be worn for as much as possible throughout the day and night, only to be taken out to eat, drink and brush your teeth.
They really are invisible too! I mentioned that my daughter had finished her treatment to a good friend that has known her for the last 5 years and she never even knew my daughter was wearing them!
We were really so pleased with the results. I won’t show you the “before” picture because I don’t want to embarrass her (but, trust me, it really was bad), but here is the “after”:
Here are some more results from the Invisalign website:
Oh, and by the way, now that she’s in college, she’s really glad that “fang” is gone!
Disclosure: I was compensated to attend an information Invisalign event and for this post. We were not compensated for Invisalign treatment, although that sure would have been nice. All opinions expressed here are my own.
As the weather turns warmer and the end of the school year draws near, your thoughts probably turn to vacationing. But what can you do if money is tight this year? You don’t have to give up on your chance to enjoy a family getaway. Here are three ideas families can use to vacation on the cheap:
1. Camping
Camping vacations tend to be much less expensive than traditional hotel/motel options. There are campgrounds across the country that offer tent camping, rent out cabins, or provide both. Pick one close to home if you want to save on gas costs; choose one in another city or state if you want to combine camping with things like museum trips, historical tours, or amusement park fun. Otherwise, continue the low-cost theme with hiking, fishing, and bike riding. Being uncomfortable with emptying your bladder in the great outdoors is no excuse to avoid camping. Many campgrounds offer outhouses complete with flushing toilets, running water, hot showers, and electricity. Likewise, you can find cabins to rent with private bathrooms and refrigerators, even if it is cheating a little.
2. The Off-Season Vacation
You can get great deals on vacations by going during the off season for your destination. When accommodations are in demand because tourists are flocking to a destination, you can expect to pay the big bucks. However, if you can travel when most people are not, you can get more bang for your buck. For example, the summer months are the off season for Florida because it is hot, hot, hot there! If you don’t mind sweating a bit more, go in July or August to save money.
3. Staycation
You don’t always have to leave your home to relax and recharge. Instead, vacation at home, casting aside all of the must-dos that normally swallow your time and trading them for fun. Turn off the computers and set your phone’s ringer to silent. Then, stock the house with tasty indulgences, including plenty of ice cream and sundae fixings. Be sure to choose lots of meals that only require minimal cooking. Once your pantry is well stocked, kick back and relax with late-morning sleep-ins, movie marathons, and indoor and outdoor games for the whole family. When you get bored being at home, check out the local museums and attractions that you never have time to visit. Make some time for the adults too–think cocktails, long soaks in the tub, and massages–after the kids are in bed, of course.
What are your favorite budget-friendly vacations? Share your tips in the comments section below!
Yesterday, my Facebook stream was flowing with rants about a 6 year old statement made by Abercrombie and Fitch CEO, Mike Jefferies. The statement made in an interview with Salon magazine was in response to a question posed about how the brand uses sex and sexual attraction to create an “emotional experience.”
“It’s almost everything. That’s why we hire good-looking people in our stores. Because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don’t market to anyone other than that.”
He goes on to say,
“In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids. Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.”
Business Insider frames all of these statements with the facts that A & F doesn’t carry size “XL” for women or make anything larger than a size 10. The conclusion is that if you are a female bigger than a size 10, you aren’t cool, you aren’t good-looking and probably don’t have a lot of friends.
Basically, this girl won’t be shopping there:
She won’t be either:
Because they are both bigger than a size 10.
You can make up your own mind if you want to continue to shop at Abercrombie & Fitch or not. I’m not writing to persuade you to boycott A & F.
Do these statements make me mad? Absolutely! More than that, though, it makes me incredibly sad.
I’m sad that there are so many people, teens, that are receiving this message. Quite literally buying into it.
Teens, you can start your eye-rolling here, if you’d like, but know this:
Where you shop, what you wear and what you own does not make you cool.
Being “cool” and genuinely well-liked is something that radiates from the inside. It doesn’t matter where you live, what kind of car you drive or what brand logo is on your shirt, your flip-flops, your underwear or on across your rump on the back of your yoga pants that you wear (but never actually go to yoga in). You are either likable or you are not.
In the world outside of high school, there are very few people that specifically care about brands, labels or what size clothes you wear. Your argument to this may be “But, I’m in high school now,” but consider that you will spend less than 5% of your entire lifetime in high school.
That means for the other 95% of your life, your peers, colleagues, co-workers, future spouses and most of the people you come in contact with will judge you based on your character, how you treat other people and the positive mark you are leaving on the world.
(In the post-high-school-world, you may also be judged on proper use of “to, two and too,” and ability to form full sentences without using “LOL” or “j/k”, so you may want to brush up on that before you graduate.)
Those that think that wearing a certain brand or paying hundreds of dollars for a salon hair-cut makes them cool are superficial and shallow. And idiots.
If you really want to be cool, treat others the way you want to be treated, live fully, make your dreams a reality and take that $78 you would spend on a shirt at A & F, go buy 5 shirts at Walmart and keep one for yourself and give 4 to a homeless shelter.
For the past few weeks, I have been using the 4G LTE DROID RAZR MAXX HD by Motorola through Verizon Wireless. If your smartphone habits demand a powerful battery, the Droid Razr Maxx HD by Motorola should top your list. .Maxx. means this Android™ phone comes with industry–leading battery life. I can honestly tell you, that I use my phone constantly. I am always talking, checking my e-mail, Facebook etc, taking pictures, or creating videos – this battery NEVER dies! Ok, I am exaggerating a bit, but I will say the life span is amazing! Between myself & my 6 year old – we always drain batteries. Along with everything I do, we like to play different games too. This phone is GREAT for that & can entertain your kids way longer then any average phone I have ever used!
DROID RAZR MAXX HD raises the industry standard with seriously insane battery performance. Still impossibly thin at 9.3mm, it’s shorter, narrower, and thinner than most competing LTE smartphones, yet packs more battery power than all others. I will say, I did lose it plenty of times, because I am not used to such a thin phone! It would end up on my passenger’s seat, under my purse or a crazy spot like that! But, I loved how it fit perfectly in my smaller purses and pocket! Furthermore, It can deliver up to 13 hours of HD video (which comes in handy with kids)! The phone is currently $149.99 , with a NEW 2 year activation! Please visit Verizon’s Web Site to find out more about pricing.
Some Fascinating Features the 4G LTE DROID RAZR MAXX HD Includes:
Included in the box:
I will tell you that I did enjoy using the phone tremendously. Verizon’s service is fantastic. I NEVER lost one call, nor a connection at any point! We even traveled a few different places, where my usual phone NEVER works, was I excited I had Verizon!! Now, in comparison to the 4G LTE Samsung Galaxy Note II I reviewed a few weeks back, READ HERE, I will say, I didn’t think the camera matched up quite as well. I think the Galaxy Note II’s picture quality was stronger. However, other than that, I had absolutely nothing else to say that wouldn’t be over the top complimentary! I’m still shocked with the battery life! With Mother’s Day, Graduations, & Father’s Day quickly approaching – something like this would make a GREAT gift for anyone, any age!
To see what GREAT videos the 4G LTE DROID RAZR MAXX HD by Motorola takes, please watch the video below! My daughter was about to lose her first tooth! I was SO happy to have caught it on camera with this amazing phone!!!
This is a guest post by Rebecca Thomas, mom to two little girls and a third set to make her debut this summer. She works full-time, does too many crafts and likes to take pictures. You can find her writing about what works and what doesn’t at FindingMyBlog.com.
One of my baby showers was right out of a nightmare. Aside from the baby being born right there in the restaurant, I’m not sure we could have had a worse string of bad luck leading up to it. Maybe that’s why I’m not a huge fan of baby showers. However, as a soon-to-be third-time mom, I have a few tips if you are attending or having a baby shower.
1. New moms are completely in love with the idea of how perfect life will be if they have EVERYTHING in Babies R Us.
Matching crib sheets, a million baby toys, an adorable diaper bag and all the books in the world are not going to make a world of difference. That baby will spit-up, poop and pee on all the sheets—in one night. As for toys, well, I hope you can use them to change the TV channel because when your baby does develop an interest in anything but crying and sleeping, it will just want to gnaw on your TV remote. And that diaper bag–forget looks. Make sure that thing has room for about six outfits and an extra shirt for you. And that’s just for one outing.
None of those products are magic. None of them will help your baby sleep through the night. They might look adorable in the store, but think about where in your home you will put that Jumperoo that takes up as much room as your recliner.
If you are buying a gift, look at the registry and think practically. Yes, Butt Paste is actually worth the money and mom is totally going to thank you for the digital ear thermometer the first time she has to take the temperature of a screaming baby in the middle of the night. But she might not really need those plates and cups just yet. Or better yet, go gift card. Hopefully she saves it to buy some of those necessities in a few months.
2. No. More. Blankets.
We know your neighbor’s sister’s babysitter can knit the most adorable blankets, but unless you are the grandma or the mother has specifically requested one she’s going to get a million blankets. Probably more than she’ll ever use.
3. Baby shoes are sort of pointless so if you plan to buy any, go cheap.
Enough said.
4. If you are attending a shower with friends, go in on a bigger gift. Getting a travel system, pack and play or crib set is probably more of a sigh of relief for the mother than anything else.
5. If she plans to breastfeed, I say endorse it. Breastmilk storage bags or a storage container for the freezer is going to be really helpful as she tries to figure out what to do with the milk as she starts pumping.
6.Don’t wander off the registry.
While we all want to pretend we know better, it’s really up to mom to learn these things. Plus, you don’t know what she has and doesn’t have.
7. When in doubt go with diapers.
I didn’t buy diapers for several months after our first child was born. What a relief. Those suckers are expensive!
So what’s on our “registry” for our third baby? Well, we aren’t having a shower, but here are the three things we used so much we have to replace.
1. Infant to toddler rocker. This thing vibrates, rocks and feels sturdier than the bouncer to me. Plus, it grows with the baby. Always a bonus.
2. Angelcare Mat. We used this for our second daughter. I borrowed it from a friend because the second she figured out how to roll over, she slept on her stomach. While this is designed to let you know if baby stops breathing by sensing tiny movements, it mostly let me know if she had rolled off of it. I didn’t want her rolling to the edge of the crib and getting wedged up against the crib rails.
3. Car seat. Our’s is expiring in December. Major sad face here. We will probably replace it with the same model, but we have some time to decide that and some time to make the purchase.
I also have a wish list item. A glider/rocker chair, sort of like this one.
Aside from that, I just need some diapers and some breast milk bags and I’ll ready to go. What’s left? Oh right….we just need a name.
Disclaimer: I was not given, provide for review or bribed in any way with the above products. This post may, however, contain affiliate links. The thoughts and opinions expressed here are completely my own.
