School Vacation events at the Hanover Mall

The Hanover Mall is having all sorts of events during school vacation week!

Tuesday, Feb 17 11-1: Fun & Games w/ YMCA
Wednesday, Feb 18 11-noon: Movin' & Shakin' Dance Party w/ Zumba Kids
Wednesday, Feb 18 12:30-2:30: Face Painting & Magic w/ Violet the Clown
Thursday, Feb 19 11-12:30: Balloons w/ Lou the BalLOUnist
Friday, Feb 20 11-noon: Meet & greet w/ Ronald McDonald

Some stores are also offering discounts during school vacation week too!

Have a strawberry Julius for me when you're there! =)

Color me some fun & a giveaway

I got these great cards in the mail last week from Color Me Company. When I opened them, my daughter (the artist) immediately grabbed them from me to check them out. They are blank inside and have an outline on the front for the kids to color in (and even came with 4 crayons). The kids can totally customize them however they want for any occasion! My daughter immediately started coloring them and was pondering who she should send her creations to.

Color Me Company not only sells cards but they have tshirts, pillowcases and seasonal items for your little artist to customize. What a great way to have your kids send a personal item to grandma that they "made" themselves! They "combine the thoughtfulness of a greeting card and the fun of a coloring book." Yea...my daughter was hooked!

You know what else really caught my eye? Their "giving is good" philosophy: Ten percent of their gross proceeds are donated to a charity. AND...you get to choose which charity when you checkout from a drop down list! How cool is that?

Another cool thing is that all the artwork is actually drawn by kids and you can actually submit your child's artwork to be considered on their products! I love how their products foster kids creativity. Any of their items would be great at a birthday party, a slumber party, your scouts meeting or as a gift!

The Color Me Company is generously giving away a Horse Pillowcase for one lucky reader! Head on over to my other blog, Mommay's Mayhem and enter to win!

If you don't win....don't cry! You can still order anything off their website and save 20% using code colormelovesmoms!

Sassy Sparkle...add some bling to your wardrobe!

I got the cutest shirt today....a Swirling Hearts rhinestone shirt from Sassy Sparkle! The shirt was wrapped nicely in tissue paper and then placed in a nice white gift box...it would be perfect for gift giving. When my daughter saw the shirt, she was so excited because it would match her new earrings....and she wants to wear it every day until Valentine's day. (I think that might be a bit much, huh?) The dazzle and sparkle on the shirt is amazing!!!!

These shirts are a great way to add some *bling* to your little diva's wardrobe. Diana has lots of styles to choose from sayings....to pet designs....holiday designs... there's even a shirt for you Twitter Addicts! What about a bling tshirt for your little princess' birthday? Or your blog name in sparkle for Blogher? Have a little cheerleader? You can bling out a shirt for her!

With almost all her designs you can choose what you want sassed out....adult & youth tshirts (long or short sleeves), dresses and even infant creepers! Choose your size and your color too. Diana uses only the best....Swarovski Crystals. You can choose the rhinestone colors on a lot of items for a truly custom item!

Each shirt comes with complete care instructions...the rhinestones are very sturdy so I doubt you'd ever have a problem. And the tshirt sizes seem very true to size.

I think her shirts are great and would definitely purchase many of her designs for my daughter, friends or my nieces! Go visit Sassy Sparkle and support a work at home mom! Enter code mayhem to save 10% off your order...but hurry the code expires 2/28/09!

Stone Zoo Events

Come Play the Animal Way
February 16 – 20, 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Stone Zoo, Stoneham, MA

Beat the humdrum winter routine and come out to Stone Zoo during February school vacation week. Watch wolves, coyotes and others have fun in the cold, and learn about neat animal adaptations to the winter temperatures. Just like you, animals can get bored when they’re cooped up all winter, so we have come up with some neat enrichment activities to keep them happy! Come and see all the creative things we do for our critters, and learn how we keep them active and playing throughout the winter using enrichment techniques.

Visit their website for more information!

Photo Credit: Stacey Goldsmith-Nathanson

Imagination Island Events, Jan & Feb

Took my 2yo son to Imagination Island for the first time last week....I've never seen a bigger smile on his face! He was scared of the big climbing structure with the slide, but he'll get used to it with future visits I'm sure (or if I bring a friend that he can follow on it)! He really liked the legos and wooden trains more than anything else. He also went on the bouncy house just before we left (and it was hard getting him to leave it!) Oh and I can't forget the bubbles...once the bubble machine started, my son was psyched! My older kids always had lots of fun when we went there....

I picked up a flyer while I was there and there's lots of craft days going on and they are all FREE with admission:

January 27 (Tue): Groundhog day puppet
February 4 (Wed): Mardi Gras Mask
February 10 (Tue): Valentines Day Cards
February 25 (Wed): Cereal Bird Feeder

During Vacation week, February 14-22, they are having a tropical getaway....complete with fun activities and island crafts....all free with admission!

Imagination Island is on Resnik Road in Plymouth. Hours are M-Sa 10-5 and Su 12-5.

Visit their website for more information!

Indoor Water Fun & Cape Codder Hotel

Over the long weekend, we were looking for a place to take the kids for some indoor water fun. We wanted to do CoCo Key in Fitchburg but the pool is closed on Tuesday & Wednesdays.

We decided to go back to the Cape Codder in Hyannis. They have a great wave pool with 2 water slides along with an adult hot tub and 2 saunas. The kids had a blast although my 2yo was pretty scared of the wave pool at first...but he got used to it. We stayed overnight at the Cape Codder for $99 which included the pool and a $10 coupon off dinner at the Hearth & Kettle which was in the hotel. The rooms were nice, basic rooms. We had 2 double beds but our friends were smart and asked for a free upgrade and they got 2 queen beds for the same price. We've been to the Cape Codder before and would definitely go back!

The latest issue of Family Fun Magazine has a list of indoor water parks in the February issue for more ideas!