Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in houston, TX

Out and About in Houston weekend of June 18 - 21, 2009

June 18, 2009

It's Father's Day this Sunday, so what kind of fun can your family have this weekend? Plenty!

Kids are FREE! all summer at Astros games starting June 23. Why not present Dad with a gift of tickets to a game? Hint: if you get tickets for Thursday, June 25, the first 10,000 fans get free retro t-shirts!

On Father's Day at Bayou Bend, all dads are free! Everyone else is just $5 per person. As an MFA bonus, this summer AGES 18 and under admitted FREE on Saturday & Sunday with a Houston Public Library PowerCard or any public library card (see number 5 for details).

On Friday, the Children's Museum of Houston is celebrating Juneteenth, and on Saturday kids can make a fun gift for dad, such as a tie or photo frame. Sunday includes more craft-making and a super fun Father's Day celebration. They've got special events this weekend:

• Spotlight Performance:  Kunama Mtendaji.  This exciting storyteller and musician will perform tales related to African and African American History.
  Saturday, June 20:  2 p.m.
• Target 2 Sunday Performance: Mariachi Houston.  Enjoy the traditional sounds of Mexico with this group of young and talented performers.
  Sunday, June 21:  2 p.m.

Discovery Green has a full lineup of good times for families, with special Dad events, including, on Saturday, a 7 pm live music by POP STARS: Dads Who Rock followed by 8:30pm film screening of "The Best of Children's Film Festival Seattle 2009."

On Friday:

• Fireworks Friday on the Kemah Boardwalk at 9:30pm    
• Gulf Coast Juneteenth at the Miller Outdoor Theatre at 7:30pm    

On Saturday:

• Summer Symphony Nights at the Miller Outdoor Theatre at 8:30pm  
• Come, Blow Your Horn at the Houston Family Arts Center at 8:00pm  
• World Beat Music Festival at Hermann Square at 12:00pm  
• Dynamo vs Real Salt Lake at Robertson Stadium at 7:30pm

4 Fab Houston Spots for Parents to Work While Kids Play

June 09, 2009

Working at home with kids can work when you create a good routine, but even so, every now and again you need to break out of the routine, shake off the home dust, and try a new thing. We all benefit from a change in scenery (and dynamic!).

It's hard to think or know where you can go to work and entertain kids, but as a full-time work at home parent, I've found a few good spots, and I'm glad to share those with you. They vary quite bit, but offer a good selection and eclectic choices.

Fun Places and Play Places (where kids can run, play and be loud while you work!)

Example: SpaceCenter Houston! There's a huge play structure that kids love, from the padded ball area for the littlest ones to huge climbing areas for older kids. SpaceCenter Houston does offer wi-fi (I called and verified) but there is no plug available so make sure your laptop is fully charged! There's also a food court, so you can take a food break. We can go for quite a while at the Space Center.

Example: McDonalds! I used to avoid McDonalds---calories, fast food, and high-priced wi-fi. But, now McDonalds has partnered with a number of carriers, and I can log in using my SBC Global address for free! There are usually friends we know at the local McDonalds, or at least nice kids, so the children play and I write or edit, as need be. I can usually eke out a couple of hours, if I schedule it around lunch time.

Example: YMCA! The downtown location offers wi-fi and is covered by the free Houston downtown wi-fi, too. According to some moms, many local YMCAs offer wi-fi and kid activities. Check with yours and see what you can do. You may need a membership.

Quiet Places (where kids can be entertained, but more quietly)

Example: Local library! Local libraries offer free Internet access. Find out when storytimes are, and work around those. My library has rooms like study rooms. I like to use those because then we are sort of in our own bubble. I can borrow books for the kids and bring a few toys or coloring books, too. Our "breaks" can incorporate story times or just a change of scenery.

Example: Coffee shops! To be competitive with big chains, I find a lot of mom and pop coffee houses offer a very "den-like" atmosphere. Near me is the Coffee Oasis, which offers free high-speed wi-fi, a fax machine, a copy machine, and good sandwiches and fresh pastries (coffee and tea, of course, too, among other great drinks). It also has book shelves with books, games, and a cute little room with a kids' table. They also have a meeting room I can use if it's not booked up. A quick scan of Houston area coffee shops shows most offer good spaces and free wifi.

Eat, drink, work and be merry

A number of kid-friendly restaurants offer free wi-fi, good food, and space to hang out. I've had a meeting (with kids) at Berryhill's. Unfortunately, the favorite Lupe Tortillas doesn't offer wi-fi, but f you have a connection card, you could probably make it work. Birraporetti's, with those lovely big booths, also offers free wi-fi.

Find The Zone

The city of Houston offers free wi-fi coverage throughout downtown. This covers a number of family friendly and work-friendly places, including parks, Bayou Place, libraries, the downtown YMCA, and more---anything central within the coverage area. You can see a map of downtown Houston covered by free wi-fi and get more information at the Houston wi-fi Web site.

Wait until dark! Quick and easy recipe for a special "date night" at home for moms and dads

May 25, 2009

You've probably seen that Target commercial---the one where the voiceover says, "This is the new dining out," and shows a couple eating a magnificent dinner on their backyard patio.

Many of us are trying to find new, budget-friendly ways to have fun and special times. Parents have some extra challenges trying to achieve this!

When your kids are little it's hard to go out---you need to find a sitter you trust, then you have to find a time that sitter is available, not to mention pay for the sitter. Before you even walk out the door, you've spent at least $50.Then there's the fun of trying to get all fixed up nice to go out---with kids digging in to your clothes and face creams, or hanging on your leg. We love them, but as long as they are little, they aren't too keen on us living a life outside of them. We treasure this time, though, because we know too well that in a few years they'll be begging us to go out and leave them alone. I know how too often it feels like too much trouble and expense.

Still, despite the challenges and some of those mixed feelings you might have sometimes, it's important to make this effort to have couple time outside the home now and again.

So how about some nice, laid-back, budget-friendly fun in the home?

Get a movie and have a nice evening with your partner!

Here's my recipe for a nice summer movie night in...

Ingredients:

You, Partner, Comfy bed or sofa, Casual clothes, Yummy food and drink

1.  Get those kids in bed asleep---try to wear them out during the day, such as swimming at the pool, if possible.

2.  Set-up easy, healthy, finger snack foods. Consider matching the snacks to a theme in the movie.

For example: Revolutionary Road will release to DVD on June 2. This movie about a couple with two children who move to the suburbs in Connecticut in the 1950s is well-acted, and based on a striking and riveting story. It begs for a Rat Pack style movie night.

Pre-packaged food surged in popularity in the 1950s, as did basic but filling food. So go simple and delicious. I'd pair silver dollar burgers with guacamole dip. Two other options are shrimp cocktail with red sauce or bagel bite pizzas. If you want some little appetizers, go with fruit kabobs and/or stuffed mushrooms. You can make any of these things relatively easily or buy them pre-made. I know Target sells them all in their frozen appetizer section.
Quick tip: Easy gucamole: Mix half of a small can of diced garlic tomatoes with salsa and avocado.

For a drink, go with the classic martini! Make it fruity if you prefer. Or, go international with a Daiquiri or a Mojito, both of which were very popular in the 1950s. If you prefer to avoid alcohol, serve ginger ale and/or root beer. Root beer can even double as dessert when served with ice cream as a float!
Quick tip: If you like frozen drinks but don't want to run a noisy blender that might wake kids, get one of the easy freezer bag mixes. You can serve it "virgin" or just add the liquor and freeze. Very easy and most brands I've tried are delicious.

 3. Set up your food on a coffee or side table, kick back, and enjoy the film!

Note: Check MovieWeb to see new DVD releases each week.

Tomorrow I'll list my favorites for most "cuddle-friendly" films coming out on DVD this summer!

Explaining work and work demands to kids

May 11, 2009

For Mother's Day, my kids delivered a heap of wonderful, handmade presents. In addition to beaded necklace and earrings, countless drawings and sweet notes, my older daughter made a little "book" in which she told a story about me.

Usually, we tell our children stories, typically about made up characters or baby stories about themselves. Until I sat and read what my daughter thought of me, I hadn't paused to wonder how she perceived the things I do. After each prompt on the page, my daughter answered (correctly) that I like chocolate best, enjoy singing in the car, and give her and her sister cuddles every day. The last was most important to her. But when it came to the meal I make best, she'd scratched out "cooked" and replaced it with "gets." Even harder to read was that I dislike working at the computer. I wasn't sure that I had conveyed that, and I wasn't sure whether it was really me she meant, or herself.

Sometimes it's hard to be a working parent, especially one who works from home. The children leave to go to school, as does their father, but I stay home, and work from here most of the time. The purpose of this is that my career can be done remotely, and because we both wanted to make sure there was a primary parent available for the kids.

So how do I explain to my children that home is also a workplace for me, and how do I explain my complicated job to them? How does any parent explain, especially when dealing with a child's resentment of how the work intrudes on what a child wants from a parent?

I've explained to my kids that I'm a writer and editor. This is a pretty easy job to explain. Kids understand some people write, and they understand that someone will always "grade" what other people write. I can also show them books I've co-written and also books I've edited, and the pieces of building a book. I've even published a children's book, so there's actually something I did that is interesting to them, with nice picture as well! My husband is an architect. That's an even easier job to explain. He has shown them how he thinks about designing buildings using legos and blocks, and they've gotten to tour buildings he's worked on.

Handling their frustration and disappointment when work "steals" us from them is harder, but I find the key is following through on my promises. What my kids usually want is my time and attention, so if I promise that at a specific time we'll do a specific thing, and then follow-through, it usually keeps the balance in place, and builds their trust that even though mom is working now, she'll play a game later.

How do you explain jobs and work to your kids? And how do you handle that work-demand and child-demand conflict?