Sick Days

I just wanted to let you know why I haven't posted much this week. I've been hit with the cold/flu bug. It's so frustrating. It's the thing that I feel like I dread the most during fall/winter. We've been homebound for a couple of days. I'm hoping to feel better by this weekend. There are a couple of great places I had planned to visit and I hope I can do so this weekend. Just a friendly reminder to everyone-Make sure to get your flu shots if you haven't already done so.

Disney Cruises - California Style

Image (c) Disney

While we have yet to experience this, it is definitely something you can do with your little ones. Just a few years ago, Disney began bring the Disney Magic cruise ship to the west coast for summer cruises from LA to Mexico. Pricing begins at $1599 per adult double occupancy. Children under 3 are $189, 3-12 start at $999 and 13 and up begin at $1199.

There is definitely a premium paid for the Disney cruises, but with that premium you get the "Disney" experience. Entertaining the children is the priority on these ships. Children are divided into the following groups:

• Flounder's Reef (Infants 12 weeks-3 yrs)
• Oceaneer's Club (Kids 3-7)
• Oceaneer's Lab (Kids 8-12)
• Teen Activities (Teens 13-17)

The chidren are kept entertained for hours. Flounder's Reef Nursery will even watch the little ones all day while the adults and big kids are out experiencing shore excursions. This is group babysitting and requires an hourly fee, but by all accounts, it is worthwhile.

The 2008 dates for the 7 night voyages are:

* 05/10/2008 (Itinerary: 15 Night Panama Canal Crossing)
* 05/25/2008 (Itinerary: Mexican Riviera)
* 06/01/2008 (Itinerary: Mexican Riviera)
* 06/08/2008 (Itinerary: Mexican Riviera)
* 06/15/2008 (Itinerary: Mexican Riviera)
* 06/22/2008 (Itinerary: Mexican Riviera)
* 06/29/2008 (Itinerary: Mexican Riviera)
* 07/06/2008 (Itinerary: Mexican Riviera)
* 07/13/2008 (Itinerary: Mexican Riviera)
* 07/20/2008 (Itinerary: Mexican Riviera)
* 07/27/2008 (Itinerary: Mexican Riviera)
* 08/03/2008 (Itinerary: Mexican Riviera)
* 08/10/2008 (Itinerary: Mexican Riviera)
* 08/17/2008 (Itinerary: 15 Night Panama Canal Crossing)

Order your free dvd from Disney here.

San Diego Zoo

Pandas, Pandas, Pandas!! This is all I've heard from my daughter Lauren for the past couple of weeks. A while back she was watching the Wonder Pets which featured a Panda rescue and this is when it all began.

We're very lucky that we happen to live only about an hour and a half from one of the greatest zoos in America, if not the world. So we packed a diaper bag yesterday and headed south to the San Diego Zoo. The zoo is one of three(National and Atlanta) in the states that have pandas on display. Lauren was beside herself with excitement. We arrived after a short drive and snagged a great parking spot. There is one parking lot adjacent to the park and one across the street from the park. Parking was plentiful in the afternoon and free. We loaded the kids in the double stroller and started our adventure. We grabbed a map and started our trek to the panda research station but Lauren had other plans. On our way there we stopped by the monkey/gorilla exhibit and she was mesmerized. She did not want to budge. We knew that the pandas had limited viewing hours and we wanted to make sure that we could get there in time. Lauren liked the monkeys and orangutans so much that she almost forgot about the pandas. I have to keep reminding myself that with young children it's not about our timing but theirs. I realized that both my one year son Michael and Lauren were having a great time observing the monkeys and if we didn't make it in time to view the pandas it wouldn't really matter since really it's about them and not us. We stayed there until the kids were ready to move on. I think this is one of the most valuable lessons I've learned as a parent. You can't be rigid about schedules- Life is too short and children will pick and choose what they want to do- If it makes them happy and the purpose of your outing is to have fun then let it be. Throw expectations out the window and the good times will follow.

The walk to the research station was beautiful. We walked through the aviaries and enjoyed all of the different birds on display. The zoo is very accommodating to strollers. The grounds of the zoo are lush and beautiful. It's hard to believe that the zoo is in the middle of a busy city. I felt like we were transported to another place far away from urban sprawl.

We arrived to the research station and made it in time to catch long glimpses of two pandas on loan from China. Our family was in love. We waited in line for a couple of minutes but it was well worth the wait. Both pandas were in the middle of dinner and put on quite a show. I have seen plenty of pandas on television before but it was magical to actually see them in person. Lauren was bursting with excitement and to be honest so were we. It was a pretty amazing to observe such beautiful majestic creatures. It was definitely one of the highlights of our holiday weekend.

As we were heading out of the park Lauren mentioned that she was hungry and we decided to eat inside the park. We ate at the Canyon Cafe. The food was tasty and reasonably priced. One of the best deals of the park is the kid's meals. They come with a souvenir cup, souvenir bucket, meal, chips, raisins and cookies. It was a big hit with the kiddos.

I wanted to pass a couple of helpful tips if you are planning a visit
1. Make sure to bring comfortable shoes
2. Bring plenty of water
3. Make sure to pack a jacket for the late afternoon. It gets chilly.
4. If you can only come out for one day make sure to arrive as soon as the park opens to take it all in. We were there for a couple of hours and were only able to take in two exhibits.
5. Remember to write down your parking aisle.
6. If you can make sure to ride the Skyfari Aerial Tram. You will get a bird's eye view of entire zoo.
7. If you forget a stroller they have them available for a fee. You can either rent a single or double stroller

We really enjoyed our time at the zoo and can't wait until our next trip. I hope you can make it out soon.

San Diego Zoo- Hours of operation:
(open every day of the year, including all holidays)

Current Hours
(through March 14):
9 a.m.–4 p.m.
(grounds close at 5 p.m.)
Admission prices vary. Children 2 and under free.
The San Diego Zoo is located at 2920 Zoo Drive in Balboa Park, just north of downtown San Diego.

TSA SimpliFLY Video

This is pretty clever!!

Holiday Light Festival - Griffith Park

With Thanksgiving just a couple of days away, I am starting to get excited about the upcoming holiday season. I just love this time of year. I love the music, yummy food, decorations and my favorite part of it all is the wonderful lights. I've been searching for fun things to do this weekend with my family to really get into the holiday spirit, and just as I was searching for something to do (other than shopping), I caught a segment on the local news about the Los Angeles DWP Holiday Light Festival at Griffith Park. I've been a couple of times and have decided to begin visiting it a new family tradition. It's a really unique Angeleno experience. The section of Griffith park runs about one mile with the displays of lights along Crystal Springs Drive. The displays even feature music. It is a must see. I'm planning on visiting sometime this weekend. If you will be attending this weekend and possibly beating the crowds make sure to bring a good pair of walking shoes, a jacket, and a stroller for the little ones. Most of all, bring your holiday spirit. If you are planning to be in the Los Angeles area this holiday season include this on your list of things to see and do. The festival will be a walk-through only event from Nov 21th -Nov 25th from 5pm to 10pm. Then it becomes a drive-through event from Nov 26th -Dec 30th, also from 5pm to 10pm. Make sure to arrive early!!! The best part is that it's absolutely free!!! For more information: here is the website

Knott's Merry Farm

Living in Southern California, we are close to numerous theme parks. Many of these places have special holiday events this time of the year. One of the family friendly and less expensive places is Knott's Berry Farm which transitions into Knott's Merry Farm during November and December every year.

One fond memory that I have as a child was visiting Knott's during December and being able to sled down a mountain of real snow inside the park. The park has discontinued this element, but continues it's annual Christmas Craft Village, which takes up a chunk of Ghost Town. You can access the craft village separately from the theme park on Monday through Friday for just $8 and children 3-11 are just $2. You can shop for holiday decorations and gifts or just soak in the atmosphere. During the weekends, you can only enter the fair via a regular theme park admission ticket.

Photo Courtesy of Knott's

There is something very relaxing about visiting the park during the cool daytime weather during the holidays. It's probably a nostalgic feeling from my own childhood. Create some memories for your children and bring them to experience this event.

It is worth noting that admission for SoCal residents is only $33.99 for adults and $19.99 for children. That's almost half of what you'll pay down at 1313 Harbor Blvd.

Christmas at Knott's also means a new Snoopy ice show, A Christmas Carol and Gift of the Magi in the Birdcage theater, carolers and a Christmas parade. This year they have also brought back Elf Mountain Christmas - which is the log ride decorated with Santa's little elves preparing for Christmas.

Also: Toys for Tots
December 1-2, 8-9, & 15-16
Bring a brand new toy valued at $10 or more (not gift wrapped) to donate to Toys for Tots and you'll receive free admission to Knott's.

Lastly, here are some great coupons including kids eating for $2 at the TGI Fridays located in front of Knott's.
Enjoy!

Strollers on a Plane

In an earlier post, I mentioned about how easy it is to use a stroller at the airport. The good news is that you can bring it all the way up to the plane. What happens at that point is that the stroller is folded up and checked-in by a flight attendant. Then when you arrive at your destination, the stroller is right there waiting for you just outside the plane door. It is much more convenient than you might expect. Now I cannot be sure that every airline handles this the exact same way, but I would imagine that most do. After all, they do allow early boarding for people traveling with small children. I noticed while checking our blog stats that someone found our blog while searching google with "can I bring a double stroller on a plane." What we discovered is that this is totally possible. It would work the same way as mentioned above. Had we known this before our recent trip to the islands, we would have brought our double stroller instead of making our 2 year-old walk all over the airport. Our 10 month old is also much happier in the stroller when he has his big sister sitting next to him. We have a Combi double stroller that is uber-portable and both kids love riding in it. Oh well, live and learn! UPDATE: Apparently, Southwest recently eliminated pre-boarding with small children. To the best of knowledge and research, most all other carriers still allow it. It has also been brought to my attention that this stroller process that I have discussed may not work the same way if your flight has multiple legs. If nothing else, just ask a helpful airline employee.

Thanksgiving Travel Tips That Won't Gobble Your Fun- Part 1

With Thanksgiving just a short week away, one of the busiest travel times is fast approaching. Millions of Americans will be traveling to visit family and loved ones. We have the tradition of making a four hour trip to Las Vegas to spend the holiday with my husband's aunt. Here are some tips when traveling long distances by car with little ones for busy holidays:

• Leave as early as possible - for instance we try to leave the Monday or Tuesday before Thanksgiving and then return home the day after. If you can't leave early then experts agree that you should leave the day of the actual holiday. We have found that traveling to Las Vegas on Thanksgiving was lighter than the day before. Don't leave during the morning rush or afternoon rush.. Aim for mid-morning or very early morning

• Stop at least every two hours for a potty or snack break. Although if they are asleep, we try to just keep chugging along.

• Bring plenty of snacks and bottled water in the car. It's better than having to buy food in traveler traps along the way.

• Load your car with entertaining things for the children like books, DVD's for the portable DVD player (they are so inexpensive these days, there is no excuse not to have one), and music. We have found that our children are both highly entertained by the Kids Stuff music station on our Sirius Satellite Radio.

• Make sure to bring a couple of plastic bags just in case you might have to change a diaper or two and there are no changing stations around. I've found that the front seat makes an excellent changing station.

• Just be prepared to be flexible and give yourself plenty of time to get where you need to go. Young children are unpredictable and are not always going to feel like cooperating with mom and dad's scheduled plans.

Overcoming Your Fear of Flying

Psst... I have a secret to confess- although I love to travel and discover new places I find that there is one thing that most always sends me into a panic. It happens the moment that I receive an email with a flight confirmation number or as soon as I get off the phone with an agent. It's that dreaded feeling of knowing that I will have to get on a plane and fly somewhere. I haven't always had this fear, I was able to fly without a care in the world as a child and as a young adult. All was well until just a couple of years ago. The horrific events and scenes from September 11 were engraved in mind and paralyzed me with many fears, including the fear of flying. Weeks before we are set to fly, I will start to have nightmares, tense up whenever someone will bring up vacation plans, and eventually as our vacation approaches I will start to say to my husband - maybe we shouldn't go... What if...? We all know that we are living in the safest era of American aviation. According to the National Safety Council your odds of dying in a plane crash in any particular year are about 1 in 432,484. The odds of dying in a traffic accident are 1 in 6,535!! Air travel is definitely the safest form of transportation. I decided before our last vacation that I needed to overcome this fear because it had started to affect my children. Lauren , my two year old daughter, started to say "oh planes scary mommy." Once I heard her say this I knew that this had to change. As a parent we are supposed to be examples to our children. How could I pass along my irrational fears to my children?? This set me on a mission to overcome my extreme fear. I knew that it was my responsibility to help Lauren understand that flying can be fun and most importantly safe. I researched on the net ways to overcome my fear. I read plenty of articles and books, but nothing seemed to help. That's when I stumbled upon a wonderful site that helped me overcome my fear overnight. It's http://www.fearofflyinghelp.com/ . It's an online course designed specifically for people just like me. It was miraculous, I was able to board a plane and actually enjoy the ride. Ok I'm actually exaggerating a little about the enjoying part- after all I was traveling with an infant and a toddler!! The course was developed by a commercial pilot who has dealt with many nervous and fearful passengers. It took me about two and a half hours to finish the first night I stumbled upon it and then I reviewed it again with my two year old to help ease her fears. I can't recommend this site enough. It's a fantastic course and the best part is that it is absolutely free to enroll in it. If you know someone, perhaps a family member, your child or if that someone is you, do them or yourself a favor and take the online class.

Hawaii: Part II - The Polynesian Cultural Center

One of the most memorable days of our vacation was the day of our visit to the Polynesian Cultural Center in Laie. It's the #1 paid attraction in Hawaii and I can understand why. It's a must if you are planning a visit to Oahu. The Polynesian Cultural Center or PCC is a living museum or a cultural theme park that showcases seven island nations of the South Pacific.
Our visit was an all-day experience. We left mid-morning for a fun filled day. The PCC is about an hour drive from Waikiki and it's a beautiful scenic route along Kamehameha Hwy.

There are many packages to choose for your experience. We chose the Ambassador Package which included admission to the center and all of its experiences plus their nightly Luau. We were all greeted with a lei as we entered the park- which the kids loved. The first thing our daughter spotted was a canoe ride. As you can imagine, that's the first thing we did. It's a little guided tour down the middle of the center and everyone got a kick out of it. Once we finished with our boat ride we started our visit of the 7 villages. The Polynesian Cultural Center features the people and islands of Hawaii, Samoa, Aotearoa (Maori New Zealand), Fiji, the Marquesas, Tahiti, and Tonga. We made our way through most of the villages. They have overall presentations which we all loved. They usually included their native dances which were just fabulous to watch. Our daughter and son were mesmerized. Each village has family activities which your kids can take part of. We tried a couple . Our daughter Lauren, who is two, loved participating in the basket and craft building in the Tongan village. We also stopped to take in the Long Canoe Pageant . Don't miss this, it only takes place once at 2:30pm. The show has beautiful dances performed on the canoes from each of the seven island nations. We continued touring the different villages and chatting with the students from BYU Hawaii that staff the center. Once we finished touring, we lined up for our luau. We were met with a fresh flower lei and traditional Luau. The food was fantastic - it was a buffet and they had a children's section with jello and chicken fingers which was a hit with both of our kids.

We then headed to the last part of our day at the PCC- The Horizons show. I can't rave enough about what an amazing show this was. It featured each of the island nation's native dances and even some fire-dancing. I could rave on and on about our day. It was a day that will be engraved in our mind. Just writing about it makes me want to jump on a plane to relive this day, even though it was a long day. You will not be disappointed!!

Polynesian Cultural Center
www.Polynesia.com
Monday-Saturday 11am-8pm
Closed Sunday
55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie

Tote a Tot

If you are planning on flying with an infant or toddler and plan on bringing along a carseat you must get your hands on a Tote a Tot. I know you are wondering what's a Tote a Tot and why do I need one so badly?? Here's the scoop on the Tote a Tot- It allows you to transport your child, a piece of rolling luggage, a carseat and a diper bag all in one hand. It's basically a snap on attachment that allows you to connect your carseat to your rolling luggage. It's fantastic - we bought one and I highly recommend it if you plan to travel with your little ones. The attachment is easy to install- It took me less than two minutes. The best part is that it comes with a built in diaper bag and it's easy to store. For more info go to www.toteatot.com.

Benefits of Season Passes

My husband has been a Disneyland annual passholder since 1984 when he was just 8 years old. His family had the tradition of visiting the park every Friday afternoon for about an hour or two. He bought me one the week before we became engaged and our family has continued the tradition. It's a once a year investment that allows us instant entertainment anytime we decide to drive the 15 minutes to go over there. Since both of our children are under 3 years of age, they are both free. Even for the premium pass, which currently sells for $379, you get your money's worth after six visits. Plus there is a 10 to 15% discounts on food and merchandise and parking is included in that price. It's totally worth it. In addition, we also have season passes to the San Diego and Santa Ana Zoo, Sea World and the Discovery Science Center. Read through the blog archives for some of our experiences there. Regardless of where you live in the country, you can find season passes at local museums, amusement parks and zoo's. If you have never considered buying them, consider it. They often pay for themselves after just a few visits. Some places offer "buy one day, get a year free" deals that make it even more worth the value. The other great thing is that you don't have to feel rushed thinking you've got to see everything in one day. This is especially helpful when you have little ones that tire out by 3 PM. You can take your time and enjoy yourselves.

Rental cars

I just wanted to share something that has helped me tremendously when booking a rental car. It's all about timing. The best time to call and make a rental reservation is about an hour after the rental office has opened. This is because usually there will be cancellations and you will be able to find great deals. I've discovered that you can usually get the best deals by calling the agency directly than by booking online. We needed a rental car last minute while on vacation last month. I decided to call the local agency directly, Enterprise and was able to score a roomy full size truck - with lots of cargo space and plenty of room for us for the price of a compact car. This was all due in part to a last minute cancellation. It worked out great and they were able to pick us up and even had car seats available at no extra charge. Remember it's all about timing!!!! With regards to car seats, you can typically rent them for a daily nominal fee. While in Hawaii, we were fortunate to be loaned two seats by some of our extended Hawaiian family. There are compact, travel car seats available, like this Eddie Bauer one at Amazon. In another post, I'll explain how easy it is to maneuver a double stroller at the airport right onto your plane.

Hawaii: Part 1 - The Dole Plantation

One of our first outings while on vacation in Oahu last month was a visit to the Dole Pineapple Plantation in Wahiawa. We packed the two kiddos in our rental truck (it was the same price as a compact but with more room!) and headed north for our little adventure. It's a beautiful and scenic 40 minute drive from Waikiki on Kamehameha hwy. My two year old had a great time enjoying the beautiful rainbows we saw along the way.


It's a great place to visit, especially if you have little ones. The first thing we did once we arrived was head to the Pineapple Express. It's a 20 minute train ride that takes you on a narrated tour of the plantation. The kiddos were in love and so was I. It was a fun little train ride and the views were amazing. We learned all about pineapples and how they are grown. The tour was a lot of fun and it's a must do if you visit the plantation.

Once we managed to pull the kids away from the train we moved on to the plantation's free garden tour. It's a self guided tour of the gardens which showcase the different types of crops that are grown in the North Shore of Oahu. We had a great time on the tours but really when you visit the Dole Pineapple Plantation what you really want to do is eat some yummy pineapple. We stopped at their snack shop and had a tasty Dole whip, some fresh cut pineapple and a pineapple float. We were in pineapple heaven!!! We had such a great time and if you are heading to Oahu with your little ones make sure that you make this one of your pit stops. You won't regret it!!!

World Famous Pinapple Split

Dole Plantation-64-1550 Kamehameha Highway, Wahiawa, HI 96786
Visitors Center/Plantation Garden Tour - 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily
Pineapple Express 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily

Visiting Dole Plantation is free.
Pineapple Express Train	Adults - $7.75, Children - $5.75
Plantation Garden Tour	Adults - $4.00, Children - $3.25

Oh, almost forgot- children under 4 are FREE!!!!