Train Garden at Richardson's

 I have heard through facebook and by word of mouth that Richardson's Farm has their first Christmas Train Garden this year. Since it's just down the street, we decided to stop by. While small (especially if you are a regular at the Wise Ave. train garden in Dundalk), the boys still really enjoyed it. There are many Disney cartoons from Mickey Mouse to Lightning McQueen that boys were excited about. Blake was over the moon (it doesn't take much to thrill a 3-year old) the entire time, jumping up and down, pointing, and yelling. He even tried to make a break for it and go under the ropes at one point.

 

My personal favorite was the Disneyworld portion of the set up, with the Magic Kingdom castle and monorail. Caleb informed me that he is going to take me there one day. If they only knew we're going in a few short months and they will find out on Christmas morning!

 

While I wouldn't recommend driving a far distance just for the train garden, if you're going for food to it's definitely worth the trip. For $13.50 you can get a chicken dinner that includes a whole rotisserie chicken, 2 sides, and 4 pieces of cornbread. The crab mac & cheese is fantastic (but nowhere near healthy).

 

 

Richardson's Farm is located on Ebenezer Road in the White Marsh/Middle River Road. For detailed information visit: http://www.richardsonfarms.net/

 

P.s. Cost of the train garden=FREE (though they are taking donations for Johns Hopkins)

Valley View Farms

Our family has several traditions... from ice cream for dinner in the summer to visiting the Dundalk train garden every December. Tonight we did one of our November traditions and visited Valley View Farms! Valley View Farms, Baltimore, and Christmas are synonymous! With hundreds of trees and thousands of ornaments to choose from, it's a Christmas Wonderland. Some of you may be asking, "If it's a Christmas place, then why on earth is it a November tradition?" It's all about STRATEGY, especially with a 6 and 3-year old boy. We pick a week night, preferably a Monday, in November before Thanksgiving and go each year. There was literally no one there, other than the employees. If you go after Thanksgiving it's wall to wall people and impossible to enjoy. A critical part of the tradition is that each boy gets to pick their own special ornament. Our Christmas tree will be filled with special memories as each year passes!

 Here is the traditional Christmas tree shot!

 This was Katelyn and Sean's first visit... although I am sure there will be plenty more!

 Blake had a tough time selecting his ornament because he is really digging fire trucks and police cars right now, but in the end the fire truck won!

 Caleb picked an angry bird!

Both Grandmoms joined us!

If you have time, sneak over there before Christmas... you'll love it!

Crockpot Taco Soup

For some reason this is the time of the year where I want to pull out the slow cooker and try new recipes. Today's experiment was "Taco Soup" and it was fantastic AND healthy! (Imagine that!) Also, only took about 5-10 minutes to prepare! (My kind of meal!) I found several recipes on the internet and just put the ideas together to my liking. Enjoy!

Crockpot Taco Soup

Ingredients:
-1 lb ground turkey (you could also use ground chicken or extra lean ground beef)
-1 15 oz can pinto beans
-1 15 oz can white beans (I think you could use 30 oz of any kind of bean)
-1 can of corn
-1 11 oz can of Rotel with chiles (this gave this soup some zest!)
-1 envelope taco seasoning
-1 envelope dry ranch dressing mix

Optional (to put on after it's cooked):
-Chopped jalapenos
-Light Sour Cream
-Light Cheese
-Baked tostitos

1) Brown turkey, drain, put in crock pot.
2) Put all other ingredients in the crock pot and stir well. Cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours.
3) Sprinkle on optional items as you wish and enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie Dessert

 

Last weekend we went to Chester, VA, to visit my future sister-in-law's parents for the weekend. While there her Mom made us a delicious treat, Pumpkin Pie Dessert! We enjoyed it so much that we asked for the recipe (I've never met a pumpkin goodie that I haven't loved) and made it this weekend for a dinner party. It's quick, easy, and delicious! Here it is:

Ingredients:
1 29 ounce can pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (I did not have nutmeg or ginger and used pumpkin pie spice instead)
4 eggs, beaten
1 12 ounce can evaporated milk
1 package 2-layer-size yellow cake mix
1 cup chopped nuts (we used pecans)
3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
Cool whip

1) Grease 13x9 pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and ginger; add eggs. Beat lightly with wooden spoon just until combined. Gradually stir in evaporated milk; mix well. Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly (this part is important)  over pumpkin mixture, sprinkle evenly with nuts. Drizzle with melted butter.

2) Bake, uncovered about 50 minutes or until edges are firm and top is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours before serving. Top with cool whip (there is a cinnamon one out right now for the fall) or vanilla ice cream, if desired. Must be refrigerated.

Let me know how it goes for you! :)

Apple Picking 2012

Yesterday we took our third annual trip to Baugher's Farm for their pick your own apples! This is one of our favorite traditions. From the hayride, to picking apples, to shopping, to the petting zoo... it's a great day! It's also quite affordable as there is no cost for the hayride and you pick as many apples as you want to. They do have a deal where you can fill a giant bag with as many apples as you can for $19. We will be eating crockpot applesauce (http://mrsamentmiddleriver.blogspot.com/2011/09/crockpot-applesauce.html), apple pies, and searching for apple recipes for the next few weeks! They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are 9,000 words....

Marshy Point Nature Center

 Today we checked another item off of our to-do list and visited the Marshy Point Nature Center in Chase, MD (for those of you that aren't locals, it's in the Middle River area... about 10 minutes from White Marsh). I've seen several friends post pictures recently and have really wanted to take the boys. Since summer is coming to abrupt end at the end of this weekend and the weather was beautiful, we couldn't resist doing something outdoors!

We spent the first portion of our visit in the Nature Center itself. It is filled with local animals (turtles, chatty birds, mice, snakes, opposums, and more). The boys are excited about an eel in this picture. In addition to animals they have several activities/centers for kids.

The staff could not have been sweeter. They were excited to talk to the boys and even went out of their way to pull out critters for the boys to see close up and pet. Not only did they get to pet the friendly opposum Virginia seen in the above picture, but they also got to pet a milk snake. The staff was careful to point out that in the wild you wouldn't want to touch a real opossum. This one has been in captivity since it was a baby (it's mother was hit by a car). Since it is used to people it was very friendly!

Part of the Nature Center includes a "Kid's Corner." Blake enjoyed playing with the toys and looking through the books.

After visiting the Nature Center we took a hike along one of the trails at Marshy Point. I was scared to take the long trail (blue/red) because our last trail experience did not go too well. I asked the boys if they wanted to do a long or short one and they both voted for the long one. I explained that once we started we couldn't turn around! Suprisingly it went  extremely well. We picked up a pocket guide and along the trail are numbered stops that  the pocket guide explains (specific trees, plants, a fox den, a tidal creek... to name a few). The boys really got into this process and were excited to find each marker. On our hike Blake spotted a turtle (that Caleb and I missed). Caleb couldn't resist picking it up! He learned quite a few new words today: estuary, nocturnal, and metamorphosis. Be sure to quiz him the next time you see him!

By the end of the hike the boys' pockets were filled with acorns, pine cones, and other treasures. While I am not an outdoorsy person (I often joke that roughing it for me would be staying at the Days Inn), I am trying to step way out of my comfort zone to give the boys as many experiences as I possibly can. I know this trip was a total success as both boys are currently napping! We hope to go back in September for their fall festival!

Tips:

• You can borrow an exploration bookbag from the Nature Center to use along the trails. I saw various bookbags, including one for collecting bugs.
• The Nature Center is open from 9:00-5:00.
• The blue trail into the red trail is the longest and is about 1.5 miles (or maybe more by the time you walk from the end of the trail to the parking lot) and took about 90 minutes. We took our time and tried to search for critters and learn as much as we could. There are other shorter trails.
• If you decide to do the trails, be sure to pick up a guide book at the beginning of the blue trail and follow along. It made the experience so much more interesting!
• There are picnic tables available at the Nature Center and one in a field of the Blue trail if you wanted to bring a lunch.
• COST=FREE
• See their webpage at www.marshypoint.org for more details! They also have a facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Marshy-Point-Nature-Center/270787291581?ref=ts

The Philadelphia Zoo

Every year for the boys' birthdays our in-laws get us a membership to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. As a part of the membership you can get free or discounted admission to a list of reciprocal zoos (see http://www.marylandzoo.org/membership/reciprocal-lists/) and I have a few of them on our "to-do" list. This past weekend we decided to take a random, unplanned trip to the Philadelphia Zoo. Some of our best day trips are the ones where we wake up on a Saturday morning and decide to go somewhere new. The Philadelphia Zoo was an extremely pleasant surprise! It is by far the nicest zoo we have taken the boys to.

The Philadelphia Zoo is located on the outer edge of Philadelphia and less than 2 hours from Baltimore. The Zoo is extremely clean, there are a bunch of brand new or recently updated exhibits, and the layout of the zoo is perfect.

The current exhibit is called the Trail of the Lorax. Throughout the Zoo are special places to stop and use 3-D glasses to read special messages about saving the Earth and see special pictures. Caleb, our excited reader, enjoyed reading the messages!

One of our favorite exhibits was the PECO Primate Reserve. This two-story, brand new, state of the art building gives you the opportunity to get up close and personal with gorillas and other primates. The boys enjoyed sitting inside this box and watching a gorilla in action, just a few feet away.

Throughout the Zoo are many opportunities for silly photos, a favorite of our family!

Seeing these hippos was special, as other zoos we have visited have not had hippos.

We enjoyed getting up close and personal with the giraffes!

The Zoo has many attractions (that we avoided to keep costs down) including a hot air balloon ride, camel rides, swan boat rides, and train ride.

Other exhibits/things of note:

• Be sure to see the FREE 4-D Migration Experience in the McNeil Avian Center. This 15 minute presentation is about a cartoon Oriole bird Otis and his flight from Philadelphia to South America and back. It included wind (as it was raining) and other fun special effects!
• Arrive early and park in the Zebra parking lot, the closest lot to the zoo.
• Bear Country includes several bears and is another great stop. We enjoyed the polar bear keeper chat.
• The naked mole rats in the Rare Animal Conservation Center were very entertaining!
• You can bring in outside food/beverages (which is the best way to go!), but if you choose to eat at the Zoo there is a healthy food vendor by the pond.
• Join the MD Zoo and you get a 50% off discount.

Again, we were very impressed by the Philadelphia Zoo and will be going back one day!

Hands-on House, Children's Museum

Last weekend we finally made it to the Hands-on House in Lancaster, PA! It's been on the "to-do" list for a long time!

 At church there was a recent sermon on having family sabbath days. Days where you enjoy each other and do something that each of you would like to do. The Hands-on House was Caleb's choice for this sabbath day! (He specifically said, "I want to go to a children's museum!")

 There are many exhibits good for kids ages 2-8 (in my opinion). In this area there is a fan that kids turn on to blow the ships across. Caleb enjoyed figuring out that shape/size of the sail that was the best for getting the boat to move quicker.

 Another favorite was the Face Painting Porch. Blake decided that he didn't want to, but of course Caleb jumped right in! I think Daddy may have a future in this!

 Another area was a fishing pond. What I like is that the kids were encouraged to measure their fish using the ruler seen in this picture. Then if the fish was too short they were to throw it back. If the fish was long enough, they threw it in a nearby bucket.

 One area was all about farming, a favorite topic for our boys. In this area pretend chickens lay eggs and kids put the good ones through and the bad ones in a special container.

 Blake enjoyed pretending to plow a field!

 Another favorite was Marty's Machine Shop where Caleb went through a production line step through step to create a toy. It was a great exercise in following directions!

 I would recommend going when the weather is good, as there is an awesome outdoor playground/discovery area.

Some of the other exhibits include a post office, grocery store, make believe area, pirate ship, and more! As an elementary school teacher I appreciated how learning on everything from reading to math was "snuck" in to all of the exhibits!

The Hands-on House is located in West Lancaster. It's about an 80 minute drive from Baltimore. Admission is reasonable at $8.50 a person. I could not find any discounts/coupons. There are countless things for kids to do in Lancaster and a trip to the Hands-on House could be part of a fantastic day trip!

The Mallow Bar!

This will unfortunately be a quick blog (I have worked 60 hours this week and am so done)... but I don't want to keep one of our favorite new places a secret any longer!

 The Mallow Bar is quickly becoming one of our favorite new treats in the area!

The eatery features homemade rice krispy treats and from scratch marshmallows. These are NOT your Mom's rice krispy treats though, they are gourmet and they are HEAVENLY! Some of the flavors we've enjoyed so far include caramel dipped, chocolate dipped, a mixture with m & m's and popcorn, and cherry almond with a white chocolate drizzle. There are some tables to sit down at inside the Mallow Bar, or you can take your treats to go. The eatery itself has a modern soda shop feel. It's great for an afternoon outing with kids! (The boys like the m & m/popcorn ones best!)

We tend to get the box of 6 to save some money. They are $3.50 each, or $18 for a box of 6. The Mallow Bar is located in the shopping strip at the corner of Philadelphia Road and Rossville Boulevard (there is a Subway in the same strip and a tall office building next door). They are open Tuesday-Thursday 11 a.m.-6 p.m. and Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-8 p.m. For more information visit:

http://www.themallowbar.com/
http://www.facebook.com/#!/themallowbar

Port Discovery in Baltmore

Today we finally made it to Port Discovery in downtown Baltimore! Lately I feel like my "babies" are growing up too quickly and I am in a hurry to do every little kid activity in the area! It was fantastic, much better than I ever imagined! I wish we had made it there years ago and we will definitely be back. Below are some pictures and descriptions of just a few of their exhibits.

The first exhibit we visited was "The Adventures of Mr. Potato Head." This is their current traveling exhibit and will only be there until September.

 There are opportunities to get dressed up, which of course Daddy just had to do too!

Caleb enjoyed using secret codes to spell his name. Even though his name does not have a "u" in it, he was delighted that the picture for "u" was a pair of underwear!

 Mr. Potato himself makes an appearance at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Blake was scared at first, but after I confirmed that it was a "nice" Mr. Potato he warmed up. This exhibit included an outer space and underwater component. There is a slide and a conveyor belt. The boys really like it!

 Another exhibit is "The Diner." The boys enjoyed "making" us a cheeseburger and apple pie. There are booths and a counter for adults to sit at while the kids make food and serve it!

 The boys always love a good water table and "The Wonders of Water" was right up there with the best of them. Caleb enjoyed moving the red pieces seen in the picture to see how he could change the flow of the water.

 Blake was happy to build things using lego blocks in the water.

 One of the coolest parts of Port Discovery is "Kid Works." "Kid Works" is a climbing experience in the center of the museum that goes all the way from the first floor to the third floor. Their are entrances and exits at each level, as well as slides, ladders, and other fun things. Caleb loved it, Blake was petrified (typical). Adults are allowed and encouraged to climb through. 80 pounds ago I would not have been able to do it, but had no problem today!

 Our FAVORITE exhibit turned out to be "Adventure Expeditions." This Egyptian themed exhibit included hieroglyphs and a ride that you pulled yourself across the room on (seen above).

 Another cool part of this exhibit were the mummies that you could see inside of using the box seen above. The boys really enjoyed seeing the bones inside! The boxes slide from side to side so that you can look inside the entire mummy.

 Daddy just had to jump out of a tomb and scare the boys!

A final exhibit we enjoyed was "Studio Workshop" where there are arts and crafts.

These are not all of the exhibits, but just our favorites! I highly recommend any one with kids visit soon! (Even big kids like me!)

A few tips:

• Regular admission is $14 a person for ages 2 and up (but certainly not what I paid!)
• Teacher friends: Bring a recent pay stub/teacher identification card and you get in FREE. No questions asked! (Thanks Christine for this information, I did not know!)
• Many entertainment books sold for fundraisers have buy one/get one free kid admissions (I have one extra if any one would like it)
• Arrive early (about 20 minutes) and you'll be one of the first people in. Go straight to the third floor where the Mr. Potato Head exhibit is as it will be the most crowded. By doing this we had the exhibit completely to ourselves!
• Bring a change of clothes or at least a fresh shirt for after visiting the water play area
• Park at the Harbor Park garage for $7 parking on Saturdays and Sundays. Ask for a validation ticket as you enter the museum.
• Visit http://www.portdiscovery.com/ for more information!