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!

Eastern Regional Park Nature Trails

For years we have been going to the park at Eastern Regional Park. It was only recently that we discovered (thank you Uncle Sean) that there is a beautiful nature trail for hiking. It has quickly become one of our favorite evening activities. It's great exercise and more importantly, great family time!

 The trail includes a gazebo where you can sit and take a break in the middle of a marsh.

 Caleb enjoys running ahead and then running back.

 Even Daddy gets in on the fun!

 Sword fights with grass, why not? I am surely outnumbered by boys!

 There are piers that go out to the water. On this trip the boys were looking for a frog that they could hear.

 You never know what creatures you might see. Above is a rabbit that the boys were excited to see!

 Blake was feeling a little grouchy by the end of this walk, but Caleb was all about it.

 Such sweet boys! (Some times!)

After the walk we enjoyed some time on the playground.

Eastern Regional Park is located at 11723 Eastern Avenue, Chase, MD, 21220. In addition the trails and playground there are nice picnic tables that you can eat a picnic at. Best of all it is FREE! For more information (including maps of the trails), go to:

http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/Agencies/recreation/programdivision/region3/easternrglpark.html

By the Scoop Ice Cream Parlor

 Our new favorite place to visit is the "By the Scoop" ice cream parlor in Bowley's Quarters! This ice cream joint is what I envision an old fashioned ice cream parlor would be like (but since I was born in the 80's I can't tell you from personal experience). All of the ice cream flavors are made from scratch and we have not had a "bad" flavor yet. The flavors are always changing (which is exciting), but some of the more interesting flavors we've sampled include: Berger cookie (vanilla ice cream with big chunks of the Baltimore favorite Berger cookies), Fluffer Nutter (peanut butter with marshmallow), and peach cobbler (peach ice cream with pieces of peach and cake). They also have all the traditional flavors of ice cream you would expect and sorbet if you are trying to count calories. In addition to just ice cream they have homemade waffle bowls (dipped in chocolate or not, with sprinkles or nuts), hot waffle sundaes, and banana splits to name a few. In their refrigerator you can also buy old fashioned soda in glass bottles (for some reason soda just tastes better when it is in one of those bottles).

This ice cream parlor is extremely kid friendly, a must for us. They have little tables for the kids to sit at while traditional 50's television plays shows like "Leave it to Beaver." Caleb had never seen black and white television and it lead to a great conversation! The picture above was taken after a trip to the Maryland Zoo and boys both enjoyed birthday cake ice cream, a tasty vanilla ice cream with rainbow sprinkles in it.

Parents can sit back, relax, and actually taste and enjoy their ice cream as their is a large wall chalkboard for kids to draw on when they finish their ice cream early (that always seems to happen!). Blake could have played for hours with this chalkboard if I would have let him! By the Scoop is located at 105 Carroll Island Road, Middle River, MD, 21220 (directly across from the Walmart in the same shopping strip as Fish and Chips/Gamestop). Their pricing is very reasonable with kids scoops only costing around $2. Visit their website www.bythescoop.com for more details. I also recommend liking their facebook page at www.facebook.com/bythescoop. They post "scoop alerts" on their facebook to let you know the new flavors that have been added. Let me know what you think if you get to go!

Choo Choo Barn

Last year a friend generously gave us "Choo Choo Barn" tickets she had won from a local radio station (thanks Lori!). Last weekend we finally stopped by and it was AMAZING!


Caleb and Blake really enjoyed it... but let's be honest, so did Mommy and Daddy! The man who creates this train garden each year is some type of magician! Before this train garden I had only been to local gardens. None of them are even close to this one! Trains stop to let others pass. A fire engine pulls up to a house, puts out the fire with real water, and then drives away. I couldn't believe it!
One of our favorite parts was this replica of Dutch Wonderland. The details from the water boat ride to the moving Skylift were amazing.

Choo Choo Barn is located just down the street from the Strasburg Railroad. Admission is $7 for adults and $4 for children. See www.choochoobarn.com for more details. We will definitely be going back as the display changes yearly!

What it was time to change...

In the last two months I have pretty much lost no weight... maybe 1-2 pounds. In the last week I lost 2.6 pounds! Want to know what my big change was? (It's really no secret!) MY ATTITUDE!

I confess that I've been very discouraged and whiny lately. Tired of logging. Tired of going to the gym late at night after a long day. Me. Me. Me. Last weekend I went to see Tobymac two times and I caught a fire! (Youtube "Catch a Fire" by Tobymac if you have a chance!) Not only by his words and praise and worship, but also through conversations with friends has my attitude dramatically changed. I'll talk more about that in a moment.

Then the picture on the right was taken with local radio personality and friend Erin Branham (shine fm, www.wrbs.com... you can stream it on the internet and stream it live). She later paired it up with an older picture and posted it on her facebook while. Many likes and kind comments later I was an emotional wreck, but in a good way.

I realize that his journey is not MY journey it is HIS journey. That was my focus for the first year and I some how lost focus. Now that I've given it back to God it is in much better hands! 85.8 pounds down and 14.2 more to go! He will get me there!

What is it in your life that you have a bad attitude about that you need to change?

The Biggest Loser Season 12: NO EXCUSES!

I usually only post recipes or ideas for activities with kids, but this time I want to post about how the new season of the NBC show "The Biggest Loser" has resonated with me. I am a newbie as far as this television show goes. I only started watching during season 11, but it has quickly become my favorite television show and I was excited when season 12 started this week.

The theme of the new season is NO EXCUSES. I love this! A little over a year ago, when I was still in denial about being overweight, I was the queen of excuses! Some of the excuses that were mentioned in the first episode this week were mine too: time, money, and physical ailments. I thought I'd share my thoughts on these three excuses, because I am pretty sure that they are the big three for everyone!

1) Time- I am a full-time teacher, a mother of two young children, a wife, and I have a house to maintain. Making time an excuse was pretty easy, because really who could argue with that? Yet even with this crazy lifestyle, I was honestly spending hours a day after the kids went to bed watching television and playing on the ultimate time waster, facebook (has any one else gotten on there to check a message and an hour later you realize that you never checked that original message?). I simply cut this time in half and magically I had an extra hour or more in my day. An hour that I wasn't losing with my children (my number one priority), but an hour after they went to bed. I now spend this hour at Planet Fitness, a Zumba class, or in my living room working it. I now think of the years I have hopefully added to my life and it seems like time well spent to me. Do you literally not have an extra 20 minutes a day you could squeeze in if you cut something else? (Even reading this blog!)

2) Money- Buying healthy food does indeed cost money. I am finding this to be the case especially during this winter season as fresh produce is hard to come by and expensive. However, I think eating in an unhealthy manner ultimately costs more! While my grocery bill is higher, my fast food bill is significantly lower. We used to grab fast food several times a week at $20 to $25 a visit for our family. Eating at home costs less! Another cost is exercise. However, Planet Fitness is literally $10 a month. Some people spend more than this on coffee in a day! It's also possible to find Zumba classes that are $5 a piece! Come on now!

3) Physical Ailments- This is the trickiest one I think. I had the beginnings of arthritis in my knees. There were some days that I would hobble around to walk and concerts that I had to sit down during because they hurt me so badly. Even with this limitation, I was still able to do it. I met with an orthopedist that suggested I use an elliptical as it does not put as much impact on my knees as walking or a treadmill would. I'm not going to lie, it was painful at the beginning of this journey and I had to take a lot of naproxen to push through it. Flash forward 81 pounds later and I am nearly pain free! It was a tough road to travel, but worth it. I think God sent me a wink last January at the gym. I wanted to give up that particular workout because my knees hurt (wah!). In comes a man in a wheel chair with no legs! He went from strength machine to strength machine working his butt off! The point is to focus on what you can do and not on what you can't do.

While I still want to make excuses (I am human), I love how this new season of "The Biggest Loser" has made me aware of this problem. I think excuses hold us back from every challenge we have in our lives (not just weight loss). Get rid of the excuses and get your life back!