Hippo Haven at Adventure Aquarium

A few weeks back, the boys and I met some friends at Adventure Aquarium, where they've just reopened the Hippo Haven exhibition.

We've been to Adventure Aquarium a few other times, and have always been impressed with the hands-on, family-friendly exhibits, and Hippo Haven was no exception.

When you walk in, you're greeted by a dramatic vista of the exhibit.  The use of contrast in shadow and light makes for a memorable entrance, almost like waiting for a performance on stage.  The atmosphere is enhanced by low-playing music as well, kind of a low hum that adds to the drama of the exhibit.

 There's so much to take in and see as you enter the space.  You have the option of going upstairs to Hippo Lookout for a wider view

or meandering along the path to see the two female hippos, Button and Genny, close up.

Genny was born 13 years ago in Disney's Animal Kingdom, while Button was born 17 years ago in Parque Zoological de Leon in Mexico.

They're amazing creatures that seem to tiptoe-dance along the bottom of their water habitat.  It's so cool how graceful they appear, considering what large animals they are--they can actually outrun humans!

There are a few vantage points from which you can view the hippos, even being able to see them under water in the lower level.

The fish swimming about are an added bonus, making the hippo habitat a bit more authentic to their natural living conditions in an African river.

The kids were amused by the hippo gals' "toy", a torn up tractor tire.

As you make your way to the lower level of the exhibit, you can sit and watch Genny and Button or watch a video about hippos.

Sprinkled throughout the exhibit are interesting facts about these beautiful animals.

Having worked in museums, I'm impressed with the way this exhibition has been reworked.  It entices visitors to enjoy and learn about these amazing animals in a unforgettable environment.

Of course we had to stop and see Lizzie before we left, along with the other amazing displays of aquatic life throughout Adventure Aquarium.

Adventure Aquarium is open year-round, and I'd imagine this time of year is a great one to take preschoolers and toddlers because school is back in session and field-trip season hasn't yet begun.  And of course weekends are a great time to visit with older children.   We've been to Adventure Aquarium multiple times over the last few years and always learn and see something new.
Disclosure: I received tickets to Adventure Aquarium to facilitate this post.  All opinions are my own.

Begin Again

It's been a quiet summer--at least here on my blog.  I'm sure many of you can relate, trying to keep that marathon of long summer days under control, not burning out too quickly.  School has begun again for my first grader (what??? I know, I can't believe I'm typing that) so I thought I'd try to begin again with this old blog here.

Emotions were strong yesterday for S.  Like his mother, he has trouble acclimating to new situations.  A few tears were shed as he trudged up those bus steps, but I'm confident he'll settle in over the next week or so.

I've been busying myself (I know, it's only the second day) with canning and freezing stuff from our garden.  The tomatoes were fabulous this year, so I want to be able to enjoy them in December, if they last.

Crock pot tomato sauce--freezer or canner?  Haven't decided yet.

I messed up my pickles though; I forgot to add water to the brine so these will induce extra puckering of our mouths!

There's also been a lot of yarn on my knitting needles, which is so uncharacteristic of me in summertime.

This slouchy hat above was a lot of fun to knit.  You can find the pattern, called "Minty" on Knitty (it's also on my Ravelry page).

This shawl got me through a long plane ride to and from San Francisco; I knit practically the entire trip.  Soren and I flew to see my brother in July and had a blast.  I miss that foggy city.

So that's what's been going on around here--boys getting bigger, seasons dissolving into the next.  We're embracing beginnings here!

On Mother's Day

I learned this weekend that the key to having a nice Mother's Day is dropping any expectations.  Isn't that the key to peaceful parenting in general?  It seems like any time I have an expectation (the kids will just nap in the car, one diaper is enough for a quick trip out, we don't need an extra set of clothes) it just blows up in my face.

I went into Mother's Day with no expectations.  True, I knew it was going to be a cloudless, beautiful day, but that's about it.

Taken at The Rodale Institute on Saturday

I was lucky to start the day at yoga with my bestie, then stop for a leisurely cup of coffee before heading home to pick up the kids and trek to my parents' house for a cookout and hanging around, reading the paper and even taking a quick nap.

Finally, we finished the day at an outdoor show, listening to music as the sun went down, watching the kids run around, dancing and tossing balls.  It was the perfect day.

Despite how challenging being a mother is for me, I'm so grateful to have taken the plunge and experience what it is to be a parent.  It's taught me so much about myself and given me a deeper connection to humanity.  And it's made me appreciate my own mom so much more.  

Hope you had a great day too!

Springtime Randomness

Though it's been quiet here on the blog, it certainly hasn't been so in my daily life.  It's springtime, and therefore lots of projects to tackle now that the weather has become more bearable.  Mulching, painting, cleaning, it fills my days now (well, besides the usual child-rearing and cooking and all that other good stuff).

We've decided that this is the summer to have the house painted.  The window trim is peeling like crazy and in need of attention, and we've been wanting to match the house to our garage siding.

My kombucha has been improving batch by batch.  So far I've flavored it with strawberries, blueberries and raisins and ginger.

The raisin/ginger so far has been my favorite (above on the left, the other is blueberry).  It's been nice having in the morning, before I drug myself with coffee.

And oh yeah, I suppose Easter was thrown in there someplace.  The boys loved the knitted rabbits and giant fabric eggs I made for them.

Someone got a little sunburned the day before--oops.  But chocolate made up for that.

The bunnies turned out SO cute!  And the eggs were simple to sew.  I used a pattern from Martha Stewart and made 10 of them in an hour (minus the stuffing part).  Also from Martha, a recipe for a Polish Easter Babka, which turned out pretty good.  It's like an eggy sweet bread, like challah.

The Easter baskets had some other goodies, like stickers, giant chalk, a butterfly net, wind-up animals and of course chocolate and gum.

It was a great weekend, with an egg hut,

gorgeous weather, capped off by dinner with friends.  What a great way to kick of spring!

Outside/Inside

Things are looking up around here.  There's something to be said about a tropical 60 degree day after weeks and weeks of arctic air to lift one's spirits.

It's nice to break out the chalk, even if we are still in coats and the snow still decorates our yard.  It's only going to get warmer from this point on, right?

It's starting, this dance of ours going from outside to inside and back again.  I'm ready for it!

Speaking of inside, I've still been knitting, and finally finished the Color Affection shawl, which is so hard to photograph.

I've been puttering around the house, changing things around for spring.  It's what I do when I get antsy and bored.

I bought an unfinished pine wood shelf from Ikea and stained it with black/brown paint, then waxed it with finishing paste wax.  The brackets are from Ikea too (total cost was under $10).  I like displaying my baskets and thrift shop plates, as well as my embroidery.

There's something about circles that always appeals to my aesthetic.

So far the boys haven't pulled it down, or even messed with it.  It's bolted to the wall pretty securely though, a process which generated plenty of curse words from me (I was racing against the finish-this-by-the-end-of-naptime clock.

The boys were happy that I had pulled out the plastic Easter eggs.  Man, do I hate those things.

I'm continually stepping on them, but they both love them so much.  S even set up an egg hunt just for me, with smaller eggs stuffed inside the larger ones.

Even my winter wreath has become bunny-fied.

On the kitchen front, I'm finally trying my hand at sauerkraut, thanks to Erin's inspiration.

It's a bit too carrot-y (hence the orange color) I think I got the brine too salty, but so far it hasn't gotten moldy.  We'll see how it is in a few more days.  I'm hoping that this project gives me the confidence to try making kombucha.  That's next on my list of kitchen science experiments.

That's that for life around these parts.  I'm looking forward to warm, sunny days spent outdoors.  I hope you are too.

Winter Boredom Buster: Unfinished Basement Playroom

Chris and I have spent some time, effort and a bit of money transforming our mostly unused basement into a functional and fun area for the boys to burn off some energy this winter.  I neglected to take "before" photos because 1.) the space was a bit frightening and 2.) I had my doubts whether we'd be able to transform it into something photographable anyway.

But we did our best, starting with relocating two large wheeled shelving units to the other end of the basement.  We focused on moving all of the tools to one end, where our furnace is, so that the largest area of the basement could be utilized.  It's an odd layout, with our furnace placed in the middle of the floor, rather than against a wall, so it was challenging to work around. 

And while these photos may not look like much, to us, this space is a great addition to our little old house. It's fostered a lot of physical and imaginative play in our kids, as well as their friends.

The concrete floor got some puzzle mats, the kind used in gyms.  That was probably the most expensive part of the makeover, but we're confident that they'll be used in some manner beyond the childhood years, especially that we went with a neutral color.

The steps got a fresh coat of paint. I really regret not taking a before shot of these hideous things; they were brown, dirty, with missing tread mats.

They are SO much more inviting now, painted white with teal and green accents.  And the new tread mats are so much nicer, and safer.  We still need to add a second handrail below the one that's already there, just for peace of mind that no kids will fall or purposefully jump under the railing.

Most of the items in the play space were things I had in storage; the swings (from IKEA) were birthday gifts from a few years back that never were installed, the cardboard rocket was stored in the attic (with an occasional appearance in our small living room) the ticket booth, and the ticket booth was a cast-off from the days when I worked at an art museum.  It had been stored in our garage since I was pregnant with Soren, but finally got screwed back together to be played with.

The paper lantern lights were also in storage; I had saved them from my wedding and use them at birthday parties and other festivities. 

Under the steps, I set up a pretend area with the play kitchen, puppet theater, cash register and a table and chairs.

Christmas lights brighten up the space a little, but we could use some more substantial lighting under there.

It's hard to believe, but many of these items were either found in the trash, thrifted, or hand made by me.  The wall hangings were things I acquired throughout my 20s (hippie chick, that was me) so it's nice seeing these funky things displayed again.

We brought in two lawn chairs that spend their summers outside; they make great seating for adults.  I've been known to knit and drink coffee while the boys play.

I added one of my old paintings too, which was just in storage in our attic.  Can you guess which nursery rhyme I was referencing?

This space will certainly evolve as the seasons change, and as the boys grow.  But for now, it is being enjoyed just as it is.  It's a great way to burn off energy after dinner and before bed, especially that the icy, snowy conditions outside have kept us indoors more than we'd like to be this year.

I encourage you to look again at any unused areas of your home; you just might find a playful refuge hiding within it!