Month: April 2011

Let your kids’ entrepreneurial skills soar with Lemonade Day

Mobs of metro-area kids will be out to show that when life gives you lemons, make lemonade, during Lemonade Day on May 22. Hordes of lemonade stands throughout metro Denver — the goal is to set up 5,000 small businesses — will participate in the community-wide event dedicated to teaching children how to start, own and operate their own business through the time-tested act of building and running a lemonade stand. Lemonade Day, which started in 2007 in Houston, has expanded to 28 cities nationwide. Last year, the event served an estimated 3 million

The Cloth Diaper Switch: And I thought AIO was a type of gun

The other day my husband asked me if we were hippies,”We moved up to the mountains, try to grow our own food, eat mostly organic, you gave birth without pain relief, and now we cloth diaper?” Well, maybe we are. Don’t let me fool you. I think taking care of our earth is very important and there are several times I went out in public without shaving my legs (I assure you the hairy leg days were accidental and a bit embarrassing.) but the truth is I like to save money. I was standing in front of the cashier with credit card in hand while hushing my 6 month old. The cashier rang up my month supply of disposable diapers and wipes, the amount finally hit me as a brick across the face would for the first time since buying diapers. I spend $100 a month. A MONTH! I spend $100 a m...

Happily ever after: Princesses rule, thanks to imaginations, merchandising

Kate Middleton will turn into a princess Friday. For little girls across America, she’s living the dream. A familiar one. Youngsters have bonded with tiara-wearers for generations. But today — with entire aisles of big- box stores devoted to princess bling, with princess-themed parties and movies — the path from commoner to coronation has become a routine fantasy. For them, princess is a way of life. “They dress up as princesses on a daily basis when they get back from school,” said Donna Coker, a Highlands Ranch mother with two princess-loving girls: Lauren, 7, and Kelsey, 3. “My husband calls them ‘My lady.’ ” Does she appreciate that her daughters are modeling something akin to “The Real Housewives of Windsor” rather than successful,...

Fresh Look for Summer – Divine Beauty Tips Unveiled

This is it…the secret vault of mommy makeovers. I’ve unknowingly been working on this for years, sporadically, and with research in the form of frumpy, fried phone calls (sometimes tears) and over coffee with my yaya sisterhood of girlfriends.

Event round-up: Cinco de Mayo, Touch-A-Truck & Tapir Day!

Saturday. Is it a pig? Is it a hippo? Is it an anteater? Nope, it’s a tapir, and he gets his own holiday: The Denver Zoo celebrates World Tapir Day on Saturday. Visit the zoo’s two Malayan tapirs, Rinny and Benny, and learn all about these thick-skinned grazers from South America and Asia. Also, get a preview of the zoo’s upcoming Asian Tropics habitat, a new, environmentally friendly facility for endangered Asian wildlife. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The Denver Zoo, 2300 Steele St.; 303-376-4800. Activities free with admission: $13 for adults, $10 for seniors age 65 and older, $8 for kids ages 3 to 11. denverzoo.org Sunday. The Colorado Symphony Orchestra shows of its sporty side in “Casey At The Bat.” The family oriented concert features a recital of the classic poem by actor Frank Oden, ...

Are Our Children in a “Race to Nowhere” Through the Education System?

A few months ago, the mom taxi was running strong. One of us had at least one thing to do every single night of the week. Trying to schedule a play date or just take a breath was next to impossible. I decided I was running my family into the ground. We were all headed for burnout. Gymnastics, Girl Scouts, sports, music, dance…it was all looped in a never-ending schedule. I realized it was time to find a way to actually breathe. Our schedule needed to breathe. We needed to breathe. I’m not sure I’ve succeeded, but things have improved. Each child can only commit to two activities. We are still running three days a week, but it’s not insane. When is enough, enough? When do our children have enough enrichment activities along with schoolwork, homework and play time? Yes play time. A new docum...

Win a Tollytots Rapunzel doll & Tangled DVD!

**CONTEST CLOSED. CONGRATULATIONS TO WINNER JESSICA TALSTEIN** What little girl wouldn’t love this giveaway: A Tollytots Rapunzel doll and a DVD of Disney’s hit movie Tangled. Inspired by the Disney film Tangled, this 14-inch-tall doll is the toddler version of Rapunzel with hair as long as she is tall for styling fun. The back of the doll’s head glows when her hair is brushed and she comes with a brush, tiara and mirror (ideal for ages 3 and up). In exchange for hosting a giveaway, I was sent one of these dolls to review. Since my daughter has never been a fan of dolls (oh, the travesty), we instead concocted a plan to give it away to a little girl in need. Though we kept our donation anonymous, simply imaging the look on her face to receive such a magical doll brought a...

IKEA announces opening day for Centennial store is “much earlier” than expected

Shoppers will get peruse the aisles at IKEA earlier than expected. IKEA announced today that its Centennial store will open at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, July 27, according to a news release. The 415,000-square-foot home furnishing store is being built on 13.5 acres along the western side of Interstate 25, north of the Park Meadows area. The store is the 38th IKEA in the United States and the first in Colorado. “The excellent construction progress made this past fall

Forget the fairy tale: Royal weddings then and now

Where were you when Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer married? On the morning of July 29, 1981, I witnessed spectacular pomp and solemn ceremony on a small TV in an Omaha motel room. Our vacationing family was traveling from Colorado to Minnesota. I was 10 years old. My dad must have found an extra reserve of patience that morning. I wanted to see it all—Diana’s gown, the horse-drawn carriages, the fairy tale. Minnesota had to wait. I was swept up into the excitement and hype. For months, the engagement had been trumpeted in the news and on every magazine cover. Lady Diana’s blue sapphire ring, her beauty, her youth, her destiny as future Queen captured my imagination. The Holiday Western Best Days Johnson Inn faded away. I was an honored guest. I was a part of histor...

Denver Deal: Colorado Rockies, Baskin Robbins and European Wax Centers

I know it doesn’t feel like it now (all rainy and cold again), but the summer is upon us.  The baseball diamonds will be filled again and the pools will be busy.  But the free lawn concerts and other free events are coming soon too! I got invited to a market test of the new wraps (hopefully they introduce them to all locations) at Boston Market.  These were fabulous!  There were three different wraps to choose from including the Southwest one that I tried.   I can see this being a yummy and refreshing summer meal that won’t load me down and it was big enough to feed at least two of me! Colorado Rockies Promotions : Going to a Colorado Rockies game can be a great bargain – especially if you are going during one of the promotional nights.   Saturday, April 30 is “Grea...

Autism: Unlocking Mireya Salazar’s world

Her name is Mireya. She is 3 years and 3 months old. She has fine black hair, a thing for “Handy Manny” cartoons and one of the most prominent last names in Colorado. Many nights, Mireya Salazar will not fall asleep unless her feet are touching her mother and her head is touching her grandmother. It’s part of an elaborate bedtime ritual in which she must place her pillow with the pink checkerboard and butterfly pattern just so, in the middle of the bed. She has other routines, other rules. Every door in the house must be closed. If they are not, she will slam them shut. She won’t eat a broken Cheerio or pasta that is not white. She can seem more interested in a pink balloon than in her father, more fascinated with a blank space in the distance than in “Papa Ke...

The Hunt for the Golden Egg & A Mother’s Shame

My family has been attending our city’s Easter Egg Hunt since my children were toddlers. The Hunt has always been eventful. There was the year when Hadley and Bode thought the eggs were balls and launched them in the air. Or the time they passed over the eggs and ran in circles. Oh, and I can’t forget when the organizers setup the course around the playground and my kids preferred to play on the slide. And then there was last year’s communist society Easter Egg Hunt where each child was only allowed to retrieve five eggs. But this was our year. There were no quotas, the eggs were scattered on an open field and at ages 6 and 4 respectively, Hadley and Bode are in their prime. My competitive husband Jamie coached them to the point they were getting so riled up that I chasti...

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