Month: April 2014

Laugh, Cry and Listen to These MileHighMama Mothers

Delicious motherhood vignettes in 4-minute morsels, including 3 Mile High Mamas. The Listen To Your Mother Show in Denver and Boulder, 2013 and 2014.

Maui Family Travel: Days 5 & 6 The Road to Hana and Maui’s best secret

Day 5—The Road to Hana Me: “My goal on the road to Hana is to hike to a waterfall and eat a lot of fruit from the fruit stands.” Jamie (driver): “My goal is to not throw up or kill anyone.” Driving the 52-mile serpentine road along Maui’s rugged northeastern coastline to Hana was a divisive issue. Some told us “it’s pretty but after you’ve seen one waterfall you’ve seen them all” while others touted Hana as the last of Hawaii’s unspoiled frontiers. Our conclusion: if you love the remote and don’t mind hairpin turns and one-lane bridges, you will love Hwy. 36’s stunning seascapes, taro patches waterfalls, botanical gardens and verdant rainforests.  With our guidebook Maui Revealed in hand, we had our route mapped out and planned to hike to a few lesser-known waterfalls. We quickly real...

Maui Family Travel: Days 3 and 4 in the Glorious Upcountry and Beach Bums

Join us on our week-long journey to Maui! In case you missed it: Maui Family Travel–Your guide to 7 days in paradise Days 1 & 2. Day 3—Maui’s Glorious Upcountry Maui’s “upcountry” is a cluster of sites located 2,000+ feet up the slope of the famed crater Haleakala. What we expected: a welcome respite from our sunburned couple of days at the beach.  What we did: fell in love. Parts of this region are referred to as the “Maui Alps.” With cooler temperatures, gorgeous bi-coastal views and a tropical forest, it was easy to see why so many locals live here. Watching the sunrise and sunset from atop 10,023-foot Haleakala is legendary (though finding parking is not). We opted to drive to the summit in the mid-afternoon once the crowds cleared. Our guidebook assured us that, though ...

Denver Deal: Soybu, Chick-Fil-A, Free Days, and more

LiveWell Colorado once again is encouraging Colorado to GET MOVING with their Colorado Get Movin’ Challenge. For just one month commit to move 30 minutes per day to win some really great prizes. It’s easy to track your movement using the @MapMyFitness App (which is free to download). What a great way to get out and enjoy the Colorado weather and teach your kids that movement and exercise are not drudgery – but can be a lot of fun. Play with the dog in the yard, explore a park, fly a kite, take a walk – no matter what you decide – just decide to get moving! Soybu Not that long ago we (Mamas) were invited to the Grand Opening night of the Soybu store in Greenwood Village (2500 E. Orchard Rd). I bought a dress while I was there – that I have gotten complime...

Maui Family Travel–Your guide to 7 days in paradise!

Shortly after touching down at the Kahului, Maui airport, my 7-year-old son Bode squealed, “Pinch me. Is this a dream?” It sure felt like one. A few months prior, I had won our trip to paradise through the Maui Convention and Visitor’s Bureau in what they deemed was “the best reaction we’ve ever received” (think: the next contestant on the Price is Right). As the second largest in the Hawaiian Islands, Maui’s geography is a lesson in diversity. High-altitude mountains topping out at over 10,000 feet, dazzling white, black and red sand beaches, the gloriously remote Hana and the famous road to get there are a few reasons why Maui was voted the “Best Island” by the readers of Conde Nast Traveler for 19 years. Upon arriving at our hotel Napili Kai Beach Resort at dusk, we hit the beach. The 3...

Kids Eat Free Denver

Let’s face it: eating out with your entire family can get pricy. That’s why we’ve rounded up these Denver-area restaurants that offer “kids eat free” or at a discounted rate with a paying adult on select days. Be sure to note that restaurants require kids to order off the kid’s menu, are valid for dine-in only and most offers are for kids 12 and under unless otherwise specified. These deals are ever-changing and are not always the same at every location so be sure to always call ahead to the restaurant to confirm they are still offering it.  Monday Ajuua Mexican Restaurants (Aurora and North Denver). Kids 10 and under eat for a penny for each adult dinner entree purchased. Buffalo Wild Wings (Thornton, Highlands Ranch, Park Meadows. Wesminster). Off...

Kids entering the world of electronic communication? How to help them be safe!

So it’s happened: Your kid wants to text. They have friends, and they want to keep in touch with their friends the modern way. Are you ready to just hand them over to whichever texting app their phone comes with? And do you know about everything that’s out there already? It’s not just words anymore — now kids can send each other photos and videos. And the universe of emoticons! Take a deep breath. It’s going to be fine. Here are a few things about texting that can help you and your kids navigate the world of safe electronic communications. First, use an app with parental controls. MouseMail’s WebTxT filtering allows kids to send text messages from their email account to any phone from your approved list of contacts. It also scans messages for inappropriat...

5 Important Ways to Teach Your Kids Empathy

Kids say the darndest things! We have all experienced the pure innocence and honesty of a child. “ Mommy, your teeth look yellow” or  “Daddy, your nose is big.” Maybe you’ve experienced what’s even more humiliating … your child’s sharing their innocent, honest and totally inappropriate thoughts to a stranger. Or, maybe your child isn’t the “verbal” type and these examples don’t sound familiar. Lucky you! But what about grabbing toys away from other children and not noticing the other child is now crying? How about hitting their baby brother or sister and feeling little to no remorse? You can’t help but wonder what happened to your sweet innocent baby, and why some of their behaviors resemble, well, a little monster. No, the behaviors described above–or similar ones that mi...

Make It OR Buy It? A Fun Kitchen Experiment (with recipes!)

I recently read a fun article in the brand-new All Recipes magazine. The author was doing an analysis on made-from-scratch versus store bought items. I thought this was brilliant, so I decided to test a few items for myself. Pricing below is taken from Walmart and I used recipes from AllRecipes.com  for simplicity sake. I’ve rated each item in FOUR categories: 1) cost, 2) time, 3) taste, 4) health. A few things you’ll need to know: First, I’m not a math geek. I’m good at rough numbers, so expect that what it comes to the “cost” category to find a lot of approximation going on. Second, “time” is kind of a stupid category. Generally speaking, it’s always going to be faster to drop something pre-made into your grocery cart… unless you have to make a special trip for salad dressing, for e...

How Can I Tame My Son’s Rude Jokes?

Dear Mama Drama: My ten-year-old son is always cracking jokes and thinks he is extremely funny. The trouble is that his jokes are usually at the expense of someone else. When people respond negatively to him, he acts like they are overreacting and too sensitive. I think he has some sharp wit beneath the rudeness, but I don’t know how to tap into it. Most of the time he comes off acting like a jerk instead of being funny. ~Unamused Mama (photo credit) Dear Unamused: Ten-year-old boys often use humor to engage socially and, as you relate, they don’t always understand the line between funny and rude. Children (and some adults) also use inappropriate humor to humiliate others in order to feel better about themselves or attempt to elevate their social status. This is also bullying behavio...

Students have a record-breaking science lesson at Coors Field

Coors Field became a gigantic open-air classroom Wednesday as thousands of kids got a lesson in physics and Colorado State University set a record for the world’s largest physics class. Tricycles hitched to billowing parachutes circled the field, beach balls were held aloft by streams of air spouting from leaf blowers, and balloons floated, burst and wiggled over the diamond. It was Weather and Science Day at the stadium, and physics professor Brian Jones, CSU staffers and volunteers, 9News meteorologists, and others joined Rockies mascot Dinger in using a host of props to make the lesson anything but dry. “I think they know much more than they think they know,” Jones said of the 10,369 mostly K-12 kids who attended. “We are trying to teach them a new vocabulary to ...

Greeley oil and gas driller backs down after parents’ fury

An oil and gas industry proposal to drill 19 wells within 900 feet of an elementary school in Greeley ignited such parent fury that company officials on Monday backed down. Mineral Resources Inc. officials said withdrawing their application to drill by the Frontier Academy school is an example of listening to community concerns. They made their decision as state regulators are investigating recent fires and explosions at industry storage tanks northeast of Denver — including one last week near a different elementary school. “We’re grateful. Now our children are safe,” said Trisha Golding, head of the Frontier Parents’ Group, who pressed their case Thursday with Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission director Matt Lepore. “And we’re not going to res...

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