Join Owlexander, the Park District mascot, for their grand opening on Saturday, April 16 from 10am-12pm at Grant Park on Normandy for their first Nature Literature Trail: Owlexander’s Hoot Route. Children ages 3 – 8 and their adult companions can hike along the storybook trail and learn about Owlexander’s animal and bird friends that live in Grant Park. Children can play active games, solve riddles, and more as they read the story. This is a permanent part of Grant Park. This Nature Literature Trail is a wheelchair and stroller accessible, crushed gravel/dirt path through the woods. Kids ages 3-8 with their adult companion can hike along the storybook trail and learn about the animals that live in the park.

This sounds like a GREAT way to get families more involved together on the trail and outdoors for educational fun. And plus how cute is that owl?! I just want to take Owlexander home with me!

I'm serious... I LOVE free TV episodes on iTunes. Being honest I check at least once a week to see what free shows I can find. And this week I hit the MOTHERLOAD. We are big fans of PBS and the quality shows they have, so I was really excited to see some of our favorite shows for free this week. If you haven't heard about any of these show here is a little breakdown about them: Curious George teaches about math and science for a very young audience, Super Why is about the alphabet and reading, Sesame Street is a melting pot of different educational experiences and Mr Rogers' Neighborhood focuses on where we live and what is around us. Here are just a few of the episodes that I found this week:

Curious George: Curious George Flies A Kite/ From Scratch

Mr Rogers' Neighborhood: You And I Together: A Field Trip to Visit Koko the Gorilla

Sesame Street: Abby Cadabby's First Day of School, Baby Bear's First Day of School

Super Why: The Goose and the Golden Eggs

And I KNOW that Chuggington isn't a PBS show, but my boys LOVE Chuggington and were so excited that there was a free episode of Brewster's Little Helper and Jet Pack Wilson from season 2 avaiable.

I'm linking up over at The Diaper Diaries for Things I love Thursday.

Coupons.com has some rarely found Little Tikes coupons. I found them under "Toys and Games." This is a great coupon if you are starting to think about fun spring outdoor toys, or fun little gifts for Easter baskets.

Save $5 on ANY Little Tikes purchase of $30 or more

Save $10 on ANY Little Tikes purchase of $100 or more

Did you find any great deals on Little Tikes toys, be sure to leave us a comment.

I decided that this week for Things I Love Thursday I wanted to try and bring a little bit springtime here. I love spring, the beautiful weather, the reminder of the new life that it brings, St Patrick's Day, Easter, my birthday.. there are lots of great things about spring in my book.

Well, I don't know about you but one of the best ways that I've found to get my boys to try something new is all in the presentation. The more exciting or fun that it looks the more likely they are to give it a try. Little B is pretty picky about most foods- even fruit. So I was pretty pleased that he could barely keep his hand off the plate while I was trying to take pictures. Seriously how cute is his little hand stealing a grape just as I snapped the photo?!

Our rainbow snack was a fun healthy way to brighten up snack-time. I used red strawberries, orange oranges, a yellow banana, green apple, blue blueberries, purple grapes and a few gold coins for the gold at the end of our rainbow. And as soon as I told C and his buddy from school that was over that they could come and eat it was like three little vultures converging on the plate with silvery forks in hand.

Honestly, I can't wait until next year when C goes to school all day and I have to pack him lunches. How exciting will it be for him to have a rainbow packed in his lunch?

Now what are you waiting for? Go and "eat the rainbow" with your kids! Need some ideas? Here are a few to help get you started.

Red- red apple, red peppers

Orange- goldfish crackers, melon

Yellow- yellow pepper, pineapple

Green- kiwi, snap peas

Blue- blue corn chips

Purple- blackberries, cherries

If you make a rainbow snack for your kids I'd LOVE to hear how it goes! Or better yet, post a pic on Deals For Dayton's Facebook page! I'm linking up over at The Diaper Diaries for Things I love Thursday

The newly renamed Disney Jr channel has a new show called Jake and the Neverland Pirates. I downloaded it already and it's really cute. There are two boy pirates, one girl pirate, a parrot and don't forget Captain Hook and Smee. They work together to tackle problems and find an answer. C likes to play dress up and after watching the show he promptly dressed up as a pirate. I forsee him asking me a to help him make a map in the near future. Because what is a pirate without a map? I grew up watching musicals with my Mom and really liked the cute little songs. I always like catchy little songs, so I see those getting stuck in my head! "Captain Hook and Smee are cute in their cluelessness and they help remind kids that life isn't always easy, and kids have to sometimes overcome problems.

So, while watching the show I immediately recognized Smee's voice. Did any one of you watch the old Disney cartoon where the bears are cleaning up trash in the park? "That's the way it's done, it's a lot of fun, putting papers in the bag." The park ranger is Smee's voice- now, this had nothing to do with the show but made me remember all the cartoons I loved when I was little. Disney really does do a good job of creating shows that kids love.

Have you watched the show yet? What is your impression of the show? Be sure to download your free episode before it's gone. I'm linking up over at The Diaper Diaries for Things I love Thursday

I really like living in Ohio, I know the weather can get cold and it's not a tropical location but there are lots of things to do and tons of great local businesses. One of the local places that our family loves to shop at is Trader Joe's. I love how when you find someone else that shops there it's like finding a kindred spirit. Then you both proceed to list what you buy there and why it's good. I always find it funny that every thing that anyone else has on their "must buy at Trader Joe's list" is the "best stuff." Because let's be honest, almost everything there is pretty great. But do you know what? Not only do I love Trader Joe's, but my kids do too. There is rarely any complaining about going to the grocery store when I say that we have to go there that day. So here are my favorite things about Trader Joe's, I'm not going to list all my food I like there because that is a pretty long list so I'll just stick to basics. The things that in my mind make Trader Joe's one of the Things That I Love this Thursday.

1. Stroopy the Cow- I don't know who came up with this idea, but it's GENIUS! There is a plush cow that floats around the store, maybe you have seen it and didn't realize what he was doing hanging around the store. Well, did you know that Stroopy the Cow is a scavenger hunt for your kids? That's right!  Once you walk in the door tell the kiddos to keep their eyes peeled for Stroopy the Cow. So while you are on a shopping trip, your kids are on a hunt for Stroopy. When you checkout be sure to have your kids tell the person at the register where Stroopy was and they will score a prize- an organic sucker to be exact. There have been a few times that we've not found Stroopy the Cow, and we have still gotten a sucker just because they are nice there like that.

2. Sample Station- There is almost always some fun new sample to try. Whether it's meatballs or the latest and greatest cheese there is usually some tasty morsel awaiting you towards the back of the store. They also offer free coffee if you are caffeine inclined.

3. Cookies- So back at the Sample Station sometimes there is a "weird" sample and my boys don't want it. But guess what?! They have Cat Cookies for the kids. All they have to do is ask and whoever is back there will give them a sample cup full of cute cat shaped cookies.

4. Try It Now- Here is the "secret" about the Sample Station... Have you ever seen something at Trader Joe's and thought, "hmm, I wonder if this is any good." Well, all you have to do is take it over to the Sample Station and they will open it for you and let you try it right there! Then if you do like it they won't make you take the opened one, they tell you to get a new one and they will use the open one for samples. It's that AWESOME!?!

5. Stickers- The registers always have stickers, they are cute Trader Joe's stickers for the kids and you might even get lucky and make it home without them being stuck on you. (Don't you hate that, when you are running errands all day and somehow you ended up with a sticker on you sometime during the day. Then at the end of the you realize that it's on you.. and no one said a thing about the sticker on your butt.. Never happened to you? Me either..)

6. Friendly Staff- All of their staff is helpful, friendly and polite- every time we have been there. The kid-friendly staff is wonderful, it's nice that when we walk around and my littlest boy says "hi" to every passing employee that they stop and pay attention to him. He loves it and it's heartwarming to see how authentically nice they all are.

7. Return policy- There have been those few times that I bought something that we don't enjoy- like that time that I bought Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup... NO SALT... ugh. All you have to do is bring back the item, even if it's opened, and they will refund your money. It's nice to know that I can take a "risk" at Trader Joe's and not be stuck with some weird No Salt soup that I accidentally bought.

8. No Artificial Things- I've been trying to be more careful with what I feed my family lately and was pretty excited when I learned that everything with the Trader Joe's label has NO artificial flavors, colors or GMO's (genetically modified organisms).

Have you ever been to Trader Joe's? What are some of your favorite things about them? Or more importantly what are some of your favorite things to buy there? What should I try next time I'm there- because I'm always up for trying new stuff from Trader Joes. And look at that cutie with his stickers and sucker!

This post is linked at Things I Love Thursday on TheDiaperDiaries.net.

I'm so excited to be starting a new section here! I'm gonna be posting Playtime Projects to do together as a family here from time to time. I'd love to write a "crafty blog" but I don't have THAT many great crafty ideas so I figured that I'd share the ones that I do have on here with all my readers. So, I hope you enjoy!

Well, Valentine's Day is next Monday, and although store bought Valentines aren't that expensive I wanted to do something fun with C. Since he is in Kindergarten he needs to practice his fine motor skills anyway and I figured that this would be the perfect chance.

I started out begging... umm, I mean asking my hubby sweetly to make us a cute little bumblebee printable. We printed them on cream colored cardstock and got to work.

C got to cut them apart and then placed a heart shaped sticker on as the wings. We had several different types of heart stickers in our stash, but you could really make this however you wanted to with the wings.

I showed a few variations that we made just to give you an idea. And ta-da cute little bumblebee valentine cards for the class, easy, fun and cute. Plus you can even color them in if you want to make them a little more personalized.

Here are a couple different wing ideas:
-Two smaller sticker hearts
- Large heart sticker
-Foamie shape stickers (they are about $3 for a 90 stickers pack at Joann)
-Felt shape
-Stamp
-Color it in with markers, crayons or colored pencils

So what do you all think about my first craft post? I LOVE LOVE hearing from my readers.. so please show me some comment love. PLEASE! Did you make Valentine's Day cards with your kids this year? I'd love to hear what you made! Feel free to tell me here or share a picture of your masterpiece on our Facebook page.

** All downloads are for personal use only. Please do not use for resale, or commercial production.

So maybe it's too cold outside, but on some days you just NEED TO GET OUT OF THE HOUSE! Anybody else with me?! Cabin fever often runs rampant in my house. So to help you out and to save you some sanity we put together a list of a few locations that you can visit and let your kids run off some energy while staying indoors. So bundle up the kids and get out of the house! These locations are great places to escape the outdoors! The price and times of each activity will vary so be sure to check out their site for more information. Also be sure to check their sites for possible coupons or discount days. I know this list is not all inclusive, so if you know of some places that I haven't included please be sure to let me know.

Play Some Games

Chuck E Cheese - Chaos in a building fueled by pizza

Magic Castle - Play areas, games, soft play area for younger kids

Learn Something New

Boonshoft Museum - Nature and science center with climbing structures and live animals

Air Force Museum - Large collection of military aviation and more, including sensory exhibits

Dayton Art Institute - Art exhibits and Kids Club gallery hunts

EnterTRAINment Junction - Train displays and walk through experiences

Run Off Some Energy

Bounce U - Inflatable play area for kids

Urban Krag - Rock climbing facility geared for ages 10 and up

Kettering Rec Center Ice Rink - Ice skating rink, check drop-in schedule on right column for times and fees

South Metro Sports - Ice skating rink

Skateworld of Kettering - Skating arena

Orbit Fun Center Lebanon - Skating arena and arcade

TWIGS Kids - Open bounce at gymnastics studio

Beaver-Vu Bowling Beavercreek - Bowling lanes

Pla-mor Bowling - Bowling lanes

Poelking Bowling Dayton Mall - Bowling lanes

Woodman Lanes - Bowling lanes

Poelking Lanes South Centerville - Bowling lanes

Marian Lanes Huber Heights - Bowling lanes

Kettering Rec Center - Rec classes and open gym drop in playdates (be sure to check the current activites guide)

Washington Township Rec Center - Preschool programs and playdates

The Chaos Room - Interactive gaming facility

Laser Web - Laser tag

Laser Quest - Laser tag

Thanks to one of our readers, Lindsay, we are writing a new post, and now a BRAND new section- check out our Places tab, that includes Free indoor places to play! So here is what I've come up with so far, if you know of any more please let us know and we will add to our list. If our location information is incorrect please let us know.

Indoor Playgrounds

McDonalds

1872 East Stroop Rd Kettering- computer play area

6222 Wilmington Pike Kettering- indoor/ outdoor play area

2853 Centre Dr Fairborn- computer play area

410 N Broad St Fairborn - indoor play area

1570 Miamisburg-Centerville Rd Centerville - computer play area

2757 W. Alex Bell Rd Miamisburg - indoor play area

15 N Heincke Rd Miamisburg - computer play area

5562 Merily Way Huber Heights - indoor play area

Chick-fil A

Beavercreek Freestanding - indoor play area

Centerville Freestanding - indoor play area

Dayton Freestanding - indoor play area 

Burger King

4465 Clyo Rd Kettering - indoor play area

7607 Old Troy Pike Huber Heights - indoor play area

Mall Play Areas

Dayton Mall - indoor play area

Mall at Fairfield Commons - indoor play area

Thomas Train Table Play Area

Barnes and Noble - Shoppes at Beavercreek

Barnes and Noble - Dayton Mall Area

Books & Co - The Greene

Books & Co - Town and Country

Learning Express - Cross Pointe Center

United Art and Education - Washington Park Plaza

Von Maur- The Greene

Ikea is having Kids Eat Free every Friday for kids 12 and under. No purchase necessary. Kids can enjoy up to 3 different kid-sized meal items. They also have free coffee everyday before 10am! We love going to IKEA and letting our 5 year old play in their FREE playland while we get a some time to wander around and shop.