Category Archives: Kids

09.12.10

Field Trip: Wings of Fancy.


Yesterday, my two favorite girls and I headed to the Wings of Fancy Live Butterfly Exhibit. What a beautiful day we had. The weather was perfect and the butterflies were flying footloose and fancy free. Below are some of the highlights.

E loved touching the specimens.

This little guy made himself right at home on my baby’s head.

These two thought Lou’s jibbit was a real flower.


My girls.

They insisted on wearing their butterfly dresses in honor of the butterflies.

09.07.10

There Goes My Life.

Ugh.. How can this be? My baby girl packed up her Princess backpack this morning and headed off to Kindergarten. Of course, Lou wanted to be “just like Sissy” so she packed up her Dora backpack full of her Yo Gabba Gabba Dolls and off we went. As I am typing this I am listening to There Goes My Life, by Kenny Chesney. Cry much?


 

09.07.10

Back to School.

My baby girl starts Kindergarten today (sniff, sniff.) Besides wondering where the time went, I am wondering where to get her clothes for fall. My soon-to-be-five-year-old wears a size 7-8, and I always have the hardest time finding age-appropriate clothes for her. If you look in the little girls section, they are showing pieces that I wouldn’t let my girls wear if they were 15, let alone 5. So this one’s for all of you moms who share my pain. Grant it, some of these may be out of my price range for my little one, but here are some tasteful items that I would love for my little mini-me(s) to sport this fall.


1. Pocketful of Ruffles Coat- $98 *** KIKI’S LIST FAVORITE

2. Boatneck Floral Top– $29.50
3. Button Jumper– $26.75
6. Mini Skinny Jeans– $26.50
7. Trench Coat– $39.50 *** KIKI’S LIST FAVORITE
10.Fringed Boots– $26.50
11. Stripe Atlantic Bow Tee- $26.50 *** KIKI’S LIST FAVORITE
12. Ribboned Ballet Flats– $78 *** KIKI’S LIST FAVORITE

09.02.10

Reserve, Conserve, Enjoy.

I work very hard to try to raise my children to be socially responsible, environmentally conscious little people. I’d like to think it’s rubbing off. I guess the evidence is when E nags her father to “take care of Mother Earth” if he leaves the water running while brushing his teeth. My little tree hugger…

In all seriousness, epic disasters like the BP Oil Spill and the Great Garbage Swirl in the Pacific Ocean honestly keep me up at night. Am I a freak? Maybe so. As a mother, I want for my children and grandchildren to enjoy the beauty of this world, so I will so everything in my power to make sure that they will be able to do just that. Below are my favorite personal green initiatives that have made it onto Kiki’s List.

1. Large Recyling Bin– FREE. In most counties, you can call your waste management company and request a larger bin. Ours is 65 Gallons. I must say, we fill it each week, and in doing so, we have significantly eliminated the trash that will be put from our home into a landfill.

2. Envirosax– $8.50. I have plugged these before but they really are the best. Extra Large, super-sturdy and they roll up into little lipstick-sized bundles.
3. High Efficiency Bulbs– $16.39. Help your wallet while helping Mother Earth. You can also save up to $80 a year with these puppies.
4. Cupco Tumbler– $6.49. I just bought two more of these today because Mike and I always fight over them if one is in the dishwasher. He drinks his iced coffee and I drink my Crystal Light Arnold Palmers each morning.
5. Apple Battery Charger– $29.99. Comes with six reusable batteries that last up to 10 years.
6. Decline Junk Mail– FREE. You can also sign up here.
7. Steel Water Bottles– $3.94. Water is so much better for your kids than juice boxes. Remember to use metal bottles instead of plastic, especially if you keep them in your car.
9. Decline Receipts– FREE. After reading this article, you may want to do it for your own health as well. For small purchases or gas, I always decline a receipt. Why even bother?
10. Reusable Sandwich Containers– $2.50. Eliminate the need for plastic bags whenever possible.
11. Turn Off Water– FREE. When you don’t need it. Turn it off.
12. Return Dry Cleaning Hangers– FREE. Bring them back to your neighborhood dry cleaners. More than 350 billion hangers reach landfills each year, amounting to 200 million tons of steel that could be put to new use. Since the cost of imports from China has more than doubled in the past two years, many dry cleaners may offer incentives to bring yours back.

08.29.10

Priceless.

Concert Tickets- $200
Dinner- $30
Brobee Backpack-$30
Light Sticks-$20
Yo Key Chains-$20
Tour Tee Shirts-$60
The look on their faces…. Priceless.

Last night we took our #1 fan to the long awaited Yo Gabba Gabba Live Concert. What a fun family night. Now, I am a sucker to watching my girls experience new things. I actually cried because of the sheer joy on their faces at Disney on Ice. Back to Yo- the girls loved it and we all danced the night away. Sadly enough, all of the parents knew the songs better than the kids. Yooooooooooooo Gabba Gabba!!!!!!!!!

We met Bella and Gigi for some burgers and fries beforehand.

Spent $100 after five minutes of entering the concert.

Hilarious.

Mommy and DJ Lance Lou.

Loving it.


E’s kitten-like dance.

So Yummy! So Yummy!

Time to say good bye.

Check out this family’s adorable shirts.



Biz was awesome. I think the Dads were more excited than the kids… “Oh Baaby Youuuuuu!”

08.19.10

I Mean……

This is what I was given when I picked E up at school… I know she’s just working me for better birthday presents!

08.12.10

Best Vacation Ever.


Do you ever feel like you need the world to stop turning for a minute so that you can reconnect with those that you love most? Well, the Salmons were in dire need of a vacay last January so we splurged for a vacation at Beaches, Turks and Caicos- and I am so glad that we did. It was the best vacation that we ever took. Mike and I went on our honeymoon in Turks and loved it. Mind you that was eight years ago, and there was virtually nothing on the island. That is certainly not the case now. We were a bit skeptical of the cheese factor between the Sesame Street theme and the all-inclusive resort, but everything was top notch. Beaches is like three resorts in one. We loved it for so many reasons. Here are the top ten:

1. Delicious Food.
2. Fantastic Service.
3. All Inclusive (Don’t need to worry about buying your kid a $10 ice cream.)
4. Camp Sesame.
5. The Kiddos Had Their Own Room.
6. Amazing Pools and a Fantastic Water Park.
7. Minto, Our Incredible Concierge.
8. Tons of Activities For The Babes.
9. Fully Stocked Bar And Fridge In Our Room.
10 Minto’s Nightly Delivery Of Cheese, Cookie And Fruit Trays To Our Room.
Seriously, I could go on forever. After day 1, we had our routine down pat:
8:00- Breakfast
9:00-10:00- Pool
10:00-12:00- Water Park
12:0o-1:00- Lunch
1:00-5:00-Girls to Camp Sesame… Mommy and Daddy hit the Pool, Beach, Bar…
5:00-Showers/Baths
5:30-Nightly Show at the Main Stage (Elmo and the rest of the Gang shake their groove thangs.) They open up the stage afterwards to let the lil ones dance- the girls loved this!
7:00- Dinner (There are 18 restaurants to choose from.)
8:30- Ice Cream
9:00-Bed for Lou, nightly swims for E and Daddy.
10:00 (Yes, 10:00) E would collapse in her bunk.
Then we’d get up and do it all over again.. it was marvelous!
Camp Sesame is well run, and clean as a whistle. The camp counselors are fantastic and also babysit at night. They get to have Storytime with Elmo, Treasure Hunts with Abby Cadabby, and even make Cookies with Cookie Monster. We were all so sad to leave. We have such terrific memories that will last us a lifetime.
Well, last week I booked our trip for next year. It’s not cheap, but I honestly don’t care if we have to cancel Christmas and eat Ramen Noodles for three months, we’re going.. and I can’t wait!
(PS: How hilarious is Lou in the picture where she is yawning? Do I bore her that much? That was our last night.. and as you can tell the night was coming to an end.)