The winner of the Blue Man Group tickets is...

Aimee@ Smiling Mama!!!

Congrats and enjoy the show!

(And do fill us in when you get back -

it looks like a LOAD of fun!)

I'll be sending you a note shortly - be sure to reply!

BLUUUUUUUE Man!

If I could squee out loud online I would! These guys are just about the coolest thing since sliced bread. I am so excited to be able to share some Blue Man Group tickets with a lucky winner. It's a chance to get out on a date, reconnect with the theater like we did recently, and catch a fantastic show!

To enter for a chance to win two tickets to the Wednesday, March 23rd, 7:30pm show at the Warner Theater, share your favorite show that you've seen in the comments section, along with your e-mail address. Winner will be chosen randomly from entries that have e-mail addresses listed. Entries will close at 9pm on Sunday and winners will be notified Sunday evening.*

If you can't make it on Wednesday or don't win the tickets, you can get at a $5 discount on your tickets with code BLISSFUL for shows on Wednesday, March 23rd, Thursday, March 24th, and Sunday, March 27th. And if those dates don’t work, they have a few other shows coming up:

Wed, March 23 at 7:30pm
Thurs, March 24 at 8:00pm
Fri, March 25 at 8:00pm
Sat, March 26 at 1:00pm, 5:00pm, & 9:00pm
Sun, March 27 at 1:00pm & 5:00pm
Wed, March 30 at 7:30pm
Thurs, March 31 at 8:00pm
Fri, April 1 at 8:00pm
Sat, April 2 at 1:00pm, 5:00pm, & 9:00pm
Sun, April 3 at 1:00pm & 5:00pm

Warner Theater and Ticket Info: http://www.warnertheatre.com/
Tickets are available by phone at 800-551-7328 or online at ticketmaster.com

So tell me what your favorite show is for a chance to see the Blue Man Group in action, and I’ll post the winner on Sunday night!

* Tickets are only good for the performance on Wednesday, March 23 at 7:30 pm. Winner must provide their full name by 10 am on Monday or another winner will be selected from valid entries. Tickets will be available at Will Call with a valid ID.

Tickets for giveaway and image provided by Blue Man Group.

Cookie's Counting Carnival is COOL!

A few months ago I was invited to an event where I was introduced to two new games - Cookie's Counting Carnival and Elmo's A to Zoo Adventures. After learning about all of the research that went into developing these two games, I was really looking forward to playing them. I finally found a game that my little one could play that was actually at her level, yet educational. Yes, she's two and a half, but she "plays" video games with her brothers all the time, - mostly things like Mario, Sonic, Pokemon, and none of them are accessible to her. I have seen the value of games for little folks though - Lucy is learning whole words and phrases because of a few of my iPhone games - so I was curious how she'd interact with our Wii with a game that was designed just for her. Let me start by saying that I personally don't really play video games - I have a few that I like to play occasionally, but don't play that often. My kids, on the other hand, are game aficionados, and they tolerate their little sister hanging around and "playing" the games with them, but there's never really anything for her to do, and there's certainly no educational value to her watching them play.

I was curious which of the boys would plug into this game - if any at all. I have thee guys that are 7,7 and 10 are old, and they've long since stopped watching Sesame Street. I knew that Lucy would be excited - she loves Elmo, Cookie, Grover, and the rest of the gang as they hang out on her diapers - but his is a game designed for pre-schoolers, and they are 2nd and 5th graders. Lucy and I watch Plaza Sesamo regularly and she really seems to dig that as well, but I had no idea what plugging in this game would do. For the past three months, all FOUR of my kids have been sitting with each other, interacting with each other for 20-30 minutes at a time, all while th older three encourage their 2.5 year old sister to toss the ring on the stick, scoop up the right duck, or toss the ball at the right stack of cans. Funny thing this video game does - it allows a parent or older sibling to actually interact with the kiddo playing the game.

Initially I was going to review this game and talk about how cool it was that Lucy had a game of her own, that at 2.5 years old she kind of got what she was supposed to do, that she was learning some cool things. But then I saw what the game did for the boys when they started using the parental control. Suddenly they were sharing an activity that they loved with their little sister. The Parental Assistance mode is an easy way for a parent or big brother to take over control of he game without tearing the controller out of the hands of the toddler. That's that kind of thing that starts a temper tantrum in my house. Because she can't read yet, she had no idea that Max was taking over control and helping her to complete the tasks. When she's get stuck (she can't count cans, and while she knows her colors she isn't always sure what she's supposed to pick) they take over and help her along, then give her control back, all without her knowing. They play the game with her, encouraging her to continue on, and she loves every minute of it.

Even with the cool parental assistance feature, it's probably a game that's best played by 3+ years. Lucy is a bit young to understand some of the tasks, but she can certainly manipulate the controller as needed to play the game. The folks who designed the game made sure that little kids can easily work the controller so they can focus more on the games themselves. As you can see, Lucy spent a good deal of time bouncing, scooping, and moving around while playing.

And what a cool controller it is! We have a blue Cookie Monster here, but here's a snap of the cute Elmo cover:

Both of the games come with one of these, and while Lucy liked it the first few times she played, she hasn't been using it more recently, opting instead to jump right into the game. The covers come with the games and slide right on, covering up the buttons that aren't being used and providing a better grip so the controllers don't go flying.

All in all this is a fantastic game for little folks. Sesame Street and Warner Brothers have done a bang up job of combining early childhood educational research and characters that little folks know and love into a game that the whole family can enjoy. While the game is way too basic for an older kid, as seen in this pic it's a game that the whole family enjoys.

If you are looking for a game with easy to understand directions, fun graphics and that has an educational component that's a notch above the rest, definitely check these games out. Cookie's Counting Carnival is our already, but I think that I'll grab Elmo's A to Zoo Adventures when Lucy turns three as she's starting to get into her letters. You can learn more and order the games here: http://www.sesamestreetvideogames.com/, but I'd definitely recommend it if you are looking for a game on the Wii, Nintendo DS, or PC for your pre-schooler. And I think Lucy would give you two thumbs up on this one as well!

*The game was provided to me by Warner Brothers free of charge, but the opinions here are all mine (and Lucy's)!

I Love Fairytales!

Today is the day! Today is the day that Tangled opens! I had the chance a few weeks ago to take the boys, and not only did they like it, they were laughing, giggling (yes, the boys were giggling out loud!), and they really enjoyed it. Tangled takes an old fairytale, Rapunzel, and modernizes it, Disney style. It's chock full of interesting characters that tell the story in a new and different way. And Disney 3D definitely adds to the story - it adds depth to the visuals so that you don't feel like you are turning the pages of a book, but you are watching the story actually unfold in front of you.

The boys spent the whole movie chuckling to themselves and laughing out loud, as did the rest of the audience. The movie was engaging from the start, and had enough twists and turns to keep me guessing. The boys' favorite characters were a pub thug and a lizard (Shorty and Pascal) and both will endear themselves to you just as quickly as they did to us. Amongst the other characters are some recognizable voices - Mandy Moore as Rapunzel, and Zachary Levi (of Chuck fame) as Flynn Rider, and both of them did a fantastic job.

It's definitely a family movie - while we didn't take the youngest member of the family I'm sure she'll enjoy it when it comes out on DVD. And hopefully Rapunzel will charm her for year to come like Cinderella has charmed me.

*While Disney Animation paid for our tickets, the words and opinions expressed here are all mine. Definitely take the family to this one - you'll enjoy it!

A Magical Place

We have long been supporters of the arts. From way back when Max was a wee one we'd venture out to various performances in and around Austin. Austin is the musical capital of the world, after all. But when we moved here to DC, I had no idea the cultural delights that would await us. As we found our way around, one of the first places we discovered was Wolf Trap's Theater in the Woods. It is a magical place nestled in the woods where kids and parents enjoy music, dance, and other performances.

It made my initial homesickness for Austin a little bit better knowing that I could pop out there to catch a show (and catch shows we did!). But as the boys got older and more involved in school, I lost sight of the Theater in the Woods. School schedules became more crowded, weekends became insane, and sports started to dominate our lives.

Then one day my oldest picked up a trumpet and played. He played and played, and the music that he made (beautiful for a first time trumpet player and actually tolerable to my hubby's delicate ears!) reminded me that we do need to plug back into the music and arts scene. I was about Ian and Sam's age when I saw my first real live performance of Grease - nekkid butts and all. I was about Max's age when I did my first cartwheel on Broadway (on the street, not on a stage). And here we were, living in the midst of a plethora of arts, music, and performances, and we weren't partaking. So when I got an invitation to come back to that place that brought me so much comfort and helped to introduce my two little boys to so many cool things, I had to take them up on it. We saw two shows that made my kids laugh, dance, sing, clap, and even giggle. Takes a lot to entertain all four of these kids since they are so far apart in age (10yrs down to 1yr old), but Dinorock and Hayes Greenfield did just that - they brought a smile to all of our faces.

Lucy LOVED seeing dinosaurs, and loved hearing the music. She spent a good deal of both shows dancing around and clapping to the beat. She waved at the Dinos and said "Bye bye" when they walked off stage. She connected with the performances, and she's not even two. The boys, on the other hand, really got it. They got the jokes, they got the story, and they got the messages. And when Hayes Greenfield and Jazz-A-Ma-Tazz came on, the kids plugged right in to the music. They were entranced by the sounds, by the music, by the beats, as were the rest of us there. All three boys go to a school where they have more access to music and arts than most kids around here - it's a magnet school for the arts and sciences. And all three get to play instruments very early on, so it was wonderful for them to see what it's like as an adult playing an instrument, and how much fun it really can be.

But outings like this, considering our schedule, are rare. I just need to remember to make more for things like this. Clearly the kids enjoyed it, and me, well, I'm making plans to head back there with them very soon.

Tickets provided for free by Wolf Trap, but the sentiment and the words are all mine.

Thank you to Robert Boag for these great images.

And the Guppy Gala Winner is...

#8 !!!

Janie said...
The Zoo is just awesome! Last time we were there we spent the most time watching the River Otters play and checking out the Amazonia, invertebrates & reptile houses. We spent the whole day and still didn't get to see it all. In fact I've never taken my kids to the bird house so it sounds like we've missed one of the best things. We went to the Guppy Gala 4 years ago and I know my boys would love to go again. Maybe we'll be lucky and win the tickets!

Congrats!!! Pop me an e-mail with your full address and phone, and the tickets will be on their way to you! Have fun at the Gala!

*Winning number generated by Random.org

It's Guppy Gala Time!

My kids love the zoo. They love going to the zoo on a regular day when it's all about the animals. And they love it even more when there are cool things to do at the zoo where you can learn all about the animals. And even better is when we can contribute to the ongoing efforts of the zoo in their education and conservation mission. The National Zoo’s Guppy Gala? Well, it's one event of several that the zoo offers throughout the year where folks like you and I can give back to the zoo.

The National Zoo’s 16th annual Guppy Gala is rock climbing, mazes, animal encounters, good food, and silly songs. You can even bring your favorite stuffed animal and get them a check-up. All of this, sponsored by United Healthcare®, is Friday, May 14, from 6-8:30pm.

If you want to attend this fun event, tickets are $15 for FONZ members and $25 for nonmembers. They can be purchased at www.fonz.org/guppy.htm, through Ticketmaster (202-397-SEAT), and at the Zoo's Visitor Center (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.).

Or, even better, if you leave a comment in the comments section here, you have a chance to win four tickets to the Guppy Gala. Tell me about your favorite part of the zoo – your favorite animals, the last time you were there, or if you haven’t been to the National Zoo, your own favorite zoo experience. I’ll pick a winner randomly and will post the results on this blog. The tickets will be sent directly to you from the great folks at the National Zoo. The comments will close on Thursday, April 29 at midnight (Eastern) and the winner will be posted shortly after.

Note: I am not being compensated for this post. The tickets that I’m giving away were given to me by the folks at the National Zoo, but nothing else. We are big fans of the zoo and I am glad to share the info with you. Hope to see you at the zoo soon!