Ella's Big Chance: A Jazz Age Cinderella

Photo Credit: Children's Theatre of Charlotte The Children's Theatre of Charlotte presents Ella's Big Chance: A Jazz Age Cinderella at the McColl Family Theater from December 4th - December 20th. Ella's Big Chance: A Jazz Age Cinderella is a unique take on the Cinderella story set in the roaring 20's. Ella is a designer and creates beautiful gowns for her wicked step mother and step sisters who don't want to include Ella in their...

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Parent/Child Painting Night at Olive's Mud Puddle

Our kids are very well loved emotionally, but also spoiled with material items. Every Christmas, birthday and just because our home seems to adds about 10 square feet of new toys. Our playroom runneth over, and I end up having to picketh it all up... So, for S's 7th birthday I tried to focus on getting her gifts that were experiences to create memories instead of things that would pile up on our floor. She's a fan of crafts and so I thought...

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{Sneak Peek!} Baby+Company Boutique Birth Center

Calling all women, moms and parents-to-be! We've got a {sneak peek} of a luxurious addition to uptown Charlotte. Baby+Company, a boutique birth center, is excited to celebrate their grand opening this Saturday, November 21st from 12-4pm at 131 Providence Road. Baby+Company's grand opening will be fun for the whole family with refreshments, kids activities, giveaways, tours and a chance to ask their certified nurse midwives questions about the...

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Matching Holiday Pajamas for the Family

It's not even Thanksgiving yet, but Christmas has already arrived at every Target store near us. I was happily sipping on a controversial red cup of Starbucks the other day as little bits and I made our way though the aisles when I saw them. Matching holiday family pajamas! They had them in all sizes from infant to 2XL, they even had them in pet sizes for our imaginary dog. I had searched online for this sort of dorky holiday happiness but the...

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Atherton Market in South End

Atherton Market is nestled in Atherton Mills in the quickly growing trend-tactic South End. So trendy it's right next to the newly opened Anthropologie. We went on a Saturday morning to check out the market and enjoy the energy of South End.  Atherton hosts about 20 vendor booths. Their wares run the gamut - offering specialty coffee, organic produce, meats and fish, high end chocolate unique cheeses, hand poured soy candles...

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Moms: How I got 3 Hours of My Life Back Each Week

This is NOT an advertisement. This is my real-life experience that I want to share with fellow moms.  Feeding my brood is a never-ending chore. Combing through the grocery store to stock nutritious, reasonably priced ingredients for 3 meals and several snacks a day takes a lot of time and energy - both of which are scarce these days.  Photo Credit:https://xothebump.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/1362499_orig.jpg I used to like grocery...

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Gold, Coral & Teal Nursery: Get the Look

We decided to let the gender of baby number three be a surprise - which meant I was about nine months behind on decorating the nursery when we found out at 41 weeks that we were welcoming a little girl. There was much excitement over the dresses, giant head bows and of course the chance to make a super girly nursery. We chose a gold, coral & teal theme for her room, but I was on a budget so I used many DIY's and coupons to give the room...

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DIY Fabric Tassel Garland for the Nursery

I was looking for an inexpensive easy DIY craft to add some texture and pops of color to the wall I had stenciled for our baby's room. I had done a pendant garland in our son's room, and I loved the look of it - but wanted something a little more feminine for her very girly nursery. I read a few tutorials on Pinterest and ultimately came up with a version of my own. 1. I used two different sizes of scrap fabric. The big ones were 22" long...

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Charlotte Knights Stadium

If you've been uptown recently you've likely noticed the beautiful Charlotte Knights Stadium just a few blocks from Trade and Tryon. A few weeks ago a large group in our neighborhood (180 of us!) were lucky enough to catch a game in the Knight's new digs. Although I'm not a big baseball fan, I found the vista of the field and skyline in concert with an entertaining ball game to be well worth the price of admission. We were lucky enough to enjoy...

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Planning Your Disney Trip With Kids - The MUST KNOW Guide

Looking for NO-FEE Concierge Disney Vacation Planning? I'd love to chat with you about how to make your family's Disney Vacation (World, Land, Cruise, Aulani, Hilton Head, Adventures) seamless, fun (even for you Mom!) and full of life-long memories. Email me at Lareina@WaltsWorldVacations or on Facebook at Lareina with Walt's World Vacations. Disney World. The mention of the Mouse brings a smile to my face, and my mind cues the...

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Our One and Only Visit to Tweetsie Railroad

Thomas the Train was coming to Tweetsie Railroad in Blowing Rock, NC and our little man E is the perfect Thomas-loving age (2 1/2). We packed up the gang and headed up the windy, narrow and  beautiful roads to Blowing Rock, NC for a visit with Thomas and to experience the adventures at Tweetsie. We rented a cabin called Almost Heaven,  it was clean, spacious and comfortable  - and had everything you could need for 3 families....

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All Un Apologies..

I think that some mommy blogs must have caught a virus lately. Symptoms include wonderful mothers composing long open letters of apology for being human mothers to human children in the real world.  http://www.scarymommy.com/articles/an-apology-to-my-firstborn-child/ I'm truly baffled by, yet perfectly understand many aspects of this mommy self-loathing phenomenon. As a mom of three I often feel like I'm not getting it right,...

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Discount SEA LIFE Aquarium Charlotte/Concord Admission

Looking for a great way to beat the 100+ degree temperatures this week in Charlotte? SEA LIFE Aquarium in Concord is offering adult and child admission for only $11.95 for visits Monday-Friday between 12p-7p until July 17th 2015. Tickets must be purchased online in advance, click here to purchase!  This is a great chance to check out Ruby the Giant Pacific Octopus during her octopus enrichment at 2:15p each day. Learn more about Ruby here. There's...

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Kids Keep Creating with YOXO Toys

It's TV trance face. You know - when your kiddo's eyes glaze over and pupils dilate to allow as much TV in as possible. Ugh, I hate TV trance face - but many times it's a necessary evil when looking for a quick fix to keep them entertained while I get dinner ready, or try to - God forbid - go to the bathroom alone. I tried the unique looking YOXO toys in an attempt to avoid TV trance face, but keep the kids entertained and playing independently while...

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Ruby The Octopus May Be As Smart As Your Five-Year-Old

Meet Ruby. She's the Giant Pacific octopus and resident at the 26,000 square foot indoor aquarium SEA LIFE in Charlotte-Concord that may be as smart as your five-year-old! That's right, a Giant Pacific octopus can develop the mental capacity of a five-year-old with proper engagement. SEA LIFE has designed an Octopus Enrichment program for Ruby that will include her solving puzzle-type activities with a trained team of SEA LIFE aquarists....

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