Our family travels a lot. With the kids, we mostly go to all inclusive resorts for the guaranteed comfort and convenience. Our kids also expect certain things when they are on vacation: foods and activities they like, and of course entertainment.

Atlantis is absolutely amazing, the grounds are breathtaking and there is something for everyone. There are water parks for all ages and size, remote control car race trucks, a Build-a-Bear workshop, kids’ play rooms, a video game room, cooking classes, dolphin and sea lion encounters and a movie theater. The negative part about all this is that you pay for everything separately, and just like in Vegas money runs fast when kids are at play.

On our first night we stopped by a local store and loaded up on soft drinks and snacks, which was much cheaper then buying at Atlantis. There are very nice restaurants in the Marina Village section of Atlantis, but most of the food places near the pool and beach area only had burgers and fries, so by day two my kids were sick of that kind of food. It was also hard for kids to walk around the place since everything is so spread out. We had to stay in one area for the first part of the day and enjoy another in the evening.

Nassau (the island next to Paradise Island where Atlantis is located) is a very safe town and has a great Pirate Museum, which we visited and spent a day trying local foods. The kids loved it.

With all that said, our kids took part in many new activities; our 3 year old even won three car races. We caught up on kids’ movies like “Tooth Fairy” and “The Spy Next Door” (the movie theater was the only free activity). Our kids met and played with real dolphins. Over all, our vacation was a big success; even if it was NOT our usual all inclusive lazy-type of vacation. We learned two things form this experience: #1 visit Atlantis after reaching 48” in height, #2 we are not ready to go to Disney World.

When we first decided to go to Maryland with our kids for spring brake people told us that there was nothing to do in MD. Not only that we found plenty to do but we actually ran out of time and didn’t get to experience some of the cool places Maryland has to offer.

We arrived in Maryland (20 min) from Baltimore Thursday night so that we could start our program early in the morning. We stayed at Hampton Inn & Suites Arundel Mills BWI Hotel www.arundelmillsbaltimore.hamptoninn.com it included breakfast which was a great time saver.

Day one:

We started our day at http://www.portdiscovery.org/ it’s an unbelievable place for kids to visit with a 4 story high climbing monkey gym, which all of my family members got to experience (some by choice others out of nasality). We also got to meet Curious George Live. We spend about 4.5 hours at the Port Discovery and got lunch. Since the venue located in downtown Baltimore there was no shortage of kids approved restaurants near by.

After lunch we check out a Submarine and a Rescue Boat the boats were parked near the Aquarium and visitors could clime in and check out the inside. There were more boats to check out but it was time for nap. (If you are planning to visit the Aquarium in Baltimore buy tickets in advance on line especially for the dolphin show)

After a good nap at the Hotel we went out for dinner to http://www.medievaltimes.com/.

Day two:

B&O Railroad Museum www.borail.org was out day two adventure. Not only that the kids got to see all the miniature train models and clime the big trains, they also got to ride a real train, which for my kids what a first. The museum will be celebrating a Tomas event on April 23-25, April 30-May 2 where kids will get to meet Thomas http://www.borail.org/DOWT10.shtml (if you’ll be in the area don’t miss it).

After lunch we headed for the Ocean City MD. However we could have spent another 2 full days doing just Baltimore activities.

Ocean City MD

OC has all the usual activities of a beach town to offer: carnival parks, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! www.ripleys.com/

Our trip took a total of three days and the cost (food, hotel, gas and entertainment included) was about $1,500, interestingly enough the cost for a family of 4 (food included and all) at out family camp trip May 22 – May 24 is $500 Family weekend at Berkshire Hills-Emanuel Camps http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=app_2344061033&gid=384231932570#!/event.php?eid=359907488955&index=1.

Places that we missed in MD:
Assateague State Park – wiled horses park
7307 Stephen Decatur Hwy
Berlin, MD 21811 (410) 641-2120 dnr.state.md.us

Frontier Town: Campground   - www.frontiertown.com
8428 Stephen Decatur Highway, Berlin - (410) 641-0880

So my son will be going to kindergarten next year (still can’t get over this fact) and one of my biggest questions when it came to school was about meal time. I was told that we can either pack a lunch or buy one from the cafeteria. I was skeptical about the cafeteria, but all my friends convinced me that cafeteria lunch is nothing to be afraid of and it will make my morning routine a lot easier. So I gave in, thinking that this summer my son will have lots of practice with cafeteria food at his day camp.

On the first day of camp we were given a meal menu which included all the snacks, breakfast and lunch menus. However, when I asked my son what he actually ate from this elaborate list, he said, “I ate bread; I like bread.” This was when I decided that cafeteria food was probably not going to work for us. I started researching different lunch box options and was able to find a few good ones that could store both hot and cold lunches.

About six months ago I was debated if I want my then two year old son to start preschool. I thought maybe to keep him home until the summer and wait till he turns 3. I was afraid that maybe it was too early. Then I started to see that he was in desperate need to go and communicate with other children. Being at home all day didn’t really do him any good. I was doing a lot with him in terms of learning but it still was not the same. He needed to learn how to interact with others and also what worried me that he was not really talking.

I searched a lot of schools on Staten Island that really did not appeal to me and was ready to completely give up and wait till he is old enough to enter public school pre k program. I then came across a website for CBI academy and thought to my self I will give it one more try and go check it. It was very convenient location for me in terms of  commute. When I came to the school I was pleasantly surprised. I was greeted by a very friendly director. She showed me the school, explained to me what the goals are and how they run the program. The facility was extremely clean and safe. I decided to try it part time with my son. What a surprise it was for me. The minute he opened his eyes, right away he wanted to go to school. His speech improved tremendously, he became even more social, and everyday that he comes home from the school he brings something new that  he has learned, a song, the alphabet,new words and expressions. I can honestly say it was a great choice of school. The staff is amazing, the atmosphere is great each child is greeted in the morning by the teacher with a look of excitement on her face and the same for saying when the child goes home. My son has this enormous smile and looks forward to come back the following day.

For more information take a look a the following links.

 http://www.cbiacademy.com/

 http://newyork.craigslist.org/stn/kid/1259915624.html

If you ever get a chance to travel without your kids for a long weekend, I recommend you try Amsterdam. My husband and I just came back from our trip; it’s about a 6 hour flight to Amsterdam and 7 hours back (if you’re thinking of driving to Cape Cod or Vermont this flight is a real piece of cake)

When we had our kids, both my husband and I thought it would be a long time before we would get to travel to Europe, because everyone told us you need two weeks for those kinds of trips. But what we’ve learned is that if you pick one city in Europe it makes a perfect destination for a long weekend both cost and value wise. 

We were able to see all of what Amsterdam has to offer, including all the museums and a canal tour in just two days, and for our third day, we visited the nearby city of Den Haag (http://www.denhaag.com/default.asp?id=DOORWAYNEWS-uk).  Since everybody speaks perfect English, this made it so much easier for us to travel around and ask for directions. Amsterdam also has a great transportation system, which made getting around really simple.

We were there during the white nights, (http://www.europestring.com/white-nights-in-europe/) which means two things: 1 the sun doesn’t go down until about 10pm, which allows for taking full advantage of the weekend and 2 all the young people are completely dressed in white, which gives the whole city a unique look.

There are tons of small private hotels in Amsterdam and we stayed at http://www.fita.nl/ in the museum district, operated by a husband and wife who had ton of great info. For example, they were able to get us advanced tickets to most museums at no additional costs, so we didn’t have to wait in line. And for the museums they didn’t have tickets for, they told us when to visit in order to avoid the long lines. So we wasted no time on our trip.

It is so peaceful and quiet in the city during the weekend, it really feels that the whole city is resting. You do hear the occasional blaring music but mostly in the center and closer to the evening hours. So even though we walked a lot we really felt rested.

A few weeks ago we bought our soon-to-be five year old son a Wii. To be honest, we first got it because I wanted to play; I just couldn’t justify the purchase to my husband. The game, however, did something absolutely incredible for our family; 
  
 #1. My husband and son finally have an activity they can do together and both enjoy. My husband is not very good at playing board games, but he is good at playing computer games and now thanks to the Wii, he and our son are spending more time together.  
#2. Both my son and my husband are off the couch at least for 1 to 2 hours a day.
 #3. I no longer need the gym membership anymore; you really get a workout from playing some of those games.
 
The best thing happened last night, which provoked me to write this. My grandparents came over while the kids were watching TV. In order to distract the kids and engage our visitors I suggested they play Wii bowling. I don’t think I’ll ever forget (or my kids for that matter) the multi-generational tournament that involved my son, husband and grandfather. Not only did this toy brought the generations closer together and created a mutual interest, it distracted the kids from their TV show and created a memory that will stay with them forever.
 
I recommend this game to anyone who thinks he/she is not good at playing with or entertaining kids.

All I can say is wow what a day. It felt amazing to start it off with going to the circus this morning. I remember going to the circus with my mom as a child. It was back in Russia I was about  years old. It was a great experience and now I wanted to do the same for my kids. I wanted to see the smiles on their faces when they see how amazing the greatest show on earth really is.

The jugglers were amazing. I am always amazed at how much coordination is needed to make that work especially when more then one person is involved. It was amazing to see how it all worked. The clowns were really funny to watch and one of my favorite was the one riding the really small bike. It was just too funny and amazing how that can be accomplished. He also had a really funny French accent and that added to how funny he was.

My most favorite part was when the animals were out. I don’t recall ever seeing elephants that close. It was amazing to see how big they are but humans were still able to control them and teach them so that they can perform for the circus. It was really funny to see them dance. I also loved the tigers. They had Russian names really is funny to me. I know I may sound like a child but really that is what it feels like when you go the circus even if you are in adult.

When my kids are a little older in a year or two we will go again. It is different but yet the same when you get older and I always want them to remember this special time.