Alayna's Adventures

W e have a few fun family traditions that we love to do each year. Perhaps one of my favorite is strawberry picking on the farm. I love it, and it never gets old!  This year, Isaiah was 4 1/2 years old and Annika was 2 1/2 years old, but I was also 6 months pregnant. While I absolutely love the adventure of strawberry picking on the farm, my body did not like the stress and heat of strawberry picking with two toddlers and no hubby to help chase them. We did decide to go with a friend and her one year old daughter, but I pretty quickly regretted not bringing along my hubby or another helper.  So note to pregnant mommas with toddlers, take some help, or you may turn quickly into a grumpy mommy like I did... My favorite strawberry picking place has to be Triple B Farms which you can find at  823 Berry Ln, Monongahela, PA.  They have so much fun stuff to do, and so many Pick Your Own (PYO) opportunities, you really have to check them out! See their website for details on...

When the kids are babes, it's time to establish holiday traditions, whether it's the ones that you did when you were young or starting brand new ones for your family.  It's an exciting thing to do, and John and I have really enjoyed dreaming about and starting holiday traditions that we want Isaiah and Annika to reminisce about with their own children.  We have a few that are really fun, and I'll share them (hopefully) in a few blogs over the Christmas season.  First, my favorite - the Christmas tree!   Our FAVORITE Christmas traditions is going to pick out a tree at a local Christmas tree farm and cutting it down ourselves.  We have gone to a few local farms, but the one we have enjoyed the most is Candle Tree Farm just outside of Washington, PA ( and also on Facebook! ).  It's a short drive from Pittsburgh, but totally worth the trip!  They have a really neat setup that makes finding a tree more of an experience for the whole fami...

It's that time of year, summer is over...  Well almost.  I say almost because I'm watching the waves on the Atlantic Ocean over my laptop as I write, so I'm extending summer by just a bit with a vacation to the shore.  For most, the kids have just completed their first day or week of school, so it's official, summer is over for you.  If summer is over, that means that colder temperatures are on the way, which translates into less trips to the park, pool, and backyard to play.  But play doesn't have to end with the end of summer.  In fact, you can play all fall, winter, and spring long indoors at the Carnegie Science Center.  Yes, this is a shameless plug, but when you are bored this winter, don't complain to me! A membership package at the Carnegie Science Center costs $75 ($50 if you are 65+) for an individual membership, $100 for a dual membership (two adults or one adult plus one child), $150 for a family membership (two adults, four kids and one...

My son loves trains.  He loves to watch trains and trolleys on their tracks.  He loves to build train sets in the living room or on the porch and drive his trains.  He loves to watch Thomas the Tank Engine DVDs at nearly any chance he gets.  He has three different kinds of Thomas engines and tracks and they are *always* in the middle of my floor.  He even has a set of Thomas Pez dispensers that came in a Thomas lunch box, courtesy of Gram E.  He just loves trains.  While it may be close to an obsession, I know that there are other little boys that love trains even more, so I'll classify my son as only mildly obsessed with trains and Thomas.  And I suppose that makes me feel better as a mom, too.   So to feed, or not to feed, my son's mild trains and Thomas the Tank Engine obsession?  I let him watch the Thomas DVDs only half the time he asks, only because I really prefer most other kiddie DVDs to Thomas.  Like, I prefer almost eve...

What do most people know about the Carnegie Science Center?  It's a great place to learn about science stuff for kids and adults alike.  It has a bunch of cool exhibits... about science.  It's open almost every day of the year to see science and stuff.  It's on the North Shore by Heinz Field.  Oh and they have sciencey stuff. But is that all there is to know about the Carnegie Science Center?  Not at all!  There are so many special events hosted throughout the year, and it's in your best interests to keep up to date on these awesome opportunities!!  You can even host your own special events for a wide variety of needs whether it's a corporate business meeting or a birthday party !  So what are some of these events that you can attend?  Well, let me give some examples to whet your appetite for all things sciencey and awesome!  And make sure you bookmark the Carnegie Science Center website and Carnegie Science Center Facebook...

Broken crayons...  I think anyone who owns a box of crayons, also owns broken ones.  I like to keep things in order, nice and neat, and if it were up to me, the crayons would always be in color family order in the big box of 64 Crayola crayons with the mini sharpener on the back.  But apparently, I had to lay my desire for nice and neat aside, because I have a two year old.  He doesn't feel the same way that I do about crayons, so they are busted and beat up in an old plastic Huggies wipes container.  With broken ones comprising at least a quarter of the bin.  The trouble with broken ones is that I now have an 8 month old...  Who crawls... Everywhere.  So now, I have to worry about tiny crayon bits looking like food to her.  One more choking hazard on the floor.  What to do, what to do?!? I'll tell you...  I made cute crayon rounds from our broken bits.  Here is my fun photo tutorial for what to do to recycle broken crayon...

Fireworks.  What is more American than fireworks?  I would contend that there isn't much...  So what does every true red, white, and blue American do on the Fourth of July??  Watch fireworks, of course! This Fourth of July, we watched the city of Pittsburgh's fireworks show from the North Shore on the lawn of the Carnegie Science Center.  And honestly, it was probably my favorite location for fireworks yet!!  Next year, it's a destination that you should seriously consider, and here is why.   1.  Ahhhhh mazing view!   Seriously, it was one of the best vantage points that I have experienced for the downtown Pittsburgh fireworks display.  I have watched the fireworks from two different locations in Point State Park and a location near Station Square, and all of those locations were good.  BUT the Carnegie Science Center lawn was amazing, because the Pittsburgh skyline was the backdrop for the fireworks display, which made pic...

Last year I discovered pick your own produce at several local Pittsburgh farms.  The wonderful farm that I have fallen in love with for pick your own is Triple B Farms which is tucked away 15 miles south of Pittsburgh at 823 Berry Lane in Monogahela, PA.  They have so many pick your own crops and festivals all growing season long, you can't help but love them!   Now is the time for strawberry picking at Triple B, which started around May 20 and continued into June with the Strawberry Festival on June 2 and 3.  Strawberry picking will wrap up mid June, just in time for red raspberry picking which starts June 9 & 10.  When I was a kid, my mom used to take us strawberry picking and then she would make strawberry freezer jam.  I saw a recipe for freezer jam on Pinterest and my nostalgia kicked in and I couldn't wait to make some!  So when I heard that pick your own strawberries were ready at Triple B, I couldn't wait to go! ...

So for a few months I have been on this kick where I want Isaiah and I to have arts and crafts time.  He is nearly two and a half years old, so he is hit or miss with following instructions well, which makes arts and crafts very interesting.  Enjoyable arts and crafts time is really a function of Mommy picking the correct project for him to do.  He enjoys gluing things, using paints, foam pieces, and glitter, finger painting, the laminating machine and googley eyes.  So any combination of those things in the form of a craft is very good.   And I love buying craft supplies, as evidenced by my rather large stock of goods.  I began buying craft supplies in college, with every intention of using them to do many crafty things, like making jewelry, crafting masterful paintings, scrapbooking and making fun photo frames.  I have only done a small fraction of what I've desired to do.  Jaime Horvat would back me up on this, as everytime she saw jewel...