Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Ticket Giveaway for Fun Slides Carpet Skatepark

My firstborn turned 9 recently. Cue all the tears when you realize you're at the halfway mark of your child turning 18! 😭 But I can't be sad in the joy of watching him grow, mature, pursue passions and watch how his life will be able to impact others. I love both my two boys and two girls and it is certainly interesting in watching their relationships with their friends. My oldest son is pretty drama free with his friends and I love watching a group of 9yo dudes give hugs to each other when they haven't seen each other in, say....48 hours. 😊

I love this group of guys, but let me tell ya, they're full of life! So when it came to picking a birthday party venue, we knew it had to be somewhere active with lots of space and ways to burn energy. We looked at the options in our area and ultimately, my son decided that Fun Slides Carpet Skatepark was the best choice. It turned out to be the perfect option (and contrary to how hard it is to get eleven boys to smile at once!!), they all had a great time!


So what exactly is carpet skating? It's strapping small plastic (flat) "skates" onto your shoes and heading down the ramps! 

A safer yet thrilling alternative to skate boarding, inline and ice skating, carpet skating is fun for all ages (4 and up).  Unlike other sports that take lots of practice, carpet skating takes only minutes until you are confidently sliding around. Once you get the hang of it, you can become an advanced skater with just a couple of days of practice. We have small ramps for beginners and areas to get extreme. All first time skaters are assigned a skate instructor until they are comfortable to skate on their own. 


They have a variety of ramp options and the boys enjoyed the carpet skating. I love that it is big and open with so much room to move around. But a boy's day isn't complete without nailing each other with dodgeballs, is it? The boys had a blast in the dodgeball court! There is also a carpet hockey rink coming soon. I imagine that will be some fun competition as well!



By far their favorite activity of the day was the Ninja course (in the theme of American Ninja Warrior). Each of their runs were timed, so of course, it was quite the competition of who could get the best time! But I loved how they cheered and encouraged each other through their runs as well. They went through this course so many times, I'm pretty sure they all slept great that night. 


This was a feat harder than American Ninja Warrior - going through the course with carpet skates on! That is not easy to do!



The WALL!

The boys enjoyed a briefer stint in the Bounce N' Slide area. It's also perfect for little ones! 



Fun Slides has great party rooms for each group as well. A staff member will be assigned to your party and they take care of you well! We had a great host and she made sure everyone knew what they were supposed to do and where to go. You can also order pizza from Fun Slides and then bring in your own birthday treat. They provide all the paperware needed! 


If you've ever stressed over Pinterest-y party favors, what could be better than souvenir cups and a coupon for a return visit! Stress free? I'm in! Go here to see all of their great party options. 


They have recently added some earlier open times (10AM) on certain days of the week. Be sure to check out their hours if day time works better for you. The park is geared for ages 3 and up. 3yo's can do body slides that you can sit or lay on and slide down the ramps. Kids ages 4 and older can use the skates.

GIVEAWAY
j

jAnd we want to pass on the fun of Fun Slides Carpet Skatepark to you! Fun Slides is generously giving away two tickets each to THREE families to go try out their indoor skatepark. Click link below to enter to win!



Thank you to Fun Slides Carpet Skatepark for providing our birthday party! We only promote venues we love and this is super fun for kids in the Pittsburgh region!

Thursday, February 8, 2018

Use the app, avoid the doctor's office!

OK, fellow parents, anyone else ready to put this winter and sick season in the rear view mirror? 🙋🙋🙋🙋🙋🙋 We just came through a week of a virus that went through all six in my family. Thankfully, it wasn't the flu, but whew, it wasn't a picnic. Now that every piece of bedding has been washed and everything has been sanitized, my fingers are crossed for avoiding any more viruses this season. 😷


I know I'm not alone as we're in the peak of cold and flu season, one of the worst flu seasons ever. :( We LOVE our pediatrician, but right now I'm trying to avoid her office if at all possible! It's a busy place as we recently waited 50 minutes to be seen (this is extremely rare, so I know there were a lot of sick babies there!) But hey, selfies took up at least 5 minutes of our waiting time. ☺


And that is why I'm extra excited about the new UPMC AnywhereCare app! The UPMC AnywhereCare can connect you with health care providers on all devices to help with symptoms like colds, coughs and sore throats. Your child wakes up at 2AM with symptoms? How great to first check in remotely with a medical professional to determine if they need to be seen! Anyone can sign up for UPMC AnywhereCare online or download the app at UPMCAnywhereCare.com.  One thing to note: UPMC AnywhereCare cannot be used for children under three.

UPMC AnywhereCare offers patients with non-emergency symptoms quick online access to high-quality care — anytime, anywhere. If needed, we can send prescriptions directly to your pharmacy.

It only takes a moment to download the app, so do it now and give it a try!

NEED AN EXTRA INCENTIVE?
You’ll also have a chance to win a free digital thermometer when you sign up here by March 5.


 Here's to healthy kids and the help of an app when they're not!

This post sponsored by UPMC Health Plan. I only endorse companies or products that are beneficial to our families.  

Friday, February 2, 2018

Foster Love in February!



For the month of February we're ready to show some extra * LOVE * to Foster Love Project

Foster Love Project provides love in action to foster children as well as support to the foster families who are providing care for them. They operate a free donation center and provide baby gear, clothing, diapers, formula, luggage + much more to kids in transition. 

We are excited to team up with Hobby Prodigy at The Mall at Robinson for a night of fun to benefit Foster Love Project. Hobby Prodigy is a unique DIY creating venue where they provide the supplies and instructions and you create a personalized project for your home. Photo coasters, breakfast trays, 6-pack caddies, bottle openers, photo frames, and jewelry are just some of the options to create! 



Join us at Hobby Prodigy on Wednesday, February 21, 6:00 - 9:00PM. 

Hobby Prodigy will be donating 10% of all craft proceeds to Foster Love Project on 2/21/18. 

Bring your spouse for a date night (you don't have to hang with us!), bring your friends, mom, sister, daughter......



Go here to view full crafting menu.  

*You must register ahead of time and select your craft in order to have a full pick of the craft menu. Otherwise, there will be a limited number of crafts available for you to choose to create. Please go here to register --> https://www.hobbyprodigy.com/reservation/.


It's also BYOB and BYOFood. 

Most crafts take over 2 hours to create, so be sure to arrive close to 6 to be able to finish in time. 

We hope to see you there!