“Momma! Look at all dese nature treasures!”

Ellie is what I like to call my wildflower. She’s dreamy and imaginative and can frequently be found wandering around in circles, getting lost in her own world. She’s the type that will go out into the backyard and start singing softly to the flowers (or, more accurately, the “flowlers”). She’ll pick a handful of her favorites and rest them gingerly in the window of her playhouse. When I heard about Tinkergarten, I just knew I had to sign her up.

Designed to allow kids from 18-months to 8-years old explore and learn with nature as their classroom, Tinkergarten is a great alternative to typical kids classes. Free flowing and laid back, you don’t have to worry about kids not being attentive or getting distracted by an army of ants marching along a log—that type of exploration is completely encouraged by Tinkgergarten leaders.

It’s really easy to turn these Local Love posts into mind-numbing love fests. Because I want to express my love. I do. But I also want to give you reality. Full-on gushes are just not reality. There is no afternoon with kids that goes by without a meltdown of some sort. That doesn’t mean the place is shitty. It doesn’t mean the kids are shitty, either. It just means we’re normal human beings, not robots going through the motions.

Our trip to Muscoot Farm in Katonah couldn’t be a better example of this. There was pouting. There was whining. There was arguing. But we still had fun.

A couple of weeks ago I saw that the Wolf Conservancy was going to be there. Knowing that my nephew is a big time wolf freak (and I mean that in the most loving way possible), I immediately contacted my sister and we decided to meet there to get our wolf on, as one does.

Ellie was borderline petrified, but decided that wearing her red poncho (which includes a hood, naturally) might help her defeat any granny-like wolf nemeses. She was scared in more of an excited way, letting the drama build a bit in anticipation of some sort of epic tale.

Last winter I wrote a post for Wee Westchester about the best indoor spaces for kids in northern Westchester. Wanting a diverse spread of places, I turned to Facebook to ask some of my momma friends what their favorite spots were and was really excited to include some new-to-me places that people raved about.

One of those spots was Chappaqua’s WeeZee, a self-described “play, fitness and learning facility for children 0 through 12 of all abilities.” When they reached out to see if the girls and I wanted to stop in and try it out for ourselves, I totally jumped at the chance. We were not disappointed.

Insanity has been ruling the show over here lately. After the jam-packed craziness that was March (tons of work, birthdays, an end of winter mini-getaway), spring break really finished me off in the Completely Thrown for a Loop department. I am now one hundred percent certain that spring break for the younger set exists solely to light a fire under the asses of procrastinating parents (like yours truly) and make sure they get summer plans lined up—stat.

Because sweet Jesus that was a long week.

I actually got really upset and whined to my husband that I don’t want to be one of those people who count down the days until school starts again. He assured me that at one point or another everyone is one of those people. This may be one of the few things he’s right about. 😉

Luckily, the week wasn’t all whining and the girls working their hardest to drive each other (and me) insane. There were play dates and movie dates and manicure dates. There were also a couple of special little outings that I’m excited to share with you guys for your own plan making.

First up were tickets to Disney Live!: Three Classic Fairy Tales.

It happens every time. As we draw closer to my daughters’ birthdays that Pinterest party pull grabs hold of me and lures me in. I search the specific themes my girls have mentioned some interest in, wanting to push them towards the one that I can come up with the most picture perfect decor and desserts and games and favors for.

It’s so stupid.

When did kid’s parties become more about moms throwing elaborate mini-weddings to show how creative and impressive they are instead of reflecting what the kid actually wants?

This year I tried to slap myself out of it, at least a little. Ellie has been talking about a tea party since we went to a local tea place this summer and she relished every last second of drinking hot cocoa out of her very own, very fancy tea cup. My eyes most definitely lit up at the possibilities that could be found in a tea party.

As her birthday drew closer she threw another element into the mix, deciding she didn’t want just any old tea party. She wanted a Zumba tea party. This was a wrench I was not quite prepared for. How exactly does one throw a proper Zumba tea party? What the hell is a Zumba tea party?

Instead of taking it and running with it, I consulted the only expert on the subject in existence: my daughter. She wanted tea cups and she wanted to do Zumba just like she does at her classes with Tanya at Intrigue.

So, we booked a party at Intrigue Dance and Fitness—and it was seriously the best decision ever.