Living the List :: Making the most of our weekends!

940. That’s the number of Saturdays you get with your child between birth and 18 years old. And by the time those kiddos are just five years old, 260 of the Saturdays are over!

It rocked me the first time I read it. I immediately called Jessica to tell her we needed to plan some fun for the upcoming Saturday. And we did, and we have, and we keep trying to. Maximizing the 12hrs of awake time on Saturday has become a goal – creating memories, building traditions, and just enjoying each other and this wonderful life we’ve been given. We are very conscious in this family about how precious what we have is, how healthy we are, and how important celebrating the everyday is! We have a little game in our family called Fill up the Thanksgiving Table. {And there are some people that aren’t quite participating to their fullest…uhhhmmm.} Not only do we dream of all the chairs full of warm bodies, but we want all of those little people to have memories of what they did that year together…sisters, brothers, cousins, uncles and aunts, grandparents…the role defining lines are blurry, and it’s because we do our best to be TOGETHER. Sooooooo in the spirit of living the list {you know the one that Becky posted last week}, we have been busy!  Zoo, nature center, and strawberries y’all!  All quick, easy, and as drama free as an outing with 4 and unders can be!

Stop 1 :: Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary

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Y’all. I’m scared to share this secret, but I can’t just keep it to myself! A good friend of mine found this gem a couple months ago, and we’ve now been 3 times. It is the perfect perfect perfect place to bring a 2 year old {and up, way up!} to the “woods”, as my daughter calls it. Stroller friendly, toddler friendly, everything friendly. It doesn’t hurt that it’s about five minutes from my house, nestled right in, just off of Memorial and just outside the Beltway – a little treat you’d never find if you weren’t looking! The trails are shady, explore-able, easily walk-able {and push-able}. And everything is just the right size and speed for spotting birds, watching the turtles sun themselves, and finding lizards in the brush. I wish wish wish I was magically off of work every Wednesday morning because I’d have Maggie signed up for their little camp. No fear though, there is a family nature program/craft/adventure the 2nd Saturday of every month! And a special Halloween Night Hike full of family fun. You are so ready to go, right??!!! Make sure you head to their website, it’s full of tons of great info! Wait, did I say everything is either free or less than $5…because it is.

Edith Moore

Stop 2 :: Houston Zoo

Our zoo – it rocks! Family of five membership runs you $100, and we’ve definitely gotten our monies worth this year!!! We probably go at least once a month, and even more when the weather starts to turn! Pumpkins at the zoo serve as a Halloween tradition in our group of friends, and Zoo Lights just happens to fall around Papa Don’s birthday every year! I have to admit, with everyone under 4, we’ve got a little pattern set up that works well to get us in, get us active, get us fed, and get us out in time for naps! We head straight to the fan favorite – the giraffes! Then we buy our tickets for Laine and Livy’s favorite – the carousel ride, and move into the Children’s Zoo.  Maggie finds herself in the goat petting area until we drag her out, and Owen gets some energy out on the playground. We usually wander into the rest of the zoo at this point, skipping some things while getting everyone a snack or in the spring/summer we get ourselves to the splash pad! We are lucky to have such a fantastic zoo and surrounding park right at our fingertips, and I for one, can’t wait until the next trip!

zoo

Stop 3 :: Froberg’s Farm

This was year two for our fam at Froberg’s which means we’ve been with kids aged 3m-4y, and it works for everyone.  Last year I wore Owen in the ergo while the girls and Maggie filled their buckets to the brim.  This year Owen stuffed as many berries as he could into his chubby cheeks while the girls lived it up in their encore picking performance.  There is nothing we love more than arriving to venues like this when the gates open.  Smaller lines, smaller crowds…it’s just how we do it.  Y’all need to act fast on this one because strawberry picking ends at the end of May.  The farm is in Alvin, which is about 30ish minutes from the Galleria area…so easy!  When you get there at 9am, take a minute and shop the onsite market filled with fresh fruits and veggies, then skip on through to the strawberry patch picking up a bucket along the way.  Smile and nod at the sweet darlin man who reads you the rules of the patch, one of which is “please pay for all of the berries you pick,” and then press on for pickin time!  From these photos, you can clearly tell they are sticklers for the rules…

owen strawberries

This boy loves him some strawberries!  The picking lasts less than an hour, and you can either have a little picnic just outside of the patch or head home for lunch.  The kids love this, but it’s really one of my favorite things we’ve done – and I know we’ll go back next year.

Have we convinced you to get out there into this glorious city of ours??? Where are your favorite places to spend your weekend mornings?  We’re looking for our next destination!

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Jessica and Sarah
Jessica and Sarah are tandem bloggers and self-dubbed ‘sister-cousins’ because sometimes the lines get blurred, and they wouldn’t have it any other way. Both New Orleans natives, these cousins transplanted to Houston after Hurricane Katrina and have never looked back. Jessica is the mother of twin girls, Laine and Olivia {March 2010}, and a sweet and curious one year old boy, Owen {Jan 2013}. Sarah is mom to Maggie {Aug 2011}, who keeps her on her toes, and the most adorable little brother, Jack {Nov 2013}! By day, Jessica is a stay at home mom, and Sarah works on the financial and managerial end of the healthcare industry. By naps, lunch breaks, and nights, they run an adorable children’s clothing company called The Little Crane Smocked Shoppe. Follow these two, their families, and their adventures in small business ownership on their blog…and don’t forget to show them some love at their shop too!

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