Kid Baltimore | Family Activities with Children in Baltimore, Maryland

Giveaway! DwellStudio Backpacks from All Modern Baby

What a perfect giveaway for back-to-school time. All Modern Baby is a CSN store that stocks an impressive and oh-so-modern collection of hip treasures for your tot. No pink frilly dust ruffles here, just cool, clean modern. CSN has 200+ stores, including All Modern which has a great selection of modern furniture, for when your kids are old enough to know that peanut butter, and Eames don't mix. Which reminds me, check out this amazing Eames elephant (originally in plywood, but affordable and still cool in plastic). So maybe Eames and peanut butter do mix.

All Modern Baby is offering one lucky Kid Baltimore reader their choice of DwellStudio backpacks. Choose from Transportation, Charlotte, Chocolate Dots, Gio Aqua, or Gio Lemon. These backpacks include a matching pencil case with zipper closure, and are just the right size for your cool kid.

How to Enter
This giveaway is for US and Canadian residents only. All you need to do to enter is comment on this post. Tell me about your favorite backpack. A winner will be chosen at random on Thursday (September 3, 2009) and announced Friday (September 4, 2009). Shipping is included.

Good luck!

Summer Wrap-up

Summer is dead and gone. School starts Monday and while I am looking forward to it (the old Staples commercial is ringing in my head) I am a little sad about it too. Looking back, I think it's been the best summer yet with the kids. They have become so independent, and so strong.

At the beginning of the summer, I shared a brief list of summer plans. We accomplished almost all of the items on our list. Next year, I hope the list is even longer. Here is a recap of what we did (and didn't) do.

1. More time at the beach. We did a pretty good job with this one. I can say this with some confidence since as I type we are at the beach. This year my kids "graduated" from the bay to the ocean. Once you have experienced the ocean (or as my kids call it "strong water") there is no turning back.

2. Make a good ceviche. Okay, big fail. For the life of me I can't figure out why this one is where I fell short. It seemed so easy.

3. Day camp in the woods.  Oh yes. It was muddy, and therefore good.

4. Time in the garden. Despite some tomato blight, we had a pretty good crop. Some things, like the pineapple tomatillos, did very well. Maybe a little too well.

We also managed to clear out a huge area in the front of our property where we planted a three sisters' garden. It was a little too far into the season, but still early enough to qualify as a success. But the best part was watching my daughter's enthusiasm for gardening explode. She is already planning next year's garden and a honestly don't know how she will survive the winter. Now the younger two are following big sister's lead and carving out their own gardens.

 

5. Horseback riding lessons, for my 10 year old. We started lessons at J-Mar Stables. The twins draw pictures with me and play with the dog while we wait. I like what I'm seeing after just a few lessons. Not that I care if she can ride a horse or not, just that I see a quiet confidence in the way she takes charge. I like that.

6. Day trips here and there and everywhere with the kids. Larriland Farms, Brookside Gardens, Artscape, the National Aquarium, CALs Miniature Trains, Shaw Orchards, tubing down Gunpowder Falls River, a visit to see a long lost friend. A fine list, if you ask me.

7. Swimming lessons for all. Thanks to a reader's suggestion (hey, I really do listen to you guys) we went to MAC for lessons. I'm very happy with the teachers, and the super-clean facility. The kids are not all sink-proof. In all honesty, we have a looong way to go for the twins, so we will probably continue next year, but we've made some progress.

If you had a favorite summer accomplishment, I would love to hear it.

The Treehouse is Finished - Part 3

Dave's summer project is completed and I have to admit I am impressed. My kids are considering moving in permanently and as my daughter pointed out, "Mommy, you can still visit." Good to know I'm still welcome.

According to Dave, the whole project only cost about $300, due to the large amount of re-purposed items. He had to buy all of the 2 x 3s and about two-thirds of the siding and some new hardware. The rest of the siding was left-over scrap from a gallery show. The corrugated metal roof was left-over from a 10-year old renovation at the studio. (The man throws nothing away. Ever.)

The ceiling tin was salvaged from Second Chance. 

Because our home is located at the site of an old farmhouse, we have collected a lot of miscellaneous scrap. Trash to some, but treasure to us. The entrance sign, expanded metal mesh, tricycle wheel and the handle (made from and old industrial drill bit) were all found on our property, before we built our house. It's nice to see them find a new home. The sculpture on the upper left was a piece of found art with a few additions. The metal flower boxes were nabbed from Ikea's tent sale for a mere $4 each.

The baby head mold, on the top of the post, was a flea-market find from the eastern shore.

And their favorite part? The bucket with the pulley, hands down. No treehouse is complete without that, right?

Larriland Farm

The humble potato is my son's nemesis. Broccoli, asparagus, lima beans... no problem. But the potato, at least in any recognizable potato form, is his downfall.

Now, I'm thinking ahead, way ahead, to the day when I will have a teenage son. I hear they eat a lot. I hear they will eat you out of house and home. My son needs to learn to love potatoes, right?

When I announced that we were heading to Larriland Farm to dig potatoes I wasn't sure what reaction I would get. Farm = good, potatoes = bad, but apparently, the farm carried more weight and all of my kids were happy to come along. We followed the signs to the potato field and were met by a helpful farmer. He gave us a quick potato digging lesson. There are lots of weeds around the potato field, which is a sure sign that this farm does not use a lot of herbicides. That's a big plus to me, and our farmer friend explained a little bit about the farm's pest management philosophy. Then he handed us a shovel and we got to work.

Muddy work = good. Every shovelful of dirt is met with greedy little fingers that are snatching potatoes like they are buried treasure. By the time we stopped, we were the proud owners of 34 pounds of potatoes.

And yes, potatoes still = bad, but I haven't given up yet.

There are lots of other crops to pick at Larriland. In fact, they have the largest collection of pick-your-own crops that I have seen. Current options are peaches, blackberries, sweet onions, leeks, blueberries, red beets, potatoes and flowers. Check their website for daily updates.

410-442-2605

Larriland Farm
2415 Woodbine Road
Woodbine, MD 21797

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