Classy Chaos

I took my kids to the theatre this weekend.

I updated my Facebook page to read, "Taking the kids to the theatre.  By myself.  Husband has an emergency root-canal scheduled, so I am on my own."  And it was followed by a mass of responses ranging from "have fun" to "geesh you could not pay me enough to do that" to "no way in hell."

The secret is.... I have been taking my kids to the "theatre" since they were infants.  I am filled with pride when I say that my two year old sat through the entire Joffrey Ballet's Nutcracker at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago this past December.  Without a peep, although I did stuff M&M's in her mouth seeing that we were seated three rows behind the Orchestra and next to people, like us, that paid $100 per seat.  She.  Did.  Great!

How?

Like I said.  I've been taking the kids to the theatre since they were infants.  They are used to it.  The lights...

The action, soon to come....

The teaching of patience and feeling the anticipation....

The way to politely clap and shout "Brava!"

With that said.  I wasn't a fan of Sesame Street Live: Elmo's Green Thumb. There are much better productions put on at Playhouse Square.  But my children loved.  From my (nearly) 8 year old to my two year old, they were all captivated in the THEATRICAL aspect of the musical.  Lights!  Music!  Action!  All taking place in a very real theatre, THE largest theatre complex between NYC and Chicago.  Obviously the show was catered to them and not thirty-something-year-olds like me in dire need of coffee in the morning.

However.  And a BIG however... shows like these introduce children to the theatre.  LOVE!  No need to worry about how loud your kid is, since the volume in the room is crazy loud. It really is a nice way to introduce your child to the magic of the theatre from an early age.  Become a PALS member like me.  Pals family memberships support Playhouse Square not-for-profit mission while providing great benefits like free parking for certain family shows, concession vouchers, discounted admission to the annual Tinsel Town holiday party and more.  For this show PALS members had a meet-and-greet with Elmo and a delightful private refreshment hour before the show.  Donuts, juice and coloring before meeting Elmo was very relaxing.

Pals family memberships are available for $50 or $75 per year and are designed for families with children ages 2-12.

For more information regarding Pals or to begin your membership today please call Carrie Balchak at 216-771-4444 x3247 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Disclosure:  I was not compensated for this post but did receive tickets to Sesame Street Live for this honest review.

There's a dairy bar a stones throw away from the library, where the community gathers.

The trains rush by transporting people in suits on their way downtown as teenagers mingle over their milkshakes.  Young mothers sit with their children on benches waving at the trains as they steal a lick of ice cream.  Little boys in t-ball uniforms pick sprinkles off their chins and dream about one day conducting the train.

From open to close the dairy bar is buzzing with people.  It's one of the single best things about the town I grew up in as a young girl.

Built in 1955 it stands in the center of a quaint suburb, just north of Chicago.  There's nothing fancy or incredible about the place other than it serves delicious soft serve ice scream at a low price.  But the memories of friendships made and family outings there just warms my heart.  The dairy bar truly is the center of the community in one of the single best towns in America.

What is the single best thing about your home town?

The KRAFT "Single Best Town" contest at www.familyfun.com is asking you to submit a photo and short description of what you consider the single best thing is about your town.  Finalist will be picked and America will vote and the winner will get a block party for their hometown with a concert!  You have until 2-28-10 to enter.

Go and enter the contest today.  I will be posting a very special and truly awesome giveaway here soon, just for Classy Chaos readers that share what they love about their home towns.

Disclosure: I have partnered with KRAFT Foods to help promote the “Single Best Town” in America program.  I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program, which includes writing about my own hometown experiences and hosting a giveaway where the prize has been provided by KRAFT Singles.  However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.

"Why didn't I think of this first?"   I asked my husband as we observed all three children playing.

They were matching 44 plastic animal figurines and placing them onto 12 different stack-able layers.  One enormous puzzle with numbered tiers, when placed on top of each other becomes Noah's Ark.

"It's brilliant!"  I pouted.

It's no wonder that such an amazing and creative toy won seven industry awards in it's first year of business.  Tier Toys is a new company from Australia that created a series of Stackers'.  The Noah's Ark Stacker is perfect for our animal loving family.

The older two children enjoy reading the animal names stamped under each animal shape.  "E-M-U.  I didn't know this was called an Emu!"  My five-year old read.

We've had the Stacker for about a week and it's been disassembled put together and assembled again no less then a dozen times.  My most favorite part is that when the children are finished playing, everything stacks up and you can click it shut.  No more clutter or plastic bins or baskets to store all the tiny pieces in.  Brilliant!

The only problem with the toy?  If you have a naughty toddler that refuses to share they might sit on their favorite animals while your older children search and search for the missing pieces before realizing that their baby sister is sitting on two bears and one cat and a camel.

The Ark Stacker retails for $49.99  and while children ages 3 & up can safely play with the toy I believe that children 5 & up should be able to play with the toy on their own.

Disclaimer: No monetary compensation was accepted for this post.  Product was given to review.  All views and opinions expressed are my own on every post.

Updated:  Congrats to the winner of the Method gift basket:  AL PAL

Here are your random numbers: 85 Timestamp: 2010-01-28 01:28:49 UTC

The rumors are true. The last time I did the laundry was back in 2004.

I was pregnant with chickadee #2 and my back ached so much that lifting (after gaining 80 pounds) was out of the question and I was OH so tired.  My awesome husband took over.  He did the laundry.  He did it much better than me and took over the chore since then.  He is better at it.  It's one argument I do not dare mingle in, now that he has established exclusive rights to.

There's a prize.  For the person that can relate, yo!  It includes a bottle of the Method detergent (mentioned above), all purpose Method wipes, and Method tub and tile cleaner, and Method dish and hand soap, and plus a  Method "flour sack" kitchen towel as the filter (what is that?). We love Method products.  Leave me a lazy comment and you are entered.

Disclaimer:  I (my husband) was given a bottle to try out, from Heinens grocery store, for this honest review.  See other great reviews going on here!