6 Play-Places To Go & When To Save Money

In the (Formerly CitiPass) GoPlaySave Book, there is a buy 1, get 1 free admission to BounceU in Apex. BounceU features large bouncy houses and slides. It is a very clean environment and the staff really seems to care about their jobs. This is an $8 value for regular bounce sessions and $6 value for the abbreviated sessions on the weekends.

Three Bears Acres in Creedmoor has a great deal on Thursdays. The cost is usually $13 per child and $7 per adult. On Thursdays it's $10 per child and adults are free!! I have never been, as I just learned about it. I heard they have a graffiti wall, loug for kids and a safe archery area. I don't know how you make archery safe for a preschooler, but I guess it works. I cannot wait to go, but it will have to be on a Thursday. The idea of this place is for kids to do all the things they're usually told not to do, including yell, scream, run, paint the walls, climb, jump and more.

Kidzu Children's Museum in Chapel Hill is free on Sunday afternoons. It's usually $5 per person. I have heard this is a much smaller version of Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh, but still very nice. I've never been but it's good to know you can try something for free every once in a while that is usually sumwhat pricey.

Speaking of Marbles Kids Museum (Raleigh), on Wednesdays if you show your Food Lion MVP card you get $1 off general admission (for up to 4 people per family). Every third Tuesday of the month is Target $2 Tuesday, which means you can bring the whole family from 5-8 p.m. and play for just $2 per person. This is sponsored by Target, obviously. If you have a Triangle GoPlaySave Book (formerly CitiPass) you can get 20% off one item at the Marbles Gift Shop with the coupon.

The North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro is a wonderful place to play during the week or one the weekends. It's open year round, but doesn't have all of its exhibits open year round (for example, the Giraffe Bridge where people can stand inches away from munching giraffes), the Carousel and more. But being 20 yards from a live elephant and watching the baboons chase each other is family fun all year long! I searched long and hard and polled some friends and it would seem the best way to save at the NC Zoo is to buy a family membership. It's $74 and allows unlimited visits and also gets you free admission to the NC Aquarium (Fort Fisher) and other Zoos across the U.S. (some, not all). I will continue to look for good discounts, but in the meantime, I may just have to buy the membership. Just a couple visits to the Zoo and a trip to the NC Aquarium and it will pay for itself. Also, if you are an N&O Zone subscriber, they offered a buy 1 get 1 pass in the May 2013 Newsletter.
Buy 1 ticket and get 1 free to Durham Bulls minor league baseball games if you have a Triangle Go/Play/Save Book (formerly Citipass) and you go Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday with your coupon.


Kristin Wilson, the mother of two preschoolers, is a guest blogger for Triangle Money Saving Mommas and has her own blog, The Not-So Stay-At-Home Mommy, about where to take your kids in the Raleigh, Durham and even Chapel Hill areas that are kid-friendly and why. Visit wheretogowithyourkids.com to view her blog.

North Cary Park- What a Wonderful Place To Play!

So officially I am a park mom. My kids love them more than chocolate milk!

We drove all the way to North Cary, got lost too, I might add, so check out a park I heard about -- North Cary Park.

This place was beautiful, much like most of Cary's parks. They just take such beautiful care of their parks. The first thing we saw brought me to tears: four, pristine volleyball courts with perfect sand and nets almost at the right height. I am a volleyball player (or was a decade ago) and I was pretty geeked out about them. And my kids loved the second biggest sandbox they'd ever seen. (2nd only to the beach)

 After the courts excursion, we took a walk on a little trail to find a climbing wall. They are too young to climb it, but they played a little game or running peak-a-boo for about 20 minutes. I got to sit and watch and loved every minute. Then we found the playground, or at least part of it. It had a real sandbox, jungle gym, great slide and a little "house" to play in.

The moms were wonderful, bathrooms close and we played well into lunch hour. It was a total success. My only complaint was the slide & stairs leading up to it were really steep for my little one (2). She did fine but I was a wreck thinking she'd fall. She didn't! This park was worth the drive, and I will certainly go there again.

1100 Norwell Blvd
Cary, NC

HIGHLIGHTS: Clean park, great sandbox, climbing wall (for older kids to climb and younger kids to run around), friendly people, restrooms close by, two slides, balance toys on the jungle gym, and lots of space to run around away from the playground.

LOW LIGHTS: The slides were a bit "fast" for my littlest one and the stairs headed up were pretty steep. I held my breath most of the time she was on the stairs. My GPS also did not pick this up and I got lost (probably user error more than anything, but I had to share just in case).

COST: Free!

Cary Mom Group - Don't let the name fool you!

I know when I first started venturing out and visiting new parks and places to entertain my kids, it was hard to go on my own. My kids wouldn't entertain themselves long, even at the best places.

If I had known about Cary Mom's group, I probably would have joined. It is a group of area moms (don't let the Cary part fool you, they are all inclusive) who make age-appropriate play dates throughout the week. You get to pick and choose the activities you want to attend, but from what the members tell me, they are varied and almost daily!

The best part of this is the kids are around the same age, and the moms are all so friendly because they're pretty much in the same boat - trying to have fun with their kids and learn more about the area (and maybe make some friends for themselves at the same time).


I met up with the Cary Moms Group accidentally when I went to Davis Drive Park with my friend, Amanda. We both agreed the moms were so friendly, and it really was a great park and great group of people with whom we shared the park. (We even made some fun facebook friends we keep saying we should meet up with!)

My only hesitation about this group is there is an annual fee to join and visit the website and calendar. It's not that $24/year is too much for me, but I am sort of an unorganized person. When I make plans, they usually fall through. I am more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of person.

If you're interested in more information, visit meetup.com ...

Gone With The Wind at the NC History Museum

 












We adults were so excited to see the Gone With The Wind exhibit at the NC History Museum in downtown Raleigh. And it was everything we expected. Unfortunately, so were our kids (or at least one of mine). 

It was incredible! They had actual clothing worn in the movie, screen tests for the actors and even some of those who didn't get the parts, the Academy Awards (such as the one Vivian Leigh received) on display. I could have spent an hour there. But my kids would only allow 10 minutes. So we had to leave the exhibit.

Dani (almost 2) doesn't sit still and she doesn't listen well. So she wouldn't allow me to keep her in the stroller, nor would she stop hitting things and screaming. In fact, she insisted on pushing the stroller, and a security guard asked me to please stop her. He was very nice, but unfortunately it threw Dani back into a horrendous temper tantrum. Bummer!

After a few photo opportunities with the Academy Awards from the movie, we headed downstairs to an incredibly kid-friendly exhibit. The Story of North Carolina exhibit was wonderful for kids! There was a cow the kids could milk, building replicas from NC Native Americans and the 4th oldest home in North Carolina with furniture on display. I wish I could remember the name of the specific display that kept my kids the most entertained. But it was a series of buttons you could put and each one would light up a portion of North Carolina and an activity would move around and make noise (pictured last here on the lower left). All the kids loved it and spent a bit of time there. I say "a bit" because we were really only at the museum for an hour or so.

When I go back with the girls, I'll go straight there and just let them run around. In this exhibit there were a lot of "Please Touch" signs, which was excellent because Dani will do it whether you like it or not. She's a pistol!

Also, I'm not much for pageants but there was an exhibit on the main floor of dresses and costumes from the Miss North Carolina's over the past 75 years. It's not my thing, but we took the girls. I'm happy to say my Tom Boys weren't impressed. That doesn't mean yours won't be!

5 East Edenton St.
Raleigh, NC

HIGHLIGHTS: There is so much to see and learn from this place, lots of hands-on activities and things to see, The Story of North Carolina exhibit was a "please touch" area.

LOW LIGHTS: A lot of this museum is not kid friendly, specifically most of the areas outside The Story of North Carolina exhibit. You cannot touch most things, and the security guards were rightfully a little nervous about the toddlers and watched us pretty carefully.

COST: Free! Parking was $1/hour on the street during weekdays.

Jaycee Park in Apex - A Surprise in the End

I have driven by Apex Jaycee Park no less than 100 times and had no idea what exactly was there. The truth is, not much is there. But it was enough to entertain two preschoolers and two toddlers for almost two hours!

We pulled up and saw a little playground. Unfortunately, it was really little. The oldest kid in the group said, "Is this the only playground?" There was a sign there that said it is ideal for ages 2-5 but the preschoolers (3 & 4) were bored within 5 minutes. There is a little walking trail which I believe shoots you out to Apex Peakway, two large soccer fields and a softball field that we passed to get to the playground. I didn't see it, but there is a batting cage, too, according to the website.


The kids ran up and down the sidewalk/trail a couple times, climbed on the wooden fence and ran up and down the little hill right next to the playground. There is a beautiful tree which looks perfect for climbing at the top of the hill, but our little ones were just a bit too small to reach the branches. Another year or so and they'll outgrow the park completely, but they'll be able to climb the tree. Go figure.

Honestly, this park isn't much, but if you have a really little one the playground is great, low to the ground and built for toddlers. I knew what I was going to write until Jordan (3) said to me that she wants to go back to that park and she had a great time. I think it was because the kids ran around the soccer fields and played a little "football" with two boys, two older boys who were brothers, and they were so good with the kids they had a blast. It just goes to show you, you don't have to have the best park to have a great time - just an imagination and some wide-open spaces (and maybe a football).

451 West Williams Street  
Apex, North Carolina 27502

HIGHLIGHTS: Lots of places to run and burn some energy, a great little playground for toddlers (very safe) and no parking issues, right off of Williams Street (Hwy 55), nice trail that runs through it and out to Apex Peakway, and the climbing tree.

LOW LIGHTS: There were fire ants everywhere. I counted 15 mounds outside the playground area. Some of them had clearly been treated and were not active, but the ones along the fence for the soccer field were crawling with fire ants! It's pretty tame, just a small playground for the really little ones.

COST: Free!

Jack Marley Park in Angier - I LOVE THIS PARK! Totally worth the drive!!!

Jack Marley Park is the reason I started this blog! I wanted to find the parks that were beautiful, well-maintained and offer a lot for the little ones to enjoy. Places like Kids Together in Cary, Kids Towne at Kelly Road Park in Apex, Pullen Park in Raleigh and Music Time at Brueggers in Apex are absolute child-rearing treasures in this area, and I believe they should be shared. Jack Marley Park is in this class! 

Skate park at Jack Marley.

There are two jungle gym areas, swings, a beautiful pond with a water fountain in the center and lots of ducks, a .8 mile walking trail, workout stations, volleyball courts, softball fields and a skate park. Truth is, I didn't get to see it all my kids had so much fun playing and running around. It is clean (except the bathrooms), they let you feed the ducks and one of the playground areas is fenced in to keep the kids off the running trail and out of the pond.

As Pullen Park is my favorite, it is the park I measure all others against. So here is where Jack Marley falls a tiny bit short. Again, the bathrooms were not very clean. There are three sets of bathrooms at this park, which is pretty spread out, and only one set was unlocked while we were there. We could have had an accident, as the potties were at the other side of the park. We didn't, but I think it's good to know ahead of time anyway so FYI. Also, part of the .8 mile trail is right next the street and the parking area - there's not even a curb on part of it so my toddler had to be picked up so she wouldn't run in front of cars. She's a bit of a wild child. But that area is not really close to the playgrounds, so it was just an issue as we were walking from one end of the park to the other.

My kids have a short attention span, but they played nonstop for almost two hours. This park is in Angier, and I will not hesitate to make this drive in the future. It's worth the trip!


245 East Williams Street
Angier, NC 27501

HIGHLIGHTS: Two playgrounds (one which was fenced in to keep the kids off the running trail and out of the pond), volleyball courts, skate park, gorgeous view of pond with water fountain, ducks, walking trail, tennis courts and more!

LOW LIGHTS: The bathrooms were a little rough and some were not even open, walking trail passes right by the road and water.

COST: Free!

Upcoming: New Hope Valley Railway's Halloween Express

 
I have wanted to do this for so long! There is a train in New Hill that runs a couple times a month on Saturdays and Sundays. I am a Halloween junkie, can't get enough of it, so I found this!

The New Hope Valley Railway has a Halloween Express ride Saturday Oct. 20 and Saturday, Oct. 27 with multiple runs throughout the late afternoon. Each ride is about an hour, and you must purchase tickets in advance. Tickets for all age riders are $10. You must purchase your tickets in advance. Also, this week they have a 10 a.m. run on Friday (Oct. 19) that is not Halloween themed.

Saturday, Oct. 20 trains depart at 4:00 p.m., 5:15 p.m., 6:30 p.m., and 7:45 p.m. The website encouraged young riders to participate in the earlier runs as the 7:45 run will be pretty dark. All the trains running on those days are diesel powered.

5121 Daisey St
New Hill, NC 27562

I made Play Dough - VERY EASY!

We took the morning off of traveling all over Wake County to make some play dough for my daughter's preschool. I am NOT Suzie homemaker, but I thought this turned out well.

My adorable assistant.

 

I got this recipe from babyparenting.about.com. I will list the recipe as I read it and then tell you how I'd change it for next time.


RECIPE FOR PLAY DOUGH:
1 cup flour
1 cup water
1 tbsp powdered alum
1 tbsp oil
1/2 cup salt
2 tbsps vanilla
food coloring

Mix all dry ingredients first, then add oil and water. Stir thoroughly and cook on medium until consistency is that of THICK mashed potatoes. Then add vanilla. Separate mixture in half and add food coloring, kneed until it looks like play-dough and the color you desire. Repeat with the second half.

Next time I will only add 1 tbsp (or less) of vanilla. It seemed like a lot, and I'm not sure what it really "does" for the recipe other than make it smell better. Vanilla is too expensive.

A little hint, it gets VERY clumpy while cooking. That's OK. It gets better as you play with it and kneed in the food coloring and vanilla. Also, I will wear gloves next time. I made orange play dough and my hands are red and orange now, although it is fading fast.