the kid | The Mom with Moxie

All Aboard: Thomas the Train is coming to metro Detroit, and I’m giving away FOUR tickets!

March 31, 2013 By Bree 58 Comments

Four years ago, the hubs and I took the kid to see Thomas the Train at Greenfield Village, here in metro Detroit. Well, Thomas is back this year, larger than life, to give local kiddos the ride of their life. I’m so excited, because even though the kid doesn’t remember it (he was only 2.5), we all had an awesome time, and I can’t wait to go back!

The Hubs and Kid in 2009

The Deets

Thomas The Tank Engine® Pulls into Greenfield Village on April 27. He’ll be there April 28, May 4 – 5 and May 11-12.

The Day out with Thomas: The Go Go Thomas Tour 2013 provides kiddos the opportunity to climb aboard and take a ride with Thomas as well as participate in Thomas & Friends themed activities.

For three back-to-back weekends, little engineers and their families are invited to take a 25 minute ride around Greenfield Village on their favorite engine, meet Sir Topham Hatt®, Controller of the Railway and enjoy a day of Thomas & Friends themed activities including arts & crafts, storytelling and more.

Thomas the Tank Engine rides depart every 30 minutes, rain or shine. Departure times begin at 9:30 am through 5:00 pm each day of the event. Tickets for the Day out with Thomas: The Go Go Thomas Tour 2013 are $11.75 for members, age 1 year and older and includes free admission to Greenfield Village. Ticket prices for non-member children age 1-4 is $11.75, youth age 5-12 is $27.75, adults age 13-61 is $33.75 and seniors age 62 and up is $32.75.

Tickets are on sale now by calling The Henry Ford at 313-982-6001 or visiting www.thehenryford.org.

The event, is now in its 18th year, and is presented by HIT Entertainment and sponsored by MEGA Brands and Hard Rock Hotels.

The Giveaway

Before you head over to the website to buy tickets, you should know I’m giving away four tickets to the event! So, be sure to enter the giveaway below!
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Thomas the Train has always been a favorite around the Glenn household. For more information, please visit them online or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Looking for another chance to win? Bargains to Bounty is also hosting a Day out with Thomas ticket giveaway!

Disclaimer: I was provided passes to the Day out with Thomas, in exchange for hosting this giveaway. However, all opinions are my own.

Feminist Boymom

March 19, 2013 By Bree 2 Comments

Stereotypically speaking, feminists are normally portrayed as being anti-marriage, anti-family and anti-baby. Personally, I disagree. I’m sure there are some who don’t want marriage and kids, but the same could be said for every type of woman.

You see, I’m a feminist.

You’re not? That’s OK. Mind if I ask you why?

I mean, the definition of a feminist is someone who “advocates for social, political, legal and economic rights for women equal to those of men.”

And, how could anyone not want that?

As a feminist, and a boymom, I feel I have a responsibility to teach him:

that little girls can do anything he can do. I mean, they may do it differently, but they (we) can most certainly get it done.
that as a boy, he is no better (or no worse) than his girl counterparts.
to treat them with respect, and expect to be treated the same in return.

This is something I work hard at, every day. I want to make sure I’m drivnig the message home.

What about you? Are you a feminist boymom? How do you make sure your boy(s) embrace an “equality for women” mindset?

Somewhat related – Mocha Dad recently wrote a post, that I think every boydad should read: Fathers Must Teach Their Sons That Rape is Unacceptable. It’s in response to incredibly skewed, victim-blaming media coverage of the Steubenville rape trial.

The one where I bare my (mommy) soul.

January 22, 2013 By Bree 4 Comments

frustration

I am at my wits end. No. Scratch that. I passed the ‘wits end’ stage a long time ago. I just don’t know what to do with this boy. I know he knows the right thing to do. What I don’t know is if he doesn’t do it because his mind just won’t let him, or if he just doesn’t give a crap. He’s just six-years-old. Should he really be at the “I don’t give a crap” stage in life, yet?

I don’t know. But, what I do know is that his horrible behavior is putting a strain on everything and everyone around him. He’s like a poison. Toxic. I should feel bad, even thinking these things. But, I don’t. And, they’re true. From the time he wakes up, to the time he goes to sleep, he’s in full-on terror mode.

I know it’s probably our fault, that he’s the way he is. It’s always the parents’ fault, right? But, I can’t fathom what we could’ve done to cause him to behave so badly. According to reports, from our families, both my husband and I were fairly mild-mannered children.

It seems, that with him, things get worse, the older he gets. I thought kids were supposed to grow out of this stuff?

And, nothing we seem to do – in the way of discipline – seems to work. Timeouts, spankings, yelling, talking, punishments, etc. You name it, and we’ve tried it – to no avail. And, we HATE yelling, or any other form of aggressive discipline. But, they’re only so many ineffective timeouts we can take.

We’re running out of options, here. I’m not sure if it’s an attentional thing like ADD, or what. But, something’s got to give.

A while back, Legacy Publishing Company reached out to me, to review their Total Transformation Program. I, of course, jumped at the chance. Because you know… we’re desperate over here. But, when it came in the mail, the kid was in a good place, behavior-wise. So, I kind of forgot about it.

But, now that things have gone to complete and utter poo – again – I’m diving in head first.

You know, for the first time – in a long time – I’m feeling kind of optimistic. It feels good to be proactive – instead of reactive.

I’ll be posting updates, regularly, to let you know how it’s working.

photo source

The Death of Disco

November 11, 2012 By Bree Leave a Comment

On this day, one year ago, I introduced you all to “Werewolf” and “Nanni,” the kid’s new gold fish. Sadly, Werewolf didn’t make it through the first night. Nanni, however, did make it. He also a new name – Disco (named after his aunt’s recently deceased dog).

Two days ago, as we prepared for Disco’s one year anniversary celebration, the unthinkable happened… Yep, you guessed it… Disco went belly-up. Dead. Mort. Muertos. Morti. Disco is no more.

I was worried about how the kid was going to react. He actually took it very well. Thank goodness! He now wants a turtle. We’ll see how that goes.

We had a funeral for him in the bathroom – a la the Cosby Show. Only, we did it in our pajamas.

LEGO® KidsFest is coming to #Michigan Oct. 12-14 and I’m giving away a pair of tickets!

September 22, 2012 By Bree 7 Comments

The LEGO® KidsFest Michigan will be taking place Oct. 12– 14 at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi.

I am so stoked. I loved playing with LEGO® bricks when I was younger, and the kid loves playing with them now. Since he’s old enough to keep them out of his mouth, he’s just recently moved up to the regular LEGO® bricks, from the larger LEGO DUPLO® bricks.

He loves making things out of them, and playing with the little people that come with the sets. The hubs and I haven’t yet told him that we’re taking him to the LEGO® KidsFest. I think we’ll just surprise him when we get there. I can’t wait to see the look on this face.

From the LEGO® KidsFest website:

The LEGO® KidsFest is a giant traveling LEGO expo coming to the Suburban Collection Showplace, a mere 30 minutes from downtown Detroit, October 12 – 14, 2012. This hands-on, educational, all-ages LEGO extravaganza features millions of LEGO bricks not to mention lots of construction zones, dozens of life-sized LEGO models and displays, LEGO Ninjago and LEGO Games, group builds such as Creation Nation, live LEGO Master Builders, and so much more covering three acres of space.

Here are some of the awesome things you’ll find at LEGO® KidsFest:

LEGO Model Gallery: 40 life-sized models made entirely from LEGO bricks
LEGO Master Builders: live demonstrations and activities from the crew who get paid to play
Creation Nation: build your own creation to add to a custom map of the U.S.
Race Ramps: build your own custom car, then race it down the ramp against friends and family
LEGO Games Arena: roll the dice to play LEGO board games
Construction Zones: creative free build, play and display areas
LEGO DUPLO®: younger visitors can explore imagination through building
LEGO Retail and KidsFest Marketplace: purchase LEGO merchandise and official KidsFest tour goods
Brick Pile: a gigantic pile full of LEGO bricks for creative play and enjoyment
Monochromatic Builds: bricks of a single color to foster group creativity
Brickscapes: fantastic displays that combine lots of LEGO and DUPLO sets

As I mentioned earlier, the LEGO® KidsFest Michigan will be taking place Oct. 12– 14 at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi.

Five identical sessions will be available:

Friday, October 12

4 pm – 8:30 pm

Saturday, October 13

Session I: 9 am – 1:30 pm

Session II: 3 pm – 7:30 pm

Sunday, October 14

Session I: 9 am – 1:30 pm

Session II: 3 pm – 7:30 pm

Tickets are $18 for kids and $20 for adults. BUT, for one of my lucky Michigan-based readers, you and a guest could attend for free. That’s right… FREE! Yep, you guessed it – I’m giving a pair of tickets away to LEGO® KidsFest Michigan for Friday, Oct 12, 4:00 – 8:30 p.m.

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