Honeybee Mama
12/21/12Holiday OutingsSo, I had fully intended on writing a separate post about all of these outings, but after weeks of tending to a sick husband, sick children and being sick myself, I think I'm going to have to just condense it all into one. There are so many fun and inexpensive things happening around Tulsa for the Holidays. Some of them have already passed, but many are still happening and this weekend is your opportunity to get out there and take advantage! Every year, the Tulsa Holiday Parade of Lights is full of music, dancing, floats and so much more in the streets of downtown Tulsa. This year, I took the bigs and my nephew, Jack out to check out the holiday cheer. We showed up after the parade had started, but we cleverly planted ourselves at the end of the parade route so we... |
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12/17/12Sick of SickOh boy. 'Tis the season for sickness. Since the week before Thanksgiving, we have had a whirlwind of sickness in our house. First, my six-year-old and his chronic reoccurring cough have had us in and out of doctor's offices several times with prescriptions that don't work and nights of endless coughing. That poor kid has spent more time propped up on pillows sipping tea and watching cartoons in the middle of the night than he has in his own bed! We are finally trying some new things with alternative and holistic treatments combined with some major diet alterations and that seems to be helping. But it didn't stop with him. A little over a week ago, my husband came down with some horrific mutation of influenza, which turned into a stomach bug, THEN... |
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12/11/12WaterWorks Art CenterThis past Saturday, while I fixed breakfast for the kiddos, I had the news on the TV as usual. I was super excited when I heard them talking about the entries for a gingerbread house competition on display at WaterWorks Art Center. I already had a couple of other things I wanted to do with the kids that day, and figured we'd swing by and see them while we were out and about! WaterWorks Art Center is a super cool facility that's part of Tulsa Parks and Recreation. It was the original water treatment plant for the City of Tulsa, then was renovated into the city's first municipal swimming pool in the 1940's (there are some really fun pictures of patrons swimming framed inside the building). Since then it has undergone a series of renovations that have transformed it... |
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12/04/12Valley Grove PecansMy step-kids go to school in Glenpool, and every time I drive to take them to school or pick them up, I pass this place on 151st Street: It's the most darling little shop set right in front of a gorgeous pecan grove. Every time I pass it, I think to myself, "Self, you should stop in there one of these days and see what they've got!" So, this week we did! Valley Grove Pecans is a family owned, locally owned and run farm in Bixby, Oklahoma, located at 2301 E. 151st Street. They are only open during the November and December harvesting season, so they sell only the freshest pecans. The littles and I had fun exploring their shop and all the goodies! Besides fresh pecans, they have all kinds of candies, gift baskets, pecan oils (apparently... |
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11/28/12Encouraging Holiday Giving in our KidsIn our family, we try to encourage giving spirits in our children. We often give to charities, do acts of service for others, and give to those in need. Every few months, our children even go into their rooms and choose toys they no longer play with to collect and give away. Encouraging this kind of behavior is even more important during the holiday season. At the office where I used to work, I usually volunteered to collect money and go and purchase gifts to donate to Toys for Tots and would bring my kids with me to pick out toys. So I was ecstatic to receive a text yesterday from one of our favorite babysitters telling me about a Toys for Tots fundraising event last night at Bounce U. Kids could pay $8.00 admission or bring an unwanted toy for donation to the charity and... |
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11/26/12Sushi, Anniversaries, and ChristmasAlthough I mostly write about fun things to do with your kids in Tulsa, I really enjoy telling you guys about great date night destinations, too. Recently, I shared about how my wedding anniversary didn't quite go as planned, but I was able to make the best of it. My sweet husband told me, "It doesn't matter. It just means that wasn't our anniversary. We'll wait and celebrate on our REAL anniversary!" As it turned out, we were able to have an even better anniversary date last weekend. One of the perks of being a divorced parent is the regular (hopefully) breaks you get from parenting because of sharing your kids with the other parent. A perk of being married to a divorced parent means that if you're really lucky, you occasionally have... |
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11/14/12Eat Street TulsaIt's no secret that my family and I love food. My husband and I really enjoy cooking, trying new recipes, and trying out new venues around town. Even more than that, we are extremely interested in supporting locally owned restaurants. If you've been following my blog for any amount of time, you already know that! You know what else we love? Food Trucks! Did you know about the growing trend of Gourmet Food Trucks flooding the roads of America? Thanks to shows like The Great Food Truck Race on Food Network, well deserved publicity is making its way these entrepreneurs. Many very talented and inventive chefs anxious to start their own businesses shy away from their culinary dreams because of high overhead costs of opening a restaurant. They have found a way to both realize... |
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11/07/12Winners and LosersThere has been a lot of election talk in our house lately. A lot of it has been from the kids. "Whoever finishes dinner first gets to be the President!" "Mommy, we voted today in school for storybook characters. Bear won!" "Ok, Alec. Here are our movie choices from the library. Vote on which one you want and say what percentage you want to watch it. Mom, you need to vote too because we need a tie-breaker." "Mommy, can we vote on tonight's vegetable? Because Aidan likes fresh green beans but I like canned green beans." "Hey Dad, we already voted at school for the President and Barack Obama won. I voted for him and I'm glad he won." My husband and I are quite interested in politics, government and... |
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10/31/12Being MediocreI don't know if you're like me or not. Coming from the understanding that most of us have more in common than we think, I'll assume you are. At least a little bit. Don't you want to be a great mom? I sure do. And I'll admit that yes, sometimes I want to be Supermom for others. I want people to know I'm a great mom and say, "She's doing a good job. What well behaved, smart, accomplished, impressive children she has." But most of the time, I really do just want to be Supermom for my kids. I don't want them to miss out on anything. I want them to have things I didn't have as a child, and in many cases things I did have. I worry that if they don't have extracurricular activities, go on vacations, experience art and... |
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10/25/12Fall Crafts on the CheapYou've probably picked up on the fact that I like to do things inexpensively. I love coupons, groupons and free activities and do as much as I can to stretch a buck for myself and my four kids. Decorating is no different. If I'm not making something myself, I'm finding it at a thrift store, garage sale or bargain bin. With the holidays approaching and the season changing, I'm itching to bring some Fall colors into our home, but not wanting to spend a lot of money! Any time I can involve my kids in fun activities and crafts I do, so I thought I'd share with you some of the fun ways we've been bringing the inspiration of Fall into our home. First, we went on a nature walk and collected leaves for a Fall Garland. Leaf Garland Tutuorial... |
Having always said that life shouldn't get in the way of living, Missy strives to find adventure with her children even when things get hairy. Missy and her husband, Marc, have four children. With busy schedules and a small business to run, Missy is not lacking for things to occupy her time. She understands the challenges of being a single parent and is learning to be a stepmom. A Tulsa native, this mama loves exploring fun activities locally and shares her experiences with you in her blog. Upfront and honest, she doesn't pull any punches about meltdowns in the mall or potty accidents at public events. She carries her unique perspective into every challenge she encounters, sharing insights with her readers along the way.
