Picnic of Hope

kiddywampus was on the go last Saturday at the 14th Annual Picnic of Hope in New Brighton.

The Picnic of Hope is an annual tradition that honors and celebrates Pediatric Oncology and Pediatric BMT patients and families from the Unviersity of Minnesota Children's Hospital, Fairview. We were honored to be a part of it for the 2nd year.

kiddywampus provided some art projects for the kids and helped them make some fun works of art. We enjoyed meeting the families that attended as well as the medical staff that takes such good care of them.

Thanks, Care Partners, for inviting us to your party. We'll be back next year...with action painting!

Care Partners is a Children's Cancer Research Fund Program. For more info about CCRF, including ways to support this incredible organization, click here.

Mother Goose at kiddywampus next Tuesday!

Fresh from the Zenon Dance Company...join us for your chance to hobnob with Mother Goose!

Tuesday, Dec. 16th from 3-4 pm

This interactive storytime will delight as Mother Goose shares her classic nursery rhymes and tales with added fun and fantasy. It will also give you the chance to meet her (and even get her autograph) before seeing her onstage with Zenon Dance Company at The Southern Theater in THE NUTCRACKER ACCORDING TO MOTHER GOOSE December 13-21.

Please rsvp by commenting to this blog.

free storytime this Friday with illustrator Holly Welch!

Please join us for a free storytime this Friay morning at 10:30 am featuring illustrator Holly Welch as she reads her new work, Inside All.

We at kiddywampus have been a fan of Holly's work since we first met shortly after kiddywampus opened, and are thrilled to share her work with others.

Holly will also be available for book signings after the reading.

Space is limited to 25 kids (ages 2-6 for the reading, sibs always welcome); to rsvp, please reply to this blog with the # of kids you're bringing.

thank you

An enormous and heartfelt "thank you" to all the customers, colleagues and friends who've expressed sympathy at the passing of my mother last Thursday from cancer. A private service will be held for her tomorrow, on what would have been her 67th birthday. I don't know how she did it, but she gave me more than she had to give. I miss her terribly.

Thanks, all.

join Mom Culture and kiddywampus at the Walker

Here's an organization we love...Mom Culture offers moms and dads a variety of parent-oriented daytime arts + entertainment events that are intended to be shared with children .

On Nov. 18 join Mom Culture's private tour of the Walker Art Center's "Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future" -- you'll gain insight about this iconic figure and his impact through design.

And kiddywampus is proud to partner with Mom Culture and Abrakadoodle to create a Kid Culture Art Class for kids age 2-5 that will take place while parents tour the Saarinen show. The class will be held in the Walker's art lab. Parents who opt to sign their kids up for this class will drop them off prior to taking the Saarinen tour and pick the kids up immediately after the tour (appx. 45 minutes), before heading up to Gallery 8 Cafe for lunch.

Check out Mom Culture's complete fall lineup, event details, pricing and sign up here.

the secret parent handshake

The other day a toddler at kiddywampus threw a tantrum – the kind of awe-inspiring, full-body kicking on the floor followed by a quick boneless move accompanied by an ear-piercing banshee scream only a toddler body could produce. The toddler experts would have given her a perfect score with bonus points for endurance. The Mom went from embarrassed to irritated to overwhelmed to mortified. She had Had It, and the day was young.

And this is where we parents need the Secret Handshake.

I looked at that Mom and there were a million things I wanted to tell her. I wanted to give her a big hug, a cup of coffee, magically soothe her darling and then whisper, “Honey, I have 3 kids and could tell you stories of tantrums no new Mom should ever hear. Of trips to Target – where the aisles and checkouts are virtually empty until I say No to the princess boo boo patches and suddenly the sky starts raining customers, all of whom are looking at me like I’m the Worst Mom On The Planet and I wish I could melt into the floor but I’m not giving in because now my back is up too and I will never buy a princess boo boo patch in my life. Ever.”

I want to tell her, “I have been where you are right now, and you’re doing a great job, so you hang in there because in 14 years when our dearests ask for the car keys we’ll wish to be back here in this moment where we can keep them safe right beside us.” I want to say, “Don’t apologize for her wailing on the floor because we’re all in this together. And the next time you are out shopping and hear a wail look over because it will probably be me with my darlings, in the princess boo boo patch aisle.” But I really can’t talk over the screaming – so I grin, give her my best “we’ve all been there” shrug, and hope somehow she can read my mind.

We really need the Handshake.

disco fever!

Here's a shout out to the best kids' party in the Twin Cities taking place this Sat. If you've never gone, give it a try...I took my 3 year old last fall and couldn't get him to leave after almost two hours of hurling himself across the dance floor. I'm not sure what was more fun...watching him groove it out or sharing music I love with him. He collapsed in the car on the way home and barely woke up until the next morning. If he sees a sign for another party, he immediately breaks out his best moves. I've created a dancin' machine.

In keeping with the disco theme, imagine my personal nirvana when I came across this little delight -- a solar powered disco ball that adheres to a window with a suction cup that can be easily moved (as the sun moves, perhaps?). We've been testing this out in our store for about two weeks now and it makes me happy every time I see it. And in direct sunlight, it turns our retail space into a disco inferno. Now we just need the music.