Jurassic Park Children's Storytime FREE Event - Saturday, 6/23

This Saturday, June 23, 2018 at Barnes &  Noble at 11:00 AM introduce your little ones to the world of Jurassic Park. This action-packed (and age-appropriate) title is great for dinosaur lovers, both new and old. Activities to follow.

A Tour of the Dana-Thomas House in Springfield, IL

 

Are you aware that right here in Springfield we have an architectural treasure designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. It is called the Dana-Thomas House.

My family and I were recently invited to tour the property and during our 45 minute visit, we learned a lot. Photography is not allowed inside the home, so the only photos we could take were outside.

The house was built between 1902-1904 by Frank Lloyd Wright.  It was built for Susan Lawrence Dana. Mrs. Dana was the first and only person to give Mr. Wright a blank check to create her new home.  Mrs. Dana was the daughter of a Mayor of Springfield and when he passed away she wanted Mr. Wright to take the existing home and build around it.  The original home was in the Italian style and because of having to make changes to an already built home as well as building new areas this project was twice as expensive as any other home he built.

It is believed that it cost Mrs. Dana between $60,000-$120,000 to build her home which included architectural fees.  What Frank Lloyd Wright built was a home using the prairie style of architecture which features long sweeping horizontal lines which mimics the prairie's horizon. He took the existing structure and added on to it and it ended up being 12,600 square feet. An interesting effect he created is actually on the outside of the house.  The gutters appear to tip up towards the sky, but that is in fact an optical illusion, they run straight off from the roof.

One thing that makes the Dana-Thomas house different from others he designed can be found right at the front door.  We learned that Mr. Wright preferred to hide the front door so that visitors would have to walk around the property and experience it before finding a way in. Mrs. Dana was opposed to this idea because she was building her home for entertaining purposes and wanted her guests to have no trouble finding their way in.

What you notice as soon as you walk in the front door is the openness.  Mr. Wright limited the doors and walls to make it seem more open.  He opened the space up vertically and uses changes in height to signal to the visitor that they are entering a new area. What you end up with is a home that has 35 rooms and 16 different levels.

The other major thing you notice in this home is the use of glass and designs in the glass.  There are two themes that run through this home, butterflies which were a favorite of Mrs. Dana's and sumac trees.  Plus, no two panels of glass are the same, because in nature the trees and butterflies are never the same.

We also learned that this is the first home in Springfield designed with electricity and running water. It also has the first standalone shower in Springfield.  It was also explained that Mrs. Dana lived in the main residence for 24 years before moving to a private room at St. John's where she lived for four years until she passed away.

Before she passed away, something tragic almost happened'; a bank declared Mrs. Dana incompetent and wanted to tear the home down and build apartments, however, the Charles Thomas Publishing Company paid $17,000 under the condition that everything be left in the home.  It was used by the printing business for 37 years.

The State of Illinois purchased the home in 1981 for $1 million. Then between the years of 1987-1990 approximately $5 million was spent restoring it.  Since being restored, 300,000 people have visited.

I have only shared a small portion of the facts and details about this amazing property because I strongly encourage you to go and experience it for yourself and see and hear about them for yourself.  For more information, check out the Dana-Thomas House site.

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A Trip to an Illinois Dairy Farm

A few days ago we told you about the 2nd Annual Illinois Harvest Dinner that my husband and I were honored to be invited to.  One of the organizers of this great event, Mary Mackinson Faber invited my family up to her family's dairy farm in Pontiac, IL to see what it is like on a working farm and we were happy to accept.  While we ourselves live in a rural community, we have never really seen what goes on at a farm and were excited to see where some of what we consume comes from.

The Mackinson Dairy Farm is a fifth generation farm and has been in their family for 150 years. The farm is 2,000 acres. They have just over 300 cows currently on the farm; 160 they are milking and about that many in young stock.

Our first stop was to see the youngest cows on their farm.  The baby calves are kept in a separate building until they are about 2 1/2 months old.  This building can be used year round because the openings on the side can be closed during winter and bad weather. The calves need to be kept dry and have good ventilation.  They are fed grain and water at 6 AM and 5 PM.

Their diet also includes this instant calf milk replacer which is like baby formula. We were there for feeding time and we watched the farmhand put several scoops of this into a bucket and add water and the calves drank it up quickly.

On the farm they have 4 types of cows; Brown Swiss, Ayrshire, Holstein and Milking Short Horns.  Each cow will eat about 100 pounds per day and drink the equivalent of about a bathtub of water each day as well.  We learned that each cow has its own personality.  We also noticed that some of the cows had collars with a small box around their necks and we learned that those are pedometers. The Mackinsons like to track the activity of their cows.  We also saw that the cows are grouped by age.

We watched the cows burrow for their food and saw that they pick through the feed to get what they want.  Mary explained that the food is mixed on site and they even have a nutritionist come by a few times each month to check on the cows. They send in samples of the manure to make sure the cows are getting what they need to thrive and if adjustments are needed they make them. In addition to the nutritionist, the Mackinsons also have a veterinarian come every three weeks.  They use preventative medicine to ensure their cows are as healthy as possible.

This is a sample of what they eat. As you can see there is a lot put in there including corn.  They have a big supply of mixed food at the farm and they cover it with tarps and pack it down with tires which help it to ferment faster.  With as many cows as they have you can imagine how fast they go through food.

Each cow is tagged and is named. Mary said that her brother knows all of the cows by name, which considering how many they have is really impressive.  When it is time for milking, the cows are led into the milking building and while they are gone the barns are cleaned and the food is pushed back together in piles.
 

What we noticed while we there are, is that there always seems to be a lot of activity and work going on. Farming is definitely a 365 day job. The tractors were running pretty much nonstop while we were there and we saw the workers cleaning the barns, herding the cows towards the milking barn and then milking them.

Here is something we had not expected to see and quite honestly had never heard of, but after seeing it in use, it is very smart.  This is an automatic scratcher. We watched this one cow use the scratcher for several minutes as it rubbed and cleaned its backside as well as its side. It is on a timer system and the brush stopped for a few seconds but this cow obviously was aware of how it worked because he just stood there and after a brief wait it started spinning again.

As I mentioned earlier, the cows are grouped by age.  They also have a separate maternity pen.  They have gone high tech and installed cameras to monitor the birthing process and the cameras can be viewed on a smartphone so when a cow goes into labor, Mary's brother can be right there making sure everything is going well. In the days before the cameras, she said he had to be around for longer and more often to check on the expecting mothers, but the cameras have made things much more efficient and a time saver.



Milking is done at 4 AM and 4 PM every single day.  The cows are brought in 12 at a time to be milked. When we were there watching there was a crew of 3 people taking care of this process.  The cows file in are so well trained they step into the next available stall and the milking apparatus is hooked up to them. Each cow should give between 5-8 gallons of milk each time.  We learned that the milk comes out of the cow at 101 degrees and must be chilled to 34 degrees within 2 hours.  After each cow finishes being milked, the milk for that stall is sent to a bigger collection container and then sent to the large storage container where it is kept until picked up by Prairie Farms which happens every other day.  The milk is never touched by human hands.  Mary explained that the milk can go from cow to store shelf within 48 hours.

I think my family and I came away from our tour of the Mackinson Dairy Farm with a much better understanding about how a farm works day in and day out but also a great appreciation for how much work goes into getting the milk and crops from the farm to our table.

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2nd Annual Illinois Harvest Dinner - Elkhart, IL

You don't have to be a farmer to know it is harvest time in Illinois.  In fact all you need to do is drive down any rural road and you are bound to see a field being harvested or a combine on the road.  Maybe you complain about the dust from the fields affecting your allergies or being slowed down by some type of implement being on the road, but have you ever really stopped to think about the work being done?

 
I will be the first to admit that before being invited to the 2nd Annual Illinois Harvest Dinner I just took for granted that the crops, in many cases grown in our back yards, will be used for a variety of ways such as feed for animals, fuel for energy and of course could be the next meal you serve your family.

Over the course of one evening a group of guests, myself and my husband included, were offered a tour of a Central Illinois Farm complete with our own private tour guide who was able to describe the process of farming to us and answer any questions we may have had.

Students from the local FFA were on hand to demonstrate the growth cycle of each crop along with how each product  goes on to be something more than you would expect.  Take for example corn, one of the staple foods grown in our area.  Did you know that:

• Illinois ranks #2 in corn production
• Ideally, each corn stalk should only sprout 1 ear of corn
• A kernel of corn can be used for feed, food, fiber and fuel
• 53% of corn grown in Illinois is exported
• Corn grows to about 7-10 feet in height
• Depending upon the cultivator type it can be harvested in 65-90 days
• Sweet corn is a gluten-free cereal
• The tassel releases millions of grains of pollen, most caught by the silk

While corn is the most common crop you can identify when driving past a field did you know that over 90% of all processed pumpkins in the US are grown in Illinois as well as:

• Pumpkins contain potassium and vitamin A
• Pumpkins are used for feed for animals
• Pumpkins are 90% water
• Pumpkins are a fruit
• Any time you pick up a can of Libby's Pumpkin it was grown in Illinois
• Morton, IL is the pumpkin capital of the world

Other facts we learned over the course of the evening:

• Illinois ranks #1 in soybean production
• Most vegetable oils are 100% soybean oil
• During the Civil War soybean replaced coffee beans for many soldiers
• 83% of Illinois wheat comes from the southern part of the state
• Wheat is a member of the grass family
• Wheat is gown in 42 states
• There are over 130 different type of green beans 
• Southern Illinois grows 85% of the worlds horseradish
• Horseradish is mostly planted and harvested by hand
• Collinsville, IL is the horseradish capital of the world
• A potato has more naturally occurring hormones than a steak

The evening concluded with a a meal prepared by Cracked Pepper from Peoria, and included a menu of locally grown favorites which included a bone in glazed pork chop, a cheesy polenta with elotes, green beans with bacon and onion, rolls, salad and a dessert of pumpkin bars and mini apple pies.   While the food was amazing what made the meal special was the fact that we were seated together with people who work in different areas of agriculture in our state.  This allowed for each of us to share our knowledge and in our case lack of which led to some wonderful conversation.

Sadly, Mother Nature decided to crash the party and caused things to end somewhat abruptly.  However, this did not end our mission to learn more about farming in Illinois, in fact we made a trip to the fifth generation Mackinson Dairy Farm in Pontiac, IL recently and Mike will be sharing more about that visit later this week.

If you have any questions about farming in Illinois please feel free to leave a comment, I feel confident that I will be able to get them answered for you. In the meantime you can see more of our photos from both the Harvest Dinner and our visit to the Mackinson Dairy Farm on my Facebook page.

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Edible Arrangements FREE Piece Of Dipped Fruit

Today only (8/10), stop by your local Edible Arrangements and get a Free Piece of Chocolate Dipped Fruit (no purchase or coupon required – limit 1 per customer) – valid in-stores only.

Contact your local store to verify participation in this promotion.

The Easter Bunny is at White Oaks Mall

Thank you to Simon Malls for inviting us to come visit the Easter Bunny, opinions are honest.

One of my favorite childhood memories is of going to the Mall to see Santa every Christmas.  I would spend hours working on my list, my Mom would get me all dressed up and we would make a whole day out of the experience.   Now that I have a daughter I do the same, I have just added the Easter Bunny to our list of Holiday Figures.   

Lucky for all of us he is spending his time at White Oaks Mall, in Springfield now through Saturday, March 26th.  He is even inviting pet lovers out on Sunday, March 13th to bring their pets in for a special meet and great starting at 6:30pm just after the mall closes.

Located on the lower level of White Oaks Mall just across from the carousel, the Easter Bunny is welcoming everyone to his burrow.  Our daughter's experience was wonderful, as the family before us were working on their photo purchase he came out to see our daughter which not only ease her worry of meeting a costumed character but also extended her time with the Easter Bunny.  

It is obvious that both the photographer and Easter Bunny have a passion for what they do and love spending time with the kids.  

Simon Malls also offered us the opportunity to pick out a Spring Outfit for our daughter and the deals we found have to be shared in detail with the hopes that you may be able to find a few similar bargains.

Our first stop was Crazy 8 where thanks to an end of the season sale and a 20% off coupon we purchased the pink skirt for $2.54, the white tank $2.54 and the denim skirt $3.83

Next up was Payless for a new pair of shoes which were on clearance for $5 but thanks to an online coupon came to only $3.75

Since no outfit is complete without a few accessories we made two stops one at Gymobree where we pick up the most adorable pink necklace for $5.18.  The other to Claires who was having a sale where you purchased three items you got three free leaving us with a headband for $2, a pair of earrings for $2.25, a flower bow for $1 and three free packs of Shopkins stickers for no reason other than Shopkins are a must have in our house.

Our last stop was to The Children's Place where we got both a pair of gloves and socks for only .99 cents each.

Spending a total of only $25 has me ready for an entire day of deal hunting at White Oaks Mall, and to be honest just may be what I do next weekend.

I did learn that Noerr Programs is offering a few coupon offers via email and facebook.  While I have not personally seen the offers I have been told they will be either a BOGO free offer or a half off a package that you will want to look for before going.

While making memories will last a lifetime you are paying it forward when you visit the Easter Bunny as Noerr Programs is dedicated to helping the communities the are in.  Two ways they do is this by supporting Austin Speaks and Save the Children, with a focus on poverty in our US rural communities.

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Sunday Spooktacular at Target this Sunday, 10/25

What a fun event...the Sunday Spooktacular at Target!

Head to your nearest Target dressed in costume for spooky treats and deals from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. local time. While supplies last.

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Sam's Club: Free Women's Health Screenings Saturday, October 10th ($150 Value)

 

Head to your nearest Sam's Club that has a pharmacy for a free offer on Saturday.  Here is the information I received.

Even though they know they need to look after their health, many women cite time as a key barrier in getting themselves to the doctor. To help women be more proactive about their health, Sam’s Club is offering FREE and convenient women’s health screenings to both members and the public on Saturday, October 10 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at all locations with a pharmacy (612 locations nationwide).

The screenings are valued at $150 and include tests for:

·         Blood pressure

·         Total cholesterol

·         HDL (good cholesterol)

·         Glucose

·         Body mass index

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Try the Olive Garden's Little Italy Club Tomorrow from 5-9 in Springfield, IL

 Thank you to the Olive Garden for inviting us to try Little Italy Kids Club, opinions are honest.

Having a seven year old child can make going to dinner a challenge. They want to go someplace fun and exciting and we want to go someplace that is quiet and appeals to the entire family.

 I know every family has a different opinion on what a family dinner is and for us that is time to talk about the day and the plans for the next.  Even though it does not always happen it is also a good time to put away the cell phones and tablets and enjoy time with each other.

Which is exactly what we did last week at the Springfield, IL Olive Garden when we took part in their new kids program titled Little Italy Kids Club.   

More about Little Italy Kids Club:

Throughout the evening, Little Italy ambassadors will host engaging and child-friendly activities at a designated kids table in the dining room, allowing parents to sit back and enjoy their meal knowing their kids are having a good time nearby. Hands-on activities include creating pasta necklaces, playing with trading cards and Wikki Stix, and special coloring activities that allow children’s artwork to come to life via an interactive app. They can also expect other fun surprises, such as delicious treats.

 

I do need to point out that at this time not all Olive Garden's are participating in the Little Italy Kids Club. Springfield, IL has been asked to test the program out which is why you do not want to miss out on this opportunity which will be held again tomorrow night, June 16th, from 5-9pm.

I was impressed with the Little Italy's Kids Club, our daughter enjoyed making the pasta necklace and bringing her coloring sheet to life with the help of the Little Italy Ambassador and the Quiver app.  I am not sure how but she is convinced this was also her first time playing with Wikki Stix which she now wants us to buy for her.

I found that the Little Italy Kids Club was age appropriate for our daughter and held her interest longer than a simple coloring sheet which she completes in just a few minutes.    It allowed her to have some fun while my husband and I enjoyed catching up with each other over an appetizer and drink before our meals arrived.

I also found that she ate more than she normally would have and I am convinced this is because she wanted to be ready for the ladies since they promised to make a second stop at the table to check on her and promised to have a surprise when they did.

At the end of our meal the ladies did return as promised and brought the coloring sheet of Bene the Breadstick to life.  I failed to ask if there was more than one coloring sheet option but Bene has a group of friends such as Gina the Grape, Ollie the Olive, Tonya the Tomato and Ricky Ravioli so I would assume that if they have not yet added extra sheets to the collection in time they will.   

Before leaving they fulfilled their promise of a treat, which of course she was happy she had finished her meal so she could enjoy it.

 

We had a wonderful evening enjoying Olive Garden's new Little Italy Kids club and hope that it takes off so that families everywhere can take part in the experience.

If you are planning on visiting the Springfield location tomorrow night you don't want miss out on the chance for a free appetizer when you refer a friend to the Olive Garden eClub.


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Free Home Depot & Lowe's Kids Workshops

Here are two upcoming FREE activities for the kids from Home Depot and Lowe's. 

Sign up for the FREE Home Depot Kids Workshop on March 7th and your kids can build FREE Bookends. These workshops are designed for ages 5-12 and are offered the 1st Saturday at all The Home Depot stores between 9AM-12PM.

Plus, register for the upcoming Lowe's Kids Clinic! On Saturday, February 28th, at 10AM, build a FREE Monster Jam, featuring Max-D!

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The Vitamin Shoppe: Free Share the Health Expo Saturday, October 25th

Here is some information I just received from The Vitamin Shoppe about an event they are hosting at their stores this weekend and I wanted to share it with you:

What: The Vitamin Shoppe^® invites customers to attend its “Share the Health” Expo on Saturday, October 25^th  and visit one of its more than 650 stores nationwide from 11am – 2pm (local time). Each store will offer its own specialized festivities, such as free product samples and consultations with wellness partners in their communities. Health Enthusiasts, who strive to be the most knowledgeable associates in the industry, will also be on-hand to help answer any product-related questions. The first 50 shoppers at each location will be treated to a complimentary gift bag with great product samples from top health and wellness brands.

Who: Anyone can attend the Share the Health Expo, just stop by your local Vitamin Shoppe store 

When: Saturday, October 25^th from 11am – 2pm (local time)

Where: the Vitamin Shoppe retail locations nationwide

Contact: For information on the specific wellness partners attending “Share the Health,” customers are encouraged to contact their local store

Go here to find a location near you.

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Free Weekend Events October 11th-12th

If you are looking for some fun activities out of the house this weekend, here are some ideas.

-Lowes - October 11th, Haunted House *Register Now

-Sam's Club: Free Women's Health Screenings, October 11th - Open to community

-Williams Sonoma: Free Jr Chef Classes (call local store for time)

-Williams Sonoma: Free Technique Classes (call local store for time)

-Michaels: - October 11th, Halloween Mummy Madness

-Lakeshore Learning - October 11th, Fire Safety Fido

-Home Depot Kids Workshop: How To Build A Pallet Coaster - November 1st *Register Now

-Museums - First weekend of every month, free general admission to participating museums, science centers, botanical gardens and more.

-Bass Pro - Free Halloween Activities

-The Disney Store - October 17th & 18th, Halloween Dress Rehearsal

-Barnes & Noble – Check your local store for events

-Walmart – Enter Your Zip to find out sampling events being offered

-Joann Fabric & Craft Stores – different crafts and learning classes. More details HERE (click on the Store Locator for the current class schedule)

-Guitar Center – Free Recording Workshops every Saturday from 10a-11a

-Home Depot – Adult Workshops: Home Maintenance Solutions, Head over to HERE to find out the days and times.

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