A few weeks ago I decided to video what a typical weekend is like with Eamon. Now that the weather has been clearer it is a lot easier to get outside for some fun!

Take a look!

A few months back we decided it would be a great idea to purchase a family membership to the Academy of Natural Sciences here in Philadelphia. We had gone with friends of our prior to that and Eamon absolutely fell in love with it. Over the previous few years we had stuck with the smaller museums such as The Delaware Museum of Natural History because they are super (younger) kid friendly and do not put that much of a sensory overload onto him. All of the yelling of kids, echoes, feet stomping, and attractions can make life difficult for kids with sensory issues, but DelMNH was (and still is) always a place he loved to go (and the price for admission is great...and I always found coupons using my Recyclebank Account!). But thanks to a discount coupon we found, we were able to afford the membership - which has already paid for itself AND MORE!



The Academy of Natural Sciences is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the Americas. At its inception, Philadelphia was THE hub for education and culture in our new nation, so, as explorers were venturing deeper into the western part of North America (and the rest of the world), the artifacts and species being collected were brought back to be studied and cataloged. The collections expanded so rapidly through gifts, purchases, and exchanges - as well as expeditions - that the Academy outgrew its building three times in 60 years. In 1876, its present home was built at 19th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, then the outskirts of town and now the heart of Philadelphia's cultural district. With the opening of the new building, the Academy became a modern museum with areas for exhibitions and public lectures. *

When visiting the museum it is difficult to imagine but it is still largely used for scientific research in fields such as biochemistry, ecological modeling, botany, entomology, and, of course, paleontology. In fact, there is a room where you can watch them chip and brush away at dinosaur bones! In addition, the building holds the Ewell Sal Stewart Library, which holds nearly 200,000 volumes of works on natural science research dating back to the early 15th Century and is a logistical hub for environmental policy and urban sustainability.



There are several levels of the museum dedicated to the education and discovery of the natural world with everything from giant dinosaur bones, a butterfly house, a theater, and dioramas of animals from around the world. Eamon's favorite is the North American Hall, where we absolutely MUST visit the moose (Dubbed the "FrankenMoose" thanks to the story shared by our friends as well as one of the curators. The original moose had its head swapped out for one with larger antlers as a form of friendly competition with other museums.) The "Outside In" playroom is also a must do, especially if your kids are younger. There is a little sand pit that is great for sensory play as well as several animals to see and sometimes touch including turtles, snakes, a rabbit, and bugs. There is even a large bee hive!




Every few months there is a special exhibit on the firs floor of the museum. During the summer there was a great one called "Backyard Adventures" where you could play mini golf, see how fast your pitch was, ride a bee bike...oh, and learn some great things about the plants and creatures that live right outside your door. Now, that has been swapped for a great exhibit called "Tiny Titans" showcasing real dinosaur eggs and embryos as well as even more fossils and another great dress up/play area for kids.


My favorite exhibit, however, is the Butterflies From Around the World exhibit. The exhibit changes every day as a result of the lifespan of each species. When you enter the exhibit, you are surrounded by tropical foliage with the butterflies landing on the plants and fruits to feed right there in front of you. There is also a place where you can watch them emerge from their cocoons if the time is right. If you are lucky, one might even land on you.

We made a video of our last visit to the museum. Check it out below! And make sure to give the museum a visit the next time you are in Philadelphia!











 * ansp.org

This past summer, after wanting to go for a while, we decided to take a trip to Smith Playground, a giant, nearly six acre playground located in the Fairmount Park vicinity of Philadelphia.

The park and accompanying mansion sized playhouse has been part of the city for over a hundred years, however, was shut down back in 2003 for some much needed restorations. Until then, the maintenance of the playground remained as part of a trust created by Richard and Sarah Smith, two wealthy Philadelphians who built the playground so that children could have a safe place to play outside of urban areas of the city. Now, the park collects donations from members and visitors to maintain and staff the park and its amenities - including a giant, 39' wooden slide, the multi level playhouse, and several, modern play facilities for children of all ages.

When you enter the park, it is asked that each family make a donation of $5, however, for $30 you can obtain an annual membership. Since we have already gone a few times, the membership pays for itself. There are also several member only events, including Halloween events, concerts, and meet and greets with characters from PBS Kids shows like Daniel Tiger. Visiting the playground can easily take up an entire afternoon, so if your little one likes to explore, climb and play, make sure you bring food and drinks with you...although occasionally there ARE some amazing food trucks on spot to try some gourmet food.

The multi-level playhouse is aimed for children five and under, although you do see some kids a little above that enjoying time with their younger siblings and gathering around the wooden train tables (which there are three of now with all the amenities). There are also soft blocks, doll houses, kitchen sets, and explorations drawers - although these can rotate since sometimes thing break or wear out form the thousands of visitors every week.



Besides the wood train area (of course), Eamon loves to explore the "woods" - a play area dedicated to getting dirty while balancing on logs, climbing branches, and digging in holes. In other words, it's a little boy's dream! There's even a mud oven, mud sink, and utensils to bake mud cakes (worms optional.)




You cannot visit the playground without at least one roll down the giant wooden slide. Marked as one of those "must visit oddities" of the city, the forty foot wooden slide is over a hundred years old (although recently refurbished) and lets kids and adults ride in packs atop burlap sacks until thy tire out. The sheer width of the slide, allowing around five kids to ride at a time, keeps the line at a minimum on most days.

In addition, there are several 'regular" playground areas that are sectioned off so parents don't have to chase after their kids through the entire park. There is also a dedicated play area with slides, swings, and more specifically for kids five and under away from the rambunctiousness of the older children so there is less of a chance of an accidental collision.

If you're interested in seeing more, check out the video Eamon and I made on our last visit!

Yesterday was Fat Tuesday, officially the last day of gluttony before we Christians  traditionally opt for a more ascetic lifestyle during the season of Lent, a period of forty days beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending on Easter Sunday symbolizing the forth days Christ spent fasting and in pray before starting his ministry. During lent, we typically sacrifice something we love - typically sweets, liquor, bad habits, etc... - and also spend the season working harder to do the work Christ wants us to do - serving others. To prepare for the season there are worldwide celebrations and carnivals where Christians have one final feast before giving it all up for a season of fasting and sacrifice. This is Fat Tuesday (or Shrove Tuesday for some).

Welcome to my first edition of TIFF for 2016! Five things I found this week!

Compared to some other major metropolitan cities, Philadelphia may seem quite small, but we have an amazing cultural scene full of music, amazing food, and lots of visual stimuli. Since around the late 1960's, Philadelphia streets have been the home to some amazing street artists who color the city with their murals, mosaics, and their accompanying political ideologies. The first mural I really ever took notice to was Keith Haring's project at 22nd and Ellsworth in Point Breeze, not too far from my home. I was pretty young when it went up, but wise beyond my years and had already seen quite a few of his pieces on TV and in magazines. My mother never drove so we had to take the bus pretty much everywhere and in the early 1990's, the Mural Arts program had starting revolutionizing the way we saw street art in the city, especially, in my opinion, impacting lower income sections of the city with positive messages. I remember staring at the Dr. J. mural while riding the 61 Bus back from my Grandmom's house heading down Ridge Avenue and being overcome at the magnitude of the painting, trying to figure out exactly HOW someone could manage a canvas of that size. Then, as I started becoming more independent in my travels as a young teenage (riding my bike and rollerblading places my parents didn't even realize I was), I started seeing more and more of these giant canvases coming up as well as pieces rebellious youths were spray painting. And although fine art as far as drawing and painting on this level is the one things I could never seem to get good at, I still loved enjoying it both in its formal, and, especially it's informal settings.

I think everyone here is pretty much familiar with the 1843 story of The Christmas Carol: you know, the one about that old miser who hates everything, especially Christmas, until he is visited by four ghosts  (yes, there are four - everyone leaves out poor old Marley), who tell him if he doesn't change his ways he is pretty much going to die alone and miserable and everyone will spit on his grave for all of eternity. (Okay, so the story is really far more elegant that that crude description, but you get the point.) But what you probably aren't familiar with is the Dicken's Village right here in Philadelphia!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! After a long and super busy week full of birthday and Christmas celebrations, I finally had a moment to sit down, go through some photos, and jot down a few thoughts.

As you can tell, our little family is BIG on traditions. Even thought I come from a terribly dysfunctional family, we had quite a few of our own and Terry and I have established many throughout the years. This year, we added one more to the list: a Christmas visit to watch Washington's Crossing to watch the famous reenactment.

If you are the type of person that absolutely must personalize each and every Christmas gift for those on your list and are always up for supporting small business over the mega-monopolies, then the Christmas Village is the place for you. It is a wonderful outdoor market filled with vendors from all over the world selling their handmade artisan crafts, clothing, and food under tents set up in LOVE Park as well as the new Dilworth Park directly across from City Hall.

Philadelphia may not be as decadent and elegant as New York when it comes to our Christmas celebrations, but we definitely have a few things that simply cannot be found elsewhere in the nation. One of these holiday traditions is the Macy's Christmas Lights Show.

When I was a kid, Macy's was actually John Wanamaker's and was one of the "higher class" department stores we always wished we could afford clothes from. Luckily, I had a brother who worked in the upstairs restaurant, the Crystal Tea Room, and we would occasionally be invited to have a nice lunch around my birthday and the holidays where we would catch the hourly light show. Even when he left the Tea Room, my mother and I would hop on the 47 bus and travel up to do some shopping and catch the show. (I would also sneak out of work when I was older to see the show and do some Christmas shopping!)

Part of our Christmas Holiday traditions includes attending the light shows offered all over the city, both commercial and neighborhood run. There are few things more spectacular during the holiday season than elaborately decorated displays with beautifully strung lights, rich deep reds and greens, and the smell of pine emanating from fresh cut Christmas trees. And in addition to the highly publicized, world famous Wanamaker Light Show (now Macy's), which I will be discussing later this week, a second holiday extravaganza takes place just a few blocks west at the Comcast Center.

Five things I found during my journeys throughout the city this week:

For many the beginning of the Holiday season begins on Thanksgiving Day, however, for us, it *officially* begins on Thanksgiving parade day...no, not the big New York parade or even the Thanksgiving Day parade here in Philly. Every year we take Eamon to get his first glimpse of Santa Claus at the Mayfair Thanksgiving Parade in northeast Philadelphia. There are dancers, Irish bands, the all-important Mummers appearances, and, of course, Santa. It's a simple parade full of average, everyday folk, and things like that are just what we like.

Yes, I know... this post is a few days late, but I hope everyone had a fantastically fun filled Halloween out there. Despite the evening getting off on the wrong foot ( E didn't want to wear his costume! ) we got to enjoy a night filled with tricks or treats...well, really just the treats.

I spent the Thursday before baking lots of candy corn cupcakes, making chocolate covered pretzels, and filling treat bags with all kinds of goodies for Eamon's annual school party and putting the finishing touches on his costume. With a child who hates wearing anything on his head, I needed to make a few adjustments to what was to be the chain mail ( I think it is called a coif )and crown in order for it to fit just right. Come Friday morning, however, we chose not to send him to school in his "special" costume for fear of it getting ruined. Instead, he simply revisited his Doctor Who hat an scarf for the day, which was fine because it is still absolutely adorable.

Welcome to my new photo series where I like to show some of the lovely things I found this and every week:

Photography is so cliche' anymore. It is quite disappointing in its own way how everyone sees themselves as a photographer thanks to affordable SLRs, I-Phones, and Instagram. I never claimed to be an expert as I can barely maneuver my SLR in manual mode, yet, I still find myself thoroughly enjoying a quite ride in the morning searching for a spot to snap a few photos.

One such recent morning I decided to forgo my morning session at the gym for a quiet bike ride into Olde City. I wandered into the Olde Pine Cemetery early enough to take it all in without the sounds of traffic and kids heading to school for the day. It was quite nice. Peaceful. Inspiring.

For the past few years I have been a bit obsessed with finding little gardens in the Philadelphia area, mainly in the areas where I live and work because it gives me an excuse to get out on my bike at lunch with my camera to enjoy the sun. Well, today, even though there was no sun, I rode to one of my favorite spots to grab a few photos.