Is that headline true to the 2012 Moi Loves Moi theme or what?

In that vein, let’s conclude the Winter Fun Week of ideas with a menu of options to pick from and help you survive the rest of old man winter. And don’t think I’ve forgotten that I owe you that Deep Creek Lake in the Winter post, cause I haven’t forgotten, I just haven’t had time to give it the proper attention it deserves because you know Moi Loves Deep Creek Lake.

Though you'd never know it, she actually was super psyched to meet Clifford

First up, last weekend I had the chance to take the girls to see the new Clifford exhibit at Port Discovery in Baltimore. I haven’t been to Port Discovery in a while and we all had a blast. Apparently my 3-year-old prefers to look like she’s being held prisoner by Clifford instead of smile for the camera, but don’t let her expression deceive you, she loved the new exhibit. I will say it is most appropriate for the little ones, my 6-year-old was like “uh, hmm, no bright lights, no flashing, no spark…moving on”‘ but that’s fine, the exhibit is clearly geared towards the younger ones and has the classic Clifford lessons of good behavior and treating your friends right – woven in. Of course, the rest of Port Discovery is a treat for kids of all ages. I will say I am conflicted over the climbing structure that straddles three floors of the building. On one hand, it’s a great place for kids to burn off some energy. On the other hand, it makes me extremely nervous that they move between floors and I can’t see them easily. Not to mention the inevitable kid hijinks are out of the eye of a discerning adult. Noteworthy, as I voice this concern, I don’t even consider myself a very anxious or nervous parent but something about that climbing structure causes me some angst. It almost feels like it’s best suited for kids ages 8-12 yet  it’s placed inside a venue that’s really meant for younger  kids. Is it me?

Beyond Clifford & the anxiety-ridden-for-moi Climbing Structure, we especially loved the Diner & the adventure zone with the Pharaohs in Ancient Egypt.  As waitresses in the Diner, our girls worked quite hard at serving up some questionable looking food and happily violated every safety and cleanliness code in the country, tossing pie on our plates with their bare (and guarantee germ-infested) hands and serving up pizza after dropping it on the floor and stepping on it a few times. They loved it. Personally, I kept wondering why I don’t have this sign  hanging in my kitchen:

Hilarious

 So in conclusion, whether Clifford is beloved by your children or not, a day at Port Discovery is sure to be a fun-filled day and way to spend a cold winter afternoon. And obviously if your kids have tons of energy to burn, you could hit up the fabulous Baltimore aquarium while you’re there.

Moving on from Charm City, what else is there to do indoors? One friend tipped me off that their favorite go-to spots are Millennium Stage for the free daily performances and the Wilson Pool – which though I haven’t been – does look like a beautiful facility. You know I’m a huge fan of the Chillum Splash Park – also convenient to those who live on the Hill because it’s just past Takoma Park.

On Saturday, in celebration of World Swap Day,  you can uphold your I Am Awesome New Years Resolution and purge your home of things clogging your closets, all for a good cause, by heading to Jonah’s Treehouse (2121 Wisconsin Ave) to participate in the peace. love. swap – The Original Maternity, Baby Kid Clothing & Gear Swap.  Drop off items from 5:00-6:00 and Swap from 6:30-7:30 and admission is ONLY $5 if you register online.  Leftovers go to LOCAL charities and families in need -Goodwill & Northern Virginia Family Services.  You can bring what you aren’t using any more – and take what you need – it’s that simple (books, toys -large and small- clothes, bouncy seats – you name it)!  Get rid of your old, get ‘new to you’,  help those in need, and help the environment.  Since 2009 peace. love. swap. organizers have produced over 130 swap events, donated over 100,000 baby, kid & maternity items to charity, and swapped over 150,000 items. Also, extra perk, one of the items they will be raffling off is a Rockband bundle for the Xbox 360! Moi loves moi. Moi loves cleaning out closets and donating the items to good causes.

And finally, although this is the year of I Am Awesome, this is also, technically, the Year of the Dragon. And kids love the Chinese New Year parades and celebrations.  Monday is the start of the Lunar New Year and a fellow DC blogging friend of mine compiled this totally awesome and very comprehensive list of kid-friendly activities celebrating the Year of the Dragon.

Enjoy these ideas, friends, so that  moi loves moi & moi loves the enfants at the end of winter…which is starting to feel a little too cold…in the meantime, be sure to Like the Wired Momma FB page for more hijinks and amazing ideas…

Young Fan with Mrs. B at the December Tea

I have a love-hate relationship with two seasons. In the summer, I love the beach, watching my girls catch fireflies and hanging out in the evening at the pool. But then, I don’t necessarily love lounging around in my swimsuit or the fact that the humidity makes my hair resemble a lions mane. In the winter, I love warm sweaters, great scarves and boots. But I loathe not being able to play outside or take evening walks with the girls to break those bad moods kids tend to have at dinner time. So this week, because Moi Loves Moi & Moi Loves Vous, I am declaring it Winter Fun Week. I am going to bring you ideas on how to kill time indoors to beat the winter blues, or really, to help spare you from going crazy with cabin fever (Note: it’s not lost on me that I am somewhat dramatic seeing as how it’s been 60 all winter so far. But is that streak ending? Then I am making sure we are prepared and can say Moi Loves My Kids still come the end of winter). If you, too, have a fav local indoor spot, by all means, share it with us. To give you a sneak preview of the week, I will be covering: children’s tea, roller skating, Port Discovery in Baltimore, and a winter’s get-away to Deep Creek Lake. Hopefully there will be something for everyone this week!

Let’s start with tea at the Grille at Morrison House Hotel in Alexandria. Last month, my mom and I brought my eldest to their monthly tea with Mrs. B. I really didn’t know what to expect but will tell you I was happily surprised with Mrs. B. I had imagined her to be much older than she is (frankly I think she might be younger than, GASP, Moi). I also mistakenly assumed an etiquette tea would be stuffy. Turns out, Mrs B is overflowing with personality and charm. She easily captured the attention of my 6-year-old by being silly and animated as she cleverly wove in etiquette lessons without being preachy or dull. We had fun learning how to properly sip our tea and use our spoons, all the while being classy ladies.

What I didn’t expect was how the flow of the tea was designed to bring just the kids out of the restaurant and to the hotel foyer to read stories or participate in a craft project related to the theme of the tea. This gave my mom and I time to relax, enjoy the yummy finger sandwiches, chat and sip our champagne (obviously if given the option to have antiviral champagne, moi will always choose it). This added surprise of the kids going elsewhere prompted my mom to note that if others are thinking of coming to the tea, to consider coming with friends or family, to enjoy some adult time together.

The tea menu is comparable to really any tea menu and the portions are small and more than sufficient for an afternoon snack.

I am certainly not a food photographer...but here's a lovely pic of the yummy tea sandwiches

I was glad I fed my daughter lunch before heading to the tea because she is somewhat picky and was more interested in stories and crafts than eating. The one thing I found odd was they split the tea group into the two restaurant spaces in the hotel, so there were other diners mixed in amongst the tea-goers. I felt that broke up a cohesive feeling but it wasn’t something that the young tea-goers noticed.

Mrs B. exudes charm and enthusiasm and at the end of the tea, my daughter was actively begging me to bring her to the January tea. For a sense of what she’s like, check out this fun interview that ran last month on FOX 5. The Grille at Morrison House hosts children’s tea with Mrs. B every third Saturday of the month from 2-4pm. Here is a list of the upcoming teas and themes:

January 21: Fairy Tea
February 18: Valentine’s Day Tea
March 17: Sweets Tea
April 21: Easter Tea
May 19: Mother’s Day Tea

The Grille’s web site says that all ages are welcome to the tea. My impression was that it would depend on the child. Personally, it would not have been fun or relaxing for me to bring my 3-year-old because it just wouldn’t suit her personality but I did notice several children who could have easily been 3 and they were enjoying themselves. So like anything, with the little ones, I guess it’s kid-dependent. Overall, I would definitely recommend it as a fun, different and relaxing way to spend a Saturday afternoon with your child and some friends or family.  I had a lot of fun bringing my mom and noticed there were several groups that were clearly enjoying a generational outing with child, mom and Grandmom. You need to make a reservation in advance by calling 703-838-8000 or sending an email to storytime@morrisonhouse.com. The price is $38 adult/$28 child.

Log on tomorrow for my continued Winter Fun Week theme & don’t forget to “Like” the WM FB page if you want a chance to win the super delicious care package of cupcakes from Crumbs!

Disclosure: The Grille at Morrison House treated me to the Tea but my opinions here are all my own.