Mama In Columbus

Columbus day weekend is this coming weekend (October 8 – 11, 2010) which also means it is the annual Experience Columbus Days offerings.  So even if we aren’t all lucky enough to have a long weekend, we can still take advantage of some fabulous deals on Columbus attractions and restaurants.   This yearly event entices Columbus residents to be a tourist in their own backyards and it offers great discounts.

My picks (to best take advantage of Experience Columbus Days):

• Try something new!  If you are a regular at the Zoo or Cosi, this is not the weekend to go.  Instead “experience” something different.  Ever been to Ohio Historical Center?  What about Historic Roscoe Village?  The 50% discount is especially worth a trip the Wilds.
• Don’t forget about the special events.  We’ll be visiting with friends and sipping wine at the Italian Festival.  You can, too; and with the EC Days flyer, you can get $2 off admission.
• Be a patron of the arts.  Shadowbox Live, the Promusica Chamber Orchestra and Opera Columbus are all offering discounts.  This is a great opportunity to see live performances and support our arts culture.
• Get a babysitter for one lunch or dinner over the weekend.  Some of the best restaurants in Columbus are offering 25% off a meal.  The offer is only good with the flyer and only for a party of two.  Sounds like a date.

Now that it is officially fall, I am reminded all of these fun fall activities in Columbus are also the perfect photo opps for little ones.   Pumpkins, apples, hooded sweatshirts, and hayrides all offer a great complement to family photos.  To help us get the best out of each click,  I asked professional Columbus photographer Britt Lakin to provide some tips to readers on how to take frame-worthy shots.  Britt specializes in custom,  natural-light, on-location photography and does outstanding work with kids and families that is fun, fresh and colorful (just take a look at some of these images).

Britt’s Eight Tips for more Engaging Photography at Home

1.  Have fun and let kids be kids!

Some of the best shots come from when kids are just playing and being a kid!  Don’t tell them to “smile naturally” or the dreaded “say cheese” (I cringe when I hear parents say this during a session!), as it’s not natural to force a smile!  To capture the true essence of your child, pictures that will make you smile for years to come, you want to capture your child being themselves.  Not sitting with their hands under their chin with a “cheese” smile.  Ways to encourage this are playing hide and seek, peek-a-boo, patty-cake, and any fun game or activity that you know your child likes.  If they like to stomp in puddles- let them!  Look for bugs- help them search!  Those are the pictures you will cherish!

2. Get down to their level

Get down and play with your child, interact with them as you take their picture.  Being at eye-level will not only make them more comfortable, but eye-to-eye (or eye-to-camera) contact is extremely captivating in a photo.  The emotions you capture from their perspective are much more natural than if you are towering above them.

3. Check your background
What else is in your shot?  A trash can?  A car?  Try to make sure you don’t have any distracting (or ugly) objects in your frame.

4. Window to the soul

Try to make the main focus of the photo your child’s eyes.  As long as the eyes are in focus (or the eye closest to you if they are turned), the rest of the picture can be a little blurry.  Well, that is unless you want to focus on something else!  Pictures of those tiny toes and tiny hands make frame-worthy captures too!

5. Fill the frame
Instead of having your child be a small portion of the photo, fill the frame!  Make their face and eyes the centerpiece.  Some of the most intimate and touching shots come from the child’s face and capturing those expressions that are unique to them.

6. Lighting
Try to stay out of the harsh bright sunlight, as it puts hard shadows on your child’s face.  Also stay out of dappled sun where there are patches of sun and shadows on their face.  The best lighting is open soft light or open shade- like an overcast day at the playground or any kind of open shade like a front porch.  My favorite time to shoot is the hour right before sunset.  It makes your photos have a warm, golden glow.  For inside, try to avoid using the flash by bumping up your ISO and positioning them next to a window.

7.  Be fast!
Kids move fast!  Just keep that shutter finger going as fast as you can click!  Some of the best photos are those “in-between” moments.

8. Bribery
If all else fails, I pull out candy!  Big colorful suckers look fun in pictures and my personal favorite is Smarties as they don’t “stain” mouths and hands and they are tiny!

Thanks Britt for these wonderful tips on how to better capture memories.  I know I’ll be more careful to never say “say cheese” again!

We’ve been watching this clip from will.i.am and the Sesame Street crew.  It’s an uplifting couple of minutes.  To get stronger ourselves, we’ll be heading to Highbanks MetroPark today.

Hope you have all enjoyed your Columbus weekend!

As I mentioned as a tip in the previous post, sometimes you need to keep the familiar attractions fresh and new.  So you change up the exhibits at Cosi, visit different animals at the Zoo, and overall try to have a different enrichment experience each time you take the kids somewhere.  This keeps both you and the kiddos from getting bored.

Think of the attractions as your partner in this endeavor to keep things exciting.  The attractions often have special programming offering the chance to go behind the scenes and to delve deeper into topics.

The Columbus Zoo has recently added stroller safaris and  toddler story times to their programming.   Very reasonably priced and meant for toddlers aged 18 – 36 months, these are sure to fill up quickly so sign up early for your desired topic.   The Zoo also has year round programming for older children.

Cosi also has a wide variety of workshops for kids starting as young as 6 months.   Topics include a variety of science related themes.

Both of these are especially nice because they are just one-time classes.  No need to commit yourself to six weeks of programming on specific mornings.

If you happen to find yourself at Franklin Park Conservatory on an upcoming weekend, make sure you find the various family programming they have scheduled.

Our attractions are great all on their own, but partaking in the special programming they offer turns an ordinary trip into an extraordinary adventure.

Many people consider zoos to be summer entertainment, but I tend to disagree and think this is the perfect time of year to visit the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.   School-aged children are back in the classrooms and class field trips haven’t started up yet.  That means the Zoo on weekdays is not very crowded and is typically more manageable on weekends, too.  The animals are also enjoying the cooler temperatures and tend to be more active (especially in the mornings).

Over the next two weekends, the Zoo also has special programming including visits from Dora the Explorer and Jack Hannah.

If you go:

• Double check the hours before you head out.  The Zoo recently switched from summer hours (open earlier in the morning and later in the afternoons) to seasonal hours.
• If you visit the Zoo often, plan to visit some sections (not all) plus one special activity a trip.  In other words, don’t try to do it all in a day.  This makes for overwhelmed kids and tired parents.  Focus on one or two sections (for example North America with the bears and Asia Quest with the elephants) and really observe and talk about what you are seeing.  Likewise, pick one special activity a trip.  I think of the specials as things that cost money or take time.  If we pet the goats, we don’t ride the carousal this trip.
• Pack a lunch and snacks.  Outside food and drink is totally acceptable.

There may be a heat advisory, but the calendar tells us it is September, the Buckeyes take the field tonight, and rumour has it that Starbucks has brought back the Pumpkin Spice Latte.  Yep, fall is undoubtedly here.  Luckily, it is a great time to be in Columbus with the kiddos (once it cools down anyway).   Pack the weeks full of these kid-friendly fall adventures.

• Fall fun days at Circle S Farms tops my list of pumpkin picking locations simply for the nostalgia factor – it’s where I went as a kiddo and have very fond memories of picking the perfect pumpkin.  Starting in October, the farm opens at 8 a.m. for all the hay maze, petting zoo, hayride fun you can handle.  Go with a group of 10 or more people for special pricing and a donut treat.
• Apple picking at Lynd’s Fruit Farm is another cherished autumn tradition.  Apples are easy to pick (the littlest ones may need a lift up) and the picking goes quickly.  If you have your heart set another a specific type of apple, make sure you check the link because certain varieties are only picked specific weekends.
• Speaking of local traditions, I’m personally not a fan of young children at Ohio State football games.  To get the fall football experience though, high school games are great for families.  Tickets are inexpensive and there is a community feeling you won’t find elsewhere.  Check your local paper for game times and matches.
• Once the leaves start to change colors, hit the Metroparks to view nature at work.

However you fill the autumn weeks, leave plenty of time for jumping in leaf piles and sampling delicious pumpkin desserts.  These things only come once per year and are all too fleeting.

Who hasn’t been hearing about the movie version of the bestselling book Eat, Pray, Love: one woman’s search for everything across Italy, India and Indonesia? Seeing the movie come out has reminded me of reading the book a few years ago and liking it, but thinking I will never  be able to take a year off of my life to find my everything.  Now, as a Mama, I rarely get the chance to potty by myself let alone take off on a year-long self-finding mission.  However, just because the book  is outlandish in its premise, doesn’t mean there isn’t a take-away message.  To me the important reminder here is to find time to eat (and enjoy it), pray, and love each day and not lose sight of one’s true self.  With that in mind, here is how I work these things in:

• Eat:  You can take this literally as providing the body with nutrition or figuratively as enjoying the simple things in life. Either way, my favorite place in Columbus to feast all my senses is the North Market.  You can nibble your way though the booths, stock up on specialty groceries for later, treat yourself to many different tastes, and otherwise enjoy the sights and sounds of a bustling market.  Kids like to take it all in, too, and the layout is stroller friendly.  The North Market is a great place to meet a friend for lunch or an afternoon snack – or to sneak away to be by yourself.
• Pray:  I think of this as having a rich spiritual life.  In the book, this section focuses on a yoga practice.  Luckily in Columbus, we have plenty of options for both.  If you want to include the kiddos in your yoga practice, there are options for that as well.
• Love:  Keeping relationships with partners as front and center can be a challenge for parents with young children.  That’s why it is so important to fit in a regular date night.  Once a week or once a month, try to get a babysitter and do something new together.   This month we are heading to see this show and are looking forward to the night out!

Have you seen the Eat Pray Love movie?  Thoughts on how it or the book can be applied to Mamas?

At this point in the summer, you and the kiddos may be burned out of the usual swings and slides of your home base park.  Plus, if you are like us, we’ve been using some school playgrounds as parks and can’t visit during the day with the kids back in session.  What to do?  Explore some new ground to keep things interesting.  Here are some destination parks to check out.

• Homestead Park is located near Hilliard in Washington Township.  It has playgrounds (some with water fun) as well as trails, ponds, paths and even a train station replica.
• Coffman Park, in Dublin, has recently undergone a transformation.  The playground and shelter houses are all new.  There is a stream for natural exploring, as well as plenty of open green space for running around.
• Millstone Creek Park in Westerville is newly opened and offers more than just the swings and slides you have come to expect from parks.  This has a huge play structure, plus a nature play area, streams and boardwalk.

Do you have a favorite out of the ordinary park to add to the list?

Something about minor league baseball just screams summer.   Maybe it is the hot dogs and Cracker Jacks or maybe it is just the crack of the bat that seems to signal a warm, summer evening.  There are just a handful of home games left this regular season for the Columbus Clippers, and you if you haven’t been already this summer (or even if you have), it is a great family destination.  This is the second season the Clippers are playing in their new home of Huntington Ballpark and it is a fabulous setting to watch a game.   There are several sections of the Ballpark that are family friendly, my favorite being the large section of picnic tables by the outfield beyond third base.  For families with young children who might not be interested in sitting still and watching the whole game, I recommend purchasing general admission tickets.  These tickets give you access to several sections of the ballpark, but not an assigned seat.

Enjoy your night at the ballpark and make warm family memories you can reflect on over cold January days.