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Debbie Howard's Gym (Olathe)

 
Debbie Howard's Gym has been in the Olathe, KS area for years offering gymnastics classes, open gym time, and birthday parties.  Recently they've added a much needed special needs open gym time which focuses on small group social interaction, and fine & gross motor skill development.  As with all of their open gym play times, parental supervision is required.

Costs for open gym times are $5 per session and is payable by either cash or check.  Debbie Howard's does NOT accept credit or debit cards.  Regular open gym times are the 2nd & 4th Saturdays of the month and are from 9 a.m. to 12 noon.  Special needs open gym times occur one Sunday per month. Their entire schedule can be viewed on their website or their Facebook fan page.

In addition to open gym times, they offer an array of gymnastics classes for all seasons, including summer.  Classes are month-to-month (no pesky contracts!) and start at just $40 per week for 50-minute classes once per week.   They also host a Parent's Night Out event every so often where parents can drop kids off for supervised games, crafts, pizza and more.  This is suitable for ages 3-12 and kids must be potty-trained.

The birthday parties at Debbie Howard's Gym are amazingly stress-free!  They offer the ultimate in letting your birthday boy or girl and their friends burn off energy and a great party room to serve what you wish!  Their birthday party packages even come with a staff member to oversee the party and keep everything running smoothly!  You provide the kids and the cake, and their staff does the rest - sets up the party room, gets cake and drinks distributed, keeps track of gifts, and more!  Their party room is one of the biggest and most spacious in metro area and can accommodate groups of almost any size!

 
Debbie Howard's Gym is located at 655 N. Somerset Terrce in Olathe, KS 66062.  It just north of Santa Fe (135th Street) & Mur-Len.  To reach their staff by phone, call 913.829.3006.

Gold Canyon's Citronella for Summer

How many of you plan to host those fun summer barbecues in your backyard this summer?  Or maybe you enjoy eating dinner out on the deck with the family most summer nights?  Well, one thing is for sure and that is you'll need (and want) one or more citronella candles out to ward off any pesky unwanted insects while you eat.  Typically, plain citronella candles are found at most hardware and big-box stores but have you ever looked at the citronella candles offered by Gold Canyon?

Not only are these offered in unique scents (Jasmine Lime & Papaya Passion), but they are so pretty to look at versus the usual citronella candles you might usually find in stores.  What's more is they deliver an even burn and their large 14 ounce size yields about 60-80 hours of burn time!

Both scents retail for $13.98 and can be ordered along with other great, quality candles and home decor products from Independent Demonstrator, Melanie Chaulk via her website or by calling her at 913.449.6559.  Melanie is a busy mom who lives in Olathe and services the entire metro area with their Gold Canyon candle needs.  Their summer catalog edition has just been published and is loaded with tons of summer scents, new home decor products and fantastic ideas for moms!

What are some of your favorite summer candle scents?

Funky Mama's Newest CD Launch & Giveaway!

WOW! Are we excited to bring this news to you!  Kansas City's favorite rockin' mama - a.k.a. Funky Mama - has a fresh, new CD, "Sing" out TODAY! 

You and your kids are going to LOVE this collection!  And, read on because we've got our hot little hands on one to give away to one of YOU!

I have to tell you that my kids (and me!) LOOOOOVE Funky Mama! When we received the CD to review we couldn't wait to pop that bad baby into the car stereo and rock out!

This new CD has such a cool, feel-good vibe that totally brings together the funkadelic sides of parents and the funky kids we all have!  As a mom you're going to love and relate to her track #2 "Don't Shake the Box".  And, my personal favorite on the CD is #12 "Little Funky Mama" I guess partly because it is SO Funky Mama!  I can totally see her hangin' out just clapping to the beat and belting out every verse, making everyone around her smile.

And, if you were able to see Trout Fishing in America at Jiggle Jam over the past two years, you'll be delighted to know that Ezra from Trout teamed up with Funky Mama to write her track #3 "Bananas Foster" which literally made my mouth water when I listened to it the first time!  And I love listening to it this time of year because it just makes me long for those warm summer days more and more! 

I would highly recommend to hop your little fingers over to Funky Mama's brand spankin' new website and pick up her newest CD! Talk about a great treat for your kiddos to help get them out of this winter funk!

And, what's even better is you'll have a chance to WIN a FREE copy of her newest CD just by visiting the KCMetroMoms.com fan page on Facebook and if you're not already a fan, become one and leave us a comment.  We'll randomly select a winner and send out a FREE copy of "Sing" by Funky Mama!  How cool is that??!!!  Giveaway period ends this Friday February 19th and winner will be posted on our Facebook page!

Don't forget - you can catch Funky Mama along with ALL of your favorite local kid rockers (and some other very cool musical peeps) at KC Jiggle Jam this Memorial Day weekend!  Make plans to attend now! You won't want to miss this lineup!  Mum's the word for us right now, but when we're able to offically spill the beans, you'll be the first to know!

 

Making Memories at Disney on Ice - Kansas City!

Disney on Ice at Kemper Arena in Kansas City last night was fantastic!  We all had such a great time.  Our favorite Disney characters, popcorn, cotton candy, silly hats - what more could you want out of family entertainment?  You can still get tickets for this weekend's shows!  The weather in KC is "iffy" but the value of this family outing is certainly NOT!  You and your family will LOVE it!

We got to take part in a special VIP meet-and-greet session where we arrived a little early to enjoy refreshments, a goodie bag, and meet Minnie!  The kids were excited!  We told her she needed to get back down to Orlando soon since we'd be there after Easter to see her and the gang!

After the VIP party, we went to find our seats which were more like box seats!  They were great!  We settled in and enjoyed seeing the rest of the general public trickle in before the show.  Of course the food and merchandise vendors were in full force but we made the kids hold out a bit on getting anything. 

Nathan and I headed up about 20 minutes before showtime to grab some popcorn, cotton candy and lemonade for the show.  The music, the lights, the sights - the kids were in awe!  We were able to see some of our favorite Disney characters like Ariel, Lilo & Stitch, Simba, Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, and of course the usual suspects - Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, & Goofy!

This was a perfect precursor to our upcoming Disneyworld trip coming up in just a little more than a week!  I need to get packing!  Get your tickets now and surprise YOUR little ones! 

Allergy season coming to KC soon!

It’s almost that time of the year again, when flowers start to bloom, leaves seem to burst forth almost overnight, and all of a sudden we need to think about mowing our lawns. However, spring’s reappearance every year also means the return of itchy eyes and explosive sneezes. And alas, with all of this comes allergy season. 
 
We’re now entering months when pollen layers every outdoor surface with a blanket of yellow. There’s not much relief inside our homes either. It turns out that indoor air is four to five times more polluted than outdoor air, of particular concern because most of us spend as much as 90% of our time indoors, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. February is also one of the peak months for flu season, which is only worsened by the amount of time we all spend indoors.  That’s why keeping our home’s indoor air quality high ensures that flu, allergy and asthma sufferers in our families will be able to breathe more easily and suffer fewer symptoms. Allergies and asthma go hand in hand in many cases, and the prevalence of both is on the rise. According to the Centers for Disease Control, asthma has become the most common serious chronic disease in children and the third-ranking cause of hospitalization for kids under 15.
 
The most effective method by far that I have recently learned about for keeping indoor air virtually pollution-free is American Standard Heating & Air Conditioning’s AccuClean™ whole home air filtration system. AccuClean can be attached to your existing furnace or air handler, so you don’t need to renovate your home to install it. Once installed, AccuClean removes allergens from the air in every room of the house, as opposed to plug-in air cleaners that operate in only one room.
 
AccuClean removes virtually all allergens in your home: well, up to 99.98%, and you can’t get much closer to 100% than that! Additionally, the system removes more than 99% of the common flu virus. It’s 100 times more effective than the standard one-inch filters and actually easy to clean by simply vacuuming or washing the reusable filter. 
 
Keeping the dirt and dust out of your house is easier said than done, and cleaning every day is simply not an option for today’s busy families. AccuClean prevents unwanted dust and dander from continually circulating in your home, ensuring the indoor air your family breathes is cleaner and healthier.
 
To find out more about AccuClean and see tips about keeping your home’s indoor air clean and healthy, visit our American Standard site here.  While you're there, register to win the AccuClean system as well! 

A dentist that will make you smile.

My kiddos visited a new dentist today and we ALL enjoyed ourselves!  From the moment we walked in, we were greeted with the bright, comfortable, and clean reception area and a lovely receptionist, Holly.  The waiting room features very fun seating in blue and orange (hmmm....now where have I seen that color combo before?), two Mac computers for the kids to play on, a neat bookcase with toys and books, and of course, a television that happened to be showing the Alvin & The Chimpmunks movie.  There were lots of great magazines for me to read while we waited for our turn (which turned out to be a very short wait), and the sweet smell of some sort of air freshner they used was filling the room.  It was nice.  I had never been to such an inviting dental office before.

The friendly dental assistant, Kristina, called us back to the exam area and we were yet again surrounded by a clean and comfortable space.  She then began to take the kids' info down and I had a chance to ask questions about our visit.  When it was time for Dr. Matt to come in and do his thing, he was very friendly and knowledgable about his practice.  I have never had a dentist who was so eager to answer any questions I had.  He even made it clear that he was available by cell phone should a dental emergency ever arise.   During the kids' exams, he was very patient and funny and talked to them about snack choices, brushing habits and even invited them to brush his plush kangaroo's set of chompers!

When we left the kids walked out with a fun goodie bag that included a new toothbrush (my oldest son was super excited it was a Cars toothbrush), flossers, toothpaste, a brushing chart, and an hourglass to use while brushing their teeth.

This was hands down the most pleasant experience with a dentist or doctor that I've ever had and I am sure it was just as stress-free for my kids.  If you're looking for a dentist for your little one, I would hightly recommend you give them a call.  Even if your little one is under 2 years old, you can come in and receive a FREE infant oral health exam for kids 6 to 24 months.

Smiles Dentistry for Kids is conveniently located in Overland Park at 147th Street and Metcalf.  You may reach them by calling 913.685-6000 or on the internet at www.smilesdentistry4kids.com

Receive a $25 credit to your dental account by telling them Candy with KCMetroMoms.com referred you!