At the time, I wasn’t buying it for any particular function or use, I just wanted every. single. thing that went with our nursery bedding set. Yes, I’ll admit, a rather frivolous purchase at the time. But we’ve been enjoying this bad boy for more than three years now, so I’d say it was worth it.

When Zoe was six months old, she loved lying in the basket and playing with the handle. We’d toss a stuffed animal in there with her and watch her play.

When she was a year old, she would get in the basket herself and roll around, fill it with stuffed animals, etc. She would ask us to grab the handles and give her “rides” in the basket (we didn’t do this often, or I’m sure it would not have held on this long.)

When she was two, she would ask to be buried in stuffed animals – as you can see in the pic, she has quite a few. We also played games with the basket where we would put all her animals in, then she’d dump them out. Or we would fill the basket with only one kind of animal, like bears (good sorting activity).

Now that she’s three, Zoe still loves to get in the Moses basket, although of course she barely fits – she has to keep her legs bent or hang them over the side. We find all sorts of treasures hidden in the basket. It’s still a favorite element of her room, even though she now has a princess castle and princess canopy, too.

When she’s not in the basket herself, it serves as adorable stuffed animal storage. I made the smart move of buying the toddler bedding set at the same time as the nursery bedding set, so when we moved from crib to toddler bed I was able to keep the same decor. Then, when we were moving from toddler bed to big girl bed, I looked online and to my delight they had the same set in “big girl” bedding! So, we’ve had the same set all along but she is far from sick of it and I still love it as much as when I first found it.

Of course, we’re still cosleeping so she still doesn’t actually sleep in that room or that bed – it’s more of a play area for now – but it’s fun having it. And one day soon, I know she’ll want to sleep in her big girl bed all by herself. When that happens, I’ll probably pine for the days when I could tuck my little baby into that Moses basket and listen to her coo happily!

So, to my prego friends who are asking that age-old question, “Should I get the matching Moses basket?” By all means, go ahead and splurge on that adorable basket. You won’t regret it. Just think of all the photo opps.

The normal, everyday exhibits and activities at COSI are so great, we often don’t even make it to the big featured visiting attractions. Even when we’re supposed to.

Recently, we were invited to tour and review Mindbender Mansion and Amazing Mazes, a “wonderfully puzzling and utterly addictive experience” that combines “two exhibitions full of brainteasers and interactive challenges guaranteed to test the brainpower and problem solving skills of even the most experienced puzzlers.”

Sounds incredible, doesn’t it? I wish I could tell you about it… but we hadn’t been to COSI in a while so Zoe simply had to do all her old favorites first. We explored and played in little kidspace, watched our dear friends the Rats Who Play Basketball (including Zoe’s favorite rat named – you guessed it – Zoe!), and even ended up at the water tables for some good clean (wet) fun.

All of that took up a little over an hour, and then we thought we’d catch the morning showing of Flight of the Butterflies on the big Extreme screen. It was our three year old’s first experience with 3D glasses and at first she was a fan, but she soon wanted to take them off which ultimately made viewing difficult. We only made it through about half of the film, but it was absolutely magical. I highly recommend this movie – it will make a Monarch lover out of you and have you planting milkweed and wildflowers in your back yard to attract and support these amazing creatures.

I wish I could tell you more about Mindbender Mansion and Amazing Mazes – people were raving about it and I’ve read great things online – but guess what? You have a chance to go, for FREE, and then you can tell me all about it. The great folks at COSI have given me a family pack of free COSI admission tickets plus free Extreme Screen movie passes. All you have to do is visit the COSI website and leave me a comment below sharing what you think your family would like best at COSI. That’s it!

So, what do you think – would your family like a visit to COSI this spring/early summer? Leave me a note below and let me know. I look forward to hearing from you!

Disclaimer: blogging is wonderful. COSI gave me free tickets to give away, plus a cool swag bag of mindbendery stuff and Flight of the Butterflies goodies, including milkweed seeds that are totally getting planted in our backyard this spring!

As I’ve shared before, I’m trying to walk more and keep track of my steps this year, and one of our favorite places to walk and explore is the Columbus Zoo. Zoe and I would go there every day if we could! So imagine my delight when I learned Ohio Health has partnered with the zoo on the HOOFit walking program to encourage people to get more activity by exploring the zoo.

As part of the Hoofit program, you can attend hosted walks at the Columbus Zoo with Ohio Health physicians, getting the chance to ask questions and learn more about improving your health. These walks also usually include an opportunity to meet some of the zoo’s animals and characters, too. The HOOFit zoo walks are free with your paid admission or membership to the zoo. You should plan to arrive 10-15 minutes early to check in with the HOOFit team. Once you are inside the zoo, look for the HOOFit volunteers wearing the neon green HOOFit t-shirts. They will direct you to the Activity Pavilion where the walks start.

All HOOFit walks begin at 9:30 am unless otherwise noted. Upcoming walks and topics include:

• April 25 – stroke awareness
• May 23 – cancer prevention
• June 20 – sports medicine
• July 25 – spine health
• August 29 – women’s heart health
• September 26 – cold weather wellness (this walk starts at 10:30 am)

If you’re interested in attending one of the HOOFit walks for free, you’re in luck. The good folks at Ohio Health have provided me with two sets of free Columbus Zoo tickets (four per family) to give away to my readers. If you’d like to enter, simply comment on this post and let me know your favorite “zoo walk” at the Columbus Zoo or your local zoo. My favorite treks at Columbus are either walking up through North America to the polar bears (steep hills = good workout, especially pushing a stroller!) or up through the other side of the zoo to the gorillas.

The best part about our zoo is that all the uphill walking is in the beginning when you’re fresh. At the end of your visit, when you may be starting to get tired, it’s all downhill back to your car!

Another cool aspect of the HOOFit partnership is the step “calculator” – they have counted out the steps so that you know how much you’re walking even if you don’t wear a pedometer or Fitbit. If you cover the entire Columbus Zoo, you’ve walked either 8,277, 6,194 or 5,238 steps depending upon your size and step length! No wonder Zoe still likes to ride in her stroller on zoo days. That’s a lot of hoofing for a little one.

I can’t wait to spend more wonderful mornings and afternoons walking around the zoo now that the weather’s getting warmer. How about you? What’s your favorite thing to do at the Columbus Zoo, and have you visited any of Ohio’s other zoos? I am hearing great things about some of the other zoos and hope to hit at least a couple this summer!

Several years ago, while visiting my fam in LA, we went to the Lucky Strike bowling alley/ restaurant in Torrance and had our minds blown. The atmosphere was way more night club than bowling alley, the food was great, and the people were all beautiful. Now granted, that was LA, but our new local Star Lanes is an offshoot of Lucky Strike and it’s just as cool – if not better – now that it’s here in Columbus.

When you first walk in to Star Lanes, you really do feel as though you’re in a night club. I think this place will be a huge hit with the tween and teen set! The lighting, music and overall decor are chic and on-trend. To your right is an arcade for the kids (a la Dave and Buster’s only not quite as large). Straight ahead are the uber high-tech bowling lanes. To your left are the restaurant area and VIP sections.

The food is superb. Each time we got to sample something new, my husband’s eyebrows climbed further and further up his face. He goes into any new experience very skeptical, but by the end he was a believer! We got to try the chicken tacos, short rib tacos, chicken dumplings and grilled steak jerk skewers. All were absolutely delicious and top quality - what you would expect from a gourmet restaurant, and way superior to the normal bowling alley or pub food experience. Zoe really liked her mac and cheese bites, and the servers were terrific.

E and I both agreed we’ll be back soon for a date night, just the two of us. I think the arcade skews a little bit older than toddler/ preschooler age - there were only a few games/attractions that Zoe could manage – but I definitely think she’ll like the bowling. They do have bumpers in a few lanes, which is good (not for Zoe. For me!). Overall, this is a stellar addition to the local line-up of restaurants, date night places and family fun outings. If I had one complaint, it’s that the music – though great - was really loud. Maybe it was cranked up for the opening night celebration, and it’s not usually quite that loud? I hope so. And I also hope I don’t sound totally old and lame commenting on it!

Two big thumbs up for Star Lanes. If you check it out, be sure to let me know what you thought! And what are your other favorite central Ohio hot spots for date night or family date night?

Disclaimer: my agency handled PR for the grand opening of Star Lanes, so we enjoyed a complimentary evening there. However, no one asked me to write about it and we will definitely be going back on our own dollar soon!

I am. Or rather, I was – until I discovered Origami Owl. Now I’m seriously considering having a party to introduce my friends to this cool, personalizable jewelry. In the meantime, I’m sharing a product review. I’m not being compensated in any way for this review. I paid for my Origami Owl jewelry myself – and at full price. I just really, really like the products, packaging and story behind Origami Owl.

First off, you should know I’m a sucker for personal, customizable jewelry. I loved those couple name ankle bracelets (worn with an extension around your neck) back in the 80s (was that a Long Island/East Coast thing, or do you know what I’m talking about?). I had an Italian charm bracelet in the early 2000s. I have a locket bracelet with teeny, tiny pics of newborn Zoebelle. I have a hipster necklace that says @LaraK (my Twitter handle). I have a Pandora bracelet with charms I adore. And, last but definitely my favorite of all, I now have my very own Origami Owl “living locket.”

Here’s what I like (and a few things I don’t like) about Origami Owl:

• The overall quality of the jewelry is really nice. The living lockets are not cheap (mine came to just under $100 with tax and shipping), but I do feel you end up with a gorgeous piece of jewelry that does not look “costumey.” I would recommend the gold over the rose gold – I didn’t like the rose gold chain I got. I wish I would have chosen a gold chain instead. I do love that they have so many choices of chain, both in length and in metals.
•  They have a great selection of charms so you really can find something for everyone. The charms are adorably tiny – I mean really tiny. Smaller than you think, and much smaller than they appear on the website. For example, I got a “pearl” accent to put in my locket and it’s about the size of a pin head. Good luck finding it if it slips out or rolls away while you’re adjusting your charms in your locket!
• The lockets are relatively easy to open once you wedge a fingernail into the crevice, but the magnets are strong enough that the lockets wouldn’t open on their own under normal wear. My daughter can’t get the locket open – and that’s a good thing. I feel secure wearing it and don’t worry about losing charms. I also think that a ”starter” locket set would be an awesome gift to get a friend or female relative, because then you can add to it over time by getting her more charms for more versatility.
• I love that you could customize the lockets to match different outfits, moods or occasions if you wanted to (and if you had enough charms). The medium locket holds about four charms and the large would likely hold about six. I also like the metal plates you can buy to put at the back of the locket – it would be great if these were truly personalizable, but right now all you can do is purchase plates with set words on (like love, family, blessed, etc.). Hopefully soon they’ll provide an option to put names or other words on the plates.
• I’m a sucker for nice packaging, and Origami Owl nails it. I made a 6-second Vine video the day my package arrived. From the outermost shipping box, to the inner box (like a Chinese food container – so cute), to the promotional materials, to the absolutely precious Asian silk pouch they give you to keep your necklace in… I am in love. Now I am dying to buy another one just to have that experience again! Talk about awesome marketing.
• Speaking of marketing, have you heard the story behind Origami Owl? The company was founded by a 14 year old girl named Bella in 2010. As if I wasn’t already in love with their stuff, now I’m really hooked. The company, obviously a huge success, is run by a 17 year old. Grrl power, baby! And, they have tons of mother/daughter consultant pairs who do sell the jewelry together – is that sweet or what?

So, there you have it – everything I love about Origami Owl. Next time I want a slightly shorter chain (I went with the super long 30 inch and it’s not quite right for me) and the larger locket size (I went with the medium and it’s pretty small). Other than that, I love everything I got! 

What do you think – do you still like to host or attend product parties? What’s your favorite? Prior to discovering Origami Owl, I was a Tastefully Simple fan. I think I may have a new reason to get the girls together. Want to come?

This year, however, is very different. For our 10 year anniversary in early February, my hubby upgraded me from dorky pedometer to a sleek, tiny and oh so cool Fitbit One. It’s only been on me for a week, but so far it’s rocking my world and doing wonders for my fitness program! I give it my most enthusiastic two thumbs up – and I’m not the only one loving Fitbit.

The problem.

If you’re the working parent of a young child, you know how hard it is to fit exercise - including the recommended minimum 10,000 steps - into your day. Chasing after a toddler or preschooler is great fun, but doesn’t add up to much activity despite how exhausting it can be. Bottom line, like most Americans, I wasn’t getting enough exercise. Both pedometers and the Fitbit give you the data to realize how little physical activity we get in a normal day. Pre Fitbit, I was only averaging 2,500 to 4,500 steps per day even when I was trying to do better. For context, that’s considered a sedentary lifestyle.

I really felt stumped. Sure, I could re-join the gym and put Zoe in the daycare there for an hour each time I work out, but how could I do that in good conscience when she already spends four 9-hour days in daycare? I’m not judging working moms who do it, but I just can’t bear to do it personally. (It’s the same reason we don’t go to church, even though I’d like to. I just don’t want Zoe to spend any weekend time in “daycare” other than the occasional beloved sitter).

I knew I had to work harder to work exercise into my normal daily activity, but I was stalled and struggling until I got my Fitbit.

The solution (for me).

There’s something about the Fitbit’s “gamification” model that really makes exercise fun – and when something is fun, you’re a lot more likely to find ways to get it done. Fitbit is like a pedometer gone social. Adding friends on Fitbit means you’re all stacked together in a leaderboard and you can see how you’re doing vs the “competition.” That really motivates me! My husband in particular is kicking my butt and that’s making me fit in steps – and trips up and down the stairs – where I never thought possible.

Fitbit tracks not just steps, but other metrics you enter, including water consumption, sleep (you hit start and stop to indicate the quantity, then it measures the quality) and other phyical activity like workouts, house-cleaning, etc. You can even sync it with other apps that track calories so that it will keep track of that for you, as well. I’ve only begun to scratch the surface of how this will help me. I think Fitbit is a natural for busy moms.

Granted, it’s only been a week, but I absolutely love the changes I’ve made so far and can’t wait to set and reach more fitness goals. I want to be the Fitbitter that friends are in awe of and trying to beat! (I also don’t want to be the one over-sharing on Fitbit – a good reason to check privacy settings often!) I doubt that I’ll ever beat our neighbor – as a daily runner, his stats are staggeringly amazing – but it’s still fun to try to improve on my best scores, get steps in new and creative ways, and climb as high up my Fitbit friends leaderboard as I can.

What’s motivating you to move and get more steps in 2013? Have you tried the Fitbit or similar tech gadgets, and have they worked for you? I’d love to hear your stories in the comments below.

My folks moved to LA in 1994 and I’ve enjoyed visiting them each year since. Our trips to LA used to look a lot different before Zoe. We would rent a car and cruise Pacific Coast Highway, dip through the ‘hood listening to gangsta rap and trying to visit every street ever mentioned by Snoop, Dr. Dre and Ice Cube, walk through Beverly Hillls looking for celebs, or spend our evenings in West Hollywood visiting all the naughty shops. Not so any longer.

Since our nieces and Zoe came along, we love our visits with our Cali fam just as much, but it’s a different kind of fun. We do take out instead of going out. We play at parks instead of shopping Melrose. And most of all, when the weather’s unseasonably cool or rainy as it was in LA this Christmas, we seek out indoor play places to ease the cabin fever.

What follows is my review of a week’s worth of South Bay/LA area family-friendly play place, ranging from free public spaces to upscale kids’ cafes.

LA is bursting with fun for kids… ready, set, let’s go!

Kids Concepts USA in Torrance is a huge indoor play place that becomes a chaotic madhouse once crowded. We got there just as it opened and enjoyed a solid hour to 90 minutes of high-energy fun before it became too busy. Although it has a separate, spacious toddler room with padded mats and a high-flying bucket seat swing, our girls wanted to play in the main area – and who could blame them. Climbing structures, a ball pit with “cannon,” slides, a bouncy area, tunnels and caves, a separate dress-up area, a building area with giant lego-like blocks and even a video game area make Kids Concepts a play space with something for everyone.

Pros: they won’t soon get bored here. Cons: it can get very crowded; the size of the space and variety of activities will keep you running the entire time; and the food area serves up a whole lot of fried stuff and the smell permeates the entire space at lunchtime. Cost: $10 per kid 3 and up, $7 for age 1 to 3, free for under 1 with another paid child admission, and one adult free per child ($4 for additional adults).

Silly Goose Playground in Lomita is a sleek, clean, lovely indoor play space with instant parent appeal. Our two and almost-three year old loved it, but our four year old got a bit bored after a while. The climbing space is limited but there are also cozy, pretty little nooks for reading and imaginative play, along with wooden toys and dress-up clothes. Overall this feels like a kinder, gentler experience than Kids Concepts – but if your kids is boisterous or rowdy, it may not be a good fit. I really liked Silly Goose and if we lived in LA, I would definitely have a birthday party there as it’s an adorable space.

Pros: Great use of space and fantastic design; bring your own food. Cons: limited interest for older preschoolers; plus some Yelpers complained of “dangerous” equipment although we didn’t have any issues. Cost: $8 per kid, 9 months or younger free, free for adults.

South Coast Botanic Garden on the Palos Verdes Peninsula is a very pretty place to take a walk on a sunny LA morning. It’s a huge place so we only saw a small portion, but we enjoyed the fountains, lake with ducks, and in general a quiet place to visit with nature. That said, admission is pretty steep for just a nature walk, especially since there’s not much to keep kids occupied for long. Next time, I’d skip this and do the beach twice instead.

Pros: Lovely grounds, open 364 days (just not Christmas), 87 acres of nature. Cons: Not much to keep toddlers/preschoolers’ interest up, plus it’s uphill all the way back to the car so you may end up carrying a little one (I sure did). Cost: $8 per adult, $5 for age 5 – 12, free for age 4 and under.

Malaga Cove Beach in Palos Verdes Estates is a little slice of SoCal heaven. There are many places to access the beach in LA – you can opt for free parking and hoof it a bit, or pay for parking and step right out onto the sand. At Malaga Cove, you park in the free municipal lot next to the school, then hike down quite a steep slope to access the beach. But oh, what a beach – surfers, maybe dolphins or whale spouts in the distance if you’re lucky, and the magnificent Pacific Ocean coming at you in waves. If there’s a better sight, I haven’t seen it.

Pros: Perfect spot for walking, shell and rock collecting, sea life spotting, sea bird chasing and surf/surfer watching. Cons: Are there any?! Maybe the steep walk down and back up again – but I never mind. Cost: free, glorious free.

Rocketship Park/Los Arboles in Torrance is one of the coolest kids’ playgrounds I’ve ever seen. The location is idyllic, perched atop a hill with views of Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean stretching out below you (including a view of the Hollywood sign just visible across the way). The equipment is original, including a giant, tall metal rocketship structure for climbing – and all of the equipment is several decades old and a bit rusty, so user beware. Our girls had a blast here. This place is amazing and worth a visit for the view even if you don’t have kids. I’d love to see it at night!

Pros: Truly awesome, old school playground with killer scenic views of LA. Cons: Make sure kids keep shoes on to avoid contact with rusty metal, and just know that one of the little ones will likely get “stuck” up in the giant rocketship and some lucky parent will have to climb up after her (yep, that was me – but great views from the top!). Cost: free, free, free.

Twinkle Twinkle Kids Cafe in Lomita bills itself as a “luxurious, kids-friendly family restaurant with indoor playground” and that’s an important nuance. Many people on Yelp seemed annoyed that Twinkle requires food purchases for each adult, but if the business model is as a restaurant first and playspace second, then that’s fine. Just don’t go thinking it’s an indoor playspace only, because you will be eating there. But that’s okay – the food is good! They have a really nice diverse, gourmet Asian and American menu; we were all pleasantly surprised. In fact, this was our favorite of all the indoor playspaces we visited in LA. It’s large, clean, well-staffed and extremely attractive with lots to climb and do and play with including several big slides. We especially loved the unique offerings - a merry-go-round like, kid-powered swing they call the Palm Tree Swings (not recommended for parents, but I couldn’t resist and did have a quick swing myself during a quiet moment!) and the Kid Steam Cars (the little train cars weren’t working the day we went, but looked super cute). They also have a private birthday room that is so gorgeously decorated I would love to have an adult birthday party there for myself! I also forgot socks this time (doh!) and had to buy a pair for $2, but they are super cute and one of my favorite pairs of socks now. So, bonus for me.

Pros: Lovely and unique space, lots to do for the under 6 set, surprisingly great food. Cons: got a bit crowded at peak lunch hours, maybe a bit overpriced. Cost: $10 for kids over 1 (free under 1). Free for parents with purchase of a meal.

So, there you have it. Seeing so many great-looking kids play spaces on the west coast made E and I start thinking that maybe we should create and open one ourself in Columbus. But then we got back to central Ohio and started hearing about all kinds of cool new playspaces opening here in 2013! In fact, watch for a Lara-mom post soon about some of the new playspaces open already, and several in the works and opening soon. It’s a good time to be a kid in Columbus!

What are your favorite places to play – in Columbus, LA or any other city you’ve traveled to? I loved this coast-to-coast list from Daily Candy, and I’d love to hear yours too in the comments below.

Not because I no longer love cupcakes: I still adore them. Not because I made a massive new year’s resolution to cut out sweets (I always do this. It never sticks.). Not because I want to eat healthier and lose weight in 2013 (although both are true). No, the cupcake tour is over because I have lost the desire to go questing for new and different cupcakes.

I have found cupcake nirvana. Cupcake bliss. Cupcake Valhalla. And there is just no reason for me to ever go anywhere else or try any other cupcakes – at least while here in Columbus.

Want to know my favorite cupcakery in all of Columbus? It’s Koko Tea Salon & Bakery located in the heart of Creekside Gahanna.

The first time I set foot in Koko’s was this past summer during our crazed packing and moving weekend. I had heard there was a great new cupcake place in Gahanna, owned and operated by the same team who had owned Sugar Inc. Cupcakes in Dublin. Oh, the irony – I had longed for a great cupcakery on the northeast side the entire seven years we lived there, and here one opened just as we were moving away from Gahanna to points farther north. I figured I had to try these babies before we moved (although in truth, I do still work just five minutes from Koko’s so all is not lost).

I had my best friend from high school and one of our older nieces in town, so the girls and I scooped up Zoe and headed out for cupcakes and bubble tea. What a fun (though alas, rushed) evening that was – a mecca of sweet cupcake goodness and slurpalicious bubble tea in the midst of sweaty and stressful packing, loading, cleaning and unloading. How happy I was to try Koko’s and find a cupcake oasis in the middle of all that craziness! As I raved on Yelp soon after the visit, Koko’s is the perfect spot for a girls’ getaway.

That evening, we tried the Koko’s Lemon Drop, Green Tea Almond, Red Velvet and Wildberry Lavender cupcakes, along with a White Chocolate Raspberry number. All of the flavors blew my mind. Each of the cupcakes was uniquely dense and moist, a result of Ava’s organic ingredients and talented baking skills. The paper cupcake wrappers peel off effortlessly. Cupcakes are eaten neatly, without a precious crumb falling. And the frosting isn’t sickly sweet or artificially hued, but rather a softly flavored whipped cream colored with all natural ingredients. They are truly cupcake perfection.

I’ve since been back to Koko’s a couple of times, keeping myself out of there on a weekly or even daily basis only by sheer force of willpower and personal discipline. In my most recent visit, I sampled the flavors Dulce de Leche Caramel, Horchata (based on one of my favorite beverages, a rice milk and cinnamon concoction available at better Mexican restaurants), Earl Grey with Bergamot, and Chocolate Covered Strawberry. Wait up, I hear you saying. Rewind a minute – did you just say Earl Grey with Bergamot is an actual cupcake flavor?! Why yes, friends – at Koko’s it is. And a more dainty, subtly flavored, delicious cupcake you’d be hard pressed to find.

As if all this cupcake goodness wasn’t enough, Koko’s also specializes in artisanal teas, including wonderful fragrant latte teas and exotic Asian bubble teas. The shop is easy on the eyes as well, finding its home in a beautifully decorated, quaint little gingerbread house with separate rooms for the candy shop, cupcake parlor and adorable sitting room where you can relax and enjoy your purchases. I simply cannot imagine a more pleasurable tea and cupcakes experience than a visit to Koko’s. I give it my absolute highest recommendation.

I’ll have a hard time going back to super-sweet, over-frosted, artificially colored and flavored cupcakes after tasting the natural, organic and delicately flavored masterpieces at Koko’s. If you visit, won’t you let Ava know that Lara-Mom sent you? I’m sort of hoping she’ll adopt me as her personal blogger and pay me in cupcakes. Hey, a girl can dream.

What do you think – have you tried Koko’s? If not, what’s your favorite cupcake in Columbus? I’d love to hear in the comments below.

Now, I’m happy to share you too can go see Disney on Ice‘s Treasure Trove show - completely for free – in one of two awesome ways.

First, Disney on Ice is supporting the Columbus YWCA Family Center’s annual diaper drive on Saturday, January 19. If you donate an unopened package of disposable diapers (the YWCA Family Center is especially in need of pull-up diapers in size 4, 5 and 6) to COSI during this time, you will receive a free ticket voucher good for either the Wednesday, Feb. 20 or Thursday, Feb. 21 performance of Disney On Ice presents Treasure Trove performance at Nationwide Arena. There will be a limit of 500 ticket vouchers available – and a limit of two ticket vouchers per donating family. COSI, another great supporter of YWCA’s diaper drive, will also issue a choice of $5.00 off general admission coupon or a free Extreme Screen movie ticket for each package of diapers donated (limit four coupons per donating family). Is this a great cause or what?

Donate much-needed diapers to a wonderful community organization and get free fun for your family. It’s a total win-win.

The second way you can go see Disney on Ice‘s latest show for free is also very easy – through a giveaway on this blog! Simply leave a comment below with your favorite Disney movie and/or character of all time – and please be sure you like both Lara-Mom Blog and Disney on Ice on Facebook, too. Zoe will pick a winner at random before the end of January – just in time for you and your favorite little person to go see the show on opening night, Wednesday, February 20 at 7:00 pm at Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

Have you seen a Disney on Ice show before? I haven’t and I am so excited! What could be more magical than the combination of Disney characters, fabulous costumes, dazzling musical numbers and the gorgeous grace of ice skating? I’m going to be like a little kid the day we go. Please let me know in the comments if you’d like to enter the giveaway, and good luck! Can’t wait to hear your favorite Disney movies and characters, too. For the record, mine are Ariel, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Princess & the Frog, the Aristocats and Tangled! There’s no way I could ever pick just one.

Full disclosure: Zoe and I will receive two free tickets to Disney on Ice and were also provided the tickets to give away here. This is made more awesome by the fact that we would have bought our own tickets and gone to see the show anyway! Hey, who knows. Maybe we still will so we can see it twice.

She is even reluctant about wearing a diaper at night, but experience tells us it does make sense to keep one on for sleep just in case. She wakes up dry about 6 days out of 7, but who wants to wake up in a pee puddle one morning a week? Hence, the diaper back-up plan.

I want to share our potty training timeline, both so that I can look back and marvel over how amazing Zoe is, and so others can benefit from one family’s experiences. Here goes. All glory goes to Zoebelle and none to us!

About 23 months of age (February 2012) - Zoe started in a new classroom at her daycare just before her 2nd birthday. The new classroom had a significant focus on pottytraining and put a lot of emphasis on it. Their goal is to pottytrain every child as quickly as possible. At the time, I felt it was pushing her a little too much, but I didn’t really know better. I now feel it was a bit draconian and wish I had asked them to back off a little, but what can you do. I blogged about starting our potty training journey and some of the things we did at home to accompany what she was learning (or being pushed into) at daycare.

All spring and summer long – I’ll admit, I was not in any rush for Zoe to give up diapers. Reason #1? I hate public toilets! The more we encouraged Zoe to wear big girl underpants when we went out, the more we had to take her to the restroom. I’m no germ-phobe but the condition of public toilets varies widely and some are simply not fit for a precious toddler’s little bottom. So, even though Zoe wore underpants to daycare and was accident-free for the most part (certainly pee accident free) by end of summer, we still wore diapers a lot during evenings and weekends. I was a lazy parent in that regard. I simply didn’t push it – if she asked for panties, we wore them, but otherwise I kept going with the diapers. Sometimes I even put a diaper over or under her underpants if we were going out and I didn’t want to risk an accident. I was – and still am – really bad about remembering to ask her to go to the potty before we left the house. I absolutely stink at pottytraining, have I mentioned that?!

About 30 months (September) – When we moved to a new house, in a new neighborhood, and put Zoe in a brand new school/daycare, I expected some pottytraining regression. Even though by that time she was full-time in underwear during the school day, with nary an accident, I reverted back to sending her in diapers when she started her new school. It was a terribly emotional time for her, with lots of tears and upsets as she got to know a whole new set of friends and new teachers – I didn’t want her to have to worry about accidents or going to the potty. Sure enough, just as I had read, she did in fact revert back to using diapers for about a month. Once she was fully settled in her new school and routine, she began using the potty again and we went back to sending her to school in big girl underpants. By end of October, she was  VERY good at putting peepee in the potty, but was still pretty hit or miss with poop and typically preferred diapers for that.

Around 32 months (November) – By mid November, Zoe had a clear preference for wearing big girl panties and we only put diapers on her for nap, at bedtime and if she specifically requested a diaper to poop in. Since starting at her new school, she’s been in a routine of holding her poop until she gets home. Seriously – she only pees at school, and only in the potty since October. She’d occasionally poop in the potty at home and we’d make a HUGE (think Buckeyes winning over Michigan) deal out of it. But, for the most part, she would proactively request a diaper, specifically so she could poop in it. Around this time I realized that if I fumbled and delayed enough with getting the diaper on, she would grow frustrated with me and run to the potty instead to poop there. I made a big enough fuss out of her doing this that she realized she preferred the potty over pooping in a diaper! And by December, just in time to make her mommy and daddy oh so happy for Christmas, we had…

A potty-trained 33 month old!  We are so very, very proud of our big girl. Zoe has been peeing and pooping in the potty all month long with almost no accidents at all anymore. She is so good at remembering to tell us that she has to go – or even just heading to the potty without announcing it or asking for help. She really doesn’t need our help with much in the bathroom these days - she does it all. I like to double-check/clean her up after a poop, but other than that she’s a champ. She washes her hands, flushes her toilet, the whole 9 yards. We are so proud of her – and just in time for our big trip to Cali to visit her cousins, too! We still insist on a diaper at night, but often she goes down for her afternoon nap in big girl pants and doesn’t have any problems with accidents as long as we head to the potty as soon as she wakes up.

Lessons learned?

So, what are my tips or lessons learned? Don’t rush your toddler. Go at her own pace and watch/listen for cues. Ask if she’d like to wear a diaper or underpants – if she says underpants, then remind about potty breaks and be calm if there are accidents (and be prepared for them). If she says diapers, you can still remind about potty breaks but if she chooses to use the diaper, that’s fine too. There really is no rush. Studies show they will potty-train eventually! There’s no prize for super early birds and in fact I’ve heard from several sources that early potty-trainers can sometimes regress later on.

I still wish I was better about remembering to ask Zoe to take potty breaks. Sometimes we’ll come home from school or an errand and move on to our next activity without me checking with her or asking her to go potty. It’s not fair to leave it all up to her – I need to get better about reminding her to take potty breaks at reasonable times. It’s amazing she is as accident-free as she is, really! She seems to have a cast-iron bladder. But for sure anytime she drinks or eats, I try to ask her if she needs to go. There’s not much cuter than the sight of her running full-speed to the bathroom because she’s just realized she has to go “really bad, Mommy!”

I don’t miss diapers or diaper changes. I do still regret having to take her to a public restroom that is less than sparkling. I can tell you the bathrooms at Cheesecake Factory are spotless and a pleasure to use! Airports and other public places, not so much. But overall, having a potty-trained toddler is an honor and a pleasure and I’m so very excited that she has mastered this important personal milestone.

How’s potty training going in your house? Any tips to share? I’d love to hear in the comments below.