Ode to Summer

Yikes! Registration for Fairfax County Park Authority's summer camps starts in 7 days; it just seems so wrong to have to think about summer plans when the snow hasn't completely melted from my backyard, for heaven's sake. But they always fill up quickly, so I'll be one of those lurkers waiting for Parktakes Online to open on Feb. 7. (Spring registration starts Feb. 5) It's a breeze to browse for classes, sign up or cancel online; the only problem a first-time user might have is how to decide among the dozens, possibly hundreds, of classes the system offers.

It's not clear when Loudouners can sign up their kids for summer camps; the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services says late February or early March. Their browsing tool, Web-Trac, is as unwieldy as the agency's name, at least for a first-time visitor or someone trying to register for the first time. A search for "camps" turned up a list that appears to arranged by when it's offered, with no other information. When you click on one of the offerings, it'll tell you dates and times of the classes, but then you have to click on four different symbols to find out location, cost, enrollment and details such as ages and class description. The classes themselves sound just as interesting and fun as Fairfax's but I'd be put off from browsing online and would probably just turn to their print version. At least the Activity Guide can be downloaded as a PDF document from their main site; they currently have the Winter 2007-8 available now.

Natural cookie decorations

If I want my kids to try a new food or I just want to jazz up a treat, I reach for colorful sprinkles. Ten-year-old doesn't like mashed potatoes? A dash of green decorating sugar gets him in the mood. But with the new dietary restrictions I've imposed, which includes eliminating artificial colors and flavors, they've had to do without their culinary touchups.

Now, however, I've found an organic cookie decoration supplier and they can have sprinkles in their ice cream again! Natural candy store sells decorating sugars and nonpareils (those little candy globes) that are colored with natural ingredients such as paprika, annato, turmeric and vegetable juices. As with most organic alternatives that I've found, you'll pay more for it; they go for about $4.80 to $5.40 for about 3 ounces.

At least I found 'em before I started making my Valentine's Day cookies!

Hanging out at Whole Foods

Gotta big ol' crush on Whole Foods, and it gets deeper every time we shop in the Reston store. By we, I mean me and the 4-year-old, who make up the 11 a.m. lunch crowd in their dine-in area. Yup, that's right, dine-in area. Sometimes we sit at the bar-style counter facing the walls, sometimes we sit at the tables, but it's become one of our weekly lunch spots. I feel like such the virtuous mom as she piles into a small tub of fruit and I chow down on a rosemary roll and French onion soup. The soup can be found at the salad bar, but I've also had the mushroom quesadilla from the cold section—all of which have been great. Have yet to try their sushi (still addicted to the take-out sushi from Harris Teeter) or anything from their prepared foods section (salmon, steak, chicken, you name it, they have it). The absolute highlight, though, is their dessert bar and display case. I've been in such awe that I haven't brought myself to buy much more than an oatmeal cookie.

I also couldn't resist getting one, OK two, of their new reusable bags, made of 80 percent recycled plastic bottles, for 99 cents each. I could never remember to bring the plain blue ones I got from Giant, but these are so bright and cheerful there's no way I'll forget them. As I reveled in my new grocery bags (yeah, simple things make me happy) while eating, I also noticed they provide pads so you can write down your grocery list, which seems backward to me because we eat after we shop. Anyhow, as we left the dine-in area, she picked up a free calendar that I can now use to teach her days of the week.

Groundhog Day Feb. 2

Learn the story behind Groundhog Day and meet a real groundhog at Ellanor C. Lawrence Park in Chantilly. They have a neat little nature center that includes a small exhibit, a ministore that sells snacks and a separate conference room for classes and presentations. This park's staff really have it together, or at least their Web site makes it seem that way, since they're one of the few Fairfax County parks that list their events through May.

The 1-2 p.m. groundhog presentation is free, but you need to make reservations by calling 703-631-0013.

More Free Stuff

I seem to be on a freebies kick these days ...

Free Eats
http://www.mykidseatfree.info/
Awesome Web site from Penny Pincher of Ashburn, who has put together a daily schedule of restaurants where kids eat free. I’ve tried to create this list myself but had a hard time keeping up with the promotions, and this is the most comprehensive I’ve found so far. It’s heavy on Loudoun locations, so if you know of any eastward, send her a note. She also lists free birthday dinners and money saving tips. Go Penny!


Free Craft Ideas/Printables
http://freestuff4kids.net/
This blog-style site offers links to free printables like Disney Princess and Dora coloring pages , playables like ISpy and Hot Wheels online games and craft ideas, such as recipes for edible playdough recipes and these cute Valentine rose cupcakes from Family Fun Magazine.

Swap your books and DVDs

I've been getting more free stuff in the mail -- a book on caring for geckos for my son, some preschool books or my 4-year-old, and a copy of "Boondock Saints" to replace the one we lent a friend that hasn't made its way back from Hong Kong. (For fans of expletive-filled, violent shoot-'em-up movies in the vein of "Snatch" and "Go," the never-released-in-theaters "Boondock Saints" is a must-have for your library).

ANYWAY, I'm getting the books and DVDs through paperbackswap.com and swapadvd.com, sister services that act as a virtual exchange. It's free to sign up, and the only expenses are the mailing costs of the books or DVDs in your own library that you send to other members (usually no more than $2.50 in my experience). They ask you to sign up with 10 in the beginning, which gets you 2 credits; credits are the currency with which you order books and DVDs that other members have posted, and it's usually 1 credit per book/DVD. If you have a DVD set with 2 discs in it, they'll give you 2 credits.

You can send paperbacks, hardbound books and audiotapes on Paperback Swap, so I've been able to get rid of the David Sedaris "Holidays on ice" audiotape that my husband never opened as well as other books we've read but didn't like enough to keep in our library. Same with the DVDs, and I guess you could theoretically use the DVD swap as a video store, posting a DVD that you've ordered and seen but didn't want to keep. The cost would be $2 per DVD for the postage.

Another great service they offer is allowing you to pay for and print postage labels from their Web sites. I haven't used it yet, but it'll save you a trip to the P.O.

Finally! Organic oatmeal at Costco

After months of having to buying small boxes of organic oatmeal from Whole Foods and other grocery stores, Costco is finally carrying it. I've been slowly transitioning my family into organic foods as much as I think is reasonable. That means switching out as many foods my kids eat on a daily basis with healthier substitutes, which in my household means no trans fats, no artificial flavors or colors, and no high fructose corn syrup. The last one has been the hardest because much to my surprise, it shows up in a lot of foods you wouldn't normally think would have it--like bread, for instance.

Reasonable to me also covers price, which is why I do a happy dance in the aisle when I find Costco has a new organic product. I've had the most success in their refrigerated section; while the prepared food products don't necessarily have "Organic" on their labels, if you look at the ingredients, most follow my criteria. In the non-perishables section, I found Costco's Kirkland brand of organic peanut butter (it comes two to a package), which I don't like. Like many organic peanut butters, the oil settles at the top and you have to stir it to get it to look like the peanut butter I've grown up with (I miss you, Jif). So the search continues for a good-tasting, no-stir peanut butter.

But the organic instant oatmeal search is over. Yes, I could get the plain oatmeal you have to cook, but with three kids to feed breakfast and get ready for school in the morning, instant is the way to go for me. Costco now carries their own Kirkland brand of organic oatmeal, which is in a box that's about the same size as the regular Quaker oatmeal box they carry. The organic version has 45 packets in five flavors. My kids eat a packet every breakfast on school days, so we go through a lot of it. Thank you Costco!!!

p.s. And thank you to the anonymous person who corrected me on the brand, it is Kirkland and not Quaker organic oatmeal.