Cartersville Family

Tomorrow night is my final focus group to discuss ideas for my new business. I would love to hear what you think. This new business will be a fun and exciting place for kids to play and a relaxing environment for adults to enjoy as well.

We are meeting at 7pm on Monday, March 24th in Cartersville at and office in the Fuddruckers shopping center. We have refreshments and coffee and will be done by 8:30. If you haven’t already completed the survey, please click here.

Last night, Kelly and I hosted the second of 3 focus groups to discuss ideas for our new business venture. I was pleasantly surprised when more ladies came than expected. They gave us some great ideas and insight that we hadn’t already thought of. I just love talking to other moms. We all work so hard to be the best for our children and this new business will celebrate that. Thanks again for those who participated in the focus group and for all those completing the survey. We love hearing from you.

Yesterday I took the girls to the Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Baily circus. They both had a lot of fun. We got the tickets from one of my friends in my small group. We went with some other families so the kids all had a blast. Lauren and Emma both liked the man and women being shot out of the cannon the best.

I knew ahead of time that the toys, candy, refreshments and drinks were going to cost a lot so I told the girls that they could only get one thing. They picked cotton candy (of course!). $12 dollars later we had a small bag of the fluffy stuff and a cheap hat used for decoration. I guess a long as parents are going to be suckered into paying $20 for a light-up toy or $10 for a drink they will continue to charge outrageous prices.

The acts were no different than when I was a kid. Elephants, tigers, horses and dogs doing tricks; Trapeze artist and a high wire act, never ending silly clowns and a few daredevil acts. All in all not a bad show.

I am not a big fan of football. I really don’t keep up with any stats, players or specific team. As far as college ball, I didn’t go to a university with a football program so my allegience lies with my childhood favorite, Florida Gators. (my husband went to FSU so you can imagine how that goes!) Anyway, I am from Jacksonville, so I route for the Jags when they play, but really when it comes down to it, I like the Superbowl for the parties and the great commercials. So I will probably pick a team based on who is winning and who looks good!

Any Superbowl parties out there that are kid-friendly?

Earlier this month i was able to go on a cruise with my mom and sister-in-law, Tricia. What fun! It was three day cruise to the Bahamas and the privite island Coco Kay owned by Royal Caribbean. My mom treated us both to the trip and we had a great time. I would definitely recommend cruising with your mom and/or girlfriends. The room was a little cramped but it was like being at summer camp. We stayed up late and had fun laying on the beach just soaking up the sun. The food was not as good as Carnival, but the entertainment and the cruise director were a lot better. Thanks to mom for a great relaxing get-away. I think we are going to make it an annual thing.

One of my friends, Tanya, let me know about some more kid’s consignment sales around town. They usually happen in late summer and then again in late winter. Here is a link to a website that lists almost all of them - some are good - some are ok - and there are some that are not even listed on here like the one at Trinity United Methodist in Cartersville. There is a HUGE sale in Rome in September called Twice Is Nice and the stuff they have there is amazing - lots of boutique dresses for the girls and some really high end stuff, but good prices and they have a ton - in fact the sale runs for a full 7 days - and most of these sales you can put clothes into and be a seller as well.
Thanks Tanya

I just want to give a thumbs up to our local Cartersville Library. When my family moved here just over 2 years ago, I had to find a way to meet other moms with kids. I was so pleased to find that Cartersville had such a great library. The new facility wasn’t complete yet, but there were programs in place for kids of all ages. When the new library building opened up last year, it was amazing. Imagine a small town like ours with such a great library. Needless to say, my girls loved going to find new books and movies. They loved storytime and all the extra events they have throughout the year. I am most impressed with the summer programs. Jugglers, Wild Animal presentations, Magicians, themed storytimes, and much more. I am also very impressed with the staff. They are so friendly and helpful. Many times my 5 year old has asked for help finding a book and they were great about it. The children’s library not only has books and dvd’s, but also a computer lab with games, and puzzles and puppets. Three cheers for the Cartersville Library.

I am a mom who is always looking for fun things to do with my kids, as are so many other moms. Well, while surfing the net last week, I came upon a website Go Citykids in Atlanta that has info about upcoming events and activites for kids. You can search the site based where you live. I found a great place in Canton called The Bounce House. My 5-year-old has lots of energy to burn, so I thought this would be right up her alley. We took a friend of hers along with my two other children and we sent to bounce. The facility is basically a warehouse full of inflatables that you can jump, slide, bounce and play on. It was clean, and well laid out. The bathrooms were clean and as a mother of two in diapers, there was a changing table. We only had to pay a small fee for the older kids and the babies and myself were free. I would recommend this place to anyone. You can check out their website for the open jump days and times. It is a great rainy day activity.