AngelNicki

Have you been to Cosley Zoo  yet this month? If not, you should hurry up and go there, before the month is over! Pumpkin Fest is a lot of fun for kids and adults alike. In addition to their usual livestock and displays, during October you can buy pumpkins Cosley. The pumpkins are spread out in the grass to look like a pumpkin patch! There is also an autumn play area for kids. There is a simple corn stalk maze. Your kids won't get lost in there, but they'll have fun running through it and... Read Full Story

The following is a sponsored post . You probably know that I like to do lots of learning activities with Little Bear, Pufferfish and Rafael. I call it "tot school" when I do things with Pufferfish Little Bear calls it "home schooling" and says that she has two teachers, one in her regular school and one at home! Every summer, we usually do a unit on birds. I never got around to doing it this summer, but I'm actually thinking of doing our bird unit in the winter instead. Lots of birds are... Read Full Story

Hi, everyone! From now on, you may occasionally find "sponsored" posts in this blog. Basically these are like commercial breaks. I get paid to write them. However, I will only accept sponsored post opportunities that are family-friendly and are somewhat relative to the topic of this blog. Feel free to skip right over them, if you don't feel like reading them! Thanks for understanding! - Nicki Read Full Story

Hi again, everyone! This week I have a double feature of Dog Of The Week, because there were so many dogs at the Almost Home Foundation adoption event, I couldn't pick just one! I already introduced you to Sharki. Now, meet Carlina ! This adorable shih tzu is nearly ten years old, and she's had a pretty tough life. She was found as a stray. She had terrible, painful tooth decay. Even worse, she had tumors in both of her ears, which caused this poor sweetie to go deaf! (Once Almost Home... Read Full Story

Hi everyone! Welcome back to one of my favorite features of this blog, where I introduce you to an Almost Home Foundation dog who is looking for a home! This week is a double feature! There were so many precious dogs there, it was impossible to pick just one! Ten were adopted, though, so I was able to at least narrow it down to two special dogs for the week. The first dog I'd like you to meet is called Sharki! This 2-year-old hound/setter mix used to live on a farm. His owners gave him up... Read Full Story

Place: York Commons Playground Locaton: 665 S. York, Elmhurst, IL Type of place: Playground Secret: This park has a lot of neat and unusual equipment! You'll actually want to try it out yourself. Let your inner child play! Appropriate Ages: 2 and up. (There is some smaller toddler equipment on one side of the park for the younger kids, and more adventurous and challenging equipment on the other side for bigger kids.) Cost: Free! I first discovered this park when Pufferfish and I... Read Full Story

Did anyone make it out to Scarecrow Festival last weekend? I was indisposed over the weekend, but luckily, the Fest started on Friday morning, so I was at least able to take Pufferfish during the day before the big kids got out of school. It was a lot of fun, and there was so much going on, I could actually totally see renting a hotel room out in St. Charles next year and making a mini-vacation out of it! Pufferfish and I only got to do about a third of the things available. One of the... Read Full Story

Hi, everyone, and welcome to the feature of this blog where I introduce you to an Almost Home Foundation dog who is looking for a family! Today I'd like you to meet Anoki .   Anoki is a six month old Beagle mix who was rescued by Almost Home Foundation from a high kill shelter where he was about to be euthanized. His brother Inali was also rescued just in time! The two Beagle brothers lived together in a foster home for a while, where their foster parents worked with them on things... Read Full Story

Place: Hampe Park Location: 297 E. Lies Road, Carol Stream Type of place: Playground Secret: No secrets, really! Just a nice playground! There is an old-fashioned tire swing that the kids really enjoyed. Cost: Free! Pufferfish and I were supposed to meet some  friends at this playground, but we had a horrible morning and ended up getting there way too late. However, Pufferfish was glad just to play around there, and even hung out with some other little kids she met! It was your... Read Full Story

Place: Kappy's Location: 10 E Roosevelt Rd, Villa Park Type of place: Diner type restaurant Secret: Kids eat half-price, Monday through Friday. Also, their meal comes with an ice cream sundae afterwards! They also get a menu to color, and crayons. Appropriate ages: Anyone old enough to eat! Cost: depends on what you order, but similar to a restaurant like Denny's.   Pufferfish asks to get her picture taken next to statues, wherever we go! I guess I've trained her well??? I... Read Full Story