Bump Club and Beyond to host the shopping event of the season on December 12th!

Have you ever attended a Bump Club and Beyond event? Always fab, these events are the place to be for moms with bumps or moms with babies. This holiday season, Bump Club and Beyond is partnering with the best local retail vendors and hosting the holiday shopping event of the season! And perhaps best of all, you'll be shopping for a good cause, because 100% of the proceeds from admission fees for this event will benefit More Than Milk, Share Our Spare and New Moms Inc. as well as the American Red Cross for tornado and typhoon relief. 

Join your fellow moms at The Land of Nod on Thursday, December 12, 2013 for the second annual Holiday BCBazaar and you'll not only enjoy 15% off all Land of Nod merchandise but also exclusive discounts from on-site local retail partners. Attendees will have the opportunity to shop items from the huge BCB 2013 Holiday Gift Guide going live on December 6th at bumpclubandbeyond.com. Local retail partners include Psychobaby, Preggers, Argo Tea, Galt Toys + Galt Baby, Sprout San Francisco, Urban Sitter, Monica + Andy, Petit Organics, Baby Mantra and more.

Visit the Bump Club and Beyond website to purchase tickets or make a donation to support the local charity partners:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/holiday-2013-bcbazaar-at-the-land-of-nod-tickets-9290465031

What my 4-Year-Old Wants for Christmas: Magic Grow Capsules and Calico Critters

This Christmas, my daughter, age 4, has one thing on her list: she wants those little capsules, that when immersed in water, turn into sponges (Grow Magic Capsule Safari Animals). They are about $1 at the dollar store. This is one of the benefits of not having a tv in our home: my daughter is not bombarded with commercials telling her what she should want for Christmas. But of course, I want to give her a few new toys that she will enjoy throughout the year, and I'm looking for quality and toys that encourage the imagination.

#GivingTuesday - Two Easy Ways to Give Today! @ShotAtLife

• Head over to Diapers.com and stock up on diapers and other baby needs, and Diapers.com will donate one life-saving vaccine through the Shot@Life campaign with every $50 purchase when you use code SHOTATLIFE50. (Don’t need baby products? No problem! You can still use the code on any of the Quidsi Brands' websites)

• Visit the UN Foundation's Holiday Shopping Guide. You'll find so many beautiful gifts that give back including these beautiful Pearls Against Polio necklaces, bracelets and earrings - all proceeds will be donated to Shot@Life! I love this delicate 10-pearl bracelet. 

A Smarter SmartPhone for Kids: Zact Mobile #MC

Disclosure: I participated in a campaign for Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Zact. I received a promotional item as a thank you for participating


Are your kids asking for a smartphone for the holidays?

I need my son to be connected, but I have concerns about his usage: i.e. I don't want to end up with a $1,000 bill at the end of the month, nor do I want him using his phone after bedtime. I recently learned about Zact, a no contract nationwide mobile service, with parental controls that let me set a limit to text and data usage as well as curfews, so I don't have to worry about late night texting, for example. 

#makesmesmilemondays Chopping down our Christmas tree in the wild woods of #LoganSquare

Daniel and Chiara in the wild woods of Chicago

After a restful and joyful Thanksgiving, we headed into the wild woods of Fullerton and Western Avenue (in our Logan Square Neighborhood of Chicago) and chopped down our Christmas tree.

Normally I wouldn't bring a tree into the home quite so early, but the weather is sorelatively warm and my daughter so enchanted by all things holidays. So we picked out a beautiful, fresh tree, tied it to the roof of our car, and set it up in our home, and trimmed it with lights and our favorite ornaments, much to the delight of both the kids. 

Yesterday was also the first day of advent. We lit the first candle of the advent season, and read from Romans 13: Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. I reminded the kids how difficult it can be to put on that armor of light, to be the good example and a light a in the world - because it really is much easier to wade through life and not be a light. I know sometimes I let frustration loosen my armor: this advent season I'm going to focus on keeping my armor of light on, and intact. 

Chiara picks out a wreath

Even our dog, Gizmo, got into the holiday spirit. He donned his holiday sweater and sat like a human on our sofa while we trimmed the tree. I swear he is my 3rd kid. Let me rephrase that - he knows he is my 3rd kid and that's that.

Gizmo

Creating a Little Town of Bethlehem under Our Christmas Tree

One of our special family holiday traditions is setting up and displaying a little nativity scene under our Christmas tree. When I was a little girl, I logged in hours playing with our nativity scene, and now our family's own little manger sees a lot of activity in the days leading up to Christmas. 

When I lived in Italy, I loved the intricate nativity scenes, and especially the Festa della Befana in Rome's Piazza Navona, where you could find all the nativity figurines you could ever wish for. 

Rome's Festa della Befana Christmas Festival in Piazza Navona

I also had the chance to visit Bethlehem in person: I treasure my visits to the Church of the Nativity and the Milk Grotto, where Mary nursed Jesus (and some say that Jesus may have actually been born in this or a similar grotto). 

Bethlehem's Milk Grotto

Manger scenes in Italy typically include the entire village of Bethlehem. And so each year, it is a tradition in our little family to add two or three new figurines to our nativity scene. Our little town of Bethlehem grows a little bit each year. 

A traditional Italian nativity scene 

I love Fontanini figurines, which were initially recommended by my pal, Valency. Made of polymer, the kids can play with them and I don't have to worry about them breaking. Last year, we added Mary's donkey....

 and a family of cows. 

This year we will add a village well with a working bucket! (I know the kids will love this!)

and a village campfire, to commemorate all the camping we did it 2013.

I also love that the Fontanini Baby Jesus is separate from his crib. He doesn't arrive on our Christmas nativity scene until his birthday on Christmas morning (this is actually another common Italian Christmas tradition).

I order our Fontanini sets from fontaninigifts.com because of their excellent customer service. Give them a phone call and a live person will answer and happily answer any questions you might have and take your order. 

We'll be setting up our nativity scene this Sunday, the first Sunday of Advent. 

 Does your family have any Christmas traditions centered around the nativity scene?

Wonders of the 1893 World's Fair at the Field Museum

One of my favorite museums in the world is Chicago's very own Field Museum. I've been visiting since I was a kid myself, and entering into the grand hall, where Sue the Dinosaur lives, still fills me with a sense of excitement. Even better now is sharing this excitement with my kids. We visit the museum every couple of months or so, but this week our main goal was to visit the Opening the Vaults: Wonders of the 1893 World’s Fair exhibit, which takes visitors back to 1893, to the World’s Colombian Exposition - one of the greatest events in the history of Chicago and the U.S.  

Here's a hint: Before you go, make sure to download the Field Museum's new app, which will give you access to  behind-the-scenes stories that bring Museum objects to life through augmented reality, audio clips, imagery, videos, and appearances by Museum scientists - all at the touch of your fingertips. You can also follow a themed tours, or create your own customized experience by selecting just the objects you want to see.

I really liked using the app to learn more about some of the more iconic objects at the museum, like the Totem Poles in Stanley Field Hall, the Grand Hall. 

Did you know that the Field Museum was founded to commemorate the Fair and that its original collection was made up mostly of objects that were on display at the Fair? The Wonders of the 1893 World's Fair exhibit features more than 200 artifacts and specimens from our city's unforgettable fair, including memorabilia, such as one of the financial ledgers and tickets, Peruvian mummies, 3D printed replicas of figurines found inside one of the mummy bundles, and instruments from the gamelan played at the Javanese village on the Fair’s Midway. I enjoyed reading and learning more about the exhibits at the World's Fair while the kids enjoyed seeing a giant squid looming over our heads, playing some instruments that were introduced to world audiences for the first time at the fair, and looking into the toothy grin of a taxidermied lion. 

Here's an interesting fact I learned: the fair welcomed over 25 million visitors, when America's population hovered around only 67 million. People even took out second mortgages on their home to be able to finance a trip to the fair!

We enjoyed a nice lunch at the Field Museum's newest cafe, the Field Bistro, which features locally grown products, prepared and served to order in an open kitchen format. We sat at a small table overlooking Sue and enjoyed pumpkin ginger soup accompanied by a locally sourced cheese plate with dried fruits and nuts while a pterodactyl flew overhead. I was so impressed with both the quality of the food and the kind service at the Field Bistro. 

The Field's Bistro offers great food with an unbeatable view of the museum. 

It's not everyday that you can dine with a pterodactyl flying overhead

Afterwards we hit two of our all-time favorite exhibits: The Ancient Americas and Inside Ancient Egypt. My daughter is currently interested in Mummies, so she especially loved seeing the sarcophagi and mummies of people and even their pets (23 human mummies are on display here). My son who breezed through Rick Riordan's Kane Chronicles and knows a thing or two about Egyptian mythology, also always appreciates this exhibit. 

The holidays are a great time to visit the Field Museum, when the grand hall is decked out in lights and wreaths. That said, be sure to arrive early and consider purchasing a membership before you go, so you can breeze through the members' line and have your coat checked for free. 

For more information on the Field Museum, or to plan your visit, head over to www.FieldMuseum.org. 

I was selected for this opportunity by Clever Girls Collective, however all content and opinions expressed here are my own.