Las Vegas, Nevada

A month ago, my husband received a letter from The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas inviting him to a three night/four day free stay at either the Venetian or Palazzo. Of course, we took advantage of this offer. They even added 2 tickets to see the Phantom of the Opera. As always, we made this trip a family affair. My mom, son, husband and I all drove out to Las Vegas (a four/five hour drive from Phoenix). I have been to Las Vegas various times but the amenities at a five star hotel made a significant difference. The resort looked and smelled clean (no cigarette smell). The resort has four pools, one being a baby pool where our son splashed around. The environment was overall very child friendly, unlike most other hotels in Las Vegas. If you are planning a family vacation to Las Vegas, I recommend staying a nice resort such as The Venetian or Palazzo. In the past we have stayed at Imperial Palace, which is a decent 3 star hotel on the strip but the environment is very much adult oriented. It is smoky, dark, and crowded. When we stayed there two years ago, the pool was full of intoxicated adults.

Below are some activities we have done with our toddler in Las Vegas. Happy travels!

Walked the strip/casino shopping centers (such as Forum Shops, Miracle Mile, Fashion Mall, St. Mark's Square)

Visited Lead Museum (large, affordable, interactive children’s museum 

Watched a free show at Circus, Circus

Went to Adventuredome (not many rides- about a total of 3 kiddie rides) not sure if i recommend it for toddlers

 Played in pool

Acrobatics Class

Today was my son’s last acrobatics class at the Escalante Recreation Center in Tempe, Arizona. He attended a total of four classes over a 1 month span. While I am glad that it is over, the class was very valuable for him. My son has never been to a daycare center and his only babysitters have been family members.This class was an eye opener for both of us as my son had to follow directions and had to follow class structure for the first time. 

The first class was the most difficult. My son just wanted to run around and have fun playing with the ball- what he typically does when we go out. However, this class provided him with structure and he had to follow the activities that the teacher had planned for them. He was surprised and didn’t understand the concept of class structure. After the first class, I didn’t want to take him back. I thought, “It was only $8, we don’t have to go back.” But then I visualized how long the day would drag with nothing to do but watch Cars for the millionth time so we went. He was better prepared and did a better job following his teacher’s instructions during the second class. By the last class, he only diverged a few times. I was very proud of how far along he came. He did a good job learning how to follow instructions, following instructions, and sharing and playing with other children. He even did a backwards flip on his last day!

Enrolling your toddlers in these classes is a good idea. Your toddlers are exposed to what lies ahead in their school years. It is a good idea to prepare them for school structure and it gives toddlers something interactive and fun to do outside of the home.

For more information on classes for toddlers in Tempe, follow this link :http://www.tempe.gov/brochure/tots/

Wet ‘n’ Wild Phoenix

Wet ‘n’ Wild is a theme water park with slides, wave pool, lazy river, and a children water/splash playground. It is very hot in Arizona, therefore visiting a water park is recommended. We took our toddler to Wet ‘n’ Wild water park 2 weeks ago and we had a good time. 

Admission is $40 per adult and is free for children under 3. Children below 42 inches pay $30. Tickets prices are for two days admission. Admission costs are somewhat expensive but we really wanted to visit the theme water park so we decided to “splurge.”

Our son enjoyed the lazy river and the wave pool the most. He had an okay time at Wet ‘n’ Wild. He was a little scared of the wave pool and of the kiddie water slides. The lines to the bigger slides were VERY long so we just did the kiddie water activities. I’m not sure if I would recommend Wet ‘n’ Wild for a family with young children. Wet ‘n’ Wild is catered more towards school-aged children and adolescents. The best part of the theme park was the beach like environment it creates but other than that I’m not sure if I would recommend it to families with young children, especially considering the high costs of admissions and other cheaper options for water activities for young children in AZ.

For more information on Wet ‘n’ Wild- follow this link: http://www.wetnwildphoenix.com/

Happy summer travels!

Ahwatukee- Toy Town

I took my son to Toy Town for the first time this past week. Toy Town is a young children’s play center with toddler-size playhouses- doctors’ office, pizza shop, kitchen, playhouse, etc. They also have dress up clothes for the children. Toy town is located in Phoenix, AZ (in Ahwatukee). I purchased a $20 Groupon coupon which gave us 5 days of play. 

My son loved Toy Town and didn’t want to leave. We were there for a of couple hours. My only complaint is towards other parents who were overly involved in the children's play. Several moms were very overprotective of their children and did not allow their children to play on their own. Their control issues over the children rubbed me the wrong way.

Overall, it’s a good play place for young children. To learn more about Toy Town follow this link:http://aztoytown.com/Home_Page.html

On Finding Meaning As A Mother

“It does not really matter what we expect from life, but rather what life expects from us” –Viktor Frankl

I am reading Viktor Frankl’s book, “Man's Search for Meaning” and I find that line very powerful as I struggle with my new role as a stay at home mother. I graduated with master’s degree in social work last month and I have been experiencing difficulty adjusting to being home with my son. My emotions gravitate from boredom to anxiety and even jealousy (with some positive feelings once in awhile). Overall there is this strong sense of boredom and unrest. I wake up early everyday and from the moment I wake up, my life is consumed with taking care of my son. As soon as I get up from bed, I am aware of the long list of daily things to do- changing his diaper, feeding him, dressing him, playing with him, doing dishes, cooking, cleaning, picking up, telling him not to get in the fridge, telling him not to throw his toys… the list goes on and on. It becomes overwhelming. This is my life 24/7, 365 days a year. I look at my peers who are working and I experience feelings of jealousy. Why can’t I have a job where I make money? Why I am stuck home and I have no money? I also become jealous of my husband. I want to go to work and talk to adults and just take a break from my son. I want to make money and I want to be tired from being at work instead of being tired from being home. Oh how I wish that Fridays had some meaning to me. You get the idea of my mental unrest. This is where this powerful line comes in.

When I read that line it didn’t hit me right away. It didn’t hit me until today when I was taking a bath; I contemplated about it and finally understood how its powerful message relates to my current life situation. Let me re-state it: “It does not matter what we expect from life, but rather what life expects from us.” So I asked myself, what does life expect from me? Viktor Frankl states, “The meaning of life is not general but rather the specific meaning of a person’s life at a given moment.” Frankl compares the meaning of life to playing chess where there is no best move. The best move depends of the current situation. I then asked myself, what is my current life situation? I mentally answered myself, "I am mother of a 2 year old boy-that is my life situation." What does life expect out of me? The response to that question came rather quickly as it would to most parents. Then I had an epiphany. If I know what life expects out of me, then it does not matter what I expect out of life. What a powerful statement to accept. If I can accept that life wants me to be a mother above all- that’s all there is to it. There is no need to desire what is not asked of me and there is no need to be jealous of others whose life is asking something else out of them.

Often, we do not want to accept what life expects from us. Instead, we focus on what we expect from life. This causes much pain and misery. Don’t get me wrong, it is good to have aspirations but I think that when we fail to see and accept what life wants out of us, we undoubtedly experience mental distress. Frankl describes mental health as the gap between who you are and who you wish to be. The bigger the gap, the more mental distress you experience. Let me share a personal story. My husband didn’t have a relationship with his father. His father stepped out of the picture when he was a young child. As I read this quote, I immediately thought about my husband’s father. Life asked him to be a father but he chose not to accept what life asked out of him. In the end, my husband’s father died alone. His own children did not visit him while he was dying and they didn't go to his funeral. I lament his death and I pray that he made peace with himself before parting. His story is a tragic reminder of not accepting what life asks from us. Sadly, there are many stories similar to that of my husband’s father. For many of us the story is not as obvious. It could be something as small as not accepting your child for who he is. In conclusion, what do you think life wants out of you right now?