Day out with Thomas 2012

Hey Y'all,

My boys heart Thomas The Tank Engine. Erick is 7 and still plays with his train table, creates Thomas stories and borrows only Thomas and Friends books from the library. Myles is following on his big brothers tracks and is a die hard Thomas fan as well. Erick was introduced to Thomas by his dad but I am by far the enabler. Proof positive is the fact that I always seem to find Thomas the Tank Engine where ever he is in the US. We have been passengers on Thomas' coaches three times in three different states! Our latest adventure was in Philisburg, NJ at The Delaware Railroad Excursions. We had a blast. It was as hot as Hades but Lord knows that I will do anything for my children including riding on an steaming steam engine for 25 minutes dripping sweat. The folks that pull off a Day out with Thomas should be commended; especially when the weather is inclement (to cold or to hot). This trips theme was Mystery on the Rails, we were 'tasked' with helping Thomas find a treasure (which ended up being a tacky glass 'diamond'). The $18 train ride was well worth it because there were plenty of freebies including Imagination Station with featured temporary tattoos, splatter painting, storytelling, live folk music and two bouncy houses. I highly recommend Day out with Thomas and plan to do it again in the future (until the kids tell me they are done).

Check out a  few of our pictures here...

Twin Tuesday: SCRIBBLES

Hey Y'all,

I hope that you are having a terrific summer thus far. It has been a whirlwind of activity for me. The kids keep me going and I love it. This has been the first summer of their lives that I've been with them 24/7. I try to keep them as busy as possible so we all sleep well at night. Our days start off with Mommy Summer School and branch off (depending on the day) to $1 movies, swimming, visiting museums and day trips. I have a calendar chuck full of summer fun, until they head off to Nana's (thank you JESUS).

This Twin Tuesday's post is dedicated to the twins' favorite "play mall" SCRIBBLES. SCRIBBLES is a fantastic interactive and educational store in the Menlo Park Mall that features personalized gifts for children & educational toys. We visit SCRIBBLES at least once a week and hang out there for about 2-3 hours (yes hours in one store). Typically we don't purchase a thing (unless it's a work book on sale) but the twins play HARD with everything that is out on display.

A couple weeks ago during our visit we had the pleasure of meeting the owner Mary Thomas, of course I went into blogger mode and asked if she wouldn't mind being featured in one of my posts. Thankfully she agreed and shared a little about herself and how she started SCRIBBLES.



MrsDeveter: Thanks again for agreeing to chat with me. Can you share a little bit of the history behind SCRIBBLES?

Mary Thomas: We started on a kiosks 13 years ago in the Menlo Park Mall. We were doing personalized piggy banks, rocking chairs, toy boxes all kinds of fun things for 10 years. Then it became a little bit to much so we closed. It was a boring staying at home so we opened the first store and expanded beyond the personalized items into toys and other cool things.

MrsDeveter: Like I told  you before we can come here and stay for hours. Why did you branch out into toys and make the store so interactive?

Mary Thomas: Because it's fun. In retail everyone does clothes, clothes aren't fun. Kids are easy. They love everything, they are happy and love to play. I've found that no matter who they are the kids get along especially at the Thomas table they love to play together. The children get along so well, it's the adults that need to learn that. Sometimes they don't share... but they play well together and it's fun.


MrsDeveter: What was your 9-5 before SCRIBBLES?


Mary Thomas: I had three kids. I worked in the city for a publishing company but it was hard to to go back and forth. My husband also worked in the city and said he'd prefer it if I worked closer to home. So I started working retail. He would work in the day and I would go out for a few hours at night.

MrsDeveter: What advise would you give to anyone looking to get into retail.

Mary Thomas: Everything chances. Before I opened everyone told me not to go into retail because I was going into business at the wrong time. In 2008 that's when the market crashed. Manufactures, friends everyone told me not to do it, but I said ... people buy toys. I had a wonderful location to start and it worked.

MrsDeveter: So your advice would be ... don't listen to anybody's advice.

Mary Thomas: (chucking) yes. You have to feel it inside and know what's right for you.

If you are ever in Edison NJ please stop by and visit Mary and the ladies at SCRIBBLES she is located in the Menlo Park Mall steps away from The Disney Store and Build a Bear on the lower level of the Nordstrom wing. If you are looking to order online please visit www.scribblesatmenlo.com for great personalized gifts for children.

Until next time...
MUAH!

The Patriot

Hey Y'all,

I was going to call this post wordless Wednesday but it has words so alas I will keep it simple. And wish you all a very happy 4th of July. Have a wonderful day and be safe.



Until next time,
MUAH!

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