I have been trying to make it to the Chicago Toy & Game Fair for the last 3 years yet something has always gotten in the way. This year, nothing is stopping me! I am loading up the van with the family (minus Zack who will be hunting) and we are heading south to Chicago at hitting up the Chicago Toy & Game Fair the weekend of November 17-18 at Navy Pier!
I am excited to introduce the kids to all kinds of new toys, check out the giant-sized games such as Bananagrams, Perplexus, Doggie Doo (which is a HUGE hit in our house), and more. There will also be an opportunity to me the Moshi Monsters which I know Alexander will be thrilled about! Oh and I can’t forget about the free contests and game tournaments, speed stacking demos, and sooo much more!!
You can get your tickets to the Chicago Toy and Game Fair for adults $10 and Children ages 3-13 $5 children under 3 are FREE! Click here for ticket info and a $2 off coupon.
Here are some great pictures from the 2011 Chicago Toy and Game Fair!
This past weekend, Zack, Ellie and I made our way to Chicago so I could attend the Verizon Wireless Midwest Savvy Moms kickoff event along with the 2012 Brands & Bloggers Summit.
Let me start by saying I was absolutely, 100% terrified to drive not just to Chicago with 2 kids by myself but to downtown Chicago at that. You see, I hate to drive in big cities that play host to lots and lots of traffic. I prefer to be able to hope in my car and make it from one side of town to the other in less than 15 minutes, not 2 hours. However, this trip seemed to go off better than I had planned. Thanks to the beautiful 2012 GMC Yukon with a sweet navigation system, I was always prepared for what was ahead. I knew when we would hit construction, when there was a delay and just how much longer we would be until we arrived. It was also really nice that little Miss Ellie slept for all but the first 20 minutes of the ride.
When we arrived in Chicago, Zack couldn’t believe the amount of people everywhere. (The only time he had ever seen the city was from the highway on a trip to Indiana). We sat on the off ramp for over 45 minutes, spent the next 45 making our way too & finding the parking garage and then unloaded and lugged everything over to the hotel.
We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel on the 29th floor. Once we were settled in, I made my way to the Prudential Building for the Verizon Wireless Midwest Savvy Moms Kickoff! Unfortunately, I was late to the party because of traffic but I arrived just in time to receive my shiny and new Samsung Galaxy S3 from Verizon. As you may know, a few weeks ago I upgraded my current cell phone to a Samsung Galaxy S3 (on a different network) so I already had some experience with the phone. Now that I have 2 Samsung Galaxy S3 phones on two different networks I have been comparing both the phone and the service, so be sure to watch for posts from me all about my comparisons and thoughts! After spending the last 4 days with both of these phones in my hands I have already conducted a lot of research, so be on the lookout!
After the Verizon meeting, I met Zack and Ellie back at the hotel and we made our plans for dinner and placed an order for a World Famous Chicago Stuffed Pizza from Giordano’s. This was also Zack’s first Chicago pizza experience! Of course, he loved every.last.bite. We were even lucky enough to bring some leftovers home with us for the rest of the family to try.
After we stuffed our bellies with pizza, we sat around for a bit while Zack showed me the awesome trick he learned while I was away at my meeting. Let’s just say the trick involves a window sill, a big fluffy bed and a somersault in the air.
Before we settled in for the night, we made a quick trip out to the neighboring Walgreens for a few supplies before crawling into our big comfy beds for the night.
Even Miss Ellie approved of the bed!
Watch for more about our exciting weekend in Chicago and the Brands & Bloggers Summit tomorrow! Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Wireless Midwest Savvy Moms program and have been provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product. Verizon also covered my hotel, expenses and conference pass as part of the Verizon Wireless Midwest Savvy Moms program. Also, thank you again to GM for providing us with transportation to Chicago.
As many of you know, this past weekend the Alex AKA and I made our way down to Chicago along with Ellie to attend the 2012 International Home and Housewares Show. This was our first year attending and I can guarantee that we will definitely be going back but hope we will be able to attend all 4 days—even though I don’t think 4 days will be enough time to cover the entire show.
2.6 million square feet of space is a lot to cover!
We met some great new people, learned about some great new products and cannot wait to share everything with you!
There was just so much stuff to see.
It was also a weekend of firsts for Baby Ellie. It was her first road trip, first time out of the state, first blog event, first trade show and first celebrity meeting.
Yes, Baby Ellie met her first celebrity.
But that is a whole other post that I promise to share with you before the end of the week!
Right now I need to get to bed because I am still recovering from attending the IAlexA show!
Yesterday, the Alex, myself and our little Alexander got up early in the morning, packed up the car and drove 4 hours to Chicago, IL to see Dot & Ziggy at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater thanks to Kim Moldofsky of Mom Impact and the Chicago Children’s Theater.
I know, you are probably thinking I am crazy for driving 4 hours to see a children’s show that was less than an hour long, but it was MORE than worth it!!
Alexander LOVED it!
He danced.
He clapped.
He laughed.
He got shy.
He had fun!!!!
Dot & Ziggy stars Roni Geva as Dot and Don Darryl Rivera as Ziggy and live music by Nicholas Davio. Dot & Ziggy is for children ages 6 months to 4 years of age and incorporates music, tales of sharing, friendship and A LOT of interactive fun.
Both Dot & Ziggy capture a child’s attention with their colorful costumes and unique tale.
Dot & Ziggy will be at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago IL through June 26th, 2011. Performances are: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday’s at 10:00 am
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday’s at 10:00 am and Noon.
Tickets are $16 Weekdays and $18 Weekends and include an exclusive discount or offer at nearby family-friendly partner restaurant Kim & Scott’s Cafe Twist, 2218 N. Lincoln Avenue.
Tickets can be purchased online at Chicago Children’s Theatre or on-site the day of the show. Groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets at a discounted rate by visiting GroupTix.net or by calling 773-327-3778
Save a little extra and use coupon code MOMDZ to get $2 off tickets throughout the run of the show!!
Disclaimer: We attended this show as guests of MomImpact and Chicago Children’s Theatre at no cost in exchange for our complete and honest review of the show. The opinoins stated from me are 100% mine and they are my true thoughts on the product.
