Caryites aren't born...they're self-replicated.

Since it's ridiculously beautiful for February, and since I've escaped retail hell and now have my weekends free, hubby and I took baby boy to Marla Dorrel Park in Cary today to meet Nana and eat a picnic lunch and play.  It's over 70 degrees today and sunny, and I had no intention of wasting it inside.

Every time I've been to this particular park/playground in the past, it's been awesome.  It's massive, with separate playgrounds for kids of different ages, sandlots, three different types of swings (even a tire swing), and, as evidenced by the picture in the upper-left corner, a sweet climb-on dragon built into the side of a hill.  (I wish I had a better picture.  In real life the dragon is huge, and looks like Nessie surfacing from the ground like it was water.)

Unfortunately, the big distinction between my prior visits to Marla Dorrel and my visit today, was that, in the past, I've only ever come on weekdays.  Today was my first time visiting on the weekend.

And, oh, what a difference a day makes.

Read more »

Feature Interview: Exclusive after-hours look at Kid to Kid in Cary!

The very lovely Loretta, a Kid to Kid full-timer, was kind enough to grant me an interview and a behind-the-scenes look around the store this past Sunday after-hours. Considering how this is one of my absolutely favorite stores (my sisters can attest that 90% of the kids' Christmas presents came from here), I was obviously excited.

The first thing that impressed me was how clean and well-organized the store is. The employees are clearly very diligent in maintaining the store's appearance. The shoes you see on the left? That's how the shoe aisle looked at the end of the weekend. Anyone who's worked retail knows how impressive that is.

Being that I am an amateur journalist (well, blogger), I couldn't just ooh and aah. I had to get down to business, in this case, the interview:

Read more »

I want YOUR reviews!

I've got talks in the works with a couple of places to do some reviews on Triangle (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill) kid-friendly businesses here on the site. (Look for those posts coming up in the next couple of weeks.) But the problem is, as only one person, I can only cover so much ground.

So I want your suggestions. Where in the Triangle are the best places to bring kids? And I'm talking stores, restaurants, entertainment, you-name-it. Tell the place and what you like about it, and I'll try to contact them to arrange a feature. Easy as that!

Leave a comment below, or join the conversation on facebook or twitter. (Handy little subscription buttons are over there to the right!) ---------------------->

So good, no one had to pee on the floor...

After relating my disastrous experience at On the Border last night, I was pleasantly surprised at the stellar service I just received at Mimi's Cafe.

I was, admittedly, a little apprehensive about attending a friend's baby shower in a restaurant. Baby showers tend to be crowded, loud, and messy, all things you don't want to be around your food. But the staff at Mimi's Cafe in Cary exceeded all expectations.

Read more »

Asking to speak to a manager vs. Just peeing on the floor

Went out with the family to On the Border in Cary tonight. The food was awesome (mmm...avocado enchilada) and the drinks were pretty good, too. Unfortunately, that's where the praise ends.

The problems started when we got there. We arrived on the early side of the dinner rush, since Friday night restaurant waits are notorious for their length. We asked for a table for five adults, two high chairs, and a sling (for a carrier carseat). This is a few people less than when the whole family goes out, so we were pleasantly surprised to hear that the wait was only 20 minutes. Awesome. So we snagged some chairs, and commenced with waiting.

20 minutes passed. The kids were starting to get a bit fidgety. Okay, no big deal, they underestimated the wait a little bit. Maybe if one of the four hostesses standing around up front was actually serving or bussing tables, and not just holding the wall up and chatting, but, okay, cool whatever. We'll give them a few minutes.

30 minutes. My son has started to throw intermittent hungry/bored tantrums, and my niece keeps trying to wander off towards the bar, and I'm very tempted to follow her. My 2-month-old nephew is starting to stir, and my sister had really hoped we'd have a table before he woke up so she wouldn't have to feed him on a booth in the entryway. We ask the one hostess who actually appears to be working if they have any idea when our table would be ready and, oh, don't worry, a big group just got their bill, they'll be clearing out in just a few minutes.

We finally got sat after forty minutes of waiting. Now, I know that forty minutes really isn't a terrible wait for a Friday night. The problem is that it was twice as long as they originally told us. If they had just told us at the beginning the wait was forty minutes, no problem! And I'm not just hating on restaurant workers, here. I've waited tables, and I know that you always tell the customer the worst-case scenario on wait time; you never undershoot it!

Read more »