Top 20 Places to Take Kids in the Houston Area (2013)

1.   Children’s Museum of Houston:  Oh, the wonders of a Children’s Museum! Their Thursday Free Family Nights, Family Adventures, and special educator membership make it affordable for all. Special events allow everyone to participate, including: MLK Kids Peace Rally, Sensory-Friendly Events, Young Inventors Showcase and Family Literacy Program. 

2.    Houston Zoo: One of Texas’ best zoos is right here in Houston.& Get your animal groove on

3.    7-Acre Wood: Come play in a 7 1/2 acre old-fashioned Family Fun Park! Visit the petting zoo, mini golf course, western play town, play fort, huge playground, gigantic sandbox, zip line, sand volleyball, horseshoes and much more. Healthy family fun that kids love!

4.    Oil Ranch: 56 Acres of fun and education. Petting zoo, Train, Hayride, Miniature Golf, Pony Rides, 5 Playgrounds, Sports Fields, Basketball Court, and Paintball. 30 miles Northwest of Houston. Open Thursday-Friday 10am-3PM & Saturday 10am-5pm Spend the whole day petting animals, playing at the pool, or mining for gemstones with your family and friends. .

5.    P-6 Farms - Montgomery: P-6 Farms is an actual working farm in Montgomery, Texas, specializing in cattle, hay, farm fresh produce, and our annual fall festival. Come "get lost" in 30 acres of Texas Sized Family Fun!

6.    Brazos Bend State Park: 5,000-acre gem 40 miles from downtown Houston, offers a variety of activities for every age: biking, fishing, hiking, birding, camping, star-gazing, and opportunities to learn about Texas’ bountiful natural history via free programs and guided hikes.

7.   Great Play:  Great Play of Sugarland and Great Play of Cypress make it fun for kids ages 6 months to 12 years old to develop motor skills, sports skills, fitness and coordination in their Interactive Arena. Award winning birthday parties too!

8.    Crocodile Encounter: Follow the activities of Houston's largest wildlife show and find out what it's really like to live and work with the nations largest group of Nile crocodiles.


9.    Houston Museum of Natural Science: Explore the far reaches of outer space, roam with the dinosaurs, wander through Africa's Serengeti, and marvel at the world's rarest and most beautiful minerals. Discover all this and much more at one of the nation's most heavily attended museums.

10.    My Gym:  My Gym has two local locations in the Houston Area: My Gym of Katy and My Gym of The Woodlands. Their program and facility were devised to help children 6 weeks thru 13 years of age develop physically, cognitively and emotionally.

11.    Madam Newton Einstein Science Academy for Kids: Madam Newton Einstein Science Academy for Kids is a 3000 sq ft. hands-on science facility. Our goal is to bring hands-on, fun, creative and out of the box experiences to children between the ages of 4 -14 in an effort to create a lifelong curiosity.

12.    The Little Gym: The Little Gym is the worldʼs premier experiential learning and physical development center for kids ages four months through 12 years. The Little Gym of Katy and The Little Gym of Houston - Bellaire provide classes, camps, parents nights out, and birthday parties for the Houston area.

13.    UpStage Theatre: UpStage Theatre is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and group of talented volunteers dedicated to providing the highest quality, yet affordable and family friendly theatrical experience for both the young and the young at heart.

14.    The Woodlands Children's Museum: Creating opportunities that educate, empower, and

excite children and families through play while inspiring a lifelong sense of wonder and discovery. It is a cooperative learning environment that provides children with multicultural and multi-ethnic experiences.

15.    Houston Center for Contemporary Craft: HCCC advances education about the process, product and history of craft. Visitors view innovative exhibitions, talk with artists-in-residence, create their own craft objects in workshops, and shop for one-of-a-kind gifts in the Asher Gallery.

16.    Downtown Aquarium: That big Ferris wheel enticing you from I-45 and I-10 invites you to experience all the Downtown Aquarium has to offer.   Amusement rides and carnival games thrill alongside aquarium adventures and hands-on encounters with stingrays, crabs, and other invertebrates. Sharing much more than an underwater voyage, the Aquarium boasts incredible rare white tigers which you can experience on your own or during a Sea Safari Camp, a Wild Dreams Overnight, or an Aquarium Birthday Party.

17.    Sugar Land Skeeters Baseball: The Sugar Land Skeeters, led by Manager and former Major League All-Star Gary Gaetti, play at Constellation Field in Sugar Land, Texas. They are the biggest little minor league professional baseball club in America!

18.    Kemah Boardwalk: Getting an all-day pass for the rides and amusements is your best bet at Kemah. There is so much to do and see,  your kids will beg to keep going.  Between the shops, restaurants, aquarium, boat rides, train rides, and roller coasters you'll be wildly entertained.  Add to that special events like the Crawfish & Zydeco Festival, Rock the Dock summer concerts, Miss Kemah Pageant, car shows, Fireworks Fridays, Boo on the Boardwalk and Kid Krazy Mondays, and you'll want to return again and again.

19.    Moody Gardens: The iconic three pyramids are just the tip of the iceberg at Moody Gardens.  The Rainforest Pyramid®, the Aquarium Pyramid®, and the hands-on discovery museum are treasures.  Add to that the 3D and 4D Theaters, Colonel Paddlewheel Boat, Palm Beach and the annual Festival of Lights, you’ve got a multi-day destination that kids of all ages will enjoy.

20.    Discovery Green: Variety is the best word to describe Discovery Green.  From fountains, gardens, and play areas, to classes, workshops, art, and reading places the versatility of the space is phenomenal.  Not to mention the festivals, signature events, and ice skating.  Much of the activities are FREE, and many more are very reasonably priced.  They even welcome your dog!
exploring animal habitats, 4D Experiences, giraffe feedings, Naturally Wild Swap Shop (where you can bring in your found treasures), and Meet the Keeper talks/encounters/feedings every half hour. Their Water Play Park, Sneak Peek tours, Zoo Crew experiences, and Vet for a Day programs provide fun for toddlers to teens.

Water or Coke?

Very interesting indeed! Water or Coke?


I found this list on FB. Yes, I know, Facebook is not the best source for fact finding.
But if only half of these things are true . . . it is very compelling. And, let's face it, we all know that Coke is NOT good for us. We all know that pure water is good for us.

1. I will be testing some of these claims (designated with an *) . . . stay tuned for my results!
2. I have bolded the big "OH MY GOODNESS" info bits!
3. My 2¢ in red.

WATER
1. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated.

2. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger.

3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one’s metabolism as much as 30%.

4. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study. (Yeah, but because the body confuses hunger with fatigue . . . we may still want to eat!)

5. Lack of water, the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.

6. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers. (Man, I wish they would tell us where, who did the study, and how to find this research!)

7. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page.  (Hmmmm, again, where, who, and how to find this research!)
 
8. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.

And now for the properties of COKE.

1. In many states (in the USA) the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the truck to remove blood from the highway after a car accident. (* checking this out with some policemen I know)

2. You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of coke and it will be gone in two days. *

3. To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl and let the “real thing” sit for one hour, then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous china.

4. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers: Rub the bumper with a rumpled-up piece of aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.

5. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion. (* . . . kind of afraid to try. Will run this by my mechanic first)

6. To loosen a rusted bolt: Applying a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.

7. To bake a moist ham: Empty a can of Coca-Cola into the baking pan, wrap the ham in aluminum foil, and bake. Thirty minutes before the ham is finished, remove the foil, allowing the drippings to mix with the Coke for a sumptuous brown gravy.  (Now that I have read all of this negative information about coke, why in the world would I want to do this!?)


For Your Info
1. The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. Its pH is 2.8. (Hey, that is a really ambiguous pronoun! What has a pH of 2.8? Coke? Phosphoric acid? Both?) It will dissolve a nail in about 4 days. (I am sorry, that is such a misleading sentence! What will dissolve a nail in 4 days? Pure phosphoric acid, right?)
Phosphoric acid also leaches calcium from bones and is a major contributor to the rising increase in osteoporosis.

2. To carry Coca-Cola syrup (the concentrate) the commercial truck must use the Hazardous material place cards reserved for Highly corrosive materials. *

3. The distributors of coke have been using it to clean the engines of their trucks for about 20 years!

Now the question is, would you like a glass of water or coke?

Soaking (and Sprouting) Raw Almonds

Almonds are an uber-healthful, filling snack, jammed packed with real protein, fiber, and omega-3 and -6 fatty acids. Lots of raw food enthusiast always tell others how important almonds are to a balanced diet, but it is harder to get them to expound on why soaking almonds can unlock more health benefits, making them easier to digest. 

Soaking all tree nuts — especially almonds, since they aren’t botanically a tree nut but a seed — keeps you healthy by elevating the vitamins and nutrients your body absorbs from the food, creating a straightforward and efficient process to unlock the treasures inside this healthy seed.

Digestion

Raw almonds have tannic acid and an enzyme inhibitor in their brown skin that protects the nut until the proper levels of sunlight and moisture allow it to germinate. Since the nut does not release its enzymes until those conditions have been reached, eating almonds without removing the inhibitor limits the nutrients your body can absorb and makes the almond difficult to digest.

By soaking almonds, you provide the moisture that makes the almond shed its skin and release its enzymes. The process works with most nuts and seeds.

Texture

Soaking almonds also changes the texture of the nut and makes it easier to chew. As the almond absorbs water, it becomes softer and less stiff. This is of particular benefit to young children and seniors who should avoid hard, difficult-to-chew foods. Softer almonds are easier to digest, which increases the amount of nutrients your body can absorb from the nut. If you use almonds in recipes such as raw pies, cookies, or meat, soaking almonds provides a way of maintaining the integrity of your raw creations and tasting flavorful and divine.

Soaking Instructions

To soak almonds, place your raw almonds in a glass or BPA-free bowl and add purified water. Purchase raw, organic almonds if possible. After placing the almonds in a large bowl, cover them with 2 cups of water per 1/2 cup of almonds. Soak the almonds overnight, then drain and store them in the refrigerator using plastic bags or jars. Almonds will remain fresh for up to a week after soaking with proper storage.

The Importance of  Sprouting

The benefits of almonds can be unlocked further by taking soaking to the next level and actually sprouting your nuts. Sprouted almonds are softer, moister, and sweeter as well as being easier to digest. Sprouting almonds is also the only way to release lipase, an enzyme which digests fat.

Almonds are good sources of monounsaturated fatty acids. The heart-healthy monounsaturated fat are very satiating, resulting in a feeling of fullness and thus preventing individuals from overeating.

To sprout almonds, soak your almonds overnight for 10 to 12 hours, rinse, and place them in glass jar with a lid in the refrigerator. It generally takes between one and three days for the almonds to sprout and you can expect a 1/8-inch sprout to grow.



Thank you to Shane Roberts  for this article