December's birthday cake

Antonio's ninth birthday was in December and we created a Mario Bros cake for him. Check this out.

Our latest adventures

We recently had a new addition to the family, our baby girl, Giada. As you can imagine, we have been very  busy with our new total of five children which is why I haven't written anything in a while.

At the end of January during one of our northeast snow storms we took the family to our favorite sledding spot. Pocopson Elementary school, just outside of West Chester, PA is a blast. It is your perfect sledding hill. The hill is long and steep and at the bottom there is a large flat area to ensure that your sled stops long before you reach any danger. With just a few inches of snow on the ground, this is guaranteed to be a hotspot for all of the locals that want to enjoy a winter adrenaline rush.

At the end of March, we celebrated my son's 8th birthday with his choice of an outing for the day. He chose for us to go to Port Discovery in Baltimore. All of our kids had a blast. They were able to enjoy everything from the multi-story treehouse, deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics, pretending that they were working in a diner, painting in the art room and much more.

His other birthday surprise was our famous homemade birthday cake creation. This years creation was an Allied Waste garbage truck.

Make your kids birthday more exciting insteading of buying toys they don't use

How many times for your kids birthday have you bought your kids the present they have been begging for, only to find out that two days later, they don't play with it any longer? It ends up sitting in the play room with everything else and they may pull it out every once in a while, but they never get the money out of it that you spent. When our oldest turned seven and the other three were turning six, we decided we had to come up with another solution that would make everybody more happy. We started giving them three options for their birthday.

Each year, their three options are as follows:

1. A present
2. A day trip to somewhere that they would like to go as a family
3. A birthday party with their friends at the location of their choice

In the two years that we have been giving our four kids these options, no one has opted for the present. We have done one birthday party and the rest of the time we have done trips.

Yesterday we celebrated our nine year olds birthday, by traveling to Luray Caverns in VA for the day. I had not been to the caverns since I was a child and it was a wonderful experience. They have a new system where everyone gets a head set for the tour. The great part is that as you walk the tour with the guide, they tell you as you reach certain points on the tour what number to type in to hear about what you are looking at that very moment. The best part is that they kids type in a different number than the adults and they hear a kid friendly version to make it fun and understandable for them. Our kids also loved that they got to type the number in themselves and control their own headset. While you are there, they also have a car museum and a garden maze. We went through both of these and the kids had a blast doing everything. Because of where we live, we did go down the night before and stay in a hotel, to reduce the driving time the next day. Our son also got to choose where we ate our meals for the day within reason.

In the previous years, our one son chose to take a day trip to NY two years in a row. We road the Amtrak train into the city, because of his love of trains. While in the city, one year we went to the Central Park Zoo and to Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. for lunch and explored Times Square including the Toys R Us store. The second year we went to the Brooklyn Zoo and back to Bubba Gump and Times Square visiting the M&M store.

Our daughter has chosen to go to Medieval Times near Washington DC for the last two years for her birthday. They have a great option on their website when you go on to buy tickets that you can buy a birthday package for the kids that includes cake and a picture of the entire family.

Her twin brother chose Medieval Times for his sixth birthday and then last year chose to go to Sahara Sam's in NJ. If you aren't familiar with Sahara Sam's , it is a great day trip with kids. It is a large indoor water park with pools and many slides as well as a restaurant and arcade. We took the entire family, including the grandparents and everyone had a blast.

In an environment where there is only so much money available, our kids have found these trips to be very rewarding. It becomes very difficult to take all four of them on these day trips throughout the year and buy them nice presents for their birthdays. This has given us a way to make sure that they are seeing  and experiencing new and exciting things and enjoying their birthdays to the fullest. We are currently planning the trips with our children for the three birthdays we have coming up in March and May. We will keep you posted where our next adventures take us.

Stay healthy as a road warrior

Many of us spend day after day in the airport, on the road or in a hotel traveling for work. Meanwhile at home, our spouse and our children are going about their lives without us. The best thing you can do for yourself on the road is to stay in shape and get healthy so you are at your best when you get back home. That means you have to consider a few critical elements when planning your trips.

• What hotel should you stay in?
• We have many options when we are on the road for hotels. The best ones to stay in are not necessarily the most expensive ones. The most important considerations in my mind are cleanliness and location. What I mean by location may surprise you, I am talking about if it is located in an area that will let you get out and exercise. Is it safe to go out for a jog or a walk or is there a trail nearby that you can use? If the hotel can not offer these, do they have a good onsite gym (cardio and weight equipment), plenty of space in your room to work out(this means bringing some of your own supplies), or a negotiated offer with a local gym that you can utilize while you are there? Stay tuned to read future blogs on hotels that I recommend in key cities.

• What restaurants will you eat at?
• Eating out is a necessity when you are on the road, but the options you have can help you make good decisions. Know your options before you get to your destination. Take some time to read up on dining options and smart choices as well. Take a read of "Eat This, Not That" as a start. They give you great information on what you should order that is the most healthy at the most popular chain restaurants. Also, ask at your hotel for local restaurants that potentially carry organic and local ingredients. This is your healthiest option if you can find it. More on this later, but organic is the best way to minimize toxins that you are putting in your body which can cause weight gain and make you tired. Do some research on common fast food restaurants that you may visit on what your healthiest options are when you go. For example, Chic-fil-a has many options under 500 calories, Einstein Bagels has great lower calorie meals and even a McDonald's egg mcmuffin can be a reasonable breakfast option compared to your other fast food choices.

• When and how will you work out?
• You MUST make time to work out on the road. When I am traveling, I make a deal with myself. I MUST work out everyday that I am on the road, so that the first day that I am home, I can take as a rest day. This allows me to feel energized on the road and then to spend time with my family, unwind, and get reorganized when I get home without having to find time to exercise. I will write more on exercise options in my later posts. I will focus in those posts on the best exercise options on the road and programs that you can fit into your schedule and do in your hotel room. In the meantime, get out there and walk, jog or get to the gym.

Begin by rethinking your travel plans and start making healthy choices. You can't change everything overnight, but the more healthy options you have while you are on the road, the more likely you will be to make healthy choices. I will be back with more on the topics above to help you plan the healthiest business trips that you can. The idea is that if we can stay healthy and get in shape while we are on the road, we will be better for our families when we get home. You will have more time with them, because you worked out everyday that you were away and saved your rest days for home. You will also be less jet lagged and worn out from your trip because you have increased the endorphins in your body while you are on the road and decreased your toxin intake which will drag you down over time. The bottom line, more time to enjoy your family and have fun with them when you get home!