Kristina Light

Kristina Light, Web Editor for KCParent.com, grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, and is happily raising her family in her hometown. She and her husband, Ron, have three daughters. Kristina loves exploring Kansas City's treasured places and meeting the wonderful people who bring our city to life. Her hobbies include writing, public speaking, herb gardening, cooking, crafts with her girls, exploring museums, reading, learning new things, and MOPS.

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• Just Keep Trying...

  published: 8/30/2010 12:00:00 PM

  My daughters and I were watching Little House on the Prairie (one of our favorites), and Ma made new dresses for the girls.

   

  My five yr old asks, "Mom why don't you make dresses for us?"

  "Well sweetheart, I don't enjoy sewing and I'm not very good at it. Your grandma sews things for you."

  "Oh mom, you're good at everything," she replies. "You just have to keep trying. That's what you tell me... ...

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• Date Night in a Minivan

  published: 8/23/2010 12:00:00 AM

  My husband and I are always looking for new date night ideas, so I thought I'd compose a list of our favorites and hope readers would share their favorites so we can collect new ideas:

  1. Murder Mystery Dinner Theater. Recently, we enjoyed an interactive murder mystery dinner theater with the Mystery Train of Kansas City (review here). This is a fun and novel date night activity. Best of all, you focus on solving ...

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• Summer Birthdays vs. Winter Birthdays

  published: 8/16/2010 12:00:00 AM

     This weekend as we hosted a Birthday Party for my daughter... I got to thinking about the pros and cons of Summer Birthdays. I have three girls with a Summer, Fall, and Winter Birthday between them (our anniversary is in the Spring). From the day Emily was born, I was frequently told, "Oh, you're so fortunate to have a summer child. My child is born in a winter month and it's so tough to ...

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• Festival of Butterflies at Powell Gardens

  published: 8/9/2010 12:00:00 AM

  Every year we make a point to visit the Festival of Butterflies at Powell Gardens. My girls love seeing the tropical butterflies, native Missouri butterflies, and hundreds upon hundreds of Monarchs! The event is great family fun.
  

   

  

  We went this weekend (you can still attend Aug. 13-15) and we had a great time! The girls made butterfly hats with antennae and butterfly feeders. We saw the entire life cycle of a butterfly (and ...

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• "After my meeting, Mom."

  published: 7/26/2010 12:00:00 AM

  Last week, we enjoyed visits to Kaleidoscope, the fountains at Crown Center, the new spraygrounds in Grandview, a class at Burr Oak Woods Nature Center, a summer movie, and multiple visits with friends. It was a super fun week, but it demanded a "low-key" weekend... at least for me!

   

  On Saturday, we stopped by the library and then took a class at Lowe's (if you haven't checked out Lowe's FREE Build and Grow Workshops ...

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• Taking Inventory

  published: 7/19/2010 12:00:00 AM

  Back to School Sales are right around the corner and that means great bargains on art supplies, paper, and other materials... but, before shopping I like to "take inventory" and assess what we have and what we need. After reorganizing all the art materials, school supplies, books, and many of the toys in our house, we wound up with boxes to donate, resell, or give away to friends and shelves that appear to be all ...

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• Dressing Themselves

  published: 7/12/2010 12:00:00 AM

  My girls LOVE to pick out their own outfits. They select accessories, shoes, socks... every detail must be "just so." Sometimes that means tutus and tiaras (Daddy's "favorite" for trips to the hardware store!), other days it means favorite t-shirts and shorts. And, sometimes, it is wild colors and patterns that somehow seem to work!

  My oldest daughter, in particular, has determined that she is the resident "fashion expert" in the family. She frequently advises ...

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• Silver Linings

  published: 7/5/2010 12:00:00 PM

  It was the Best of Times. It was the Worst of Times. This pretty much describes our 4th of July weekend.

  Our family loves holidays as much, or more, than the next person. What's not to love about the 4th? Celebrating our Independence with fireworks, music, fun, and BBQ? Sounds like a guaranteed good time, right?

  Well, our plans took a turn for the worse when my husband got sick. Between that and the anticipated ...

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• The Best Things About Summer

  published: 6/28/2010 12:00:00 AM

     Summer... my feelings about the season are bittersweet. Summer is my personal "least favorite" season simply because of the weather... give me snow ANY day (Yes, even the massive amounts we enjoyed last winter!). But, summer does have its rewards and we've been enjoying many of them all summer. My girls and I decided to share our 10 Favorite things about Summer and hope that your family is having a Super Summer too!

   ...

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• Party on the Prairie

  published: 6/24/2010 8:00:00 AM

     Little House on the Prairie: The Musical is FINALLY here in Kansas City! We've been anticipating the show for MONTHS and my girls and I were thrilled to see Laura, Mary, Carrie, Ma, Pa, and of course, Nellie, on stage!

     The entire evening is filled with family fun and pioneer spirit. Starlight Theatre was inspired by our Little House Project, adding pre-show entertainment with a Party on the Prairie!

      Before the ...

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• Outdoor Summer Theatre and Children

  published: 6/21/2010 12:00:00 AM

      This week is the opening of Little House on the Prairie: The Musical at Starlight AND Annie at Theatre in the Park! Our family has been looking forward to both events for months. Over the years, we've learned some tricks to help create a fun and successful, low-stress (almost always), evening for the family:

   

  1. Make sure the kids are as well-rested as possible before the show. Be sure they get afternoon naps, or ...

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• I Fail the Mommy Pop Quiz

  published: 6/7/2010 12:00:00 AM

     Over the years, I've read a lot of articles and books on motherhood and parenting in general... and that only increases now that I work for a Parenting Magazine, but the one article I've never read is the one telling new moms that they should always be prepared for the Mommy Pop Quiz.

     I never imagined that so many people (both those I know, as well as those I meet in public ...

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• Thank You United States Veterans!

  published: 5/31/2010 12:00:00 AM

  "Day is done, gone the sun. From the lake, from the hills, from the sky...."
  
  As I hear Taps played, tears well up.
  
  I remember listening to the familiar military bugle call played six years ago, as my family and I attended the brick dedication ceremony at Liberty Memorial. The bricks were engraved with the names of veterans and citizens who believed in Liberty. One of those names was that of my grandfather, a ...

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• Favorite Outings for Muddy Days

  published: 5/24/2010 12:00:00 AM

  It's not raining today, but we've had so much rain the ground is saturated and playing in grass means mud from top to bottom!

   

  Five Favorite Outdoor Outings with pavement so the girls get some sunshine without mud!

  • Powell Gardens in Lone Jack, MO: Flowers are blooming, the Heartland Harvest Garden gives us a "taste" (literally) of exotic fresh produce, and we get great exercise. Don't forget your camera... the entire place is EXQUISITE!...

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• Applesauce Muffins

  published: 5/17/2010 12:00:00 AM

  For ten years, I've been teaching speech and debate to junior and senior high school students. As the students return semester after semester, they become more and more comfortable with the class and with each other. I've found that students listen best if they are eating (and thus, not talking)... so it became tradition to bake muffins for my classes and especially at the end of each school year. Over the years, many of the ...

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