Editor Reviews

We’re in Love! Will Tropical Smoothie Café steal your heart, too?

BY: Karen Logan

For months, we’ve been in love with Tropical Smoothie Café’s better-for-you smoothies, so when the opportunity came for us (and a handful of our readers) to join them for a VIP Party to try out not only their smoothies but their food as well, we were beyond excited! We showed up, and Tropical Smoothie Café “showed out” – in a spectacular way!

I (Karen) represented WoodlandsMommy.com, and I was so pleased to be joined by the Harriman, Lockwood, Bickel and Andrews families. These sweet families were so much fun and allowed me to take some great photos! (Make sure you CLICK HERE to check out the entire Tropical Smoothie Cafe VIP Party photo album.)

For the record, Tropical Smoothie Café is located at 19074 Interstate 45 in the Shenandoah Portofino. The first thing you’ll notice when you walk through the doors is the clean, vibrant, relaxing atmosphere. This place is a lot of fun, and the setting is perfect for unwinding. The staff greeted us by name with smiles, and they had our VIP tables reserved and ready.

It’s a good thing we weren’t expected to order off the menu for our event. The Tropical Smoothie Café menu is loaded with pure awesomeness – toasted flatbreads, toasted sandwiches, signature wraps and bowls, all-day breakfast items (yes, breakfast!), sides & desserts, and, of course, smoothies. Some of the flavor combinations are just too creative to pass up. How does one choose? Lucky us, we didn’t have to. Our host indulged us in a large variety of foods and smoothies, making for a fun, hospitable, over-the-top experience for us and our readers!

Mommy & Me Mani/Pedis in The Woodlands

A reader asked for recommendations on the best nail salon for Mommy & Me mani/pedis, and we've got your answers below!

Ella reports Today Nails & Spa at 8000 McBeth Way Ste. 120 has a bear and Hello Kitty chair for kids
Elizabeth and Brandi are fans of the Mommy & Me room with Hello Kitty chairs at LUSH & Co. Spa at 8633 W. Rayford Dr. Ste. 400
Tasha reports Nails of America Creekside at 26400 Kuykendahl has a Mommy & Me room
Stacie reports PL Nails & Spa inside H-E-B at 3601 FM 1488 has a Hello Kitty chair
Gossip & Co. Nail Spa at 12603 Louetta Rd. Ste. 100 has a Mommy & Me room

If your daughter wants her nails done solo, try Sweet & Sassy or Snip-Its.

Monster Jam With Kids: Our Tips For A Great Time!

My kids are huge fans of Hot Wheels and Monster Jam trucks at home. The smashing, the crashing, the soaring down ramps and into my walls. For years I've noticed Monster Jam rolling through town and wondered, what's the best age to bring my kids? Can my oldest handle the noise? The stimulation? The late night? The crowds?

Road Trips from The Woodlands: Waco / Magnolia Market

BY: Karen Logan

alt Waco is a sleepy town that Chip and Joanna Gaines have brought an explosion of attention to with their popular HGTV show "Fixer Upper." The Silos are ground zero for all things Magnolia, home to Magnolia Market, Joanna's garden, Magnolia Seed + Supply, several food trucks surrounding a faux lawn and Silos Baking Co. Grab your girlfriends, mom or spouse and make the 2.5 hour trek from the Woodlands for a Waco day trip!

Surviving Schlitterbahn South Padre With 3 Little Kids!

BY: Karen Logan

alt Can a family of 5, including 3 novice swimmers under the age of 6, survive a day at the waterpark and live to tell the tale? Schlitterbahn South Padre offered me a chance to find out, and to that I say, "Challenge accepted!"

This is the first summer my kids have taken proper swim lessons. I have a 5 year old son who can newly swim fairly independently and 3 year old twins who are comfortable in the water but not confident or independent swimmers. Were we crazy thinking we could tackle a day at the waterpark? We were pleasantly surprised and I'm ready to share my tips for having a memorable experience for the entire family!

Editor's Review: The Woodlands Resort - A Phenomenal Summer Staycation!

BY: Karen Logan

WOW! I had no idea I would LOVE my overnight stay at The Woodalnds Resort and Conference Center as much as I did! Oh boy! I mean, I’ve always known it’s a nice resort from what I’ve seen of photos plus from my occasional business stops to the front / lobby area. And I’d always heard (and have even promoted on WoodlandsMommy.com) that the crowning glory of the resort is the pool area, but let’s face it, we live in the land of milk and honey. In The Woodlands, lushly landscaped properties, upscale amenities, and gorgeous swimming holes (including a lazy river at Rob Fleming) abound! Would it really be worth my while to drive a couple of minutes to the resort for more of the same?

Ready, Set, Go! Go-Kart Raceway a perfect 9th Birthday Celebration!

BY: Karen Logan

It’s party time! We ventured beyond The Woodlands to find something exciting and different for my second daughter’s 9^th birthday last month. Go-Kart Raceway on W. Mount Houston Rd was a hit! In the past, we’ve enjoyed go-karts indoors before, but there’s nothing like driving a fast cart in the cool, open air. We loved it!

Okay, so maybe this isn’t the ideal area to hang out in with 4 kids, but we felt very safe here.

Editor's Review - Urban Air Trampoline & Adventure Park

BY: Karen Logan

If you’re on the hunt for something extraordinary, check out Urban Air Trampoline & Adventure Park located in Spring! We found ourselves celebrating my 7-year-old’s birthday here, and I was blown away with all the excitement they had in store for us! Of course, there were the wall-to-wall trampolines and a trampoline “runway” – similar to some other trampoline parks and with similar rules. But Urban Air is so much more than JUST a trampoline park.

Fun & Free Programs at the Tomball Library

BY: Karen Logan

For a change of scenery we sometimes pop in for Toddler Time at the Tomball Community College and Library, and boy is it a treat! It’s about a 22-minute drive there from the Creekside Park area, but once you get there, you’re golden!

Toddler Time takes place Tuesdays at 10:30am and Wednesdays at 9:30am, and it features a member of the library staff reading age-appropriate books (usually there’s a special “theme” for the week), songs & fingerplays, parachute playtime, and a simple craft (great for building fine motor skills). The kids even get to play with egg shakers during some of the songs. After the “formalities”, the staff member pulls down bins of fun toys (toy trucks, play food, animals, and musical instruments), and independent playtime begins! This ends up being fun social time for kids plus a great opportunity for them to learn to share toys and play well with others. Sometimes, Toddler Time includes BUBBLES!

Tiff's Treats - Cookie Delivery in The Woodlands ROCKS!

BY: Karen Logan

Sorry Amazon.com, you’ve just been outdone! I mean, as much as I look forward to those beautiful brown boxes arriving at my front doorstep all too frequently, the experience has nothing on the treat I received at my home yesterday evening. It all started with a very pleasant phone call from Tiff’s Treats customer service. Someone was sending me warm, freshly-baked cookies, and they wanted to find out the best time to have them delivered.

Just to be clear, there’s no bad time to have warm cookies delivered, so I cancelled my 6-year-old’s tumbling class that was scheduled for the evening. Then, I immediately put on my pajamas, (although it was only 4’o clock in the evening). You see, I’m a cookie-eating connoisseur, and if there’s any way you can eat your cookies at home in your PJ’s, you seize the opportunity. If it happens to be raining outside as it was yesterday evening, all the better!