I have many memorable memories experienced at the Arboretum. From walking, while pregnant, with other pregnant friends, (stroller post), attending numerous concerts in the evenings, (concerts at the arboretum posts), mommy group meetups(Halloween post), time alone to stroll with my little boy, celebrating seasonal holidays, taking educational classes, and more (unusual places to read post). I have and will continue to enjoy the Dallas Arboretum as the perfect outdoor outing. Love the Picasso house, picture left, and the Monet setting, click here.

A membership to the Arboretum cost $68-200+ depending on your level of Membership.

All memberships include year-round advantages:

1. Free admission
2. Free parking
3. Express entry (avoid long lines when crowded for entry)
4. 10% shopping discounts for the gift shop at the arboretum
5. 10% at local DFW area businesses (I use my extra 10% at Calloway’s Nursery when I buy house plants)
6. Reduced ticket prices for Concerts on Thursdays
7. Reduced ticket prices for lectures and educational classes (see below*)
8. Some special events only available to members such as their well-known Easter Egg Hunt, Garden of Music, Goblins in the Garden and Weekend with Santa
9. Free admission and discounts to Reciprocal Gardens all over the US (I love to use this free admission to gardens in North Carolina when I have visited family)
10. 1Preview and shop for plants before being open to the general public
11. I’m always looking for deals and the best deal about buying a membership is the tax-deduction…Your membership is tax-deductible to the extent allowed byIndividual, Family and Sustaining memberships: 100% tax deductible

Non-member cost $12 daily admission plus $7 for parking.

My mom and I have taken several educational and art classes at the arboretum. They are amazing!!! Every month features different classes. Here is an example of some classes offered in the last months: preparing for a wedding(as a bride), creating a mosaic flower pot, wine tasting in the garden, leaf casting, painting in oils, creating ceramic bird baths, owl prowl, photography lessons, starting a vegetable garden, attracting butterflies, creating Fall, Winter, Summer, Spring annual containers, curb appeal, general tree care, flowers you should plant for every season, sustaining a rose garden, designing a garden, dealing with Maples & Dogwoods, landscape lighting design, magical herbs, compost, and tool time.

I just love Northpark Shopping Center. Not only do I have my own childhood memories, but especially now as a mother. Northpark is so convenient, and we love the Free MoMeYoga classes.

You can spend hours letting your kids observe the ducks and turtles swim around the pond and fountain. There are also these small titled “hills” that the kids love to run up and slide down on; the same that I played on when a child.

Pictures in this post are from my son and his friends at Northpark having fun!

Some interesting facts about Northpark

1. First shopping center ever featured in Vogue Magazine
2. Was the first and largest climate-controlled retail establishment in the world
3. Named 1 of the seven retail wonders of the modern world along with some of the other 7 wonders such as Italy’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and Japan’s Mikimoto store in Ginza
4. Has a reputation as an art museum inside a shopping center
5. H & M’s first home in Texas (was totally excited about this one!!)
6. 21^st largest mall in the U.S.
7. Has a children’s library located in the mall; first in the U.S. (Why we wisemommies rate Northpark as #1!)

I started taking this FREE mommy and me yoga class when my son was 5 months old. I wish I had known about it even sooner! Every Friday, or every other Friday, for nearly two years, both of us wisemommies attended this Baby and Me Yoga Class with our sons and some other close friends.

The MoMeYoga has you use your babies as weights by incorporating them into the workout. We wisemommies didn’t want to leave our babies with babysitters or check them into childcare at a gym, so we loved being able to take and involve our babies into our weekly yoga workout. Not only are you incorporating the babies into the workout by “using them” as weights, but you are also singing nursery rhymes to the babies while doing the different yoga moves. The babies are moved to the rhythm of the songs and with a multitude of rhymes helping them with language development, brain development and thinking skills.

Every Friday, I so looked forward to my yoga day. It was precious time that I got to share bonding with my child while doing something for mama, and enjoy some quality girlfriend time. It was also the best exercise while trying to recover post-pregnancy to strengthen my pelvic floor.

Years later, my son will randomly roll out “his” and “mama’s” yoga mats and start doing yoga such as singing a nursery rhyme while doing the downward dog. I think this was also a great way to introduce my son to the importance of exercise.

Location: “Bookmarks” at NorthPark Mall in Dallas. 8687 N. Central Expressway. Fridays & Saturdays, 10:30-11:30am. The instructor, Stefani McMurrey Watters, teaches all around Dallas. Click here for her website.Yes, Bookmarks is small so get there early to make sure you get a good spot or even a spot. However, when the weather is nice, they have the yoga under the shaded trees in the courtyard. (See picture, above) It is extremely pleasant and plenty of room for everyone. Yoga mats are provided, but we usually took our own yoga mats.

Another suggestion from what us wisemommies would do, arrive at Northpark 1-2 hours before the yoga class starts, walk the mall to stretch and warm up you muscles and also have your baby nursed/fed, changed and ready for the class allowing you to make the most of your workout time. After the class, most of the babies had nap time which gave us another 2 hours to walk the mall, grab a coffee, shop or enjoy a nice lunch. (Picture to the left/above is one of our friends shopping, after yoga, while her sweet son naps)

Other FREE events that we Wisemommies LOVE!!

1. Free Tuesdays at the DallasMuseum of Art
2. Q & A for DMA
3. Free Indoor Water Program

This post is additional information to yesterdays food truck post.

One of the moms, Stefani, who went to the DMA with us, her daughter was the star of the dance performed by Emmy Award winning David Chicken this day, and ate with us at the food trucks, has sent me some more information about the food trucks.

There are also shows on HGTV about food trucks. One is called the “Great Food Truck Race”. Click below to see some more food truck websites to follow or for more information:

1. Food truck finder, for all of the US, that automatically schedules and maps all locations that are tweeted by hundreds of food trucks
2. Food truck information from the Dallas Morning News
3. Dallas Laws regarding food trucks

Thanks to Stefani for forwarding all this information. I always say it is the friends surrounding us wisemommies that gives us the “wise”.