Home births... medically irresponsible or a beautiful way to bring your baby into the world?

Ready, Set, Shop

Dallas' newest shopping mecca is getting ready to welcome its first customers. Nordstrom Rack will be the first retailer to open its doors at Park Lane, a 33.5-acre development across from NorthPark Center, Thursday, March 19. The store will host Race Through the Rack starting at 8am that day, during which one lucky fashionista will win a $1,000 shopping spree. Dick's Sporting Goods will also be open this weekend, starting March 21, at Park Lane. Stores slated for April openings include Lane Bryant and The Children's Place. 214/369-0860; www.parklanedallas.com.

Adventure in the Arts

Get ready to be blown away. The students of Dallas' Booker T. Washington School for the Performing and Visual Arts will wow the crowd at Taste of the Arts from 6-10pm Feb 28. The fun evening will include student performances, food, auctions and tours of the renovated school campus. WFAA-TV Channel 8 anchor Gloria Campos is honorary chairwoman of the event. Tickets start at $25. Visit www.btwhsptsa.org/announce/html for more information.

Fashion-Forward Fundraiser

See spring fashions, enjoy a catered lunch and raise money for a good cause at the "Hope for a Better Tomorrow" Luncheon and Spring Fashion Show at 11:30am Feb 24 at Dallas' Brook Hollow Golf Club. The event will benefit A Child Can Do All Things, a nonprofit Dallas school for children with motor disabilities. The luncheon will feature special guest Abbey Curran, a Miss USA contestant who has cerebral palsy. Tickets start at $150. For more information, call 972/788-2856.

Relax … and Give Back!

The new V Spa at Dallas' Hilton Anatole Hotel Has the perfect way to help a local charity while winding down from your Thanksgiving stress. Through Nov 30, the spa will donate a portion of sales from its treatments to Genesis Women's Shelter, which provides safety and shelter to local battered women and their children. The spa offers manicures, pedicures, massage, facials, men's treatments and more. Services are available from 9am-8pm daily. Call 214/761-7800 to make an appointment.

Give It Up!

At some point, you've probably hurried past someone collecting for charity, grimacing as you pat your pockets and mumble, "Sorry, I don't have any cash on me!" But this Christmas season, The Salvation Army is one step ahead of you: The ubiquitous red kettles are going cashless. The new techno-savvy kettles were set to roll out in Dallas Nov 20 and will be set up in 12 locations across the Metroplex. The kettles will be equipped with credit card scanners attached to the stands. So be on the lookout for the new high-tech giving gadgets ... and have your card ready!

TV Time

Tune in to the CBS Early Show this Saturday (Nov 22), and you might see a familiar face: Chef Jon Bonnell of Fort Worth's Bonnell's Fine Texas Cuisine. The culinary dynamo will present a special "Chef on a Shoestring" segment in which he'll create a traditional (and delicious!) Thanksgiving feast for just $80. When viewers across the U.S. see dishes like Butternut Squash Soup with Chili-Spiced Pecans and Pumpkin Seeds and Pumpkin-Spiced Cheesecake with Cinnamon Bourbon Whipped Cream, they'll learn what Fort Worth foodies have known for ages: Bonnell is a local gem.

— Claudia

How Not to Cook on Thanksgiving

Turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes with little marshmallows, pumpkin pie, green-bean casserole - all homemade ... Wait, are you kidding?! I can barely get spaghetti with Newman's Own sauce on the dinner table without some minor disaster (or major whining). If Turkey Day seems just a bit insurmountable to you too, you might want to check out the Thanksgiving Day Ballroom Brunch at The Gaylord Texan in Grapevine. You'll get an eye-popping (and gut-busting) selection of ham, prime rib, sushi, omelets and, of course, turkey with sage dressing. There will even be an elaborate children's buffet (just their size!) featuring all their favorite foods. Top it all off with a dessert table that includes a chocolate fountain and sugar-free goodies.

Reservations are recommended. The price is $65 adults; $25 children ages 6-12; and free for children under 6. You can even add tickets to the "ICE! Exhibit," Gaylord's winter wonderland featuring 2 million pounds of ice carved into life-size sculptures, for $75 adults; $30 children 6-12; and free for children under 6. Call 817/778-2000 or visit www.gaylordhotels.com/gaylord-texan.

— Claudia

Delicious Decision

Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shops want you to vote, and they're ready to put their ice cream where their mouths are (actually, where your mouths are). The dreamy ice creamery, which has locations in Plano, McKinney and Highland Village, will give away free scoops (one per customer) from 5-8pm Nov 4, Election Day, in celebration of democracy. So get out there and vote (yes, it really is that important!), and then treat yourself to some Chunky Monkey, Cherry Garcia or any other decadent B&J flavor. You earned it!

— Claudia

Know Before You Go

Starting Nov 10, it will cost you a bit more to visit the Fort Worth Zoo. The price of adult admission is rising from $10.50 to $12; the admission cost for children and seniors is not changing. Zoo officials said this is the zoo's first price increase in more than two years. During that time, the zoo's operational and fuel expenses have gone up, making the ticket price increase necessary.

The zoo plans to continue its half-price admission on Wednesdays.

— Claudia

Art Attack!

Make plans to attend the Target First Saturdays event this weekend at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas. In addition to free admission from 10am-2pm, you and the kiddos will enjoy an art scavenger hunt, family tours, Yoga in the Garden, storytime, NasherKids Live! puppet show and more.

Your kids are sure to love hanging out in this Dallas cultural hotspot!

- Claudia

A Howling Good Time

Got a dog with a cute Halloween costume? Want to show it off? Head over to the Hackberry Creek Halloween Festival in Las Colinas at 6:30pm Oct 31 for Groom & Zoom Self-Serve Dog Wash's "Howl-O-Ween Pet Costume Contest." Haunting hounds will compete in categories like "Most Frightening" and "Most Creative." The festival will have fun stuff for little ones of the human variety, too, with a bounce slide, face painting, a haunted tunnel, a petting zoo and more.

And leading up to the costume contest, Groom & Zoom is collecting toys and treats to donate to the Irving Humane Society. Drop off some goodies at the store, 4127 N. Story Road in Irving.

— Claudia

Thrill-Ville

The weather just took a major turn toward autumn, which means the conditions are perfect for "Tales by the Rails: Scary Stories" from 7-9pm Saturday at the Grapevine Depot. Bundle up the family and enjoy spooky stories around the campfire withttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifh the Tarrant Area Guild of Storytellers. Free hot apple cider and popcorn will warm you up a bit, but you'll still have shivers down your spine! 817/410-3123; .

— Claudia

The Power of a Smile

Does your kid have a million-dollar smile? Show it off this weekend during a casting call for Duracell's Power A Smile holiday ambassador program. Children ages 6-15 will be asked to show how excited they get powering up a new toy. Five winners will receive a trip to New York in early December, a $500 shopping spree, Duracell batteries and the chance to serve as a holiday ambassador delivering toys to local children's hospitals.

The Dallas casting call will be at the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science. The museum is open from 10am-5pm.

Kids can also enter online at www.powerasmile.com through Nov 3.

For the Birds

The Trinity River Audubon Center was officially dedicated this morning, with many Dallas dignitaries attending. The center, which is shaped like a bird, is the first major signature development for the Trinity River Corridor Project, a $2 billion city of Dallas public works project. TRAC will be an excellent spot for bird watching and other outdoor activities and will also serve as a teaching facility for thousands of area students every year.

The center's grand opening for the public is this weekend, from 10am-5pm Oct 18-19. Admission is free all weekend. It's located at 650http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif0 S. Loop 12 in Dallas. Call 214/370-9967 or visit for more information.

Gather up the family and enjoy the beautiful fall weather!

— Claudia

Grown-up Tea Party

Moms, gather up your girlfriends and make plans to attend a Harvest Tea at the Dallas Arboretum. These three-course teas are served at 2pm every Wed-Sun through Nov 23 and are open only to those ages 13 and up.

The Harvest Tea is $33.50, or you can add a glass of champagne before your tea service for $42.50. Both prices include admission, parking and gratuity. Advance reservations are recommended. Call 214/515-6610.

And while you're at the Arboretum enjoying your tea, don't forget to marvel at the beautiful fall flowers in bloom!

— Claudia

Baby Pick-Me-Up

International Babywearing Week is Nov 12-18, and Peppermint Natural Baby Boutique in Richardson is celebrating by hosting a baby sling drive. The store seeks gently used baby slings to donate to No Mother Left Behind, a group of volunteers who promote the benefits of babywearing. Drop off slings at the boutique, 1778 N. Plano Road, Suite 100, in Richardson.
Call 214/623-5080 or visit www.peppermint.com for more information.

— Claudia

Tea Time for a Good Cause

Bring your little ladies (and gents!) to Celebrity Café & Bakery's first-ever National Tea Party from 2-5pm Sun, Oct 19. Celebrity's 10 Dallas-Fort Worth locations will offer free cookies, petit fours and tea and will take donations for Kidd's Kids, a local charity that supports ill and physically challenged children. Each location will also have dress-up clothes for the little girls in attendance, and photographers will be on hand to take pictures of the fancy fun.

— Claudia

Take a Hike Ike: What You Can Do to Help Evacuees

Currently, the Dallas Convention Center Shelter is housing more than 900 residents that have been evacuated from Houston and the surrounding areas due to the nearing threat of Hurricane Ike. As we all watch our TV screens to see the most up-to-date path of the hurricane, you might be compelled to help our fellow Texans. Here's how you can help:

Donations to help purchase food can be made to the North Texas Food Bank through their Web site: www.ntfb.org.

Donations to help purchase other essentials can be made to the Salvation Army through their Web site: www.salvationarmydfw.org.

Volunteers may register for assignments with the Volunteer Center of North Texas through their Web site: www.volunteernorthtexas.org or by calling 866/797-8268.

Cash donations to help provide other assistance can be made to the American Red Cross by calling 800/RED-CROSS or at www.redcross.org.

—Gretchen

Bring the Outdoors Indoors

While rifling through my mail last Friday, I unknowingly discovered a box holding the main source of my weekend entertainment: Namco Bandai's Active Life Outdoor Challenge for Nintendo Wii. Let me just preface this entry by saying that I absolutely detest video games. Really, I cannot stand them. Why? Beyond the violence, gore and male-intended content (of most adult games at least), I’m not one to spend hours at a time sitting on the couch … that is, unless there’s a Law and Order marathon on TV! But that’s beside the point.

When my father decided he wanted to give into the video-gaming frenzy and purchase a Nintendo Wii, I rolled my eyes. But my apathy soon changed. Now I jump at the chance to play a pick-up game of tennis with my mom (yes, my ‘rents are technologically-savvy!) or bowl against my younger brother. I can see why this gaming device is the hottest thing since sliced bread (and why kids can’t get enough of it).

So, when I opened my mail to find a reviewer’s copy of the newest Wii game, The Outdoor Challenge, I couldn’t wait to visit my parents’ house and take the game for a test drive.

Outdoor Challenge is a part of Namco Bandai’s Active Life games, meaning that it’s similar to Wii Fit (read: you have to get your butt off the couch and participate). In the Outdoor Challenge, players stand on an Active Life Mat, reminiscent of Dance Dance Revolution. Players can compete (in one-person and two-person games) in a series of activities, like mountain boarding, log jumping, kayaking, mine-cart driving and – best of all – mole stomping. (Yep, you read that right.)

Imagine this: a room of four adults bouncing around on a mat while yelling, cheering and falling to the couch exasperatedly out-of-breath due to the on-screen challenges. It was a blast. (Several times my marathon-running dad joked that he was going to have a heart attack!) The games are physically challenging and require a great deal of focus, balance and agility, yet they're kid-friendly and can be adjusted in difficulty for young followers.

I haven’t fully changed my opinion on video games. But this new addition has me one step closer to becoming a believer. Snag yourself a copy of this game when it hits shelves later this fall and have your own family gaming night. (Don't forget to take water breaks!)

—Gretchen