She Works Hard for the Mommy: BBB

Excited today to be joined by Ceilidhe Brown for another She Works Hard for the Mommy. Ceilidhe works at the Better Business Bureau here in Hampton Roads and this is her report:

Being a mother is stressful because we are always worrying about our children. We strive to make sure they are well taken care of and that their lives are full of opportunities. Along with our children, we are very protective of everything we have and our assets. The one thing we don’t want is a company or business scamming us out of our hard earned money, which also takes away from our children's care. I feel very lucky to hold the position of Marketing Manager at the Greater Hampton Roads, Better Business Bureau. You might be wondering what is the BBB?

For more than 100 years, the Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands, and charities they can trust. Millions of people turn to BBB each year to view BBB Business Profiles and Charity Reports, all available for free on BBB.org. BBB Accredited Businesses support the mission and vision of BBB, and their dues and contributions allow BBB to offer its information and services to consumers at no charge. The Better Business Bureau is not affiliated with any governmental agency.

You might wonder if every business can be accredited and do businesses have to file a guideline? Our Standards of Accreditation are built on our BBB Standards for Trust. The BBB Standards for Trust, eight principles that summarize important elements of creating and maintaining trust in business, are a comprehensive set of best practices for how businesses should treat the public in a fair and honest manner. Businesses with a good marketplace track record, including maintaining a B or better rating, may apply to become a BBB Accredited Business.

When wondering if a business is accredited or not, you can always check to see if they are displaying their seal or on https://www.bbb.org/search. Another awesome feature bbb.org has is company reviews but “Unlike most review sites, BBB requires consumers to provide their name and shares this information with the business to confirm the interaction and prompt a response. This and other measures help maintain the integrity of BBB’s customer reviews by reducing the incidence of fake reviews”. (bbb.org)

BBB also stays up to date with scams in your area with the Scam Tracker, which allows users to use the interactive map to find scams and potential scams.

Like I said, being a mom is hard work and the last thing we want to worry about is getting our money and time taken and being left with a feeling of uneasiness. Hurray for the BBB!

Baby Shark Live!

Recently, if you've noticed that the clothing racks in the Baby Shark section have been bare, it's because just about every kid who attended Baby Shark Live at Chartway Arena this week had it on. I've never seen a crowd so dressed appropriately for a show. 

Baby Shark Live follows the adventures of Pink Fong and Baby Shark while they look for each other. In doing so, they stop to meet friends and sing classic favorites like Five Little Monkeys, Wheels On The Bus, and the Jungle Boogie. My favorite was the Lion King on Broadway style sea animals. 

The show runs a little more than an hour with a 20 minute intermission, with encouragement from Baby Shark himself to use the potty. Don't leave before the end, where the lights will go down and a Baby Shark remix will have everyone up and dancing! A sensory note - the show does contain lights, haze, and confetti. Catch the tour in some of our neighboring cities if you missed out! 

Chesapeake: Our Favorite Spots

One of the things that I love about Hampton Roads is that everything is so close. Hop in the car and you can be at the beach, at a farm, or a settlement in revisiting 1607. Here are some of our favorites in Chesapeake. 

Spend a day at Bergey's and their neighbor Mount Pleasant checking out the animals and local goods. Details here. 

My favorite local playground for so many reasons. Check out Chesapeake's Fun Forest.

The Chesapeake Arboretum is a hidden gem that we love to visit on nice days. 

Spend a day picking fruits and veggies at Hickory Ridge Farm. They have a free kids play area, and during the busy season will often have some paid options for children. 

The last of the farms is Historic Greenbrier Farms, which has lots of free room for kids to play. Checkout their large tire swing and grab some goodies from the farm stand. 

This was actually our first visit as a family of four to Chuck E. Cheese, and I am so glad that we went! The boys loved it. Check out the post for the deals when visiting. 

Last but not least, Oak Grove Park's nice long loop of a walking trail. Checkout this post for details! 

The Depot Grille: Staunton VA

On our way back from Snowshoe, we stopped in Staunton, Virginia at The Depot Grille. The railroad came to Staunton in 1854 and changed the area from a rural town to a center for trade. In 1989 the property that was once the train station was renovated and The Depot Grille now stands in its spot. Check out the paper on top of the tables with crayons for coloring and the toy trains placed around the restaurant. 

Open six days a week, the Grille allows you to eat while sitting next to a caboose. After eating, you can head to the back and walk along the tracks. Find the stairs that lead to the bridge up and over the tracks for a birds' eye view of the tracks. This is a perfect stop for any train lovers! (Also, checkout our stop at Cass Scenic Railroad Park) 

Cass Scenic Railroad State Park

At the bottom of Snowshoe Mountain is Case Scenic Railroad State Park. The State park is full of history from the time when Cass was a lumbering town. Much of the town is the same from its founding in 1901, built by the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company and then operated by the Mower Lumber Company. Walk along the railroad tracks, checkout multiple train parks, then head inside to grab ice cream from the Last Run Restaurant and Soda Fountain. 

Also on the property is a playground, basketball court, volleyball court, and fire-pit.  Fishing, hiking, biking, and geocaching are also available. There is also a free historical museum.  Walking tours of the town are offered at 12 and noon. There is also the Cass Historic Theater which has documentaries about the railroad and town. 

Scenic train rides are offered Spring-Fall and vary from 2 hours to overnight trips. From May to October Pickin' On the Porch starts every Saturday at 5. People are welcome to bring their musical skills to play or listen to music.