FlorenceMom.com Blogs

We went to The POP Zone's grand opening yesterday on October 2nd and my 3 year old and 1 year old sons had a wonderful time playing at the 2 hour Open Play time! With a play room popping (pun intended) with bright colors, my toddlers were instantly engaged upon arrival! 



Located at 906B S Cashua Dr., Florence, SC 29501, you can see their entire weekly schedule: http://www.thepopzone.com/weekly-calendar.html.

In addition to offering age-appropriate classes for babies and toddlers, The POP Zone also has a Mom's Morning Out program for ages 2-4 and hosts a Parents' Night Out for ages 3-10. To see all of their programs, go to: http://www.thepopzone.com/programs.html.

If you're looking for a new place to host a birthday party for your child, they also offer birthday packages on the weekends!
 

In an intimate private space, the birthday boy or girl can blow out their candles and enjoy pizza and drinks! See The POP Zone's website for more information: http://www.thepopzone.com/parties-1.html.



 

This Florence Mom will be coming back to The POP Zone really soon. To get updated on their upcoming events, join their facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ThePOPzone/. Tell them Florencemom.com sent you to The Play Zone!

Is this in the bible? Was there a prophecy about this? A friend of mine asked his Facebook friends in a post about the multiple hurricanes that are coming after America and asked "Is this in the bible"? 

I did a bit of research online that cited Luke 21: 25-26 and so I opened my own international Holy Bible to confirm word for word (because I haven't read it cover to cover and don't memorize it) and this is what it says: "There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken." 

Do you know how old the bible is? Very, very old and for the fact that the total solar eclipse was ONLY seen in the United States of America in August 2017 and then only a few weeks later, Hurricane Harvey wiped out Houston, now Hurricane Irma is going to wipe out Florida (and upwards) and Hurricane Jose is on its the way? Is this a coincidence? Is this the beginning of the apocalypse? 

See the image of my bible for Luke 21:25-26 below.
 

For a long while, it was rare to enjoy a nice craft beer and decent food without worrying about our two very mobile toddlers disturbing other people's nice dinners. Then, we visited the new Seminar Brewing location yesterday with the Kanza restaurant and it was like my prayer has been answered! With a watchful eye on our kids, we were able to sit down and enjoy a quick, casual meal with some beer flights. The kids were playing with the bean bags near the corn hole area and were content while mama and daddy enjoyed some tapped tastings and a very different Florentine meal. No kids crying, no patrons staring at us with disapproval and the adults get to enjoy going out to eat! Win, win, win!



 My favorite is the Alpha Cruces PHD

Located inside a warehouse, the place is spacious and not intimidating. We ordered at the bar and sit down with our table number until the beers and food were ready. Until then, we roamed around and played with the kids. So awesome! 

 This is how the inside of the the new Seminar location looks like.


 The Korean styled bao were very flavorful.
 The Southwest Shrimp Salad on Pastry Boat was delicious but I wish the pastry was softer and not so hard. 

Seminar Brewing, don't be surprised to see us again very soon! 
As with all the other reviews, all of this content is my own opinion alone and it has not been sponsored in any way. Check the new Seminar Brewing location out! Their address is 551 W. Lucas St., Florence, SC 29501.

Update! Local Motive Brewing Company moved out of Downtown Florence. Their new location is next to Naturally Outdoors Area at 2519 W. Palmetto Street, Florence, South Carolina 29501.

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August 3, 2017 (Old post from when they were still located in downtown Florence)

I had my first visit at the new Local Motive Brewing in Downtown Florence last week and I was pretty impressed! It felt urban like many other brewery restaurants that I've been to before. They had flights of 4 for just $7! That is a steal! The flights that I had were 2 IPA's, a light beer and a new peach one and I have to say that these brewers know what they are doing! They also had high chairs so kids are allowed! Their food is also well done! The Royale with Cheese is a burger that's very tasty! I also ordered The Yard Bird Philly and I wasn't as impressed. It is still good but I would prefer the burger instead. For my 3 year old, I ordered the chicken bites with fries under the "Half Pint" list. Be sure to ask for fries to be unseasoned if you like them plain! 

Here are pictures from my visit below: 

Picture of inside the Local Brewing Company

My four flights. $7 for all 4 and I definitely shared with my husband!

Yard Bird Philly

Chicken Bites and unseasoned fries 

We can't wait to come back to Local Motive Brewing again to try their new brews! What a gem in Florence!

I have been calling a handful of childcare/daycare prices/rates for my 1 year old since May 2017. I think the rates are safe to apply for any child between the ages of 3 months - before kindergarten (between 4 or 5 years old). This is for full day care. To save you some trouble, here are my findings. 

Saint Paul United Methodist Church - Their all day care is between 6:45am - 6pm and the cost is $125 per week so that equates to about $500 per month, per child. This includes breakfast, lunch and all snacks. (843) 669-3134

Central United Methodist Church Preschool - Edit for 2018: Central United Methodist Preschool's regular program is from 9AM - Noon and you can extend the care to 2:30pm as part of their lunch brunch program and until 4:30PM for another additional cost. Please call them to double check if anything has changed. Their program gets full very quickly! This is maybe not the best place for full time day care if you work beyond 4pm. 

La Petite Academy - Their all day childcare is from 6AM - 6PM with breakfast, morning snack, lunch, and afternoon snack included. This is a chain and they are located all over the US. They follow a great preschool structure that's appropriate by age and the chain itself has been around for decades. They also provide an after school program for kids in elementary school. The quote I was given was $154 per week for full time care for my little ones for Mon-Fri. This rate might have increased a bit. They are located in West Florence. Address: 3501 Pine Needles Rd, Florence, SC 29501 Tel: (843) 662-9808. Price is around $616 a month. 

South Florence Baptist Daycare - Their all day care is from 6:30am - 6pm and cost is $111 per week. It is for ages 6 weeks old - 4 years old. They have individual classrooms for each age level and offer the A-Beka Christian Curriculum. They provide a hot breakfast, lunch, and snacks – all included in your child’s tuition cost. They also use separate age-specific fenced playgrounds.

Charlie Brown Day Care - Their all day care is $125 a week so that is about $500 a month. (843) 665-1226. They are the closest to FDTC (about 10 min) in the group of daycares that I researched. Address: 1800 Gregg Ave., Florence, SC 29501. 

Sunshine House - Their full time care is $155 a week, so that is about $620 a month. Address: 2009 Second Loop Rd., Florence, SC 29501. Meals and snacks are all included. 

First Presbyterian Church Child Development Center - From 7am - 6pm year round, the child development center provides all day care for $135 a week, which is about $540 a month. Mid-morning snacks, lunches and afternoon snacks are included. It is for ages 6 weeks - 4k. Address: 700 Park Ave., Florence, SC 29501

Immanuel Baptist Church Child Care - Their full time care is $122 a week from 7am - 6pm, which is approximately $488 per month. Address: 306 Cherokee Rd., Florence, SC 29501 Tele: (843) 665-9004

I will update this page with more details as I continue my search for the right daycare for my child. I hope this is helpful! Note that prices may have increased since I've called these places. Please note that each month has more than 4 weeks but I used 4 weeks as my calculation to compare the rates with each other.