I was so sick of screens I took my kids to a sporting goods store and...

A clerk walked out of the store with a big bag full of stuff they handed me because I made an impulsive online purchase after telling my kids: "We're playing ping pong today!" 👌👏 “What’s that? It’s not a ping pong table!” my son insisted. “You’ll see,” I told him as I drove off, on my way to 83rd Street Park in Woodridge. “This is a waste of time,” my daughter mumbled. A few minutes later we pulled up to a nearby park my kids had not been to since workers added a shelter, picnic tables, a new playground, a parking lot and permanent cement bean bag boards and ping pong tables.

“There’s the ping pong table I promised you,” I told my kids. 😜✌ They put their phones in their pockets and jumped out of the car. “So what’s in the bag?” my daughter asked. I pulled out a brand new set of 8 colorful bean bags and a package of ping pong balls with 4 paddles. My son ripped open the package and immediately challenged his sister to a game of ping pong. 💗💬 A few minutes later when they were laughing and teasing each other for every point scored, I realized their phones were still in their pockets. Mission accomplished! 👌👍😍

We even met another family walking by the park and invited that mom and her kids to join us since we had plenty of supplies. I had so much fun getting out in the fresh air and doing something different I decided to go to this park with my new stuff more often. I invited my mom MeetUp group and started hosting fun weekly events. 🙋😃💃 Those moms felt the same frustration I did about their kids not getting out, not socializing, not doing anything without their devices.

We play for fun. We play for prizes. We play just to see our kids laughing and moving around and interacting with other kids. And now I’m inviting you. 😀💕👪 I’m bringing my ping pong paddles and balls, my beanbags, and my enthusiasm to 83rd Street Park in Woodridge this Saturday at 2 pm. I’ll have some water and snacks too. I want to be sure to have enough, so register here.

We have all ages coming to our events, so don’t worry if your kids are too young or too old. Everyone can play! 🙌👈 And we are hardcore about health and safety. We’re sanitizing every beanbag and ping pong paddle before the next kid touches it, and we all wear masks. 💂

It’s all sponsored by MomSub, your source for local kid events, mom networking, playdates, carpools, childcare, and more. For invites to future events, you can join MomSub free here. It’s time to get off the couch, out of the house, and have some fun with other moms. You hang out and meet new friends, while the kids have a great time playing with other kids. That’s what spring is for!