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There She Grows

With some of the characters around for the kids to meet. How cool is that?

LA locals with kids who are as into this show as ours is might not want to miss this.

(click for larger)

We’ll probably be here at some point this weekend. This is the new (in lieu of) Sunset Junction, run by community organizers instead of private businesses, and asking a $5 donation instead of the pretentious $20. With quite a lineup… but all we really care about at this point is the Children’s Village.

Here is the flyer I made for a MOMS Club fundraising event. Attn: Los Angeles locals – get some quality second-hand kids & baby items while supporting Alexandria House.

Today we had a fun time at Mayor’s Bicentennial Park in Glendale, which I revisited on a lark. I was just cruising around in an attempt to help Lil take a nap, and I hopped on the 2. When it became clear that wasn’t going to happen, she wanted to “go somewhere cool” and luckily, there we were.

We’d been there several months ago on Sarah’s recommendation, so I knew what an uncrowded gem of a place it is. There’s a nice grassy area with gently rolling hills and a series of concrete winding paths, with small bridges over dry rocky beds. Read the rest of this entry »

In preparation for our upcoming travels abroad (!! yes !!) we were in desperate need of a lightweight umbrella stroller. One that could endure being thrown around by countless baggage carriers, one with a strong cargo area. Preferably something I can control one-handedly with authority while I’m being pulled in the opposite direction by Marley. And perhaps the most elusive feature of all: something that works for tall people.

We needed something lightweight but durable like that Maclaren Volo.
Its $130 online.

Today I got that very stroller for less than a tenth of that price – gently used in great condition. This is exactly what we need for our trip! For about a hundred bucks total, I not only found the Volo, I also got a pretty awesome step1 desk & chair. The fact that its used means the thing is already assembled, nice. I have it all set up in the livingroom with lots of art supplies stashed away, and she hasn’t even seen it yet. That will be a fun surprise tomorrow.

Oh and a bunch of other stuff. Three pairs of summer play shoes and a bunch of gymboree & children’s place comfy clothes. Lil has grown out of everything. I also got a huge bag of dress-up clothes like tu-tus, accessories and princess dresses. A nice red silk kecci convertible diaper bag for a friend, and some other stuff for the many pregnant women in our lives. A swimming floaty ‘bubble’ for L, like the one I had as a kid. (Mom always said, I was swimmin’ since I was 2.) A cool new kid’s backpack (also thinking about our imminent travels!) and other odds and ends.

That’s right, its that time again. The LA Kids Consignment Sale is open to the public starting tomorrow and through the weekend. A lot of the great finds on sought after items go quickly, so I am glad that as a consignor I’m able to get in a day early. But seriously there is just so much stuff there you can’t even see it all on the first day. On Sunday most of the remaining items are half price. I’m planning to go back that day to get tons and tons of books and play clothes for Lil. Moms in the area, you should check this out.

Location:
7733 Hayvenhurst Ave.
Van Nuys, CA 91406

Sales totals from today were just posted online and I found I have already made about $70 from my own items. Does that mean I only spent $30 for all my new stuff? kind of!

end-of-sale update: Read the rest of this entry »

Almost two years ago, I posted about Nicolas Fransisco, an e-aquaintance who vanished unexpectedly one night. Leaving his two kids, pregnant wife, countless concerned friends and an entire community desperately searching for him to no avail.

Everyone was convinced of foul play. Friends and strangers country-wide took interest in the search; the unprecedented public outcry and internet buzz pushed the investigation far further than a typical missing person case. Even I received a phone call at home from a Sea-Tac detective with questions, and I had never even met the guy! I told them the same thing everyone else did: I felt fairly certain he hadn’t simply left on his own accord, but I didn’t have any helpful info.

Well, weren’t we all a bunch of chumps. After 2 years he has been found, living under an alias right here in LA, with seemingly no regard whatsoever for the three children he left behind. Read the rest of this entry »

Well, more like a very blurry iphone shot taken of her first class photo as it hangs on our fridge. I should really scan it one day. Its adorable, and a bit of a milestone as the very first of a whole childhood full of class photos she’ll collect over the years. I still have an old folder full of mine someplace at my mom’s house and its a trip to look back at them.

Her pre-school peers currently range in age from about 2 to almost 5. I remember how small she was compared to the others when she first started at 18 months. And how brazen she was despite that, fitting herself right in immediately. Now she’s an old pro and has welcomed new students as older ones have departed. Can you spot our little sweetie’s big smile?

Oh, how she loves school. It fills me with so much joy. We had an extended break over the holidays, since we took off for Chicago in mid December. With so much going on, it was awhile before she started missing her school routine. Once the whirlwind of family fun began to subside, she started pretending she and I were having circle time in the green room, like they do in school. She wanted to sing together her morning school song… and sometimes when she was playing on her own I overheard her mention her school friends names as if she was playing with them. It was really sweet, and we were both happy about her return to school this Tuesday.

To be honest, I was ready to return to the preschool routine as well. It gave me 1 day of non-mom-time during my sister’s fun visit here. There is SO much I need to catch up posting about. Lots of Big Kid achievements, a new playhouse down the street and new friends, Lil’s first trip to the dentist… and all our travel and family visits throughout the holidaze. I’ll get to some of it eventually.

note to self: Hello do a day, sir.

We had a great halloween this year, with plenty of excitement and participation from Lilah. Its so fun to experience my long-time favorite holiday from this new perspective, to see it through the eyes of a young kid. She was gearing up for it all month; telling everyone about her costume, making decorations, becoming obsessed with books about halloween and the concept of trick or treating.

It felt like our halloween fun went on for weeks, which was pretty awesome. And when the day finally came, Lil really had a great time with it. And then we ‘grown-ups’ even managed to do some partying of our own. Here’s my long picture-post. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the expressed functions of Mom’s Club is to raise money for local women and children in need. The Silverlake chapter has organized a fundraiser for our own “Project Sleep Tight” this Saturday, Sept. 26. We will be giving backpacks filled with PJs, a small plush toy or animal, a book and a blanket to young children in downtown LA homeless shelters.

We’ve teamed up with Baja Fresh and Jamba Juice in Atwater Village on Los Feliz blvd and our goal is to provide 150 of these backpacks. This Saturday, every customer who mentions Silverlake Mom’s Club at these locations will have 20% of their purchase donated to this cause.

So, local people – stop by Baja Fresh or Jamba Juice this Saturday and mention Mom’s Club. I know, I know. Mom’s Club is a little cheesy to say. I have trouble with it, myself. But its a stand-up organization.

Two things.

1. My digital camera broke, many weeks ago. It just straight-up stopped working.  This doesn’t stop me from taking photos constantly, it just stops me from taking decent ones.  I’ve been shooting iPhone pics pretty much exclusively since then.  The iPhone is significantly better than no camera at all.

2. August was a really busy month for us and A LOT HAS HAPPENED.

I’ve considered writing one long post about everything but at this point that’s not gonna work.   So, expect some backdating here, because I have to talk about the fact that my sister Sarah Rose and Osman visited us, which was wonderful.  And the very next weekend we went up to Portland and had an awesome 5 days with Traci & Jim, and the very next weekend after that, I left the fam behind and went back to Chicago for some girlfriend party time in anticipation of Witte’s wedding.  With Mike’s birthday ending the month it seemed like every weekend was a major event.  But, there were a few other things I wanted to mention too.  Like our playgroups’ shifting dynamic, new chapters in my freelancing adventures, and visits to Descanso Gardens and Travel Town. Not to mention, all of Lil’s new tricks.   I’ll try to get to everything!

Our playgroup has begun meeting earlier, and expanding our horizons a bit. Instead of sticking to the same old local parks, we’ve been checking out more of the destinations our region has to offer. Mostly on the recommendations of Sarah, our only member with an older kid who has been there and done that.

This month we finally did a zoo playdate, and we picnicked on the rolling hills at Mayor’s Bicentennial Park up near La Canada.  And, we visited Descanso Gardens for the first time. Hopefully not the last, because we barely delved into all there is to see. The sprawling grounds seem to go on and on; check out this map. Starting our playgroup at 10:30 has been tricky with Lilah, who is ready for a nap at noon and gets quite cranky when she’s tired. I’d like to be able to hang for longer and we’re working on that. In the meantime, check out these pics of Lilah having fun with Indie and Zachary exploring the gardens. Read the rest of this entry »

This video just cracks me up. I love that she is good friends with some of the 8-10 year old neighbors.

Some spicy dancing at the Atwater Street Party the other night. Lilah was reeeaaally into it. And she wanted to be a part of it.

After this, I tried to corral her back so the dancers could do their thing, but she was NOT having it. We ended up doing a conga line with all these people. The samba girl was a good sport, I think she was really enjoying Lil’s enthusiasm.

This is  a handy list of kid-friendly activities in the area. It was passed on to me by a friend but originally compiled by Andrea Weiss, updated June 15, 2009. Its a good resource for families travelling to the area.

We’ve been to several of these spots, but most are yet to be checked off my list.  I have added many of our own favorites that were missing from the original list, as well as a few photos of us enjoying these fun times.  When I blog about one of these places, I’ll try to include a link to the corresponding blog entry here. And I’ll continue to add more here as we discover them. Because this is by no means an exhaustive list!  Enjoy. Read the rest of this entry »

Sara had to check out some of Griffith Park’s kid attractions for a class she’s taking. She needed a test subject and Lilah was more than happy to oblige. Here’s a rundown of our fun day!

Read the rest of this entry »