Christmas Traditions

Tis the season to be jolly. As we transition from Thanksgiving to Christmas it is time to think about all of the family traditions that we do each year. Since the arrival of our new baby 4 months ago, we have been trying to involve our 6 year old more to engage him with the baby. Here are a couple traditions that we will continue and have our oldest son share with his baby brother.

• Each family member picks out an ornament each year. When the kids grow up, we'll give them their ornaments for their own trees.
• Christmas Tree Train - For the past couple years, we have ridden the Christmas Tree Train in Fillmore, CA and cut down our own Christmas Tree. Last year, we rode a camel while we were there!
• Gingerbread house, Reindeer food, letter to Santa, etc - Can't forget these timeless basics.
• Photo with Santa - We have started an album that has our Christmas card and photos with Santa each year.

There are many other things that we do, but to get in the spirit of the season I wanted to share a few. Happy Holidays!!!

Summer kid movies

Well, the news should actually be that we have a newborn in the house that is only 2 weeks old. Yes, that is true, but it has allowed my older son and me the chance to see some of the latest movies for kids that are out there.

The first one we saw this summer was Turbo. Good story about a snail that wants to go fast and ends up at the Indy 500. Dreamworks did a good job with this one and we all enjoyed it.

We saw Disney's Planes over the weekend and it was eerily similar to Turbo. Underdog makes good and beats the villan who cheats. Solid movie though.

Monsters University was the only other movie we saw this summer and it too was an enjoyable flic. Although I can't tell if our son liked the movies or eating popcorn with butter more.

We're looking forward to the next movie that comes out.  And, oh ya, I can't wait for our new baby boy to sleep through the night and I can't wait to take him to his first movie.

A Brother P-Touch Update!

We have a 6 year old son who has been raised on technology. He knows how to use my iPhone, iPad, my wife’s blackberry, tivo, etc. You name it, he knows how to work it – and actively seeks it out. When you combine his love of technology with his desire to help out around the house, well the PTouch label maker is the perfect device. Not only is it entertaining enough for our son to use, but it’s also incredible practical and helpful.
The other day, we began our garage clean out. Instead of moving boxes and stopping to complete a label, I told my son the labels to make as I was moving everything around. This not only saved time, but was a nice bonding moment for me and my son. Not only did it give us and activity to do together, but he saw that I was using the labels he made himself.

As I continue to execute my new year’s resolution to get organized this year, one room at a time, I imagine my son will help every step of the way!

I have the benefit of being a P-Touch ambassador. I will be using the P-Touch Label Maker all year long as I organize my house and life! Stay tuned!

"I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Brother P-Touch and received a product sample to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation."

P Touch Label Maker Makes Life Easy and Organized

There is nothing as exciting as Christmas Day.  Happy kids, time with family and lots of food.   However at some point the clean up happens and it was at that point I realized how disorganized I was - piles of unopened mail sitting in the kitchen, old kids clothes to be saved for younger siblings in piles in the closet, and boxes of holiday decorations in unlabeled boxes.  Yes, my New Year's resolution is to get organized.  Enter the Brother P-Touch Label Maker.  Yes, they actually heard my plea and made me an ambassador, but more importantly, they are here to help get me organized!
I started with the Christmas Decorations.  We immediately labeled each of our holiday decorations boxes with the exact content contained within each - ornaments here, wreaths there, etc.  It was easy to decipher our Christmas boxes from other holiday items. 
But why stop there?  The next project involved my kids.  In addition to boxing and labeling their hand-me-down clothes, I noticed the pen markings on their school supplies were wearing off. I set the label with my son's name and within seconds, printed out 5 labels - one for his folder, one small enough to fit a glue stick, one for an eraser, one for his markers and one for his crayons.  Now there wont be even the slightest chance that his supplies will get mixed up with someone else's.
If you are trying to get organized for whatever reason, the Brother P-Touch Label Maker is for you.  Tune in over the next month or so as I put the product to work to help reach organize my family! If you,too, want to get organized or find fun projects for your family, log on to their Facebook page for ideas.

"I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Brother P-Touch and received a product sample to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation."

National Train Day!

We have waited 364 days for National Train Day! We've gone the last couple years and can't wait to go again tomorrow. Here' some more info.

http://www.nationaltrainday.com/events/los-angeles/


Los Angeles: Union Station

Union Station 800 North Alameda Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Get Directions
Trip Planner
Program Guide [2.5 MB PDF]

When: 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Saturday, May 12

General Admission: Free

Now in its 5th year, National Train Day is back to celebrate train travel and the ways trains touch the lives of people with events across America. This year, festivities will highlight the unique perspective passengers enjoy as they take in the vastness and beauty of the American landscape, from cities big and small, to country vistas and everything in between, when traveling by rail.

As part of National Train Day, each major market event features live entertainment, interactive and educational exhibits, kids’ activities, model train displays and tours of Amtrak equipment, freight and commuter trains, and notable private railroad cars. Special thanks to LA County Metro Transit Authority.



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National Train Day Exhibits and Activities

Train Equipment Displays

Walk through privately owned, luxury railcars and explore freight and commuter trains, as well as current Amtrak equipment.

Private Cars (subject to change) Commuter Rail Freight Rail

NRHS Central Coast Charter

Gordon Zimmerman

Royal Gorge

Overland Trail

Silver Splendor

Plaza Santa Fe



Silver Rapids



Silver Lariat



Silver Solarium



Metrolink

Union Pacific: Genset Locomotive

Pacific Harbor line: PHL 80-Series 6-Axle NRE Genset Locomotive Model 3GS21C

Santa Fe 3751: Steam Engine



Train Equipment Guide [2.4 MB PDF]

There will be no ticketing system this year, so be sure to arrive early! Space is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis. Exhibits open at 11:00 a.m. on May 12.

Are you an Amtrak Guest Rewards MasterCard cardholder? If so, follow the Fast-Track signs to skip the line and avoid the wait.

American Sign Language Interpreted Tours for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at 12pm and 2pm.



AmtraKids Depot

Bring the kids and let them build, explore and compete for surprise giveaways happening all day long at the AmtraKids Depot.



Model Train Displays

Take a closer look at the miniature masterpieces and marvel at the wonder of the model train displays that will be featured on-site at National Train Day.

Orange County “N” Gineers will be displaying their model trains in Los Angeles.



K-9 Unit Demonstrations

Interact with Amtrak Police K-9 Units, one of the largest K-9 programs in the United States.



Amtrak Culinary Experience

Enjoy live cooking demonstrations by Amtrak Culinary Advisory Team chef, Bob Rosar, and taste free samples of regional culinary specialties.

Learn more about Bob Rosar and the rest of Amtrak’s Culinary Advisory team



See More Store

Take home posters, t-shirts, and other memorabilia that will remind you to see more, do more and live more from the passenger seat of a train.



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Exclusive Exhibit

“See More on a Train” with Dora the Explorer

Popular Nickelodeon character, Dora the Explorer, will wow the crowd at Union Station in Los Angeles during the 5th Annual National Train Day Celebration. Dora will greet fans, take photographs and explore various train travel adventures with attendees.



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Live Entertainment

The Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus Clowns will be on-site to celebrate National Train Day in Los Angeles. The Greatest Show on Earth travels by rail to 90 different cities across the US, and will be back in LA this summer from July 11 – August 5 at an arena near you. Join in the fun on National Train Day as Clowns perform and teach basic clowning skills such as juggling, balancing skills, improvisation, and movement.





The All-American Boys Chorus has completed four decades of remarkable growth and significant achievements. The AABC’s program is acclaimed for its musical excellence, and for instilling and fostering leadership skills and characteristics in its current membership of 110 boys and 1,000+ alumni. Artistic collaborations with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and the William Hall Master Chorale have given the Chorus a notable stature. Community outreach performances in schools have reached more than 80,000 children.

taabc.org





Aaron Nigel Smith brings a fun, inspired, and lively show guaranteed to get kids and adults alike off their feet. His songs have been described as “Some of the best targeted music for kids today”. His entertaining shows have been featured around the country as a part of the NBC/Universal, Sony, Warner Brothers, Paramount, and Fox studios Family Concerts. He has also picked up the NAPPA and IParenting awards for his “Let’s Pretend” release.

aaronnigelsmith.com

Razorbombing is the new Planking

I never got into the planking phase, but it looks like it has been quickly replaced with Razorbombing. Check out this article from The Sun. I don't think I'll go out and do it, but it is cool to look at the pic's.

Brother P-Touch Might Make Organization a Snap

I recently received a Brother P-Touch kit as part of the P-Touch Ambassador program. I have to admit, I was hoping to receive an actual P-Touch as part of the kit, as memories of my first label maker came rushing back to me - you remember the one your mom had??...the one with the handle and wheel that you turned to punch out letters onto that thin sticker-like strip? Well, I've been told that an actual P-Touch is on it's way and you can rest assured that I will label everything in my house and hopefully live to tell about it (that is, if my wife doesn't kill me for labeling everything). An additional post will be coming soon where I highlight all the places I've stuck the labels and tested their durability, and hopefully better news about how they've helped organize my family photos, bills, work folders, and more.


In the meantime, what did come in the mail was a kit for me to use in the P-Touch Tough Test-It Challenge. Inside the kit were several pre-made labels, a plexi-glass block, nail polish remover, travel size bleach with palm brush, and sponge. My challenge, was to affix one of the pre-made labels to the plexi-glass block and to use the included tools to test the label's strength and durability. To tell you the truth, I was skeptical. I thought the label would easily come off and that I'd have to decline to write the blog post. However, that was not the case. My son and I scrubbed as hard as could, my wife used the nail polish remover on the label and then on her own nails, but nothing happened. These are professional labels that are not coming off anything. In fact, I'll need to ask the P-Touch folks what the secret is, in case I actually do need to remove one in the future.

What I can tell you after taking the challenge is that although we’re all familiar with label makers and their ability to help keep us organized, not all labels are created equal. Brother™ P-touch® labelers create durable, laminated labels that appear to be able to stand up to some of the toughest of conditions including rough handling, sunlight, water, and spills.

As I mentioned, I should be getting an actual P-Touch soon and boy do I have plans for it, including my tool kit and garage shelves. We'll see if it can survive inches of dust! And I have some packages to ship to my sister in Washington D.C. We'll see if the labels can survive UPS! In the meantime, if you are interested in a Brother P-Touch, you can order off the company site or head to your local office retailer including Best Buy, OfficeMax, Staples.com, CDW, amazon.com and more.

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Brother P-Touch and received a product and gift card to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Grocery U Scan Makes Shopping Fun

Our four year old has never minded grocery shopping. He likes driving the carts that look like cars and he's usually pretty anxious to help get items off the shelves for us. However, grocery shopping has taken a whole new level of excitement with the new U-Scan machines at our local Vons, which allow you to ring up your own groceries. Our son loves it. The computer screen full of buttons to touch, the beep that sounds when he scans the product and even the bagging. And I have to admit, I kind of enjoy doing something with my son that makes him so happy. (Apologies to anyone who waits behind us in line -although we do speed it up once we see someone is waiting).

Parachute Express Is Coming to Town

For anyone who attended Gymboree classes in South Pasadena or Monrovia, you probably know every Parachute Express song by heart. Well, tomorrow night, Wednesday, August 17th, they'll be at the Levitt Pavilion in Pasadena as part of its free summer concert series. We'll be there...hope to see other Gymboree families, too. Teacher Jenny, you listening?

Paying off the Carnival Manager for an Angry Bird

On our way back from the Long Beach Sand Castle Competition, we stopped off an old fashioned beach-like carousel complete with random carnival games. One such random game was a new Angry Birds game where you have to push a plus Angry Bird doll off it's perch with a stick that I swear is too big for the hole in which it is supposed to go in, making people like me, who played about 10 times, suckers. We'll for the past 4 months, my four year old has been asking for an Angry Bird plush doll and when he saw the possibility of finally getting one, he insisted on using all remaining tokens on this game.

Of course, then the addiction began....and $20 later, we still had not won the Angry Bird plush that I swear cost .25 to make elsewhere. Seeing how sad my son was when he went to turn in 20 tickets for a plastic army soldier and plastic ball, I pulled a guy who worked there aside and said "you've seen us playing for over an hour, can I just buy one of these birds off you?" It didn't take long until the manager was opening the game and handing my a red angry bird, for a little bit of cash. Although I would not normally do this, the best part was that my son didn't see any of it, so he assumes we won it fair and square!! I know there is something bad in this story, but at the same time, I was able to talk to him about being persistent and not giving up....Ugh!!

Ice Princess Time!

Each year we look forward to having the Ice Princess drive around the neighborhood bringing delicious ice cream to all of us - along with cheerful music and ice princess kindness. We had not seen her all summer and thought that perhaps she had moved on, but that was not the case. The city had delayed her permit, so she was unable to start until July, half way through the summer! Although we wish we had more time with her, we'll take advantage of the time we've got. If you're in the neighborhood, she drives by around 5:30 - 6 p.m.

79th Long Beach Sand Castle Sulpture Contest

Today we drove down to Long Beach to check out the 79th Grand Sand Sculpture Contest, located on Granada Beach in the Belmont Shore area of Long Beach. It's a signature event of the Long Beach Sea Festival and has been covered by the news for years.

In the past, it has been full of professional sand sculptors, the kind you see on "Sand Masters" on the Travel Channel. However, that was not the case this year. Don't get me wrong, many were still far more impressive than anything I could ever do myself, it was just noticeably different than in years past. The fun part is that anyone can enter, which makes me think we'll enter one day when my son is old enough to do it with me. In addition to sign up stations, there were a couple food vendors, a beer garden, a kid’s zone, and various attractions for all ages. Teams began sculpting at 9am and were supposed to create the sculpture that best embodies “The Spirit of Long Beach”, which is this year’s theme. The contest and the prize ceremony took place today between 2pm and 4pm, but the sculptures will still be up tomorrow for anyone in the area looking for something fun to do.

After viewing the competition, we played a little in the water, avoiding random pitbulls running on the sand (yes, this ain't Santa Monica), but enjoying dolphins swimming in the water! (Not sure if you can see it from this photo - it's the little black dot in the water.

To learn more about the competition log on here: http://www.visitlongbeach.com/calendar/index.cfm?eventid=3440

Forget Cupcakes...Macarons are the new IT Treat

We've blogged about our favorite little hole in the wall restauraunts before, we've shared our adoration of Bulgarini Gelato in Altadena (where the Italian owners are as dedicated to authenticity as the $75 a bottle olive oil they pour over their delicious desserts), yes we do appreciate the finer things in life. Today we discovered huge flavor in the tiny elegance of a carefully and divinely crafted macaron in Old Town Pasadena. Barely open one month, 'lette opened its second shop in our community meaning we'll no longer have to make the trek to the original store in Beverly Hills to enjoy their signature violet, pistacio, caramel, vanilla and chocolate macarons my family devours - and that serve as divinely sophisticated gifts!

Each day fan favorites and new delicacies - 13 in all - are created in the Beverly Hills location by Christophe Michalak, French pastry chef extraordinaire and winner of the 2005 Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie. With deliveries arriving early in the morning, each day is a new conbimation of select flavors. Make sure you know which day they serve your favorite so that you don't miss out, although if you have to eat a different flavor, consider it a favor - they're all delish!

Without knowing where the chef is from, you can sense that you are being transported somewhere unique with each bite. You think you know what vanilla should taste like, but you don't until you try one of these! Stop by and treat yourself to my family's new favorite spot! And if you are our friend or family member, you'll probably get a special treat the next time we see you!

For a complete list of flavors, log on to: http://www.lettemacarons.com/macarons.html To purchase online and ship overnight, log on to: http://www.lettemacarons.com/order.html

In the meantime, stop by their new Pasadena location at 14 South Fair Oaks Avenue.

Family Movie Night - "Who is Simon Miller?"

It's time for the latest installment of Family Movie Night on NBC. The upcoming movie, called "Who is Simon Miller?" is on this Saturday, August 6th at 8/7 central. Check out the Facebook page. It is the story of a family of 4 who finds out that the husband/father is not who they think he is. The movie was a great family movie that brings the family together and gives you a chance to talk as a family about how you would deal with certain difficult situations.
The cast features Loren Dean (Simon Miller), Robyn Lively (Meredith Miller), Skyler Day (Sarah Miller), Drew Koles (Kevin Miller), and Christine Baranskui (Amanda).



This was a very good movie that has some good action scenes and good clean fun that you can watch with your family. This is my first Family Movie Night and after this, it is a tradition that my family and I will continue to do. Next time, we'll get some microwaveable popcorn!



Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalof of P&G and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

BlogHer for a Newbie

Today was the first full day of the BlogHer Conference. Now in it's 11th year, the leading conference for bloggers and the brands that want to work with them, all converged on the San Diego Convention Center. That's where I was, too. Half party, half educational sessions, I was a little overwhelmed at first. I started the day walking the expo hall where I saw the Pringles mascot - the mascot of my cupboard since I was a kid.

I then passed through the P&G booth, which was the recreation of a home, complete with giant toilet! I then hit the Egglands Best booth, where I played a slot machine and won a plush "egg" for my 4 year old. Other booth visits included Glad, where they unveiled plastic containers with a built in compartment for dressing, dips or sauces! This had to be one of the best take- home tchotkes of all! Look for them in stores this fall. The Post-It company gave away purses that held post-its, which I knew my wife would like.

Hallmark had a special suite where you could pick a greeting card and they'd mail it off for you - complete with postage. They also raffled off a library of their recorded-book library - all 17! Skinny Cow handed out ice cream and chocolate candy. There was a Hot Wheels suite that was showing their new hot tracks, Hot Wheels tracks that actually mount on the wall! Kids will get a kick out of seeing their cars to loop-de-loops and more practically in the air!

Hershey's had a cozy suite that allowed people to actually make s'mores onsite!

And the Jimmy Dean Sun was on hand to great bloggers as well.

ChapStick handed out my wife's favorite item from the conference - apple flavored chap stick. My wife immediately applied it and began kissing our entire family! She kept saying how it reminded her of Bonnie Bell from her childhood, but that it had the thickness of the Chap Stick that she is addicted to. Aside from the brands, as blogger newbies (can't you tell we're new from the photographs?? - I actually forgot left my iphone and camera at home!) we attended several of the conferences that spoke about the business of blogging, the fun and personal side of blogging, content creation and more. There were also sessions hosted by leading brands whose marketing executives talked about how bloggers - even the smallest - could partner with brands on product reviews, though leadership and more. There were also several sessions that featured leading media folks, including one panel that included reporters from the Huffington Post and The Hollywood Reporter. The conference runs through Saturday and apparently there are a lot of "celebrities" coming on Saturday as brand spokespeople. My wife was excited about celebrity trainer Bob Harper, but we returned home today so she'll miss out. Anyway, it was quite an adventure.

My Little Jessie James??

Anywhere we go with my four year old, they have kid-friendly tattoos. The library, tattoos featuring dogs reading books, birthday parties, super heroes or trains, school, books or food. Every weekend finds us putting tattoos on my son's arms and by Monday, they've faded just enough that they look the same color as a 80 year old sailor's 80 year old tattoos - you know, that faded blueish gray color. So I wonder...are all these tattoos creating little Jessie James'?

Advice for A Reluctant 4-year-old Swimmer

Okay, we're taking our son to swim class. We have him going 4 times a week for 25 minute sessions. (I should note that this is how they schedule the classes - we are not Type A parents). However, my son hates it. He cries and screams and is sooo sad. It breaks our heart. However, we are around the pool all the time, our relatives have pools at their homes and more and more we get invited to his classmates birthday parties - and many of them have pools. So, while I hate to see him cry, I do feel like he needs to learn to swim. Not sure if any of you have experience with this and recommendations for calming/soothing a child before a swim class? Popsicles seem to work every now and then....

Mystery of the Half Eaten Watermelon Triangles

It was my birthday on Friday and over the weekend we invited relatives over for brunch. My wife cut watermelon - perhaps my son's most favorite food ever - into triangles and left them in a bowl. Before we left, my wife called me in the kitchen to show me that the tops of all of the triangles had been eaten, but the bottoms had been untouched. It was slightly frustrating because we obviously could not serve the watermelon, but it was hysterical, too, when we realized our four year old had been the eater! So funny.

My Son Finally Dressed Himself Correctly

Tonight is a special night. My four year old son actually dressed himself for bed, all alone, and managed to get everything in the right place! It was such a surprise to see him take the initiative and to do it so well! The strange thing is that although I know this is a great moment, there was a part of me that was a little bummed that it's another thing he doesn't need me to help with. Every day he does more and more by himself and I feel pride with a little bittersweet on the side.

Amazing Dinosaur Exhibit in LA

Grandpa came to town and mentioned the new dinosaur exhibit hall at the Los Angeles Natural History Museum. Is that bad that I had not suggested it even though I live here? That's for another time. Let's chat about this exhibit because it rocks. Not only is it 14,000 square feet of fossils and amazing dinosaurs, but it is also the world's only Tyrannosaurus rex "growth series," which includes different T Rex's in different "ages and stages" - a 30-foot, 18-year-old; a 20-foot juvenile and an 11-foot baby. Apparently the museum is only half-way through a renovation that is going to see it nearly double in size. I wanted to read everything in the exhibit, but my four year old wanted to "ride the elevator." I'll have to go back by myself or with my wife so that I can read everything. Also, the exhibit is home to the Dinosaur Encounters, which is a "performance-based interpretive program that lets visitors get up close and personal with a realistic, life-sized juvenile T. rex." Working with paleontologists, engineers, artists, and puppeteers, the museum commissioned these huge dinosaur "puppets" that bring these prehistoric animals to life. "Terror and laughter exist side by side as the puppet roars, stalks, and bellows through our halls." Definitely worth checking out.