Sur La Table - Hot spot for celebrity sighting like Brian Austin Green and Megan Fox

My wife began taking a cooking class this week and needed a particular pan for the class. She was very busy this week so my son and I went to Sur La Table on Colorado Blvd. (after hitting up Michael's and Target for the same product) to purchase the pan. In previous visits, we've seen actress Jane Kazmarek (best known for playing the mom on "Malcolm in the Middle") and TV host Rachel Ray in the same store. Well, today's visit was no different. Brian Austin Green and Megan Fox were in the store purchasing a complete set of knives. He was very polite and considerate...she was a little upset that he was giving out their mailing address to the clerk (even though she needed it to mail the knives). Everyone in the store was pretty calm, taking the occasional glance, except for one person....my three year old - because at the end of the day, he hasn't been exposed to our celebrity culture just yet.

dad/son cooking class at Paintbox Kids

This morning, I joined about 10 other dads and their sons for a dad/son cooking class that was offered at Paintbox Kids in North Pasadena. This quaint little art studio is typically known for its art classes, but periodically holds unique toddler/child and parent classes like a mother/daughter tea and this morning's cooking class. Before you get excited, we aren't talking Le Cordon Bleu, but rather simple apple burritos and a vegetable and bean tostada, but the point was that my son and I had a great time using our plastic knives to cut an avocado slice into smaller pieces, and pulling the cilantro leaves off the stem. And, what was even more rewarding was to see the joy all the other dads had doing it with their kids as well. As we parents know, it's about the time we spend together that is special, not necessarily the activity itself.

Wow Wow Wubzy Book Signing May 8th!

My son loves Wubzy! There is a song called the Wubzy Wiggle and when my toddler hears it, he starts running around in circles singing the song. I actually have a short video of him singing the song and running around and then he loses his balance and falls down. I know, I'm mean, but he got back up and he was ok.

On Saturday, May 8th at 10:30am the creator, Bob Boyle, will be at Vromans Bookstore in Pasadena (the one on Colorado). He will be signing his new book Hugo and the Really Really Really Long String.

We can't wait to get the book and talk to Bob! Hope to see you there!

preschool menus full of fat

I was at my child's preschool today and was talking to a fellow parent who is taking a tour of preschools just to see what is out there. He was amazed to find that nearly all of the preschools he visited offered lunch for children that was full of fattening and preservative-laden foods. Now, I am not against french fries (in fact, I love them) and I am not against pizza, but I control the amount of pizza and fries my child eats in order to make sure he gets some fruit and veggies (okay, one day he'll eat his veggies, I just know it) in between. It really is a dilemma because there is one school in particular we both really liked, but worried about the food. So, I pose the question...is the education as important as what they eat or is one more important that the other? Thoughts?

Fan Yang - the Bubble Man at the Discovery Science Center

Our local children's discovery center offered a show all about bubbles (yes, the kind you play in the back yard) staring Fan Yang. Who is Fan Yang you ask (it was the same questions I asked as m wife drove me and my three year old down to the show)? Apparently he holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest bubble, the most bubbles within a bubble -9 total - and 7 other records. And you thought back yard bubbles were just a way to kill time with the little one...

He is on tour in "The Science of Bubbles", a show that doesn't talk about the science of bubbles at all, but instead offers an amazing display of the bubbles but set to music and bigger bubble makers than you can purchase at Target. Half fun and entertaining and half corny/something out of "Saturday Night Live," the show is a hit with young kids who loved jumping up and down to pop the bubbles. It was only about $7 per ticket and the show lasts about 45 minutes. If you child loves bubbles like mine does, it might be worth checking out. Just watch out for deluge of bubbles at the end!

Gymboree only cares about the bottom line

When our son was born - our first born - we heard about how great our local Gymboree classes were not only for our baby, but for us. We attended the first class and were pleased to see how much fun our child had and how much fun we had meeting and sharing milestones with other moms. We signed up not just for one class, but for the "core pass" which allows you to attend any play class within your child's age range, have unlimited access to open gym and even signed up for a second class - a music class. You might say it was the "Cadillac" plan of Gymboree. We attended religiously, even inviting some of the teachers to our child's birthday party. Then, when our son turned two, new management took over and we noticed an immediate difference. So much so, that even the teachers we loved - and who had loved our kids - were miserable.

Many of the teachers moved on, but we kept going because we really liked having an additional outlet and place to spend time with our child aside from the park, the neighbor's house, the sports class, etc. Yes, we attended AND PAID for classes on Tuesday, Wednesday, gym on Friday and class on Saturday - until last month - nearly three years after we began attending Gymboree. Figuring our son was ready to move on, we told the management that we would be ending our time at Gymboree, but that we had 9 make- up classes we wanted to complete. Make-up classes are allowed if you've paid your fees. Well, assuming we could make up the 9 classes - which WE PAID FOR - we continued attending. Well, after the first class, my husband was very rudely told that he is no longer eligible to attend classes. He explained our situation and the person at the desk said they'd take it up with management. We received a call from the same person from the front desk saying that we couldn't use our make up classes because we didn't pay for an additional month. We were furious!! After three years of paying for their Cadillac of offerings - and knowing that make-ups are a policy - that now they were telling us, sorry, you can't attend. My husband was furious and said he was going to attend another class since we paid for them. He took my three year old to music class the next week. Nothing happened - until we got home. We received a rude email from the management - yes, and email, not a personal call - WE HAVE YET TO SPEAK TO THE MANAGEMENT FROM THE SOUTH PASADENA LOCATION BECAUSE THEY ALWAYS HAVE THE FRONT DESK RECEPTIONIST CALL US INSTEAD - the email said we are not allowed to attend because we did not complete the 9 make ups before we ended our "membership." No mention of the fact that we reminded them of this from the very beginning.
Needless to say, we are no longer recommending people attend the South Pasadena or Monrovia locations of Gymboree. We believe in the the classes and what the company offers, but recommend other locations - or, if you do attend South Pasadena, just note that they are in it for the money as they "claim" to be in it for you and your baby.

L.A. Earthquake 4.4 Magnitude

My toddler didn't sleep very well last night. He woke up at midnight, then at 1am so I went in there and comforted him back to sleep. After that, I went back to bed but was rudely awakened at 4:04am by some shaking of the house. The Pico Rivera earthquake scared me and it sounded like a slow rumble which gradually got louder and then subsided. It felt like about 5 seconds but really scared me. I got up and went to my toddlers' room to check on him, but then it stopped (he didn't even wake up). It took me a while to go back to sleep because it reminded me of the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

Flash back to 1994, Sunday night at some apartment complex off the USC campus. That is where I was living at the time with 4 other roommates. We were partying that night because Monday was Martin Luther King day and we didn't have classes. I think I passed out that night around 1am and then woke up at 4:30am to the Northridge earthquake. We were on the third floor of the building and it literally felt like someone was shaking the entire building. It lasted a long time and the tremors lasted for a couple days. Books were falling of the shelf and lamps were falling, quite an experience especially after having one too many beers.

A few days later we went to Northridge to visit a friend of mines' house and the surrounding areas. The damage was unbelievable. 3 story parking structures crumbled down to rubble. Apartment complexes that collapsed and nothing visible of the first floor. A very shocking site.

I think the moral of the story is to beware of earthquakes at 4 in the morning...