Natural History

There are some wonderful exhibits going on right now at the Natural History Museum of LA, and I thought I'd share the details in case you've got the kids on your hands in between school and camp for a few more days (is Freida the only one who starts school after Labor Day?). Truth is, Freida has been weirdly and wildly obsessed with dinosaurs for a while now, and we really trekked out to NHM (which we usually reserve for a trip to the Butterfly Pavilion) for the Dinosaur Encounters (since she had become interested on her own, I had been searching for local exhibits and such to cultivate her curiosity and work with her natural excitement). But once we were there I was thrilled to see they had a exhibit of animal horns - perfect trip for Elul!

They had a completely interactive hands-on display of all sorts of horns and antlers! I was even educational for me - I never realized quite how many different shapes and forms horns can be! And it was interesting to me that horns and antlers are made up of two completely different things - I always thought they were kind of the same thing and that we only use certain kosher animals horns for a Shofar, but it turns out antlers are made of solid bone and can not be hollowed as opposed to horns which are actually made of the same thing as nails. #JudaicWeirdness. :)

Aside from the horn exhibit, we had a crazy-cool time at the Dino Encounters!! It was fantastic! Check it out here.

And, of course, the Butterfly Pavilion is always a favorite! It's only around for another week or two, so if you got the kids on your hands go check it out!!!

Happy Camper!

 

Freida started day camp on Monday! I was mommy-ed out, and freaking about how much I had to get done before the end of the month... So! I signed her right up to Camp Israel @ Shaarei Tefila, and we've been a duo of Happy Camper and Blissed-Out-Mama ever since. :)

The camp is down our block, so we walk there together in the morning at 9am (sometimes joined by her best-buddy cousin Zali), and I take Hudi for a walk in the stroller to pick her up at 3pm. It's perfect.

She cried plenty on the first day when I left, but 30 minutes later my phone dinged with a photo-text from her counselor featuring a happy-faced Freida sporting hot-pink goggles in the pool! :)

While Freida's camping happy, I've been feeling like I'm racing the clock! 10 whole days to myself (Hudi doesn't demand much - a variety of toys, a walk for fresh air, and some good food pretty much keeps her smiling!) have proven insanely useful! My task-list seems to be a mile long (preparing my home for PLAY involves baby-proofing, outfitting the outdoors, baby toy and gear roundup, First Aid + CPR training, and lots more! Plus, planning Babyccino 2013 is super-fun and creative but super time-consuming as well!), but I'm making so much headway without my little ladybug in tow!

Walking her to camp is totally dreamy for me. I grew up in the suburbs and always had to carpool for 20 minutues minimum to get anywhere! While Skokie is beautifully awesome (!), I kind of always wished I had friends to walk to on Shabbos or neighbors to play with after camp etc. It's so blissful for me to walk my little girl down the block with her lunchbox and meet the whole entire neighborhood on their way to one nearby camp or another. Even her best-friend next-door-neighbor goes to another camp in the same building and they see each other at drop-off every morning. And the concept of being able to walk there with the baby to get her, stop at Coffee Bean on the way, or head for ice cream on the way home is SO fantastical to me! Ah, the little things in life.. :)

Anyways, while Freida's off at camp and Hudi is currently napping, I'm going to tackle re-organizing my kitchen pantry and laundry room (which includes making a list of things I need to buy to make the storage spaces more efficient), meet up with some girlfriends for lunch at RFD, head to The Container Store (and once I'm in Century City I'll probably make my way into Kate Spade :)), pick up Freida from camp, play a few mellow rounds of matching game with the AC full-blast, and run a warm bubble bath for the girls to enjoy together before dinner. As I said, it's been blissful. :)

Huge thanks to wonderful staff and people behind Camp Israel!!! You folks obviously know what you're doing!

Weekend Round-up!!

Happy weekend, girlies! We here in this house are overjoyed by the fact that it's Sunday - been a filled week, and we are relishing in some family downtime! We're half-way through Summer, and while it's been a lovely low-key, slow-movement month, I definitely feel like there are some trips, home-projects, and activities I'd like to fit in before Summer's end... So! While I (finally) take off my PJs and get dressed for the day, here are some things I've been checking out:

- This windshield rainbow would bring instant "coolest mom" status to first week of carpool.

- I made this hilariously easy ice cream cake for a friend this weekend, it came out a little boring but the concept is a great dessert canvas! Add in some chopped candy bars, flavored coffee, cookie crumbs etc. for more of a gourmet effect.

- I'm suddenly feeling like I need an instant adult-only vacation!! Dreaming of lolling here.....

- This + sparkling spritzers makes a great date-night dinner for the 9 days!

- Swooning over this little swing.

- I love Dwell Studio, and I'm going nuts over their new kid pattern wallpaper!!

- These army men alternatives made me laugh out loud!

- Herringbone nails?

Color in the Classroom

I simply can't get over this Parisian Kindergarten building!! I'm swooning over the rainbow-on-steroids colors that are splashed across the playground, hallways, classroom, and even bathroom! I love color, but it isn't easy to use lots of it together without the result looking kinda cheesy... Using muted colors seems to be easier to get right - especially when paired with neutrals. But when I happen upon something like this - I'm in total awe!!

Freidafroo + Babyccino = PLAY!

So here's the latest installment, girls: I'm starting a modern form of "day care"  in my home this year! I've been thinking about doing something like this for a while now, and since Freida will be going off to school in September, and I'll be home giving myself over to Hudi and her itty-bitty education set on exploring her life and the world around her - I thought I'd invite some other little ones over to play! I'll be opening my home to little friends for 3 hours, 3 days a week - in a quest to bring babies together for our teeny-tiny explorations and adventures!

Here is the mock-up for how I envision PLAY:

The goal of PLAY is to encourage little children to grow through play, and to learn through fun - we're not afraid to get our hands dirty in the process. Little senses will be developed as we expose young fingers to a myriad of textures, small ears to many different forms of sound and music, little palates and noses to diverse tastes, flavors, and aromas and an array of interesting things to look at and learn about. Also, early social skills will develop as the children share time together, and will be honed as they continuously interact with their little friends. Baby sign language is continuously being proven to minimize the frustration of pre-talkers and in turn reduce early tantrums and meltdowns, and will be used consistently by the care-takers while playing, eating, and especially - transitioning. Think of PLAY as a teeny-tiny community made up of the most important pint-sized individuals on earth...you kids.

Obviously, that was much too much information to slap onto a postcard or flyer, but here you have it folks.

Since PLAY will only be operating 3 days a week, it's really ideal for 3 different moms: "the freelancer" (can enroll her child and obtain 9 uninterrupted day-time work hours a week!), "the part-time employee" (can reap the benefits of some educational care vs. housekeeper care - a few hours a week of social interactivity with other babies and age-appropriate education and exploration), and "the full-time mom" (can double-down on her sanity by freeing-up some time for peaceful grocery shopping, or solo exercising - while feeling great about what her baby is getting up to in the meantime!).

But of course, it's just great for everyone and anyone who wants to give their baby some real time to PLAY!

We're now open for registration!! If you're interested, please email me: freidafroo@gmail(dot)com as space is very limited.