My Little Picasso

We recently tried "finger painting" for the first time. Freida went a little nuts at first about her hands being dirty... took a lot of convincing for her to be okay with the paint on her hands (I know, I'm the culprit who made her so OCD), but once she got acclimated she went totally paint-happy!! She somehow turned the experience from "finger" painting to "body" painting, but I couldn't interfere with a good tactile activity. Definitely try this classic with the kids! We used Crayola pinger paint - with a quick bath, and some wet paper towels to the floor - we were back in business in 5!  Great for a rainy day...

SAFEboarding!

Our home is currently under the Extreme Sport spell (I don't think I've seen our DVR light go off since the games have begun!), and I'm sure many of you, specifically those of you with little skater boys, are feeling the Extreme vibe as well. In the spirit of the X-Games 16 going on now at LA's Staple Center, I wanted to post some of the funkiest skating safety gear out there. Watching these dudes fly through the air at mach speed makes me wonder about the safety of all the wee little Tony Hawk fans out there, religiously perfecting their ollies, manuals, and melongrinds. Not sure I'd be so keen on the skating hobby if I had a little boy (or skater girl)... Here's a little something to quell a moms fears; Little Nutty helmets from Nutcase - known to be the only helmets designed to properly fit the head of a child. I'll be honest, they only made me look because of their totally tubular designs (!), but once I read a bit more about them I was completely sold on their safety features as well. Just make sure you check out the Kids Size Chart before purchase. So before you let your little Shaun White impersonator out on the half-pipe, make sure he's as safe as the pros themselves. Moms gotta give in to the hype eventually, and skateboarding has been deemed currently cool.

P.S. If you live in LA and are looking for a great place to take Jr. to practice, check out the Culver City Skate Park. They have smaller ramps for kids and beginners...

Mod Graphics for Lunch!

I'm sure most of you have already started doing at least some minimal school supplies shopping... Camp is soon to culminate, leaving you with a week of at-home entertainment with the kids; not giving you that much time to spend on shopping around for new year goodies. As I said before, I have an infatuation with lunch bags/boxes. As a kid I loved the "fresh start" feeling it gave me carrying a spankin' new lunch tote to the cafateria... Here's my latest favorite: the Dante Beatrix lunch box collection. Made of durable and insulated heavy-duty nylon, these charming animated bags are 100% machine washable, making mom's after hours job 100% easier. I adore the modern prints, and find the colors and bag design totally kid-minded and imaginative. Any little dude would be totally stoked to carry his sustenance 'round in that hip little robot bag! Makes lunch even more lovable...

They have a super cute jr. backpack line out as well. How great are these little guys??

Kids in the Windy City

We're almost completely back to normal here... Pretty much back on schedule, and gradually syncing back into routine. Freida had a bout of seperation-anxiety the night and morning after our flight. Whenever Manasseh left her side she became completely frantic! Each time he left the room or walked out of sight, she went into full-on hysterics! Took a lot a coaxing and convincing to explain to her that she is home now, and both mommy and daddy are here etc... Late the next morning she finally cooled off enough to wave at her daddy as he left the house. Wondering if this ever happened to any of your kids after not seeing one of their parents for a while...??

Anyways, now that I'm back, I wanted to share a bit of a city-guide for trekking with children through the City of Chicago... There's really so much to do in every big city, but with kids in toe - things tend to get a bit tricky. Thought I'd give you of few of my favorite greater Chicagoland area destinations:

Chicago Childrens Museum @ Navy Pier - www.chicagochildrensmuseum.org

We grew up spending many special Sundays at this classic location. Perfect for the little guys to have fun while learning, and the Pier has a myriad of hip attractions for the grownups as well.

The Skokie Park District Exploratorium - www.skokieparkdistrict.org

Called "Chicagoland's best rainy-day activity site" by Chicago magazine. And I can vouch for that!! Two thumbs up to the greatest indoor-playground I've ever seen! I'd highly recommend you check it out...!

Ken's Diner - www.kensdiner.com

Retro-styled glatt, baby! Feels like you walked into a set on Grease - diner styled burgers, fries, and even shakes (non-dairy, of course). The Burger Buddy, the most famous on the menu, is said to be the best kosher burger available!

  

Kohl Childrens Museum - www.kohlchildrensmuseum.org

The beloved Kohl museum offers 17 interactive hands-on exhibits for children ages birth to 8. I loved this place as a kid, and it has only gotten better over time. The newly renovated modern facility is located in Glenview IL (about 15-20 minutes from Skokie), and really is a no-fail entertainment plan.

Millennium Park (Crown Fountain) - www.millenniumpark.org

There is so much to do/see at Millennium Park, but the most popular summertime attraction for kids is Spanish artist Jaume Plensa's Crown Fountain, a shallow pool featuring by two giant video installations that squirt water onto the crowd. A great central place to hang out when visiting/touring the City. You're bound to love it.

Bagel Country - www.bagelcountry.com

My all-time favorite lunch-time destination! Offering over 25 different bagel options; everything from jalepeno to chocolate chip. This is sure-fire way to happily feed the family.

Enjoy your voyage, and travel happy!!

Nix the Jet Blues

Well, our Skokie Summer has come to a close... we'll be jetting out before dinner-time today. We'll sure miss the family, and Freida will definitely miss all the suburban nature, but I must admit - we're ready. We miss our man way too much!! Can't wait to see you, Mr. Levy!! I got some last minute scavenging to do around the house (baby sock matches, neglected finger puppets, Goodnight Gorilla etc.), and got to pack up some dinner-to-go (Bagel Country, anyone??).  I'm figuring since it's a evening flight, the Froo should fall asleep shortly... but I'm probably being unrealistic. Too bad JetBlue doesn't air NickJr, some YoGabbaGabba would surely do the trick! Just in case my slumber plan fails, I packed along some goodies and gimmicks to entertain my little onel in flight. For the many of you traveling with kids this season, check out this post on some of my in-flight favorites. I also wanted to share a newfound favorite toy, Puzzibits from Manhattan Toy. This is a completely awesome activity for a middle school kid! I couldn't stop playing around with them... It's basically flexible 3D puzzle art, allowing kids (or kids at heart!) to construct and create whatever their little heads want. Available for purchase as a megamix bucket, or as single design series (garden, circus, princess, jungle etc.) - great for keeping a little boy/girl super busy at 30,000 feet!