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Saturday, January 31, 2015

Coming Up: Silhouette Portraits by Karl Johnson

Have you ever wanted to get your kids' silhouette portraits done? Artist Karl Johnson will be making an appearance at several spots in the Bay Area. Check out his website - great art and interesting stories.

To schedule your five minute appointment, call the store you're interested in or go to the link. All ages are welcome.

When: February 6
Where: The Podolls, 251 Primrose Road, Burlingame
Call: (650) 389-2346

When: February 7
Where: Small Fry’s, 4066 24th Street, San Francisco,
Call: (415) 648-3954

When: February 8
Where: Daisy's, 2017 Mountain Blvd, Oakland
Call: (510) 339-1920

Friday, January 30, 2015

Coming Up: San Francisco Family Summer Resource Fair - Free



Not sure of your summer plans? Check out the annual San Francisco Family Summer Resources Fair on Saturday, February 7th. They'll have 150 exhibitors offering...family summer resources. Learn about camps, arts and crafts, activities, jobs (for teens), classes and sports. Look for free kid activities as well.

The event is free and is at the Balboa High School, 1000 Cayuga Avenue, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more info check sfkids.org or here.

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Camp Mather Family Camp Registration Ends Soon

For San Francisco residents (and lucky non-SF residents who get in) - Camp Mather lottery registration ends on February 6, 2015. Camp Mather is in the High Sierras (outside Yosemite), and offers family camp that looks so awesome - activities and meals included.

To register, use this link and enter course code 39462. You can read more about it here. Nonresidents can apply as well, and will be processed AFTER residents. May 30-June 6 is inclusion week, for families with kids who have disabilities.

Kids' Theater: Fiddler on the Roof in San Francisco

The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department's Young People's Teen Musical Theatre
Company's production of "Fiddler on the Roof" is coming up. Set in the Pale of Imperial Russia in 1905, it's based on the story of Tevye and His Daughters by Sholem Aleichem. "Fiddler" centers on Tevye, the father of five daughters, and his attempts to maintain his family and Jewish religious traditions while outside influences encroach upon their lives. It's something every culture can relate to.

When: January 30-31, February 1, February 6-8; Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30, Sundays at 2 p.m.
Where: Randall Museum, 199 Museum Way
Tickets: $15/general, $10/students-seniors

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Coming Up: Music for Families at the San Francisco Symphony

Music for Families with the San Francisco Symphony is coming up this weekend.

This popular series introduces kids and  parents to the wonders of live orchestral music. It's part performance and part family outing, and the Music for Families matinee concerts are designed to spark the imagination of the whole family through an exploration of different aspects of the orchestra and its repertoire. They're educational, engaging, and fun, and include performances of great symphonic music, fascinating musical discoveries, and informative talks about the orchestra, the instruments, the musicians, and the music being performed.


If you are holding tickets a week before, you'll get a special pre-concert program guide, and a fun musical gift, like a book or a recording, to prepare for the concerts, and for use at home.

Here's the schedule:

January 31 - 2 p.m.
Let's Dance - From Mazurkas to Marches to Mambos, the Let’s Dance Music for Families concert takes audiences through the basics of rhythm and dance, and includes dancers. There will be no intermission in this program. You'll hear/see parts of Carmen, Symphony No. 5, Beautiful Blue Danube Waltz, Swan Lake Suite, and several more.

March 14 - 2 p.m.
Let's Go - Learn about music inspired by life on-the-go around the world.

April 11 - 2 p.m.
Let's Imagine - Symphonic music tells a fantastic musical tale, and in this performance, the audience chooses the twists and turns.


Who: Music for Families concerts are geared for ages 7+.
Tickets: Half price for kids  children age 17 and under. Get tickets by phone at (415) 864-6000 or online. Tickets are $15-64.
Where: 201 Van Ness Ave, SF

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Grumpy Cat comes to Berkeley...and more

Though I don't actually own  a pet, it's feeling like pet month. Two of my articles on pets (taking care of your pets in winter and socializing your cat) were published on a client's website. And Grumpy Cat comes to Berkeley this Saturday, from 12-3. He'll pose for pictures with you too. It's at the Berkeley Humane Society Mobile Adoption Center opening, 2700 Ninth Street. So you may end up adopting a pet while you're there. If you have a choice, adopt Grumpy Cat because he earns a lot of money.

So with that, as my Netflix post as a Stream Team member, this month I'm highlighting pet shows! The first is Air Bud, which I will admit up front my brother-in-law was an associate producer. So that gets high placement here even though I haven't yet watched it. I'm sure my kids have, when visiting their uncle! It's on my Netflix list though!

Annie came out in theaters in December.

And Adventures of Puss in Boots just started streaming on Netflix last week. This is a whole series, so hours of fun!

What's your favorite movie/TV show with pets? Ha - my daughter and I just watched an old Brady Bunch episode where the dog steals everyone's things, including the letter with Alice's prize information from a jingle contest. My daughter had heard a lot about the Brady Bunch (I'm a fan) but had never seen an episode. She thought it was stupid. Which it is. But it's a good kind of stupid.

School Snack Foods - What do You Send?

It's late January and we've been trying hard to keep the school lunches interesting. I'm not one to pack chips and cookies in my kids' lunches (or rather, they're now packing their own lunches, but I'm still buying the food). I can't promise that our snacks are all super healthy, but I do try to find something of value in the snacks.

Hummus and veggies - my daughter is a good vegetable eater now, and will take leftover salad to school. Hooray! She also likes bringing red or yellow pepper strips and individual servings of hummus. I found the individual containers at Costco, though you can probably get them at Trader Joe's and other places too. If your kid is good about bringing containers home, you can always fill one of your own snack size containers from a larger tub.



Snapea Crisps - we buy these by the large bag at Costco. I like them because they're baked and they have fiber in them. That said, they're still a processed food,

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Passports with Purpose - How Much Did We Raise?


I just found this still in my draft post folder! I thought I published it last month. Well, here it is!

Thank you to all who contributed to the Passports with Purpose fundraiser. We raised $26,000, which will help five farming communities in Honduras to farm more sustainably for the next five years. The tools and education provided to them through Sustainable Harvest International will make a major and long-lasting impact on these communities. They'll plant thousands of trees and help feed hundreds of people in each community through this work.

If you bid on prizes, you should have found out if you won (you won't be contacted unless you won) by December 22.

Even though you can no longer bid on prizes, you can still donate to SHI through Passpsorts with Purpose. 100% of the donation goes to SHI, as Passports with Purpose is an all-volunteer group of bloggers organizing it.

Passports with Purpose 
A big thanks to all the sponsors of PWP, including TBEX and HomeAway, and our Frisco Kids and Jersey Kids prize sponsors, Schoola and Breathometer.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Coming Up: Scouting Saturday at Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos

As the mom of both a former Cub Scout and Girl Scout, I'm constantly on the lookout for scouting field trips and activities. Here's one for both groups!

Hiller Aviation Museum is hosting Scout Saturday this weekend, Saturday January 11th, with special talks at 11 and 11:45 a.m.

All scouts and leaders in uniform, or with scout ID, will get in free all day.

At 11, Retired USAF Col. William Wardwell will describe his experience in scouts, rising to the Eagle Scout rank. He later became an Air Force aviator and flew supersonic Northrop T-38 and Lockheed C-141s. Learn how his experiences as a Scout shaped Col. Wardwell’s career as an aviator in the service of his country in missions that spanned the globe.

At 11:45, Hiller presents Flying with Poodles, where local aviator Karen Morss will talk about her experience with aviation and scouting. She grew up outside Philadelphia, taking her first airplane ride with her father when she was 8. On ride convinced her that aviation was a beautiful way to see the world. Karen's careers included founding her own business and cultivating Meyer lemon orchards. In between she earned her pilot certificate, bought an airstrip, and founded a flight school—all accompanied by her flying poodles! Today Karen writes children’s books, including “Flying Poodles—A Christmas Story.” Karen will describe her experiences as an aviator, author and businesswoman in an inspirational presentation.

You can pay an additional fee to participate in their Flight Simulation Zone, from 11-2.

Hiller is at 601 Skyway Road in San Carlos. Anyone participating with the scouts, who is not in scout uniform or with scout ID, will need to pay regular admission, though the special talks are included in that.

Coming Up: Jack and the Beanstalk - SF

This year’s Children's Theater Association of San Francisco production is “Jack and the Beanstalk,” a musical retelling of an English Fairy Tale originally written by Joseph Jacobs. "All ends well in this toe-tapping, whimsical comedy filled with wonderful characters such as the gullible young Jack, his poor Mother, their loveable cow Betsy, an evil baron, a madcap inventor Giant, along with his lab assistants and magical creations, the Golden Harp and Golden Goose. The play is full of surprises as not all characters are exactly what you expect them to be!"

FYI - the performance is about 50 minutes.

The Children’s Theatre Association of San Francisco is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing live musical theater to over 7,500 school children each year at no cost to the schools.

When: January 17, 24, 31 and February 7 at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Where: Cowell Theater, Fort Mason, SF
Tickets: $15
More info: here

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Coming Up: Musical Journeys with Frank Levy: Animals, Seasons and other Musical Fantasies

The Palo Alto JCC is presenting "Musical Journeys With Frank Levy: Animals, Seasons and other Musical Fantasies." This musical voyage will take young listeners on a journey inspired by animals, stars, the moon etc, through music by Copeland, Ibert, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Rimsky-Korsakov and Debussy.

This program is the second of three Musical Journeys with Frank Lévy to be presented by the Oshman Family JCC; the next is on April 19, “Children’s Corner and Some of Our Favorite Things.”

What: Musical Journeys With Frank Levy: Animals, Seasons and Other Musical Fantasies
When: Sunday, January 11, 2015 at 3
Where: Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto (Schultz Cultural Arts Hall), 3921 Fabian Way
Tickets: Tickets are $20 each in advance ($25/door)