tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131Thu, 16 Feb 2012 12:41:29 +0000PeninsulaContestTraditionswinter funFamilyParentingPiratesFranceWaterNightlifeBirthday partiesEnvironmentCommunityWine countrySingaporeEast BaySanta CruzMarinCraftsTravelHalloweenBay AreaInterviewsParisFoodMaker FaireSan CarlosEventsSummer campsNevadaMuseumsReviewsHolidaysSilicon ValleyBikingCambodiaNatureSan MateoNew YorkTheatermusicalsSan BrunoPuppetsCaliforniaMusicCultureSonomaStories by LouiseTipsArtFarmsCampingUKPhnom PenhSierrasFrog MomOceanTrainsSan FranciscoNew EnglandFestivalsLanguedoc-RoussillonYosemiteBrittanyStar WarsBiking on Great HIghway. PhotoRecipesFairiesMoviesSwimmingsanta cruz mountainsOutdoorsHikingThailandBangkokBooksA mommy blog about raising confident girls who love the outdoors, appreciate the arts and can crack a joke - hopefully.http://www.frogmom.com/noreply@blogger.com (Laure Latham)Blogger270125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-1866581310662334907Wed, 15 Feb 2012 02:10:00 +00002012-02-14T18:10:41.130-08:00winter funYosemiteSierras Snow dusting on Yosemite Falls. Photo by C.G. The Yosemite National Park may not be high on the family fun radar for winter but it has way more to offer than a trip to the visitor center and drinks at the Ahwanee - however much we love them. It's an ironic contradiction that when the park dons its snow white cloak, snow enthusiasts flock to Tahoe and leave the Yosemite valley alone. The http://www.frogmom.com/2012/02/winter-activities-in-yosemite-valley.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Laure Latham)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-8815543244576914484Sun, 12 Feb 2012 15:42:00 +00002012-02-12T08:09:02.907-08:00TraditionsBooks Design by Custom Design Icon Love is in the air! Since love is a commodity that parents store and share in unlimited amounts with their little one, Valentine’s is the perfect opportunity to remind them what love is all about. Have fun reading these books about what was at the origin of your little bundle of joy. Do You Love Me?  Written and illustrated by Joost Elffers + Curious Pictures http://www.frogmom.com/2012/02/books-for-kids-valentines-day.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Laure Latham)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-418845156515999540Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:34:00 +00002012-02-10T10:38:17.178-08:00San FranciscoTraditionsBay AreaFestivals Float at the Chinese New Year Parade in San Francisco. Photo from Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year and Parade Festival Facebook Page It's one of the top 10 Chinese New Year parades in the world, the kids will love it! For my friend Ronnie Sharpe from Marinhood, the San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade is a yearly tradition she never misses with her daughter. She likes the floats, she planshttp://www.frogmom.com/2012/02/guest-post-how-to-prepare-for-san.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Laure Latham)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-9020500034024040819Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:50:00 +00002012-02-03T22:56:35.931-08:00MarinOutdoorsHikingBay Area Abbott's Lagoon. Photo by Frog Mom A stone's throw away from the quaint town of Point Reyes Station, Abbott's Lagoon is Point Reyes' bucolic answer to the Pescadero Marsh or the Richardson Bay Audubon: a bird sanctuary. This flat 1.5 mile walk combines a lagoon where fresh waters meet the sea, green pasture hills and more birds than you've seen in a while - especially if you drop in during thehttp://www.frogmom.com/2012/02/discover-abbotts-lagoon-bird-sanctuary.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Laure Latham)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-4455853905121407532Thu, 02 Feb 2012 06:28:00 +00002012-02-02T08:58:16.114-08:00TraditionsRecipesFood All about crepes. Punxsutawney Phil photo courtesy of groundhog.org. Other photos by Frog Mom To celebrate Groundhog Day, you can feast on wild grasses, grasshoppers, flowers and snails like all groundhogs do. Or you can have crêpes for dinner - tough choice but justified historically. Here's a bit of history before a recipe and flipping tips to satisfy and impress the young crowds. For http://www.frogmom.com/2012/02/celebrate-groundhog-day-by-eating.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Laure Latham)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-2237398289601960418Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:32:00 +00002012-02-01T10:06:12.482-08:00ParentingMarinBay AreaCommunity Ronnie Sharpe and her dog Munro. Photo by Frog Mom A year ago, Ronnie Sharpe and her friend Marjorie got together over a cup of joe and created Marinhood, a website that lists kid activities from infancy through early grade school years (Ronnie's Awesome List) and for the tween and teenage years (Things To Do with Tweens and Teens in Marin). Ronnie describes the lists as "get in, get out," a http://www.frogmom.com/2012/01/meet-ronnie-of-awesome-list.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Laure Latham)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-6198559080340486460Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:48:00 +00002012-01-26T18:53:58.911-08:00San FranciscoCaliforniaBay AreaFestivals Civil War Days at Fort Point. Photo by Frog Mom While the East Coast battlefields were raging war night and day, San Francisco fortified its army outposts at Angel Island, Alcatraz and Fort Point. Steamers were sent through the Golden Gate and around the Horn loaded with millions worth in gold to finance the Civil War. Public meetings were held each time a letter arrived by stage coach. Ishttp://www.frogmom.com/2012/01/civil-war-day-at-fort-point.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Laure Latham)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-967739133676340951Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:43:00 +00002012-01-23T14:43:01.281-08:00Books Gung hay fat choy - Happy Chinese New Year! And not any new year, mind you. 2012 is the year of the golden dragon (which is my dad's sign) and I'm celebrating it with a book review. Last week we kicked off the Chinese spirit by seeing the Beijing Wushu Team perform an extremely acrobatic martial art show at Stanford University. My girls were excited to see one of the main actors of the movie http://www.frogmom.com/2012/01/book-review-year-of-dragon-by-oliver.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Laure Latham)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-1935766912556022656Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:48:00 +00002012-01-12T13:52:20.191-08:00CraftsOutdoorsSierras Nature journaling. Photo by Frog Mom Impressionists had it all figured out. Dressed in casual country chic (straw hat de rigueur even if it snowed), they walked to a nice spot in the woods, strived hard to look moody and set up their easel. Then they drunk bucket-loads of absinthe, got their palette out and painted a museum piece in large brush strokes. That was nature journaling at its finesthttp://www.frogmom.com/2012/01/intro-to-nature-journaling-with-kids.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Laure Latham)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-2718372568376426369Fri, 06 Jan 2012 23:11:00 +00002012-01-06T15:11:31.720-08:00CaliforniaOutdoorsHikingBay AreaPeninsula A room with a view. Photo by Frog Mom Talk about an adventure. With a mom friend, her two kids and my girls, we set out to find a historical marker on Sweeney Ridge in Pacifica, which I thought was pretty cool. In my mind, historical marker + Spanish expedition, armed soldiers and missionaries with horses and mules + year 1769 set the stage for a nice storytime after a steep hike. But lo and http://www.frogmom.com/2012/01/nike-missile-hike-at-sweeney-ridge.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Laure Latham)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-2615808179417717444Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:19:00 +00002012-01-02T16:49:47.743-08:00 Pretty winter flowers at Blue Canyon on Dec. 31, 2011. Photo by Frog Mom To all my readers from near and far, best wishes for a happy new year 2012! May the Year of the Dragon bring you happiness, success in your endeavors and a healthy family. A special thanks to all of you who read this blog and made the effort to comment, online and offline - it really means a lot to me. Instead of lofty http://www.frogmom.com/2012/01/happy-new-year-2012.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Laure Latham)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-1632954243346532910Thu, 29 Dec 2011 08:43:00 +00002011-12-29T09:02:02.084-08:00CaliforniaOutdoorsHikingBay Area Bridge above Penitencia Creek. Photo by C.G. Hot springs and an alien meteor in San Jose? Once a fashionable Victorian spa resort, Alum Rock Park is a narrow canyon whose steep ridges overlook a year-round creek traversed by 21 natural mineral springs. Some of them are hot springs whose sulfuric content exudes a particularly eggy smell but these minerals are exactly what made the canyon so http://www.frogmom.com/2011/12/winter-hike-at-alum-rock-canyon-with.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Laure Latham)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-5143515651223596412Wed, 28 Dec 2011 02:05:00 +00002011-12-27T18:06:41.323-08:00San FranciscoReviewsCaliforniaBay Areamusicals Two Broadway musicals for the holidays - Yay! Photos courtesy of SHNSF Jazz up your 2011 holidays with two great musicals! Between the bionic acrobatics of Bring It On! The Musical and the lunatic antics of the Grinch in How the Grinch Stole Christmas - The Musical, December's been an exciting time to go out and take some Broadway time off traditional festivities. Here's my review of both. http://www.frogmom.com/2011/12/review-bring-it-on-musical-and-how.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Laure Latham)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-5635844511455200558Wed, 21 Dec 2011 03:39:00 +00002011-12-20T21:52:26.506-08:00East BayCaliforniaTrainsBay AreaHolidays Niles Canyon Historic Railway. Photo by Frog Mom One of the last working trains of the Bay Area, the Niles Canyon Railway is a real working railroad whose vintage locomotives and coaches conjure images of Wells Fargo, Joaquin Murrieta and Mark Twain days. Come December, the train dons a festive appearance with thousands of lights inside and outside, Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus walking down http://www.frogmom.com/2011/12/niles-canyon-train-of-lights.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Laure Latham)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-5200068769750478521Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:05:00 +00002011-12-12T14:28:22.216-08:00santa cruz mountainsOutdoorsBay AreaSilicon Valley Hakone Gardens in fall colors. Photo by C.G. Terraced on the eastern slopes of the Santa Cruz mountains just off the city of Saratoga, Hakone Gardens is an escape to manicured and lush Japanese gardens you only see in period movies. Depending on the season, the garden dons the golden and crimson hues of autumn, the lush greens of winter, the tender blossoms of spring or the bold colors of http://www.frogmom.com/2011/12/hakone-gardens-where-bamboo-forests.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Laure Latham)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-6135977168030218399Fri, 09 Dec 2011 20:30:00 +00002011-12-09T12:40:44.862-08:00CraftsEast BayBay Area Dear child... Photo by Frog Mom If the tooth fairy or the spider in the kitchen wrote a letter to your child, this is what it might look like: an inch wide envelope with your child's address in ant-size script and an equally small sender address in the top left corner. Turn it over, break the red wax seal, open it and slowly pull out a tiny letter. Coming from a fairy, it'll reveal a page of http://www.frogmom.com/2011/12/leafcutter-designs-paper-art-and-whimsy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Laure Latham)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-7782915475687817229Mon, 05 Dec 2011 22:54:00 +00002011-12-05T14:54:26.949-08:00OceanWaterOutdoorsBay Area Kayak jam. Photo by Frog Mom Of all the winter activities, sea kayaking rarely tops the family list but in the Bay Area it really should. Winter offers some of the best conditions you'll find year-round for kid water adventures - windless days, mild temps and abundant migratory wildlife. Where else can your kids count harbor seals' teeth when they yawn? Without binoculars if you please. Short http://www.frogmom.com/2011/12/sea-kayaking-with-kids-in-sausalito.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Laure Latham)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-4536009604134469408Wed, 30 Nov 2011 19:46:00 +00002011-11-30T13:32:52.130-08:00San FranciscoTraditionsHolidays Miles and his friend. Photo by Frog Mom You know Dasher and Dancer, and Prancer and Vixen. But do you know Miles and his charming date from the North Pole? Well, not exactly the North Pole because they're at the California Academy of Sciences in the Golden Gate Park and under the clear roof of this venerable institution, accuracy of the essence. These two reindeer come from southern Californiahttp://www.frogmom.com/2011/11/holidays-at-golden-gate-park.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Laure Latham)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-3091239846707890849Tue, 22 Nov 2011 23:44:00 +00002011-11-23T06:57:39.591-08:00San FranciscoMusicBay AreaContest Yes, even reindeer! Photo by the SF Symphony Drum roll and get your musical ears please. I am happy to announce that one lucky Frog Mom reader will win 2 tickets to attend Deck the Hall on Sunday December 4, 2011! If you have never been, Deck the Hall is one of the most beloved holiday traditions of the San Francisco Symphony and an amazing experience for families. After an hour-long show thathttp://www.frogmom.com/2011/11/win-2-tickets-for-deck-hall-at-san.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Laure Latham)17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-7588916933986259407Sun, 20 Nov 2011 01:58:00 +00002011-11-19T18:08:45.761-08:00East BayOutdoorsHikingBay Area Colonies of ladybugs. Photo by Frog Mom To the many mysteries of winter and animal survival techniques, you can now add colonies of ladybugs clustered on trees like holly berries on a frosty December morning. Each year from November through February, thousands if not millions of the kids' favorite red bugs converge to Redwood Regional Park in Oakland, surfing the right winds to exactly the http://www.frogmom.com/2011/11/ladybug-hike-at-redwood-regional-park.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Laure Latham)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-6955764670058971380Tue, 15 Nov 2011 21:54:00 +00002011-11-15T14:03:51.068-08:00San FranciscoParentingOutdoorsTipsNature Nature child. Photo by Sarah Deragon I met Sarah Deragon of Portraits to The People at an event organized by A Little Yumminess and Smitten Ice Cream last month. Casually speaking, making it look ridiculously easy, Sarah was taking photos with her big camera - pictures of kids running around, of us adults waiting for our ice-cream, and of the liquid nitrogen ice-making machine. Meanwhile I http://www.frogmom.com/2011/11/guest-post-advice-for-photographing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Laure Latham)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-5816852800523361692Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:50:00 +00002011-11-14T21:43:14.168-08:00Frog Mom Look ma, I'm 4! Frog Mom (the real one) at age 4. Frog Mom turns 4 today and counting in bloggy-years, I feel like a cyber-granny. Thus in true granny fashion, today I'll reminisce about this blog's history in 14 bullet points even if you don't give a hoot. That's what you get for dropping in on a birthday. Four years ago to the day, I wrote a post titled Toddler Attack, a forgettable 200-http://www.frogmom.com/2011/11/frog-mom-turns-4.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Laure Latham)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-3817649442528417089Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:30:00 +00002011-11-10T09:31:52.423-08:00San FranciscoTraditionsCaliforniaBay AreaHolidays Gingerbread living, critter style. Photo by Frog Mom When Thanksgiving is only weeks away, I start thinking about all the holiday events I’m going to take my girls to. From Hanukkah to Christmas with winter solstice sprinkled in between, the Bay Area is an incredible showcase of family-friendly events to brighten the shortest days of the year – with cups of hot cocoa, skating afternoons andhttp://www.frogmom.com/2011/11/holiday-activities-for-kids.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Laure Latham)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-2980738163457844094Mon, 07 Nov 2011 22:17:00 +00002011-11-07T14:34:16.238-08:00San FranciscoReviewsNightlifeEventsBay Area How do they do it? Photo by Cirque du Soleil After the show, my girls clapped wildly though it was 11pm and way past their bedtime. The smile on their face said everything - what an amazing evening! Totem by Cirque du Soleil opened in San Francisco last week and I took my mom, my 2 girls (6 and 8) and my husband to the premiere. First thing I did when I got home was to Google "Olympians Cirquehttp://www.frogmom.com/2011/11/review-totem-by-cirque-du-soleil.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Laure Latham)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-3915859055363523942Sun, 06 Nov 2011 15:29:00 +00002011-11-06T07:31:08.519-08:00East BayCaliforniaOutdoorsHikingBay Area Playing in leaves. Photo by EBRPD "It's one of the common misconceptions about the Bay Area. We do have an autumn here," said Ranger Mike Moran of the East Bay Regional Park District when I asked him about places to find heaps of dead leaves in the East Bay. Now that cold temps have settled in, the sea has gotten rougher and trees are baring their branches happily, it's time to take the kids http://www.frogmom.com/2011/11/fall-hikes-for-kids-in-east-bay.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Laure Latham)2