the OTHER mother

Carrie at the Beach

2009-07-15T18:47:20-05:00

Carrie's joy in the ocean is pretty-much boundless these days!

A Tale of Two Grizzlies

2009-07-14T23:28:18-05:00

Okay, it's a polar bear, not a grizzly. But I preferred this picture to the one with the grizzly, okay? Also Carrie was in a truly grizzly mood today.

This is another photo for the Science Discovery Center at the LA County Museum of Natural Science on the USC campus.

Someone Puts a Dinosaur Together

2009-07-14T18:26:41-05:00

Pearl works out the puzzle of a fossilized tyrannosaurus rex at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

Vacationing with Pre-Schoolers

2009-07-14T06:03:00-05:00

Here are our ten best tips for traveling with young children. We don't always do this stuff, but we try:

1) Get free lodging. This takes a network and a lot of luck or love, but so far we have managed to do it on every vacation. This is the first step.

2) Book tickets early, and try to get either low prices or frequent flier tickets.

3) Set modest expectations about what you will see or do. We usually have one planned activity each day.

4) Choose destinations where you know families with kids the same ages as yours.

5) Try to take advantage of free museum days. We know our kids have only a limited attention span for most museums, and it is a lot less troubling if the admission is free.

6) Someone WILL get sick or have an accident. You will get lost. And it's okay!

7) Stick to the routines of home, as much as possible. We usually try to stay in the same spot the whole trip and take little day trips, rather than moving the gang from place to place.

8) Review high points of each day after dinner or at bedtime. Hearing the children's thoughts can help you plan the subsequent days of the trip. You can model this ritual for your kids to help them learn how it works.

9) Let each kid choose a souvenir of the trip to take home, preferably one that takes of a small amount of space in your luggage.

10) Spending money is not what makes the vacation fun. Your time together--playing, talking, laughing, connecting--these will make your travels memorable.

Please share your travel tips with us. Pretty please?

She Has Some Horses

2009-07-12T23:34:06-05:00

We "R" Beadniks

2009-07-12T06:10:00-05:00

Our friend Shannon's bead store is always a fun stop in Santa Monica. Beadniks is a half-block off the 3rd Street Promenade at Arizona and 2nd. If you see Shannon, please tell her that Grrrlville sent you!

Nomad at the Beach

2009-07-10T22:21:06-05:00

Too many hours in the chilly Pacific for this native Texan.

Sunset, Santa Monica Pier

2009-07-10T13:02:03-05:00

Afternoon at the Beach

2009-07-09T19:12:44-05:00

In this story, Pearl is a black lab pup who is afraid of the water.

Pearl's Story Inspired by Tar

2009-07-08T14:03:59-05:00

[dictation]

Once upon a time there was some animals from the Ice Age. A saber-toothed cat found some tar, but he didn't know what it was. He told the woolly mammoth and some other Ice Age animals what he had seen, but they didn't know what it was either. He told them it was black and bubbly and looked gooey, but they still didn't know what it was. They didn't this it was ice or water from the Ice Age.

So one day he saw a woolly mammoth that he didn't know go inside the pit and sink. He thought it might be some kind of sinking sands so he told the other woolly mammoths and Ice Age animals. They agreed with his guess that it much be some kind of sinking sands. But, what kind?

He did 2 tests. First, he dropped something from his fangs into the tar. When he took it back out with his paws, it was hot, gooey, and bubbly. That's when he knew it was Tar!

The End

by Pearl (age 5)

after visiting the La Brea Tar Pits

illustration also by Pearl, ballpoint pen on paper towel

Carrie, Contemplating

2009-07-07T21:10:19-05:00

the La Brea tar pits in Los Angeles.

Pearl, Wowed by Wolf Fossils

2009-07-07T21:07:31-05:00

At the Page Museum this morning.

Carrie Meets the Rock Lobster

2009-07-07T01:21:00-05:00

At a pool party in L.A. of course. But who's that hiding behind a white kick board?

To Sunday Brunch in L.A.

2009-07-06T08:38:13-05:00

The Dreaming Place

2009-07-04T14:08:43-05:00

Pearl explains: I am a kitty cat perched in my favorite dreaming place.