sprout

Post Nap Fun: Toys R' Us

mamasprout — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 06:00:00 -0700

A while ago, we were at that circle of hell known as Toys R Us looking for a gift. We were wandering down one of the aisles, when my mini spotted the motorized kids car section. She spent the next 20 minutes climbing in and out of kid-sized Escalades, Dora Jeeps and firetrucks. Pure heaven for her. Kinda boring for me but hell, it's air-conditioned, she loves it and it gives us something free to do during that post-nap dead zone. Depending on the location of your nearest Toys R Us, you may build up enough good will to get a quick Costco or Target run in.

Suehiro

mamasprout — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 14:11:17 -0700

Japanese restaurants and minis can be tricky. 2 year olds slurping noodles or squeeling in delight often gets cool looks from those sophisticates over at the sushi bar. Thankfully there's Suehiro in Little Tokyo. Suehiro has a casual, diner vibe. Nothing fancy: blue vinyl booths, a stack of Japanese language magazines and Good Luck cats. During the week, the crowd is mainly lawyers from the District Attorney's office and other downtown employees. On the weekend, locals mingle with hipsters and tourists. If you're a real foodie, this may not be the best Japanese food you've ever had, but if you want good Japanese food at a place where your mini can feel at home, then this is it.

Suehiro is located at 337 E. 1st Street between Alameda and San Pedro. Open 7 days a week.

Two Easy Nature Crafts

mamasprout — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 06:00:00 -0700

My mini loves to pick up leaves, seed pods, sticks, and flowers when we take walks. It's easy to make prints out of them with a little paint and construction paper. Or let them place the various things they've collected between clear contact paper and voila, instant collage.

Sunprints

mamasprout — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 06:00:00 -0700

Such an easy craft, it's barely a craft at all. You lay out a sheet of sunprint paper in (surprise) the sun, lay some stuff on it and after 5 minutes, you have a print. Think of all the things you can do... flowers and leaves. Plastic cars or people. Puzzle pieces. Fruit. Spoons and forks. Clothes pins. Whatever your mini finds interesting. Perfect for a sunny afternoon in the backyard.

Metro Rail

mamasprout — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 06:00:00 -0700

Looking for something fun n' cheap to do with your mini? Try the Gold Line. For a mere $1.25 each way, you and your child (assuming they're under 5), can pass over the LA River, peak into backyards through Highland Park, watch cars on the Pasadena Freeway and ride down the middle of the 210. What fun! How easy! Turn it into a real adventure by taking it from somewhere in Pasadena to Chinatown where you can wander and have lunch. Or take it from downtown on a Thursday evening and stop at South Pasadena's Farmer's Market which is right next to the station.

RIT Sun Guard

mamasprout — Thu, 31 May 2007 13:35:56 -0700

I'm eagerly awaiting my order of this new RIT Sun Guard for my little girl's clothes. It makes their normal clothes to have a UPF rating of 30 (vs the normal 5) for 20 washes. Though it's not quite as protective as some of the clothing you can buy, it's a lot cheaper (and more fashionable) to do it this way.

Happy Mother's Day

mamasprout — Sun, 13 May 2007 07:58:05 -0700

Happy Mother's Day! I didn't know til this past week that Mother's Day was originally conceived as a day for peace.

Placemats

mamasprout — Mon, 07 May 2007 13:42:57 -0700

Why bore your child with a grown-up placemat when Crocodile Creek makes such cool ones? Not only great to look at, your mini can learn to count, say "hello" in a variety of languages or point to where Grandpa lives on a US map.

Want to do something a little more personal? Make your own with my current craft material of choice: contact paper. Place photos of family members, souvenirs from a recent trip, or a favorite drawing between two large sheets of contact paper and voila, a kid-proof placemat. Want to make your placemat more interactive? Try making this changing-shapes placemat.

Peekaboo Playland

mamasprout — Fri, 04 May 2007 06:00:00 -0700

Conveniently located near Target and not too far from Swork in Eagle Rock, is Peekaboo Playland. It's a nice mix of bigger equiment along with toys that encourage creative play. They have a bounce house and slide, a puppet theater, play kitchen with lots of plastic food and pots, cars to ride in, carts and strollers to push and a small ball pit. There's also a small outdoor area with a couple swings, some plastic play houses and tunnels.

One thing mama likes about Peekaboo Playland is the music. They actually play real music. Now I love Dan Zanes or a Putamayo compilation as much as the next hipster parent, but sometimes it's nice just to listen to something with an electric guitar. I've heard the Jackson 5, the Beatles, Blondie and more hits of the 80s there. How refreshing.

Peekaboo Playland is located at 2513 Colorado Blvd. in Eagle Rock. Admission is $6 and passes are available.

Dress Up

mamasprout — Wed, 02 May 2007 06:00:00 -0700

Little Girl is getting more and more interested in dressing up. I've been looking for simple and non-character (a.k.a. cheaper) ways to do this. These tiara and tutu patterns look pretty simple and you can make something princess-y (if needed) without having to help her figure out which Disney Princess she identifies with. Here are instructions to make fairy wings. Not in the mood to make something? Chinatown has cheap n' fancy brocade mary janes, parasols and brocade jackets. Most party stores have fabric leis and kid's hula skirts right now. And the good ol' 99 cent store has plastic fireman and construction hats.