MOVING!

Hello all you people who generously read my blog. OneUrbanMom is moving to a new location. You can find all posts at oneurbanmom.com in the future. Thank you for generously making the adjustment.

One Urban Mom

The Skirball

We didn't make it to all of the places I planned to in my time off, but we did make it to the Skirball today. It was a perfect day for it! The Skirball is free on Thursdays. We went to the Noah's Ark exhibit and OLG loved it. I need to find another way to describe how much fun he had, but for now that will have to do. He played for an hour with very little guidance from me. In fact, he has entered the I can do it myself phase and wouldn't let me help with anything but these spaces where you could pull a string and see a sculpture above, he's not quite strong enough to pull it himself.

The entire exhibit is made from recycled materials and is completely interactive. One of the galleries is best suited for children 4 and older, but OLG didn't seem to mind. The museum staff was so helpful . . . they pointed us to age appropriate activities at every turn. At one point the "storyteller" came out with a talking drum and I told OLG that if he was nice she might let him touch it. She was like, "uh no," but then she showed him a drum he could touch instead. It was wonderful.

If we'd planned to stay longer, we could have stayed for the summer concert series which is also free. We didn't go to any of the other galleries, but I did find some items to purchase for Christmas. Instead, we left in time for OlG to take an afternoon nap.

~S

FRESNO

We went to Fresno for a family reunion this past weekend. It was a family reunion. The highlight for me was OLG playing with his Pawpaw and the golf clubs. My dad brought out his golf clubs and balls and started teaching some of the boys how to "chip" balls. OLG really wanted in on the fun. It was a little dangerous . . . we had to keep him from trying to weave in and out through the bigger boys . . . but he did get a few moments with Pawpaw and he LOVED it! For all of you moms who are wondering about the little girls . . . none of them expressed any interest in chipping balls while we were out there.

I include a photo from the slide, because it's just so cute.



~S

More of My Favorite Things

If you don't have friends and family who are in the position of handing down great pieces that have survived their children, then, you may find yourself in the position of amassing your own clothing and baby gear. One of the big challenges of having a little guy who needs stuff, is that while he needs it, he may quickly out grow it or destroy it. And so, I often find myself looking for good quality and a good deal when I can find one. The quality piece is not nearly as difficult as the good deal piece. Some of my favorite places to shop for OLG always have what I need.

1. Bobux
Bobux makes shoes for babies and children. Their baby shoe is similar to Robeez, but the image faces the baby rather than the adult looking at the baby. This is what first sold us on these high quality shoes. OLG wears their shoes for walkers, i-Walk, the toes seem to be wider than the shoes we've tried on in stores. They slip on without any tears. We have wanted to buy him some stylish shoes in other brands, but without fail he is crying and tugging on his shoes by the time we get in the car. These shoes are awesome. I don't know what he'll wear once he can't fit these shoes anymore. There is an end of summer clearance sale going on right now!

2. Skin by Monica
We received this product as a shower gift from my sister who happens to be close friends with Monica's nanny. I was a little hesitant at first, but now we're believers. We also received Mustela products. We love the fragrant smell, but OLG has terrible allergies and was covered in little red spots after using it for a week. I sent the Mustela to the sitter in case of emergency and kept Monica's products at home. I love that her products leave him soft, that they're lightly scented so they don't aggravate his allergies, and they won't make him sick if he swallows them.

3. The Right Start
I was under the impression that this store had closed, but happily, someone purchased the store has refurbished its brick and mortar locations and is working on getting the website back up to speed. They sell products you can't find everywhere. I'm so glad they're back, we need some solutions for mealtime and I know they have some products that might help.

Finding Nemo

OLG and I went to the Aquarium of the Pacific today! We had such fun. The spaces where the animals are kept are large, floor to ceiling tanks. OLG could see as much as anyone else. He was so excited, it was real struggle to keep him in his stroller. When I let him out he started darting between people and didn't seem to notice that I had a hard time following with our awkwardly large stroller. There where a few times when he kinds looked like the woman on those old Mervyns commercials. He stood in front of the tank, lifted both arms above his head, and pounded on the tank yelling something . . . possibly open! Open! Open! Being the good mommy that I am, I quickly put him back in the stroller and said let's practice reading signs. This one reads, "Please do not tap on the acrylic."

~S

Strange Behavior

OLG seems to have passed his "biting" phase. For a time, any time his mouth came near me I was ready to jump away for fear of being scarred again. He is now in a new phase, a strange phase, he tries to gently gnaw my big toe.

Naturally, my response is to yelp and snatch my foot away shouting, "yucky!" As you all know, this only makes him think we are playing a fun new game . . . "try to bite mommy's big toe." I am really not sure what this phase is all about. During the biting phase I read that there would be less scarring and less biting, if you leaned into the bite rather than attempting to rip your appendage out of your kid's mouth. I can't bring myself to take that approach with my big toe. There has to be a better way.

~S

Out and About

We were out and about today. Earlier this week we decided to spend Saturday morning rollerblading at Venice beach. We forgot that we put the rollerblades in storage when we were preparing for the arrival of our first born. In the end, digging out our rollerblades was just too much and we decided to walk instead.

By the time all three of us were ready to go it was late in the morning and time to eat something. Marcus recommended a cute little spot on Main St., The Omelette Parlor. It doesn't have a website and it has mixed reviews on yelp. Some of the negative comments seem to have been remedied by the economy. There was no wait on Saturday morning at 11. The photos of Santa Monica in 1914 and 1925 were fun to look at. The service was pleasant and attentive. Our little guy was out of sorts because he fell asleep on the way and couldn't manage to stay asleep, he was offered crayons and stickers by more than one sever. I enjoyed the food, but the portions were really too large for my taste.

After breakfast, we walked down to the beach. The path seems so much longer walking than it does rollerblading. Marcus gave up before we reached the pier. OLG didn't go back to sleep.

We walked back on Main, which is the main inspiration for this story. I have been visiting Venice beach since I was a wee little bit myself, but I've never taken the time to explore and enjoy all of the cute little shops on Main St.. Venice Beach itself has all sorts of interesting things to look at and shops to look through. Main St. has a different, not better, quality of shop.

Two caught my attention. The first, jackapotamus, is a cute little shop for children and moms. I bought OLG a Martin Luther King t-shirt. I don't see the t-shirt in the etsy shop, but they had them in multiple sizes in the shop.

The Green Life also caught my attention. The simple shop had all kinds of things to help people go green. A friend of mine recently told me her family is avoiding water bottles. I found a lovely gift for her birthday in this great shop.

There were several other shops, places to eat, and to do yoga, if that's your thing. Since we were out enjoying the day and had not planned a shopping trip, I limited the number of shops we went into.

Marcus has on his "having sooo much fun face" as he waits for his meal. :-)

~S

Next week, I plan feature the family friendly businesses in my neighborhood.