I just gave birth to my beautiful baby bean, and one of the flower arrangements I received were so beautiful I have to share it on this blog. Flowers were from Butterfly Floral and event design.
When I need to get flowers I am definitely going to order from them.
Butterfly located at: 7305 W. Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90046 Tel (323) 882-8400
Lakeshore store sells products ranging from Furniture, Toys and Learning materials (such as book and CDs) for infants to 6th graders. It is also a great place to get supplies for birthday parties. They have an online catalog where you can browse through all their products. They are also a locally started business, with locations all across town.
Closest one to us is Culver City:
8888 Venice Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90034
310-559-9630
Fax 310-559-1684
Monday-Friday: 9:00-7:00
Saturday: 9:00-6:00
Sunday: 11:00-5:00
One of my favorite internet toy store Kangarooboo is having a site-side sale.
Get 15% off site-wide when you use the coupon code THANKS08.
Offer starts today and ends at 11 PM on Monday, December 1st.
As always free shipping on orders over $75
Happy Thanksgiving!
Bye Bye Birdie
The Youth Education/Entertainment Series
Morgan Wixson Theatre
310/828.7519
There’s no better way to introduce your kids to theatre than letting them see their peers on stage. The Santa Monica Theatre Guild does this like few other companies by producing full-length musicals with a cast made up of kids from first grade through high school. You’ll see plenty of our local young performers in this production of the classic musical Bye Bye Birdie! The show will be up and running on Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 pm. Buy your tickets on line here.
We just got back from having our first baby and we had her at the RR Medical Center.
The center has a variety of rooms, although you are supposed to get a delivery suite when you are delivering. The Four types of rooms that we were in were 1. The regular no thrills private room- this is where we stayed while we waited for the baby to come, 2. The Delivery Suite- we were given this one overnight our first night because my wife was in delivery for so long, and on the next day we were in this room for the delivery itself. 3. The Postpartum room- where we stayed after deliver and throughout the next day, and 4. The holding room- which they use if there are too many people in the postpartum rooms.
1. The regular room- single room with two chairs in addition to the bed. The bathroom is shared with next door. The comfort level for dad here is low. The two chairs provided are a normal cafeteria like chair, and what I like to refer to as the ejection chair. The ejection chair is a rocking chair with a balance point that leans you forward- great!. Given that this is a hospital and not a hotel the comfort level is pretty much what you would expect.
2. The delivery Room- this is the biggest single suite they have. The bathroom is private and there is a couch for dad to sleep on. They let us stay here overnight and it was a world of difference- i dreaded staying in our first room overnight. There is plenty of seating in this room, and everything you could want services wise from a delivery room.
3. The holding room- I think we were one of the unfortunate few that got to experience this room. It was actually in the Fetal Diagnostic Unit. A tiny private room with one uncomfortable chair and a private bathroom that is as big as the room itself. No television in this room so thank goodness i brought my 17inch powerbook for entertainment. This room was in fact so small that the three of us had a hard time fitting in, especially with all our stuff.
4. The Postpartum room- this room is the room that you are promised when you go for the tour. Its on the other side of the hospital so a totally new set of nurses. The nurses here are nowhere near as intense but completely competent. They checked on our baby and gave us feeding advice. The room has a couch for dad to crash out on. However the couch is really far away from where mom sleeps. I didn’t like that. There are two chairs, one of which is a recliner and the other a normal cafeteria chair. There is plenty of room for visitors.
Overall the facility is new and very nice. They have wireless internet service in all the rooms, and food from the kitchen from 7AM to 7PM. Most rooms have some sort of television and they range from 12 inch crappy monitors to 32 inch flat screens. There are no pay channels but they do cover most of what you want. Me being a college football fanatic i was very happy with espn, espn2 and pretty much everything else that you would expect.
One overall complaint about the facility is its use of resources and the number of times they ask their patients to move. We moved a total of five times throughout the entire procedure. From the prep room to the delivery suite (for overnight stay) to the prep room back to the delivery suite (for delivery this time), to the holding room (the hospital ran out of postpartum rooms) and finally the postpartum room. All that moving was not fun. We didn’t complain but it sure would have been nice to stay in 2-3 rooms. However, with that complain i also have to give thanks because they didn’t have to give us the delivery suite for the overnight stay, and that suite is by far the nicest room in the facility.
The nurses in the labor and delivery ward are absolutely awesome. They were constantly watching over us and monitoring pain levels. They rushed in very quickly whenever there was any doubt to the stability of the baby or the mother. The explanations for all the risks any procedure came with were very good. They were a bit pushy from time to time but i realized that when you are delivering you want the pushiest nurse on the block. Why you ask? She will get you the best room and attention from doctors the fastest. We had a great nurse for most of it, but as soon as her shift was over our rooms definitely declined in quality and coincidentally so did the pushiness of our then attending nurse.
Overall, would definitely go back to UCLA to have another baby- and thats coming from a Trojan.
Don’t miss out the great opportunity for winter swim lessons. Registration begins December 3rd, 2008.
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Winter 2009 |
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| REGISTRATION FOR NON-RESIDENTS BEGINS December 10th. | |
| Don’t miss out on all the exciting opportunities at the City of Santa Monica’s Swim Center this Summer! Please note that classes fill up quickly. Registration forms are processed according to the day they are received starting December 3rd. You can register for all sessions at once. | |
| Walk-in, drop-off, fax or mail-in registration will be accepted at the Swim Center beginning Wednesday December 3rd. Walk-in/drop-off hours are Monday-Friday, 5:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. |
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| Priority is given to Santa Monica residents who register between December 3rd – December 9th. Proof of residency includes a photocopy of current utility bill and current photo ID. Class confirmations will be mailed to participants within one week of processing of registration forms. We will do our best to honor requests to put siblings together. | |
| Students and family members may enter the facility as early as 30 minutes before the students class time begins and may stay until the facility closes. Note that one parking pass will be assigned per family after registering for lessons. | |
| Cancellation and Refund Policy | |
| Refund Policy: Classes – Refunds issued only if requested within one business day after 1st class meeting. A $15.00 Cancellation Fee applies. Requests must be made in writing to program supervisor in person or by fax, mail or email. Refund Forms | |
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Financial Assistance Available |
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| Call 310.458.8700, 458.8540 or 458.2239 for information and to make an appointment Financial Application Forms | |
| Accessibility | |
| To request a disability-related accommodation or if you have a question about participating in any of the activities listed, call 458-8700 (TTY 458-8696). This information is available in alternate format. | |
| Wait List Registration Policy | |
| If a class becomes full, your name will automatically be placed on a waiting list and your check will be returned to you. If a space in the class opens, we will notify you by telephone. | |
For further inquiries, please call 310.458.8700
J. Crew is offering an additional 20% off of their holiday prices. But you gotta act fast it ends today. Use promo code EXTRA20.
Polo Ralph Lauren is having a huge factory warehouse sale. You have to go shop at their factory outlets you can get up to 50% off. Go Shop Los Angelinos, Go Shop.
There are lots of lists out there on what to bring to the hospital, including our own. One thing that I have learned over the years that studying a situation will only get you so far, you really have to experience the situation to know really what you are heading into. With that in mind, i just got back from our first day at the hospital, and the baby is not born yet so I’m going back, but here’s what i learned.
Dont forget about dad- all the lists that i have read focus on mom. However, dads- pay attention you have to take care of your needs as well. Here’s what I brought.
1. Computer- for entertainment and for work if you need to. Also a great way of communicating with everyone that you don’t want to talk to on the phone.
2. Pillows- Trust me on this- the hospital is not looking out for your comfort- not in the slightest. In fact I’m thinking most of these rooms were designed by women who have given birth with the thought of ” let make it painful for him too”
3. Blanket- Guess what, hospital blankets suck, and if you are luck enough to have one its going to be way short and smell like moth balls.
4. Food- talk to your wife before hand and tell her that if you want me to be on my best i have to eat something. Don’t eat in front of her if shes starving, but have something around. Fruit or trail mix are a good choice. I’m a bit of a pig and brought an XL pizza- and boy was i happy.
5. Book- you can only stare at teh internet or the horrible television in the room for so long read a book.
6. Here’s one thats a don’t bring. Booze- if you do you’ll regret it, and you’ll smell like booze when your baby is born.
7. Change of clothes- You may need it. Especially if the drive back to the house is a long one. There’s nothing like taking a shower and putting on something fresh.
8. Slippers- Trust me the hospital floor is gross and you can only wear your shoes for so long. If you step into a puddle of something in the bathroom you’ll remember this post and curse yourself for not bringing slippers.
9. This last one is not something you bring but something you should have decided before you go into the hospital. How much time can you take off of work. You should make sure to discuss this with your boss way before hand so its not on your mind while in the hospital.
I’m heading back to the hospital now- I’ll have more I’m sure later on in the day.
Shakout.org will be holding the mother of all earthquake drills.
Here’s their spiel: At 10 a.m. on November 13, join millions of people throughout Southern California in the ShakeOut Drill, the largest earthquake preparedness activity in U.S. history! Please register today.
So now, to speak of our precious children- how and what do we do to make them safe… well, here’s some advice I found
Infants and Toddlers
For infants and toddlers, special emphasis should be placed on making their environment as safe as possible. Cribs should be placed away from windows and tall, unsecured bookcases and shelves that could slide or topple. A minimum of a 72-hour supply of extra water, formula, bottles, food, juices, clothing, disposable diapers, baby wipes and prescribed medications should be stored where it is most likely to be accessible after an earthquake. Also keep an extra diaper bag with these items in your car. Store strollers, wagons, blankets and cribs with appropriate wheels to evacuate infants, if necessary. Install bumper pads in cribs or bassinettes to protect babies during the shaking. Install latches on all cupboards (not just those young children can reach) so that nothing can fall on your baby during a quake.
Preschool and School-age Children
By age three or so, children can understand what an earthquake is and how to get ready for one. Take the time to explain what causes earthquakes in terms they’ll understand. Include your children in family discussions and planning for earthquake safety. Conduct drills and review safety procedures every six months. Show children the safest places to be in each room when an earthquake hits. Also show them all possible exits from each room. Use sturdy tables to teach children to Duck, Cover & Hold.
Teach children what to do wherever they are during an earthquake (at school, in a tall building, outdoors). Make sure children’s emergency cards at school are up-to-date.
Although children should not turn off any utility valves, it’s important that they know what gas smells like. Advise children to tell an adult if they smell gas after an earthquake.
If you need more information read through Office of Emergency Services website.
If you live in Santa Monica there’s specific info for you.