I am convinced that the one of the most important education that I can give my baby bean is foreign language education. So I did some research and found a French Mommy and Me class near our house.  See you there!

Alliance Française de Los Angeles
French cultural and language center

10390 Santa Monica Boulevard,  Suite #120
Los Angeles, CA 90025
310-652-0306

Classes they offer are:

1. Bebe Musique (newborn to 2 year old)
2. Mommy & Me / Petit a Petit (1 to 2 years old)
3. French Preschool (3 to 5 years old)
4. Mini-Groups (3 to 5 years old)
5. French for American Children (7 to 10 year old)

For pricing and class schedule, visit Alliance Française website.

I went for a baby check up last week with my little one and I was handed a consent form for an online immunization registry from the receptionist. I signed it without discussing it with my husband because I thought having the record would be a good thing, since I plan on giving her most of the shots according to a modified schedule. When I spoke to my husband he felt that her medical records should not be online because insurance company could always use it against her. His argument made me extremely worried about my decision.

If you haven’t been to the pediatrician’s office in a couple months your doctor’s receptionist might hand you a consent form on your next doctor’s appointment. Visit CAIR to learn more, so you can accept or reject that form without feeling pressured to make a decision right away.

Floam (PlayFoam) was in my hands for the first time today, and it is magical. Floam is made for kids, but I have a little kid left in me, and when I got my hands on this stuff our little bean ended up only watching for a while. You can sculpt, tear, break, squish, bounce, throw, etc… This stuff does everything. The first thing I made was an Easter Island sculpture and my little bean loved it, it was like a new doll. Then we made a shark, and a dinosaur, and we continued on and on. When my bean and I were  done with Floam I took just a little piece with me and continued to squish it in my hands as a stress reliever. I love Floam.

Babygroup, which is run by Donna Holloran is THE mommy and me class on the Westside. I got her info from my boss at work, but I kind of found out too late about it so I couldn’t attend. I currently go to a different mommy and me class at a preschool and I found out most of my little bean’s classmates are Babygroup graduates(?) and most of them still attend. They love this class so much, I actually feel a little left out!

I heard from numerous people that her classes not only are full of useful information but fosters longtime friendship among attendees.

If anyone is trying to become pregnant or recently found out that you are pregnant I would recommend checking babygroup website out.

Babygroup meets in Santa Monica at First Presbyterian Church.

Sunshine Music, which offers music classes and Spanish music class for children up to age 7 has updated winter enrollment information available. Registration closes on January 24th so if you are thinking of enrolling your little one head over to their website available at Sunshinemusic.org.

On their website, you can learn more about their program, view their schedule, and sign up for demo classes! They offer classes in various locations throughout Los Angeles, so you will be able to find a class near you.

Most of the time I’m glad we have hardwood floors, cause our kid gets messy, and with a hardwood floor I just swoop in with a Lysol wipe and its all good. However, on cold rainy days such as today hat floor that cleans so well also stays so cold. When my little bean walks on it barefoot her toes get cold as ice. My solution….Nowali!  The Sweater sock slippers, as I like to call them. They are basically socks with a leather sole that makes the sock non slipper. The other thing that I love about these slippers is that they are machine washable. So little bean spills ketchup all over her slippers- no problem- bam in the washer.

Locally (In Los Angeles) you can get these babies at Kidsland which is on the North Western corner of Wilshire and Western in Los Angeles’ famous Korea Town. Or if you don’t want to leave the house order on line at Amazon.

The Pasadena Symphony Association’s Musical Circus at The Americana at Brand in Glendale is great for children 3-8 years of age.

The Circus begins with the instrument “petting zoo” where youngsters can toot flutes, blow trumpets, pluck violins and cellos and bang on percussion instrument.

The Musical Circus is free, so bring the whole family for an afternoon of fun music making!

To view the full schedule, please visit Pasadena Symphony website.

The Americana at Brand
889 Americana Way, Glendale, CA 91210-1555 ( View Map )
2 pm-3:30 pm

Underwood Family Farms. Is your child larger than a pumpkin? Probably larger than some but not larger than all. The farm is open all week long and entrance fees vary from $10 on the weekend in October to $3 on the weekdays. In addition, once you are inside you have to purchase tickets to ride, or play pretty much anything. However tickets are not too expensive, and of course, the more you buy the lower the per ticket price goes.

We started our day at Underwood Family Farms by going to the pig races. The pigs are the cute tiny little pink pigs that everyone loves. They are truly adorable, and you can hear them squeel from across the track. The track is only one lap with various obstacles. (You can even see flying pigs towards the end- yes folks pigs do jump).

After the pig races we went to the petting soon where you can see donkeys, peacocks, ducks, and bears. Okay i liked about the bears. There are no bears on the farm. The petting zoo was pretty cool, it wasn’t crowded at all and you could really see a bunch of different animals. One of the coolest things to see are the billy goats. The farm erected a series of high standing platforms and connected the platforms with planks for the goats to climb and walk on. Its great to see everyones surprise when they look up and there is a goat walking around above them.

The goats were a blast but we had to continue to the other attractions. We did the traditional inflatable bouncy room with the kids, and then did the corn maze. Of course the corn maze is a great attraction here and it looked like just about everyone went there at one point or another. The one thing i noticed about the corn maze was that it was a great idea, but when it comes to execution you find yourself thinking,”why did i come in here” once you were in there. It took us about 15 minutes to find out way out. Thankfully the farm was nice enough to place the exit very close to the objective of the maze.

Underwood Family Farms is a fun place to take your kid. They get to see a lot of things that you just don’t think of in Los Angeles. Check them out at Underwood Family Farms.

Tickets are on sale for Kooza at the Santa Monica Pier. Discounts are available for kids and for the very little ones under 2 they can see the show for free!

Each year, the Geffen Playhouse invites the nation’s best family shows to perform in the Saturday Scene and the 2009-2010 line-up is full of literary stars (from Ferdinand the Bull to Shakespeare). Perfect for kids from 2-12, the productions range from musical acts to puppet shows to worldly excursions. Each company only comes to town for one show, so it’s good to get tickets in advance. Create your own series of four shows (or as many as you like) and the ticket price drops from $15 per person to $12; subscriber benefits include advance seating and option to purchase additional tickets for 15% off during the season. Click here to choose your shows.