Lowe’s Build and Grow: The Month of Monster Mutt

Uber proud: Blake Dean and Monster Mutt

This past weekend, we had a chance to take Blake Dean to Lowe’s Build and Grow for the very first time. In theory, I guess I’ve always known that the various home improvement stores in the area hold kids’ clinics throughout the year – but it took a Monster Jam theme to get our family out to this month’s clinic. (And I’m so glad it did.)

Hanging out in a room full of hammer-wielding tykes … it definitely could have gone either way. :)

On the whole, I was incredibly impressed by the quality of this project. Not only was the Monster Mutt kit free, kids also got a free apron, patch, and certificate of achievement when they finished building it. I’ve truly never seen Blake Dean so proud of himself – so proud that he literally hasn’t put Monster Mutt down since he came home. (Seriously – eating … sleeping … bathing – never.)

The only down side: these events fill up FAST. As soon as we got home, I checked for upcoming events in March/April, and they were both already booked within a 50-mile radius. I guess I’m not the only mama to realize what a cool idea this is for little boy and girl kiddos alike.

Overall mama rating: 5/5. But you best book quick if you’d like to share this experience with your little monster.

xoxo
jsf

The Walking Dead – alive and kicking (ass)

On Friday, we had the chance to see the 2013 PaleyFest presentation for The Walking Dead at the Saban Theater in Beverly Hills. Despite some lagging sales for this year’s Paley events overall, this event was sold out (shocker!) so we were psyched to be lucky enough to land tickets. A quick overview of my fave moments:

Steven Yeun on Glenn: All he wants is to be safe … with Maggie … “in a field of food”

Andrew Lincoln admitting Rick had made some questionable decisions this season (you think?)

Laurie Holden’s intrinsic attachment to her character, and her sisterly relationship to Danai Gurira off-camera

Seeing a first-hand glimpse of this Sunday’s episode (Go, Carl!)

Collective swoon when Norman Reedus walked in.

Chris Hardwick being … Chris Hardwick

The feeling of Paley events overall. The last one I went to was for Dexter, just following its awesome Season 4. The experience was similarly endearing, offering a chance to see actors being so open / honest / funny / caring / sweet / humble – and absolutely thankful to be part of such a kickass series.

To watch the full PaleyFest event via Hulu, click here.

Attending this year’s PaleyFest for The Walking Dead:

Robert Kirkman, Executive Producer
Gale Anne Hurd, Executive Producer
Dave Alpert, Executive Producer
Greg Nicotero, Executive Producer
Andrew Lincoln, “Rick Grimes”
Danai Gurira, “Michonne”
Laurie Holden, “Andrea”
Steven Yeun, “Glenn Rhee”
Norman Reedus, “Daryl Dixon”
Scott Wilson, “ Hershel Greene”
Emily Kinney, “Beth Greene”
Moderator: Chris Hardwick, Host, The Talking Dead

xoxo,
jsf

Learning Legoland

Rawr! Welcome to Legoland!

Honestly, Legoland has never been on my personal Bucket List. I’m not a huge amusement park girl (even Disneyland doesn’t do it for me), but I knew the boys (all three of them!) would love a weekend in the building block capital of the world. So when a deal came up on Plumdistrict, I jumped. Two nights at the Grand Pacific Palisades (on the Legoland California campus in Carlsbad) and two-day park hopper passes … all at about half the price we’d usually pay for a weekend at the resort. Here’s my take as a mama of two boys as I learned the ins-and-outs of the Legoland adventure.

Good to know:

Check the calendar. Legoland is closed Tues/Wed throughout the winter months. We knew this well in advance, but there were lots of angry parents showing up at the gates on Tuesday assuming the park would be open. If you do happen to arrive on a dark day, just head over the Sea Life Aquarium. It’s open even when the park is closed and was surprisingly awesome despite some lackluster reviews I’d read online. (Lots of interactive exhibits … tastefully designed … perfect size for small legs … and still lots of Legos – everywhere you look.)

Take a break? Never. Lego playstation at SeaLife Cafe.

Wait until they’re 36 (inches). There are a few rides at Legoland that smaller monsters will enjoy, but most require kids to be at least 36 inches tall (and 40-42 for the larger roller coasters). If you’re taking two kids of different ages, make sure you take another adult with you in case one kid has to wait on the bench until the ride is over.

Blake Dean got his official “Driver License” after finishing this ride.

BYOF. Some parks don’t allow you to bring your own food, but Legoland is cool with it. Save yourself some way overpriced water, juice and sandwiches by packing your own.

Allow 2 days, especially if you have kids under 4. The park isn’t overwhelming large, but we definitely started skipping attractions in the late afternoon to get through it all (the park closes @ 5 p.m.). If you really want to 1) enjoy it, 2) not stress, and 3) shop for Legos without screaming at your kids to hurry up, plan for at least some Legoland fun on Day 2.

Get ready to get active. One of the coolest things about Legoland (in my opinion) is that the rides were all super interactive, forcing you to pedal your way over a roller coaster, pull your way up a rope, or drive your own car around a racetrack. This is not a sit-back-and-enjoy kind of park. You’ll get a workout on every single ride.

Beware the sales pitch. The Grand Pacific Palisades resort is a timeshare and came with some prompt pressure to attend a sales session as soon as we arrived. (Literally – we didn’t even have our room key, and they were already trying to pressure us to listen to their pitch.) Though the resort itself was nice, this really rubbed us the wrong way. (“Um – do you not see that I’m holding a hungry/screaming 2-year-old right now, and that my 4-year-old is trying to throw himself head first into the pool???”) Not the most parent-friendly situation in my opinion. They did upgrade us to a two-bedroom villa, however, so I can’t complain too much about service overall.

No matter what you do – don’t overplay the Star Wars card! I knew there was a Star Wars component at Legoland, but I didn’t realize it was just a display of Lego-ized Star Wars characters and space ships. Oops! Don’t get me wrong – the displays were cool – but I had definitely told my sons there’d be rides and interactive Star Wars exhibits. Get it straight, mamas! Or your kids will be as disappointed as mine.

Kids: “Mommy, can we ride that?!?!?!” Me: “Um ….” Millenium Falcon @ Legoland California

Last but not least: do your best to get a bargain. A hopper pass is $82 a pop for kids 3-12, and even more for grown ups (i.e. Legoland is NOT a cheap way to spend the day). Try to find a deal in advance if you know what’s good for you.

xoxo
buildin’ mama

It’s in the bag …

So – a couple months into 2013, and we’ve already lost the cool lunch bags I made for the kids after Comic Con 2012. Time for mama to make some new ones! With the help of this super-easy pattern, I was able to make both of these little buggers in about 1.5 hours. Super simple, easy to wash, and the perfect size for little eaters. But the best part is how excited the boys were to carry them to school. Even with all the fancy lunch boxes most kids carry nowadays, they still think it’s more fun to carry one I made for them. Talk about a good feeling.

xoxo

*Such* a granola mom …

So – joining our local CSA inspired me to go even more “granola” in establishing a healthy SoCal lifestyle. I decided to buy a dehydrator to make sure none of our fruits/veggies/herbs go to waste. Turns out, it’s good for a lot of other things, too. Case in point: homemade granola. This is a recipe we use loosely to create our own way-better-than-store-bought granola cereal. One of the best parts of the recipe is that you can change it up to fit whatever you have in the cupboard or fridge.

Recipe:
5 cups rolled outs
1/2 cup honey
1/2 – 3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 wheat germ (I substituted baby oatmeal b/c I had it on-hand)
1 stick butter, melted
1/3 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1-2 chopped apples (fresh, optional)
Handful of nuts (we had walnuts on-hand, but almonds are great, too)
Handful of sesame seeds

Super mama tip: The first time I made this, I waited and waited (days!) for the granola to dry. Rookie mistake. Turns out it’s only necessary to dry it partially; it actually gets crunchy in the fridge during storage. Now I run it about 18 hours (usually starting at lunch time), and it’s ready the next morning. Warm and delicious goodness.

Besides this granola, we love making turkey jerky and fruit roll ups (just mix up some apple sauce and yogurt and spread it on the tray!). Super easy. Super tasty. And I love knowing *exactly* what’s going into my kids’ tummies every day.

xoxo
granola mama

Monster Trucks Redux

So – it wouldn’t be winter without Monster Jam. We went for the first time last year, and given Blake Dean’s over-the-top response, we decided to go again with both of our own monsters in tow. (It didn’t hurt that both Captain America and Iron Man monster trucks were both scheduled to compete at this meet – *swoon*.)

Monster Tire Ear Covers – a must at any Monster Jam event.

One of my fave parts about Monster Jam, as a mama, is how well the entire franchise seems to treat its fans. Drivers are constantly going out into the crowd – as in, *way* out into the crowd – to give away tshirts or even trophies to adoring spectators. There are tons of give-a-ways. And there is never a moment where screaming at the top of your lungs seems like a bad idea.

There was high drama at this Monster Jam. One truck lost its tire – another caught on fire. And this one – The Legend of Grave Digger – actually lost his entire truck body after a tough landing (check around min 1:04 below). It was monster madness – just what my own little monsters love most.

Because Rhett is at an anti-containment stage (20 months), we weren’t sure how well he would do at a lengthy (and seated) public outing. Turns out loud crashing monster trucks are just what a toddler needs to stay focused for 3 hours straight. I’m pretty sure he didn’t take his eyes off the trucks once the entire night … except for this quick pic :)

FYI – this mama loves Monster Jam – almost as much as my kids. I never thought I’d say it. But there it is.

xoxo
Monster Mama

Speaking of Christian rock …

Last Sunday Blake Dean had his very first Sunday School class. I’ve been feeling like my spiritual self needed a bit of attention so we headed up to Redondo Beach Center for Spiritual Living, where I’d been a member before moving to Long Beach. It’s been years since I’ve visited (again – time passes quickly with kids!) but I was glad I made the trip.

For one – it was more emotional than I expected to see Blake attend his very first Sunday School class. He was so mature and independent – creating this interpretation of “Footprints on the Sand.” I was so proud of him for trying something new – spreading his little wings and meeting new people. I’m not sure I would have been willing to do that at his age.

For another thing – it always amazes me that no matter how long it is between trips to the church, the message they discuss always seems to be just what I need to hear at that time. Talk about spirituality that rocks. I always come away feeling like a better, stronger person for the experience.

xoxo

 

Pedro the … Daddy

Oh, my lord. I can’t believe it’s been more than three months since my last post. Life passes quickly as parents. It’s been just about the same amount of time since we’ve gone out sans monsters, but last night we had a chance to see Dave Bazan/Pedro the Lion at the Constellation Room at the Observatory. Pedro is one of the first bands I saw live when I first moved to California. They’re a mainstay on our playlist, so I’m always happy to get a chance to see them play.

Dave announced that he’d be playing the entire “Control” album as part of this tour, mainly to help folks connect the dots that he and Pedro the Lion are the same band. With that in mind, we had anticipated an older crowd but we couldn’t have been more wrong. I’d guess about 75 percent of the folks attending were under 20 years old. We were basically the only ones who didn’t need to wear a bracelet to prove we were old enough to drink. (Check out these laugh lines, friend! I’ve got at least 15 years on most of these kids!)

One of the best parts of this show was Dave’s banter, and his tradition of asking the audience if they have any questions throughout. He gave some very heartfelt thoughts on raising children (he has two), which I’ve never heard him discuss before. It made leaving early to pick up our own kids feel kind of … special. Who knew – at midnight at a punk rock show in Orange County – we’d get a simple reminder of what we’re really here for.

xoxo
sleepy rockin’ mama

And – that’s why my son’s name is Rhett

Rhett Miller, Old 97s

I’ve been loving the Old 97s since 2006-ish, and we *finally* had a chance to see them live last night at Observatory OC. Marking the 15th Anniversary of their album Too Far to Care, the band played the entire album cover to cover, and followed that up with tons of other Old 9-7 hits. It was hands-down, the absolute best show of the summer.

Rhett opened for himself, offering up a killer acoustic set including his newest song “Lost Without You” and his smashing rendition of “Wreck of the Old 97” (recently featured in a special Johnny Cash Tribute.)

Per my husband: “I like their … outfits.”

Not only was the performance amazing, it also set up his “real” opening band, Those Darlins, with a full house of fans who may not normally show up for the opening performer. (FYI: *Girl crush alert* – Those Darlins kicked *ass.* Part Hank III/part L7 – these girls tore it up! Check out “Waste Away” to fall in love with them like I did.)

Surprise! Exene Cervenka joins the Old 97s onstage

About halfway through the show, Rhett introduced a surprise guest – none other than Exene Cervenka  of the legendary 1970′s punk band X, who originally performed the song “Four Leaf Clover” with him on Too Far to Care back in the day. She played two songs before heading offstage. Coolest. Moment. Ever.

A security guard was sweet enough to nab the set list for us – and this is the rundown.

The Rhett-list. Er, Set-list.

As if that weren’t awesome enough, on our way out we picked up a show poster … and woke up (in the light of day) to realize it’s personally signed by all the band members. Those guys literally signed each poster (ours was no. 61 in the batch of 350) just because it’s what they do – they give it up for their fans.

I cannot say enough how much I love those guys. Awesome music – awesome people – and a ridiculously awesome end to the summer.

xoxoxo!!!

[Emo] music is my boyfriend

Davey Von Bohlen, Promise Ring

So – I saw The Promise Ring for the first time in 1997. They were playing in Oakland, California, and I was living in Berkeley (just north of the OAK). Throw in a boy I was madly in love with, and there are tons of reasons I’ve been in love with TPR ever since that day. There’s a huge part of my heart that feels forever connected to them.

Suck it up, Davey! We love you. Even if you don’t want to play anymore.

Alas, time goes by. People break up. Bands break up. Life rearranges itself. And although I wasn’t incredibly surprised when I saw that TPR was doing a string of reunion dates (Davey von Bohlen’s emo-esque predecessor, Cap ‘n Jazz, played a reunion show at Echoplex in 2010), I was incredibly psyched. I haven’t seen them play since 2002-ish … and there were even a few years of broken-hearted-ness that kept me from listening to them at all.

The only thing is – as happy as I was to see The Promise Ring play, I’m pretty sure Davey was just the opposite. He still put 100 percent of his heart and charm and … ridiculously cute dance moves … into the show. But he was quick to share that he really didn’t want to be on the stage. At all. In fact, he mentioned – numerous times – that he’d pretty much rather be doing anything but singing.

Fan: “Dude, stop complaining and do your job!”
Davey: “That’s the thing – I have a job. And this ain’t it!”

Fan: “We paid $25 a ticket! We own you tonight!”
Davey: “I’m not saying I’m going to walk out … I’m just saying I don’t want to be here.”

In that sense, the atmosphere on stage (from Davey at least) was less “reunion-shows-rock!” and more “kill-me-now.” I get it. He’s married. With kids. And has 1,000 more important things to stress about than Avalon’s lousy sound-system, or songs that made me cry when I was 20. Still, it made me sad to think I was virtually “forcing” him to play when he definitely did. not. want to.

“Say what? I actually have to finish this show? Agh.”

Granted, I understand the boys have been doing this reunion “circuit” since February-ish, so maybe the high of reuniting has simply worn off. Regardless, Davey still (begrudgingly) rocked his heart out. The guys played a huge range of songs, from oldies like “E. Texas Ave.” and “A Picture Postcard” to quite a few songs from “Nothing Feels Good” and “Very Emergency.” Most surprising: The crowd was full of young’uns. I was expecting to see a bunch of 30-ish “kids” re-living their youth, but there were tons of late teen/early 20s folks rocking out, as well.

Despite the sadness (I guess it wouldn’t be an emo show without a little emotional over-sharing), Davey is still the cutest dancing guitar boy ever, and his voice and songs still hit me like they always have – and no other band ever will. Yeah, we’re definitely older (it was actually Davey’s 37th birthday the night of the show) and in different stages of our lives. But just being there was like being reunited with a piece of my heart.

One of my faves, awesome as evah:

xoxo