Hey Mom'stry This

By Author: Mel Joelle
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My wife and I recently had our first child who turned three in January of this year. I know it sounds cliché to say it, but time has flown and it seemed like only yesterday he was not able to move, eating from a bottle and never had anything to say. My how that has all changed. As fast as he has grown up, it has become more important to find entertainment that is family friendly and is fun for all of us.

My wife owns her own business and has the unique opportunity to pick and choose when she works. She considers herself extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to be there with our son for all of his milestones and not miss anything. There are times though when taking him out seems to become routine. The park, a walk, the backyard. Finding new things to do with him, especially now that he is getting to the age where we are able to expose him to more things, becomes increasingly hard to do. That is until recently.

She finally decided to really begin to look for fun things to do in Southern California. We spend part of the year there and would soon be heading back out to our house in Eagle Rock. By the way, ...
... if you don't know about Eagle Rock its fantasticbut left for another story. Anyway, we both began looking, my wife mostly, and we were really excited about some of the things we found which would allow us to take our kiddo.

One of the best resources my wife found about from a friend in Socal, is a group called the ‘booby brigade. From her explanation it's a group of moms who are all connected online through a discussion group/board. Her friend told her to join as Moms were always sharing ideas about what to do, where to go etc. My guess is that there is a bit of Dad bashing, but my wife would not say. Said it was only for women. Makes me nervous.

From the Booby Brigade she discovered a place in Pasadena called Kids Space. Kid Space is a rec-space close to the Rose Bowl where you can take your kids, both young and old to play with other kids their age. They have rooms for really young kids that are padded if they are still doing the speed wobble. Other areas where you can play outside, adopt a butterfly, finger paint and much more. Kids Space is something we will try for sure.

As our son is older we have also found a lot of local arts activities that allow kids our sons age. Theatre West is located in Hollywood and offers a year round show on Saturdays for the young ones. They also include the audience, which is all the better to keep him occupied. Currently they are putting on Sleeping Beauty and will open the Pied Piper in April according to their website.

Quick Culture is an organization that offers tours for kids at local museums. These tours seem to be more age specific, however it seems like a great way to spend the afternoon while taking in some of the local culture. More information about the specific tours and dates can be found on their website.

As I am sure not all of you Moms and Dads live close to Los Angeles (maybe a bit outside) it might be worth checking Lewis Playhouse in Rancho Cucamonga. Only a short distance from downtown LA, Lewis Family Playhouse touts they have something for everyone. When I checked their website they had The Little Mermaid and Ferdinand the Bull, both shows that would be great for the kids. They also offer matinee's, which always makes it easier to be home before bedtime.

I am sure that there are many, many more things to do and we always welcome the feedback. It has always been important for us to stimulate our son by finding many different types of entertainment for him. As he gets older the choices become more diverse and we look forward to continue finding great ways to do so on both coasts.

My wife says that she has the best of both worlds - staying home with our son and a company of her own. However when people now ask her what she does, the first thing out of her mouth is Mom! And like so many other Mom's, she likes to keep her options open.
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