Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in sacramento, CA

Cool moms group

September 22, 2009

There are a million different moms groups in the Sacramento area, but one that has always stood out to me is Sierra Moms. In existence since 1993, Sierra Moms is a member –led organization for  mothers serving the great Folsom and El Dorado Hills areas. Through nurturing environments, they help women connect with one another to find support in their role as a mother.  Volunteer efforts through the group include service projects, donations and grants to help meet the needs of the community.  

You can attend monthly membership meetings to learn what’s happening in Sierra Moms and hear special guest speakers.  It’s a great opportunity to meet other members and their children and child care is provided! 

Activities, groups, events and discussion forums are at your fingertips through their online communications site as well. 

Why should you join?

  Through Sierra Moms you will find a variety of activities designed for you, your children and your family.  With approximately 3300 member families, they are one of the largest moms groups in the Sacramento area.  For children” they offer weekly playgroups for every age and ‘Let’s Explore” group with fun outings that help children learn about he world around them.  For moms: They offer moms’ night out, babysitting co-op, Parents’ time out, networking group, book club, bunko, movie night and scrapbooking.

For the whole family they offer four parties throughout the year, a preschool faire, discounts to local events,  theme parks and business and so much more.  If you are interested in joining this progressive moms group go to www.sierreamoms.org or call 916-978-5995.

Declutter yourself!

by august 25, 2009

August 26, 2009

Day two of back to school and I’m already knee-deep in volunteer shifts, field trips, getting to know new teachers, parents and students, homework and just general day-to-day school stuff.  I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed – make that a lot overwhelmed and I’m trying to focus on ways to streamline and organize my very chaotic life.  Looking around my house it’s clear where I should begin.  Clutter, clutter and more clutter.  An overstocked cupboard with food we will never eat, bins of toys my kids never play with and piles of paperwork I don’t need any more.  So I am finding inspiration from a friend of mine and committing to de-clutter my life for the next thirty days and hope that this will make a little room for some peace in my hectic schedule.  A great website I’ve gone back to again and again over the years is Flylady.net.  It’s basically a one-stop way to declutter your life and create good habits to gain control over domestic headaches like housecleaning and organization.  There was a time when my oldest son was little and I followed the Flylady method for months and it was the one time in my years of parenting when things really did change, I was organized and efficient and I had the time I wanted to devote to my kids and myself.  Of course, then life happens.  So I fell off the Flylady wagon and I’m now determined to hop back on and find ways to simplify and enjoy this crazy mom’s life I’ve chosen.  If you are feeling overwhelmed (come on now, who isn’t?) I invite you to join me.  Just check out the website, you will soon read that all it takes is baby steps and you too can declutter your life!

Simplifying School Stuff

by august 25, 2009

August 24, 2009

So today my little ones officially entered the worlds of 2^nd grade and kindergarten!  It was fun and exciting but I was really exhausted with all the preparation.  New school clothes, school supplies, backpacks, shoes, lunch boxes, you name it we have it.  And don’t get me wrong, I remember being a kid and I know that all these shiny little details are what make those first tentative days of school special.   But after searching for a permanent marker last night and labeling all their goods, as I have every year since their first time at preschool, I realized there has to be a better option.  So after doing some online research I found an awesome option: Loveable Labels!  They carry a line of personal labels ranging from shoe labels, iron-on clothing labels, labels for folders, pencil pouches, jackets – you name it.  They also have bag tags, household labels and more.  So I’m retiring the Sharpie and investing in some personalized labels with my kids names on them!  After spending years digging through the lost and found bins, wondering if that jacket was really my kids or just a look-alike, I think it will be a sound investment to help simplify moms life.  So check this great company out at www.loveablelabels.ca.

Fluid Advice

by august 25, 2009

July 20, 2009

For the second time in my lengthy career as a parent (a whopping seven years) an unlikely hero has come to my rescue once again – the magic drink of Gatorade.  Ok, ok, I know what you are thinking – ‘isn’t that stuff packed with sugar and for adults?’ Well yes, but no also.

When my eldest son was about 3 he developed a horrible flu.  We are talking vomiting from the bed to the front yard, literally and the poor little guy couldn’t hold down an ounce of food or liquids.  I went to the store and got him some Pedialyte on the advice of a friend – and soon discovered that stuff tastes awful!  I tried several flavors and then called my wonderful pediatrician in Folsom, Dr. Kevin Grant – who told me to get Cai Gatorade because it not only provides the same electrolytes as the baby version but also tastes delicious! 

Well since then I have always turned to Gatorade in times of illness, however last week when both my kids were spending their mornings at soccer camp I was clueless as to why the last hour of each day they were practically napping on the field.  Their dad and I discussed the possibility of not enough sleep, their lack of interest in breakfast, etc.  But then my best girlfriend who is also an athlete laughed at me and said  - they need Gatorade!  That’s why they think they are starving at the end of camp, their body really just needs the electrolytes!’  And wouldn’t you know it?  Next day I got them each a giant bottle of it and they dribbled and scored their way through the whole morning and when camp was over they were ready for more. 

Now I suppose that Gatorade isn’t the answer to every parenting problem, but the moral of this story is that advice from doctors, friends and really anyone who understands kids or the human body can change your day and even the way you live it – so listen up!

Mom setbacks

by august 25, 2009

June 29, 2009

So it is usually the wintertime when I fall into funks and wish for the sunshine to bring me happiness and a good attitude.  But when little things start to pile up and soon you have a mountain of whiny kids, dirty laundry, a puppy who chews through your laptop powercord, a mother who won't stop calling, a headlight that mysteriously keeps burning out, a pile of bills and a dishwasher that spews water so that you have to clean the floor everytime you clean the dishes, well - I think you get the picture.

In these mucky times of motherhood the best remedy is always to find ways to take care of ourselves.  So here are some of my favorite things to do anywhere, but especially in Sacramento.

- Have lunch with a girlfriend at Jack's Urban Eats in Midtown or Folsom - their Chinese Chicken Salad is amazing and if you must bring the kids get them sides of homemade macaroni and cheese.

- Get a manicure, pedicure, get a facial, your eyebrows waxed or any beaty treatment that will make you glow and feel like a real woman again.

- Hit a farmer's market, buy fresh tomatoes, basil, parmesan and grilll them up together for a scrumptious and healthy summer treat.  Top them with a drizzle of balsamic vinegrette and yum!

- Take yourself to a chick-flick and if necessary cry - even at the happy parts - it's theraputic!

- Get a tattoo - yes you heard me right - a tattoo!  Even if it's a tiny version of your favorite flower where (almost) no one else can see it.  You'll know it's there and it never hurts to live on the wild side for an afternoon!

Whatever you do, enjoy yourself.  Live in the moment.  Try hard to get grandma, a friend or a babysitter so you can spend this time as a woman, not a mom.  You will be amazed at how refreshed you'll be later that day when your delicious children fall into your arms.

Declutter that house!

by august 25, 2009

June 16, 2009

So one of my personal goals for the summer is to de-crap my house.  It’s amazing how much stuff we all have, but the kids above all.  It seems like everyday they are bringing home McDonald’s toys, junk other people give them or stuff that Grandma sends.  Of course in the moment they are always thrilled with their goodies, but it seems that after the first couple of hours 90% of the stuff gets tossed in one play bin oranother and just adds to the junk pile that is our house. 

I tried taking the diplomatic route and asking them to ‘volunteer’ old toys for donation.  However they are both little pack-rats and very little is voluntarily relinquished.  So, evil mommy that I am I have begun to fill garbage bags with unused  toys after my little ones go to sleep.  In my summer schedule I have two days a week that we swing by the Salvation Army to drop off the smuggled goods.  I’ve actually been doing this for three weeks now and the boys still have a ton of stuff and have yet to notice that anything is missing!  

Boob Talk

by august 25, 2009

June 02, 2009

So I have to blog today about my very favorite local family magazine – KidAround Town.  I’ll admit I’m a bit biased because I write for this magazine occasionally, but if you have seen it locally you too will know that it is a really beautiful and interesting publication.  They always feature hip and fun local businesses that are off the beaten path and edgy articles that go far beyond the normal and boring suburban mother stereotypes.  Not to toot my horn or anything (ok, maybe I am a little) but the current issue has an article about boobs after pregnancy and breastfeeding written by yours truly.  The article discusses how these things affect our once perky girls and the options we have to remedy these things, i.e. dealing with it or surgical procedures.  I interviewed a really great surgeon and an equally great mom who share their insight about the subject.  The best part of all is that the surgeon and I will be doing a segment on Good Day Sacramento next week! 

It is rare that we escape the beauty of motherhood without lasting scars to our once beautiful young bodies.  I myself am slowly learning to accept this small price, but I know a lot of moms who have taken the leap into the world of breast augmentation and I am secretly ridiculously envious.  If you haven’t read KidAround Town yet, you must pick up a copy of their latest issue – you can also read it cover to cover on their website:  www.kidaroundmag.com.  I’ll keep you posted on my big TV debut!

Mama's Day Fun

by august 25, 2009

May 08, 2009

 So it's that time again, time to honor all those hardworking, loving, amazing mothers.  I know, you are used to prioritizing everything and everyone above yourself - but it's important to give yourself a pat on the back and also to teach the kids that mom is more than a cook and a maid - she's a real person who needs to be appreciated!  So schedule a pedicure, have coffee with a friend and then hang out with your kids this weekend and remind them that their mom rocks!  Crusing around on the internet I found a bunch of great family activities for Mother's Day on one of my favorite local events calendars - www.parentsmonthlyonline.com.   Happy Mother's Day!

Farms, Friends and Fairytales at Fairytale Town - "This event is a fun way for children to learn how important agriculture is to our every day lives," says program manager Sharlene Lal. "It's one thing to hear about how ice cream or butter is made, or how wool is spun into yarn it's another thing to see it happen in front of your very eyes!" Families can also visit with a variety of people and organizations who bring agricultural products to market. While you wander the grounds learning all about agriculture, you can listen to live bluegrass music provided by Loose Acoustic Trio. 11 am – 3 pm. All ages. General $4.50; Children 2 & under Free. Fairytale Town, 3901 Land Park Dr., Sacramento. For more info call 916-808-8886 or visit www.FairytaleTown.org

Fountains Kids Club – Enjoy an entertainment filled morning at The Fountains in Roseville. 10 am- 11 am: Mother’s Day Craft (for the first 100 children); 11 am – 12 am: Special flower for Mom and Mimo’s Balloon Sculpturing. All ages. Free. Events takes place at the stage on the second Saturday of each month. The Fountains located at Roseville PKWY & Galleria Blvd, Roseville. For more info call 916-786-2679 or visit www.TheFountainsAtRoseville.com

Mommy and Me: Mother’s Day Brunch - Celebrate mother's day in this fun and interactive cooking class for both mommy and child. Learn to make a simple and delicious brunch of fruit smoothies, baked eggs with roasted vegetables, vegetarian sausages, and honey cornbread muffins. At the Sacramento Natural Food Co-Op. 10 am – 12:30 pm. All ages. $55; $45 for Co-Op owners, admission is good for one child and adult. Located at Community Learning Ctr. & Cooking School, 1914 Alhambra Blvd., Sacramento. For reservations and more info call 916-455-2667 or visit www.SacFoodCoop.com 

Second Saturday for Families: Draw Fairytales at Crocker Art Museum. Storytellers will spark your imagination with thrilling fairytales and epic adventures. 12 – 3 pm. Free with admission. All ages. Join a family tour of Maxfield Parrish and the Art of the Print at 2 pm. General $6; Seniors $4; Children & Students $3. Crocker Art Museum, 216 O St., Sacramento. For more info call 916-808-7000 or visit www.CrockerArtMuseum.org

Best Mom Computer Ever...

by august 25, 2009

April 20, 2009

One of my top mom-complaints of all time (aside from my children saying 'mama' one million times and too much laundry) is having computer problems.  I had a whole slew of computer issues last week, however I'm happy to report that I have finally found the answer to my mom computer prayers, and it's called: Acer Aspire One.

The Aspire One is a mini laptop that a friend of mine purchased recently.  With an 8-inch screen, lighter than air and it fits inside my smallest purse without a problem!  I did a lot of research on this baby and it gets great revues from users and best of all costs under $300!  I shopped around and found it for $298 from Walmart.  It comes in black, white, blue and pink (yes, pink!), has tons of memory and a 5.5 hour battery life.  The only complaints I found were that the keyboard is too small (mostly from men with big hands) and that it doesn't have a disk drive.  However, I have a drive on my home computer and I also discovered that an external drive can be purchased for the Acer for about $100 if need be.

 So if you are a mom who works, emails or surfs the internet on the road with your kids and would like an affordable, convienient and fabulous little laptop to take on your travels, check this baby out!  You can search 'Acer Aspire One' online or simply go to www.walmart.com. 

Big lessons from little ones

by Kim Mordecai

January 27, 2009

The other day my four year-old Solomon said he wanted to pretend that he was a baby tiger, this is a very common game around here. I said "OK, hi little baby tiger, do you need a tiger snack?" He uncurled from his tiger pose, stood up, put his hands on his hips and rolled his eyes at me "Nooooo mom, I'm not that kind of baby tiger. I'm the aggressive and ferocious kind of baby tiger." And so a  Read more...

The Science and Art of Raising Kind Kids

by Kim Mordecai

January 07, 2009

Surfing the net today (do they still say that or am I dating myself?), anyway, I was surfing and I came across a great opportunity for parents if you are up for a day trip this weekend. www.parentsmonthlyonline.com has a great monthly calendar of activities for kids. This month they had a blurb on the San Francisco Exploratorium which is offering a one-time class called ' The Science and Art  Read more...

Resolution: save $!

by Kim Mordecai

January 02, 2009

So one of my many New Year's resolutions this year is to watch my money more carefully. I'm off to a good start since last year I tightened the belt straps quite a bit. OK, now I'm going to out myself as a semi-hippy-type now, but hell with it. The truth is I was born and raised in Berkeley, so the fact that I now live in the suburbs of Sacramento can only white-wash those hippy roots so much.  Read more...

Murphy's Law

by Kim Mordecai

December 23, 2008

I keep thinking about that Murphy's Law thing. What is it? Anything that can go wrong, will. Well with just two days of mayhem before Christmas arrives, Murphy's law has ruled my world. My computer crashed, my sewing machine broke just as I was finishing a quilt that was a gift, my dog wandered in with a giant mystery wound that needs stitches and my kids are as badly behaved as I can imagine.  Read more...

Gobble up and get ready for Black Friday!

by Kim Mordecai

November 28, 2008

The turkey's been carved, the pumpkin pies been devoured and tomorrow is black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year. I am not planning on doing much shopping tomorrow. The one place I will hit is my nearest Longs Drugs store. I read through the piles of advertisements this afternoon and just one produce caught my eye. It's called the Pure Digital video recorder, and I received one  Read more...

Post Holiday Bargain Hunters

by Kim Mordecai

November 19, 2008

Everyone is trying to save money these days. Our family has definitely tightened the belt and I am always on the lookout for new tricks to save a buck without decreasing our quality of life or fun for the kids. I am a big advocate of post-holiday sales and yesterday I was in Michael's Arts & Crafts where there is still Halloween goodies for 90% off! I bought my boys fun ghost and bat  Read more...

Halloween Costume Boo-Hoo

by Kim Mordecai

October 01, 2008

It's October 1 st and my kid's Halloween costumes arrived in the mail today. Theyve been sniffing and circling the mysterious brown UPS box like rabid dogs around a package full of bacon and kittens. I have used the mystery of the unopened box as incentive to get my living room picked up, three pages of homework done, the fish fed and them getting dressed for soccer in under ten minutes (a  Read more...

Mama Rescue Operation

by Kim Mordecai

September 30, 2008

So Im a day past the worst of the cold, but still feeling kinda yucky and a little pissed off to boot. Now this could be any combination of cold symptoms, hormones, poor diet, lack of exercise, whiney children, lazy husband, etc, etc. All I know is Ive had it and this afternoon Ive realized that a Mama Rescue Operation is in order. I have been formulating the various possibilities. All of  Read more...

Sick & Tired

by Kim Mordecai

September 29, 2008

There is only one thing to say about being a mom and getting sick: it sucks. I have first-hand knowledge of the suckage today because I have an awful cold and unlike normal people, cannot get into bed and nurse myself back to health. Even though I am feverish, snotty and miserable, I still got up and packed lunches, trucked kids to and from school and soccer practice and did dishes and  Read more...

Sick & Tired

by Kim Mordecai

September 29, 2008

There is only one thing to say about being a mom and getting sick: it sucks. I have first-hand knowledge of the suckage today because I have an awful cold and unlike normal people, cannot get into bed and nurse myself back to health. Even though I am feverish, snotty and miserable, I still got up and packed lunches, trucked kids to and from school and soccer practice and did dishes and  Read more...

Raising Responsible Kids

by Kim Mordecai

September 12, 2008

I'm just going to be up front and admit that I am not the most organized mother. I try really hard, I do. But the color-coordinated folders and the outfits laid out the week before never last very long in my house. When it comes to my kid's school I do, however, put forth extra effort so that all our paperwork is turned in, all volunteer hours are worked and we just generally have our p's  Read more...

Back-to-Preschool!

by Kim Mordecai

September 02, 2008

While many grammar schools have been back in session for weeks, it is finally preschool time again. Tomorrow my 4 year-old Solomon and I have a back-to-school get together at our preschool. He has been groaning and whining for weeks, so he is absolutely thrilled to be going back to the world of big kids'. Since I've been through this whole preschool deal before, I thought I'd give some  Read more...

Get fit with baby!

by Kim Mordecai

August 29, 2008

Getting back in shape after a baby is born is a tough thing to do. Before my first pregnancy I was 5'4 and 135 lbs. When I gave birth to my first kiddo I was over 200 and too big for my smallish frame. After poppin' out a 10 lb. baby I was still extremely overweight and hadn't a clue how to take it off. A lot of moms naturally shed weight but I was partial to cheeseburgers and banana splits  Read more...

Renegade Lunch Lady

by Kim Mordecai

August 25, 2008

Now that school is back full-swing I am back to my role as active classroom mom. The volunteer hours, the field trips, the parent meetings they are enough to boggle the mind but I enjoy taking part in my kid's education. With this said, I have a bone to pick with our public school system which is San Juan Unified School District about our cafeteria food. My new first grader asked to buy his  Read more...

Fun Support for Mama

by Kim Mordecai

August 22, 2008

While becoming a new mom is a blissful, enriching and powerful experience, it can also be very lonely. If you are not surrounded by girlfriends with their own little ones it can be difficult to figure out how to meet other moms. I found myself in this predicament when my first son was born and went the 'mom's group' route. And while I met many nice ladies, none that I had a lot in common with.  Read more...

Make room for baby

by Kim Mordecai

July 29, 2008

So one of my closest friends is pregnant with her first baby and yesterday she went to have an ultrasound: it's a boy! It's funny because she is having a hard time adjusting. She is one of the many moms who had her heart set on having a cute little girl to dress up and play dolls with. I know she loves my boys but now she looks at them a bit more warily I think she assumed that her life  Read more...

Mom-Friendly Advice

by Kim Mordecai

June 18, 2008

A friend of mine who is expecting asked me the other day how I came to know so many moms and developed so many friendships around my kids. This gave me pause because before six years ago I really wasn't a playdate kinda gal. If I had looked to the future of my motherhood I would've seen it as a pretty isolated place. I know, there are those women that know a million other women and they all  Read more...