Tomorrow: Free first Wednesday admission

Halloween is coming, there are lots of fun activities for kids for Halloween, and I'll post more about it later.
But first thing first, do you have fun activities plan for tomorrow yet?
Here are some FREE fun activities you can take your kids tomorrow:

Coyote Point Museum
1651 Coyote Point Drive
San Mateo, CA 94401-1097
(650) 342-7755
FREE on Wednesday, October 1, 2008
($5 admission to the park)

• Hands-on activities for kids (building magnetic sculpture, create a recycled masterpiece, examine a snakeskin)
• See honeybee up close
• River otter exhibit is always popular. Get here before 12:30pm to see feeding time.

Tip: If you have more time, check out the nearby playground, featuring monster slides, it's the best kept secret...
Note: there's an ongoing road construction check here for direction.

Exploratorium
at the Palace of Fine Arts
3601 Lyon Street
San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 561-0399
FREE Wednesday, October 1, 2008

• Great hands-on exhibits that will entertain both kids and adults with over 650 exhibits.
• There's bubble stations,
  
• Light exhibits, where kids learn how to make different color using 3 primary colors
  
• Tap Lariet chain and see it become 'alive'.
• Checkout the optical illusion of the restroom wall, and toilet water fountain.

Our kids favorite was playing the sand wheels. While our 1 yo just loves dumping the sand on the wheel, our 4 yo used the stick and learn to make patterns using stick and whirling wheel.


If you are San Francisco residents, then you can get in here for FREE too:
San Francisco Zoo
1 Zoo Road
San Francisco, CA 94132
FREE to San Francisco residents only Wednesday, October 1, 2008 10 a.m. to 5 p.m

• See the tiger triplets, new addition to the zoo
  
• Get on the train rides
• go to Children's zoo for petting animals
  

This weekend in Bay Area: FREE Museums admissions, Dragon boat festival, and more...

Got Bank of America cards? Then you're in luck, because this weekend is the first weekend of the month, which means you can go to museums for FREE.
For a complete list of participating museums near your area, go here

Here are some of museums in San Francisco Bay Area that have fun activities for kids:

deYoung Museum
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA
94118
(415)750-3600
Saturday & Sunday October 4-5, 2008 9:30am - 5:15pm
There's a fun drop-in art activities for kids on Saturday.

The Tech Museum of Innovation
201 South Market St.
San Jose, CA
95113
(408)294-TECH(8324)
FREE with BofA card
Saturday & Sunday October 4-5, 2008 10:00am - 5:00pm
Great place for children and adults, lots of hands-on exhibits. There's also IMAX theater.

If you don't have BofA cards, not too worry, you can still get access FREE to this museum:

Asian Art Museum
Civic Center Plaza
200 Larkin Street
San Francisco
FREE
Sunday, October 5, 2008 10 am-5pm
Highlights:

• yoga class
  
• storytelling
  
• tours of the exhibits as well as building.

(Also free on every first Sunday of the month)

If you're not into museums, there are several fun activities worth mentioning :
Dragon Boat Festival
Treasure Island, San Francisco
FREE
Saturday & Sunday October 4-5, 2008
Racing begins at 8AM - 5PM.
Food and performances are from 10AM - 5PM.
Highlights include:

• Free arts and crafts activities and fun games for kids:
• (Create dancing dragons from chopsticks, make bracelets, face painting, fun games for prizes) Rock climbing wall for children & adult.
• Real Dragon Boat on land that you can see up close
• FREE shuttle from Powell BART station

Japantown Aki Matsuri (Fall Festival)
Japantown
Post & Buchanan Streets
San Francisco
FREE
Saturday & Sunday October 4-5, 2008 11am - 5pm
Highlights include:

• Taiko drumming
• Traditional Japanese festival dancing
• Children's games, bounce houses, and much more.

Spirit of Japantown
San Jose Japantown -- 5th Street and Jackson Street
San Jose
FREE
Saturday, October 4, 2008 10am-6pm

• Arts & Crafts
• Kids Activity Zone
• Car Exhibition
• Japanese food & products
• Entertainment
  

Los Altos Fall Festival

Saturday-Sunday, Oct 4-5, 2008 10:00a to 5:00p
South Parking Plaza, Downtown Los Altos

Los Altos, CA

• Arts & crafts
• Children's alley & Scarecrow contest
• Classic Car Show
• Live music

Which sunscreen is best for kids?

With so many sunscreen products out there, it's very confusing to choose one, especially for young kids. Which sunscreen is the best?
I have spent so many hours researching on this, since I have young kids with sensitive skin.
I hope this will help some of you readers out there.

Here's the general guidelines:

• Use SPF of 15 or higher
• Wear sunscreen if you will be exposed to the sun for more than 20 minutes, even in cloudy weather.
• American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies under 6 months be kept out of the sun altogether.
• Baby Center suggests "physical" or "chemical-free" sunscreen made with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide.
• Wear hat if possible.
  

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) made an extensive researched on more than 1000 sunscreens, analyzed both the safety of the ingredients and the effectiveness of the products. According to the result:

..... 4 out of 5 contain chemicals that may pose health hazards or don't adequately protect skin from the sun's damaging rays. Some of the worst offenders are leading brands like Coppertone, Banana Boat, and Neutrogena.

So, beware of what you buy... If might have done more hazard than protecting your skin.

Here's the 10 recommended brands:

1. Blue Lizard (without oxybenzone)
2. California Baby (SPF30+)
3. CVS (with zinc oxide)
4. Jason Natural Cosmetics (Sunbrellas mineral based sunblock)
5. Kiss My Face ("Paraben Free")
6. Neutrogena (Sensitive skin sunblock)
7. Olay (Defense Daily UV Moisturizer with zinc)
8. SkinCeuticals(Physical UV Defense)
9. SolarSense (Clear Zinc for Face)
10. Walgreens(Zinc Oxide for Face, Nose, & Ears)

After reading the article, I have tried Blue Lizard and California Baby.
Both are great, easy to put on. California Baby is thinner than Blue Lizard.
If you live in Bay Area, you can find California Baby (#3 on the list) at Target and Wholefoods.
I have yet to find Blue Lizard sold on any store, but you can order online through Amazon.

This weekend in Bay Area

Grand Opening California Academy of Science
Saturday - Sunday
September 27-28, 2008
FREE on Saturday, paid admission on Sunday
Golden Gate Park
Check out the reopening of California Academy of Science this Saturday.
You can find out the video preview here.
Performances, activities and food will be at Music Concourse.

Live music and dance, sustainably-sourced delicacies from around the world, green technology demonstrations, and a wide range of art and recreational activities for the whole family.

Saturday

Circus Center
Capacitor
Chris Molla
Cotton Candy Express
Nigerian Masquerade Drummers
Red Panda Acrobats
San Francisco Ballet
SF Jazz Youth Orchestra
The Sippy Cups
Closing Act
Junkestra

Sunday

B Attitudes
Circus Center
Golden Gate Park Band
Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble
Loco Bloco
Nigerian Masquerade Drummers
Parangal Dance Group
Red Panda Acrobats
San Francisco Opera
Junkestra

Smithsonian Free Museum Day
Saturday, September 27 2008
FREE
To participate, all you have to do is sign up for an admission card on the magazine's link above. The printable card is good for admission for two persons.
Participating museums in Bay Area include:
Exploratorium
Hiller Aviation, San Carlos
Coyote Point Museum
Chabot Space & Science Center

This weekend in Bay Area

Circus in the Playground with Boswick the Clown
Saturday, September 20, 2008
11 AM to Noon
FREE
Dolores Park Playground
16th and Dolores, San Francisco
Circus at the Playground, featuring famous Bay area clowns Boswick and Twizzle, magical feats, juggling, face painting, comedy, tasty treats, and much more.

Family Day Kite Festival 2008
Saturday - Sunday, September 20 - 21, 2008
11 am - 6 pm
FREE
Marina Green, San Francisco
2 miles east of the Golden Gate Bridge.
A beautiful, open and well-established kite-flying venue, the Marina Green features steady breezes, easy access, public transportation and free parking.
Event Highlights:

• Kite-making activity for kids
• Kite-flying
• Contests for kite-making and -flying
• Professional performers flying high-tech and exotic kites
• Monster inflatable rides and climbing structure
• Hands-on, kid-focused activities
• Food and non-alcoholic beverage booths

PAMP Moon Festival
Sunday, Sep 21 2008
5pm – 7:30pm
Mitchell Park Bowl, Palo Alto, CA
FREE to PAMP Members / $5 per adult non-members.
The Moon Festival or the Mid-Autumn Festival is a popular holiday that is celebrated by children in many parts of Asia.
Highlight:

• Arts and Craft Activities for the children.
• Lantern Parade
• Free lanterns for children
• Lion Dance & Martial Arts performance
• Moon cakes and tea will be served.

Digital Scrapbook Tutorial + Drawings by big sister

Found a great digital scrapbooking site, complete with tutorial on how to scrapbook using photoshop and free download on scrapbooking kits at ShabbyPrincess

Here's the first try on digital scrapbook:
Big sister's drawings

Consignment Sale in San Francisco

Saturday, Sep 12 2008
9am-3pm, closed 12:30-1pm.
$1 adult, FREE for children.
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco County Fair Building
( near Ninth Ave. and Lincoln Way. )
San Francisco

Need baby items?
San Francisco Parents of Multiples is having an annual consignment sale tomorrow.
It's great place to pick up clothing, strollers, car seats, cribs and lots more.

This Weekend in Bay Area

Sunday Streets San Francisco
Sunday, September 14, 2008
9:00am - 1:00pm
FREE
5 miles of San Francisco streets will be closed for traffic.
Lots of activities along the route, yoga, dance, hula, bike, roller skates.
Ride MUNI for FREE. See pictures from last Sunday Streets here.

Kids activities that will be offered:
Moon Bounce jumpy house
Yoga for Kids
lacrosse on JHP field
Soccer drills on JHP field
Ferry Building: Free Valet Bike Parking & Live Music FREE for 1 hour
Bicycle rodeo
Freedom from Training Wheels
Tours of Historic Pier 70 Every 30 minutes
Roller skating
Moon Bounce


Target Family Days
Sunday, September 14, 2008
12:00-4:00pm
FREE
Downtown Redwood City
The last one will be next month Oct 19, 2008.
There's music, circus, face painting, hands-on art projects, bounce houses & more!
We went there a few months ago, and the kids had a blast. We ate lunch at a restaurant nearby, then listen to music. The kids visited craft booth to make bracelets, hats, and spin color art, my daughter's favorite.

Playhouse Disney LIVE! Is Coming -- Get The Best Seats Now

Another great show coming to the Bay Area.
You can find the info here

If the screen asks for special promotion code, just enter "FUN". You
will be able to purchase tickets during the VIP ticketing period.

Idea for baby shower: Homemade Diaper cake

When our daughter's preschool teacher was having a baby shower last year. I thought I should make her something for the occasion.
After looking at so many different ideas, I decided to make a diaper cake.
There's a tutorial on how to make one from here.
She made a gorgeous diaper cake, decorated with roses made with coffee filter!

We were so impressed by how this elegant the diaper cake look, that we decided to give it a try.
Ours turn out pretty good too.
Our version was a 2 tiered diaper cake, 1 package of newborn size Pampers Swaddlers.
We didn't have mailing tube for the diaper stand. Instead, we used wine bottle tube packaging bought at Michael's..
And instead of using doilies and cardboard, we found this cake cardboard, which already has decorative pattern.

It was such a fun project, my 4 year old was helping me coloring the paper rose, rolling diaper, putting band over the rolled diaper, then rearranging the rolled diaper. She was so proud she could help making this diaper cake for her teacher.

Craft project: Homemade Playdough

We bought lots of Play-Doh at home, but the smell is just unpleasant, it's making me nauseous. So I started searching for homemade recipe, and below is the best recipe I found for making playdough:

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1/2 salt
2 TBS cream of tartar
1 TBS cooking oil
1 cup boiling water
food coloring (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix the first four ingredients together in a bowl
2. Add oil
3. Add color into the boiling water
   
4. Pour boiling water into the bowl
5. Stir all ingredients in the bowl
6. Knead when the mixture cools

To store, just put in airtight container.
It's so simple, non-toxic, and the kids can help in measuring the ingredients and mixing (be careful of the boiling water though).
As for coloring, I added food coloring.
You can add Kool-Aid into the water for color, if you like Kool-Aid smell..

Easy Recipe: Healthy Homemade Fruit Sorbet

Here is an easy and quick desert recipe that every one in the family will like:

Healthy homemade Fruit Sorbet
Ingredients:
2 cups sliced fruit
2 Tbs fresh juice
pinch sea salt
honey (optional)

Instructions:

1. Spread sliced fruit in ice tray or baking sheet.
2. Freeze, uncovered, until frozen solid.
3. Once the fruit is frozen, thaw at room temperature for 5 minutes.
4. Add a small pinch of salt
5. Add honey if you like your sorbet sweeter.
6. Place in a blender with the orange juice and process until smooth.

You can make this sorbet with any combination of fruits (strawberry, peach, mango, etc) and juice (orange, apple, coconut, etc).
We made mango sorbet, strawberry sorbet, strawberry & blueberry sorbet.
Our favorite so far is mango sorbet with coconut water (pictured above).
As for coconut water, we used this.
The kids had a blast making it.
It's so healthy, sugar free, and delicious.

Pregnancy books

When I was pregnant, I was obsessed with reading about pregnancy.
These are the books I would recommend:
1. What to Expect When You're Expecting by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel











2. The Pregnancy Journal: A Day-to-Day Guide to a Healthy and Happy Pregnancy by A. Christine Harris
3. The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy by Vicki Iovine












4. The Expectant Father: Facts, Tips and Advice for Dads-to-Be by Armin A. Brott

This weekend in Bay Area

If you are looking to get away of the heat in Bay Area, why not go to San Francisco. The weather in the city is supposed to be in mid-70s.
Several FREE events this weekend in San Francisco:

San Francisco Opera in the Park
Sun September 7, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Sharon Meadow, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
This is an annual free outdoor concert. Bring blanket & food, and enjoy beautiful music & singing. This tends to be a very popular event, so come early to get the best viewing spot.

18th Annual Autumn Moon Festival Street Fair
Sat & Sun, Sep 6-7, 2008
Chinatown, San Francisco
Chinatown's historic Grant Avenue will become a pedestrian-only bazaar with live entertainment between California and Broadway, as will Pacific Street between Stockton and Kearny streets.
There will be street vendors, activities, arts and crafts, and food along the main festival route. The famous Dragon will close the festivities at 5pm on Sunday.

Asian Art Museum
Sun, Sep 7, 2008 10 am - 5 pm
200 Larkin St, San Francisco
This free admission is sponsored by Target first free Sundays.
Tours of the exhibits are offered at different times throughout the day.

If you are in East Bay Area, check this one out:
Kidsfaire
Sat-Sun, Sep 6-7, 2008 10am - 5pm
Alameda County Fairground, Pleasanton
We've never been to this one before, it looks like it'll be a fun activity for the kids to go to.
Here's a few of what to expect according to the website:
- Musical shows going on throughout the day (Strawberry Shortcake, Alvin and the Chipmunks, etc..)
- Ice Skating shows, Circus acts, the list goes on and on..).
- Activity booth for the kids (anyone wants to try scuba diving?)
- Princess Booth, making wands, fairies...
There's even a discount coupon from the website.