Christmas Traditions

I just want a spot to jot down the stuff we like to do during the holidays, so I can start planning. :-)

Sunday, 11/6: Patchwork Craft Fair
Monday, 11/7: Select photos for Christmas cards

Wednesday, 11/9: Brass rubbings/park day
Friday, 11/11: Paint N Glaze

Saturday, 11/12: Design Christmas cards
Sunday, 11/13: Celebrate Auntie Kohl's bday

Monday, 11/14: Fix advent calendar
Tuesday, 11/15: Make potluck item
Wednesday, 11/16: Dragtontree potluck
Thursday, 11/17: Find candy cane reindeer supplies
Friday, 11/18: Start making kids gifts; celebrate Grandma's bday

Saturday, 11/19: Go to Mirror,Mirror
Sunday, 11/20: Gardening; look for a mama gift? (Cheryl, Karri, Katheryn, Paige, Erica, Ngoc Tram, Crystal, Pam, Tiffany)

Wednesday, 11/23: Make side dish
Thursday, 11/24: Thanksgiving
Friday, 11/25: Shopping!

Saturday, 11/26: Recital; decorating inside; listen to Handel's Messiah
Sunday, 11/27: Decorating outside

Monday, 11/28: Have dinner with Uncle Ed; wrap SF gifts
Tuesday, 11/29: Order Christmas cards
Wednesday, 11/30: park day
Thursday, 12/1: Make candy cane reindeer
Friday, 12/2: Look for doggie treat bags/buy mama gift items/doggie treat ingredients; wrap SF gifts

Saturday, 12/3: Knotts Merry Farm; decorating inside; listen to Handel's Messiah
Sunday, 12/4: Make tamales; write Christmas cards

Monday, 12/5: Mail SF gifts; make doggie treats for holiday bazaa; wrap doggie treats
Tuesday, 12/6: Make fudge for holiday bazaar, sing-along, & pizza party
Wednesday, 12/7: Dragontree Holiday Bazaar
Thursday, 12/8: Recital; prepare mama gifts

Friday, 12/9: send Christmas cards; Living Nativity on Wardlow
Saturday, 12/10: Buy tree
Sunday, 12/11: Buy cupcakes for sing-along & pizza party; Messiah Sing-along!; Dom's pizza party!

Monday, 12/12: Bake for cookie exchange
Tuesday, 12/13: Make potluck item
Wednesday, 12/14: Dragontree potluck, cookie exchange, gifts for kids, gifts for mamas
Thursday, 12/15: Wrap gifts

Friday, 12/16: Peace and Human Rights Night at New City
Saturday, 12/17: Bake; see lights in Sleepy Hollow
Sunday, 12/18: See lights in Naples

Monday, 12/19: Take tamales to Cheryl and Karri
Tuesday, 12/20: Bake
Wednesday, 12/21: Check Lowe's for 50% off
Thursday, 12/22: Plan Christmas breakfast
Friday, 12/23

Saturday, 12/24: Make side dish or dip; sprinkle reindeer food on lawn; Christmas Eve
Sunday, 12/25: Christmas
Monday, 12/26: Shopping!

Thursday, 12/29: Target goes to 75% off

Sunday, 1/1: New Year's Day
Monday, 1/2: Rose Parade

Halloween Party!

Rachel wants to have a Halloween party.  I think this is the beginning of her tween social group.

We'll need to finalize the guest list, menu, decorations, and activities.  She has told me no crafts.  Hijola.  Does that mean crafts are not  cool??

Party will be Saturday, October 29, 5pm-8pm.

Invites will go out October 8; addressed October 1st; & created September 23rd.

Guests: Natalie, Lindsay, Camden, Jasper, Dylan, Madeleine,  Angelina, Nathan

Favors: hand sanitizers, candy, pencils

Decorations:

• white mini lights
• purple,orange, and black streamers
• purple,orange, and black balloons; order October 23
• pinata- jack o'lantern

Set table with purple tablecover.

Menu:

• pizza
• hot dog mummies
• hummas graveyard with crackers and brocolli
• eyeball (ambrosia) salad
• sorbet punch
• salad for grownups
• cupcakes: sweet embellishments (order 10/23)
• candy corn & chocolate in "coffins"
• water

Games:

• Pinata
• Monster parts: 5 boxes with lids to hold small bowls inside - cold cooked spaghetti (intestines), grapes (eyeballs), candy corn (teeth) , jello (brains) , dried apricots (ears)
• Guess the number of pumpkin seeds in the jar
• Pumpkin bowling: use 6 empty 2-liter bottles and 3 small $1 pumpkins (remove the stems)
• Web weaving game: ball of string (30 ft) for each child; teams of two; place each member of team opposite each other; best with 3 or 4 teams; tie the string to the first player, toss ball to team mate; wrap around them once and throw back to team mate.  First team to use all string wins.

Prizes: 2 boys, 6 girls

Schedule:

• make pinata - 10/2
• decorate - 10/28

Party day:
10am: decorate

3pm: pick up cupcakes
5pm: make mummy hot dog, order pizzas

Homeschool Learning Centers

Sometimes I get asked about other learning centers in Southern California and the whole state.  So this is just a place to hold the info...

Huckleberry Creative Learning Center - Santa Clarita - http://www.hucklc.org
Excellence in Education - Monrovia - http://www.excellenceineducation.com
WISH - co-op in Sherman Oaks - http://www.wishclasses.com

Urban Homeschoolers - Near Griffith Park
http://www.wix.com/annasmith772/urban-homeschoolers#!__la-resource-center

Creative Learning Place - Westchester - http://www.creativelearningplace.com
Rose Scharlin Afternoon Enrichment - Silverlake - http://rosescharlin.com/afternoon-enrichment-program/

Homeschooling Fun - hsfclasses.org - southwest San Gabriel Valley

Homeschool Campus of OC - Costa Mesa - http://www.homeschoolcampusoc.com
Celebration Education OC Learning Center - Brea
South County Campus for Homeschooling - Aliso Viejo - http://www.scchomeschooling.com/

The Learning Collective - Upland - http://www.tlc-education.org
My Learning Connection - Murrieta - http://www.mylearningconnection.net/ 

And, of course, gee! Great Educational Experiences - Long Beach - http://www.geeclasses.com

Rachel - June 2011

Let the planning begin!

I don't really plan many summer trips, because I'm usually preoccupied with planning Rachel's bday party.  It's 3 months away and I always do this.  This year she is torn between our typical backyard party with a marine/sea life theme and having her party at the local arcade.  I vote for the arcade. :-)  But we'll see what happens.  All I know is that it will be on her actual bday, Saturday, July 30, 2011.  It's a miracle that her party will happen on that day.  One year we postponed it one day so that I could turn in her fair entries.  It's a bit of a drive to get there and I really couldn't do it the morning of her party.

The only touchy part is that because she is not used to her party being on her actual date, she is expecting that we do something special with just our family on her bday...but that's when her party will be.  Decisions, decisions.  Stay tuned!

Rachel and her cousin

My 50th in Vegas

We took Rachel to the Mirage to see the dolphins and white tigers.  They have a lovely set up there.  It's only $15 for adults to go in and while they don't have a set schedule to interactions with the animals, they seem to be doing something every few minutes.  There is a small snack bar there that is nice to sit and watch the dolphins.  I was actually surprised by how much time we spent there.  We had mild weather, so I'm sure that helped.

We ended up staying at the Signature at the MGM Grand.  These are condos behind the hotel/casino.  The condo towers are connected to the casino by a moving walkway.  It turned out to be the same price as a regular hotel room, but there is alot more personal service.  Perfect for families.  They take your bags out at the door and bring them up to your room minutes after you get there.  There is only valet parking, so we just made sure to only use our car once a day.  The MGM Grand is one of the monorail stops, but we never used it.  There is a Starbucks and lounge in Tower 1 (where we stayed), but Starbucks is only open till 5pm.  There is a very tiny gift shop with candy, soda, chips, and other small items.

Mt. San Jacinto - January 2011

I've never been to Palm Springs and technically, I still haven't gone, but I was near it!  We took the Palm Springs Aeriel Tramway up to Mt. San Jacinto.  Amazing!  We went from the desert floor at a comfortable 60F degrees up 8000 ft. to 35F degrees and snow.

January 2011 - Wayfarer's Chapel

I'd never been to Wayfarer's Chapel in Palos Verdes.  My aunt was married there in the 60s and I knew it was a place that shouldn't be missed.  However, I kept missing it.  The chapel was designed by Lloyd Wright, the son of Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1951.  It is a glass chapel nestled among the trees overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

1961

John F. Kennedy is inaugurated President of the United States
The Dodgers move to LA
The first human goes into space
West Side Story wins the Oscar for Best Picture
Pascual and Carmen are married
and Jessie & Amado have their first daughter

While I think of ways to celebrate my birthday this year, I thought I would plan some stuff I've never done in my time on this planet...

January: Palm Springs
February: Mission San Gabriel
March: Yosemite in spring
April:
May: the new Getty Villa
June: Monterey Aquarium, Alcatraz, & the Redwoods
July: Venice Beach, The Grove
August: Sacramento
September: The Gamble House
October: Museum of Latin American Art, the Skinny House, Rancho Los Cerritos
November: Oak Glen
December: Disneyland during the Holidays

Christmas in San Francisco