The Marin Scoop

March 9th: 'Jack & Jill's' Play Date & 'Little Piggy Cupcakes' Store

It is sad to hear that ‘Jack & Jill’s’ in Petaluma will be closing on April 10^th, so I wanted to re-post my story about their wonderful play space to encourage you to visit it before it's closure in 4 weeks.

There is a couple of family friendly events happening in Sausalito on Saturday and foodie events taking place on Sunday. Talking of food…I wanted to share my mommy treat with you, ‘Little Piggy Cupcakes’ in Terra Linda. Oh and don’t forget to put your clocks forward an hour before going to sleep on Saturday night!

Weekend Events

Saturday March 12^th

‘The Marin Mammal Center’s 27^th Annual Run for the Seals’, from 7.30 am – 5.00 pm, The Marin mammal center, 2000 Bunker Road, Fort Cronkhite, Sausalito;

A two and four mile run in the beautiful Marin headlands with all proceeds going directly towards helping sick, injured and orphaned marine mammals. Afterwards participants are invited to the Center to enjoy their ‘Family Fun Day’ with free food and drink, educational tours and learn about the important work at the center. There will also be a special section just for family members. Online registration and further details on their website; http://tmmc.marinemammalcenter.org

‘Tim Cain’ at 11.00 am , Bay Area Discovery Museum, 557 McReynolds Road, Fort Baker, Sausalito, members $5, general child $10, adult $12 (includes admission to museum); http://www.baykidsmuseum.org/programs-and-events/performances/

The fun musician performs an audience participation sing-along concert with good humor singing and movement.

Sunday March 13^th

‘Homegrown Marin Market’ from 11.00 – 5.00 pm, Marin Fencing Academy, 827 4^th Street, San Rafael, $5 admission;

The sellers at this culinary market are reasonably new food businesses or cooks that want to showcase their mouthwatering goods. Come for lunch, shop for take home goods, watch cooking demos and stock up on gifts. You need to be a member of the Homegrown Marin Market to attend this event so to save time at the door you can register on the website and save a dollar on the door entry; http://homegrownmarinmarket.com/

‘St. Patrick’s Day Festival & BBQ’ from 12.00 – 4.00 pm, The Dance Palace, 503 B Street, Point Reyes, $18 adults & $7 kids; http://www.dancepalace.org/

The annual festival and barbecue is a West Marin tradition and held indoors, it features the famous BBQ chicken dinner (includes half chicken for adults and quarter chicken for children) with pasta, salad, bread roll, ice cream, milk or coffee. Tickets for dinner and cash prize raffle on door. There will be family friendly fun including games and booths, also homemade baked goodie, wine, beers and other refreshments.

Play Date of the Week

Following the sad news that ‘Jack & Jill’s’ in Petaluma will be closing next month, I wanted to re-post my story about their wonderful space, so you check it out before it closing in four weeks:

Jack and Jill’s, 217 Western Avenue, Petaluma

www.jackandjillsplace.com

Posted December 1^st 2010

If you are looking for a fantastic indoor space to entertain your children especially on rainy days, then you must head up to Petaluma and explore ‘Jack and Jill’s: A Place for Creative Play’.

The bright airy space is really well laid out with tables and chairs on one side of the room for eating snacks and hanging out, and there is complimentary coffee or tea served until 11.00 am. There are chairs and comfortable couches dotted around the room where parents can relax and chat to other parents, there is even free WiFi to use while you watch your children.

The other side has various play stations for every interest to feed their imaginations. It has low spaced out tables where children can build castles, play with trains and trucks, dinosaurs and a construction area. It has a cute dressing up area full of costumes and a vanity table to prepare for their big moment on the stage where they can perform in front of a camera that is shown on the wall mounted plasma screen TV! There are tool benches, a pretend house with a toy kitchen, and little individual stores like the Petaluma Market where the children can collect their groceries in their shopping carts and pay for them at the cash register. The space also has an art activity area to sit down and create arts and crafts. There have thought of everything!

It is great as a drop in option any day of the week, at a very reasonable $9 from 9.00 am – 1.00 pm or even 3.30 pm on certain days. You can check out their website for more information on opening hours, special deals, upcoming events and rates for birthday parties.

Mommy’s Treats

‘Little Piggy Cupcakes’, 633 Del Ganado Road, #6, San Rafael, tel; 415 572 3483; http://littlepiggycupcakes.com/

Store Hours:

Monday, Thursday 11.00 am – 3.00 pm (pre-packed boxes only)

Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 8.30 am – 12.30 pm

Single cupcakes for sale only on Tuesday, Wednesday & Fridays

I recently received a box of cupcakes for my birthday that a friend had ordered all the way from London, I loved them so much that I ordered some for friend’s birthdays and as special thank you gifts. The company ‘Little Piggy Cupcakes’ was set up by a local mom, Tina Fredericks, a certified pastry chef who trained at the California Culinary Academy. Little Piggy Cupcakes now has a new shop front shared with La Tarte Bakery in Terra Linda, near Scotty’s Market, so you can now pick up her wonderful cupcakes on the days and hours stated above. Exact change or check is appreciated, or you can order through her website.

Tina enjoys creating custom designs and adding personal touches to cupcakes to fit any special occasion, such as birthday parties, baby showers, bridal showers etc. Tina even offers a one hour cake decorating lesson at your party so you can learn techniques such as piping, fondant cut-outs and inscriptions, see her website for details. You can also catch her at the Farmers Market at the Civic Center, San Rafael on Sunday mornings.

The pre-packed boxes include some of the following flavors; vanilla, chocolate, blueberry, coconut, orange, strawberry, red velvet, mint chocolate and gluten-free chocolate…is your mouth watering yet?

Movies of the Week

Over the weekend I enjoyed these two movies that are out on DVD now…

The interesting and sometimes squeamish movie “127 Hours” starring James Franco. Danny Boyle does a great job at directly this one man’s story of survival.

Romantic comedy “Love and Other Drugs” stars a very handsome Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway.

Weekly Calendar of Ongoing

Toddler Activities in Marin

Monday

10.00 - 12.00 pm - 'Power Play' at Cal Star Gym, 70 Digital Drive, Novato (ADDITIONAL NEW DAY)

10.00 - 10.30 am - Kid's Story Time Club, Pharmaca, 7514 Redwood Blvd, Novato

10.00 – 10.30 am – Book Babies, San Anselmo Library, 110 Tunstead Ave Town Council chamber

10.30 – 11.15 am – ‘Music Together of Marin’, The Parent’s Place, 600 Fifth Ave, San Rafael

3.00 – 5.00 pm – Crawlers Camp (up to 23 months) at Stretch the Imagination, 47 Tamal Vista Blvd

9.00 - 1.00 pm - 'Jack and Jill' indoor play space, 217 Western Avenue, Petaluma (every day)

10.00 - 6.00 pm - 'Jump n Bounce’, 718 San Anselmo Avenue, San Anselmo (every day)

Tuesday

9.30 – 10.45 am – Baby Bounce Story time – Larkspur Library, 400 Magnolia Ave, 1^st Floor

10.00 – 10.30 am - ‘Baby Bounce’ Story time at Novato Library, 1720 Novato Blvd

9.30 – 10.30 am - ‘Jumping Jacks’ (up to 24 months) at the San Rafael Community Center, 618 B Street, San Rafael

10.30 – 11.30 am - ‘Jumping Jacks’ (24 months & up) at the San Rafael Community Center, 618 B Street, San Rafael

10.00 – 11.30 am - ‘Play date for 2 and under’ at The Parent’s Place, 600 Fifth Ave, San Rafael

10.15 - 10.45 am - 'Music Circle' (walkers up to 3 1/2), at The Parents Center, Heller's Store, 514 4th Street, San Rafael

11.00 - 11.30 am – ‘Book Club Story Time’ at ‘Pottery Barns Kids’ store, Corte Madera Village

3.30 – 4.15 pm – ‘Doodler’s Craft Time, Terra Linda Clubroom, 670 Del Ganado Road, San Rafael

Wednesday

10.00 - 12.00 pm - 'Indoor Power Play' at Cal Star Gym, 70 Digital Drive, Suite 3, Novato

10.00 -10.30 am – Music Together, San Rafael Community Center, 618 B Street, San Rafael

10.15 – 10.45 am - ‘Music Circle’ (walkers up to 3 1/2), The Parents Center, Heller’s, 514 4th St, San Rafael

11.30 - 11.45 am - ‘Music Circle’ (infant to walkers), The Parents Center, Heller’s, 514 4th St, San Rafael

10.00 - 10.45 am - Fun & Funky (age 2 - 4), Fairfax Community Center,

10.30 - 11.30 am – Adventure Club Drop in Play, MLK Gym, 610 Colma Street, Sausalito

11.00 - 11.30 am – Story Time at Giggle Store, Corte Madera Village

11.00 -11.30 am – Preschool Story Time, Novato Library, 1720 Novato Blvd

3.00 – 5.00 pm – Crawlers Camp (up to 23 months) at Stretch the Imagination, 47 Tamal Vista, Corte Madera

Thursday

11.00 am & 12.00 pm – Bookmobile presents Story Time at the Farmers Market, The Civic Center, 3501 Civic center Drive, San Rafael

10.00 - 12.00 pm - 'Indoor Power Play' at Cal Star Gym, 70 Digital Drive, Novato

9.30 – 10.30 am - ‘Jumping Jacks' (up to 24 months) at the San Rafael Community Center, 618 B Street, San Rafael

10.30 – 11.30 am - ‘Jumping Jacks' (24 months & up) at the San Rafael Community Center, 618 B Street, San Rafael

10.15 -10.45 am – Toddler Story time (2-3 yrs), Mill Valley Library, 375 Throckmorton Ave, Mill Valley

10.30 – 11.00 am – Story Time at San Rafael Library, 618 B Street, San Rafael

11.00 - 11.30 am - Story Time at Barnes & Noble, 313 Corte Madera Center

3.30 - 4.00 pm - 'Stories with Phil Sheridan', Sausalito Library, 420 Litho Street, Sausalito

Friday

9.30 - 11.00 am - Art for You and Me, San Rafael Community Center, 618 B Street, San Rafael

9.30 – 10.15 am – Doodlers Craft Time, Terra Linda Club Room, 670 Del Ganado Road, Terra Linda

10.00 – 10.30 am – Intro to Ballet, Women’s Club, 46 Park Road, Fairfax (until July 6^th)

10.30 - 11.30 am - Story Time with Sara Sonnet, San Rafael Library, 618 B Street, San Rafael

10.30 – 12.00 pm – Jumping Jacks, Strawberry Recreation District, 118 Strawberry Drive, 2^nd floor gym

10.30 – 12.00 pm – Free Playgroup (Under 5), Marin Head Start, 610 Drake Ave, Marin City

March 2nd: 'Art You & Me' Class & 'Me and My Dad' Book Review

For those looking for something to do on Mondays, ‘Power Play’ at the Cal Star Gym in Novato will be open for an additional day each week from March 7^th. One of the biggest consignment sales is happening in Santa Rosa over the weekend, and various other events are taking place including SFMOMA’s free family Sunday!

I also review a great book for fathers and their children to share together called “Me and my Dad”. Enjoy!

Weekend Events

Friday March 4^th – Sunday March 6^th

‘Just Between Friends Children’s Consignment Sale’, Sonoma County Fairgrounds, Hall of Flowers, 1350 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa; http://www.jbfsale.com/northbay/

Fri; 10.00 – 7.00 pm, Sat; 10.00 – 3.00pm, Sun; 9.00 – 2.00 pm

Find great deals on 20,000+ consigned items in 27,000 sq/ft shopping space, with 50% off sale on the Sunday. There will also be a ‘Furniture Mart’ with gently-used desks, dining room sets and kid’s furniture. ‘Gift Again’ tables, School and party supplies, and a ‘Crafter’s Corner’ with scrapbooking, jewelry making, quilting and more!

Saturday March 5^th

‘Asheba’ from 11.00 – 12.00 pm, Bay Area Discovery Museum, 557 McReynolds Road, Sausalito, $5 – 12; http://www.baykidsmuseum.org/store/calendar.html

Asheba is a singer and storyteller that will perform interactive versions of your kid’s favorites with a Caribbean and World beats flavor, inspired by his childhood in Trinidad;

‘Family Day at the Movies’ from 10.30 – 1.00 pm, The Lark Theater, 549 Magnolia Avenue, Larkspur, $15 child & $20 adult; http://www.marincharitable.org/events/movies.php

The 3^rd annual fundraiser for ‘Marin Charitable’ will benefit Marin school-aged children, The event will feature entertainment starting at 10.30 am including music by Ali Weiss of ‘Mini Music’, face painting, food and drink. The original film version of “Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” will start at 11.15am. Tickets can be purchased through the website;

Sunday March 6^th

‘Family Sundays’ from 11.00 – 3.00 pm, SF Museum of Modern Art, 151 Third Street, San Francisco.

Kids are admitted free on the first and third Sundays of each month, explore art, get hands-on and be inspired; http://www.sfmoma.org/events/series/1323

Play Date of the Week

‘Art for You and Me (Jumping Jack’s), from 9.30 – 11.00 am, San Rafael Community Center, Club Room 5, 618 B Street, San Rafael; http://eplay.livelocally.com

Jumping Jack’s instructor Rosie Wendall previewed her first ‘Art for You and Me’ Class last Friday and it looks like it will be a popular addition to the week’s activities!

The class is a parent/guardian participation class which has various activity stations set up for arts and crafts that will vary each week. There are a couple of play mats with toys and cars to play with while the children wait their turn and for moms to hang out on.

The activity stations include art easels set up with pots of paint for children to experiment by combining colors like blue and yellow to make green. A finger painting table with sponges, and a play dough table for molding shapes.

The art class takes place in Club Room 5 at the San Rafael Community Center which has glass patio doors that will provide a nice outdoor play area for when the weather improves. There is also the community Center’s playground right outside to run around in after the class or you can walk a little further up B Street to catch Sara Sonnet’s story time at the San Rafael Library starting at 10.30 am each Friday too!

Book of the Week

‘Me and my Dad, a Book to Share’

by Helen Exley & illustrations by Jane Massey

This week my husband has taken over the majority of care for my son while I am sick in bed. It has been nice to overhear them spending time together without me around and it has made me so grateful that he is a wonderful husband and father. Before bedtime they share a lovely book together called ‘Me and my Dad’ which is written by Helen Exley and is part of a series of books that she calls Giftbooks including;

'Me and My …Mom/Friend/Grandma/Grandpa/Teacher'. Helen Exley also says that she covers the most powerful of all human relationship: the bonds within families and between friends, and the themes of personal values.

“Me and My Dad” describes all the special things a father and child do together, such as cooking together; “He’s in charge of the stove and makes smoke and smells and I’m in charge of the mixing bowl.” How Daddy falls asleep while he reads his bedtime story because he loves the same ones over and over again. How Daddy won’t let go when swimming and feels safe. How Daddy is so good at fixing things in the house, but sometimes he hits his thumb and then the special job to make it better and mend it with a band aid. The child also notices how hard Daddy works with a long list of jobs to do and lots of bills to pay. But sometimes he just wants to put his poor feet up; “One day he taught me his best Dad-word – manana, which he says means “I’ll do it tomorrow!” The sad part is how the child feels lonely when Dad has to go far away with work; “Sometimes I think Daddy cries too, because he loves me so much.” But Dad makes the child laugh, doesn’t seem to mind about making a lot of mess, and he is proud of me; “Good old Dad – isn’t he the best!”

Oh yes he is!