Spend Quality time with your kidz

In today’s fast-paced world where ‘time’ is indeed a concern, finding time for your little one is indeed a challenge. Professional demands and personal commitments often get you running, leaving you and your kid squeezed out of quality time together. Even before you would realize, your kids would be all grown up and ready to go off on their own, leaving you wishing for the bygone days of their childhood to come back. Spending time with your child bears a great impression on his/her upbringing. Not only does it styles his value and makes him feel loved and wanted, it is also exposes him to the virtues of having a family and rears him up as a loving, responsible adult. As children grow older, they start claiming for their own space. However, most children still like to have their parents around. Being there for them when they need you is the best thing you can gift your children. So, put all your obligations and schedules on the back burner for some time, and get going with your kid. Here are some simple things that you and your little one can engage in to make up for the lost time. Read on.

 

Ways To Spend Quality Time With Children

·     Bedtime stories are one fun way to catch up with your little one and spend some quality time together. With hectic schedule taking in most of your day-time, bedtime stories is indeed a perfect excuse to team up with your kid and make up for all the lost time and fun. Just grab a story book and read it to your kid or better get creative and make up your own fun story. This is a great way to bond with your child and give him a happy childhood. The two of you can also share how things fared for the entire day.  

·     Children just love outdoors. Taking them out for a walk or to the neighborhood park or beach strolls may be a great idea. Indulging them in outdoor sports will not only add up to their fun and enjoyment, but will also keep them away from the play stations and television. So, just run down the streets with your kid and have a happy time together.

·     Family vacations are one brilliant idea to make up for all the lost time and rejuvenate your parched nerves. All you need to do is pack your bags and go hitchhiking and camping. Not only will it be a great learning experience for your child, but also give him/her the opportunity to bond with you.

·     Dinner is considered to be an important meal, since it is this time of the day when members of a family can unite and pour their hearts out over plates of meal. Make it a point to dine with your kid every night. It will help him/her to pick up on great family values and learn the importance of sharing. As for you, family dinners give you the time to catch up with your child’s daily events.

·     Is your child growing up to be a couch potato? Turning off the tube and encouraging your child to participate in board games may help. If they still insist on watching TV, just team up with them and indulge in educational and informative shows.

·     If you are unable to give out much time to your child, you can make up for it by taking the little one out for shopping, picking groceries or even when you are visiting a relative or friend. Not only you will get to spend time with your child, it will also help him/her participate in household chores and learn a bit of socializing too.

·     Encouraging your child to take up their favorite sport is always a smart bet for parents. Not only will it grow up as a positive hobby, it will help you and your kid bond over a game of basketball or cricket. It will also make him/her more confident and active.

·     Helping your child with his homework will not only help him with his lessons and stay active in classroom, it will also help you to catch up with your child’s academic progress and help both of you spend time together.

 

One-on-one Fun a self-esteem booster

Admit it: the more fun any two people have together, the closer their relationship would be. the parent-child relationship is no exception.  Just as praise and affection are like water and fertilizer to a child’s self-esteem, shared fun provides the same kind of necessary nutrition to their self-esteem.

I was thinking the other day of how i ended up married.  We started out by dating.  By and large, that meant fun.  Dating for us was going to the movies, food, endless getting-to-know-you talks, parties with friends and so on.  of course, there were times that were a little nerve-wracking, like meeting your future in-laws for the first time, but those were minor blips on the radar screen.  The whole thing was new, exciting and enjoyable.

8 years and several break-ups later, we made the decision to get married which was the fundamental decision to WORK together.  Now, we’ll plan the wedding, now, we’ll get jobs,now, we’ll have a baby … Gradually we realized our relationship was getting more and more strained and we look at each other and silently think:  ” You’re not as much fun as you used to be”. 

What I’m trying to conclude here is that WORKING together kills the affection, harms your relationship and more importantly is not F.U.N. I now realize – after going through a lot of painful experiences  an important rule to successful relationship: “ having shared fun is more important than communication“.  it might sound ridiculous but it’s my belief.

I have come to the same conclusion in my relationship with my two youngsters.  To like the kids you must first enjoy them regularly.  And for them to respond positively to your discipline well, they must enjoy and like you, period.  On top of everything else having a good solid fun relationship with your parents builds the foundation to self esteem.

Yes, there is work to be done, but it is absolutely critical that you find time to play with your youngsters.  don’t let your kids to turn to a bundle of unpleasant tasks and yourself to turn into a bundle of unpleasant directions.  The antidote? FUN…  :0)

Now that’s Bananas!Chocolate chipped frozen bananas YUUMMM

I know summer is over but not here in California.  I decided to try this recipe for frozen Bananas.  (Recipe from G. Gand)It turned out really well and kids loved it.  YUMMMM…

Ingredients

5 medium bananas, peeled

5 wooden popsicle sticks

28 ounce semisweet chocolate chopped or chips

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions:

Dipping decorations: granola, chopped nuts, sprinkles, jammies, crushed cookies,toasted coconut, marshmallows

Line a sheet pan with waxed paper.  cut an inch off the end of each banana.  Insert a popsicle stick into the cut end of each banana.  Insert a popsicle stick into the cut-end of each banana, pushing the stick halfway in, leaving the other end exposed for use as a handle.  Place the bananas on the sheet pan and freeze 1 hour.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally

Arrange the dipping decorations on several plates.  Working with 1 banana at a time, dip it in the chocolate and turn to completely coat (spoon some on if needed).  Roll the dipped banana in the desired decorations to the sheet pan and return to freezer.  My favorite topping is marshmallow.

Once frozen, store the bananas in an airtight container.

More free fun for kids

More free fun for kids.

More free fun for kids

West Los Angeles Police Activities League

The west LA Police Activities League offers free martial arts and boxing classes at stoner park on Mondays.

1835 Stoner Ave., Los Angeles                                                                                             westlapal.org

Travel Town Museum

Big cars explore and little ones ride.  Birthday parties can be arranged.

Griffith Park, 5200 Zoo Dr., Los Angeles                                                                          cityofla.org

Sunday Conserts on the Pier

Santa Monica Pier.  Every summer, enjoy free conserts

Griffith Park, 5200 Zoo Dr., Los Angeles                                                                          cityofla.org

Los Angeles live Steamers

Take a ride on a model train free of charge from 11 am-3 pm every Sunday

5202 Zoo Dr., Griffith Park, Los Angeles                                                                              lals.org

Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Arts for NexGen offers free admissions for kids under 17.

5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles                                                                                              lacma.org

Olvera St. Downtown Los Angeles

Families can listen to strolling mariachis, or shop for traditional mexican crafts and take photos of the kids on horses with sombreros.

olvera St., Los Angeles                                                                                                                    olvera-street.com

Enjoy life! till later :0)

Free Fun ideas to entertain your kids

Acting

Help your kids act out their own show such as acting out the animals at the zoo, dinosaurs, or their favorite TV show. You can even suggest that they work on putting the show together so that they are ready to show you later.

Puppets

Puppets are another option as well. You can set out supplies for making puppets. Depending on your kids age puppets can be made from brown paper bags, construction paper, and crayons or you can have your kids turn old socks into sock puppets. Either way provide all the supplies needed. They can then make puppets and even put together a puppet show for you.

Crafts.

There are a number of different crafts that can be done. You can help your kids draw pictures. Or they can glue pictures that are made from rice, pastas, beans, glitter, paper scraps, and other items. These can then be let dry and put on the refrigerator. You can also have your kids do painting or finger painting. Another fun one is noise makers. Have items that will rattle such as pasta, rice, beans, or other sound makers. Have plastic or paper plates available or film canisters to make shakers. These can then be used to make noise!

Cooking

If your kids are old enough you can have them do a cooking or baking project. Pick out a yummy treat that they will be able to help with and then allow them to make their own treats. This could be to put a treat together, baking a cake, or making some other yummy treat.

Book Fun

There is no doubt about it that books are fun. Your kids can make their own books for a truly great time. Lay out lots of paper, offer crayons and pencils, and give them a theme or character to start with. You can have them write a book about the adventures they want to have with their babysitter or write a great story about their favorite TV character.

Outdoor Fun.

If you kids are allowed outside you can suggest outside games. They can play races, do obstacle courses, play tag, play red light green light, and generally run about. This is a great way to help get rid of pent up energies. Simon says can also be a good outdoor activity that involves a lot of movement. Make sure you suggest options that won’t leave your youngest feeling left out. You can suggest ways to make it easier for him or her to join in.

Mess Making 101.

Messes are fun. There are a few ways that making a mess can truly be the best time ever. One is to let the kids cut up scrap paper, construction paper, newspapers, and magazines. Let them throw the paper around the room, make a mess, and play in it. You can give them stories if you want. They can change the stories as they go along and have a lot of fun. When clean up time comes you can have them “feed the trash monster”. This too can be fun and they can have to rush to get all the mess cleaned up. If you don’t want the paper scraps thrown away then have a basket or box available for them to fill up. Speed is the key to keeping it fun. You can also add a game.  play some music. While the music is going have your kids go as fast as they can. Then have the music stop and have them freeze. This can be a fun variant.

Bubbles.

Bubbles can be a lot of fun. Have several bottles and several types of wands and have your children go outside for some bubble fun. You can set a contest before you leave. Who can make the biggest bubble? Who can blow the most bubbles in 1 minute. Or even who can pop the most bubbles in 1 minute.

Play Dough.

Either have several containers of play dough available or have your kids make home made play dough. Then let them play with it for a lot of fun. If they make the homemade sort you might even want to have them make creations that they can dry out and keep.

Games.

Play your kid’s favorite board and or card games. This can be a quiet and easy activity to do. Let them know which games they like and which games are hard for your younger kids to play. Give suggestions for keeping everyone happy (do you sometimes partner with your youngest?) while giving them a chance for game play.

Fort Building.

Nothing can be more fun then using the imagination for fort building. You can have a list of suggested materials and where to get them and then have the  kids come up with a fort to spend the afternoon or evening playing in. This can be done with sheets, blankets, chairs, pillows, and other materials and can be loads of fun. Plus TV watching can be more fun with the right fort to watch from!

Have fun everyone! (yoohoo I can rhyme…)

Parents! Stop! be cautious, Follow these simple rules when children are around

  A great parent will have a whole army of fun activities under their belt waiting to be used. However, before getting started please read the below rules:

1. Eat well. Don’t play or speak or even be near a child on an empty stomach.
2. Take all your medication. This consists of any prescribed or unsubscribed medication that is needed to be taken for your mental or physical stability
3. Make sure you have plenty of fluids consisting of water and juice, plenty of snacks healthy and non-healthy set besides you before you get started. This rule becomes very handy as the little ones will come to you every two second with a request. Unfortunately the request usually consists of something that you don’t have on hand.
4. Smile, breath and wipe out any negative thoughts, work related or non-work related ;spouse related or non-spouse related; money related and non-money related.
5. Have a pack of wipes next to you to clean up any type of child related or non-child related spill or stain of any type of questionable or non-questionable resource
6. Breath,breath and breath more

 Although this was a humorous observation but unfortunately there is so much fact to it. Enjoy your fun time around the kids..HAHAHA

Excotic cocktail of the week

Saturday night and it’s party time….

I’m absolutely obsessed with cocktails and will try to post my cocktail of the week on Saturdays.  this week I’m going to suggest the “exotic summernight”. This is a vodka based cocktail and it’s absolutely great with a capital G…………..

ingredients for one drink:

3 cl vodka
orange juice
pineapple juice
grenadine syrup
1 slice orange

 

Mix vodka and juices, pour the mix over ice in a glass, layer a little grenadine on top and garnish with a slice of orange.

 

Please be cautious as this is a strong drink .  Cheers every one it’s SATURDAY NIGHT!

Free fun for kids in Los Angeles

The Grove

This is an outdoor mall with bookstores, shops and a double-decker trolley that runs back and forth to the adjacent farmer’s market.  Thursdays at 11:00 free kids club.

189 The grove Dr.,Los Angeles                                                             thegrovela.com

 Griffith Park

4000 acres include an amazing playground, real locomotives a mini train and pony rides

4730 crystal springs Dr., LosAngeles                                                    lacity.org

 Grauman’s Chinese Theater

kids have the opportunity to place their palms in the handprints of old stars and have their picture taken with their favorite Hollywood characters that are parading on the sidewalk in front.

6925 Hollywood Blvd.,Los Angeles                                                    manntheaters.com/chinese                 

 Lakeshore Learning

Craft for kids every Saturday morning

17072 devonshire St., Northridge

888 Venice blvd., Los Angeles

3848 E. Foothill blvd., Pasadena                                                        lakeshorelearning.com

 Skirball Cultural Center

free admission to the skirball cultural center’s exhibitions including Noah’s Ark at the skirball.  timed entry is required.

2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Belair                                                    skirball.org

More free fun to be continued….