Family Outing to Celebrate 35 Years of Caring!

Did you know the Care Bears turn 35 this year? We're excited to share fun facts about these lovable & huggable characters! #35YearsofCaring

Who would've thought that a series of toys and American Greetings cards with cute, colorful and thoughtful bears would lead to one of the world's most popular children's properties!?
The Care Bears highlight the importance of caring and sharing and 2017 marks the 35th anniversary of this endearing group of bears.
On Sunday we spent the day at Giggles N' Hugs celebrating with a play date and screening of Care Bears & Cousins, a Netflix Original Series launched in Fall 2015. Giggles N Hugs was converted into a Care-A-Lot and Benny and Toby were among several children who got to participate in really fun Care Bears-themed activities.

Michelle Steinberg of dOMAIN Integrated, the firm that coordinated Sunday's Care Bears Anniversary event said The Care Bears allow families to integrate because they're unisex and allow for parents and children to express themselves. "For Care Bears it's a story of emotions," she said. "We're celebrating 35 years [of caring] and it's important to care. First and foremost you have to care about yourself, respect yourself...and then care for others."

As a little girl, Funshine Bear was my favorite but these days as a boy mom, it's all about Grumpy Bear!

Care Bears fans can enjoy a robust portfolio of thousands of Care Bears licensed products at retailers globally

 Additional Care Bear Facts:
*Each Care Bear comes in a different color and features a special insignia on its belly representing its personality.
*The Care Bears are no strangers to television screens. They first appeared in their own television specials in 1983 and 1984 and then made the leap to the big screen between 1985-1987 with "The Care Bears Movie" trilogy.
*There were 10 original Care Bears including: Bedtime Bear, Birthday Bear, Cheer Bear, Friend Bear, Funshine Bear, Good Luck Bear, Grumpy Bear, Love-A-Lot Bear, Tenderheart Bear and Wish Bear.

Did you know there's a new Care Bears Movie in the works?
Sounds like we'll be enjoying these adorable characters for many years to come...
Happy 35th Birthday, Care Bears!

The Powerpuff Girls are Back and We're Feeling the Girl Power!

The Powerpuff Girls Cartoon about three brave & adventurous sisters arrives on Hulu on March 24!

It’s time for “Girl Power” with Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup!

On March 24, the newly, reimagined animated 2016 Powerpuff Girls series will make its exclusive streaming debut on Hulu.

If you’re not familiar with the cartoon, it’s about the adventures of three sisters with special powers. They use those powers to defend their town from monsters and bad people. However, because they’re sisters, the series also touches on normal everyday issues such as sibling rivalry, going to school, personal hygiene and many other topics children can relate to.

For the launch of the Hulu streaming debut, a call was made to enter a “Real Life Powerpuff” girl contest. 

As many of you know by now, I am a boy mom. I don't have any daughters to share the excitement with.

But my neighbor’s daughter, Josslyn Villareal comes over our house frequently to hang out with Benny and Toby and we've all grown really fond of her.

Josslyn is a sweet little girl who loves shiny lip gloss as much as she loves Rubiks cubes and video games. She's a bit shy but always demonstrates strength and confidence, even if she's the only girl among a group of boys.

On this particular occasion, I encouraged Josslyn to demonstrate her Powerpuff Girl spirit by wearing a cape and creating some “buzz” around the show!

We used a few printouts and markers to make this happen and ended the day very happily!

More about Josslyn:
Favorite Powerpuff Girl: Bubbles (the blue one) because she's nice but "gets really angry and beats up monsters," she says.

Favorite color: Neon Pink

Favorite food: Pizza and Cheeseburgers

Favorite hobby: Taking a swim in her backyard pool, planning birthday parties, drawing and coloring.

Best advice to other little girls: "Be happy and smile"

There are 6 seasons available of The Powerpuff Girls on Hulu. If you don’t have a Hulu subscription yet, you can sign up for a Free Trial.

Enjoy!

WeVillage-Los Angeles, A Cool New Place to Drop Off the Kids!

We attended the grand opening of this flexible childcare facility in Sherman Oaks, CA (and loved it!)

When we visited the new WeVillage childcare center in Sherman Oaks we were greeted by a beautiful play space with enough detail to make parents smile and kids jump for joy!
WeVillage is a concept that was first introduced in Oregon by founder Karen Beninati.
She was a single mom who wanted to create a place where kids would receive the attention they deserved.
"Everywhere we'd go, the kids came second. The places for the adults were beautiful, the design was beautiful but nothing for the kids," said Beninati. "It was always some toys in the corner, a carpet and they deserve better than that."
So Beninati established WeVillage in 2009 and as it turns out, she was right!
Parents loved the concept, which mixes cutting edge philosophy and elegance and offers play-based programs for children six weeks to 14-years-old.
Among those parents was model and actress Rebecca Romjin whose twin daughters would ask her and husband Jerry O'Connell to drop them off at WeVillage whenever they were in Portland.
"I've been an active customer in Portland for four years and beating my head going, 'why don't we have this in Los Angeles!?'", said Romjin. "It's a dream for parents and for kids. It's almost like day camp but better, it's beautiful, it's activities, it's very interactive."
Romjin is an investor in WeVillage Sherman Oaks and we were excited to meet her and her beautiful family on Saturday!
Here are some more memories from the red carpet grand opening:

Selma Blair and son Arthur Saint Bleick attended the WeVillage Los Angeles grand opening

 

Among the many fun things to do, there's a Treehouse-type structure where kids can enjoy video games!

My husband and I are thrilled to have a new, safe and wonderful option for date night babysitting! The WeVillage teachers are more than just babysitters though! They are full-time accredited and licensed employees who are trained to encourage children with interactive play while helping facilitate their individual and social skills along the way.
Hope my kids meet your kids there one of these days...
WeVillage Los Angeles
13335 Ventura Blvd
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
tel: 818-233-8218

Thanks for reading!

Beauty and The Beast-Themed Lunch

We're bringing our excitement of the live-action film to the table!
Beauty and the Beast opens in theaters nationwide on March 17!

We love the tale as old as time and since we're days away from the box office opening of the live-action film starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens, we're feeling excited and inspired!
When I found out my cousin would Be Our Guest this weekend (she's in town from Mexico), I felt inclined to make our lunch date at my house extra enchanting.
A few years ago, I had a Beauty and the Beast-inspired breakfast with Benny but this weekend's warm and lovely weather called for an outdoor soireé.
I have plenty of antiques and Disney collectible items, plus, Benny has a Beast costume. Even better, one of my nieces made her own Belle dress for Halloween last year so I asked her to bring it over!
Our lunch didn't include French delicacies such as "beef ragout, cheese souffle, pie and pudding em flambé!". It was much more simple than that but tasty and a worthwile experience.
 Our menu included Cogsworth croissant sandwiches, enchanted rose strawberries and even vanilla pudding "gray stuff"!
Benny as the Beast was playful and informal... He never waited for Belle to be served before taking the first bite out of his sandwich...
Here are more pictures of our Beauty and the Beast-inspired lunch.

The live-action film Mrs. Potts next to our vanilla pudding "gray stuff"

En español

Nos encanta la película de la Bella y la Bestia. Y es que estamos a unos días de la apertura de la fabula ancestral de acción en vivo protagonizada por Emma Watson y Dan Stevens. Con motivo de la nueva cinta y al enterarme que mi prima estaría de visita este fin de semana (vino de Querétaro con su hija), decidí hacer algo asi como un festín.

Tengo antigüedades y artículos de colección de Disney, además, Benny tiene un traje de la bestia. Incluso una de mis sobrinas hizo su propio vestido de Bella para Halloween el año pasado así que le pedí que lo trajera!

Nuestro almuerzo no incluyó delicias francesas como ragu, soufflé tarta y pudín em flambé. 

Fue mucho más sencillo pero agradable y memorable.

Tuvimos sándwiches de croissants a la Cogsworth, fresas de rosas encantadas e incluso pudín de vainilla que pareciera higado de pato, como en la película original!

Benny en su papel de la Bestia se portó muy informal ... ¡No esperó a que Bella fuera servida antes de tomar la primera mordida de su sándwich!

Pasamos un rato verdaderamente encantador.

Will you be watching the movie on opening night?
Feel free to share any small or beastly plans you may have!
Thanks for reading! ¡Gracias por leer!