tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31726363141199411312024-03-13T10:04:18.883-07:00Frog MomA mommy blog about raising confident girls who love the outdoors, appreciate the arts and can crack a joke - hopefully.Laure Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16241165112705637359noreply@blogger.comBlogger272125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-47408271683924544302012-05-02T14:00:00.003-07:002012-05-02T14:00:53.603-07:00Frog Mom has a New Website - Go to www.frogmom.com
Dear readers,
I haven't stopped writing. In fact I write more than I ever did. The reason this blog seems to be so dormant is ... because it moved in February 2012. You can now follow Frog Mom at a new and simpler url at www.frogmom.com. No more Blogger, no more dash between frog and mom. I've attached a screenshot of the new Frog Mom so you see what it looks like. Pretty, hey?
You Laure Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16241165112705637359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-77517877972628719192012-02-20T10:21:00.000-08:002012-02-20T10:21:10.541-08:00Family Trip: Explore the Filoli Gardens
Inside the Garden House. Photo by Frog Mom
Spring knocks early on Filoli's doors but then, what wouldn't spring do for one of the Bay Area's finest gardens? Spreading over hills and meadows in Woodside, Filoli is one of the last early 20th century estates still intact its full glory with a mansion, historic orchards and manicured gardens. Just minutes off Highway 280, it's another world where Laure Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16241165112705637359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-18665813106623349072012-02-14T18:10:00.000-08:002012-02-14T18:10:41.130-08:00Winter Activities in the Yosemite Valley
Snow dusting on Yosemite Falls. Photo by C.G.
The Yosemite National Park may not be high on the family fun radar for winter but it has way more to offer than a trip to the visitor center and drinks at the Ahwanee - however much we love them. It's an ironic contradiction that when the park dons its snow white cloak, snow enthusiasts flock to Tahoe and leave the Yosemite valley alone. The Laure Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16241165112705637359noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-88155432445769144842012-02-12T07:42:00.000-08:002012-02-12T08:09:02.907-08:00Books for Kids: Valentine's Day
Design by Custom Design Icon
Love is in the air! Since love is a commodity that parents store and share in unlimited amounts with their little one, Valentine’s is the perfect opportunity to remind them what love is all about. Have fun reading these books about what was at the origin of your little bundle of joy.
Do You Love Me?
Written and illustrated by Joost Elffers + Curious Laure Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16241165112705637359noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-4188451565159995402012-02-10T10:34:00.000-08:002012-02-10T10:38:17.178-08:00Guest post: How to Prepare for The San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade
Float at the Chinese New Year Parade in San Francisco.
Photo from Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year and Parade
Festival Facebook Page
It's one of the top 10 Chinese New Year parades in the world, the kids will love it! For my friend Ronnie Sharpe from Marinhood, the San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade is a yearly tradition she never misses with her daughter. She likes the floats, she plansLaure Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16241165112705637359noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-90205000340240408192012-02-03T22:50:00.000-08:002012-02-03T22:56:35.931-08:00Discover Abbott's Lagoon, the Bird Sanctuary of Point Reyes
Abbott's Lagoon. Photo by Frog Mom
A stone's throw away from the quaint town of Point Reyes Station, Abbott's Lagoon is Point Reyes' bucolic answer to the Pescadero Marsh or the Richardson Bay Audubon: a bird sanctuary. This flat 1.5 mile walk combines a lagoon where fresh waters meet the sea, green pasture hills and more birds than you've seen in a while - especially if you drop in during theLaure Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16241165112705637359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-44558539051214075322012-02-01T22:28:00.000-08:002012-02-02T08:58:16.114-08:00Celebrate Groundhog Day by Eating French Crepes!
All about crepes. Punxsutawney Phil photo courtesy of groundhog.org.
Other photos by Frog Mom
To celebrate Groundhog Day, you can feast on wild grasses, grasshoppers, flowers and snails like all groundhogs do. Or you can have crêpes for dinner - tough choice but justified historically. Here's a bit of history before a recipe and flipping tips to satisfy and impress the young crowds.
For Laure Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16241165112705637359noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-22373982896019604182012-01-31T13:32:00.000-08:002012-02-01T10:06:12.482-08:00Meet Ronnie of the Awesome List
Ronnie Sharpe and her dog Munro. Photo by Frog Mom
A year ago, Ronnie Sharpe and her friend Marjorie got together over a cup of joe and created Marinhood, a website that lists kid activities from infancy through early grade school years (Ronnie's Awesome List) and for the tween and teenage years (Things To Do with Tweens and Teens in Marin). Ronnie describes the lists as "get in, get out," a Laure Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16241165112705637359noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-61985590803404864602012-01-26T18:48:00.000-08:002012-01-26T18:53:58.911-08:00Civil War Day at Fort Point
Civil War Days at Fort Point. Photo by Frog Mom
While the East Coast battlefields were raging war night and day, San Francisco fortified its army outposts at Angel Island, Alcatraz and Fort Point. Steamers were sent through the Golden Gate and around the Horn loaded with millions worth in gold to finance the Civil War. Public meetings were held each time a letter arrived by stage coach. IsLaure Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16241165112705637359noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-9677391336763409512012-01-23T14:43:00.000-08:002012-01-23T14:43:01.281-08:00Book review: "The Year of The Dragon" by Oliver Chin
Gung hay fat choy - Happy Chinese New Year! And not any new year, mind you. 2012 is the year of the golden dragon (which is my dad's sign) and I'm celebrating it with a book review. Last week we kicked off the Chinese spirit by seeing the Beijing Wushu Team perform an extremely acrobatic martial art show at Stanford University. My girls were excited to see one of the main actors of the Laure Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16241165112705637359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-19357669125560226562012-01-12T13:48:00.000-08:002012-01-12T13:52:20.191-08:00Intro to Nature Journaling with Kids
Nature journaling. Photo by Frog Mom
Impressionists had it all figured out. Dressed in casual country chic (straw hat de rigueur even if it snowed), they walked to a nice spot in the woods, strived hard to look moody and set up their easel. Then they drunk bucket-loads of absinthe, got their palette out and painted a museum piece in large brush strokes. That was nature journaling at Laure Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16241165112705637359noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-27183725683764263692012-01-06T15:11:00.000-08:002012-01-06T15:11:31.720-08:00Nike Missile Hike at Sweeney Ridge
A room with a view. Photo by Frog Mom
Talk about an adventure. With a mom friend, her two kids and my girls, we set out to find a historical marker on Sweeney Ridge in Pacifica, which I thought was pretty cool. In my mind, historical marker + Spanish expedition, armed soldiers and missionaries with horses and mules + year 1769 set the stage for a nice storytime after a steep hike. But lo and Laure Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16241165112705637359noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-26158081794177174442012-01-02T14:19:00.001-08:002012-01-02T16:49:47.743-08:00Happy New Year 2012
Pretty winter flowers at Blue Canyon on Dec. 31, 2011. Photo by Frog Mom
To all my readers from near and far, best wishes for a happy new year 2012! May the Year of the Dragon bring you happiness, success in your endeavors and a healthy family. A special thanks to all of you who read this blog and made the effort to comment, online and offline - it really means a lot to me.
Instead of lofty Laure Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16241165112705637359noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-16329542433465329102011-12-29T00:43:00.000-08:002011-12-29T09:02:02.084-08:00Winter Hike at Alum Rock: A Canyon with a Smelly Past
Bridge above Penitencia Creek. Photo by C.G.
Hot springs and an alien meteor in San Jose? Once a fashionable Victorian spa resort, Alum Rock Park is a narrow canyon whose steep ridges overlook a year-round creek traversed by 21 natural mineral springs. Some of them are hot springs whose sulfuric content exudes a particularly eggy smell but these minerals are exactly what made the canyon so Laure Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16241165112705637359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-51435156512235964122011-12-27T18:05:00.000-08:002011-12-27T18:06:41.323-08:00Review: "Bring It On! The Musical" and "Dr. Seuss's How The Grinch Stole Christmas - The Musical"
Two Broadway musicals for the holidays - Yay! Photos courtesy of SHNSF
Jazz up your 2011 holidays with two great musicals! Between the bionic acrobatics of Bring It On! The Musical and the lunatic antics of the Grinch in How the Grinch Stole Christmas - The Musical, December's been an exciting time to go out and take some Broadway time off traditional festivities. Here's my review of Laure Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16241165112705637359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-56358445114552005582011-12-20T19:39:00.000-08:002011-12-20T21:52:26.506-08:00The Niles Canyon Train of Lights
Niles Canyon Historic Railway. Photo by Frog Mom
One of the last working trains of the Bay Area, the Niles Canyon Railway is a real working railroad whose vintage locomotives and coaches conjure images of Wells Fargo, Joaquin Murrieta and Mark Twain days. Come December, the train dons a festive appearance with thousands of lights inside and outside, Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus walking down Laure Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16241165112705637359noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-52000687697504785212011-12-12T14:05:00.000-08:002011-12-12T14:28:22.216-08:00Hakone Gardens: Where Bamboo Forests Meet Maple Gardens
Hakone Gardens in fall colors. Photo by C.G.
Terraced on the eastern slopes of the Santa Cruz mountains just off the city of Saratoga, Hakone Gardens is an escape to manicured and lush Japanese gardens you only see in period movies. Depending on the season, the garden dons the golden and crimson hues of autumn, the lush greens of winter, the tender blossoms of spring or the bold colors of Laure Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16241165112705637359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-61359771680302183992011-12-09T12:30:00.000-08:002011-12-09T12:40:44.862-08:00Meet Leafcutter Designs: Paper, Art and Whimsy
Dear child... Photo by Frog Mom
If the tooth fairy or the spider in the kitchen wrote a letter to your child, this is what it might look like: an inch wide envelope with your child's address in ant-size script and an equally small sender address in the top left corner. Turn it over, break the red wax seal, open it and slowly pull out a tiny letter. Coming from a fairy, it'll reveal a page of Laure Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16241165112705637359noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-77829154756878172292011-12-05T14:54:00.000-08:002011-12-05T14:54:26.949-08:00Sea Kayaking with Kids in the Sausalito Richardson Bay
Kayak jam. Photo by Frog Mom
Of all the winter activities, sea kayaking rarely tops the family list but in the Bay Area it really should. Winter offers some of the best conditions you'll find year-round for kid water adventures - windless days, mild temps and abundant migratory wildlife. Where else can your kids count harbor seals' teeth when they yawn? Without binoculars if you please. Short Laure Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16241165112705637359noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-45360096041344694082011-11-30T11:46:00.000-08:002011-11-30T13:32:52.130-08:00Holidays at the Golden Gate Park
Miles and his friend. Photo by Frog Mom
You know Dasher and Dancer, and Prancer and Vixen. But do you know Miles and his charming date from the North Pole? Well, not exactly the North Pole because they're at the California Academy of Sciences in the Golden Gate Park and under the clear roof of this venerable institution, accuracy of the essence. These two reindeer come from southern Laure Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16241165112705637359noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-30912398467078908492011-11-22T15:44:00.000-08:002011-11-23T06:57:39.591-08:00Win 2 Tickets for Deck the Hall at the San Francisco Symphony!
Yes, even reindeer! Photo by the SF Symphony
Drum roll and get your musical ears please. I am happy to announce that one lucky Frog Mom reader will win 2 tickets to attend Deck the Hall on Sunday December 4, 2011! If you have never been, Deck the Hall is one of the most beloved holiday traditions of the San Francisco Symphony and an amazing experience for families. After an hour-long showLaure Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16241165112705637359noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-75889169339862594072011-11-19T17:58:00.000-08:002011-11-19T18:08:45.761-08:00Ladybug Hike at Redwood Regional Park
Colonies of ladybugs. Photo by Frog Mom
To the many mysteries of winter and animal survival techniques, you can now add colonies of ladybugs clustered on trees like holly berries on a frosty December morning. Each year from November through February, thousands if not millions of the kids' favorite red bugs converge to Redwood Regional Park in Oakland, surfing the right winds to exactly Laure Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16241165112705637359noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-69557646700589713802011-11-15T13:54:00.000-08:002011-11-15T14:03:51.068-08:00Guest Post: Advice for Photographing Children in Nature
Nature child. Photo by Sarah Deragon
I met Sarah Deragon of Portraits to The People at an event organized by A Little Yumminess and Smitten Ice Cream last month. Casually speaking, making it look ridiculously easy, Sarah was taking photos with her big camera - pictures of kids running around, of us adults waiting for our ice-cream, and of the liquid nitrogen ice-making machine. Laure Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16241165112705637359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-58168528005233616922011-11-14T16:50:00.000-08:002011-11-14T21:43:14.168-08:00Frog Mom turns 4!
Look ma, I'm 4! Frog Mom (the real one) at age 4.
Frog Mom turns 4 today and counting in bloggy-years, I feel like a cyber-granny. Thus in true granny fashion, today I'll reminisce about this blog's history in 14 bullet points even if you don't give a hoot. That's what you get for dropping in on a birthday.
Four years ago to the day, I wrote a post titled Toddler Attack, a forgettable Laure Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16241165112705637359noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3172636314119941131.post-38176494425284170892011-11-10T09:30:00.000-08:002011-11-10T09:31:52.423-08:00Holiday Activities for Kids
Gingerbread living, critter style. Photo by Frog Mom
When Thanksgiving is only weeks away, I start thinking about
all the holiday events I’m going to take my girls to. From Hanukkah to
Christmas with winter solstice sprinkled in between, the Bay Area is an
incredible showcase of family-friendly events to brighten the shortest days of
the year – with cups of hot cocoa, skating afternoons andLaure Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16241165112705637359noreply@blogger.com0