Prince and Princess of Fun

With everyone crazed about the union of Prince William and Kate Middleton, I thought it might provide a list of places where you and your little one can be kings and queens for the day:

Crown & Crumpet Tea Room:  Tucked in Ghirardelli Square, this formal tea house is a great way to spend the day pretending to be a royal or Fancy Nancy.  Enjoy a pot of tea with mini-scones and cookies.  There is even a little gift shop where you can pick up tea-themed items. 207 Ghirardelli Square, 900 North Point, San Francisco. Reservations (415) 771-4252. http://www.crownandcrumpet.com

Children’s Fairyland: It doesn’t need to be Halloween to show up dressed up to this play area, full of castles and fairy princesses. While it might not be Westminster Abbey, take a walk through the Chapel of Peace and hold your own “wedding.” 699 Bellevue Ave., Oakland. $8 admission. http://www.fairyland.org.

Water Polo: While the favorite pastime of most royals is Polo (played on horses), the only polo field in the Bay Area is a great place to go to view a concert not a game featuring sweaty Dukes and Princes. There are plenty of pools in Bay Area that will gladly host a game of water polo. Sit on the sidelines with a nice floppy hat and watch the kids score!

Chess: This game is all about kings and queens. Sit down and teach your children the game, if you want to get real fancy you can move your pieces with your pinkie pointed out. Check out Children’s Wonderland Park in Vallejo’s life-size chess board. $2 entry fee. http://www.gvrd.org/childrenswonderland.html.

Is Tim Allen Stalking Me?

Our household is a big fan of Pixar. Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, Ratatouille… if Pixar created it we own the DVD or some form of product produced to accompany the movie. And I can’t blame this obsession on the kids, it is Mommy who is the biggest Pixar fan in the house, but lately I have been wondering if the Toy Story series was created to drive parents bonkers.

Note to psychiatrists reading this blog: I think Tim Allen is stalking me. And the worst part is he has enlisted my son’s help to seek me out.

I hear his voice in the middle of the night, calling out: “To infinity, and beyond.” His cartoon image is haunting me in the bathroom on towels and pajamas. And worst of all, his faint voice can be heard even when I am driving my car to work.  I am going to have a Buzz Lightyear breakdown.

Well it is not that bad.. I do not hear Buzz Lightyear calling out to space command at work; but the reality is my son’s love for Buzz is starting to cause a nervous twitch.  It is not his image, but the voice that is attached with it. He might as well sound like Donald Trump (ugh!). All this Buzz backlash is making me ask is there really, too much Tim Allen?

I have to remind myself it could be worse, and Buzz could be making that awful grunting noise that Allen was famous for in his TV show “Home Improvement.”

 

 

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!!!

Want to add a little shake, rattle, and roll to your weekend?

Berkeley might as well change it’s name to “Kiddieville” with the scheduled appearances of two big named  bands hosting events in North and South Berkeley at the same time. Oakland’s own Abby and the Pipsqueaks will be performing at the Grand Reopening Party at Mr. Mopps’ toy store, while Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band will be performing their rockabilly tunes to dozens of tykes at Ashkanaz to celebrate their new album “Oh, Lucky Day.”

Mr. Mopps’ Grand Reopening Party, 1405 Martin Luther King., Jr Blvd., Berkeley. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Abby and the Pipsqueaks perform at 3 p.m. Free. www.abbyandthepipsqueaks.com.

Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band, Ashkanaz Music & Community Center, 1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. 3 p.m. $6 adults, $4 kids. www.luckdiazmusic.com.