Movie review websites for kids

Have you ever rented a movie or been in the theater with your kids and wished you had known how much violence, or just crudeness was in a film? Here are a few websites that give descriptions of the content of the movie. They all are looking for subscriptions to the sites, you can still get good info about the movies with out joining. Screenit.com - paid membership. Kids-in-mind.com and Commonsensemedia.org. These sites came from an article in Parents magazine, if you have had great success with others, let us know!

Cheers!

Sunset fun Runners

Wow - what a great turnout for the first day of this new program for fun and fitness at Sunset School. The kids will be on the track, providing the weather allows it, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I sat and sipped my coffee while watching the kids run and have fun - I even saw a few parents participating in the 1/4 mile laps. Every time the child completes a lap, they receive a stick to tally the total number of laps completed. After a child competes 4 laps, they are eligible to earn a foot charm for every mile. My 2nd grader went 6 laps today and 8 on Tuesday - what a motivating program!

Treehugger blog

Check out this blog http://www.sundancechannel.com/blogs/treehugger/. It talks about green ways to clean your home, green ways to build your home - ways to detoxify your homes, all things that can be important in Livermore, though appear to be more prevailent on the east coast.

Let me know what you think.

Post your green ideas on www.sunseteastneighbors.com.

Cheers!

New playground at Karl Wente Park.

Have you forgotten already how Karl Wente park looked prior to two weeks ago? The City of Livermore and LARPD have the new park out to bid. I know we are really looking forward to having a play structure, though the sand was fun the first few days. We hit the park located at North Mines and Highland last week - in between trips to Lowes and Home Depot - it is a nice park. There is a tot lot and a regular park, a huge lawn area with a great hill for rolling down & a basketball court. We went on the day they mowed the lawn & rolled the hill way too many times. Only downside was the 'itchies'.

Here is a website to try out while perusing the internet for your holiday great buys. http://www.retailmenot.com/ lists the discount codes for retailers.

If you are planning a garage sale - advertise it on the neighborhood website http://www.sunseteastneighbors.com/!

I am also looking for some good holiday recipes to try out for our brunch. I prefer the ones that you can make ahead of time.

Cheers!

Vandals in our Karl Wente park

Did you see the work done in the park by some wayward youths last week? A can or two of spray paint made a semi-lasting impression on the equipment in Karl Wente park. A neighbor saw what had occurred the next day and called the city. They had it cleaned up the best they could within 24 hours. Remember, call the Livermore Police Department when you see suspicious activity in the park or at Sunset School. The best number to call (and program into your cell phone - 911 calls will go to the CHP - adding minutes to a true emergency response) is 925-371-4900. The number for the graffiti hotline is 925-373-5600. Anyone willing to start a neighborhood watch program for Darwin, Kingsport & Frankfurt?

Alameda County Master Gardners

Last week, at the Alameda County Fair, I stopped to ask a question of the Master Gardener about composting. Succesful gardening in the City of Livermore can be such a challenge, so any chance I have to ask someone with dirt under their fingers, I take. The Master Gardener asked me a few questions abut the compost set up, grabbed a piece of paper & drew up a design for a hot composter. I was impressed. She suggested that I call the Plant Doctor Hotlines anytime I had a question and that I pass the number on to folks who have questions about their gardens. The contact number for our county is 925-960-9420. The various websites with useful gardening information are http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/ for Pests, Disease and Weeds. UC Guide to Healthy Lawns www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/tools/turf . The UC Vegetable and Research Information http://vric/ucdavis.edu/ . Finally, our friends, Alameda County Master Gardeners http://acmg.ucdavis.edu/ .