What's going on this weekend?

As a kid, my parents were always so great in finding fun things around the area for us to do. There are pictures of me on a swing with my sister, our faces painted as we wore matching Mickey Mouse T-shirts, enjoying one of the many festivals that they hold in the park in Sonoma. My parents would hunt down these little celebrations around Sonoma County and take us. And as a result, we were left with fond memories in our childhood of parks with balloons and clowns, or Farmers Markets with great smelling BBQ in the corner, or a walking marathon our whole family took part of, or something else just as fabulous that was beyond the norm and almost magical. As a mom now, I try and find the same memory making events around town to give my kids the same kinds of memories that they can take with them as they grow. That is why I have started a Friday blog entry that lists all the great events that are happening in Santa Rosa and the neighboring communities. Take this weekend for example ? a human chess game will be resuming its second game in Courthouse Square on Sunday, the Home Show will be at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds all weekend long, and the Sonoma County Book Festival will be downtown on Saturday. What a great weekend this will be! But I need your help. There are so many great events going on every weekend that I cannot possibly find them all myself. If you know of a family friendly event coming up, let me know about it so that I can include it in my blog. If you have pictures from a past event, even better! I will post them and give you credit. With your help, moms out there will have a place to go when they are searching for things to do for the weekend, and will be able to easily make memories of their own for their families.

One of the age old questions that plague parents of preteens has to do with the appropriate age for staying home alone. When I was younger, it was common for my sisters and me to walk home from the bus stop and unlock the front door to an empty house. I don?t remember how old I was, but being the oldest meant I was in charge of my younger sisters. Now it is a different and much less innocent time. But it is also an age where both parents (or the lone single parent) work out of the house, and are away when the kids get home from school. At what age do you think it?s ok to let your kids stay home alone?

With school in, another issue that is of concern is the spread of viruses. While kids might be stingy in general with sharing their belongings, they are only too generous in spreading their infections. This is the perfect time to teach kids the fine art of washing hands. The NY Times published an article recently with alarming statistics on the bacteria that stays active on hands up to an hour after it is transferred. Every wipe of the nose or hand touching an eye or mouth has the danger of infesting a child with a cold or flu virus. That is why it really is so important for kids, and parents as well, to make washing their hands a natural habit.

Kathleen, or K Kirchen Photography, has joined our community! She is a mom of two, and she owns her own Photography Business. Please join me in welcoming her to the site! And if you haven?t ventured over to the boards and introduced yourself, please do! I?d love to get to know you better and have you as an active part of our community! Another great way for us to get to know you better is through your own personal Avatar that will help you to stand out from everyone else. It can either be your own picture, or you can use a picture from our Avatar gallery. I hope to see lots more smiling faces on our boards!

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend ? there are so many fun things to do! See you on the forums!

Crissi Dillon

WineCountryMom

Moderator for SantaRosaMom.com