38 Degrees (Our New Favorite Family Restaurant)

It’s the end of a week spent playing, teaching, cleaning, potty training, and running after 30 plus children 10 and a half hours a day (not to mention the evening hours with my own). Tonight as the door closed behind the last child and their parent, James and I sighed and then cringed at the thought of making dinner.

We both decided we wanted to eat out. Eating out with kids is tricky for us. We spend sooo much time with children all week the last thing we want to do is go to Red Robin and join the masses of parents eating out with their kids. It’s so loud and over stimulating, and though our girls love to go, I break into a cold sweat at the thought of it.

Luckily, a few weeks ago a friend recommended 38 degrees when I asked her for a recommendation on a nearby family friendly restaurant. We were leaving her son’s birthday party and they lived only a few blocks away. When we first walked up to the door dressed in jeans and toting our sugared up children we thought our friends had been mistaken. Peering in the window the restaurant had a Spa-like feel to it with beautiful stone work, dimmed lighting, and calming fans to keep the air moving and fresh. The menu looked amazing, upper end but yummy. We immediately turned to head back to the car.

Before we made it 4 steps the host poked his head out the door and asked us if we needed any help. We told him that we’d love to stay but we didn’t want to disturb anyone with the kids. He laughed and told us to come on in and that they even had a children’s menu. Well, what could we say? I mean he stepped out into the wintery night to invite us in!

Once inside we were sat at a nice table for four with some soft seasonal music playing in the background, and get this … they had sippy cups! Can you believe it? Sippy cups! How cool is that? This took 90% of the stress out of eating out right away, and strangely, my kids mellowed out almost immediately. It seems that the relaxing atmosphere they are attempting to create is a huge success, even with the kids. The entire night was wonderful. The food was amazing, the service was incredible and the kids were happy and well behaved.

So tonight we decided that we’d give 30 degrees another shot. James warned me that I had set high standards for the restaurant and not to expect it to be quite as good. After all such a pleasant eating experience with 2 young children must be a fluke right?

Wrong!

Tonight was even more amazing! The lasagna that I had was divine and James loved his dish too. The lulling effect was even more pronounced. The girls were cuddly and relaxed and enjoyed the appetizers, bread, their meals, and desert without even one unpleasant outburst. Our waitress was perfect. She even remembered us from our previous visit. She was polite and returned just often enough to meet our needs without interrupting our family time.

James had a glass of sangria, which was yummy and festive. I had a pear wine that took the last bit of tension out of my body and warmed me from head to toe. And desert was just the way to top off the perfect evening out with the girls.

Even our oldest daughter went on and on about how she loved her food and wanted to come back every Friday night. Ok, so it might be a little too expensive for every Friday night but it will certainly be a regular spot for us to go as a family, or on a date night.

It’s so nice to finally find a family friendly restaurant that can allow the adults to feel adult and the children to enjoy themselves with out being bombarded by loud noises, video games and television.

Check out Bend Oregon Restaurants blog to get some more input on eating out at 38 degrees.

Thoughts from the city.

We are finally home. Our trip to Seattle was all we hoped; friends, family and a lot of food and rest. It was so exciting to see the girls enjoy their aunts and soak in the city life. I was raised in a very small town in Idaho and never had the opportunity to experience the diverse nature of a big city. And what I realize, after this brief vacation, is that though I am grateful to be raising my children in a small town that offers the elements of safety and security that are absent in a city; I am also thankful that I am able to expose my children to a larger community that includes peoples from all walks of life. I love that they have no problem integrating all types of people into their concept of “normal” and that unlike me (as a small child), they don’t gasp and stare when someone of a different race or with different clothing and hair walk by. I love that they realize that beauty comes in all shades, shapes, and sizes.

I have so much to be thankful for.

Thankful

I have two beautiful daugters and an amazing husband.
They are my home.

They watch me closely as I frantically work on pushing our businesses towards success.
And when I am tired and unsure I feel them wrap around me,

and nothing else matters.

True North Parenting Submission Guidelines

Check out the new True North blog. It will keep you up to date on the magazine’s development. If you are interested in writing for us feel free to check out the submission guidelines as well!

A Late Night at the Village.

Tonight The Village Preschool had a special, Thanksgiving Parent's Night Out. I have come to love these extended days. The kids get so excited about their late night party that they get along better than siblings. Usually we all make pizza together and then curl up on the couch and nap mats for a movie. Tonight we had a Thanksgiving feast, and then I let my heart melt as tiny heads rested on tiny shoulders and all nestled in for the night.

What a wonderful Village...
What a wonderful family...

Sleeping under the stars!

I actually have one of these murals in my girl’s room. It’s awesome and my daughters love it. They even get excited about going to bed…. Who would’ve thought?

Dear Annette,

As editor of "Mom's 2 Mom", and owner of Village Pre School I wanted to make you aware of my business here in Bend that is great for children and Mom's. Please feel free to pass this information along to other Mom's.

How many times do Mom's hear their kids say "I wanna go to bed". That's right, they enjoy bedtime, sleep better, longer, with less fear of the dark and fewer night terror issues. That's worth it's weight in gold isn't it.

I'm an artist that works with people that have insomnia, anxiety, nightmares, are stressed out, and can't find the time to work into their busy schedules, time for relaxation. Children get stressed too and suffer some of these same issues as adults.

Who doesn't have fond memories of times past, sleeping outside under the stars. Remember how relaxed you felt?The serene and tranquil night sky let you gently drift off to sleep. My artistic murals recreate that experience. It's like having a glass ceiling over your bed.

Each 3 dimensional glow in the dark mural that I paint by hand is an original piece of art. It's so astronomically accurate that it's educational as well. Children learn the constellations and it's something the whole family can enjoy together. It creates a very soft glow all night. Those night lights become a thing of the past. The high quality paint I use is ton toxic and odor free. It's invisible over light colored paint during the day.

Try it with your own children and see how YOU can now have a restful nights sleep as well.



Cheryl Hunt SAI
Celestial Escapes
www.CelestialEscapes.com
(541) 977-STAR (7827)

"Let me bring the night sky to you"

The Little Rumpus Room

FYI I received this e-mail just last night.

Hello everyone,

I hope this email finds you well.

I wanted to take this opportunity to announce that Little Rumpus Room will be opening its doors in December.

Gloria and I are once again teaming up to bring you our sister campus at
2403 Quinn Creek Loop, on Bend's westside

Little Rumpus Room will house infants and toddlers, ranging from 6 weeks to 23 months. Our maximum group size will be 8, with a 3 to 1 ratio for non-mobiles and a 4 to 1 ratio for mobile infants.

We will be temporarily certifying this location as our common goal for both campuses is to move to a commercial and permanent location within the next two years.

We know that some of you have been with us for quite a while and some recall us going through a bit of a journey to get here. We want all of you to know that this has been a worthwhile journey and very proud of its outcomes.

Little Rumpus Room will be a blended Montessori, Reggio and Waldorf influenced program. We will provide healthy snacks for our toddlers and primary care-giving for all groups. We will be offering the same high quality programming you have grown to love in our sister campus, Rumpus Room Creative Arts Preschool and High Desert Nannies.

To help serve our area families, Little Rumpus Room will offer both full and part time care for full or half days.

Please join us in celebrating our opening by visiting our website at:
http://web.mac.com/theboardz/iWeb/LittleRumpusRoom

Tours of our facility will begin the week of November 19th, with anticipated enrollment to start December 3rd, 2007.

If you’d like more information or if you know if anyone that is interested in enrollment, please have them contact us at (541) 408-2304 or email us at rumpusroom@bendcable.com

Thanks for your continued support and for spreading the word!
--
Jenny Board
Owner, Rumpus Time, LLC

Chair, ECDEB
ECE Consultant; Master Trainer, Oregon Registry
541-408-2304
rumpusroom@bendcable.com
www.rumpusroomschool.com; http://web.mac.com/theboardz/iWeb/HighDesertNannies; http://web.mac.com/theboardz/iWeb/LittleRumpusRoom

Need urgent info on mothers/families without healthcare for kids

I received this e-mail earlier today. This topic is very important and I urge anyone who has a story to share to contact Anna right away. You can contact her at adukehar@uoregon.edu.

Hi Annette,

I am a student journalist working on an article about the bill President Bush just vetoed and how mother's without health insurance for their children are affected. I came across your site MOM2MOM Bend, Oregon, and I was hoping you either had your own personal story with dealing with this kind of issue, or you knew someone i could talk to. I am just looking for some anecdotes that illustrate how families who may not earn enough income to pay for health insurance for their children are feeling about this.

Thanks so much and I look forward to hearing back from you as soon as possible!

Anna Dukehart
University of Oregon
School of Journalism and Communication

Announcing the Launch of True North Parenting!

As a parent I am constantly searching for ways to improve my family’s life. Between sifting through information about popular parenting philosophies and scouring newspapers to find information on local activities and events, I barely have any spare time to spend with my family.

Constantly confronted with this dilemma, the inevitable happened. Yes! I have joined forces with another amazing mother to bring together all of the information and resources that local parents are looking for. This January we will be launching True North! (www.truenorthparenting.com)

What is True North?
True North is a new online parenting magazine for Central Oregon families. Our goal is to provide local parents with the information and resources they need to navigate through the choices of family life. We will be your personal link to local events, family activities, educational resources, and the Central Oregon parenting community. We will give you the information you need to find your own parenting true North. Our new site will launch in January 2008
www.truenorthparenting.com

True North Parenting. Chart your own course.

Article Submissions:
True North is not only welcoming, but encouraging unsolicited articles and personal essays that are in line with our publication’s philosophy and goals. To receive a copy of our submission guidelines and to find out more drop us a line at info@truenorthparenting.com.