Join Thomas the Tank Engine, Percy, Sir Topham Hat, and the other denizens of the Island of Sodor at the Marin Center for Thomas & Friends Live! On Stage: A Circus Comes to Town. This 90-minute musical stage show extravaganza comes to San Rafael on Monday, March 9 at 7 pm and Tuesday, March 10 at 4 and 7 pm.

Tickets are on sale now. Ticket prices range from $12.50 to $55. For more information and to order tickets go to the Marin Center's website or call (415) 499-6800. Marin Center Box Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 am to 5 pm. You can also order tickets online via Ticketmaster.

Meet Olivia, everyone's favorite piglet and the precocious porcine star of Ian Falconer's Olivia series of children's books. Olivia will appear in person this Saturday, January 10, at the babyGap store at the Village in Corte Madera. She'll be on hand from noon to 3 pm.

The store is offering a special gift with purchases of $50 or more (in case you thought you'd get away without buying anything). For more information, call the store at (415) 924-4079.

Browse the Olivia books on Amazon.com here

2008 is out and 2009 is here, and now's the time to get organized in your busy life. If you're a regular reader of Marin Mommies, you know that I love my BusyBodyBook! The BusyBodyBook is a stylish and easy-to-use family organizer that allows you to keep track of the entire family's schedules with its handy and easy-to-read Weekly Grid. 

BusyBodyBook features include a spacious 5-column layout with enough room to write everyone’s appointments and activities in detail, a planning calendar to record birthdays and anniversaries, a month-at-a-glance for a quick overview, and plenty of space for notes. They're available in both calendar year and academic year versions.

Marin childcare expert Alyce Desrosiers, LCSW, is for many Bay Area families the specialist to go to when searching for the perfect nanny or other childcare solution. Her new book, Nannies for Modern Moms: The Essential Guide for Hiring the Right Nanny for Your Child and You, is required reading for any family seeking to navigate the waters of searching for, choosing, and hiring the right nanny, babysitter, or family assistant.

Nannies for Modern Moms is filled with important information on all practical and emotional aspects of the nanny search process, as well as a breakdown on different types of nannies, childcare providers, and childcare options. The book also includes legal information necessary to hiring a nanny, and an extensive list of resources for the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. Also included are numerous worksheets and checklists to help parents organize their thoughts, needs, and information throughout the nanny hiring process.

If you're currently looking for a nanny, or if you're planning on hiring one in the future, Nannies for Modern Moms is an invaluable resource. Highly recommended!

Still looking for a great holiday gift for a special child? Want to find something out of the ordinary, with perhaps a touch of artiness? Look no further than your local museum store! Here in the Bay Area, we have a number of fine cultural institutions that not only can help enrich our lives with art, history, and science, but provide for great shopping as well. Museum stores carry great gift items for both children and adults that often are exclusive to the stores or inspired by and related to the museum's focus and collections.

Don't have time for a day at the museum? Don't fret—most of the time, you can shop at a museum store without having to pay museum admission. Better still, if you're a member of the museum, you usually receive a discount on your store purchases. Here are a few of our favorite local museum stores:

Congratulations to the winner of our holiday Kimochi giveaway! Marin Mommies reader Tanya G wins a Kimochi toy of her choice. We love our Kimochi Bug and we hope that she and her family will love the Kimochi they welcome into their home, too.

Many thanks to San Anselmo's Plushy Feely Corp., the creator and manufacturer of Kimochis. For more information, read our Kimochi Bug review from earlier this week, or visit www.kimochis.com.

When you're sick of shopping... When you can't stand another Christmas song piped in on the sound system... When you can't bear one more cheesy holiday special on ABC Family Channel's seemingly endless parade of TV movies... Maybe it's time to forget about the Christmas rush, bundle up, hit the trail, and take the family outdoors for a holiday hike.

Fortunately for us, we live in California, and winter is almost like our spring: no snow, no ice, and bright green grass springing up everywhere. It's really one of the most beautiful times to head outdoors and take a hike and be thankful that you didn't listen to your older brother and move out to Chicago, where as I write this it's a balmy 8ºF.

Bring the kids to the Dream Circle Holiday Concert tomorrow (Tuesday, December 16), featuring an all-star local lineup including Tim Cain, Judy Nee (AKA Miss Kitty), Cindy Cohen, and Christopher Smith. This holiday family performance will feature songs from their It’s a Holiday CD that includes music for a diverse lineup of winter holidays, including Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Chinese New Year. There will be 2 shows, at 9:30 am and 11 am, at Marin Center’s Showcase Theater in San Rafael. Advance tickets are required: (415) 457-4878. The Showcase Theater is located at 10 Avenue of the Flags (off Highway 101) at the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael. For directions, go to the Marin Center's website. Read our review of the Dream Circle CD here.

Sometimes getting kids to communicate their feelings can be difficult, but Kimochis, a new line of stuffed toys created by a group of Marin mompreneurs in San Anselmo, are here to help. Kimochi (which means "feeling" in Japanese) toys are cute and huggable characters that come with a set of feelings inside—little dolls that represent feelings like jealous, grateful, shy, happy, and brave. These feelings and the Kimochi characters assist children, parents, and teachers in discussing their feelings, becoming better communicators, and cultivating confidence and character.

Our Kimochi, Bug (an adorable caterpillar with a hidden pair of butterfly wings), was an instant hit with our three-year-old daughter, who insists on carrying it with her just about every place. The different feelings that came with Bug all store in a handy pouch on his tummy, where they can be stored and then pulled out to play with and of course communicate about the feelings they represent. Overall it's a really appealing and well made toy. We're definitely happy to make room for Bug in our home!