For the first time in six years, Circus Vargas returns to the San Francsico Bay Area! This traditional, family-oriented circus sets up at AT&T Park for a 5-day run from Wednesday, August 13 through Sunday, August 17. Enjoy high-wire acts, clowns, equestrian performances, and more. Circus Vargas is a single-ring circus set up in an enormous, European-style big top tent. Want to check it out?

Go get a dose of culture: this summer North Bay Shakespeare presents A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Hamilton Amphitheater in Novato. Performances run from August 8–October 5. An outdoor production like this is the perfect way to introduce kids to theater. Kids Free Nights are on Friday, August 8, September 19, and October 3 (with every adult paying $25.00 admission and two children all ages admitted free!), and there are reduced-price matinees on September 19 and 26. Order tickets online at www.nbshakes.org or call the box office at (415) 381-1115. You can also order tickets below by clicking on the links.

A desire for a more eco-friendly lunchtime led Marin mompreneurs Joyce Raffo and Paige Rodgers to create Fabkins, a fun line of unique cloth napkins just for kids. Fabkins are kid-sized napkins that sport different child-friendly themes like “Sports Fan,” “African Safari,” “Prima Ballerina,” “Fruit Salad,” “Beach Bound,” and “Garden Friends.” Useful as both napkins and placemats, Fabkins encourage good table manners and help make school lunches and meals at home waste-free.

Marin Mommies.com is happy to present another guest article by baby sleep expert Marsha Podd, RN, CLE.

Did you know that most babies under 6 months rarely have enough time on their tummy? Since the SIDS foundation has been recommending all parents put baby down to sleep on its back, tummy time has diminished.

Recently, the SIDS foundation issued a new recommendation--more tummy time! Why? Because a young infant needs to develop good strength in lifting its head, and pushing up with its arms. A baby is at greater risk to die from suffocation or SIDS if it is without good strength and control of the head and upper body.

When baby learns to roll over from back to tummy, it is important for him to have strength. If strong, he will easily be able to lift his head and breathe and move. A strong baby is a safe sleeper.

Looking for a good read this summer? Jane Porter, the award-winning author of Flirting With Forty and Odd Mom Out, shared 10 of her favorite titles for moms on View From the Bay. Listed below are a few of the books. To get the complete list, go to their website.

OK, I know this sounds crazy, but I am still nursing my 2-year-old daughter. I’ve been trying to wean her for the last couple of months with little luck. I have been successful at cutting back, but she does seem a pretty attached to the whole thing still. I’ve tried replacements, like a pacifier or food, which in both cases haven’t worked. When looking into suggestions about weaning, I found some good info online from Dr. Sears and the La Leche Group. Both websites had similar suggestions. I have listed some of the basic ones below:

Now that most schools begin some time in August, it’s time to start buying those back to school items. My son will be starting kindergarten this fall, so we are started shopping for a new backpack and lunchbox. When we were shopping for a lunchbox, we came across Laptop Lunches. These cool waste-free lunch boxes are American-style bento boxes that were developed by two moms in Santa Cruz. They’re designed to help families pack nutritious, environment-friendly lunches that do not contain lead, phthalates, or bisphenol A (BPA). Laptop Lunches also come with a book of healthy lunch ideas and lunch-making recipes. They are reusable, recyclable, and dishwasher safe. The basic Laptop Lunches starts at $20.99 (shown on right) online. You can buy them online at www.laptoplunches.com.

Experience the magic of tall ships and our maritime heritage during the 2008 San Francisco Festival of Sail, which begins Wednesday, July 23 and runs through Sunday, July 27. Starting with the Grand Parade of Sail Wednesday at noon, the nautical fun takes place in three "villages" located along the San Francisco waterfront where you can visit a variety of sailing vessels. Events include the parade, ship boardings, excursions, mock naval battles, educational programs, and the Velocity Circus' Pirate Academy.

Starting tomorrow, July 22, 2008, the City of Novato will begin enforcing a strict secondhand smoke ordinance. Some will see it as a draconian assault on their rights; most will probably consider it a breath of fresh air. Either way, it prohibits smoking within 20 feet of operable doors or windows of buildings, bus stops, ATMs, and ticket lines, as well as at any park, public event, restaurant, bar, and even within apartment buildings. Exceptions are inside private residences and tobacco shops. (Is there a tobacconist in Novato? Telford's Pipe and Cigar in Mill Valley is the only one I can think of in the county, although as a non-smoker, I admittedly don't know really have a need to know much about them.)

Fines range from $100 to $500, depending on the number of violations.