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Fantastic Mr. Fox Contest Winner

Congratulations to Jessica M., winner of our fantastic Fantastic Mr. Fox contest! Jessica won a family pack of four tickets to see the new animated film of Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr. Fox, directed by Wes Anderson, as well as movie posters and furry fox tail ties to wear. Thanks to Fox Searchlight for generously sponsoring this contest.

Check back on Marin Mommies soon, as we have other great giveaways lined up!

A Fantastic Contest for Fantastic Mr. Fox!

Fantastic Mr. Fox posterWhen I was in grade school, my favorite book was Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr. Fox. I checked it out from the school library and read in numerous times, and I even committed to memory the little limerick about the story's antagonists, farmers Boggis, Bunce, and Bean.

Boggis, Bunce, and Bean
One fat, one short, one lean
Those horrible crooks
So different in looks
Were nonetheless equally mean

So I was really excited to learn about the upcoming animated movie version of the Fantastic Mr. Fox, which opens everywhere on November 25, 2009. You can also imagine how excited I was when Fox Searchlight generously agreed to sponsor a Fantastic Mr. Fox contest on Marin Mommies! We're offering one lucky winner a family pack of four tickets to see this fantastic new movie, which Salon.com audaciously declares to be "Better than Pixar." But wait, that's not all! The winner will also receive four movie posters and four furry fox tail ties to wear.

All you have to do is send an email to contests@marinmommies.com with "Fantastic Mr. Fox" in the subject line. You'll have until 11:59 pm on Wednesday, November 25, to submit your entry, and we'll select a winner at random and announce the results on Friday, November 27. (As always, we promise not to use your email in any way other than to notify you if you've won.)

Mompreneur: Marin Artist Colleen Proppé

Colleen Proppe at work at the easelMarin mom and artist Colleen Proppé paints Marin County landscapes, as well as cycling scenes and commissioned portraits, all in her signature plein air style. Her work can be viewed in venues and exhibitions throughout the county, and on her website at www.cproppe.com. Colleen took some time to answer some questions about her art, her inspirations, and living in Marin.

Please tell us a little about yourself and your background. How did you get started in painting?

I was born near the University of Connecticut in 1968, where my father was studying for his doctorate in education, and my mother was a nurse. I started drawing and painting when I was 3 years old. My first portrait was of "The Banana Man" on Captain Kangaroo.

We had an easel outside in the summer, and my mom encouraged me with a great appreciation for my work. I imagine it kept me quiet and out of trouble!

Eat Soup, Get a Bowl, Help Kids!

The bowl that keeps feedingTwo Marin-based and mom-run businesses—Studio 4 Art and What's Cooking—have teamed together to present Soup—The Bowl that Keeps Feeding, a benefit to help fight childhood hunger in our community. The event takes place Sunday, November 15, 2009, from 11 am to 2 pm, at Fresh Starts Cooking School, located at 1385 N. Hamilton Parkway in Novato.

Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door, and include a meal of soup and bread as well as the bowl of your choice. All proceeds from Soup—The Bowl that Keeps Feeding will be donated to Homeward Bound of Marin's Emergency Family Shelter.

One of the unique features of this event has been the way it's gotten children involved in their community. The soup will be prepared by children from local schools under the guidance of What's Cooking, and the hand-thrown bowls have also been created by kids at Studio 4 Art.

Two Cool Museum Exhibitions Open This Weekend

BADM stream for Animal SecretsLooking for something to do this weekend that doesn't involve Halloween? Two interesting new exhibitions open at local museums this weekend that could be perfect outings for your family.

At Sausalito's Bay Area Discovery Museum, families can explore the hidden habitats and secret lives of forest animals in the special exhibition Animal Secrets, which runs from tomorrow through May 9, 2010. Specially designed for children ages 3–8, Animal Secrets uses imagintive role-play and hands-on activities to help children discover nature from an animal's point of view. Environments to be explored include a stream, meadow, woodland, cave, and naturalist's tent.

The Bay Area Discovery Museum is open Tuesday–Friday 9 am–4 pm and weekends 10 am–5 pm. Admission is $8 for children 1–17 and seniors 62+ and $10 for adults; free for children under 1 and members.

For more information, visit www.baykidsmuseum.org or call (415) 339-3900.

The 2009 Marin Daddy Halloween Candy Rankings

Halloween CandyWith Halloween rolling around, it's once again time for the annual tradition wherein parents examine the contents of the children's trick-or-treat bags. Ostensively, this time-honored task is done so Mommy and Daddy can look for dangerous things—like nuclear waste and poisonous snakes—that Bad People may have put in there. The real reason, of course, is to take inventory of all the good candy and separate it from the funky stuff. Here's this year's top- and bottom-five Halloween candies, as ranked by our panel of experts (i.e. me):

The Top Five

All but one of our top five picks are miniature versions of full-size real-life chocolate-based candy bars. Certainly, some are better than others; note that Almond Joy and Mounds don't make the list. If you give out these, you're pretty guaranteed not to get your car egged or your jack-o-lanterns smashed by ungrateful children.

The Tale of Dracula and the Candy Corn Witch

Long about the end of summer I always start thinking about the really cool Halloween costumes that I can make for my kids. And by "really cool" I mean something fun and unusual and sophisticated (somewhat) and creative and reasonably inexpensive. The only problem is trying to convince two small children that my costume ideas are really cool. That's the difficult part. Indeed, it's usually the part that derails all my carefully laid plans.

This year was no different than in years past. At the beginning of the school year my son and I started trying to develop a nifty Halloween costume. One of the things that he had in his current costume inventory was an ancient Egyptian headdress that I get from work. We decided King Tut could be a pretty cool costume—heck, we were halfway there already.

Lentils, A Superfood for Adults and Kids Alike

I’m always on the lookout for some new ideas for dinner, especially healthy things. My husband, the cook that he is, made a wonderful soup the other night that brought back memories of my foods that I ate when I was pregnant. I ate a lot of lentils when I was pregnant, due to their high vitamin B and folic acid contents. My husband made a big pot of a wonderful lentil and greens soup that we’ve been eating for the past couple of nights. The really cool thing is that I discovered that my kids love lentils. I scooped some out of the soup, and the kids ate them and even asked for more.

Learn to Read and Have Fun with Starfall.com

StarfallOur son has been using our computer for a while now, and, in true younger sibling style, our 3-year-old daughter now wants to play on it, too. We don't mind if they do, but we also want to make sure that their limited "screen time" is more than just playing around. We also want to limit their exposure to commercial kids' websites and the ads that accompany them. One of the websites that all of us love is Starfall.com.

Starfall is free public resource that we were introduced to through our son's kindergarten class last year. It's a non-commercial website full of activities, games, and stories for preschoolers through elementary students. The focus with Starfall is on learning to read using a phonics approach, and is divided into sections range from the "ABCs" to the more challenging reading materials included in "I'm Reading!" Activities take the form of fun stories, often with interactive elements and animations to help get children involved. Each word can be clicked and read aloud.

Marin Parks & Recreation Fall Classes 2009

Looking for fun kids' activities this fall? There's still time to sign up for one of the many classes and programs offered by local parks and recreation departments and other organizations. Find your local recreation resource on our list below. We've also included links to the winter camps offered by the Marin YMCA and the Osher Jewish Community Center.

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