MORNING ACTIVITIES

Growing up, I was very lucky to have parents that knew about cool places in and around LA to take children. My weekends were spent taking drives to places like Santa's Village or San Juan Capistrano or eating at dive taco stands that everyone in LA would/should know about like Titos tacos.... Anyway, now with a child of my own, I'm equally eager to explore LA and it's surroundings with my little guy in tow.

(Check out my interview with Red Tricycle about some of my favorite things to do).

Of course, I must admit, big elaborate day trips and activities are not always easy to orchestrate week after week. Plus, even if we are going to spend the day at the zoo or at the beach collecting shells, there's still a good 3 plus hours in the morning that requires some creative entertainment until we (Me) can get the show on the road.

And sometimes legos just don't cut it.

So, I've introduced Jonah to baking. It's simple. He sits on the floor. Equipped with a baking pan, a whisk, a measuring cup, I let him concoct a pie. From a handful of cheerios, to a dash of salt, to M&Ms from 3 Halloweens ago, to

packets of chili flakes from a pizza delivery, Jonah spends a good 25 minutes making sure his pie is perfect. When he is done (and/or breakfast is ready , or I'm done folding laundry, or doing dishes, etc), it's time to put the pie in the oven.

"Cook it for real, mommy," he says.

"Of course for real. BEEEP!" I say "pushing" the buttons to "350." "We need to let it cook for about 45 minutes or maybe even all day. This is a big cake."

"It's a biiiiiiiig cake," he echoes.

"Yep."

And that's that. Cheeto Shredded Wheat Garlic Salt Pie. A masterpiece. And truly, an awesome time suck AND fantastic use of stale food.

Of course, a week later, discovering this treasure is slightly horrific. And a sad reminder that I don't use my oven as much as I should.