Blue C Sushi makes a national list of 14 best restaurants for kids — pirates and ninjas also well represented.

Apologies for the lack of updates again, but around the beginning of the month, things got really busy around here:

Things have been busy...

Posted on the P.I. website, with photos from the recent show in downtown Seattle. Just amazing to see.

Older Sigg bottles contain BPA — yuck! And yet another reason to shop Buggy, which stocks the BPA free Kleen Kanteens (I swear, I am not on Buggy’s payroll).

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Feeling Crafty? One week free trial at the Commercial Pattern Archive started on the 19th, and ends the 25th. Login with username: guest and the password: pattern, then look forward to printing any of the amazing vintage patterns they have scanned.

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Ponyo is getting good reviews — 92% on Rotten Tomatoes — and with it’s G rating promises to be excellant family entertainment from Totoro’s creator. Seattle Showtimes here.

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In food news, Mom-101 talks about companies making the switch from High Fructose Corn Syrup, while Paola at MirrorMirror shows off another joint baking project with the Minx — Lemon Frosted Pistachio Cake, and for those having to do Gluten Free, my gluten-intolerant sister highly recommends Udi’s Foods. And I quote, “I just pulled one of their cinnamon buns right out the fridge and ate it. Hot damn it was good. No heating it to make it edible–THIS is what gluten-free should be!”

Quick disclaimer note: if I am recommending products/services/what have you, I’m not being in any way paid to do it. I just think they are neat/good/worth supporting.

The Cool Mom Picks Back To School Guide is out, and as always full of great things you wish came in grown-up sizes. While the pricing is sometimes scary to me, the folks at CMP are always good about getting discount codes where they can.

Of local note: Included in this year’s recommendations are See Kai Run’s shoes (yay Seattle company!), as well as the Fall collection from Livie and Luca, which can be found at the wonderful Buggy in Madrona (and hey! I notice Buggy now offers online shopping too! No Fall shoes online yet, though).

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The German tradition of Schultüte, giant paper cones filled with school supplies and gifts for the first day, is a charming one that more and more people seem to be adopting. Alpha Mom has instructions for making one here, should your child be so lucky. Google image search really shows a great variety, should you be looking for decorative inspiration.

Not feeling quite so crafty? You can buy a Schultüte unfilled here, and your choice of filled-or-unfilled here

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Martha Stewart offers a selection of back to school crafts on her website, mostly involving printable PDF files you customize for your family’s needs.

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Get inspired on the lunch-making front by checking out the elaborate Japanese-style box lunches at the Bento Challenge livejournal community. While my daughter will still ignore carrots, even if cut into pretty flower shapes, I love looking at what other folks are doing. I’ve also really enjoyed the sample school lunches from around the globe posted on Vegan Lunchbox.

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I’ve mentioned them before, but in these uncertain times it’s more important than ever to go back to school with Project Cool, a non-profit organization that gives backpacks full of school supplies to children in Seattle/King County homeless shelters. These are kids without homes, often families who are fleeing Domestic Violence, who otherwise don’t have supplies to get them through the school year. This program does amazingly important work, and it makes a real difference in the lives of so many kids. (I’ll update this post to add more specific donation information for this year’s Project Cool as soon as I hear back from their offices).

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Keep your sense of humor intact this school year. The Onion offers important back to school tips for parents in this article from ‘99, such as this gem:

# Underfeed your child so he or she will become skinny and awkward. The child will then pursue academia instead of sports and social channels.

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First day of School for Seattle Public Schools is September 9th, 2009; a mere 3 weeks away. Where did the Summer go?

Full Tilt Columbia City, whose sign read, “Closed due to melting”. I weep.

Best discovery? Light Rail Trains are air conditioned.

Record Breaking Heat in Seattle doesn't need to Break You

If you are not enjoying the record-breaking heat like I am not enjoying the record-breaking heat (Hey, I left the South for a reason!), here are some cooler ideas for spending your time:

• Children’s Museum
• Pacific Science Center
• Seattle Aquarium
• Indoor pools (Ballard Pool, Evans Pool, Helene Madison Pool, Meadowbrook Pool, Medgar Evers Pool, Queen Anne Pool, Rainier Beach Pool, & Southwest Pool).
• Sprinkler park at the Tukwila Community Center (outdoors, but great fun to run through!)
• Shopping Malls (excluding Factoria, which has the wonderful Kids’ Quest Children’s Museum but horrible air conditioning!)
• Bouncy Places (Pump it Up, The Bouncy Place)
• Museum of Flight (added bonus to some: the Blue Angels are in town this week)
• Go to the movies (the amazing UP is still playing, as are Ice Age 3 and Harry Potter for the older crowd).
• Ikea (check potty-trained kids into the kids’ club for an hour of play, and drink something cold while you browse!).

At home, don’t forget about standbys like making popsicles, putting cold, wet clothes on faces and the back of your neck, and soaking in a cool tub…

• Romulus & Remus
• Cain & Abel
• North & South (they are due 9/11. Let the tastelessness begin.)
• Loved & Unloved
• Yin & Yang
• Luke & Leia
• Buddha & Pest
• Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum
• Thing 1 & Thing 2
• Click & Clack
• Tomax & Xamot

No, we don’t have names for these guys yet. Why do you ask?

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In other news, my new favorite website strikes again: Let’s Panic About Babies: Surviving Bed Rest. Thanks to the husband for sending me the link, I needed the laugh.

Lullaby Moon: Seattle Art in the Parks

Marking this occasion means I have survived a month of bed rest, for the magical and whimsical Lullaby Moon is coming again tonight! The performance is scheduled to begin around 8:15pm on kite hill in Gasworks Park, and looks to be worth staying up past bedtime for! (Their web page does note, however, that, “Those with early bedtimes are welcome to attend any part of the performance.”) You can view a few photos from their performance a month ago in Seward park here.

The shows, which began in October of 2008, play each month on the new moon and will end on October 18th this year. Friends who have made it have said nothing but good things about it, and I urge anyone not being confined to their couch to make it out for what looks to be a magical event.

Lullaby Moon X
Gasworks Park, Kite Hill
2101 N. Northlake Way
Seattle, WA 98103

Strawberry 66 Cupcake Goodness

First, there was Molly Moon Ice Cream, which opened their second location on Cap Hill just across from Cal Anderson Park.

Then, Old School Frozen Custard opened their doors, providing another sweet-treat option for hill-goers (see what our family thought here).

Now, opening on July 22nd, we have a new Cupcake Royale, location just around the corner from Boom Noodle and Izilla Toys. Ramen, cupcakes, and toys, all on one block? How kid-friendly can you get! Bonus: check out Rebekah Denn’s blog to find a Cupcake Royale recipe for vanilla cake and the magic words that will earn you a free baby cake at the opening today.

(And speaking of Izilla, it’s Family Game Night this Wednesday as well, your chance to bring the family to eat free Piecoras pizza and test out the selection of board games — a great combo with the Cupcake Royale opening!).

Grand Opening at Cupcake Royale Cap Hill
Wednesday July 22nd, 2009
1111 E. Pike Street
Seattle, WA 98122

Izilla Toys Family Game Night
Wednesday July 22nd, 2009
5pm – 8pm
1429 12th Ave
Seattle, WA 98122

Photo by Chris Owen

Amazing Pirate rock band Captain Bogg & Salty are touring Washington State in August, and concert times and places have just been announced on their website (someday, the planets will align and these guys will end of playing the Seafair Pirates Landing, but I digress). Bogg & his crew put on a great show, and you can expect to see tons of kids in pirate costume when you go:

Kirkland Washington
Wed, August 12, 10am – 11am
Marina Park, Kirkland Washington

Southcenter: Library Connection
Wed, August 12, 7pm – 8pm
1115 Southcenter Mall #384, Tukwila, WA 98188

Kent Regional Library
Thu, August 13, 1pm – 2pm
212 2nd Ave N. Kent, WA 98032

North Bend Farmer’s Market @ Si View Community Center
Thu, August 13, 6pm – 7pm
400 SE Orchard Dr. North Bend, WA 98045
Friday, August 14

Bothell Regional Library
Fri, August 14, 11am – 12pm
18215 98th Ave, NE – Bothell, WA 98011

Crossroads: Library Connection
Fri, August 14, 5:30pm – 6:30pm
15600 NE 8th St. – Ste K-11 — Bellevue, WA 98008

You can hear samples of their music on their website here, and you can buy them now on iTunes. (Nellie the Elephant, Pieces of 8ight, Scurvy, and Never Smile at a Crocodile are the multi-generational favorites in the Hausfrau Household. Moon is in love with the bunneyjacks song as well…).