My Fair Lady + New York's Chelsea Market = Kids Off The Couch Road Trip: Flower Power in NYC

The Merry Month of May is made for celebrating mothers and the bountiful blooms of Spring. What better way to combine the two than by winging off to New York City for a special visit to Chelsea Market? The market, located in an old Nabisco factory, explodes with New York's finest -- fresh fish, remarkable flowers, scrumptious bakeries, clothing and kitchen supply shops, and exotic food stands. Our cinematic inspiration was My Fair Lady, the classic musical starring Rex Harrison as a linguistics professor who transforms a Cockney-accented flower girl into a lady. Dazzled by Audrey Hepburn's sunny turn as Eliza Doolittle, we headed to the refrigerated flower rooms at the Chelsea Wholesale Flower Mart, and delighted in copious floral splendor before heading out to forage among the many food vendors in the cavernous building. After everyone gathered their favorite lunch treats, we headed out into the daylight and clamored up to an extraordinary elevated garden walkway called The High Line that afforded views of the Hudson to the West and fun peeks down the art-filled streets in the Meatpacking district, and West Chelsea. Securing a seat for a Sunday morning picnic required a bit of Eliza's gumption but once settled, we spread out in the sunshine, nibbled on freshly baked muffins and practiced our best "rain in Spain" imitations. Happy Mother's Day to all! Click here for more about the Market and the High Line, an elevated walkway that stretches through the neighborhoods of Chelsea

Julie and Julia + Taking A Food Tour of your Town = Kids Off The Couch

Julie & Julia hits the big screen this weekend and watching Meryl Streep and Amy Adams fall in love with cooking reminds us how lucky we are to live in a food-obsessed culture. We grew up eating frozen peas and limas from the Jolly Green Giant, so Julia Child's exuberance about fresh ingredients found at Parisian markets and formal French cooking techniques learned at Le Cordon Bleu has helped us explain to our kids why we get so excited visiting a Farmers' Market or finding artisinal cheese at our local market. It was Julia's quirky genius that brought a love of fine food to every kitchen in America and this engaging film celebrates Julia Child as well as her affect on a "regular" person like Julie Powell. Stuck in a dead-end job, Powell cooked her way through every recipe in Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a year, transforming her life as a cubicle-bound lifer to popular author. We expanded our palate during an organized tour through our city's original Farmers' Market to celebrate National Farmers' Market Week, sampling food from around the world and listening to tantalizing food anecdotes from our passionate guide. Our kids managed to try flavors from nearly every continent -- we think both Julie and Julia would be proud!

Click here to learn more about the film, about National Farmers' Market Week and how to find a food tour in your town

Bringing the Inauguration Home!

Inauguration 2009 + National Day Of Service

As President-elect Obama takes the oath of office next Tuesday during the 2009 Inauguration, parents of every political affiliation have an opportunity to talk with their children about democracy and civics. This election marks a turning point in American history for lots of important reasons, including how the youth in this country turned out to vote in record numbers. We're seizing the chance to get the next generation of voters -- our kids -- interested in the democracy they will inherit. We've created conversation starters for kids of every age: from discussing civics issues with older kids (the language of the Oath of Office, the peaceful transition from the past administration) to talking about First Family issues with younger children (will Malia have a Facebook profile, can Sasha go on sleepovers?). To watch history in the making, we will tune in on Sunday night for HBO's We are One concert on the Mall (on a free feed), watch our new President take the Oath of Office on Tuesday and watch Nickelodeon's kid-friendly coverage later in the evening. Finally, to really give our kids a hands-on lesson in how one person can make a difference, we are joining in Michelle and Barack Obama's challenge to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King's dream of social justice by participating in a National Day of Service. To make it easy, we link you to a website that lists service activities in every zip code, like donating blankets or volunteering at a food pantry. Join us!

Click here for a link to find volunteer activities in your area, information about media coverage of Tuesday's Inauguration and the We Are One concert, and a list of questions to help turn the Inauguration into a homespun civicis lesson at the dinner table.