Manhattan Beach

Nearly two years in LA, and another place we had never visited was actually on the West Side: Manhattan Beach! So after purchasing yet another stroller for Parker... 

Sidebar: My dear friend Tif says that I'm a stroller hoarder, and she might be right. But the first stroller we got for Parker just wasn't working for us. So we sold it on Craigslist. Therefore I only have two strollers, this new umbrella stroller and our jogging stroller. But I am kind of obsessed with strollers... Did you know there is a stroller that costs almost $1000 but it will charge your iPhone when you push it? I can't imagine motherhood ever being that demanding that the only way I can charge my iPhone is by taking my son on a walk. Where do these stroller product managers come up with such crazy features that moms all over the world -- or perhaps just the rich neighborhoods of the world -- think they now NEED a $1000 stroller?

Sorry. After purchasing a stroller for Parker, we drove down to Manhattan Beach. Cute town. It's like Newport in Orange County, but more hilly, kind of like San Francisco. The houses are pretty much on top of one another, but everyone has a front porch / yard area with chairs, surfboards, BBQ grills, and what looked like a fun party the night before. If we were still in our twenties, Jeremy and I said we would probably want to live there. 

How depressing is that last sentence? Very. We say things now like, "When I was in my twenties." And normally, what we say after that adverbial clause is something really fun. I hope that when I'm in my forties, my sentences will look like this: "When I was in my thirties, (something about how I still had tons of fun in life, even though I didn't get as much sleep or have as much money, because my husband and I started an awesome clan of little Boltanos."

Boltano #1 Laughing in Manhattan Beach with Mommy

Beautiful Boy

Parker after Dinner

I adore this photo of my little man. (And for once, I don't have anything else to say.)

Up and Running: The 369 Innaugral Events

After living in Los Angeles for two years, we finally  made the effort to drive all the way over to East Los Angeles to check out Griffith Park and the Griffith Observatory. It’s crazy how much I hate driving any further east than Westwood Boulevard. The fear of LA traffic has definitely held me back from exploring so much of this city since we arrived last August. But no longer. Today, we hopped on the freeway, drove pretty much from 9 o’clock (Santa Monica) to 6 o’clock (Downtown LA ) to 3 o’clock (Pasadena) and onto 12 o’clock (Griffith Park). Yes, that’s how effing crazy the freeways are in LA.  (On the way home, we took Sunset Blvd – 12 o’clock to 9 o’clock; yes, there were traffic lights, but at least we weren’t literally driving in circles.)

Upon arrival, we loaded Parker up with sunscreen and started on our very first off-roading escapade with the Baby Jogger. The hike up to Griffith Observatory isn’t long. But it’s pretty steep at times, and it’s definitely hot. We made it up pretty quickly, and hung out on the grass outside for a while to let Parker expend some energy. And what do you know, while he was crawling and standing up and down, we actually got him on video saying, “Hi Dada!” for the very first time.

Hi Dada! from Nicole Bolton on Vimeo.

I have to be honest, we didn’t really do much INSIDE Griffith Observatory. We pretty much walked around outside, took pictures of the Hollywood Sign and the LA Skyline, then headed back to the car. Since we made it to the “Far East,” Jeremy suggested we get some fish tacos in Los Feliz. Another adventure! It was great. By the time we got home, Parker was so tired he went to sleep at 7:30 PM. And I’m not going to lie, I think Jeremy and I were both passed out on the couch by 9:00 PM. All in all, a good start to the journey.  365 days to go…

Hey-oh! A Snapshot at Griffith Observatory...

369 Days of Summer

After two weekends in a row of catering to Parker’s every need, something that as parents we are both obligated and privileged to do, I get it – I was going insane.  Our apartment doesn’t get a whole lot of natural light, so spending an entire weekend inside because we couldn’t get our shit together in the small windows between when Parker needed to nap , eat and have his diaper change resulted in me feeling and acting a little bit batty. Can you blame me? I felt like I’d been hibernating. In summer. In Santa Monica! What the hell is that?

So after submitting my last final paper of the spring quarter, and realizing that I was officially free from doing any assignments for another three months, I did what any business student would do when she needed to make a change: I developed a strategic plan. And yes, I did it in PowerPoint. And when Jeremy and Parker got home from work, I sat them down on the couch, turned on AirPlay and projected my slides on the Apple TV. It was time to give my pitch: 369 Days of Summer.

Yes, that’s right. I am scheduled to graduate (finally!) from UCLA Anderson School of Management and Fielding School of Public Health on June 14, 2014. 369 days from June 10, 2013. It was time to stop spending the weekends indoors on account of Parker needing to nap in his crib. We live in one of the most amazing places in the entire world. Yes, I’m sorry San Francisco, but Los Angeles is a pretty amazing place, too. As Jeremy once said the first time we went to our neighborhood Santa Monica beach, “Foreign people come here.” (I think he meant that our neighborhood is an international vacation destination. At least that’s what I tell myself he meant…) Anyway, because we will likely not live in this wonderful place forever, and since it’s always summertime in LA…

Our aim? To maximize adventure in Southern California.

The objective: Starting June 10, 2013 and continuing through June 15 2014, we will embark on at least one athletic / cinematic / comedic / culinary / educational / international / natural / oenological / theatrical / ANYTHING NEW AND EXCING adventure EVERY WEEK.

We’re SMART. And so is the plan.

› Specific: Adventure = Something New

› Measurable: 1 Adventure per Week

› Achievable: Financially Friendly

› Relevant: SoCal-based

› Time-bound: June 15, 2014

Date	Event	Category	Babysitter Needed	Funds Needed
6/14	Father’s Day Weekend Dinner	Culinary	No	$50
6/15	Hike to Griffith Observatory	Athletic, Natural, Educational	No	$0
7/3	Movie: 42	Cinematic	Yes	$100*

* A good babysitter, and a few hours sitting in the dark in peace and quiet while holding hands with your husband (who is happily eating a $9 SMALL box of popcorn) is worth every penny.

Now, it is important to note that this type of “Family Fun” is a family responsibility. We each have a role to fill in order to successfully execute 369 Days of Summer.

Jeremy “Big Data” Bolton

• › Primary Role: Chief Research Officer
• Literature Reviews
• Data Analysis
• Recommendations
• › Additional Roles
• › Husband
• Father
• Breadwinner*
• › Key Responsibilities
• › Financial alignment
• Day care transport
• Taking out trash**
• › Rubbing backs

* Temporary. To be shared with Nicole upon graduation.

** Temporary. To be delegated to Parker as soon as he can reach the dumpster.

Nicole “I don’t want to be a Grumpy Pants (GP)” Bolton› 

• Primary Role: Chief Decision Officer
• Snap Judgments
•  Strategic Options
• › Next Steps Planning
• › Additional Roles
• › Wife
• › Mother
• › Graduate Student
• › Domestic Engineer*
• › Key Responsibilities
• › Goal Setting
• › Task Management
• › Feeding
• › Hugging** 

* Primary point person. Shared responsibility with family and vendors, where applicable.

** Stretch Responsibility for personal growth. Performance to be assessed by CRO.

Parker “Wild Card” Bolton

• › Chief Challenge Officer
• Testing Limits
• Pushing Boundaries
• Changing Things Up
• Additional Roles
• › Son
• Cutie
• › Key Responsibilities
• › Making people smile
• › Reminding others what’s most important
• Clearing the aisle, when possible

Now, like any deal, there is some Fine Print, if you will.

1. › Family Fun can be planned independently or jointly by the CRO and/or CDO.
2. › We strive to plan events one week in advance.
3. › Sickness of the CRO, CDO, or CCO results in automatic iTunes movie rental and placement of “take-out” order for dinner.
4. › Outsourcing CCO fun to a babysitter is encouraged once monthly; a make-up “Full Family Fun” event is required when babysitters are used.

What do you think? The pitch was well received by my “investors,” so I’m pleased. Let’s see how it goes… Adventure is out there!