kidstuff

When you get the first day of school wrong

September 2, 2013

Yep.  That’s me.  Mom of the year.  I thought school started tomorrow, but it actually doesn’t start until next week.  Thank goodness I didn’t get the kids all ready and show up but now I’m totally scrambling to figure out what to do with them for ANOTHER WEEK OF SUMMER! We scored the last Planes […]

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Three airplane books and a cool shirt for a little world traveler

August 24, 2013

We have a growing collection of awesome airplane books-we started this one when they were toddlers-and we recently found a few more. All aboard Airplanes is a picture book definitely written for preschoolers or older kids.  My guys love it because it explains all different types of planes.  (I imagine planes of all sorts are […]

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Sand toys for little world travelers

August 1, 2013

Oh, traveling families or former history majors like me who love really ancient things, this is definitely something you want to bring with to the beach.  Why build regular sand castles, when you can build a famous landmark?  (I really wish I’d heard of this when we went to the Mayan Riviera a few months […]

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Elephants, Jaguars and Little Giraffes (OH MY!)

July 12, 2013

The other day the boys and I got to do something I’ve been DYING to do at the Woodland Park Zoo for at ages.  We finally fed Bamboo the elephant!  (And you’ll never guess what she eats…..bamboo!!)   This feeding happens during what used to be the guys’ nap time so this is the first […]

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Excited for Metropolitan Market’s Annual Housewares Sale

July 10, 2013

We are lucky enough to have a Metroplitan Market in our neighborhood. My guys love their little carts. And the cheese samples.  They are in love with the cheese samples. Because of the friendly cheese lady and all the samples they’ve tried, they’ve learned that they definitely prefer Brie to Blue. (And they promptly add […]

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Seattle Summer Day 1: Library Reading log

June 18, 2013

This is not a bucket list (we have our list of 5 things we want to do here and I just signed up for some kind of bucket list challenge) but there are 78 or so days left of summer and I intend to fully savor them.  Today we helped keep libraries from extinction by […]

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I heart tea (and coffee) but right now I’m all Tea

June 10, 2013

When I love something I fall hard.  Like the mild obsession I had for earl grey tea ice cream that had us driving to Vancouver so I could get some at Bella Gellateria (arguably the best gelato ever!). Or my butter tart thing that has me salivate at the mere mention of JJ Bean.  Or […]

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Deep Sea Diver and a really wet Folk Life weekend

May 30, 2013

The guys are absolutely in love with Recess Monkey since we saw them in concert at Teatro Zinzanni last year and we were recently sent their new album, (their 9th!!! by the way!) Deep Sea Diver to check out.  The tunes are really catchy and I know I’ve heard them sing one of them called […]

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slate coffee serves your latte in stemware and is one of the best espresso stores in Seattle

A friendly cup of coffee in Seattle (Slate Coffee, Ballard)

May 3, 2013

Sometime last week I heard a rumor that a truck called Slate Coffee was selling my favorite Fuji Bakery pastries, so I had to go check it out.  Nevermind that I am not a big fan of food trucks (gasp!).  I just didn’t realize that they have sinks and real cooking facilities inside.  Until we […]

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I wants for March

February 25, 2013

I was looking through my want lists from last year and I found my “I wants of March” and thought I better carry on the tradition.  Looking back, I only got the Raleigh bar from my list.  When I saw it in real life, it was tinier than I thought it would be, but really […]

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phoenix with kids where to swim

When your kids are braver than you are

January 31, 2013

See the blur?  That’s my guys jumping off the diving board for the first time.  They just pranced across the thing and fearlessly bounced of the end.  I’d be proud except I’m terrified that they’ve learned a new and ridiculous skill: I know this because later when we were at the Pacific Place mall on […]

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holding sloth in Costa Rica wearing bug-proof shirt

Bug-Proof Clothing

January 22, 2013

I’m not sure why, but bug-proof clothing is one search I get a lot on this site, and as someone who puffs up into one giant mosquito welt if I get bitten, I thought I better share some of my real faves: I love this shirt. That might even be an understatement.  If I hear […]

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Wildlife Spotting and photo-editing with Playmobil

January 8, 2013

If your kids have any playmobil, you know that a) it’s really complicated to put together b) the parts hurt like anything when you step on them and c) it’s too adorable to resist.  The only set that I think you should have any hesitation buying is the meerkat family (we bought two!) because those […]

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Kidsquest Museum and a little bit of shopping time (Factoria Mall, Bellevue)

December 21, 2012

A block of dry ice in our Amazon Fresh order this morning sparked something in my brain. Today’s question:  If I take you to go to the truck museum (Kidsquest Museum in Bellevue for us grownups) for a little while, can I go to Target? They played in the water. They experimented. They drove the […]

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Two great last-minute presents

December 19, 2012

If you love your instagram account you might want to head on over to snapbox.  I didn’t really know much about them until a couple weeks ago when I won a couple snapbox prints in a “twitter party” (It was fun but I still don’t totally get the twitter party thing btw) put on by Clever […]

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If your kids are scared of Santa

December 13, 2012

or maybe just obsessed with their Playmobil Advent Calendars, you might consider just going for a pose with a plastic Santa instead. (We found this one outside the Splash store in Steveston BC Canda, which by the way has a great play table and awesome toys if you need a place to stop in while […]

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Five great stocking stuffers for 4-year olds who travel

December 6, 2012

One week into December and I’ve pretty much finished the bulk of my Christmas shopping.  (This is not a brag, I’m just constantly shopping and if I didn’t have a focus, it would be dangerous.)  So now I get to think about fun stocking stuffers-and just what are some fun finds for the small traveling […]

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Starting my Christmas List

November 9, 2012

It’s incredible how many things you can buy if you really want to and how easy it is to find them nowadays via the interwebs but I do like to keep it old fashioned where I can.  We have been making Christmas Idea Vision Boards: the guys with their Toys R Us fliers and me […]

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Things you find on etsy when searching for a Hallowe’en costume

September 1, 2012

Yes, school hasn’t started yet and it’s WAY too early to think of Hallowe’en, but one of the boys has decided he MUST have a sloth costume. (Thank you Toucan Rescue Ranch visit and probably my crazy see-something, want-something, genes.)  Anyways, I thought if I researched early enough, I might either a) find a costume […]

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It’s open:) Hello Seattle CityTarget!

July 25, 2012

Yes, you know what I’m talking about.  It’s red and white and shiny all over!  And we had a bunch of errands to run this morning so we headed to my new money swallowing hole Seattle CityTarget to see how shopping in our city is going to be. The parking at CityTarget is free if […]

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