Author: admin

potato painting

January 26, 2013

Ever since I bought this lovely cookbook:The Silver Spoon for Children: Favorite Italian Recipes I’ve been meaning to make gnocchi with my guys, but I keep forgetting, so I have a ton of potatoes just lying around. So the other day, when a package I ordered from Fancy Flours (don’t they have the sweetest wrapping?) […]

Number two dog poo incident of 2013

I meant it as a joke when I said I’d tally the dog-poos of the year, but now we’re actually at three. But the third poo is probably from another animal at the farm, maybe goat or sheep and not technically dog poo that made its way under my shoe so I’m not sure it […]

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 […]

We’re 6C and we know it (A travel tip)

I wish I could say I only do this when we travel, but I learned this trick when the boys were babies and I got so scatterbrained that I would lose the “Silver bus” everywhere we went. Thank you to my handy smartphone (I swear this is the most mom-friendly invention of all time), I […]

An unconventional breakfast (San Isidro, Costa Rica)

January 19, 2013

Years ago, my pregnant self would never have imagined anyone would ever be able say to my kids “so you know how to collect eggs?” and have them answer “yes!” but something about having two boys who love adventure changed everything. Thanks to Farmer Jayne at Kelsey Creek Farm in Bellevue (two years ago we […]

First visit to the MOHAI (Museum of History and Industry, Seattle, WA)

January 16, 2013

I’ve told you before how much I love South Lake Union, but now I’m super-infatuated because the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) has opened. Do you know how amazing this place is? I loved their old location-it had the coolest boat and fishing exhibit and we finally visited their new digs for the first […]

A reason to get a Seattle Aquarium membership

January 15, 2013

I think we have memberships to almost everything in Seattle and our membership to the Seattle Aquarium is one of my favorites. In the summer the aquarium has early mornings for members and we’ve enjoyed being in the aquarium when it’s completely empty. I also just found out they also have a couple classes that […]

Lovely Place to Pack a Lunch (Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle WA)

January 13, 2013

Okay, in a perfect world we might have been nibbling on something a bit different, but today it was the guys’ choice and Big M won. I always dream about the day I can discuss art over cappuccinos with my kids-today we talked about waves while eating nuggets at the Olympic Sculpture Park. I […]

Current Obsessions

January 11, 2013

Okay, so yesterday was not my best. The hubby worked late and I was dining alone with my overexcited duo when someone started to choke. And you know that awful heart lodged in throat want to cry but can’t feeling-I didn’t get that until I actually heard the kid start breathing again and I realized […]

Dessert Thali (Poppy, Seattle Wa)

January 9, 2013

(PS. I’m so sad to say that Poppy is now closed in 2019….) Maybe 2013 is the year for food in this household, because we’ve been eating around Seattle the last week and a bit like we’re on vacation and it’s been lovely. Perhaps our best meal happened when we popped into Poppy, (aka best […]

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 […]

Delightful food finds in Vancouver BC

January 3, 2013

A long time ago, I’d return to the motherland on a quest to find ketchup chips, Smarties and Mackintosh Toffee: grocery store treats from my childhood that just can’t find their way south of the border. But now, with kids in tow my time for food sleuthing is short and I have to be a […]

New Year, New Goals and something you could win

January 1, 2013

I don’t know about you, but someone gave herself a lot of cookbooks for Christmas this year. And instead of just keeping them there on my shelves to make me look like I’m a foodie, (Oh no I just realized I do this with my novels too to make me look like I read. Oh […]

How I amuse myself while the kids learn to ski

December 30, 2012

I don’t know what I imagined when I signed the guys up for ski lessons. I think a little bit of me thought they’d be whisked up the chair-lift and zooming down the mountains in no time and I really wanted them to learn to ski. But the reality is that it takes a little […]

Two super-easy yummy things

December 29, 2012

Do I dare tell you what my best timesaver is going to be the week the kids go back to school in the New Year? I love these Foodles I found on Amazonfresh but I can’t seem to find them anywhere else. Maybe we can create a demand? They would be so easy to make, […]

Raise a glass-making juice with kids

December 28, 2012

A couple weeks ago the Bean walked into Williams Sonoma and decided he wanted a juicer. I asked him why and he said he just really wanted to make juice. So I saved a couple hundred dollars and bought him this one at Ikea. […]

Happy Holidays to almost everyone

December 24, 2012

Happy holidays to everyone but the family in the booth next to us at the restaurant tonight. If you’re that family, squint your eyes really tight when you see this picture of my family smiling and imagine that somewhere in that blurriness we’re all sticking our tongues out at you. So maybe that sounds just […]

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 […]

Snowman Oreos on Sticks

This morning when we woke up no little magic fairies came to clean while we slept so the house was still littered with Christmas Crackers, half-wrapped presents, breakfast dishes and Christmas tree needles and the husband warned me against making anything homemade today. But I still wanted to make something. I love the look of […]

Punctuality

December 20, 2012

Once upon a time the boys woke up so early that there was never any chance of being late to anything. But some mornings now (like today!) we almost need an alarm clock to get to school on time. Thankfully we made it but I do want to teach my kids the value of time. […]