DAILY LIFE

Maplewood Farm (North Vancouver, BC)

March 23, 2013

A little while ago, we revisited this farm I used to go with my family as a child-it’s very close to downtown Vancouver, maybe about a 20 minute drive.  It’s on the way to Mount Seymour too.  The day we went the animals were all out and about and there are so many things for […]

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A week in snapshots

March 21, 2013

I can’t help but take photos of so many things we do, and then the week goes by and I have too many memories that I forget to share or they’re not really big enough to blog about.  So before they get lost in the 5000+ photos stuck in my phone, here are some of […]

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How to make a giant gold pull-string pinata

March 19, 2013

There is a steady stream of boxes that arrives at my door each week and I always love finding things I can make with them.  Sometimes we make cars.  Or forts.  Or airplanes. Or little swim goggles for our animal friends. Last week I decided that my parents needed a giant pull-string pinata for their […]

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places to find yummy macarons in seattle

Home Sweet Home (60th birthday party in Steveston BC)

March 15, 2013

Technically this is a travel post. My parents turned 60 a little while ago and my sis and I decided to throw a fun 60th birthday party to celebrate.  We threw the party at my sister’s home in Steveston British Columbia, Canada.  If you’ve never been to Steveston it’s not far from Vancouver and it’s […]

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10 things I’m loving this Daylight Savings Monday

March 11, 2013

1. I used to loathe this day more than any other day in the world because there is nothing worse than waking up early-especially when you know that whatever time you’re waking up today would have given you one extra hour the day before.  But now that I have guys that always wake up early, […]

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When your kid’s huggie wants to snorkel

February 26, 2013

Maybe it’s because the guys had so much fun on their snorkeling tour in Hawaii (We went with Four Winds and it was amazing!) but something inspired the Bean and he wanted me to fashion a snorkel for his baby giraffe. Thank goodness we eat a lot of noodles. I punched a hole in both […]

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Mama in the Picture

February 21, 2013

A little while ago, someone asked for a picture of me and the kids and I scrolled through my rolls and though I have TONS of my kids, I don’t have many of ME and my kids (and of the few I have there aren’t many that I love or want to share).  And it […]

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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?) […]

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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 […]

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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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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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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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 […]

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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, […]

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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.                         […]

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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 […]

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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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