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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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 […]

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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.  […]

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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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customized wrapping paper from Zazzle

What to do with all that leftover wrapping

December 18, 2012

Every year we buy a giant roll of wrapping paper from Costco for Christmas and every year we add another roll to the closet because we have so much leftover.  This year, I decided we’d make Christmas crackers (like the ones you fill with treats and pop) and if you live in Seattle, you still […]

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Five books that will make your kids want to go to Australia

Thanks to some lovely friends, Australia is now on our radar for a future trip and they even sent us some books to help us get excited.  Wouldn’t you know that reading about a place is our best way to get our kids prepped for a trip especially when a country is so different from […]

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Two easy reindeer crafts

December 17, 2012

My kids love their teachers.  They talk about them all the time like they’re the biggest heroes in the world.  (Which I truly believe they are!)  And when it comes to saying thank you I really want my kids to take some ownership in the things we do to say ‘thank you’ to the people […]

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Sweetest Mini Donut Shop (The Outpost, Steveston BC)

December 14, 2012

The world can always use more happy, lovely places and The Outpost Mini Donut Company is one of the sweetest I’ve ever been.  I never imagined that a donut store could be so adorable, but this is a MINI DONUT store and there are so many thoughtful touches in this store that make the already-yummy […]

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big snowfall in snoqualmie pass 2016

Homemade Snowglobes

So everyone is making snowglobes apparently so I wanted to try and make them too.  I had visions of making little ballerina ones like a scene out of the Nutcracker (we’re going to see it next week and I’m a little worried the guys might find the mice part scary so I’m playing up the […]

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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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Something cuddly and something not so cuddly in Richmond BC

December 11, 2012

If you are into Once upon a Time apparently this building is a big deal for you and you might want to visit Steveston to go and see it.  Steveston is a little water village part of Richmond BC where they do a lot of movie filming. For me, I heart this lovely place near […]

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Snowstorm with packing peanuts

December 10, 2012

Friday morning I needed to pack for a trip up north and I got distracted by the UPS man and a big box of snow. It was so full that I could barely find the items I ordered inside the box with all the packing peanuts they had piled it with. Maybe I was hit […]

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Photo Friday: Denver Art Museum

December 8, 2012

I’ve been meaning to talk about this one for ages because it’s one awesome place for kids that shouldn’t be overlooked.  I never really thought about art museums as being super-kid friendly but I really love the kid-focused spots at our Seattle Museum has and thought we’d check out the Denver Art Museum when we […]

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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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Coal, Kale Chips and some cute cards at Trader Joe’s

December 5, 2012

Oh, I love coal at Christmas time! Trader Joe’s has such cool-looking coal and this one seems like it might even taste good-I wonder who on my naughty list is going to get to try it?  (Btw Is coal becoming obsolete?  You’d think Santa would start threatening old cell phone batteries or giant unusable computer […]

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Something to contemplate while you travel or maybe just sit in your car

December 4, 2012

The hubby always thinks I’m a little paranoid neurotic but strange things always happen to me.  Like today at Costco I was just sitting in the car while the kids napped and he ran in to pick up a few things when the car door opens and I’m like “wow you’re back…..whaa???!! The man getting […]

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Two simple star crafts you could probably make in the next 5 minutes

December 3, 2012

No grownup has any excuse for lousy snowflakes anymore.  And forget just regular snowflakes.  You can make star ones and they’re super easy. I just printed this out, folded and cut along the lines (okay, the cutting was a little difficult and some stars got sacrificed) and voila: instant epic snowflake! And unless you’re going […]

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