The boys got this lovely Playmobil Ice Cream Man for their birthday and it is too cute. (I love it when Playmobil men have mustaches-don’t you?) But as I was putting it together, I realized that I know I’ve seen the ice cream somewhere before. Oh yes, it totally came in our advent calendars on […]
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When I travel, I wish I could just bundle up all the cute little shop windows I love and bring them back home. I feel like you get to know so much about a city when you see what the people who actually live in it advertise and buy. When I traveled to Paris a […]
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Every month I get a ton of magazines and one of my favorites is Sunset Magazine, so when a friend asked me to go berry picking a couple weeks ago, I thought it would be the perfect way to try out this recipe for a buttery raspberry lemon cake from the July issue. The boys […]
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Someone recently asked about good toys for a one year old. I’m all about value with toys, so here are five toys that have lasted nearly 3 years in our house: Vtech Sit-to Stand Alphabet Train: all boys seem to love trains and when they got this for their first birthday it was an instant […]
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It’s a good day when the hubby calls in a sandwich order and we find a perfect spot right out front of Paseo, a little Caribbean sandwich shop in Fremont, famous for roast pork sandwiches. If something ever happened to me, I know he could live off the Tofu Delight sandwich and survive happily for […]
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Right now the guys have three favorite books to read: Clifford’s Birthday Party, It’s my Birthday(My mom bought this last year when we went to Bainbridge Island at a cute little kids’ store) and Curious George and the Birthday surprise. Notice a trend? I went last minute online to add a couple more to the […]
Read MoreOn a trip to Hawaii a few years ago, we discovered a treat with a very odd name. Yes, it’s made of melons, but it just seems like an unfortunate sounding title for such a delicious ice pop (a friend recently told me it sounds like a skin disease.) But it must be popular in […]
Read MoreI guess these are the kinds of things you think about when your guys are almost four years old. I was at the park today and met a father who told me his kid was 21 months old-which sounded a lot like almost two years old and hearing this made me wonder when the hubby […]
Read MoreI love the Coal Harbour area of Vancouver, and on a recent trip, I bookmarked what I imagine would be THE BEST SPRAYPARK ever. It’s in the heart of the city, along a scenic seawall, and it has a yummy-looking restaurant nearby. What more could you want? I would love love love to go back […]
Read MoreI have had an unhealthy obsession with Target since I was a small child and my sister and I would roam the candy, toy and book aisles late at night on weekend trips from Vancouver to Bellingham. Back then it just seemed like the most heavenly store in the world-Target had EVERYTHING! I can still […]
Read MoreI. Hate. Cleaning. I don’t really know why I bother at all. Messes in a house with kids just seem to happen the minute you make things spotless and then you have to clean them up again and it’s such a vicious cycle that I think would be so much better if you just stopped […]
Read MoreOne thing my guys look for at every Seattle festival is the Center For Wooden Boats station. I think there was one at last year’s Folklife Festival and there was definitely one at the South Lake Union Block Party. (It’s happening in a few weeks on August 10th!) This year we built ours at the […]
Read MoreSo maybe it wasn’t quite 100 hours in Paris, but I did spend nearly 100 hours kid-free on the whole journey from the time I left the airport to the time my sweet boys all picked me up. So what does a stay at home mom set free into the big big world with her […]
Read MoreI thought we’d start the morning with patriotic pancakes, but the guys preferred the deconstructed version, so I was the only one in the family who actually ate a flag for breakfast. But the guys liked painting the “Statue of Liberty” and “Uncle Sam” masks we picked up at the Hobby Lobby a couple weeks […]
Read MoreA friend and I met for lunch with our kids at a local Panera Bread. It was noon so there weren’t a lot of free tables and it looked like any chance at a big table would take a long time. We took full advantage of this opportunity and plunked our kids down at one […]
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The boys are totally addicted to everything macaron, so I couldn’t help but squeal with glee when I found this lovely confection among the millions of macarons enticing shoppers in Paris. A chocoron. (English Translation: a heavenly macaron enrobed with chocolate). Oh and it was delightful. I wonder when we’ll start seeing these stateside. You […]
Read MoreSomewhere in between the big hugs, the ‘welcome home mommy’ banner and the “what did you bring me’s?” reality has set in. I’m back at home after my 100 hour journey and the guys are making it clear that re-entry will not be easy as long as they can help it. I caught a tinge […]
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Years ago I had a little bet with my husband: not a real bet, but an “incentive bet” because as a new mom there was a lot of pressure in all directions to nurse or not nurse your babies and I wasn’t sure exactly what I really wanted to do. So I declared that if […]
Read MoreNormally, I wouldn’t really tell anyone about this hobby. It’s not glamorous, like, say rock-climbing or scuba-diving in your spare time. But, it was too precious watching my guys find their first ‘geocache’ that I had to share. Yes, we geocache (sometimes and not always on purpose, and this was our first time since the […]
Read MoreI have a hunch that you’re definitely one person out there reading my daily gushings and rants, and I hope you’ve had a lovely day today. I’m thankful for all the wonderful memories I have growing up, but my fondest are of you reading to me. I think of them often-especially as I sit beside […]
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