happy halloween

halloween cookie decorating

Because what do you need two days before you are about to get a grip of candy?

Cookies, of course!

This year I made the cookie dough instead of buying the store-bought tube at the market. They rolled out, baked up, looked and tasted so much better.

Papa didn't come home until late because he had class but Katie wanted to make sure he knew which cookie she made for him.

So, we left him a message on his voice mail detailing specifically which cookie he should eat that night.

We took these at 10 p.m. so Katie could see her Papa eating the cookie she made just for him...

b.y.o.m.

Today I mowed the front lawn. I was pushing the mower to the backyard when Katie comes bolting out of the house.

"No, Mama can you please leave it like a jungle a little longer?"

So, if you're coming over you've been forewarned. And, don't forget: Bring Your Own Machete.

great day in the bay

When surfing around looking for things to do in the Bay Area, I stumbled upon some one's Top 5 List for toddlers.

The Bay Area Discover Museum was listed first and I have to confer (we've done a lot in the Bay Area with the kids in the past year) this place was just plain great.

There wasn't anything Katie couldn't do there. And, there was a lot for Maddie to do as well which was really fun for someone who generally gets strapped into a stroller, Ergo, etc.

There was just so much to do there.

There were two different outside rivers to play in.

Real crappy view in the background, right?

And, a mini-version of The Bridge.

There was an entire art building where the kids loved a series of glass walls which they could paint, spray water on, squeegee off and start over again and again.

There are five plus buildings each with a different theme, and at least four plus outside areas for the kids to explore.

This building had a bunch of little coves to relax in. The big bonus: you lie on what are essentially water beds, and above you in the ceiling are actual fish swimming around.
We will definitely return to this place.

embarcadero with the girls

You already know I miss the City. Yesterday I took the Little Wickies to the Embarcadero. We took the train which was a big adventure for them.

Meandering kids in the Financial District are few and far between. But, there aren't a whole lot of toddler-walkable areas near BART to chose from.

We saw Mama's old building.

(picture by Katie)

Unfortunately, they were already constructing the ice rink and there was no place for them to run around at Justin Herman Plaza.

We had some chowder in a bread bowl,

then crossed the street to explore the Ferry Building.

We walked out onto a couple of different piers and took in the sites.

It was hot -- a rarity in the City.

We walked back through some of the Financial District and picked up cookies at one of Mama's favorite old haunts -- Specialty's.

Katie posed with a trolley.

She really wanted to get on and take a ride. I explained we had a stroller and couldn't board the trolley -- although, someone straight refused to get in the stroller...

so we pretty much didn't need to bring it anyway.

Nothing like having a bunch of suits stare at you as you strap your screaming kicking baby into the stroller before descending down to BART to go home.

the family that travels in space together

stays together, right?

This weekend we headed up to the Bay Area to visit some family. We grubbed on Korean BBQ and toured the live crabs, lobsters, fish and more at the local Ranch 99.

Later, we met up with Lyndsay to explore the Chabot Space & Science Center.

Got a little too close to the sun.

Looked at the moon and sun.

We get to the kids discovery area and Papa says, "Hey, can you watch Maddie for a minute?"

I look up and this is what he's doing.

Like he doesn't already spend every day looking through a microscope.

What a (cute) nerd!

acute hearing

Background: Papa has been ticking Mama off at every turn during the day, physically and metaphorically poking her every chance he gets.

Scene: The car -- Papa and Mama in the front seat, girls in the back.

Papa (laughing and under his breath): So I probably don’t have a chance tonight do I?

Mama (glaring at him but under her breath): No, probably not.

Katie (piping in from the back seat): Papa why don’t you get chances? You don’t get any chances!

sneak peak

roar!

sqaure food was so yesterday

Clockwise starting with "Meats & Beans" -- some chicken and two beans; apple, grapes and a kiwi; milk (duh); peas; bread, pasta and rice.

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Separately:

I ran today.

Sadly what motivated me was the fact that I have to be in a bathing suit tomorrow for Maddie’s swim class. Rationally I know running will:

A) not make me look remotely skinnier in less than 24 hours

B) not cancel out the candy bars, cowboy cookies, Pringles and other crap I consumed earlier in the week.

Alas, I run because the rational world is way over rated and -- a girl can always hope.

just singing and dancing in the...

rain doesn't happen all that often in Southern California.

In fact, it's practically a novelty.

Today we walked home from school and sang and danced our little hearts out just as Gene would have.

passed out

...breastfeeding white bear.

lewis & clark ain't got nothing on us

Today we went and saw a stage performance of Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny.

After the show, we stayed and had lunch outside the theatre.

Then, we explored the theatre/city hall building which happen to be one in the same.

We sat in just about every chair we could find.

We hung out by the fountain.
Then, we took the glass elevator to every floor we could and poked around in random nooks and crannies.

We picked some select flowers.

We jumped.

We found random rocks in planters.

We climbed on everything.

Explore theatre/City Hall ... check.

big papa's b-day

Katie wanted to have a party for Papa. She was also insistent on wearing her Cinderella costume.

Hence, we had a prince party for Papa today.

This week was a flurry of coloring, cutting, pasting and gluing to make decorations and a prince costume for Papa complete with shield, sword, crown and cape.

Katie was adamant about the cape. She even brought out her beloved reference guide/Bible (a.k.a. her Disney book) to show me how Prince Philip wore one.

We put Katie's big albeit appropriate dragon costume on Maddie and voila...

We played princely games.

And colored some princess coloring pages.

Katie and Papa created other games to play with the shield like throwing Memory pieces at each other.We played out back.
Including "tunnel," a current favorite of Maddie.

Happy Birthday Prince Papa. We love you so much and more.