I HATE . . .

Taking the kids to Wal-mart . . . or grocery shopping period! It's just NEVER a pleasant experience. Wal-mart is the worst though. I think because it's SO big and takes longer. On Wed. I was practically in tears. The whole time the kids were fighting and Brooke would not stay in the front seat. She kept climbing in the back with Jace who would poke her and call her names - provoking screaming fits. Then she started opening everything in site so I started putting everything on the very bottom part of the cart but the slots were too far apart and the items would just fall through. I felt like screaming! I held Brooke for a while but she's starting to get heavy and holding Brooke & my purse while pushing a cart filled with a Jace and a ton of groceries was just too much. Finally I had Jace get out and walk . .which is a risky move because you never know if he's in the mood to just run off. Brooke climbed in the back of the cart just as, you guessed it, Jace took off. In hind site - I should have just grabbed Brooke and took off after Jace leaving the cart behind but instead I quickly just tried to catch Jace on my own who was not too far off. When I returned 10 seconds later I found Brooke cracking raw eggs all over everything in the cart and saying "Yum, these eggs looks a tasty!" That's when the tears started to well up and I had to make a decision. I could either drop it and just take the kids home leaving everything there or finish what I started. The first was very tempting but I realized that if I didn't get the grocery shopping done now I would just have to come back later.. .YUCK! I stuck it out and wiped down the egg mess - thank goodness for sanitizing wet wipes. We got home safely with the shopping done. Now that I'm not in the moment I can laugh at this experience. Back on Wed. it was no where near funny. There are pro and cons to having little ones as there is to everything in life. Shopping with them is a con. On a brighter note here are some of the pros:

Jace has taking a liking to building all sorts of houses and buildings with blocks. He's getting so creative! This one is his superhero castle with all sorts of bombs and boobitraps. He explained what everything is in extreme detail but I seem to have forgotten.

This time he built our house and added a guest house, a garbage can out front, a chimney, and a house for all of his grandpas & grandmas to live in right next door.

He is my little double dose super hero. Superman in the front and Batman on the back. After the grocery shopping fiasco on Wed. he has turned into such a sweet little guy. I guess he realized I can only take so much.

He has recently become interested in Meteors and space. Whenever he gets really interested in something we always "google it up" - just make sure and monitor any you-tube videos you allow your kids to watch. He was a little frightened when he came across meteors that turned into people eating space creatures. . . lesson learned.

He also rearranged his bulletin board on his own. Can you see it? I noticed this the other day and couldn't stop laughing. I had to show Craig.


Zoom in . . . up close. Yes, that is what you think it is. After talking to Jace, I discovered that I was apparently mistaken . . . this is a rocket ship NOT a tampon. lol! He and his friend Andrew went through an entire box of these but they saved one as a memento and put it on his special bulletin board.


Another Pro is that Brooke has become a 'BIG' girl. She is using the big girl potty all the time now. So far I have had her in big girl underoos for a full 24hours with no accidents (not including bedtime.) YIPPY!!! Chocolate M&M potty treats has been quite the incentive! I'm so proud of her.


All in all I think I'm pretty blessed even if I end up with bad trips to the grocery store.

P.S. We will be heading back there soon since yesterday morning Brooke climbed onto the counter and ripped apart both loaves of bread - throwing them on the floor and stomping on them. Wish me luck!

OMSI

This is the perfect place to take the kids during these long, rainy, northwest winters. Our favorite spot is the Science Playground. It's this giant room filled with fun activities for the little kiddos to do. At Sand Land they can play with buckets, shovels, sifters, and special activity panels to explore the physics of sand. At Waterworks they get to put on special waterproof aprons and boots before playing in giant tubs of water filled with toys and waterfalls. Another favorite area is Nature Play where they get to discover nature from an animals point of view. They can crawl through the roots of a giant tree, venture into a cave, play in a woodland stream, or perch themselves in the eagles nest. They have a place for building blocks, reading stories, doing puppet shows, a play area with buckets & pulleys, an area where they can put little plastic balls into clear suction tubes and watch as they twist and turn and make their way back. The kids really love putting them over the spot where the air is shooting straight up because it makes the balls look like they are magically flying. Last time we went they had flubber in the Discover Lab that the kids enjoyed playing with. It's just such a blast and it's always great to get out of the house. It's even more fun when we can talk our friends into joining us there. Thanks Genevieve! Jace thinks Nolan is super cool. He followed him around the entire time when we went last. Well, if I tried to explain everything about OMSI I'd be here all night so if you haven't gone - GO! I described one room but there is SO much more. It's in the most beautiful location too . . . right along the waterfront on the Willamette in downtown Portland, OR. We haven't even had time to check out the Submarine they have in the river out back. Good thing we have a season pass. It may take us all year to see everything we want to see. Here are some pictures of some of our trips there . .from 4 different occasions. Enjoy. . .

Me and the kids after 3 hours of playing at OMSI. Jace was mad he had to stand still to take a picture. Pretty view . .huh!

Genevieve and her boys + Karli.

The Science Playground Room.

Jace & Nolan climbing on a play set.

WATER WORKS

Jace & Brooke

Brooke in her cute red boots at Water Works.

Jace, baby Andrew, and Brooke playing in the water.

Look, Brooke found a turtle.

SAND LAND

Jace & Brooke having fun in the sand. This was on her 2nd birthday.

Jace & Nolan playing in the sand.

NATURE PLAY

DISCOVERY LAB

Jace,Brooke,& Gavin playing with flubber in the Discover lab.

Brooke really liked the flubber!

Brooke's castle.

Jace, Nolan, & Gavin putting on a puppet show . . .really I think they were just trying to scare each other with their Dragon puppets and ALL the other kids that got near them.

Jace's puppet show.

Brooke playing with 'magical' flying ball.

Jace getting ready to head into space.

The Earthquake House

Jace & Brooke in the back of OMSI checking out the views.
October 2009

The Submarine out back.

Views from the backside of OMSI.

January Snow

The second that Jace noticed it was snowing outside; he told me that snow is his "most favorite"! He hurried and put on his winter gear and headed outside to play. I sneakily watched outside the window and laughed at loud at how much fun he was having. He would run from one side of the yard to the other with his head looking straight up into the snowy white sky . .twirling and shrieking with childhood excitement the whole way. Brooke noticed what was going on as she usually is following Jace around and didn't want to be left out. She looked adorable in her little pink bunny suit and she liked tasting the snow. She uses her sense of taste more than most to discover her world. It cracks me up when I see that little tongue of hers peeking out to discover something new.

The Cupcake Process . . .

Jace and I have a weakness for cupcakes. - That is no secret! When Jace realized that we were having some friends come over for a New Year's Eve party he REALLY wanted to make cupcakes for them. I didn't mind appeasing his request since I was starting my New Year's Healthy Livin' Challenge the next day. . .with very limited amounts of treats aloud. So here is Jace's cupcake adventure:

First you mix up the batter . .

Then you taste a little on a spoon just to make sure it's 'just' right.

You put the batter in the cups and wait for them to bake.

Waiting is the very hardest part of the cupcake process.

You frost them and dip them in sprinkles . .then you taste one! Now everyone has their own way of eating a cupcake - Jace likes to lick all the frosting off first.

Mmmm . . . pure deliciousness!

Then you can lay back and enjoy . .

But don't forget to stick around for cleanup - sometimes cupcakes can be very messy!

The End

Craig's 'Caputo'

Craig is a food guy. His life revolves around 'good food' so naturally one of his favorite things to do is to dine out. Not that I'm a horrible cook or anything. Although, sadly my obsession with the Food Network and cooking has dwindled a bit. Craig lOVES food so much that whenever we travel anywhere he has already mapped out his 'eating schedule' of places that we have to hit before heading home. In Salt Lake City, Ut one of these locations is always Tony Caputo's Market & Deli creator of 'THE CAPUTO'. The Caputo is a sandwich . . apparently the most awesome sandwich in the world because it motivated Craig to go to the store, buy all the ingredients, and make one on his own. This is huge . .I mean I can count on one hand the number of dishes that Craig can make . .that is if you include toast, grilled cheese, and spaghetti from a can. Here is Craig's 'Caputo'. . .

Looks pretty good, huh. By the way, he made one for me too and it not only looked good - it tasted good too. If you would like to make your own Caputo the ingredients are as listed:

The Caputo $8.25 A taste of Cosenza Italy.
Prosciutto, mortadella, salami, provolone, lettuce, and tomatoes on a hard Italian roll covered with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

On to another 'food' story. Craig took me out on a date the other night. It was WONDERFUL! We tried out a fancy schmancy French restaurant in Portland, OR called Le Pigeon. It was really nice to have some time to ourselves just to talk without getting interrupted by kids. I had always heard that French food was good but I have to say that it is AMAZING . ..pricey but amazing. Instead of having the main dishes separate from the side dishes they layer everything in a small mountain of pure bliss with tastes that compliment each other in an exquisite way. Also, instead of having our own table they provided communal seating, so we visited with the couple seated next to us and had a very enjoyable experience. Good food and good conversation = a great date. Thanks sweetie!

It was fun to get dressed up. Photos courtesy of Jace.

P.S. if you are looking for a fun new place to try out . .. we highly recommend Le Pigeon!