The Best Train Video!

The best train video on You Tube! Anders could watch this all day!!

If you have a small boy in your house this will be a hit. Anders calls this the "monorail video". Although it is all about trains.  Have fun!

Ricey Hordy!

Anders love horsey rides (riding on Chris' or my back). The best part about them is when he asks for a "Ricey Hordy"....  Who could say no to that!

I Am Second

I just had to share this amazing link. There is an add campaign in North Texas with the words "I am second". This is spreading and the website is worth taking a look at. It's compelling, moving and I couldn't not share it.

Here is the link.

The last couple of days I have been decompressing from a fantastically fun sleepover with my friend Rachel and her two little ones.  It was wild but worth it! 

Anders and 4 year old Jett spent a lot of the time sliding down the hill in front of our apartment and getting filthy. Did I ever mention that I have a hard time letting Anders get muddy? Well, yes I do and it probably has something to do with having light carpet. It was all very therapeutic.

  I was also able to observe the vast difference between boys and girls when 2 and a half year old Liberty wanted to quietly play inside or push her stroller around while the boys tore it up. So different!

I had to include a few pictures of the event. 

10 Things That Make Me Squirm

1. Being called "Suzy Homemaker". It's usually used as a compliment but there is a ring of sarcasm attached to the title. (I don't consider myself the above title but have been called that once or twice when discussing some recipe or other "homey" thing I've done.)

2. Rereading posts and finding words that spell check didn't find because it was spelled right but was the wrong spelling for the meaning.... i.e. "Passed" vs. "Past". (I usually post at night when I am least functional.)

3. Hangnails

4. Tucked in sheets. They make me feel claustrophobic.

5. Being told what to do. This is a bit of a character flaw on my account. Growing up one of my favorite phrases when one of my parents tried to give some valuable instruction was "I KNOW-A!" I now know how little I "know-a".

6. This relates to number five. Reading the word "explain" in a book. I used to skip over this word intentionally due to my dislike of it but would revel in the word "exclaim". Especially if it was followed with an exclamation mark.

7. Unpacked boxes

8. Claymation (although it's less detestable to me now that I have a child.)

9. Pilly old blankets with cartoon characters on them hanging in windows like a curtain.

10. Intricate technological jargon.

WWF Toddler Smackdown

Gus and Anders had a pretty serious wrestling match the other night. It was the most fun Anders has had for a while although he ended up with a big scratch on his neck and Gus had a slight black eye the next morning. Neither of them complained. 

Read To Me

Happy Valentines Day!

Little Biker

Out On The Town

Thanks to my friend Alicia and her willingness to not only babysit but to spend the night, Chris and I were able to have one of the best dates that we have had in I don't know how long. 

The best part about our date was that we didn't have to rush back at any certain time. To me this was the biggest relief due to my obsessive people pleasing/time conscience issues. We started out our evening by going to a Tai run, foot reflexology/massage establishment where we sat in huge leather chairs while very strong and very capable ladies chopped, rubbed and pressure pointed the stress out of us for a full hour. All for 25 dollars a person! The price couldn't be beat and we had previously bought coupons so we didn't have to fork over any dough except to give a tip to the very hard working masseuses.

Then it was on to Brother's Sushi where our sushi chef fixed us up with some of the nicest most tasty cuts of ahi, toro, salmon, scallops (for Chris), and albacore. Normally I am not a fish person. I do not like anything that tastes fishy. But there is something magical about really good raw fish. It's like eating an amazing fillet mignon. It melts in your mouth and the flavors of wasabi, toasted sesame, lemon, soy sauce, ponzu sauce and sea salt are added to compliment the fish.  The great thing about sushi is that it is such clean fresh food. It's not heavy or fatty or too sweet or saucy. It's rich but it doesn't make you feel overly full. The fish along with the hot Saki and Sapporo was almost too good to be true.

 

After an amazing dinner we headed out to find a movie worth our Costco movie passes. We ended up seeing Coraline in 3-D at a theater in Simi Valley. The movie itself was pretty creepy and I wasn't a huge fan just due to personal taste. Chris and I both were slightly disturbed. The animation was brilliant and it was really fun to watch a whole movie in 3-D since the technology has come so far and it was extremely realistic as far as claymation goes.  Oh, and did I mention the generous scoop of Ben and Jerry's cookie dough ice-cream that we partook of before the movie...?

Of course it was past midnight when we started home but we decided to take advantage of our community Jacuzzi when we returned home. As we dashed out of the apartment into the 46 degree night I did have some reservations. The night was really foggy and damp from rain but we managed to make it into the water without getting too chilled. The getting out part was the worst and it was the most cold I have been since my days in Canada. We were almost blue from the cold by the time we shivered inside. (I know this sounds wimpy to my family in colder climates, but we are pretty thin blooded here in California.)

The best part of the evening was knowing that Anders was having fun with "licia" while we were able to run, foot loose and fancy free all over town. 

I guess that this is a little taste of what we will get next month when my grandparents and parents take Anders for a few nights so we can celebrate 3 years of marriage. Except then we'll get to sleep in after making it to the 10:30 movie!

Rainy Day

Today was especially fun due to a steady down pour of rain that lasted all day. It was a great time for Anders to try out his new rain boots and stomp in every puddle. Of course they didn't keep him dry. He ended up falling in a big puddle and got soaked from head to toe. Oh well. 

After our walk in the rain we came inside and had "hot cocoa" (cocoa mixed with milk). Later in the afternoon he watched the rain from our patio and played inside with  his train set. This was great because I was able to curl up and read for a little while. 

The best part of the day was talking to daddy on the phone.

Last night at dinner our boy was playing with two bendy straws and using them as drumsticks. When the straw bent he freaked out and gave it to Chris to "fix". Chris un-bent the straw and handed it back. Anders had a look of pure surprise and happiness on his face and was convinced that it was "MAGIC".  

I have to say it is very entertaining to have a child who thinks that if something is lost you can reach into his ear to find it and that the smallest novelty is magic. Life is good at two.

Selective Memory

If I'm not mistaken this picture was taken on Christmas eve 2005 the day before Chris proposed to me. I guess I blocked out the memory 0f his hair style....

So, today Anders and I ventured back to our local library. We haven't been since November mostly because I owed some fine money and wasn't able to cough up the six dollars (or so I though) at the time. 

It turned out that I owed nineteen dollars! Whoo hoo! Uggg....

 Anyways we had a blast as usual and Anders saw a little boy named Tristan who we see at the park and at M.O.P.S. They had fun running around and acting silly while we tried to "shush" them.

I love our library but not as much as the library that I grew up with. At my hometown library, the librarians were always helpful, liked kids and had some fun event or activity going on almost throughout the whole year. The books were always well stocked and the room was fairly sound proof and removed from the rest of the library.

This library is very nice and mostly friendly although I have been told to "quiet down" a couple of times. :0} It is a bit more echoey and I can't seem to find all of the good classic books. I'm still acclimating myself to the new environment.

The big highlight for me was sitting in a little chair and reading to Anders while the other two little boys ran around like wild banshees. The moms were amazed that he sat so still and was so interested in the book! I'm happy to have a son who loves to be read to and who is genuinely interested in books.

For the month of February I'll have this new Valentines template up compliments of "The Cutest Blog On the Block". 

Econimizing And A Review

So, in my quest to simplify, economize and generally spend less on things, I bit the bullet and found the least expensive makeup foundation I could find. I had run out of my other options which ranged from a fairly expensive Bare Minerals powder foundation to the very inexpensive before shipping E.L.F. foundation. Trying to economize I went online to by the latter and found that after shipping it really wasn't worth it.

 

Later that day I went to my local Alberstons and looked through all of the choices. I settled on a Cover Girl clean makeup in natural beige. It was a little over 5$ (great price in my opinion!).  It looked a little too pink in the bottle but it was the closest I could find to my shade. It has done the job and so far no one has commented that my face has a pinky glow to it. 

The down side to this brand was that there were so few options of colors and the colors that they did have were less natural looking in the bottle. But the price was right and it is smooth and creamy and easy to apply.