I like wood

My eldest son Em is turing the big 3 soon and the Hubs and I have decided that we should try our hardest to avoid buying toys that are Made In China and are made of plastic. We are focusing on wooden toys. We know that family and friends are going to find it very hard to avoid buying gifts for his birthday. Grandma's you know who you are!!! As fun as it is for the kids to receive gifts, it is pretty fun for us to buy them; the toys are as much for me as they are for the boys. You know what I mean. There are so many different, creative (non-Chinese) companies producing such innovative designs in wood. In fact, there are so many wooden toys that are made right here in the USA. Why not try and support our own companies for a change? Novel idea, I know.



Well, this year I am aiming for unfinished, un-dyed, un-oiled wood toys. Maybe all of that equals Un-Fun, I don't know. All I know for certain is that I have donated bags and bags full of broken, plastic, possibly toxic toys from China. And I haven't parted with one toy that has been made of wood. I want the toys I purchase today, to last long enough for our other children tomorrow.



Just a note, I have been eyeing a dollhouse that uses non-toxic paint, but am aiming for unfinished toys. The main goal is to buy toys not made in China and not made of plastic. Because although we have restrictions here in the USA for the use of pthalates in our children's food containers, we don't regulate for, say, baby teethers and toys that kids will inevitably place in their mouths. They still contain harmful chemicals.

If any family members are intersted, I've made a wish-list for Em's birthday and you can find it here:
http://www.kangarooboo.com/for/StudioFlohr/wish/KPBJE

Byyyyye The Way

It is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. See for yer'self. And marrrrrghhhk it on yer calendarrrghs for next year. Arrrgh.

Gorgeous Weather at the San Diego Zoo

This morning the boys and I met up with our friend Shanna and her son Maz and daughter Ava for a trip to the zoo. We live a little over a mile from such a gorgeous destination, we are so lucky! The boys are close in age and they had a blast with each other. Em seemed especially interested in the snakes and Maz showed us where the turtles, frogs and lizards hang out (such boys!); we had never seen those on our previous trips.

For all the parents out there who have ventured into the world of more-than-one-kid it is certainly a handful more than before! A true balancing act at the least. At this point in time both Shanna and I have infants and toddlers. So we basically do what the toddlers want to do because the infants just really don't care much. I know there will be a time in the near future where the concept of taking turns, sibling rivalry and "mine!" come into play. Heck, we've already mastered the, "DON'T TOUCH ME, Evs!!" or "he's DROOLING on ME, get it off ohhhhh yuck" etc...

Keep in mind the little one is barely 8 months.

I suspect future visits to the World Famous San Diego Zoo are going to be filled with splitting time between who wants to see what exhibit first, many more stop touching me's and the boys running from snake to snake, turtle to turtle and frog to, you guessed it, frog.

Vegas Art Expo

The Hubs just left for another art show, of sorts. This one is the Las Vegas Art Expo. It is a schmooz-fest for artists, publishers, buyers, galleries but on a GIANORMOUS scale. Usually the Hub's work is represented at the New York Art Expo, but for the past two years, he has been keeping it closer to home. It is always interesting seeing the new work that is out on the scene, the familiar and of course there are the folks that try to knock-off another well-known artists work. This happened to an artist friend of ours. Not only was his work being sold at a kiosk in the same vicinity where his home gallery was, the replicas were featured in a well known home-goods catalog called "Horchow". From time to time I'll ask my husband if he is nervous that someone will try to knock-off his signature style and he says, "they can try to copy what I have already done, which would be quite challenging, but they'll never be able to know what I am going to do in the future". What an optimist! I tell you, I love that man. And you will too, check out his work.

Doesn't this sound Dee-lish?

I was searching for a good lavender honey ice cream recipe using a lavender simple syrup I have that you can buy, but I found this instead.
Way less fattening.

Lavender Vodka Tonic

1 tablespoon lavender simple syrup

2 ounces of vodka

6 to 8 ounces of tonic water.

Combine the lavender syrup and the vodka in a cocktail shaker and shake with plenty of ice.

Strain into an ice-filled highball glass.

Top off with tonic water and stir before drinking.

Meme

Ms. Domestic Reflections aka Jora tagged me with a fun meme. Drumroll, please:

What are the last three things you purchased:
1. A Veggie Burrito from El Zarape
2. A pair of white Jack Purcell shoes by Converse
3. A new Dr. Hauschka pressed face poweder to replace my old one

What are the last three songs you downloaded:
1. Somewhere Only We Know (Keane)
2. I like to move it (Zoo Gang)
3. The Hokey Pokey (Sha Na Na)

What are the last three places you visited?
1. Julian, CA
2. Laguna Beach, CA
3. San Francisco, CA

What are your three favorite movies?
1. Fletch
2. Frida
3. Manhattan (my first kiss with my husband)

What are your three favorite possessions?
1. My sanity
2. My lingerie
3. My house

What are three things you can't live without?
1. My family
2. Lipstick
3. Soft, downy pillows

What would be your three wishes?
1. To live in Rome with my family
2. Stop people from being so greedy, it has brought ruin to our world
3. Health and Happiness for my children

What are three things that you have not done yet?
1. Learned to play the banjo
2. Owned a Spider Monkey
3. Biked the entire distance of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route

What are your 3 favorite dishes?
1. Black-eyed Peas, okra and cornbread
2. Lemon cake from Crumbs of Paris
3. Hearts of Palm salad from La Frite (in Sherman Oaks)

What 3 celebrities would you want to hang out with most?
1. Steve Martin
2. Natalie Portman
3. George Clooney (purely for comedy)

If you could describe yourself in 3 words what would it be?
1. Resilient
2. Pensive
3. Goofy

What are 3 things you are currently coveting?
1. Road Trips
2. An Airstream (ditto Jora I've been keeping my eyes peeled)
3. A bigger house

Name 3 things you are unusually good at.
1. Cooking
2. Figuring mechanical things out
3. Talking with my mouth closed

What 3 bloggers would you like to tag?
David Patrone
Jennifer
A mom two boys

Obsessed

Em loves trains, so we set up a small train table at Grandma and Grandpa's house. There is so much to explore in their home filled with collected treasures but the train table seems to be a favorite. Oh, did I mention the swimming pool? If we strap on a life vest, Em jumps in and swims on his own. Needless to say he capital L loves going over to his Grandma and Grandpa's. I'm so glad we live in the same town. Wish we could be so close to all of our relatives.

New Day

Okay, I've had a fairly restful night's sleep. Only up twice to feed Evs. Darn that regression! Anyhow, I've had my cup of coffee, albeit decaf, and I put a load of laundry in. My perspective is better today and the house actually looks clean, huh? Could it be the daylight, or do we really have "house fairies"? Will ponder further...

Can't Stand the Clutter

I am going crazy trying to deal with the clutter and lack of things getting picked up in my home. Two kids can wreck the house pretty easily, but I have a feeling it is partly the adults in this homestead who are at fault. Somehow no one seems to know that we do not have a "clutter fairy" who magically picks up all things left out, and throws them away, or returns them to their proper place. Items do not "levitate" back to their destination. Laundry is not miraculously washed, dried, folded and put away. Yes, I've had a really hard day. I would really like to have an estate sale where most items have a sales tag on them. I crave simplicity, cleanliness and a personal masseuse who comes bi-weekly. Ack, the clutter. Do children really need 100+ toys? I'm thinking no, they do not. So maybe if I have 3 more garage sales, we will be at peace.
That or a bigger house.
Wish me luck

Meal Plan for the Week or How to Get Rid of Canned Food in a Cluttered Pantry

Okay, I have accumulated WAAAY to much canned food since I expanded our pantry, so this week, my goal is to actually use it!
What on Earth? Yes, I will use up the Black-Eyed Peas, that I fetishize and the low sodium diced tomatoes. The 12 pack of baked beans that I purchased at Costco are history baby! Garbonzo beans, black beans, cannellini beans...ALL HISTORY!
Here is the plan. Wish me luck and stop by for dinner if you are in the 'hood...

DONE! Veggie Tacos with garbonzo's lime and avocado. Sides of black beans and rice

Hoppin' John with black-eyed peas, mustard greens, diced tomatoes and andouille sausage. Side of corn bread

Veggie Fried Rice, with edamame, red pepper, tofu and scallions

Organic Chicken Tikka-Masala. Side of rice and zucchini with lentils

Nicoise Salad, tuna, eggs, cannellini beans, olives etc... and a quinoa salad

DONE! Basil-turkey burgers, sans bun. Side of baked beans and beet salad (or roasted beets, carrots and more).

Homemade hummus, dolmas, roasted red pepper, feta in basil leaves, parsley, pita and tzatziki.

Homemade red bean ice cream

Lunch:
Carrot ginger soup
Wraps
Fruit
Crackers and cheese
leftover madness.