things i'm diggin

sometimes things are sooo good you just need to share! here are some things i'm diggin this month:

Cinnamon Bun ice cream by Tillamook

Cinnamon bun ice cream with sticky bun dough, praline pieces and a sweet streusel swirl. not normally a flavor i would choose, but sounded so interested and is OH, so good! (if you click on the link...please disregard the nutritional info...just enjoy the goodness!!!!)

Deal a day sites

i admit...i'm addicted! these sites post a deal (or more) a day and it's like a frenzy because of the "limited" quantity! i'm guessing many of these items are discontinued, out of season or overstock - but they have some GREAT things. reminds me of sample sales at work - people line up for hours ahead of time to score some great deals! some of my faves include: babysteals.com (1 new deal each day), kidsteals.com (1 new deal each day), greenbabybargains.com (1 new deal each day), mamabargains.com (multiple deals throughout the deal, 1 at a time, random), hautelook.com (multiple events on high end brands every day for women, men, kids and home) and gilt.com (another high end site with multiple brands for women, kids, home and gifts...they also have a travel and mens site). if you decide you want in on the action - and haven't registered at hautelook or gilt, let me know because if can send you a link and i think we'll both score some cash if you decide to make a purchase! fair warning - these sites can be addicting...they have some great things to buy!

Relish Meal Planning Service

i read about this on another blog that i read regularly and let me tell you - it's pretty cool! every thursday, they have a new menu with 15 different options. lots of variety - veggie, kid friendly, quick, etc. i believe they also have a gluten free version. anyway...you choose the 4 meals you want to make that week (or more if you want) and then download the shopping list for the week and all the recipes. if you don't like the options for that week, you can look in the archives of hundreds of recipes and choose those. the feature that i think i like the best (besides the shopping list!) is that you can submit your own recipes and then select from those as well. i've entered many of my favorites and they format for you in just a couple of days. oh and you can also adjust for the number of people you are cooking for - 2, 4, 6 or 8 and it adjusts both the recipes and the shopping list. super cool and makes grocery shopping easy peasy and eliminates the nightly grind of what are we going to have for dinner. i am loving it and i haven't even fully utilized it on a regular basis.

Etsy

i'm sure that many of you know about this site of handmade goodness! i just love looking at all the inspiring things that are on here and have made several purchases. very cool to support the individual artist/crafter and get unique, often one of a kind goods in return! things i've purchased include prints for kellen's bedroom, birthday crown, superhero cape, baby announcements, customized notecards, maya's baby book, reusable produce bags, and a big brother to be shirt for k. you can save favorite items and favorite shops. there are thousands and thousands and oh so much eye candy! also lots of inspiration. i found the design for kellen's first birthday invites on etsy, then made them myself!

some things i have my eye on include: these sweet prints, these notecards (would look so cute to have a few framed!), this happy birthday banner, possibly these decals for maya's space, poms (although i think i can make them myself!), and this awesome stuffed digger. there is so much more...but i couldn't possibly list it all! watch out...etsy can also suck you in!

that is what i'm diggin - what are you diggin lately?

you who!

as i mentioned in the post below...we took the kids to a kids rock variety show at the kennedy school last month. it's called you who , and was started by a member of the decemberists who wanted something fun for parents and kids to do in portland. it is held the last sunday of every month and i highly recommend it. it was a great time! there was a face painter, a little art project (noodle and paper flower leis), and lots of dancing, music and fun. we fed the kellen before we went, but you can order pizzas and drinks and eat it in the ballroom. they have all the chairs and tables which are normally in there for the movies around the edge of the room.

before the main show there were two owls, which i think is their mascot, that came out and danced with the kids. kellen was not too sure about them. he wanted to look at them, but not too close! we weren't sure that he would let the lady paint his face, but he marched right up and asked for a tiger. so cute!

when the show started, a guy came out to introduce the various musical acts. he was dressed up in a french attire, spoke with a french accent and was carrying a baguette. he broke off a piece of the baguette and threw it at the crowd. where did it land? right at kellen's feet...but someone else grabbed it. after the next act, he threw another piece and lo and behold...that piece of bread landed at kellen's feet. this time he was not going to let someone else snatch it away from him. he gnawed away at that piece of bread the whole show and loved every bit of it. the next act, all the kids ran to the stage calling for pieces of bread and he threw it all out to the crowd. kellen looked up at us and said, "i already got my bread!". i think it may have been his favorite part of the show = the piece of bread that landed on the nasty floor! our baby girl was a trooper - she hung out in the ergo the entire time and we really didn't hear a peep from her. she even tolerated the ear plugs that made her look like a baby shrek!

our little camera sucks - the flash is so bright and washes everything out so bad...and i'm just too lazy to correct it right now! it's all i can do to get these posted! ha.

i see in may the dandy warhols are playing - maybe we'll have to check it out again. one thing to note - the final act was a little loud. they sell earplugs, but if you have a little one who is sensitive to sound...it might be a little too overwhelming. we actually ended up leaving a bit into the final act, mostly because we were way past naptime...but the loudness was a bit much at the end!

monthly project {four people times twelve} // february

we squeezed in a family foto on the last day of february! seems like such an easy task, but one that just doesn't happen unless you make it happen! it's too easy for one of the kids to be sleeping, to not have showered and be looking like crap or just not having the energy to wrangle two kids for a pictue.

these pictures were taken at mcmenamins kennedy school. we took the kids to a concert aimed at kids & parents called You Who!, which was very cool and requires a post of it's own. afterwards aaron and i ate pulled pork sandwiches from podnahs. the kids were both sleeping, so we picked them up to go and pulled into the parking lot of whole foods and enjoyed them! aaron loves pulled pork sandwiches - it's almost guaranteed that if there is one on the menu he'll order it!

kellen is really coming into his own - oh boy that boy is really learning how to push all the right buttons! he's so cute though and daily he does something that will just melt your heart. i taught him how to give eskimo and butterfly kisses - he thinks butterfly kisses are particularly funny. sometimes we'll be laying on his pillow before bed and he'll turn to face me real close with both of his hands on my face and rub noses. my heart becomes a puddle of goo right there!

oh and he started calling me mom this month. MOM! with attitude. mostly it's still mama or mommy, but every now and then it's MOM! or even sometimes Angie. seriously?! some of his favorite phrases include, "not right now!", "two more minutes" (even if we offer five! ie. bedtime in five minutes.), "more in there?"

this month our household was down and out with the flu and colds for about 2-3 weeks. it was bad! maya seemed to start things off with a slight fever and a little bit of throwing up. her case was MILD compared to kellen who started throwing up on a thursday and didn't stop until sunday. the kid is now skin and bones because he literally sustained on water/juice and applesauce for a week. aaron also got taken down by the virus and didn't emerge from our bedroom for about 36 hours. i don't know how i escaped (knocking on wood), but i did! let me tell you, it was a LONG week though. i thought it would never end. on one of the worst days when all three were sick, i think kellen watched 10 hours of sesame street. no mom of the year awards for that day!

sweet maya finally started laughing! kellen and i were being silly and dancing/singing to the freeze song and she busted out a little belly laugh. super cute! she had the one episode and hasn't done it since. i guess we havent' been funny enough. you know i'll pull out the freeze dance song again if that's what it takes for me to hear that giggle! she's still being SUPER stubborn about taking a bottle. aa says she laughs in his face and then gets pissed. we've tried many different kids, all with no luck. this makes for a stressed out mama who is going back to work part time in 2.5 weeks. makes my heart race just thinking about it.

it was my month to host book club this month. it gets even trickier in our small house with two kids to entertain, but we managed! aaron and kellen went over to visit uncle adam and baby bennett, while maya napped a bit and then enjoyed being held by all the ladies! i made brunch for dinner - spinach and pancetta strata and mushroom cheese frittata, along with bacon, fruit and my homemade cinnamon rolls. we discussed the movie the blind side and then had a gift exchange. kind of random to have a gift exchange, but we usually do one in december for the holidays and last december we decided to buy gifts for kids. we ended up missing the little gift exchange and decided to do it this month instead! fun to get a little gift randomly.

we had fun making heart sugar cookies with kellen on valentines day. he LOVED putting the sprinkles on. i attempted heart shaped pancakes but failed miserably! it doesn't work to just put the cookie cutter on the griddle and pour the batter in - the batter sticks to the cutter and the cutter gets HOT!

kellen went to the dentist this month and for the first time had his teeth actually cleaned! he did so good and we learned a few tricks that have been making our nightly teeth brushing and flossing routine go a little easier. now he just needs to learn to spit!

people are telling me that maya is starting to look more and more like me. not sure if it's true, but i'll take it!!

the BOB's still have not gone on sale at rei! errr!! i even went in and chatted up the sales people - they would just tell me that it would happen soon, but wouldn't give me a date. that was a few weeks ago!

it seems near impossible to get one good picture of the four of us! the first five pictures were self portraits and none were all that good. the second two were taken by andi and we just couldn't get both kids to look at the camera! we'll see if we have better luck next month. either way, i'm happy to have the pictures - imperfections and all!!!