tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112189372012-01-29T20:31:01.320-08:00Our journey through life with the twinados, adopted from China in 2006.M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.comBlogger12181100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-28330597330371718112012-01-19T19:41:00.001-08:002012-01-20T08:17:00.327-08:00

At the start of the weekend, TubaDad informed me that he was taking Monday off so we’d all have a long weekend together. I was momentarily stunned by this good news, then immediately proposed we use up an old giftcard for a hotel in Monterey and get the heck out of dodge. A simple internet booking later, we were all set. And it was lovely. And free. We had dinner out at a fancy restaurant, where

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-32409345989821903412012-01-10T22:27:00.001-08:002012-01-22T10:01:03.463-08:00

In honor of upcoming Chinese New Year (January 23) and the exciting fact that this will be the year of the dragon, I’m reposting pictures and instructions for the awesomely fun dragon cake we made for the girls’ birthday. This thing is foolproof (really, truly -- I am NOT a baker or cake decorator by any stretch of the imagination) and you can make your dragon as big or as small as you want – use

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com41tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-25627210702168537602012-01-09T19:47:00.001-08:002012-01-09T19:51:44.544-08:00

Usually homework is kind of a bad word around these parts. Ro and Ree would rather do ANYTHING else, even (gasp) clean up or eat vegetables, and I have to admit that I don’t love homework time either. But this one assignment they had to do tonight was hilarious. Well at least I thought so. Here’s Ree’s: And here’s Ro’s: Oh my gosh, they KILL me!! PS: For the record, I have picked them

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-35820414082712484702012-01-08T20:27:00.001-08:002012-01-08T20:30:06.890-08:00

The girls love going on walks. They’d go on one every day if their mama wasn’t so dang lazy we could. Ro likes to look at me pointedly and say “I’m ready for my daily walk!” which always tickles my funny bone. Sometimes I print out a little scavenger hunt to spice things up. Here was today’s: I just made the doc in MS Word, so I can easily change things out on a whim. We learned today that it’

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-48759504787250948662012-01-04T15:51:00.001-08:002012-01-04T16:33:46.117-08:00

Packed up all the Christmas decorations today and found an old box of Christmas Crackers that we didn’t use again this year (it was either from last year or maybe even the year before), so I let the girls detonate them all before throwing them in the trash. They adored the pops and little paper crowns, but were even more thrilled to find this funny magic game in one of the crackers. I’d never

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-30699113948265182362012-01-01T13:49:00.001-08:002012-01-02T17:29:11.561-08:00

We just weren’t up for our big annual New Year’s Eve party this year, so we invited one of the girls’ friends (and her family) over for dinner and had a wonderful low-low-key celebration. Fun stuff. We had yummy steaks that TubaDad grilled, lots of wine and Martinelli’s sparkling cider, an abundance of chocolate stuff, the bubble-wrap stomp, glow-stick building, banner creation, 2012 word

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-7551224444441487052012-01-01T13:23:00.001-08:002012-01-01T13:23:56.993-08:00

Saw this fun idea on the internet and the girls were dying to make it. Just draw snowman faces on marshmallows with food-safe markers, put a bed of “snow” (whipped cream) on top of the hot cocoa, then place the snowmen and any accessories on top. Cheers!

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-25425945804551515972012-01-01T13:19:00.001-08:002012-01-01T13:19:35.996-08:00

3 Minute 3 Ingredient Mint Fudge (1) 14 oz can condensed milk (1) 12 oz package of semi sweet chocolate chips. (1) 10 oz package of Hershey’s mint chocolate chips (could also use Andes crème de menthe chips) Garnish of crushed candy canes or peppermint candies Instructions: 1. In a bowl combine the chocolate chips and mint chips 2. Add condensed milk and mix. 3. Microwave

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-42625805484397344232011-12-25T18:38:00.001-08:002011-12-25T23:29:18.178-08:00

Hope your holidays are merry and bright. We lit the luminaries at my folks’ house last night like we have for decades. It’s always a fun time with family, friends, and neighbors. I think we started the tradition when I was around the girls’ age. And have done it ever since.: Now all the “kids” have kids: Afterwards, TubaDad and I easily finished up our last-minute Santa duties because the

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-59937129476303364762011-12-24T09:11:00.001-08:002011-12-24T10:07:46.691-08:00

On tap for today: showers for everyone (oh the glamour), final gift wrapping (each girl is wrapping the gift she picked out for her sister), then over to my folks’ house for Christmas Eve festivities. Oh, and of course, the Norad Santa tracker is up on the computer all day: We also greatly enjoyed the reindeer cam this season. Cutest site ever! Santa pops in every once in a while to feed

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-28182963642912310092011-12-23T20:45:00.001-08:002011-12-24T08:37:44.285-08:00

Have you heard of Ley de Memoria Histórica (the Law of Historical Memory)? Well I hadn’t either. Until, that is, my cousin emailed me about it. Basically it’s a temporary Spanish law that allows grandchildren of Spanish citizens to recover their Spanish citizenship without a residency requirement. Well shoot, who wouldn’t want dual citizenship – that could come in handy in so many ways. So la

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-35460718435117194902011-12-17T10:35:00.001-08:002011-12-17T12:36:12.107-08:00

Finally got “the money shot.” They told Santa they each want a “life-sized Mulan doll.” (Does that even exist? Gah!) And just because I enjoy the trip through memory lane (although it actually hurts – seriously real pain – to see them growing before my eyes), here’s our collection of Santa shots, cut and pasted from older posts. Mouseover any pic to see who’s who. 2010 ~ 5 years old

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-15526156312209285142011-12-14T13:59:00.001-08:002011-12-16T16:14:52.673-08:00

Maybe we’ll try to squeeze it in this week. Need to add that authentic mall-Santa picture to our collection. The girls did visit Macy’s to drop Santa a little note, however. And in case he needs more clarification, Ro penned this: Hope Santa comes through with something spectacular...

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-33155858052517750642011-12-04T10:18:00.001-08:002011-12-04T10:19:34.544-08:00

Ro decided to make cookies last night while Ree was playing with her baby dolls, so we pulled out our sugar cookie recipe and she went to town. Later (as expected) Ree saw the sprinkle fun and begged to get in on things. Little peeps did a good job, and everyone (even Chippey, apparently) enjoyed cookies for breakfast this morn. PS: Another Elf on the Shelf question for you: Does your elf’s hat

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-23028628012405056022011-12-02T09:42:00.001-08:002011-12-02T09:42:57.783-08:00

Only 23 days left until the big day, and our house is looking mighty festive with a decorated tree, garland and ornaments on the stairs, wreath on the door, and of course lights around the eaves. My folks came over the other night and helped us put up them up. The girls spent the evening trying to climb to the top of the forbidden ladder, singing as loudly as they could, and attempting to sneak

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-14143934002665535092011-12-01T11:41:00.001-08:002011-12-01T19:18:30.211-08:00

I’ve put a whole lotta mamahours into this here blog and heard an awful lot of horror stories about blogs being hacked, deleted, etc. So I faithfully back up my blog every month. There’s actually a calendar reminder set to pop up on the 1st of each month and remind me to do the previous month’s backup. Anyhow, I’ve got it stored in two ways, because I’m paranoid like that (you should see how we

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-17521896848430574692011-11-30T20:17:00.001-08:002011-11-30T22:43:37.933-08:00

Ree (left) and Ro are absolutely enamored of the new Christmas movie "An Elf's Story." Here they are watching it for the (cough cough) fourth or fifth time and holding up their own beloved elf (renamed Chippey in honor of the movie) so he gets to experience the joy too: If your kids haven’t seen An Elf’s Story yet, CBS will show it again on the 9th, so check your listings and set your

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-80887652106672015492011-11-23T22:14:00.001-08:002011-11-23T23:38:06.501-08:00

We just finished mixing up our Pumpkin Dump Cakes for tomorrow, one for my mom’s house and one for our cousins’ house, and didn’t even look at the time until we popped them in the oven. Gah! They have to bake for at least an hour. Gah again! At least the girls had fun whipping them up. Since we were making two cakes, they each got to do everything in their very own bowls and pans. They are

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-687470857360752692011-11-18T19:45:00.001-08:002011-11-18T19:45:07.602-08:00

Little sweeties were definitely a bright spot on a rainy, cloudy day. Well them and the hugomungo shopping spree I finally went on for myself. Yes that’s right, I actually went to a mall and didn’t come home with a single little-girl item of clothing. Everyone who knows me is gasping in surprise right about now. Caught Ree in the middle of a smug little smirk: And caught Ro in the middle

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-24833617187106981162011-11-17T20:25:00.001-08:002011-11-17T20:51:21.199-08:00

Cheers and Happy Friday (a few hours early). PS: They always make me smile with their eclectic clothing choices and sometimes the camera practically begs me to capture their feisty fashion on film. Heh. This morn Ro put together a fun outfit with a new sweater and shirt from Children’s Place, a silver bubble skirt from the J.Crew outlet, striped grey and white spring leggings, and last year’s

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-79342113680716968812011-11-15T20:58:00.001-08:002011-11-15T21:25:49.904-08:00

So what do you guys know about home espresso machines? We’re looking to purchase one and the choices, options, and price differences are kind of mind boggling. We want something that will make a good (dare I ask for foolproof?) latte. Any machines or features out there that are universally beloved (or hated)? And because my family gets riled about any posts without pictures, here are a few

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-72016652162010322492011-11-12T14:39:00.001-08:002011-11-12T16:35:36.776-08:00

TubaDad traveled a really, really long time to get home from Asia today (or yesterday I guess), and Ree and Ro were delighted to see him this morning. And they were delighted to eat cookie dough, as is our tradition on Daddy Comes Home day. I found a new recipe that doesn’t use eggs and thought it was just begging to be eaten raw. So we whipped it up. And they sampled away (those bulging

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-86636364188161144162011-11-11T11:31:00.001-08:002011-11-11T11:36:27.905-08:00

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-66914692768391753232011-11-09T21:10:00.001-08:002011-11-09T21:42:41.789-08:00

Ro and Ree are two very different little girls, of course. I know that. But I’m still just tickled to find obvious physical differences between them. Remember back in October I posted that they scooter with different legs? (Ree pushes with the left leg, while Ro pushes with the right one). Well that made me curious about other stuff. So I grabbed the camera and asked them to indulge me in a

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-86642207588182859092011-11-04T09:07:00.001-07:002011-11-04T20:34:38.622-07:00

Mmmm, mmm, I’ve been craving this soup ever since I happily stumbled upon it at Sweet Tomatoes one lucky day. It’s a delicious, mild little ginger broth, with a boatload of things to sprinkle in it. And every time I visit Sweet Tomatoes now, I run to the soup bar to see if it’s one of the featured soups again. And it NEVER is. Pfffft. That’s okay, now I can make it myself. This little recipe is

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-75959273440760320602011-11-03T15:21:00.001-07:002011-11-03T15:21:32.866-07:00

The girls have a couple of fun, light coats that are perfect for our barely-chilly-but-still-counts-as-fall weather, but they don’t yet have winter coats. Has anyone seen any cute ones that we should look at? PS: I wrote who’s who in the alt tags, so mouseover if you’re curious

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-19763895033215628382011-10-31T12:02:00.001-07:002011-10-31T12:02:06.146-07:00

Isn’t it fun seeing all the neighborhood and school kids dressed in their Halloween finery? The wild array of costumes just makes me grin. This year Ro is a frost fairy and Ree is a magical mermaid. They picked their costumes out of catalogs ages ago and never wavered. Have a wonderful night of trick or treating. We’ve got a costume parade at school this afternoon, an early

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com38tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-45997038202430008702011-10-30T15:34:00.001-07:002011-10-30T15:35:20.870-07:00

Swung by Trader Joe’s to get Ro and Ree’s mochi ice cream fix and spotted some enticing-looking pumpkin pancake mix. Well you know that box vaulted right into our cart. Feasted on them this morn. One word: yum!!! Like warm pumpkin bread in a pancake shape. Delish. I hope this isn’t just a seasonal thing that TJ’s will stop carrying in a month or two. Might need to stock up! Ro likes them

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-90705496889860052322011-10-29T21:00:00.001-07:002011-10-29T21:09:43.568-07:00

Yeah they’re cute and all, but don’t be fooled. Their moods change with the wind, and apparently six is the year of DRAMA. Oh my word. The attitudes, the whining, the foot stomping? This is just a short phase, right? Right?!!!! Post 29 of 31 in Oct Daily Life PS: Yes, yes, I skipped post 28, dammit, because these two had me all verklempt and I needed to just lie on the couch with a nice

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com45tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-24763913563097302002011-10-27T21:06:00.001-07:002011-10-27T21:25:35.736-07:00

After hearing about the fun things that Catherine and fellow twin-mama K put in their kids’ smoothies, I was determined to add them to our breakfast routine. So the girls and I assembled a vibrant army of ingredients on the counter and prepared to be amazed. That’s when I remembered that our blender glass was broken eons ago and we only had the forlorn bottom sitting solo in our cupboard. Doh!

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-29875713246793010752011-10-26T21:02:00.001-07:002011-10-26T21:02:01.363-07:00

The girls went to a birthday party at Great Jump Sports – basically an entire room of trampoline squares and walls. They jumped themselves silly, and even got a little tired (that’s saying A LOT for Ree and Ro). We all thought it was a super neat place, and can’t wait to go back with Uncle Bobby and Aunt Jane someday. I think they’d really show us some moves on those trampolines. Post 26 of

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-46888510730280704022011-10-25T21:20:00.001-07:002011-11-01T10:25:55.796-07:00

No, I’m not talking about Ree and Ro. They’re not sleeping (yet) and if anyone’s the queen around here it’s me. I’m talking about this new card game the girls are mad for called Sleeping Queens. Ma and Pa gave it to them for their birthdays, and we’ve played it almost every night since. It’s a cute game, dreamed up by a six-year-old girl, which tickles my fancy. The object of the game is to

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-64975021278319839202011-10-24T22:09:00.001-07:002011-10-25T10:17:53.275-07:00

Ro and Ree tried hot lunch at school and hated it. They begged to have “mama lunch” every day instead. So I pack them lightning-fast lunches while they’re having breakfast each day. The problem is that it’s only October and I already feel like I’m mindlessly packing the same few things Every Single Flipping Day. I need to make some visual menus of tasty things that are easy to pack and won’t

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com55tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-79497362272797216972011-10-23T21:39:00.001-07:002011-10-23T21:48:34.448-07:00

Tomorrow is the fifth anniversary of family day, the day we met our little girls. Which means that today is the fifth anniversary of the last day I wasn’t a mom. It was kind of surreal, spending the last few days of non-parenthood in bustling China. We never in our wildest imaginations could have pictured that one day we’d be standing on the Great Wall of China, about to meet our daughters.

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-37857613571105619542011-10-22T20:12:00.001-07:002011-10-22T20:18:34.989-07:00

Grab a bunch of mini pumpkins at the grocery store, give the kids some Sharpie markers, then toss the resulting cute ‘o lanterns in a vase or two. PS: I’ve already got an extra pumpkin on the grocery list for the next trip, because that vase on the left needs one more, but you get the idea. Post 22 of 31 in Oct Daily Life

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-59679351585279680542011-10-21T19:48:00.001-07:002011-10-21T22:13:11.077-07:00

Nothing in particular that I was dying to post today, so I gave Ree and Ro the camera and asked them to take a picture of anything they wanted and tell me about it. Anything in the whole house – upstairs, downstairs, outside, the garage – sky’s the limit. You know? Ree took a picture of her newest crafty creation and said: “This is a Cinderella ruler and a paper tent with a heart on it. I picked

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-27438582468977646482011-10-20T19:20:00.001-07:002011-10-20T19:20:56.156-07:00

This stuff... ...was so wretched that I’m writing to Jennie-O tonight and telling them the tagline would be more accurate if instead of reading “From freezer to oven to perfect” it read “From freezer to oven to trashcan.” Seriously. It was that bad. The girls absolutely refused to eat it. Ro gave it “998 thumbs down,” Ree gave it “one million thumbs down,” and then when I told them it was

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-65945932972402884032011-10-19T16:44:00.001-07:002011-10-19T19:15:54.626-07:00

The girls are nuts about taking walks, and I need more exercise (the scale has been slowly creeping upward), so we’ve been going for what Ro calls “our daily walk.” Sometime the girls are on scooters, sometimes they’re in dress-up clothes, sometimes they run the whole time. As usual, they like to bring along everything but the kitchen sink. Yesterday evening, in the middle of our walk, Ro pulled

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-55376509907446724862011-10-18T18:03:00.001-07:002011-10-18T18:04:53.348-07:00

Oh to be a kid again, when just the sight of little fluffy weeds in the yard could elicit gasps, squeals of “dandies!!!!” and fervent wishes. Post 18 of 31 in Oct Daily Life

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-30183816041726946322011-10-17T14:53:00.001-07:002011-10-17T15:43:47.829-07:00

They didn’t see me, but this is what I saw when I peeked around the corner. I was going to tell them it was time to hop in the car, but instead quietly pulled out my purse camera and caught this little moment. Love them. Post 17 of 31 in Oct Daily Life

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-68905175386752739522011-10-16T20:53:00.001-07:002011-11-01T10:20:27.825-07:00

Ro and Ree took their new spark scooters out for a quick spin tonight and I can definitely see progress. They’re figuring out the whole balance thing and making more sparks by the minute. Ro is getting the hang of things pretty quickly and can make a fairly impressive spark trail by now. Ree is a little hindered by the fact that she turns her head (and therefore the scooter) every time the

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-59330950007728067662011-10-15T21:33:00.001-07:002011-10-16T15:44:47.234-07:00

Happy happy joy joy! The artwork hangers are now up in the playroom and Ree (art on the left) and Ro (art on the right) are THRILLED. They had such a ball looking through their archive boxes and deciding exactly what they wanted to hang tonight. Here’s a close-up of the wire holders (which are wire curtain rods from Ikea) coming out from the wall. We anchored these into studs, but I’m guessing

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-69143732193480415722011-10-14T22:06:00.001-07:002011-10-14T23:47:05.977-07:00

We spent Friday Fun Night at Ikea – Ro and Ree’s most favorite store in the world (rating even higher than heavyweight Z Gallery). They’d be pretty happy if we could just live in Ikea. First stop is Småland, where you sign your kiddos in, they give you a pager, and you go shop for 45 minutes. Yeah that’s genius: And then they have an entire warehouse of tiny little “houses” and intriguing nooks

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-34189425730348982372011-10-13T21:23:00.001-07:002011-10-13T23:06:39.237-07:00

My brother (Uncle Bobby to the girls) had a surprise layover in San Fran this afternoon, so Ro and Ree and I hopped in the minivan and raced over to hang out with him. Always a treat to spend time with Bobby. Plus, he showed me how to take of bunch of different kinds of pics with my cell phone. Huh, who knew?! This one is a self portrait that you can take by pressing a button and taking pics

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-22666423337044814322011-10-12T19:19:00.001-07:002011-10-12T19:19:40.441-07:00

TubaDad got the girls the neatest necklaces for their birthdays. They’re Yin Yang necklaces, one silver and one gold, and each necklace features one half of the Yin Yang symbol. Ro and Ree love them. If any other twins, siblings, or BFFs need them, they’re at Macy’s (here’s the direct web link) and are $35 for the pair. Post 12 of 31 in Oct Daily Life

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-90181242358007587952011-10-11T12:52:00.001-07:002011-10-11T13:49:55.015-07:00

My friend Dawn heard that we were doing a Chinese theme for the girls’ birthday party and sent me an email saying that I just HAD to make a dragon cake. She makes one every year for their big FCC Chinese New Year’s party and pinky swore that it was easy enough that even I -- a mama who has bought all of the girls’ other cakes -- could do it. She was right. This cake is foolproof. Here’s what I

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com38tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-46940460615233186162011-10-10T19:10:00.001-07:002011-11-01T10:23:40.119-07:00

Everyone was hopping during the birthday party, it seems like the time just flew by. The kids were happily busy with Mulan, who told stories, did a little magic, and painted Chinese characters on faces. She was wonderful. It was fascinating to see Ro and Ree’s intent eyes when they first spotted their idol. They were enchanted. Still are: I love how Ro decorated her fan with a Mulan

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-1952882151833327732011-10-09T19:45:00.001-07:002011-10-11T13:46:10.792-07:00

After Ro and Ree chose a Chinese theme for their birthday party, we went on several fun scouting expeditions to find unique decorations in Chinatown and local Chinese grocery stores. They settled on the bold color scheme of purple, red, and gold, and had a blast finding everything in those colors. We had some decorations already from our China trip in 2006 and also got festive accents from San

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-39579036079046689292011-10-08T18:49:00.001-07:002011-10-10T10:04:18.623-07:00

We have some happyhappyhappy birthday girls on our hands. I’ll publish all the details and the cake instructions after some wine and some sleep (not sure in which order), but for now, here are two fun party pics. Mulan was everything Ro and Ree dreamed she would be. The 4.5-foot dragon cake was everything I dreamed it would be. Maggie and I put over 2000 M&Ms on that beast yesterday to make

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-87133586842949396172011-10-07T09:05:00.001-07:002011-10-07T09:05:50.186-07:00

TubaDad’s folks flew into town from Texas, and then the whole crew went out for a birthday dinner at Ro and Ree’s fave Chinese restaurant. The girls had potstickers, seafood sizzling rice soup, scallops, and steamed rice with the seafood sprinkles they brought from home. Then it was home for cake and presents. My folks made yummy Great Wall of China cakes for the girls – the girls gasped when

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-61309802250235368322011-10-06T09:00:00.001-07:002011-10-06T11:25:42.692-07:00

It’s Ro and Ree’s golden birthday today – six on the sixth -- and we started the celebrating early by sneaking into their room last night while they slept and filling it with balloons. They were thrilled to wake up this morning and find our birthday surprise: Happy sixth birthday Ree and Ro – we love you! PS: If you’re going to do something like this, it really helps to have a big-lunged

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-13780374902979309612011-10-05T08:52:00.001-07:002011-10-05T08:53:40.937-07:00

The girls are at school right now, their last day of school as five-year olds, and I have a bunch of last-minute birthday and party errands to get done, so I’d better get hoppin’. First, though, here are two snapshots for today’s Oct Daily Life post. After pulling into the parking lot for gymnastics class I realized that we had about five minutes to spare and said over my shoulder “Hey we’re a

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-41855854381166621172011-10-04T08:58:00.001-07:002011-10-04T09:03:40.563-07:00

Sad day at the Salsa house today. Yesterday afternoon, in broad daylight, a raccoon bent the chicken wire, climbed into the duck pen, and killed Midnight and Golden. We locked our ducks up tight each night, but never thought we had to worry about raccoons during the day. We are all just stunned and so sad that our sweet, funny little ducklings are gone. Those ducklings sure made us smile with

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com53tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-35864934844953981492011-10-03T09:12:00.001-07:002011-10-03T10:33:57.736-07:00

Little Ree gasps when the hayride goes through the massive “Mariegold” field and Ro makes sure she gets the “Rosebud” cow on the cowtrain. They’ve done it every year since they were two. Bales of hay are good for about an hour of rolling and running it seems: Ro and Ree liked the pony rides and playing in a nearby Halloween superstore the best. I liked that massive

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-71446662296987930852011-10-02T09:21:00.001-07:002011-10-02T09:21:29.260-07:00

Cracked corn, woman, and hurry! And some lettuce, please, we’re starving after all this water play and will flap our puny chicken wings to prove it! Again with the unfamiliar words, what do mean “Don’t you dare poop in that damn water!”?

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-83985237216493187122011-10-01T09:53:00.001-07:002011-10-01T10:47:18.778-07:00

TubaDad surprised us with dinner out at a Hawaiian restaurant last night. Fun. We all love trying new restaurants. Halfway through dinner, Ro said “I’m freezing! Good thing I brought a blanket.” Then she opened up her ten-pound purse, pulled out a little silk shawl, and draped it around herself. Bwa ha! I was dying of curiosity to see exactly what they had in those purses, so when we got home,

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-13059274375845796582011-09-30T08:56:00.001-07:002011-09-30T10:45:22.900-07:00

If you looked at our porch yesterday evening you would have seen this: This is what I saw (click to enlarge): Have a great Fun Friday! PS: Last day to peek at my OnStar review and enter some of the review sweepstakes (they introduced sweepstakes for three of the second-phase reviews, and the link is at the bottom on my review.)

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-62596622014814480152011-09-29T07:50:00.001-07:002011-09-29T10:34:43.177-07:00

It was 95 degrees yesterday – every living thing was wilting in the heat. I thought we should stay inside next to the AC. The girls thought we should play in cold water. Their idea was better. The funny thing was that the ducks watched Ro and Ree’s every move and seemed to copy them with splashing and jumping into and out of their tiny pool every time the girls did it. Funny little critters.

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-87886505882266918922011-09-28T11:09:00.001-07:002011-09-28T19:31:10.500-07:00

I haven’t felt much like blogging lately, but I am still taking fun photos and videos of our lives. So maybe for the next month I’ll post at least one quick snapshot a day. A smile of the day, if you will. This pic, taken right before school, makes me smile because Ro is wearing the cutest dang outfit. She picked her beloved Missoni coat from Target, her J-Crew silver bubble skirt (yay outlet

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-59682913764072196102011-09-27T14:40:00.001-07:002011-09-27T18:28:43.248-07:00

Tweaked our granola bar recipe and tried again (Ro was in a cooking kind of a mood, Ree was off somewhere reading one of her Rainbow Magic books from the library) and this time it worked! These little babies were great. Here’s the recipe: Ro’s Successful Granola Bars 1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease an 8” or 9” square pan. 2. Mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl: 2 cups instant

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-42579729411468566252011-09-24T12:11:00.001-07:002011-09-24T14:04:09.625-07:00

Alright, this is a totally motley hodge-podge collection of photos. I admit it. Normally I would have posted these right when they occurred in nice, neat SHORT little posts. But ya know what? It just didn’t happen. I haven’t been feeling bloggity lately, but they’re still fun memories I don’t want to forget. So here they all are, in one massive post. Sorry. 1&2: Strong girls (and daddy). 3:

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-71288332258714744022011-09-16T10:53:00.001-07:002011-09-16T11:07:29.261-07:00

The new ducklings don’t quack at all, just make tiny peeping noises that sound vaguely bird-like. Which is probably good where the neighbors are concerned. Anyhow, without further ado, we present to you Midnight Air (left) and Golden Bright (right): Betcha couldn’t have guessed those names in a million years, huh? I sure didn’t expect them. Midnight Air was named by Ro, and Golden Bright

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-47173913624055651502011-09-15T14:16:00.001-07:002011-09-15T14:16:01.804-07:00

The girls and their friends signed up for an educational program through a local farm where they get to take two ducklings home for a month, document what they learn, then return the (hopefully stunningly healthy) ducklings. I’m not sure who was more excited this afternoon on the way to the farm, the kiddos or the moms. Here are our two. Cute, aren’t they?: Ro and Ree still haven’t decided who

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-55586790588387691412011-09-14T19:51:00.001-07:002011-09-14T22:03:57.336-07:00

Found a cute new book called Lin Yi’s Lantern just in time for the Moon Festival this week, and Ro and Ree immediately spotted the craft page at the end and decided to try their hands at paper-lantern making. Then they declared that this would be an excellent activity for the kids at their birthday party next month, and I’m thinking they’re right! So anyhow, lantern-making is now on the

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-66438485997064039242011-09-11T12:31:00.001-07:002011-09-11T12:54:26.806-07:00

  I will never forget waking up 10 years ago today and seeing the news and video of the first plane and then watching, frozen and horrified, as the rest of the day unfolded. We’ve told the girls a tiny little bit about it, as much as it feels we should tell a five-year-old, I guess – and I know from their faces that even those few sentences seem like a made-up story. I hope they never get the

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-18438405503916855142011-09-10T10:29:00.001-07:002011-09-10T10:30:34.474-07:00

The girls and I thought we’d be all adventurous and make our own granola bars. Sounded fun, maybe healthier than the store-bought ones, plus (and most importantly) we could put in exactly what we wanted. So we looked at a few recipes on the internet and then mixed up our own concoction. They were really fun to make (Ro and Ree could do it all themselves) and tasted great! The only thing is that

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-49051845543689894612011-09-06T08:38:00.001-07:002011-09-07T08:24:24.382-07:00

When we moved into the new house it was winter, so this first spring and summer have brought a few nice surprises. The best one so far is that a tall, scraggly tree in the corner suddenly burst out with leaves and a whole bunch of weird fruit. Not quite apple, not quite pear, these rough-skinned, round fruits were crispy, juicy, and DELICIOUS. After consulting my facebook friends, we

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-12749577609691726752011-08-31T16:49:00.001-07:002011-08-31T17:10:04.548-07:00

Was browsing around on the web one day this summer and saw a recipe for Glow in the Dark Slime. Which was all well and good until I made the mistake of showing it to the girls. Well they haven’t forgotten about it for one single day, and have been begging to make it ever since. So I finally sucked it up, got all the weird ingredients, and we plunged in. And I’ll be danged if that stuff didn’t

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-69520300610225361742011-08-29T15:18:00.001-07:002011-08-29T20:48:59.100-07:00

Ro and Ree are having a ball deciding what their upcoming Chinese birthday party should look like. Only trouble is, they flip-flop back and forth. I know the imaginary visualization stuff doesn’t cut it for my girls (or for me), so last night after they went to bed I grabbed a few things we had around the house (and a glass of wine) and quickly made each half of the dining room table look like

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com52tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-59694460579467744482011-08-24T12:26:00.001-07:002011-08-24T16:07:42.401-07:00

The girls’ sixth birthday is about a month and a half away (yipes), so I guess it’s time to start thinking about that party... Ro and Ree want to do a “Chinese-themed” birthday party with Mulan touches. They’re fascinated by everything having to do with China right now and spend hours and hours poring over every single Chinese book, map, and photograph we own. Plus, Mulan completely holds their

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com69tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-18448853477413180902011-08-17T09:44:00.001-07:002011-08-17T10:42:49.652-07:00

They’re pretty excited (and so are TubaDad and I). We participated in the neighborhood ritual of walking to the school office last night and checking out the freshly posted teacher/class lists, then went for a last summer dinner at Ro’s fave restaurant, Pasta Pomodoro. Ro and Ree picked out their first-day outfits, and apparently nothing would do but their Chinese dresses. Good thing Catherine

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-38359302544067310192011-08-15T09:07:00.001-07:002011-08-15T09:09:06.524-07:00

Can you believe I actually did an automotive-related review? And I took the kids on a solo road trip to Tahoe to test the device. It’s true -- check out my review of the OnStar FMV mirror here and see what a non-car person thought.

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-8428094825189576982011-08-14T22:16:00.001-07:002011-08-15T15:05:28.761-07:00

For our last summer hurrah we wanted to take a family vacation but couldn’t decide where the heck to go. Then at the last minute I Googled “best waterparks on the West Coast” and hit what looked like paydirt! We took a blind leap and booked The Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, WA, and Oh My Word it was fabulous! We loved everything about it, plus (and this is a huge plus) it’s one of the only

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-81132578835125360702011-08-13T21:01:00.001-07:002011-08-13T21:03:32.005-07:00

This place is awesome! Pics and a full report coming soon.

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-40485220015119746552011-07-31T11:19:00.001-07:002011-07-31T11:19:52.980-07:00

The girls’ fave two movies right now are Mulan and Mulan II (both purchased on the cheap as used movies from Amazon.com). And the fact that we do not own a bonafide Mulan costume is not slowing them down at all.

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-82806767699634676642011-07-30T22:27:00.001-07:002011-07-30T23:59:13.439-07:00

We’ve been having trouble convincing one of our girls to brush her teeth for two minutes, like the dentist said. She’s perfectly satisfied with a brushing experience of oh, say, 10 or 15 seconds. So I searched around online and found these nifty Rite Light blinking nightlight/toothbrush timers. We bought two of the lights, have used them for a couple of weeks now, and all love them. Seriously,

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-11961420528063152982011-07-28T22:24:00.001-07:002011-08-04T17:00:30.796-07:00

Our quickie girls’ roadtrip to Tahoe was fun, but tiring. (Actually, we all know that only one of the three girls on the trip was tired, and it wasn’t Ro or Ree!) We got there in the evening, unloaded everything into the cabin, and the girls immediately begged to visit the lake, where they promised to only dip their toes in the water. I am forty-something years old, for cripes’ sake, and STILL

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-40655870698048415242011-07-24T12:44:00.001-07:002011-08-04T17:01:31.787-07:00

The three girls of the house are heading out on a quick roadtrip. I don’t think I’ll have computer access while we’re gone (mostly because I don’t know how to get it to work on the road without my resident technological genius, heh), so here’s one quick pic I snapped of Ree (left) and Ro standing by the luggage. Does anyone recognize that piece of material that Ree tied around her waist for

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-21003424752203964212011-07-23T20:55:00.001-07:002011-08-04T17:01:11.086-07:00

We tried a new recipe for green beans tonight and it was so good we nearly licked the pan! Oh man, delish. The recipe came from the EatingWell magazine (which I now want to subscribe to) and was easy enough that a five-year-old (Ro) and an amateur cook (me) could make it. Do yourself a favor and make these for dinner tomorrow – I’ll bet you’ll never have plain steamed green beans again. Well at

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-48918961865623253552011-07-22T17:06:00.001-07:002011-08-04T17:03:16.939-07:00

Ro and Ree would rather eat carbohydrates than anything else (well shoot, who wouldn’t, heehee?!), so I’ve redone our lunch menus to help push a variety of foods in a way that’s fun for all of us. Now we have a page for proteins, a page for starches, and a page for fruits/veggies. Basically each day when lunchtime rolls around (and we’re actually at home), the girls agree on one thing from

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-12062524412901072222011-07-18T12:53:00.001-07:002011-08-04T17:03:58.102-07:00

Good buddies and fellow twins S2 and H2 came to visit, and the big and little twincesses played their wands off. Heh. They shared wonderful wardrobes and accessories: They enjoyed sleepovers and hanging out: They were always up for a game or two (I think they’re all used to having bodies close together, being all twins – the sight of four dark heads touching made me smile every time):

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-8727840132730377632011-07-10T11:06:00.001-07:002011-08-04T17:05:15.886-07:00

A visit from friends wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the beach. So we loaded up the van with sunscreen, sand toys, and towels (and apparently not enough extra dry clothes – are there ever enough extra clothes?) and headed for Santa Cruz where we met up with Kayce and the Cricket. I tried to get Ro and Ree to wear appropriate beach attire -- you know, like a t-shirt and a pair of shorts --

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-54074501039390521082011-07-07T22:20:00.001-07:002011-08-04T17:05:53.233-07:00

Sleep is kinda winning this one, so this post will be heavy on images and light on words. I'm hoping the cuteness will make up for it. There have been quite a few princess sightings this week. These royals really are extremely social and always up for a good time: The girls have found some cute stuff at the outlets, and put together their standard crazy–layered outfits. Here are Ro (left) and

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-19027293436628624922011-07-05T22:25:00.001-07:002011-08-04T17:06:20.992-07:00

Catherine has always enjoyed perfect 80-degree California weather when she’s visited, but not this year. Oh man, we’re having a SCORCHER. Earlier this week, we went to Gilroy Gardens, lasted for a few hours, then dragged our wilted butts back to the car thinking we were just wimps, only to find out it was 99 degrees in Gilroy that day. Yeouch. The kids still looked cute, all dressed in their red

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-30742321931234694672011-07-04T22:21:00.001-07:002011-08-04T17:07:10.585-07:00

I’m writing this post on the 4th, which has been our quietest day of the holiday so far. Funny. It’s just how things are done in our neighborhood. Catherine and I even slipped in some outlet shopping this afternoon. Wheee! Anyhow, the 3rd was a hoppin’ day, with a little party at our house, and then a nice stroll to lay out blankets and watch the fireworks. The first excitement of the day

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-6413404621953843742011-07-02T23:44:00.001-07:002011-08-04T17:07:41.619-07:00

We believe any holiday worth celebrating is worth celebrating for more than one day. So we started our 4th of July celebrations on the 2nd with a fun neighborhood parade, snow-cones, and the slip ‘n slide. It was a good day. Ro is in the firecracker dress and Ree is in the white skirt. (Check out the pics when the girls wore the red shirt for the 4th back in 2009 here and here. Ro’s dress came

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-2317708945500226312011-07-02T10:32:00.000-07:002011-08-04T17:09:49.386-07:00

(Putting up a few back posts with unedited pics since I’m behind...) Ro and Ree were so excited for Hannah and Catherine’s arrival on Thursday night. They woke up immediately ready to play with their friend and then asked me about 150 times during the day WHEN they would finally get here. I thought Hannah might be a little overwhelmed or exhausted from a hard day of travel. Yeah, not so

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-59631753534189310442011-06-30T20:38:00.001-07:002011-07-23T13:07:09.488-07:00

Ro and Ree made two welcome banners today (one for Catherine and one for Hannah), told daddy to please please hurry when picking their friends up from the airport, hung all their bestest dress-up clothes in the play-structure (so their guest would have easy access I guess), and then (while I was emptying the dishwasher) dreamed up and constructed a car/train vehicle so they have seats for three

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-23231831013328522212011-06-29T09:26:00.001-07:002011-06-29T09:27:16.205-07:00

I like the way Ree and Ro watch tv. It tickles my funny bone. They squeeze both little butts onto an antique footstool we had when I was a kid, hold hands sometimes without even noticing, and shout out all the words they can read on the screen (and that’s a lot of words now). Ree is completely enamored with shrugs right now, like the white one she’s wearing above. The girls have quite an

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-47122549191800348792011-06-27T21:58:00.001-07:002011-06-29T09:26:28.032-07:00

TubaDad is in Germany on business right now*, so the girls and I have been keeping busy with lots of water play and fun crafts like today’s so-easy-a-five-year-old-could-do-it 4th of July Banner. It was Ro’s night to stay up late (we alternate every night so we get some one-on-one time with each girl and also so they go to sleep separately instead of partying together until the wee hours of the

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-68610480974357520032011-06-24T16:17:00.001-07:002011-06-24T18:12:56.428-07:00

The girls have been dying to try this Homemade Moon Sand recipe that I found on Pinterest, so yesterday we gave it a whirl and found that it was fun and easy! (Oh, before I forget, I added Kid Projects to the nav bar at the top of this site if anyone needs ideas like this one.) Directions: combine 4 cups of sand, 2 cups of cornstarch, and 1 cup of water, then play using your hands, cookie

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-82960936211593353832011-06-23T21:30:00.001-07:002011-06-24T11:15:27.334-07:00

Now that the girls are out of school, we’ve been getting our crafty on with a fun summer project every day. They love getting messy and creative (and I love the longer projects that give me a minute to sit down!). One of our projects this week was the tissue-paper bowl, and we’re really happy with the results. To make your own, you’ll need a bowl (to use as the mold), saran wrap, cooking spray,

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-34174701781045216662011-06-20T13:27:00.001-07:002011-06-20T13:34:21.274-07:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful day honoring the dads in your life. We had a little BBQ over here, with grilled steaks and loaded baked potatoes for TubaDad, BobBob, and the crew. TubaDad was pretty proud of the grill marks he made on the meat, and I have to say they look pretty enough to photograph. Heh: My folks tried to teach the girls to ride without training wheels before lunch, but it was

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-10246141744231988552011-06-18T13:32:00.001-07:002011-06-26T19:47:07.822-07:00

I’ve found a whole bunch of neat 4th of July party ideas on Pinterest and on the web lately and have assembled a big ol’ party wishlist. We won’t do it all, of course, but oooo, this stuff makes me grin. If you’re planning a 4th of July celebration, here are some fun ideas (all pics link to their directions if you click through twice). ~~~~ PARTY FOOD ~~~~ Firecracker red, white, and blue cake

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-46785002164613147152011-06-14T20:04:00.001-07:002011-06-14T20:28:05.511-07:00

Psst, does anyone else think that summer days without school can be loooooooooong? Oh man, tell me I’m not the only stay-at-home mom who has ever looked at the clock at noon and thought “Really????? That’s it????” Today by that time, we had already read a bunch of princess books, cleaned up the playroom, made juice popsicles, painted some wooden dolls, done hair three times, done a load of

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-90485996231012186912011-06-13T16:27:00.001-07:002011-06-13T17:15:44.115-07:00

Ok, taking a little poll here: how many of you remember playing on a Slip N’ Slide back when you were a kid? I sure do. Those things were crazy fun. I didn’t even know they still made them, but we spied one while waiting in a T.J.Maxx check-out line yesterday and it had to be ours. (Yes, we are exactly the kind of impulse buyers that those bulging check-out-line aisles are aimed at!) We broke

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-70406465365361102362011-06-11T21:02:00.001-07:002011-06-14T22:38:16.204-07:00

Well I can hardly believe that Ro and Ree aren’t kindergarteners any longer! On Thursday our tiny babes graduated in a flurry of pomp and circumstance and we are so proud (and a little weepy!): Our school doesn’t do a kindergarten graduation, (and you know we like any excuse to have a party around here), so we invited the whole class and their families over to our house for a graduation

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-79470121693274788832011-06-08T13:38:00.001-07:002011-06-08T14:50:27.045-07:00

I was. The last week or two (or maybe longer?), I couldn’t leave a comment on a Blogger blog to save my life – just kept getting trapped in an endless loop of sign-in then word verification.  Ugh!! Well I finally Googled the problem and found the fix, which worked like a charm! Ahhhhh. Here’s what you do: 1. Close all web browser windows but one. 2. In that window, clear all of your cookies,

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-67839055846132555752011-06-07T09:21:00.001-07:002011-06-07T12:58:09.522-07:00

Here’s the second installment of our take on the “Stars, They’re Just Like Us” columns, as seen in those deliciously trashy supermarket magazines. Around here, princesses do everything that normal folks do and we have the pictures to prove it. They always enjoy chatting with girlfriends: They love to watch their fave movies over and over again: They diligently complete all of their

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-68042000552226719022011-06-05T12:20:00.001-07:002011-06-05T18:34:45.830-07:00

If not, they should. Heh. Ro and Ree took a dance class this year and when the teacher asked if we wanted to be in the recital we said “Um, sure?” with absolutely no idea what was involved. Turns out that dance recitals are Very Serious Business to dance folks.  Huh, who knew? There are multiple costumes to buy (6 for us, ouch!), two-to-three-hour practices, dress rehearsals on stages, special

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624noreply@blogger.com40