You Should Go HERE for Valentine's Day!

 I seriously adore Pix patisserie.  They opened right after my first baby was born and I've sort of watched them grow up with him.  I went to a bridal shower while I was newly pregnant with my second baby and they had a dessert table by Pix.  Oh.  The love affair was cemented.  You know how everything tastes like manna from heaven when you are blissfully pregnant??  (Shhhh!  mamas out there!! I know sometimes things taste evil and will NEVER cross your lips again, but some girls don't know yet and there ARE some preggo GOOD times!)  I was in one of the "these bits of heaven have made my life better" preggo moments and we feasted on Framboise, Pâte de Fruits, The Pixie's, and of course their French Macarons.  It turns out, that the fact that my skirt was riding incredibly high over my new baby bump DID have to do with being preggo, but the sublime tastes didn't.  Everything is even better now. 

I could write volumes about their Macarons, but you must just go there and try them.  OR order them!!  The colors are perfect, the crisp outer shell and creamy insides, ugh.  They are perfection.  The colors are perfect to coordinate with any party color scheme, as well.  (That reminds me, I have to order some for my son's First Communion party.) 

If you are here in Portland, Pix is hosting a lovely Valentine's Tea.  Treat you and your sweetie, or your daughter, or your mama to heart shaped macarons, oysters on the half shell, plenty of chocolate and a bottle of A. Margaine, Brut Rose Premier Cru Grower Champagne.  "Enjoy a total of 16 sweet and savory bite sized treats per person and 2 pots of tea from Townshend’s Tea House. $100 per couple including Champagne ($60 without)"

OR, order the Take-Out…Make-Out! ~ A Chinese pagoda box perfect for 2! Includes 2 truffles, 2 heart-shaped French macarons, Cocoanuts, Champagne Bubbles and a demi of sparkling wine. $23 with wine, $13 without:

 OR, holy crap, they have HEART shaped macarons!!!  They come in Chocolate, Raspberry or Fleur de Sel Caramel.  I'm dying...

Pix is very local, and very, very, very good.  I can't make it to Paris any time soon, so I let their gorgeous French atmosphere swallow me up, sip some strong coffee and nibble these little pieces of heaven and dream.

Fancy Nancy Party

We are SO lucky here in Portland. There are so many great things to do all the time. Today as we drove to swimming lessons, there was a giant mobile climbing wall in the park! Every one of these little pockets feel like living in a small town. How do we have such a small town feel in such a big-ish city? I don't know, but the people are warm and energetic and lovely.

Today's outing was to one of my favorite places in town. It is the locally owned A Children's Place Bookstore. I could seriously start in one corner and read every single book in there. Today they held their Summer Thursday event: A Fancy Nancy Party!!

My Mae adores Miss Nancy, and I love reading it to her. How nice to have a fun dress up girl who is exciting, and adventurous, and funny! For the party we did rag curls again, and layered on lots of ribbons and bows and skirts. Just like Nancy.There were stories read aloud, a game of FANCY bingo where when a winner called out "FANCY!!" we all broke into a rousing round of Fancy Nancy to the tune of "There was a farmer who had a dog...": "F. A. N. C. Y. N. A. N. C. Y.!!" Afterwards, the girls all got Fancy Nancy binoculars in celebration of her new book about exploring insects Fancy Nancy: Explorer Extraordinaire! (and anyone who thinks insects are gross are just IMMATURE. I guess I am...), sparkly stickers, some Fancy Punch, and yummy cookies. Mae even asked me if we could wash out her paper cup and save it because she loved it so much.

Great fun having a little girl who can be a friend. I love spending time with her!

How To Take Great Photos of Your Kids!

Campbell Salgado makes me happy. I first heard about them when I was pregnant with my second baby. One of my friends told me I should have some preggo photos taken, and I thought, "NO WAY!!" First of all, I look HORRIBLE this giant, and second, why on earth would I want to look at them in the future!? Well I was incredibly wrong, and thankfully, I have the photos to prove it. I went in very apprehensive thinking I wouldn't have any revealing photos taken, and I ended up feeling completely comfortable with Francisco, and actually feeling PRETTY and happy with my gigantic body. I did my photo session with my then two year old son, and our photos together are an absolute treasure. We have pics of him showing my belly a toy, and kissing my belly and us giving each other giant hugs among others.

If I could go to their studio once a month to capture my growing babies I would. Their photos are magic! We went back as a family when my baby Miss Mae was born, and then again for her first birthday. I'm hoping to schedule another session when Baby O. can sit up, so we can capture all of his yummy meatballness.

Their process from beginning to end is like having life long friends photograph you...., well, like you are a rock star who has amazing photographer life long friends. I felt so at ease, as did my kids, and I felt like it was really US being photographed, not me racing around trying to make sure every hair was in place and praying we get a good shot in our 20 minute time slot. At the same time though, this entire studio and photographer are focused on US - very rock star for me. If you can, GO THERE.

AND, now they have a great blog!! And they are sharing tips for taking photos of our kids ourselves! How lovely and generous of them! I think I may just get out a sheet and take photos of the kids on the next sunny day!

Things To Do With The Kids for Free.

Or almost free...
This economy is no fun! And my kids are tired of being cooped up in our house with the cold weather! We need to move our bodies and I need some time to myself while the kids are occupied. I've put together a little list of things we can do for FREE. Oh, how I love that word. FREE.

1. Make yourself a to-go cup of coffee, and walk to the park! The park is free, the kids will love it, they will get out the bottled up energy, you will get a little exercise, and can sit and talk with a friend or read a book while they play.
2. Go to Ikea! Ikea has a really great children’s play area called Smallville – it is totally free – kids adore playing in the ball pit or coloring or watching a movie, while you can browse the huge store, or even sit with an inexpensive cup of coffee. The kids just have to meet a height requirement (my daughter did when she was almost 3) and be totally out of diapers.
3. Take all the cushions off of your couch and let the kids build forts or lay them out and roll around on them. Tell them the carpet is the ‘lava’ and they have to stay on the cushions. They get to exercise their bodies and their minds, and you can have a minute to yourself while they are occupied.
4. Make an obstacle course in the back yard. Use a 2x4 on the grass for a balance beam, plastic cups for cones to run around, a towel for a somersault station, even a pool for a dip in the summer! Set up a nice place for you to sit while you can see everything, and let them go at it!
5. Plop your kids in the tub with tons of bubbles and toys, put on a hydrating mask, and read a magazine! As long as they are old enough to sit safely, you can enjoy a half hour of “me time”, while right there with them, and they will love the time to play.
6. Trade afternoon play dates with friends. On Wednesday, you take all of the kids, on Thursday your best friend takes them all. You each get an afternoon to yourselves for errands or just some alone time. The kids love the chance to play with their friends in a different environment. This works great for date nights, too.
7. Check out your community center! Most have great drop in art programs, open gym times, even open swim all for about $1 a kid.
8. Go to your local library for free book readings and other events. Kids love to see all of the other kids, and get to hear a new voice read to them. Check out some new books to take home and read together.
9. Check out your local book stores for free children’s book readings and craft projects. Most have regularly scheduled readings set up in the children’s section, and special events where the kids can come dressed up and make cool crafts. Here in Portland, The Children’s Place bookstore has great story time events like pirate days or Fancy Nancy parties. Miss Mae and I went to Fancy Nancy all dressed up, and learned how to walk with a banana on our heads and how to lift our pinkies just right when sipping tea. This month Borders is having an inauguration party, a tea party, and a family play date. Barnes and Noble is having ‘Meet Corduroy Bear’ and other story times, as well.
10. Check to see if your local library has free tickets to local kids’ attractions. Ours has a passes you can check out to our children’s museum .
11. Make friends with your local Parks and Recreation programs. There are free nature walks at neighborhood parks, free craft stations set up around town in the summer, even free music events summer evenings in the parks.

We can make it through this economy! I'm trying to think positive and make sure my kids don't know it is happening so they don't feel the stress of it. I hope you are all doing well - even better than ever!

Talk Like a Pirate Day

Baby O is due on InterNational Talk Like a Pirate DAY!!! This is very fitting as we have two pirates in the house already, and have been looking forward to the Portland Pirate Festival all YEAR! The day was instituted in 1995 by two local Oregonians. LOVE IT. A good friend of ours used to say he was going to list on his resume that he spoke fluent "Pirish", followed by a litany of answers to typical interview questions spoken with a squinted eye and followed with "ARRRRR". He is an architecture professor now, and I sure hope he is teaching his egomaniac architecture students (they just all are) to have some fun in life!

Here is the Pirate festival information for Portland this year. It is really a great time! There are tons of re-enactments, booths from which to buy EVERYTHING piratey, gigantic blow up slides for the kids, face painting, parrot shows, and much, much, more.

Here are our pirates an entire YEAR ago. How does time fly so fast?!

Pure Joy

My daughter Miss Mae IS pure joy. She feels everything she does so deeply, and exudes those feelings in gigantic sunbursts out of her little 3 year old body like a volcano. Sometimes I think Ican taste her happiness it is so thick. She feels her sadness as wholeheartedly, although it is usually short-lived which has caused my husband and I to, in a turrets sort of way, blurt out "SYBIL!" She can be SOBBING one second and then turn around with "I'm HAPPY NOW!!" and she truly is HAPPY. It soaks into my skin and makes me happy to be alive. Wow, the preggo hormones must be taking a drastic swing right now, but she is just so amazing.

Today she was able to continue her ballet classes that we started earlier this summer with a 'camp' through the community center. She burst out of bed and the first thing she asked was "is it BALLET DAY???" She walked into the dance studio and her smile was so big and her shoulders were up by her ears and there she was - pure happiness. This is my daughter who usually can be found playing with her big brother - pretending to be a velociraptor, or Indiana Jones, or a transformer - and slipping on her tiny little ballet slippers and grasping the sweet little girls' hands next to her in her ballet circle turns into miss prima ballerina!

I HIGHLY recommend her class and Miss Erica her teacher. The class is at Laurelhurst Dance Studio and offered through Portland Parks and Rec. This is no bunny hopping tots class like they show in the movies. Miss Erica is teaching them all of the positions with real names, and Mae doesn't "tiptoe" around the house anymore, she "Bourre'e's".

I wish I could feel a 10th of her love of life. I'm lucky to know her and get to spend so much time with her. I hope I can learn from her!