Fatboys

I want two of these SO bad for our basement rec room. I saw them first at Airplay Cafe here in Portland, and it was love at first site. They are HUGE. They are soft but incredibly durable. They can be a chair, a lounge, a fort. Oh, and they come in Marimekko prints. The outdoor styles are on sale at The Mini Social right now - sign up!

Princesses

As I was reading to my kids tonight, I asked them what they wanted for Christmas. I've been thinking of things I can make or find that are made. We are making a gigantic effort to finally cut down on the amount of presents that are given to our kids. When our first baby was born, we had all of the lovely ideals about only having organic, natural toys, and not giving in to the mad commercial crush of noisy plastic toys. As the years went on, we seem to have lost our resolve, because our house is completely cluttered with blinking plastic!! We've spent most of the weekend going through all of this clutter and getting rid of everything we can. How do all of those teeny tiny toys and pieces of toys multiply so fast? We were literally dumping plastic bins full of worthless junk into garbage sacks (some bound for goodwill). We are making a place for everything so the kids can be successful keeping their areas neat. We are absolutely NOT buying anything from Mattel, which is MOST commercial toys, because of their complete lack of integrity and care for the safety of our kids. I'm going to make as much as I can, and we are going to buy handmade.

In answer to my Christmas question, Mr. H. starting listing, at a frequency so high I think he woke up the neighborhood dogs, every single Lego set under the sun. He also made up prices for each one even though he has no idea how much any of them cost or which ones cost more than others. YES I'm holding on to these days as long as I can. And thank GOD Mattel doesn't own LEGO!!

Miss Mae answered, "princesses." I started to think of lovely princessy capes and crowns, and she started describing SNOW WHITE. Puffy sleeves and all. I knew this day would come - she has never been interested in Disney princesses - but I hoped it wouldn't. And it is here. She went on and on and on about all of the Barbies (Mattel) and Disney princesses (MATTEL!!) So I'm scouring Etsy for a better version of princesses. A kinder, gentler version. Here are a few I've found and want for her:

This lovely pink hand felted crown by curlylulu!

Ooooo! and this great print by artelf!

This sweet Sparkly Crown Pink I Spy Bag by Cozy Things:

Sheila Lukins

Sheila Lukins the co-author of The New Basics and The Silver Palate Cookbook died on Sunday at age 66. I'm actually sitting here crying. My mom gave me her New Basics when I was in high school, and it is still my favorite cookbook. Even now when it is so easy to just print out a recipe and toss the paper in the recycling, I pull out her book first. I was just at a friend's house for dinner, and she too had this sitting on her shelf. These women taught so many of us to cook! I always imagined their sweet little shop in New York and thought one day I'd go there.

Not one recipe feels dated or makes me think "that is so 80's!" How many books can you say that about? Every single thing I've made from it turns out wonderfully.

It is a sad day to think she isn't here anymore, but what a legacy she has left in all of us! I know I feed my family and friends with meals she imagined for us.

Twilight....

I'm terribly embarrassed to admit that I'm fan of the series. (And even more embarrassed to admit that "fan" might be an understatement.) Just when I think I'm all grown up and jaded and tough, something like a tween vampire romance pops up and knocks me back into my sad, sappy reality. Really?? Highschoolers dating? I mean, a highschooler and a century old vampire..? Yes. I can't even figure out why I love it. I was completely ready to hate it. "I'm not 13," I said. "I read GOOD books," I said. I couldn't put it down when I turned that first page - and then I read all four books in the span of a couple of weeks. The movie is TERRIBLE. And I love it, too.
I read the Anne Rice Vampire chronicles when I was in college, (aHEM) years ago, and was a real vampire fan. I listened to Type O Negative and thought myself deep and dark. Anne Rice novels are transportive. I feel like I've lived in Louisiana because I remember the SMELLS of the scenes she wrote about. Her writing is incredibly descriptive. It makes sense to like her books.
What IS IT about Twilight? I honestly don't know.
Sephora has a new lipstain called DuWop Twilight Venom, and I want it.

Group Quilt Project

I finished our group quilt! It is based on Denyse Schmidt's pattern for "What a Bunch of Squares" from her Denyse Schmidt Quilts book that I STILL adore.
I gave each parent a pattern for one block (number 1, 2, or 3), they chose their fabric based on the colors "Lake Blue", "Cloud White", "Limeade Green", and "Lemonade Yellow", and each child personalized their block. I sewed them all together and this is the finished product! I put more photos on flickr. I'm so, so happy with it. I hope our dear Kindergarten teacher will wrap herself in the warmth of all of our thoughts and prayers and know how very much we love and appreciate her!

Every single day I use a cookie cutter to cut out a shape from my kids' sandwiches. I cut the left over into pieces so it is like a little puzzle. I was terribly impressed with myself until I saw THIS! I'm not sure this would get Mr. H. off of our peanut butter and jelly jag, but SUPER cool sandwiches at Funky Lunch. Apparently they are releasing a book with instructions! I saw them at Cool Mom Picks, which I LOVE. You should subscribe.

The Cost of Raising a Child

My husband and I were dreaming of all of the things we would do if we won the powerball drawing. It is expected to be $250 MILLION dollars. I have a laundry list of things I would do if we won, but number one on the list would be to have another baby. ANOTHER BABY?! Are you freaking crazy??? I'm sure this is what you are thinking. My biggest dream, though is to have a house full of kids and have nothing to do but play with them. Oh, I'd paint, and sew and have a glorious time with the most incredible craft room ever. Wait. I'd make a craft HOUSE. A little comfy number in the back... Sort of like a potting shed on steroids. My main job would be to play with our kids. I would have someone to cook and clean, and I would never have to worry about money again. We could send them all to GREAT colleges! And they would NEVER have to worry about money.
According to the USDA, we are going to have to win the drawing just to afford the three kids we HAVE! The press release says a child born to middle income parents in 2008 will end up costing us "$221,190 ($291,570 when adjusted for inflation) for food, shelter, and other necessities to raise that child over the next seventeen years."
We have three kids. I'm afraid to do the math.
I have to stop and get powerball tickets on the way home from swimming today!!!!

Benjamin Zander - How to be a Better Person

I just watched this on my cousin's blog and it is SO GREAT. Terribly moving. Of course I was crying by the end. It is quite long, but worth every minute - hang in for the very end.

He is Benjamin Zander - the music director of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra.

Vacation and Reading.

I have three little kids - one who is crawling and JUST beginning to walk. Vacation is sort of a dream for the future. Here we sit at this lovely lake and most of my time is spent making food, feeding, cleaning, and chasing. BUT, I'm a mama. That is what we do. Every vacation, though needs a really great BOOK! And boy am I immersed in one right now. I'm reading World Without Endby Ken Follet. It is the sequel to his 1989 Pillars of the Earth, another amazing read. Being an architect, I love the immense detail he shares on the building of the cathedral in Pillars, and now a bridge in World Without End. Even more, though, I adore the people and the history! He teaches me SO much about life in the 1300's without being dry or preachy. I'm learning about manufacturing, medicine, church life, economics, all through the eyes of people I really care about. He describes what each is thinking and what drives them. It is really interesting to examine people's motives and what is at the root of their actions. We are not as black and white, for sure. Good people make mistakes, and 'bad' people aren't inherently BAD, but it makes a great book! It is incredibly long, so I can read and read and read and still have LOTS more time to spend with them! I definitely recommend this book!
And GREAT NEWS! According to Wikipedia, a TV series is in the works for Pillars!!! And guess who is playing Prior Philip?? My very favorite: Matthew Macfadyen!! How can I wait until 2010??

Summer Chaos Help From Everyone

Even Baby O. is in on the checklists!

Baby Weight

This morning I had a grande black iced tea at Starbucks instead of my delicious frosty grande chai tea frappuccino. I saved 330 calories and about $1.50!! It for sure wasn't as good and spicy and sweet and comforting, but it was cold and okay. 330 calories would take me about 45 minutes to an hour to burn on the treadmill!! Tonight when I run, I'll know that I'm not just working off the drink, but maybe hitting some of that baby weight??

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!

Baby Wearing part THREE

Well that was a bit of a failure! Baby O. was SO happy, laid his head right down on me and snuggled in, but with every step, the front ties got tighter and tighter and TIGHTER! I couldn't breath! I stopped, adjusted, retied, twice. Finally when we got to Miss Mae's school, I had to take him out and put him on the front. Not sure what I did wrong, but we'll have to try to get some instruction!

He fell asleep on the way home - soooo sweet.

Baby Wearing 2

I'm attempting my first Baby Hawk back carry walk this morning. Wish me luck!

Paper Airplanes!!

Our newest obsession is paper airplanes! They are SO much fun to make and Mr. H. LOVES to fly them. Who knew they were so technical?? We used to make them when I was a kid, but they were nothing like these.This one is from this book:The Klutz Book of Paper Airplanes. My parents got it for Mr. H. when Baby O. was born, and he is just discovering it 9 months later. There are LOTS of great planes in here, but I have to do the folding, it all has to be folded PERFECTLY, and that is too much for a 6 year old. This site has a lot of them, too.

Next we tried it with a passenger. Our neighbor Brady brought the dinosaur.The camo paper and camo dino landed inconspicuously in a bush!