Weekend Update Part II

Weekend Update - Continued!

After Diddam's was a bust, the best part of the day was an hour spent in the Reading Bug.  It was an unplanned detour - the best kind.  

I love love love to read.  I was that girl who frequently read a Sweet Valley High paperback in one night. :) Today I have less opportunity to read (and I do branch out from Sweet Valley), but when I start a book, I get so engrossed that I won't stop reading until it is completed.  This means I barely sleep for 3 days because the only free time I have is at night once everyone is asleep.  By no means do I think this is a healthy way to enjoy a book, but hey, I presume this lack of time will pass soon enough?  

I do have it high on my priority list to instill a love of reading in my girls.  I go out of my way and do research to find titles that I think will interest them, and also provide a bit of diversity to their library.  Surely I am biased, but obviously if they did not enjoy it, they would not reach for a book on their own.  Audrey already brings books over to me and wants me to read to hear specific titles over and over.  I can't believe she is already into this at 1 year old.  

Amelia absolutely loves to read, and has from an early age.  A few months ago, I was swamped with a work project and we had our "part time nanny" come in to care for the girls.  I was working upstairs so I could still hear what was happening down stairs.  At this time Audrey was sleeping for long stretches so Amelia had Mary Catherine aka "the nanny" all to herself.  This young woman was getting her Masters in Education and was currently working as a teacher.  We were so lucky to have her.  Amelia had Mary Catherine read to her for THREE HOURS!  I say this will 100% seriousness.  Insane.  Mary Catherine said she was happy to do it.  What a saint!

Back to the Reading Bug.  Quite possibly the best book store ever.  It is a children's book store that hosts regular story times, events and has the most adorable decor.  They display their books so beautifully and carry books that I've never seen before.  

I typically go there for inspiration and then find the best deal on Amazon (terrible, I should be supporting these local businesses, but Amazon is often 50% less!), however I did buy from this store three of my all time favorites (so it makes me feel a bit better!):  

Birdie's Big-Girl Shoes  - inspired by Amelia's nickname

Just Being Audrey - inspired by baby Audrey  - a children's biography of Audrey Hepburn

Because I am Your Daddy - from Amelia to Brad on Father's Day

On this particular day, there was a sign advertising an event featuring Robin Preiss Glasser - for those that don't know - she is the amazing illustrator of the Fancy Nancy series.  Amelia absolutely loves Fancy Nancy.  Nancy is a great character and the story lines are very appropriate for Amelia's age.  The sign said "Come Dressed to Impress" and we will certainly be there with bells on!

The Reading Bug also has a wonderful play area with a train table, overstuffed ladybugs, toadstool seats and other fun critters.

And of course there were a few books that piqued my interest:

I have been trying to slowly collect seasonal books - that I keep up high until whatever time of year approaches (i.e. valentine's day, easter, halloween, christmas).  I thought groundhog day was pretty original!  The illustrations look beautiful.

So typical of this generation.  Amelia knows how to use the iPad better than me.

An adorable pop-up for the Birthday girl (or guy!).  It could be a fun traditional read to celebrate the big day.

We brought this one home from the RWC library a few months back and really enjoyed it.

What a fun day!  Clearly you know what is crammed into every nook and cranny at our house!

Weekend Update

What a random, crazy, relaxing, fun, busy weekend (all mixed together - as amelia says!); and it's not even half over!  I have two work projects going, both with things to attend to - so I did a bit of work last night and this morning super early.  I also stopped in an estate sale that was happening around the corner and scored some vintage dress up items for the girls' treasure chest including this amazing bridal headpiece that was surely circa 1920.  That was all before 9 am!

Brad left for the weekend to celebrate his father's birthday and spend the last day of the duck hunting season at the Duck Club.  Grandma Ellie took Amelia out on a special day to see the SF Children's Theater production of Rumplestiltskin and out to lunch.  What a lucky girl!

So it was just me and Audrey.  She went down for a morning nap while I got a bit more work done and caught up on emails.  We had to get a new fishbowl - Brad decided our current one looked like a crack was developing.  I have the best luck at Home Goods - in fact our fish have graduated into more than 3 bowls - they are growing so fast.  Unfortunately this go around nothing for the fish, but I did find some glass apothecary jars that I am planning to use for a candy bar at Amelia's 4th Birthday party.  They were quite a steal.  I am such a bargain shopper  - what can I say?

Audrey and I then headed to the Town and Country in Palo Alto for some other random errands and a quick bite at the Mayfield Bakery and Cafe.  I'd never been but always wanted to try it out.  This was my first time "dining" with just baby Audrey.  It was quite enjoyable on one hand, but odd on the other.  I had no adult to talk to and I found myself getting caught staring at other people.  It started out as an honest glance to see what they had ordered (to help me decide what to select), but then without any conversation of my own to keep me focused on my table, I just started watching everyone else.  Quite entertaining.

After that we headed back home so I could be there for Amelia and also for Audrey to *hopefully* take a second nap.  Amelia came home with a big smile on her face and arrived with a to-go box filled with a huge quesadilla, fries and a shirley temple to go.  Oh yea, and a bag of cookies!  wow!  We waited a bit  to see if baby A would take a nap, but to no avail.  We headed out the door to San Carlos.

I was hoping to be inspired for Amelia's upcoming birthday party, so we went to Diddam's.  I'd only looked through the window, but the place is amazing.  Virtually every kind of candy one could ever dream of, balloons, streamers, costumes, toys, goody bags and gifts you name it.  I am trying to decide between 3 themes, so I thought this would get the ball rolling.  Unfortunately we did not settle on a theme, and amazingly, we left without one thing in hand.  Amelia behaved very well about this.  To be continued...

Park Playdate

Gorgeous winter weather let us hit up a local park that we often forget about - Barkley Park.  It is new-ish, so all the equipment is nice and updated, with both tan bark and the rubber flooring (so no post-rain mud to worry about).  Audrey is transitioning down to 1 nap a day, but the last few weeks have been inconsistent, so typically around 3pm with no nap since 11am, I have to find something to do with the girls.... this day we met up with our favorite people - Adriana, Conor and baby Emily.

We got there early, so both girls were in the bucket swings and Amelia let me push her as high as possible.   Whenever she's having a really great time, Amelia says "Mom, this is the BEST day EVER!!!!"  I am convinced she took this line from Rapunzel in Tangled (when she first gets out of the tower and she's running around in the forest), but it always makes me laugh and appreciate the fact of how wonderful life must be as a toddler.  Each new day probably is the best day yet.

And Away She Goes!

Audrey has been taking a few steps here and there, but mostly they seem accidental - until today!

[Please ignore mommy's squeals of delight in the video.]

She still prefers to crawl as her mode of transportation, but this is exciting nonetheless.

Watch out everyone!  We love you Audrey.

Amelia's date with Daddy

Amelia had a special day with Daddy yesterday - they went to lunch, picked out some candy from Cost Plus World Market (they have the BEST selection!) and saw Beauty and the Beast in 3D. At the theater she had Junior Mints and Gummies.   It was quite a big deal for her, as this was a special treat to have some one on one daddy time.

Daddy's little girl:

It's Game Time!

In honor of the big 49iner championship game today, I decided to try making soft pretzels for Brad to take to the tailgate.  I found an amazing recipe of Alton Brown's and it was quite simple. The only thing I did not have on hand is active dry yeast - but that gave me an excuse to take the girls in the double bob for a walk to Target to pick some up.

The dough needed to double in size over almost an hour, so I made the dough earlier in the evening and rolling, shaping, boiling, salting and baking the pretzels were an after dinner activity (and post bed-time for Audrey).  It was the first time I used the dough hook attachment on my Kitchenaid mixer (in almost 8 years, yikes!), so I was excited to branch out.

Amelia had such a fun time rolling out the dough.  I had the great idea that she could roll out her own pretzel and we could put it in the shape of the letter "A" or whatever fun shape she wanted.  We quickly learned that rolling out the pretzel dough into multiple 24" lengths took a bit more effort than anticipated, so Amelia's pretzel became "Tick Tock Crock" of Peter Pan - she is really into Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, and Jake and the Neverland Pirates right now.  Tick Tock Crock never made it into the oven (I think it would have been too thick to cook through before it burned outside), but we were able to make seven huge pretzels.  Yum Yum.  Go Niners!

 Ready to be boiled!

Roll Roll Roll

 Tick Tock Crock

The finished product!  Where's the mustard?

Early Mornings

These last few weeks I have been carving out some time for myself to exercise.  Albeit, I am up by 5AM, but this is practically what works for me and my family.  About every 4-5 days sleep kicks me in the rear and I have to give myself the extra time in the morning.  But once I am up, I get to enjoy myself, get the blood pumping and see extraordinary sunrises:

Little Exploradora

Audrey decided that climbing into the toy bin is a much more exciting experience.   

I love her face in this one.

Chef Cooker

Amelia came home from Pre-K with this chef's hat.  I laughed out loud - it is hilarious.  One of her favorite sayings when she expresses appreciation for a good meal is "thank you, Chef Cooker."

She is one adorable chef cooker!

A Train Ride and a Birthday Party

Amelia and Audrey were invited to a very special birthday party this past weekend.  Birthday boy Jack turned 3, and he hosted quite an event!  From his very own train to ride around the property as many times as one could desire, to balloon animals and face painting.  There were conductor hats and bandannas a plenty, endless popcorn, sliders and hot dogs, and a candy table to create your own goodie bag.  

Audrey had a blast patting balloons, eating hamburgers and watching all the kids run around on their sugar highs.  Amelia could not get enough rides on the train, bags of popcorn or gummy rings from the candy table.  We were there just shy of 2 hours, but we left pooped!  Thanks Jack - Happy Birthday!

I just love my girls

Aren't they the cutest?