Choose Your Own Adventure: #3

Sunday was Cap's day to pick our adventure, and he wanted to check out the neighborhood of Silverlake - home to modernist architecture and the height of 90s hipness. That morning, however, when we told Addie we were going on an adventure to Silverlake, this was her reply:

(shouting)
"That is a Mommy-Daddy adventure! Not an Addie adventure! I want to go touch things!"

I guess she had enough of cool shops where we kept having to ask her not to touch anything. Poor girl. So we changed our plans a little and decided to take Addie to the Natural History Museum. I've never been and often forget the place exists. I had my fingers crossed that there was something there for her to touch.

Thank goodness for the Discovery Center! Addie dusted off dinosaur bones with a brush, inspected live insects and spiders, petted a skunk pelt and tried on some real antlers. In the Hall of North American Mammals, she reminded us (and herself) at every exhibit that these are not real. "That's not a real fox. That's not a real moose. That's not a real polar bear. Look a baby bear, Mommy bear and a Daddy bear!" Addie loves to identify anything that looks like a family of three. She even frequently picks three leaves off the jade plant at our house and tells me that one is a Daddy, Mommy and a baby leaf.

After the museum, we figured we had at least another hour or 2 before she collapsed, so we snuck off to fulfil Cap's wish. We had an awesome brunch at Millie's in Silverlake. Addie played with her utensils in the water cup and wolfed down 2 veggie sausages. I even managed to get us into a cute boutique store before we headed back home for a well deserved nap.



Check out a few more photos from our Sunday Adventure.

Choose Your Own Adventure: #2

Mama's turn! Saturday I got to choose our adventure.



I woke up inspired to check out LA via our subway. I've lived in LA for a little over 4 years and have never ridden the metro. I've taken the bus, but never the subway - mainly because it doesn't go too many places. We drove to Hollywood and Highland to catch the red line. We changed to the gold line at Union Station and the got off one stop at Chinatown. It seems like Chinatown has gotten a face lift since the last time I was there including a gorgeous new upscale shop full of things that Addie thankfully didn't break. We ate strawberry eclairs, a red bean pastry and an egg custard tart at the Phoenix Bakery, and I bought a precious paper parasol for $4.50 which I want to save for Addie's birthday in May (that girl does not need any more Christmas presents!).


We hopped back on the train to Union Station and then walked to Olvera Street for lunch and shopping. We went from China to Mexico in less than 15 minutes! I had my eyes on a pink ukulele, a pair of maracas and Mexican shirt for Addie (also to squirrel away for her birthday).



After watching some street performers (Addie using Cap's head as a chair), we had to cut the shopping short as this girl was in serious need of a nap. We jumped back on the train where Addie pretended to nap. This is one of her favorite games.
"I'm napping!" she shouts and then fake snores. The other day, she was running up and down the hallway shouting, "I'm funny!"



Check out a few more photos from our Saturday Adventure.

Choose Your Own Adventure: #1

With daycare off and no specific post-holiday plans in sight, I was getting a little antsy.
I'm not very good at just relaxing at home like a cozy bear by the fire. That's what weekend nights are for!
Vacation time, however, must be used for adventures, otherwise I feel guilty that I'm wasting my precious
time-off from work. Since we didn't have any exotic travel plans, I decided instead to explore our own city.

On Friday, Addie chose our adventure - and her outfit. Decked out in her new pink “ballerina-ballerina” tutu (thanks Auntie Snorg!) and her black boots (that was my touch) we headed off to the aquarium. It was exciting to see many of the
same critters that we have in our own saltwater aquarium and to greet a few fishy friends like the
clownfish and damsels that got the "ich" and had to go to fishy heaven. Addie of course was always the one
to find them floating belly up in our tank at home. "Mommy, that fish is scary!" and when the last of the yellowtail damsels died last week she told me, "Mommy, that fish doesn't make sounds anymore." Broke my heart. We buried that
one in the front yard. At the Long Beach aquarium, Addie’s favorites are now based more on the characters from Finding Nemo. Clownfish and Palette Tang (Dory) are high on her list. Divers are considered bad news and are to be avoided, and she still has a fondness for sea horses and moon jellies.

After the aquarium we checked out a few stores in the Belmont Shores neighborhood of Long Beach including this amazing candy store where Addie picked out a piece of green clownfish gummy candy, and I drank a rather syrupy cherry-limeade soda called Frostie. Cap called it hummingbird food.

Inspired by the aquarium, we drove to our fish store and bought some new hermit crabs, snails, a carnation anemone and two new yellowtail damsels. Oh and some anti-ich drops. (thanks Mom for the gift certificate!)

Check out a few more photos from our adventure here.

Today is the Greatest . . .

In case you thought Addie spent most of her time in the buff, sometimes she wears a tutu.
"I'm a ballerina, ballerina!"

Thanks to so many for making this Christmas extra special. Addie couldn't have been more excited. I thought we might have gotten off on the wrong foot though when she came into the living room Christmas morning and said, "Where's Santa?" She recovered fast though when she saw that Santa had eaten the cookies we left out for him the night before and in its place were a few crumbs and plenty of presents. We started opening gifts around 8 am and with several breaks in between, including a screening of WALL-E left by Santa, we didn't finish until almost 2 pm.

That evening we had 12 for Christmas dinner at our place. We cooked a guajillo-tamarind turkey, garlic green beans with manchego, decadent scalloped potatoes and of course Cap's homemade apple pie. Afterwards we waddled over to the living room for some Wii bowling and Guitar Hero World Tour.

Merry Christmas!

I heard a new verse to Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer the other day sung by a little kid in line at a store.

Then all the reindeer loved him
as they shouted out with glee, (yippee!)
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer,
you'll go down in history! (like Obama!)

See ya Columbus!

Merry Christmas everyone!

The Villas at Gingerbread Meadows

We might have gone a little gingerbread mad this weekend. Maybe it's falling home prices in California, but we now have not one but three gingerbread houses to call our own.

Saturday we went to a friends home for a gingerbread house decorating party. It was 2 pregnant ladies, me, Cap and Addie. We brought along our own kit but when I read that you have to let the roof dry for 3-4 hours before decorating, I had to phase that project and start construction on the other two. I attempted to cobble together a graham cracker structure that would at least stand, and Addie took over the decorating (well most of it. i couldn't help myself). It was a Mommy-Daughter Joint Venture. She took her role seriously and called for reinforcements when necessary. "Mommy, more glue! (aka icing)"


Our host's amazing assortment of candies.


The California Ranch-style home with sunscreens


The Black Gold Shanty


The Prehistoric Mansion
The roof decorating was all Addie. Cracks me up. One side has frolicking butterflies in a field of jeweled gumdrops. The other side has dinosaurs bolting down a hill of chalky smarties.

Move Over Rudolph

There is a new littlest reindeer of all.


Last weekend we went to the zoo and Addie saw some real reindeer.
She took a quick look in their general direction and demanded to see the monkeys.

Fireside Chats

Gran sent Addie her own little grown-up chair.
Now she can snuggle up by the fire
and study her flash cards in her birthday suit.

It's kinda like a spider; it's a squid!

In this photo, Addie is looking, uh . . . intently, at a blue plastic squid in the little chair.

This year, instead of a paper advent calendar, I bought a wooden one thinking that this is definitely the more sustainable option. Sure, assuming I actually re-use it, but what really happened is that I'll use any excuse to spend my lunchtime in search of bargains at TJ Maxx Home Goods. I've decided that instead of a giant store of useless junk (which it is), it's really a treasure trove of delight.

The advent calendar came with peppermints behind each door which I gave to my coworkers. Of course, my advent calendar is less eco-friendly now that I have to go find 25 pieces of mini junk to put in it. Since it was already December 3 when I bought it, I had to scrounge up a few tiny items we had at home already. I believe that little blue plastic squid came off a margarita glass or possibly from a Sonic cherry-limeade drink purchased decades ago in Texas. There is no telling.

When Addie extracted it from behind door number 3, she exclaimed, "It's kinda like a spider; it's a squid!"

What you talkin bout Willis?

Addie continues to talk up a storm - usually at home though when there are no other witnesses to her loquaciousness. The night before Thanksgiving she woke up at 4 am cheery as can be and ready to tell us a something about everything. It went a little like this:

Addie:
Daaaaadyyyyyyyy. I want milk please.
You can stay here, Mama, and close your eyes. okay?
I'll be right back.

Me:
Hrmph

(then snuggled into our bed)

Addie:
Do you have bum (meaning gum) Mama?

Me: rrrrggrmph

Addie:
Do you have bum (gum) in your mouth?

Me:
No. Go back to sleep.

Addie;
I don't eat peanuts.
Girls don't eat peanuts.

Me:
mmmmrmph

Addie:
If I go pee pee I can have candy!
I can go pee pee in my potty.
I can eat candy!

Me:
Sweetie. It's 4 am. Please go to sleep. It's still nigh-nigh time.

Cap:
You need to go to sleep, Addie, because tomorrow is Thanksgiving.

Addie:
We're gonna eat turkey!
Papa Mit and Grandma Vede are coming over.
Not Aunt Karen.
Just Papa Mit and Grandma Vede.
We're gonna eat turkey.
It will be fun!
And Jake is coming!
Not Clara.

Me:
We're going to eat turkey, but you need to go to sleep so you can have fun.

Addie:
I'm happy!
It's gonna be fun!


Now, if that was all for a turkey, I can't imagine what the Night Before Christmas will bring.

good-night good-night sleepyhead

A friend of mine told me that she never loves her children more then when they are sleeping.

And this is my 300th post! Wow.