One more Moore

A little delayed

 because we were here. We spent the day in Santa Monica at the beach. The weather was perfect, we got sand in our pants, relaxed,  ran around, threw sand at each other, buried Henry, all the beach day essentials. Luckily, both kids love the beach especially running their legs and toes through the sand. I'd like to call this the beginnings of a sand angel:
Yes, most definitely a sand angel.

It was so fun to read all the entries for the contest. Who knew there were so many new and expecting mamas? Congratulations to all of you!  The random number generator has chosen commenter Allie as the winner of the Keiki Kover!

I blogged about your giveaway here

Thanks!

Posted by: allie| March 25, 2009 at 08:11 PM

Congratulations, Allie! Send me an e-mail and I'll mail you your Keiki Kover! Don't forget they are offering you a 30% discount (info in previous post) on these nursing shawls.  Hope you have a lovely rest of your weekend and get a little sand in your toes!

xoxo

A Keiki Kover give-away!

It's your lucky day! We've got an awesome, awesome give-away today sponsored by the wonderful people at Keiki Kover.

"Keiki Kover nursing shawls are the best on the market!  With unparalleled functionality, luxuriously soft fabrics, fashion forward trims, and simple sophistication, Keiki Kovers are a necessity for every modern mom.  Nurse anywhere with pride confidence, and style!"

To learn more about Keiki Kovers, click below:



 Keiki Kover is  offering a 30% discount to all of you blog readers, just enter "FAMILY" in the promo box at checkout to redeem your discount.


The lucky winner will have their choice of a sand colored Keiki Kover with a pink or blue/green trim. Aren't those little toes so sweet poking out? The kover also doubles as a stroller throw! Brilliant, I tell ya!

So, I'm going to mix things up a little as far as entering. To enter, simply leave a comment. If you would like to help spread the word about this great company and their products, mention the contest on your blog (if you have one) and give yourself another entry in the comments. The winner will be drawn on Friday.

Good luck!

Happy Spring!

Spring has arrived! We have bunches and bunches of daffodils all around the house. I told Chris, after bringing me lillys on Valentines, that we really must try to have fresh flowers in the house at all times. This is our 2nd week of daffodils, and I am in love.

"I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze."

-William Wordsworth

Vintage sheets, ready to be cut and made into summer beach quilts. I have been itching to make these since last summer. I need to make two for gifts, and one for myself, of course. I have a few other projects I need to get finished before starting these, but am keeping my fingers crossed they'll be next weekends project.  I got so burned out from Christmas sewing, that I've hardly had my sewing machine out since. But I'm ready to brush off the dust and get going again. Besides, Easter is right around the corner, and Kate most definitely will be needing an Easter dress.

Happy Spring!

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Thanks for your great dinner suggestions! Here is what we (by we, I mean I) have decided on:

Corned Beef Sandwiches w/Sauerkraut
Roasted Parsnips and Cabbage
Boxty (Grilled Potato Cakes) topped w/Applesauce
Dessert - has been delegated to the ever capable McKissicks (phew!)

You know what they say about Boxty right?

"Boxty on the griddle, boxty in the pan,
If you can't make boxty, you'll never get a man"

So all you single ladies, just get on that.
We started the afternoon off with a trip to the market & then the party store for 6 balloons. Upon putting them in the car, one of them popped. We were down to 5. We brought them home, put Kate down for a nap, decorated the table, and played with the balloons.

Probably not a good idea to play with the balloons outside, but it was St. Patrick's Day and I was feeling adventurous. Immediately after this picture was taken, 3 flew up into the air and immediately after that, one popped on the back of the iron patio chairs (which you will notice have still not been painted) Leaving someone feeling a bit a bit sad. And then there was one. Which was held onto ever so tightly. And now that single ballon is rocking the living room- looking oh so festive and St. Patrick's Day-ish, all by it's lonesome little self.

 I remembered a special St. Patrick's Day treat I purchased (I am a total treat monger) last weekend which got the thumbs up (as does everything these days. There is no 'yes' or 'no', just thumbs up or down)
 
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I almost forgot to wish Patricia a Happy Birthday today! How lucky to be born on St. Patty's day! I miss you!

St. Patty's Day Prep

Henry measures time by the distance between each holiday. Any excuse to celebrate, and he's on board. I've never really celebrated St. Patrick's Day before, but it comes much sooner than Easter so I've been doing my part to get him up to speed on all the details: shamrocks, wearing green, leprechauns ("I know what a leprechaun is," he says "it's like a tiger, but white with black spots")
Wearing green so you don't get pinched is of utmost concern.  To ensure that no pinching takes place, we felt it would be in Henry's best interest to make sure he had a little green to wear in the form of a personalized shamrock pin. And his friends needed ones, too. So this afternoon after a nice welcome home lunch with pops, and a quick trip to Joann, we were ready to set to work on all this shamrock business. The shamrocks were made from craft felt and then blanket-stitched around the edges. I couldn't find my fabric glue to glue the letters on, so I tried Elmer's- which didn't work at all. Finally a hot glue gun worked, but I wished I would have just hand stitched them on. There is always next time. The pins that went on the back had a peel & stick adhesive which made things even easier. They were delivered, with pride, to the friends as soon as that glue dried. Badda boom, badda bing. A shamrock pin.

The McKissicks are coming over for Saint Patrick's Day Dinner. I was going to make corned beef, but it sold out almost as soon as it went on sale, so now I'm a bit stumped. I think I saw some Irish Hand Pies in the March issue of of Martha that I might give a whirl, there may be some Irish Soda Bread. What is a good dessert? I'm still figuring it out. If you have any idea's send them my way. I've never made a St. Patrick's Day dinner, so any suggestions (on such late notice!) would be greatly appreciated. I am not going to the market until tomorrow.

xo

A funeral & a milestone

Today was my uncle Bodo's funeral. In honor of him, Henry wore his lederhosen. My aunt and uncle brought them back for Henry on a trip they had made to Germany. My uncle was German. He married my aunt and they moved to California when he was in his twenties. Henry loved Bodo very much. They played trains together and did puzzles. Bodo even taught Henry how to lay on the floor on his side with his arm propped, holding up his head. At bedtime tonight I asked Henry if he had a good time at Ellen & Bodo's today. He said 'no'. I asked him why and he said it was because Uncle Bodo wasn't there and then he promptly laid on his side and said, "see....just like Bodo taught me." Death is a hard thing to explain to a near 4-year old. He asked me today if you can only die if you live in Germany. My uncle was there visiting family when he became ill and passed away in the same town where he was born just 57 years earlier . My cousin brought back some "kinder schokolade" for Henry, which he was over the moon about and now requests.  My brave aunt has been so courageous these last 2 1/2 months. We love her so much.
Little Miss Kate turned 10 months today. I have absolutely no idea where she inherited those legs. Here she is with my brother, Matt. The husband is out of town on a shoot for the weekend and I've been so lucky to have Matt here. My sister and Dustin are staying here, too. We are a happy family! Kate made her first sign this week for "milk." What I thought were only 2 teeth coming in on top were actually 4. So that's 6 with 2 more breaking through. Oy.  Thank you Dustin for the photo's!

i'm hoping to be back in this space more regularly next week.

xo

She wanted cupcakes

Chocolate ones (of course) with chocolate frosting and rainbow sprinkles to be exact. A certain little someone from a Primary class that I was substituting for was turning 7 on Monday. And she wanted cupcakes (twist my arm.) This little red-haired girl holds a special place in my heart, so you'd better believe I brought cupcakes for the whole class. They all sang and told her their favorite thing about her ("She is SO reverent!")

Happy Birthday little red-haired girl! I'm so glad I got to be your teacher today.

We drove and we drove and we drove

Chris' twin brother (also known as the Brother-husband. Everyone should get one. They are so helpful) came to town last weekend from Utah on a layover to Hawaii. One afternoon, we decided to take a drive. We drove until ended up here:

 2 hours and 140 miles north of LA. We ended up in Solvang.

We went shortly after Kate was born, in June- but haven't been back since. And speaking of that Kate:

As I was looking at this photo I just noticed that the sign on the storefront behind her says Kate. It was meant to be. And the boys? Well, here's all 3 of them:
And a sure sign that Spring really is just around the corner:

Most of the shops in Solvang have storks perched on top of the roof. Do you know why?
It's for good luck, of course!

We really had such a lovely time. All the sight-seeing made our little group a bit hungry so we stopped in the next town for some grub. And you'd better believe that there was no way in h-e-double-hockey-sticks that we were gonna pass this place up:

Wagons on the rooftop? You kiddin' me? No further dinner discussion was necessary. Don't be fooled by the Western-motiff. That wagon place cost a pretty penny. The brother-husband said it best,
 "Someone's gotta pay for that stuffed buffalo in the lobby."

So very true.

Have a great weekend!

The tale of the underwire

"What's that pokey thing in your shirt?"
"Oh dear, it looks like my under-wire is coming out."
During an afternoon game of Candy Land, I pulled it out. He was amazed. The coolest thing ever. It made a re-appearance at dinner tonight.
He pulled it out of nowhere and started using it as a FORK.

From there, it went right on his head like a headband.
I don't know what's more amazing: that he used it as a fork, or that it fit on his head (with room to spare)
Thank you ancestors for blessing me so bountifully.