A Sea Lion Send Off

For as long as I can remember I've always had a fondness for animals. When I was younger I wanted to be a veterinarian, a zoologist, a marine biologist, you get the idea. While those dreams didn't pan out (I apprenticed with a veterinarian in my hometown - the first time I assisted in euthanizing an animal I knew I wasn't cut out for those careers) I will forever be an animal lover, and I hope to pass that along to Marcus.

Friday we had the unique opportunity to do something I never dreamed I would get to experience with my little man. We watched rehabilitated sea lions released back into the Pacific.

While the experience was a quick one it was also unforgettable.

We arrived to the beach early, ensuring we didn't miss the show.

Between my friend, her little miss, and our arsenal of snacks, it wasn't hard to keep the little man and little lady entertained and waiting patiently.

After our brief wait it was time for the main event. 

The Marine Mammal Care Center staff arrived with three kennels which they brought down to the beach.

Very calmly and quietly the kennels were opened.

Two of the seals quickly made their way to the water.

Their coloring blends in perfectly with the rocky beach. Look closely and you will see the light blue arrows pointing to the two eager seals.

Aw, it looks like they are kissing.

While these two were happily frolicking in the ocean the third sea lion wasn't quiet as eager. 

A little prompting and coaxing, and this little guy was freely diving into the surf, too.

After swimming several yards out, it almost seemed as if this guy turned back to say, 'thank you' before he disappeared into the cool Pacific waters. 

Thinking back on the experience it still floors me. We were able to witness sending these guys back to their home. 

What an amazing encounter.

Happy Marcus Monday!

Just a Cali Cub

 hanging with his Mama Bear this weekend. 

Happy Monday!

Top 5 - Valentine's Edition

I have a pretty awesome little guy as my Valentine, and we have a  few fun things lined up. But, before I get into that, let's move right on with this week's high fives.

1. We don't really celebrate Valentine's Day, at least not in the traditional way. But, I did slip a little something into Scott's workout bag this morning. I hope he likes it, because I think it's freaking awesome. And, we're getting fresh swordfish from the fish market for dinner. Grilled swordfish beats out an overpriced restaurant meal any day.

If Scott doesn't want this I will gladly take it off his hands (literally). :)

2. Saturday Scott had a guys night. While he was doing his thing I was introducing Marcus to the camera and how it worked. Once the little man figured out what the camera actually did he wanted his picture taken over, and over, and over.

Excuse the lack of focus and my crazy eyes. I'm not too great with the self timer on the 'good' camera. But, just look at the little guy's smile - that makes the picture pretty awesome. He was so excited to see each picture we took. Heart melted.

3. The mail box is kind of a big deal these days. Be it dropping off letters or collecting them, Marcus LOVES helping with that daily chore. Lucky for him he received his very own piece of mail this week!

Marcus' Iowa buddy, Mace, sent a Valentine!

4. Yesterday Marcus and I had an almost perfect day. The weather was gorgeous and Marcus was in a top notch mood. I think our impromptu trip to the beach may have played a key role in the greatness of our day.

We had the entire beach to ourselves!

5. Today I have a special Valentine's Day date lined up for the little guy and me. It may involve sea lions and releasing them into the ocean. More to come on that next week.

Happy Valentine's Day!
Have a great weekend!

Aunt Annie's Soft Pretzel Clones

This year I wanted to do something a little different for our Valentine's treats. While I'm sure Marcus would have loved nothing more than a chocolate coma, my idea of fun was not one that involved a toddler hopped up on sugar.

My sister-in-law, Carolyn, sent us a picture of homemade soft pretzels she made, and I couldn't resist. I had to make them.

A closer look at the pretzels led me to my Valentine's epiphany. The pretzels were shaped like hearts! It was as if the baking gods had spoken. I couldn't NOT make these.

Admittedly, I was a littler nervous when I saw that the recipe included yeast. I had never worked with yeast before, and just seeing that ingredient left me feeling intimidated. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy these pretzels were.

It is rumored that these are supposed to taste exactly like the pretzels found at Aunt Annie's, which you can find in any mall across America. While I confess it's been awhile since I've had an Aunt Annie's pretzel, I can't compare. What I CAN say is that these are so, so, SO good.

Aunt Annie's Soft Pretzel Clones

1 1/2 cup warm water
1 1/8 tsp active dry yeast
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 cup bread flour
3 cups regular flour
2 cups warm water
2 Tbsp baking soda
4 Tbsp melted sweet butter

Directions

Cover baking sheet with parchment paper. If you don't have parchment paper grease your baking sheet.

Sprinkle yeast on lukewarm water in mixing bowl; stir to dissolve. 

Add sugar, salt and stir to dissolve.

Add flour and knead dough until smooth and elastic.

Let rise until dough doubles in size, roughly 90 minutes.

While dough is rising, prepare a baking soda water bath with the 2 cups warm water and 2 Tbsp baking soda. Be sure to stir often.

Preheat oven to 450. 

After dough has risen, pinch off bits of dough, a bit smaller than the size of a baseball.

Roll dough into a long rope, about 1/2 inch thick, or less. (The longer and thinner you make the dough rope the more like Aunt Annie's they will be.)

Dip pretzel in soda bath solution and place on parchment covered baking sheet.

Allow pretzels to rise again, 20-30 minutes.

Bake at 450 for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown.

Remove pretzels from baking sheet and transfer to a cooling rack.

Brush pretzels with butter. 

Toppings

I simply topped with sweet butter, but the next go around I'll try dipping the entire pretzel in butter and then coating with a cinnamon sugar mix.
Topping with coarse salt, or parmesan garlic would be tasty, too!

There were reservations that Marcus might not like these. The kid is so hit and miss with food. However, I'm pretty sure he enjoyed these.

Soft pretzels for the win!

What are some sweets you're sharing with your sweeties this Valentine's Day?


Recipe source: cdkitchen

We Got the Place

My thoughts are kind of all over the place right now. But for once it's actually a good thing.

Let me rewind a smidge. 

For the last month we have been (frantically) searching for a place to call our own. We traveled every weekend to an area of the city roughly 20 minutes from where we currently live. We have viewed countless homes, some that were sketchy, some that we seriously contemplated putting in offers to buy. But moving so far from our area was a difficult pill for me to swallow. 

Then, last weekend we viewed a townhouse that is approximately 50 yards from where we are currently living. If we could get this town home it meant we wouldn't be leaving our neighbors, we wouldn't be leaving our support network, we wouldn't be leaving the friends we've made and friends Marcus has made. Sure, the town home would mean sharing walls, and not having a yard, but to me those things don't carry the value of our established support network. That network is priceless.

So, Sunday we put forth our best offer. And then we waited… And waited… And waited… 

Last night, right before I was ready to close my exhausted eyes, Scott said, "What would you be most excited about if the town home was ours?" I rambled off a bunch of things, and then reminded him that I didn't really want to think about it - I hate playing the "what if" game. He turned to me and said, "Well, these are the things you're going to have to start thinking about. It's ours. We got the place." 

Play Dough {{DIY}}

My sister-in-law sent me these photos of my adorable nephew playing with play dough she had made at home, and it was immediately obvious we needed some of that stuff in our lives, too.

Sure, I could have run to Target where I would have most likely put a huge dent in our bank account buying things I don't need, but convinced myself that I do, and picked up a couple canisters, but what is the fun in that? Not to mention, when I saw the 'ingredient' list to actually make play dough it seemed silly to pay for something when I had all the necessary items already in my kitchen.

Homemade Play Dough

What you'll need:
1 cup flour
1 cup water
1/2 cup salt
1 Tbsp veggie oil
2 tsp Cream of Tartar

Directions:
Add all ingredients into a 12-inch skillet.
Heat, on medium-high heat for 3 minutes, constantly stirring the mixture.
The mixture will go from a paste-like consistency to a very obvious play dough texture.
Flatten and stir repeatedly.
Cool.
Divide and add food coloring, mixing by hands.

To store:
Keep refrigerated in plastic ziplock baggies.
Besides being ridiculously easy to make, it's totally non-toxic. Though, after one quick taste-test I can tell you Marcus has yet to go back for seconds. 

Because Marcus isn't exactly the arts and crafts type I wasn't too worried about my minimal investment in this homemade entertainment device.

However, to my pleasant surprise, he was totally fascinated with the sculpting clay.

This has quickly become my go-to activity when I need Marcus to stay put for a few minutes.

Thanks Aunt Carolyn for the new found fun!

Happy Marcus Monday!

Marcus handled the bird feeding better than his mommy (this momma doesn't do birds so well).

Happy Monday!

The Appeal of IKEA

We are eyeballs deep in searching for a place to call *our* home. Because of that this week has been b-u-s-y! If we aren't scouring listing sights for new properties we are touring properties, and all of that has made this week fly by.

Jumping into the big fives from the week:

1) Yesterday one of the first things to pop up on my Facebook feed was this:

It's the little things in life… :)

2) My friend convinced me to make a weekday trip to IKEA. The last time I went was on a Sunday afternoon. Lesson learned. Week days are the way to go. And, I actually enjoyed the place, I can finally understand the appeal of IKEA. Picking out "stuff" for where ever we call home will be good times!

These two were our little shopping assistants. They were high-fiving (how appropriate for today's post) the successful trip.

3) These two are so stinking cute together. We asked if they would hold hands, and the obliged.

Heart exploded.

Now, please excuse me while I go sob in a corner… When did my baby decide it was ok to hold any other girls hand besides mine?!

4) My life long BFF, Amy, and her family are coming to visit us in April. I.CAN.NOT.WAIT! There are so many things I already have planned for all of us to do while they're here. I hope her family is ready for my action-packed itinerary.
Is it April, yet?

This was the last picture taken of the two of us together before we became mommies. :)

5) Oh, Kid President, you certainly have a way with words…
"You're awake. You're awesome. Live like it!"

Letter to A Person on Their First Day Here

Have a great weekend!

App-tastic

Marcus doesn't spend a whole lot of time sitting still. In fact, he'd rather eat entire meals running wild instead of seated at our table (but we try to keep that to a minimum). And it comes as no surprise that Marcus would spend all day every day outside playing in puddles and dirt.

However, there is the rare occasion where the little man slows down. While he isn't all that interested in arts and crafts, or puzzles and such, he does enjoy swiping my iPhone or the iPad.

It took some trial and error, and lots of downloading (and then deleting) to find a few quality apps that keep Marcus entertained and are educational.

So today I thought I'd share our favorites:

1. Little Fox Music Box ($1.99)- part of the Fox and Sheep collection. Ages 1-5.

Between "Old Mac Donald" (Marcus' favorite), "London Bridge", and "Evening Song", there are over 100 interactive elements. Each time we open this up I feel like we discover something different. Then there is the music studio in the fox's tree house, where you can make and record your own music. There are times I think I may actually enjoy this app (particularly the music studio) more than the little man.

Old Mac Donald is Marcus' favorite of the three songs. Each season has a different layout that provides different elements of interaction. This is the first app Marcus usually goes to.
To incorporate more education to the app I will ask, "Where is the cow? Where is the horse? Where
are the flowers?" etc. 

2. Nighty Night ($1.99)- part of the Fox and Sheep collection. Ages 1-4. 

This is very similar to Little Fox Music box. There is cute lullaby music and narration to guide us along as we go through the house to put each animal to sleep. After successfully putting the animals to bed the lights in the house go out.
This was also nominated as App of the Year by Apple.

The fish are our favorite. When you tap them they zoom about, causing some serious giggles in our house. 

3. Toddlers Seek and Find, My Little Town ('lite' version is free, full version is $1.99). Ages 1-5.

When we first downloaded this I thought Marcus would be instantly bored. It's not as bright and flashy as some other apps we've tried, but I was very surprised how well Marcus took to this. There are over 80 animations that keep my little guy busy.

The lite version has two morning scenes (shown on left and right). On the left, Marcus loves to make the bear play the piano (middle left picture), and the train run (middle right picture). On the right, Marcus loves to watch the helicopter fly about the screen. To add in some educational components I will ask, "Where is the clock? Where is the sun?" etc.

4. Tiny Hands Educational Towers ($1.99). Ages +1.5 years.

We just discovered this app thanks to Sally and Mace! Marcus has been enamored with it.
It's puzzle after puzzle, increasing in difficulty. This is teaching Marcus before and after, big versus small, top versus bottom. This has become an instant hit in our house.

The bright colors and fun designs keep us busy for minutes!

5. Kids Trucks: Puzzles ('lite' version is free, full version is $1.99). Ages 1-6. 

It's trucks! That's about all I needed to download for Marcus to make him happy. To make me happy these are puzzles that gradually get more difficult as you go. Once each puzzle is successfully completed 'bubbles' appear on the screen and are fun to 'pop.'

The puzzle pieces are located on the left. The bubbles appear after successful completion.
Let's have an honest moment - these are similar to the wooden puzzles, without the hassle of actual wooden pieces all over the place, getting lost, or stepping on those painful little red pegs. Win-win!

These are our go-tos when mommy just needs to sit down for a minute we need a change of pace from our regular go-go-go sprint. 

Share some of your favorite apps! We have a few long trips coming up, and we are always searching for ways to keep Marcus sitting still for multiple hours on end. 

$10 Parking, But Entry is Free!

Each stage of baby/toddlerhood is fun, but I absolutely *love* this stage Marcus is in currently. The kid a just one little sponge, soaking up every.single.thing around him. Taking him to new places to explore and discover is just as much fun for me, watching him learn, as it is for him.

While this last weekend's focus was primarily on football we managed to sneak in a trip to the California Science Center.

The science center is located adjacent to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which is a massive structure.

The Coliseum is the first stadium to have hosted the Olympic games twice - 1932 and 1984. It has also hosted the World Series and Super Bowls. Unfortunately, this is now most commonly known as the home field for USC Trojan football. Blech. 

The top right is a piece of stone from the Colosseum in Rome, while the bottom right is a piece of stone from the Atlis Olympia in Greece. 

After ogling over the Coliseum we made our way into the science center. Our first stop was to check out the space shuttle Endeavour.

Believe me when I say this picture does not do the space craft justice. The thing was *massive*.

The bottom middle pic is the underside of the space craft. Thousands of tiles, each made of 90% air, water resistant, and cost $2,000 PER TILE.

Scott could have spent hours meandering through all the space exhibits, reading all the little fact placards, and checking out all the space stuff. But, I knew Marcus wouldn't last long, and reminded Scott of that fact. We were in and out of the space exhibit in what was likely record time.

We made our way to the hands on areas for Marcus. The kid was in heaven.
First up, the play "house." Marcus discovered what a magnifying glass was, made a gourmet meal in the kitchen, and hung out in a big boy room.

The cartoonish feel of each room was so fun!

For a brief moment the room full of iPads was enamoring. And then Marcus realized he was quietly sitting still.

We then checked out an area that honed in on cognitive skills. Marcus has never been one to sit still long enough to work on puzzles, but he spent a shocking amount of time in this particular area.

When the little guy is deep in thought, or concentrating extra hard, he has a tendency to stick his tongue out.

So many puzzles!

By the end of our tour of the science center my little man was spent.

Lights out before we even exited the premises!

Entry to the science center was free (minus the $2 admission to check out the Endeavour)! BUT, in typical L.A. fashion, parking was TEN BUCKS! Who does that?! Ahh, the prices we'll pay to park our cars to let our kids learn.

Though the parking is a serious rip off, I'm already looking forward to our next trip back to the science center - there is so much more we have yet to explore!

Are there any science centers near you? If so, have you taken your littles to check them out? If not, I would highly recommend going for some hands on fun!

Mini Fruit Pizzas

Tuesday. Yuck. I'm 99.9% certain Tuesdays are worse than Mondays. Last weekend is now merely a memory and this weekend seems so.far.away. Not to mention, yesterday was a doozy of a day. But, that's another post for another day.

I figured to perk my mood up - and hopefully yours, too - I'd share this fun little recipe.

Friday I mentioned I was planning to make mini fruit pizzas to share during our Super Bowl festivities. I was a little skeptical as to how these world turn out. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy these were to make and assemble. And, how these might have been mildly addicting (and that I may have eaten my weight in them - whoops).

Mini Fruit Pizzas

1 package Pillsbury pre-cut sugar cookie dough
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 container whipped cream
4 cups (approximately) fruit toppings of your choice

Preheat oven to 350.
Slice fruit into bite size pieces.
Cut each pre-cut sugar cookie in half.
Roll into balls.
Place balls in center of mini muffin tin.
Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes.
Once removed from oven, allows cookies to cool for 2-3 minutes. Don't wait too long, or the cookies will be difficult to remove from the tin.
Place cookies on cooling rack.
Meanwhile, whip the softened cream cheese until smooth.
Beat in whipped cream until well blended.
Place frosting into a zip lock baggie, snip the tip, and pipe the frosting into the cookie cups.
Add fruit atop the frosting.

To keep my pizzas Super Bowl appropriate, I used blueberries and kiwi to represent the Seahawks, and blueberries and oranges to represent the Broncos. I'm a self-admitted nerd. :)

I think these might also make an appearance at Marcus' birthday party (which is less than two months away - what?!!).

Enjoy!

Source: Banner Boutique

Happy Marcus Monday!

Marcus loves football, but the game yesterday didn't spike his interest at all. He'd much rather play than watch.

Happy Monday!