Food Love: Blackberry Jam

Hello Friends!

Have you ever been gifted awesome food that you just couldn't stop thinking about?  This happened a week ago. My brother gave me (okay, my little family) two jars of homemade jam: one strawberry and one blackberry.  

Yo my yo!  Is it possible to fall in love... with food?!  Because I kid you not the blackberry jam was that good.  I say this in the past tense because the jar did not last a week in my house.  Yes, I had to photograph it but I am sad to report these photos do not do the jam justice. Not at all.  

Wishing you many jam filled breakfasts!  ;-)

--Carolina 

Country Livin'

Hello Friends!

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I like to visit my brother in my hometown of Hopland, which it turns out is NOT 1 1/2 hours north of the Bay Area but 2 1/2 hours! I wonder where that one hour went?!  :-}  How I could have overlooked this is mind boggling. Perhaps I like and miss my hometown more than I previously thought.  Hmm.

This past weekend my little family and I made the trip north after my oldest's soccer practice (hence the blue uniform).  My boys had fun playing with their cousins and getting close and personal with my brother's chickens.

How beautiful are these chickens?!

This chicken is called Crooked Beak for obvious reasons-- he has a crooked beak. :-)

One of my favorite things about visiting my family (besides visiting with them, of course!) is the  natural beautiful landscape.  The oak trees are extremely large with majestic branches that shoot out from tree trunks with poetic grace.  They are truly amazing.  

The boys have a secret club house which they occasionally visit when they are not looking for bugs.  :-)

My family was generous with their summer bounty of veggies.  Mmmm. 

I hope you had a fabulous weekend!  What did you do?

Thanks for stopping by.

--Carolina  

Lazy Saturdays

Hello Friends!

There are two things that I miss terribly from my pre-baby days: a tidy home and sleeping in on Saturdays and maybe a Sunday or two as well.  ;-)  I no longer seem capable of keeping a tidy home or sleeping in since I've had my boys, but I have discovered the restorative powers of basically doing nothing at all on Saturdays. 

While I endeavor to take my boys somewhere fun each weekend, there is something to be said for simply hanging around the house without the pressure of having to be somewhere by a certain time. Sometimes doing nothing at home is just the thing we need as a family.  Other times it leads to endless bickering that I have no choice but to herd them into the car for an emergency visit to the nearest playground! 

To all of you out there who are able to keep a tidy home AND sleep in on Saturdays and Sundays, how lucky you are!  Send me some of your awesome karma please!  ;-)

I'd like to report that while I may be sleep deprived and subjecting my kids to reside in an almost always untidy home, they have mastered the art of enjoying lazy Saturdays!  That's a skill, right?

How do you spend your Saturdays?  More importantly, how do you maintain a tidy house with two young ones AND work full-time?   Please share!

Wishing you many restful Saturdays,

--Carolina   :-)

Enjoying The Little Things

Hello Friends!

I was looking through some recent photos I took of my friend's daughter's birthday party and came across these two that just bring a smile to my face.  My youngest loves, LOVES, L-O-V-E-S balloons and balls. He will cry as if his heart is broken if a helium filled balloon escapes his clutches. 

These photos remind me that sometimes it's truly the little things that matter that make you happy in any given moment.  Sometimes I feel bogged down by the reality of being an adult. I daydream of what I would do if I came into Big Money as if that would solve  all my worries and while it would certainly relieve a few, Big Money won't make me become a better person overnight or teach my kids to be impeccably mannered brainiacs.  

These photos remind me that living in the moment and enjoying the little things is happiness. Sometimes it takes a three year old to remind me of this. :-)

Until next time!

--Carolina 

The County Fair

Hello Friends!

Do you have fond memories of fun summer visits to the county fair?  My memories are mostly food related like the smell of cotton candy, corn dogs, and candied apples.  I remember that the candied apples seemed so large and devastatingly delicious!   Back in June we took the kids to the Alameda County Fair and they had a blast. The fair was quite larger than I anticipated and much larger than any county fair I ever attended as a kid near my home town.

The kids had a great time eating deliciously unhealthy food and getting on the rides.  We spent a whopping 8 hours at the fair!  To this day we don't know how we accomplished this.  Clearly there was a lot to see.  :-)

My oldest is afraid of heights. I really admire him for trying new things even while it scares him silly! Here he is admiring the kids jumping with bungee cords.  He promised that he was going to do flips and jump higher than anyone before him.  Then he got on and the person manning the jumping station had to assist him in jumping!

The boys loved the experience and we're thankful the county fair only happens once a year! ;-)

What are your favorite memories of the County Fair?

Until next time!

--Carolina

The Shoe Quest

Hello!

A couple of days ago my oldest lost a shoe.  Where he lost it is a bit of a mystery.  My husband swears that all lost things find their way to Yakima, Washington. Perhaps people who live there has super powers? ;-) Anyway, we decided to get him a new pair as school is about to start.  Since we had an errand to run in The City (aka San Francisco), we decided to shoe shop on our way out. Easy peasy, we thought.  Little did we know that shopping for a little kid would become a shoe quest of epic proportions!  

Who knew a 7 year old could have so many requirements for what constitutes a "cool" shoe? We went to Macy's and no luck. Nordstrom?  Ditto. The Adidas and Shoe Locker stores were a bust as well. We took a detour to Macy's and checked out some suits for the Hubs and the kids had a good time--running down the aisles, under the clothes racks, and jumping.  Unfortunately, this is typical for my kids.  :-/  

And yet, it's important to document these wild public moments.  I know that they won't always want to run in the stores and that someday soon, they won't want to go shopping with us even if it's for them.  It's worth it despite the occasional embarrassing moments where they accidentally run into other patrons and the, ahem,  loud parent whispers for them to behave.  

The boys love taking BART to San Francisco.

I mentioned the kids love to run and jump right?

I forgot to mention they also like to play hide and seek. Especially my youngest. 

My oldest was bummed out these shoes didn't come in his size. 

This little guy decided that he needed a break from all the running, jumping and hiding. 

Only to liven up when he spotted shoes in his size. I love how little kids don't really seem to care about gender specific items. If they like the size or style of the item in question, they will try it until they find the one thing that really appeals to them. 

And the shoe quest for my oldest?  Yeah, we hit gold finding shoes he approved of at the local Sports Authority less than 2 miles from our house. Go figure! ;-)

I hope you had a wildly successful and fun-filled weekend. 

Until next time!

--Carolina 

Lawrence Hall of Science

Hello Friends!

I try to take the boys out at least once or twice a month to a fun and local place that has some educational component.  A couple of weekends ago that place was The Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley. I've taken them there before but this visit seemed to really resonate with them. Most likely because of the current exhibit, Xtreme BUGS (Feb1-Sep 1).  They are huge, mechanical bugs  that make noises and are very life-like. The boys loved getting as close as possible to try to touch them even while they were slightly freaked out!  :-)

We went on a sunny and clear day.  The view was phenomenal!

The boys had a blast climbing on the life-sized whale and maneuvering in and out of the DNA play sculptures outside the entrance. 

My kids are fascinated by fountains. They want to climb on them, get in the water, and run circles around them. As long as they don't get before we get to our destination I let them get their wiggles out. :-)

Despite their differences in ages, the boys really enjoyed each of the interactive exhibits in their own way.  

Despite the posted signs to not put one's face on this exhibit (which I can't recall the name of!) EVERYONE seems to do it.  My kids were no exception:

This workout, er, museum visit lasted a couple of hours.  By the time we left, the fog was quickly rolling in as you can see in this photo.  

Make a visit to The Lawrence Hall of Science when you get the chance. I'll bet you won't be disappointed. After all, explaining science to little ones is half the fun or torture, depending on your science knowledge.  ;-)

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time, 

--Carolina 

Lensbaby: Test 1

Hello!

My hubby gifted me a Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic lense this past Christmas.  I know, I know.  Seven months later and I've only used it a few times.   My results with this lense have been lackluster in large part due to the lack of cooperative subjects.  ;-)   

On a serious note, this lense is a bit pricey (aren't they all?) but well worth it for the endless photography inspiration it offers. It does help to start out with still objects (a bowl of fruit, a stack of books, food, leaves, etc) rather than moving subjects such as kids. If you are used to auto focus lenses, you're in for a surprise as this lense requires manual focus and that can take some practice as I experienced. But it's well worth the effort for the lovely results.  Depending on the subject matter and lighting, the image results can be quite dreamy and dramatic. 

Here are two images from a recent practice shoot with my son. He would be quick to tell you that they are "torture" shoots. ;-)

The focus is unintentionally on his ear. I love the intensity of his gaze. 

Again, the focus is on his ear. Still, I like his body language.

As I mentioned before, this Lensebaby takes some getting used to!  I'll continue to practice and torture, er, share some of the better results in future posts.  ;-)

Until next time!
--Carolina

Summer Back Yard Lounging

Hello!

Sometimes all you need is a homemade tent for some fun and relaxation.  We got a flat sheet, a comfy well-loved blanket and various pillows.  I hung the flat sheet over a much used outdoor garland and held down the edges with some bricks.  Then the boys  grabbed some pillows and tossed them inside along with some toys.  They then built a fire out of bricks, magnolia leaves, and tissue paper.  Easy, simple, and free. My kind of set up!  :-)  

Of course, I had to grab my camera!  

In the end they seemed far more interested in playing with my phone than playing in the tent. Typical. ;-)

Until next time!

--Carolina