OK...That Was Lame but Lucky

So,
this morning I was at The Monkey's gymnastics class watching him bounce around with the other kids. As I walked to go to the other side of the trampoline, I felt my toe get caught on a mat and heard the sound of a stick snapping. I looked down and saw my left pinkie toe in a position I had never seen it in before, saying rather calmly, "Oh my gosh, I think I broke my toe." The other moms came over to look and were completely shocked. Some saying, "Oh, it looks like you just displaced it." (You think?) or "Wow, that looks broken." Amazingly, it didn't hurt then but now it does. I called Tom and he came right over. He looked at it and put it back to where it has always been. Many don't know this but Tom is a surgical tech at local hospital (two days a week, mostly so we can have health insurance during times like these) and has an amazing understanding of the anatomy. The three of us walked home and called one of the doctors he works with. I went in and had some x-rays taken and low and behold I broke my toe. What was so cool was that the doctor had said Tom had put my toe back perfectly, "I couldn't have done a better job. This is why he can't leave his job, he's too good." (well that's a whole different story for a different post). Tom was very pleased and flattered by what the doctor had said by saying, "Gosh Honey, you married a man who can sew, cook, pees sitting down and can align a fracture, perfectly. Aren't you lucky?"
Yes I am.

Something New...Poll Qustions

I guess blogger is having some problems with their poll software. Unfortunately, I do not know HTML enough to figure it out on my own, so if any one wants to answer the the questions to the left under comments, that would be great.

(Would you like to see new holiday designs? Would you like our organic shirts in long sleeves?)

What do you think?

Cool Hand-Made Goodies & Giveaway

We have added more beautifully hand-made goodies to our gift ideas section of our website. Beebee Mod's lovely custom made Lovely Sleepy Sacks, Lily Bean's amazing detailed playfood and Diddle Dumpling's exquisite baby shoes. So cute, no?

Also, we are having a giveaway of our t-shirts to five lucky customers. Just join our mailing list or make a purchase and you'll be entered to win a cool shirt. The drawing will be September 15, 2007. The winner will be notified via email.

This morning The Monkey and I went out exploring. I had intended to take him peach and raspberry picking, but alas, they were closed after a busy weekend. So...we ended driving out to Solano Lake (about 1/2 hour drive west of us) and stopped at the picnic/campground area. We walked along and threw stones at the little lake, climbed trees, and looked at and chased peacocks. Yeah, peacocks. They were wondering all over and were beautiful. After a while we headed back to Davis and stopped by the peach and raspberry stand (which was open but not for picking). The owner was just getting ready to feed the the chickens, goats, sheep and the pony (named Candy) and she asked The Monkey for some help. He obliged and did a great job. We were told that roosters will cock-a-doodle-do to let the hens and chicks know there is food, as well as, eat only when they know everyone else is finished. She also told us that there is this one hen that lays an egg everyday. After she lays the egg, she calls out to the rooster and keeps doing so until he finally comes to her and the egg, then and only then will she stop calling. Pretty funny. We then picked out our peaches and raspberries and talked about how beautiful the morning was, how great it was to be outside and how important it is for kids to be enjoying the outdoors. The owner and another customer were talking about The Dangerous Book for Boys, a book for playing in the outdoors. The book talks about the essential outdoor gear boys need, a Swiss army knife, a compass, a magnifying glass, etc. and how to make anything from a paper airplane to a fort. Pretty cool. Then I had mentioned that I've been reading (slowly) Last Child in the Woods. Which discusses children's (and adults) Nature Deficit Disorder, the criminalization of play and how we can get our children back outside free playing and using their imaginations, so they can become more in touch with nature and themselves. The ladies were interested in the book and I had felt my morning come full circle. Where we live is truly beautiful, with farm country just outside of town, a big open sky and trees everywhere. I don't want to get preachy on my soap box but I'm feeling like more and more needs to be done about kids and the environment. They are told everyday to be environmentally friendly, "be green", recycle... but how will they ever know how to save something that they feel so disconnected to because they are indoors watching T.V., playing video games, chatting on myspace, blogging, talking on their cell phones or plugged into their ipods, to name just a few activities. It can all get too overwhelming, so all Tom and I can do is raise our boys to appreciate nature and make it a part of our daily lives and hopefully they will continue doing so.

I Can't Help It

Along with being busy with work (we're having a big 25% off Back-to-School Sale, now until August 20th) having a sick Monkey (GI problems, need I say more) and being one man down (The Bubby went to Austria for 3 1/2 weeks), I thought this would help explain as to why there haven't been too many posts this month. Thanks for understanding.

Super Hot and Super Busy

It's been over 100 here in Davis, which makes things a little harder to do but we're getting work done. Hang in there we'll be coming back with our latest ideas and adventures.

Mama Mia

Can you tell we love to cook? Here is The Monkey making pizza in our friend's kitchen. Lots of fun and yummy.

Yummy

Hello To All. Well summer is here for The Monkey (school ended last Thursday). And The Bubby will be finished with his sophomore year of high school at the end of this week. There was an end of the year potluck at The Monkey's school so I thought I'd put a twist on cupcakes I agreed to bring.
I found this fun recipe in one of my baking books . I altered it just a tad and it came out great and the kids and parents loved them. These are so fun.
Enjoy!

Ice Cream Cone Chocolate Cupcakes

1 1/4 cups of self-rising flour

1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
1 cup white bakers sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 eggs room temperature
6 oz unsweetened chocolate melted see note
1 cup half and half milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 bag of semi- sweet chocolate chips

Note: To melt the chocolate, place in a double boiler over simmering water on low heat for approximately 5–10 minutes. Stir occasionally until completely smooth and no pieces of chocolate remain. Remove from the heat and let cool to lukewarm 5–10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl put flour aside.
In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the chocolate, mixing until well incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the half and half milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not over beat. After mixing pour bag of chocolate chips and mix in with spoon. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth. Carefully spoon the batter into flat bottom ice cream cones, filling them to the top of the cone. Still using the cupcake pans (or muffin tins) place one cone in each hole. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Be careful when pulling pans out and placing them on the cooling rack. Some cupcakes may get lopsided and may fall over.
Cool the cupcakes for 20 minutes and make Glaze Topping.

Glaze Topping

Melt
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 Tblsp. canola or veg. oil
Pour into a separate bowl and dip tops of cupcakes
Sprinkle with sprinkles

Makes a little over a dozen.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, let me know.

Mmmm I Love These

I've been getting a number of compliments on the earrings I received on Mother's Day.
I LOVE THEM.
So I thought I'd spread the info:

They are from Polli in Australia. Check out their other items; simply beautiful.

You can purchase them on line from the Polli website
or you can get them at the hippest store in Davis, California

Nestware
204 G St
Davis, CA 95616
(530) 757-6400

Ask for Lynn or Rosalie, they are the owners and the coolest ladies in town.


Thank you Honey, I love you.

Thinking About Being A Mom

It's been a few days since Mother's Day and I've been thinking about how lucky I am. It's not because my family had breakfast waiting for me while I was still in bed or that I got to go to some spa and indulge or anything else that some moms get to experience on that day. In fact, Mother's Day seemed to be quite a normal day (I did receive a pair of beautiful earrings and had my gym membership renewed. Sweet). I worked (as any small business owner does) and did laundry and other household chores (like any mom or dad does). I am lucky because my family loves me, we are healthy and our boys are happy. After dinner I took The Monkey to get some special mommy's day ice cream. As we were walking back, he wanted to run in and out of the water fountains at the park. I stripped him down to his bare nakedness, which he was happy about, and let him run free. As I watched him play in the fountains and let him share with me his excitement, I stopped and soaked up that moment of no worries or stress, just us giggling and playing together. I have learned from what others have told me with experiencing how fast time does go by. Already, The Monkey is no longer a little baby he once was. He is now a little boy. I will hold on to our time as mother and son, always, and treasure each phase of our life together, never forgetting what joy he brings me when he smiles.

Springtime with The Monkey

The weather here in Northern California has been beautiful lately. This has afforded all animals to enjoy the benefits of spring, including The Monkey. In the last week he was able to play with and walk his godfathers' dog CheChe Lobo. The Monkey was gentle and listened well. CheChe was pretty happy too. Moving on, at the beginning of his school day on Thursday, The Monkey witnessed three new baby chicks being hatched. This is a good because the first chick that was hatched earlier in the week will now have bubbies. The Monkey was very sad and wanted it to have a mama, dada, bubbies and a meow. Now that it has three new bubbies to play with, The Monkey wants to know when will they have a meow of their own. Hmmm. And finally, The Monkey's car "had a leak" (created by himself with water), so instead of taking it to the shop, he wanted to fix it. "Mama, I will fix it, cause it's my job to do. I like to fix things." Note the different tools and how his car has water underneath it. As his mother, I am taking great joy in watching his imagination grow and watching what he does with it. I hope he always finds ways to fix things and make them better so others can benefit from what he has to give.

Cool New Products

Cool capes by Superfly Kids that let the imagination fly.

And cute bags by Kissycake that both kids and grown-ups will enjoy.

We are so excited about adding hand-made artistian products from around the country to our website. People can go to any WalMart, Target or Toys-R-Us to get gifts for their kids but if you won't something truly special and hand-made (and well made) keep visiting our site and get something as unique as your child. We'll keep you posted on other play items and our new designs that will be coming soon.

In the meantime check them out.