The Zumba's Gonna Get You

My new favorite thing to do on Thursday nights is --- Zumba! Have you tried it? From what I've gathered, you just dance your ass off to salsa, merengue, samba, hip hop, whatever your teacher has on his or her playlist really. And supposedly if you do it right, you can burn 1000 calories in an hour. Yep, I love Zumba. And what's more, Zumba loves me. The first week, the instructor asked me if I was a dancer. Awww! The second week, he asked me to lead the class in a combination. Stop! And the third week, another dancer asked me if I was Brazilian. Too, too kind! So you see why I'm hooked. It's good for the body AND the ego. Mostly I am so happy to have this release and to be dancing again in an environment where I don't look too (how do I put this nicely?) out of place. Now if only I had a zumba buddy . . .

Summer Lust List

A picture of these linen pants from Sanctuary popped into my inbox last night, and now they're on my list. That I just started. Such a welcome alternative to jeans, which are starting to sound very sweaty right now.

My New Happy Place

Last week, I needed to shop for a special gift for my mom (Happy Retirement, Mom!). So I decided to check out a newish boutique in town called Rosamariposa. While there, my heart did about twenty backflips because I found my mom a perfectly whimsical gift, AND I found some of the most unique and stylish jewelry I've seen in a while at seriously rock bottom prices. We're talking $5 earrings and $10 necklaces aplenty. For imported, all natural, and sustainable pieces that beg to be worn. When I asked the owner about her prices, she just said, "I like to keep things simple." That's my kind of simplicity. I let Snook have my camera to keep her occupied while I shopped. Here are some of her images, but I urge you to take a look at the website for a slightly less abstract take on why I'm so enamored. There are also cute shoes, bags, tunics, scarves and hats, sans the sticker shock you'll experience at most boutiques. It really is a very happy place that I pretty much am looking for any excuse to go back to.

The Search is Over

The kids and I have had to kiss a lot of toads when it comes to library story times (sleepy retirees, burnt-out librarians, frustrated drama types), but we have finally, thankfully found our story-time queen. Her name is Ellenjoy (if you can believe that), she's been a children's librarian for over 30 years, and she holds court every Tuesday and Friday mornings over the bridge at the gorgeous Coronado Library. We haven't been back to another library or story time since discovering this one. There are Snook and Bubs sitting right up front.In addition to bringing three or four children's stories to life (it would be hard to exaggerate how animated she is), Ellenjoy incorporates dancing, musical instruments, songs, puppets, you name it. So great.And we always seem to find familiar faces in the crowd. This past Tuesday we hung out in the Children's Library with friends after story time for FOUR HOURS! Snook even got to help change out the springtime decorations in the big display case. Next time we go there, the scene will be Bears at the Beach. I'm sure it will be adorable, and keep us coming back for more.

It's a Girl (and a Boy) Thing

So now that I'm home with my kids all. the. time. it's impossible to find time to do those girly errands that I used to always knock out on my lunch hour. You know the ones. Where nails are concerned, I've just said, "F#$! it," and taken to dragging them along. In order to keep the peace, I of course had to let my girl in on the act and now, surprise, surprise, at the tender age of four she is already a little pedicurista. Which kills me since I think I got my first one at age 23 or something crazy like that.You can see she's way more adventurous than I am.And whose red toes are those??? I know, I know, but he hates to be left out, and he copies everything his big sister does, and all the ladies think it's so cute, and I only let him get a couple done, and I try to remember to remove the polish as soon as we get home. Good thing I've given up waxing. Well, good and bad. Ugh.

In Seven Months or So . . .

. . . we'll be enjoying four varieties of vine-ripened tomatoes grown in our very own mini-garden bed. Assuming all goes well.But for now, we're still admiring the last of May's wildflowers growing in our lush backyard canyon, courtesy of February, March and April's many, many showers. Not kidding, by San Diego standards, we were seriously wet and wild for a while back there. Glad there's something beautiful to show for it.

Balls and Strikes

In case you hadn't heard, the San Diego Padres are HOT right now. No, seriously. Our spring was super busy, but we finally made it down to the ballpark last night, Memorial Day, the unofficial first day of summer. What could be better, right?Well, unfortunately, our experience was a bit of mixed bag. Here's what I mean:

Snook walked into a glass wall and bumped her head, BUT . . . to make her feel better, the nice usher gave her a baseball card and some tattoos that she'd been angling for since her arrival!

We didn't have time to grab a bite beforehand, BUT . . . we discovered the new, somewhat healthy $5 Kids Meal!

Bubs got an upset tummy and threw up in our row, BUT . . . they let us move a little ways down to field level while the janitor cleaned up, and then let us stay there for the rest of the game!

The Padres hit into some disappointing double plays, BUT . . . Jimmy Hairston Jr. hit a grand slam!

We had to leave all the excitement a little early (kids and all), BUT . . . one of those pretty, twinkly-lighted, Cinderella-style, horse-drawn carriages was riding by just as we exited!

The Mets got 6 runs, BUT . . . the Padres got 18 runs!

It ended up all being worth it just to witness such a romp. And I think it was the first time the kids really got into the game. Go Padres!

Pizza Pizza

Leftover Giovanni's pizza, baby shrimp, spinach, mushrooms, poached eggs, Hollandaise sauce

Can the H doctor up a slice of pizza the morning after. Or what.

We Went to Santa Barbara

The kids and I got to tag along with the H to Santa Barbara a couple of weekends ago. It's okay to shamelessly post pictures of your kids doing cute things when they're on a trip right? Plus, I noticed that Snook and Bubs have been conspicuously absent from Snook 'n' Bubs as of late. So here goes . . . Snook across the street from the beach and Stearns Wharf.Action shot on the hotel bed, which the kids shared suprisingly well for their first time. Phew!"Fighting the flowers." His little boy DNA is really starting to come out these days. Snook serenading something.Exploring some public art, as it were.Checking out the train station.Nothing cuter than a little boy wearing floaties. With his tummy sticking out.A frozen yogurt shop that serves crepes too? Yummmmm!The stall shower. Probably their favorite part of the whole trip. Two sleeping kids on the way home. Can't beat that.

They're already asking when we can "go on vacation" again. Baby steps.

Monokinis, Where Have You Been All My Life?

I'd never really heard of monokinis until recently, and now I can't stop scouring the web for cute ones. These are my favorites from Victoria's Secret, but there were lots more cute ones to be found. The monokini solves my problem of not wanting to bare the mid-section (two kids and all), but still not wanting to be too covered. Because of the cut-outs though, the monokini almost seems sexier than a bikini, which could be a little weird for a beach playdate or for just hanging at the beach with the fam. But then again, maybe not. I'm dying to know--- what do you think of monokinis?

The High Shelf

You can usually tell what kind of day I'm having by how many toys make it up to "the high shelf." Yeah. Rough day.

P.S. The warthog on the wall is not a toy. And that is not a prominent wall in our home.

Calm Down

I got an unexpected late Mother's Day present this morning in the form of this Newsweek article. A must-read I think for all of us mothers of young children these days, who for some reason keep striving for that elusive "p" word in the work of morhering. Not gonna happen, so why are we beating ourselves up and harmfully glorifying our children in the process? Happy reading, and I wish us all guilt-free, calm, and maybe even slightly more Victorian mothering from this day forward.

Take a Chance

Last Saturday was the H's and my sixth wedding anniversary, which seemed like a good excuse to update my pathetically aged fragrance collection. I chose the new Chance Eau Tendre by Chanel. Chance eau Fraiche smells pretty amazing too. I wish there was a scratch and sniff feature on Blogger. But trust me. Very heady stuff.

Have You Tried This Yet?

Eating Trader Joe's peanut butter was always a guilty pleasure, while eating their almond butter was pure torture. But pair those almonds with some roasted flaxseeds, and I suddenly don't miss the peanuts in my butter (or in my PB&J) one single bit. It's really yummy on bananas. And the kids like it too. So there you go.

Photo credit: Living Trader Joe's

I Have Sinned

Confession time: I fell off the Bullseye wagon, and sprang for a semi-pricey, 4-step skincare regimen. Again. My favorite step? This serum. Oh my gosh. This serum. I already love it, and it's not supposed to really kick in for two more months. Feels good to feel zero remorse. Finally.

Loving Laura

"Laura lived in the little house with her Pa, her Ma, her big sister Mary, her baby sister Carrie, and their good old bulldog Jack." Snook and I are really enjoying reading our way through the My First Little House Books series, in no particular order. She seems enthralled by the depiction of life in simpler times. I'm just so happy that she's enthralled with any stories in which the heroine isn't wearing a crown.