Uber cool dad gift list

A fun treasury of super cool gifts for your super cool dad (or guy):



Doesn't etsy have some awesome suff?

Dirt

My kids love dirt. I don't blame them, I always loved playing in the dirt with my sister when I was little. We would discover new bugs, make mud pies, and well...dig. And now I'm doing pretty much the same things with my kids. I just wish the weather in Seattle would clear up so we could do it more often. I can always tell a difference in my kids moods if they haven't been outside, they get a little manic and sassy. Especially Z. He's a boy that needs dirt and fresh air. He needs to go outside and blow the stink off, as my grandma would say.

(Yes, my garden is full of uncontrollable weeds! I am not a gardener, most of my plants - that I actually buy, not the weeds - end up dieing. So sad.)

At least the weeds afford some photography opportunities!

Fishy Craft Fun

In honor of the newest member to our household we made an in-door fishy windsock.

Supplies:
Paper
Scissors
Tape
Markers, crayons, colored pencils or whatever you like to color with
Paper streamers (or napkins if you don't have any streamers)
String or yarn

Draw an eye and a fin on the left and right sides of the paper. Make "waves" (as Z calls it) for fish scales.

It doesn't really look like a fish, but just wait!

Let your kiddos color as much (or as little) as they want.

Next take some paper napkins that you have lying around the house (if you don't have streamers) and color those up too.

Now, on the back side of your fish, tape on your streamers or your opened napkin to the bottom edge. PS: Don't worry if your napkin is shorter than your fish, you'll need that edge to overlap in the next step anyway.

Roll your fish into a cylinder and tape along one edge. Cut the napkin tail into wide strips. Tape on some string or yarn so you can hang up your fish for the world to see!

Do a fishy dance 'cause you're so excited

Meet the newest member of our house

My husband and I agreed the other day that it was time for the kids to get their own pet and quit asking for a fish learn about responsibility. So Chris took the kids down to the local pet store to pick out their very first fish. They chose a very lovely, and fairly low maintenance, betta fish.

My husband, who knows that betta's natural habitat is a ditch/patty field, ended up spending waaaaaaaay more than he should have trying to recreate the puddle effect in a fish bowl. I'm pretty sure that Woner (that's what Z named him) is over joyed to be swimming in his decked out puddle bowl in our kitchen - no plastic plants here! I'm pretty sure we'll be getting a call from MTV Cribs soon.

Mother's Day brunch

One of my favorite things to do is to host parties! It's so much fun to plan a theme, and a menu, decorate and of course, socialize! The downside is (if you're the one cooking) you end up stuck in the kitchen while the rest of the party is happenin' somewhere else.

Here is one of my favorite make-ahead recipes, it's perfect for a Mother's day brunch. You make it the night before after the kids are in bed and all you have to do the day-of is pop it in the oven, easy-peasy. Which allows you to be the social butterfly you were meant to be. And it's delicious too, sure to please everyone, even your mother-in-law!

PS: This is great for Easter morning or Christmas morning when you're busy but want something special for breakfast too!

Baked Apple French Toast

1C brown sugar, packed

1/2 C butter, melted

1Tbsp cinnamon, divided

3-4 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

1/2 C raisins

1 loaf french or Italian bread sliced 1 inch thick

8-9 eggs

2C milk

1Tbsp vanilla

Combine brown sugar, butter and one teaspoon cinnamon in a lightly greased 13x9 baking pan. Add apples and raisins, toss to coat well. Spread apple mixture evenly over bottom of baking pan. Arrange slices of bread on top; set aside. Blend together eggs, milk, vanilla and remaining 2 teaspoons cinnamon until well mixed. Pour mixture over bread, soaking bread completely. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours.

Bake, covered, at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Serve warm with with syrup, if desired. Makes 12 servings.

Mimi and I are going to my mom's house for the Mother's day (my parents live 2 hours away), so we won't be making this for breakfast at my house this year.  But we're going to have lots of fun, just us girls! I hope you have a wonderful Mother's day too!!!

Summer and Pink Lemonade

I can't wait for summer, it is by far my favorite time of year. I love the warm sun, swimming in the ocean, backyard BBQ's and pink lemonade...



What's your favorite part of summer?

Something special in the mail

I absolutely LOVE to get packages in the mail (yay! it's not a bill!), but what is really fun is when the package is wrapped up in a special way, it's like a little mini party in your mailbox. What fun! I want my customers to enjoy getting their special clips and headbands in the mail too! That's why every order, no matter how big or small, comes wrapped in pretty tissue paper and string.

Colors may vary, depending on the season.

Don't worry if you don't live in the US, I ship pretty packages all over the world - and I have low international shipping prices -yay!