Rainy Day

The song is wrong. It does rain here in Southern California. The fact that it is mostly gorgeous all of the time makes the rain stand out even more. It can either be cozy or crummy. When I had the luxury of a movie or a book, it was cozy. With a rambunctious toddler, it can lead to all out cabin fever. On this day I attempted to make homemade vegetable patties. A recipe that I won't bother sharing because it was so much prep work for not too much bang. Because I had so much chopping to do I had to keep Nico occupied. I filled up the kitchen sink and added some toys and he was a happy camper. I was able to keep an eye on him while I chopped away and it was a great indoor activity for him. While the recipe wasn't that great, I was really happy with my creative solution to keeping all my ingredients in order. Perhaps this is already an old trick you all know about, but I just did it out of necessity for space and not wanting to do too many dishes. I will definitely be employing my muffin pan in future recipes! Meanwhile Nico's calm and cool sink play turned into part cleanup, part debacle. As you can see he ended up inside the sink, totally drenched. Water spilled everywhere. I gave him a colander and he scrubbed it dutifully. Later I found a small peice of leek in his diaper. Messy? Yes. Easy to clean up? Yes. Unforgettable, definitely.

Messy Art Class

We checked out the Messy Art class at Play. Nico was a rebel and refused the plastic smock, butonce I was assured the Tempra paint would wash out, we let him go nuts. At first he was drawn to red and wild thrashings of the brush ( a junior Pollock for sure) but he ended in a somber blue period (we were getting close to his naptime). Play is really nice. They have a large room for snacking and playing in. Nico played trains for a bit before we headed out into the foggy West Hollywood morning. Low point of the day: I cracked the glass on my iphone chasing Nico. It still works, so I can't justify a new one, it's purely cosmetic. But I do live in L.A...Oh the shame! Here is Nico after class, basking in his artist glory, war paint and all.

Los Monstruos

Nico likes to read in the buff. It's a nighttime routine of sorts. I let him enjoy his nakedness, I can tell he loves it so. We recently got Where The Wild Things Are in Spanish , and it is a hands down favorite. The story seems so wordy and complicated to me for a toddler. I secretly ordered it for myself. Yet when I read it, Nico follows right along, mouth agape, in serious concern for Max. Tonight he grabbed the book and took it and his naked behind straight to his father for a bedtime story. My husband recently shared this amazing site with me. It is tied to the upcoming release of the movie. I have been checking it often for inspiration and vicarious living.

Nature Walk

This Sunday the family took an early morning nature hike in Griffith Park. There is a beautiful woodsy creek and path, and the air was crisp. We encountered a couple with a parrot, lots of dogs on walk, and an impromptu soccer game on a dirt field. After seeing this book and reading how our youngest generations have lives almost devoid of nature, and the serious implications of having lived a life indoors... Aaron and I decided to take bubba right into the forest. I have to catch myself from saying, "Oh gross, don't touch that!" and make sure Nico touches wet mossy things, old cobwebs and muddy leaves. Not just because he is a boy, but because he is a human.

Cherimoya

Tonight for dessert we ate our cherimoya fruit. This is the same one that was on our fireplace mantle. Today it ripened to perfection. Mark Twain called the cherimoya "the most delicious fruit known to men." It tastes completely tropical, like a hybrid of guava, mango, and maybe banana. Part of the fun of eating it is trying to decipher its flavor. You can find it under the name custard apple too. We got ours at the farmer's market. Let me know if you love it so too.




While we are on the subject of sweetness, I found this oldie but goodie of Nico today.He must have been about 6 months here.He is wearing his grandfather Oscar's reading glasses. His chins are truly custardy. This baby is ridiculous and delicious.

Green Theme

Tonight's theme was green. Not on purpose, mostly by accident, and definitely in retrospect. Both of the men in my life were donning the lucky color. Here are some pictures of them after dinner, enjoying some fruit and music for dessert.


Tonight's supper also ended up being green. Nico and I went to the zoo late today. By the time we got home it was after 5 and I didn't have time to cook my pre-set meal. No need to panic! I made some healthy fast food.This stuff is amazing. I but it Whole Foods: Taste Adventure Split Pea Soup. $2-3 bucks a bag.It's super fast and super healthy. I recommend this in your pantry. It has absolutely no preservatives, not even salt, and contains only pure precooked vegetables. You just add water to the dry mix and you have a hearty soup. If I have time I like to dress it up a bit. You can add sauteed onions, or fresh vegetables. I suppose you could even add bacon. Garnish with cream or parm. We ate ours with sourdough and some green salad with mungbeans in it.

The Long Weekend

We were being so patriotic, that we did the all American Staycation this past weekend. (When will that word leave the lexicon?) We went to Mike's for a BBQ, we hosted the AJ's at our house for a BBQ, and then we wrapped up the long weekend with KidsSpace Musuem in Pasadena on Monday. We got there with only an hour to spare before they closed down. Good thing the ticket booth man took pity and only charged us $10, instead of the $30 that we would have had to pay any earlier. It's a great place, but now that Nico doesn't qualify for free admission, it doesn't seem quite as fun!
We rushed him right to the water area where he could splash in the creeks and get soaked in under 60 minutes. He loved it so much. On our way out to the car from the museum we tried taking him to a playground, but Nico wanted nothing to do with it. He ran right out towards the green expanse of soccer fields and baseball diamonds. He stared at 2 brothers who were practicing their fancy footwork in soccer and seemed trance-like, watching them kick the ball around and bounce it off their heads. They invited Nico into the game and kicked him the ball. He fearlessly ran up to it and kicked it back and forth with the two guys for a while. It was so fun watching him.