Pie Plate Monday

I've decided that I'm going to be rebellious and use a different type of dish every week for "Muffin Tin Monday". Click on the pic to see more muffin tin mamas at Sycamore Stirrings....

Cheddar cheese chunks, Grapes, Black bean chips, Carrots, Hard Boiled Egg, Tomatoes.

First "Harvest"

Finn and I indulged in our first and only 2 strawberries from our plants. YUMMY! It's amazing how much sweeter they taste since we grew them.

"Muffin Tin" Monday

I've realized that there's an amazing realization that comes along with "Muffin tin" Mondays... I know now when I need to get my rear to the grocery store. Here's our lunch for this Monday:



Strawberries, whole wheat Ritz, Grapes, Everything bagel, Cheddar cheese, graham crackers, applesauce.

Crafty fun...

I posted this one on my "Green" blog. Fun!

Finnegan's paper mache "Straw" hat:

A Crazy Kiddo Moment

"Muffin Tin" Madness

My friend Katy has an excellent idea to get rid of mundane, dull lunch time. Finnegan is the pickiest of picky toddlers, so I'm seeing this as the opportunity to include some new items to his diet. Check out her Muffin-tins at her blog:


I unfortunately can't find my muffin tins. They may still be packed away in storage. So here's my improvisation: Plastic cups in a baking dish.

Green beans, grapes, Kix, goldfish, cheddar cheese, and Tri-color rotini.

Dem's Some Cute Babies!

Brandon, Finnegan, Carrie

I came across some old OLD photos the other day... So I thought I'd spend half a day putting them all on my computer. It was kinda fun seeing what Brandon and myself looked like around Finnegan's age.

Who do you think Finn looks like?

Fun Project!

I made Finn a felt board the other day after I had some flashbacks to the ones my teachers used in elementary school. Finnegan loves it. We've been practicing spelling our names. Well, "Finn", "Mommy" and "Daddy" that is. It's been great fun.

Want one? Here you go:
1. Head to the fabric store and buy some felt. One main color (at least a yard) and a bunch of other colors for letters and objects.
2. Find a scrap sheet of plywood in your husband's project pile and wrap it in the large piece of felt. I made sure that the wood was completely wrapped like a holiday gift, so there's no chance of splinters.
3. Use a staple gun and FIRMLY staple the ends of the felt to the back of the board. Make sure that it's pulled tight before you staple and there are no bumps in the felt on the front or face of the board.
4. Cut out a bunch of shapes in the other colors of felt, and have some fun! Numbers, letters, geometric shapes or regular objects such as trees, clouds, and people. Make up stories or just practice spelling and counting.

World, Meet Harold.

Here is Harold. As Finnegan would tell you: "Harold is a blue fish. He goes to the top. He eats 'Food-fish'. He's Black. Harold's swimming. He's mine fish."

That pretty much sums it up. Finn now has a fish. His name is Harold.



Needless to say, we've had a very exciting afternoon around here since we got home from the pet shop.

We've Done it! We've Acheived Something!

I am VERY proud to claim our house a "Lid Free Home"! What does this mean? No, we're still wearing hats, and yes, we still put covers on leftovers before they go into the fridge. Finnegan has graduated from using "Sippy" or "Tippy" Cups and is now only using lid-less vessels to drink from!

"Um... Carrie... isn't it now more likely that you'll have to clean up a LOT of spilt milk?"

Yes. I'm prepared for the journey that comes with this new milestone. Hell, I'm still wiping up after Brandon eats dinner and he's 30. I just see it as it will never get better until it gets MESSY!



So raise your glass to Finn, and he'll raise his Piggy-shaped cup (thanks Felix), because he's climbed another step to becoming a BIG BOY. Besides... who doesn't like a milk mustache? I mean really?

...and Another Thing...

Here's our new "Going Green" online family journal(or blog as some of you might know it)...



Check it out, and check back to find out how we're doing!

Short Pause for a Crafty Moment

As some of you may know, I have a thing for crafts. Any kind of crafting really. So, when I stumbled across the Crafty Crow, you could say I was no less than thrilled to have a source for new ideas. You really should check it out for crafts to do with the kiddos! Here's the first one we tried: A Geodesic Newspaper Dome. (although later corrected by Brandon that we did not build an ACTUAL "Geodesic" Dome...thank you.)


And here's the link to the CRAFTY CROW:

Hawaii...Finally (Part 1 - which means there will be more)

Sorry this took a while, but I wanted to make sure I had some time to write a bit about our trip as well as show off some pictures. So thanks for hanging in there, since we got back from our fabulous trip to Maui in April, and it's taken me this long to finally find the chance to write a bit about it.

Finnegan handled the 6 hour flight a lot better than I thought he would. My initial concern may have helped however, since I packed an amazing amount of books and toys. Also, at the last minute, I went into the Starbucks at the airport and bought some chocolate milk, bagels, and fruit for the ride. Brandon even helped calm my nerves by downloading clips of Finn's favorite movies on his ZUNE(just in case). A huge thanks goes out to the wonderful woman who sat in front of Finn, for being so patient with the few times we weren't able to control some spastic kicking fun.
All three of us were thrilled when we landed in Honolulu and had enough time to play in the small outdoor area and chase the somewhat exotic looking birds before boarding the 1/2 hour flight to Maui.

The rest of our trip was wonderful just in the fact that we didn't have anything we HAD to do. We spent the mornings on the beach (before it got too hot), afternoons napping, driving, and exploring all the different places on that one island.
Brandon and I realized the first morning that Finnegan would not be participating in any water sports. He was a fan of the beach and the sand...


But definitely NOT the water and waves...


Finn's up from nap... gotta run, but look for more from our trip soon!

FolkLife at Seattle Center