Pure Joy

Jonathan captured some of the sweetest shots of Miss Clara last weekend as they raked leaves. I'm pretty sure these pictures summarize our little lady these days. She finds such joy in all the little things. Like leaves. And yesterday: the first snow. It's amazing how little ones help you stop and take notice. Just one of the many gifts of motherhood. We love you, Clara Joanne...

And this one has to be my favorite picture of all...

Halloween at Disneyland

Yes, we happened to be at Disneyland on Halloween. Mostly by coincidence than anything else, really. Jonathan had a PT conference there all weekend and Monday was our day to hit up Disneyland as a family before flying back home Tuesday. We were actually quite nervous about it since our little girl has an extreme fear of masks. But there weren't people dressed in scary costumes. And the Disney characters didn't even seem to freak her out - which was pretty amazing, actually.

Our successful trip to Disney may be attributed to our "mask therapy" (ie: looking at dozens of pictures, trying on masks herself and looking in the mirror, talking about them). I'm not quite sure. I doubt she's truly conquered the fear for good. But I do know that Disneyland was a total success. Clara loved it. Jono did too. And I didn't go into labor - even after walking around for seven hours, following Snow White and her two fellow princesses as they took Disneyland by storm ;).

That's right. Even though the kitty costume was purchased last year for a great deal, we had to scramble for a Disney-themed costume. Thank you, Amy's dress up box. Snow white was perfect. And Ed & Hayley (some dear friends from PT school - also at Disneyland for the same conference)'s littler girls Gracie & Bella were perfect little princesses as well. I could hardly handle watching their excitement. And outrageous cuteness.

We went hard for about seven hours before calling it a day. There was no time to fit in a nap on the short car ride home. Then we grabbed some pizza and picnicked at a nearby park before we changed Snow White into a kitty and went trick-or-treating with Leah and Trav. This little cat didn't last too long (or maybe it was me that didn't last long). We just visited a handful of houses, went home and ate a piece of candy (Clara, that is. We adults polished the rest of her candy off) and crashed. What a day!

Disneyland + no nap + trick-or-treating made for quite the Halloween day. I don't think we'll be able to rival it for years to come. And we certainly won't be able to get away with eating all her candy ever again. But that's okay. We'll just have to visit a few more houses so she won't miss any of the stolen pieces ;).

Cali

We took a last minute trip to California over Halloween weekend. Okay, maybe it wasn't entirely last minute. We had purchased our tickets over the summer. But it was "last minute" because I really did not entirely plan on going until two days before, when my OB gave me the official thumbs up. That's the nice thing about Southwest airlines, right? Cancel your plans at any moment without a fee.

Why the timing, you might be wondering? The trip was scheduled around a PT conference - where Jonathan was both attending and presenting research. We never would've planned a family vacation in the middle of my 34th/35th week of pregnancy, trust me! We just found ridiculously great tickets for the three of us...and it was Disneyland...and my sister lives twenty minutes from there...and Jono's best friend from PT school + his family were attending...and who doesn't want to go to California in late October/November? I know. We wouldn't have planned it with the timing of this baby, but I was certainly still hoping to go. If it was okay, of course. And thankfully, it was.

The nice thing about our lack of plans was how much we didn't do. Our last two trips to Cali have been jam-packed with fun and excitement. This time our schedule was far from jam packed. Yes, we did manage a day at Disneyland as a family (more to come on that one later). And we had a few lovely outings. But mostly we spent the time hanging out with Leah and Travis, enjoying time at the beach, eating at fun restaurants, soaking up the eighty degree sunshine, and taking plenty of naps while the Claranator slept. It was a glorious time.

And it was quite relieving to make it back home without experiencing a California delivery. It's not that I was necessarily in danger of premature labor. I'm just glad to be home until this little bambino makes his/her debut!

Here are just a few highlights from our trip...

Clara's utter excitement about plan travel. It's been about a year since she's flown and she couldn't have been happier about it. Her favorite part? Getting to chew gum during take off and landings - and asking millions of questions about airplanes that the average person (ie: us) could never answer.

Jono celebrating the completion of his poster presentation with Pluto and Goofy. It's not every day that giant Disney characters congratulate you on the completion of a project!

Beach time!

In & Out picnic on the beach after church (and XL preggo mama) + a little pigeon chasing.

Balboa Island: 10:30 am balboa bars & frozen bananas. Did Clara eat any of her banana? Nope. Just the chocolate and sprinkles.

Yogurtland. Clara just couldn't get enough.

And lots of chill time at Aunt Leah & Uncle Trav's new condo!

Trader Joe's Top Ten

I have been waiting for this day for most of my life. Okay, maybe that is a slight exaggeration. But I am hardly joking when I say I have been in honest anticipation for quite some time. Our city is finally, yes finally, getting a Trader Joes. Grand opening date? FRIDAY!

No, I will not be in town to wait in line and be the first customer in the door. And I'm not exactly sure I'd choose to be, even if I were in town. In fact, I'll probably strategize about the best day/hour to frequent the place since it's likely to be crazy for a long time. But I will be there and often because I just love it. LOVE it. I could go on and on, but that might detract from my purpose in this post: to highlight just ten of my favorite items (or combinations - slightly cheating, I know).

In no particular order, here are just TEN of my favorite things from Trader Joes:

1. Trail Mix. They just have the best combinations. My favorite ones have changed throughout the years but two that have remained at the top: Salty Sweet & Nutty Trek Mix and Tempting Trail Mix.

2. Some basics: olive oil & coconut milk.

You just can't beat TJs prices when it comes to EVOO and coconut milk. We go through massive amounts, mostly because of green smoothies and curries.

3. Vino. I am no wine connoisseur, I just know that TJs has awesome, cheap wine. Two buck chuck is not bad at all ($3 chuck is more like it since it's 2.99), and they have a great variety of wines and brews too.

4. Roasted red peppers + Tuscan Italian dressing = easiest "go to" meal of all time.

Place chicken breasts (4 or how ever many) in a baking dish. Dice roasted peppers and sprinkle generously on chicken. Pour over dressing (and half a bottle). Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 35 min or until chicken is done. Serve over couscous. Yum. One of our favorite meals! And almost embarrassingly easy.

5. Curries and other sauces.

Some favorites include: Thai yellow curry, Marsala sauce & Soyaki. I have four bottles of the Soyaki because it is the BEST with stir fried veggies. The marsala is great - we often have it with chicken and Na'an and sometimes another fun Indian side. And the Thai yellow curry is the base in one of my favorite recipes from my cousin's wife...

Yellow Curry Chicken (feeds 8-10)

*1/4 c. olive oil

*3 large skinless chicken breasts, chopped

*3 small white onions, diced

*4 lg. cloves garlic, minced

*1/3 c. brown sugar

*2 cans coconut milk

*3 medium potatoes, chopped

*2 c. frozen peas

* 1 1/2 c. carrots, diced

*3 pinches garlic salt

*1 T. curry powder

*1 t. chili powder

*2 Thai Yellow Curry Jars (from Trader Joes)

*Fresh basil to taste

*Salt & pepper to taste

1. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic. Allow to cook until onions are soft.

2. Add chicken and cook for 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through

3. Add all other ingredients and allow to cook for at least 30 minutes (the longer the better) for flavors to mix. Stir occasionally so the bottom doesn't burn.

4. Serve over warm basmati rice. Enjoy :).

6. Chocolaty treats.

Good luck trying to find the very best TJs treat. It's just too hard. They have chocolate covered EVERYTHING. Dark or milk chocolate. You choose. My current favorite: dark chocolate covered pretzels. But then again the almonds are amazing. And I just tried these fantastic chocolate covered soft peanut butter peanut brittle bites. Trouble.

7. Gorgonzola crackers/Flaxseed Chips.

There are so many great crackers and chips. My two favs = these gorgonzola ones and the flax seed chips. Yum.

8. Hummus. They have SO many different kinds of delicious hummus. You could try a different one each week and never have the same one for months. My very favorite: Tuscan white bean. Did I remember to take a picture of ours before devouring it last time? No. Sorry.

9. Roasted seaweed snack.

This would near the top of Clara's list, at least. She devours this stuff - and it's full of vitamins (and just a touch of salt ;)). Just a bit messy, but not bad for $.99.

10. Salsas.

Need a little pineapple salsa for some fish tacos? A nice alternative to a tomato salsa to enjoy with chips? Here are just a few of TJs salsas we enjoy...

So I didn't even touch on the cold stuff (with the exception of hummus). We've actually brought a cooler along on a few road trips to try some refrigerated and frozen items, many of which are great. But alas, I have reached ten already. How great it'll be to venture into these departments without thinking about how they might all fit in the car!

And I'm really hoping that the presence of Trader Joes in the neighborhood doesn't have too adverse an effect on our grocery budget. It might at first. But hopefully I'll find some balance - and purchase some of the great deals and not just the novelties, like chocolate ;).

Happy grand opening, fellow Spokanites! Anyone have other favorites to add to the list? I don't doubt it. Do share!

Babymoon

Last weekend Jonathan and I escaped for about 32 hours together, just the two of us. We have only done it one other time (Jono's birthday surprise). Since Clara was nearly two before we left her together, we figured it could be a while before we take any solo trips and that we'd better have a final hurrah before baby #2 arrives.

So we went away. To Seattle, actually. Which was a nice getaway because we haven't been to Seattle in over three years. Jono surprised me with a nice little groupon getaway to a hotel in Bellevue. And our thirty-two hours, though short, was absolutely fabulous. Basically all we did was eat, shop (mostly window shop), and enjoy the sunshine. I'm pretty much certain that nothing beats Seattle on a sunny day!

On the way we stopped at one of our favorite restaurants from Jonos days at CWU (in Ellensburg), the Yellow Church. We didn't have time for a sit down meal, but enjoyed this fabulous cinnamon roll, to go...

And a few pictures from walking around downtown. Did we get one of the two of us together during our weekend away? Of course not. Oh well. We had a great time nonetheless ;).

The Bob, Take Two

On Friday Clara had her second haircut. This one was slightly more official since it was done by my hairdresser and not myself ;). For all the ridiculous, out of control thickness of both her mama and daddy's hair, Clara's hair is currently a) thin b) fine and c) slightly straggly looking. At least it's less straggly after this little cut.

Just like last time, she was very serious about the whole thing. She sat perfectly still the entire time (which wasn't too long, given the fact that she had but a few wispy strands to cut) and announced her new haircut to everyone she saw that day or the next. Maybe by this spring the front hair will meet the sides and it'll all be one length? Eventually it'll get there!