Mom Blog Work

Alrighty...let's get our Good Stuff on:

Karissa's Good Stuff

• Notarte-Liloc weekend!
• Summer trip planning
• Popsicles...so many popsicles
• knocking out freelance work (and getting paid - yay!)
• inspired

Megan's Good Stuff

• Upcoming trip to Texas
• Increased kiddo independence
• Sunshine
• Ernest!
• Renewed running enthusiasm

Just a few more days until the three day weekend!

We have a joint review for you! Two weeks before our annual Disneyland trip we spotted the Boba carrier on Zulilly and managed to both score a new carrier for a decent price.

We had both had an eye on the Boba for awhile now but couldn't find a good reason to buy one full price. We were both hoping it would be a carrier for the kids who usually walk or stroll but need carrying every once in awhile.

Who we carried like pack mules all over the Happiest Place on Earth:

• Rey, age 2, 29lbs
• Brady, age 1, 28lbs
• Margeaux, age 4, 32lbs

What we liked:
K: The fabric is sooo soft
K: Great for big kids - foot straps were perfect for Mo's long, lanky legs and the body is nice and tall and covers most of her back
K: Sleeping hood rolls up and stores smartly and easily.
M: Easy to schlep around. Could just throw it in the stroller.
M: Pretty comfortable.

What we didn't like:
K: No pocket! I'm so used to the handy pocket in the Ergo and I really missed it.
K: I just couldn't get a comfortable front carry with B at all which was dissapointing. The shoulder straps were constantly falling off for some reason if I wore him in front. Not a problem in back. He was sick this trip and I wanted him close and in the front so I opted for my trusty Ergo after the first day and honestly haven't gone back to the Boba again.
M: My boba's top front strap was sewn on backwards. So, it's sort of weird, but not a huge deal.
M: When I'm carrying Rey, the top strap gets really close to my neck, and it can't be pushed down anymore than it already is. I'm thinking I could probably adjust it somehow, but I haven't figured it out yet.

Final thoughts on the Boba:
K: My husband really likes it for carrying our long, lean 4yo. It's "their" carrier now and we keep it in the car all the time. It doesn't get a ton of use (she's pretty big now) but it's handy and works really well for the two of them.
K: Minus the missing pocket and my inability to get the straps right in a front carry it's like they took the Ergo and made it even better.
M: I don't have another carrier, and we're very much past the baby stage, so we won't be buying another one. I'm glad the Boba works pretty well with Rey. I even put him in it to carry him around the mall. It's convenient and fairly comfortable. It's nice that both my husband and I can use it.

I'm watching them sleep. The are side by side, breathing like one but noisely with noses stuffy with late spring colds. I wrap B's blanket across both of them because it's gotten the tiniest bit chilly in the bedroom. The coziness is short-lived though because Mo rolls over, leaving B alone under his blanket, and, well, she farts really loudly.

Even in their sleep these kids crack me up. Today B was shouting at Mo "it's not funny, Ate!" except in his sweet baby talk it sounds just like, "no bunny, Ate!!". How do you not laugh when somebody is repeatedly shrieking "No Bunny!!!" at you so insistently? Poor boy. Even I couldn't suppress my giggles. "No bunny!!!"

The girl...She slays me on a regular basis with her questions about the world and how or why things work. She asks what words mean and comes up with creatively insane solutions to everyday scenarios. The other day she was quizzing me on who was whose mama as we settled down for bed. "Who is Grandma's mama?", etc. We get to my Grandpa's mom whose stepmom was named Peggy. "Piggy?! Her name is Piggy?" she whispered, shocked, not even laughing because she was so blown away. Then the giggles came and we laughed and laughed under the covers in the dark, trying not to wake B. Hysterical! We called each other Peggy for the next two days and giggled every time.

They crack me up. I love how their brains work. I need to write down more of these endearing snippets of them at these ages. (sign me up for Megan-Google's brilliant idea!) Corny, but it really is going by quickly. That's another topic though, Peggy.

It's not Emergency Food (back to that soon) but I have a favorite bread recipe to share! I know I'm late to the bread making trend. The NY Times has been all over it for years: 2006, 2007, 2008. Bloggers have been perfecting and elaborating those recipes and documenting their loaves for ages. I'm a late bloomer, what can I say?

To be honest, it was the promise of being "just like Macaroni Grill's bread" that pushed me over the edge and had me making the Rosemary Peasant Bread from Make and Takes. I bought yeast and gave it a try a few weeks ago. This was my third weekend in a row kicking out perfectly plump, crusty, salty loaves of yummy bread!

Rosemary Peasant Bread Recipe

• 1 packet dry yeast (or 2 1/2 tsp)
• 2 c. warm water
• 1 T. sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 4 c. flour
• 1-2 tsp. fresh Rosemary plus more for topping
• Olive Oil, Corn meal, Melted butter and salt

Dissolve sugar and yeast in the warm water and then combine ingredients without kneading. Cover dough with damp cloth for 1 hour or until doubled. Divide in two (without kneading) and place on cooking sheet. Cover again for an hour. Brush with melted butter, salt and rosemary. Bake at 425for 10 then lower temp to 375 and bake another 15 min. See the Make and Takes blog for more detailed instructions and photos.

My husband is in love with it, my daughter only eats the salty crust and my son only eats the soft middle (they're so handy that way). I can be found dunking the delicious Macaroni Grill-like slices into olive oil as soon as it is cool enough to touch. Success!

It's true! I'm soooo addicted to Pinterest. I check it constantly and cannot wait til they launch their iPhone app. Google Reader used to fill my desire to quickly consume web content tailored to my tastes but it's definitely coming in second lately. I am a bit of a bookmark hoarder though. I star the heck out my Google Reader feed and I use Xmarks so I can bookmark everywhere. There's no surprise that I love Pinterest. I really like being able to visually collect the little bits of inspiration from all over the web.

Pinterest is a visual bookmarking site with the idea of a pin board behind it. Imagine creating an inspiration board of recipes to try, crafts to make, decorating ideas, or a subject you are researching. It is like clipping newspaper and magazine articles minus the paper clutter! And if that isn't great enough from an organizational stand-point, you can also scroll through everybody else's pins for even more inspiration. The Everything, DIY and Kids categories are my go-tos for browsing.

You can create "boards" of your own, apply tags, like "pins", search and follow other people's boards. It seems like lot of bloggers that I read are starting to use it so some familiar names are popping up and you can also search for your personal friends. Personally, I've talked my sister and her fiancé into using it and am trying to get my Mom on board. (Megan's another story...she doesn't bookmark! Ack!)

The downside is that it's still by invitation only. Also, the site also has a tendency to get really slow at times and some of their features are still being developed. I chalk it up as a work in progress and hit refresh a few times.

Here is my profile, if you are interested. (Wow, we are getting so personal here! Sharing bookmarks!). I have to go surf Pinterest now...