fancy nancy.

to all you lovely people out there who have little boys ... this post is probably not for you. well, maybe it is! who's to say!? i apologize, and will follow up later this week with a super-fun post for little boys (or girls!)—it'll be a good one, trust me!


this particular post, however, is about fancy nancy. for those of you that have not yet experienced the wonder that is, fancy nancy ... RUN to your nearest library and see for yourself! she's super-fun, funny, and loves EVERYTHING fancy, including her vocabulary!

author, jane o'connor does an awesome job incorporating fun, fancy vocab words and their definitions throughout each book. as well as foreign languages! there's even some science and exploring going on! not to mention, there's a moral of every story, and they're cram-packed full of exciting, funny, and fun adventures.


my favorite part about nancy, though? here's her number one way of 'being fancy:'

'it is always fancy to be yourself! be exactly who you want to be. your thoughts and opinions are très important! after all, what makes you unique is also what makes you extremely fancy. always be true to yourself and you will always be fancy.'

splendiferous stories, offered in hardback, paperback, and even in beginning readers! check out her awesome website!

and, if you're in spokane, they're having a fancy nancy tea party at several library locations ... check here for details!

rechenka's eggs.

four times a month, i burst through the doors of south pines elementary's library and spend my afternoon reading, shelving, and repairing children's books; helping students find what they're looking for, sharing my own favorites, and doing whatever else mrs. Anderson, the lovely librarian, may need ... she even lets me do lessons and storytime!

yesterday was one of my 'library' days, and with inventory coming up next week, i was tasked with going through each shelf in picture books to make sure they were: a) in alpha order, b) in good shape, and c) in the right section. i also happened to read pretty much every other book i came across ... talk about a great afternoon!


i don't know if i was just emotional, or what, but i read rechenka's eggs, by patricia polacco and turned into a total bawl-baby! good thing i was by myself! we're talking about getting chickens this spring at home, and i started thinking about the kids learning about taking care of them, getting fresh eggs, and having little chickens running around my yard ... apparently that's all it took!
anyway, here's the jist of the story ... the illustrations are beautiful, and polacco is amazing, as usual. babushka, known for her exquisite hand-painted eggs, finds rechenka, a wounded goose, and takes her home. when she's ready to try her wings again, rechenka accidentally breaks all of babushka's lovingly crafted eggs. but, the next morning babushka awakens to a miraculous surprise—a baby goose!


a classic, for sure, and with easter coming up around the corner ... go find it at your library!

caution before reading. pity party alert.

pity party for me today. don't read if you don't want to hear me whine ... kind of a lot.

for all you mamas out there that get to stay home with your kiddos, i'm extremely envious of you. enjoy it and don't take it for granted.

not all of us are so lucky. not everyone has the option or the choice ... and it sucks.

i miss my kids. a lot.

i hate that i have to wait until after work to spend time with them.

i severely dislike the fact that 'cranky time' also happens to be the exact moment when everyone walks in the front door, is hungry, tired, tired, and hungry.

i do not like that i am stuck in my job when i should be home with them.

it saddens me greatly that by the time everyone gets home, the excitement of the day is over.

I want to be the one spending the days with them. EVERY day.

end of rant ... at least out loud, for now.

don't get me wrong, i spend a LOT of time with my kids. when i walk in that door, it is officially family time. i, however, don't like the fact that my family time is about 1/16th of what i would like it to be.

hard row to hoe.

for my birthday this year, the husband planned a trip for two to lake chelan, wa. being in wine country, of course, we toured several wineries ... hard row to hoe being our favorite, by far.


what this place lacked in size, they made up for with awesome marketing, great customer service, attention to every minor detail, and lovely wine.

here's the story behind the name:

"It is not unusual in remote mining areas to find a story about a local brothel, and Lake Chelan had its stories also.

Edgemont Lodge was built about 1924 a few miles uplake from Lucerne at Lightning Creek in an area called Point Lovely.

During the late 1930's construction was winding down at Grand Coulee Dam and a few of the Coulee Dam 'professional' ladies moved to Edgemont Lodge to 'serve' the miners from the newly operational Howe Sound Mine.

One story has it that a long-time Manson resident ran a rowboat taxi service from Lucerne to Point Lovely in support of the thriving enterprise. Hence the name ... Hard Row to Hoe."

here's the owner, he was way nice. he and his wife run the winery together.


even the way they displayed the wine bottles was pretty.


vintage 'ladies of the night' photos were an added touch.


along with all kinds of other fun, era-appropriate decor.


a key for each of the 'ladies.'


haha, photo complete with the owner in the mirror trying to figure out the camera.


bathroom decor.


wallpaper in the bathroom ... yeah, take a closer look.


their designer imported this wallpaper from belgium. who knew!


cute little porch to enjoy the vineyard—although, i'm sure this aspect is much more appealing in the spring and summer. this place was great. if you're ever in the area, check it out!

spring fever.

my favorite time of year (other than fall, of course) is mid-summer when the vegetable garden is in full-force, canning on the weekends, the apple trees are forming teeny baby apples, bbq's, late-evenings outside, and warm SUN! but, to get to that point, we have to plant the garden in the spring, and clean up the giant mess from the winter! luckily, this year is dryer, and warmer than others ... but i still just want someone to do the un-fun part for me!

i love starting seeds ... not so much the preparation. taylor has promised to help me this year ... "mommy, i WON'T be afraid of bugs this year, and i will help you with ALL of the garden." so, in an effort to prepare my mini green-thumb, i've gathered a collection of kids gardening/spring books! i know i'm inspired already! maybe it's warm enough to get out there and weed today ... or maybe that just sounds better in theory ...

Compost, By Gosh! By Michelle Eva Portman


Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots, by Sharon Lovejoy


The Curious Garden, by Peter Brown


The Gardener, by Sarah Stewart

The Tiny Seed, by Eric Carle

voila! spring fever officially ensues ...

turning 27.

27 things to do before i hit the big 3-0.

1. stay home with my kids full-time.
2. learn to surf.
3. have another bundle of diapers, formula, and fun (last one)!
4. visit norway, or some other super-nifty place far away ... like tahiti ... hint, hint, honey.
5. graduate with a masters (or at least be close to finished).
6. kick the last remnants of my sugar addiction to the curb.
7. get better health insurance ... one with vision coverage!
8. floss every day.
9. finally send out my manuscript to every publisher i can find.
10. teach both kids to floss every day.
11. buy aveda's comfort tea ... it's amazing. spendy, but worth every sip.
12. complete a 200-hour yoga teacher training course.
13. grow amazing freaking cucumbers!
14. learn to hunt with the husband.
15. teach taylor to not be afraid of bugs.
16. teach brennan not to eat bugs.
17. talk the husband into helping build a tree fort in the backyard for the kiddos.
18. bake tiramisu, the old-fashioned way, from scratch.
19. dig up all the bulbs in my yard and replace them with pretty, pretty tulips.
20. plant a dahlia garden out back.
21. spend more time letting taylor pick what she helps me cook/bake.
22. spend more time telling the husband how awesome he is.
23. quit worrying about stupid things that don't matter.
24. continue focusing on things that DO matter.
25. raise egg-laying chickens.
26. get a dairy cow (more so, convince the husband to LET me get a dairy cow ... maybe we'll shoot for 40 on that one).
27. continue being thankful for everyone i have in my life ... EVERY day (that's the easy one)!

shabby apple dress.

plain and simple ... i LOVE this dress. hence the reason I entered a giveaway for it over at one of my favorite blogs ... grosgrain!

i'm picturing strolling for flowers on a vintage bicycle at the local market.

cupcake.

double-post day!

some of you may know, i'm a "slowly" recovering sugar-aholic. i love cake. pie. cookies. spoonfuls of homemade strawberry jam. basically, anything with a sugar content of 65% or more. alas, being something of a borderline diabetic, i'm attempting to re-learn how to eat.

so, instead, i bake all these yummy things for my family (i'm not about to deprive them of such wonders of the world!), and indulge myself in things like 'cupcake,' by charise mericile harper.

not only does it contain mouthwatering illustrations of all the yummy things I'm trying to stay away from, it shares a lovely moral to love yourself just the way you are—especially if it means you don't get eaten!

owen & mzee.

true story here people!

a baby hippo, Owen, and a 130-yr-old giant tortoise, Mzee. Owen was stranded after a tsunami in kenya. the orphan hippo and the elderly tortoise adopted each other. now, they are inseparable, swimming, eating, and playing together.

odds are, you will leak a few tears reading this one ... but it's so worth it.

itsy bitsy yoga.

one of our closest friends had a birthday party this weekend for their youngest daughter turning the big, 3! and as i set out to find the perfect gift, i ran across the coolest gift set i've ever seen. i'm a big-time yoga nut. i'm still fairly new to it, but i try REALLY hard to make it an every day part of my routine. there's an amazing yoga studio right by our house, mellow monkey yoga, with an even more amazing owner, sara! cute little studio, super-nice, SUPER-helpful instructors, and she even offers monkey yoga for kids & parents! i've been wanting to take taylor to the monkey yoga class. hoping i'll get around to it sooooooon.


sorry, got off track ... back to the gift! i found a gift set that has a kid's yoga mat and a baby and/or kid's yoga book with awesome poses to do with your kids! L-O-V-E it. only one problem ... none of the stores around here carry it! sad. i will be ordering it into barnes & noble in the valley to see it in person. if you want to see it, too, let me know!


needless to say, i had to improvise and not get the set for the kiddo's birthday ... but she did get, 'chicka, chicka boom-boom,' 'i know an old lady who swallowed a pie,' and 'pancake, pancake!'

p.s. kids LOVE yoga. just FYI.we checked out a family yoga DVD from the library last week, and since doing it, taylor talks about it non-stop. stay tuned for kiddo yoga pics!

brand new baby blues.

it seems like a lot of kiddos are becoming big brothers and sisters recently. in fact, i know so many new babies and prego mamas that i'm beginning to think there was some kind of memo i missed out on! ...

Dear women of the class of 2001,

In an effort to boost enrollment in the district for the year 2014, it is under strict advisory that you all be pregnant at the age of 27. Failure to do so will result in the revocation of your diploma.

Congratulations on your future conception.

Signed,
The School Administration Board.

well, at least that's one possibility. anyway, no matter the reason, there are currently a whole bunch of kiddos being revoked of being the sole center of attention! bringing a baby home to a sibling(s) is wonderful, but once the newness wears off, things can get a bit hairy.

kathi appelt, author of 'bubba and beau' books (SOOOOO cute if you haven't seen them), has written a fantastic book, 'brand new baby blues.' full of rhyming, sing-songy lyrics, this big sister just doesn't understand what the big deal is about her new baby brother.


if you have a wee one at home just getting used to the idea of a new baby, they will definitely relate.


... and sometimes all they need is little recognition that it's a hard transition for them, too!

little old lady who swallowed a fly ... and dave.

my favorite performer on earth twittered this back in september after complaining of a "frog" in his throat. i found it quite lovely that he referenced a children's classic. it just adds to my love of dave matthews.

"i should stop eating frogs and horses or I'll go the way of the old woman that was and swallowed a fly. she's dead of course. thanks y'all."

taylor's kindergarten class just finished up a project with this book, and it reminded me of how funny i thought it was when i was her age. and apparently, it left an impression on dave, too ... which means it HAS to be good. i mean, an old lady swallowing a horse, cow, dog, cat, bird, and a fly? what five year old wouldn't think that's hilarious?

check it out, buy it, sing it with your kids. they'll love it, laugh at it, and remember it forever. which is the whole point of reading books to them, isn't it?

spoon.

very few things make me as excited as happening upon a children's book i wasn't aware of. it's true. ask my husband. his answer, most definitely will be, "cake and kid's books."

i'm still not quite sure how this one slipped past my radar, but alas, it did. in my morning perusal of up-and-coming books, i found quite a gem. i recently posted about 'little pea,' 'little hoot,' and 'little oink,' by amy krouse rosenthal. much to my pleasant surprise, her newest book, 'spoon,' is now in stores. a self conscious little spoon is jealous of the talents of the other cutlery in the kitchen—knife, fork, chopsticks, you name it! his mission is to find out what makes him special and unique.

... and this one's illustrated by scott magoon. he's amazing! really ... check him out here!