All packed and ready to go! July 30, 2012

Playing in the wading pool at Land Park today.

Well, we are all packed and ready to go! We leave bright and early tomorrow morning. I hope Keenan will sleep on the plane, so my husband and I can get some rest, but I think that is wishful thinking! We loaded my nook with several “Shaun the sheep” and “Elmo’s World” episodes, along with a few of his favorite toys, stickers, coloring book and crayons to keep him busy. What kinds of things do you bring to keep your child entertained on a long plane ride?

Today was a busy, but fun day! We made banana nut oatmeal pancakes for breakfast (along with lattes, of course!) and soon after, we started packing. Since we were meeting my parents at Land Park (and then to dinner at Tower Cafe afterward) after Keenan’s nap, I wanted to get everything packed before we left. Needless to say, we had every intention, but it didn’t happen! So, at 11:00 p.m. tonight, we finally finished! Everything is ready to go, except for our toiletries. I am exhausted, but I hope I can sleep tonight. It seems that every time we leave for a trip, I have a hard time falling asleep because I’m excited and/or anxious. Do any of you have a hard time going to sleep the night before leaving for a trip?

A great start to the day, banana oatmeal pancakes with peach slices on the side!

Once we got home from dinner (I highly recommend the Tower Cafe if you live in Sacramento. It is causal, but has a very eclectic (but delicious) menu, including wonderful desserts!), we put Keenan to bed and finished packing. It’s funny how much little room my husband and I have in our suitcases, since Keenan’s stuff overtakes everything (diapers, wipes, pac n’ play, ergo carrier, etc). After several “rearranges,” we finally made it work with only 2 bags (finally deciding to check-in the pac ‘n play) and 1 carry-on, without either bag being over the weight limit.

Swinging with Nonna and Avo at Land Park.

Back to dinner: my husband and I shared/split our meals. I got the “African Veggie Burger,” a patty made with peas, sweet potatoes, garbanzo beans, sesame and sunflower seeds, topped with a peanut sauce, lettuce, onion and pickles on a whole wheat bun (sorry, I completely forgot to take a picture of it, yet, again!). It was sure yummy! I also had a small side salad, instead of fries. My husband ordered the regular burger, so we cut our burgers in half and shared them (we each got to enjoy half of the other person’s burger). Since my husband got fries with his burger, I had to steal a few! They are so good! Every once an while, I get a craving for thick steak fries!

Since we are heading to a very remote place in Alaska (Lake Clark, where my in-laws have a lodge) for the next two weeks, I won’t be able to do much posting (if at all), since there is no cell phone reception or internet. I will be sure to take lots of pictures and post a full recap once we get back. Have a good week! Night!

A somewhat relaxing Saturday July 29, 2012

One of my favorite breakfasts, a great pre-workout meal!

Today was somewhat of a relaxing day, aside from running last minute errands and getting things ready for our trip. Since Keenan is still getting over his cold (he came down with it a few days ago), we laid low. After breakfast, (which was different today: whole grain frozen waffles spread with peanut butter and banana slices on top), we headed to the gym for one last workout before we leave for Alaska. Since my husband was still really sore from yesterday’s WOD and his ankle was bothering him, he just took pictures, while I did the WOD with our friend. It was a good one! Below, is a picture of the workout, as well as me (and my nice CrossFit face!) doing an overhead squat.

Today’s WOD, a modified “Chipper” from the CrossFit Games this past month.

My lovely CrossFit face doing an overhead squat of 85 lbs, thanks to my husband!

After we got home from the gym, we had lunch: leftover Grilled Corn Salad with half of a sandwich thin and a nectarine. It was tasty after the crazy workout! Once I was done, I got ready and headed out to run errands, which included a trip to Nordstrom to exchange and return some things. I just love Nordies (as I call it)! Their return policy is awesome; you can take anything back (even if worn and without a receipt) and they will fully refund you. They have a 100% satisfaction guarantee policy, which is fabulous! After wearing shoes for a couple of times and if they still don’t fit right, you can take them back at Nordies and they will refund your money or exchange them. This is another reason why I do most of my shopping at Nordies!

Keenan playing in his pool, yes, I know, naked.

Once I got home, Keenan woke up from his nap (almost 3 hours!), so we headed outside for some pool time! My husband and I enjoyed his “special summer drink creation” while Keenan played in the pool. Once Keenan was done playing in the pool, we went inside and watched a little “Elmo’s World” (Keenan’s request) and played several rounds of “Ring a Round the Roses” and “Tag.” It was a fun-filled afternoon of quality family time!

Watching an episode of “Elmo’s World,” while having a snack of my niece’s leftover gold fish crackers.

Tonight is our at-home “date night,” so it’s time to open a bottle of wine and start cooking! We are grilling some zucchini and an onion and tossing it with sun dried tomatoes, chicken, Kalamata olives and feta cheese over whole wheat penne noddles. It should be good! After dinner, we watching some Olympics! What are your plans for tonight?

Random…Elmo, Strollers and Solids July 27, 2012

Diane Sawyer was on Sesame Street.

I just love lazy mornings! Keenan woke up late (9:00 a.m.) again, so it was nice to sleep-in a bit! Since my husband is off today, we were able to have some family time this morning: eating breakfast together and watching a couple of Elmo’s World and Sesame Street episodes. Keenan rarely watches TV (he hasn’t really shown an interest and we are just too busy with other things!), so this morning was a treat! Ever since Keenan met Elmo at Sea World last week, he has been infatuated with him! He has wanted to watch Elmo on TV, sleep with his Elmo doll and wear his shoes! As you can see from the pictures, Keenan was mesmerized!

I had to take a picture of this: Keenan watching Sesame Street (Feist was singing her song, “1234″) while wearing Daddy’s shoes…too cute!

I did it again, I forgot to take a picture of breakfast this morning, which was my “usual,” with half of a banana (sliced) mixed in it. So, I snapped a quick picture after I finished, sorry! I’m still working on the whole picture thing!

Sorry, this was after I finished my “usual” breakfast. At least, you can still see some of my latte that I was drinking!

For lunch, I had my “typical:” turkey sandwich on an Oroweat sandwich thin with lettuce, tomato and Costco’s yogurt jalapeno dip! In addition, I had a few baby carrots and a nectarine  that I shared with Keenan. He ate leftover chicken, eggplant and carrots from last night’s dinner. Speaking of nectarines, do you like your stone fruit firm or soft? My husband and I always butt heads over stone fruit. I like my fruit to be firm (which he says is “rock hard”), while he likes his fruit to be soft (squishy and over ripe, in my opinion) and juicy. Fortunately, Keenan likes firm fruit, so that is what I buy!

On another note, I have received a couple of questions in regards to jogging strollers and introducing solids. Yes, I know these two things are totally unrelated and random, but I thought I would address them here.

Jogging Strollers:

We have the BOB revolution and we absolutely LOVE it! It is our only stroller, so we bought the car seat adapter to use when Keenan was an infant. It was a perfect stroller for us, because it is so versatile. In addition to jogging with it (as soon as I was cleared to exercise again at 6 weeks postpartum), we took it everywhere: shopping, going to the beach, walking, some hiking and traveling. It rides very smooth and it is so easy and effortless to push. You can walk over any terrain and the stroller still rides smooth. The catalyst for choosing the BOB was when my niece was born. My brother and sister-in-law had a Graco stroller, where the car seat locked right in, and when we took a family vacation in Spain and France, it was horrible on the cobble stone streets. It was so bumpy and rough, we had to carry the stroller! After that trip, my husband and I knew we wanted to get a stroller that had pneumatic tires and rode smooth, once we had children. When I found out I was pregnant, we did a lot of research and stumbled upon the BOB. We tried it out at REI and loved it! We have taken it with us on four trips and each time, it was very easy to travel with. It even rolls over soft sand! We folded it down, took the front wheel off, strapped the wheel, and put the whole thing in a large plastic bag (that we got from our airline, or you can buy a big package of extra large clear garbage bags at Costco) and gate-checked it. So far, the stroller has been fine and it has been our savior to have in the airport. Needless to say, I highly recommend the BOB, if you are in the market for a stroller. (I can take pictures of my husband breaking down the stroller for travel, and describe the process in another post, if anyone is interested.)

At the beach in San Diego!

Introducing Solids:

When my friend asked me what food I introduced to Keenan first, it brought back a lot of memories that I thought I would share. It seemed that everywhere you read or even who you talked with, the universal “first solid food” recommendation was rice cereal. Luckily, my sister-in-law told me that rice cereal constipates your baby (she experienced it with my niece), so she recommended starting with oatmeal or barley and to not even introduce rice cereal. I listened to her and started Keenan on oatmeal, making it myself by using whole oats, grinding them in a blender or food processor and cooking them with my frozen breast milk. I made big batches, poured the oatmeal into silicone ice cube trays and froze them. When it was time to feed Keenan his oatmeal, I would pop out a cube or two (depending on how much he was eating), place them in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for about 1 minute, until thawed. Of course, I would have to wait until it cooled before giving it to him. For added flavor and nutritional benefits, I added ground flax seed and cinnamon. Keenan loved it, in fact he ate oatmeal every morning for his breakfast until he was 15 months old! We started him on solids when he was 7 1/2 months old, rather late, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Our pediatrician follows the World Health Organization recommendations, which at the time, stated if your baby is exclusively breastfed, then solids don’t need to be introduced until 7 months. Since we visited my brother, sister-in-law and niece (for her 3rd birthday) in Montreal when Keenan was turning 7 months old, we waited until we got home from our trip to give him solids. Up until then, he really never showed any interest in our food, so it was perfect timing. When he ate oatmeal for the first time, he devoured it, so he was completely ready! When did you introduce solids to your children? Do you have any helpful tips for those who are just starting to introduce solid foods to their babies?

This afternoon, we are off to CrossFit for our second-to-last workout before we leave for Alaska (we are going to do one more WOD tomorrow morning, after I help out with the morning class) and then it’s dinner. On the menu for tonight is my Grilled Corn Salad (which we made for 4th of July) with chicken! It should be good!!

Cleaning…it is highly overrated

After Keenan woke up this morning, he immediately took all of his animals (that he sleeps with every night) and sat with them on the rocking chair and “rocked!” It was too cute!

Well, today was cleaning day…big excitement (not really)! Cleaning house, oh how I despise you! Though, I love having a clean house and keeping things neat (my husband thinks I’m a little too neat at times), I don’t particularly enjoy cleaning it! Who does? Needless to say, it is something that has to get done, and someone has to do it! Having a dirty house drives me nuts, so I stick to a pretty strict schedule of every other week. One day of cleaning every other week isn’t too bad, but I still don’t care for it!

Fortunately, my mom came-up for a visit today, so she and Keenan played while I cleaned upstairs. Once Keenan went down for a nap, I cleaned downstairs. Without having Keenan around, it makes things go SO much faster! He loves to help me “dust” and vacuum, which is nice (because he learns to clean and take care of things), but it takes twice as long to get everything done! Do your children like to help you clean? If so, how do you involve them?

Aside from cleaning, today was a typical day. Keenan and I ate our “usual” breakfast and I enjoyed my latte, of course. For lunch, I made my mom and I turkey sandwiches with lettuce, tomato and avocado on a sandwich thin, spread with jalapeno yogurt dip from Costco, with baby carrots and a nectarine. Keenan had a turkey melt with avocado and nectarine on the side.

Once Keenan woke-up from his nap, we headed to CrossFit for another amazing and brutal workout (200 pushups with a 15 minute time cap and 30 snatches: women weight: 75 lbs/ men weight: 115 lbs with a 10 minute time cap). After class, I snacked on a few almonds and dried fruit, since I stayed to help coach the beginner’s class. It was great to see new faces and feel the energy of so many people wanting to improve their health and fitness levels. It was also great experience/practice, since I’m getting my CrossFit Level 1 Certification in a month. After obtaining my certification, I hope to start coaching a couple of classes!

When I got home, my husband I made dinner, which consisted of grilled chicken with grilled eggplant on the side, drizzled with balsamic vinegar and a sprinkle of feta cheese. I complimented my dinner with a nice cold IPA from Stone Brewing Co.! After today’s workout, the beer tasted SO good! Sorry, yet again, I failed to take a picture of our dinner. I guess I enjoyed it a little too much!

Tomorrow is full of last minute errands before we pack and head to Alaska on Monday! Have a good night!

Forgetful July 25, 2012

I don’t know what it is…maybe too many things on my mind lately or just “mommy brain”, but unless I write things down, I easily forget them. With that said, I completely forgot to take a picture of our dinner last night, sorry! I am going to work on this by making sure to keep my camera handy, so I can take plenty of pictures. As far as last night’s dinner goes, it was delicious and very satisfying, especially after another brutal workout (running 2,400 meters and finding your 1 rep maximum of front squats, which I maxed out at 135 lbs)! Here is the recipe that I created, if you are interested:

Sauteed Kale with Sun dried Tomatoes and Onions: (serves 3)

Ingredients:

– 2 bunches of kale (chopped)

-1 red onion (diced)

– 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes (packed in oil)

– 1 clove garlic (minced)

– 1 tablespoon olive oil

– 3 Italian sausages

– 1 tsp. Italian seasoning

– 1 tbs. balsamic vinegar

– pinch of salt and pepper

– 1/4 cup of feta cheese

– 1/2 cup cooked couscous

Directions:

1.) Saute onion with garlic and olive oil in a large pan.

2.) Add sausages and cook until browned.

3.) Add kale, balsamic vinegar, spices and saute for 10 minutes, or until soft and vinegar is absorbed.

4.) Divide cooked couscous among 3 plates, pour kale mixture on top and sprinkle with feta cheese. Enjoy!

My morning latte that my husband so kindly made me!

On to today: Keenan had his swim class this morning, so it was rather rushed to get out the door on time, especially since he slept-in to 8:30 a.m. again! I’m loving that he is sleeping-in; I sure hope it lasts! We had a quick “usual” breakfast with blueberries (Keenan’s favorite fruit) and I took my latte to go (thanks to my loving husband for making it). After class, we ran some errands, delivered a meal to a mom in my MOMs Club who recently had a baby, and then headed home for play time before lunch. Since Keenan got his Play Doh ice cream maker set from Uncle E, Auntie Mimi and his cousin, he hasn’t wanted to play with anything else! All he wants to do is make and pretend to eat ice cream cones! Does your child (or children) have a favorite toy that they always want to play with?

For lunch, I made my “typical:” a turkey sandwich on Orowheat whole wheat sandwich thins with lettuce, tomato and a little bit of jalapeno yogurt dip from Costco (it is scary good!), along with carrots and a peach. I made Keenan his favorite: a peanut butter and honey sandwich with blueberries and a glass of milk. He sure loves his peanut butter! As we were eating our lunch, we sang, “The Wheels on the Bus.” Since we got back from San Diego, he has wanted to sing that song over and over…it’s funny, but also tiring at the same time!

My typical lunch, very satisfying!

The best spread for sandwiches and a dip for veggies!

Since today is Wednesday, it is gymnastics day at CrossFit Gold so I’m excited to see what today’s WOD includes. I love Wednesdays at the box, since I used to do gymnastics when I was younger.

Since my husband is gone for the night (for a work event), tonight’s menu is all about salad!! Though I don’t like it when he has to travel for work, I love that I get to make HUGE salads for my dinners (my husband thinks I’m crazy!)! If I had it my way, I would eat salad every night. I love that there are so many things that you can do with a salad: add fruit, nuts, meat, veggies, cheese and different vinegars. You can be as creative as you want. I don’t think there is a wrong way to make a salad. When my husband was gone for four days a few months ago, I made myself a different salad each night, it was great! Tonight, I’m going to make “everything, but the kitchen sink” salad that will include, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, avocado, peperoncinis, kalamata olives, carrots, chicken and a few roasted unsalted walnut pieces with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! Since I’m having salad, I’m going to make Keenan some chicken with avocado, carrots, bread and some blueberries. What do you eat if you are by yourself for dinner?

Peanut butter hands!

Hard to Say Goodbye July 24, 2012

Keenan licking his plate clean after finishing a piece of his early birthday cake last night!

It is always hard saying goodbye to my brother, sister-in-law and niece. Every time they leave, I always have tears in my eyes, no matter if I’ll see them next month or 3 months from now; I just hate goodbyes! My husband just took them to the airport, to fly back home to Montreal. Thank goodness for skype, because it would be hard to not see my niece for a while! Fortunately, we will see them in September, since my cousin is getting married. Knowing that we will seem them in little over a month, makes saying goodbye a little easier this time. We had a great time with them this past month and Keenan and his cousin had SO much fun! They played so well together and shared lots of laughs. We called them “Ooga and Booga,” because they were always so silly together!

Last night, we had one last family dinner together (Mexican food from our favorite taqueria) and my brother and sister-in-law surprised Keenan with an early birthday cake and gift (since they won’t be here for his birthday on Aug. 20th). It was so sweet and Keenan was excited, but he didn’t really know what to do. He was mesmerized by the candles, so my niece and I helped him blow them out. They got an ice cream cake (a perfect choice, since Keenan is infatuated with ice cream cones these days!), so Keenan devoured his slice and ate some of my mom’s cake, too! They got him a set of balls: soccer, basketball and football, as well as a Play Doh ice cream maker set. Keenan was thrilled!

This morning, after we all finished a simple breakfast of Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal, Fage yogurt, nectarines and blueberries (lattes, of course!), we opened the ice cream maker set and Keenan and his cousin had a blast making different kinds of ice cream cones.  As they were playing and Play Doh was flying everywhere, onto our rug and in the crevices of our coffee table, it made me realize how little space we have, especially as Keenan is getting older and accumulating more toys (and bigger ones). So, as his birthday approaches, I need to start thinking about making more room, i.e. purging and reorganizing (which my husband loves…not really!). We want to get Keenan a little table to use for art projects and playing with Play Doh, but the question is “where do we put it?” Before I was pregnant, my husband and I always said we didn’t want our house to be overrun by our children. We wanted it to still look like our home, but with a small play area for our kids. We have to think creatively in finding more space, so it doesn’t become overrun with Keenan’s things. I can only imagine what it will be like when we have another child! Do you have the same issues with space and finding room for your child’s toys? Does your house feel overrun with your child’s or children’s toys? How do you make room for all of your child’s or children’s things?

Speaking of Keenan’s upcoming birthday, call me old fashion, but I like traditional mailed invitations. I know evites are the new thing, which are much easier and most importantly, environmentally friendly, but I just like receiving an old fashion invitation in the mail. I enjoy making cards, thank you notes and invitations, so I look at it as a fun project to make his birthday invites. I know most people might think that making your own invites takes too much time and since I’m at home with Keenan everyday, I  have plenty of time to do them. Creating your own invitations doesn’t take much time at all. I made Keenan’s 1st birthday invites last year when I was working. You can make them as simple or as intricate as you like. For his 2nd birthday invitations that I just completed and mailed, I purchased cream colored card stock (already cut in a A6 size) from Cutcardstock. They are very reasonably priced, about 10% cheaper than purchasing a package at Michaels or Office Depot. I formatted the invitation in Microsoft Word, added Keenan’s picture and wording. Since I didn’t have as much time as I would have liked (since we are getting ready to leave for Alaska), I made them very simple, but cute. We are going with a theme of “Keenan’s Favorites” for his birthday this year, so the invite was geared to some of his favorite foods, which we will have at his party. It should be fun!

This afternoon, we are heading back to CrossFit for another awesome workout and then home for dinner. Yesterday’s workout was brutal for our first day back after a week off! It was a partner WOD, consisting of rope climbs, box jumps, over-the-bar burpees and deadlifts (women weight: 205/men weight: 325). The workout was 2 rounds for time and my partner and I completed 1 round and 23 reps at 175 pounds for our deadlifts. It was tough! I could definitely tell that my lack of working out last week and not eating as I usually do, affected my performance. When we are in Alaska, my husband and I are making sure to at least workout every other day, so we don’t feel like this after being gone for two weeks!

On the menu for tonight is sauteed Kale with a torpedo onion (diced), sun dried tomatoes and chicken sausages over whole wheat couscous. It should be yummy! I will make sure to take pictures and post the recipe tomorrow! Have a great rest of your afternoon!

Home Sweet Home July 23, 2012

Such a tired boy!

We got home late Saturday night, around 10:30 p.m. Keenan was SO tired. He fell asleep on the way home, around 9:00 p.m. and then woke-up after an hour, crying and saying, “Keenan all done!” Poor little guy, he just wanted to get out of the car and be in his crib. The drive back was the LONGEST drive we have ever taken! There was so much traffic on the road, it was ridiculous, thus making the drive even longer. Needless to say, we were all glad to be home (though, not for long, since we leave for Alaska next Monday).

Yesterday, we spent the day unpacking, cleaning out the car, doing laundry, getting groceries, working on Keenan’s birthday invites (which I’ll post about later this week) and catching up on sleep, since we were all so tired. Keenan slept till 9:00 a.m. yesterday morning and still took a 3 hour nap!

Keenan is still catching up on his sleep because he slept till 9:15 a.m. today, sleeping for over 13 hours! So far, he has been napping for over 2 hours! We are putting him to bed on time tonight and hopefully, he will be back to his normal “schedule,” tomorrow (but, it sure is nice that he is sleeping in so late!).

As promised, here is a recap of our trip:

Beach: Our house was 7 blocks from the beach, so we tried to go to the beach as much as possible, which ended up being every other day. Our beach days were our “relaxation days,” after a busy day of site-seeing the day before. Our house was on a hill, so the walk to and from the beach was a great workout, especially pushing Keenan in his stroller with all of our beach gear (thank goodness for our BOB!). Keenan and his cousin loved playing in the sand and building sand castles. Keenan loved getting more water in his bucket with my dad and “jumping the waves!”

Having fun “jumping the waves” with Nonna and Avo!

Keenan and his cousin after a morning of playing on the beach…they were tired!

Sea World: The day after we arrived, we headed to Sea World. It changed SO much since I was there 15 years ago! The park now has roller coasters and water rides (my dad, brother, husband and me managed to squeeze in a ride on the Manta, which was fun!). We saw all of the shows and I think I enjoyed watching Keenan’s reaction to seeing dolphins, whales and sea lions for the first time, more than the actual shows! He was mesmerized! We also watched a Sesame Street show and Keenan and his cousin got to meet Elmo, Abby and Cookie Monster. I wasn’t sure how Keenan was going to react, but all he wanted to do was “hug Elmo!” I had to hold onto him during the entire show because he kept wanting to climb-up on stage to see Elmo. After the show, we stood in line and Keenan and his cousin got to take pictures with all of the characters. When it was our turn, Keenan ran to Elmo and gave him a big hug; it was adorable! Since he was so enamored with Elmo, we had to get him a little Elmo doll and Elmo sandals, which he loved (he sleeps with Elmo every night and hasn’t wanted to wear any other shoes, but his Elmo ones!).

The Shamu show!

Keenan was SO happy that he got to meet Elmo!

USS Midway: After a “relaxation day” at the beach, we headed to the USS Midway, a retired aircraft carrier that has been turned into an aviation museum. It was incredible! We learned so much. It was especially interesting, since my dad was a Naval Officer and lived on a similar ship (though a lot smaller) many years ago.  The Midway provided me a glimpse of what life was like for my dad (something he hasn’t talked much about). In addition, Keenan enjoyed seeing and sitting in all of the airplanes and helicopters!

Standing in front of the “Top Gun” plane.

Zoo: On our last day in San Diego, we went to the Zoo. It has also changed so much from when I was there 15 years ago; there are so many more animals to see! Like Sea World, I couldn’t wait to see Keenan’s reaction to all of the animals, since this was his first time going to a Zoo. He was mesmerized by the Elephants, Kangaroos, Giraffes and especially the Polar Bears (we saw one sitting-up and eating a carrot!). But, the highlight of the day was the petting zoo, where Keenan and his cousin were able to pet sheep and goats. Keenan was in awe; he loved petting the goats and giving them hugs. I think we stayed there for at least 30 minutes, because Keenan and his cousin did not want to leave!

Petting the goats at the Zoo.

“Hugging” the goats!

Our Eats: Since we stayed in a house, we cooked every night, to make things easier and to save money. It’s hard (and expensive) for a family of 8 to eat out every night. For all of our family vacations, my mom usually takes the lead to cook most nights. But, we made sure to give her a break and cooked every night during this trip. During the day on our “relaxation days” we made sandwiches for lunch and when we were out and about, we dined out. My husband and I went to Costco and Trader Joe’s to stock-up on groceries, once we arrived in San Diego. We planned most of the week’s menus, except for a couple of nights that my brother and sister-in-law cooked. We made roast chicken with roasted broccoli mixed with cherry tomatoes and feta cheese, pork loin with roasted cauliflower, fish tacos, burgers with oven-baked zucchini fries and an antipasti picnic night. Sorry, I forgot to take pictures of the food we made!

Keenan enjoying an ice cream cone after visiting the USS Midway, thanks to Nonna and Avo!

Beer: My husband’s favorite brewery is Stone Brewing Co. (which is located near San Diego), so we had to visit. We tasted almost all of their beers and my favorites were the Smoked Porter, Levitation Ale and Ruination IPA! The brewery is huge. It’s out in the middle of of an industrial park, but their restaurant and outside patio (where we sat) was quite nice and relaxing. I highly recommend visiting their brewery if you are ever in the area, or at least trying some of their beers (you can find them at BevMo or some grocery stores).

The lineup that we tasted at Stone Brewing Co.

Coffee: We brought our french press, grinder and some coffee beans, so we were able to make fresh coffee everyday. But, since we were in Southern California, my husband and I made sure to stop at as many Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf  shops as possible. They only have one shop in Northern California, in San Francisco, so anytime we are down south, we take advantage of them! Our favorite drink is their Carmel Blended! It is probably the best frozen coffee drink I have ever had! They make it with the toddy and add their non-fat vanilla powder, caramel and ice. It is creamy and not overly sweet. Again, I didn’t manage to take a picture of any of the ones we had, sorry!

It is time to get back to reality and head to CrossFit this afternoon (my goal is to workout 6 days this week, to maximize my time before we leave for Alaska next week) and start getting ready for our next trip. I have lots of errands to run this week, as well as things to do, such as cleaning the house (I’m not looking forward to it, but it needs it!).

What are your plans for the week? What kinds of things do you do to get ready for a trip?

Goodbye, San Diego! July 21, 2012

Keenan wiped-out after a fun, but long day at Sea World.

All things good must come to an end (unfortunately). We are packing-up and getting ready to leave San Diego bright and early tomorrow morning. It is going to be a LONG drive home, around 8 hours or so, UGH! Even though I’m sad to leave, I’m looking forward to being home, getting back into my routine and working out (I need to after all of the yummy goodies we ate this past week!)! I miss CrossFit!

The week went by WAY too fast. I could have easily spent another week here; it’s so beautiful and we all had so much fun! We definitely kept busy: going to the beach, Sea World, the Zoo, USS Midway and even tasting beer at Stone Brewing Co. (one of my new favorite beers is their Levitation Ale!). It was a perfect balance of activity and relaxation; I just wish we had a few more days! It was so nice to spend quality time together as a family. Keenan and his cousin had so much fun together, they were practically joined at the hip! 

Well, it’s time to get some sleep, so we are rested for the long drive tomorrow. I will post a full re-cap of our week, once we are home! Night!

Fun in the Sun July 15, 2012

Keenan enjoying his first “real” slice of pizza at the Pescadero Grocery Store, a stop along the way!

We all made it to San Diego safe and sound! The drive wasn’t too bad, except for the traffic through L.A. I don’t know how people live there and deal with the traffic every day. I would be SO miserable, not to mention stressed out all the time! Yesterday, we drove through around 1:00 p.m. and the traffic was completely stopped (I can’t imagine what it is like during the week!). It took us at least 30 minutes to drive 5 miles; it was crazy!

Keenan was, once again, our little “trooper.” He did very well in the car, keeping himself entertained and going with the flow. We listened to lots of music, sang songs, “danced,”  and talked about the things we saw along the way.  We had plenty of stops along the way, which definitely helped. Overall, it was a fun first roadtrip!

For our first stop, we headed to Pescadero, about an hour and a half south of San Francisco, and visited a goat dairy. We tasted some amazing cheese, in fact, we bought some of the best feta and ricotta cheese we have ever eaten! Keenan enjoyed petting the goats, too! After visiting the dairy, we had lunch at the Pescadero General Store, which was well-known for their wood-fried pizzas. We had the vegetarian with chicken added to it. It was yummy and Keenan devoured his two slices! On our way out, we stopped at the Arcangeli Grocery Co. that is known for their artichoke garlic herb bread (they bake it every 10 minutes) and got two loaves (one to snack on in the car and one half-baked to eat for dinner the next day). It was probably the best bread I have ever eaten! They lace the dough with artichoke hearts, so you get artichokes in almost every bite! It was crusty on the outside and perfectly pillowy soft in the inside!

Petting the goats!

A piece of heaven…artichoke garlic herb bread!

We spent Friday night in Santa Barbara and before driving the rest of the way to San Diego, we stopped at the Farmer’s Market and picked up some fresh produce. After the Farmer’s Market, we had brunch and got a “Carmel Blended” coffee from Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (the best blended coffee drink ever!) and drove down to San Diego.

Fresh produce at the Santa Barbara Farmer’s Market.

Today, we all slept in (Keenan slept until 8:15, which is pretty late for him!) and my husband made a nice breakfast of scrambled eggs mixed with leftover tri-tip and tillamock sharp cheddar cheese, along with cinnamon english muffins (from Arcangeli Grocery Co. in Pescadero), and fruit. It was yummy! Of course, we also had lattes (we brought our french press with us).

Having fun with Avo in the water!

After breakfast, we headed to the beach for some fun in the sun! Keenan and his cousin loved building sand castles (Keenan’s role was getting more water with Avo’s help!) and playing in the water. They had so much fun, they both didn’t want to head back to the house for lunch.

Now, everyone is napping, before heading back out to the beach and getting an ice cream cone (we found this cute little ice cream shop as we were walking back to the house). I think I’ll take a little snooze before Keenan wakes up. Have a great rest of your Sunday!

On the road again… July 13, 2012

Keenan enjoying his new “Monkey” platypus water bottle on our road trip, thanks to Auntie Mimi!

Our car is loaded to the gills and we are finally on our way to San Diego! It is amazing how much stuff we have for only three people (it doesn’t help that my husband always over prepares for everything…”you never know, we might need it!”). Gone are the days of just packing a bag, getting-up and going. With Keenan in tow, it is quite a production to get all of us in the car; I can’t imagine what it will be like once we have another child! Do you pack light or do you tend to bring everything but the kitchen sink, when traveling?

We are headed to our first stop in Pescadero, to visit a goat farm to taste cheese, have Keenan run around a bit and then lunch, before getting back in the car to drive for several more hours. We are spending the night near Santa Barbara, so we can explore in the morning and then drive the rest of the way to San Diego. Do any of you have suggestions for must-see attractions (aside from the Zoo and Sea World) and awesome eats?

Once we get to San Diego, I will do my best to post about our trip when I can. When we return, I will be sure to post a full recap with lots of pictures! Have a great weekend!