tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-120470292026-05-10T04:23:07.323-05:00Our first baby (Peanut) arrived in Helsinki, Finland, little brother (Tex) joined us in Dallas, TX, we spent a few months in Boston and are now in San Diego, where little sister (Bibi) was born. We are working out all the usual things parents have to -- while balancing between a European view and the US view to health care, baby customs, gear, weather, etc!Peanut's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07455578408767664956noreply@blogger.comBlogger297125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12047029.post-2655896731905042262008-07-10T16:23:00.004-05:002008-12-08T19:08:37.100-06:00

"Many people come here for vacation to see the sun, palm trees, beach and water....and, we get to live here.....wow!" kept running through our minds as we spent Father's Day on San Diego Bay.It was another typically gorgeous San Diego Sunday. Sunshine, ocean breezes and minimal crowds in the morning.We were out on Coronado Island at the Ferry Landing complex to catch the Coronado-San Diego ferry.

Peanut's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07455578408767664956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12047029.post-59129385917071901052008-07-09T16:30:00.003-05:002008-12-08T19:08:37.203-06:00

We love Sea World.Its a 20 minute drive away. Its just like spending the day at a gorgeous park. Its full of unique experiences every time we visit. Peanut and Tex can't get enough AND both their parents enjoy it just as much - a rare combination in child amusements :-)We worked out the best season-pass combination for us:> one adult and Peanut picked up the "Fun Pass" early in the year giving

Peanut's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07455578408767664956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12047029.post-69938733074854284892008-05-28T17:02:00.004-05:002008-12-08T19:08:37.305-06:00

Tex -- who loves to eat above all -- must have thought that an International Food Festival is the best kind of event ever!!! Booth after booth of food! More food! and more food!We are here just to EAT!!!On Sunday the International Houses of Balboa Park had their annual food fest and we happily strolled among the tents.Hungary seemed to pop up on every corner -- the hot dishes here, a few tents

Peanut's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07455578408767664956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12047029.post-75454582739952716402008-05-28T16:10:00.004-05:002008-12-08T19:08:37.586-06:00

Perhaps it was reading classic Dr. Suess The Lorax that started me thinking about our environmental impact. Then, I just happened across the China edition of National Geographic and thought how similar the images in the tales were - though one was as real as the other fanciful.I still clearly see myself in a classroom at Gulf Breeze Elementary as the lights are switched off and the projector

Peanut's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07455578408767664956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12047029.post-36296229894725189842008-05-27T23:26:00.004-05:002008-12-08T19:08:37.708-06:00

I was reading the China issue of National Geographic last night and tossed and turned for hours following the article about the pollution of the Yellow River. (The image is from that issue of National Geographic).In short, the Yellow River is being destroyed by over-use and pollution from the factories driving China's impressive growth. Because the Yellow River is a source of life for people,

Peanut's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07455578408767664956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12047029.post-47732640424865543962008-05-16T16:33:00.003-05:002008-12-08T19:08:37.844-06:00

We were grocery shopping the other day when Peanut starts to tell me a story about Cat & Mouse who we know from a library book.Cat & Mouse were going to school. Cat ate Mouse's snot! From her nose!!!Yewwww. Yuck.Then Cat made a poo-poo!!Lovely.Its amazing the phases children go through. Peanut, unfortunately, hasn't been around too many other children the past few months as we moved and I

Peanut's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07455578408767664956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12047029.post-77785828794482511242008-05-14T16:30:00.004-05:002008-12-08T19:08:38.041-06:00

Whales, whales and more whales. Peanut drew a whole stack of them - this was the best. Its specifically a "mama humpback whale" she told us. Note the eyelashes around the huge eye that make it a mama :-)Usually we have to cut them out, but this one she left intact. She's very picky about how her pictures are cut out -- right on the line, no extra white paper allowed!

Peanut's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07455578408767664956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12047029.post-76331497034201245072008-05-14T16:20:00.003-05:002008-12-08T19:08:38.387-06:00

Peanut drew this picture of spaceship at the library after story time about astronauts, space travel and planets. You can see the astronaut faintly in the background - he was on the flip-side. Peanut just decided to do the additional drawing after she colored the astronaut.

Peanut's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07455578408767664956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12047029.post-3847490398810306662008-05-14T15:42:00.004-05:002008-12-08T19:08:38.816-06:00

The "Virtual Fridge Door" is especially for the grandparents who can't come by and see what Peanut & Tex have most recently created.We've been searching for dinosaur bones in our backyard for a week or so; ever since we attended a dinosaur themed story time at the library and brought home a collection of dino stories.Peanut takes her bucket and shovel and heads off to scrounge through the

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12047029.post-61508436034512687022008-05-12T16:00:00.007-05:002008-12-08T19:08:39.480-06:00

I had a very nice Mother's Day -- a collection of cards were part of my wake-up, papa had brought home flowers & pastries from the Swedish Royal Bakery and we spent the day among the flowers at Carlsbad's Flower Fields. Ever since I had Peanut & Tex I've gained a new perspective on my mom, my upbringing and who I am today. My mom raised two children mostly as a single parent which I now

Peanut's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07455578408767664956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12047029.post-73463681109992394672008-05-08T15:19:00.002-05:002008-12-08T19:08:39.579-06:00

"Boooooo, Moooooooo" Tex suddenly called out one day and pointed to a black & white stuffed cow.Since then, "Boo" has been his lovey. I don't know what inspired his attachment and why he fixated on this toy, but it is somehow appropriate.I quickly tried to introduce Kitty-Cat as a back-up to Boo. Afterall, both these toys are black & white and fairly similar. Tex seems happy with the idea

Peanut's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07455578408767664956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12047029.post-59230312963338302562008-05-08T15:07:00.004-05:002008-05-08T15:19:12.127-05:00

A very late night and a very early day that is.Peanut takes after her papa and is a night owl. We've always had her bedtime around 7:30 - 8:00 pm so she gets enough sleep and we get a chance to spend some quiet time in the evening. Though were it up to Peanut, she'd be bouncing around until well past 10 pm. Now, I know why it was so tough for us to get her to bed peacefully when she was a baby

Peanut's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07455578408767664956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12047029.post-47987143324372884982008-04-30T15:04:00.004-05:002008-12-08T19:08:39.796-06:00

We don't eat lunch naked. Please put on your underwear at least!No, cucumbers don't go in your ear!Take your sister's underwear off your head --- No! not in your mouth!Please don't sniff your brother's tushie anymore.

Peanut's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07455578408767664956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12047029.post-83929475536778353102008-04-28T16:23:00.005-05:002008-12-08T19:08:40.060-06:00

As long as I can remember my dad has played tennis. He tried many times in my childhood to get my sister and I interested. It never really stuck. Maybe it was too slow, required too much skill to be exciting; or maybe I had too many other activities vying for my time. For an embarrassingly long time since I became an adult, I've intended to sign up for a tennis class. FINALLY - I've done it! Its

Peanut's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07455578408767664956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12047029.post-26353819372801660602008-04-26T23:28:00.006-05:002008-12-08T19:08:40.470-06:00

Now that Tex has more/less (sometimes less) eating sand, we spend many mornings and afternoons at the many parks around our home. Here in California, most parks are filled with white sand -- its like being at the beach! The Texas parks usually had a mulchy-type of bark filling which I thought could easily give you splinters and really didn't provide a soft landing. The few Boston-area parks we

Peanut's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07455578408767664956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12047029.post-47945020821386901012008-04-15T16:07:00.005-05:002008-12-08T19:08:40.698-06:00

Our sweet little lady turned three yesterday!! Amazing how she has grown -- we are so lucky to have her in our lives.We marked the special day with a batch of papa/Peanut cupcakes (which she no longer calls 'tuptakes') with decadent papa-made frosting consisting of butter, sugar and a sprinkling of cocoa powder. Yum!For her birthday, we got Peanut her own little 2.5 gallon aquarium, now home to

Peanut's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07455578408767664956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12047029.post-13416666868896642422008-04-11T15:54:00.010-05:002008-12-08T19:08:41.325-06:00

Grandy and Nana spent a wonderful week with us around Easter. We took the chance to visit Sea World - our first theme-park outting!To be honest, I was dreading it a bit. Tex is one a year so I thought there wouldn't be much to hold his attention and once he is done with something, the little guys wants to MOVE! I thought we'd be floating in a sea of people, standing in endless lines and looking

Peanut's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07455578408767664956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12047029.post-33481492668999952342008-03-14T23:39:00.004-05:002008-12-08T19:08:42.223-06:00

Peanut's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07455578408767664956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12047029.post-77310133352305343752008-03-09T23:07:00.003-05:002008-03-09T23:29:10.778-05:00

In honor of the tradition (5 Things I Miss about TX, 6 Things I Miss about Helsinki) - here's the latest installment of what I've left behind... My Hairdresser. I never understood people who went on about their hairdressers until I met Juletha. Ah, Juletha, who transformed my disobedient and ordinary do into glamour hair with a few swift swipes of her steady razor. Juletha, who brought

Peanut's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07455578408767664956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12047029.post-56600003265876425052008-03-07T16:43:00.006-06:002008-12-08T19:08:42.397-06:00

Almost as soon as she could, Peanut put her thumb into her mouth. It gave her peace, it made her happy and it helped her sleep through the night. Pacifiers were spit out with a venegence that sent them popping loudly into the side of her cardboard KELA-box bed. Her choice was her thumb.And, its been that way ever since.Now, as she approaches her third birthday, I thought it was time to start

Peanut's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07455578408767664956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12047029.post-89570249698665016642008-03-07T16:43:00.005-06:002008-12-08T19:08:42.543-06:00

So, now I can send pictures from my mobile phone directly to my blog!

Peanut's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07455578408767664956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12047029.post-57294564859221103652008-03-06T15:59:00.005-06:002008-12-08T19:08:42.694-06:00

If there's one thing I've learned from the three major moves I've made in the past three years, its making friends is hard work!But, since having friends is so important to making a new place feel like home, there's nothing else to do than get out, get out, get out, get out. Having children has got to be the best way into many groups in the fastest way. You immediately have some common ground to

Peanut's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07455578408767664956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12047029.post-74971209837904595582008-03-04T16:55:00.005-06:002008-12-08T19:08:43.284-06:00

Opa & Oma were visiting us last week so we took them on a grand tour of the area. One day we headed up for the mountains to the town of Julian, briefly a gold rush town, but now the local economy seems to depend on pies. The main street is the central lure in town with its old wooden buildings housing gift shops, pie parlors and restaurants (with their own speciality pies). The elevation

Peanut's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07455578408767664956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12047029.post-23331661263080255022008-02-29T12:05:00.004-06:002008-02-29T12:18:16.719-06:00

From today's Wall Street Journal, a story about how Finnish high school students rated among the most intelligent according to a recent PISA assessment test.US delegations to Finnish schools wondered how schools without tons of homework, gifted programs or uniforms manage to produce such results. And, more pertinent to the toddler-set I hang out with, how does it happen in country where children

Peanut's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07455578408767664956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12047029.post-34246794388286295272008-02-21T17:15:00.005-06:002008-12-08T19:08:43.678-06:00

For a while now Peanut has been keen about "paying" for items when we go to the store or even the library. I usually just use plastic, so I thought we might need something to help begin instilling the idea of money. And, when you can combine it with an art project - all the better!Michael's carries a triple-pack of these porclein piggy-banks waiting to be decorated. An example piggy at the store

Peanut's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07455578408767664956noreply@blogger.com0