Simpsons in Seattle

I've taken the girls on my own to dinner at fast food places like McDonalds, but tonight was the first time we went to a real restaurant by ourselves. Any of you who know Nora knows that she's at best, a clingy monkey on me at the dinner table and at worst, a shrieking over-active kid who can't stay in her seat. So it was with a very deep breath that I took the plunge and went to grab dinner before Evie's swim class tonight. Verdict: I can wait to do it again, but it was not as bad as I had thought it would be. We went to Tapatio because Evie requested it (side note: this is the type of Mexican restaurant that makes people say they hate Mexican food) and they heeded my request for a booth because I thought it could contain the kids. Dinner started off okay but went south after we got our meals because Nora didn't want to eat and instead kept wanting to slide down the booth and play on the floor, and then would turn into a limp noodle when I tried to pick her up. I

We've pretty much been spending every weekend up in Orcas! We were up against last weekend with Scott's parents and spent another delightful few days just bumming around the island. On Saturday, we went to the farmer's market and on Sunday, we explored the island to check out some artists studios because there was an island-wide artist open house. Here's a few scenes from the weekend: She was SOOOOO excited about this cat face paint! Cool little girl. On the property of the last artist we went to visit. The land where her little studio was is amazing! There was a covered bridge! And a private pond! The studio is in the back corner. The girls did great checking out all the various artists.

This is an old post that was in my draft folder! It's been a few weeks but I can't resist sharing these photos. -- Way, Kevin, Ian and my parents all came up for a long weekend and we made the most of it by heading directly to Orcas Island so we could show off the new house. We had an awesome time, and the house was filled with happy kid noises. We were so happy that the weather was great and we can show them all the reasons why Orcas is so great. Come back soon and visit us again, guys! Mi casa es su casa!! Ferry ride! Great weather meant it was warm enough to sit outside on the ferry. It's kind of like a cruise, right? Me and my baby Saturday night was this little girls' birthday!  Presents are so fun to open, even if they aren't mine!  Pit stop before lunch on Sunday. Some adult time sans kids at the local brewery It took a few days, but Nora eventually warmed up again to Yee Yee! Warm enough that this guy even sa

Happy (belated) birthday, my little Nora-bear!  At 2 years old, Nora is a little bit mischievous but oh so lovable. It takes a while for her to warm up to someone, but when she does, she is cuddly and give great hugs and kisses.  She loves singing the ABCs now, and can mostly count to ten and sometimes higher. She likes to scribble draw, playing with planes and trains and her current favorite book is a Children's Song book. She still does the adorable "mmmmmm" noises when she eats something she likes, but recently she also started declaring "yummy in my tummy tummy!" Most of the time, it just comes out as "tummy tummy!" though! She love sweets and is always asking for candy and snacks, but also loves eggs (hard boiled or fried), sausage, bacon and noodles. She's still not great at sitting in her seat at the dinner table, but it's really hard to say no to that cutie pie face when shes asks to sit on your lap. Even Evie will relent and

My little Seattle-ite can't stand all the sunshine we've been getting recently. She was pampered over the weekend when PohPoh would shade her from the sun while in the car but now that her PohPoh-powered sun shield is gone, you'd think she's being tortured if you heard how she cries about how the sun is in her eyes. It just cracks me and Evie up, which gets little Nora more upset. It's too funny! Here's the scene when I parked the car last night in our driveway: Sun! Sun! No Sun!!

I didn't post about our date night last week but can't resist showing you all this one shot of the tripe entree that I got because it was so good and I can't stop thinking about it! I don't see tripe on a non-asian restaurant's menu very often so when I do, I'm always very interested in it. It almost felt like the waitress was trying to steer me away from this dish (we ordered a lot) but I'm really glad I tried it. This version was in a cumin-laced San Marzano tomato sauce that bordered on tasting like an Indian curry,  and had chickpeas for texture, castelventrano olives for acid and bite, calabrian chili for heat and then a sprinkle of lavender that was surprising, interesting, different and totally worked. I haven't been this excited about a dish in a long time! The pic doesn't really show how delicious it was!

We had a wonderful weekend on Orcas again, but our return home was a bit hairy.  The Washington State Ferry started allowing ferry reservations this summer and while that's helpful, it also means it's stressful if you don't have one! 75% of the ferry spots can be reserved (25% of the spots are opened up at 3 different intervals leading up to the date) so only 25% of the ferry is for walk-ons. We were one of the fun 25% that didn't have a reservation coming home on Sunday. We got to the ferry terminal 45 minutes before the 5:15pm sailing but didn't make it because of the crowds. We didn't make it by a long shot - by probably 10 cars. That meant we had to wait for the next ferry which was scheduled for 8:45pm! What to do with 2 little kids, stuck in line for 3+ hours?! The Orcas Ferry terminal has very little to do so we took our time letting the kids (ok, Nora) play with all the buttons in the car, then we walked around the little marina several times an