Round-to-it Recommends - Identification

Personal identification can literally save your life, even if you don't have a specific medical condition that requires you to wear it all the time. Here are two companies that I have used and can recommend their products.

1) Road ID
I have the wrist ID for myself for when I work out or race and I have them for each of my kids for when we travel or go to places where they might get lost. They know that once we go through security at the airport, their wrist bands go on and they don't come off until we get to our destination. Their bands have their names, my and my husband's cell numbers, their blood types, birth dates, and allergies. Mine has my name, contact information for my husband, and my medical information.

2) Lauren's Hope medical ID bracelets
In the past, if you had to wear a medical bracelet, you only had the option of a silver chain bracelet or a dog tag, both of which were noticeable and not attractive. This company designs interchangeable bracelets that are really pretty, but still attach to a medical tag to let responders know about your medical condition. I have ordered from them a couple of times and their bracelets arrive very quickly and look very nice. You can also buy just a new bracelet and attach it to your old tag, so you don't need to get a new tag if you want to wear a different bracelet. The one downside is that they don't have an online contact service, so if you have complicated medical needs that can't be easily explained on a tag, these won't really work for you. But for most people, these will work just fine.

The Latest Fashion Statement

This was how my 5-year-old dressed my 2-year-old last night. That would be a nightgown that is 2 sizes too big, sunglasses left over from a birthday party, and tap shoes that are several sizes too big. I believe she was also christened with the name Princess Blue Flower. I'm not sure of the significance of the shopping cart, but it was a required accessory in her little mind.

Gotta love little girls!

Turf Wars

My peas and pumpkins are at war. I have potatoes taking over one of my boxes. The beans are starting to make a tee pee. It's a crazy year in my little garden and it's been fun to watch it grow. I put my garden together haphazardly, letting my older daughter pick what goes where and just seeing what comes up and how it does. Sometimes we're successful and sometimes it's a flop, but it's always fun to keep track of the plants.

This year, I put my tomatoes on the front porch, since they will take over the garden and prevent anything else from growing under them. That left plenty of room to plant some new things, like the potatoes. I had never seen potato plants before; I just thought they'd be fun for the kids since you can't see the tubers as they grow. Turns out, potatoes grow huge plants above the ground. Mine are about 3 feet tall, have pretty little pink flowers, and are producing some kind of fruit from the flowers. I just had to "corset" them today with string to keep the plants from completely blocking the path between the boxes. Apparently, when the tops start to die back, it will be time to harvest the potatoes, but I have no idea how long that will take. So far, they seem to be really happy and green, so I assume it will be a while.

I've planted pumpkins before, but the plants have never done very well. They'll grow for a little while and then they'll either wither or something will eat them, so I've never gotten a pumpkin to grow. This year the pumpkins are VERY happy. I have 2 plants and both are climbing like crazy and have lots of blooms. Pumpkins have huge leaves, a fact I hadn't realized before, and the stems are really prickly, making it even trickier to keep them trained upwards because they fight back when I try to feed them through the netting. I hope I get at least one pumpkin off of these vines. My kids will be beyond excited if we do.

I planted peas next to one of the pumpkins, not knowing that the pumpkin vine would be so enthusiastic. The two sets of vines are fighting for space on the trellis netting and I have to keep untangling them to give them each their own space. My older daughter is keeping close tabs on the peas and harvests them as they ripen. So far, they haven't made it into the house because she eats them as soon as she picks them. I don't mind, though. How can I complain about her eating peas? She also keeps a close watch on our blueberry bush, but those fruits either go to her brother or into the fridge since she is allergic to them (she vomits within an hour of eating raw blueberries; she's fine with cooked ones).

She has also done some random planting in my tree box. There were a few seeds that fell as we were planting, so she took them and stuck them in the soil of the big box. We now have another pea plant growing up between the lime tree and the tangerine tree and a sunflower starting to appear in a bucket that she filled with soil. And we have a tomato volunteer that popped up in the middle of the tan bark from a tomato that fell last season. It's starting to flower, so we'll probably get a few tomatoes from it, too.

Reading Time

Each afternoon my kids spend some time doing independent reading. Our son has really gotten into Harry Potter (he is loving Prisoner of Azkaban right now) and our older daughter is finally able to sit down and read on her own for a bit. We still do reading time together in the evenings, but this is their chance to tune out on their own for a bit.

We actually went to the library yesterday. For most people, this wouldn't be worthy of mentioning, but I happen to dislike libraries. The thought of reading a book that has been handled by so many other people, and the smell of those books, makes my stomach turn. But I figured my kids really should understand what a library is and how to find books, so I got the two older ones their own library cards and let them loose on the stacks. Our daughter had a bit of trouble with the concept of just borrowing the books - she didn't understand why you have to give them back - but she was really excited by the news that you're allowed to check out 40 (!) books/videos/CDs at a time. No way that will happen - I am not going to try to keep track of 40 library items in my house! They did get a few books, though - horses and Star Wars were the hot themes this time - and are happily reading them. Hopefully this will give them the chance to read some things they may not have seen before since the book stores only have newer titles. And I'll just have to invest in the industrial-sized bottles of Purell to read with them.

Entering the brave new world of biking

Our youngest has finally learned how to pedal a bike. I can't remember how old the other two were, but it was probably around the same age. It's a new phase of mobility and she'll be able to keep up with her siblings a bit better as they play outside.

Check out the video.

Round-to-it Recommends - Vacation Items

Here are some of the things we have found to be really useful when we travel. Feel free to add your suggestions in the comments!

1) Phil & Ted's Traveler portable crib
We have the older (slightly heavier) version of this crib and it has been fantastic. I much prefer having my own crib for my little one, so we don't have to keep our fingers crossed that the ones where we stay are safe/clean/comfortable. This one is small and light enough to pack in our daughter's duffle bag and still have room for her clothes and toys. It is also great for a little one at the beach to keep her out of the sand and give her a place to sleep at nap time. Well worth the cost!

2) Waterproof camera housing
We have a Panasonic Lumix digital camera right now, but many of the higher end digitals have a housing available. We keep our camera in this most of the time and are able to take pictures while snorkeling, in the pool, and anywhere else without having to worry about it getting ruined. Some of our favorite vacation photos have been captured because we were able to take our camera in places that would otherwise have destroyed it.

3) Inflatable booster seat
We have gotten tons of use out of our seat. It has lasted through 2 kids and would definitely last through more. This one collapses down fairly flat, so it is easy to pack (in the same bag with the crib) and weighs almost nothing. It's also good to have at home when friends come over with their kids. Definitely beats using the phone book!

4) UV protective rash guards
If you look back at our vacation photos, you can see that we all wear rash guards any time we are out in the water. We learned long ago that getting burned is just miserable and this is the best and easiest way to keep that from happening. the kids are currently wearing the ones from Lands' End and I really like the the quality of the fabric. My favorite ones for me are from the Pacific Whale Foundation store, but those are harder to come by. Wearing these also means it takes about half the time to sunscreen everyone.

5) A really good guidebook
Since we mostly travel to Hawaii, I can recomend one series of books. Maui Revealed (and the books for the other islands, as well) is the absolute best guidebook for travel to Maui. We're not completely fond of their food recommendations, but aside from that, it is spot on for things to do and safety considerations. Even though we have been to Maui many times, we still take the most recent version of the book along with us for reference.

6) Headphones
This may seem silly, but they make all the difference for when your kids want to play video games or watch the movie or beg you to do something on your computer to kill time. We have simple over-the-head ones for our kids, but there are lots of options.

7) Handheld video games
We're not big on letting our kids plug in and tune out, but for travelling, we do what we must to pass the time. Our kids have the Leapster (for the younger two) and the Didj (for our oldest). The games are educational and for the Didj, we can set the learning level for the games by hooking it up to the computer. It keeps him challenged and he is working on math skills he hasn't gotten in school yet.

Mike's Birthday Dinner

Today was Mike's birthday, so we, of course, went to Parcel 104 for dinner. Chef Anthony and Chef Carlos put together a fantastic dinner for us. Unfortunately, we didn't think of taking pictures of each dish until after we finished eating, so you'll just have to imagine how fabulous everything looked. Here is the menu:

Amuse bouche: Silken egg white with caviar and creme fraische
Course 1: Lobster corn soup
Course 2: Pork belly with passion fruit purée, curried coconut
tapioca, and grilled mango
Course 3: Grilled sockeye salmon with garden vegetables
Course 4: Hickory-smoked barbecued foie gras with cornbread "gnocchi"
and corn pudding (to die for!)
Course 5: Corn and morel mushroom fettucini Alfredo with black truffles
Course 6: Grilled New York steak with corn and grilled mushroom ragout
and fried polenta
Course 7: White peach and watercress salad with peach sorbet, cheese
beignet, and peach compote
Course 8: World's best flan
Course 9: Chocolate pot du creme
Course 10: Molten chocolate cake with grand marnier, vanilla ice
cream, and sliced strawberries
Course 11: Sponge cake with berries and lemon verbena ice cream

Thank you once again to Chef Anthony and Chef Carlos of Parcel 104 for
the absolutely phenomenal dinner! You always make our special
occasions memorable.

School's Out For Summer...

My kids got out of school last Friday for summer vacation. I am so happy that they are done! I am ready for a break from the constant driving, the early mornings, and the crazy evenings that go along with the school year.

It's taken a few days, but we're settling into a routine. We go out in the morning and do errands or go to the Y or go on a "field trip". After lunch, the little one goes down for her nap and the older kids have reading and work time. Their school sends home a packet of worksheets for them to do over the summer, which they are supposed to work on over the course of six weeks. My son finished his yesterday (in 3 days) and my daughter is almost done with hers. I knew that was going to be the case, so we went to the teacher supply store yesterday to find some extra workbooks to challenge them a bit. They are both very excited to start working on some more challenging stuff. Have I said that my kids are weird? Better that than hating school, I suppose!

I need to get them to the library to sign up for the summer reading program. I'm not a huge fan of libraries. Handling books that have been read by who-knows-how-many other people really grosses me out, so we tend to go to the book store instead. I feel like the kids really should know what a library is, though, so we'll make the effort this summer. I do remember really liking the summer programs as a kid, so hopefully my guys will, too.

Aside from that, our summer should be fairly laid back. The older kids each have a couple of camps they are doing, and all three of them will continue to take swim lessons. The rest of our time should be spent at the pool, going to the beach, going to the Y, and checking out some new hiking trails. We're all looking forward to these few weeks off!

Wednesday Wash Day

Wednesday and Sunday are my laundry days. Why, you may ask? Because it means the fewest number of uniforms for the kids (3) and the fewest number of wash days. Brilliant, no? Anyway, I really don't mind doing laundry. Filling the machine, adding the soap and softener - and always Oxi Clean, folding, hanging, putting away, I don't mind any of it. The one thing that really gets me is the sorting. And that's because as I sort the laundry, I have to empty pockets.

I'd always heard stories about the things moms find in their sons' pockets. Marbles, rocks, frogs, string are all the stuff legend. My son isn't too bad in that regard, though. I just generally find empty snack containers and lint in his pockets.

My daughter's clothes, though, make me cringe. I usually have a large collection of the cleanest rocks in town sitting on top of my drier, since I've had to dig them out after listening to them bang around in the load of clothes. She will pick up literally anything and stick it in her pockets, only to leave it there for me to find as I go through the laundry. I've come across hair clips and rubber bands, sand, crackers, raisins, paper, small toys, feathers, paper clips, bracelets, her watch, and rocks. Lots and lots of rocks. She's so obsessed with rocks that one of her friends tried to find her a rock-related birthday present, but gave her a selection of soaps and lotions instead (not sure what she was suggesting with that one, but my daughter loved them anyway). I've tried to tell her that it's gross to pick that kind of stuff up, and even more gross to carry it home with her in her pockets. It hasn't had any effect.

Now my youngest has discovered pockets and specifically asks to wear pants with pockets. So far, she is only putting her hands in them, but I'm sure if she is anything like her sister, she, too, will be collecting weird stuff and leaving it for me to find on laundry day.

I Need a Fashion Intervention - Photos

You asked for it (Jason!), you got it! I recreated the look for all the world to see. Obviously, I have no shame. Your fashion advice is certainly welcome, because as you can see, I shouldn't be allowed to dress myself.

I've also included a photo of the Curious George lounge pants. My kids love them, but they might not be appropriate for the grocery store.

I Need a Fashion Intervention

I had a "What Not to Wear" moment the other night.

Let me first say, that I would love to be nominated for the show. I have begged my friends to submit me for it. I happily admit that I am the least fashionable person I know, with pretty much the most boring wardrobe on the planet. I only wear make-up for really fancy occasions, and even then I barely manage to look passable. It's actually so bad, that my husband prefers it when I don't wear make-up. I have had the same hair style for probably 10 years (at least it's not a reverse mullet!). I've tried to change my hair color, but my hair revolts and will now only be blonde. So I know I need help and I just keep waiting for Stacy and Clinton to jump out at me and offer to take me off to New York for a week to make me over.

Every once in a while, I leave the house in an outfit that I know would make them cry. I imagine that there is a hidden camera somewhere nearby capturing how pathetic I am for all the world to see, over and over again in syndication (I definitely need a hobby). And yet, I still go out wearing it.

Here's my latest example. Saturday night, Mike and I were trying to make popcorn the old-fashioned way. We realized that we needed more popcorn and oil, since our last experiment had gone seriously wrong. I left for the nearby Safeway, at 9:45 at night, wearing an old t-shirt under a dark green, fleece-lined hoodie, with shorts, crew socks, and my slippers, already wearing my glasses, and my hair in it's end-of-the-day state. And being the environmental geek I am, I walked into the store carrying my pet store reusable bag. It was quite the picture, and I got a number of weird sideways glances as I loaded up my bag with popcorn, oil, and Junior Mints (the ultimate accompaniment to popcorn). I could easily picture a cameraman hiding around the corner of the freezer case, laughing his head off as he got prime footage to take back to New York.

I hurried home, and am now biding my time until I get "ambushed" as a result of my incredible lack of fashion sense. My only consolation - at least I wasn't wearing my mint green, Curious George lounge pants. That might have been too much even for Stacy and Clinton.