Momathon Blog

Sunny day

Hot. Sunny. Just filled the dog water bowls and the bird baths.

(Doodle created using ArtStudio on my iPad. Blog posted using BlogPress from my iPad.)

Location:My iPad

Baby Magpie birds

Baby Magpie birds are bold even when they are very young. This summer the chicks are trying to "herd" my dogs in the backyard. 

(Sketch above created using ArtStudio app on my iPad. Post created using BlogPress from my iPad.)

If your kids LOVE to go through airport security

 

 

If you fly often with kids, then chances are even though you hate the hassle of airport security, your kids love it. And why not. Kids love to make a mess dumping out all their stuff in plastic bins as well as wasting lots of time searching through pockets for missing sticks of gum, candy, string, wrappers, markers (without tops), etc. 

If you are looking for a way to streamline the process, one easy rule is to teach your kids to load the gray security bins in a specific order. 

Here's my mommy travel tip for the day:

Place the things you need to wear in the first gray security bins because when they come through you will have time to put them on while you wait for the rest of your gear.

Bin #1: 

Shoes

3 quart baggie with your three 3 oz. liquid bottles inside

Bin #2: 

Jackets, sweaters, belts, or any clothing you need to put on after security. 

Bin #3: 

Tech gadgets: laptop (out of its case), iPods, etc

Bin #4: 

Backpack or purse

(Photo: Kossy@FINEDAYS)

Will making my bed make me happier?

 

Today I made my bed. On a scale of 1 to 10, today I'm about a 6. I'm not sure making my bed had anything to do with it. Perhaps I would be even happier if my bed looked like the Pottery Barn bed above.

The truth is, I don't have high expectations for making my bed or anything this time of year. It's summer vacation. The temp has been hovering around 95 for about a week. If I manage to avoid melting outside I consider it a victory. Most summer days I get the basics done and making my bed just happens to be on the daily chore list along with walking the dogs, cleaning dishes, laundry, and limiting the kids' TV consumption. (And the last one is the most difficult.)

Fortunately making my bed each day is simple. I don't have a million pillows or fancy comforters to fold. I do like to see some evidence of civilized living in all the chaos, but I don't need my bedroom to be an oasis of perfection. 

I like the fact that seeing my bed made is a subtle invitation to lounge and read a good book here.

According to Gretchen Rubin of the The Happiness Project, "Picking one little task to improve your situation, and doing it regularly, can help you regain a sense of self-mastery. Making your bed is a good place to start, and tackling one easy daily step is a good way to energize yourself for tougher situations."

So go ahead. Make your bed. Or not.

 

 

And don't forget to come back for a cat nap.

(Photos: Pottery Barn)

Getting creative with my iPad

"Oh look... Another cloudy day."

One of the best parts of having an iPad is all the fun artsy apps. The doodle above is for one of my BEX plush creatures. (Creatures coming to my Luna Blue Studio store at Etsy.com soon!)

I used the iPad drawing app ArtStudio. It's relatively easy to learn. Lots of fun. Plenty of creative options for drawing and painting tools. Plus tons of special effects to choose. Have to give credit to my daughter for teaching me how to use it.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Got bike?

I grew up in Minneapolis, a green city with so many parks and urban bike trails that except for the snowy winters you could probably survive nicely with just two wheels.

This year Minneapolis unseated Portland, OR as the best bicycling city in America according to Bicycling magazine.

Last night I stopped by a kiosk in Minneapolis near Orchestra Hall and the YWCA to check out the brand new bike-sharing program called Nice Ride Minnesota. The program is similar to the successful bike lending systems in Paris, Barcelona, and other cities

More than 1,000 lime green Nice Ride Minnesota bikes are available in Minneapolis at 60 bike sharing locations. To rent a bike, swipe your credit card or a monthly pass in each bike holder (see photo).

Bike or Walk
Minneapolis was also chosen as one of four communities around the United States for a special federal project -- Bike Walk Twin Cities -- a program that helps foster the development of new ways to boost bike and pedestrian transportation for the future.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Minneapolis

Fact: Kids love reading books to chickens (and chinchillas)

"When you read a book as a child, it becomes a part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does."
~ Kathleen Kelly, You've Got Mail

If the character Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) had another charming little children's bookstore, I think it would be Wild Rumpus in Minneapolis.

Quaint. Unique. Fun. Kids enter through the small purple door inside the big grown-up version. Every Monday at 10:30 kids from around the area come to the store to hear one of the very best story times for kids I know. Wild Rumpus is a book lover's paradise with some added whimsy thanks to the friendly and funky bookstore pets--Bantam chickens, Manx cats, rats, and chinchillas.

Part of the joy of coming to this bookstore is the fact clerks have spent time reading the books they carry.

Where to go:
Wild Rumpus is an independent children's bookstore in the Linden Hills neighborhood of Minneapolis just a block away from the scenic Lake Harriet.

Wild Rumpus
2720 West 43rd Street
Minneapolis, MN 55410
612.920.5005 (phone)
wildrumpusbooks.com

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Wild Rumpus Bookstore, Minneapolis

Island cooking with easy breezy fish tacos

Fish tacos is a meal we all love at my house. Simple to make. Only few ingredients. Best of all, kids can assemble their own tacos and get exactly the taco combo they want.

Giada De Laurentiis on The Today Show shares a yummy tiki-themed meal in the video below.

Giada's fish tacos

taco filling
tilapia filets baby arugula
avocado olive oil
mango kosher salt
green onions pepper

dressing
olive oil
lime juice
kosher salt

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Growing veggies in the back of a pickup

  

Documentary filmmakers Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis of Brooklyn did not let the fact they lacked land stop them from planting their own garden. 

Lettuce, arugula, herbs and tomatoes appear to be easy to grow almost anywhere--even in the back of a Dodge pickup. Ian and Curt planted rows of veggies to make a mobile garden featured in their new documentary film Truck Farm.

Blogging on an iPad, or not

Blogging using my iPhone has been an adventure. Sure, using a smart phone is a fairly reliable way to post when you are on the road with barely enough room in your carry-on bag for clothes much less a laptop. However, you are on vacation, so why should you be working so hard to do anything like blogging on a teeny-tiny smart phone screen? 

Enter the iPad. Love at first sight. I felt certain our relationship would be blessed by the gods of tech. Time passes and like all relationships, I am beginning to notice some flaws in my beloved iPad. For example, the fact my iPod is a poor multi-tasker compared to my laptop. And I can't get my Typepad account to stop bickering with my iPad like a couple of siblings. 

There's got to be an app for that. 

Turns out there are more iPhone apps than iPad apps and at least as far as blogging is concerned I am still waiting for a solution. Today I am testing out a new iPad app. I am writing my TypePad post with the help of the BlogPress app. Seems to be working. I like using the larger keyboard in the app. I can even add photos easily. I can also save my post as a draft and come back to it later after I have done the research I need for writing--and that is a big deal because remember my iPad doesn't multi-task. 

I still need to learn how to add links, etc to my post. I'll save that for my bedtime reading. 

(Posted using BlogPress from my iPad)