Domestic Adventures

I do bad things…. because they’re baaaad. I should think better.

When I first read about automoblox, I thought they were the coolest toys and wanted to get a couple for Micah. Then I checked out the price. Gulp! These cars were not priced for use by small children - especially the kind of small children who lose and break things on a daily basis (is there any other kind?) When shopping for Micah’s birthday, however, I was delighted to find automoblox minis at Target. The minis are much more reasonably priced (though they don’t include the little people pictured above). And to make my find extra special, the already somewhat reasonably priced minis were on clearance! I snapped up the last three on the shelf and wrapped them up for Micah.
These little cars have been tons of fun. Each car is made up of three or four blocks that snap together, plus a translucent top, and wheels with removable tires. All the parts are completely interchangeable, so you can add a pick-up bed to your sports car front or snap extra pieces into the middle of your sedan to make a limousine. I also like that they’re just well made and styled - like if apple made toy cars.
And believe it or not, we even still have most of the pieces!

We were blessed with the opportunity to watch our niece this weekend. Emmaline and Micah were thrilled to have their cousin here for two nights. Lots of playing outside, building with blocks, flipping through books, bouncing on beds, and general fun. The three of them entertained each other quite well.

A friend sent me a link to this fascinating interactive map detailing a 300 foot tunnel dug by allied airmen to escape a Nazi POW camp. Over 600 men helped construct the tunnel in 1944 and 1945. It included electric lights, a railway, and an air ventilation system - all without raising the suspicion of the guards. After reading through the map I was so interested in this amazing story that I had to find out how it ended. A little googling found the complete story and I was so sad to find that of the six hundred men who worked on this tunnel, only three escaped. Of the 76 who made it through the tunnel, most were executed and the rest were sent back to POW camps. A sad bit of history but worth remembering. It’s incredible to think of what these men accomplished with almost nothing to work with, and though most of them never reaped the reward, it was worth everything to those three who made it home.

E: Can you speak bug?

M: No. I only speak race car.

Baking chocolate chip cookies is even more fun when you have a special apron to wear.

I’ve recently been lamenting the lack of one-of-a-kind restaurants in the area. My favorite restaurant (Za Bistro) closed a while ago, and it seems hard for any non-chain to stay in business.
I’m so glad my mom and I stumbled upon Cafe Papillon. I’ve driven by often, but it doesn’t look like much from the outside, just a tiny room with two tables outside. I was surprised to be seated on a lovely deck behind the restaurant with trees and flowers hiding us away from the busy street. The menu of sandwiches and salads was simple, but filled with the lovely cheeses and freshness of french cuisine and the service was wonderful. Though it was lunch time, it was amazingly quiet and Emmie and Micah could roam the deck while we waited for our order. The children were thrilled to be served their drinks in lovely glass goblets (though it made me a little nervous to watch Micah sloshing his orange juice around). The food was great and when Micah exclaimed with glee at the sight of the black olives accenting his plate the server (who I believe was the owner) showed up with a whole plate full of olives for Micah. Olive heaven.
Next door is a antique shopped owned by the same man and we peeked into the windows. I wasn’t willing to enter with two tired and antsy children, but Cafe Papillon is definitely worth another trip and maybe next time we’ll manage to do a little shopping too.

We’re still exploring kitchen ideas and awaiting estimates. Saturday when we told the kids we were going to look at granite countertops, they moaned and sighed. “Shopping for kitchen stuff is boooorrrring…” Oh well, get your shoes on and let’s go.
Turns out we were all pleasantly surprised at how much fun granite shopping can be. Inside the showroom were large photographs of the quarry, complete with big digging machines. The saleswoman was very friendly and told Emmaline and Micah where all the different types of granite and marble were from - Africa, Russia, Brazil, Italy. I was wishing I had a globe handy. We talked about how God created these beautiful rocks and we talked about how they cut them into slabs using a diamond saw.
Outside was even better. While Trent and I perused the large slabs, the kids were given permission to keep any chips they found on the ground. Being the rockhound she is, Emmaline was thrilled. She gathered all the bits of stone she could carry and Micah followed her example and began his own collection. The pieces were dusty and dirty, but after washing them up at home we could see the beautiful patterns in the different kinds of granite. The favorite finds of they day were two round “corks” of stone left over from where holes for a faucets were cut.
We’re no closer to our kitchen, but I’m so glad we had an excuse to visit this place

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Remember popbeads? All those little round balls that snapped together and by the time you finished popping a necklace together your little fingers were sore? They were fun, but these are so much better. I’m enjoying this gift from Grammy as much as Emmaline is. The new organic-inspired shapes lend themselves to so many possibilities, and among the pieces are the makes of rings, cuffs, and pendants. Grammy and I spent an afternoon creating all sorts of popbead masterpieces, but look what Emmaline is making. I guess there is some genius behind the long strings of round beads - kids love them.

Emmaline has been practicing her phone skills at school. All the kindergarteners exchanged phone numbers so she spent a bit of time on the phone this weekend. I’ve never been one to like talking on the phone, but I predict Emmaline will want to spend hours chattering away.