Favorite Things Week! Reading Rainbow Is Back! With An App!

This goes into the "why didn't I think of that" category! My sister loved watching "Reading Rainbow" and I often watched it with her! Now Levar Burton is helping kids love reading in a whole new way with the incredibly interactive app!

Aimed at kids 3-9, this new free app has 150 books and 16 video field trips. I got to interview Levar about all of this and he was so excited about his new "baby'! He can't wait to introduce Reading Rainbow to a whole new audience.

Here's a little preview!



What do you think? Levar wants to know!! Get the app here and try it out!

Favorite Things Week! Summer Fun With Kids!

These kids are already having the best summer and we've only had a few weeks of it! Here are some things Landon and Coco are LOVING.

Tennis Camp

Landon is getting so much out of this. The coaches are wonderful and teaching him about sportsmanship and listening! He things he's super cool with all his pals!

The Beach

It may sound simple but the beach is the best game in town. The kids can scream their heads off, or be quiet and dig in the sand. Heaven.

Pottery Barn Kids Mini Beach Towels

I ordered these cute towels for Landon and Coco. Since they are "Mini" towels they are the perfect size!!! On sale now for $15!!

Country Club Dinners With Friends

We just joined an amazing club with some friends and we are loving every second of it! They have amazing kid programs.


Katie Mack Bathing Suits For Coco!


I am loving these suits by Katie Mack! Got this one for Coco from her Mimi. Die for it!!

 Found it Here.

What are you doing with the kids this summer?

Favorite Things Week! Pizza Making!

Look at me. I'm like Oprah! Okay not really.

Thought I would share some of my favorite things this summer!

Husband and I have been having fun making different kids of pizzas for friends and family. You make recall that I gave him this amazing pizza stone from Williams Sonoma.

It's a big hit (and half the price of the other one they have), and has been fun to use. We get our dough pre packaged from Trader Joes but word on the street is you can go to any pizza place and buy dough! Brilliant!

Here are the pizzas we've been making lately:


Pesto, Mushroom, Goat Cheese

We use store bought pesto, but go ahead and make your own if you are feeling sassy. Also crimini mushrooms are best and most flavorful. 

Ham and Peas

This recipe is from Martha Stewart. She knows a few things about cookin'.

Smokey Vegetable

From Family Circle, a recipe I was dying to try! Love smoked mozzerella!

Margherita

I like this recipe from Tyler Florence.

Pear, Blue Cheese and Carmelized Onion


YUM! Great recipe here.


Asparagus and cracked egg

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. After shaping the pizza on a baking sheet, spread the pesto over the pizza dough. Decoratively place the asparagus spears over the top, then add the crumbled feta cheese. Place in the oven for 3-4 minutes. Take the pizza out of the oven and crack the two eggs on top of the pizza on each side, place it back in the oven for another 7-8 minutes.
For runny eggs, you’ll want to prebake the pizza for a longer time 4-5 minutes then add the cracked eggs and finish baking for an additional 6-7 minutes.
For hard yolks, you can place the eggs on top of the pizza before you place it in the oven and bake for the full 10 minutes, or so.


What have you been making this summer?

Father's Day Recap! Greatest Father's Day Gifts!

The Mr said it was the best Father's Day he ever had!

The kids and I started by serving him breakfast in bed. Then we started with the gifts! Coco gave her Daddy a fabulous pineapple slicer and corer from William Sonoma! He was eternally happy because he is Mr. Mai Tai!

Landon gave Daddy a James Bond Dvd set! He was thrilled!

I gave The Mr this fabulous Pizza making book called My Pizza.

And of course a Pizza stone from Williams Sonoma to cook pizza with!

After that we met our dear friends for brunch at The Langham Hotel in Pasadena. It was heaven! Scotch tasting, cigar bar, sushi bar, jazz band and champagne!

Fun Things To Do With The Kids- Book Signing with Sarah Maizes!

Landon and Coco went to their first book signing at Chevaliers Book Shop! We were greeted by the author, and my pal,  Sarah Maizes, who wrote the cutest book called "On My Way To The Bath".

This book literally chronicles our bath time routine. The little girl in the story desperately does anything she can to avoid taking a bath while her mother becomes more frustrated. Of course the kids thought it was hilarious!

She read the book and personally signed it to them. The kids were riveted while she was reading, and I was so happy for them to meet a real author! Landon has been learning a lot about literature and was very excited.

Sarah, who I just love, also has a great blog called Mommy Lite.

After the book signing we looked all around the book stores kid section. I just love to see their excitement for reading! You can buy "On My Way To The Bath" right here on Amazon!

Cocktail Club!

My friend Mostly Happy Homemaker has a Cocktail Club with her friends. The brilliance of this was so overwhelming it has only taken me a year to actually start one of my own! The simple premise is:

Invite 6-12 couples.
Each couple hosts one or two parties a year.

This way you have a social event to go to every month with people you actually like to see! When it's your turn to host, you pick the theme, menu, cocktails etc. You can also invite who you want in addition to the cocktail club members.

I have been also inspired by my friend Carrie over at Pearl and Pierce. She has a cooking club she wrote about here. So gorgeous and fun!

Can't wait to see what the members decide to do!

Best Graduation Gift Ever From Pinterest!

This is such a cute idea that I got from A Sprinkle of This !

Have your childs teachers sign "Oh, the Places You'll Go" from Pre-K to High School at the end of each year and give it to your child at graduation!




Landon graduated from Preschool so I had all his teachers sign it. (I started one for Coco too) I love the idea that I can give it to all his teachers until he turns 18 and then give it to him as a high school graduation gift! Wouldn't that be amazing!?

Not So Fabulous- A trip to the hospital for our first "real" stitches

I'm not going to say it.

I'm not going to say this could only have happened while The Mr was watching the kids, because it's implied. You'll see what I mean.

As I was in the shower on Sunday, the Mr. decided to inflate all the balls that Landon and Coco play with. So he got out the pump, got all the soccer and basketballs and proceeded to pump them up.

With the kids helping.
Inside our crowded living room.
Letting Landon pump by himself.

Sooooo....Landon pumped and then suddenly flew back and slammed his head into a marble table. Then came the loudest screaming ever. AND BLOOD.

The Mr. says: "Landon cracked his head open" to me, standing there with wet hair. I tried not to freak out. Thank GOD it was a little cut but it was DEEP.

Off to the ER where Landon had to get two staples in the back of his head. That was not fun. He was so nervous he threw up outside the doors of the hospital. Poor guy. He's seen enough of hospitals...

But after the pain of the staples subsided, after we bribed him with 10 new apps for his itouch....we were back in business.

I know you have one of these "while Daddy was watching the kids" stories. So spill it. I want to hear!

Graduating From Preschool! Where'd My Baby Go?

The other night Landon made his way into our bedroom in the middle of the night, he wanted to sleep with us. He crawled in and we snuggled for a while. Then I carried him back to his room. His legs are so long they were dangling past my knees. It really hit me. This is a big boy now.

Today Landon is graduating from Preschool and we are so excited about how he's doing and who he is becoming. He's such a sweet, funny, good person. We are sad that Landon and Coco will be going to different schools, and that part of our friend group will be broken up. I really loved seeing my favorite Moms each morning. Change is hard!

So today I am a little melancholy. I look forward to seeing Landon graduate, and share that moment with him, but I keep asking myself: Where'd my baby go?

He will always be my baby. The one I begged God for. The one I prayed for healing. The one who triumphed against all the odds and remains one of the most positive and carefree kids around.

I'm one lucky Mama.
Happy Graduation Day Landon. More to come.