Theo Chocolate Factory Tour

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON   |   TRAVELS WITH KID

BOTH INSPIRING AND DELICIOUS: Planning a trip to Seattle and looking for something a bit off the beaten path? May we suggest a chocolate factory tour? Theo is an adorable little chocolate factory that is totally organic AND fair trade — and they exude commitment and a happy passion about what they do — it's contagious. And we all learned a lot!

And the store? You know, where you exit through after the tour? A-mazing.

Here are a few of our tips ...

Tip #1: The tour can fill up really quickly. If you are serious, book ahead online.

Tip #2: If you are planning a trip to Seattle with the kids for any reason, definitely pop over to Delicious Baby to get the what's-what. That's how we found Theo.

Tip #3: Don't try to pull a Lucy and Ethel.

Photo Friday #55: British Museum

LONDON   |   TRAVELS WITH KID

Of course we were excited about seeing the Rosetta Stone. And the Ancient Greek and Egyptian artifacts. The Easter Island statue was on Spud's must-see list. And the clocks exhibit was #1 with Spud too (he took 45 photos of that section alone!).

We even saw the Olympic Medals for the upcoming Summer Games. But for me, as much as I loved the contents, the interior space in that building was so jaw-dropping-ly gorgeous, I could've spent all day there.

And look ... even a little bit of home ... a stunner.

Check out Delicious Baby each Friday for a slew of travel pics from around the globe.

Lunch with a Protein Punch

I think Spud's going to want to do some carb loading after today's lunch. I see pizza or mac n cheese in our near future.

It's been awhile since I've posted a lunch. Not much new going on in the lunch making world over here. But the pretty little light coming through the window this morning, after a wet and dreary day yesterday, was inspiration enough.

FROM THE TOP:
· Cucumber stars and red pepper strip
· Balloon "blushers" (extremely sweet!)
· Gummy Penguins from Trader Joes
· HB egg popped out of our star mold but because our eggs aren't big enough it always comes out looking like a flower.
· Cheddar strips
· Ham cubes
· I also included a tapioca pudding

Cardboard Cityscape and Give-Away

Here are some process shots from the cityscape nightlight that Spud and I did for Jenny Doh's Hand in Hand. The full how-to is in the book. Along with 19 other amazing kiddie crafting projects.


We are giving away a copy ... click here, leave a comment, and you will be entered in a random draw ... ends tomorrow! For an extra entry, tweet this post tagging @jackieatweelife.

UPDATE: Contest closed ... we have a winner!

Big thanks to our photographer Kiley Redhead.

Our Passport to Summer Fun 2012

Well, we've got our summer fun bucket list done. Now introducing our passport where we are going to keep track of all that fun! Woot.

Each activity is on colour-coded paper according to category and tucked in the front and back of the passport cover. See our bucket list for the categories. The ones with grey bars are activities that are best for evenings or weekends, in other words, save for when Hubs can play too.

Once an activity is done, we will glue/tape it onto one of the pages. Date it. Rate it. Make a note. Or put a stamp on it ... Spud and I whipped these up the other evening.

This is a tradition I wish we would have started a few years ago. I love the idea of having a little keepsake at the end of summer to remember all the good times! Next time I hope I'll have the time to make the book from scratch. Just too busy lately. But I found our little gem at our library's bookstore, a fundraiser shop, full of beautiful, amazing things, which I am happy to support.

Want to sign up for the summer bucket list challenge too? Visit The Happy Family Movement.


UPDATE:
Here's our self-referential passport entry...

Gettin' Organized. Making Caddies.

CADDY #1: PRINTING AND STAMPING

We are in the process of tackling that big, bad, old wardrobe full of art supplies, tools, keepsakes and half finished projects. Yay! One of our solutions? Samla caddies from IKEA! This is our first one ... themed "Printing and Stamping".

There are more stamps and pads here and there, around the place, that now have a place to live! So happy! This summer we will be using this caddy quite a bit ... as we are going to need stamps for our summer fun passport! Now it's more of a "grab and go" than a "where was the rest of that stuff?" situation.

My 365 Grateful Project — Week #4

PLAYING WITH THE POWER OF GRATITUDE
Find Something For Which to Be Grateful. Every Day. Take a Picture of It. Repeat 365 times

Well, it's week #4 and I've come to the realization— that there are different kinds of gratitude. I expected a lot of the kind where you just take stock of whatever awesome thing is happening ... so it doesn't go unnoticed. This week, though, I ran into another kind, which has to be described as more of a perception shift, than anything.

I was staring at my self healing mat (Day 25) and feeling sad about the glue and the lint and who knows what else was stuck all over it. I like to take care of my things and I don't like it when they get battered and worn. I found myself trying to justify buying a new one, even though this still works. And that's when it hit me. There was actually a reason to be grateful for its numerous blemishes. It's a tool of my profession AND my passion and it's been well used over the years. Well, doesn't that make me lucky? Yes. Yes, it does. I'm going to go give my mat some scrubbing and TLC now.


DAY 22: May 28, 2012

Hubs bringing treats when I'm working late.
   

DAY 23: May 29, 2012

New car designs.

DAY 24: May 30, 2012

 Tangerine orange and cherry red, coming together.
   

DAY 25: May 31, 2012

Look at my grotty old self-healing mat.
It's seen a lot of projects over the years.

DAY 26: June 1, 2012

Family movie night under a cozy blanket #despicableme

DAY 27: June 2, 2012

Spud makin' a collage at the Art Gallery.
(Bonus: He handles his first LP!)
  

DAY 28: June 3, 2012

Morning serenade with new penny whistle.
 

See Week one here.
Check out my original inspiration here and here.

Look What Came In The Mail: The Kiwi Crate

Look what those lovely people over at Kiwi Crate sent our way so we could try it out and share our findings.

It's a sample of a subscription box service that includes all the materials you need to complete themed projects ... with the kids! Isn't it adorable? Look what's inside.

... everything we needed to make our own wind sock and document our wind findings. First I want to say 'thank you' for the wicked pair of kid-sized scissors! Also the pastels and the beautiful shiny ribbon. I also loved that the glue dots and sticker-tape strips were just the amount we needed. No excess. So tidy.

It also came with a little booklet that gives the how-to and also some thought starters / tips on how to take the activities further.

When it came time to decorate, I asked Spud what he thought of when he thought of wind. He said "Sailboat!". He ran into his room to retrieve his muse ...

On the other side of this is a chart where our little wind scientist is keeping a daily record of the wind on our deck.

Ah, there it is, breezing about. Spud declared out loud "I'm proud of this!". Well, that's an endorsement if I've ever heard one. And you know what's really great? We still have a whole other project to tackle next weekend.

So, for $20 / month you get a Kiwi Crate delivered to your door (update: ships in Canada now too) filled with opportunities to use your hands and imagination together with your little people. I think this would make a fantastic gift ... you know ... the kind that "keeps on giving". Especially for super busy or not-so-crafty-type parents.  I can also see this being a very handy thing to bring on the next road trip, a visit to Grandma's, or even camping ... since it literally has everything you need contained in the box, it makes packing up activities that much easier.

Photo Friday #54

TOWER BRIDGE, LONDON   |   TRAVELS WITH KID

I find one of the funnest parts about family travel — and maybe most challenging— is creating a trip full of activities and sites that please everyone ... or more accurately, at least hit a balance so that each person gets their fill of things that suit them. Even with our small family of 3 we still have sometimes wildly different opinions about what's fun. Thankfully there's a lot of cross over too.

I, myself, have a romantic notion of the Tower Bridge and wanted very much to go see it up close. I wasn't too surprised when about half way through our 11 day visit, Spud declared that seeing the Tower Bridge was on his life list (which clearly needs to be updated). Architecture, inventions, bridges — all up his alley. What did surprise me a little was that in order to get the "tick" he said we had to walk across it AND take a form of transit across it as well.

So we picked a gorgeous day for a stroll one way ...

And we took the bus back ...

Happy kid. Tick. Phew.

As a bonus, we also took the tour which meant we walked along the top level. We also saw the old steam engine that used to power the opening and closing of the bridge.

It doesn't look like much to me, frankly. But these two were in their happy place. Look at them. Almost stunned with glee.

Check out other travel photos at Delicious Baby, every Friday.