morning tea with mama

a week's simple pleasures

some lovely fabric in the mail

(slowly) learning to knit

yummy food and flowers from our Sunday morning trip to the Farmers Market

cuddling and laughing with my little man

my two loves after their evening shower

papa's shadow

Although Jack is still quite the mama's boy, lately he is also keeping very close tabs on what papa is up to.

If papa is working on the door then as Jack says "Jack working!"

I now find Jack "working" all over the apartment.

And if papa is doing paperwork, then Jack must do paperwork . . .

music in the park

we discovered this free summer concert series a little late in the summer (actually we only made it to their very last kids' concert) but will keep it in mind for next summer. we actually attended this concert last week . . . the first day of the big fire and before the air had turned so dangerous. the concert was bilingual -- in Spanish and English -- and Jack and a little friend of his had a great time.

escaping the fires

Although we fortunately are a safe distance from the incredibly large and destructive "Station Fire" burning here in Los Angeles, that has not kept our air quality from registering anywhere from dangerous to hazardous for the last week. Our choices were to stay inside the apartment all day (not Jack's favorite choice . . . nor mine by the end of the day) or escape. Late last week we tried escaping to one of the many indoor play areas here, but the scene there -- because of the combination of dangerous air quality and children being out of school -- was chaotic at best and I sort of kept waiting to see a Lord of the Flies reenactment spring up right in front of me.

So this week we got more creative. On Monday we headed to the beach with some friends . . .

Another day we found refuge in IKEA -- yes, the store IKEA. And just for your information, if you live near an IKEA store, have a young child and have not tapped into this warehouse of unexpected entertainment (not to mention free childcare/play area for the slightly bigger kids), you really must give it a try. This is not my and Jack's first extended trip to IKEA but this is the first time I had no intention of buying anything and still turned our trip into a four-hour indoor getaway complete with a cheap, yummy dinner.

We made a game out of following the arrows around the (huge) store as Jack pushed one of the carts that was on display in the kids' area.

(What's showing: Winnie the Pooh)

( If you are thinking this little Jack-sized sink in the bathroom is pretty damn cool, you are not alone. Jack played there for about ten minutes and then only left with promises of riding the escalators some more.)