It's that time of year...

Yes, I mean Christmas shopping. ;)
By our own hand Conrad has a ton of crappy, cheap, plastic toys. Ack. I would love for him to have simple, wooden toys to inspire the imagination... but honestly the toy catalogs we get could break the bank (check out Rosie Hippo and Magic Cabin if you dare). Anyway, I found out Toys-R-Us has started stocking eco-friendly and wooden toys, etc. that are easy on the wallet so I started a wish list online if you are interested. Of course Conrad is happy to get ANYTHING (seriously "Oh WOW!" over new winter boots. Can he always be this pleasant? Please?)... but I thought I'd help steer the course. ;)
www.toysrus.com Pretty sure you just look up the recipients name.

(New!) Word of the Day!

Apple.
Not surprising... given that it's his favorite food.

*Conrad now goes to preschool 4 days a week, for 2 1/2 hours each time, that is for speech delayed kiddos. In addition he still sees his speech therapist twice a week. We're seeing some BIG progress! :)

Samhain.

Happy Halloween everyone. Conrad and I are holding down the fort alone, as Alex is in Fargo for a funeral. Today we had lunch at Organic Oasis together (my fave restaurant, and Alex's least;)). Conrad had turkey pepperoni pizza~ so combine that with the candy bowl he's in heaven! Right now we're watching Alvin & The Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein and I got a roaring fire going (yeah that's right Alex! Me!). Trick or Treaters should be here soon!
Eating pizza.

Conrad checking out the candle. And yes, that's my quick attempt at a Jackolantern. ;)

This is our front window. No lawn signs for us. Guess who we're voting for??

Conrad carrying in firewood for me!

I'm truly an artist.
Oh and might I add, that is an organic pumpkin. We may not be eating it, but we're making a farmer and the planet happy.

Two for the price of one. ;)

Last weekend we took a day trip to Girdwood (about 45 min. south). We had lunch at Chair 5, took Conrad to the amazing community park, and took a drive into Girdwood's arctic rainforest. Conrad was so well behaved and it was nice to get out of town, even for a day.
Here's the pics from that....








This Friday we took Conrad to Trick-Or-Treat Town. It's an indoor trick or treat for kids held by local businesses. Decorated booths are looped throughout so we just follow "the trail" through the building. Conrad of course loved it. While waiting in line we told him he would get candy so he was doing the sign (sign language) for candy over and over saying "andy?" andy?" He was psyched. Then to our surprise with some prompting he started to say "tri-or treeeee"! Yay Conrad!
Here the pics of our little ninja. Conrad picked out the costume himself! He pointed to it and said "hiiiiii-ya!". He loves it so much he insisted on sleeping in it Thursday night. ;)




Conrad ran up and gave the Alaska Aces Hockey Mascot a big hug. It was hilarious!!



Wanted to share a GREAT snack recipe! Mix a bag of lightly salted -not butter- popcorn (make sure to not pour in the seeds:)), with 1/3 of a melted dark chocolate bar (I use a 77% cacao bar for extra antioxidant goodness) and 1/2 c dried cranberries.

Let it snow!

Yes, that's right! It snowed here, and we like it.
I've always been a winter person. I remember when I was younger people would complain bitterly about winter, but I would say "I love winter, I should move to Alaska!". (True, ask the parents!) So living here I definitely feel like I'm with "my people". I mean if you live in Alaska either you love winter, or... seriously... why are you here? Snow here is like the blooming of spring today, people looked.... dare I say excited? With a blink and you miss it summer here, the real excitement outdoors here is in the winter. Skiing, snowmobiling, dogsledding, ice climbing.
Since moving to AK I've also noticed people here DRESS like it's winter. That means big old boots, ear flap hats, and down fluffy coats that even black will not make slimming. In Fargo girls would flit out for a night on the town wearing a tank top covered with an "adorable" little jacket and heals...then complain... "oh mah gawd it's so cold". Preparation makes anything bearable, or even enjoyable. But maybe I'm biased. I'm a Fargoan in Alaska. I LIKE SNOW.
So of course today, on the first day of snow.... We bust out the stroller and took a nice long walk to the park after dinner. Something we haven't done in quite a while together.
Here's some pics. :)

May-May's 3rd Birthday.

Yesterday was Mason's 3rd birthday party. She's Conrad's friend (and the daughter of our friends Amy & Jim). Here's some pics from her party at the Imaginarium (a science museum).
Playing with the lobster claw.

The birthday girl.

Take a guess. Which present is from us? ;)

Baby Stella.

Conrad put on the birthday tiara. He's so pretty.

Starfish.

Some of the crew.

Also I made the most delish Autumn cake that I have to share.
Take a box of chocolate cake mix (shhh). I used Cherrybrook Kitchens. Instead of the half cup oil, cup of water-- I added one can organic pumpkin puree and 1/4 c water. Baked 24 min. When cool I topped it with 8 oz of marscapone cheese (like cream cheese, but it's italian-much lighter! Not as rich...) that I whipped with 1/3 c brown sugar and a dash of cinnamon. ;)

The return of Souper Sunday.

Fall is here, which means soup time! Our group of friends get together once a week to have soup, have a drink, and let the kiddies play. In the summertime we bbq so often that soup goes on hiatus. Alex and I hosted our first one of the season and we made 'bottle of beer stew' (got the recipe off of wholefoodsmarket.com!), spent grain bread, and salad too!
Here's some pics of Conrad and his pals Lucas and Ryder playing with his four-wheeler.