happy 3rd birthday princess

The princess and her court celebrated the day with (juice) drink and merriment.  A good time was had by all and the princess got her wish of a "big birthday party with all my friends!"

And like all good things, the day's revelry must come to an end...

paging dr. maddy...

This morning, we spent Maddy's day off from school at Habitot, a great space where kids can make art, play with a water feature, shop for "groceries" or play doctor.  She loves going to the doctor for visits, so it wasn't surprising that she dove right in and threw on a lab coat, put on her gloves, and began treating her first furry patient.  She listened to his heart (we won't tell her that you can't actually get a heartbeat on the dog's tushy), administered a shot, bathed him, and put him in his kennel with a bowl of water.

Next, she delivered a baby and fed her a bottle of milk.  All in a day's work.

I like Habitot because all the activity usually means that she knocks right out for nap time...

who wants a clean house?

 During a rare (only?) Bay Area appearance, Clean House held a yard sale in Oakland!  We excitedly waited in this line at 9:00 this morning.

It's Vanessa Huxtable!  Tempest Bledsoe is the new host of Clean House.  So sad to see Niecy go!

Jon, Maddy and I bargained with Matt for my decoupaged pig on camera....fingers crossed that we actually make it on TV.

Score! I had so much fun.

she's baaaaack!

After three long days of suffering with a fever and ear infection, Maddy is dressed up and ready to rule her princessdom once again.  

i still can't believe i live here...

It was an unusually warm February evening, so we decided to take a walk along the beach.  We don't do it often enough and each time I catch a sunset like this one, I wonder about all of the others I have missed...

happy chinese new year!

The least I could do to honor the year of the rabbit is to pack Maddy's bird-shaped sandwiches in her rabbit lunch box.  Gung hay fat choy!

maddy's first haircut (not done by me)

She wasn't as frightened as she looks.  Actually, she quite enjoyed being pampered.  Believe it or not, she sat through the whole haircut without a peep.  Rare form for Maddy.