Bento Box Supplies

I can spend hours at this place. Unfortunately, with two kids in tow, I can get maybe 30 minutes max...which I guess it good for my wallet, not good for my sanity! LOL! =)

I've been wanting to get into this Bento Box stuff. We always struggle with getting Baby C to eat, so maybe making her meals "cuter" will help? Or am I just kidding myself? We'll see if I ever get my act together...luckily the supplies are not too expensive, but I guess can add up...!

Balance Bikes

We are shopping for a balance bike for Baby C's 3rd birthday. It's a cool concept that is popular in Europe, but catching on here in the U.S. What's a balance bike you might ask? Here is a short description off the www.littlerollers.com website:

"Two-wheelers with no pedals, otherwise known as balance bikes, run bikes, or strider bikes, allow kids to learn the basic fundamentals first (balancing, leaning and turning). Kids learn naturally how to ride, and going from a strider to a real pedal bike happens in no time."

We were first eying the "Skuut" (rhymes with hoot), but a couple moms in my mother's club turned me on to the "Strider" bike...and there is a distributor here in CV, and I could go over to her house and "test drive" the bikes in her culdesac (she only carries 3 models). So that's what we did! We test drove the Strider and KaZam bikes.

Here are some pictures of our test drive. Baby C's only request was that it was pink. She did not really have a preference to which model, they both fit her fine since the handlebars and seats are adjustable. I could not decide so I checked in with Daddy J and then went back that evening to buy a pink Strider. More pictures/videos to come as Baby C masters her new bike! Very exciting!!!

Baby C modeling the KaZam Bike.

Baby C modeling the Strider Bike.

Costco Run

We hit up Costco today for some basics...and walked out $330 poorer. WTH? I think they are partially to blame cuz they were pretty well behaved today...=)

Here is a picture of the girls in the shopping cart together for the first time. Though the Costco carts are "double wide", it was a bit of a challenge to get them in the cart with the "shopping cart condom" on (as I affectionately call it). There are only two leg holes, and luckily the girls are still small, so I had to shove two legs in each hole. I guess when they get bigger, I'll just have to freeball them in the cart...note to self: bring antibacterial wipes!

I am not a total germ-a-phobe, but shopping carts just get a lot of action, ya know?

BTW, Baby C is munching on a polish dog, and Baby B is enjoying some of the bun. Good times...!

Full Friday

Ahh...the beginning of a long weekend!

Today we (Baby B and I) slept in a bit, then my cousin stopped by in the AM to drop off a cool walker/bouncer thingy for Baby B. her son ZR had already outgrown it. We never had a walker for Baby C, but isn't it cute?!? Baby B seemed to like the newfound mobility...she is quickly learning how to move forward, backwards, and sideways.

Then we headed out to grab lunch and run some errands. First we checked out this Korean BBQ place in Dublin called Tri Valley Korean Restaurant BBQ. We've driven by it a couple times but never tried it. Looks like it did not get great ratings on Yelp, but we thought it was decent. Dishes/sidedishes are smaller than our usual Korea House in Hayward, but the service and food was good. Clean and kid friendly (although the place was pretty empty). Daddy J had a short ribs "box" lunch, and I ordered dolsot bibimbap.


After lunch, we stopped by Dough Boy's Donuts for some treats. Baby C chose the biggest chocolate covered doughnut she could find (a twist), and later had it for dinner (basically). We'll have to go back next time and try their crepes.



Then we went to Armstrong Nursery to look at adding some color to our front and back yards. After speaking to the lady their, we realized we have much planning and research to do. We usually just randomly buy plants/flowers and have about a 50% survival rate. the lady at the nursery encouraged us to do a bit of planning to save some money and to look at the big picture. She had a point. I guess that is the difference between going to a real nursery vs just a Home Depot/Lowe's, etc...you may pay more, but you get better service/advice at a real nursery. Anyhoo, hopefully I'll be posting before and after photos soon. I really want the front yard to look nice for Baby C's upcoming birthday party...

After a fruitless trip to the nursery, we hit up a local AT&T and Sprint store to check out some new phones/plans for me. I am looking to replace my Iphone and have my eye on the new Palm Pre, but I would have to switch cell companies...more to come on that.

To end our errand run, we stopped by Yogurtland in San Ramon for some yums. Flavors I tried today: strawberry, green tea, and cheesecake. Toppings: strawberries, blueberries, mangoes, and mochi. Just load up your cup with yogurt and toppings of your choice and you pay by weight!


Sooo...quite a productive day I must say...Now let the REAL weekend begin!

Bargain Grocery Shopping

I heard about the Grocery Outlet through my mother's club. They had just opened one nearby on the border of Castro Valley and Hayward. Baby C was feeling under the weather earlier today, so I decided to skip Cull Canyon with friends and run some boring errands just to get out of the house. i had a list of groceries I needed and found about 90% of my list there, plus a bunch of other stuff I really did not need (like a 175 water bomb balloons for $2.99 and a box of Kellogg's High School Musical cereal for $1), but it was cheap, so I stimulated the economy a bit! LOL! =)

The store was clean, they had most of what a typical grocery store would have, but a more limited selection, like frozen stuff, dairy, wine, fruits, vegetables, etc, PLUS some unique items too. I guess the key is to check expiration dates and you can find some real bargains there. It's not a one-stop grocery (at least for me), but I will definitely be back to bargain hunt! =)