Seattle Mom Blogs

From her freckles to her sparkly shoes, you can’t help but love Ramona in the new adaptation of the Beverly Cleary classic Ramona and Beezus, which opens in theaters nationwide July 23rd. 

Admittedly, I was skeptical, as I always am when I view a book to film story on the big screen, but this gem did not disappoint.  Starring a delightfully adorable Joey King as Ramona and Selena Gomez as her older, boy-crazy sister Beezus (with an amazing supporting cast including John Corbett, Josh Duhamel, Gennifer Goodwin, Sandra Oh and others), Ramona and Beezus takes us on an imaginative journey through the eyes of a very creative little girl as she navigates life’s ups and downs.

Besides the eye candy (Hello!  John Corbett!  Josh Duhamel!), what I loved about this movie is that even though the original story was written back in the day, the modern adaptation hits on some really pertinant socio-economical issues that many families have experienced in the past few years without being heavy handed or gloomy.  Done delicately enough, the movie delivers hope to kids who’ve heard their parents utter things like “the bank is going to take the house” without coming right out and saying that they’re doing so.  Using the imagination and inspiration of one little girl, that would be Ramona, modern families will be entertained, delighted and charmed at how the onscreen dilemma plays out and end up walking out of the theater with a sense of hope.

Ramona and Beezus is nothing but fun, wrapped up in a visually exciting, creative and hilarious movie that will make the youngest and the oldest of us smile and laugh, evidenced by the fact that my 6 year-old giggled all the way through as well as my own mother. 

If wholesome family fun is what you’re looking for, take the kids, take grandma, heck take the neighbors to see Ramona and Beezus this weekend, and just try to sit through the movie without cracking a smile while taking a fun romp down the stories of your own youth.

Quick fly by here at the blog.  I’m off in a couple of hours to run the Ragnar Relay Northwest Passage relay race. 

The Ragnar is “you and 11 of your closest friends running day and night, relay-style, through some of the most scenic terrain North America could muster. Add in live bands, inside jokes and a mild case of sleep deprivation. The result? Some call it a slumber party without sleep, pillows or deodorant. We call it a Ragnar Relay.”

The Northwest Passage course description reads: Skagit, Deception, Fidalgo, Whidbey. Unusual names, killer places to run. This adventure-fest will push you and 11 pals through 187 miles of stunning Washington scenery. Starting in the seaside town of Blaine, your team will head south through farm country and along the coast, ultimately crossing over Deception Pass. The race (and your stamina) wraps up on the southern tip of Whidbey Island. 

So, why am I doing this you may be asking?  Well, I’m on the verge of turning 40.  In fact, my 40th birthday is Saturday and I will be the runner crossing the finish line…. on my 40th birthday.  I saw an ad for this race last year and really wanted to do it but schedules didn’t allow it nor did I have time to put a team together.  But when I thought about what I wanted to do for my 40th, this immediately came to mind.  So, I got my husband, Jenny from Jenny On The Spot and Anthony from The Pursuit of A Life plus L, my running partner, and a few more friends and we will spend approximately 24-28 hours running almost 200 miles.  Yep- that’s my version of a blow out 40th birthday party!

Wish us luck…

We have some busy Seattle Mom Bloggers with awesome giveaways. Click on through for chances to win!

-Over at Jenny on the Spot’s review blog, she’s giving away two produce boxes from the terrific CSA, Full Circle Farms. Contest ends 7/22.

-Stacey is giving away two $35 gift cards to Jiffy Lube. Perfect way to get your car road-trip ready! Contest ends 7/26.

-And on my own , I’m giving away and telling you about killing zombies. It keeps me sane. Contest ends 7/31.

Mona blogs over at where she has a dollar and dream and two kids who are spending and squashing them both.

Here’s another awesome post from Kristin who blogs at Intrepid Murmurings. She took this trip in March, but now that the sun’s *finally* shining in Seattle, you can take the same trip with less bundling up! Do you have a post you’d like to feature here? – Mona

This week, at the constant (but gentle) prodding of my instructor from the parenting class I have been taking, we had our first "family meeting". Apparently having these meetings is one of the single best predictors of happier families (or success with positive discipline? I am forgetting the specific factoid), and one of the main lasting things she hoped we took away from the class.  Her personal account of how family meetings helped her family was REALLY persuasive, so we are giving it a go.  

At the start, she suggests only having everyone give each other compliments, then plan something fun to do together during the coming week. Eventually (once the kids buy into the family meeting concept and associate it as a fun/positive thing), you can start addressing other issues that come up (problems put on an agenda) during the week as well.  Sibling issues, behavior stuff, all that can be addressed, making sure everyone is heard and part of the solution.  As kids get older you can also address meal plans, chores, scheduling for the week, etc. But with kids as little as ours, its mostly about compliments and family time planning right now, ha ha!  And eating delicious treats such as brownies. 

This week, we all easily agreed on our outing — riding the light rail train!  All three girls were excited and so was I!  The light rail is new here in Seattle, and has a stop not too far from us (10 min or so).  I found a really great guide online over at Delicious Baby (here’s part one, and part two) that listed stuff to do with kids at each of the stops, so we chose something and off we went!  

We parked at the Tukwila Station (closest to us and with a big free parking lot) and got off at the Othello Station.  We walked a block or so over to Othello Park, enjoyed snacks and the playground (including a Very Big Slide that I unfortunately didn’t get pictures of) and then went back to the station and hopped aboard the next train back.  The girls LOVED it!  All three were all smiles, and Delia couldn’t sit still until she got her very own seat on the train.  She fell asleep on the way home in our car, but when she woke up she immediately said "train track!".

Here are some pictures of our outing (no pics of me, but I promise I was there too!).  Even the escalators were a hit!  Now that I’ve been able to scope it out, I intend to take the girls myself midweek a lot more.  I want to check out the other stations, and maybe go all the way downtown!  

 

 

 

 

 

We’re highlighting some awesome posts from the Seattle Mom Blog circle. Here’s one from Kristin who blogs at Intrepid Murmurings. She’s a phenomenal mama of three girls including two identical twins! Do you have a post you’d like to feature here? – Mona

Last week in a semi-desperate moment (I had been shut in with sick kids for at least 5 days) we got groceries delivered from .  LOVE them — I ordered before 10am and they were delivered by 5 the same day!  While this was what saved my sanity in the baby twin days,  its more of a treat now.  I try to get things on sale and shop in bulk and discount places mostly (Safeway, Costco, Grocery Outlet) since our food bill with 5 eaters can get HUUUUUUGE. 

The cold things from Amazon always get packaged in insulated bags or coolers with huge chunks of dry ice.  My husband, Lonnie, cannot help but play with it, every time.  Its obviously not something you want the kids to touch, so he had it at the bottom of our deep sink with just a little water, and impressed upon them the importance of not reaching down to touch the water (Elsie’s and Delia’s arms are too short, anyway, I think).  Here’s some of pictures of the fun.   Elsie is in the pink dress, Delia is on the far side, Emma, standing tall in the middle.

 

 

 

Congratulations to Elizabeth!!  She and her family are the winners of the 4 Cirque du Soleil tickets!!    Elizabeth, just send us an email at to claim your prize!!

We hope you enjoy the show as much as we did!!

So for years I have always been convinced that I hate spinning classes.  I took a class a few times about 8 years ago and I would spend the whole class watching the second hand tick over every second for an entire hour.  But slowly over the last few weeks, I’ve been more and more intrigued by the idea of trying a spin class again.  One of the trainers at the gym is this very French, very intense man.  I tried to joke with him one time about how his is so much meaner than my trainer.  Yeah, that did not go over so well.  But he’s know around the gym as The Feared French Cyclist.  So, if I’m going to take a spinning class, I’m going to go big and take his class.  That’s just how I am.  No easing into anything.  No doing anything the easy way.

So spinning with Seby is now my new Wednesday noon workout and I love it.  I know.  I’m just as surprised to you.  I guess all that was needed all these years was a hot French cyclist in front of me and I would have tried spinning a long time ago.