A Tropical Weekend

This past weekend was Papa Bear and I's engagement anniversary. Yesterday was Papa Bear's birthday. To celebrate, Papa Bear booked an ocean-view room for us at the Best Western Monterey Beach Resort...a hotel RIGHT ON THE BEACH! We have stayed at this hotel 3 times now, and we really like it. It's not a fancy schmancy place, but it's simple and suits our needs perfectly. The rooms are comfortable, and the price is fairly reasonable during the off-season. Looking out of our window and seeing the ocean is amazing! Walking down the steps from our room to the beach is fantastic! We even took the boys there last May, so that we could all have fun and play on the beach. The hotel has a gorgeous lobby with windows that stretch across the ocean side of the hotel, making it the perfect place to sit and sip wine and watch the sun set. They also have a full-service restaurant, and a swimming pool. It's almost easy to believe you're in a tropical paradise here.

While we were overnighting in Monterey, we visited our MOST favorite place to eat in all of the Monterey Bay Area...Hula's Tiki Room. Hula's is kind of a hidden treasure. It's not on Cannery Row, where most tourists spend their time. Instead, it's right on Lighthouse Avenue, nestled in between a pharmacy and a bookstore. The ambience of Hula's almost makes you feel like you're sitting in a little grass shack in Hawaii. The waitstaff at Hula's is always very friendly and they take great care of you.

There's a couple of different ways to approach Hula's. The first time we went, we went for dinner, and ordered off of the dinner menu. I had Duke's Luau Pork Plate, which was simply divine. Papa Bear had one of their specials, which was a Scallop dish. We also ordered an appetizer: Samurai Sticks -- grilled Mongolian beef skewers, with lime-curry dipping sauce. YUM!!! I highly recommend that you try these if you stop in at Hula's. They are SO delicious! Also, be sure to order the sweet potato fries...to die for!!!

The second time we went to Hula's, we took the boys and we were there at lunch time, which has a different menu. This time, I had the Crispy Coconut Shrimp Rolls and Salad. I can't say enough about these little tasty friends! You can order these Shrimp Rolls as an appetizer (or PuPu) at dinner, without the salad. They are incredibly delicious, with a pineapple horseradish dipping sauce.

This third visit to Hula's, Papa Bear and I decided to simply order off of the PuPu (appetizer) menu. We had the Samurai Sticks (A+), Sweet Potato Fries (A+), Crispy Coconut Shrimp Rolls (A+), Seared Ahi Wontons (C+ in my book...just not my taste I guess, but at least I tried them), Surfrider Sticks (B+), and Abalone Style Calamari (A+). We definitely got full, even off of the apps!

For lunch the next day, we headed over to Bahama Billy's Island Steakhouse in Carmel, at the Barnyard shopping center. We had a $25 Gift Certificate from Restaurant.com that we had only paid $2 for, so we knew we wanted to visit Bahama Billy's for sure. They have an outdoor patio, which is a great place for a little lunch. We had for our appetizers, the Crab Mango Bisque (B+), and the Coconut Prawns (A+). For lunch, Papa Bear had the Bahama Mama Fish Tacos (He says they were about a b+ or A-), and I had the Fish 'n' Chips (A-). Pretty tasty little lunch, after which we visited Pieces of Heaven...our FAVORITE little chocolate shop in all the world, and the Carmel Valley Roasting Company...a coffee shop where Papa Bear bought a pound of Carmel Foglifter Coffee to bring home.

So, if you're looking to get away to a tropical vacation, that's not quite as costly as Hawaii, I highly recommend our little Monterey Bay mini-vacation spots. All in all, Monterey is one of our favorite little getaways, especially if Papa Bear and I get a chance to get away by ourselves. But, if you're taking the kids, it's a great place too. Be sure to check out all of the wonderful family friendly things you can do in Monterey, including a visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Dennis the Menace Park!

Have a great day!

Mama Bear

A Sexy Little Secret For Papa Bear

This weekend marks our 6th anniversary of our engagement. Papa Bear has booked a hotel room with a gorgeous ocean view. We have someone coming to stay with all three kids so that we can get away. It's only for one night, but it will feel like an eternity, since it's been awhile since we've gotten away by ourselves. I can't wait!

So, in honor of this getaway, I went shopping at an online store called Hips and Curves. It is a lingerie shop for plus size women, of which I am one. I'm not normally one to show much skin, except to Papa Bear. Of course. I went looking for some lingerie that I would be comfortable in, was a reasonable price, was sexy, and would get here before we left for our getaway (I shopped this past Saturday night.). I typed in "plus size lingerie" and Hips and Curves was one of the first shops to pop up. There's nothing sleazy about this site at all. Yes, it's got some hot lingerie, and LOTS of it, but it's still very tasteful and elegant.

I got my package in the mail today, and the packaging was VERY discreet. I showed Papa Bear 3 of the items I got, but I'm saving the last item for our little getaway. And that excites him. I get a little "shy" when talking about lingerie and all, even though we've been married for nearly 6 years. But I'm excited that he's excited about the one item I'm keeping a secret until Sunday night. Kinda adds a little spice to the marriage, don't you think?

By the way, have you ever REALLY read Song of Solomon????
God has an amazing design for intimacy within marriage.
I plan on enjoying my little getaway with Papa Bear!

Take care!

Mama Bear

Pampers Easy-Ups...Not So Easy

Our little man is three. He's in school 1/2 days, four days a week. He's a bundle of energy. He's such a joy to have in our family. And.....he's potty-training. For the most part, he's doing well. We have learned to reserve his Wiggles coloring books for when he goes #1 and a DVR'd Wiggles show (we record quite a few, just to give him variety) for when he goes #2, or stays dry all day at school, or stays dry overnight or through naptime.

Another thing we've learned, is that Pampers Easy-Ups are not so easy. What I mean is, I don't really care for them. Why? Well, they have this soft and comfortable inside that leaves a cottony kind of "fluff" on the little man's hiney and his "pee-pee". I don't like that. I also don't like that the sides tear so easily. When you're trying to train your child to pull up their own pants, sides that tear easily force you to put on a new pair, even when the "old" pair is still perfectly good, except for the torn side. URG! I like Huggies Pull-Ups, because they have that "velcro-ish" sort of side closure, so if it comes undone, you can typically put it back together easily. And there's no cottony "fluff" in the Pull-Ups.

So why do we buy the Easy-Ups if I don't like them? Well, when we got the first pack, there were more in a pack than in the pack of Huggies, and the price was the same. Why did we buy a second pack, even though we don't like them? Because we DO like the baby diapers by Pampers, and that's what our little Princess is wearing. AND because Target had a deal where, if you bought two packages of Pampers, you could get a $5 Target gift card.

Next time, if they're not offering a gift card, we're going for the Huggies! But we're kind of hoping that Little Man will graduate to underwear REALLY soon!

Take care,

Mama Bear

Such a Cute Idea for Party Favors!

I found this CUTE idea through Facebook, where I am a fan of www.craftgawker.com (and also a fan of foodgawker.com!). Craftgawker showed of this cute, cute, cute idea from Design Mom for Valentine's Day "cards", but I'm thinking these would be AWESOME party favor cards too! What do you think?

Mama Bear

Comparing Refrigerators to People...

This morning, as I was praying over my breakfast, I think that God revealed something pretty cool to me. We have just moved from a tiny apartment to a house, with lots of space for our growing family. Before we even moved, we prayed about things that we needed to get for the new place...like a washer and dryer, a refrigerator, couches, and more. God has blessed us SO much by GIVING us all of these things and more. Seriously! He used other people in our lives to bless us with a FREE washer and dryer, a FREE refrigerator, TWO FREE couches, a free dresser, and much more.

So as I was praying, I thanked God for every good and perfect gift that comes from Him. Even refrigerators that need a GOOD cleaning inside. I feel that God showed me the comparison between me and that refrigerator. He gave us that refrigerator, and it's a good and perfect gift. It's not new. And it's surely NOT clean inside. But isn't that just like me? I was not clean on the inside when He saved me from my sin. I STILL sin, and so my cleaning (sanctification) is a daily, even hourly process. Just like the refrigerator, which we will give a good, deep cleaning (kind of like salvation), my heart will get dirty again because of my sin. But praise God, for Jesus, whose blood was shed for my filthiness.

As I clean the refrigerator, I will remember what Christ has done for me, and I will thank Him and praise Him for giving me a clean heart that is washed by the blood of Christ. And I will thank Him for the good and perfect gift of the refrigerator.

Mama Bear

Win a Photo Greeting Card Design from my Etsy shop!

The Shabby Chic Cottage is a great blog for people who love shabby chic, and love to take on "transforming" projects. Trust me, you'll love it! Gina, over at the SCC has done a feature on my Etsy shop, Bear River Photo Greetings. We have included a giveaway, where I am giving away a photo greeting card design to TWO "lucky" winners. If you would like a chance to enter, please visit The Shabby Chic Cottage blog, and find out how to enter to win.

***Please note: You must go to The Shabby Chic Cottage to enter to win. I'd love to get your comments here, but your entry must go in the comment section on The Shabby Chic Cottage, in order to be eligible to win.

Angie

Why Has It Been 2-1/2 Months?

Time flies when you're having fun! Goodness, but it has been a LONG time...and this blog tends to get a bit neglected. I guess that's what happends when it's low on the priority list. Things have changed so much in the past two months!

Our little man, whom we adopted last March, has turned 3 and started special needs preschool. In January, when school starts up again, he will be riding the bus, which is a HUGE thing! I'm praying that he LOVES it, because we are a family of 5, with only one working car. Things get a bit hairy at times!

In October, we got a call from our adoption caseworker, who knows we have been waiting for a little girl. She told us of a baby girl, who at that time wasn't even 2 months old. She asked if we wanted to be considered, knowing very little about the situation, other than the age of birth mom and baby. We of course said YES! We were chosen from a group of 12 families. But then, we went to an AWESOME church retreat, where many of our friends there were sick. As soon as we got home, we got hit HARD with the H1N1 virus. All four of us. So that put off getting to go meet the baby. We were working hard to be patient, and that paid off. As soon as we were all better, we went and met her, and three days later, we got to bring her home!

A week before Thanksgiving, Little Man started his preschool, AND we got Baby Girl....at the same time! YIKES! But God is good, and we were blessed with some time off for the boys and for Papa Bear. And then we were blessed again by being given a couple of weeks of prepared meals by the wonderful ladies in our church.

Then of course, Christmastime was upon us. We have not gotten enough sleep, but we are so grateful for this precious life...especially at Christmas. There is not a 100% guarantee that we will get to keep this baby, and we knew this going into it, but we gave the whole situation to God, and we know He is in control. If we get to keep her, then we will praise Him. If we don't get to keep her, then we will praise Him. He knows what she needs, and knows the desires of our hearts, and He is sovereign. We know that His will will be done, and we are ok with that, no matter the outcome.

So, as we begin the new year, we pray for more sleep, and we pray that God will allow us to be the very best parents we can be to all three of our children. We pray that He increases our faith, and that we grow in Him each day. We know it won't always be easy, but we sure know it will be worth it all in the end, when we get to stand before Him.

I hope you have a blessed New Year!

Mama Bear