Food Ingredient Decoder

This food ingredient decoder from Kashi is a handy resource online to help you understand what all those ingredients in little Timmy's Fruit Loops are.

About F'ing Time, Target

While recently at our local Super Target not only did I find the all natural end cap in the toys department that Tiny Decor has mentioned, I also found they have started stocking BPA-free brand Boon.

This is great if for no other reason I can tell all the parents that ask where we got Ozzi's sippy cup that it's now at Target vs trying to list the various websites. This is definitely a step in the right direction for Target. Boon has some ingeniously designed products that have clearly put their customers, parents and kids, first.

The Nook is Dead. Long Live The Blue Door Pub.

Ok, the Nook isn't dead, it's actually bursting with life and that's the problem. We're just blocks away and it is impossible to even get in the door. Well, a couple of ex-Groveland Tap guys have come to our rescue. They just opened up The Blue Door Pub and it is St. Paul Restaurant Heaven.

The Blue Door is a family friendly neighborhood pub with a real Cheers-like atmosphere. The staff is AWESOME friendly. A waitress turned one of the tv's to cartoons for Q as soon as we sat down. Even if there wasn't cartoons, Q would have still had the chalkboard wall to keep him occupied until the food came. In true "Small Paul" fashion we already know one of the waitresses from her days at Java Train. Like I said, family friendly.

The Food. Ohhh the food. Pub food perfection. They have successfully combined the Minnesota virtues of quality ingredients, inventiveness, and a little kitchiness (Spam bites and tater tots). They take the Twin Cities' favorite burger, the juicy lucy, to a new level using a veriety of cheeses and other ingredients to stuff the burgers. The deep fried green beans are a must-try that will go great with your Surly or Schlitz and if wine is more your speed, they have a nice selection as well.

Alas poor Nook, I knew the well.

Update: HOLY CHRIST ON A STICK! It looks like the word definitely got out. Friday it took over an hour to get a table for the 3.5 of us... and we showed up at 5:30. It didn't help that on a few occasions groups hanging at the bar that showed up after us saw a table clear off and jumped on it before the waitress could seat the people on the list. Maybe I should have grown a pair and did a little yelling but it really isn't in my nature.

For a good time call...

612-486-5800 and make dinner reservations at Nick and Eddie for your next date night. Nick and Eddie has very good food, a romantic ambiance, friendly waitstaff, and most importantly Absinthe.

After dinner, let the "little green fairy" guide you and your loved one over the bridge into the sculpture garden. Find an unoccupied spot of darkness (harder to find than you may think), duck into the shadows, and make-out like you were 16 again.

Movements

This weekend we moved Ozzi's crib out of our bedroom and into Q's room. Our "thinking" was that his insane, unrelenting screams at night were partly fueled by the fact that he could see us there in our bed. Maybe he wouldn't have the same expectations of Q to cave to his angry, sleep depriving persistance. Or maybe he just knew that he could make Q a screaming offer he couldn't refuse; to join him in braking Mama and Papa's wills, forcing us to move Ozzi to the comforts of our bed and K8's boob.

Our second attempt at getting Q to move out onto the field with his soccer coach and other kids was a success. Our first day of soccer did not go well. Q clung to my leg crying. We had to leave early. What a difference a week filled with kicking the ball around at home and at Mattocks Park, going to a big kid game, phone calls with Grandpa and Grandma, and promises of Izzy's Ice Cream at Java Train can make. He's certainly no Freddy Adu, but he went out there and gave it his easily distracted best. He may have even found himself a new girlfriend via a shared love for picking dandelions. Preschool Soccer could be one of the funniest things I've ever watched.

We've been moved to find food for Ozzi that is not only healthy but more adventurous in the flavor department than what we can find at Super Target or Mississippi Market. We found it at the Farmers Market. Sweet Cheeks Baby Food is all local and organic and Ozzi seems to love it...

especially the beets, though the movement in his diaper the next day is, well, Vikings Purple. If you're looking for baby food definitely check out Sweet Cheeks.