Paul & Jenn's Adventures

This list is going to be a work in progress. I seriously have a love-hate relationship with Amazon. They just make it so darn easy to buy things from my phone! It's almost dangerous. Over the years, we have certainly made some good purchases that we love using everyday or at least a few times a week, and have stood the test of time! I hope this list helps you in your purchasing decisions. Please also feel free to share your favorite purchases in the comments. Home Appliances/Cooking Cordless Dyson Vacuum Lightweight enough for kids to use. They actually fight over who gets to vacuum. WIN! The rechargeable battery powers for about 15 minutes of heavy vacuuming. Plenty enough for daily cleaning. We just recently replaced the rechargeable battery after more than 5 years of ownership, and still runs like new! Love the incredible durability and power of Dyson. Non-stick Pancake Pan Trust me, you need this pan! No more waiting, flipping individual pancakes while the hungry fam w...

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We had the honor and privilege to host Susan Bahlatzis, Director of Noah's Ark Preschool at the Chinese Fellowship Bible Church on Saturday August 6th. For those who couldn't make it, or those who would like to listen again, here is the link to the recording. I also have hardcopies of the handout, so let me know if you'd like a copy. Sibiling Rivalry Workshop - Listen Now

I just finished writing an article on OEIC (our energy independence community) on sustainability of cotton versus man-made materials and it got me thinking about how much water we use daily. Ok, you're saying, I use it for cooking, showering, and watering the lawn... Right, but did you know that it takes over 700 gallons of water to produce 1 T-shirt? Or how about nearly 1800 gallons of water for one pound of beef? Clean water is a disappearing resource. We are all responsible as stewards of our planet to educate ourselves on the true cost of our choices. Check out this interactive way to learn about water use courtesy of National Geographic!

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We have moved in this house for more than 2 years now, and we are still trying to make it our "home" by personalize it and finding furniture and other items to decorate rooms. I want to share with you our progress with the living room, which had come a long way from an empty room to where it is now. We refinished the hardwood floor and then moved in at the beginning of 2010. We came with a mission style coffee table that we got at an antique store somewhere near Ithaca on a road trip some years ago. When we had visitors, we would use our black metal folding chairs from Target as seating. There was nothing for window dressing. The walls were all white, and there was a prominent wall next to the stairs that had an old style wallpaper. Living room when we moved in; after floor was refinished The wall on the right of this picture had wallpaper that we removed (this was Dec. 2009)

Photo by: healingdream When it was time for me to go back to work, Micah was 4 months old and I wanted him to be safe and well cared for. After all, daycare is comforting since they are usually licensed, and many eyes are watching. But I didn't like the 4-1 baby to caretaker ratio that applies for all babies under 18 months old. Since I was going to work part-time, we decided that hiring a nanny was the best option for us. But how to find someone we trust? Having someone work in home can be a bit intimidating to say the least. Will she be honest and trustworthy? Will she treat my child like her own? Will she be experienced enough to make the right judgement calls? Fortunately, we had fantastic experiences with the nannies we've worked with. Here are the steps we took to identify and build relationships with our awesome nannies: Use a site like Sittercity or Care.com to browse nanny profiles. Sign up and contact nannies you are interested in, about 1 month before you ne...