If you have time, look at the comments. My favorite is: “If Hobby Lobby is the Chick-fil-a of department stores then technically shopping there is kind of like tithing, right?” FYI, I do not think that shopping at Hobby Lobby is like tithing, but I do think shopping there is a delight!

In all seriousness, you may see little Beatrice with a nice round butt because of her sweet diapers!

Here she is sporting one for your benefit:

And here she is holding up her head to show you how strong she is AND how much she loves her diaper:

I was a little hesitant about the laundry part of the cloth diapers, but it’s really not bad. Everything goes into a washable bag that I use to line the diaper pail and then drop it all into the laundry. The two types of cloth diaper we are using are the fuzzibunz one size and the grobaby. A big thanks to Natalie at Punkernoodle Baby in Seattle who took the time to explain and show us all the different types of cloth diapers. She happens to have a great selection in stock if you just want to see and feel the diapers before you buy them! So far, we’ve not had any problems with either the Fuzzibunz or Gro Baby diapers as far as leaks or fit go and have not found that we need to change her any more frequently than we did with disposable diapers.  Do any of you use cloth diapers? Do you have any tips to share with us?

In case you were wondering, yes, I do sing “Baby Got Back” on occasion. Just keepin’ it real here on the eastside.

One of my favorite times of the year is the week leading up to the Super Bowl. Not because I follow football, though I do enjoy viewing a game or two. It is the fact that this is one time of year I can count on Tostidos brand Salsa con Queso to be on sale for around $2. Imagine my joy last night as Jonathan brought in the weekly circulars! I was preparing supper, so I had him go through the adverts to see who “won” with the lowest price for queso and then I would plan our weekly menu/grocery shopping around this location. You know what happened?  Nobody wins. Everyone loses this week because queso is not less than $3 anywhere. It was all very disappointing. Some people want chocolate or decadent foods that can only be acquired by artisans who hand craft their specialty in a specific location. I’m a simple girl. I just want the queso and a good, crispy tortilla chip that can hold an adequate amount of said queso. Oh and a coca-cola classic (Mexican please, it tastes so much better). If there happens to be a bag of jelly bellies involved, you won’t find me complaining. Rereading this, I sound like I have the snacking habits of a first grader. Excellent! First graders always have energy! Also, please note, were there not a baby currently enjoying the warmth of my womb, I would include red wine and sushi to this list.

How about you? Do you have a favorite snack to enjoy while watching the big game? Any alternatives to queso that I should try? (Please do not suggest a store brand queso. I might cry.)

We do not currently have cable television or a wide selection of movies in the McPherson household. What we do have is Netflix, a lovely service that for approximately one-third the price of cable television gives us an endless supply of DVDs in the mail. Kelly is the Household Manager of the Netflix Queue and is always finding informative and fun films for us to enjoy.

Netflix offers some films not only in DVD format but also in streaming video from the Internet. This is good because you can go from wanting to see a film to actually seeing it in about 30 seconds. It is bad because you have to watch the film on your computer, which usually possesses neither the screen size nor the position for optimal feature-film enjoyment.

Enter the Roku Player, which I bought for Kelly as a Christmas present (though honestly I kind of wanted one too and am thus guilty, as we say in the McPherson family, of “buttering my own parsnips”). It allows you to stream movies right from Netflix to your television, bringing us remarkably close to the utopian day when you can sit down, think of a movie, and start watching it in no time at all. It’s even wireless so you don’t have to hook it up to your router. Fancy!

The box also has generic computing capabilities and a variety of other applications, which include listening to internet radio on Pandora, renting new release films from Amazon, and looking at photos from Flickr. The nerd in me is sorely tempted to reprogram the thing or write my own software for it, but I know I’ll never get around to it. It’s just heartening to know that I could.

It’s easy to set up and works great. We are not prone to product endorsement at Oatmeal for Breakfast but we do think our friends who use Netflix might enjoy this little wonder. We hope you’ve had a wonderful Christmas!

Here’s another thing we love. The King County Library, more specifically, their website. Did you know you can request all sorts of things from the library (like DVDs and not yet released books)? Yep. You don’t even have to go to the library, you can search kcls.org and have the item delivered to your local branch if it’s not already there. If they don’t have the item you request, they’ll most likely buy a copy! It’s one of my favorite things. I’m sorry if you live in an area with an inferior library system, but I thought I’d share this for those around here who may not already know about these library options! You may also choose to track the items you’ve checked out. If you’re like me and can’t always remember the exact title of the great book you’ve read, you can then just go back to your library history and find it!

This morning Jonathan and I commuted by bus TOGETHER! It was great. There is a bus that goes from nearby our house to the transit center by Jonathan’s office then continues on it’s merry way to the transit center closest to my office. Tonight we’ll have a date here in Bellevue and take the bus home. It’s going to be a new adventure in commuting. It does take a little longer for me to get to my office, but it’s a nice relaxing ride and I’ve honestly missed riding the bus in the mornings. It’s such a relaxing way to start the day because you can relax, read or even take a nap and also talk with the folks around you. When I go on my own, I feel like I miss out on the commute with Jonathan (he often drives me to work in the mornings then I take the bus out to his office in the afternoons where he picks me up and we head home).

Hooray for public transportation! Here’s hoping we make it home tonight.

In our area, it’s fairly easy to figure out bus tables and timing of transportation. King County has a great website that has a Trip Planner that we find very user friendly. Do you take the bus or train or other public transport regularly? What’s your favorite thing about it?

Interrupting our vacation chronicles to bring you some new info and possibly a “regular feature” on oatmeal for breakfast: Things we like. Don’t worry, you’ll have the grand finale wrap-up of our England vacation later this week!

We like Fresh Way Pizza! It is a take and bake pizza place located on 164th in Redmond that is a real delight! When you walk in, you feel like you’re at your best friend’s house in high school and her mom is asking you what you’d like on your pizza that night. They also have whole wheat dough! YAY! It’s a small operation, just one location for now, but this is tasty pizza that will hopefully be around for a long, long time. Also, they deliver their goods! In smart cars!

If you’re wondering what to have for dinner, give them a call. You won’t be disappointed!