We made it up to the snow today! The camera battery died right after I got a couple of shots of Rosa seeing the snow for the first time, and the charger seems to have been a casualty of the move, so photos will have to wait. I think I got some cute ones, though.
It took us some time to actually find snow for several reasons, the chief one being the huge traffic jam between us and Mt. Hood. We had anticipated the traffic, though, and planned to just find a little side-road before we got to the mountain and do some sledding there. However, it has been unseasonably warm and dry this year and the snow levels are higher than normal, so the location we had in mind was muddy and slushy with no snow in sight.
We kept going up and up this little road and finally found a place with a couple of inches on the ground. That turned out to be more than enough for the kiddos. In fact, it might have been better than piles of snow, because they could easily walk around in it. They did some tobogganing on a very small hill, threw snowballs at us and in the picturesque creek that ran by the road, and made the best snow angels they could.
When our toes started freezing and we had played quite a bit, we piled back into the car and drove back to Portland. Once we were back in the city, we had a spontaneous and fun playdate with friends in our old part of town. Then, we drove back by our old house on the way to a New Year's Eve kids' music show.
It looks like the buyer is really remodeling the kitchen and who knows what else, because there is a big dumpster outside and the toilet was sitting right next to it! New bathroom, perhaps? Anyway, the show was packed to the brim but Sacha found us a place to sit up front and the kids rocked out while we juggled the baby and all our stuff. We took off at intermission and now Sacha's putting the kiddos to bed.
I'm sure one of these years we'll be all caught up on sleep and actually stay up until midnight, but not this year :) It will be an early New Year's Eve for us! Happy New Year to everybody!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
Photos from the holidays
Here are some photos from the holidays. I took a number of them before presents started happening on Christmas, and then I got caught up in the swing of things and didn't pick up the camera until a few days after Christmas! So, these are the bookends for the holiday.
Post-Christmas, here are the kids and my parents working on the gingerbread houses that we finally manged to make!
Also, on Wednesday, Sacha and I celebrated 11 years since we first met! Our anniversary fell on Wednesday this year, which is our regular date night, and Apa helped us celebrate by coming over early and staying late! We had time to have a lovely dinner at Andina, browse the shelves at Powell's Books, and then attend Cavalia, which is being staged downtown. Apa and Mateo had gone to see it together on Christmas Eve and came home raving about it, so we gladly took the opportunity to see it for ourselves! It was designed by one of the founders of Cirque de Soleil and had lots of amazing acrobatics combined with horsemanship. We had a really good time and enjoyed having such a full evening together.
Our vacation is beginning to wind down, but we're still enjoying ourselves. We haven't made it up to the snow yet, but Sacha and the kids went to Zoo Lights last night in the rain! And, we undertook a little project yesterday: we painted our dining room and kitchen again! We had originally picked a mustard yellow color for it, as you can see above, because we had a nice yellow kitchen in our old house, but the mustard just ended up not working for us.
We asked Apa to pick a different color, as he is very good at such things, and he suggested a creamy antique white. A number of color samples later, we picked a nice cream color and then taped and painted yesterday. I did most of the painting and Sacha did most of the kid-wrangling, which worked well for both of us. We were pretty pleased with ourselves that we pulled off such a big project while the kids were awake! Having white walls is a big change for us, but we really like the way it turned out. It feels vastly more open and light in there. Yay!
While I was at the store getting the paint, I noticed that they had rugs on sale and made an impulse purchase of one for the dining room area. It's a long, narrow room that serves as both a dining room and a hangout area and we've been casually thinking about getting a rug, so now we have one. We're still trying it on for size, but we think we're going to keep it.
The photos came out yellowish, but you can still get the idea. You can also see evidence of our constant struggle against clutter!
Post-Christmas, here are the kids and my parents working on the gingerbread houses that we finally manged to make!
Also, on Wednesday, Sacha and I celebrated 11 years since we first met! Our anniversary fell on Wednesday this year, which is our regular date night, and Apa helped us celebrate by coming over early and staying late! We had time to have a lovely dinner at Andina, browse the shelves at Powell's Books, and then attend Cavalia, which is being staged downtown. Apa and Mateo had gone to see it together on Christmas Eve and came home raving about it, so we gladly took the opportunity to see it for ourselves! It was designed by one of the founders of Cirque de Soleil and had lots of amazing acrobatics combined with horsemanship. We had a really good time and enjoyed having such a full evening together.
Our vacation is beginning to wind down, but we're still enjoying ourselves. We haven't made it up to the snow yet, but Sacha and the kids went to Zoo Lights last night in the rain! And, we undertook a little project yesterday: we painted our dining room and kitchen again! We had originally picked a mustard yellow color for it, as you can see above, because we had a nice yellow kitchen in our old house, but the mustard just ended up not working for us.
We asked Apa to pick a different color, as he is very good at such things, and he suggested a creamy antique white. A number of color samples later, we picked a nice cream color and then taped and painted yesterday. I did most of the painting and Sacha did most of the kid-wrangling, which worked well for both of us. We were pretty pleased with ourselves that we pulled off such a big project while the kids were awake! Having white walls is a big change for us, but we really like the way it turned out. It feels vastly more open and light in there. Yay!
While I was at the store getting the paint, I noticed that they had rugs on sale and made an impulse purchase of one for the dining room area. It's a long, narrow room that serves as both a dining room and a hangout area and we've been casually thinking about getting a rug, so now we have one. We're still trying it on for size, but we think we're going to keep it.
The photos came out yellowish, but you can still get the idea. You can also see evidence of our constant struggle against clutter!
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Ukulele playing by Mateo and Natalia
"I like the Ukulele."
Here is a video of Mateo and Natalia playing one of their very first songs on the ukulele. They can play Old McDonald had a farm, and they can also play Row Row Row Your Boat.
I'm sure that with some time, they will learn even more songs.
Although Alayna would not let us video tape this, she sang a song with two chords in it today! Go Alayna. Before you know it, she will have caught the ukulele bug too!
Here is a video of Mateo and Natalia playing one of their very first songs on the ukulele. They can play Old McDonald had a farm, and they can also play Row Row Row Your Boat.
I'm sure that with some time, they will learn even more songs.
Although Alayna would not let us video tape this, she sang a song with two chords in it today! Go Alayna. Before you know it, she will have caught the ukulele bug too!
Monday, December 26, 2011
The holidays
Wow, it has been awhile since I last blogged!
We have had a wonderful holiday season with just a few bumps in the road. Sacha's first week off work was filled with lots of family time, some house projects, and a big old-house clean-out followed by the closing of the sale. Yes, we sold it!! We are so excited and relieved to have that behind us, and to know that the house is in good hands with its new owner. Apparently, they will be redoing the kitchen, so we wish them all the best.
Of course, the holidays wouldn't be the same without a little excitement, and this year it came in the form of a stomach virus that flattened Sacha and me a few days before Christmas. Luckily, oh so luckily, we got over it in the nick of time to welcome family to town and celebrate the Christmas and Hanukkah holidays.
Christmas itself was full of presents and amazing food. Apa cooked Christmas dinner for all of us and it was sublime. Prime rib, glazed vegetables, incredible mac and cheese, gravy, and Yorkshire pudding were all on the menu. It was so good that I wanted more even after dinner was over and I was stuffed to the gills. YUM. Thanks, Apa!!
We also had fun earlier in the day with opening presents, starting with a very excited Mateo waking us up at the crack of dawn and concluding with a major ocean of wrapping paper in our living room. It was a great first Christmas in our new home. Many thanks to Sacha's parents, my parents, and Auntie E for traveling to us during a very busy time of year.
Today is Sacha's birthday and I want to send a big happy birthday out to her! We had another wonderful day with lots of family time and lots of chocolate to boot, so I think she felt well celebrated. Happy, happy birthday, Sacha!
I feel lucky to be married to a teacher, because this is just the start of our second week of vacation. We're going to spend some more time with my parents in the next couple of days and then have some days to fill after that. We're thinking of heading up to the snow for a day and are also planning our very first family sleepover for the end of the week. Fun stuff!
I think it will be a good week to round out the end of the year, and hopefully I will start blogging more regularly again. I've been feeling a little uninspired for awhile, which I attribute mainly to having three small children! I'm often really spent by the end of the day and it's just easier not to blog, but then I miss out on both writing and recording how we've spent our days. I'm hoping to start both blogging more and taking more photos again in the new year. Until then, happy end of 2011 to all!
We have had a wonderful holiday season with just a few bumps in the road. Sacha's first week off work was filled with lots of family time, some house projects, and a big old-house clean-out followed by the closing of the sale. Yes, we sold it!! We are so excited and relieved to have that behind us, and to know that the house is in good hands with its new owner. Apparently, they will be redoing the kitchen, so we wish them all the best.
Of course, the holidays wouldn't be the same without a little excitement, and this year it came in the form of a stomach virus that flattened Sacha and me a few days before Christmas. Luckily, oh so luckily, we got over it in the nick of time to welcome family to town and celebrate the Christmas and Hanukkah holidays.
Christmas itself was full of presents and amazing food. Apa cooked Christmas dinner for all of us and it was sublime. Prime rib, glazed vegetables, incredible mac and cheese, gravy, and Yorkshire pudding were all on the menu. It was so good that I wanted more even after dinner was over and I was stuffed to the gills. YUM. Thanks, Apa!!
We also had fun earlier in the day with opening presents, starting with a very excited Mateo waking us up at the crack of dawn and concluding with a major ocean of wrapping paper in our living room. It was a great first Christmas in our new home. Many thanks to Sacha's parents, my parents, and Auntie E for traveling to us during a very busy time of year.
Today is Sacha's birthday and I want to send a big happy birthday out to her! We had another wonderful day with lots of family time and lots of chocolate to boot, so I think she felt well celebrated. Happy, happy birthday, Sacha!
I feel lucky to be married to a teacher, because this is just the start of our second week of vacation. We're going to spend some more time with my parents in the next couple of days and then have some days to fill after that. We're thinking of heading up to the snow for a day and are also planning our very first family sleepover for the end of the week. Fun stuff!
I think it will be a good week to round out the end of the year, and hopefully I will start blogging more regularly again. I've been feeling a little uninspired for awhile, which I attribute mainly to having three small children! I'm often really spent by the end of the day and it's just easier not to blog, but then I miss out on both writing and recording how we've spent our days. I'm hoping to start both blogging more and taking more photos again in the new year. Until then, happy end of 2011 to all!
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
New do
Well, we took the plunge today. What do I mean? Ever since we had a daughter, and practically since we had the ultrasound when Sacha was pregnant, I have sworn that she would never have bangs. I know, it's silly and rather inconsequential, but when I think of bangs, I think of the headache and awkwardness of growing them out, and so I just wanted to avoid them from the get-go.
So, when Tali finally got hair, we let it grow and grow until she had beautiful curls coming from everywhere. There was just one (predictable) problem: she couldn't see! It was always in her face. This was exacerbated by the fact that she rarely wanted it pulled back. I held my ground on the bangs thing for quite awhile, but recently, I began to rethink things.
It was seeing her up onstage at her winter celebration that sealed the deal for me, because she had hair in her face even when it was up in a ponytail and I just wanted her to be able to see out! So, this is a long way of saying that we took her to get her hair cut today. We all go to this great alternative barbershop in northeast Portland, so we went there and asked them to give her bangs. They turned out really cute, and, as much as I've read that you shouldn't comment on little girls' appearances, I couldn't help telling her a zillion times how cute she looks.
Here's the girl of the hour with her new haircut:
And, her brother, with his own cute do:
Baby photos to come, as we are way overdue for a photoshoot with Rosie.
So, when Tali finally got hair, we let it grow and grow until she had beautiful curls coming from everywhere. There was just one (predictable) problem: she couldn't see! It was always in her face. This was exacerbated by the fact that she rarely wanted it pulled back. I held my ground on the bangs thing for quite awhile, but recently, I began to rethink things.
It was seeing her up onstage at her winter celebration that sealed the deal for me, because she had hair in her face even when it was up in a ponytail and I just wanted her to be able to see out! So, this is a long way of saying that we took her to get her hair cut today. We all go to this great alternative barbershop in northeast Portland, so we went there and asked them to give her bangs. They turned out really cute, and, as much as I've read that you shouldn't comment on little girls' appearances, I couldn't help telling her a zillion times how cute she looks.
Here's the girl of the hour with her new haircut:
And, her brother, with his own cute do:
Baby photos to come, as we are way overdue for a photoshoot with Rosie.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Winter break
We have been having a truly lovely time with Sacha home on winter break. It's so nice to have her home and to be able to just spend time as a family. This weekend, we spent most of Saturday in north and northeast Portland, finishing Christmas shopping, having burgers, an even attending a Christmas party (at which someone complimented us on how well-behaved our kids were. So nice!). It was a beautiful sunny day and not even too cold outside.
Sunday, we had a lazy but project-y day around the house. We had been unhappy with a lot of the house's lighting ever since we moved in, and decided that yesterday was a good day to do something about it. We got some new fixtures from Ikea and Apa wired them all in for us! He is also working on all our windows, putting up curtains and generally making the place look beautiful, so he put in some more curtains while he was at it. Thank you, Apa!! We love how our kitchen and eating area look now. I'll have to post some photos.
Today, we did some exploring and some organizing. We all walked down to the rec center at the corner, which is about a five minute walk from our house. We checked out the preschool there, which we are thinking about for Tali for next year, and we also saw some gymnastics classes going on. Both kids are signed up for gymnastics there, starting in January, so it was nice for them to see a bit of what they'll be doing. After lunch, Sacha cut me loose to go to a cafe and address holiday cards. My hand got really tired, but I had a good time! I finally found a good cafe that is both relatively close by, independent, and yummy! The closest place to us is Starbucks, which I admit to having a weakness for, but I'd rather spend my money somewhere local.
Also, I had to laugh because, as I was addressing cards, I realized that our holiday cards have two little birds on them that I hadn't noticed before. That made me think of the Portlandia line about putting a bird on it, and I thought that was pretty funny, because we had put a bird on our cards without even realizing it.
After I got home, we did some purging of the zillion toys we have around the house. The kids were actually really great about it and Mateo picked out quite a few toys to give away. Sacha explained to them that we were going to be getting a lot of new toys for Christmas and that we needed to give toys away, in return, to kids who might not be getting so many. This is the first year that he has seemed to get the concept of that, which was nice to see.
Finally, Sacha took the kids to the store for provisions and came back to make a delicious, delicious salmon hash. We had made teriyaki salmon last night and left it marinating just a little too long, so it was too intense to eat by itself. We had the idea of making hash and it turned out perfectly. Sacha even made poached eggs, for the first time, to go on top. Even the kids gobbled up their portions, which is saying something, because they're normally suspicious of new foods. Poor Mateo is working on another loose tooth and is mostly into soft foods, so this fit the bill. And, poor Rosa has a nasty cold and has hardly nursed or drunk much of anything today. Let's hope she sleeps tonight, although I'm not betting on it. I guess we should go to bed early!
Sunday, we had a lazy but project-y day around the house. We had been unhappy with a lot of the house's lighting ever since we moved in, and decided that yesterday was a good day to do something about it. We got some new fixtures from Ikea and Apa wired them all in for us! He is also working on all our windows, putting up curtains and generally making the place look beautiful, so he put in some more curtains while he was at it. Thank you, Apa!! We love how our kitchen and eating area look now. I'll have to post some photos.
Today, we did some exploring and some organizing. We all walked down to the rec center at the corner, which is about a five minute walk from our house. We checked out the preschool there, which we are thinking about for Tali for next year, and we also saw some gymnastics classes going on. Both kids are signed up for gymnastics there, starting in January, so it was nice for them to see a bit of what they'll be doing. After lunch, Sacha cut me loose to go to a cafe and address holiday cards. My hand got really tired, but I had a good time! I finally found a good cafe that is both relatively close by, independent, and yummy! The closest place to us is Starbucks, which I admit to having a weakness for, but I'd rather spend my money somewhere local.
Also, I had to laugh because, as I was addressing cards, I realized that our holiday cards have two little birds on them that I hadn't noticed before. That made me think of the Portlandia line about putting a bird on it, and I thought that was pretty funny, because we had put a bird on our cards without even realizing it.
After I got home, we did some purging of the zillion toys we have around the house. The kids were actually really great about it and Mateo picked out quite a few toys to give away. Sacha explained to them that we were going to be getting a lot of new toys for Christmas and that we needed to give toys away, in return, to kids who might not be getting so many. This is the first year that he has seemed to get the concept of that, which was nice to see.
Finally, Sacha took the kids to the store for provisions and came back to make a delicious, delicious salmon hash. We had made teriyaki salmon last night and left it marinating just a little too long, so it was too intense to eat by itself. We had the idea of making hash and it turned out perfectly. Sacha even made poached eggs, for the first time, to go on top. Even the kids gobbled up their portions, which is saying something, because they're normally suspicious of new foods. Poor Mateo is working on another loose tooth and is mostly into soft foods, so this fit the bill. And, poor Rosa has a nasty cold and has hardly nursed or drunk much of anything today. Let's hope she sleeps tonight, although I'm not betting on it. I guess we should go to bed early!
Friday, December 16, 2011
Traffic
We just got back from Mateo and Tali's preschool winter celebration. We almost didn't make it to the school in time for them to perform! The traffic was awful, awful, awful. It took the kids and I an hour and fifteen minutes to get there, leaving us fifteen minutes late and very grateful that they were running behind. We walked in about a minute before Talia's group went up to sing their songs. Whew! I had already explained to both kids that we weren't going to make it in time, including how sorry I was, so it was a very welcome surprise to find out that they were going to get to perform after all.
They both did great, although it was obvious that Tali was way outside her comfort zone. She did go up on stage and stand with her group, although singing along was not in her plan! We were very proud of her for getting up there at all, given how shy she is. Mateo seemed very much in his comfort zone and hammed it up along with the rest of his friends. It was fun to watch him with his group and see how much they have all grown in the three years that they have all attended the school.
We just made it back, and all I can say is that I am glad we don't have to keep up this routine for longer than the rest of this school year! I'm not a big fan of all the driving back and forth, and I don't think the kids are, either.
As part of our mammoth journey to get to school tonight, we got off the freeway and cut through our old neighborhood for the last leg of the trip. Mateo said wistfully that he liked coming back to the old neighborhood again, and, when asked why in particular, he said "because we didn't have to drive so far to preschool when we lived here!"
I do feel bad about dragging them through the commute... but, I have to say, I have been having some guilt about uprooting the kids and taking them to a whole new place/house/suburb, so I have to admit that having him only be able to come up with one thing he missed about the old neighborhood kind of made me feel better about the whole thing!
Anyway, in the end, we made it in time and we all had a very nice time. And now, we are all on winter break! Wahoo! For Sacha in particular, it has been a long road to make it to Christmas, because her class has been so crazy, so I send big congrats to her and wishes for all of us to have a nice holiday season.
They both did great, although it was obvious that Tali was way outside her comfort zone. She did go up on stage and stand with her group, although singing along was not in her plan! We were very proud of her for getting up there at all, given how shy she is. Mateo seemed very much in his comfort zone and hammed it up along with the rest of his friends. It was fun to watch him with his group and see how much they have all grown in the three years that they have all attended the school.
We just made it back, and all I can say is that I am glad we don't have to keep up this routine for longer than the rest of this school year! I'm not a big fan of all the driving back and forth, and I don't think the kids are, either.
As part of our mammoth journey to get to school tonight, we got off the freeway and cut through our old neighborhood for the last leg of the trip. Mateo said wistfully that he liked coming back to the old neighborhood again, and, when asked why in particular, he said "because we didn't have to drive so far to preschool when we lived here!"
I do feel bad about dragging them through the commute... but, I have to say, I have been having some guilt about uprooting the kids and taking them to a whole new place/house/suburb, so I have to admit that having him only be able to come up with one thing he missed about the old neighborhood kind of made me feel better about the whole thing!
Anyway, in the end, we made it in time and we all had a very nice time. And now, we are all on winter break! Wahoo! For Sacha in particular, it has been a long road to make it to Christmas, because her class has been so crazy, so I send big congrats to her and wishes for all of us to have a nice holiday season.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Busy day, plus house news
We had a busy day today! Sacha was busy wrapping up at school and getting ready for the winter break. Our older two kids were busy at their own school, practicing for their winter celebration tomorrow night (the agenda of which is highly secret and known to only the kids, who are doing a great job of keeping the secret, surprisingly) and spending the whole day there, which is unusual for them. In fact, it was the first time Tali has spent a whole day there and she did great. Even though they only go two mornings a week, normally, they both consistently have fun there. I was reflecting at dinner that the longer drive is really worth it, because both kids listed preschool as their favorite part of the day.
Anyway, back to my point: finally, Rosa and I were busy spending the day together! We went out to coffee and made some new friends, who were 13-month-old and his dad. We've seen them at the same coffee shop a number of times and finally exchanged numbers to set up a playdate. Do you still call it a playdate if the kids involved are not quite capable of playing together? I think so!
Rosa and I also did a bunch of Christmas shopping and had lunch at school with Sacha. We concluded the day with a trip to a new chiropractor, who came highly recommended. The appointment was too early in the afternoon for Sacha to make it back in time for, so I had to bring Rosie with me.
That turned out to be a Bad Move. Our mellow, easygoing girl turned into a fussy mess upon entering the quiet, peaceful clinic. She pretty much fussed and cried throughout the appointment, stopping only when I sat her down next to the table and fed her with my arm outstretched as I was lying face-down and getting my back worked on. It was more than a little embarassing, but the chiropractor was really nice about it, at least.
And, the chiropractor seemed awesome in general. She was very sympathetic about my fall, found exactly where it was hurting, and diagnosed me with a soft tissue injury around my sacroiliac joint. She said these types of things normally take four to six weeks to heal, and since I tend to be a slow healer, I'm going to assume I'll be better in closer to six weeks. Since it's already been two weeks, I'm a third of the way there! I'm going back next week, but I will not be bringing the baby with me. Oh, no. That will be a solo event.
One final piece of news: I don't think I've mentioned this on the blog yet, but we have another offer on our house! This one is looking like it might actually go through. The person has already had the inspection and submitted to us a very reasonable list of repairs to make. The appraisal came back today right on target, so now all we have to do is finish the repairs and hope that the buyer gets final approval on the loan. The buyer wants to close by Christmas or soon thereafter, so let's hope it works out! It would be a huge relief to have the sale closed and the house sold and all that.
On that note, Sacha and I are going to catch up on the Biggest Loser and have some ice cream and go to bed. Happy almost-holidays!
Anyway, back to my point: finally, Rosa and I were busy spending the day together! We went out to coffee and made some new friends, who were 13-month-old and his dad. We've seen them at the same coffee shop a number of times and finally exchanged numbers to set up a playdate. Do you still call it a playdate if the kids involved are not quite capable of playing together? I think so!
Rosa and I also did a bunch of Christmas shopping and had lunch at school with Sacha. We concluded the day with a trip to a new chiropractor, who came highly recommended. The appointment was too early in the afternoon for Sacha to make it back in time for, so I had to bring Rosie with me.
That turned out to be a Bad Move. Our mellow, easygoing girl turned into a fussy mess upon entering the quiet, peaceful clinic. She pretty much fussed and cried throughout the appointment, stopping only when I sat her down next to the table and fed her with my arm outstretched as I was lying face-down and getting my back worked on. It was more than a little embarassing, but the chiropractor was really nice about it, at least.
And, the chiropractor seemed awesome in general. She was very sympathetic about my fall, found exactly where it was hurting, and diagnosed me with a soft tissue injury around my sacroiliac joint. She said these types of things normally take four to six weeks to heal, and since I tend to be a slow healer, I'm going to assume I'll be better in closer to six weeks. Since it's already been two weeks, I'm a third of the way there! I'm going back next week, but I will not be bringing the baby with me. Oh, no. That will be a solo event.
One final piece of news: I don't think I've mentioned this on the blog yet, but we have another offer on our house! This one is looking like it might actually go through. The person has already had the inspection and submitted to us a very reasonable list of repairs to make. The appraisal came back today right on target, so now all we have to do is finish the repairs and hope that the buyer gets final approval on the loan. The buyer wants to close by Christmas or soon thereafter, so let's hope it works out! It would be a huge relief to have the sale closed and the house sold and all that.
On that note, Sacha and I are going to catch up on the Biggest Loser and have some ice cream and go to bed. Happy almost-holidays!
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Round-up
We have been having a lot of fun exploring our new house and new neighborhood with the kids. Yesterday, we checked out a big library that's part of the county library system in our new county. It is huge and beautiful and is home to tons and tons of books. Luckily, we thought to bring a piece of mail with us, so we were able to get a library card right then and check out lots of books. We also got lots of helpful library advice, more than we needed, really, from a friendly must-be-gay librarian, who seemed to recognize us as a family.
Back at the ranch, we have been having fun making cookies...
...snuggling with Mommy...
and spearing olives on our fingers, because, really, what is childhood for if not for putting olives on your fingers?
We have also been getting used to our new preschool routine, which is much longer than it was before. The kids' preschool is back in our old neighborhood and was, at most, a five minute drive from our old house. It was also about a 10 minute bike ride, which was nice in the summer. In moving to the new house, we have added a half an hour onto the drive time, which usually clocks in right around 35 minutes. Luckily, the kids have been great in the car and haven't whined once, for which I am very grateful.
Today, we lengthened our stay in north/northeast Portland to visit some nearby friends. The kids had a truly spectacular playdate, with both Mateo and Natalia playing with their friend while Rosa played with her younger brother. It was a big first for Tali, to actually play with another kid at a playdate. She's so shy that she usually just hangs onto me for dear life, even with people we know well. It was amazing to see her leave me and go play in the other room with the big kids. I was very proud of her! And, it was a first for Rosa, to have any kind of exchange with another kid. Our friends' little boy would say "aahhhh!" to her and she would say "aahhh!" right back. It was adorable.
In other news, my butt is still giving me trouble. It is getting better, but very slowly, and I'm constantly aggravating it with my day job. I'm looking forward to the day when I'm able to exercise again, but that may be a ways off. I actually still have quite a bruise from the fall, which was two weeks ago, so I guess my body is really still dealing with the aftermath of that.
Finally, in exciting news, we're going to Europe! This summer, in July! My parents are taking us! Thank you, Mom and Dad! We may be a little crazy, but we're way excited. We'll be mostly in Barcelona and Paris, with a stop at a hotel in the middle that my family visited when I was a kid. Let's hope that our five-year-old, then-four-year-old, and then-one-year-old, along with their parents, are ready to experience a really big trip!
Back at the ranch, we have been having fun making cookies...
...snuggling with Mommy...
and spearing olives on our fingers, because, really, what is childhood for if not for putting olives on your fingers?
We have also been getting used to our new preschool routine, which is much longer than it was before. The kids' preschool is back in our old neighborhood and was, at most, a five minute drive from our old house. It was also about a 10 minute bike ride, which was nice in the summer. In moving to the new house, we have added a half an hour onto the drive time, which usually clocks in right around 35 minutes. Luckily, the kids have been great in the car and haven't whined once, for which I am very grateful.
Today, we lengthened our stay in north/northeast Portland to visit some nearby friends. The kids had a truly spectacular playdate, with both Mateo and Natalia playing with their friend while Rosa played with her younger brother. It was a big first for Tali, to actually play with another kid at a playdate. She's so shy that she usually just hangs onto me for dear life, even with people we know well. It was amazing to see her leave me and go play in the other room with the big kids. I was very proud of her! And, it was a first for Rosa, to have any kind of exchange with another kid. Our friends' little boy would say "aahhhh!" to her and she would say "aahhh!" right back. It was adorable.
In other news, my butt is still giving me trouble. It is getting better, but very slowly, and I'm constantly aggravating it with my day job. I'm looking forward to the day when I'm able to exercise again, but that may be a ways off. I actually still have quite a bruise from the fall, which was two weeks ago, so I guess my body is really still dealing with the aftermath of that.
Finally, in exciting news, we're going to Europe! This summer, in July! My parents are taking us! Thank you, Mom and Dad! We may be a little crazy, but we're way excited. We'll be mostly in Barcelona and Paris, with a stop at a hotel in the middle that my family visited when I was a kid. Let's hope that our five-year-old, then-four-year-old, and then-one-year-old, along with their parents, are ready to experience a really big trip!
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Stacking states
Soon after my parents gave me an iPad for my birthday, Sacha got an app for it called Stack the States. It's a geography game where you can answer questions about different states, like naming their capitals or states that border them. When you answer the question correctly, the state falls onto a platform, and you stack them up towards a line (like you would stack blocks). Unlike blocks, though, the states have a tendency to fall because they are not square.
When you stack enough states so they reach the line, you "earn" a state for your map of the US. Basically, the game goes over and over until you have earned all 50 states. In the beginning, Mateo would ask us the answer to every single question (not surprisingly.) Now I would say that he knows more than I (Sacha) do about US geography. He almost never asks us a question.
He is on his second time of earning all of the states. We have also gotten the game stacking countries. That game is a bit more complex, but I'm sure he will grow into it with time.
We have been so impressed with his ability to absorb the information in the Stack the States game. I (Alayna) remember being very confused about cities, states, and countries when I was a kid, but Mateo has no such confusion. It's pretty neat to have seen him start with no knowledge at all and just set out to master the information by practicing over and over and over.
When you stack enough states so they reach the line, you "earn" a state for your map of the US. Basically, the game goes over and over until you have earned all 50 states. In the beginning, Mateo would ask us the answer to every single question (not surprisingly.) Now I would say that he knows more than I (Sacha) do about US geography. He almost never asks us a question.
He is on his second time of earning all of the states. We have also gotten the game stacking countries. That game is a bit more complex, but I'm sure he will grow into it with time.
We have been so impressed with his ability to absorb the information in the Stack the States game. I (Alayna) remember being very confused about cities, states, and countries when I was a kid, but Mateo has no such confusion. It's pretty neat to have seen him start with no knowledge at all and just set out to master the information by practicing over and over and over.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
So much better
I am finally noticing some improvement in my lower back situation. The past couple of days, I've been able to be drug-free during the day and have felt about how I felt with lots of ibuprofen on board over the weekend. I still get pretty sore in the evening, after a long day with the kids, but I think I've made a lot of progress. It's a relief to be feeling better, although it is driving me nuts not to be able to exercise! Even with all the improvement, it still hurts to walk, so running is probably out of the question :) I'm glad to be on the path to recovery, though!
I went to an all-day meeting today and the kids were with a babysitter. I really don't leave the kids very often, with the exception of dropping them off for preschool, but I periodically have day-long meetings that are related to my family's business. The last time they had this babysitter, a couple of months ago, Mateo was awful with her and nearly drove her away in the middle of the day. Luckily, she hung on until I was able to come and take over, but it was bad and we weren't sure if we should have her come again or not.
As circumstances worked out, she was available for today and so we booked her. We then had lots of talks with Mateo about behaving for the babysitter, and this morning I sat down with him and we made a schedule for the day together. I'm thrilled to report that he did great, Tali did great, and Rosa did great! Sacha and I did come home to find the baby dressed in a sleeveless jumper (in the middle of December! in our somewhat cold house!), so that was a bizarre clothing choice on the part of the sitter, but other than that, things went fine.
The kids can be a handful sometimes, but I am still so glad that I am able to be home with them. We are so lucky that we are able to have one of us at home, and days like today remind me of that. I'll just be glad when I'm back at full strength and am more able to be my normal picking-them-up-and-spinning-them-around self!
I went to an all-day meeting today and the kids were with a babysitter. I really don't leave the kids very often, with the exception of dropping them off for preschool, but I periodically have day-long meetings that are related to my family's business. The last time they had this babysitter, a couple of months ago, Mateo was awful with her and nearly drove her away in the middle of the day. Luckily, she hung on until I was able to come and take over, but it was bad and we weren't sure if we should have her come again or not.
As circumstances worked out, she was available for today and so we booked her. We then had lots of talks with Mateo about behaving for the babysitter, and this morning I sat down with him and we made a schedule for the day together. I'm thrilled to report that he did great, Tali did great, and Rosa did great! Sacha and I did come home to find the baby dressed in a sleeveless jumper (in the middle of December! in our somewhat cold house!), so that was a bizarre clothing choice on the part of the sitter, but other than that, things went fine.
The kids can be a handful sometimes, but I am still so glad that I am able to be home with them. We are so lucky that we are able to have one of us at home, and days like today remind me of that. I'll just be glad when I'm back at full strength and am more able to be my normal picking-them-up-and-spinning-them-around self!
Sunday, December 4, 2011
The house: living room and kitchen
Here are some more photos of the house. I took them without a flash, so they're a bit blurry, but I think they give a good sense of what the rooms are actually like.
First, we have the living room, complete with our new Christmas tree, chopped down this morning by my lovely wife. As well, note the gorgeous curtains that Apa just put in for us.
Here's the kitchen/dining area. It's one long room and we're still trying to figure out what to do with it. Right now, we have the table at one end and a big open space between it and the kitchen. Options on the table include a better seating area for the fireplace, which is bizarrely right next to the kitchen, and possibly a big farmhouse table going lengthwise in the eating area.
First, we have the living room, complete with our new Christmas tree, chopped down this morning by my lovely wife. As well, note the gorgeous curtains that Apa just put in for us.
Here's the kitchen/dining area. It's one long room and we're still trying to figure out what to do with it. Right now, we have the table at one end and a big open space between it and the kitchen. Options on the table include a better seating area for the fireplace, which is bizarrely right next to the kitchen, and possibly a big farmhouse table going lengthwise in the eating area.
Finally, here are the kids with Apa! They were all on the big chair by the fire (love having a fireplace at last!) and I thought this came out about as well as I could hope for with three wiggly children all in one place.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Rosa's eight-month letter
Dear Rosa,
You are eight months old! You turned eight months old last weekend, when we were in the midst of our move to our brand new (to us) house. It's a bit crazy to think that this is the first house you will remember, despite spending all of your life, up until now, in our old one. So it goes. Here's what you're up to now, having started a new month in a new place!
First, you marked your new age by getting a new tooth. You had three and now you have four: two on the bottom and two on the top. You are quite balanced. The teething was pretty rough on you this time around, but you are back to your happy self now that #4 has come all the way through. We love your little toothy grin!
You are crawling like a maniac now, and still with your own trademarked version of the crawl. You have shown us what a true army crawl looks like. You drag yourself forward with your forearms while your feet sort of hippity hop along the floor behind you. You do this very much on your belly and the whole routine is quite entertaining to watch. You're just so earnest about it, and always focused on the thing you want to get to, somewhere across the room. We used to think that you would army crawl and then you would crawl the regular way, but we're starting to think that maybe this is your version of crawling the regular way!
In the food department, you are eating us out of house and home. Every day, you put away more food than your older brother and sister would have eaten in a week at the same age. You eat with gusto and have started to recognize certain foods, such as yogurt, a bowl of baby oatmeal, bananas, and so on. We can tell that you recognize them as food because you make the same "heh-HEH!" noise that you make when you see a bottle or know that you're about to get Mommy's milk.
Speaking of noises, you're a communicative little girl even though you don't have words yet. You let us know when you're hungry with the sounds I mentioned above, you babble, and you even seem to sing sometimes. And, of course, you cry when you're upset or tired. That doesn't happen much, though. Your evolving personality is still a happy one. People comment a lot on what a happy baby you are, and we heartily agree. You're a pleasure to be around.
We'll close with a couple of your favorite things in the whole world: your brother and sister! You look at them with big eyes and laugh for them like for no one else. You think they are absolutely hilarious, and they, in turn, will do all sorts of things to make you laugh. Today, you were in the Jumperoo and they both slid underneath you, so they could pull on your feet or get you to jump on top of them. They and you both thought this was the funniest game ever created and there was a lot of laughing going on. We hope you three still laugh together when you are much older, so the fact that you do it now is a great first step!
Oh, one final thing, which I can't remember if I mentioned last month but will just repeat again: you know your name. You will turn your head much of the time when someone says "Rosie!" or "Rosa!" You don't do it all the time, but much of the time, you do. Also, you have shown us that you can play a give and take game. Recently, you were playing with Grammy and she leaned in and rubbed your nose with her own. She did this several more times, and then you started to get it. She would lean her face close to yours and you would reach out your nose to hers, basically asking for her to nuzzle you. It was a magical moment and heartbreakingly cute.
Rosie, we love you so much that you probably won't understand it until you have kids of your own! You are the best, the cherry on top, the icing on the cake. We wish we could save you up at just this age and enjoy you this way forever. At the same time, we can't wait to see what the next month will bring. We love you!
love,
Mama and Mommy
You are eight months old! You turned eight months old last weekend, when we were in the midst of our move to our brand new (to us) house. It's a bit crazy to think that this is the first house you will remember, despite spending all of your life, up until now, in our old one. So it goes. Here's what you're up to now, having started a new month in a new place!
First, you marked your new age by getting a new tooth. You had three and now you have four: two on the bottom and two on the top. You are quite balanced. The teething was pretty rough on you this time around, but you are back to your happy self now that #4 has come all the way through. We love your little toothy grin!
You are crawling like a maniac now, and still with your own trademarked version of the crawl. You have shown us what a true army crawl looks like. You drag yourself forward with your forearms while your feet sort of hippity hop along the floor behind you. You do this very much on your belly and the whole routine is quite entertaining to watch. You're just so earnest about it, and always focused on the thing you want to get to, somewhere across the room. We used to think that you would army crawl and then you would crawl the regular way, but we're starting to think that maybe this is your version of crawling the regular way!
In the food department, you are eating us out of house and home. Every day, you put away more food than your older brother and sister would have eaten in a week at the same age. You eat with gusto and have started to recognize certain foods, such as yogurt, a bowl of baby oatmeal, bananas, and so on. We can tell that you recognize them as food because you make the same "heh-HEH!" noise that you make when you see a bottle or know that you're about to get Mommy's milk.
Speaking of noises, you're a communicative little girl even though you don't have words yet. You let us know when you're hungry with the sounds I mentioned above, you babble, and you even seem to sing sometimes. And, of course, you cry when you're upset or tired. That doesn't happen much, though. Your evolving personality is still a happy one. People comment a lot on what a happy baby you are, and we heartily agree. You're a pleasure to be around.
We'll close with a couple of your favorite things in the whole world: your brother and sister! You look at them with big eyes and laugh for them like for no one else. You think they are absolutely hilarious, and they, in turn, will do all sorts of things to make you laugh. Today, you were in the Jumperoo and they both slid underneath you, so they could pull on your feet or get you to jump on top of them. They and you both thought this was the funniest game ever created and there was a lot of laughing going on. We hope you three still laugh together when you are much older, so the fact that you do it now is a great first step!
Oh, one final thing, which I can't remember if I mentioned last month but will just repeat again: you know your name. You will turn your head much of the time when someone says "Rosie!" or "Rosa!" You don't do it all the time, but much of the time, you do. Also, you have shown us that you can play a give and take game. Recently, you were playing with Grammy and she leaned in and rubbed your nose with her own. She did this several more times, and then you started to get it. She would lean her face close to yours and you would reach out your nose to hers, basically asking for her to nuzzle you. It was a magical moment and heartbreakingly cute.
Rosie, we love you so much that you probably won't understand it until you have kids of your own! You are the best, the cherry on top, the icing on the cake. We wish we could save you up at just this age and enjoy you this way forever. At the same time, we can't wait to see what the next month will bring. We love you!
love,
Mama and Mommy
Update
Well, I seem to have really done a number on myself. Despite three days of taking it mostly easy (as easy as one can when one is the mother of three children ages five and under), I still feel pretty banged up. I was feeling quite hopeful yesterday, when I took only ibuprofen and could move around without too much pain even at the end of the day. However, I woke up this morning feeling like my rear end had been in some kind of a fight and got the message that this may be a two steps forward, one step back sort of recovery. Slow and steady wins the race, I guess. Hopefully, things are healing and I'll be back to myself sometime soon. In the meantime, on with the icing and heating and hobbling around! I'm getting quite good at finding innovative ways to pick things up when bending over isn't much of an option.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
House photos, part 1
Sacha took the kids outside at some point today and I decided to photograph them through the glass doors. I came out with a couple of photos of the back yard that qualify as "before" pictures. We'd like to do some landscaping and replace the fence as finances permit, but for right now it's a fine space for the kids to run around and such. Our lot backs up to the very large, parklike back yard of the house behind us, so we look out through our yard at beautiful big trees and grass.
Owie
The kids and I were having a good day yesterday until I took a big fall. We had gone to my grandma's hosue for a visit and it became clear that the older two needed to blow off some steam, so we went to our favorite park, which is now just minutes from our new house. It has a little lake with ducks, in addition to a great play structure and swings and such.
The ducks are really the main attraction, so we spent much of our time there by the water. As it turned out, the water in the lake was down lower than usual, so there was a little beachy area between the grass and the water. Mateo climbed over a log to get down to the water and Tali asked me for some help to get down there, too. So, I took her hand, and, carrying Rosa in the Ergo, stepped on the log to help her down. That turned out to be a big mistake!
Just like slipping on a banana peel, the log turned out to be VERY slippery and my feet went right out from under me. I involuntarily flung my arms out, which, in turn, flipped Tali onto the ground and she hit her head on a rock just as Roas and I came slamming down on the log. It was quite the scene, with Tali screaming and reaching for me as I grabbed my butt and tried not to cry. At least the baby was completely unscathed. Good times!
Eventually, Tali calmed down and convinced me that she was okay. I was pretty worried about her, because I had heard a crack when we both hit the ground and I thought it might have been her head. Or my butt! Either way, she turned out to be just fine and some ibuprofen at home helped her feel a lot better. Back at the park, I convinced Mateo that we really needed to go. I thought that I had broken my tailbone because of all the pain I was having, but was surprised to find that I could sit comfortably once we got to the car. Still, I was in a lot of pain and couldn't bend over or really move at all without aggravating it.
Ultimately, I took the kids to urgent care on the other side of town and Sacha met us there. The doctor looked me over and pronounced nothing to be broken, which was a relief! However, I definitely did something muscularly to my sacrum, which I now know is just above the tailbone. I must have come down on that and just narrowly avoided my tailbone, which is why I can sit, but why doing anything else hurts. Needless to say, it's not very fun to move around and picking up the kids or getting them things is difficult.
Thankfully, Sacha took today off of work so that I can recuperate a little. I'm hoping that today will make a big difference and that I'll be more functional tomorrow!
Meanwhile, Mateo is giving poor Sacha a run for her money. I don't know if the accident scared him and he's acting out or if he's just being difficult, or maybe it's all the change we've had lately, but he's had several major meltdowns since I fell.
Anyway, I'm hoping to be on the mend soon and am SO grateful to Sacha for taking today off. Even though my butt hurts, it feels rather luxurious to get a day to rest when I'm not actually sick!
The ducks are really the main attraction, so we spent much of our time there by the water. As it turned out, the water in the lake was down lower than usual, so there was a little beachy area between the grass and the water. Mateo climbed over a log to get down to the water and Tali asked me for some help to get down there, too. So, I took her hand, and, carrying Rosa in the Ergo, stepped on the log to help her down. That turned out to be a big mistake!
Just like slipping on a banana peel, the log turned out to be VERY slippery and my feet went right out from under me. I involuntarily flung my arms out, which, in turn, flipped Tali onto the ground and she hit her head on a rock just as Roas and I came slamming down on the log. It was quite the scene, with Tali screaming and reaching for me as I grabbed my butt and tried not to cry. At least the baby was completely unscathed. Good times!
Eventually, Tali calmed down and convinced me that she was okay. I was pretty worried about her, because I had heard a crack when we both hit the ground and I thought it might have been her head. Or my butt! Either way, she turned out to be just fine and some ibuprofen at home helped her feel a lot better. Back at the park, I convinced Mateo that we really needed to go. I thought that I had broken my tailbone because of all the pain I was having, but was surprised to find that I could sit comfortably once we got to the car. Still, I was in a lot of pain and couldn't bend over or really move at all without aggravating it.
Ultimately, I took the kids to urgent care on the other side of town and Sacha met us there. The doctor looked me over and pronounced nothing to be broken, which was a relief! However, I definitely did something muscularly to my sacrum, which I now know is just above the tailbone. I must have come down on that and just narrowly avoided my tailbone, which is why I can sit, but why doing anything else hurts. Needless to say, it's not very fun to move around and picking up the kids or getting them things is difficult.
Thankfully, Sacha took today off of work so that I can recuperate a little. I'm hoping that today will make a big difference and that I'll be more functional tomorrow!
Meanwhile, Mateo is giving poor Sacha a run for her money. I don't know if the accident scared him and he's acting out or if he's just being difficult, or maybe it's all the change we've had lately, but he's had several major meltdowns since I fell.
Anyway, I'm hoping to be on the mend soon and am SO grateful to Sacha for taking today off. Even though my butt hurts, it feels rather luxurious to get a day to rest when I'm not actually sick!
Monday, November 28, 2011
Videos
In the process of unpacking, I found our stash of videos of the kids from birth to now. We really need to copy them all to DVDs so that we have more than one copy, because right now we have only the originals. Must make a mental note to do that!
Anyway, the kids and I, and later Sacha, spent some time watching the videos we took immediately after their births. It was really neat to see those moments again, as well as to experience them with the kids for the first time. Well, Mateo may have seen them before, but now he actually has a shot at remembering them!
I think the moments right after our babies were born were some of the most powerful and transformative of my life. There is something about that experience that is absolutely unique and full of elation. I feel so lucky to have experienced it three times! Of course, Tali threw in a jolt of pure terror when she was first born, but thankfully she was soon fine and that just made us even happier to meet her! To have have each one of those meetings on video is something that Sacha and I will always treasure.
In fact, speaking of birth, my parents recently transferred all of their home movies onto DVDs and are going to send them to us. I hear that there is some footage of each of me and my siblings as infants. I can't wait to see it! I imagine that the kids will get a kick out of seeing me as a baby, too. Fun stuff!
Coming soon: a real eight-month letter for Rosie, once we have an Internet connection, and photos of our new place. We have been unpacking like maniacs! Now, to bed...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Anyway, the kids and I, and later Sacha, spent some time watching the videos we took immediately after their births. It was really neat to see those moments again, as well as to experience them with the kids for the first time. Well, Mateo may have seen them before, but now he actually has a shot at remembering them!
I think the moments right after our babies were born were some of the most powerful and transformative of my life. There is something about that experience that is absolutely unique and full of elation. I feel so lucky to have experienced it three times! Of course, Tali threw in a jolt of pure terror when she was first born, but thankfully she was soon fine and that just made us even happier to meet her! To have have each one of those meetings on video is something that Sacha and I will always treasure.
In fact, speaking of birth, my parents recently transferred all of their home movies onto DVDs and are going to send them to us. I hear that there is some footage of each of me and my siblings as infants. I can't wait to see it! I imagine that the kids will get a kick out of seeing me as a baby, too. Fun stuff!
Coming soon: a real eight-month letter for Rosie, once we have an Internet connection, and photos of our new place. We have been unpacking like maniacs! Now, to bed...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Home sweet home
I bet you can guess where we are sleeping tonight! We spent all day moving into our new house with the help of movers and family. We are filled with gratitude for all the help we received. It made the process quick and as easy as possible.
The kids are asleep and we are soon to be asleep. More to follow after we have a real Internet connection.
Night night!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The kids are asleep and we are soon to be asleep. More to follow after we have a real Internet connection.
Night night!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:New house!
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Thankful
I am thankful on this Thanksgiving, and every day, for these guys and for my beautiful wife. And, for the boisterous Thanksgiving dinner we just attended with many family members and friends in attendance. Happy Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Comparison
Two kids, same fascination with the same wallet. First, Mateo at about 7 months old, and then Rosa just a few days ago. Cute!
Monday, November 21, 2011
Change is coming
We're moving to our new house this Saturday. Yes, right after Thanksgiving! We're going to have family in town who can help out and also spend time with the kids, so we decided that this was a good weekend to do it. We did decide to hire movers to do the loading and unloading and are very much looking forward to not having to maneuver all our furniture out of our tiny 1906-era doors.
All the logistical stuff aside, it feels very surreal to be leaving our current home. Aside from the two months we spent in an apartment when we first moved here in 2004, we have lived in this house for the entire time we've been in Portland. We looked at many, many houses before we decided on this one, and we knew it was our house within minutes, or even seconds, of walking in. We just knew that this was the one, and boy were we right. Not only has the house seen us grow in many ways, but the neighborhood around us has grown and changed, too. When we moved in, for better or worse, the neighborhood had just begun to gentrify and it was still pretty rough around the edges. If anything gave us pause when we first made the offer on this house, it was the crime statistics for the neighborhood.
Today, again, for better or worse, the neighborhood is like a different place. There are upscale shopping and restaurant-ing streets within a five to ten minute walk in opposite directions from our house. Most of the overt gang activity and crime has moved on (although not all of it), and many of the houses around us have been remodeled or at least repainted! I feel perfectly comfortable walking at night now, which is a nice thing to be able to say.
All this is to say that we have so loved living here. We have had some of the most eventful years of our lives here, having moved in as a newly married couple and moving out as a family of five! This house has been good to us, even with its 100-year-old maintenance issues. We have been cozy and comfortable here for a long time. Of course, there have been rough patches and things we didn't like about both the house and the neighborhood, but those have paled in comparison with the things we did like. I know we will love our new house and neighborhood, too, but I think we will always look back on this house with a healthy dose of nostalgia. A lot of good things have happened here.
When we first moved in and were checking things out, I went down to the then-unfinished basement and, for some reason, happened to look up at one of the beams. There, in permanent marker, the house's previous owners had written "Thank you, house. Love, J and J" I thought it was sweet at the time and I still do, now. This is my version of that. Thank you, house, for everything. We're going to miss you!
Here are some photos I took yesterday of the house as it looks right now, in transition between being lived in and being moved out of. I also got some great shots of the kids doing a very typical thing for them - huddling around the heating vent, completely naked. They love to be naked and they also love the heating vent. I think they are going to love having a real fireplace in the new house! Anyway, these photos may not be the most interesting, but I'm putting them here for posterity.
All the logistical stuff aside, it feels very surreal to be leaving our current home. Aside from the two months we spent in an apartment when we first moved here in 2004, we have lived in this house for the entire time we've been in Portland. We looked at many, many houses before we decided on this one, and we knew it was our house within minutes, or even seconds, of walking in. We just knew that this was the one, and boy were we right. Not only has the house seen us grow in many ways, but the neighborhood around us has grown and changed, too. When we moved in, for better or worse, the neighborhood had just begun to gentrify and it was still pretty rough around the edges. If anything gave us pause when we first made the offer on this house, it was the crime statistics for the neighborhood.
Today, again, for better or worse, the neighborhood is like a different place. There are upscale shopping and restaurant-ing streets within a five to ten minute walk in opposite directions from our house. Most of the overt gang activity and crime has moved on (although not all of it), and many of the houses around us have been remodeled or at least repainted! I feel perfectly comfortable walking at night now, which is a nice thing to be able to say.
All this is to say that we have so loved living here. We have had some of the most eventful years of our lives here, having moved in as a newly married couple and moving out as a family of five! This house has been good to us, even with its 100-year-old maintenance issues. We have been cozy and comfortable here for a long time. Of course, there have been rough patches and things we didn't like about both the house and the neighborhood, but those have paled in comparison with the things we did like. I know we will love our new house and neighborhood, too, but I think we will always look back on this house with a healthy dose of nostalgia. A lot of good things have happened here.
When we first moved in and were checking things out, I went down to the then-unfinished basement and, for some reason, happened to look up at one of the beams. There, in permanent marker, the house's previous owners had written "Thank you, house. Love, J and J" I thought it was sweet at the time and I still do, now. This is my version of that. Thank you, house, for everything. We're going to miss you!
Here are some photos I took yesterday of the house as it looks right now, in transition between being lived in and being moved out of. I also got some great shots of the kids doing a very typical thing for them - huddling around the heating vent, completely naked. They love to be naked and they also love the heating vent. I think they are going to love having a real fireplace in the new house! Anyway, these photos may not be the most interesting, but I'm putting them here for posterity.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
The Miracle of the Mason Jar
I don't know what made me think of this, but it came to mind recently and I thought I would share it.
We get some questions from people about how we went about creating our family, but Apa gets many more. When he tells people about our arrangement, they are inevitably fascinated and want to hear all about it. One question that he gets all the time and that we never get (although I'm sure people wonder) is whether he had, um, relations with us in order to conceive the kids. The answer to that one is a resounding no!
In fact, when we were trying for Mateo, we made several attempts that involved FedEx, a fancy kit that kept sperm alive for 36 hours, a centrifuge, and Sacha learning how to do an IUI at home. We had quite the little laboratory going for a few months there! We did all this because Apa lived across the country and we were saving the possibility of flying him out here for if things didn't work out the FedEx way. However, after about six months, nothing had happened, and so we made arrangements for him to visit the next time I would be ovulating.
This is where the Miracle of the Mason Jar story starts. Apa arrived in Portland and found us ready and waiting with every sterile thing we might possibly need. We had a sealed sterile cup, a sterile syringe, and that's all I can remember, but I'm sure there were other things. We were taking things very seriously and wanted everything to be perfect. As it turned out, we only had to fly Apa to us one time, because I got pregnant on that cycle and Mateo was born the next fall.
In the fullness of time, as my dad would say, and not very much time at that, we decided that we should start trying for child #2. This was when Mateo was about ten months old. We knew Sacha had irregular cycles and we thought it might take awhile for her to get pregnant, so we wanted to give ourselves plenty of time. As it happened, Sacha got pregnant right away and we ended up with kids 19 months apart! But, the funny part of it was how we handled the inseminations the second time around. We had decided to start off by having him visit us in person and then thought we would figure things out from there, depending on how long the process took.
As Apa likes to tell the story, he got off the plane, met me at the car, and I drove him to our house. Sacha was ovulating right then, so we needed to get things going that night. We didn't have any of the sterile equipment from the first time, and we were both sleep-deprived and much more experienced by that point anyway, so I had run the dishwasher through its sterilizing cycle and had left it open to dry while I went to the airport.
When we got home, I just handed Apa a mason jar out of the dishwasher and left him to do what he needed to do. He thought the whole thing was hilarious (sterile routine for the first time, mason jar out of the dishwasher for the second) and we have been laughing about it ever since. And, luckily for us, Tali was born just over nine months later. He told this whole story to my aunt one Christmas Eve and offhandedly dubbed the whole process "The Miracle of the Mason Jar," which we have been calling it ever since.
I think the funniest part of the whole thing is how we conceived Rosa, which took the Miracle of the Mason Jar to a whole new level. She was conceived on Orcas Island in the San Juans, where we were at camp and where Apa visited for the weekend to help conceive a baby, going totally above and beyond the call of duty! We brought the requisite mason jar, but had no dishwasher, no sterilizing, just hand soap from Apa's hotel and good, old-fashioned water to clean it with. By this time, we all knew quite well that this would be more than fine, and, in fact, our Rosie arrived just about nine months later, keeping The Miracle of the Mason Jar alive and well!
Now that we have our three kids, we'll have to retire the mason jar routine, but it served us extremely well and will remain a part of our family lore for many years to come.
We get some questions from people about how we went about creating our family, but Apa gets many more. When he tells people about our arrangement, they are inevitably fascinated and want to hear all about it. One question that he gets all the time and that we never get (although I'm sure people wonder) is whether he had, um, relations with us in order to conceive the kids. The answer to that one is a resounding no!
In fact, when we were trying for Mateo, we made several attempts that involved FedEx, a fancy kit that kept sperm alive for 36 hours, a centrifuge, and Sacha learning how to do an IUI at home. We had quite the little laboratory going for a few months there! We did all this because Apa lived across the country and we were saving the possibility of flying him out here for if things didn't work out the FedEx way. However, after about six months, nothing had happened, and so we made arrangements for him to visit the next time I would be ovulating.
This is where the Miracle of the Mason Jar story starts. Apa arrived in Portland and found us ready and waiting with every sterile thing we might possibly need. We had a sealed sterile cup, a sterile syringe, and that's all I can remember, but I'm sure there were other things. We were taking things very seriously and wanted everything to be perfect. As it turned out, we only had to fly Apa to us one time, because I got pregnant on that cycle and Mateo was born the next fall.
In the fullness of time, as my dad would say, and not very much time at that, we decided that we should start trying for child #2. This was when Mateo was about ten months old. We knew Sacha had irregular cycles and we thought it might take awhile for her to get pregnant, so we wanted to give ourselves plenty of time. As it happened, Sacha got pregnant right away and we ended up with kids 19 months apart! But, the funny part of it was how we handled the inseminations the second time around. We had decided to start off by having him visit us in person and then thought we would figure things out from there, depending on how long the process took.
As Apa likes to tell the story, he got off the plane, met me at the car, and I drove him to our house. Sacha was ovulating right then, so we needed to get things going that night. We didn't have any of the sterile equipment from the first time, and we were both sleep-deprived and much more experienced by that point anyway, so I had run the dishwasher through its sterilizing cycle and had left it open to dry while I went to the airport.
When we got home, I just handed Apa a mason jar out of the dishwasher and left him to do what he needed to do. He thought the whole thing was hilarious (sterile routine for the first time, mason jar out of the dishwasher for the second) and we have been laughing about it ever since. And, luckily for us, Tali was born just over nine months later. He told this whole story to my aunt one Christmas Eve and offhandedly dubbed the whole process "The Miracle of the Mason Jar," which we have been calling it ever since.
I think the funniest part of the whole thing is how we conceived Rosa, which took the Miracle of the Mason Jar to a whole new level. She was conceived on Orcas Island in the San Juans, where we were at camp and where Apa visited for the weekend to help conceive a baby, going totally above and beyond the call of duty! We brought the requisite mason jar, but had no dishwasher, no sterilizing, just hand soap from Apa's hotel and good, old-fashioned water to clean it with. By this time, we all knew quite well that this would be more than fine, and, in fact, our Rosie arrived just about nine months later, keeping The Miracle of the Mason Jar alive and well!
Now that we have our three kids, we'll have to retire the mason jar routine, but it served us extremely well and will remain a part of our family lore for many years to come.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Tree
This tree is right outside our new house. It is a huge Japanese maple and it is just glorious right now.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Thoughts for the day
Wow, it has been a long week! I think I'm still adjusting to Tali dropping her nap, which has caused a whole reorganization of our days. For the longest time, before we had Rosa, we had a routine where we would do something in the morning, come home and have lunch and put Tali to bed, and then Mateo would read on the couch while I did my workout. It was a great time for both kids to reset for the afternoon and for me to get some good energy for the rest of the day, too. After Rosa was born, and after Sacha went back to work, this schedule still worked, because Rosa would take these long afternoon naps and I would have plenty of time to work out while both girls were napping.
Fast forward to the present day: Rosa now naps only in 15-20 minute increments and Tali doesn't nap at all. My daily workout is really important to my mental health, so I have tried to work it into our days, but it doesn't work at all with all the kids awake. I mean, it really doesn't work at all. The older kids get themselves repeatedly into trouble (they are in this phase of just egging each other on to see what they can get away with) while the baby army crawls to anything she can put in her mouth and pops it in. It didn't take much of that to realize that things were going to have to change.
So, I bit the bullet and set the alarm for 5:30 am. I tried getting up at 5:00, but I could never make myself actually get up! 5:30 seems much more reasonable, being only half an hour before I usually get up. Getting up then gives me time to work out and just enough time afterwards to get Sacha's breakfast and lunch going and get her out the door. It even works great for Mateo, who gets up every day at 5:30 anyway. Instead of spending half an hour thrashing around in our bed, he gets to just get up and hang out with me. Not only does he normally read or entertain himself, but he's also figured out how to use the remote to pause the video if he needs something from me. So, we all win. I've been using the early wake-up as an excuse to go to bed extra early, which is practically just as good as sleeping later in the morning!
Fast forward to the present day: Rosa now naps only in 15-20 minute increments and Tali doesn't nap at all. My daily workout is really important to my mental health, so I have tried to work it into our days, but it doesn't work at all with all the kids awake. I mean, it really doesn't work at all. The older kids get themselves repeatedly into trouble (they are in this phase of just egging each other on to see what they can get away with) while the baby army crawls to anything she can put in her mouth and pops it in. It didn't take much of that to realize that things were going to have to change.
So, I bit the bullet and set the alarm for 5:30 am. I tried getting up at 5:00, but I could never make myself actually get up! 5:30 seems much more reasonable, being only half an hour before I usually get up. Getting up then gives me time to work out and just enough time afterwards to get Sacha's breakfast and lunch going and get her out the door. It even works great for Mateo, who gets up every day at 5:30 anyway. Instead of spending half an hour thrashing around in our bed, he gets to just get up and hang out with me. Not only does he normally read or entertain himself, but he's also figured out how to use the remote to pause the video if he needs something from me. So, we all win. I've been using the early wake-up as an excuse to go to bed extra early, which is practically just as good as sleeping later in the morning!
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Photo catch-up
I've been going through some of our recent photos and realizing that some of them never made it to the blog. Here's one of Mateo and Apa just before their traditional dinner on Mateo's birthday. We love that Apa lives so close to us and that he is such a part of the kids' lives, and this is just one example of that. The kids all get a special meal on their birthdays and it makes them feel extra super-duper special. Thanks, Apa!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Do Jump!
The kids have been taking an acrobatics class for the last ten weeks, through a local theater company called Do Jump! They started out doing simple rolls and basic stuff and worked up to using the trapezes (close to the ground!) and even being able to pull themselves up to a sitting position on the trapeze. They had an end-of-term show this afternoon that was just about the cutesy thing ever. I forgot to bring the camera, but both kids did a great job.
It has been very interesting to take them to the class and to hear about how they're doing from their teachers. It's a class for kids ages 3-5, so both Mateo and Tali got to be in the same class. Mateo, as one of the oldest kids in the class, was very confident and excited about trying all the different moves. Tali, as not only the youngest but the tiniest kid in the class, was much more timid and reluctant to participate. She's quite the little observer at the moment, choosing both at Do Jump and at preschool to be quiet and mostly watch what other kids are doing. I think she takes a lot of comfort from being with Te Te in both situations.
Anyway, they both participated in the show today at their own levels and we were so proud of them. We both had big silly grins on the whole time. I look forward to many more such chances to marvel at our children as time goes by.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
It has been very interesting to take them to the class and to hear about how they're doing from their teachers. It's a class for kids ages 3-5, so both Mateo and Tali got to be in the same class. Mateo, as one of the oldest kids in the class, was very confident and excited about trying all the different moves. Tali, as not only the youngest but the tiniest kid in the class, was much more timid and reluctant to participate. She's quite the little observer at the moment, choosing both at Do Jump and at preschool to be quiet and mostly watch what other kids are doing. I think she takes a lot of comfort from being with Te Te in both situations.
Anyway, they both participated in the show today at their own levels and we were so proud of them. We both had big silly grins on the whole time. I look forward to many more such chances to marvel at our children as time goes by.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Adventures in pumping
Most days at work I pump for Rosa.
What this looks like is I take my students out to recess at 11:25. By the time we walk down the two flights of stairs, and I safely get them outside, and walk back upstairs, it is around 11:30. That is, assuming, no child has issues with going down the two flights of stairs. (I have to say that with over 5 students on behavior contracts, there are frequently issues getting out to recess in a timely manner. . .)
I then have almost 30 minutes to wash my hands, go to the bathroom, pump, eat food and be down in the cafeteria, supervising the students. Somehow, this doesn't really feel like enough time, but I am entitled to 30 minutes for both lunch, and pumping, happening simultaneously.
I then go and lock the door to my classroom. I was supposed to be pumping in a office next to another teacher's room . . . but the door didn't lock, there was no chair and no electrical outlet. So . . . on the first day of school, I realized that was not going to work.
Now I pump on the floor in the back of my classroom. I put a piece of paper over the door (because it is glass) and lock the door. I sit on the floor behind a kidney table with my food and pump while I eat. I don't really mind the pumping while I eat, though it can be a bit challenging to really relax.
My constant fear is that I am going to forget to lock the door and a kid is going to walk in. Or, that someone, like the janitor, who has the keys to all of the rooms, is just going to walk in while I am pumping. It doesn't seem smart, though, to put a sign on the door that goes into the regular hallway. So, I lock the door and hope for the best.
Up until today, my fears were just that. Fears. I always double check the lock on the door. While students try to open the door on an almost daily basis (don't ask me why it is fun, but apparently the older students enjoy testing the door while walking to the bathroom). The door has been locked and all has been good.
Today, though, I was pumping after school. Apparently a student had forgotten something in the classroom and at the same time the office forgot that I pump in my classroom before the staff meeting after school. So, the office gave him the key and up he came to the room, and unlocked the door.
Thankfully, I was sitting ( as I mentioned earlier) on the ground behind a kidney desk, and yelled for him to stop. Thank god he closed the door quickly. My first thought was - I didn't lock the door. But I remembered double checking it, like I always do. I quickly changed from my pumping bra to my regular clothes and got the door to help the student get his homework.
Never a dull moment!
What this looks like is I take my students out to recess at 11:25. By the time we walk down the two flights of stairs, and I safely get them outside, and walk back upstairs, it is around 11:30. That is, assuming, no child has issues with going down the two flights of stairs. (I have to say that with over 5 students on behavior contracts, there are frequently issues getting out to recess in a timely manner. . .)
I then have almost 30 minutes to wash my hands, go to the bathroom, pump, eat food and be down in the cafeteria, supervising the students. Somehow, this doesn't really feel like enough time, but I am entitled to 30 minutes for both lunch, and pumping, happening simultaneously.
I then go and lock the door to my classroom. I was supposed to be pumping in a office next to another teacher's room . . . but the door didn't lock, there was no chair and no electrical outlet. So . . . on the first day of school, I realized that was not going to work.
Now I pump on the floor in the back of my classroom. I put a piece of paper over the door (because it is glass) and lock the door. I sit on the floor behind a kidney table with my food and pump while I eat. I don't really mind the pumping while I eat, though it can be a bit challenging to really relax.
My constant fear is that I am going to forget to lock the door and a kid is going to walk in. Or, that someone, like the janitor, who has the keys to all of the rooms, is just going to walk in while I am pumping. It doesn't seem smart, though, to put a sign on the door that goes into the regular hallway. So, I lock the door and hope for the best.
Up until today, my fears were just that. Fears. I always double check the lock on the door. While students try to open the door on an almost daily basis (don't ask me why it is fun, but apparently the older students enjoy testing the door while walking to the bathroom). The door has been locked and all has been good.
Today, though, I was pumping after school. Apparently a student had forgotten something in the classroom and at the same time the office forgot that I pump in my classroom before the staff meeting after school. So, the office gave him the key and up he came to the room, and unlocked the door.
Thankfully, I was sitting ( as I mentioned earlier) on the ground behind a kidney desk, and yelled for him to stop. Thank god he closed the door quickly. My first thought was - I didn't lock the door. But I remembered double checking it, like I always do. I quickly changed from my pumping bra to my regular clothes and got the door to help the student get his homework.
Never a dull moment!
Monday, November 14, 2011
Love
Here are some photos of Sacha and the kids from recently. I love them!
Also, this one of Tali is one of my favorites of her these days.
Also, this one of Tali is one of my favorites of her these days.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Home
Mateo and I are home now, just recently off the plane. We had a lovely end to our California weekend, complete with a visit to the steam trains in Tilden Park right before we went to the airport. I was surprised to find traveling with one kid to be only marginally less exhausting than traveling with several! He had been pretty calm on the trip down there, but on the way back he was full of wiggles and couldn't seem to understand the concept of giving other people personal space. He did pretty well while we were actually on the plane, which was very welcome and for which I give all credit to the iPad, but was rather trying during most of the rest of the trip.
Anyway, we're home now and happy to be here, although sad to have left my parents. While we were gone, Sacha's parents were in town for a dancing event, so we had a weekend full of parents/grandparents!
I'll leave you with two things I learned while traveling this weekend. The first is that Tali has evolved into someone that you can have a phone conversation with. It may not be a long conversation, but the possibility is there. It's very cool! The second is that Mateo, for some reason, takes on a Southern drawl when conversing with strangers in airports. "Ah'm faaave," he would say to one of the many people we encountered, "ahhhnd ma birthday is aaahhn Halloween and ah dressed up as an aaahnt." Hilarious. Perplexing, but hilarious!
I think it's an 8 pm bedtime sort of a night. Good night!
Anyway, we're home now and happy to be here, although sad to have left my parents. While we were gone, Sacha's parents were in town for a dancing event, so we had a weekend full of parents/grandparents!
I'll leave you with two things I learned while traveling this weekend. The first is that Tali has evolved into someone that you can have a phone conversation with. It may not be a long conversation, but the possibility is there. It's very cool! The second is that Mateo, for some reason, takes on a Southern drawl when conversing with strangers in airports. "Ah'm faaave," he would say to one of the many people we encountered, "ahhhnd ma birthday is aaahhn Halloween and ah dressed up as an aaahnt." Hilarious. Perplexing, but hilarious!
I think it's an 8 pm bedtime sort of a night. Good night!
Saturday, November 12, 2011
California
On a lighter note, Mateo and I are down in California this weekend, visiting my parents. I have never taken a trip with just Mateo and e are having a great time so far. We flew down last night and spent pretty much the entire flight playing a geography game on the iPad. Mateo also announced to anyone who would listen that his birthday had been on Halloween, of which he was quite proud.
Mateo woke up bright and early this morning, despite the very late bedtime, and we have been having a nice morning. I even got to go running on the bike trail behind my parents' house.
Back at home, our house is already back on the market and we have a showing later today. We are thinking of moving either on the Saturday after Thanksgiving or in early December, depending on the availability of movers. Either way, it will be nice to be moved in to our new house and let the old house be on the market for as long as it needs to be.
My dad and I are going to the Cal/Oregon State game later, and then I am meeting up with friends after that. Big thanks to my mom for watching Mateo so I can do all that! Happy Saturday, all!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Mateo woke up bright and early this morning, despite the very late bedtime, and we have been having a nice morning. I even got to go running on the bike trail behind my parents' house.
Back at home, our house is already back on the market and we have a showing later today. We are thinking of moving either on the Saturday after Thanksgiving or in early December, depending on the availability of movers. Either way, it will be nice to be moved in to our new house and let the old house be on the market for as long as it needs to be.
My dad and I are going to the Cal/Oregon State game later, and then I am meeting up with friends after that. Big thanks to my mom for watching Mateo so I can do all that! Happy Saturday, all!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Friday, November 11, 2011
Three strikes
And...offer number three is down the drain. They backed out last night. Apparently, they were so freaked out by the potential foundation issue that they didn't even want to inspect it. So, we're back to square one. And, to make things even better, we got our radon test results back today and our average was 7. You're supposed to do mitigation for anything over 4, so it looks like we're going to have to do something about that.
I'm sure we'll look back on all this, after the house has sold, and laugh, but right now, it's not very funny. Seems like we just can't catch a break!
I'm sure we'll look back on all this, after the house has sold, and laugh, but right now, it's not very funny. Seems like we just can't catch a break!
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Unbelievable
We just got word that our potential buyers are thinking of pulling out over the foundation issue. Apparently, part of our foundation is made of hollow bricks and part of concrete, and this has them spooked. They have the option of having the foundation itself inspected by a structural engineer, so we are hoping they will do that. However, it sounds like this whole thing has unsettled them (pun intended!) to the point that they are questioning whether or not to continue.
We are so frustrated! How is it that we can have had three offers and yet no real progress? I guess it's good that there has been so much interest, but this is getting old really fast.
In any case, we are making plans to move to the new house in December. Regardless of whether the house sells or not, it's time for us to get settled into our new place. Also, living in the old house with three small children and also keeping it in shape for showings is next to impossible. I think it will be a big relief for all of us to be in the new house.
In the meantime, I guess we'll just take it one step at a time. We're hoping that the buyers will at least consent to a foundation inspection, which we think will clear up their worries. After all, the foundation has worked for over 100 years just the way it is.
We are so frustrated! How is it that we can have had three offers and yet no real progress? I guess it's good that there has been so much interest, but this is getting old really fast.
In any case, we are making plans to move to the new house in December. Regardless of whether the house sells or not, it's time for us to get settled into our new place. Also, living in the old house with three small children and also keeping it in shape for showings is next to impossible. I think it will be a big relief for all of us to be in the new house.
In the meantime, I guess we'll just take it one step at a time. We're hoping that the buyers will at least consent to a foundation inspection, which we think will clear up their worries. After all, the foundation has worked for over 100 years just the way it is.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Update and photos
Our house had its inspection today and did reasonably well, although some issues did crop up. It was built in 1906, so that was to be expected. There were three main issues that the inspector found, two of which are relatively minor and one is just unknown as yet: the foundation. It's unclear exactly what the issue with the foundation is, but he recommended that the buyers get a special inspection just on the foundation itself. Hopefully that will turn up nothing, because having something wrong with the foundation would be bad. Ugh. Here's hoping that inspection #2 turns up nothing! The buyers are supposed to be getting back to us in a couple of days, so we'll move on to waiting for that.
On a totally unrelated note, I just got some fabulous photos over email that I'm going to post here. They are from our friends' wedding in August. Their photographer did a great job of photographing the wedding guests as well as the brides, so we ended up with some really great family photos. I love them all, but the ones of Rosa just crack me up. She got so tired that she just fell asleep on the table while Sacha was chatting with people. Then, we decided to take a photo with all of us around her. Too funny! Anyway, did I mention how much I love these photos? Here they are!
On a totally unrelated note, I just got some fabulous photos over email that I'm going to post here. They are from our friends' wedding in August. Their photographer did a great job of photographing the wedding guests as well as the brides, so we ended up with some really great family photos. I love them all, but the ones of Rosa just crack me up. She got so tired that she just fell asleep on the table while Sacha was chatting with people. Then, we decided to take a photo with all of us around her. Too funny! Anyway, did I mention how much I love these photos? Here they are!
Monday, November 7, 2011
More thoughts on being the non-bio mom
I've written about this before, but I thought it might be time for an update on things in our parenting world. Specifically, I've lately been mulling over my role as the non-bio mom to the majority of our children. I never expected to be in this position, as both Sacha and I always assumed that I would be the one to carry our third child, if we had one. However, when it became clear that the only way Sacha would feel okay about having number three was if she was the one to be pregnant, I was more than happy to step out of the way! I've always felt very clear that having the kid is far, far more important than carrying the kid. (As an aside, we did give adoption fairly serious consideration for #3, but ultimately decided against it for a number of reasons, including cost and the kids' amazing existing relationship with Apa.)
So, I find myself as primarily the non-bio mom in our family, despite having started out as the bio-mom. When I was thinking about writing about this, I thought, well, that would be a short post. All I have to say is that it's going fine! And, it is. I really appreciate that Sacha and I are on the same page about most things about parenting, and we have both gone out of our way to make equally parenting all the kids a priority.
I would even say that we have consciously de-emphasized biological connections with the kids, opting instead to point out ways that each child is like either parent just based on personality and such. For example, I was thinking today about how much Mateo and Sacha are alike. We were sitting at dinner and they were both chugging ice water and commenting on how refreshing it was, while I sat huddled in my layers and wished I could turn up the heat just a few more degrees!
Back to my role: at this point, it's not such a big deal. As the one who spends most of her time with all the kids, I don't worry much about them bonding with or attaching to me. We're all basically joined at the hip. What I worry about, and only a little most of the time, is about what happens when they're teenagers and looking for a way to rebel. I'm not looking forward to the inevitable "but you're not my real mom" comments. However, I suppose that all parents get some hateful comments during the teenage years, regardless of biology!
The other thing I have been struck by is how our kids interpret their parents and how it comes out in their play. They are always playing a game of Mama and Mommy, and Mateo is always Mama and Tali is always Mommy. I can't say exactly why this happens, except that (#1) they obviously know whose belly they grew in and (#2) maybe all that breastfeeding caused them to identify more with the one who breastfed them.
(As an aside, it's also interesting to see how the larger world has already influenced them in terms of how they think about families. We were at the park today and we met a little girl and her mom. As soon as they walked away from us, Mateo immediately wondered aloud about where the little girl's daddy was. There was no consideration of whether or not she had a daddy. It was just a given.)
Anyway, those are my thoughts, such as they are, at this point. I suppose all I really needed to say was "it's going fine, although I do worry a bit about the far-distant future!" As we all know by now, however, I am far too longwinded to ever just leave it at that :)
So, I find myself as primarily the non-bio mom in our family, despite having started out as the bio-mom. When I was thinking about writing about this, I thought, well, that would be a short post. All I have to say is that it's going fine! And, it is. I really appreciate that Sacha and I are on the same page about most things about parenting, and we have both gone out of our way to make equally parenting all the kids a priority.
I would even say that we have consciously de-emphasized biological connections with the kids, opting instead to point out ways that each child is like either parent just based on personality and such. For example, I was thinking today about how much Mateo and Sacha are alike. We were sitting at dinner and they were both chugging ice water and commenting on how refreshing it was, while I sat huddled in my layers and wished I could turn up the heat just a few more degrees!
Back to my role: at this point, it's not such a big deal. As the one who spends most of her time with all the kids, I don't worry much about them bonding with or attaching to me. We're all basically joined at the hip. What I worry about, and only a little most of the time, is about what happens when they're teenagers and looking for a way to rebel. I'm not looking forward to the inevitable "but you're not my real mom" comments. However, I suppose that all parents get some hateful comments during the teenage years, regardless of biology!
The other thing I have been struck by is how our kids interpret their parents and how it comes out in their play. They are always playing a game of Mama and Mommy, and Mateo is always Mama and Tali is always Mommy. I can't say exactly why this happens, except that (#1) they obviously know whose belly they grew in and (#2) maybe all that breastfeeding caused them to identify more with the one who breastfed them.
(As an aside, it's also interesting to see how the larger world has already influenced them in terms of how they think about families. We were at the park today and we met a little girl and her mom. As soon as they walked away from us, Mateo immediately wondered aloud about where the little girl's daddy was. There was no consideration of whether or not she had a daddy. It was just a given.)
Anyway, those are my thoughts, such as they are, at this point. I suppose all I really needed to say was "it's going fine, although I do worry a bit about the far-distant future!" As we all know by now, however, I am far too longwinded to ever just leave it at that :)
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Two in one
I tried to post yesterday from our new house and was ultimately foiled by our iPad, which doesn't get along with Blogger for some reason. Here's the gist of what I said yesterday:
We had brunch with friends yesterday morning, during which Rosie learned to sit up! Leave it to her to learn how to crawl before sitting. Remember that golden window I was looking forward to, where she would just sit in one place and play with her toys and need little supervision? She skipped right over that one. Good thing she's so adorably cute when she crawls. And, now, when she sits. She's not a big one for sitting, though, and I can't blame her. Mobility is much more fun.
After checking off that milestone, we headed out to our new house and spent the night there. The highlight of our time was a walk around our new neighborhood and the discovery of an awesome nature trail about five minutes from our house. To get there, a busy street must be crossed, but once that happens, there is this great trail that we can explore together. It was fun to feel like we were in the middle of a nature preserve so close to our house. The path ultimately leads to the park with the duck pond that first attracted us to the neighborhood several years ago. Eventually, the kids will have enough stamina to walk to the park, but not just yet.
Anyway, I'm trying to blog every day in November and I tell you, I did write the above yesterday, it's just that the iPad first refused to publish it and then lost the whole thing.
So, here's my post for today:
The kids are crazy. Crazy. When we were expecting Tali, we read a book about having two kids that suggested that by ages 3 and 5, they would be playing together really well. It was right; they do play together really well. What the book didn't mention, however, was how they feed off each other and egg each other on to new heights of misbehavior and potty talk. What, I ask you, is with the potty talk? Despite our best efforts and creative solutions, the potty talk is overwhelming.
I know it's just a phase and all that, but the last two days have been relentless. We have a rule that the kids can talk about pee and poop and butts and everything else as much as they want when in the bathroom. Outside the bathroom, they are not supposed to engage in the aforementioned potty discussion. It seems like a great idea to me, but of course, it doesn't work. Nothing seems to work, in fact.
Luckily, they mostly do it when it's just us and not in front of other people, but I'm sure that will change soon. Last year, we were hanging out with friends whose son is a year older than Mateo and he was really going for potty talk, too, and I felt just the tiniest bit holier-than-thou towards the parents, like, why don't you just stop him? Now, I understand, and am appropriately sorry for thinking that would never be us!
This is all to say: I am at a coffee shop now and am ever so grateful to Sacha for giving me a break, because the kids are really full of beans today! That, combined with the fact that I can barely sit down without one of them hurling themselves onto my back or climbing on my shoulders, makes a little me time very much appreciated.
In other news, we have our home inspection at 9:30 am on Tuesday. All good thoughts, prayers, wishes, and energy would be most welcome around that time, as we realllly want our house to pass and not have major issues come up. Thanks!
We had brunch with friends yesterday morning, during which Rosie learned to sit up! Leave it to her to learn how to crawl before sitting. Remember that golden window I was looking forward to, where she would just sit in one place and play with her toys and need little supervision? She skipped right over that one. Good thing she's so adorably cute when she crawls. And, now, when she sits. She's not a big one for sitting, though, and I can't blame her. Mobility is much more fun.
After checking off that milestone, we headed out to our new house and spent the night there. The highlight of our time was a walk around our new neighborhood and the discovery of an awesome nature trail about five minutes from our house. To get there, a busy street must be crossed, but once that happens, there is this great trail that we can explore together. It was fun to feel like we were in the middle of a nature preserve so close to our house. The path ultimately leads to the park with the duck pond that first attracted us to the neighborhood several years ago. Eventually, the kids will have enough stamina to walk to the park, but not just yet.
Anyway, I'm trying to blog every day in November and I tell you, I did write the above yesterday, it's just that the iPad first refused to publish it and then lost the whole thing.
So, here's my post for today:
The kids are crazy. Crazy. When we were expecting Tali, we read a book about having two kids that suggested that by ages 3 and 5, they would be playing together really well. It was right; they do play together really well. What the book didn't mention, however, was how they feed off each other and egg each other on to new heights of misbehavior and potty talk. What, I ask you, is with the potty talk? Despite our best efforts and creative solutions, the potty talk is overwhelming.
I know it's just a phase and all that, but the last two days have been relentless. We have a rule that the kids can talk about pee and poop and butts and everything else as much as they want when in the bathroom. Outside the bathroom, they are not supposed to engage in the aforementioned potty discussion. It seems like a great idea to me, but of course, it doesn't work. Nothing seems to work, in fact.
Luckily, they mostly do it when it's just us and not in front of other people, but I'm sure that will change soon. Last year, we were hanging out with friends whose son is a year older than Mateo and he was really going for potty talk, too, and I felt just the tiniest bit holier-than-thou towards the parents, like, why don't you just stop him? Now, I understand, and am appropriately sorry for thinking that would never be us!
This is all to say: I am at a coffee shop now and am ever so grateful to Sacha for giving me a break, because the kids are really full of beans today! That, combined with the fact that I can barely sit down without one of them hurling themselves onto my back or climbing on my shoulders, makes a little me time very much appreciated.
In other news, we have our home inspection at 9:30 am on Tuesday. All good thoughts, prayers, wishes, and energy would be most welcome around that time, as we realllly want our house to pass and not have major issues come up. Thanks!
Friday, November 4, 2011
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