Lots of Pictures of The Boy

Christian and I got some serious bonding in last week while Daphne was gone.  I thought he would miss her, but...no.  Having mama all to himself made him very happy.

Those pictures are from Friday's lunch when I was saying his name using all sorts of different voices.  He thinks I'm so funny!  He thinks I should quit my day job and become a comedienne!

Those pictures are from when I tried to make him wear two shirts at one time.  It's so visually appealing to layer, plus I just LOVE mixing patterns, but he did not appreciate my attempts to style him.  Really he just doesn't appreciate wearing clothing, which is why after we got to Albany to pick up Daphne he wore this stunning outfit while driving the tractor:

It's how real farmers dress.

On Memorial Day David worked outside cutting wood and we made a trip with GiGi to the cemetery. Christian played basketball for hours. 

We came home last night to the bumble bed ready for Daphne to sleep in (she was SO HAPPY) (David set it up last week; no one sneaked into our house while we were gone, in case that was unclear).   

We spent this morning at Shriners and now someone really needs to clean my house.  I keep saying "who's going to clean the house?  Who's going to clean the house?"  but no one answers me. 

Hiking in the Rain

When you look out your window at the pouring rain and read the thermometer at 45 degrees, do you automatically think: let's pack up some friends, our kids, and go hike in the woods!!

my clothesline is very wet

Me too.

Except that, despite living in Oregon, we really don't own protective rain gear.  This is because A) it's not cute and B) I don't like to be in the rain and don't make a point of being outside when it's raining so I don't feel like I need clothes to protect myself from it.  That's what my house is for. 

David is working a day shift this week and Daphne left last night to go down south with her grandparents, so Christian and I get to make our own fun for a couple of days.  Today, obviously, was a good day for hiking.

We went to Latourall Falls in the Gorge.  The lower trail is the perfect little hike for kids because it loops past the waterfall and ends at a little grassy park that's good for running around and eating a picnic lunch. 

I wish David could have been along to see how happy Christian was out there.  He was fascinated at everything: the waterfall, the creek, the puddles, the leaves, the sticks.  I felt a little badly having to rush him along the path to keep up with the group because he wanted to stop and inspect every little nature-related item.  He is a mini-David. 

 




















He thought the waterfall was simply amazing.  He was very disappointed when we reached the parking lot because all he wanted to do was go back down to see the water.

To make the day real interesting, I decided that since I've never before experienced the pain of stinging nettles that I should go ahead and grab a handful so I could see if they really hurt like people say they do.  Looking back on it, it probably wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done, but I truly wanted to know how it would feel.   I've decided I probably won't ever purposefully touch them again.  At least not with my fingers.  If it was on another part of me I could do the baking soda home remedy to help with the burning, but since I need my fingers I don't feel like taking the time to put my hand out of commission for awhile by slathering it with baking soda paste.  If you want to experience stinging nettles I would say offer your leg or something.  Way easier.  

(When David came home I told him I touched nettles on purpose.  He said "Why did you do that?"   I think maybe they don't bother me as much as they might bother others?  I don't react to poison oak, either.  Or is it poison ivy that we have here?  I can never remember.)

I'm with Crazy

We had a 10 minute drive home from the grocery store this morning and Christian and I got to hear some real lovelies from David and Daphne. I won't even say who said which, I'll see if you can guess. 

(This first one gives a good hint of who said it, if you're paying close attention.)

"TREES!  GET OUT OF MY WAY!  Mom, the trees are not being very nice to me.  I can't see the airport.  TREES AND HILLS, GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

"There's a new salad I want to try.  It's a carnivorous salad.  It's full of bacon and sausage and steak and chicken.  It's basically the opposite of a vegan salad."

"What are we having for lunch?"  asked one.
"Beefcake pantyhose," answered the other.

Those two are such interesting people.  

Not to keep Christian out of the fun, last week when it was warm and we were eating all our meals outside, the kids were pretending to be dogs by crawling around on all fours and eating their food off the ground and panting with tongues hanging out.   I wonder if I could send the two of them to obedience school?  It seems like that might be nice. 

Let's Talk About Nothing in Particular

Daph's been so excited about getting her new bumble bed (let's just call it that, shall we?) set up, but last week I told her we had to wait until after our big Mother's Day party was over before we could start working on it. 

I'm pretty sure the first thing she asked about Monday morning was her bed.

So after putting the kids down at night I've been catching up on some quality t.v. while painting.  Does anyone else have a hard time just sitting and watching shows?  I love having something big to work on while I watch.  It makes me feel so energized. 

I'm pretty sure that picture on the television is of the Grey's team sewing together a lady who was accidentally sawed by a chainsaw.   Good stuff.

In other interesting news, ever since Mother's Day weekend my kitchen has been full of fruit flies.  Fruit flies!  In May!  It's disgusting.  They make me feel so dirty.

And speaking of fruit flies, the other week Daphne was explaining to me the particulars of composting: how you put in your old food and stir it up and wait as many sleeps as your fingers and toes and then you get compost to help your flowers grow better.  I was so proud of her for learning all that, thinking myself such a great teacher that she would understand our home composting routine.  Until I asked her where she had learned about composting and she told me she learned it from Curious George. 

And for one more random segue, these are the animals that Christian can make the sounds of:

George
wolf
lion
Chewbacca
bee
cat
dog

A truly random but impressive assortment of creatures.

Picture Twins

Last week I wanted to check the photo-ability of a wall we happened to be walking by.  I asked Daphne to go pose for me and apparently these are the poses that came most naturally to her:

I thought to myself, "where on earth does she come up with this stuff?" and I worried about her quiet and shy nature. 

Then we got home and David asked me to take pictures of him throwing his water bottle. Strange and weird. 

So proud to call these two my own. 

I've Gained 10lbs From all the Frappucinos

Let me give you a big, giant wrap up of our fun-filled week.  This could take awhile so I hope you're sitting down.

SUNDAY:  It was the first Sunday in at least two months that we didn't have something planned after church.  The weather was still hot so we got out the big pool and Christian got to have his first ever popsicle.  I made chocolate ones, made from chocolate pudding gone wrong, but the kids loved them and I was happy because they were happy and because the too-soft pudding didn't need to be thrown away.  Then we went to Starbucks Happy Hour.

MONDAY:  We went to Voodoo Donuts for the first time ever.  I don't know what to say...there are places with better donuts (although David says they have the best maple bars) and besides the wacky decor, I'm not sure what makes it such a destination location.  (I like how that rhymes.)  The wacky decor is kind of beyond me as I'm not really that wacky.  I guess it was fun to go once.  Then we went to Powell's where I turned in a bag of books and got $30 store credit.  Then I spent $43 and reveled in the joy that came from really only spending $13.  In the afternoon we went to Starbucks Happy Hour.

TUESDAY:  The kidlets went to grandma's house and David and I had 8 whole hours without them.  I think that's the longest since before Christian was born.  It was glorious.  We decided to enjoy the beautiful day by driving down to Aurora and walking as slowly as we wanted through all the antique stores, sitting on random benches in the sun just because we could, and eating a peaceful lunch under a tree.  David is such a funny guy; it was good to spend a few relaxing hours getting to enjoy each other as people, not just as co-parents.  We found a You Are Special plate which I have wanted for my whole entire life.  Why does that Amazon link have one going for $147?  The one I found was $30.  Weird.  Anyways, later that night several great friends gave up their evening to take me out for a birthday dinner.  There's not much I love more than a good girl's night without the kids, with lots of laughter, and checking the clock thinking it might be 9PM and finding it's actually 11. 

WEDNESDAY:  David took the day off so we could enjoy birthday celebrations all day long.  Except that Christian got kind of crazy so we missed our lunch plans (I love him so it's OK), but after his nap we did some shopping and then went to Starbucks Happy Hour.  I only changed one diaper the whole day and I didn't cook.  It was good.

THURSDAY:  Our plan was to stay home because our house and minds are in chaos from the busyness, but I happened to check Craig's List this morning and found the most perfect bunk beds for only $50.  You do not say no to a bargain like that.  They are beautifully designed and made from solid wood, but I am planning on painting them white (with Anne Sloan Chalk Paint that we picked up at The Purple Pear, of course) to make them perfect for Daphne's room.  Her face lit with joy when I showed her the Craig's List ad because she can't wait to have visitors sleep in her 'bumble bed' with her. 

THE REST OF THE WEEK:  Now we have two days left to get our house whipped into shape for Christian's baby dedication at church on Sunday and the Mother's Day dinner at our house afterward.  Daphne's pretty excited that the people at church are going to pray for Christian and then that we get to have a party.  She told Christian at lunch today, "good job eating your lunch!  Now the people can pray for you!"  I tried explaining what a baby dedication was and she's just pretty stuck on the praying part. I guess that part is important: 'pray for us and be our village' and all that. 

Now here's a mess of pictures and you can decide which photos go with which day.  It will be like a fun matching game.  I'll put the answers upside down at the bottom of this post.  Except I won't because what?  I don't even know how that would work. 

Frappacinos and More

"Lo, the sun was out, the weather was warm, and all the people rejoiced."

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We made our yearly spring trip down to the little nursery where we like to shop.  I am what you call a preferred shopper and they always give me a little discount.  No joke. 

Then we went home so Daph could help plant her flowers and Christian could fill my watering can with rocks.  I found that my watering can is broken (not sure if it's related to the rocks or not) and I need to buy a new one. 

That was yesterday.  Today was all about weeding and more planting.  Today was also the start of Starbucks Frappacino Happy Hour week.  Isn't it such a wonderful week?  Made even more wonderful by coinciding with birthday week and summer weather.  I wanted to go, but since we had been home all day and were kind of grubby I sadly decided not to.  Then David about gave me a heart attack by walking into the backyard with a Frappacino in hand, as he had grabbed one for me quick while he was at work.  Once I recovered from having the daylights scared out of me I was very, very pleased.

We've been having picnics in the back every day.  Daphne loves it so much and I love not having to keep Christian from throwing food on the floor.

Daph has fallen deeply in love with the big maple that shades our back patio  This morning David got the ladder out to trim away a few stray branches and Daph stood on front of him with arms open wide and exclaimed "You can't cut this tree!  It is my giant umbrella!"   We live in a very drama-free household, in case you couldn't tell.

This afternoon I rinsed out Lola's water pool for the kids to splash in.  They spent an hour and a half running and jumping and throwing water on each other.  If I hadn't been so distracted by all the weeding that needed to be done I probably could've sat and read a book while they played.

There is the potential for this summer to be quite grand.