Mornings at Home

This morning I heard Daphne say, "Christian, do you want to get some books and sit together and snuggle?"  So that's what they did while I took a shower.  (Some screaming and fighting was involved, just FYI.  Can't have you thinking they're too perfect.)

Then they moved to our little 'sitting room,' as I like to call it.

And then onto a boat ride in the laundry basket.

 

Quiet mornings at home, where we don't have to rush ourselves out the door, are my favorite kind of mornings.

Today is still special, though.  A friend and I have taken to exchanging childcare on a regular basis.  I take her kids one morning and then she'll take mine for another morning.  This type of arrangement is the MOST WONDERFUL arrangement of all time.  You would think that the mornings I had all the kids would be a little crazy, maybe the hardest part of this whole exchange.  In fact, the kids play so well together that the days they're all here are just as much a babysitting morning for me as the days I drop my kids off.  I do dishes, laundry, and I've even sat down with my coffee while they've played.

Today was my morning with this kids so I pulled out a tub of teeny tiny baby things to start organizing and finding a home for.  It's pretty fun to be on kid #3 and have a better idea of what I like using and what I don't like.  I loved these Woombies with Christian.  They look so funny but they were fabulous for a quick and easy swaddling that couldn't come loose. I only bought two for him and had to wash those two every day, so this time around I will get a couple more.  I never liked the bassinet we had for the first two babies, so I got rid of that one and want to get a Sleep-&-Play instead.   Hopefully we won't need a crib until the new house because I really don't feel like having to squeeze that thing back into this house.  (We took it out since C stopped using it.) 

Oh, and we have to buy a new car.  We're thinking SUV with a third row seat so that we can have 4-wheel drive and be able to tow the trailer.  It's hard to choose the right one, though, so if you have expertise on the matter please let us know.  Buying cars is not our most favorite activity because cars are boring.  Maybe we should take Christian's advice and get a garbage truck instead? 

It's Raining Out

I think I used ^that^ title not too long ago, but today the rain is making us all a little sad after all our recent sun and warmth.  I even got tan lines!  For a minute we were able to trick ourselves into thinking it was May and we were that much closer to getting to move into our new house.  Just kidding.  It's March.  And the outlets stopped working in the master bathroom and laundry room so now we use an extension cord into the kitchen to use the washer.  Oh, this house...bless its tiny little heart. 

We escaped to Albany for a few days where we got to hang out with family and friends and chickens.  I think Christian kissed a girl for the first time.  Like not a cousin or sister.  A real girl.  It was the sweetest thing and if I knew it was going to happen I would've taken a picture. I'm pretty sure it was a seal of betrothal?  Because that would mean I would be co-moms with Shelley and how fun would Christmas be if that were the case?

Now we're back and finally watching Frozen because that seems to be what all the cool kids are doing these days. My family is yelling for popcorn and since the housekeeper doesn't seem to be responding I guess that means I should get to work. 

chicken trying to steal his strawberry

with his friends

D was supposed to be in this picture, too, but she wouldn't cooperate

Monday Dates

Mondays are kind of our low-key day; our Saturday, I guess you could say?  We try to keep any plans to a minimum so that we can hang out at home or go out...whatever suits our fancy.  Today we came up with a real gem of a plan: split up and do a Daddy/Son Date and Mommy/Daughter Date.  It was crazy how excited the kids were about this idea.  Christian kept saying, "I go bye-bye with Daddy, I not go bye-bye with Mama."  Just in case I got confused and accidentally took him with me. 

Who knows what the boys did, but Daph and I had a swell time.  I spent the first part teaching her some good cheers like "Girl Power!" and "Girls Rule and Boys Drool!"  She kept saying, "But boys rule, too, Mom."  Fine.  Whatever.  Don't listen to anything I have to say. 

She and I went to the Learning Palace to play, walked through Home Goods, had lunch at Ikea and walked around to look at a few things we are considering for our new house (and found one of the things we wanted in the As Is section for a zillion percent off and in perfect condition because it was just a return!!), then finished off with some time at the library doing puzzles and picking out books.  Doesn't she choose good activities? 

Both kids had such a good time; we know we'll have to do this type of event more often.  Daphne is already planning that next time we will go somewhere to get vanilla ice cream.  I'm hoping this next baby is a boy because that means in the future David will have to take two kids while I will only have to take one. 

does she look really grown up here or is it just me?

trying each cooked veggie to tell me the difference between each one

Oh Hi, Spring; We've Been Waiting For You

David looks weird here

David worked eight days last week for training and then got a five day weekend.  We spent two days in Albany chasing chickens and picking thousands of daffodils, and then came home to the most beautiful almost-spring weather.  Our front door is perpetually open and I'm constantly finding a spare child or two in my yard or living room.  My kids are having the time of their lives meeting all the neighbor kids who are coming out to see the sun, and I like that they can make themselves at home here.

We spent the warmest afternoon down at 'our' new playground.  We still can't believe we'll get to live there soon.  We had supper at our newest favorite cafe, just a few minute drive from our property and somewhere I imagine we'll be spending lots of morning coffee dates and afternoon sandwich lunches.

The passing of this long winter and arrival of this spring signals the coming changes we've been waiting so long for.  Are we dreaming?  Because it sure feels like it. 

It's Raining Out

(The title has nothing to do with this post.  But I was spending so much time trying to think of a title that I finally just gave in and made up a sentence.  It really is raining, though; I didn't make that part up.)

David was home from work ON TIME last night.  We celebrated with a pizza/movie party because we know how to live it up big.  We even used paper plates.  Daphne is already asking if we can have another pizza party tonight, so I guess this idea was a good one?  If you need a fun recipe to throw in your meal planning mix, we did this little twist on pizza (twist, haha) called Twisted Pizza Breadsticks.  (Except we make our own dough, of course.)  These would be great for large groups, they're not messy when kids are eating them, and the leftovers are nice for David to take in his lunch because they travel well. A win-win recipe for so many reasons.

I'm sure I read somewhere that children who enjoy puzzles are extra smart children.  I never really liked puzzles, so that would explain a lot.  Anyways, Daphne loves puzzles so much right now that we could probably own a thousand of them and she would go through each one over and over, never getting tired.  Recently I made the grave mistake of buying her a 25 piece puzzle.  She flew through that thing in about 4 minutes and never needed a bit of help.  100 piece ones are her thing.  She only has one and she's done it so many times she nearly has it memorized.  What a nerdy little child I have. 

Speaking of nerds, look at these two reading away, cozied up in their respective chairs:

Our new house will have a large and open floor plan for the most part, but I love that we've included a few little tucked away places if one needs to sneak away for some personal quiet time.  I have a feeling those spots will get used quite often*.

*"Often" being used rather cautiously of course, as a small child basically has the attention span of a gnat when it comes to quiet and solo activities. 

We're So Cool Now, We Go to OMSI

It's been almost a week ago now, but hey, we went to OMSI for the first time!  We were gifted with a family pass for Christmas, and after the wild success of our first trip last Tuesday, we know we will be going back more than enough times to make our pass worth it.  It only takes 3 visits for us to make up the cost.  Isn't that crazy?  So if you think you will go to OMSI 3 times in a year, may as well buy a pass and at least get free parking out of the deal.  Or just come with me because I can take 4 kids and Christian doesn't count because under age 3 is free.  Let's work the system, guys.

Christian's favorite was the sand and the water.  Water fun, then sandbox, then water, then sandbox, for a good two hours.  He was a mess afterward. 

Daph loved it all, but mostly she loved running into a school friend.  All that fun stuff to do and finding a friend was her favorite part. 

OMSI is fun for more than the children, apparently

no, you canNOT be an astronaut when you grow up.  space scares me.

After OMSI we went for pizza at Flying Pie.  David and I went there for our first date eons ago but we haven't been back since.  Wait, I just lied.  David's 30th birthday party was there, but it was in the big meeting room, not in the regular restaurant.  This was my first time back to the regular restaurant since that date back in 2003. 

(David actually remembered that booth, not me)

what a morning at BSF and afternoon at OMSI will do

We feel like real Portlanders now that we have an OMSI pass.  Too bad we're about to become not-Portlanders. 

Speaking of not-Portland, Daphne told me she doesn't want to move to another country.  I said she didn't really need to worry about that right now, and that's when she told me that moving to Oregon City is moving to another country.  I promised her it's not, but she still needed convincing that OC is in fact in the United States of America.  That girl needs a map.
 
Fortunately for us, our move will not require a Passort nor a Visa, and we will still be able to visit OMSI.  And stick with English as our primary language.

St Valentine Was a Totally Cool Guy!

Valentine's Day is so fun.

We don't do anything fancy.  Partly because David has worked nights up until this past fall, so even before we had kids he was usually gone when I got home from work.  I'm not sure we've ever gone out for Valentine's?  Now-a-days with the kids, how exactly does one go about securing childcare?  Do you call someone up and say, "hey, you seem like the type of person with no plans for the 14th, want to watch my kids?"  That must be an awkward call to make.

So our day was spent otherwise because I hate making phone calls, especially awkward ones. First thing was the kids waking up to Valentine treats Daddy had left them.  Daphne got a little Lego airplane set.  After putting it together I texted David and said, "Do you realize your gift meant I was putting together a Lego set at 6:30 in the morning?"  Legos are cool, just not necessarily my favorite thing to sit and do.  Especially before the sun comes up.  

Next up was churning out sugar cookies for decorating.  Christian mushed his dough into the counter top.  That was fun to clean up.  Daphne made one super fat heart cookie and spent the rest of the time playing with her dough like play-doh.  

Then we made a quick morning trip out to visit to David while he was at work, a plate of cookies in hand.  

Once we were at Starbucks my kids acted like they were wild beasts recently freed from the zoo.  The whole trip basically succeeded in making me really hot.  On the way home as Daphne was asking her multitudes of questions, I told her I needed to take a break from the talking for a few minutes.  Logically, she turned to Christian with her questions:

"Christian, why do some cars drive faster than others?"

"Race cars fast.  We race car.  We drive fast."

"No, Christian, that's not the right answer."

I'm guessing she won't be going to him for more advice anytime soon?

This morning I read this article about the man Valentine's Day was rumored to have started for.  It's a very interesting and good article and gave me great inspiration for what celebrating Valentine's can really mean.  Sure, this guy was all about marriage, and that's cool, but he was also about sacrificing in order to love someone else.  I would say this inspired me to think about Valentine's Day as a day to make a point to sacrificially love someone, no matter who they are to me.  Logical people to love are my husband and kids, but delivering a meal, cookies, offering to take in children so someone else can go out for a date...pointedly finding ways to allow our family to show love; I think this sounds like a most delightful way to celebrate Valentine's from now on.  (Not loving the beheading part, so I'll probably do my best to stay away from that.  Don't mind me as I'm over here being safely and comfortably sacrificial.)

Today was a little late notice to get started on this, so for my record:

1)  Drove the kids all the way to the Lloyd District to deliver Valentine cookies to David: points for the driving and the hurriedly making of the cookies, but negative points because I got coffee out of the deal. 
2)  Made Daphne sacrificially love me by not talking to me in the car:  points for her and many negative points for me.
3)  Scheduled a late afternoon play date with sweet friends while our husbands were working strange hours so our kids could have a fun mini-Valentine party and we could visit:  a few points for me for baking cookies and letting the kids help because THE MESS they make, negative points for me because making people come visit me is not sacrificial it's wonderful.

So yes, next year I'll try to do better.  Feel free to tell me ways to be nice to other people because I think I might need help. 

cookie decorating party

baking helpers

working hard on Valentine's, probably her favorite activity she's ever done

'you make the world glow'

with the littlest Valentine