Latest obsessions

Vi- stickers, kids songs on the radio which leads to this: 

Bob-Star wars game on the mini or his new computer:

Me- I'm not sure, besides words with friends, I guess finding activities and produce. This week I found a farm to order eggs from, but maybe I mentioned that already...

Outing take 2

Video from today's outing.Violet and I try to do something most days of the week. Today it was berry picking at a farm. She ate so many berries I was worried, but the best part was seeing the animals. She actually was waving and saying, "Hi chickens, hi cow" it was too hard not to laugh!

Csa

We're getting a CSA every other week and they come in these uber cute crates! This week, two heads of lettuce, cabbage, an onion, 2 nectarines, a pepper, an eggplant, dill, parsley, carrots and a ton of tomatoes. Last time we were eating one a day! Saturday I think we're going apple picking and I found a farm stand that has eggs in our 'hood every other week. It still isn't as easy as texting my neighbor, but I'll order online! 

Look Out!

Now that I have not only figured out how to post from my phone, but how to send an email with videos attached, I really have no excuse to not get the movies from our trip uploaded, well that is if they are a small enough file size that I'm allowed. If it restricts me to one minute, we might still have issues. I'll at least try and be better about taking videos from here on that can be uploaded to share our life in the big city. So look out world.

Test post

Video from today's outing.Violet and I try to do something most days of the week. Today it was berry picking at a farm. She ate so many berries I was worried, but the best part was seeing the animals. She actually was waving and saying, "Hi chickens, hi cow" it was too hard not to laugh

I missed it.

World breast feeding day was back when we were crossing Montana, but here is a very humorous blog that made me laugh, feel proud and sentimental all at the same time. I remember the early struggles, the pumping, the too full, but I also remember there weren't many sweeter more peaceful moments. 

http://ouradoptionfaithwalk.blogspot.com/2013/08/world-breastfeeding-week-salute.html?m=1

To my tiny audience

I must apologize to those of you still checking in, but we will get on a schedule and I will post again! I'm still working on the videos from our drive across and our house is not yet ready for photos - well parts of it our, but I'll save it for a full post. I will give you an update though.

Tomorrow we will have been here two weeks! I don't know where to start...

When we arrived we met the landlord, seems nice enough, but the house smelled like cat pee, it wasn't clean, some things didn't work, the back deck looked scary and we were exhausted and now disappointed. It is a lot of rent money to pay to not be happy. The street we are on is super busy, we expected to hear the expressway on the other side, but not the busy street in front. I ran to Target and bought cleaning supplies and grabbed dinner at Trader Joes. Bob took the babe and pup for a walk after opening all the windows and turning off the AC. After we were settled enough to get Violet to sleep, we started cleaning best we could without our stuff and vacuum. The next morning the moving truck arrived, Violet and I headed out for more groceries while the truck was unloaded. She was so happy to see her toys arrive and was frantically riding her giraffe and running around between boxes. The smell was still there, but we were pretty sure it was in the basement so everything that didn't have a room to go into, went into the garage - which we weren't sure whether the car would fit into anyway. It had been over 2 weeks since we had slept in our own bed, even with the smell and the noise, we slept well that second night.

Since then we have been to a few playgrounds (thanks to the stops along our trip it is one of Violet's daily demands) I've been to a couple mom groups, we've been to The Strip (I'll take pictures next time) had dinner with a family we met at a playground, been to a splash pad, been to the library, been to a festival, met the neighbors on both sides, found a breakfast place and a pizza place and have been on two grueling bike rides. We even started a CSA every other week! When they say Pittsburgh has more hills than San Francisco, they are right. I didn't believe them at first.

The carpet has now been out 4 days. I think the smell is gone, but it looks terrible down there. The furnace is of course there so we are trying not to run the AC but at 80 with 80% humidity, us left coasters are melting. Side note: I think all kids here have curly hair it is so humid. Our car does indeed fit in the garage, but it is scary each time a pull in!

People here have been very friendly, dropping off scones, inviting us over or just chatting when the mail/packages are delivered.

The price of beer is ridiculous and you can only buy it in beer stores. Everyone hates the system and there is talk of it landing on the ballot soon - so be grateful Oregonians, it may not be as easy or cheap as in California, but at least it is accessible. I don't even know about wine, that is in another store.

I'm getting used to the non grid street system and can find my way certain places without directions, so hopefully I can take more pictures soon.

We are finding our way here. Bob's first day teaching is tomorrow and I have another mom group. But we miss home. We miss all of you, we miss our house and neighbors, I miss my job. We miss the climate and the ease of biking and driving places. Hugs.

Moving days

We have some great time lapse photos into videos but blogger won't let me load them! For now, those of you that can, can see them on Facebook. Those of you not there will have to wait until I get it worked out. 

Tuesday our truck with our stuff headed off. Thursday we started our trip with lunch in the dalles followed by a night stop in Spokane valley. Friday we had a short drive into Missoula where we are for the weekend. 

Last day

My last day at work was yesterday. I rode my bike even with my back injury because I couldn't imagine it any other way. I nearly cried both directions. I loved my job, my co workers, my office, my tiny commute. They took me to lunch and wrote very nice things in a card. I can only hope that one day when I return to the working world to find the same happiness again. 

21 months

Seems like an update is in order! Violet enjoys counting, naming colors and making animal sounds. She can climb onto the couch and most chairs by herself. She wants to flush the toilet but not use it. Berries are her favorite food but just behind are tomatoes, peas and beans. She can string 3-4 words together. Yesterday it was 'night night all done' that made me laugh when she woke from her nap. She loves to go for walks in both the backpack and stroller or wants to go running to the park and go down the slides. As the pictures below show, her personality is starting to develope!

We spent our first night without her a few weeks ago and will escape for our anniversary weekend. Hopefully it is as smooth as the practice nights!

Moving dates

July 25 last day of work

July 29 moving trailer is dropped off

July 30 moving trailer picked up

August 1 we bawl as we drive east

August 1-5 Missoula with dear friends to ease the pain and celebrate Bob's bday

August 5-7drive to Minneapolis 

August 7-10 more time with dear friends, more healing

August 10 Chicago, more friends

August 12 Batesville with family

August 14 arrive in Pittsburgh 

My other grandma

My grandma Gerti, died a few weeks ago. She was technically my step grandma, but was very close to us growing up. We had sleep overs, went on trips with cousins (Disney and black butte mostly) and spent days at the state fair followed by swimming. But after my grandpa died in 1995, she slowly retreated. She was at both my wedding and my sister's, but she only saw Violet in pictures. She wasn't well. Cancer I guess, but we would have loved to have seen her anyway. Much like my grandfather, there wasn't a funeral. So I spent part of a day talking about her with my mom and exchanging memories with my sister. It is funny how different things stood out for each of us. I'll miss you, I've missed you the last 7 years, but now I'll miss sending and receiving cards and hoping you'll want to see us. We didn't care that you thought you were an old lady, we still loved and love you. 

My Grandma

My grandma turned 90 in December, but we are celebrating it again on her 90 1/2 birthday. I've been working on her invitations and going through pictures from the last 10 years. Sadly, I can tell she is aging. I forget it when I see her a couple times a month. I also was sad because unless there is a great grand child or a holiday, we don't have a lot of pictures with her! But I came up with two designs to chose from and I've asked my mom for a really old (like 30 years ago) pic and I look forward to see it.

Zoo!

Enough with the heavy posts. Here was Violet's first trip to the zoo. She enjoyed the elephants and sea lions, did NOT like the naked mole rats, and could watch monkeys and birds all day. The tigers, hippos and cheetahs were sleepy, the rhinos were too far away, but the she lion growled right at her and Vi barely jumped!

A good day

I guess today is a good day. The sun is shining and I'm optimistic about our next adventure. I'm excited to be a part of a new neighborhood, to find the quirks in a new city and discover our favorite, kid and dog friendly places. Don't worry I'm scared of driving across the country with a toddler, I'm scared of multiple flights home, of not meeting people I like or not wanting to leave the house in the winter and becoming depressed. But today I will try not to think of those things and will look forward to new farmers markets and CSAs, new bike paths and areas to hike, new happy hour spots.

Planning

I like it. I do it a lot, most of the time without knowing or being deliberate. I think about what nap time will be like in the summer even though I can't predict Violet or her schedule. I think about work this summer and how it will be a little different than last summer. But I don't know where to start with next summer or even the fall. I can't picture where we will live, our neighborhood, what full days with Violet for a full week will be like. I try to imagine, I try to put together a puzzle I don't have pieces for.

A little sentimental

I can be a little sentimental. I'm still attached to my car that we sold a week ago, I'm struggling with renting out our house again (first tour tonight), But lately it's my job and my career that I don't know how to deal with. Don't get me wrong I'm very grateful that I will get to be a stay-at-home mom, but I'm sad to leave a profession I love and scared I may not be able to return to it. Watch out, when my hair turns colors I may have a real melt down.

Scary Food

I don't mean Halloween style. I mean the crap around us that frightens me and the others that gross me out.
GMO, why does our food need to be genetically altered? Why does this not worry Americans like it does the rest of the world?
High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sucralose, Stevia, Aspartame etc. come on sugar is fine, why go crazy?
Food coloring. Causes all sorts of reactions for some people, is it really needed? I'll take my fruit and veggies dyes over bright colors!
Gelatin, yeah um gross. Food can be thickened other ways.
Remnant, like gelatin it grosses me out and I think it is only used to be cheap.
Hot dogs and lunch meat. Maybe that isn't fair because I don't like meat, but these really disgust me. Steak, Chicken at least those are real meat from one part of the animal.
Petro Chemicals. They go by all sorts if names and WTF are they doing in our food?!! So when I shop certain places or buy only certain foods it isn't that I like spending all that money on groceries, it is because I'm pretty frightened about what we eat and what is out there to eat. This isn't how it is supposed to be.

Update: Monsanto is evil and they are taking over the food world, if you didn't already know this, be scared and try to avoid them - here is a brief list in what they have their hands in. http://theczech.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/monsanto.jpg?w=490&h=692

Emotional Roller Coaster

We've made a decision and we're slowly revealing it to family first, at least until we have a proper contract in hand and then can think through more logistics. So even knowing the plan, I go from excited to so sad. I didn't expect to be in our little house for 8 years, to become so invested in our neighborhood and professional committees and to love my job. That last one may be the hardest. I probably won't work for the next two years and I am ok with that, but I do worry about what happens after that. If we ever have to fall back on my career I need to stay involved and up to date on codes and computer programs and new products and materials. I'll have to decided if I get my license in another state.

So if you read this and you haven't talked to me in a while, give me a call, send me an email. I'm happy to fill you in, in a more personalized way. Then you can join me on this wild ride.

17 months

Violet is 17 months today. Crazy. She is definitely a toddler and looks more like a little girl than a baby. She eats what we eat and tries to say what we say.The cutest thing is either saying Lulu or making her animal noises. One day I'll figure out how to load a video here (from my phone). I'm trying to prepare myself for tantrums and we need to talk discipline. I've read 'Parenting with Love and Logic' but I need a refresher. She is gaining new skills and an independence that is fun to see and I'm sure she'll continue to wow us daily.

My home

I love it. From the squeaking floors to the pellet stove, from the attic skylights to the cracked plaster walls, from the tiny garage to the apple trees and raspberries. No matter where we end up you are my dream home, I just didn't know it.

Selection Monday

For I don't know how long, it has been Selection Sunday ( march madness begins, teams announced and the brackets are filled). This year for NCAA basketball it will be the same (Sunday the 17) but for my little family of 3+Lulu, it is the 11th. My blog is private, but I now ask those of you who read it to not mention this outside of here unless in a private conversation. Now that he is finished with his PhD, Bob has a couple options floating out there and they are announced on the 11, with a deadline of the 15. It will be a long week. Then again when we heard of these options in January, March 15 felt like a lifetime away and it is now less than 2 weeks. We'll do a small reveal until we decide to go public. Thanks for all your support getting to this point.

I'm lazy

I'll admit it. When Vi sleeps, I'm not always productive. When my alarm goes off, I hate leaving my warm bed and don't until the last possible moment. I'm rarely motivated to go to the gym, it always sounds better! So I'm lazier than you think. I hate filing and my desk can tell you! I like to start projects and make lists, but sometimes that is as far as I get. Oops.

More pics

Christmas

Snow time!

Lessons learned

First, I must apologize for the lack of posts. There was Thanksgiving, family Christmas and then two terrible shootings. All of which evoke some emotion and reaction and I feel compelled to write about. Yet my time slips through my fingers some days. But I've been thinking of this post for a little while.
I feel like we are finally teaching Vi things that she can show us she understands. She can point to her ear and toes when asked and has added please to her baby signs. And so I think of the lessons I learned growing up, like learning to drive. My dad taught me how to drive in the snow and put on chains, but Bob taught me to drive a stick. in so many things my parents gave me the basics for me to build on. I just hope we can give Vi the same. The pressure is on.

Sad day

I had something I really wanted to post, but then my day was shaken. Our neighbors have not been well. Aging, former smokers, one now wheelchair bound, but I didn't think we'd lose the other one as quick as we did. When we bought our house 8 years ago I wondered how it would be sharing our driveway and I didn't like it at first. But they grew on me. They loved Lulu, always pet her and gave her treats (she loved them too, always heading to their back door for those pats and treats). Bob mowed their lawn, we borrowed tools, talked about our gardens. They gave Vi an outfit when she was born, we'd take over baked goods. Both were in and out if the hospital last winter. Las week Bev took a turn and the doc gave her a week. She made it 8 days. Family had been coming non stop and we chatted with the members we knew and there was a lot of medication, home health workers and then hospice. When I heard a knock on the door this morning and opened it expecting a neighbor and found hospice instead, I knew. I hoped she would hold on this winter and we'd be back working in our gardens in the spring, pulling weeds, she'd ask me about work and Violet while scratching Lulu. I didn't know I'd become so attached to the little lady next door, but I know the whole neighborhood will miss her.

You know your pjs are too small when...

We Made It!

We survived our first year with a baby... And I made it through the day yesterday without crying, even when she neglected to take a morning nap so I could frost cupcakes and shower! I made it a year breasfeeding, we haven't had too many drops or spills, only a few messy car seats and midnight crib changes. Lulu hasn't been too neglected and we even managed to watch a movie and sleep all night! Here are pictures from a small get together with friends and then today we'll celebrate with family.

Mom's Group Bday

Group shot

enjoying a gluten free, sugar free, dairy free cup cake kind of thing!

Video test Cait TKD

At Peace

Some days I find myself smiling in the car, whether it be at a realization about where I am in life or singing along with a song and some days the same songs make me overly emotional. Today was an emotional realization. The song was 'We are Young', which I love the beginning lines, I think they are very clever, and then the lyrics say, 'and if by the time the bar closes, you feel like falling down, I'll carry you home.' I have a great sense of peace knowing that the who that will carry me home is the only person I would want carrying me home. Then he says, 'Tonight we are young, let's set the world on fire, we can burn brighter than the sun.' And I realize a couple of things, we aren't that young any more, but those nights we get at the bar - be them few and far between, we feel young, like we can conquer the world again, we can still set the world on fire, but our passions in life have changed, what are we setting it on fire for, it isn't about just us. And I'm okay with that. I still want to set the world on fire, but I only need to burn brighter than the sun occassionally.  You know the 'little ditty 'bout Jack and Diane, two American kids...' and I think, 'Wow, we're not kids anymore, I can't hold on to 16, wait, why would I want to?' The place I'm at now is great, minus the sleep deprived nights and sticking to a budget, the other big things I worry about are getting to work on time and my love hate relationship with the Medela Pump. So maybe it is okay to be emotional when I hear certain songs, because I'm not depressed, I'm actually quite happy. so what if my eyes leak a little, it must be part of the mommy gene.

My morning commute

I cancelled my parking permit in May when we were gone more than half of the month, and had to drive on and off through part of June until it stopped raining, before riding my bike consistently. But now the summer is coming to a close and even my ride is evident! The mornings are cooler, leaves are on the ground and school buses are out in full force. So I ride through my neighborhood, to a multi-use path, on to a share the road street, through the capital mall then down the street that runs in front of my office, for a whopping 1.75 miles. It takes me about 12 minutes because of stop lights and stop signs, which I generally obey, but I have the lights timed! I love riding through the 'hood checking out the new paint jobs and yard work, but my favorite part is the capital. In the morning people are hustling through to get to work, squirrels are darting about, the grass is freshly watered. At lunch (the end of my work day) the fountains are on, people are picnicking and occasionally lawn bowling! But now the fountains are off for the year. No more kids splashing around and squealing with delight as the cold water shoots out of the pavers and on the other end of the park stands an empty, funny looking sculpture that looks rather odd without water.
September is ride your bike, commute to work month, or something like that. But in Salem it is also, tear apart every pathway bikes use and close them at an awkward place to go around month. So lately I'm weaving in and out of parking lots, on sidewalks, alleys or running across streets. I'm not sure how they could time it before it rains, but there has to be some way to give an alternate route, (a detour maybe!) or at least advance notice so I can go around. Once I get to the closure, I'm less likely to obey it unless it is at a place I can turn off. That being said, I still enjoy my ride, my 10 miles a week or my 1 hour and 40 minutes of making the world go by a little slower. (So far I haven't been honked at or yelled at, but I still have crazy driver stories, maybe I'll post a how to drive around a bike for those of you that aren't used to dealing with it!)

Fall

It's here, I can't deny it. The air is different, the leaves are falling and the garden has slowed down. And it makes me a bit sad. Summer always goes too fast and I always have grander hopes, more camping, more swimming, suntans, patio drinks etc. I do look forward to duck games, thanksgiving, Christmas, but Violet will be 1 and then I'll be 35. Where did this last year go?

How to sleep with a sheep (pillow)

This is for Britta!

Even crazier sleeping

Violet crawls now, which means she even sleeps differently. Here are two nights and one nap images from her crib cam. We love to check on her and see what nutty position she has gotten into!

Grandma's pool

In the middle of almost nowhere, lived my grandparents. Only 1 radio station came in, tv was only by a 5' dish satellite and the power went out frequently. In the winter we stayed up waiting for it to snow, or we were playing in the snow, well most of the time (we learned to sew, crochet, read, played with dolls...) In the summer though we painted, cleaned and then filled the pool. A full size pool with a diving board and slide, a kid's dream, but in the forest and unheated. It was awesome. But I don't know the last time it was drained and cleaned and had kids splash around in it, my guess is at least 15 years ago. The slide is cracked and the diving board has no bounce. So why the trip down memory lane? Well the pool has been drained and there is talk of filling it in, not up, and this makes me very sad. No one is there to take care of it, the repairs would be costly and insurance doesn't know what kind of liability it is exactly. But once it is filled, rock, dirt or concrete, it won't be drained again. I won't push my sister in or chase my cousin around it or make my uncle dive to the bottom to unplug it so we can fill it with clean water again.

Graduation

A couple weeks ago we drove to Davis for Bob to receive his PhD hood. Here are some pics to prove it.