May Album: is it summer yet?

May happened.  It was quick.  We traveled to Seattle for a baby shower, and we visited Uncle Lou (“uncko Woo” Leo says).  Lovely, hot, unexpected weather.

Then Matt’s parents came to town and gave us a date night out!  We went camping at Silver Falls.  Time to try out the ginormous tent that we bought - which is awesome….  Camping by ourselves gets a solid two thumbs up.

    

      

And we tried out Portland’s new Fields Park!  Went to see “Cinderella” at the Children’s theater and followed it up with an evening in the Pearl District.  Another two thumbs up.

Pacific Northwest in May 2013 = summer is just around the corner.  Or is it here already?

April Album: Epiphany

During April this year, a few things happened.  I turned 36!  Whaaaaa?!  I don’t want to think of this as more than halfway.  But it kind of sounds like it. 

Tulips quickly replaced daffodils, and spring is officially here.

I celebrated a girls weekend in Seattle!  It was fantastic.  Just four moms and a beautiful weekend (albeit, it did rain) in Seattle.  Shopping, dining out, dining in, drinking wine, getting our toes done.  We rode the Seattle Great Wheel, which sounds silly, but was kind of awesome. 

   

Saw this awesome sign at Pike Place Market – I had never noticed it before…

Wandered into this crazy amazing umbrella store in which you can RENT vintage umbrellas.  And they were not short on selection.

Visited the Olympic Sculpture Garden, a place that always inspires me to think BIG about tough spaces, especially where it involves leading people to a waterfront and incorporating art.  I was rambling and pointing up at the slope, talking urban design blah blah about how and where this kind of idea would work in Portland, when who should appear?  My former urban design professor and mentor from UW!  So great to finally run into her after all this time.  She was exactly as I remembered her.

 

 

Here is the woman who told me years ago when I asked her about my career and when on earth I was supposed to think about having kids, “there’s no good time to have kids”.  Which was kind of freeing, in a way...  I reminded her and told her that I have three!  Kids!  She was genuinely surprised...  It amazes me how much influence she had on me.  It made me a little sentimental.

And during my time away from home, I had this epiphany.  I need to spend more time with my three.  So, starting in July, I will return (after 9 months of full time) to three days a week.  Phew.  The decision was not difficult to make, but I didn’t expect it to be so hard to digest what it means for my career and who I am…  but after 36 years I guess I can still discover things about myself that I didn’t know.  Like, I like to work.  But I need more time to spend with these sweet peas.  So here’s to another birthday and lots and lots of Mommy time.

  

March Album: Leo turns 2

It is August.  We have had some amazing weather this spring and summer, and so my computer has been wildly neglected!  Because, really, isn’t blogging for winter?  Also, I confess that for at least a month between February and now, I misplaced my camera.  So I’ve got a bit of catching up to do.  Which means lots of pictures for me to upload, since I honestly don’t remember much of what happens in this fast-paced house of ours unless it is recorded digitally.  And I like to look back and remember from time to time…

So let’s start by appreciating my new album cover for this mini-band that Matthew and I created.  We have written a few songs, such as “Fiona and Dean, it’s time to get clean”, but alas, there’s more work to do…

This month, we celebrated Leo!  We got out the streamers (that stayed up until Mother’s Day, of course!) and Dean made Leo a poster with a train, an elephant, and a butterfly (the things that Leo loves).  I remember the exact contents of the poster, because yes it is August, and in fact, it’s still hanging up in our living room, with Dean’s “happy birthday Leo” written in crayon.  Probably time to take that down, we’ve been saying for months.

   

For Leo’s birthday, I tried making “Tres Leches” cake, since Leo is a lover of all things dairy.  Topped with berries, since Leo is also a fan.  It was a hit.  And quite filling.

    

    

    

Leo received a wooden train set, something that he still gets a kick out of, I am happy to report.  Now we are into building bridges and tunnels and the station for our “Cretaceous time period” (Dinosaur Train reference).  Nothing is cuter than hearing a 2-year old say “Cretaceous time period”. 

Happy birthday, sweet Leo!

    

Also in March: a welcome first sign of spring.  After planting only tulips for years and years, this year I got smart and planted daffodils also, since they bloom much earlier.  Plus I love the yellow.

And Easter arrived, which means cascarones.  The kiddos love dying eggs and cracking them on each other’s heads.  Who wouldn’t love that? 

   

   

Happy Easter and Happy Spring!

February Album: the month that disappeared

I am drawing a blank for what happened last month except for the fact that everyone en la casa was sick.  Leo and I caught the flu.  He got over it in one week, but it took me two weeks or more.  I was probably better for a day or two, and then I caught whatever Matthew was fighting.  There were three weekends in a row that I was at the doctor’s office, alone or with children: only one of those flu-related.  Dean and Fiona caught a stomach bug somewhere in there, Leo split his chin on the wooden stool, and Dean and Leo also both had ear infections.  It was crazy!  Work was starting to amp up at the same time for me, in preparation for some major events in March.  I’m not sure how I got through it.  I don’t have a story to string this random assortment of photos, because I must have been in a daze all month.  Good thing I grabbed the camera every now and then.

  

One thing that must’ve happened this month, according to the photos – Leo is in a toddler bed!  And we are currently in a trial run of all three kids sleeping in one room so that we could convert the other room (Leo’s old room off the kitchen) into a play room.  We’ll see how it goes.  The other factor is that Matthew needs to build a soffit on the ceiling to cover up some new pipes that were installed when we built the second bathroom upstairs.

Dean celebrated his 100th day of kindergarten, and Matthew and I  took a Michoacan cooking class (did we really?!) where I learned to put carrots and potatoes inside of red enchiladas.  (What?!)  So Leo and Fiona and I tried this at home.  My verdict?  Hold the potatoes for papas con huevo.  Carrots are ok.

    

Leo is on wheels! 

   

We somehow managed to take Dean and Fiona to see “Cat in the Hat”. They love this actor – who was also in Peter Pan as Captain Hook. Fiona always wants to be photographed with him after the show. Which is cute, because when she gets in his presence, she pouts and stiffens up. Adorable…

Here’s to better health -