Meegan Blue

Our Latest Project

2009-04-03T16:24:00.000-07:00

Whelp, I guess I was getting a little ahead of myself on that last post, wasn't I? We're having a baby, due in October! So it'll be a while from now before we start having true "lasts" of anything. Hopefully I'll get better about posting here. Between the early pregnancy icks and my Facebook obsession, this little blog has been sorely overlooked. I hope this finds everyone well and ready for Spring...goodness knows I'm ready for some sunshine myself!

The Last First Tooth Lost

2008-11-20T15:43:00.000-08:00

Just before school started I took all three kids to the dentist for their twice a year check-ups. After taking Zöe's x-rays, the dentist asked me if she had any wiggly teeth. Wiggly teeth?!? I assured her that she didn't (couldn't possibly!) have any wiggly teeth. Because even though she's tall and savvy and sometimes acts older than she is (that third child, I tell ya'), she's still only 4 1/2. She's only 4 1/2! The dentist sweetly showed me the x-rays and pointed out that there were no roots (none!) under her bottom two front teeth. She assured me that this was normal, that each child is different, that they all lose teeth at different times. And sure enough, the wiggles started shortly thereafter.

So for the last few days one of them has been really wiggly. It's hurt Zöe to eat, it's bothered her at night, it would even bleed sometimes if she wiggled it too hard or for too long. Yesterday we made her tooth fairy pillow. I made a bunch of them long ago, for my boys and the boys of some dear friends.I was super excited to make one with Zöe and she definitely didn't disappoint. She's a girl, you know, and girls care about these things. I'm sure there are boys out there who care about these things too, but mine did not. So I enjoyed every minute of this creative process with my girl. She chose her fabrics, thread colors and buttons, drew and cut out the tooth shape, drew the face (a vampire! I embroidered it...), drew her name (again I embroidered it...), and sat on my lap while we stitched the whole thing together. It was amazing. And I think the end result is fantastic too!

So tonight she'll nestle her tooth down in the little vampire pocket and wait for the tooth fairy to come. She's hugged me over a million times today, whispering thanks for taking her tooth out without it hurting (so easy! it was ready...), thanks for helping her make the pillow, thanks for being her mom. And I've hugged her over a million times back, whispering thanks for being my Zöe with such excitement, enthusiasm and joy. Today was the last first tooth lost in our family. And I gotta tell you, it makes me sad. I'm just not ready for this little girl to get big.

<

The Meegan Blue Quarterly

2008-09-06T13:18:00.001-07:00

*Hey! Just for fun: remember last year? And the year before?*

Okay, so I guess this blog has become a Quarterly. Posting every three months or so seems to be the best I can muster. I've decided that I'm just gonna' pretend that's the way it's supposed to be. And if I can magically pull it together on a more regular basis then I'll do a little jig. I have been posting photos pretty consistently over on Flickr. And I've been visiting this site daily, having a blast connecting with old friends and keeping fresh with everyone's happenings. Quick bits of sharing is absolutely where I'm at right now. If you happen to be a fellow Facebooker, let me know!

We had a really awesome summer, which flew by way too fast. Even faster than normal. And now we're back to the insanity of the school schedule, trying to juggle soccer, piano, martial arts, and homework. I'm tired already! Seriously. Both of the boys absolutely adore their teachers and are eager to go to school every morning, so that is mighty helpful when it comes to getting out the door. If we can stick to homework and piano practice right after school, and limit play dates to Fridays and Weekends, then I think we'll be okay. At least we'll make it through soccer season, anyway.

And this is little Miss Zöe's last year of preschool, sniff. She doesn't start for another week still and the wait is killing her. That girl is dying to see her beloved Teacher Amy. I'm finding it very hard to wrap my head around the fact that next year she'll be in full-day Kindergarten. Like, I kind of have to force myself to not think about it. It makes me feel better to promise myself that we're going to make the most of our time together this year. Given Zöe's current range of interests I'm seeing lots of crafty projects on our horizon. Sounds like fun to me!

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-04T12:52:00.000-07:00

My dad put these two photos together for me. He took the one of Zöe last week and it totally reminded him of one he'd taken of me so very long ago. I think I'm a bit younger than Z in this photo, but I love the similarities. More than anything I love those striped OshKosh overalls that were my favorites. And the dandelions? Those are Zöe's favorites, so I guess that must run in the family.

So our decorations are up and the mortars are ready (shhh...don't tell anyone...we trekked to Washington State for the good stuff). Thankfully Eric is as big a nut as I am when it comes to blowing things up, so we're already rubbing our hand together in excited anticipation. Come on over if you have nothing planned tonight! You'll be glad you did!

We're Swingin'

2008-06-27T09:08:00.001-07:00

We're finally in full summer mode around here! It took a while for the weather to cooperate, but now it's all good and the forecast is nothing but sunshine for the next seven days at least. Horray! It's just in time for my Favorite Week Of The Year, which begins with my birthday (July 1st) includes firework fun on the 4th and ends with our anniversary (11 years!) on July 6th. This year there are lots of extras sprinkled in there. One goodie is tonight's exclusive showing of WALL•E for friends and family, organized by my brother and his awesome company. We're counting the minutes!

So yeah, summer mode. It totally rocks. The kids are up and playing outside (sometimes still in their pj's) first thing in the morning. We're at the pool every day for the entire afternoon, and when we come home they play outside even more. The kids all have the sweetest freckles running across their noses. Max just learned how to ride his bike. The ice cream man jingles through the neighborhood frequently, and we always make him stop. We're playing tennis (a sport I'd forgotten how much I love) and soccer (a sport I've always loved) and wallball (a sport I'm not sure if I love). And when we're hot, tired and in need of a break we retreat to the basement and play Guitar Hero. Yes, I totally hog it. And yes, I am a Goddess of Rock. I'm also embarrassed to admit that my arms are, ahem, sore from playing. I recently finished the greatest series of books and I've just started another. And I've actually been doing a little sewing. Photo proof can be found here. My house, however, has seen cleaner days. But such is life, right? I keep telling myself that anyway...

And lastly, in celebration of my parents 40th Anniversary (I love you guys!), we recently spent an unforgettable day in a place I hadn't visited since my childhood. The Enchanted Forrest. It hasn't changed one single bit in the past 20 years. I can't even begin to describe it, or do it justice for that matter. It's part "theme park" (I'm using that term very loosely), park fairytale land, all unique. It is pure Oregon: quirky, fun, beautiful and strange. I highly recommend a visit to anyone living here, or passing through. It truly will enchant you, and if you have kidlits they won't want to leave. Mine would have stayed in the Indian Caves (yes Indian, I'm tellin' you this place is like no other...) all day.

That's all for now. Enjoy the sunshine folks! I'll try to pop in on a more regular basis. But you know how it goes...

Well, Helloooooo There!

2008-03-03T19:09:00.000-08:00

Hi! How are you? Good to see you! Krikey, it's been a while. Were you beginning to think that I'd stuck you forever in Jack Skellington's world of Halloween haunts? I sure was.

A big "thank you" goes out to Cookie Magazine (really, truly, thank you a million and one times) for getting me back into action. (Scroll down the page to see one of my photos in a post on Reading Nooks.) And thanks to all of you (you know who you are...) for your gentle (except when you called me your sorry, lame-o blogger friend) but persistent nudges back in this direction. Nothing was wrong. I just seemed to have lost my virtual voice somehow. And even though I've kept quiet tabs on everyone else this whole time, it feels very nice to be back.

As for the photo? It was from our crazy school sock-hop event. This is only our second time attending, yet each time I've been completely blown away with the thorough 50's-ness of everyone's attire. And the dancing? Wow. The PE teacher makes sure that the kids know how to do all of the dances, from the monster mash to the hand jive and everything between. And the kids actually dance, the whole time. Sweaty, crazy, fall-asleep-the-second-you-get-home dancing. Fun times, Fonz!

This is Halloween, this is Halloween, pumpkins scream in the dead of night!

2007-11-02T20:01:00.000-07:00

What a day full of Halloween-ness! It began with the very last costume parade at school (sniff sniff) which my dad kindly filmed for us. Thanks dad!

In the evening, after a pizza dinner with family and friends, we trick-or-treated our picture-perfect neighborhood. The weather was amazing, the leaves were crunchy, big groups of kids and their parents roamed the sidewalks. It felt lke something out of a movie.

Batgirl did an excellent job of keeping up with all of the big kids. And she didn't even flinch when the two teenage boys opened their door in full, scary werewolf costumes. I wanted to run away, our little friend Claire nearly mowed me over in her hasty retreat, but Zöe just stuck out her bag and chimed "Trick-or-treat!"

The Hooded One (the dark and dangerous character from Jack's favorite graphic novel series Bone) had a great time. I made his cloak and he was very happy with it, except we both wished that the hood covered his face more. But that's okay. He played the part well and scored a ton of candy.

Link had the best Halloween ever. After working long hours on Jack's cloak, I thought there was no way I would get to Max's costume. We found Jack's Darth Vader costume from last year and he was pretty satisfied with going as Darth. But at the last minute I felt that my middle child needed to get what he wanted. So after two nights of 3:00 a.m. bedtimes it was done. Max was so excited! He tried it on, looked in the full-length mirror, and burst into tears. He's usually very timid about dressing up, so I sat down and told him that it was okay (and I really meant it), that he didn't have to wear it if he didn't want to. But through his heaving tears he said, "No mommy, I'm just (sob) so (sob) HAPPY!" So I burst into tears right along with him. Those late nights were definitely worth it.

After trick-or-treating, it was over to my brother's new house, then on to my parents for a big fun Halloween gathering. What a perfect evening! As always, more photos can be found over here. I hope everyone had a great time, too. Can you believe it's now November? Sheesh!

Derby Grrrls

2007-10-30T21:48:00.000-07:00

After our girl's nite out last weekend to the Roller Derby we were more convinced than ever to be a team of our own for Halloween. Thus, the Reservoir Dolls were born. You can click here to check out the real team.

We had so much fun putting together costumes (I'm in serious love with that swingy black-haired wig...does that even look like me?), coming up with names, making our team shirts. And although this photo (sadly) doesn't show it, we were kickin' it on our skates. Unfortunently, however, our teammate Bubble Viscious was taken down in the second bout by a nasty foul and is now nursing a real-life broken ankle. But it was fun, Bubble V! ...Right?

For an even better account of the evening and way more photos, head this way.

Happy Halloween!

xo
Penny Traitor

Ready. Set. Go!

2007-10-08T10:23:00.000-07:00

Well, we did it! On Sunday Sarah, Geri and I successfully completed the 2007 Portland Marathon! This was marathon #7 for me, but it's been seven busy (not-much-time-for-running) years since the last one, so it was most definitely a challenge.

We had such great support from all of our friends and families. From mile 7 to the very end of the race we had a series of "special guests" who ran (or rode their bikes) along with us for several miles, in addition to husbands, partners, kids, parents and friends cheering us along from the sidelines. We all felt very, very loved. Thanks, everybody, for your whoops and hollers! Woo-hoo!

Jazz Hands

2007-10-03T13:49:00.000-07:00

Zöe just started taking her very first dance class over at the Laurelhurst Studio, which is where I remember taking dance classes when I was little. Zöe's class is pre-ballet for 3 and 4-year-olds and is taught by my friend Mara, who just so happens to be one of the absolute cutest moms I know. This class is all Zöe has been talking about for the last few days, and she was practically shaking with excitement by the time it started. Needless to say, it did not disappoint. Mara (The Real Ballerina, as she's refered to by my adoring daughter) is her new superhero, and Zöe stops to show her "moves" to pretty much anyone who will take a minute to watch.

But judging by those "moves," along with the snazzy black dance outfit passed down from our dear friend Bryn, my little free spirit is more cut out for the Martha Graham Dance Company than the Joffrey Ballet.

After class was over, we were getting ready to leave as some bigger kids came in for their dance class. Suddenly Zöe was at my elbow, tugging at my sleeve. I bent down to hear what she had to say. "I want some of those! I want some of thoooose!" She whispered excitedly, wide-eyed with the wonder of something new and promising, with oodles of clatter. Can you guess? Tap shoes. I couldn't imagine a more perfect vehicle of expression for my exuberant child.

More dance class photos here.

The girl with three "first days"

2007-09-19T14:54:00.000-07:00

Frist Day #1

See photo and description in last post.

First Day #2

The practice day at preschool, with only half (all six of them) of the class and me as one of the two parent helpers. Zöe loved it but knew it wasn't the "real" thing. She kept asking where all of the kids were and why I didn't leave. I satyed up way too late the night before making her outfit. But it was a happy-kind-of-staying-up-late because I finally got to try out Erin's awesome shirred shirt tutorial as well as the wide-leg pants I meant to make all summer.

First Day #3

Finally! The real deal. All fifteen three-year-olds present. I think things went well. Zöe was more than happy to see us go, so Eric and I slipped downtown for a really yummy morning-date breakfast. Teacher Amy is the best. Ever. I'm almost as excited as Zöe for all the fun that lies ahead this year!

School Time

2007-09-09T22:32:00.000-07:00

You know, summer really is the perfect length of time. Despite all of the fun and frolic we enjoyed while school was out, the kids were ready and excited to head back to school last Wednesday. Zöe trooped right along with the boys (lunch, water bottle and backpack resting squarely on her little shoulders), put her stuff in Max's locker and asked the way to her classroom. I tried to explain that her preschool is in a different place and doesn't actually start until the 18th(!) but she didn't completely get it until we were heading home with her backpack tucked under my arm. Then the tears, they did flow. Remember last year? Some themes remain the same. Look how much they've all grown, though!

Thank goodness for Oaks Park. Some time on the rides with Sarah and Grayson took Zöe's mind of the school blues. With a yummy stop in Sellwood for lunch and a little shopping, we all had a great day. And Sarah and I remembered just how much fun it is to have the little ones all to ourselves.

But boy was I ready to give those boys a big squeeze when three o'clock rolled around.

Many thanks. Now...let's run!

2007-07-18T11:21:00.000-07:00

Thanks folks, for your kind words and encouragement. I'm so happy that this blog continues to be a fixture in my life, and that my dear Bloggie and I have worked out a balance that works for us. Sometimes I post, sometimes I don't, it's all okay. Thank you guys for checking in with me from time to time. It's always nice to hear from all of you.

So, about that giveaway. I put all of the names in a hat, and Jack picked...JMac!!! Yippee! I guess the forces have a clever way of working, don't they? Now I can finally pay you back for the awesome shirt that's enjoying it's third go-around on Zöe. I'll email you later, Jen, with details. Congrats! A great excuse for a get-together dontcha think?

Now for something totally different. My brother and Nicole got me a really nifty gadget for my birthday. Have you heard of Nike+? It has completely re-invigorated my running training! You can download stats from each of your runs to keep track of things like distance, pace, calories burned, etc. It works in connection with the iPod Nano, so you get great tunes to boot. And you can specify what song you want for your "Powersong" to kick in a boost when you really need it. I swear, technology rocks so hard.

So I've been having fun gathering running songs for my playlist, preferably ones with a good beat that make me want to move. I've got some pretty eclectic tastes. Here are a few from my list that you might enjoy:

1. I Want Candy - Bow Wow Wow
2. Take Your Mama - Scissor Sisters
3. Pump It - Black Eyed Peas
4. I'm Too Sexy - Right Said Fred
5. Wannabe - Spice Girls
6. Here it Goes Again - Ok Go
7. It's a Beautiful Life - Ace of Base
8. Sexyback - Justin Timberlake
9. Such Great Heights - Postal Service
10. Vacation - Go gos
11. Girlfriend - Avril Lavigne
12. Light and Day - Polyphonic Spree
13. Take on me - Aha
14. Walking on Sunshine - Katrina and the Waves
15. Move on Up - Curtis Mayfield

Please leave a comment and tell me what song (or songs) really get you in the mood to run, jump, skip, dance, twirl or do some step aerobics. I'm always scouting for new or forgotten tunes. Happy groovin'!

Edited to add: I just ran this morning with some new additions to my playlist (thanks Erica!). When I finished my workout I was surprised to hear Paula Radcliffe pop into my iPod, lovely Brittish accent and all, to congratulate me on a new personal best for the mile! Woohoo! Seriously, how did I ever run without this fun gadget?!?

Playing catch-up...with a prize

2007-07-12T10:13:00.000-07:00

Lordy! I haven't posted since when?!? So many things have been going on around here that I've wanted to post about, and the longer I've waited the longer the list has grown. So, sorry people but this is going to be a list-type post: the past seven (!) weeks in abbreviated review. Some of these items really deserve a post entirely of their own, but seeing that life just keeps propelling us forward, um, yeah, it's likely not gonna' happen. So without further ado:

Made five teacher gifts: two Stash and Dash bags (I love that pattern!), one bag of my own creation, as well as a larger and a smaller framed version of this Kindergarten auction project for the teachers to keep.

Hosted a 1950's themed Women's Poker Night as an auction item for the Preschool. Remember the one last year?

Graduated a Kindergartener!

Ran the Helvetia Half Marathon with Sarah. Sorry, no Chariot's of Fire-type photo for this one.

Had a super great visit with Grandpa Jim and Grandma Reni from Indiana, as well as Auntie Andrea from Pasadena.

With Sarah, competed in...and WON(!!!) Portland's Rose City Runaround: patterned after The Amazing Race, 25 two-person teams in a five-hour city-wide challenge. I have never, ever done anything harder in my entire life, and that includes running five marathons and birthing three children. A very, very sweet victory! Am I letting you guys in on my competitive side a little bit? Yep, I think so.

Celebrated my birthday...37 years! A morning treasure-hunt with a new Wii as our pot of gold, a delicious pajama brunch (cooked by Eric) with my girlfriends, a lovely new hammock for the side-porch, and a great whole-family celebration in the evening with my very favorite blueberry pie ever.

Enjoyed a rocket-filled Fourth of July with family, friends, lots of kids, great food, legal and illegal (shhhhh...) fireworks, and a funny red, white and blue photo session.

Celebrated our anniversary...10 years! An awesome new handheld GPS (I've finally decided to embrace the fact that, yes, I'm a geeky gadget girl...you wanna make somethin' of it?), some family geocaching (so awesome!), a long lingering dinner with Eric at Jake's, and some photobooth time at the new Ace Hotel.

And I think that covers it. If you've made it this far you deserve a reward, and a reward you may receive. Tomorrow marks my two-years-of-blogging anniversary, and in honor of this I'm going to do my very first-ever giveaway. Leave a comment sometime between now and, say, Tuesday. On Wednesday I'll randomly select a name and the winner will receive a custom-made Stash and Dash bag of their very own. Your chances of winning are pretty darn good, I would imagine. I'm not exactly the most prolific blogger around, and I'm sure most people gave up on me a long time ago. So, give it a whirl.

And in honor of my blogiversary, I need to give all of you out there a big "Thank You" from the bottom of my heart for reading, commenting and generally supporting my blogging endeavor. This blog has been the most amazing outlet for me. It's enabled me to stop (albeit infrequently), celebrate and reflect on the moments in life that might otherwise not receive special notice. I was originally inspired by this lovely friend of mine, who is now continually amazing me with her adventures in China. Along the way I've made some fun, lovely, creative, smart, virtual connections, as well as some real- live human connections to boot! I've bugged a few other crazy souls until they joined in the fray. Had some fun with family blogging. And even re-connected with a friend from college. Who knew?

My heartfelt love and thanks to all for a fantastic two years!

Oh la la, c'est Frenchy!

2007-05-24T12:01:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Sarah! It's Frenchy fun from me to you!

Turkish Delights

2007-05-15T16:45:00.000-07:00

Guess what? We actually went somewhere, away from home, outside of Portland, for the weekend! Can you believe it? My folks found this awesome place in Bend, Oregon (about 3 1/2 hours Southeast of here in Central Oregon) and we had a really fun, big, family getaway three-day-weekend with everyone...my parents, brother, and Nicole included. We had our own little four bedroom cottage (the Nunnery) with a lovely patio mere stepping stones from two roaring fire-pits and this cute, cozy pub. And if you haven't clicked on any of these links, please click on this one. I could have spent the entire time in this place, which became even cooler once we realized that the skylight isn't a skylight at all, but really a giganntic open ceiling. When it snows in Bend, it snows inside the Turkish Bath. Dude.

We spent hours scrambling all over this really awesome museum on Saturday. And oh, I am such a sucker for living history, most especially the pioneer Little House on the Prairie variety. It was really pretty quiet, crowd-wise for a Saturday and the museum has a huge outdoor component with a Birds of Prey aviary and an Otter Exhibit. After exploring the different pathways we came out of some trees and stumbled onto this most amazing scene.

They were eating and talking and singing with intermittent bursts of hearty belly laughter. They teased me and called me a "Portland city-slicker" when I asked them what they were having for lunch (chicken stew on tin plates with wooden utensils), as these pioneers eat breakfast, dinner, and supper. They chided Eric for wearing shorts, because without proper leg coverage he could get injured, and then what use would he be? How could he provide for his family? And the boys (of course) were mystified by the guns and the "belt-o-bullets." And I swear that's Nellie Olsen sitting there at the dinner table, hair bow and all. It was awesome. If only Mr. Edwards had come tromping out from the trees with pennies and candy sticks, my Little House fantasty would have been complete!

How Can It Be?

2007-05-03T12:26:00.000-07:00

My baby is 8! Happy Birthday, sweet Jack. I love you with all of my heart!

May Day, in a Good Way

2007-05-01T23:26:00.001-07:00

May Day
Originally uploaded by Meegan Blue.

I've had this thing about May Day ever since I was little. I love it more than I can say. In Lower School we used to do the May Pole dance, and make paper cones full of flowers to adorn the doors of those we love. So Zöe and I decided to embrace May Day today, sneaking from house to house with our doorknob creations. I don't need to tell you that Zöe is an excellent sneaker, or that I thought of my grandmother (my fellow May Day lover) with each one of Zöe's bouncing, zig-zagging secret steps. And when Max came home from school boasting a paper cone of his own, billowing with pipe cleaner and paper flowers, the tradition was complete.

Happy May Day! Happy Spring!

xoxo
Meegan & Zöe (and Max too!)

Hippity Hoppity

2007-04-07T12:49:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken of me and my bestest cousin Jubal around 1977-1978, maybe? I don't remember the event at all (Jubal...do you?), but I do know that we were at the Lloyd Center. Nowadays it's just a regular, encolsed, everyday mall, but back then it looked like this. Oh, if only they had embraced its open-air Mid Century coolness and left it alone, just think of the fun we'd have!

Anyway, Happy Easter and Happy Spring! Here's yet another photo of the mantle, now fancied up with tissue paper finery from this place, the most addictive store in town.

And I'll leave you with this little blast from the past, a commercial my brother and I absolutely loved. Thanks Easter Bunny, Bawk, Bawk!

No blues for this cowgirl

2007-03-26T15:37:00.000-07:00

For years, and I really mean years, I have been not-so-secretly coveting the work of Ramonster's Kathie Sever. Her stuff is so distinct, so spectacular, totally rock and roll and radio flyer all rolled into one firecracker package. This year for Zöe's birthday I thought it would be really cool for her to have her own beautifully made bit of reto cowgirl swankwear. But try finding one! After unsuccessfully searching, Kathie kindly answered my pleas and custom-made this beautiful dress for Zöe. Isn't it awesome? Don't you want one for yourself? (She makes a grown-up version!) When Zöe's not wearing it, I hang it prominently, ahem, in my little studio where I find myself contentedly gazing at it all throughout the day...

So, since my dad's birthday and Zöe's are so close together we decided to have a party for the both of them. And since he, too, appreciates that retro cowboy aesthetic (being, after all, a quintessential kid-of-the-fifties...the Lone Ranger, Roy Roger) we decided to make it a theme. How cute are those two? I had a vision in my head of this photo that I wanted to capture, and was so happy that it actually materialized. Yee-haw! Happy Birthday, you two!

And one last note for all of you Portland folk: the incdredible, amazing Kathie Sever has an incredible, amazing husband named Matt. Matt is a super talented musician with a show coming up on April 19th here in Portland at Missippippi Studios. Check out his website: Matt the Electrician, listen to some tunes here, and I'll see you all at the show!

Playing Hooky

2007-02-22T15:57:00.000-08:00

Jack had a follow-up dentist appointment today, to get some of that crazy fissure sealant that I remember getting as a kid. It was right at lunchtime, so we had a great excuse to spend a little extra time goofing around before I took him back to school. It is super nice to get some hang out time with just one of my big boys. Zöe was there too, and I could tell see was enjoying her Jack-only time just as much as I was. It's just so different when the boys are together.. Zöe, Eric and I are almost invisible, none of us truly able to crack the wall of boy-conversation and imagination surrounding those two. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that they're close. I just like getting my time too.

Today we feasted on pizza, rode the pony, played a few video games, cracked up over Calvin and Hobbes (Jack's new obsession), and ate some of the yummiest doughnuts in town. Hooky is good, but only when it's with your mom. You got that, cowboys?

bee-utiful!

2007-02-17T14:30:00.000-08:00

Oh my sweet, dear sunshine. Today has been a gift from Mother Nature if I've ever seen one. Sunny, warm and fragrant with the promise of Spring. Tomorrow wll be dark and rainy yet again, but today...today is a golden glimpse of the deliciousness just around the corner. And our first flower too! Wonders!

Hearts

2007-02-14T13:53:00.000-08:00

A thousand, million, big, snuggly red hearts to all of you. Happy Valentine's Day!

Preparations.

2007-02-13T09:42:00.000-08:00

So important. The proper Valentine selection for the intended recipient. Jack wants the very best ones for Tomlin, Jasmyne and Asa. Max insists on two each for Ella and Katie. What can this mean?

Meet Mr. Dash

2007-02-08T23:52:00.000-08:00

He's the handsome little wire fox terrier standing there in the corner. And he's feeling more than a little freaked out because he keeps having this dream, see. A dream where he's owned by a smart, sassy, high-steppn', smoking, beret-wearing, French kitty. And he's pretty damn sure he's gonna have to play ball.

Thanks mom and dad! Our walls can be your storage space anytime.

Hey, remember me?

2007-02-05T17:25:00.000-08:00

Oh my, what a long and unintended hiatus from blogging! Everything is fine here, I just kind of crashed after Christmas and needed a break from all things handmade. In fact, when I made this little smock for Zöe on Saturday it was the first time I had turned on my sewing machine since Christmas Eve. It was nice to get my machine started up with inspiration, excitement, and desire rather than a sense of work.

So, my mom designed this little pup for me to embroider. Isn't he cute? I made it into a pocket and put it on this little smock for Zöe to wear to the Wurst Gallery's Wurstminster Dog Show on Saturday night. We had another engagement beforehand, so we didn't even get to the show until almost nine. It was packed! Like, you had to wait for someone to leave before you could go in, packed. There was so much fantastic stuff, and lots of it.

My mom did this amazing painting, and the kids really got a kick out of seeing it up on the wall in a crowded happenin' place. Although, I may not have explained the concept of an art show very clearly because this morning Jack asked me, "Who won?" Max fell asleep in the middle of the whole fracas, stretched out on the window seat with his head on my dad's lap. And Zöe was like a clip-on koala bear, clinging to me for dear life. I don't think her feet touched the floor once. So much for the themed outfit. You can check out all of the pieces in the online gallery here.

It's good to be back! I missed you guys!

2006-11-28T09:38:00.000-08:00

Even a smattering of snow is enough to excite the Native Portlander. Which is why we were bundled up and playing mere moments after getting out of bed this mornng. The boys were too little to remember the last really big snow storm we had, so there was tremendous excitement over this dusting. We managed to scrape together a few snowballs, throw them, taste them, smash them onto each others' coats. Max and I re-created our favorite scene from this movie, which became a pretty funny scene itself.

"Max, honey. Okay, stick your tongue out but don't actually touch the pole. Okay? Just get really, really close. That's it. Yikes! Too close, too close! Perfect."
And after taking the last photo in front of our crazy inflatables, it was inside for waffles, hot chocolate and getting ready for school. Let the season begin!

Happy Halloween!

2006-10-31T08:56:00.000-08:00

This is one of my all time favorite Halloween Photos. It's from Jack's first Halloween when he was six months old. Yes, he is really inside of the pumpkin. It was super duper cold in there, but he sat inside of it happily, if not a little bit bewildered. The next photo in the series shows him munching on the side. Yum.

Incidentally, this is the photo that landed Jack a contract with a real live, well known modeling agency (we lived in LA after all) but that's another post. And although the experience was scary enough to make for some good Halloween frights, it'll have to wait for another day. We've got pumpkins to carve!

Have a hauntingly horrible Halloween, one and all!

The Knock

2006-10-28T09:17:00.000-07:00

If you have just a minute, head on over to my dad's blog. He's got a great You Tube video of Zöe playing one of the games from last week's school carnival, which she's dubbed "The Knock." And she's been a legend in this house ever since...especially since the boys played shortly after and scored a big fat Zero. Girl Power!

180 Degrees

2006-10-23T16:41:00.000-07:00

What this nice fall, pumpkin patch, hayride photo doesn't show you is what was to be found 180 degrees in the other direction. And that would be the enitre population of the greater Portland Metro area out on Sauvie Island getting their pumpkins on Sunday afternoon. If we'd thought for 10 seconds we could have guessed it. But we didn't. The siren song of a crisp, sunny fall day clouded all of our judgement. And it really was beautiful. And it really was busy. And we really did wait in a very long line of cars to get back over the bridge. But once we were across, the line of cars coming in stretched for at least two miles. And then I was really glad that we were heading home, pumpkins thumping together in the back of the van.

Kickin' It

2006-10-17T15:25:00.000-07:00

That's a misleading title actually. "Kickin' it" would likely imply that things have been chill, when really they've been anything but. Have I really not posted since August?!? Yipes!

We're all good, school has been great. There's lots of homework to be done, soccer balls to be kicked, food to be made, friends to play with. The hours from 3:00 to bedtime pass in a whirlwind, and for that matter the hours from breakfast to 3:00 seem to pass just as quickly. My friend Holly and I have done five (five!) Fairy Birthday Parties this past month alone. I haven't written about this secret fairy life of mine yet, and I will sometime in the future. For now we'll just say it's a very fun creative outlet and the closest I think I'll ever get to being anything remotely like a rock star. Considering we've done maybe five parties total in the past year, five in one month has been enough to make even the most orgaized fairy's head spin. But fun, they're always fun.

And I've been making skirts. The first one started off as a purse like this one, and morphed quickly and efficiently into a skirt for Zöe. Then that morphed into selling skirts to lots of girls we know. You know that patchwork thing. It's just so pleasing to sit and put different fabrics together. And I get so excited about it, each new combination better than the last. I feel like stacking them up on my head and meandering around the neighborhood, "Skirts! Skirts for sale! ~~50 cents a skirt~~!" Well...not quite like that. But you get the idea. So if you know a girl (I've done sizes one through ten so far...) who is in need of a patchwork skirt, please email me and I can give you more details. My friend Lila has requested a grown-up version, so I'm playing around with how to make that happen.

That's it, in a nutshell. Just kickin' it.

Bedroom Re-Do

2006-08-25T10:57:00.000-07:00

Here's the promised post about the kids' "new" bedrooms. With school starting, and different soccer schedules for both of the boys, my already sparse blog attendance might get even more sparse for a little while. But once we settle into the new routine I'm anticipating lots of nice time at home with my little girl. Zöe and I have never had much one-on-one time at all (although the boys play together so intensely that sometimes it does feel as though they're not really here, but rather off together in imagination land) so it's really going to be a treat to have some time just with her. This will also mean extra cleaning time, reading time, craft time and computer time because when Zöe takes her nap...it'll be Mommy Time! This is not to say that I'm not going to miss those big, active boys. It's so hard to see them go. Jack is an old pro at school now, but I can hardly believe that my little Max is beginning full-day Kindergarten. My, oh my.

So anyway, several weeks back Jack informed me that he felt there was still dust in his bedroom from when Nana (my grandmother) lived here. My mind raced in several directions when I heard this, and thankfully this was one of the very rare times when I actually processed a thought or two before speaking. First, there was never a speck of dust in this house when my grandmother lived here. Ever. Second, while I may enjoy doing almost anything before housework, our house is not dirty. It was then that I realized what he meant. The paint in Jack and Max's bedroom really needed sprucing. And while I loved the rich, chocolate brown color my grandparents painted it like, thirty(!) years ago, it also needed a change. So change we did. In addition to painting it with Pratt & Lambert's "Briney Deep" we debunked their bunk beds, got new sheets, duvet covers, lamps, bedside tables, and totally organized the overflowing mess of toys that was threatening to smother them in their sleep.

Such a remarkable and profound change! The first night Max ran around kissing all of his new things, and jumping for joy that he now had a "real" bed. Apparently the poor little guy never felt at home in his cave-like bottom bunk dwelling. So now it's fantastic! They play up there all the time, instead of always bringing their toys down to the living room. They sit on their beds, alone and together, and look at books. They hang out and talk. I couldn't be happier to see them loving and enjoying their space.

And in the interest of fairness, but mostly because I was totally excited to decorate, we re-worked Zöe's room too. She was so fascinated by the boys "new" beds (she really, really wanted to sleep with Max that first night...) that it seemed like a good time to move her into a Big Girl Bed. With a new bed, sheets, duvet cover, dresser and paint (two shades of pink...Pratt & Lambert's "Ballet Pink" and "More Than Pink") we were able to transform Zöe's little space into a glittering jewel box.

She digs it in a major way and has done marvelously without the crib. I end up sleeping in there with her if she wakes up in the night (which can be often) but it's sweet and cozy, so that works for me. Incidentally, we ordered Zöe's bedframe online and she was soooooo excited that she carried around the printed-out photo of her new bed for days until it arrived. And boy does she have that girlie squeal of excitement down pat. Zoiks! My eardrums were not happy, but I was. It's worth all of the hard work to see the kids proud and excited and enjoying their bedrooms.

We're coming up really soon to being in our house for one full year. That's funny, because their room re-dos were right there at the top of my list when we moved in. Oh well, better late than never. Enjoy those last few late-nights of summer vacation everyone, and best wishes for happy first days of school to the students in your lives!

Show and Tell

2006-08-15T16:56:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to show these crafted items for a while now...but, you know. And as Eric's mom is visiting and there's really no time to post, this will be photo heavy today. I'm loving this patchwork business. The bag above went straight from my sewing machine to my good friend Holly. I have four more cut, but have yet to find the time to make them. They are so pretty and not very hard but they take forever to complete.

This bag took even longer to make so I'm keeping it, darn it! Turquoise and red, some summertime goodness.

And last, here's our Lucy from Hillary's put-together book. The kids want way more of these, Jack and Max included, so I'll have to figure out a boy-version. I've seen this done on Hilary's Flickr site and will definitely be giving it a whirl. It was so much fun to make...the ideas for new ones are swirling around as I sit here.

Next post: photos from the Kids Room Redecoration Summer 2006. If I'm not in a fatigue-induced catatonic state by then, that is.

Fun Times, Oregon Style!

2006-08-07T23:18:00.000-07:00

Gosh. Such a very, very long time since I last posted. It's summer. I have three kids. I'm stumbling into bed at night. My skin is tight and itchy from the chlorine at the pool we visit daily, my fingers perpetually stained from snow cones and berries. The house is a mess (and I'm not just saying that...it is a m.e.s.s.), and I don't think my hair has been out of ponytails in weeks. But it's summer. And we're living it to the fullest. The kids aren't going to bed until 10 (or later!) and they're getting up late too. Breakfast is at lunchtime, lunch is dinner, and dinner is right before bed. Our best accomplishment by far is that Jack has finally learned to swim, in true Jack fashion. He went from not wanting to put his face in the water, to sprouting gills in the space of one day. Now when we're at the pool I can barely get him to surface. The boy is obsessed and oh, so happy with his newfound skill.

The last couple of weekends we've had a great time with day trips outside of the city. The first was our Super Salem Sunday, where we visited A.C. Gilbert's (the inventor of the Erector Set) Discovery Village. It's a super, super cool museum with quite possibly the coolest play structure ever; a multi-story labyrinth of twisting, turning passageways and a really long (like five complete twists!) twisty tube slide that is pitch dark. Scary and so fun! We played a rousing chase game of Zombie Mommy, despite the soaring 105 degree heat. That is, until I noticed Jack's face, which was deep scarlet yet strangely white around his mouth, nostrils and eyes. Can you say heatstroke? We rushed him inside for some air conditioning and water, poured in him as well as on him, and he was ready for more fun.

After the museum we took an excursion ride on the Willamette Queen Sternwheeler. Jack got to steer (wink wink), and wear the Captain's hat, and spy through the spyglass. But Max was too happy chatting with Uncle Cabel and soon-to-be Aunt Nicole to be bothered with such funny business. It was a super nice ride, for a super Salem day. And just as we were all about to completely collapse from the heat we had a lovely dinner in the lovely air conditioning at Nicole's mom's lovely house. Did I say it was lovely? I contemplated for a very long moment crashing for the night on her lovely air conditioned floor...

The following weekend involved a ferry and some trains. The Canby Ferry has always been one of our favorites. A short hop across the Willamette River, the ferry holds nine cars and is run by cables so there are lots of cool gears and machinery to watch as you cross. But that was just a side trip as our real mission was...

...the absolute coolest little train park on the planet. Shady Dell, home of the Pacific Northwest Live Steamers. It's a sweet little park in the middle of the country (Molalla, for those of you in the know) with great spots for enjoying a picnic and trains. Real, miniature steam trains that you can ride for the incredible cost of free. The ride is long, looping several times around the park (but not just the same track repeatedly), over bridges, past water, and it's ridden by people of all ages, as well as all shapes and sizes. It really is so cool, and so "Oregon," I can't do it justice at all. If you're local, just go check it out. If you're out-of-state, I'm sorry. I hope you have something this quaint and wonderful somewhere near where you live. I'm sure you do...

Braids and Baby Cobbler

2006-07-12T16:55:00.000-07:00

Okay, so they're not yet Anne of Green Gables worthy, but I was very happy that we could plait tiny little braids into Zöe's hair yesterday. She looks so cute and sassy when her hair is short, but it's just so darn pretty with big fat curls that I'm thinking we'll grow it longer for a bit and see how that works out. Perhaps we'll have some bigger, better braids in our future.

Yesterday I took Braids and the Boys out to pick some berries. They love searching the bushes for the perfect fruit, which are so often elusively hiding under a patch of leafy greenery. There usually unfolds all manner of contests between Them and Me, with categories ranging from Most Berries Picked to Berry With The Ugliest Bug . Since I'm a Zone Picker (as in, "yeah, yeah sure...let me just get these few here....and here....and here...") I'm oblivious to much of the contest shenanigans, so I don't win any of them. And boy did it feel a lot like Blueberries for Sal with Zöe puttering along behind me, eating the blueberries as quickly as I could put them in the basket. When she'd sneak some from The Boys they'd scold her, "Zooooooeee, take 'em from the treeeeees, not our baskeeeeeet!" Then she'd just get sneakier.

Once home, Zöe donned her Hello Kitty apron (which was mine long, long ago) and helped me make my very first cobbler with the blueberries and marionberries we picked. As a girl my mom used to play a wrestling game with her big brother, my Uncle Joe, which they called "Mountain Joe and Baby Cobbler." I always loved thinking of them playing their made-up game, and the title used to throw me into fits of giggles when I was small. And so "cobbler" has been one of my favorite words ever since. Oy, you should hear Zoe say it over and over. I swear I could listen to it all day long...So without further ado, here's our Baby Cobbler. I pretty much felt like a Mountain Joe when I was finished eating. Yum. Of course, more pictures here.

Bag-A-Rama

2006-07-10T18:27:00.000-07:00

I made my first purse last week for our Anniversary date night. Oh my goodness...it's so much fun to make a purse! It seems so odd and not right, all inside out and hoopdey, and then you pull the whole the right side out and...presto! Like magic, it works! This is Amy Butler's Velma Bag and I used the leftover fabric from the cute skirt I made a while back. And speaking of cute skirts...I sized it down and made three more of those pretties. There's fabric for at least four others waiting in the hopper. I love that pattern!

I've been very inspired by all of the patchwork stuff I've been seeing around like this, and this, which have been inspired by this incredible book which I finally bought at Uwajaimaya on Saturday . So today I tried my hand at some quilted patchwork. My, oh my. There will be plenty more of this in my future! It's really satisfying and fun.

I Love a Parade!

2006-07-05T11:23:00.000-07:00

After staying up rather late to make my little independent girl a little Independence Day dress, I thought I was having visions of delirium when the festively decorated wagons, bikes and scooters began making their way up our street to the schoolyard. After making some inquiries, we learned that there is an annual 4th of July kids parade which winds its way through our sweet tree-lined neighborhood. How did I miss that memo? I'm not one to miss out on the fun, even while suffering from very little sleep. So in the 15 minutes we had until the parade began we threw together our vehicles and joined the fray.

It was sweet beyond words. And while I know we don't live in Beverly Cleary's actual neighborhood, it felt like something straight out of a Ramona book. More fun photos here.

And as the sun set, that same schoolyard became a meeting place of a different kind. People came from all around hauling boxes and bags loaded with fireworks. Each one may as well have been marked with "TNT" on the side, so cartoonish was the way the roman candles, bottlerockets and mortars protruded from their containers. The neighborhood was rattled by continual explosions, the sky thick with smoke, raining showers of sparks. A little more edgy, but equally fun!

And speaking of fireworks...Happy Anniversary honey!! It's been nine incredible years of wedded wonder (14 since we first became a couple!) and the colorful explosions of sparkling beauty that I first felt when I met you, continue to fill my heart every day. I love you!

My Favorite Five Days

2006-07-02T11:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday marked the beginning of my very favorite five days of the year. It begins with my birthday, culminates with our anniversary and contains lovely sunshine, food, blueberry pie, fireworks, splashing, family and lots of fun throughout. Hooray for the summer! Yipee!

Oleson's Mercantile with a Fairy Shopper Twist

2006-06-09T13:41:00.000-07:00

Last night we played a rousing rendition of Store. I've loved playing Store (and Library and School...) for as long as I can remember. And even though Nellie Oleson was the Little House girl-we-loved-to-hate, I was enamored that her family owned the Mercantile. I loved to imagine climbing up the rolling wall ladder to retrieve bolts of calico for Ma, or handling the glass apothecary jars to get herbs for Ms. Beadle, or a peppermint stick for Laura. And lets not even get started on how amazing it would be to work the till. Yipes.

Jack and Max were the Shopkeepers, Zoe was Betty Q. Shopper and I was the bad, bad baby. Thankfully there are no photos of me in the act because it was ugly. I play a pretty darn good bad, bad baby (think Nellie here, or perhaps even Veruca Salt as a toddler) and the kids just think it's hilarious, which usually gets me acting like the baddest bad, bad baby they've ever seen. For the record, however, Zöe maintained her sweet mommy composure, patting my arm and telling me that it was all going to be okay, as I wailed and flailed because I'd eaten all of my cupcakes. Then she whipped out her credit card and bought me some more. That's love.

A Proposal!

2006-05-22T16:36:00.000-07:00

No, not for me silly. I've been a married woman for almost nine years already! But my brother, on the other hand, has popped the question and Nicole has said,"yes!" I've been in on the secret for a while now. I was very kindly asked to assist in ring selection, which was so much fun. Serious and poignant one moment, giggling and silly the next. As you can see above, I think we he did quite well. Isn't it a stunner?

The two of them are in Tokyo at the moment, where Cabel did the asking. I can't wait for them to return for some good cheer and celebratory champagne! We're all on cloud nine about the whole deal. Except the boys. They adore Nicole, but they're already fretting about seeing the two of them kiss at the wedding. "Gross," is what Max muttered. I told them that if they need to, and can do so secretly, they can close their eyes for that part. This gave them much relief. I'm going to enjoy this grossing out on girls thing for as long as it lasts. I just know it'll feel like tomorrow when girls are, strangely, not so gross anymore. I mean, look at my brother. The little rat picked the lock on my Hello Kitty Diary, read about me kissing a boy, totally grossed out, and then teased me mercilessly. (He'll tell you he actually felt guilty reading it but I don't believe him...) He's getting married? How did that happen?

Anyway, congratulations Cabel and Nicole! We love you guys!

Lil' Gamers

2006-05-08T15:54:00.000-07:00

A very funny interview with Max and Jack can be seen here, by clicking on the link at the end of the post. They are definitely following in my brother's illustrious gaming footsteps. This photo was taken way back in December at Cabel and Nicole's apartment (or compartment, as Max calls it) and was just too fitting to not be included.

Also a quick word about freezer paper stencils: righteous! I am having the best time making these t-shirts. A great Flickr group can be found here, and a tutorial here.

I found the freezer paper in the baking section of Fred Meyer. It's made by Reynolds, and was like six bucks for 150 square feet. And I've been using the Jacquard textile Paint found at Michaels. It works great! More stenciled items are sure to follow.

Spools of Thread

2006-05-04T16:56:00.000-07:00

After reading Blair's post a while back about her new sewing studio I was totally, completely, and wholeheartedly inspired. I was also sick and tired of dragging my sewing machine and supplies out of the cabinet and setting them up on the dining room table each and every time I wanted to sew. So I bought a little desk and rearranged things in order to fix myself a little studio nook. Here's what it looked like before. This new space is unbelieveable! And the best part ever is that it's in the same room as the computer. I can stream and podcast to my heart's content. Last week it was all about KCRW from LA, this week it's Ricky Gervias. You can see some more studio photos here. It still needs to be painted, but I was just too anxious to wait for that step. I'll have to come back to that part when I have some time. But the very, very best part of all is that until I saw Blair's photos, I didn't even know that there was such a cool thing for arranging spools of thread. It's my new favorite thing on earth.

So all of this newfound sense of place has been inspiring. I've had this kimono/pants combination idea in my brain for quite a while now, and finally had a moment to draft it and put it together. I'm super happy with the results! I made a button hole for the first time, for the tie to fit through. This isn't much to brag about since my machine has an automatic button-holer, but I've been afraid of it forever. I used bias tape for the first time as well. That stuff is great! And it was really fun to peruse the Asian fabrics of Fabric Depot, an area I had never before explored. Of course, more kimono photos here.

Happy Jack, It's Your Birthday!

2006-05-03T07:19:00.000-07:00

How and when did my little New Year's Baby become SEVEN? I took this photo in our LA apartment, the one with the greatest light ever. Jack's always been such a happy guy. (A story for another time...this is one of the photos that landed baby Jack an agent! It was LA after all. How funny is that?)

Ever since he could, Jack would immerse himself in his involved world of imagination. It started by playing Matchbox cars with my dad when he was about one. He would just drive them around forever, making noises, imagining. Then he got into construction trucks and we'd sit forever watching the action all around our LA neighborhood. Along came trains and that one was huge. The layouts of Brio track were infinitely more complex, the couplings of his trains intensely calculated. We've done dinosaurs, Rescue Heroes, Thunderbirds, Star Wars, Astro Boy, Bionicles, and now (ack) Pokemon. But the cool thing about Jack is that no matter what he's "into" he makes it completely his own. His capacity to create with play knows no bounds. His toys are vehicles for his imagination. The entire day is an adventure for his mind. Very often we have to "call him back" to our world, only to have him slip away mere minutes later. You could put the kid in a bare room with two sticks and he's be content for a good hour, at least.

Along with that divine imagination, he's just a great guy. He's a responsible boy, a dutiful big brother, funny, loving and kind. He's built of pure muscle, can get a soccer ball past me with his eyes closed, and is the pickiest eater I have ever known, but he makes up for that by being the best snuggler on the planet. Happy Birthday, Moondoggie. You'll always be my Baby New Year.

Happy Hands

2006-04-28T01:11:00.000-07:00

If you live in Portland, and find yourself with some spare time on Saturday (that's tomorrow...yikes!), stop by the Happy Hands Market on 33rd and Alberta. We'll be there with lots of fun handmade goods from 12-4. I'm selling apron dresses, a few skirts, and some pennant-type fabric bunting. After that I plan on having a good stiff drink and some much-needed sleep.

Sometime soon I'll be begging my brother to help me start an online shop. Something like my gal Textile Fetish. I love these crafty gatherings, but it is tough to try and crank out a bunch of things on a mom-of-three schedule. I'm sapped. And I miss blogging.

I designed this skirt for Zöe and have made a few more to add to my dress collection for Saturday. Eventually I'll size it up for the big girls too. It fits nice and a-line, just like I wanted, falls a bit below the knee and looks very cute. The other versions have a middle panel of a contrasting fabric much like these by Rebecca.

Hope to see some of you tomorrow, and for those I don't...happy weekend!

Secret Sisterhood Society

2006-04-17T16:02:00.000-07:00

On Friday evening my house was filled with some keen skirts looking absolutely swanky, dolled up in their 1920's glad rags. The giggle water was flowing freely; we beat our gums, hit some cards, and even smoked a few ciggys. A few of us wound up quite zozzled, a few of us won some scratch playing poker, but jeepers creepers the joint was jumpin' and everything was Jake! Hot socks, it was one ducky time!

My dear friend Sarah and I threw a Secret Sisterhood Society Poker Party as a fundraiser for our Preschool Auction. Our basement served as the perfect spot for a Speakeasy. Eric was our dutiful manservant, mixing and pouring (real Singapore Slings, Cosmopolitans and Champagne Cocktails) with such finesse that no one's glass was ever empty. Sarah's brother Noah was our dealer, kindly maintaining his patience with a bunch of chatty dolls. And everyone looked fantastic in their get-ups. Sarah and I had such fun opening the little "Who-Goes-There?" door of our front door with each arrival. They'd whisper the secret password and we'd giggle each time to see such other-era faces peeking in. Our lovely friend Colleen was a time traveling visitor from the 1950's (she looked perfect in our knotty pine basement...next time we'll have to have a 50's party) with her thrifted find of a dress so excellent we insisted she wear it. The dresses were incredible, and yet my gal Sarah and I loved pushing our costumes in the other direction, inspired by the great Marlene Dietrich. Too much fun. More party photos here.

I've got it bad...

2006-04-10T07:35:00.002-07:00

...the sewing bug, that is. Hence, the reason I haven't posted in over a week! Sorry. But it may be this way for a while. With packing, moving, unpacking and room-painting I hadn't even glanced at my sewing machine since last summer, when I was madly making these for my friend Holly's backyard Art in August gathering.

But then a few weeks ago someone asked if I was going to be making my apron-dresses again and now suddenly, bam! I'm back at it and involved in three different crafty shows all coming up in the space of two weeks. I've concocted an apron-skirt as well, and am also working on an open-sided tunic style top. In addition to that I actually sat down, took some time, faced my fears, and figured out how to make something following a real pattern. Shazam! I made some pants and a peasant top for Zöe! Thank you, Rebecca, for kindly explaining how to put the leg inside of the leg for easy crotch seam sewing on the pants. I never would have figured that one out without your explanation!

So this newfound pattern thing has opened up a whole new world of possibilities and I absolutely can't stop thinking about sewing. Can't. Stop. When I get even better I want to make some of these! I'll post more information on the shows as the days approach, and more photos of dresses and such as well. For now, you'll just find me sewing.

Happy Birthday Zöe Dott!!!

2006-03-30T07:40:00.000-08:00

Our sweet little monkey-girl turns two today! It's hard to believe, and seems like both a long and and short amount of time simultaneously depending on my angle of thought.

It's been a long two years with a feisty, strong-willed, independent girl who is crafty (as in the wiley sense) and gets into everything. In a house much bigger than our last one, and with two older children to care for as well, there appears to be plenty of little minutes for Zöe to find troble. She pushes chairs and step stools, piles pillow and books, to get to anything she wants anywhere in the house. Nothing is out of her reach. Yesterday I had to call Poison Control (just writing that makes me shudder) because I thought she has ingested half a bottle of Triaminic Cough and Cold. In the reinactment she showed me that she poured in down the toilet, but that delicious grape flavor was on her breath so I just couldn't be sure. Turns out she was fine and I'm now convinced that the toilet was, in fact, where it was dumped. A lesson learned. Last week she poured an entire cup of water on the cat becuase she wanted to give her a bath. In the middle of the night she stretched and reached the light switch from her crib and turned on the bright, bright overhead ceiling light, never making a peep. Apparently this light was lovely to her because she then fell asleep with it blaring from above. While coloring, she became an expert in the skill of Body Art. In mere minutes arms, legs, feet, hands were covered in marker (at least it wasn't Sharpie) bold and brilliant. The boys were never like this. At all. In fact, if you can believe this, they learned to push the chair around in order to get what they want in the kitchen from her. When things are quiet is when the imp is on the loose.

And it's been a short, short two years with my baby girl. She mezmerizes me with her excitement, passion, zest for life. She's sassy, in a good way, spirited. She holds my face in her chubby baby-hands and says, so giddy she can barely contain herself, "Look mama, come see the meow outside...now!" She runs down the street (away from me as fast as she can...) with her head thrown back, hair blowing in the wind, laughing hard. She splases in puddles until they no longer contain water. She cleans, organizes things, uses her little broom to help me in the kitchen, pretends to feed everyone and brush their hair (the boys love that one). She charms people everywhere we go with her happy smile and bouncing blond curly hair. She charms us all.

In all ways, now that I think of it, these years have flown by. The Imp and the Charmer move together in a delicate dance to make Zöe our girl. She wouldn't be Zöe any other way. Happy Birthday little Dott, we love you!!!

Ta-Da!!!

2006-03-29T16:18:00.000-08:00

After what feels like months (wait, it was months...) of working on our house, the exterior is finally complete! You can see the "before" photo here. The roof was finished in November and the painters just finished on Monday. It feels so good to have the old place spruced up. Reminds me of the scene from Wizard of Oz where everyone gets new polish, stuffing and a pretty red bow.

The Weather-Gods smiled on us with several nice days in a row for the painters to get things wrapped up. They must have sensed my impending mental break down, because they really cranked it out. Two weeks of having all of the windows in the house covered with paper and painted over is enough to drive anyone to the funny farm. As my friend Liesl put it, " You begin to feel like one of those scary cases from CSI..."

And then there was the issue of the wrong body color which covered about two-thirds of the house for a few days. That was the stressful incident that I referred to in my last post. What you now see as a nice leafy-green, was instead a pukey yellow-ochre-gold. I was so worried that somehow I had given them the wrong color, but in fact the paint store messed up the mixing. And good old Sherwin-Williams made it all better. It really is amazing, though. The two colors didn't look that different side by side on the wall, but when magnified the difference on the house was phenomenal.

So now it's done! And I am very happy. After many, many years of brown-on-brown this good old house has earned it's time to "pop" with vibrant color and life. I know that my grandmother (masterful color-lover that she was) is looking in on us and loving this new incarnation.

You can see more photos here.

Photobooth Friday #7: Girlfriends

2006-03-24T15:28:00.000-08:00

Zöe and I made a trip to the mall today (Lloyd Center) to buy birthday goodies for my dad who turns 60 tomorrow!!! My parents have gotten us all (our family of five, my parents, and Cabel and Nicole) rooms at the new Cannery Pier Hotel in Astoria for tomorrow night. The hotel looks beautiful and the kids are completely wound up with excitement, so it should be fun! At any rate, a stop by the photobooth was necessary today. It's been a hectic, stressful week (I'll give you details next week...) and some photobooth fun was just the trick to celebrate a beautiful, sunny Springtime Friday. Have a great weekend, all!

Jenny Love

2006-03-21T14:09:00.000-08:00

Several weeks ago I was reading Angry Chicken, when I stumbled upon this post of Amy's. The rush of memories that struck me when I saw her Mandy photos nearly knocked me off my chair. I hadn't thought about my Jenny doll for years, and the instant aching I had for her was almost painful. As a kid I wasn't really into dolls. I was strongly discouraged from acquiring Barbies (and truth be told that was okay with me), and baby dolls didn't hold my interest at all. But when Fisher Price came out with their "My Friend" line in 1979 it was a perfect fit. In my mind the girls were just like me, and it was so much fun to dress them in their cute, cute outfits. I don't know too much about the American Girl Dolls, but I think they appeal to much the same sensibility. Not babies, not Barbies, just regular girls.

Jenny was given to me for Christmas, I think I was 10. I wanted her for what felt like forever and was completely wound up with the possibility of actually getting her. I remember my mom asking me if I was sure I wanted Jenny, not Mandy, as my curly blond hair and green eyes were more Mandy-ish. But Jenny was the one for me. I loved the way she looked with her straight dark hair and big brown eyes. We came to my grandparents' house for Christmas Eve, as was the tradition every year, for dinner and exchanging gifts from family. My grandmother always lined up our presents (for me, my brother, and our cousins Jubal and Tristan) on the built in knotty pine bench in the basement party room. I remember racing downstairs and inspecting my packages for one that might be Jenny. It was torture to wait through the entire evening to finally open our gifts, but my patience was duly rewarded. I was over-the-moon when I opened my Jenny with extra outfits to boot! I remember spending a long time dressing her, switching the pieces around, and showing my grandmother all the combinations. I've loved her ever since.

So when I saw Amy's post I immediately called my mom to ask where she might be. My parents have been dutifully cleaning things out of the basement lately and driving them out to Catlin, where I attended Kindergarten through High School, to donate to the Catlin Gabel Rummage Sale (Go Blue Team!). I was certain she was gone. And when my mom's knowledge of her whereabouts was uncertain, it was like the kiss of death. I didn't ask again. I didn't want my parents to feel bad. They are so great about saving the important things. But, lo and behold, she was found! Not a shoe missing; tights, hats, dresses, shirts, every piece just as it should be. I almost cried, and left Eric to fend for himself with a house full of kids (ours and others) while I ran Operation Bring Jenny Home. The extraction and ensuing rescue were a resounding success! Many thanks to Amy for making it all happen in the first place.

A Serious Addiction...

2006-03-14T11:07:00.000-08:00

to Queen Bee Creations. Someone who will remain unnamed asked, "How many handbags does a girl need?" The answer: many, many of these beautiful bags would be fine, please! Which is why, when I found myself with some girlfriends at the very crazy Queen Bee "seconds and one-of-a-kinds sale" on Sunday, I walked away with two excellent, ever-so-slightly imperfect bags for the price of one! Hip Hip Hooray! Rebecca Pearcy of Queen Bee has something really fantastic going on here. Each of her new designs gets better and better. And now, a line of baby gear! How many handbags can a girl buy?

Photobooth Friday #6: Us

2006-03-10T07:34:00.000-08:00

Oh, how I love this man. It's pretty hard to believe that it was fourteen years ago that we took these photos. So much life we've lived since then!

It was my Senior year at Scripps College, in Claremont, California. I'd just returned from my study-abroad in York, England and getting back to London was just about all that was on my mind. I was serving coffee in The Motley (our campus fueling spot) when he ambled in. We chatted over the counter about music, The Gypsy Kings, and I was smitten. I remember stocking the coolers with soda and lemonade, all the while watching the reflection in the glass of him, sitting outside laughing with his friends. They were Grad Students. I loved his face, his glasses, such a smile, an easygoing manner, his laugh. We met again at an art party where he made me laugh and laugh. And when the evening was ending and it was Southern California cold, he offered me his shirt to keep me warm. I had to laugh again, and happily accept his asking permission for a kiss with such sweet Midwestern manners. We've been together ever since. I knew then that I wanted to marry him. I knew then that he'd be a fantastic dad. And he surpasses my expectations as a husband and a father with each and every day. I've loved him from that very first moment.

This photo was taken in the Photobooth on Balboa Island. It was the only place outside of Claremont that I knew how to get to, and even then I recall getting very, very lost. The 10 freeway, to the 210, freeway , to the 5 freeway? We got a lot better about getting around in the 10 years we spent in Los Angeles after we were finished with school. But nonetheless I think this may have been our first outside-of-Claremont date. Dinner at BJ's Pizza, a walk on the pier, photos in the booth, video games, and a ride on the Ferris Wheel. I was giddy with happiness, excited for our future, both arms around his waist as we tried to walk along. And I still am. Although now my arms have so many sweet little hands to hold, and I have to smile remembering our awkward hugging hobble of being just two. Only in my most glittery imagination could I envison all that our love would create, shining in that one brief flash-bulb moment when we stepped into the booth for our photo.

Pure Zöe

2006-03-04T15:48:00.000-08:00

This is Zöe. Absolutely. Completely. In her element. Loving life. She's a game of chase with screams which have no end. She's a ride down the hill going way too fast. Careening out-of-control yet laughing from her belly all the while. Pure. Fun. Crazy. Love.

Photobooth Friday #5: Voyage into the Future.

2006-03-03T13:40:00.000-08:00

Max, Zöe and I went on a wild goose chase yesterday looking for a photobooth. We tried to follow this lead, but ran into a dead end. There the photobooth sat, alone and broken, in an "employees only" section of the store. So sad. It would have been sweet if it had worked out, as it's super close to our house. But no such luck. An employee told me that it's been broken for months, the repair company is in Texas, and it doesn't matter anyway because due to the chemicals in the film development process these types of old school photobooths are illegal in Oregon. What? Is that true? I must investigate...

So we headed to the mall to try one of the new digital booths. I'm still not sure how I feel about the new ones. I tend to be very resistant to change and everything about it was just so different. Rather than spinning the cool blue stool to get the perfect height for the frame, there are buttons for adjusting the view of the camera and the bench is fixed. There is a monitor where you can see yourselves, but the lens is below that. Max was able to understand that he needed to look into the lens instead of at the monitor, but Zöe was too little to grasp that concept. She had a blast looking and laughing at the three of us on TV. That's okay, though. I was impressed that she actually sat there and made the appropriate silly faces at the appropriate times!

So with more practice (Jack was very unhappy that he missed out) and fine-tuning I think that this new one will work out fine, especially if it's my only choice. Yet, I can't help but feel nostalgic for the good old photobooth days. Something about the crazy noises that went on inside the machine while it was developing always made my imagination race. I would secretly imagine an army of little dwarves in there, feverishly etching our images onto the paper in a flurry of dwarfish activity. At least that was always worth a giggle.

More photobooth giggles here.

Sushiland

2006-03-02T15:58:00.000-08:00

We met Cabel for lunch today at the new Marine Polis/Sushiland in NW Portland near his office. And since Eric hasn't seen the kids for the last couple of evenings, he came too! Super yummy and fun. What could be better than sushi and sashimi inching it's way past your table on a clever winding conveyor belt? Max is fascinated by the whole concept and was a giggling heap of silliness when Cabel put Max's Playmobil skeleton on the conveyor belt for a long cicrcuitious ride. It made it's way past some chuckling diners, through the kitchen, and was momentarily kidnapped by two bandana-wearing sushi-eating bikers before riding along once again back into Max's eager hands. I really thought that Max might pee his pants from the laughing and the anticipation of the whole ordeal. Too funny.

Photobooth Friday #4: Me and My Mom (and Dad too...)

2006-02-24T08:29:00.000-08:00

Andrea's comment last week really got me thinking. I write a lot about my childhood. The memory of it is a huge part of my daily living, and the experience of it causes me to feel blessed beyond words. I have only wonderful memories: perfect, shiny and glittery with joy. In my mind my childhood plays like a grainy old movie dappled in sunlight. I am proud that I had such a time, and together with Eric's enthusiasm, love, and help I work hard to pass the same experience on to our children.

There was a time, though, that I found myself embarrassed at my luck. There was no pain, heartbreak, or devastation in my past, except perhaps that I wasn't allowed to watch The Love Boat. At a certain age I became aware that some of my friends had parents who were dating, partying, livin' the life. Mine were (and are) married, focused on their kids, working hard to have a solid family. It was so totally uncool. Yet deep down I was always secretly very, very thankful. It wasn't until much later that I felt I could be outwardly proud. And now that I have children of my own I'm thankful that I have a clear template, a map to follow. This is not to say that I don't often get seriously lost on unknown sidestreets, but the map is there if and when I need it.

So I guess I've said all of this in an effort to stall in what I really want to say, because I lack the words or the eloquence to do her justice. My mom. My hero, best friend, and inspiration. Tirelessly dedicated to her family, she's unknowingly the tender glue that sticks us all so lovingly together. She never ceases to amaze me, impress me, fascinate me. I love her more than I could ever, ever express. And here just talking about her leads my brain to feel like a champagne glass filled too quickly, effervescent bubbles racing for air only to spill over the edge in an eruption of quiet popping. It's just easiest said this way: when I was a kid happily tearing through my morning bowl of Lucky Charms, I would eat every bite except for one soggy pink marshmallow heart. This I would leave floating in it's sugary milk, for her. And when presented with this honor my mom would smile, happily eat her prize, and reward me with a shower of love. Who could ever ask for more?

Read This Book!

2006-02-20T09:28:00.000-08:00

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. Amazing, absorbing, rich, suspenseful, passionate, intriguing, fantastic, fantastic, fantastic! I will not tell you a single thing about it, not one word. Not. One. Word. You simply must get this book by whatever means possible and begin reading immediately. Do not read any reviews, do not even read the back of the book. I won't even include a link because I don't want you to read anything except the book itself. Do not talk to anyone (thank you Alicia for this excellent bit of advice...) just read, and read, and read. I read this standing at the kitchen counter pretending to cook dinner, sitting on the edge of the bed while I was supposed to be putting on my shoes, and many other unmentionable places including rooms where I could lock the door and pretend to be otherwise "occupied." And all the while that I was speeding, careening to the book's conclusion I was anticipating my sadness over finishing it. And now it's done. I hardly know what to do with myself. So please, when you've finished (and believe me it will be fast) email me so we can "discuss." There's so much to think about, so much to turn over in my brain, so much to talk about. Ack! I need a book club!

Photobooth Friday #3: Me and My Dad

2006-02-17T09:50:00.000-08:00

I had the best time ever as a kid. My parents were young. My dad worked nights, so I had both parents at home with me all day, every day. They hardly slept. I know they tried to craft their art in quiet moments, but I was more fun to them than anything else. They must have been tired, they had to be. But all of my early memories involve playing, reading, laughing, and running around with the complete attention and devotion of both my parents. It was fun beyond fun. And my dad was the best playmate ever. My mom too, but after a while she had to attend to all that mom stuff that didn't get done while she was playing with us. So my dad kept me busy and happy. He still does.

My mom watches Zöe on Wednesday mornings, and last week my dad took the morning off so he could stay home and play too. I stood there, watching the two of them on the floor surrounded by all of my old Fisher-Price toys (the garage, the house, the castle...) and it took everything in me not to cry. Those days of my dad and I playing on the floor seem so long ago, yet here he is with Zöe and it thrills me to see things all come full circle. But then he put the King on the little potty from the house and I was laughing through the watery-sheen over my eyes, while Zöe made a pee-pee sound and giggled too.

So that's us. Me and my dad. I think it might be 1974, probably the same photo booth at the dime store downtown where I took the photos with my grandma. My favorite has got to be the first one in which, yes, he has a cigar. Total Paper Moon. We're a team, pulling a con, on the lamb from the law and loving every minute.

El Diablo

2006-02-15T15:35:00.000-08:00

One of my lovely Valentine's Day surprises was this devilishly delectable treat my parents picked up at Alma Chocolate. It's a hand-made chocolate actually covered with edible 23 karat gold leaf, and is damn cool lookin'. Portlander Sarah Hart, in true DIY fashion, started off selling chocolates from her home, at Farmer's Market, First Thursday and the like. She has now opened her own little brick-and-mortar shop on NE 28th and the buzz is great. Apparently she can't keep up with the demand for her amazing edible icons. And this must be true, as my dad went back for more the next day and the place was completely cleaned out. Fancy that! I'm enjoying looking at it so much, though, that I don't know if I can bring myself to actually eating it...well just maybe some from his ear...

100 Days of Painting...

2006-02-09T14:51:00.000-08:00

...at least. Well, not 100 consecutive days. But I did start this painting project way back in November. When we moved in, the kitchen color scheme was deep orange and olive green. Most likely way cool for my grandparents in 1975, and way cool today by retro standards, but I was really ready for a change. The kitchen is South facing and gets lots of incredible light, but the colors were really dark. I wanted to lighten things up and I think these two shades of yellow did the trick. Eventually we may remodel, but that's a few years down the road at least. So a paint remodel will do for now. Let me tell you, kitchens are hard to paint. Especially when you are painting every darn surface, need to use the cupborads and drawers practically every minute and have an almost two-year-old on the scene. So over 100 days later I'm finally finished! I still need 5 more knobs, two switchplates, and some repainting of the woodwork, but the hardest part is done. Whew! I finished last night around 2 am and celebrated with some Oreo's dunked in milk while I watched the last bit of Latenight with Conan. Today I have a hangover without the alcohol, and think I'll probably be in bed by 8. But it's done! Woo-hoo! For some more kitchen photos and the even better "before" ones, click here.

Mrs. Redrose Has Landed!

2006-02-03T16:29:00.000-08:00

Zöe and I made a little trip over to Alicia's shop this morning to pick up the beautiful cagelet we were lucky enough to score last week. Mrs. Redrose is her name and along with her shiny birdcage of bits and bobbins, she is the lovliest darling ever. We hung her cage with a red polka dot ribbon from the curtain rod in Zöe's room, and it works perfectly. I can't wait for some sunshine (from those South-facing windows) to shine through the pink curtains and give our new birdie some well-deserved glow. Zöe sang a sweet birdsong to her "caw-caw" as I rocked her at naptime.
Too bad she was hell-on-wheels earlier at the shop, screaming, slithering, and running for the puddles outside when all I really wanted to do was have a nice chat and look at all of Alicia's great stuff. Oh well. I guess that will have to be next time, when I go in without children. So thank you Alicia, we're very happy and love, love, love our dear Mrs. Redrose!

Photobooth Friday : Rose Festival

2006-02-03T08:19:00.000-08:00

This is our family right after we moved to Portland from Los Angeles in June of 2002. I have so few photobooth photos that are all still intact as a strip, and I do love the notion of a "series" so much, that I decided to post this one as a unit. The photo was taken in a booth at the Rose Festival "Fun Center" at Waterfront Park downtown. For those of you who live in Portland this needs no explanation. For those of you who do not, suffice it to say that Rose Festival is two weeks of pure insanity in which carneys, sailors and other such colorful characters inhabit the city.

I was so excited to be back home, and even more excited be in the thick of Rose Festival after missing it for 10 years, that my big fat head is the center piece of each of these photos. It's not easy to squeeze four people into the fame of a photo booth. Especially when two of them are squirmy as anything and don't understand what you're doing there in the first place. Looking at this now, it seems so incomplete without Zöe Dott as part of our family! But back then, who knew she's be gracing the scene? Life is so fun that way...

Thanks, Andrea, for starting such a fun group! You can check out more photobooth photos through her blog Hula Seventy. And if you know of any photo booths around Portland, please let me know. I've been itchin' to take some photobooth photos and can't think of where to find a single one!

SPT : Personal History #3

2006-01-31T09:50:00.000-08:00

My brother Cabel was born the summer that I turned six. The day ranks up there, along with my wedding day and the births of my children, as one of the top five best days of my life. Because even though we had (and still do!) fantastic, loving, fun, creative, involved and inspiring parents, that boy was mine...all mine. I was ready, willing and able to be his mom too.

My grandparents were babysitting me when my mom gave birth. I remember playing a board game with my grandmother in the living room as the phone rang. We went running down the hall to hear the news as my grandfather answered the phone in his office (where I sit right now). I rounded the corner in time to see his beaming face exclaiming with delight, "It's a boy!" I couldn't have been happier and immediately began counting the minutes until I could hold Cabel Maxfield in my arms.

My dad took me to Sears and bought me a new outfit for our trip to the hospital. A Scotch plaid jumper with tights and shiny shoes. It felt so foreign and exciting to be shopping only with my dad, for such an important costume. How much more grown up could I be? My ego was dashed mere hours later when, in 1976 hospital fashion, I wasn't even allowed onto the maternity floor. So I was carefully positioned on the padded bench outside of the elevator doors with instructions to wait for my parents and the baby. The baby! Minutes were hours. Each time the elevator doors opened I stood, only to be greeted by masses of unfamiliar faces. Sitting, standing, sitting, standing. Finally among the strangers emerged my lovely parents and the sweetest bundle of baby I had ever seen. The reward for my patience was the honor of holding him, on my lap, for the entire car ride home. Not until I was a mother myself did I realize what a huge leap of faith that had been, even in a world without infant carriers and child restraints.

We've always been friends, always been close, even through the bouts of normal sibling rivalry that came with age. There were the plays I concocted in which I coerced him to act, my ankles he grabbed from the darkness under the bed, the diary he pried open and read unbeknownst to me. We spent an entire summer filming a stop-action Lego movie and many, many times he made me laugh so hard that whatever I was drinking flew out of my nose, chocolate milkshake being by far the most painful. And through it all I've always been bursting with pride for him, as beaming as our own parents over his successes and accomplishments. He'll be 30 this summer, hard to believe. He's become an amazing grown-up guy: smart, musical, interesting, funny, kind, passionate about life and living it joyfully. I just can't help myself, I'm as enchanted with Cabel as I was staring at his tiny fingers through the turns and stoplights of that first car ride home.

On My Nightstand

2006-01-30T16:26:00.000-08:00

My goodness. After talking it up so heroically here like I was some kind of fantastic reading machine, I've finally read Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters. Why did it take me so long? I'm shamed to say it's not because I've been reading other great books, but simply that life got in the way for a while. I find it so hard to keep all of the interests, obsessions, and duties juggling successfully without letting something drop for a bit. So there you have it.

At any rate, once I got started I could hardly stop. I had been doing a lot of reading, historical fiction mostly, about Victorian London when I picked up this book way back in the summer. Love the time frame, love the location. And I've always been a big fan of the coming-of-age genre. Tipping the Velvet combines each of those things I love, with a twist. It's about Nancy Astley, a girl from a seaside oyster-town who forms a friendship and then falls in love with a music hall "masher." Miss Kitty Butler is a male-impersonator, a pretty boy in elegant clothes who sings and charms each music hall audience, a cross-dressing curiosity in 1880's England. The story follows Nancy with a strong narrative voice as she makes her way through London's music halls, high society, the streets of Piccadilly and the London slums. As her story unravels, spiraling downward at each turn, Nancy discovers the complexities of the human condition. She ultimately gains a true sense of herself, her sexuality and her place as a lesbian in the world around her.

Tipping the Velvet is such a fantastic read that I just bought Sarah Waters Fingersmith, but I probably won't get back to you on that one until Halloween. In the meantime I'll be checking out the BBC's version, now out on DVD.

Happy Birthday Max!

2006-01-26T07:02:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that five years ago, in the teeming metropolis of Los Angeles, our dear sweet Max was born. Jack was a mere 21-months-old, the age little Zöe is today, when we brought Max home from Cedars-Sinai. He was able only to speak in sounds and noises reminiscent of Gerald McBoing-Boing. Saying, "I'm so happy to have a baby brother!" was most certainly out of the question, but he was able to muster an enthusiastic "MA!" Thankfully Max was a dream baby; calm, content and perfect in every way. He was happy to be held, happy to lay in his basinet, happy to sit in his bouncy chair. He would nurse at night and go right back to sleep all by himself. It was truly a wonder to behold. With an energetic almost-two-year-old nipping at my heels I considered myself supremely lucky.

We lived in a cool, enormous, Spanish-style old Hollywood kind of apartment right near the intersection of Wilshire and Fairfax.
The LA County Museum of Art was pretty much across the street and adjacent to that were the La Brea Tar Pits. The famous Farmer's Market was only a short walk away. We busied ourselves at the park, the Market and the mall (Beverly Center), and made weekend day trips to Manhattan Beach, Griffith Park, and Pasadena. It was fun!

Well within the first year of Max's life it became clear to us that although they were brothers, Jack and Max were as different as peanut butter and jelly. While Jack was a boy's boy, busying himself with construction trucks and Brio trains, Max would spend hours looking at books, playing with stuffed aimals, and studying the faces of people around him. He was always happy and easy and almost eerily good natured, full of love and hugs and snuggles. And despite their differences, the boys developed a fast friendship which seems only to solidify and strengthen with each passing year. They have no concept of what life would be like without the other, and they talk a lot about how lucky they are. Max said yesterday, "Having a brother is like a built-in friend." I didn't bother asking him about the little sister...

Max continues to display all of those fabulous character traits we came to love in his infancy. He is affectionate, passionate, dramatic, and wears his heart gigantically on his sleeve for the world to see. He loves slapstick, board games, video games, and anything cute, silly or funny. And he is complicated. Boy, is he complicated. His reactions to people and situations are forever a surprise to me, as much perhaps as they are to him. His exclusive friendship contract with the many girls in his life has just added a clause to include a few boys. It seems Max may be exploring his tougher side for now. No matter. He is a delight. He is my all-around buddy, my partner in crime, my silly giggling roll-around-on-the-floor kind of boy. And he's turning five! Happy Birthday, dear Max, Happy Birthday to you...cha-cha-cha!

Self Portrait Tuesday: Personal History #2

2006-01-24T08:27:00.000-08:00

After my grandmother passed away last Spring, my mom spent weeks going through the house: sorting, organizing, putting things in order. As you can imagine it was a gigantic task and each day brought small discoveries which filled her with every conceivable emotion. One morning she was working in my grandparents' bedroom and inside one of the dresser drawers she found this little hinged wooden box, a 2 inch cube, decoratively carved and delicately painted. Inside was this photograph, a perfect fit nuzzled within the box's golden interior. My reaction upon receiving this surely must have mirrored my mother's upon finding it. Tears flowed freely as I cast my eyes on this secret treasure, long forgotten inside its hiding place, carefully pressed there long ago by the woman I so achingly miss.

I don't remember the exact taking of this photo, but I remember many days that it could have been. We'd taken the bus downtown (my mom, grandma and I), browsed around some stores, stopped for ice cream at the mezzanine of Lippman's department store, and headed across the street to Woolworth's for some little trinket for me. There we stepped into the photo booth and the moment was frozen, recorded forever in black and white. I usually took pictures with my mom or dad, or later with my brother, or much later with my friends. I didn't know I ever took one with her. I don't know what happened to the rest of the series. We probably divided them up and I used tape to stick them to my mirror, or the wall next to my bed. But what I like best about this one is the way her whole beautiful face smiles. On the outside she could be very shy, and didn't really like having her picture taken. In most of our family photos she's looking to the side or off into the distance, although always with a smile. But this is the real her. This is exactly the face I see in my minds eye when I think of her. The most beautiful, loving, smiling, laughing, sparkling, elegant, graceful face. And I really, really miss it.

Good Day Sunshine

2006-01-20T15:26:00.000-08:00

I guess it's been raining a lot around here. Today we were driving in the car and the sun, in all it's brilliant glory, made a full appearance from behind some very grey storm clouds. I practically caused a collision. "Zöe!" I cried, "Look! It's the sunshine! Isn't it beautiful? Doesn't it feel warm and nice on your face?" In the rearview mirror I watched her look quizzically out the window, catch a golden beam of light on her face, flinch, and squeeze her eyes shut. She buried her face in the side of her carseat and began to cry, like a vampire shriveling from the first rays of the sunrise, "Oh...OW!! Eyes! OW! Eyes! Eyes! Eyes! No!" Has it really been that long?

Self Portrait Tuesday: Personal History

2006-01-17T10:29:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to join this flickr group for a while now, and finally got around to figuring the whole thing out. And over the weekend we purchased a scanner/printer/copier all-in-one, so it makes it possible to scan some photos that have been on my list to write about anyway!

This photograph was taken in the summer of 1975, outside of my cousin Jubal's house (that's him on the horse with me) in NE Portland, very close to where we live now. There was a man who roamed the neighborhood with his pony "Trooper," charging a small amount for children to have their picture taken on horseback with all of his cowboy accoutrements. We were at home that day when my Aunt Mary called to tell us "the pony guy" was in the neighborhood. We made it over just in time for some pictures, and according to my folks it was the last summer the pony guy came around, so we always felt really lucky for having the experience. I don't really remember the whole thing, but I love this picture because it speaks to me of everything wonderful in my childhood. A warm sunny day in short sleeves, my best wonderful boy at my side, our parents in the periphery smiling, laughing, and an endless sidewalk to run and chase and play.

Corners of My Home

2006-01-12T17:52:00.000-08:00

I love the new project started by Soulemama in which folks are sharing whatever corners, items, objects, walls, or rooms inspire them in their homes. You can check out other peoples' photos here.

Here's our office! I've been on a mission this week to get our little office up, organized and running. This view through the doorway is what I see when I'm in the kitchen, looking down the hallway. It's been such a great excuse to fuel my office supply habit: new desk lamp, letter holder, bulletin boards, pushpins, boxes from the Container Store, a wastebasket, paper shredder. Whoopee! On the desk you can see my wonderful Christmas gift from Eric...a new iMac!

I still have one more shelf to assemble as well as a file cabinet. And of course at some point the walls will be painted as well. I'm thinking a nice steel blue. What you see here are walls stripped of the crazy brown/gold wagon-wheel wall paper of the 1960's. Fun!

How on earth did I survive without all of these accessories? Actually that's a very good question. Right before we moved I found Max's birth certificate stuffed inside an old Trader Joe's bag with some completely random junk in the basement! Our family will clearly benefit from me getting my organizational act together.

The really fun part is that my desk sits in exactly the same location where my grandfather's desk sat so many years ago, looking out the doorway into the goings-on of the kitchen. I used to sit here as a kid and play a made-up game dubbed "Mrs. Schultz" with my brother and cousins. I'd wear my grandmothers big black-rimmed glasses (think Harry Potter), through which I could barely see, and sit at my grandfather's desk barking orders to all of my office underlings. Gee, I guess the more things change the more they stay the same.

Something New

2006-01-06T15:56:00.000-08:00

It's funny how a small change, something new, can produce a complete attitude adjustment.

These first few days of 2006 have been really cranky for me. I want all of the Christmas decorations to put themselves away. Guess what? Christmas is over! Our tree is still in the living room, the stockings are still hanging from their corners of the mantle, my Snow Village continues to evoke holiday cheer from small, now-darkened windows. Eric has yet to dismantle his ginormous inflatable, light-up waving Santa who stands on the front lawn in all of his jolly glory. On the way back from school today I overheard a mom say to her daughters, "Isn't Santa supposed to be back in the North Pole by now?" Yes! He is! Thanks for pointing that out!

Apparently taking down all of this Christmas stuff is something I'm supposed to do. Why can't I ever remember that when I'm putting it up? Oh well, how quickly we fall into the next trap. The thing that got me moving yesterday, the thing that got me to take down and throw out all of the crunchy once-fresh garland from the banister and elsewhere, was the thought of Valentine's Day. I'm such a sucker for a new decorating task! Although I feel I must explain that Valentine's Day has always been my favorite. It's not just about an expression of love to my one and only, but to my entire circle of family and friends. And even better than that is an infusion of some glorious, glittery red, purple, pink, and orange in the middle of a gloomy, rainy winter. Bring it on!

But before I could face all of that Christmas deconstruction, I did something easier and made my blog blue. Voila! Mood lifted! Happy New Year! Why can't it always be that easy?

Round Two: Creature Cantina

2005-12-30T17:23:00.000-08:00

We've finished our second round of stuffed creatures in anticipation of Auntie Andrea's visit from Pasadena. Max designed the green guy which he named "Needle." Apparently he scanned around, while trying to decide upon his creature's name, and settled his eyes upon one of many sewing notions on the dining room table. Needle was born. Jack's is the black spider with four eyes, aptly named "Web." The first round were a total hit with my parents, as well as Cabel and Nicole. The boys were very excited to give them, after many long conversations about which one to give to whom. Just before Max handed his to Cabel and Nicole, he gave it a big hug and said quietly, "I'm gonna miss you, guy." I felt terrible and realized that, um, maybe we need to make a few for us to keep. Duh. That's next on the agenda.

Flip Side

2005-12-27T12:02:00.000-08:00

Well, now you all can get the flip side of life in Meegan Blue Land. Eric has a new blog. 'Nuff said.

The Best Day

2005-12-23T16:10:00.000-08:00

WARNING: If you are Eric, Cabel, Nicole, mom or dad please read no further! This post contains some serious spoilers regarding Christmas gifts!

Eric stayed home today, and very generously took Zöe with him on a morning-about-town. It was like an early Christmas present...they were gone for four hours! This enabled me to complete many unfinished tasks that I've been scratching my head over, wondering how in the world they'd get done by Christmas. I bought some canvases from Michael's last week and each of the kids did a painting for Eric.
This was much harder than I imagined it would be, but they turned out better than I dreamed. Each of the boys did a sketch first, and then begrudgingly penciled it onto the canvas. It took us several sessions over a period of days, but that was good becasue they'd get all tired after a while and start laying on the floor, rolling around. Spacing things out kept the project more fresh. I don't have a picture of Zöe's yet. Hers was the hardest to do by far. She loved doing it and has a lot of confidence with a paintbrush, but things just became kind of a mish mash. I kept the colors in one family: red, pink, orange, maroon. That way we didn't end up with a big brown puddle, and it worked for the most part. The other project we finished today are stuffed creatures for Cabel and Nicole, and my mom and dad. The boys each drew a creature on paper, helped me pick out fabric and I made their image into a stuffed animal which they helped stuff. They're cool and I definitely want to make more, especially since Zöe is in love and will hardly let go of Jack's "Red Eye Guy." It's amazing how much I can get done with just a little bit of toddler-free time. Merry Christmas everyone!

Look Judy, it's Santy Claus!

2005-12-19T15:45:00.000-08:00

If you live in Portland, I really hope you've had the chance to visit Santaland on the 10th floor of the downtown Meier and Frank store. After this Christmas it will be no longer. This particular Santaland has been one of my yearly holiday experiences since childhood, and I'm really struggling to imagine what next year will be like when the whole thing is gone. Laden with winter coats, mittens, scarves and hats the stuffy elevator ride from the main floor is a test of determination as difficult for grown-ups as it is for the children inadvertently stepping on their toes. The elevator makes multiple stops on it's ascent to the 10th floor, opening it's doors onto floors void of customers where no passengers enter or exit. At the top at last, the elevator spills it's tightly packed riders out into a chaotic inferno of Christmas activity. Santaland. The murmur of adult voices is punctuated by those of children, crying out in glee and in fear of all that awaits them inside. Snaking lines of families waiting to visit with Santa wind their way around the gigantic room. Children press their noses to Plexiglas as they spy on little wide-eyed animatronic elves, repeatedly putting bows on gifts in their dusty workshops. And the very special thing which makes this place unique comes grinding it's way around the room, suspended from the ceiling, earning the attention of every Christmas reveler. The Monorail. Children run for the back of the room, ducking if they must under the archway which separates the riders from the onlookers. There was a time when height was unimportant and I rode many times into my teens, giggling from inside with my friend Sally. Now they are scrutinized for size, climb the narrow wooden stairs in groups of ten with no help from parents allowed, and then are carefully arranged into three cars being very mindful of pinched fingers and squished toes.
From down below a crop of faces can be seen peeking out from the windows of the train. Children clutch their tiny fingers to the wire as they scour the pack of grown-ups for a wave from a familiar face. And then, with a jerk, they're off. The loading platform is left far behind as the train lurches around the room, a chorus of small voices from above calling for the attention of Santa Claus in his chair by the fire. Twice around the room and the ride is over. Children reluctantly stomp down a different set of narrow stairs only to race back under the archway for another ride. When they can finally be pulled away, lunch in the Georgian Room (on the same floor) completes the day. A very "fancy" affair with tablecloths, cloth napkins, and lots of grandmothers wearing hats, even the smallest child feels grown-up in such a place. Waiters bustle, silver clatters on china, and Christmas is just around the corner.

Color!

2005-12-08T15:31:00.000-08:00

Last weekend my parents helped me paint the living room and dining room. They are expert room-painters, among other things (check out my mom's paintings in the link above), and we were able to crank out both of the spaces in a pretty short amount of time. Eric was the hired hand in the babysitting department and he did a great job keeping Zöe's fingers out of the wet paint. It feels great to have some color on the walls! I didn't even realize how void we were of color until we got it up there. The green is a Martha Stewart color from Sherwin Williams called "Galax" and the rusty red is called "Blush" from Devine Color . Next on deck for a color overhaul is the kitchen. I've been priming it for weeks now. There are so many cabinets, corners, nooks and crannies! It will be changing from it's orange/olive green color scheme to the same Tuscany yellow (a happy, warm, orange-yellow color) that was in our old house, which looks good with all of the stainless appliances. I've got a "Hummingbird" blue (also from Martha) for the small bathroom in which the sink and toilet are that same color, oh my! I've chosen another Devine color for the office, a dark steel-blue called "Denim." And lastly, Devine "Ale" for the entry way/staircase. Whew! That's a whole lotta paintin'! We're having Eric's office Christmas party here next Friday night. Do you think I can get it all done by then? Yeah, right. Instead you'll find me in my new cozy chair (thanks mom and dad!) reading the newest Harry Potter, which I am just now getting around to reading. Now, where's that eggong?

A Monster Surprise

2005-12-04T20:02:00.000-08:00

We had a crazy morning this morning, running around trying to get things accomplished while somehow having fun with three little kids at the same time. It really didn't work. So by the time Zöe's nap time rolled around I was really ready to hit some of the local crafty gatherings with my friend Holly. We ended up at "Riches at Rimskys" which had a great and varied group of local craftsters. There was one in particular that I was looking forward to seeing...Jennifer of Dishy Duds whose stuff I have been admiring for a long, long time. In particular, her monster tees are amazing, beautiful, and so, so unique and fun! It was so great to meet her and we had a nice chat about Portland, crafty stuff, life with kids, cool shops, blogs, and other good stuff. I was really coveting her cool monster tees when she completely took me by surprise and gifted me with one! I was speechless. After the crummy morning I'd had, her generous, spontaneous gesture really lifted my heart. The boys were too excited when they saw it and are now planning a schedule of who gets to wear it on which days. Thanks Jennifer, you made us all so happy with your fabulous blue-eyed monster!

The New Kid

2005-11-28T14:23:00.000-08:00

Today was Jack's first day at his new school. How many different ways can I describe being a nervous wreck? Changing schools has been a very difficult and gut-wrenching decision for all of us, because we love the magnet school that Jack has been going to across town. And since we moved in September we've been wrestling with what to do, as we now have this excellent elementary school ACROSS THE STREET from our house. I took this photo from our front door so you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. It's a really solid, strong neighborhood school with great parent involvement and it's ACROSS THE STREET! So we made the decision to switch now, and Jack has really been a trooper. He was angry and unhappy at first, really hating the thought of leaving his two great buddies to be new all over again "just like in Kindergarten." But he is just like his dad, as he seems to have that ability to knuckle under and deal with whatever comes his way with hardly a complaint. It's a quality I greatly admire and wish I possessed in even a small increment. So after picking up Max from preschool today we drove past the playground on our way home. There was Jack at lunch recess! We pulled over and I jumped out to give him a big hug. He seemed very grateful to see us, comforted that we were just right there, that he could see our twinkle lights in the living room window. He didn't ask me to please get him out of there, he said things were fine, and he actually smiled. Wow, did that ever make me feel better.

First Thanksgiving

2005-11-25T18:10:00.001-08:00

We had a great first Thanksgiving in our new home. Although a little smaller than usual, it was cozy, and silly, and really nice. Zöe hammed it up for everyone with singing and dancing on top of the coffee table. Jack and Max were gifted with "Shark Boy and Lava Girl," which they dug in a major way. Eric made a fabulous dinner, with the turkey on the grill. Yum!
My parents were fun, as always, with great stories and laughter.

Thanks to Eric's bravery in the face of the unknown, we had our first fire in the fireplace. After many, many years with no fire in the hearth I imagined a whole army of critters living in there. But it worked! And my dad gave Zöe her first slurp of fresh whipping cream straight from the dispenser. Everything was perfect. We have so much in our lives to be thankful for, but my biggest heaping of gratefulness goes to family. Our family here and our family away, both past and present: life would not be nearly as rich and plentiful without you. Thank you.

Getting Excited

2005-11-23T08:30:00.000-08:00

I went out yesterday and bought all of the goodies I needed to make our Christmas card this year. I love, love, love making cards and I never really do it except at Christmastime. So gathering my supplies always gets me feeling really festive and in-the-mood for some good crafty holiday fun.
The weather here has been absolutely amazing this past week. The skies are crystal clear with sun and the air is crisp and cold. Max had a playdate with a preschool friend yesterday and we totally bundled up for the walk there. Needless to say after wrestling three kids into coats, hats and mittens we were kind of late. But the walk was marvelous and well worth the exertion it took to get out the door.

Run, Don't Walk

2005-11-15T17:08:00.000-08:00

Recently my friend Joyce, who lives in Pittsburgh, sent me some photos of her amazingly beautiful handmade Christmas ornaments and garlands. She uses different fabrics mounted on card stock with finished edges of silver chenille pipecleaners and glitter. The effect is amazing, vintage and very unique. If I happen to get one for Christmas (hint hint) I'll post a picture to show exactly what I'm talking about. Anyway, Joyce displays her ornaments and garland on these really cool tinsel trees. I know they can be expensive, but I've really been wanting to buy one this year. I looked in many different places and couldn't find what I was looking for at all. Until today. Yay Target! I found these great 16" tinsel trees in five different colors in the DOLLAR SECTION. That's right, one dollar each. The adorable matching felt tree skirts, edged in satin ribbon, are also a mere dollar a piece. Remarkable!

More Pictures Than Words

2005-11-01T14:05:00.000-08:00

I am seriously behind in posting any photos of our fall activities. Judging by the bulging toy isles in Target and the ever-encroaching holiday decorations everywhere we go, I decided to post everything right now before it's suddenly Christmas.

For Halloween this year we had a cute little witchy-poo, a Clone Trooper, and a red Bionicle. Max overcame his seriously bad costume phobia and trick-or-treated with the best of them. It seems his love of candy outweighs his fear of dress-up.

It probably didn't help him much that Eric and I actually dressed up this year to attend a costume party. I think it may have started things off on the wrong skeletal foot as far as Max was concerned. Looking at the picture it's not surprising, really. I was shooting for a witch and wound up looking like a punk-rock Prince Valiant. And Eric, well his costume really speaks for itself doesn't it? I could not stop laughing the entire evening.

A Silly Knitted Self Portrait

2005-10-27T22:17:00.000-07:00

It's been months since I've done anything crafty, and almost a year since I've done any knitting. But I was inspired by a woman on the airplane to pick up my gigantic Wilma Flintstone (size 19) needles to make a scarf. And what a scarf I made. I used brown chenille together with a fun eyelash yarn of browns and greens. The pattern is basically two rows of knit stitch, with a triple yarn-over, and then I don't even know what it's called. My directions were verbal, so I just did it and it worked. It makes these cool sections of the scarf where the yarn is long and loose (in an organized fashion) between the rows of knits. It knitted up very quickly thanks to the big needles and the pre-historic wooly mammoth acting as my skein outside of the window. I was so excited to have a completed crafty project that I put on lipstick and took this self-portrait (in front of my new dining room curtains) at 1:00 in the morning. I think I was just a wee bit wiggy.

So My Dad Has Something New To Read

2005-10-20T22:39:00.000-07:00

Actually I've been itchin' to write something anyway, but first and foremost I am a dutiful daughter. I don't want my dad to spend another minute checking-in on my dumb old boring blog. So dad, I love you, here's something new!

Hooray it's Fall! Oh, but it really is all about the clothes, isn't it? There's nothing better than when the air becomes crisp and we can once again wear courduroy, herringbone and tights! Actually what's better is buying it for Zöe instead...cheaper, smaller sizes, better colors. This photo perfectly illustrates Zöe's obsessive fascination with the car. She can spend forever sitting behind the wheel, pretending to drive, pushing buttons, flipping blinkers, making car sounds, and checking herself out in the vanity mirror. Given how hyper-excited I was to learn how to drive, I think Zöe may have inherited the gene. For now I'll just be happy buying stripey tights and butterfly barrettes.

In other fashion news our house has had a serious haircut. If you check back to the first photos I posted (Sand, Salt Water and Tomatillo Green) you should notice a gigantic change...you can actually see the house! I've also included a photo of my favorite feature: a sweet covered side porch which sits to the right of the house, off of the living room through french doors. Max and I had our first lunch "al fresco" last week and it was lovely. We had a delightful time laughing at the antics of the local squirrels. My grandmother was a die-hard animal lover who went through 20 pound bags of peanuts on a weekly basis to keep her squirrels fat and happy. After she died the squirrels went away for a while, but when we moved in they started coming back to check us out. Eric has been filling our feeders and while they're not as well supplied as before, they seem to be happy and are certainly as silly as ever.

This last photo is for my good friend Rebecca, who is just beginning the packing and moving process with her family of three little ones. I guess the purpose is just to show that nearly a month after move-in: a) we've decided to incorporate the "U-Haul Look" into our interior design scheme c) it is widely believed that there may actually be a fireplace behind all of those boxes, and c) we're gettin' there, and you will too Rebecca!

Max Man Ray

2005-10-10T21:58:00.000-07:00

Boy is it nice to finally be back online. The move is complete but the work is far from done. At this point anything that distracts me from the enormity of the tasks at hand is a welcome diversion. While on a walk the other day with Max and his best girlfriend Anna, Max set up this surreal vignette and asked me to please take a picture. He helped me set up the shot and then took a few of his own. The whole series is really one of my favorite photo sets, ever. It's exactly how I have been feeling lately: very much upside down, with my legs flailing in the air and my head stuck in pipe. I know that things will right themselves soon enough with some physical, mental and emotional elbow grease. But for now I'm just going to try my best to enjoy how everything looks from this angle.

Vader Baby

2005-09-14T17:24:00.000-07:00

I snapped this picture as we were headed off to pick up Jack from school today. Did you know Darth Vader had an infant son named Norman? Contrary to popular opinion he's actually a very good father. Almost all of his friends are girls, so he's quite in touch with his feminine side. Starbucks is one of his favorite haunts, where he can always be found leisurely sipping a Horizon chocolate milk and munching on a donut of any variety. He's a friend to all animals great and small, and loves to snuggle anywhere, anytime. He makes absolute sure Norman is well cared for night and day (except when he's thrown to the ground from the limbs of a giant rhododendron.) He bathes, comforts, and nourishes his baby. But most of all he protects Norman from vicious attackers whenever they are in battle. And from what I've observed there have been no limbs amputated by light saber, whatsoever.

New Beginnings

2005-09-07T12:31:00.000-07:00

Today was Jack's first day of First Grade. This picture is hilarious and perfectly represents Jack's state-of-being as of late: I'm trying not to smile because I don't want to, but I can't help but smile because my mom is such a dork. He had mixed emotions about today, and I clearly remember feeling the same way when I was a kid. He was excited to see his friends, to get to know his teacher, and to be a Big Kid. But he was sad to be leaving home for the whole day. He and Max had a five minute discussion at breakfast about being best friends, and about how much they love each other. And from the minute we got back in the car after dropping Jack at school Max has been like a lost puppy. He's aimless, wilted, and flopping around on he floor like a fish out of water. I've been hugging him lots, but I think he'll be glad to start preschool next week. With one more week to go until we move I haven't been the best mom around.

Work has begun on The House. Yesterday they started by ripping up the carpet on the basement stairs, the main stairs, the main floor hallway and the upstairs hallway. The main floor hallway has the same beautiful mahagony inlay as the living and dining rooms, but I never knew it because it was covered by carpet. That was an exciting find. They've sanded the entire upstairs and are ready to seal it. They'll begin the downstairs rooms tomorrow. I love hardwood floors, and I've really missed the look and feel of it these past few years that we've had carpet. Jack informed me that he prefers carpet like our house has now, but I had to inform him that he learned to crawl and walk on our hardwood floors in LA. So there! We finally agreed that hardwoods with rugs is the perfect combination. These floor guys are good and they're making good progress, which is important because the timing will be getting critical next week!

Sand, Salt Water and Tomatillo Green?

2005-09-01T16:06:00.000-07:00

We just came home from a great extended weekend with my parents at a beach house in Gearhart, Oregon. This is the fourth year in a row for our Gearhart getaway, and we always find ourselves in awe of the beauty and splendor of the Oregon coast. Jack is a complete beach nut. Come to think of it he has been in love with the ocean since he was just a toddler at Manhattan Beach when we lived in Los Angeles. He would sit for long periods of time just pushing his cars and trucks through mountans of sand. Now somehow he has come to associate the beach with being nude.
Within seconds of hitting the shore his clothes are in a pile at his feet and he's off like a gazelle running over the dunes, through beach grass and into the waves. We're not exactly sure, however, how this habit will translate into action when he becomes a teenager. Perhaps we should be worried, but for now it's a pretty amazing sight. Max is a bit more reserved than Jack when it comes to nudity, but he loves the beach equally. Running through flocks of resting birds seemed to be his favorite bit of action. Although snuggling in the chair with me and eating yummy snacks was one of his highlights too. And once again, Zöe may perhaps be the wildest of all. She has no fear and would wander into the waves and swim to Atlantis if someone weren't holding the back of her shirt. She face-planted into sand and water with nary a pause, oggled horses and dogs, and happily ran through the rain. Her nickname for the trip was "nature's child." I think it suits her.

The only bummer of the whole trip was that it was necessary for us to leave early and take care of some pressing business here at home. We need to pack our boxes because two weeks from today we're moving! We have sold our house and are buying my grandparents house in the Laurelhusrt neighborhood. The excitement level around here is pretty intense and emotions (on every level) are running high. It's actually a pretty amazing story. Thirty-one years ago my grandparents were babysitting me and brought me with them to look at a beautiful house that they were hoping to buy. I remember my gorgeous grandmother leaning close to me as she told me that this was our secret and that I needed to do my best not to tell anyone until the time was right. Somehow my four-year-old mouth kept the secret (much to my mom's amazement) and I always felt extra-special that I was her co-conspirator in such a grand plan.
The house became a castle to me, as the backdrop for decades of happy memories. Holidays of every sort were celebrated there with Aunt and Uncle, cousins, grandparents and great-grandparents. Their home served as an anchor for all of us, the place where we gathered together no matter where life was taking our individual family units. Since the passing of my grandfather several years ago and my grandmother just this Spring, I feel so honored and fortunate that I can attempt to carry on the tradition of this great gathering place. It's twice the size of where we live now, double the bathrooms (two instead of one!), with a great 1950's knotty-pine party room basement. My parents sacfrificed an enormous amount to make this happen, and for that I'm forever grateful. So now we get to make all sorts of exciting decisions such as: Tomatillo or Pressed Leaves green? We're having the floors refinished, a new roof, paint, tree-trimming and so on. I'll be posting lots of before-and-after photos in the coming months. But for now it's just Playstation2 for the boys, Teletubbies for Zöe, and packing for Eric and me.

Happy Birthday Dear Eric, Happy Birthday To You!

2005-08-19T08:53:00.000-07:00

My first thought this morning is that we need to get more pictures with daddy in them. I think this one is about a year old. After that my thoughts venture into birthday territory...how lucky we all are that 37 years ago our Eric came into the world! What an amazing man we have in our lives. Jack loves daddy because he's happy all the time, and loves to snuggle. Max loves daddy because he makes our house "full of laughing." They both love that he's silly, chases them, jumps around, and makes gross sounds. Zöe loves that he feeds her all the yummy foods she loves, and takes her for adventure walks outside in the backyard. I love Eric for all of those same reasons (except the gross sounds), and for the three children who expressed them. I love Eric for making our lives full of fun with enthusiasm, energy, and light. Happy Birthday to Eric, and Happy Birthday to us. Today we celebrate our good fortune that you were born!

Chop Chop

2005-08-11T10:35:00.000-07:00

Last night at Salon 77, Mandy cut 14 inches off of my long, long hair. What a liberating experience! I haven't had it this short since seventh grade, and other than that I think 1992 was the last time I even had it slightly above my shoulders. So, hooray for a new 'do. I am loving the feeling of shortness! This morning when I stepped on the scale I was four pounds lighter, literally. Now I know my hair couldn't have weighed that much, but I'm taking it as a good sign.

I've been busy making dresses to sell at Art in August, which is this Sunday. My friend Holly puts together an amazing garden party/crafty show every summer with a dozen local artists. I was so happy with the dress I made for Zöe last week that I decided to make more. I figured out how to increase the size and I bought some great fabrics, so I've been able to make seven so far in three different sizes. I have two more ready to sew in an even larger size. In the end I'll have four sizes total with 10-12 dresses in all. It's been fun, but I think I'm getting a little weary. Yesterday I took my sewing machine into the shop because the thread kept jamming and getting all twisted up around the bobbin. I was certain that I had a big problem on my hands. Boy did I feel a like an idiot when the guy showed my the problem...I simply had it threaded incorrectly. I must be getting tired, because threading it is something I can normally do with my eyes closed. My feeling of stupidity was quickly surpassed by my relief that the machine is fine and I can keep on sewing.

Better Than A Barbie

2005-08-05T09:16:00.000-07:00

Actually I never had a Barbie, Skipper was the only fashion play doll I was permitted to own. It just so happened that I liked Skipper better anyway, so that worked out nicely for my mom. But in the end, my little Dottie Z: The Living Doll totally takes the cupcake. She walks, she talks (in her own language even!), she smiles, grins, laughs and cuddles. But even better, she's a running, moving, climbing, twirling girl body just perfect for dressing-up. We'll worry about all that awful teenage-girl stuff later. Last night I finished the first real dress for Zöe that I've ever made. I'm so excited! I've been turning the pattern idea over in my mind for a few weeks now, and it came out exactly as I'd hoped.10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6753/1308/200/IMG_7186.jpg" border="0" alt="" /> The thought of hems and finished edges (armholes, neckline) was intimidating to me, so I used the serge stitch on my sewing machine for all of the "raw" edges. It was much easier and I really like to look. The fabric is all cotton; the stripe is by Michael Miller, and the dotted fabric is called "soft spot" by Alexander Henry. I purchased both at the one-acre-large Fabric Depot. There is a vertical opening in the back at the neckline with a hook-eye closure, and a little pocket on the front of the apron. I've got some great 1930's vintage reproduction fabric, and I'm itchin' to make another one already!

All About Teeth

2005-08-03T22:52:00.000-07:00

I FINALLY finished the tooth-fairy pillows that I sold as auction items for the Preshcool way back in March! I made one for Jack when he lost his first tooth, inspired by a pillow my friend Rebecca made for her son Parker. I'm happy with how they turned out, especially since I'm very new to the "sewing thing" and it's been a while since I made the first one. The tooth itself is a small pocket, sewn tightly enough to securely hold the homeless chomper until that lovely fairy whisks it away to tooth-land. It's big enough to hold a folded certificate of some sort, coins, paper money, diamonds, raisins, or whatever the fairy fancies as adequate payment.

We were able to use Jack's very own tooth pillow once again last night, as he lost the second of his top front teeth. It was wiggly beyond all wiggliciousness, but he still wouldn't let me "take it out." (We are unable to use the phrase "pull it out" without inspiring Jack to try and glue his loose tooth back in with peanut butter.) As he was getting dressed yesterday he pulled his shirt over his head, and the thing just popped out and rolled across the floor. If you ask me, that little central incisor was trying to make a break for it. It must know something about that tooth-fairy that we don't know. What could it be, I wonder?

Dementors and Bludgers and Muggles, oh my!

2005-08-01T20:42:00.000-07:00

I finally finished reading The Crimson Petal and the White by Michael Faber. At almost a thousand pages, that in itself was no easy task. I really liked it. Set in Victorian London and centered around the life of a 19-year-old prostitute, the characters are amazing and the descriptions of period costume, habits, and social stations are fascinating. It's a simple enough story, rather hard to imagine that it could cover so many pages, actually. But it rolls along at a good clip, and is told with such depth and detail that it's easy to become immersed. A few of the lesser characters and their plot lines drag a bit, but not nearly enough to cause boredom. It's easily made up for by the unbelieveable lives of the more key characters. A good read! Soon I will be moving on to Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters, as I begin yet another adventure (this time about a lesbian music-hall singer) into the steamy underbelly of Victorian London. But in the meantime I must read the new Harry Potter book The Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling. A new Harry Potter never fails to deliver a solid, fun, and exciting read.

In other news, we're in our second week of swimming lessons for Jack and Max. They're both doing great. They love playing the games and they're comfortable in the pool, but they're not keen at all on getting their heads underwater. I'm kicking myself for waiting so long to begin lessons. Zöe and I join the boys for free swim when their lesson is over, and we all play in the pool together. Today the boys made great advances in submerging themselves all the way up to their ears! Woo hoo! I think they're inspired by their little sister, for Zöe Dott is emerging as the true water-baby of the family. She floats on her belly with only a little support underneath, and spends most of the time with her face IN the water, blowing bubbles and drinking the yummy pool juice. I think I'll start her with some parent/child lessons in the fall.

Underarm Alarm!

2005-07-26T14:39:00.000-07:00

Editor's Note: In order not to offend the sensitive nature of our gentle reader, there will be no photo accompanying this story.

Early this morning I was still half asleep, cozy, warm, and thoroughly enjoying my morning snuggle with Jack in our bed. Since the boys are such early risers, this extra few minutes of relaxation once they come downstairs is my favorite way to get things going. However, the day was quickly encroaching; hungry kids and cat would soon need attention, and the aroma of coffee was begining to stir me into motion. Still lying down, I reached up my arms for a good long stretch. Jack quietly gasped, then lightly grabbed the strap of my tank top. "Oh Mommy, " he said tentatively, closely inspecting my armpit, " I'm afraid you're getting...Man Hair!" My loud guffaw threw him into a fit of giggles. But truth be told, he really was very, very concerned, the poor lad.

Run Hit Wonder

2005-07-25T14:06:00.000-07:00

Eric and I had a big outing without the kids this weekend! My folks babysat all three on Sunday morning while we participated in Nike's Run Hit Wonder with our friend Holly. It was great! My old army wound (a broken ankle from six years ago) has been bothering me lately, so we just walked the 5K race. It's just as well really, because there was a band every mile which made it fun to stop, look, and listen.

The event culminated with a finish line concert on the field of PGE Park by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Because we were one of the first 4,000 to sign up for the race (it ended up drawing over 10,000 people) we had "field access" to the show, which was fun. It was odd to hear such a hard rockin' band at 10:30 am. on a bright, sunny morning, surrounded by healthy running-types all clad in orange. But the show was great, especially since I'd forgotten how many good songs she has. Party-on Wayne!

Jack, Max, and Zöe had a great time with my parents. They went for ice cream, played in the park, bought a new game for the Playstation 2, stopped at McDonalds and set up a new Tiki-Soaker water toy in the backyard. No wonder the kids are always pushing us out the door when Nee and Obby come over to babysit. Now that I'm looking at the list of our activities as a side-by-side comparison, I think the kids had more fun hands-down. Sorry Joan.

Change is Good

2005-07-22T08:59:00.000-07:00

This is just to let folks know that I've changed the settings on this blog regarding "Comments." It's now possible to leave a comment whether you have your own blogger account or not, by clicking on "anonymous." You can leave your comment and sign your name to it as you wish without a blogspot username. I absolutely LOVE comments, so please keep 'em coming!
And since I just can't bear to post without a photo, here's one of Zöe sitting on the glider in our backyard, curls and all.

The Sno-Cone Zone

2005-07-21T15:09:00.000-07:00

Somehow we made it through six years of parenting without our kids indulging in such a simple, classic treat as the sno-cone. It's most certainly not that we are against sweets, ice cream, candy, or the like. Au contraire! More likely it's that our boys are pretty picky, even when it comes to "fun" foods. I recently begged Jack to try some Reese's Pieces because I knew he'd love them. I know, that was pretty stupid wasn't it? But I tell you, the kid is disturbingly suprising. He totally spit them out in disgust.

Thankfully, Zöe Dott is our prize-winning eater. There's nothing she won't try and very little she doesn't like. It's so much fun to giver her new foods and watch her investigate, sample, and attack with delight. Maybe I'm more mellow about choking/messes/etc. this third time around, maybe her personality is just a little more daring, or maybe it's a combination of both. At any rate, I guess for now we'll just have to settle for one out of three in the adventurous eating category.

Today after soccer all of our friends went over to the cute little sno-cone stand by the swimming pool at the park. I thought for sure my boys wouldn't be interested, but they were. Even after Jack learned that they didn't have chocolate flavor, he decided to try one anyway (strawberry and cherry mixed). He was very pleased with his experimentation, as was Max. Zöe was just happy to have something sweet and messy to dump upside down onto her shirt. I'm sure we'll be having one again tomorrow. Now we just need to work on getting the boys to try a hamburger, macaroni and cheese, or a turkey sandwich. Maybe if we put it in a cone?

Bend it Like Beckham

2005-07-21T08:54:00.000-07:00

It's been all about soccer around here for a few weeks now. Jack completed two weeks of an all-day soccer camp, and this week he and Max are participating in back-to-back classes at the park. They are both really into it!

At the moment, however, we only own one pair of shinguards and one pair of cleats. So we do a major switcheroo of sweaty foot gear from one kid to the next in the few minutes between their classes. Poor Max gets the sweaty seconds. I guess if Max is going to play in the fall, we'll need to get him his own gear!

Zöe has been getting out there too, kicking the ball around with the big boys. She has no qualms about toddling out onto the field in the middle of practice to try and kick the ball, which usually causes a cacauphony of giggling from the serious, big-kid players.

This Saturday is a big Portland Timbers match vs. Sunderland AFC of the English Premier League. Nike hid 50 soccer balls around downtown Portland yesterday morning, each worth two free tickets to Saturday's game. I loaded up the kids before soccer class and we scouted around a bit, but were unsuccessful in our searching. It was very exciting, though, and I must say it felt a tiny bit Willie Wonka-ish. Although clearly I'd rather have a Golden Ticket to Wonka's Chocolate Factory over stupid old free soccer tickets any day. As we evidently have neither, we'll have to be happy with the Dairy Queen ice cream we had on our way home from the park. Fair enough.

Birds Behaving Badly

2005-07-16T09:09:00.000-07:00

We have visitors in town for the next several days. Grandma Barbara (Eric's mom) and her fiancé Cannon are visiting from Cincinnati. So we took them to the Oregon Zoo yesterday to ride the cool train and see some animals.

Our very first stop was Lorikeet Landing which is always Eric's favorite. You buy a small cup of nectar, step into the aviary, and within seconds you become a human landing zone for the hungry lorikeets. It totally gives me the creeps, but the kids get a kick out of watching dad covered with birds. Yesterday, however, the birds were on some serious crack. One bird unloaded what seemed like a cup full of pee right onto Max. This is the kid with the dramatic flair, who remembers every tragic, scary, embarassing, sad or frightening event that has ever happened to him in his four and a half years of life. He crumbled into tears, ran out of the aviary, and has promised us all that he will never go in there again for all of eternity. Another bird tried to make a nest in grandma Barbara's hair, and a third one ate a hole in Cannon's straw hat. There were peckings, poopings, and pluckings practically every step of the way. People were perplexed and partaking in loads of anitbacterial wash as they fled, screaming from the place.

At least all was made better in the evening when we had a lovely engagement party for Barbara and Cannon at my parents house. Lashings of champagne, cake and ice cream with fresh raspberries, soothed our lorikeet-rattled nerves. All is now right with the world.

Vintage Vandals

2005-07-14T16:51:00.000-07:00

Zöe Dott and I had a Big Night Out yesterday evening. We went to the opening of Vintage Vandals at Savage Art Resources. It was great! My mom did an amazing painting for the show, and there were so many fun pieces to look at that we had a great time. Zöe was the only kid there and she was loving the attention. She was a spectacular stair-climbing, twirling girl!

Me and my kids

2005-07-13T09:20:00.000-07:00

This is from our day at Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. Going left to right are Zöe, me, Jack, and Max.