TRUST and SUPPORT

I started writing this post weeks and weeks ago, but never got around to finishing it up until now. We received quite surprising news in December that we are expecting again and quite honestly, I still feel in shock! Of course we feel so lucky to have another little blessing be joining our family late this summer (August). But, for someone who has always been such a planner like me, a surprise like this can really shake things up! I should know better by this point in my life than to think that we are fully in charge of how our paths will unfold. So, I am taking it all day to day and rolling with the punches…or in this instance, the nausea (morning sickness).

Now that I have that announcement out of my system, let’s get into what has been happening around here (aside from the obvious planning for another baby!)

————–

Taking the month of December off from working was such a great joy for me because it is the perfect time of year to have the chance to reconnect with friends and family, and plan a few adventures here and there.

Disclaimer: I apologize in advance for the poor quality of my photos. Ever since Monkey has been on the move, I’ve neglected taking out my good camera since it’s such a commitment to carry around, so I tend to rely on my phone to take my photos.

The start of the holiday season brought Josh’s sister Olivia to town from the east coast. It has been over five years since we last had the chance to catch up with Olivia, so that was a special visit.

Monkey enjoyed sitting on Auntie Olivia’s lap and sharing his books and toys with her.

We also got to see Josephine and visit with her a bit as well. She started at Portland State at about the same time Monkey was born and between our two schedules, our visits anymore are few and far between and so treasured when they do take place.

The following week was my brother’s birthday. As someone who does SO much for everyone around him, a few of us got together and decided to do something nice for him as well. We threw him an intimate surprise dinner party…which, I later learned may not be the best fit for my dear brother. Doesn’t like surprises??? We must be related!

Sterling is not a fan of cake, unless it is a giant Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup cheesecake, (custom-made by Portland Style Cheesecake), which his lovely lady, Nancy picked up for the party.

I didn’t want to ruin the cake with a bunch of wax dripping all over the chocolate, so I ended up finding these candles instead to throw a little humor in there…

Despite his near heart attack as he arrived to what he thought was a babysitting gig with Monkey and saw friends and family jump out instead, I think he calmed down enough to enjoy himself. Though when planning a surprise dinner party, it would probably be best to have the person arriving with him keep him from eating a whole pizza a mere hour before.

About a week after the b-day celebration, I had my very first mama getaway without Monkey. My friend and fellow spa connoissseur, Jessie and I headed up to Mt. Hood to be snow bunnies and spend some time in the hotel spa. We are really good at doing this kind of thing together. In fact, I am not sure why we haven’t started our own spa magazine at this point so we can do it for a living. The questions always crosses our minds.

I’ve heard so many mamas talk about how difficult it was for them to head out on their first overnight stay away from their little ones, and of course I missed Monkey dearly, but I received plenty of photos from Papa to ensure things were all fine and dandy at home), so I have to admit that I relaxed into the whole adventure just fine.  Though, I guess 15 months is a while to wait before doing something like this for the first time!

Shortly after my trip to the mountain with Jess, Monkey and I headed for the warmth of Tucson, AZ….or so we thought. It was raining throughout most of our visit but the sun came out long enough for Monkey to become infatuated and engrossed by his shadow (something he hadn’t yet discovered yet while living here in Oregon – no wonder).

Monkey and I got to spend plenty of quality time with Glammy and PacMan…and when the sun finally did come out at the end of our stay, we went on lots of neighborhood walks to enjoy the views of the Tucson and Catalina Mountains.

Upon our return from Arizona, Josh and I had our first ever getaway together (Monkey stayed comfortably at home in Olpa and Bestemore’s care). We headed up to Seattle for an overnight stay at The Edgewater (a beautiful hotel, with a long rock and roll history, situated on the Puget Sound). We had a relaxing time together and got some serious laughs in while catching Louis C.K. at the Paramount Theater.

It was a perfect escape. Olpa and Bestemore were so wonderful to stay with Monkey for the night so we could get away. Good thing the world didn’t end, as our anniversary fell on the Mayan calendar’s ending this year.

I love that our nightcap was to play a game of chess near the cozy fireplace in the lobby.

Once back from Seattle, we packed up and headed down to Eugene to spend Christmas with all of Josh’s lovely family (pictures have not been uploaded yet so that will have to come in another post). It was a great end to the fun-filled month but unfortunately, that was about the time my morning sickness kicked in, so I wasn’t feeling at my best.

So that was December, in a nutshell. Then, New Years Eve came and went and we are already into 2013! I can hardly believe how the time has come and gone so quickly.

I’ve been thinking about my theme words for 2013 (a tradition I started a few years back after being inspired by my friend, Cinda).

Last year they were JOY and ABUNDANCE. The year prior was BELIEVE and CREATE. All were so fitting for the journey I embarked on each year.

In 2013, my theme words are:

TRUST and SUPPORT.

TRUST because at any big decision or new journey I’ve made up until now,  I have sometimes second guessed myself or second guessed how the universe will come through to help me move forward. But, it always works out. And I need to trust that to be the case.

SUPPORT because I feel so incredibly blessed to have such an amazing support system around me, and have felt so very grateful to everyone who has offered us their support in so many different ways over the past years. But, I do know that an area of weakness for me is having difficulty asking for help when it comes to personal things. I know it is important for me to grow in this regard and allow that support system to be there for me in times of need.

So, there you have it! A whole lot of information for one blog, isn’t it!? What will your theme words be for 2013?

A Crafty Halloween

Time has seemed ever so much more precious and valuable after having our son. Productive free time also seems to be rare anymore between our work schedules and time with Monkey. Not that our time spent with him isn’t productive…it is just productive in an entirely different way Often times, by the end of my work days or days at home with Monkey, all I want to do is sit in front of the television and veg out. And, for those of you who know me, this is definitely not part of my usual M.O. I have never before been big on television watching on a regular basis, and I hope to be able to change this again.

So, that is my excuse for such a long delay here on the blog. Lack of time.

I have, however, somehow managed to carve out a few little windows here and there to craft some Pinterest finds. One in particular is Monkey’s dinosaur tail for his Halloween costume.

We will be answering the door for Trick or Treaters as dinosaurs tomorrow, which should be fun for him to experience and for us to take in.

It is really adorable to see him walking around with his tail on. He seems to enjoy wearing the thing.

Have a fun and safe Halloween everyone! We will be looking forward to seeing some of your photos and costume ideas.

And, I will try to get on here more than once a month too!

 

 

One Year Ago Today.

One year ago today, our long-awaited journey to meet you had finally arrived.

Since that day, your presence has brought us joy in more ways than we ever could have imagined were possible.

We love you our precious little Monkey! Happy Birth Day!

Salishan

Goodbye Our Loving Matriarch

Dorothy May Pearce, known to me as Banka Dottie or Nana

August 3, 1925 – July 3, 2012

Our Loving Matriarch,

We will do our best to be strong and hold together as a family without you.

 Thank you for teaching me

to laugh during difficulty,

the importance of an education and good manners,

to appreciate the arts in its various forms,

and for goodness sake….to enjoy life!

Our memories of you will rest comfortably in our hearts.

Men’s Day

In Germany, the Father’s Day tradition (or Men’s Day in Germany) is to fill wagons with wine, beer, and foods and pull them by manpower on a hike. For Josh’s first Father’s Day, Uncle Sterling helped Little Monkey and I to surprise Josh with this great All-Terrain Wagon by Radio Flyer filled with provisions. I think it was a hit.

After stocking the Man Cave with the goods from the wagon, we headed over to Pop Pops to welcome he and Sandy back after this year’s sailing adventures and to have a larger Fathers Day celebration. It’s so nice to have my dad close by and to get to know Little Monkey better now that he is a bit older.

Though we didn’t go on a hike, it was a great way to spend Men’s Day.

 

 

Appreciating Every Moment. A Visit to the Southwest.

We have returned from our travels to Arizona.

This was an epic and bittersweet journey in more ways than one, and perhaps too complicated for me to get into here and now.

As you can see below, our Little Monkey is well on his way to walking now that he is practicing his standing and balancing poses. He sure is proud of himself when he holds himself in what we call his “surfer pose.” That’s where he holds onto a piece of furniture or one of us and slowly lets go, one hand at a time, stretching his arms in front and behind himself like a surfer as he simultaneously dons a explorative grin until he eventually collapses and explodes with laughter. Our hearts continue to melt every day as we witness these small, yet tremendous milestones.

We first flew into Phoenix, on an Alaska Airlines Portland Timbers plane no less, which we thought brought good luck for Little Monkey’s first time traveling by air.

It went off without a hitch and he was an absolute angel of a traveler – falling asleep during take-off each time and laughing through the landing. It was beyond my wildest dreams for how I had hoped the flights might go and can only hope it sticks! I was prepared for the worst, but truly ended up with the best of all possible scenarios. I was actually the one crying on the flight home after catching a cold during our trip and dealing with the pain of congestion.

In the scorching heat of the Phoenix daylight, we went to the Desert Botanical Gardens where we had hoped to see the Dale Chihuly glass sculpture exhibit. However, shortly after walking the grounds we realized it was no longer on display in the garden and has been gone since 2009.  We were only late by about three years! I guess I thought it was a permanent feature.

It was still beautiful walking through the garden, but far too hot for Little Monkey so we ended our stay abruptly and headed to the comfort of nearby air conditioning.

That night, my longtime friend, Tina, and her husband Chris hosted a reunion of sorts for us to visit with some of my high school buddies and have the chance to meet their families. So many of the children looked so much like their parents.

Tina is such a good hostess — thank you so much for your hospitality T!

Our next stop was north to the Flagstaff area, where we held an intimate ceremony to say goodbye to my grandmother, Lil’ Banka, who passed away last year.  We stayed at her cabin in Munds Park where I grew up going every summer of my childhood and well into my first years of college. It brought back so many memories of lazy days spent in the tracksuit-style pajamas she would buy for my cousins and I each summer; playing Rummy Cube and Uno every evening; laying in the dewy grass of the golf course to watch the fireworks shoot right over our heads on the 4th of July; fishing in the lake nearby; riding bikes and walking through the neighboring streets; and sitting on the back porch for dinner every night where we would usually eat an iceberg lettuce salad, cantaloupe, some kind of dinner, followed by Vanilla Wafer Pudding for desert.

The place still smelled just as it did during my childhood visits, which made me miss Lil’ Banka dearly. It was just so strange to be there without her by our sides as we sat together in the living room at night as we used to do with a bowl of popcorn in hand while watching Wheel of Fortune.

All the while, my mind was also on my grandmother in Tucson, Banka Dottie, whom on the day of our arrival had been taken to the hospital with breathing issues and subsequently diagnosed with terminal cancer. Every update I’d receive on her condition would be worse than the one before it and all I wanted to do was hop in the car to go and see her to give her a great big comfort hug. But alas, I was told to wait for a visit until later in the week.

The purpose of this trip down was to say goodbye to one grandmother and visit with the other. Not to say goodbye to both.

I am not ready yet to let go of another important person to me who has influenced my passion for all things arts and culture related and taught me to be sure and appreciate some of the finer things in life and to be sure and celebrate every day.

Nearby in Flagstaff, we saw our friends Jodi and Guy and their two sweet little kids. Josh got a nice hike in with Guy, which they dubbed something along the lines of “the men only hike.” So, Jodi and I stayed in town and caught up with one another between nap and feeding schedules. It seemed that once one babe would go down, the other would wake up so there wasn’t the focused visits of the past, but this is the reality with little ones!

(Not to worry, I got my spa day later).

Our next stop was in Tucson, where we had limited visits with friends and family. But when we finally did see everyone again, it sure was wonderful!

And the most important visit of all – with Banka Dottie….

…meeting Little Monkey for the very first time.

Ich liebe dich Schatz

Photo by BMAC Photography (2006)

Happy Anniversary Josh!

We’ve been together nearly a decade now, and in that time you have been a loving, caring husband to me over the past five years (you even married me twice to prove it) and now I have the joy of watching you be an involved and nurturing father.

I look forward to a lifetime of wonderful, loving moments together!

So Very Grateful, and One Cool Dude!

Josh brought my laptop up to the hospital this morning so I could have a distraction from the fact that he and Little Monkey go home each night and I cannot join them. This will be my third night here and I am so ready to go home, but I have to say that this hospital (OHSU) is amazing and I am being so well taken care of by the staff who are so helpful and caring. Being on the Mother Baby unit makes the stay much more comfortable and accommodating for Monkey’s visits. I wasn’t sure where they were going to put me when I was down in the ER the first day but I breathed a sigh of relief when they chose this unit.

Monkey will be two months old on Monday and I never would have imagined that I would have to spend nights away from him this soon. Each time he and Josh leave for the night to head home, my eyes well up with tears and my heart aches a bit.

Being here for the week reminds me of how many things we have to be grateful for. Aside from this pesky infection, we are so very grateful for our health and the health of our entire family. On that note, we are grateful for all of our family! My dad and his wife, Sandy, who we were supposed to be spending Thanksgiving with today, are in the process of purchasing a home in Vancouver — just across the river, which they are supposed to close on next week. We are thrilled that although they travel for most of the year, they will be laying down some roots here and be able to see Monkey as he grows!  We are planning to attend a delayed Thanksgiving at their new home sometime next week so we can all be together…perhaps it will be a bit of a housewarming celebration as well!

We continue to be so grateful for Sterling (my brother) who seems to do a solid for us at least once every week and we always hope to return the favors whenever possible. This week, he has been taking care of Pug while Josh and Monkey are at the hospital with me during the days. Thanks buddy!

Beyond just our family, we are also so very thankful for our family of friends — who again and again flatter our hearts with incredible support and thoughtful gestures. For instance, on Josh’s first day back to work (which happened to fall on Halloween), my friend Gay came by with a carved pumpkin and candle saying that she thought maybe we didn’t have time to make one this year. She was right.

Another example of how gracious our friends are — last week, I got a call from my friend, Lucinda Henry (you remember her right? she was one of the graceful hosts for Monkey’s baby shower). She wanted to stop by to drop off some homemade soup and a gift for Asher.

This picture above doesn’t do it justice, but she made Little Monkey a globe night-light out of the goose. It is SO cool! We love it — thanks so much Cinda! Now at night when I nurse or change Monkey in his room, I have the glow of a goose lighting the way!

Since all of the outlets in the nursery are hidden behind furniture, my stepfather-in-law installed a light switch on the cord so I could easily access the on/off switch.

I love the picture of Gary and the goose above with the classic look Gary gives after he does something he thinks is pretty cool. That’s why we call him the Cool Dude…which brings me to the very entertaining topic of what all of the grandparents in the family want Asher to call them…the whole thing started when my mom requested the name Glammy back when I was pregnant. Yes, GLAMMY. As in glamorous grammy. ANYWAY, that’s where things began. Then my mother in-law decided she’d like to be Gigi. Okay. Doable. It was at this point that I just started asking everyone what they wanted to be called, assuming they were all somehow philosophically opposed to the title of Grandma and Grandpa. I have to say that Little Monkey already has his work cut out for him because he has four sets of grandparents since our biological parents are all divided up.

Please enjoy the list below:

Josh = Papa

Me = Mama

My Dad = Pop Pops

My Stepmom = Grandma Sandy

My Mom = Glammy K

Josh’s Dad = Grandpa Oz (thanks for keeping it simple

Josh’s Stepmom = Grandma Colleen

Josh’s Mom = Gigi

Josh’s Stepdad = Cool Dude

LOL. Yes, COOL DUDE! I know he said it as a joke, but I really want that one to stick because I’d love Little Monkey one day to say to people, “We’re going to Gigi and Cool Dude’s house for the weekend.”  In all reality though, Monkey will create his very own names for all of them. Perhaps everyone will simply be Grandma and Grandpa. Who knows. A friend’s two-year-old son calls his grandmother “Oxygen Gramma” because she uses oxygen. That’s just the way kids see things. Plain and simple.  Remember that old show, “Kids Say the Darndest Things”? There is a reason for that title.

ANYWAY, it is because of Cool Dude that my kitchen didn’t burn down last week when I left some bread on broil for far too long and started a fire. He truly lived up to the name. When it all happened, he was holding Monkey in the living room while I was in the kitchen yelling all sorts of profanities to declare that I had caused the fire. And, the calm, COOL DUDE who is a retired Fire Captain came walking toward the kitchen and said in the most slow and relaxed voice (as flames are visible behind me) says “Sweetheart, you take the baby out of here, I’ll take care of the fire.” So Monkey and I went into another part of the house that was not smokey while Gary, eh-hem, I mean Cool Dude took care of the fire. He then educated Josh and I on what to do in different fire scenarios. Since we were just cooking bread, the best thing to do was to turn off the oven and not open the oven door. If it were a grease fire (stove top or oven), we should always call for help because if it were to get sucked up into the cooking vent (which we actually don’t have), then it can get ugly. I’m sure this is common knowledge for most people but I needed the refresher course.

That’s what the bread looked like by the time Gary placed it outside so the house would not be too smokey. Boy was I grateful that this happened when I was not alone with Monkey. I think I would have just gone outside and called the fire department because I wouldn’t have wanted to put him in any danger. GO COOL DUDE! We love you!

Oh, and before I “over and out” this blog post, I have to give props to our friend Tiffany, who has been such an enormous help on making sure we have everything we need for Monkey, and then some! Aside from bringing over a swing, bouncy chair, a play gym and a bassinet, she also hand-made about a dozen burp clothes and a beautiful car seat cover that we get SO many compliments on:

It’s so great because in its lifted position, it keeps the sun out of Monkey’s eyes, and then we can lower it when walking through the rain or when he is asleep and we are at a cafe or something of the sort. It works out really well. I think Tiff Schiff needs to go into business making these covers!

Okay. I’m ready to sign off. Thanks for letting me ramble for a bit. It’s allowed me to escape for a while and feel at home. The crying babies in the rooms around me also make me feel at home in a weird way. The one next door I have nicknamed “The Kazoo” because he/she (not sure) sincerely sounds just like a kazoo when it cries.

Thank you all again for your kind thoughts and healthy vibes for a quick recovery! I am working on it and hope to be able to head home tomorrow.

Over and out.

A New Neighbor in the Hood!

Well, September 23rd came and went! At least one of the things happened on it’s due date! My brother got the keys to his sweet new place!

I think Little Monkey decided he just wanted to hold off so we could help Sterling out with his move (“we” meaning Josh and Sterling doing the lifting and me pointing out where I thought things should go).

After how much he has helped us with over the last year, it felt good to help out in return.

The contractor did such a great job at maintaining the charm and character of the old home when doing the full update.

You know what felt really nice? Being able to walk over to his house from our in a short couple of minutes!

Okay Little Monkey — now it’s time for your big debut!