By the numbers

In no particular order...

Our new house:

1400+ square feet

10 minute commute for Randy

5 closets!!!

3 bedrooms

2.9 miles from Nyree

2 bathrooms

1.5 miles from Kris and John

1.1 miles from my sister, Tim, Grady, and Baby #2

1 garage

1 fireplace for Santa to come down and for Mama to read books by with a glass of wine (not on the same night, of course)

and 0.5 miles to our new daycare.

As of now move expected on 12/8 and closing on 12/14.

Our current house:

970 square feet

106 years old

2 bedrooms 

1 bathroom

3 offers in 48 hours for over listing price

3 inspections so far with 2 more tomorrow

and too many memories to count!

I also learned today that apparently our house was moved from its original location where it was built in 1906 to its current location in 1958.  I just looked it up on Portland Maps and it says that our house used to be at 420 NE Church Street which is where the 76 gas station is on the corner of NE MLK and Killingsworth.  Who knew?!

Bedtime last night:

1.5 hours to get Trey down 

30 minutes of reading How Children Succeed

60 minutes of tossing and turning

4:45 am wake up this morning

less than 5 hours of sleep for Mama which is starting to take its toll

Some pictures from the past few weeks:

Trey chilling out with his pillow and all his stuffed animals 

while I packed up parts of his room

Trey hanging out in the car while we were killing time 

waiting to go to the concert at Swap n Play 

Randy and our realtor's helper were moving furniture and our realtor was painting

Trey poking his head out the sunroof 

Elizabeth Mitchell concert at Woodlawn Swap n Play

We sure are going to miss this place when we move. 

Elizabeth Mitchell and her band 

Hopworks with Adam and Jenny and a cookie and ice cream cone for dessert

This is what happens when you have to keep a toddler out of the house post-daycare

This past weekend we went down to my dad's because we wanted to get out of the house if there were showings throughout the weekend.  We ended up spending a few hours with our realtor on Friday night going over the offers, so we left early Saturday morning.  Randy drove separately since he had to work on Monday and went fishing for the day. Trey and I made a quick stop in Woodburn for breakfast with Ardis and Dan.  Breakfast at Elmer's was way better than I thought it would be.  I also loved how Ardis got Trey to giggle really hard before we left.  

Saturday was about as perfect of a day as I could ask for. Breakfast with Ardis and Dan, listening to my new audiobook Dearie on the way to Eugene with a latte, and an afternoon to myself while Grandpa watched Trey.  I started my afternoon with a pedicure, went to sushi for lunch, and then got my hair cut.  Three of my favorite things all in one day!  

Trey jamming on the keyboards

My favorite was when he would say, "Go crazy!" 

and start shaking his head and dancing.   

Randy and I got away on Sunday afternoon and went to Ninkasi for some beers.  

It was so nice to have a "date afternoon" and spend some time just the two of us. 

Trey woke early, of course, on Monday morning 

and we spent some quality time with the cat and Yo Gabba Gabba.   

How long does it take a child to adjust to daylight savings time???

Trey and I stopped by Sarah Long's on the way out of town on Monday.  I am just LOVING the fact that Trey is getting old enough to play with the kids.  Watching him with Anna and Curtis was such a joy.

Anna and Curtis making funny faces

The next few weeks will be interesting as we negotiate with our buyers on repairs and get ready to move to Beaverton.  I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week with Christmas just around the corner.  Combining the move with a really busy work schedule with being sleep deprived is causing me a fair amount of stress and fatigue.  Luckily, I am blessed with a supportive husband, a sweet son, and super helpful friends.  I am so thankful for the many fantastic blessings I have in my life! 

My Day/Our News

Today has been a pretty fab day, and it centers around our big news (no, I am NOT pregnant).  Randy and I have decided to sell our house and move across town to Beaverton.  We have an opportunity to rent our friend Kris's house.  We have decided to do this for several reasons.  At the top of the list is an attempt to make our own economic recovery with the long-term goal of settling down in a nice neighborhood in a good school district.  The other main pros for me are being 1.1 miles from my sister Julie and having a bigger house.  The biggest cons are losing my daycare and nearly doubling my commute (on the flip side, Randy's commute shortens dramatically).  Our plan is to stay in this house until spring/summer 2015 when we can find an area to settle down in before Trey starts kindergarten (yikes!)

This morning started with my boy waking at 6:30am after sleeping through the night.  This, my friends, was a gift.  We hung out at home for a while before heading to his haircut.  I love my boy's hair when it's long, but I love it more right after it is cut.  He looks like such a little boy!

We had an hour to kill before music class, so we went to Cup and Saucer for breakfast, just the two of us.  I don't know if we have ever gone to a restaurant to eat just the two of us.  It was extra fun because he was really well behaved and I started the day out with a mimosa.

Music class was awesome today.  Trey was really in to the activities and even got down on the floor during dance time to dance himself rather than making me hold him the whole time.  He was excited about playing the bells and the drums, and he was thrilled that we got to play with balls today.  He was running around being silly and happy, laughing the whole time.  Parents around us were smiling goofily at me because he isn't usually this free-spirited during class.

After class, we drove out to Julie's house because she was going to babysit him for a few hours so we could work on the house.  We moved all of the furniture from the dining room into the living room so our realtor could move her staging furniture into the dining room and Randy and our realtor's helper could move our furniture out and over to Kris's house.  Needless to say, that process is still in process and our house is in total disarray.  It is supposed to be finished tomorrow, and our realtor assures me that the house will be ready to go on the market on Monday night.  WHAT????

Empty dining room

Full living room...

It doesn't look much better now.

I have been saying that I don't know what's going to make me more nervous on Tuesday - waiting to see what happens with our house or watching the election results.

I'm really excited about this move and think it is a great decision for us, but it is going to be sad to leave our home in NE.  This is Randy's and my first house together, it is where we lived when we got married, and it is where we have been raising Trey since his birth.  There are still times when I'm in my bedroom and the dimly lit lamp on the dresser is on that I am reminded of those first nights with Trey lying next to me in bed or next to the bed in his pack and play.  I will always remember watching Trey's first steps across our living room and down our hallway.  I will have so many memories of our first two and a half years together in this house, and I will hold them fondly forever.

I am also nervous about how all of this change is going to affect Trey.  I know that kids are resilient and they like new things too, blah blah blah, but I feel like we are being mean by taking away everything that is comfortable and known to him.  He has no idea that when we leave this house we are never coming back, and that makes me sad.  I also feel REALLY bad about taking him out of his daycare.  His daycare providers are like family to him, and I have lost a lot of sleep and had plenty of stomachaches worrying about this change.  Only time will tell what kind of impact these changes will have on my sweet boy.

Trey helping me pack...

who knew we had a deflated yoga ball and a sit and spin in his closet?

Obligatory Halloween/Pumpkin Pictures

I don't know why I'm such a Halloween Grinch this year.  I didn't even get out my Halloween decorations.  I know that Trey is old enough to enjoy holidays, and I should be a good mom and begin implementing awesome holiday traditions that will create warm and wonderful childhood memories.  This year I will blame it on the rain, Trey's stomach flu, and being immersed in house chaos.  

A few weeks ago Trey's daycare was closed so I stayed home with him on a Thursday.  I called in sick which I felt guilty doing (I was raised by Honest Abe) but did not want to take personal time.  (I'm really hoping my boss doesn't read my blog.)  Anyways, before I post the pumpkin patch pictures from that day, I will say that Trey woke up in the middle of the night puking - what I see as my punishment for lying about him being sick the day before.  

Randy met Trey and I for lunch out at Plumper Pumpkin Patch with a picnic.  It was fun to come back here because we also came in 2010 to take pictures for our Christmas cards.  

I tried really hard to get Randy to go in the little girl one... 

This was about the extent of Trey walking in the pumpkin patch (although I think the real patch was somewhere else on this property) because he was only interested in the play structure.

Trey thought this giant pumpkin made a great drum.

Here's a moment of truth: Randy had to leave the pumpkin patch to get back to work, and Trey wanted me to carry him all the way back to the car.  I also had the picnic basket on my other arm, so...I ended up buying my pumpkins at the grocery store.  

This is what Trey would have been if he had 

wanted to put on his costume on Halloween.  

I could watch this video again and again.  My boy makes me smile.  

I decided to carve our pumpkin on Halloween since I wasn't in the mood to go trick-or-treating and Trey had no interest in putting on his costume.  

Trey and his jack-o-lantern with the candle that 

he kept trying to blow out like his birthday cake.

Next year I will do the real thing...I promise.  

A perfect Saturday

As Trey has gone through different stages, I have joked that he is a bipolar child.  I was thinking today that sometimes I feel like a bipolar parent.*  Trey can go from the happiest toddler on the block to the most miserable within about 30 seconds, and sometimes it feels like he can cycle through this range of emotion multiple times in a very short period.  As a mom who wears a few hats (parent, wife, housekeeper, educator, friend, daughter, sister, community member to name a few) I feel like sometimes I can also cycle through a range of emotions rather quickly...although not as fast as my two year old.

I really love the blog post on Momastery called Carpe Diem.  She probably has a nicer way of describing the ups and downs than me saying sometimes I feel like a bipolar parent.  I relate so much to her message as I know thousands of other women do.  I definitely go through the dregs of parenting but feel those moments of joy (the Kairos moments) throughout the day (and I feel several each and every day) that make me cherish my role as mother, especially as Trey's mother.

Randy is out of town this weekend to San Diego for the Broncos game on Monday night.  Monday Night Football!  How cool is that?  He is visiting Dave, of course, and staying with our friends, Kim and Shane, with whom we traveled in China.  This means that I am on my own for four days.  This would be a piece of cake (ha) if Trey wasn't having some bedtime woes and if he would nap for me like a normal child.

My solution to the napping was to drive to Eugene for the weekend.  Trey and I had a pretty perfect day on Saturday.  Trey slept in until 7am (the beginning of a perfect day in my book) and we went to breakfast with Randy at Cup and Saucer.

 After breakfast, Trey and I dropped Randy off at the airport and headed to music class.  Trey was in a funk of some sorts because he would not let me sit down in the circle for the first four songs at least.  Actually, it wasn't until everyone got up and started moving around that he got comfortable (easy for me since I was already standing).  After music class, Trey and I went to meet Amy for lunch before driving to Eugene.  Visiting with Amy was fabulous and the drive to Eugene was a breeze.  The combination of my decaf grande skinny vanilla latte, Trey's nap, and my audiobook by Anne Lamott was about as good as it could get.

Side note: if you haven't read or listened to Anne Lamott before, then you should start now.  I am not a huge fan of her fiction, but I really love her nonfiction.  I love her book on her first year with her son called Operating Instructions, and the book I'm listening to is the sequel to that which is about the first year with her grandson.  I also love her books on faith.  Even though I am not a religious person or a church going person, I enjoy reading about it at times, and Anne Lamott's writing is a mixture of faith, social liberalism, and humor that I adore.

Our afternoon and evening at my dad and Sandy's was as good as it gets.  Trey opened his eyes from his nap as I turned down their driveway and said, "Heeeeyyyyyyy!!!!  Papa's house!!!"  I was greeted by Sandy saying, "I was hoping you'd get here soon so I could start drinking wine."  Let's get to it!   Trey was in a great mood, immediately wanted to be on the trampoline, played with my dad and Sandy, and even cuddled on my dad's lap.

We had a nice dinner, and then I got to attack bedtime.  My dad joined us for story time, and at one point I got the boot so my dad could read stories to Trey.

Seeing them together like this seriously melted my heart.

After a two hour bedtime (beginning to end), I basically went to bed to read my latest book club book and I was looking forward to a really great night of sleep.  Needless to say, I was happy that my boy slept through the night, but I slept like shit.  What a disappointment.

What was actually a bigger disappointment was that my plans with Sarah Long got cancelled for Sunday morning because her kids were both sick with the stomach flu.  Getting to see Sarah this weekend was one of the main reasons I drove to Eugene, and we were both really bummed that it didn't work out.  I was also really sorry for her that she had two puking kids, and I hope she made it through unscathed.

What this meant, of course, was more time with Papa and Sanny.  Trey and I had a nice morning and early afternoon with them before we left for home.

The "guys" needed a ride!   

I loved watching how Trey walked each one of them to the 

back of the truck and had them hop their way in.

Trey playing on the piano 

This was one of my Kairos moments...

sitting on the floor with me playing the accordion and singing songs 

like Old McDonald and Twinkle Twinkle while Trey sat in the boat and smiled down at me was pure joy.  I was sort of surprised he didn't tell me to "sing better" like he did the other night at bedtime.  

Naptime...how cute is he? 

Trey and I had a nice Sunday night at home.  We played with toys, read stories, FaceTimed with Randy a few times, watched some shows, had dinner, and had a pretty easy bedtime (hopefully, this doesn't mean he will bless me with some middle of the night wake ups).  I think my favorite moment of the night was Trey cuddled up next to me watching Curious George.  Sometimes he sits on my lap while he watches a show, but this time he just jumped up next to me on the couch, sat next to me, and cuddled me with my arm around him.  As I sat there I was thinking of all the chores I needed to tackle, but instead I told myself to sit and enjoy these cuddly moments with my boy.  

Still not ready to sit on the potty...

We have a really busy week coming up.  Randy will be gone Monday and Tuesday, I have a late conference on Wednesday, there is a book event I want to attend at Powell's on Thursday, daycare is closed on Thursday and Friday, and my dad is coming to spend the night on Thursday and watch Trey on Friday.  Friday night I am also supposed to host book club, but I'm hoping to switch with someone.  A girl has to know when to say when! 

*Disclaimer: I mean no offense to anyone suffering from or knowing someone who suffers from bipolar disorder.  I know it is a debilitating disease causing turmoil in people's personal, educational, and professional lives.

Family pictures

Julie and I wanted some pictures with us and the boys, and I also wanted some family shots.
Look what we got!  Some of you family may be able to guess what's coming for Christmas, but no way could I keep these under wraps until then!

Hoping these boys will love each other like brothers! 

Trey at 27 months and Grady at 1year 

Thanks to Sarah at Tulipifera Photography for her great work!

Happy Birthday to Grady!

We just celebrated Grady's first birthday!  I can't believe a year has gone by already and my nephew is already moving out of babyhood into being a little boy.

Grady and Grandpa

Trey has been talking a lot about the potty lately.  He's also showing some other signs of being ready for potty training, but I'm not even going to go there yet.  He's been slow with everything else, so I'm going to assume he'll be slow with this too.  Regardless, I want to encourage his interest, so I bought him an Elmo potty seat so that when he asks to sit on the "big potty," he can do so without falling in.  Needless to say, he thinks his new potty seat makes a great hat.

Dave, our friend who won a gold and silver medal in the 2012 Paralympics in wheelchair tennis, was in town a few weeks ago.  We hung out at Breakside for a little bit enjoying the nice fall weather.

Dave and Jackson, Kellie's son, who was seeing an Olympic medal for the first time

Jackson asked his dad, "Dad, when am I going to get one of those?" 

Trey and I started a music class this fall through Music Together.  We took the infant class when he was a baby during my maternity leave, and I have been excited to get back to it.  Trey seems really drawn to music and loves to play instruments.  He loves the guitar at Kris and John's house, and he always plays the keyboard at my dad and Sandy's house.  One day a song came on the radio with a piano intro, and from the back seat I heard Trey say, "piano!"  Who knows if he will have a talent for music, but he loves it now and I want to foster that.   He was immediately comfortable in class and really happy to be there.  Normally, he takes a while to warm up, so this made me really happy!

Trey pounding his drum 

This summer was my 20 year high school reunion.  I was on the planning committee and had so much fun reconnecting with old friends and planning a great party.  We had a party to celebrate the success that was our awesome reunion.  I was super excited to see everyone since it had been two months since the reunion and I was going through some withdrawal.  Unfortunately, I forgot what it's like to go to a party with a 2 year old - you don't really get to talk to any of your friends because you have to parent.  Lucky for me, I had Randy to entertain Trey.

Doesn't he look thrilled to be at the party?  

20 years ago we were six friends hanging out on weekends, 

and here we are with a shitton of kids.  14 kids to be exact.   

I don't know if you know this, but I really love my daycare.  It is like Trey's second home, and we feel really lucky to have such a great place for Trey to spend his time.  On Friday he was the only kid there, so they went to the zoo.  AND they got to ride the train.  How lucky is Trey?  Later I got these pictures texted to me and this message "We have had such a great day!  They are such good friends and so well behaved.  We are lucky to have Trey in our lives."   I mean, really, I think I am the lucky one.

Trey and V. (our daycare provider's daughter) on the train 

This is one of those pictures where I think "when did he turn into a BOY???" 

We just finished up a fun weekend.  We had Kris over for dinner on Friday to enjoy some of the chinook salmon Randy caught last week, Trey and I went to music class, I got to babysit Grady, and then we celebrated Grady's birthday on Sunday.

Trey at music class, ready to cheer on the Ducks AND wearing his cool Elmo hat 

Sweet Grady

I was more than happy to pass on this noisy table to Grady.  

I'm not sure Julie was as thrilled.  

Singing happy birthday to Grady 

Enjoying his first cupcake 

Trey was enjoying his cupcake too. 

Sanny, Trey, and Grandpa