So Very Thankful

'Tis the season to be thankful and I have a very long list.  It is probably similar to 2010 and 2011 but is worth repeating:  my family, my health, my job, my home...are these too prosaic?   From linking those previous years, I realized that my Thanksgiving blog titles are all the same and not on purpose.  I'm nothing if not original.

I'm thankful for the head bop that Trey gets when a song comes on the radio, the exploding language skills he is exhibiting, and his joy when he sees me every day.  I'm thankful for my husband who is an awesome father to Trey, supports me in my social and alone time, and has such a passion for things in his life (ummm, fishing?).  I'm thankful for my friendships - old and new, established and blossoming - and the joy they bring to my life.  I'm thankful for Google Reader and the ease it gives me to keep up with my blogs.  I'm thankful for my dutch oven, my food processor, and my collection of cookbooks that allows me to broaden my meal repertoire.  I'm thankful for my father who is so predictable ("It is what it is," "I probably shouldn't be saying this, but..." and "Don't worry" - even though he's the biggest worrier on the block) and is such a rock for me.  I'm thankful for my job and the opportunities it gives me to learn new things and support families across the county.  I'm thankful for the first moment of the day when I can get up, go exercise on the ellipitical and watch Friends, and then greet my usually happy boy, and I'm thankful for the last moment of the day when I can crawl into my warm bed, read my next great book, and kiss my husband good night.  I really am a very lucky girl.  

The weekend before Thanksgiving Randy and I had a fun day together.  I dragged him to Trey's music class for the first time so he could get a taste of what it is like.  He says he enjoyed watching Trey having so much fun.

Then we got a babysitter and did some wine tasting with some friends.  We met Jeanne, my mentor from Woodburn, and her husband, Paul, at Torii Mor where they are wine club members.  They were having a vertical tasting of pinot noirs and they were delish! They started with 2002 and $90 dollar bottle of wines are pretty nice to drink.  

This is one of those pictures where I thought I looked okay when I left the house, but then I see this picture and I think, "oh god, is that what I really look like?"  

After spending a few hours there, we went to the Crowley event in Newberg.  This is our third year going to their wine party, and their wines never fail to please.  Randy and I headed to Sellwood after wine tasting and went to hear his friend Ryan read from his book at a wine bar.  After that, I dragged Randy to Saburo's and had some HUGE sushi.  I don't think I've been there since we met (Randy is NOT a sushi fan), but, needless to say, my leftovers made for TWO snacks the next day.  Their sushi is SO BIG it definitely requires a lot of CAPITAL letters.

Update photo sent to us by our babysitter 

Ryan reading from his book Without Rain There Can Be No Rainbows 

Cranky Randy and the HUGE sushi

Sunday we met Mindy and Camille for pancakes and then went to OMSI to check out the Grossology exhibit.  I was a little disappointed in it, but Trey loved the boogers, the farts, and sliding down the esophagus.

Camille and Trey giggling and coloring before the pancakes arrived 

Shooting boogers into the nostrils 

Making fart noises...how did they create such a perfect exhibit for my husband?

Sliding down the esophagus

We watched Porter, Kris and John's dog, while they were in Australia.  Having Porter around has made Randy a little...ummm....eager to get a new dog.  I don't know how many emails I have received so far of possible dogs.  I know I'm being Debbie Downer, but I don't understand why they all seem to be either a) not cute or b) described as needing a lot of activity or having tons of energy.  Maybe this is why they're being given away???  Randy totally disagrees with me.

Trey trying to feed Porter "soup" with a spoon 

Trey telling Porter that all of his Yo Gabba guys were his.  

"Porter, this mine.  Porter, this mine.  Porter, this mine," 

as he showed him each guy.   

Porter sleeping in Trey's room at bedtime

Since Julie was doing Thanksgiving with the in-laws, Randy and I decided to stay homebound for the weekend instead of going to Eugene.  We spent the day at the Kopplins, and we had a great time with special friends.

Neil carving the turkey 

Randy preparing the brussel sprouts 

Me and my boy 

Thanksgiving with Sarah, one of my friends for whom I am very thankful! 

Getting ready to eat!

Trey and one of his favorite things, whipped cream

On Saturday we did Thanksgiving brunch at my sister's house with my dad. We also watched the Civil War game, so we were there for most of the morning and afternoon.  It is so fun to see Trey and Grady play together, although we have to keep a close eye on Trey because he's getting a little pushy (literally) and Grady doesn't quite know how to defend himself yet.   I made this tomato soup during the game, and I thought it was really good. I can't wait to make it again and freeze some for lunches.  

Grady and Grandpa 

It was tricky getting a picture with both the boys looking

Grady (almost 14 months) and Trey (2 years 5 months)

Reading to the boys

Sunday we did our annual November wine tasting with Kris and John and discovered some good (and not-so-good) wineries in Carlton.  Our favorite was a little winery called Folin Cellars who was doing a vertical tasting of tempranillo.  Trey did a fabulous job (relatively for a two year old) behaving on our day trip, and we all had a great time.

Grapes on toothpicks is a great way to keep a toddler busy at a winery 

Some nice ladies at Folin kept Trey busy 

Trey got a little spazzy at lunch because he was overdue for a nap, 

but overall he was awesome. 

A family who plays together stays together

Trey really seems to love music, loves his music class, loves banging on the drums, most recently loves dancing, and really loves the guitar at Kris and John's house.  On Saturday night he found the guitar, and here are some of his rockin' tunes:

Right now I'm reading an interesting and fun book called Bringing Up Bebe.  It's about how French parenting is different from American parenting and offers some reasons why French children are typically better behaved than Americans.  It's difficult and risky to make such cultural generalizations, but some of the things she writes about I find to be very true.  I laughed out loud at the scene where she describes American mothers in Paris following their kids around at the playground and narrating every move they make.  I appreciate her commentary that French women make their marriage more of a priority than Americans often do and place it ahead of their parenting.  While I don't necessarily want to place my marriage ahead of motherhood, it could certainly use more attention than it gets.  I also liked what she had to say about French women not rushing to meet their child's every need at a moment's notice and making their child wait a few minutes, essentially teaching them patience and that they aren't the center of the world.  I really like reading about parenting, and I really love reading about Paris.

We are still in negotiations with our buyers about repairs and hope to make some progress this week, although there is a high possibility we will be relisting the house.  I just really want to know where to put my Christmas tree.  

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.