Sunday, August 31, 2008

Today we went to a barbeque/graduation for Christian. He is graduating from preschool-Sunday school to Kindgarten-Sunday school. His teacher has an above ground swimming pool so all the kids went swimming. Liam did not last too long, since it was a cool day. He got out and was shaking. Warm, dry clothes and some potoato chips warmed him right up. Christian stayed in quite a while longer and had fun with his friends.


When we got home Liam wanted to play with Mr. Potato Head so I negoiated with him that if he picked up his shoes and put them away, he could play with it. After playing for a while both boys came back to our room wearing the Mr. Potato head glasses.

I found a recipe site that looks really good. It has the Basic nutritional info for each recipe which is helpful. Tommorow, I think I will make Kimchi Jiggae which is a Korean stew.
We start our homeschooling this week. I have a dry erase calendar and I helped Christian write in the days of the month today. His favorite activites are reading and math. We just have to work on the writing. If he is hoping to be a doctor, he is on the right track with is hand writing. Regretfully, he did not enjoy being in the same room as me when I had part of my finger nail removed. He sat in the corner yelling "I am not watching that, it is disgusting" over and over.
David found shark videos and youtube and showed them to the boys, so they were begging for them all day. Christian is going through a shark phase. He spends a lot of time trying read his books about sharks. Liam even made a comment about wanting to see a whale shark today.

Reptile and amphibian show

Yesturday we took the boys to the Reptile and Amphibian show which is a labor day weekend tradition in Portland. We have not been for a couple of years, so I don't think the boys remember the last time we went. They both enjoyed it. I enjoyed going in without a stroller and baby stuff. They had one room to observe the animals in their glass cages then they had a seperate room to pet the animals.




Here is the layout I did using Art 101 by Lindsay Jane Designs

I used Tracey Monette's Back to School Page Set for this layout

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Kung Fu Panda

The boys and I went to see Kung Fu Panda yesturday. Jackie Chan worked on the movie, so I guess it is an intro movie for kids to that style movie to get them addicted and they can grow up and watch the large selection of martial arts films. I have seen many of them since David loves them.
Liam was scared of several parts, but Christian really enjoyed it. I just have to keep them from doing too much Kung Fu around the house.
We stopped by Trader Joes after the movie to pick a few things and I asked Liam if he was a Kung Fu Panda and He said, "No, I am a Kung Fu chipmunk", Christian said he was a Kung Fu scorpion.
I liked that the master used good Chinese food to motivate the Kung Fu Panda to train. I think this would be a good method with me. If someone would have a plate of Dim Sum delights that they held out of a car window, while they drove in front of me while I go running, I know I would break new barriers.
I also have joked that someone should ride behind me with a Starbucks timer beeping non-stop since I would want to flee it at all costs.
Here is a layout I did using Pool Party by Lindsay Jane Designs

Lindsay Jane has a new kit...Art 101. This is the next kit I will work with. It is available at Scrapbook-Bytes

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Meet Phillip

Liam has a new friend Phillip......

He brought Phillip into our bedroom the other day and I asked him if he was playing with his Care Bear. He told me his name was Phillip. Later in the day, I asked Liam where Phillip was and he told me Phillip is sleeping and pointed to the ottoman. Hence the photo above. Yesturday Phillip and to sit in a time out for a while (from Liam, not me) and spent some time milling around a basket of clean clothes.
Christian never played with stuffed animals this way (I did as a child) so I am just loving this. It is also fun to watch him use his imagination.
Christian likes to turn everything in the house into either a space ship or a gun. He spends hours building Lego laser guns and goes around defending the home planet. We all feel much safer.
I have started running. I was able to run about a mile yesturday and close to that today. I am running/walking and trying increase the amount of time running slowly. My end goal for this is the Hood to Coast Relay next summer. A co-worker invited me to join a team she is putting together. She has more faith in me than I have in myself. Next summer is my 40th birtday and the relay is a couple of weeks after my birthday, so I thought it would be a great way to ring in a new decade of life.
My other goal to get down to my pre-pregnancy weight (Liam is almost 4) by my birthday. I am journaling what I eat and of course the running, biking and ballet help. I find that I am not as hungry on the days that I do more intense workouts.
Here is a layout I did last night....

Credits: Autumn Medley by Valorie Brown at Elemental Scraps

Friday, August 22, 2008

Back to the world of the bathed

Last week when I went to the Doctor and they cut my nail back and put me on antibiotics I asked them if I could take a bath. They said no, I need to shower. I was put out by the idea of just showering. I love a long warm bath after a hard day. I was put out by the shower all weekend and even that was hard since my finger was in such nasty shape. After they put the IV in, they said that even showers were out. I tried dry shampoo one day. (did not work) and then I found a way to wash my hair in the bath tub, just using my right arm.
The first thing I did yesturday after returning from the doctor was to shower. I have never appreciated a shower so much my life.
I see marked improvement in my finger today. It looks like the oral antibiotics will be fine to finish this off.
The boys went out front and played today.
Liam picked out this ensemble all by himself. No help from mom.

Christian is now training wheel free.

We went to Old Navy today and each boy picked out a t-shirt. This was the shirt Liam picked. He chose it because he liked the shark. I did not even look at the writing until late tonight. I think he might be wearing this everyday. We now have a warning. We just need a signed release from parents when their kids play with him and we should be covered legally.

Since we haven't camped enough this summer, the boys wanted another night in a tent. This time in our living room.

I did this layout with Jannylyn Brokken & Lleilla's kit Sweet September from Funky Playground Design's Teacher's Pet #4.

I used Quirky Street Kit and Tracey's Monsters by Tracey Monette for this.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

home from the Dr.

I am home now. The good news is that they pulled the IV line and put me back on oral meds. I am so happy to have that needle out of my arm.
I just took a shower and feel 300 % better. I was not allowed to shower while the line was in.
The boys are really wanting corn so we might go to the farmers market this afternoon for a little outing.

back to doctor

I go back to the doctor this morning to check my finger. If she is happy with it, they will pull the IV line and put me back on oral antibiotics. If she is not happy with the finger, I get to go to another clinic, get the line pulled and get an hour long procedure involving an ultrasound to find a good vein in my upper arm to continue IV meds through the weekend.
The finger is looking better and I can tell I am feeling better overall, so I am hoping and praying they will pull the line.
Someone asked in the comments how this whole adventure began. A few weks ago, my finger was swollen. I assumed it was a sliver. I cut my nail down, wiped the finger down with an alcohol pad and tried to dig the sliver out. I now think it was a form of excema not a sliver. I have a similar sore/rash on my adjacent finger. Opening the thing up allowed the germs to get in and the rest is history.
I also have this rash on the lower part of my infected finger and I figured out that the red spots are where the needle went in last week. The 100 + degree heat and the tape upset the entry points. The raging infection a few inches away probably did not help.
David has been taking the boys out in the mornings this week so I can rest. Yesturday he took them to a coffee shop for hot cocoa. They had ding dongs there and David got each boy a ding dong. This was their first. Christian was telling me about it in the afternoon and he described them as these round things with dried chocolate on the outside, brown cookies on the inside and some white stuff. It is not whipped cream, but it tasted good. It is funny hearing something that was so familiar to me as a child in such foreign terms.
I remember getting a Ding Dong in my lunch was a huge treat. Some kids got them every day, but I only got them once in a while. I guess they were special for me and I was not loading up on sugar.
I did this layout using Pool Party by Lindsay Jane Designs yesturday

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

I hate needles

I hate needles, they freak me out and knowing that one is sitting in my arm right now makes me kind of dizzy and woozy. Giving myself IVs is such a stretch for me. The first dose I did on my own was last night. The boys were awake. Christian hid in our room and listened to an audiobook and wanted to see nothing. Liam was playing with trains and did not want to go to the room. He was focused, so I decided to go ahead. He played with the trains and only asked for water once.
He was so cute and sweet that it was a blessing. I was not feeling very good while I was shooting up and used Liam as a focus point so I did not think about the fact that I was pumping things into my veins.
My meeting with the home infusion nurse was amusing. The song Allergies by Bare Naked Ladies came to mind. We spent quite a bit of time listing all meds I am taking. 90% are allergy related, after we finished with that we moved on to my many drug allergies.
On a different note, Linday Jane designs has a great new kit, Pool Party available at Scrapbook-Bytes

Leslie Bodah at Elemental Scraps has a template set...The Button Maker

I used it to make my first piece of flair starring my cat Luna

Here is a layout from fishing this weekend

Credits: Template Gotcha cornered by Chrissy W. Kit: For the Boys Elemental Scraps August Collab Kit

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

more finger problems

The swelling was not going down in my finger and I was getting excema from bandaging. I rode my bike to the doctors yesturday and she said she thought the infection had gone into the bone. I had to ride home, get the car, go pick up David from work and drive to urgent care to get IV anti-biotics. They left the lock for the IV in and a home nurse to show me how to use the IV three times a day at home. The box of supplies an medications just arrived. The pain is down in my finger this morning. I have not changed the dressing to see if the swelling is down.
Needless to say, I am stocked up on pro-biotics and will be eating a lot of yougurt this week. After this infection is gone, I do not want side effects from them for months to come.
I need to stay close to home until the doctor says the infection clearing up and I should avoid cooking for the kids, plus it is hard to do too much with the IV lock in. I can work on the computer, so I should get some layouts done the next couple of days. I had a large batch of pod-casts download yestyrday, so I have plenty to listen to during IV treatments.
Here is a layout I did yesturday

kit: Harvest Moon by Jennifer Barrette, Alpha: Scribbled Alpha by Juno Designs

Monday, August 18, 2008

weekend on the mountain

We went camping at a site on the base of Mt. Hood this weekend. It was very hot down in Portland and it was not much cooler up there. They had an indoor pool at the site, so the boys went swimming.

We spent the evening playing at the campsite. We made peach sorbet in the ice cream ball and cut up a watermelon to eat and stay cool.

We went up to Timberline lodge on Sunday. I think this is the only place with summer skiing in the US. We could not play in the snow much because this is the end of the ski run. It is the bottom od a glacier. It is snowing about 1000 feet up from this spot this morning.

The boys on the back patio of Timberline lodge

We went to a trout farm and the boys fished for the first time. We caught four, grilled two last night and froze two. Christian would not eat it but Liam ate a bit and liked it. They have been asking to go fishing for a while. This is easy with quick results since it is from trout ponds. Christian wants to go Salmon fishing, but I don't know if they are patient enough.

Here is a layout I did od Liam eating his watermelon Saturday night.

Credits: Fruit Medley - a collab kit by Wendy Page and Lindsay Jane

Thursday, August 14, 2008

finger problems

I will keep this post short tonight. I have a sore on my finger and it has not beein healing. I thought an infection was starting last week and went to the Dr. and they said it was healing. It has not healed and now the finger tip is swollen and purple. I went back and of course it is a full fledged infection. I came home with both anti-biotics and Vicatin. I have taken both tonight.
Summer swimming is over for me this summer. I will have to sit on the side while David takes them in. I guess I will have to get caught up my reading. So sad.
We went to Target and bought life jackets and some other swimming stuff on clearance. The boys also got these Cars backpack & sleeping bag sets. They are so excited to go camping this weekend.
I also went to Ikea to buy my laptop desk. I am using it now and love it! I did all these errands before the Dr. and Vicatin. Walking all over Ikea and pain, even in a finger don't mix.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Olympic Calorie Count

I am watching swimming on the Olympics right now. I have a confession. When I watch events like swimming, I sit and calculate how many calories I would burn if I did the activity. I always have a renewed interest in lap swimming after the Olympics.
Speaking of Calorie count. I love the McDonalds Commercial with all of the athletes acting like they are going to eat the new Country Chicken Sandwich. The gymnast is the most funny. If she even took a bite (which she does not), her coach would be standing off screen telling her to spit it back out and giving her a celery stick if she was really good.
We have an apple tree in our back yard and there is also one down the street. The property where the tree sits is now a rental with some young men from Reed College living there. I have thought about going to down to collect apples in the past, but since I knew that the chickens would eat the apples now matter what, I decided to go get them today. The boys grabbed buckets and we walked down and they filled thier buckets with apples. (only on the sidewalk and street). We gave all of the smashed and rotten ones to the chickens then I cut up the rest and baked an apple pie. Those apples are so delicious. Since we picked them up out of the hot sun, they smelled like apple pie when I was still cutting them.
Liam said he wanted to sleep on his floor today. I said he could sleep where he wants. Christian came in a couple of hours ago and said Liam passed out on the floor and fell asleep. I just went and checked on him. He has a pillow and blankets. He did not just drop and fall asleep. He set up a bed first. I am glad he enjoys sleeping on the floor since we are going camping the weekend. This time we are having our maiden voyage in our new tent.
My new Ikea catalog came yesturday and and found this great item. We will be making an Ikea run soon to pick this up. We will grab some meat balls as well.

Laptop Support
I did my layout of our second day at the beach....

Credits: Get em Scrapped by Chrissy W., Breakable Glass Alpha by Leslie Bodah & Sea Breeze by Little Miss Liz & Becki Kress

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Bridge Pedal and Olympic thoughts

I did my first Bridge Pedal today. It was a 14 mile - 6 Bridge Ride. I was a little nervous about going up the two highest bridges. The first tall bridge we crossed was the Marquim. The hill going up there was not bad at all. It was fun riding on the highway. The desent off the bridge was steep. There were not a lot of people around so I could get some good speed. The Fremont bridge which was our last bridge was a challenge, but I have been up much bigger hills. It was very crowded getting up and people were hoping off their bikes to walk them and not moving over fast enough. That was the hardest part. I had to take one little break on that hill, but other then that I was able to go without breaks.
I also rode to and from downtown so all together it was about a 25 mile ride.
We are talking about putting in a second bathroom and when we do, I want to install a Japanese ofuro (bath). I wish we had one today.
Here is a photo of our group. My store manager Dan, Tess an co-worker, her parents - Liz & Jerry and Audrey a customer who we all know well.

I have been watching sycronized diving and gymnastics tonight. Both sports and amazing to watch.
The Visa commercials featuring Morgan Freedman are just stunning. I wish that level of artistry went in to contemporary film making.
Speaking of film making. They were filming an Indie film outside the studio when I arrived at ballet yesturday. I asked if it was okay to park my bike on the rack, which was where they were filming and they said yes, it would add to the mood. So, my bike might have a cameo appearance in an Indie film. I was an extra in a made for cable tv movie in college. My shoulder could be seen in the final cut of the film.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

More Olympic thoughts & Bridge Pedal

We watched fencing, swimming, biking and beach volleyball today. I know that there are very few people who began their sports careers at age 39, but when I watch the Olympics, I think about what sports would be good for me. I like any sport that involves a lot of yelling or screaming. I tend to over-react and scream a lot, so if I could utilize that skill in conjuction with excercise, it would be good. I noticed there was a lot of screaming with the fencing. (When I say scream, it's more of a shock scream, not scream at people, i.e., I spill coffee at work and I scream).
I think any sport that involves wearing a sports bra and bottoms that look like panties is not a good match for me, so that takes beach volley ball off the table. I think my main volley ball move - the duck and cover is not something that coaches are looking for in their athletes.
I am always saying I want to take up lap swimming, but it has not happened yet. When I do lap swim, I am so slow it is pathetic. If they ever have a floating event I might have a chance. I am a great floater.
When they were discussing the bicycle race they mentioned that the athletes would climb 12,000 feet during the course of the race. I am going to say no to that. I would be a wonderful ride around the Great Wall of China, but after hearing about those hills, maybe not.
I am less than 12 hours from the Bridge Pedal. I am trying to figure out how to get my camera there, so I can get some pics of our group before and after. I will blog tommorow night with a re-cap.
Here is the layout I did while watching the Olympics tonight.

Credits: August Grab Bag & Seascape by Lindsay Jane Designs

The Beach and Olympics

We had a fun two days at the beach. In light of the fact that we were able to get yurt's in August and we are grateful for that...I have to say that staying at one site for a few days works better for a family then moving around.
I also learned that I don't like Newport, Oregon in August. Too many tourists. We like the South Oregon Coast because it is not as populated and harder to get to. The wildlife is also better down there since there are fewer people.
The kids had fun playing in the huge sand dunes on the central coast. Climbing those dunes is a great workout! Fog and drizzle had started by the time we arrived at our first campsite, so we did not go out on the beach. There was a group cleaning clams and crabs at the fish cleaning table and the boys loved watching them. I think we are going to try crabbing when we go camping for Liam's birthday. I need to pick up life jackets for the boys (this is a great time a year to get them, since it is the end of the season and everything is on sale) I also need to find out about licenses and directions for what crabs to take and what to leave. It sounds like we can rent the nets and it is not very expensive.
When I was growing up, my grandfather lived in Tillamook, Oregon and we had a good source of fish and crabs. My favorite thing was crab on english muffins with melted cheese.
Back to our trip...On the second day, there was a pretty low tide and the park service was offering guided tours out to the tide pools. I took Christian out to see the tide pools. He has moved beyond his "kelp issues" he had last year and had a great time. He has also moved past his "crab issues" he used to have. He loved crawling around the rocks and seeing the animals.
After that, we packed the car, played on the beach at the campsite and headed to Newport. As I said earlier, it was too crowded. We went to the aquarium then went on to our campsite. That night Christian got to fly his Spider Man kite that my parents gave him and Liam enjoyed taking his fingers in the sand and making markings. I wrote his name out in the sand and liked running around it spelling it. We went back to the campsite, made watermelon sorbet in the ice cream ball and s'mores. The boys loved the fire. We still had part of our Christmas tree left over and David cut it up to use as fire wood.
We went to the Aquarium one more time on Wednesday and played a bit at the beach and heaeded home.
I am so excited that the Olympics are here. Christian and I stayed up and watched the Opening Ceremonies last night. We were both half asleep by the time the US team came in and both went to bed right after.
We have not been watching much TV this summer, but I will let the boys watch some of the enents. I need to check and see what is on today and give them a couple choices.
I have my own athletic event this weekend. Tommorow, I am doing the Providence Bridge Pedal with a group from work. It is a 14 mile ride on six bridges. We have two bridges (the Marquim and the Fremont) that are very high. This riding up hills to get up them and I am afraid of high places. The Fremont Bridge has a great design and it should be really cool riding over the top deck. I just want to be in the middle of the pack.
Here are pictures from our first day at the beach.

Credits:
Templates: Get 'em Scrapped by Chrissy W.
Kit: All Organic by Chris Wasielewski
Alpha: Color Play Alpha August - by Anja J.
Journal Paper: Journalers by Sweet Digi Scraps

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Guess who shares a birthday with Barak Obama

I was listening to Morning Edition on NPR this morning and they mentioned that it is Barak Obama's Birthday tommorow. Well guess who else has a birthday tommorow....Yes, me. So I share a birthday with someone famous. Other notable events that occured on August 4th...Mozart got married (happy anniversery Mozart, what is this 312 years or something? Good thing he's a genius). Also on the European front, in 1914 World War 1 began on August 4th and in 1990 when I was recovering from my post 21st B-Day hangover, I learned that Iraq invaded Kuwait.
I looked up Barak Obama on Wikipedia and he was born in 1961 and I was born in 1969, so we are like 1960's bookends.
People have often commented on my decisive, natural leadership style (or that I am kind of bossy and have a strong sense of how the world shoud run) I guess we who were born on August 4th are just natural leaders.
Christian went a friend's birthday party at a local pool today. I rode the bike there with Christian in tow. A bit over 10 miles round trip. He had fun in the pool with his friends and since it was a private party, I could just hang on the side and visit with the other moms while he swam.

I did two layouts from Lindsay Jane Designs today
The first one is from her August Grab Bag. Just $3.00 and you get a ton of great stuff through August 8th. I used things from every item in the bag for this layout.

I used Soccer Inc. for this layout.

We are off to go camping on the Oregon Coast first thing in the morning. The car is all packed and we just have to fill the cooler, grab toiletries and bedding and oh yeah, the kids. I had to assure Christian that we would get them up and to the car in the morning and that he did not need to wake up early and help us remember.

Outdoor Adventure Genre Books

There is a genre of books that I have found myself reading a lot lately. Outdoor Adventure Stores. In the last several months I have read Into the Wild by Jack Krakauer, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortonsen and I am currently reading The Other by Daivd Guterson.
All three of the books share stories of long hikes and outings in primative territory, mountain climbing and eating shrubs.
I find these books fasinating and love reading the stories but I have to say that the closest I hope to come to these adventures is sitting in a warm, comfortable place while drinking three cups of tea.
I think that it is intresting reading In to the wild and Three Cups of Tea close together. They both start with young men looking for adventure, but the end is such different places. One person, who is embraced in a myoptic, selfish aestheticism (though we all were myoptic and selfish in our early 20's) ends up dead in a bus in Alaska and the other person turns a climbing mishap and getting loss into a chance to make such an incredible impact on the lives of young people in Pakistan and Afganistan by building schools in the poorest, most remote places.
These books are so fasinating to read, but I have to admit that I don't get inspired to have a wild outdoor adventure. Going to a city park is outdoorsy enough for me.
We are heading out to the wild this week to the Oregon Coast to stay in yurts and two different state parks. The boys are so excited. They are already piling things they want to take in the living room. I showed them pictures of the first park we are going to and when Liam saw the beach pictures, he said he was going to play with his Bob the Builder toys on that beach and then went outside and started putting them in a pile.
Here is a layout I did yesturday. Credits: Template by Chrissy W. from her Blog Challenge #2. Kit: Sea Breeze by Little Miss Liz and Becki Kress.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Last Day of Swimming Lessons - A photo essay










The boys had fun, but I am glad they are over. The lessons during the school year are only 2 days a week for a month. Much more agreeable and I think we will do morning lessons so David can help.
Here are two layouts I did:
Credits: My Darling by Jannylyn Brokken from Teacher's pet at Funky Playground Designs. This is a great source of fantastic free mini-kits. Just register at the site and register for the newsletter to get the password and of course don't for get to leave love for the designers for the great work! The font is Love Letters which is what I am using for the Font Jaunt at Elemental Scraps this month. Stop by and join!

This is from Flower Groover by Jannylyn and this is just one of the many treats in the Elemental Scraps August Mega Grab Bag