Olympics in China!

Ever since I read the book, "Life & Death in Shanghai" for book club last year I've been fascinated with China and its culture. So when I knew the Olympics were going to be in Beijing this year, I was just beside myself in anticipation. China is definitely on my list of must-see places. It has such a long and complex history. I wish I could eat it all up. I've loved seeing the athletes compete but I wish they would show more on the country too. So here is my blog tribute to the 2008 Olympics!

Things I'm gonna want to remember about being pregnant...(or not!)

*The daily fruit smoothie- yummmmmmy, it makes me very happy

*The swollen ankles (aka "k-ankles"), I'm pretty sure mine are about the worst I've seen

*The inability to bend over without one leg lifting up, like a pulley system

*The obvious burgeoning belly, I cannot see my belly button or my toes

*The new super comfy maternity pants- mmmmmm stretttttchy, the lady at Motherhood made me try them on and then I had to buy them because they were so comfortable, but not before I teased her about being such a sales lady

*No one batting an eye if I take seconds at the table, or thirds

*The frequent doctor visits with constant pee analysis, although I always have no problem eeking it out

*The O.D. on ice cream, I've lost track of the gallons accumulated throughout the pregnancy

*The nesting projects (see post below)

*The 4 a.m.-6 a.m insomnia, but if I actually get up in those hours, I'm way more tired than if I just lied there trying to sleep

*The "When are you due again?" question (I do it to others too)

*The mass exchange of free maternity clothes between friends- I love free cute clothes

*The feeling of stomach bile in my throat when I eat too much before lying down- one night I woke my husband up twice by hitting him and exclaiming, "I just puked in my mouth!"- it was so gross

*The huge being in my tummy kicking my husband's back (or the book on my tummy) in bed at night, seriously how do these things fit inside of us?!

*The feeling of the baby's head on the inside of my pelvis, my best description is "like fingernails scratching on bone"- not comfy

*Being HOT for once (or twice)! I've actually beaten my husband in the overheating department which is a miracle in itself! Last weekend we had super-hot, muggy weather where I could not fall asleep until I took an ice-cold shower and stood in front of the fan. I've been known to feel sweaty and then ask others, "Is it humid today?" This has happened more than once at church, a place where I am normally cold at, but last week I kept wondering why in the world they didn't have the A/C on?! Apparently it was just me that was hot and not the whole building.
*The wide-eyed open wonderment of when is this baby coming?! I still have no idea, but I'm hoping for on time.

I know I'll forget this one day so hopefully this will help remind me of what it was like in the final weeks of pregnancy-hood with baby numero dos. Because I know my heart will melt and I'll forget everything the moment I set eyes on her.

F-R-I-D-A-Y Night!

Man, August 1st was one of the best nights of my life. One of my new favorite books was released and I got to have a great party with my friends and (cover your eyes & scream LA-LA-LA if you haven't read Breaking Dawn yet)- I made an unknowing prediction with my shirt! I got to chauffeur two of my good friends- Jen with her recovering ankle, one day after surgery. She is such a trooper, especially on pain killer AND Kristine who, at 9 months pregnant was limping from a pinched sciatic nerve. She just had her baby on 8/8/08 and if you're reading this Kristine, I'm thinking of you and hope everything is going well for you and the baby!
I love my Twilightie friends! aka TOF's!

I am totally bummed that Stephenie Meyer said she won't write about these characters for a long time because she left so many unanswered questions!

Now's Your Chance

I'm planning on changing my blog address soon. I want to decrease my identifying factors for all those blog lurkers out there that my friends have talked about. So here is the plan- if you want me to send you a link to my new blogspot address (I'll give it a week or so), post a comment, any comment (things like "you're the best!" are always appreciated- smile), and I'll be sure to forward you my new name. Ciao! P.S. If you're on my friends list, I'll update you automatically.

Accident Free Since... 8/6/08

No this is not a report on worker safety like you see at construction zones (although I was the OSHA safety manager at work once upon a time), but rather a potty training success story! You see, little Cal-Cal, who just turned 2 a few days ago, has been potty training for almost 2 months. We have had our ups and downs and there were times I almost threw in the towel, or more literally, the diaper. But thanks to my supportive and experienced friends, I pushed forward and now we have had 5, count 'em FIVE accident free days AND he tells us when he needs to go AND he runs to the potty voluntarily (hear the choir sing)! My life as a mother could not get any happier (not to mention my laundry piles). One of the secrets to my final success, besides persistence, is a well-known treat called M & M's. We have a bag of plain ones sitting on the window sill and my kid is well versed in the fact that going potty will get him one of the said "m-m's" as he calls them. His favorite are the yellow ones which strangely is the color they have the least of in our bag.

Nesting 101

This is a tutorial for all those who are not well versed in the so called "nesting instinct." It can take on many forms and varies by pregnancy. Last time nesting for me involved lots of cleaning. This time however, it has taken a new form...painting projects. See below for further detail.

PROJECT ONE

Step one: Purchase old dresser from garage sale. Require husband (who strangely does not get bit by the nesting bug) to sand said dresser.

Step two: Paint dresser "Desert Caravan," otherwise known as "puke-orange tan." Try not to laugh when husband states that this is a nice color. Step three: Paint Calypso Teal recycled from leftover bathroom paint over the orange/tan.Step four: Paint two coats of white over all previously stated colors.Step five: (To be completed) but the idea is to now sand the paint to different layers to get a shabby chic & antiquated look.

Step six: (To be completed)- Fill dresser with new baby girl clothes!

PROJECT TWO

Step one: Take kids' table and chairs and scuff up red paint

Step two: Paint everything tan. Cut out shapes (borrow circle cutter from wonderful friend Margaret) to stencil out (its supposed to be a "learning" table right?)

Step three: (To be completed)- paint shapes different colors and admire your craftiness.

I'll post the final pics when they're all completed!

• State to husband that you also want to paint the dining chairs and table AND get all caught up on not printing photos for the past year, but accept the fact that the table probably won't get done in the next 3 weeks. The photos aren't an option though!
  

These projects are the only thing keeping me from wanting to have the baby tomorrow! It keeps me sane to realize I'm not quite ready yet. But I better be soon because this bebe is making her debut in less than a month-eek!

Our Little German Warrior

This is one of those moments where you're not proud as a parent on how much kids pick up from you... so I rarely get mad and yell at my kid, I've kept it quite contained I'm proud to say. But when I have gotten steamed and pushed to the point, my german background comes out and I've been known to yell "NEIN!"- to tell my kid "no" It's what comes out and I can't help that German is a good, strong, commanding language (it's great for dog commands). My hubby warned me that this might not be good to say to the kid, but... I didn't listen. Now we have our own little "NEIN!" robot. The last few days I think he has said it at least 100 times, maybe more. He loves to tell it to us and boy is he good at it. I'll have to record it and post a video because in retrospect, I know it will be pretty funny. For now though, I'm trying to be very soft and sweet and say "Oh honey, we say "no thank you," to which I get a response of..."NEIN!" If this doesn't try our patience, I don't know what will.

Lame

I changed my template and now I lost my huge list of friend links! Lame-o! But I'm in the process of making my blog a little more secure to lurkers, so be aware if I change my address, etc. I'll keep you all posted and if you've learned some good tips, let me know. Also I want to know how to make a cool collage for the top of my page. Do I have to have photoshop?

Reasons why I love Oregon

I'm coming up on living in Oregon for 7 1/2 years now and have lived through the range of being curious, wanting to leave, staying digruntledly, mildly content, happy and now loving this state. I really, really love it here. I love being able to say that but it also scares me that being so happy will mean it is time to leave. I'm crossing my fingers that for now, being happy means exactly that.

1. Oregon is berry country! I have picked the BEST blueberries and strawberries this year. Blueberries are my all time favorite. I have my certain farm I go to every year and pick, pick, pick away. I never get around to freezing them because I can't resist inhaling them while they are fresh. Now both of my kids have experienced what could be accurately called a 'blueberry overdose' in utero since I've been pregnant with both of them during this prime berry season.

My sister and Cal at the strawberry farm...

Me, my co-worker and our boys at the blueberry farm last weekend.

2. I only have to water my lawn 2-3 months out of the year and Mother Nature takes care of the job the other 10 months. As you can see I'm doing a fabulous job with my responsibility. But hey, it is only my 2nd summer with a real yard and I'm guessing we haven't heard of a thing called fertilizer yet.

I love the green-ness of Oregon. I can't deny that there will always be a soft spot in my heart for the sage brush and desert tan hills of Idaho, I love the wide open views there.

3. I met my rad husband here which we decided was the only likely meeting place for us- I had no plans to move to Utah and he had none to move to Idaho. It seems fitting that we've continued our 6 years of marriage where we met and fell in love. Ooooooh!!!! (sorry you're #3 on this list babe) This is us at Halloween a few years ago. My man can't resist a night out with a mullet (muh-lay).

4. The ocean is only an hour away! We are lame and still only make it about twice a year. When we do go, nothing beats the sand and beach. It is the Oregon coast and we're usually fully clothed and barely dipping our feet in the water, but the majestyof the water is still impressive. I'm still craving clam chowder from Blackfish Cafe in Lincoln City. Yum!

5. I have great friends here in Oregon- ones I have book club with or obsess about Twilight with or talk about potty training with or have garage sales with or just get our kids together and play with. I love my friends- you all know who you are!

6. Even though I denied it for a long time, Oregon really fits me. I don't frequent the Saturday Market or go to the Country Fair (except ONCE 6 years ago and that was enough 'exposure' for me), but I love the grocery stores and lots of local foods and the giant recycling bin and, uh, other stuff like that. Where else can you take a picture with a Nancy's yogurt truck?! I haven't brought myself to cook with the miso that has been sitting in my fridge for 6 months and I threw out the tofu that got left here from the family reunion. The ironic thing is that I've become more of a meat eater in Oregon than I ever was before. Stranger things have happened.

7. There are lots of other reasons but I'm tired and can't think of any more... Wait! Just one more! I don't have to pay SALES TAX at all- things at the Dollar Tree only cost $1!

I wanted to share my happy news. What makes you happy about where you live?

About Time!

Hey all! Apparently the news of me having a girl knocked me off my feet so much that I haven't been able to post for literally 3 months. What, pray tell, have I been doing this whole time you ask? Here my friend, is a brief synopsis:

• Uploading and cataloging old pictures onto the computer- This is one from when my husband was in the hospital and had to have surgery 4 years ago. I wouldn't necessary call it fun times, but it was definitely bonding and memorable times.
• Working in the yard and trying our green thumbs at gardening. Here are Cal and Sean raking up a storm.
• Pet trial and error- we had a kitten for a few days but found out Calvin was allergic, since then we've had 5 different dog breeds stay at our house. We're dog testing for when we get one someday WAY down the road.
• Painting our bathroom over Memorial Day weekend- here is the "after" color. I call it "Calypso Teal"- I mixed about 3 different colors to come up with this and absolutely love my Carribean bathroom.
• Visiting family in Idaho in May. Calvin had a blast with his cousin and my family and I got to be a fun pregnant bridesmaid for my BFF since 4th grade! We have a saying that we'll be friends until Dolly Parton goes flat, Pink Flamingos turn green or Niagra Falls runs dry and so far none of those have happened. It was a great wedding.

• Potty training- need I say more? My life pretty much revolves around it now. Those who know me know I carry a portable potty seat everywhere we go and I scout out the bathroom within 3 milliseconds of arriving anywhere. I even had Calvin use the port-a-potties at the Olympic trials- thanks to his seat it was much more sanitary. I think his seat is my new best friend. (I highly recommend it to anyone potty shopping- it's made by Baby Bjorn)

• Hosting my immediate family reunion here and the beach. I love my big fun family and I love that all 14 of us could crash here at our house. The bad part was that 1/2 of us ended up with stomach flu 1/2 the time and couldn't stomach some of the yummy food we tried to make. The great part was that we had great weather and an awesome time together.
• Last but not least...growing a baby! By the end of a long day, all I want to do is put my feet up and sit in front of the fan. Sitting in front of the computer just sounds like torture, hence- no posting! But here is a picture of most of us who are currently pregnant, in order of due date. Our babies will have lots of friends.Well that is my life in a nutshell. The latest is that I only have 7 weeks left of being pregnant, albeit the hottest 7 weeks of the year. But we are SO excited to meet this wiggle-worm girl in a few months.

I can't wait to read what all of my friends have been up to lately. Happy blogging!