One Last Hurrah

All summer we've been talking about squeezing in an overnight trip to Portland before the baby comes...well it finally happened this weekend. This was a final pre-baby and early anniversary (our 6th year is on September 14th) treat to ourselves. I planned the weekend and my guys were good sports to go along. Here is how we celebrated:

Sean got off work early on Friday and we drove up with Calvin and made our first stop at the Portland temple. Sean and Calvin ran around on the grounds while I had some peaceful time inside. It was really nice because I know it will be while before I get the chance to go back.
My sweet sister Nedda watched Calvin while Sean and I got a real date! We went to an Ethiopian restaurant called Dalo's near her house and got STUFFED on their spongy bread and sauce fillings. It was soooooooo good. I'm a sucker for good ethnic food.
After dinner we walked 3 blocks to a place called Pix Patisserie and I got the most amazing creme' brulee ever- I even woke up dreaming about it- it was Amazing! I mmmmed and ahhhed my way through every bite. Then we went and stayed at a hotel that we got at a discounted rate through our good friends. So nice! Sean and Calvin even went swimming in the pool the next morning.

In all of the years I've lived in Oregon I've never been to the Portland Rose garden, so it was high time to finally mark it off of the checklist (Crater Lake is next now). I wasn't disappointed. So many amazing, beautiful flowers. The weather was great, lots of people were meandering and we even saw people taking wedding photos. I had fun taking lots of close up shots of the roses. Maybe roses will be the next theme for my collage frame I have in my living room.This is one of my favorite shots On our way back out of town, we had to stop at this little gem we discovered a few years ago in Lake Oswego. We love their burgers and shakes and the no-nonsense atmosphere of the place. They only take cash so we had to run to an ATM, but I got a yummy bleu-cheese burger and a blackberry milkshake. They have like 15 kinds of burgers and it just is yummy. Not totally cheap though, lunch for the 3 of us was over $25.
I've heard a lot about Anthropologie from my friends but have never ventured there myself, so I made a point of us visiting the store in Lake Oswego. I didn't buy much but had a lot of fun looking around. My favorite was the bins of drawer pulls they had- so unique and fun. It made me want to go out and buy a bunch of dressers to refinish...but for now I just admired, greatly admired.

And that was our weekend excursion! We had a fabulous time. It was a well deserved break and now I feel much more ready to have this bambina come...

Memories!

1)As a comment on my blog, leave 1 memory you and I had together whether you knew me a little, alot, or not at all.

2)Repost this same thing on your blog and see how many people leave comments, it's fun to see what people say! If I know you are playing along I will come to your blog and leave a comment.

Hope everyone plays along.....

Hold your Horses...

Yesterday, after feeling the theoretical "coconut-between-the-legs" with the baby's head dropped so low, and being very tired and uncomfortable, I started panicking about not being ready.

My exact thoughts were, "If this baby came tonight... wait, she can't come tonight...I'm not ready!" So I did what any good nesting mother would do. I got the car seat out of the garage, I started going through the clothes and planning the going home outfits, I went to Target and added 2 more packs of diapers to my already growing pile, I stopped short of moving the bassinet into the room because I figured it would just be in the way...so now I'm feeling a little bit more ready. The 'nesting' dresser is still sitting in the garage and the new baby clothes haven't been washed yet- hello weekend project. Whew!

(The funniest part of this whole episode is when my husband was talking to his mom while I was in the midst of my flurry and said, "Yeah, Anna's busy nesting." I guess it was obvious.)

New Blog Link

I've posted a comment (or sent an email) on everyone's blog I can think of with my new blog name. I've changed it to not include my last name. If you can avoid it, please exclude from using my full name/location on your blogs. Hope you all find me ok!

Shower-Shower BABY

This is in dedication to all of my sweet family and friends who showered our upcoming baby girl with love!

I could go on and on about how awesome everyone is, but I'll let the pictures do the talking...

My rad sisters came down from Portland and spoiled me. We had a great "girl's time" by going and seeing Mamma Mia after the shower- we were dancing to ABBA in our seats! Maureen and Nedda you're the best!
Marcelle and I, pregnant together again! Fate seems to bless us with synchronized timing and gender of children.
(Look how much more our bellies pop out this second time around)
Say hello to the best citrus cheesecake bites ever- made by the one and only Tannya


Look at these awesome cupcake bites Melissa made, they almost look too pretty to eat but man were they good. Melissa also made beautiful invitations and yummy meatballs that I apparently missed, but they looked mouth-watering in her blog photoMy sweet mother in law, Robyn
Jen, Jen my great friend
Kristy and I pregnant together again too! This time I feel more wise about motherhood and I'm sure she does too having her 4th and all!All of the gifts were SO adorable. Girl clothes are so fun!
Last but not least- thanks to Tannya for welcoming us into her home and coordinating this great event in the midst of finals, motherhood, a hospital move, a.k.a. a very busy life! You can't leave us for at least another 5 years!
Here's the whole crew (minus a few that had to leave early, and others who were there in spirit). You're all the best!

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.