It's a......

BABY! We didn't find out. I'll admit, it was hard. Jason reallllly wanted to, and I was about to give in. The ultrasound tech never asked, and neither did we. We now have an official surprise baby in late April/early May. I won't lie, I looked. with both Ashley and Davey it was obvious. Since this tech never even seemed to look for it, I couldn't tell. At one point while she was doing leg measurements I thought- it's a boy!- but she then pointed out the umbilical cord. Not a penis. Throughout the various measurements I tried to see any hint and sometimes I thought GIRL and others maybe boy. All in all, I think maybe girl. We had enough leg shots where a penis should have been obvious, but no direct inbetween the leg looks this go round. It was by far the longest ultrasound I have ever had (almost 45 minutes). Baby looked perfect and everything measured between 18w5d and 19w5d. We had a doctor's appt afterwards and really chatted about Papp-A. She reiterated that there is not an additional worry about chromosomal abnormalities and is 100% onboard with making sure I make it home before delivery a priority. Basically the plan is to monitor just in case my placenta starts to crap out and if there is any indicator of an issue, send me back to NC asap. I like her.
In other news we go home in 4 DAYS!!! Please come visit me. I will have no car. :)

Inadequate

You know the moms who make you feel like you are failing as a mother? The ones with amazingly clean houses-all the time? The ones with well behaved, well dressed, CLEAN children -all the time? (You know-no snot, dirt, unidentified food on their shirts, etc.) The ones who never ever yell, make everything from scratch, and don't feel the need to lock themselves in the bathroom and curse every-so-often? (The ones who don't have children who rip chunks of hair out of their siblings head like my son just did?) They live in hotels too. There is a very sweet mother who lives here with her FOUR children. (In the same, tiny 2 bedroom hotel suite my family lives in.) Her four kids (all under 7) are perfectly well-behaved at the breakfast buffet, I have yet to witness a yell from her, and I have never seen her looking like she wanted to give one (or all) of them away. I once mentioned to her how excited I was to go back to my house because living in a hotel was making me twitch with my two kids. I expected her to agree, but get this folks- SHE LOVES IT. Say what??? Four kids, 700 sq feet, and it's all peachy keen. She has to be lying, right???
(Honestly, she is very nice and I am generally in awe of her mothering skills. I just can't understand the love of hotel living. It is beyond me.)

On a different note, this age - two and three- has been the hardest stage so far for me. I am beginning to wonder if where and how we are living now is making me feel that way. My two kiddos, while they fight and bicker a lot, really do play nicely together. If they had more space, toys, and the freedom to be really loud, would I be loving this age? Hmmmm....

We are coming home in 10 DAYS!!! Get ready Charlotte :)

Thanksgiving fun and my kids are cute

I hosted Thanksgiving at my house in 2005, whole newlywed come eat at my house and use my pretty new china type deal. It was a bit of a disaster. Jason was insistent that we buy a RAW, uncooked, not sliced, pork butt ham. News flash folks, ham is not raw. A raw "ham" equates to a giant pork chop. We all fought over the tiny fried turkey. (Raw "ham" aka giant pork chop makes good bbq. Traditional Thanksgiving leftovers.) This year I did Thanksgiving in a hotel room. I did a ham (turkey too intimidating in a hotel). It was not a giant pork chop. Score one. Actually, pretty much everything turned out great. Sue and Dave flew up for Thanksgiving and we had a great 4ish days with them. We had some interesting encounters on a street car (one man cleared an entire section, the smell was that bad), twice. We hit up Powell's Books, some of our favorite brew pubs, the Christmas Parade, Tree lighting, and even attempted to go to Mt. St. Helens. No actual plan, directions, and snow covered roads in the wilderness made the Mt. St. Helens adventure a bit of a bust. It was a nice holiday, and so wonderful to be able to celebrate with family all the way out here.

On a totally different note, tonight I got to witness a "typical" male behavior evolve in my 2 year old. He asked to talk to his Auntie Claire Bear, and then proceeded to hold the phone away from his head and say "Yeah" every so often while staring at the TV. Oh Davey, Davey, Davey. Ashley is such a girly girl, still continues to request more make-up and now "matches" her outfits by wearing all pink. It's quite popular among the 4 yo girl crowd I hear.

Papp-a who?

So as you have read, I told everyone I was NOT having a baby in the next year. I also told people I have nice, normal pregnancies. I need to stop opening my mouth. So far this pregnancy IS nice and normal except for this thing called papp-a. My ob said my papp-a levels are low. I thought, my pap was low? Does this mean abnormal? Actually it's some pregnancy hormone they test for in 1st tri screenings. I probably read about it with my first pregnancy in the nice little pamphlet they give you. This being my third pregnancy, I didn't open the pamphlet and was papp-a-what? Basically low papp-a gives pregnant women the opportunity to worry and stress about what could really amount to nothing. It COULD mean problems in the third trimester. It also could (and is more likely to) mean absolutely nothing. Since I had both kids with me, and my doctor seemed so calm about it all I didn't worry until I consulted Dr. Google. He didn't have much to say on the matter, but enough that I have a loooong list of questions for the next appointment.

On a slightly different note, Jason is using this information to fuel his argument for why we should find out what we are having. I am still in the surprise me camp. What do you all think. Should we find out?

Just call me Eloise

We've been Marriotting it up for three months now. Ashley thinks everyone in Portland lives in a hotel. Despite my best efforts, I have yet to convince her otherwise. Living in a house is going to be so dull for them when we go home- no elevators, no indoor swimming pool, no super long hallways to run down, no ready-made buffets waiting for them at breakfast (and sometimes dinner). And while I don't love living in a hotel (let's be honest, generally I don't even LIKE it) there are some things I have gotten used to. Need towels? Call downstairs. Trash full? Call downstairs. Need your living room vacuumed? Call downstairs. Want breakfast? Go downstairs. Kids going insane and it's raining out? Go to the 2nd floor and torture yourself in a COLD pool (but it will wear the kids out). Lose your key (again)? The helpful folks at the front desk hand you a new one. Clearly, there are some perks. I have gotten so used to hotel living, while I was in Denver I didn't lock an apartment door before leaving. In fact, when the owner asked me why I didn't take the key I didn't even understand why that was a problem. Cause, you know, doors lock automatically behind you when they shut! Duh.
(Oh, one additional perk. Marriot points. Children, prepare to be abandoned at some point next year so Mommy and Daddy can take a fabulous vacation. Nice.)

There really IS a baby in there

I had my NT scan last week. The OB office out here sends the NT and anatomy scans out of office to the fetal something or other place at a nearby hospital. (Somewhat confusing because it is not in the hospital complex my ob is at, but apparently a related one on the other side of I-5). It was a preschool day for Ashley, but Davey got to come along. I brought a lot of snacks, and was ready to youtube George in a heartbeat. The was the most thorough NT scan of all three pregnancies. Baby was kicking and moving all over the place. Definitely a baby in there. Really having a third. I wonder when I will stop being shocked by that... Anyway, Davey did a great job. I only had to resort to George when the doctor came in the review the ultrasound results (all normal, blood work will confirm). Otherwise, life is good. We met some of Ashley's preschool friends for trick or treating in Multnomah on Halloween. It was nice chatting with the other moms. Ashley totally get's it this year, and Davey was a quick learner. That kid is motivated by candy. In other news, it looks like it is finally going to start raining soon. Believe it or not NC folks, you've gotten a lot more rain than us since August!
Next up: Veterans day trip someplace. Jason has thrown out the tantalizing idea of Idaho and on to Bozeman, Montana - gateway of Yellowstone... oh so tempting (but a lot of driving)

Bachelorette Fun

This weekend it was off to Denver (sans children!) to celebrate Claire who is getting MARRIED! Shocking as it is, Denver was the most centrally located place we could meet. The party goers came from Denver (2), Nashville, Lake Charles Louisiana, Los Angeles, Hawaii and Portland. We are a geographically diverse group to say the least. We ate fabulous food, saw a ridiculous amount of zombies (Denver has a yearly zombie gathering - think Franklin street but with a common theme) , prettified our toes with pedicures, and caught a burlesque show. The things those ladies can do with pasties and tassels was impressive. It was a fun, relaxing weekend. I managed to stay up later than I have in the past 5 years and spend quality time with Claire, her wonderful friends, and my awesome cousin Bonnie. It was a good get away. And even though I am tired, I feel refreshed. I miraculously have more patience today, and taking a deep breath is actually helping like it should. Now granted, Ashley did step on a baby snake on the way home from the gym (eeeeeeeeek) and morning sickness is back (yay public puking) but I am not cranky or counting the hours til Daddy.

In Denver we visited with Bonnie, Brett and the adorable Wyatt and Lucy. It was nice having a chance to relax for awhile and see some of the lovely Smith family but seeing them at home, in their house, with their things made me want to be in my home. This hotel, while it is where my family is, is not where I wanted to go back to. Flying "home" to Portland just wasn't quite the same. 6 weeks til Christmas break! It will be nice to visit home, even if just for a few weeks :)

Next up- Regular routine. Preschool, swim classes,etc.

never say never

So before we left for Portland people kept asking me about #3. My answer was always "Not in the next year. I will NOT have a new baby while living in a hotel." HAHAHAHAHA. Jokes on me folks! The final installment, due May 6th.

(Oh, and I still will not live in a hotel with a newborn. I'll be home in March. Gotta be back so I can be a whale of a bridesmaid at Claire's wedding April 28th!)

Claire and Evan and life as usual

We have had a flurry of visitors out here recently, the latest being Claire and Evan who flew in for a long weekend. We crammed a lot of fun into 2.5 days. Poor Evan had wake up calls before 8 am - but at least they were cute wake up calls :). On Saturday we started off with a walk down the river to Voodoo Doughnuts. Evan and Jason ordered the infamous cock n balls doughnut - and they did so in a way that made me roll my eyes, a lot. Claire and I then got to enjoy listening to joke after joke after joke from the boys as they ate their massive donuts. And then joke after joke after joke for the rest of the day, and the next. It was GREAT. (If you are curious about the doughnut, check out their facebook, of course there are pictures.) We also walked back though Saturday market- where one weekend I will have lunch there, maybe from the Food of the Himalayas stand or the Horn of Africa food cart. The food selections are crazy! Since we didn't have lunch there we hopped the streetcar to Henry's and then dragged two very tired children home. So tired, in fact, that Davey fell asleep on the streetcar. It was amazing. He has never been so still for so long. Sunday we went to the Children's museum, and then on a whirlwind tour of the waterfalls and Mt Hood. Let me tell you, it was COLD on Mt Hood. Unfortunately, we couldn't see much because of the fog, but there was still snow to throw at Uncle Evan. Good times.

This week has been the usual. Swim lessons and preschool, twitching mommy and loss of sanity around 5 each day. Davey is far too energetic to be contained in such a small space and well, it now rains. Today was supposed to be upper 60s and partly cloudy. Well wouldn't you know, it was in the 50s and POURED. Even the weatherman said, "Today's high ended up being far lower than expected 24 hours ago." Ya think? The weathermen out here astound me, it is crazy how wrong they are - all.the.time. We occupied ourselves indoors post nap. Ashley put on an impromptu fashion show involving as many clothes as she could reach in her room, all accessorized with her new sparkly pink shoes. Davey used a stick-like part of a toy to hit balls around the room, then proceeded to beat his sister. It was great fun. He is lucky he is such a cute little stinker! When he senses he has pushed the limit about as far as he can, he will stop and say "Me hug you, mommy." Too cute.

Next up on the itinerary, Northern California and the giant redwoods! This was one of the two things I had on my must-do list prior to coming out here. Since it starts snowing, well, now in that area, this may be the last weekend we can go. It's a long drive, but far closer than NC!

Oh, and I forgot to mention. I found a brewery that has pimento cheese on their menu. You know I ordered it! First taste of the south in a loooong time.

Banana Squash Soup...and Seattle

Years and years ago, back when Jason and I were young and did crazy things like go on dates, I had the best soup ever. A banana squash soup (that's a type of squash, not banana and squash) at Campania. It was amazing. Last weekend I finally found it on a menu again. Again, amazing. I could eat a vat of this soup. It was delicious. Unfortunately for me, it was not here in Portland, but in Seattle. Which, by the way, is a very cool city. Jason, the kids, and I drove up for a quick weekend trip. We hit a lot of the highlights. We walked along the water and ate at Ivars (yummm banana squash soup), wandered up to the space needle, and went on one of the tacky touristy duck boat tours. The tour was pretty neat, I especially enjoyed the water portion and seeing all the houseboats and floating houses (including the Sleepless in Seattle house). Sunday included a visit to Pike's Market, the original Starbucks, and the aquarium before heading home. Pike's was fun to walk through, but got very crowded in a hurry. The aquarium was a big hit with the kiddos. Ashley loves touch tanks, and encourages me to join the fun. I am generally ok not touching sea cucumbers, or anemones, etc. Davey was enthralled by the "Nemo" and "Marlin" fish. That kid loves a clown fish, and watching that movie over and over and over. (Ashley has declared herself bored of Finding Nemo.) All in all, Seattle was a great trip and I would definitely go again.

Around here nothing much is new. I was the parent volunteer on Thursday at Ashley's school. I was in charge of the art room for an hour. It was red day at school, and I was according coated in red paint by the end of the day. I am the helper again on Tuesday. Sue is visiting this weekend and it is so nice to have family around again. The kids are so excited to see Grandma, Ashley especially. Lot's and lot's of smiles from the Bears this weekend. Next weekend Claire and Evan!

So it's been awhile.

So I've been lazy. Not extra busy, extra lazy and it's been awhile. After a month of waiting around life has finally started in Portland. Ashley has preschool Tuesday and Thursday and both kids have swim. (I have yet to fully recover from losing Davey's 2x a week preschool. Sigh.) Ashley's preschool is wonderful. Her teacher has been there for 25 years and the general set up and schedule is perfect for a threes class. I am glad we found a good school out here since leaving such a wonderful school in Charlotte was one of my biggest anxieties. Since it's a coop I am parent helper 4x between now and January and on-call sub 4x as well. No preschool for Davey means what would have been his tuition each month now can go towards babysitters. Ashley's favorite things about preschool:
1. The babydoll/play house area (she loves the play washer and dryer)
2. The arts and crafts room, especially the glitter paint
3. The guinea pigs, Peanut Butter and Jelly (who will not be weekending with us)

The gym I belong to has great swim lessons. Members pay $35 a session. It's such a deal. Davey is in a mommy and me class. All the other babies have been taking swim since they were in utero. (well, 4 months, but you get the idea.) Davey didn't scream, but he said "no thank you" and "get out now" a lot. Ashley is the only one in her class. This means she is getting private lessons. It rocks. She practiced some strokes and getting toys from the bottom of the pool. She loves swim class.

The only trip we did recently was Crater Lake. It is a beautiful National Park, and the deepest lake in the US. Because it was formed when a volcano collapsed, no rivers or streams flow into it. It is 100% filled with snow melt (averages 44' a year) and rain. This also makes it one of the cleanest lakes in the world. There is all sorts of interesting info about Ceater Lake. You should google it because I am too lazy to type it on the tablet. The kids had a blast camping. The campsite was incredibly dusty so they were filthy. We planned better and cooked dinner (hot dogs) and made smores on the fire Jason made with firewood we collected. The general verdict on camping from Jason is that it's great until the sleeping part. Then the ground is hard and it sucks. We will work on improving that next time.

Up next is a trip to Seattle where we will rough it in a Marriott. :-)

Let's talk Portland

I've talked a lot about stuff we've done, but I haven't blogged about Portland. If I like the city, if I like living here. In short, yes and yes. Portland is a very interesting city. It is very liveable. Unlike Charlotte, there are shops and restaurants galore downtown. (And almost all are non-chains which I like.) Transportation is easy, and free pretty much everywhere the kids and I go. There are parks galore, shade, huge trees, and a nice river (it has yet to smell and actually looks clean). To top it all off, there are so many interesting places nearby - Mt. Hood, Crater Lake, Cannon Beach, Olympic National Park... There is a lot I have yet to explore in Portland, different areas and neighborhoods, the OSMI, etc.

I like walking on the river in the morning.
I like exploring new streets and stores.
I like finding new parks with the kids.
I love our weekend trips. I am dragging Jason to all the national and state parks I can.
I like the geography. It's hilly, and green, and very different.
I like the attitude. People care about being green. Not like Charlotte where most could care less.
I like the independent local flare.
I like trying something new.

As cool as Portland is, it isn't home. I miss my family and friends. Actually knowing other people, having adults to talk to during the day. Ashley starts preschool next week. Since it's a co-op, I will be there a lot working. Maybe I will meet some mom friends there? It's time to use the kids to meet people. They're pretty cute. In the meantime, anyone bored and looking to visit?? Like I've said, Portland is pretty cool.

Cannon Beach and fishy jail

We've decided to be "lazy" this weekend. Yesterday we took a quick day trip down to Cannon Beach and it's ugly stepsister neighbor, Seaside. Ashley and Davey love the beach. Ashley asked why I forgot their swimsuits. That water is COLD! As in, you will develop frosbite and quickly lose your limbs, COLD. Nevertheless, Ashley and Davey loved wading in it, splashing, running, and occassionally falling down in the artic waters. I enjoyed running away from the waves, terrified my toes might get wet (and then fall off). Where on earth do west-coasters go to actually swim? Cold water aside, Cannon Beach is beautiful. The rocky outcroppings are beautiful, Haystack rock is particularly impressive. The sea life is very cool to see. The starfish there are HUGE. There were mounds of giant purple and orange starfish clinging to all the rocks.

After our beach adventure, we walked back up to the town (very pretty with lots of fun shops). We ate lunch at the creperie (1st crepes since Paris). We topped off Cannon Beach with some delicious ice cream.

Our next stop was Seaside, one of Jason's co-workers said we had to go to the aquarium. First of all, Seaside should be called "Sadside". The town was uber-depressing. Very tacky compared to Cannon Beach. Maybe that should have given us a heads-up for the aquarium. The next clue was the cheap admission. Kids were free. First up we fed the seals. These poor seals were kept in a tiny little area, and they did tricks for food. Ashley loved it, Davey was scared, and I felt sad for the seals. Next we entered the aquarium. It was one room, and dark. They had a decent assortment of fish, and a large variety of starfish. There were two touch tanks, and no signs to wash your hands afterwards. Yuck. We washed our hands about one million times, because that's how many times we went back to torment the starfish and sea anemones in the touch tanks. We had a hand sanitizer party when we were done! NC aquariums have clearly spoiled us.

All in all, the kids had a blast and so did we. It is so much fun watching Ashley and Davey explore and experience new things. Will swimmable water win over starfish next summer? Who knows.

Ashley's favorites: soft sand, starfish, and feeding the seals
Davey's favorites: starfish and the octopus

Next up: Mt St Helens. Pray for no volcanic activity tomorrow!

Are my short genes actually recessive?

Davey had his two year well visit today. It wasn't my 1st choice practice, and I randomly picked a pedi from the list, but I liked her. She was very thourough, chatted a long time, and stayed in the room longer than any pedi I have seen. We did learn that Davey may be a giant (well, in Smith-family terms). He measured in over 36 inches. Double that number and he will be 6 feet tall. He will TOWER over 90% of the Smith family. Sheer insanity. Now, I have to say I am skeptical. His weight was only 29.2 (65%, and perfect according to the pedi), but 2-3 pounds less than his last weigh in. Hmmm... At the same time, they used a digital scale and the nurse was very careful when she measured him. Who knows. I'll go with the 93% height. I like it. (Smith family, while he escaped the short, he did NOT escape the head. That is 93% as well.) All in all, Davey his healthy. Good appointment.

This week we've just been hanging around town. We've explored parks (they love see-saws and merry- go- round spinny things, both of which I haven't seen at a NC park). We've made multiple Target trips (still no envelopes, doh!). We have also taken lots of long walks. We happened upon the Oregon Symphony rehearsal this morning on the waterfront. Both kiddos loved it. After dinner tonight, the kids and I went back. Ashley did some interpretive dancing, Davey clapped, and then they both pulled up grass to cover goose poop. It was fun stuff. Up next this weekend a trip to the beach and aquarium, fantasy draft, and a trip up to Mt. St. Helens.

some down time

This Friday Davey turned two. He is officially no longer a baby (though in reality he has not been one for awhile). We celebrated by being low key. On Friday the kids and I went to the children's museum in Porland. It is an awesome place for kids under 6 or so. Ashley and Davey both loved the play vet room and the dig pit (an area filled with rubber mulch, shovels, and dump trucks). It is all indoors so I think we will be purchasing a family pass and going often when it starts raining. After nap Ashley and Davey helped make a blue birthday cake with blue frosting. It was messy fun. We walked down the river to Pizza Schmiza for dinner to top off Davey's day. On Saturday we headed out early for Voodoo Donuts (yum) and then caught the train to the zoo. The Portland zoo is an excellent size for walking and Davey loved it. After each exhibit he would start saying "amules? amules?" His favorite by far were the monekys, and Ashley said she liked the elephants best.

It was a vey fun and laid back weekend. It was nice exploring Portland a bit. We still need to eat at the food carts one day. Nothing too much coming up this week - more long river walks, streetcar rides, and playground explorations.

Davey is two!
1.Lot's of running, jumping and climbing.
2. Lot's of new words and phrases. His favorite word is now. Like "eat now" or"get out now"
3. Testing his boundaries daily, rinse wash repeat
4. Obessed with diggers, streetcars, trucks, boats, and (h)airplanes
5. Oh, and helicopters, cranes, and bulldozers
6. Loves to snuggle and read before bed
7. Loves pools and baths
8. Eats a lot, and tells you when he is hungry
9. Is loud or louder (or loudest)
10. Sometimes is scared of loud noises and needs a good snuggle.

surviving hotel life

It has been a rough week. Coming back from camping I was tired. I wanted to be lazy. Generally lazy mom = crazy kids. They get bored, they get rowdy. Just like when I was teaching, you can tell the days when you have a bad lesson plan. I have had no "lesson plan" this week. It has been bad. Problem is, we have no space and lot's of neighbors. Screaming, banging, fighting children don't just annoy me. Plus 750 square feet eventually began to drive me crazy. So today I dragged my lazy butt off the couch and we got OUT. We started with our usual, the breakfast buffet, then we took an hour+ walk, followed by a swim in the pool, lunch and then nap. In the afternoon we walked to the gym and the kids got dropped off and I worked out in peace.
It was a much better day. The terrible twos didn't seem so bad and the kids are tired. Tomorrow Davey officially enters the twos. He is such a sweet loveable, stubborn, crazy, energetic, fearless boy. And he is 110% a momma's boy. And I love him. Happy birthday, Davey monster!

Randomness...

We can see Mt Hood and Mt St Helens everyday on our walks. It's not bad scenery. Ashley says Mountain Hood is her favorite mountain and wants a mountain like that near Charlotte. It is beautiful, but having no active volcanoes near Charlotte I consider to be a perk of the area.

I've been watching the Irene news and hope the Outer Banks will have a lighter hit than predicted. The storm surge makes me worried that the coastline won't look the same after this storm. Janie &Charlie, hope you all are safe and your house rides the storm well!

last camping post...promise

Quick snippits before the last camping installment-
1. Davey has fullblown terrible twos. Ashley skipped this stage. It's an experience.
2. Grandma and Papa recorded hallmark books for A and D. At the end when they say "I love you Davey" he screams "I love you" into the book. Really, really loud so they can hear him.
3. I asked Ashley if she liked living in Portland. She said, "yeah, but I like camping better."

So Davey slept hard core Saturday night, so he woke us all up at 6. Thanks, bud! We got camp taken down and were on the road by 8. We stopped for lunch at the Forks Coffee shop. Definitely no Jacob or Edward sightings, or anything close to a look-a-like. There were, however, a whole bunch oh Twighlight references and shops. As we headed to Rialto Beach we passed by La Push, and and RV camp cleverly advertising the treaty line (all non-twilight dorks are now lost).
Rialto beach was amazing. Black sand and smooth stone beach, large (really huge) sun-bleached driftwod trees on the high tide line, intense green forest, fog, grey ocean, and shadowy out croppings in the water. It was really incredible. We saw dolphins and seals in the water, large starfish clinging to the rocky out croppings, and a variety of sea birds. The fog broke up as we walked down to the arch and we could see the large rock islands just off the shore.
After a quick family photo in the arch we headed back. We had ambled along and explored a lot, but we walked a good mile down the shore. Davey was done. D.O.N.E. After much screaming for Mommy I finally took him from Jason and he passed out. Jason and I took turns carrying 30+ pounds of passed out Davey and dragging a very tired and whiney 3 yo down the beach. It was all worth it.
After some de-sanding, it was a relatively uneventful ride home. The tom-tom didn't try and send us on any dirt roads and there was no horrible traffic. (Just all the Washingtonians going under, or just at the speed limit. Is the unspoken 7 above rule not followed here??) It was a very memorable, and fun trip. Jason is even willing to go again. Hopefully we will all recover soon enough to try again this fall.

(Please forgive all typos, I have been writing this on Jason's galaxy tablet.)

camping part two

So after not sleepin, thanks to the davey monster who insisted on touching me all night, or burrowing in my sleeping bag, or pointing out noises we hit the road early headed for the olympic peninsula. (Twilight territory!) A couple things about Washinton state- people drive SLOW, it is surprisingly flat along I-5. Because we planned so awesomely we had no map and relied on the tom-tom. I got suspicious once it had me turn on a really rural road, annnoyed when 25 minutes in it said to turn around, and I flat-out ignored it when it said to turn onto a gravel road. After our scenic detour we finally arrived and stopped for lunch at Kalaloch Beach. There was a great view of the beach and our waitress told us you could often see whales. Davey spent lunch staring out shouting"whale!" but no luck.
After lunch our plan was to find a campsite. After driving through two full ones we finally set up camp. It was free, and nice enough, but the bugs there were crazy (and suspiciously like horseflies). We drove down to hike in the Hoh Rain Forest and found a great campsite near the Hoh River with running water, toilets(!!!), and no bugs. Win. Win. Win. Jason drove thirty minutes back and got the tent. The kids had a blast playing in dirt and with rocks and sticks.
After Jason got back we set out to explore. First we went down to the river and the kids played the in sand and loved throwing rocks in the river. Next we hiked the Hall of Mosses. The train was a. 75 loop and the kids did pretty well. Big impressions from the hike - how crazy green it all is, how huge the trees are, and the GIANT black slugs. Davey loved, loved, loved the slugs. We went on a giant slug hunt. He loved it. We made it back to camp in time for a campfire. Jason successfully built a great fire. He has been known to burn through a few days worth of newspaper and not burn a single log. It was a very impressive feat. To top off the night a deer walked through our camp. A young male with antlers. There was a lot of pointing and shouting deer! Followed by a lot of asking where it went when it left. Davey, Ashley, and I slept great, not so much Jason.
Part three -Rialto Beach- to come.

Camping adventures

Jason and I stayed up late Thursday trying to figure out a place we could camp on Friday. Every place you could reserve a campsite were booked solid. I really wanted to avoid having to drive five to six hours just to get to Olympic National Park. Friday morning I found three first come, first serve camp grounds in Washington and decided to go for it. Basically dooming myself to be ill-prepared (nothing big, just no meal planning, or fun campsite activities). The kids and I picked up the rented camp gear from rei, made a target run, packed and picked up Jason from work. All by 3:45.
Our first obstacle was Portland rush hour. We crawled, slowly on I-5 all the way to the state line. By 5:30 Davey was hungry and there was the constant mantra of "eat. Eat now." from the back seat. Lucky for him we were in the middle of nowhere. Since we were already being adventurous we stopped at the next place we found, Spiffys. Spiffys was surprisingly good and some amazing looking pies. Our campground, Lewis and Clark state park was just down the road. There were three campsites left when we arrived. We ended up in the ADA reserved site because after 7 it isopen to anyone. Jason got the tent up quickly with no issues. Not bad for a camping newbie! We spent the last bit of time before bed exploring, swinging on the swings at the "playgound" (a field with one swing set), and throwing rocks in the creek (the kids favorite).
Sleeping was interesting. First, the mats did nothing (we later realized they weren't inflated), Davey announced every noise "noise. Loud.", and Davey would not stay still. I woke up at one point to Davey literally burrowing head first into my sleeping bag. It was a long night. (oh, and there was a rooster somewhere nearby.)
Up next Olympic National Park.

Changing Jason's version of camping

When I met Jason, he told me his version of camping was a Days Inn (or maybe it was Red Roof). Either way this weekend we are going real, sleep outside in a tent camping. Granted the tent will be set up next to the boat-like Malibu, but it's camping! The plan is to head north tonight, camp somewhere in southern Washington and finish the drive to Olympic State Park tomorrow. Twilight territory here we come!

Quick note

1. I am asked if the kids are twins multiple times a day.
2. I am daily asked for directions. Apparently I look like I know where on earth I am.
3. There are homeless people everywhere in Portland. Today we saw a police officer following one, let him pass as he called for more help and eventually had to walk around the eventual confrontation. The homeless man had many not so pleasant things to say.
4. Voodoo donuts is yummy. Really yummy. There were so many choices and such a line I didn't try anything too crazy. Bacon donut next time.
5. Found a mall. Davey now has two pairs of shoes for fall/winter. He grew out of the baby/toddler section now :(. Size 9 shoes for the Davey monster.
6. Maid service finally came before nap. I said to come before 1 and they came at 12:50.
7. I will figure out how to get pictures on here. And I will get them off the camera soon.

transportation fun

This morning we took a streetcar to catch a train to ride a bus to the park. I am trying to really embrace city living, but it was a bit much. The streetcar to train was easy, unloading the stroller to fold it up and put on the bus while losing a Davey shoe in the process was not. The park was very shady and nice. It had a sandbox the kids loved and it was nice for them to be able to run and play. We then caught a bus to get to the train to take the streetcar home. Whew. Davey is napping still. Next up on the agenda is the gym and some childwatch for the kiddos.
In unrelated news, Jason has a stomach bug. He hasn't eaten anything different than us. Seems like we might be in for some REAL fun in 750 sq feet in the next day or so.

Fun munchkin quotes:
Ashley at Mt Hood when I pointed out the skiiers: Mommy, I thought you were going to show me Santa and his deers!
Davey: To every truck, train, bus - Get on now.

Oh, and I will post pictures...eventually.

Here we go

One week in and trying to develop a new sense of normalcy. Ashley wakes me up too early (normal), Jason is already gone (normal), we wait for Davey to get up and go downstairs to a breakfast buffet (not normal). The buffet keeps us in constant supply of yogurt and bananas, half of Davey's diet. Ashley gets to have a bagel with cream cheese every day. I snag jelly packets for pb&j's at lunch. Thank you Marriott.
The kids have discovered long hallways are good for running. They have also discovered the joy of elevator buttons. I have developed a system to prevent bloodshed - Davey pushes the outside button(s) and Ashley the inside. Ashley is very good at recognizing the number 4. We are working on quiet voices in the hall. Davey has two volumes, loud and deafening, we are loved on the 4th floor.
The kids are doing great at sharing a room. In the room their favorite activity is watching the digges and dozers work across the street. And the streetcars! And busses! It'sthe perfect view for a two year old boy.
We spend our mornings exploring. The kids and I are pretty good at riding the streetcar. We have found Powell's Books, Finnegans (toy store), Safeway, the Flying Elephant Bakery, a weekday farmer's market, VoodooDonuts, and the world's lonest train. The hotel is on the river and there is a great walk way frequented by bikes and joggers. There is also an ice cream shop.
My gym is a five minute walk from the hotel and we alternate me working out with going to the pool. Childcare is not free so I need another afternoon activity. Things to explore next include osmi, children's museum, the zoo, and to find some indoor play spaces! It's not raining yet...
Faves: The Pearl, seeing Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Hood from the river today, free wine with free dinner in the hotel, the weather
Up next: Crater Lake this weekend