I moved to Portland!

I am a firm believer that the grass is always greener.  In fact for the last several years I have plotted to move to greener pastures.  Portland is very green.  I believe I have found my home. Luckily the family was on board.  My husband found a great job.  We have friends in the area.  We moved in late July and there hasn't been one drop of rain.  The kids are more than thrilled with their new town.  We are surrounded by tall amazing tree's that reach for the sky and lush ferns on the ground.  Woods, rivers and mountains as far as you can see.  Bridge after glorious bridge and that sweet home town feel that I never experienced growing up in the Bay Area, Ca. Our dream of one day owning a home just became a reality.  Our current rental is on a family friendly street that host block party's and neighbors smile and wave as you drive by.  The shopping here is fresh, local organic food in abundance.  Since arriving I've become a recycle diva.  Nothing goes in the trash without an honest thought of how it could be recycled.  Partly because the trash cans here are so tiny compared to the huge recycle bin. It really became a challenge and one that I enjoy now.  I bring my own shopping bags and the kids look forward to the recycle station. All of this in the short time we have been here.  Oregon has opened my eyes and my heart.  It has allowed me to stay at home and spend the rest of the beautiful summer with my kids. Something I could have never afforded to do in the Bay area.  We rarely ever stay home.  We love to explore and this place has it all. 

With that being said there is one issue I must address. The rain. Though it is beautiful and sunny here now I know that it rains a lot in Oregon.  It's common knowledge. I am fair skinned and burn easily in the sun.  I joke about "saving money on sunblock".  But Oregonians love to talk about "the rain".  There is a cable show called The Game of Thrones.  On this series the characters speak of the long dreary weather they experience.  In fact I believe their winter last like 6 years.  Every episode somebody says the line "Winter is coming".  I can't help feel that way here.  9 out of 10 conversation's I have with people usually end with what I call the weather exchange.  You could be talking about picking wild blue berries and IPA beer and just before they walk away "Winter is coming".  As they dramatically wave their cape and draw it in front of their eye's and laugh hysterically.  I know... I get it...  It's going to eventually suck.  But I'm a firm believer of the power of positive thinking.  Maybe deep in my subconscious I'm writing this blog so I can reference it in case seasonal depression hits. 

Bottom line... I'm in a wonderful place now.  I feel more at peace than I have in a long time.  I love Oregon. The grass is much greener here my friends thanks to the lovely (whispers softly) "rain" Muah ha ha ha ha!

Camo memories

Many many moons ago I was lean green fighting machine. In order to pass AIT training in Ft. Sam Houston TX I needed to complete a 7 mile run. I did so with ease. While my good friend St.Pierre would do the rain dance nightly in hopes the next day run would be canceled, I looked forward to it. It takes me back to a time when I had 0400 wake up calls. Where on a run you could only see silhouettes of trees. We would run before the sun could sting and the humidity could weigh you down. All of your worries disappeared and instead you concentrated on not stepping on the soldiers feet ahead of you. If you fell out of formation you would be later punished with added PT while the rest of us were showering and getting ready for breakfast. That may have been my motivation at first but I genuinely enjoyed it.

Years have gone by and I have since lost my desire to run. After many failed gym memberships, quirky injuries that make you give up and having babies, I've forgotten how enjoyable running can be. I've found new motivation. My ipod is full of fast paced dance music, the occasional AC/DC ( It's hard to NOT to run to highway to hell) and my favorite military Jody calls.

Another reason I've decided to give running another try is it gives me confidence. In my 20's I felt invincible. If someone needed to lift something heavy I was the one to call on. Now in my 30's I call for help changing the water cooler at work. Running gives me the reassurance that I'm not breakable. My body can still take a licken and keep on ticken.

Dora VS. Noah

Bounce houses are all the rage for little kid birthday parties. We ordered one for my niece's birthday. The jumper web site was loaded with character themes to choose from, Disney princess, Spongebob and the ever so popular Dora the explorer. What I didn't see was Noah's Ark. Low and behold leaving work the other day and driving by the corner pumpkin patch was a Noah's Ark bounce house. I did a double take. At first I thought it was Jesus. There he was in all his glory. He stands almost 2 stories high. His arms stretched out welcoming all. He is wearing a robe, has a balloon beard and wavy long white blow up hair. The blow-up elephant and giraffe on either side gave his true identity. The more I think about it Noah has become quite mainstream. I've watched his baby Einstien movie a hundred times. There is a Noah's ark little people, Noah's shape sorter, nursery linens. The list goes on forever. Evan Almighty was quite popular. Dora better watch out. Looks like there is a new sheriff in town.

20/20

They say hindsight is 20/20 but after reading my blog I feel it comes with better spelling and improved grammar. I rarely have time to manage my blog and often wonder who is even reading it. I quickly read through my previous post and can't believe how many mistakes I found. Oops...Oh well this is just for fun anyway!!

The Great Disney Debate.

I was so excited planning our first Disney trip I tried not to let the naysayers discourage me. Is Disney too much for little ones? I'm pretty sure if you were to ask Walt himself he would agree Disneyland is made for children, toddlers and yes even babies. From the moment you enter the gates it is apparent you are truly in a magical place. The park is filled with baby centers. A quiet calm AC filled room with impeccably clean changing tables, rocking chairs and even private rooms for feeding. Most rides are very baby friendly. We enjoyed many rides as a family including Pirates of the Caribbean, the Jungle cruise, Nemo, all of Fantasy land and Toon town and I must not forget to mention my favorite the Haunted House.

Our boys loved DL and most importantly it was real. When Mickey walks by he is really walking by. When they walked through Goofy's house their was no doubt they were is his home. This is something that can only happen with young children. The older they get reality hits and it's more about how fast the roller coaster is and not so much about Tigger and Pooh. By all means take your little ones to Disneyland, they will enjoy it.

Maybe the real debate should be Is DL a place for people who don't like kids. My answer is no! Stay home and don't try to rain on our parade the next time a new parent talks about making the trip to DL.

Table for four please!

Going to dinner with my almost 3 y.o and 10 month old boy's can be interesting. I dread being "that table". The ones that leave a layer of cheerios behind on the floor or give an ear piercing scream because "it's fun". I recently nicknamed my 3 y.o. "Piccolo Pete". Kids can be unpredictable when it comes to going out. With a few stressful dinners under our belt we usually opt to stay home or eat take out. We decided to venture out one evening. The idea came from a random drive past Benihana. What a great idea, good finger food plus free entertainment. Nothing says good times like sharp shiny objects being tossed in the air and onion steam volcano's. Unfortunately approaching the hostess I could tell she wasn't as thrilled to see me. Trailing behind me was my dear husband and our double stroller. The wait at 5 P.M. on a Sunday was 45 minutes to an hour. Not in the mood to make dinner, we decide to move onto another restaurant.

Dinner started off well. The waiter brought the boys crayons and paper. I could tell when my 3 y.o. had enough when he dropped his crayons in my beer. Huge party fowl... I know! The food was ok but it took almost an hour to get to us, which meant an hour of entertaining two little monkeys. The 3 y.o. couldn't help but play musical chairs and the 10 month old had a stare down with the couple at the next table. As I glance at my husband I think to myself, I wouldn't want it any other way.

So we haven't seen a movie in 3 years, date nights are almost unheard of and the thought of going out to dinner as a family can be daunting. I feel life with my boys is fun, exciting and full of surprises!! Hopefully I will get the courage to say "Table for four please" again soon.

BF'ing

I have officially been denied by my 8 month old. Breastfeeding my first son was no easy task. I barely made it to 6 months. I felt like a failure. It's a shame new moms are put through the ringer. Lots of guilt and peer pressure lead you to feel that if you don't your child will grow to have rotten teeth, hyper activity, walk with a limp and several failed marriages. Ok maybe I'm exaggerating a little but they really do push it these days. Being a new mom and a germ phobe I admit I was a total sucker. They had me at "you'll boost the babies immune system." I pumped those puppies dry. With my new little guy I really wanted things to go smoothly. I can't complain I have gone almost 3 months longer. This time instead of me running out of milk my loving son is rejecting the boob. I'm torn...relieved that I will no longer be breastfeeding a bear trap (he has 6 teeth) and sad that this bonding time is ending. I'm the first to joke about the moms who don't want to let go and here I am. I guess it's better that it happens now and not when he is 10.