April Effort

Paulina Lake Backpacking with the kiddos

2011-08-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

Paulina Lake is one of two beautifully clear rain filled lakes in Newberry Crater, the largest peak in Oregon; by volume anyways. This low and wide volcano makes for a fascinating hiking and camping spot. The crater is located about 20 miles SE of Bend. There are several car camping spots and a little resort with cabins. There are also several backpacker sites along the Paulina lake trail. We stayed at one of the spots at the North Cove backpacker site. It was a luxurious backpacker site, with picnic tables and all. We started out at the the trailhead at the end of Little Crater campsite, which only required a NW forest pass for payment. On the 2.5 mile hike to the campsite, we passed through stinky reed-filled wetlands, amazing forests, the 5th largest obsidian flow in the country, and over the "red slide," where there is a large section of the crater consisting of red lava rock and the red dust that much of it has become. The obsidian flow is a crazy shiny black rock that resembles glass. Halen said at one point, "there's all this glass on the trail."
At the campsite, we set up camp, applied more bug spray, and started the business of throwing rocks in the lake. Halen learned how to skip rocks on this trip and it is his new obsession. His best skip consisted of 4 jumps! Not bad for a 5 year old. On day two, I hiked back to the truck to get the blow up kayak and paddled it back across the lake. We all played in lake, which isn't as cold as a lake over 5,000 feet in elevation should be, due to all the thermal activity. Late afternoon brought in a quick hail storm where we all headed for some reading time in the tent. After it passed, Halen was antsy to get back out of the tent in order to "leave no skipping rock unskipped."
On day three, we headed out. On the way, we stopped at the hot springs on the beach of the lake. These weird hot springs are holes dug into the sand on the lake shore. Their temperatures supposedly can vary from comfortable bath water temps to scalding hot that needs lake water added to cool it off. On the day we visited, the water was a comfortable temperature for the kids to play for a couple of hours and not overheat. I dug my own little hole nearby just to watch the phenomenon of it filling with hot water. The trick is to dig the hole deeper than the level of the lake and it'll fill with hot water. Totally weird and fascinating stuff!
The perks of this site where that it was easy to get to with kids, only 2.5 miles. Halen carried his own water and sleeping bag. Liam hiked the whole way back himself. He did get a little shoulder ride time on the way in. The lake was absolutely beautiful, clean, and swimable. The backpacker site was huge, had picnic tables, and we were the only ones there. The downside of this trip was that motorized boats are allowed on the lake. The max speed limit is 10 mph, so nobody is going fast, but it's such a remote pristine place, I wish the forest service would have opted to keep motorized boats out. There were also lots of mosquitoes. We went in early August. I imagine that spring and fall could be better for bugs.

Halen helping Liam paddle around in the kayak. He's the best big brother in the world!
Three little hot springs all in a row. Halen is cooling off in the lake. Liam is peeking out from the third spring.
Green hairy rocks.
Obsidian flow.
View from our campsite!
Stinky wetlands

Badger Creek Trail Backpacking Trip 2010

2010-08-29T14:01:00.000-07:00

Our second backpacking trip of the season (I'm out of order, I know, but my brain just works that way) was at Badger Creek, on the eastern slopes of Mt. Hood. The hike to the first camp site was just a couple miles in, along the beautiful creek. Our campsite was gigantic and shady, with the cool soothing sounds of the creek rushing by. The boys enjoyed throwing rocks in the creek. They could do this all day. It baffles me how entertaining this is, but I'm not complaining.
We didn't see any badgers, but we did see Bear Scratches! on a tree! The scratches were down the trail a bit. Dan spotted them on day two, when we were out exploring. On day three, on the way out, we spotted a bear paw print too! So, black bears are around, but they didn't bother us.

Silver Falls State Park

2010-04-20T18:26:00.001-07:00

IMG_1507
Originally uploaded by crustychristy

What a beautiful park!

Beavers Baseball

2010-04-11T18:41:00.000-07:00

We got some cheap tickets to some of the best seats at the stadium, so we went to see the Beavers play. They whooped the Sacramento Rivercats, and we all had fun. We ate popcorn and $5 veggie dogs loaded with kraut.

Backpacking in the Lower Deschutes River Canyon

2010-03-26T16:16:00.001-07:00

Liam Gets His First Haircut.

2010-03-08T12:19:00.001-08:00

Beautiful Oregon coast

2009-11-25T09:45:00.001-08:00

The Gray Blanket Is Back

2009-11-09T16:10:00.001-08:00

Fall is here and the trees are beautiful! The gray clouds are starting to form and seem to stay longer and longer as each week goes by. Maybe I'll be indoors enough now to actual update the blog every once in awhile! Summers here are just too wonderful to be inside blogging. We went on some amazing hikes, an awesome camping roadtrip, and just had an all around amazing summer. Dan climbed Mt. Adams. I climbed Mt. St. Helens. Halen and Liam went on their first backpacking trip. Halen is a crazy good hiker, trekking up to four miles with no problem! He's only 3! Next year, he'll be leaving us in the dust.

The boys on their first backpacking trip!

Me at the summit of Mt. St. Helens Tubing with Halen in Arkansas Redwood Forest!My favorite spot of the summer, Lassen Volcanic National Park!Crater Lake!Cathedral Tree in Astoria, OR Playing in the Sandy River

14 great iPhotos

2009-05-17T09:22:00.000-07:00

The other night we went for a walk after dinner. As we were walking
by this little creek that runs through the neighborhood, we spotted a
couple of beavers! We watched them swim around awhile. Halen was
real excited, well, we all were. The next day we went to our weekly
"story and a stroll" at the state park that's just 15 minutes from
our house. The ranger reads a story in the nature center and then we
head out for a short hike to explore. Amazingly, that day's story
was all about tails and the featured animal was Beavers. Halen got
to tell everyone that he saw two beavers the night before and was
real excited. After the story, they made these beaver tails that
make a smacking noise, like the noise the beavers make on the water
to warn other beavers of danger.
Yesterday, we went out for a great hike along the Salmon River. The
weather and the scenery were both amazing. We LOVE Oregon!

Buzz

2009-05-10T23:34:00.001-07:00

There's a state park only 10 minutes from our house! Every Friday,
they host 'story and a stroll.' The ranger reads a book to the kids
and then they go on a hike and learn about what was in the book.
This week it was about bees. After the story, the kids made antenna
bandanas and pollen pockets, and then headed to the meadow to collect
pollen. They both had a blast.

Sleepers

2009-04-23T16:09:00.001-07:00

They always fall asleep in here. All warm and cuddled up together.

kids

2009-04-20T15:48:00.000-07:00

Liam has real big feet.

Dry Creek Falls

2009-04-15T20:25:00.001-07:00

This one is called Dry Creek Falls, even though the creek apparently
never goes dry. It was a great little hike. I'm so glad hiking
season is back, long long NW days and lots of sunshine!

Liam Likes It Hot

2009-04-06T09:12:00.001-07:00

Apparently, the granola we give Liam in the morning isn't spicy
enough. He wants red pepper flakes in there, and lots of them!

2009-04-01T20:52:00.000-07:00

He's going so fast, he's blurry

Westmoreland Park

2009-03-30T10:23:00.001-07:00

Spring is coming and we are thoroughly enjoying the park near our
house. It's huge and wonderful!

Catch Up

2009-03-18T17:00:00.000-07:00

I've become the world's worst blogger. I'll try to be better.
Here's a quick catch up.

Rock Climber

2009-01-14T13:53:00.000-08:00

Halen's new favorite thing to do is go to the Portland Rock Gym, just
about a half mile from our apartment. With a Daddy who works at REI,
he even gets cool gear for cheap. This is his first day trying out
his fancy new climbing shoes. I got to try out my fancy new climbing
shoes too and loved them.

Velociraptor

2009-01-12T20:25:00.000-08:00

Halen and I put together this 3D dinosaur puzzle and it was super
fun. He loves it and has been talking to it like it's his new best
friend.

Gingerbread House

2008-12-24T13:45:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I got lazy and didn't actually make the gingerbread. It's a graham cracker house. I was going to make the gingerbread, but Liam was being too fussy, so I went with plan B. Next year, we'll attempt to make it out of real gingerbread.
My favorite part is the bear and the little chocolate poop.

Too Dry For A Snowman

2008-12-22T13:22:00.001-08:00

But it sure is fun to bounce and jump around in.

Yet Another Birthday

2008-12-21T10:53:00.000-08:00

I

Today is my birthday, so I copied Halen's 3 picture, only with an added number. It's still snowing like crazy here. It's very pretty out. We went sledding in Laurelhurst park yesterday, then headed to Sweetpea to warm up with vegan cheezy tater soup, an almond milk mocha, pizza rolls, and of course Saturday doughnuts!!! Liam is totally fearless, and was constantly trying to dive down the snow covered hill. We finally let him and Halen sled together, with one parent at the top of the hill and the other at the bottom. Good times.

Mobile blogging test

2008-12-20T16:40:00.001-08:00

It is a winter wonderland in Portland and everyone is out sledding and
skiing in the streets.

uno, dos, TRES!!!

2008-12-17T09:47:00.001-08:00

Somebody is three today. Happy birthday Halen!!!!!!!!

Birthday Party

2008-12-13T15:39:00.000-08:00

Halen, Liam, and myself all get older this month. We had a super joint birthday bash. We were supposed to do it on Mt. Hood, but got blizzarded out and opted for the vegan and kid friendly pizza joint, It's A Beautiful Pizza . It was a good time. I got the pesto sauce on my pizza this time, and it was amazing. I'm a serious pesto fan. If somebody makes it vegan, then I am all over it. It was deeeeeelicious and I want more.
Our friend Carrie, baker extrordinaire, made Halen an awesome Superman Cake. It even had muscle definition! So cool.
It was real fun and cute to see Halen eating up the birthday attention. Liam didn't know what was going on, so the party really was all for Halen. He loved it. The birthday mania begins with 3.

The PC

2008-12-13T15:34:00.000-08:00

When John and Cassie were here, we took a day trip to the beach. John and Cassie got some good pics, with John's super nice camera. Here are just a few of my favorites. The black sand beaches make such a nice high contrast picture. Liam flies, Halen gets hit with a sneaker wave, and Liam makes a mess of himself while eating sand.

He Did It

2008-12-08T09:12:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday to Liam, the big one year old!!!!

Yummy

2008-11-24T22:55:00.001-08:00

Have you ever seen a snot bubble look this good?

I didn't think so.
We've been seriously enjoying the weather lately! Those pics soon.

Not The One

2008-11-20T12:24:00.001-08:00

After much negotiations and thought, it has panned out that that house was just not the right one for us. In the meantime, we're enjoying our location in the apartment. Dan clogged up the one toilet this morning just before leaving for school and the concrete wall out the dining room window is lovely to look at. I'm just being negative to be funny, things really are a.o.k. I have a date with IKEA this afternoon, to get some things to put things in. The trailer had oodles and oodles of storage, so much that there were actually multiple empty drawers and cabinets. Here, much of our stuff is still in boxes, cause there's just nowhere to put stuff.

We walked to Laurelhurst Park yesterday. It's a big beautiful park. Bruce got some much needed running time in the dog park. Halen and I had a blast running around trying to catch all the falling leaves. Those suckers are hard to catch. Halen finally got one when it hit him square in the face and stuck there, as big as his head. He was very happy. I wouldn't let Halen anywhere near the duck pond, since that sucker jumped in the last one we went to. We had to admire the ducks from afar.

During our move, we had visitors. It was a bit crazy for a few days, but we all had fun. John and Cassie, did you start selling all your stuff yet??? Buffalo Thangs are waiting. I have some pictures from that visit, but am waiting for John to put his up on an account, as he had a much better camera and took something close to 1000 pictures while here.

Movin On

2008-11-11T17:03:00.000-08:00

We sold this one...

We're temporarily moving into a 2 bedroom/1 bathroom apartment, a little less than a mile from the vegan mini mall, a half mile from a whole foods, and super close to many great eats!

We have put an offer in on this, but it's bank owned, and it's taking what seems like forever for them to respond to our offer. This is also a one bathroom, not the easiest thing to do with 4 people in the house, but there's room for another. We're excited about this old turn of the century fixer. I hope we get it. If not, our apartment will be fun and interesting. It's been awhile since I've lived such a city life, in an apartment, with walkable things to do. I'm a little nervous about it, but I think the kids are going to love it. There are a few playgrounds nearby.

Happy Halloween

2008-11-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

The Vegan Mini Mall; Sweetpea Bakery, Herbivore, Food Fight Grocery, and Scapegoat Tattoo, hosted a vegan halloween for the kiddos. There was cupcakes, cookie decorating, apple bobbing, photo backdrops, and buckets of vegan candy. I repeatedly suggested that Halen pick out chick-o-sticks. He kept going for strawberry airheads. It's a good thing that we did go there, because the house trick or treating didn't get us a single vegan thing, other than the mini bottle of spiced rum that I picked out of someone's 'Adult treat' basket. It was still oodles of fun to go from house to house and trick or treat. We came home, sorted through the candy, and gave out all the non-vegan stuff to trick or treaters that came to our house. Halen had just as much fun giving candy to people coming to our house as he did getting it.
On another exciting note, we got an offer on our place. It's sooner than we expected and they want to buy and move in within a couple of weeks! We don't have all our ducks in a row to buy anything yet, so we're most likely looking at renting something. Yahoo.

Broccoli, Pumpkins, and Don't Forget To Vote

2008-10-30T16:16:00.000-07:00

Halen wanted a pirate pumpkin, I wanted a political one, so here's our compromise, Obama with an eye patch.

Liam says, ' i really love broccoli.'

'i really really do.'

Super Heroes

2008-10-27T07:26:00.000-07:00

Not only are they cute, but they just might rescue you the next time you're in trouble. Our friends threw a kid friendly vegan halloween party. All the little tykes running around in their costumes was too cute. We're anxiously awaiting the real Halloween. The vegan mini mall is hosting a fun-filled trick or treating Halloween festival!!! I love Portland.

Pumpkin Farming

2008-10-25T14:46:00.000-07:00

We went to Liepold pumpkin farm again this year. It was a ton of fun for a place located in Boring, Oregon. Hay rides, corn mazes, kid play areas, pumpkin slingshots, and more. We met another kid and his mom from the vegan family meetup group. Halen had lots of fun with him. Liam likes to eat hay and roll pumpkins.

Liam Walks and Claps

2008-10-24T20:55:00.000-07:00

Cookies

2008-10-14T16:52:00.001-07:00

First bite of a Sweetpea Bakery Vegan Jack-o-lantern sugar cookie.

Almost done.

Sugar Coma! Uggghhhhhh.

Summer Recap

2008-10-03T13:28:00.000-07:00

Lots of stuff got left out this summer, due to all the tons and tons of fun we were having! No time for blogging of course. So, now that it's a pre-rainy season rainy day, I'll give you a small recap. Liam learned to use a spoon and is very excited about it. He's been a stubborn eater since the start, only wanting to feed himself and only eating Indian food. Seriously, if it aint got Garham Masala in it, he don't want it. He spit out any ground up baby textured food I ever tried to feed him. It had to be chunky and he preferred to do it himself, no matter how messy that got. Moving from fingers and hands in Indian food to a spoon was a big happy day for us all. We picked peaches one day, apples and pears another. We hiked around Trillium Lake. We went to the amusement park a few more times, ate lots of burritos and danishes and vegan potlucks and brunches. goodbye summer, hello fall.

Vegan Etsy

2008-10-02T09:04:00.001-07:00

The holidays are coming. This year, I'm going to try my hardest to buy everything handmade, direct from artists. VeganEtsy is a great place to do that. It's an etsy team of all vegan artists, selling all vegan stuff. Pretty cool huh? Here's a small sample of what's available.

then, of course, there's my shop...

Happy Shopping.

Blog Bog

2008-09-30T20:40:00.000-07:00

Sorry. I have lots to say and talk about, and of course cute pics of my cute kids, but I just haven't felt like it. Soon. For now, I'll leave you with just one cute pic of brotherly love.

First Steps

2008-09-19T09:09:00.002-07:00

It's too soon! My baby is starting to walk, all on his own. Ahhhh.

Am I 16 Yet?

2008-09-19T09:09:00.001-07:00

Both of my boys are itchin' to drive. Yikes.

Campers

2008-09-15T11:31:00.000-07:00

We went camping. Liam was dirtier and happier than he's ever been. Halen was a little over tired, due to heavy duty hikes and being too excited to nap, but still had lots of fun. I thought I was managing what Liam was putting into his mouth adequately, until I changed a poopy diaper and found a small rock. All my boys are true outdoorsmen. Dan loves making fire. That's all he wanted to do, even at 6 in the morning, when I wanted to stay snuggled in my warm sleeping bag with my warm baby, he was up tending to the fire. We went to a 'walk-in' campsite at Devil's Lake, on the south side of South Sister. There are three Sisters, mountains in the Cascades, South Sister being the tallest. It was the perfect family camping compromise for us, Dan and I being more into backpacking than car camping. I always felt like car camping was just camping in a parking lot. This was different, there were 9 tent sites, all separated from each other by trees and giant lava rocks, all a short walkable distance from the parking lot. It looked like we could have backpacked there. It was absolutely beautiful.
We hiked about halfway up South Sister, to Moraine Lake, where Halen took an icy skinny dip. It was a really difficult hike, 1200 feet elevation gain in 2 miles. I was breathing heavy. Halen did the whole thing himself. He rode on daddy's shoulders some on the way down, but was a serious trooper on the way up. Fellow hikers were impressed every time they passed us. Halen was a social butterfly, saying to everyone we passed, "I'm just fine" or "I'm doing okay," whether they asked or not. A few guys came up behind us right as we were entering in to the woods after being in the open for awhile. Halen said to them, "hey guys, are you coming into the forest with us?" I love all the things he says. He's just so cute.

Swimming and a Symphony

2008-08-31T11:29:00.001-07:00

We rode our bikes along the path by the river, to the waterfront park downtown. The youth symphony and the big people symphony were putting on a free show. We met up with some friends, shared a bit of food, and listened to some music. Then we all left early so we wouldn't have upset kids. Halen absolutely loves live music. He loves the clapping part. He gets real excited about being in a crowd of people all clapping at once.
The next day we went swimming in the neighborhood pool. We'd never been before. I'm not a big fan of sharing the pool with rowdy older kids when I've got little kids. I used to take trips to the neighborhood pool with my niece and it was always more trouble than it was worth and a little scary. The older kids aren't ever being bad or anything, just being kids in a pool, acting like they're supposed to. Anyway, we never went because I was always sure there'd be tons of kids there. It closes Labor Day, so I figured I'd give it a try, going early in the morning on a weekday. It worked out. We were the only ones there. The kids had a blast and took really great naps when we got home. Two days later I still feel like I need a nap. I guess I'll just pour another cup of joe instead.

and trois

2008-08-26T20:32:00.001-07:00

Corrie came a few days after Melanie left. We ate lots of yummy vegan food, took a great bike ride, explored Mt. Tabor, and swam in the cold cold river on a not so sunny day. Corrie and I even went out without any boys. It's been awhile since I've done anything without any boys around. We went to the same spot Dan and I went to on our date, the Bye and Bye. It's a vegan bar and it has great food. It's all bar though, so we can only go there without kids. We had some good times, but it was a little too short. I also fell asleep at 8pm the night before she left. Oops. That's what happens when mommy goes out and stays up late one night. I gotta catch up the next couple of nights. If I hadn't done all these posts all at once, I'd have a little more insight on all the visits, but I am trying to get caught up. There, caught up.

visitor deux

2008-08-26T16:31:00.000-07:00

Then my aunt Melanie came. Dan and I actually had a date night when she was here, the first time he and I went out together without kids in over a year! We tried not to talk too much about the kids, but they did come up. We did a great hike to Wahclella Falls. Melanie and I took a dip in the icy water. Halen was amazingly good at climbing the boulders. He's 2.5 and already rock climbing. We also rode roller coasters and got bad chiropractic adjustments from them. It was a good week for sure. Mel, you're welcome anytime! Cock and Balls donuts are always here for you.

Visitors

2008-08-26T16:19:00.000-07:00

We have had a busy month, with visitors for close to 3 weeks straight. I'll put a few pics of each visit in their own separate post. First, we had my dad, his wife, my adopted sister Brandi, and my niece Kayla. They came up from Mississippi. We rode the scenic train, had a snowball fight on top of Mt. Hood, visited Mt. St. Helens, swam in the river, toured downtown, and hiked at Multnomah Falls. Halen loved hanging with his cousin and aunt. They were great with the kids and it was fun for me to catch up with them as well.

What Mom? No, I'm Superman.

2008-08-18T10:38:00.000-07:00

This is how every sentence or conversation with Halen starts these days. I call him Halen and he replies with, 'What mom? No, I'm Superman.' After I remember to call him by the right name, we can continue. I got him some superman jammies and made him a cape. That's all he wants to wear now.
I've got some serious catching up to do on the blog. We've had a steady stream of visitors, with one more coming in a few days! I'll try to catch up with the blog soon, but I'm also behind on laundry and vacuuming and all that domestic stuff too, so it may be awhile.

Parents, Always Talking of Poop

2008-08-01T12:22:00.000-07:00

And I am no exception. Friends of ours have a 10 month old who hasn't pooped in a diaper in 2 months. They started putting him on the potty at 6.5 months old. Most people poop on a fairly predictable schedule, even babies. Liam has one poop in the morning, first thing. Then another later after lunch. We used to lay in bed and play awhile before getting up. Liam would crawl to all of us, giving his wet slobbery good morning kisses and hair pullings. Apparently, this is also when he was pooping. Now I have to drag myself out of bed a few minutes before I'm ready, but the trade off is that Liam deposits his poops neatly into the toilet. I think it's worth it. Cloth diapers require scraping poop into toilet, a practice that often results in poop on the hands. You are also supposed to do this with disposables, but no one does. Human poop in landfills is really really bad for everything. Thank you Liam for doing your part to keep landfills and my hands free of poop. I salute you!

Blueberries

2008-07-26T14:55:00.001-07:00

Went and picked blueberries today. Yum!!!

On The Move

2008-07-19T14:23:00.000-07:00

Look out world, he's coming to getcha!

We Love Summertime

2008-07-17T20:20:00.000-07:00

Sprinklers, homemade rocket ship sugar free 100% organic juice popsicles (can you say super yum?), and Liam is officially crawling!!! I'll have to post video later. He's not terribly efficient, but he's up on all fours and moving those hands and knees forward. It's real cute. I can't believe my baby is already growing up. Ahhhhh, need more babies. Oh wait, no we don't! Love 'em more than anything ever, but not ready to have 3.

For Corrie Beth

2008-07-15T13:27:00.000-07:00

My friend Corrie Beth, and her friend Mikey, wrote this here song that my boys are enjoying. Corrie, I tried to email this video to you, but your email won't allow it. too big. So, I put it here for you to see. Let me know if you don't want it on here for some reason and I'll take it off. Oh yeah, we loved it. Send more new Corrie songs!
Love ya.

Get In Shape Girl

2008-07-14T21:39:00.001-07:00

You know the feeling.
So, my butt aint getting any smaller (actually it is, but it's losing it's nice muscular bubbliness, which isn't good. Dan married me for my butt, seriously). Try as I may to get outside and do stuff, I usually have a baby strapped to me (and am going at toddler pace). This does make walking up a mountain harder, but it's still less work than running up the mountain, which is what I need to be doing to get my heart rate up, lose the belly pouch, and get back the butt. I decided a nice piece of home exercise equipment might do the trick. So, I went on craigslist and found this $10 gem, definitely from the 80's. It works fine, but let's see if I ever actually use the thing. Halen likes it too.

Halen's World

2008-07-11T12:36:00.000-07:00

We went to Henry Hagg lake yesterday. Halen and Dan rented a canoe and paddled around for awhile. Dan says Halen was terrified and shaking the whole time, calling for 'Mama Mama.' Halen says he had fun and wants to go again today. Silly. I liked this picture of Halen. It reminded me of Wyeth's 'Christina's World.'

Would You Like Fries or a Side Salad With That?

2008-07-08T18:13:00.001-07:00

Practicing for that extra dough during college!

No Free Lunch.

2008-07-03T15:21:00.000-07:00

Today I went and picked up a new project. Paul was in town and gave me this truck for free. All it needs is a new clutch and the brakes need some attention. She doesn't have a name yet, but I will let you know as soon as she does. The truck just happens to be the same color as my 510.

Whirlwind 3 Days

2008-07-03T14:35:00.000-07:00

Family came to visit, O'ma, O'pa, and Grandma. We spent 3 days doing fun stuff. We rode the Portland Spirit down the Willamette River, eating a fancy vegan lunch aboard the ship. Halen and Grandma rode a pedi-cab through downtown. We rode Portland's sky tram. We saw 4 or 5 waterfalls. We rode a historical train, made to look like Thomas for the day, through Hood Valley. We went to Portland's rose garden, where roses were as big as my head, on bushes twice my height. We rode the magic mile ski lift at Mt. Hood's timberline lodge, where it was a sunny 80 degrees in the snow. There were people up there still snow boarding. Halen really didn't want to leave the mountain until he got to snowboard. I told him he could when he was three. Now he won't stop asking when he turns 3. It was a fun weekend. Time now to catch up on laundry!

TaDa

2008-06-26T22:58:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but around here, we never get tired of seeing 'Balancing Baby' and 'TaDa.' Halen is no longer a baby, so he calls it 'Tada.'

Strawberry Time

2008-06-24T13:28:00.000-07:00

Halen's friend Ida turned 4 a few days ago! Her birthday was at Kruger's Farm on Sauvie Island. We got to do a hay ride and pick strawberries. Before we started picking, I told Halen not to pick the green ones, just the red ones. He then picked and ate tons of berries. Everytime he ran into someone else picking, he'd be sure and tell them to only pick the red ones, not the green ones. He told about 20 people. It was real cute. Ida's family is vegetarian, but not vegan. They were vegan back in the day, so they're very vegan friendly and vegan aware. Gigi, Ida's mom, informed me ahead of time that the cake would not be vegan. This was Halen's first non-vegan birthday party and I was a little nervous. I brought along some cookies to give him when the cake started getting passed around. He said he wanted cake too, but was totally okay with the cookie exchange instead. It was hard to say no though. If I hadn't brought those cookies, would I have caved in and let him eat the cupcake? I guess I just need to always bring an alternative, till he's old enough to make his own choices.
There were a couple of other babies there too and it was real cute watching them "parallel play."
All photos are from Ben and Gigi, since dummy me forgot my camera.

Baby Mommy

2008-06-24T13:27:00.001-07:00

This hotty totty is me back in the day.

2008-06-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

Oaks Amusement Park

2008-06-20T09:53:00.000-07:00

We went to the country's oldest permanent amusement park, down by the Willamette. Halen LOVED it. He wanted to ride everything. He looked terrified on the rollercoaster, but when he got off, he said he loved it. He wanted to go again.
Lewis and Clark ride, look out for the bears!

Holding on to the bar and Daddy (who he has taken to calling Dan most of the time, pretty funny).

This "rocket" was his favorite. For some reason, these rides had plastic guns attached to the front. Halen's never seen anything gun oriented, so he had his gun turned as sideways as he could get it, with one hand on the butt and the other on the barrel. He was steering with it, and the trigger made a shooting noise that he called "the horn." Hooray for non-violence.

Liam didn't get to ride in anything, but my handydandy new baby carrier. I made this one and I'm pretty proud of myself.

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-15T10:19:00.000-07:00

We love you! Thanks for being a terrific husband and Dad.

Shreddin'

2008-06-11T20:03:00.001-07:00

Going skateboarding.

Check out my skills.

Whoe bro, WIPEOUT!

Peeing in the park.

He's A Half Year Old

2008-06-08T11:25:00.000-07:00

Happy half birthday AND happy first tooth to Liam. His front bottom left tooth has broken through the gums. I'll post a pic soon. Our computer is down. I'm on the laptop. It would be a big pain in the bootay to switch all the cables and upload to the laptop, so you'll just have to wait for pics.

Little Liam

2008-06-01T21:35:00.000-07:00

Kerry sent me this picture from when they were here. I just find it too cute, with his rosy little (okay, big) cheeks. He's really growing up on me. He's pushing up and pulling his knees under him. He's started using sign language and is very pleased with himself. He knows milk and I've started teaching him others now that he's got that one down. I miss the little baby, but am very impressed with the person he's becoming.

Front Load Washers

2008-05-31T09:54:00.000-07:00

Energy efficient, water-saving, and better than TV

Going To Get Burritos

2008-05-29T12:16:00.000-07:00

I guess Halen thinks Los Gorditos has the best burritos too. He just informed us that he was going to get some burritos. He got his little bag and told us over and over again that he was going to get burritos. We kept saying, 'okay, have fun, see ya later.' Then he said, "open the door for me, I need to drive." He wasn't kidding! He wants some burritos and he wants them now! He's just too too cute! I love him. I love my boys, every one of them. I may be outnumbered, but I'm perfectly happy with it.

More Kite Flying

2008-05-29T09:37:00.000-07:00

Even Liam got in on the kite flying this time! I don't know why flying a kite is so satisfying. The kites we're flying are the cheapest kites they make and are impossible to do any loop de loops with or anything, yet it's so friggin fun to just hold that string and see the kite fly. It has reinstated my interest in kite boarding (Pregnancy curbed my ability to try new things like this for the last couple of years). One of my brothers is into kite boarding and has one. He lives in Mississippi though! Since the Columbia River is one of the best places in the world to kite board, I have to try it! I need a new wetsuit if I'm going in that river though!!! I want my brother to come do it with me too! Come on Scott and Family, get your butts to Oregon!

Starting Solids

2008-05-26T22:09:00.000-07:00

Liam is growing up way too fast. I've held out long enough on solid foods. He was just about pitching a fit every time we sat down for a meals and he wasn't getting any. He would whine to be held and then would try to grab food off our plates. Halen LOVES feeding Liam and has done it now more times than either Dan or I. I love how crazy he looks in these pictures. He always opens his mouth when feeding Liam, as if trying to will Liam to do the same. I think I probably do the same thing, but there aren't any incriminating photos to prove it. Maybe he gets it from me, maybe it's a natural instinct. This first one, I love because Liam kinda looks like a zombie who wants to eat your brains. Yummy, brains. Wait, that's not vegan.

Speaking of vegan stuff, I think I'll take time to share a little story here. Dan went to put Halen to bed and I went to put Liam to bed. Dan never came out, sleeping like a baby. So, I'm up and ready to spend a little time catching up the blog. A couple of nights ago, we got burritos from Taqueria Los Gordtos. This roach coach burrito cart has now topped my chart for an amazing burrito. I had quite a few good burritos while living in San Francisco. Atlanta even has a few good burrito spots, but the other night, I had the best burrito I've ever had. The people running the cart are a mexican family and I think the daughter is vegan. They have a whole vegan menu, including vegan sour cream, soyrizo, tofu, and 'vegan delight' cheese as possibilities. As Halen and I were sitting out front, waiting for our order, a woman came up and ordered a chicken burrito. She was obviously a regular, as they knew what she wanted as she walked up. She started complaining that she wished they were open on Sundays, so she wouldn't have to go hungry on that day. They explained to her that they would be open on Sundays from now on, but only serving their vegan menu! The woman scrunched up her nose and acted grossed and weirded out by the mention of an all vegan menu. She declared, "I need my meat and my cheese." This is where it gets funny. The dad, a pretty robust man with a thick spanish accent, started talking about how good the vegan food is and how it's not weird at all, that she should try it. He then started to kind of make fun of her and point out all the things she was eating that were vegan, like her drink, the sauces, etc. He would say, 'you drink Coke, that's vegan, it's not weird. And you know tequila, that's vegan. It's so not weird, it's good and it's good for you. You need to try our soyrizo burrito, it's vegan and it's good! We even got vegan cheese.' I was really getting a kick out of this unlikely person preaching the benefits of veganism to a staunch meat eater. During all this, the word vegan continually being said, Halen looked at me and said, "we're vegan." Neither Dan nor I taught him that. I guess he has just picked it up in our conversations enough that he knows. Pretty cool.

I Need To Go Fasters

2008-05-26T22:02:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends

2008-05-20T12:16:00.000-07:00

Our friends from Atlanta came to visit. We had a blast. The two year olds said "mine" a little more than the adults wanted to hear, but that's what two years olds do. They got here late at night and were up early in the morning. Halen woke up, heard Connor, and literally jumped out of bed. I've never seen him move so quick. Liam and Olivia hit it off. She recently turned one, but is about the same size as Liam. It was funny for me to see this sweet girl, the same size as my Liam, crawling around and starting to walk and talk.
We ate so much good food. We didn't even get to go to all of the vegan spots in town, but we did have waffles from the famous waffle cart. Like us, this was their favorite spot. I think there is an addictive additive in those waffles. I gained a few pounds eating out almost every meal.
We took a little road trip to this amazingcabin . The guy that built it is a bad ass. He built most of it from trees cut down on the land where the house now sits, milled on site. The beds hung from the rafters and were surrounded by skylights and bay windows. The gentle sway of the bed, with the view of the trees all around you, had a real nice hammock feel to them (but with memory foam mattresses). The spiral staircase spiraled around a smoothed out tree. It was definitely amazing. I want to spend a summer there. Right down the street were two spectacular waterfalls, the Golden and Silver Falls.
We also went sledding, in May. Mt. Hood is still covered in snow! That same day, or maybe the next day, the boys were wading shirtless in the Clackamas river. I hope they visit again next year and I hope that the boys, who will then be 3, will have better learned the art of sharing.

What to do with all this Hot Ass Weather???

2008-05-16T09:51:00.001-07:00

Go dip your feet in the Cold Ass River.

SEVERE WEATHER ALERT

2008-05-14T12:59:00.001-07:00

The weather channel posted this SEVERE WEATHER ALERT for my neck of the woods. To this, I say, Yahoo, bring it on...

...UNSEASONABLY HOT WEATHER WILL BURST INTO SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON THURSDAY THROUGH MUCH OF THE WEEKEND...

AFTER A VERY PROLONGED PERIOD OF ABNORMALLY COOL SPRING WEATHER ...THE HOTTEST WEATHER OF THE YEAR...MORE LIKE MID SUMMER...WILL BURST INTO SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON THURSDAY... THEN CONTINUE OVER THE REGION INTO THE WEEKEND.

THIS WILL BE THE HOTTEST WEATHER SINCE LAST SEPTEMBER.

TEMPERATURES INLAND THURSDAY WILL APPROACH 90...AND ON FRIDAY APPROACH THE MID 90S. TEMPERATURES AT THE COAST COULD REACH INTO THE 80S BOTH THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. RECORDS AT SEVERAL LOCATIONS WILL LIKELY FALL...AND THESE ARE LISTED IN A PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT.

TEMPERATURES OVER THE WEEKEND WILL CONTINUE VERY WARM. A SHALLOW MARINE LAYER MAY BEGIN FORMING ALONG THE COAST THIS WEEKEND THAT WILL BRING SOME RELIEF THERE...BUT ANY SIGNIFICANT COOLING INLAND WILL LIKELY BE SLOW TO TAKE HOLD...POSSIBLY HOLDING OFF UNTIL NEXT MONDAY.

WITH SUCH A RAPID TRANSITION FROM TEMPERATURES NEAR 60 TO TEMPERATURES NEAR OR ABOVE 90...BE SURE TO USE CAUTION IF OUT IN THE HEAT THIS WEEK. DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS. WEAR LIGHT CLOTHING. WEAR HATS AND USE SUNSCREEN TO PROTECT THE SKIN FROM THE SUNSHINE. SEEK COOLER OR AIR CONDITIONED AREAS DURING THE HEAT OF THE DAY.

I've repeatedly tried to post pics and videos from the last couple of weeks. We had friends visiting and I have oodles of good stuff. Blogger isn't allowing me to upload anything though. You'll just have to wait.

Willamette River Bike Ride

2008-05-01T14:25:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been so long since I've blogged. We've been doing lots of fun and cool things, I just haven't felt like getting on the computer and waiting for pictures to upload. I don't really feel like writing much today either. It's nice out and I just want to sit in the sunshine. I will do a quick catch up for everyone.
I Love Portland!

Halen loves chasing pigeons!

Dan loves modeling for The North Face.

Liam Loves Portland too.

and the bike trailer and his duck.

Introducing

2008-04-21T22:28:00.000-07:00

Liam Hawkins Harrison Simmons

Yeah yeah, I know, spaghetti straps and nursing bra snaps don't go well. Somebody call 'What Not To Wear.' I need a new wardrobe!!!

Happy Birthday Daddy

2008-04-17T08:45:00.001-07:00

It was yesterday, but there's no time to blog on birthdays!!!

Kissing Bruce

2008-04-15T15:20:00.000-07:00

I can't wait to show this to Halen's girlfriends.

Let's Go Fly A Kite

2008-04-09T22:05:00.000-07:00

We went to fly Halen's new kite at the big open field dog park by the Columbia River Gorge. The wind never stops here and is strong strong strong. It's the windsurfing capital of the world. Halen had a blast. I want to get a better kite, because the wind here would make it like no other kite flying I've ever done before. Bruce loved it too because he got to play with other dogs and run around a bunch. It was definitely a good time.

Balancing Baby

2008-04-09T22:02:00.001-07:00

Halen has taught Liam his favorite trick.

ATL

2008-04-09T15:23:00.001-07:00

We took a whirlwind trip to Atlanta, to watch a couple of beautiful people get married! Congrats to Lisa and Patrick. Halen is past the age where he can ride in a lap, so the three tickets really broke the bank, even though they were red eyes. Sorry Atlanta, but I think we're not flying ever again, unless other people are paying for it. It was a good time. On top of all the people that live there, some of my family came from out of town to meet little Liam. Atlanta is closer to everyone than Portland. We really had to do some time juggling. No one slept enough or ate right. Halen got sick on the plane ride down, a nasty cold AND pink eye, in BOTH eyes. Yuck. I have no memory of ever having pink eye myself. It was a new experience for me. My sis-in-law had some antibiotic left over from when her son had it. I put a drop of that in each eye, once. I'm not a fan of antibiotics, and I remembered reading that breastmilk can cure pink eye, as well as ear infections and such. Amazing stuff, breast milk. Some Australians just discovered that breastmilk has stemcells . Anyway, I did do the antibiotic just because I was desperate to get something started working on those goopy eyes and I was in the midst of oodles and oodles of family members. Later that night, before bed, I squirted some milk into a cup and poured it into his eyes. In the morning, there was half as much goop as the morning before. Another dose of breastmilk and it was gone that day. I wish I hadn't used the antiobiotic at all, because now I'm not sure what really worked. I guess it was a combination of both. Halen got to play with (and spread pink eye to) his BFF Connor. They hadn't seen each other in 6 months, practically 1/4 of their lives, and they went right to playing (and fighting, "mine mine mine") like they'd seen each other the day before.
The wedding was fun and 100% vegan, so lots of yummy food and cake, with no boundaries. We left Halen with my family because we thought he was too sick to have fun. Liam came with us cause that boy has never had a bottle and I kinda like it that way. We missed Halen once we got there and really wished we had brought him. He would have really cut the rug. That boy can dance! The next night I got to spend with all my lovely lady friends. Halen fell asleep on the couch amongst them and then woke up to the part where we were having fruit and chocolate fondue. Skip the tempeh and the spinach and all that junk, wake me up when there's hot dripping chocolate (not to mention beautiful women to feed it to me).
It was great to see everyone. I didn't take hardly any pictures. I can't believe I didn't get any of my boys with their cousins. By the end of the week, we were really exhausted and ready to come home. Despite the fact that we were all a little sniffly, running on zero sleep, and not leaving Atlanta till 9:40pm, the boys were angels on the planes.
Also, in Atlanta, on March 27th, Liam rolled over. He rolled over from his back to his belly. His first rollover was witnessed by much of the family. It was quite the spectacle, something that seems so small to us two leg walkers, really was a big big day for Liam. He now rolls over all the time. He hasn't figured out how to roll back over yet and he's kinda pissed about it. He just turned 4 months and it's the first thing in those 4 months that he's felt is worth a good cry. He'll get it soon. I'll keep you posted.

Look At My BoBo, Fucker

2008-04-07T11:22:00.000-07:00

How Vegan Atheists Spend Easter Sunday

2008-04-02T21:55:00.001-07:00

For most of my adult life, holidays like Easter were just annoying. It usually ended up being the day I set aside to do a bunch of grocery shopping. Then, of course, I'd get to the store and it'd be closed. Thanks Jesus. Then there's the lack of vegan chocolate bunnies; and pastel colored hard boiled eggs gross me out. Then I had kids. All the sudden, any holiday and every holiday is a good reason to have fun with and spoil my children. This year, I found organic chocolate bunnies and the perfect alternative easter egg hunt. Our Vegan Meetup group planned a get together at The Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary . It's a rescued farm animal sanctuary. They hid plastic eggs with animal feed in them. The kids would fill their baskets with eggs, then go open them to find carrots, apples, and oats to feed the animals with. Halen had a blast. He and his friend Cora were walking around holding hands. She even told him she loved him. It pulled my mommy heart strings.
Halen is too smart for the easter bunny gag. I set up a decorative easter gift basket pile on the kitchen table, surrounded by jelly belly jelly beans. When we got up, I told Halen that I thought I heard the easter bunny and that we should go see if he left anything. When we got to the table, he was real excited to see the basket. He promptly ate some jelly beans (more sugar than he'd had in his life) before breakfast. Then he said, "look what mommy did." We told him that it was the easter bunny. He insisted that it was me. Smart boy, a skeptic, like his parents.

That donkey tried to eat my baby!

Sorry I'm so behind on blogs. We've been out of town. I'll try and catch up soon.

Remember This???

2008-03-24T17:39:00.000-07:00

I found this hat today. Liam rocks it well too.

Whale Watching

2008-03-24T09:55:00.000-07:00

Saturday was day one of the spring whale watching week. The gray whales are migrating past Oregon. We drove out to Astoria, OR and ate at The Blue Scorcher Vegetarian Bakery Cafe . We all shared a couple of berry and rhubarb oat bars, then Dan and I each had a different yummy sandwich. Mine was the best grilled veggie sandwich I've ever had, made on fresh foccacia with a super tasty artichoke spread and tons of veggies.

Halen enjoyed the little kid play area.

We then headed to the Ecola State Park and did the Clatsop Loop Trail . It was a great trail. The first mile and a half was up up up. I actually got my heart rate up and felt a little sweaty. It felt great! My whole body felt like it was getting cleaned out and refreshed. I so needed to get outside and do something like that. At the top of the trail, there was a lookout point, where you can watch for the whales. Here's Halen using his binoculars to spot the whales.

The whales were really far out. We could just barely see their spouts of water blowing up, like little white lines specking the horizon. Halen couldn't see them at all, even with his binoculars. There were people there that had real binoculars. Halen quickly struck up a conversation with them. He's become so social. His opening line is always, "Hey, what are you doing up there?" I love that he says 'up there' just because they're taller than he is. With his social charms, he managed to get a look through the real binoculars, but still couldn't see anything. They said they didn't really help them see better either. We didn't need binoculars, we needed a boat.

The rest of the hike, Halen kept a look out for cougars. There are cougars in Oregon's coastal range. One was spotted in this park back in September, there are signs that tell when the last sighting was. Then they say to keep your children close and always in your view. Yikes. I must say that for a moment, I didn't want to hike anymore. Halen said he wanted to see one, pet it, and say hi to it. We didn't tell him that it would want to eat him, not get petted by him.

I Forgot One

2008-03-21T23:10:00.000-07:00

I just had to put this one of Liam up, cause it's just that cute.

Too Many Choices

2008-03-21T22:33:00.000-07:00

As a vegan, I've never looked at a pastry case so full of yummy yummy things and could choose from any of them. I love Sweetpea Bakery!!!

We went out tonight, for a Viva Le Vegan meetup. Halen got some good play time in with a couple of other vegan kids. Very very cute.

Crickey, That's Hot!

2008-03-21T10:23:00.001-07:00

At our house, we often have Animal Planet on the tv. We're big fans of the late Steve Irwin. We often go on safari adventures in our living room, going after Bruce the crocodile. When we get him, we always say, "Crickey Bruce." Then we do the death roll with him. He loves playing the crocodile.
The other day Halen bit into a waffle and said, "Crickey, that's hot." He's so friggin cute and funny.

I'm The Dude, Man

2008-03-20T11:00:00.000-07:00

Dan had the other day off, so we were going to start the day off with some more of those wonderful waffles, then go hiking. It turned out to be a rainy day, but we couldn't forgo the waffles. I swear this waffle cart is the gateway to heaven. After eating our delectables, we had to figure out what to do with ourselves, so we went bowling. Halen loved it!!! I liked having the bumpers up. Dan even got a strike bouncing the ball off the bumpers. Dan got a few strikes, jerk. I got one. Halen didn't get any, but his final score for that first game was 66, only 14 points below me. He's a natural. When we came home, he went straight to sleep. Lugging that big ball wore him out. The first thing he said when he woke up was, "I need to go bowling again Mommy." So today, we started the day off with waffles again, and now Dan and Halen are going out for a little dude time at the bowling alley. Liam and I are hunkering down, singing bluegrass and dancing around.

Happy St. Patty's Day

2008-03-17T10:46:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh

2008-03-16T21:17:00.000-07:00

Liam likes to stare up at the light above his changing table, with his mouth agape.

I wonder why!

Sellwood Park

2008-03-16T10:45:00.000-07:00

Sellwood Park is a great park for everyone. It's on the Williamette River, has one of the city's great bike paths going through it, and has a playground for all ages. The kids and I met up with my midwife apprentice and her 3 beautiful kids. She has an older boy, so she brought me a bagful of hand-me-downs for my boys. Perfect timing because Halen is outgrowing all his shirts. He grew an inch last month!!! Halen was fascinated with Caleb's tree climbing abilities. He's 7, and was the self proclaimed "best tree climber here." No one would have dared dispute him. I love hanging out with older kids, it gives me a little glimpse of my future life. Here's a little sample of a mother/son debate.

Caleb, don't knock the flowers out of the tree.
Why not? There are thousands of them.
Because if every kid that came to the park knocked a couple of flowers off the tree, they'd be gone in a couple of days.
Not every kid can climb trees like me.
Just don't okay!

I'm not sure what I'll do when my kids get smarter than me. It's probably very fun and very frustrating.

Before moving to Portland, I thought these round-a-bouts were illegal. I used to love them as a kid, but with sue-happy Americans, most of them have been removed from playgrounds. Not here though, they're all over the place, older than me, and still being played on.
p.s. one more reason having a homebirth is better than a hospital birth. i don't even know the name of a single midwife from the 12 that were involved in my first pregnancy, and I'm certainly not hanging out with them (even if I still did live in Atlanta of course) and getting hand-me-down clothes.

Matching Messy

2008-03-12T21:17:00.000-07:00

If I had nothing but mess-free art, I wouldn't capture pictures like this, where the paint on his face matches his shirt and his eyes. What a goober.

Vegan Waffles

2008-03-11T20:48:00.000-07:00

And not the of the frozen variety! We heard about some vegan waffles at flavour spot on my new favorite Portland vegan food review blog, stumptown vegan . I've mentioned it before. It's just such a good sight, with good information and good pictures. I didn't bring my own camera out on this particular day, so you'll have to check out stumptown's pics. Dan had a maple and jam waffle. I had a maple soysage waffle, the perfect blend of sweet and savory. These wonderful creations come from a food cart. Portland's food cart phenomenon is amazing. More cities need to get on this. The overhead is low, so they keep their prices down. Portland has several all vegetarian and even an all vegan food cart (that one is only open in the summer, so we haven't been yet). These are things I would normally associate with all beef hot dogs, but not here. Everybody gets into starting their own businesses, even the poor young veg heads. We also frequent the India Chaat House's vegetarian indian food cart, with some of the best indian food ever!
After waffles, we headed to Rooster Rock State Park , to let Bruce have some running around. The off leash area here is huge and there were tons of friendly dogs with their friendly people. We saw 3 garder snakes. Halen was real excited about that, more than he was about the deers. I guess we're always playing up how scary snakes are, so this was a little more exciting to a young boy, the scary factor! The wind along the Columbia River Gorge is outrageous! Hood River, a little way up the river, is the windsurfing capitol of the world! Kite boarding has also become really popular here. My brother has a kite board. I want him to bring it here when he visits, so we can go here to where the wind never stops. I want to bring Halen and some kites to this dog park.
You'd think the day would stop there, as we were all pretty pooped, but we had more to do. We came home, ate lunch, printed directions to the vegan family play date, and headed out again. We told Halen he had to sleep in the car. He did. He can be so accommodating at times. We met some more vegan families. Halen played well with the other children. It was an all around good day.
By the way, I have a terrible case of tendonitis in my right wrist. Just mentioning it because it's killing me as I type and I need a little sympathy. It's from lifting my beefy children. I had it for months after Halen was born. Now it's come again. I need a chiropractor.

Oh Deer!

2008-03-10T15:22:00.000-07:00

Saturday, we went to Tualatin Hills Nature Park. It's a great trail for kids. It's super flat and easy, with lots of bridges, boardwalks, and a couple of creeks. We saw 3 deers right off the trail. Halen was real excited. I think I was more excited. They just stood there, munching on grass, completely unbothered by Halen yelling 'Hi Deers' over and over and over and over... and over again. I think he was waiting for a response. The animals talk on tv, why not in real life? I always wonder about a child's understanding of what's on tv. We were watching a Discovery Channel special on dinosaurs. With the special effects these days, it can look almost like real live video footage, especially to a two year old. I imagine that Halen believes there are dinosaurs, that he just hasn't seen any in real life yet. Is it going to be sad for him when he finds out they're long gone, like when my brother told me that Santa Claus wasn't real.

Mommy for Messy

2008-03-07T09:08:00.000-08:00

Someone is working real hard on rolling over. He's not quite there yet, but I think he'll do it soon. Halen was 3 months when he first rolled over. Liam will be 3 months old tomorrow! He's an old man!!!

On a completely other note, I've got a little mommy rant. I'll admit it, Halen watches some tv, some days more than others, some days not at all (I'm sure some mommies could rant about tv watching, so I'm not saying I'm perfect). It just sort of became habit during the rainy season and Liam's newborn stage. I try to watch with him some and interact with him, getting up and dancing when the silly characters tell the kids to get up and dance or jump or whatever. The rant is about the commercials for all the mess free art products. As a mommy and as an artist, I object. Where's the lesson in mess free art? As far as art goes, learning the colors and how to blend them won't ever happen with pre-rainbowed paper that shows up when your single water-filled pen goes over the paper. Learning to control their little hands and fine tune their motor skills won't happen as easily if they can scribble all over the paper and all around it too. It just seems like another way to get your kids distracted doing something that parents don't have to be involved in. I love drawing with Halen. It didn't take long for him to know where he could draw and to stay on the paper. Now, he can even fine tune his skills and draw things like triangles. Sure, every once in awhile I have to clean up a little mark here or there, but big deal. I'm involved in his art making and I like him to get a little dirty. My home may not be spotless (some could say it's even dirty), and tripping on toys is a major hazard in my home, but we're having fun.

Tryon Creek

2008-03-04T17:04:00.000-08:00

Daddy had to work today, so the rest of us went hiking. Daddy sells the hiking equipment, we get to use it. Poor daddy. We went to Tryon Creek . It's real close and a really great hiking spot for kids. The trails are mostly root and rock free, with a few small hills. Halen was running for most of the hike. It was great for me because I actually got to elevate my heart rate a bit. Just a little, but it happened. I've been craving a good hard workout lately. I can't remember the last time I had sweat roll down my face. I have always loved the feel of a good muscle burn. Being pregnant and then nursing and staying up much of the night, you lose the opportunity to do such things. I really want to go biking, but we have nowhere to put Liam. We may get a double trailer from Dan's work. We can't afford much of anything these days and chez Riverbend just raised the rent on our itty bitty out of the way plot of land. More than ever, we want to buy a house. They're also tacking on some other utilities that used to be provided for. At this point, we could pay close to the same thing on a mortgage payment that we're paying on rent here. Ugghhh. Qualifying for a loan at this point in our lives is highly unlikely. Maybe there's a house for rent somewhere. Anyway, back to Tryon Creek, Bruce had his first kill. We usually let Bruce run around off the leash because he stays close and the trails were pretty empty. He's also very slow, in comparison to other 4 legged creatures. He has always looked really ridiculous and kinda stupid when chasing birds or squirrels. You can tell he's a domesticated animal for sure. But today, he caught an unsuspecting squirrel and instantly snapped it's neck. Eek. He then proceeded to nose at it like he wanted to play with it. As soon as I called him and told him to leave it, he did. Poor squirrel. I felt awful. Luckily, Halen didn't see it. Bruce went back on the leash after that. I feel kinda terrible about it. I've come to terms with animals eating animals on animal planet, but they are actually eating them. Bruce just killed it out of instinct, but then left it there. I was glad that he did kill it right away. I wouldn't have been able to do a mercy killin', but also wouldn't have been able to watch it jump around in pain. I wish it just hadn't happened, but oh well, Bruce is proud of himself and that's that.

Boys!

2008-03-03T15:29:00.000-08:00

Halen and I were drawing today. Halen asked me to draw a doggy. I said I'd draw Bruce. So, I drew a cartoonish brown doggy, to the best of my ability. After I finished, Halen looked at it and said, "draw his penis." So, here it is, a drawing of Bruce and his penis.

Theamainglierstancy

2008-02-29T12:29:00.000-08:00

My Baby Wearing Boys!

Yesterday, the little boys and I headed out of the house to give Dan some uninterrupted homework time. Sometimes we're a bit distracting with all our giggles and running around. He just can't stay in his office and do the work. It was 64 degrees and sunny, so we went to the park first. After wearing ourselves out there, we headed back to the vegan mini mall. At Sweetpea, Halen had a wheat free carrot cupcake. I sampled it, strictly for the good of being able to rate it for the blog of course, and it was dee-licious, 5 stars. I had a sesame bagel with caramelized onion creme cheez. For Dan, we got a cinnamon roll to go. Liam, once again, says the mommy's milk version of these foods was simply unbelievable! He's got this idea that I should start marketing my milk to vegans as another vegan milk option. I'm not too keen on the idea, but little Liam is an entrepreneur. Hey, maybe it'll take off and get us out of this trailer park! This time, we got to peruse the other vegan establishments as well. Halen bought a cute 'cow hugger' t-shirt from Herbivore. Food Fight Grocery's new building is much bigger and better. We only went to the old building once, but it was so small and cramped that you kind of felt like you were intruding upon the personal space of whoever was working there. This one didn't have the feel at all. It also had a small fresh produce section, which was lacking at the last one. I got a crisp yummy fuji apple and some frozen samosas. I can never get enough samosas. Dan said that he read that Food Fight recently recalled the seventh generation paper towels they sold because they found out they had whey in it. Huh? Whey in paper towels? I'm confused. I don't use paper towels anyway, dish rags work better and are re-usable. That's completely off the subject, but I've never been good at staying on the subject. Mommy brains work differently, more slowly, and less articulate than other brains. So sorry. Sometimes when big people use big words, I just hear goo goo ga ga. Anyway, we didn't go to the tattoo parlor. We can't afford tattoos right now and Liam and Halen just aren't old enough. Time permitting, I hope to get my Liam tattoo while in Atlanta.
Halen and Liam both slept on the way home. After everyone woke up from naps, we got ready to go back out, this time with daddy. We met up with an old friend of mine who also lives in the glorious city of Portland. Megan and I were BFF way way back in the days of Mississippi livin', kicking ass together on the cross country and track teams. I can't remember which one of us was a better runner, but it was probably me. Go Greyhounds! Anyway, we had been emailing, but hadn't made meet up plans till yesterday. We met up at a burrito spot in her hood, Laughing Planet. The food was delicious and ultra vegan friendly. I had the vegan supreme (vegan sour cream and avocado) spinach and black bean burrito, with tofu. Dan had some fancy bbq burrito with sweet potato in that joint! The atmosphere was kid friendly. Halen really liked playing with the provided dinosaurs. This is a really great thing about many Portland eateries. There are often toys and books to borrow while you're there, in case you forget to bring your own kid distractions. Halen and Megan really hit it off. Liam wasn't as sure. As she held him, he just stared at me with wide eyes and a pouty mouth. He's another momma's boy for sure.
It was good to catch up with Megan, talking about old times, how our families fared in Katrina, and how much we all love Portland. She's been here a few years and is involved with some of the politics and such. I like hearing more of why PDX is so awesome, like that 80% of the businesses have 8 employees or less. Small businesses really thrive here and the powers that be help keep it that way. Apparently, the bike coalition here is an extremely powerful force as well. She's working for the campaign of Sam Adams for mayor. I like how he's riding his bike everywhere in the video, in a suit and tie. What a bad ass.
Dan went snowboarding today. We hung out at home. I wasn't sure how I'd manage getting Halen and sled up hills while wearing Liam. Dan loved it. After he got back, I got all my stuff together to go for a bike ride while the kids napped, and then it started raining. Now I'm in here typing this blog instead. Everyone else is asleep. Sorry there's no pictures representing the story of today's blog, but I've been slacking with the camera lately.
Oh yeah, Theamainglierstancy was the name of the alligator infested marshland clubhouse wood slab on stilts of me, Megan, and another CC runner friend Natalie. It's all our names rolled into one word, pretty clever huh?

Vegan Brunch

2008-02-25T08:42:00.000-08:00

We had sunday morning vegan brunch buffet at Portland's vegan mini mall (the building behind Halen, it needs a serious vegan mural for better signage). It was awesome. $10 for all the OJ, coffee, tofu scramble, tators, kale, biscuits, gravy, tvp, and pancakes we could stuff in our mouths. The vegan mini mall consists of Sweet Pea Vegan Bakery ,Food Fight Vegan Grocery, and Herbivore magazine's new all vegan goodies store! Oh wait, I forgot Scape Goat Tattoo , where all the artists and all the inks are 100% vegan! Holy crap, we win. Portland not only has affordable living, but it's affordable for a bunch of vegan kids to start businesses and make this an amazingly awesome vegan friendly city. I am so happy to be raising my kids here, where veganism is so very normal. There were tons of people there, including other babies and toddlers. Halen had on his little 'go vegan' button. He was showing everyone, not because he even knew what it meant, but because it was this new little thing he got on his jacket and was excited about. Everyone thought it was awesome though, so he was excited that everyone else was as excited as he was and pointed it out to people. We will definitely be going back for Sunday brunch buffets. Dan had to work, so we had to hurry and leave after we ate. Next time, we'll visit the other stores and report. Dan and I both want to get tattoos. It's not necessarily in the budget right now though. Oh well.