The Circus is in town. Again.

Not to be outdone by his sister, the amazing SAM DODY performs his circus act. His death- defying trapeze act of swinging back and forth was incredible. He could log roll under a little girl. His donkey kicks were amazingly donkey-like. Then he stood with his hands down his pants and his tongue stuck out while parents hooted and hollered like fools. AHHH. Motherhood.

Blowing the budget at Ken's Artisan Pizza

We realized that we blew the budget in many areas the very first month....Maybe we went to the extreme with the planning. I am well known to go overboard. Can Kim cook every night? I think not. Can she cook 6 days a week? That also seems to be pushing it. The budget was blown on housewares (thanks to a dead vacuum), pets (thanks to an dead hamster), and vacation (thanks to Mickey Mouse). So we decided to go ahead and eat the pizza tonight. Was it worth 60$? You bet. While waiting for the pizza, Sam wrote his name for the first time, Sharon had to finish my second beer which left her a little giddy on the way home, and we all got our tummies full of yummy food. Carson even found a new food.....If rhubarb crisp qualifies as food.

Maybe she will join the CIRCUS!

Carson had her Do Jump "show" yesterday. Do Jump class is an acrobat class for kids. They do trapeze and gymnastics. The camera couldn't quite catch the action shots, but here she is on the trapeze. The little boy hung under her with his hands and they hooked feet. The mom sitting beside me started crying when her daughter was on the trapeze and said, "I didn't expect it to be so beautiful". I thought that was a little much, but it was a really cute show. Sam's is later today.

The Eruption!

sick day

Is it really possible for a child to be so ill that her Pediatric ICU mother gets nervous enough to take her to urgent care only to find her perfectly fine the next day?  We spent the morning yesterday at the urgent care clinic where Carson had her 3rd day of fever and lethargy.   Her influenza A test came back positive which tells us her mother is bad for not getting her a flu shot.  Her chest x-ray was fine even though she sounded like she had pneumonia.  She took a four hour nap yesterday and we prepared ourselves for a few days of movies and popsicles.   She woke up her usual chipper and funny girl this morning.  I kept her home to make sure, but she hasn't complained all day.  So, I had to fill the day with activities.  She and Sam are working on a Plaster volcano.  We are waiting for Mama Share to come home to do the lava.  Pictures to follow.  In the meantime, here is Lulu lounging around Carson.  Seems that she knows Carson is sick and follows her around.  Very sweet.   Also a picture of my new vacuum.  Funny that we sold the scooter only to have our old vacuum break for the final time that very same week.  I can't BELIEVE vacuums cost so much!!!  You can't even ride around on it!

It's a Sunshine Day

OMSI

Sam and I spent the morning playing at OMSI in the science playground. They have a giant indoor sandbox with buckets and shovels, sifters and spinners and LOTS of kids. The playground also has a big water exhibit that you put rubber boots and smocks on to play in. Sam found some blocks and wood to weigh on the scale, he built a road and made tall towers.
Carson has been doing the "raindrop knitting club" on Thursdays at a neighborhood fiber arts store. They had a display in their front window for a while of an underwater scene. Carson knitted and eel for the store display. The display then made it's way over to OMSI in one of their display cases so here are some pictures of it. I thought it was cool. All the sea creatures were made with wool felt or wool yarn by customers and friends of the owner of Gossamer (Fiber store). I think it is wonderful that she put together all the items from the most novice finger knitted eel (Carson) to a felted wool octopus by an artist.

Homemade goodness

Sharon made homemade soup and bread for dinner and Sam and I worked on some Apple Spice cake. I took some of Sharon's old sweaters and made some fingerless gloves for all of us. Check them out.

Two beauties...errrrrr make it three.

Today Carson, Gma, Gpa, and I went downtown and met Share for lunch at some funky hotdog place and then she went back to work. The rest of us went to the Portland Art Museum to check out the French painting exhibit which was quite intriquing to the 7 year old. Nearly everyone was naked (in the paintings) and there were many Cupids involved. We had a lovely time and even splurged on a Starbucks!! We thought it was time to go when Gpa started knocking on the exhibits to see what they were made of and Carson started telling on him. Carson and I picked up Sam and they wanted to head out to Mt. Tabor to play. I felt so lucky to have my camera handy for these shots of Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens. Breathtaking! I love to hear Portlanders tell their stories of where they were when Mt. St. Helens erupted. If you lived here then, you have a story.

Budget Update

I haven't caved on Starbucks, but did go to IKEA. Sam had the choice to do "anything he wanted" yesterday. I gave him many options....OMSI, Zoo, playground, walk. He said, "I want to go to IKEA". Well, how can I pass that up? I have been waiting for their shipment of oversold fabric. Of course, it came in yesterday morning! I limited myself to 50$ of fabric (about 6 yards). I also bought a reading light to go in the computer room and some frames to put up the kids drawings and my Kenneth Cole ad of Jay Bakker (Jim and Tammy Faye's son). SEE ABOVE.

I am excited because I have 60$ credit at the book store, 10$ goodwill card, 25$ REI credit, 20$ Amazon credit, and three restaurant certificates. I am saving all for when I MUST go shopping. I also sold a pair of my awesome Velvet Curtains from Restoration Hardware on Ebay since they were sitting in my basement.

The countdown is on!

It's the countdown to Disneyland chain. The yellow link at the end is Disney and the yellow links in the middle are Grandma and Pappaw's house. The kids are so excited to see Pappaw Rick this trip. They haven't seen him for a year! But, they remember that he plays with them (silly stink bug games and fun stuff). Carson has a little calendar of her own and she crosses off the days as they are over. This is right beside it. Sam counted the loops (with help if they went past 9) and Carson did all the stapling.

Lesson for the day....Monkey Puzzler

I have been fascinated with these trees since moving to the PNW and finally got around to finding out about them. Their long tail-like branches look like giant green pine cones to me. But they aren't a pine tree. They are a conifer called Monkey Puzzle Trees. In France they are called Monkey's Despair but they didn't evolve to keep monkeys from climbing them. They evolved their prickly long branches to keep away grazing dinosaurs. (Don't forget, I believe in evolution). So what are these Chilean trees doing in Portland? They were given out as seedlings in 1905 at the Lewis and Clark expo by the Chili Exhibit. So the ones that are here are about 100 year old giants by now. They were given out in Seattle in 1962 at the Seattle World's Fair so they are about 50 years "smaller" there. The tree is either male or female. Above is a picture of a female tree and it has a large globular cone. The male cones look like cucumbers.....go figure.....

These pictures are of a tree next door to Carson's new piano teacher. Another story altogether...

sam's sleeve tattoo

Like I said.....he gets a tattoo when he takes his dose of Amoxicillin. Look at his fevery eyes and rosy cheeks.

The Sick House

Carson, Sam, and I all have Strep Throat. Yuck. Sam and I are staying in today and "resting". Actually, I am plopping him down in front of the TV and using it as a babysitter. I am sure his eyes will be permanently crossed by the end of the morning. Luckily, Carson started her antibiotic on Monday and she can go to school. She is feeling much better than she was. Yesterday I cleaned the whole house with clorox and clorox wipes. EVERYTHING got wiped down. Sam hates the bubblegum flavored meds and really puts up a fight. He now gets a temporary tattoo for every dose. 17 more doses to go. We are working on a tattoo sleeve for him so he can be just like mommy. He wanted to know if there were any temporary tattoos of a big snail.
Sharon is feeling healthy and fine.....figures. Last night I actually told her that I hope she gets sick. Does that make me mean?

I will not be a food snob anymore

My recent realization that we spent enough money on food last year to feed a small village has changed my ways. I will not be a grocery store food snob anymore. I have found WinCo (which I was calling Wilco until Sharon told me that was a band). It is an employee-owned discount food store. Ok, I thought it would be a mix between Big Lots and Warehouse Groceries (a store in my hometown that just cracked open the cases and you priced your own food with a China Marker). And, well, it was. No frills. No feelgood displays. But, the prices were cheap and they had all the stuff I like. I really haven't ever been to a store that sold "Orange Drink Powder" (i.e. generic Tang) in bulk. Until today. There was even a sign that said "no sampling". Really, you have to tell people that? Also there was a huge selection of coco butter lotion in 6 gallon containers for like 0.99$ Whoa? So, I packed my buggy full of my regular food. Newman's sauce, organic veggies, juice boxes, and even Shredded Wheat for cheap. My final bill was 112.00$. I drew the line at buying wine there. I just couldn't bring home wine in a box.

P.S. The place was hopping with people. I imagine they are doing great these days.

Ode to Biddy

I drove by this restaurant today and had to snap a photo. In my mind the menu looks something like this......

Appetizers:
Longhorn Colby Cheese with Ice Cold Tab Cola

Breakfast:
Pap's Silver Dollar Pancakes (they always taste better at Spruce Knob)

Dinner Entrees:
Plain Baked Chicken
or
Delicious Pot Roast slow cooked all day with tender browned potatoes and carrots

Side Dishes:
Dry Lima Beans
or
Dry Lima Beans

Desserts:
Jiffy Yellow Cake with 3 inch high caramel icing. A little different each time. No recipe needed.
or
Creamy Peanut Butter Fudge
or
Little dabs of SeaFoam Candy

The look of Guilt

How am I supposed to be a budget gourmet?  I was doing so good.  I planned for dinner and even started to marinate the yummy spicy cumin tofu.  Then, out of nowhere, there was a cry of emergency (Sam couldn't find the right color marker).  Seriously, he said it was an emergency and I thought that the cat had eaten the hamster or something.   I left the kitchen for 1 minute and came back to a half eaten cake of local organic tofu on the floor and a very guilty looking dog.   What kind of dog eats tofu?  Well, it's back to the drawing board for dinner.  Any suggestions?

Here Ye, Here Ye ~ I have given up shopping.

I have given up Starbucks.
I have nearly given up Whole Foods.
I have given up fabric stores.
I have given up thrifting (which I could have withdrawl symptoms from).
I have given up Gap Kids. GASP!
I have given up Powell's Bookstore. (For now). I will only spend the money they give me for selling back the books I already paid them for.
I have given up shoe shopping.
I have given up 70$ dinners out with the fam (until summer).
NO MORE TOY SHOPPING!

We are members of the "Sunnyside Swap Shop" where my kids can swap movies, books, toys.
I am planning a book swap at Carson's school.
My friend is hosting a clothing swap.
I joined the PDXSwap where women exchange clothes with each other (their own size).

Thank god I hit the Macy's last weekend for a to die for leather bag from Lucky. And, thank god I found an awesome Tokidoki bag stashed in my closet I forgot I bought.

I need a money tree seedling! Got one?

Now Sharon and I have never been ones to actually budget our money. We just get paid, then pay bills, and then spend what is left on our house or stuff we don't need or ......food? We had a bit of a scare from a friend/accountant who was working on our taxes. We have lots of options seeing that we can't actually get married, so we like to take full advantage of the disadvantage we have. Mary called to tell us we actually owed money which scared the bejesus out of me since I planned the impromptu Disney trip and was actually banking on the tax return. Then, she called to tell us she made a big mistake and yes, we can still go to Disney. We do not, in fact, owe any money. Whoops, that's embarrassing. Sharon, the PROJECT MANAGER, can't seem to pull it together to work on a budget so I decided that this year we should at least be aware of where our money goes.

Ok- the first step is to acknowledge you have a problem....So......
last year we spent:

800$ at Starbucks* (That is ridiculous considering we make 2 pots of coffee every morning)
7,000$ eating out.
12,000$ on groceries- the majority at Whole Foods which we seem to go to every other day for 1-2 items and end up spending 75$.

No wonder I can't lose that 10 pounds! The most disturbing part is that our children don't eat. They pick at things and eat mostly macaroni & cheese and PB&J. And we aren't chefs. We don't cook fancy schmancy meals. We don't even buy meat. Certainly you can't spend that much on vegetables and tofu, right?

LOOK OUT! The budget gourmet MOM team has just arrived!

*Note that there is a Starbucks in the lobby of my hospital and I work 12 hour shifts.

Hillbilly Holler

Thanks for the Holler! I finally got my subscription to the Hillbilly Holler that my brother, Steve, got for us for Christmas.  Yes, it's funny.  No, it's not for kids.  The February issue deals with Love.  Funny jokes and reader wisdom.  There is a whole lot of wisdom in it, too.

Everyone deserves a donut.

This morning we went to OMSI so the kids could play a little and realized that all of Portland was also there.  The parking lots were all full and so were the overflow lots.  Sharon and I couldn't stomach the crowd.   We changed our minds while driving around the parking lot and looking at the herds of families.  Tell that to a 3 year old.   Since everyone in our family agrees the only thing better than playing at OMSI is donuts, we headed back to or neighborhood Stacato Gelato (which has the best donuts in the whole world).  Carson got Evil Cupid, Sam got a Strawberry crueler (? sp), and i had the chocolate glazed fresh ginger.  Yum.  Now, I have been off the sugar for a while so I got a double super buzz from the donut and the double shot of espresso Americano.  (**Note that skinny Sharon did not have a donut......her loss (of weight, that is).  After the treats, we hit the Central Public Library to hear the  Portland Taiko Drummers perform.   

These donuts are cake donuts with all fresh and delish ingredients.   My mom used to make donuts when I was little and these remind me of them.  

I have a dream.......

Carson's class filled out "I have a dream" statements. Actual quotes from 1st graders........ Sharon and I were LOL'ing before the Valentine's Day Party. We are so politically incorrect.

I have a dream that pepole will have pece between ones thay hate.

I have a dream that prwlers will stop steeling.

I have a dream that people pik up grbag.

I have a dream that people will be onhist and not liey. (Carson)

I have a dream that there is civil war. (Did you forget a word?) This is my favorite....

Carson's Valentines. I secretly wish one was for me.

I can't believe she put this much time into them.  She cut out these funny kid fairy pictures I had and cut up an old book to make her Valentines.  She made all 24 classmates cards.  So cute.

Who is most excited?

ME!  I AM!

After a very impulsive and irresponsible decision on my part,  (bad economy, scary financial times, etc.....) we are taking the kids to Disneyland.  I am so excited.  Yes, Carson is excited too, but she has no idea what kind of "magical experience marketing" the Disney Corporation can impose on a family.  Seriously, after talking to the nice but not so nice man at Alaska Airlines and hitting a brick wall trying to transfer unused airline tickets, I thought maybe I had made a bad impulse decision/purchase.  BUT THEN....I called the Disney people to ask about some different "packages" and realized why Disney is so rich.  I immediately felt like the lady on the other end was my new BFF.  She talked me through all the different  selections and even recommended the Ariel underwater-themed character breakfast.  Ha Ha!  I laughed, she laughed....you get the picture.  Then she let me reserve my "experience" without a credit card for 5 days to really get excited.    Before hanging up she wished me and my family a "truly magical time" at Disney.   Well, I am easy....I feel like a little kid and can't wait to go.  

The view from The Park Vista (Sharon's mom's balcony)

"Remember this view the next time it rains for 40 days straight".......Norma Dody

I guess it is easy to say if this is the view from your balcony.