Long Weekend in Portland

Katie, Bonnie and I drove down to Portland Thursday afternoon. It was a good decision to leave so early. We didn't hit any traffic congestion at all, making it an enjoyable drive.

On Friday, Regina went to work but met us at noon and again at 3pm to tour preschools for Katie. We unanimously agreed about which school we liked better. The clear winner was Touchstone Preschool. Fortunately, it's only about 2-3 miles from the apartment we'll all be living in beginning Oct 1. It's such a relief to have found a suitable preschool for her. She really enjoys going to school, so I don't want to deprive her of that when we move. We're lucky they have an opening for her at Touchstone.

On Saturday, we adults took it easy. However, Katie was full of energy, as usual. So we took her across the street to a brand new playground where she played for a couple of hours and as usual, made new friends along the way. I love how social she is. Then we decided to check out the local COSTCO and can you believe it, we walked out of there with only two items! Amazing.

Today we had a lazy morning. After lunch, we decided to do some shopping at a nearby outlet mall. I was mostly looking for fall clothes for Katie since she's outgrown most everything she wore last year. I love shopping for her though! And today it was especially fun with all the sales.

Tomorrow we'll return to Seattle. I imagine we'll begin driving right after lunch.

Foot Massage

Okay, remember a few days ago I wrote about the plantar fasciitis I am dealing with in my right foot? One of the treatments my doc recommended was to massage the bottom of my foot with a golf ball. Well, yesterday I discovered this wonderful product at REI that provides the same sort of massage, but it's so much better. So, if you're suffering from plantar fasciitis or just tired, worn out feet, check this out for 5 bucks at REI.

Ready for Halloween!

Katie has decided to dress up as Tinkerbell for Halloween this year.
Here she is, trying on her new costume.

Bet you didn't know Tink plays soccer, did you?

One small step, One big pain

One of my souvenirs I brought home with me from the cruise last month was a nasty case of plantar fasciitis. Talk about painful! I ran down the long hall to our cabin, barefooted, and my right foot has been in pain ever since. It's happened to me before, but in the other foot, and it healed within 3 days on its own. This time I've not been so lucky. Last week I finally saw my doctor about it and I've been following his treatment recommendations. Massage with a golf ball followed by ice and also ultrasound treatments. Since starting those things, it's definitely getting better, but it's not yet gone. He also recommended investing in a good pair of shoes designed for plantar fasciitis. Well, that cost a small fortune, but it sure makes walking around all day much more comfortable. I've never spent so much on a pair of shoes, I have to admit and it wasn't easy for me. Regina is much better than I am at spending money, but I think she would say I'm beginning to get the hang of it. She manages our finances and balances the checkbook. From Portland she can follow my trail of debits which is beginning to show that I'm doing a fine job developing my ability to spend! That doesn't mean I don't feel guilt about it, though!

New Schools For Katie

Since Suzie and Katie will be moving down to Portland at the end of September, we started to look at school options. We really like the program she is in up in Seattle (Bright Horizons) but the school here is associated with Nike and IBM. The employees of those companies get the first spots and then it is open to "transfers" (which we are). Unfortunately, they have no openings until June. It was located out of the way for both work and the new apartment so I guess it is better for all to find something new.

I started to look for programs closer to where we will be moving to in Lake Oswego, OR. The move to this apartment will be my third move but I am enjoying getting to learn the different suburbs. I narrowed it down to two - a KinderCare facility and The Touchstone School. Both have a pre-k program and Kindergarten. KinderCare wanted to test Katie to see if she was ready for Kindergarten. We tour both this Friday. It will be fun to see how Katie does "picking out her new school." I worry she will want to stay and play with her new class! Both offered to have Katie try out the school for a day, too.

The nice thing is that both of these schools are close to the new apartment (1.5 and 2.5 miles away) and on the way to the office which is about 7 and 8 miles away from the school. If we like these schools as a pre-k option, both have kindergarten, too.

More after we tour!

Dinner at our House

Katie and Jack


Avery hanging out in the baby pool.

Mel, Courtney, Jack and Avery came over tonight and had dinner with us. The babies are approaching 6 months old and are so much fun to be around. Katie has adopted them as her little brother and sister, she told tonight. Makes me sad that our attempts to give her a sibling last year didn't work out. I think she'd be a wonderful big sister!

Uncle Jay

Last Thursday, I received a call from my Mom and sister that our Uncle Jay (her sister's husband) had passed away. He lived a great life and was 90 - but the loss certainly brought back memories of the times spent with my extended family.

Unlike many of my friends, I didn't grow up with a big extended family. My Grandparents either died before I was born or before I was 10. Since they came from Lithuania while they were teenagers, never to return, we didn't have the typical extended family. When friends talked about visiting Grandparents, we talked about visiting my Dad's two sisters - Aunt Vic and Aunt Mary (they never married and lived in the same house they were born in) and my Mom's sister - Auntie Anna (who also never married and took care of my Grandmother until her death). While the rest of the family lived near the "aunts" (PA, NY and MD), my Dad's siblings never married or never had children, and on my Mom's side, they did marry and have kids, but Mom was so much younger than her siblings that my cousins were getting married when I was still in elementary school! All but one... Uncle Jay and Aunt Vern.

I loved visiting them (we didn't do it very often as they lived on Long Island New York) - they had two kids (same ages as Sue and me) so we had a great time. They were always full of fun and seemed to live (by my standards and view) a glamorous life... the big city and all! I am not sure if it was because they "looked more like us" or that they were so engaged with us kids when we visited, but I will always have fond memories of them. It still brings smiles to my face when I think about our visits.

Like all looks-back, you remember the good times and wish you had spent more time together. I thought of them when we went to NYC just before our vacation in July but thought that there just wasn't enough time to go out to see them. I should have. I always have and always will think of them when I visit NYC. Perhaps the most vivid memory I have of Uncle Jay was his zest for life. He always had the next great idea - remember the t-shirts? - and big heart.

You will be missed, Uncle Jay - and I am not sure you ever knew how much you meant to me - by all who knew you.

Happy Birthday Melanie!

Hope you're having a GREAT day!

Thank Goodness The Heat Is Gone!

Without air conditioning, it is VERY difficult to get through the days and nights. It was in the 100s last week in Portland and I had hoped to escape the heat by going to Seattle for the weekend... but no luck.

Katie had a birthday party on Saturday at a nearby farm (with rides). It was fun watching her (with her classmates) run around like crazy to do all the rides. The parents ran behind them and watched them do all the rides by themselves. All of a sudden, my little girl seemed to disappear. She, of course, loved the tea cups, Ferris wheel and roller coaster. Her "best friends" were Andrew and Alex. It was very cute to see the three of them in the first car on the roller coaster. After the second time, they were all raising their hands! Afterwards, Katie and I went to McDonald's to get a "fish sandwich" for Katie and a burger for me. We then decided to go home and run through the sprinklers in the yard... after a "quick" hour in the McDonald's play area.

Luckily, the week is fully of 60 degree weather and rain. I am finally sleeping though the night and loving it!

It was a HOT weekend in Seattle

Katie cooling off this afternoon.

Here's a 1-minute video...

Katie's Self Portrait

Katie drew this picture of herself

for Gina to hang up

on her "wall of Katie's art"

in her Portland apartment.

Cool Art!

It is so fun to see kid's art work. Thanks Suzie for putting Katie's work up on the blog. I hope she keeps drawing... funny how kids love to draw and then as they get older they stop. Wonder if it is because we get too critical of our work instead of enjoying the experience?

USS New York

I just got this in an email and was able to confirm it as a true story, so thought I'd share it here.

This is the USS New York. It was built with 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center. It is the fifth in a new class of warship - designed for missions that include special operations against terrorists. It will carry a crew of 360 sailors and 700 combat-ready Marines to be delivered ashore by helicopters and assault craft.

Steel from the World Trade Center was melted down in a foundry in Amite, LA to cast the ship's bow section. When it was poured into the molds on Sept 9, 2003, "those big rough steelworkers treated it with total reverence," recalled Navy Capt. Kevin Wensing, who was there. "It was a spiritual moment for everybody there."

Junior Chavers, foundry operations manager, said that when the trade center steel first arrived, he touched it with his hand and the "hair on my neck stood up."

"It had a big meaning to it for all of us," he said. "They knocked us down. They can't keep us down. We're going to be back."

The ship's motto? "Never Forget"

Finally ~ Generic Zyrtec!

For those of you who suffer from allergies and take Zyrtec to manage it, like I do, you'll be happy to know (if you didn't already) that there is a generic zyrtec now available at Costco! And the price is phenomenal! You can get a bottle of 300 tablets for only $15.99. Maybe it's been there for a while, I don't know, but this is the first I'd heard of it. I have to say, I'm excited about it! (Now I don't have to order from Canada anymore!)

What A Race!

Did you see it? The men's 4x100 freestyle relay was amazing last night. I was screaming at the TV... windows open and all at 11:30 last night. Wish I could have been there it looked amazing... in my dreams I would have been on the Olympic basketball team or the swim team.

I know that all the good stuff will be between 11:00pm and midnight. I am just planning on staying up late and going into work late. I am hoping for a new single Olympic record with Michael Phelps... two down and six to go! Also looking for us old ladies to win more, too. Can you believe there is a 41 year old woman swimming? She's already got one - a silver!

I will keep dreaming and watching!

Drum Showcase

My brother and nephew demonstrate their drumming skills. Check it out!

"I Got Stuck"

Saturday was my company picnic. It was at a corporate event site where we were in the mountains - a lake for fishing and paddle boating, lots of food, give-aways and a tire swing. I took Katie so Suzie and her sister, Bonnie, could relax and go to a movie.

It was a great day for a picnic as it had cooled off from the week long high temperatures. We quickly looked around and decided to get out on the lake. Katie and I maneuvered the boat and paddled all over the place, but it was too restrictive for her as she couldn't jump in the lake or move around. Once we got back onshore, she noticed the "balloon man" who made her a princess crown and magic wand (which I ended up holding most of the picnic). And then... she saw the tire swing. She never left it!

Several of the big kids loved swinging her around and around. She took a VERY quick break to eat an orange creamcicle but then never left the swing. It worked out great for me as she was in between the food and the sitting area. We had been there about three hours -- and I was just getting ready to REALLY eat -- when Katie saw that the other big kids were eating their ice cream on the tire swing. Since she didn't have one, she asked me if she could have another orange one. I said yes and had just handed it to her when I heard in a voice that you know something is wrong... "I got stuck!"

My first thought was she had her foot stuck in the tire as she was busy working on her ice cream. I quickly moved towards the swing but saw that her feet weren't caught nor her hands. I started to slow down when she jumped off. But, as she began to turn towards me I saw the blood. My heart sank...

The ice cream had been on dry ice and they were so cold that it stuck to her tongue. Since she had never experienced this before she did not know what to do. She didn't know that pulling it away would cause injury. There was blood everywhere and across her tongue was a quarter inch strip pulled away. My first thought was "how can I hold her while I drive to the emergency room? I can't believe she has to sit in the back in her car seat by herself." Ugh.

People around me grabbed water and the scarves that had been on the tables (cowboy theme) and we kept putting light pressure on her tongue with the wet scarves. I asked her to be calm so we could get it to stop (she never did scream, just yelled "I got stuck" and began to cry/look worried when she saw the blood). She stood quietly (a big tear ran down her check) and never made a sound. After about what seemed a lifetime, the bleeding became controlled. We grabbed our stuff, a fresh cloth and walked to our car. She just walked beside me with the cloth in her mouth and as I watched her all I could see was saddest eyes looking up from a cowboy themed scarf in her month. The only thing she said was... "we need to tell Mama."

We drove home (about 20 minutes) and got back to the apartment easily. While it was the first time she could see it, her tongue had stopped bleeding and her view of it in the mirror wasn't as bad as it could have been. I decided there wasn't much we could do and that a trip to the emergency room did not make sense. We snuggled together (with her blanket) and watched an hour to the "good night show" - one of her favorite shows to watch in the evenings (it is on early here and plays again until later into the evening). After about an hour, she began to get active and be much more like the old Katie. She kept waiting for Mama and looking at her tongue, and slowly she got back to normal. By the time Mama got home, Katie was her old self... with a scraped tongue.

Suzie and I both told her that it would begin healing during the night while she slept. When she woke up in the morning, she went straight for the bathroom (it is usually coming over to me to wake me up) and turned on the light. I popped up from bed - wondering why she had done that - and as she turned off the light and saw me she said "it is all healed - my tongue is better!" It was that smile that made me feel better.

The day ended with a trip to the Disney store. I am happy to report that the weekend ended without any additional injuries!

The Olympics!

I am so excited to watch the opening ceremonies tonight and get the Olympics underway. I love the whole idea behind the greatest sporting event in the world - countries putting aside all conflict and political views to see the best athletes compete. While it doesn't always work out that way, I choose to keep the spirit alive and cheer on the best athletes!

I will be glued to the swimming events. I am not sure what is more exciting -- a 41 year old woman competing in her 5th Olympic games or a young man going for the most gold medals in Olympic history and/or a single Olympics!?! Tune in and enjoy!

Tinted Brow Gel

Tinted Brow Gel

by Anastasia

I love this product! It adds color to your eye brows and shapes them as well. It also allows you to give definition to sparse areas of your eyebrows.

I've never liked eye brow pencils. In fact, before I knew this product existed, I would use mascara on my eyebrows.

Katie was DRY this morning!

I'm proud of you, my big girl!

Here are her new shoes she got just a couple of days ago.
(She wanted me to post this on the blog so you can see them, Gina.)

What? The Doctors Are Changing Their Minds?

I learned today that osteoporosis continues to increase even though we are fortifying food with calcium and adding calcium supplements to our diet. The research is now showing that it isn't calcium that is needed to stop, reduce or eliminate this disease. Osteoporosis may be caused by a Vitamin D deficiency. And, Vitamin D (or the lack of it) may be a leading cause for all types of cancer, muscle pain, joint pain, fatigue, and other diseases.

Why do I know this? I just found out that the "ideal ranges" for Vitamin D are between 40 and 70 depending upon the time of year and/or where you live. The levels fluctuate based upon sun exposure. Since we get the vast majority of our Vitamin D from the sun, people in sunny places like Phoenix have higher numbers than those who live in Seattle, for example. People also have higher numbers during the summer than they do during the winter. What is my number? 24. Ugh.

So, I will be adding Vitamin D3 to my list of supplements and I need to get sun. The best way to get Vitamin D is the sun. The key is to... hang on as this is going to be exactly the opposite of what we are being told to do... go outside during peak sun (typically between 1:00 and 3:00) for 20 - 30 minutes withOUT sunscreen. The goal is to get "pink" but not burn. The more skin that is exposed the better.

Grab your bikinis and sunglasses, but leave the sunscreen at home! See you outside!

Okay, this isn't working!

It's weird. During our vacation, Katie woke up with dry pants 90% of the time. On the cruise, she woke up dry every single morning! During that time, she was wearing pull-ups, though. Just in case. We celebrated the dry mornings and Katie got excited that she was staying dry all night, just like the big girls do.

So now that we're home, Katie convinced me to let her wear underwear at night. I thought it was a no-brainer, since she's been dry a majority of the nights during the last 3 weeks. But, my goodness! Talk about a setback!. Every night that she has worn undies, she's woken up wet! What gives?! So, each morning, I wash her bedding - again and rethink our strategy for the next night.

So far, I'm limiting her liquid intake in the evening and I make sure she empties her bladder right before bed. Clearly though, that isn't enough! So last night, I did one extra thing - I got her up out of bed and had her go potty at about midnight when I was getting into bed. I had to laugh. She was completely disoriented when I picked her up. She kept her eyes closed, I sat her on the potty and she swayed back and forth. I had to hold her up so she wouldn't topple over. I whispered to her that it was time to go pee-pee and sure enough, she went. I was certain this was going to work... But no. She still woke up damp! Argh!

Okay well, I'm just going to try the same things tonight. Her last drink was at about 6:15pm and I've warned her that she gets nothing else to drink tonight. I'll get her up again to pee when I go to bed.

I think it'll work tonight. Let's see if I'm right. More to follow...

Katie's 2nd Dance Recital ~ June 2008

I don't know why it has taken me so long to post this,

but finally,

here is a 3-minute video of Katie's dance recital from June 27, 2008.

What's on Katie's Mind These Days?

Here's a conversation Katie and I had this morning before I took her to school:

"Momma, what is that? What are you putting
on?"

"It's my bra."

"Why are you putting on a bwa?"

"It holds my boobies up so they don't fall
down."

"But, why don't you want dem to fall
down?"

"Well, it's more comfortable if I have a bra on
to hold them up. And, I think it looks better."

"I want one!"

"Oh, your boobies are still small enough that
you don't need one yet."

"But we can wook for a small bwa to fit my
wittle boobies. Pweese, Momma! Can we?"

"Ok, sure. Next time we're at the store, we'll take a
look..."

I'm curious to see if she ever brings that up again.

Last night she interrupted whatever we were talking about and said, "Momma, I don't want you to die. I don't want anyone in my family to die."

She's also asked me several times in the last few weeks if I would help her to live forever. I said, "Well, I can help you to live longer. Here's what we need to do. Eat good food and only a little junk food now and then. Exercise. Go to bed when you're supposed to so you get enough sleep." Of course, I could have gone on with more things to do, but I figured those three things were enough for her 4-year-old brain to ponder. Then she said to me, "You need to do those things too so you don't die and you can help me live forever."

She's increasingly interested in being a big girl. Last night, she was really into it. When we got home from Portland around 8:30pm, she had a light dinner and afterward, she wanted to help me wash her dishes. So, I filled up the sink with soapy water, pulled up a chair for her to stand on and as I washed the dishes, she rinsed them and placed them in the rack to dry. It's fun to watch her try to figure out how to position each of the dishes in the rack. Then, we parted ways and next thing I knew, she had pulled out a new pair of Disney jammies from my suitcase, ripped off the tags, and had put them on. She also had on a fresh pair of underwear to wear to bed, instead of a pull-up. She was certain she could go all night and wake up dry. After she modeled her new jammies for me, she announced, "Well, now I need to cwean up dis mess I made. It's portant (important) I do dat." And she proceeded to pick up all of ther toys she had spread out all over the family room in the short time we'd been home. Her next chore, she decided, was to fold the towels I had just taken out of the dryer and they were in a pile on the couch. When that was done, she told me it was time to brush her teeth. Okay, now at this point I'm freaking out a little bit. Who was this kid? And where was my Katie?!

So anyway, those are some of the gazillion things on Katie's mind recently.

More to follow, I'm sure...

Oregon Coast

Katie, Bonnie and I are spending this weekend with Regina in Portland. We headed west today on highway 26 and ended up at the coast. We spent some time walking on the beach before we got back into the car and headed south on 101. We ended up in the small town of Manzanita where we had a yummy dinner at Manzanita Seafood & Chowderhouse.

Oh, and guess what?! We had a showing today! A potential buyer actually scheduled time to look at our house this afternoon. Thank God we left it cleaned up and ready to show. I sure hope the kitties were well-behaved.