Today on Wall Street

Change is... well... change.

2009-05-14T13:27:00.001-07:00

I can hardly believe that so much time has passed without feeling like I had the time to update this blog. Well, although that has been the starting premise of so many posts, things are about to change. In fact, they already have.

One short week ago my employer of nearly 13 years announced to me at the start of my work day that my position no longer existed. In fact, "go home now, process the information and come back in the morning to clean out your desk." No warning whatsoever. No plan to sustain my duties for the company (which garnered them over $100,000 per year) and NO IDEA how or what to do to maintain it in my absence. I ran the recording studio (Dead Aunt Thelma's Studio) and uploaded and maintained the iTunes salable content for Oregon Catholic Press. Did you catch the CATHOLIC part of that name. Yeah, I guess they didn't either.

I'm going to use this change as a jumping off point for many things. I have no idea what any of them are right now but I'm sure that will develop in time. In the meantime there's always time.

Winter Photo Fest!

2008-12-23T10:39:00.001-08:00

Just going to throw a bunch of photos up now and put captions to them later...

We just can't stop!

2008-12-14T13:27:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Light show in the middle of the forest.

2008-12-14T13:09:00.000-08:00

This is what we did in the winter cold last night!

Snow Day Fun!

2008-12-14T11:25:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

The Big Girl Bed

2008-11-12T11:37:00.000-08:00

Audrey has become the tallest 2 2/3 year old we know and has definitely outgrown her crib. This, at least, had been transformed with the front face off and a toddler rail on to contain our little thrasher! At 40 inches tall, however, it was time to make a change.

Audrey has had some "issues," shall we say, going to sleep lately. For the last two months we have had an almost nightly battle over the actual act of going to sleep. No resistance to starting the bedtime routine - it's just finishing it that is the rub. We're not talking a half hour or even an hour. We're talking lights out at 8 pm and sometimes she's still going at 11 or 11:30 when we're so bleary eyed we can't even keep up. Every night I cross my fingers that her new-found ability to keep herself awake will be taken over by sheer exhaustion, but to no avail. This is a MAJOR change for our formerly 12 hour straight sleeper who dropped off flawlessly at 7:45 every night for the last 2 years. I know, I know, I shouldn't reveal how good our utopia was before we lost it but it just makes it all the harder to swallow this sleep depriving pill.

We've tried everything. Scolding, praising, "silent return to bed" (damn that Supernanny), the newly instated "sleep chart" where we focus on all the tasks she does well instead of this one GIANT thing for which she has gone berzerk. Nothing seems to be cracking the blood pressure raising habit of staying awake for hours after going to bed. We've gated the doorway of her room so that at least if we really wanted to just let her go we could, but this goes against all that I've read when it comes to sleep. I'm not wanting to start the "mom and dad let me play as long as I want" habit so I decided that it was time to try getting a big girl bed that was fun enough to make her want to stay in it.

In storage is a beautiful solid maple twin frame that is an heirloom from Bill's family. I very much want to refinish this to show off the gorgeous wood and purchase a good mattress and box spring to last through the teen years. Since this is not in the cards right now we opted to find a good buy on an interim solution. Yesterday we braved IKEA with G-ma Pat to make the purchase. Oh, IKEA.... It was Pat's first visit into the labyrinth so it's always fun to watch first-timer's eyes start to slowly glaze over the longer you walk. (And seriously, you probably walk a couple of miles easily before you're done.) Audrey had a fantastic time getting to see G-ma and we were happy to share this with her.

The end result once we got home was a 2 hour furniture assembly/room rearranging session. Audrey is in heaven! She loves the bed, of course, but on our first forray into how it would change the night-time routine we discovered that the massive change of the room alone was enough to entertain any kid for 2 1/2 hours. She finally caved at 10:30 pm.

Let's hope the novelty wears off and the desire for more stickers takes over so that we can fill up that pesky little "stay in bed" column on our sleep chart.

Halloweenie

2008-11-02T21:18:00.000-08:00

Since we went to the pumpkin patch early we got excited and carved our pumpkins early too. Also to try to catch not only the weather but to do it during Grammy's visit. Gram took all these pictures...

Funny as it sounds, the new iPhone came in very handy for this project. (did I mention I got an iPhone...) There was an application that helped you make Jack-O-Lantern faces by letting you switch out the different eyes, noses and mouths! Two of our 4 pumpkins were dolled up this way.

Audrey loved every minute of the process even though touching the "goo" was totally out of the question! Bill and Audrey carved the biggest pumpkin. This was, of course, the one Audrey picked out. I wonder how many more years she'll be able to pick out a pumpkin that weighs more than she does!

We had quite a cast of characters this year! We had a pig, a pirate, a goofball and one totally classic model.

Audrey's new daycare (which we love) had a really great harvest (Halloween) party the week before. This was great because it spread the fun out a little and gave the kids a chance to dress up more than once. Audrey dressed as "Winnie the Pooh" and immediately turned into ferocious Pooh bear when she got one of her newest favorite acquisitions from the "find the toys in the haystack" game! The kids were all so excited - could it be the sugar?

They had really great games for the kids including pumpkin painting - which Audrey went nuts for. The kids also did everything they could to break open the pumpkin pinata. It takes a lot longer with 2-4 year olds!! We really had a good time.

Halloween night was a busy one for the whole family. I had a show that night with "The Floydian Slips" (more about that later) so G-ma Pat and Papa Doug graciously hosted us. It was a mad dash to make it from the eternally long sound check for the show to Audrey's daycare, and then up to Pat and Doug's. We made great time and beat the worst of the traffic. The house smelled of dinner and we were hungry. The best news was that Bill got off work early and met us there just a few minutes after our arrival. (On a side note, Bill will no longer be working nights as his shift has changed to 5 days a week getting off at 5. This is the beginning of a whole new era for our family!! I have to admit that Bill's four 10 hour shifts made me feel a little like a single parent 4 nights a week. So we're excited about the change and look forward to being together in the evenings.)

At the last minute Audrey decided she didn't want to be Winnie anymore and she wanted to stay in her pumpkin sweatshirt. Done and done, no argument here! After dinner I had to dash off again to get down to the show in time to get into costume and make-up. Bill and G-ma masterminded the trick-or-treat session. I started giving Audrey an occasional piece of candy over the month or so before Halloween just to be sure she wouldn't go into some sort of sugar crisis. Up to this point we could probably count on one had the pieces of candy that she has had in her life. Last year's trick or treating was to the houses of a completely controlled toddler group with things like Play-doh and recorder flutes. This year, it was the real deal. Audrey and the crew only went around the block, but her pumpkin bucket still came back more than half full! G-ma knows everyone in the neighborhood, and Bill grew up there too so between the two of them they had plenty of folks to show Audrey off to.

Oh, how I remember the longing for the bucket that I knew was full of glorious candy but was stowed away somewhere in it's secret hiding place by my ogre parents. Audrey has hers on top of the refrigerator and I think it will be a while before it's empty!

Tomorrow starts Bill's new work schedule. The change in daylight savings is working in our favor as now the whole gang has to get up an hour earlier. We are working hard to remind ourselves that nothing is changing - we're all getting up at the same time. Hopefully this will stave off the bulk of the painful groans at getting up before 6 am. This does not lend itself well to any sort of rock-n-roll life style at all and I now have to start prepping for almost a week to be able to be awake and alert past midnight. Then there's always the drive home post-show to muster. I think living in the country would be a whole lot easier if I had a "diva-copter." I'm sure that just having more family time on a daily basis will make it all worth while!

Time to get the Christmas tree picked out!

The Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-20T14:05:00.000-07:00

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and so are the weeks that precede it. This year we had Grammy Carmen with us to go to the pumpkin patch so we picked an early weekend that had the most fantastic weather and chose a patch that is like the small Disney Land of punkin' patches. The whole trip was great fun and after over 4 hours of adventure we all poured ourselves back into the car exhausted and ready to go home. The whole trip was great.

Audrey Has talked non-stop about all the things we did ever since we got home. "And we rided the hay wagon train ride thing over and over and I found the coolest pumpkins and gourds and I rode in the wheelbarrow, and then I played in a corn bin and took corn kernels home in my pockets, and we went through the hay maze and got lost because we went in backwards, and then when we found the right way we went down the slide a whole bunch of times, and then we ate hot dogs and kettle corn and Grammy bought some fresh apples that they grow right there and apple cider that they make from the apples, and we got some pumpin apple bread and ate the whole loaf that day because it was still warm when we bought it and dad shot an apple cannon and mom used the apple sling shot, and I got to sit in a race car and then I swang in this really big swing and daddy helped me and then I went down the slide over and over and over and over and..."

Here's a funny video that Bill took.

Rockstars make good builders!

2008-10-15T22:05:00.000-07:00

I have no idea where these sunglasses jumped into our lives but Audrey absolutely loves them and refers to them as her "Rockstar Glasses." She has asked on at least one occasion if I would like to wear them play one of my shows. I'm certain that if I had taken her up on the offer I would be a multi-platinum artist by now.

The bulk of our summer this year has been all about the "sheds." We (not me) have two paid storage units that are a big ol' ball and chain and building some storage sheds to get us out of paying for this service has been high on the list of priorities. Time has been at a premium for what seems like an eternity, however, so this project is something that has sort of built itself up into epic proportions. Bill has been pretty clever in his masterminding of the space and money used and has opted for 5 smaller sheds rather than one big building in order to be able to better compartmentalize the contents as well as being able to build them himself versus hiring an expensive crew to handle a big building. Audrey LOVES to be able to go "help dad with the sheds." She likes to dress up special for it too!

When I can tear Audrey away from the shed project we have a long list of parks that we like to peruse. One of our favorite outings is to the park that is right next to the library. This one even has a fountain that Audrey has a love/hate relationship with so it makes it even more attractive in hot weather.
Having the library to spend more time in on rainy days helps too. Audrey is so hooked on books that it makes every single minute of our daily 30-60 minute reading time worth the investment. She truly has the vocabulary and speech skills of a child twice her age. It's likely her smarty little pants that have her so enamored with the possibility of being able to read rather than our indulgence in this ritual but we so enjoy sharing this time with her. It even makes her constant correction of our mistakes in her favorite books adorable.

It's was a really busy and fun summer all tolled. The days are getting shorter and the blankets thicker. The rocks are still mostly just where we stacked them around the new parking area - but I'm certain that any second now I'm just going to burst at the seams to get them done. In the meantime we're enjoying the new play-structure I built instead. Maybe we'll have the energy to take the air conditioners out of the upstairs windows soon...

The team project we lived to tell about.

2008-10-06T21:27:00.000-07:00

Grammy Carmen came to visit for a few weeks in October. Now affectionately referred to as the "extended stay" these trips not only give us some good quality time with my mom but also give Bill and I the opportunity to get a few extra things done around the house and property on the weekends while Gram plays with Audrey.

One of the other important things we get to do more of while she is here are "dates" for Bill and I. This weekend before we got started on the project we had a chance to have some quality time with some very good friends who we hadn't seen in ages. We had the most delicious brunch at our good friend Mike Jones' condo. Vince and Cassie were there too along with a good friend of Mike's who was visiting from L.A. We were so engrossed in having the experience we forgot to take pictures until we were leaving so that was a good sign of how much fun we had.

One of the projects we tackled was to build a wood shed on the side of our garage to give ourselves a larger storage closer to the house. With my new carpentry skills from the play-structure I was going to build it myself while Bill stayed focused on the storage sheds. It didn't need to be fancy or perfect as it will be taken down once we start the deck next summer so I figured what the heck. In the end we decided that doing it as a team would get it done faster so we hunkered down one rainy Sunday afternoon to get it started.

Audrey really wanted to help so we let her set up her gear to give us a hand. We found this great "workbench" at a yard sale. She absolutely loves it. It makes great sounds and talks to you so it's equally entertaining for us.

When she was working she wasn't quite sure if she was building or cooking though. I guess it does look a little bit like her kitchen. Too funny!

Et Voilà!

The life and times of Baby Bunny

2008-09-24T20:18:00.000-07:00

Audrey has a "lovey" that she calls Baby Bunny. This used to be called "bedtime bunny" but she also used to be called a "he" so we are just trying to keep up! Bunny used to be relegated to the bed only because we, as terrified parents of a child who cannot live without something, have scoured every corner of the earth to find another one "just in case" but have come up empty handed. Lately, because Bunny has become the best friend in the whole world to Audrey, we have loosened the grip a little on bunny's roaming options. This has caused a little more wear and tear and the ocasional mild panic when he, I mean she, cannot be found at night when it is bedtime.

The real purpose of Bunny, it seems, it to provide Audrey something to gnaw on. I don't me chew, or nibble, I mean GNAW. She chews Bunny's ears like an old piece of tobacco and after a few hours of that they smell just about as good, no matter how many baths we give Bunny and the teeth. Recently Bunny had a little accident and you should have seen the look on Audrey's face when it happened.

This, of course, happened just a few minutes before we were heading out the door to dinner, but Audrey insisted that Bunny be "whole again" before we left and was in such a state that I decided it best just to crack out the sewing kit and be done with it as fast as possible lest we hear nothing but the howls of an injured Bunny channeled through Audrey all the way to and through dinner. I am happy to report that except for managing under the stressful supervision of a 2 year old to put his ear on backwards, Bunny is as good as new. I even took a few stitches to reinforce the other ear so the the same thing did not happen the following week.

We hope Baby Bunny lives forever, or at least until she's outgrown her dependency!

Cowgirls and carnies

2008-09-23T23:26:00.000-07:00

It's time to get back on the horse, so to speak, and update the blog to share all the great times we've had over the last few months. I'm going to keep the blog dates true to the times they actually happened - so you might need to check around a bit to see what you might have missed!

Well, the Pendleton Round-Up has come and gone for another year. When we first arrived in Pendleton the first order of business was to take in the carnival and the main street events. Audrey has new found passion for the carnival ever since we took her to a local amusement park for my company picnic.

Auntie Shelle and Cousin JayCe came to the carnival as well and JayCe was kind enough to go on a few "smaller" rides with Audrey. They both had a blast. We also wandered down main street to watch some of the music that was catching Audrey's ear. Here's a little clip of Audrey's reaction.

After all that dancing we needed to take a break for Audrey's first corn dog! And then some lemonade, and some thai noodles, and finally a big giant carnie-sized elephant ear. Wow - are we breaking this kid in or what! It was a perfect night for all of it and we had a great time. It was great to be able to spend it with family.

We took Audrey to the Rodeo for the first time this year. Just for a little while since it just happens to run right across nap time. Grammy babysat through what was supposed to be the nap that day but Audrey was so excited to be with her and go to the rodeo that there was no way she was going to sleep. Grammy got her boots on her and shipped miss cranky-jeans down to mom and dad. When we were walking back to the grandstand Audrey must have repeated "I wanna see cowboys" about a hundred times from the car to our seats. Luckily we sit about 3 rows up from the bucking shoots (they pass these kinds of seats down in wills and such...) so there were plenty of cowboys to see. Audrey loved the action and tolerated the sitting part and didn't even flinch during the bull riding - which took place literally right in front of us about 10-15 feet. (There's just no explaining the rodeo scene if you've never been.) We mostly loved seeing all the native indians in there ceremonial dress. We were too in awe to remember to take pictures of that but we did manage to catch the "half time act" in full glory! We also took in the Navajo fry bread action and she went even crazier for that than she did the elephant ears, especially with the homemade huckleberry jam.

All in all the first rodeo was a smashing success. I grew up in Pendleton so I actually enjoy parts of the rodeo and use the whole experience as a reunion of sorts with friends. There used to be a whole lot more whisky involved but now I think I'd rather go to carnivals. I think Audrey will be forever just trying to get another bite of fry bread. If it's not that it will be more sneaking into my closet to find these...

Mom the Builder

2008-09-07T00:03:00.000-07:00

Well, I've gone and done it. I broke out the power tools. It all started when I found a good deal on a slide for Audrey on Craigslist. Of course, you can't bring something like that to the attention of a 2 year old without getting off your duff to do something about it.

A few years ago Bill built a platform as a replacement for one that was crumbling out of one of our apple trees. We just had the nieces and nephews back then but we wanted a place for them to play. It had potential written all over it to become the beautiful beginnings of a toddler friendly slide platform.

This was a project that seemed so simple at the time. I had a vision of what I wanted for the ladder and then end result took more than triple the time than the whole rest of the project combined! I ran into a co-worker who has a daughter not much older than mine. When we were discussing the project and I was recounting my difficutly with the stairs he immediately rattled off the simple math equation that would have given me faster results. I thought I was gonna kick him. *sigh* It's the latest notch in my project learning curve for sure.

Audrey has given my work the seal of approval on a weekly basis ever since. "Oh, Mamma, it's so beautiful. You did a good job!" Very satisfying.

The Floydian Slips Cuthbert Amphitheater August 08

2008-09-06T21:03:00.000-07:00

On August 18, 2008 my favorite Pink Floyd tribute band, The Floydian Slips, played at the Cuthbert Amphitheater in Eugene, OR. One of the reasons it is my favorite tribute band is because I sing in it and have the ultimate rock singer's dream jobs of singing "Great Gig in the Sky.!"

This was THE weekend in Oregon's for our 3 day heat wave. The day of the show the temps were above 100 and the stage was facing due West. There was a shade cloth put up to help protect the gear - and the people during sound check, but it was no match for that day. Our sound check ended abruptly as Asher's whole mixing rig just said "NO MORE" and started making sounds that it definitely should not have been making. Painful, grating, sample crushing barks that made Asher lose all color. When we broke for dinner and pre-show primp all Asher's sensitive stuff had been cloaked in white towels and turned off. We had no real 100% guarantee that any of it was going to work at showtime. Luckily everything worked out for the best and the sun had set within 20 minutes of our start time so the evening started to take a balmy curve fairly quickly.

Audrey and Bill came to the show and stayed at least until the end of the second set - which is when I get to sing "Great Gig." It works out perfectly for me that she gets to see at least that much. Dad was diligent and Audrey was willing regarding earplugs. Such a trooper that one.

What I had most fun with this show were my video clips from the stage. I got a few candid shots as well but my camera was having kind of a bad night (you would too now and then if you'd been dropped like 100 times) so the focus feature was troubled. You still get the feel for it anyway.

This is almost everyone. (but me and Brendan)

This is Jimmie. He takes very good care of us.

This is Guido. He also takes very good care of us.

This first video clip is the opening song of the night. I get a nice shot of the freeloaders who camp out on the bank of the stream behind official boundaries of the park to get a free earful of Floyd. This area has been made in to a literal bog by the crew in efforts to thwart these would-be ticket busters. They tough it out through the quicksand of mud just for us. Not a bad testimonial. (I think the real truth is that they stick it out for every band that comes to this great venue!)

This second clip one is the last solo of the night where my camera focus was cracking up but it's too good to can because of htat. Al truly pulled out all the stops and for me, it's all about the lip gloss!

Audrey had the time of her life. This is one of her most memorable road trips for sure. Hotel pool, her own rolling suitcase, fancy brunch, the hotel pool... the hotel pool. There are plenty of kids within the band now so they had fun together. It was a good shot in the rockstar arm for the rest of us, so we had fun together as well.

A good time was had by all.

Audrey's Portfolio

2008-09-02T15:37:00.000-07:00

I think I’m going to start with this photo when making efforts to make Audrey the next Super Model. I should start sewing her sashes now! Just kidding...

The concept of entering Audrey in a beauty contest equates to my days of “Battle of the Bands.” A very wise soul once told me to think better of myself than to enter contests like those which made you a “loser” just by your participation. I have offered the same advice on numerous jaded occasions.

We had the whole Peters clan over yesterday for a combined birthday celebration. 4 birthdays - 2 of which were the big "Four - OH!" The best part about it for me was watching the kids run and play on our lawn and in the new play structure that I made out of a transformed platform "fort." Audrey's cousin, Analee, is a mere 10 months older and the two of them laughed and squealed with joy for several straight hours. What a treat! It was definitely a real "I scream for ice cream" moment as it, of course, became louder AFTER the desert course.

We also invited our new local friends Dave & Lori Bell and their 15 month old, Jacob. I feel like we have hit the "friends jackpot" by meeting them. If I hadn't met them I might have just become a creepy stalker. When Lori was taking her "post-birth" walks with Jacob (come on, if you've had a baby, you took these walks) and I practically accosted her to say hello. Groovy shades, great Bobby Brady Baby Doll T, cool stroller. I couldn't get to the street fast enough to say hello. You know you live in the country when...

Anyway - we had a blast with the fam. Days like that make all the hard work on the "grounds" worth-while.

Audrey in the Sky with Diamonds!

2008-08-27T22:53:00.000-07:00

One of the most incredibly fun things I get to do now as a parent is expose Audrey to all kinds of music for the first time. Thankfully she LOVES music and now, thanks to the iPod that Bill got me last Christmas we listen to it all the time.

She totally bloomed when she first heard "Yellow Submarine" so we figured The Beatles were a sure hit. We were right. Lately her favorite song of all is "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." This kid has taste for sure. She will ask for it again and again and again in the car on the way home. Then she wants "the one about the rain getting in" ("Fixing a Hole) and then "the on with the SITAR!!!!" ("Within You, Without You"). After that she wants to tone it down a little so we listen to the Weepies' "Stars". By then she is ready to rock again and asks for my friend Ehren Ebbage's new CD and we listen to "the one where he says 'Nadra ("Not Right Now") a couple of times and then we're home!"

Bill started playing Johnny Cash for her probably a year ago by now. She LOVES the "youtube" and thankfully there are a wealth of musicians who have been on Sesame Street! She's particularly fond of Johnny singing "Jackson" with Miss Piggy. I am certain that we are now into triple digits for sure on that one!

Pardon the extra crappy camera work on the clip below - I was SUPPOSED to be driving, not shooting hilarious video of my child. I was using the rear view mirror to check to see that I even had her in the frame. The focus never kicked in - but the joy is undeniable! This is Ehren's "Ten Cent Souvenir." This is officially our favorite CD right now by MILES. You should definitely check it out.

Whatsup with your Mutsup?

2008-08-24T21:59:00.000-07:00

Audrey LOVES to make a good joke. The other day we were having lunch and she was trying to ask for more ketchup and she accidentally started to say Mustard. She stopped halfway through, gave a wry smile and said MUTSUP! She laughed hysterically at her joke. My mom and I were there and started singing a little "whatsup with your mutsup?" jingle. I thought she would split a gut she laughed so hard. Now every time she has ketchup she asks me to sing the song. Oh, how I love this kid!

I find that when I have the most to say I have the least time to say it. I'll put up some photos and video clips of the most recent "Floydian Slips" show that we just did down at Cuthbert Ampitheatre in Eugene last weekend.

So THIS is Rockin Out?!

2008-08-06T22:13:00.000-07:00

Our latest landscape adventure involves the creation of our new guest parking area and entrance to the yard/house. The goal is to get it covered in rock and gravel before the rain hits. For 8 hours, 4 people (thankfully two of them were teenage boys...) moved 10 tons of rock to the area and that's just a fraction of what's to come. Luckily the bulk of the rest of it will be dropped from a dump truck and spread with a tractor instead of moved, moved again and placed and stacked by HAND. Imagine, if you will, a gracefully curved slate curb and walkway that leads to the house where it is met by a half-moon staircase leading up to the wrap around deck. As of September we will have one less patch of mud here at the Wall Street Farm! Only one left to go around the house and that will become the deck. This, of course, will just free us up to make more.

The hardest part will be making the puzzle fit just right when it comes to laying out the rock. This will take a couple of weekends (read months) at least. I always was good at jigsaw puzzles though. I once spent an entire 5 days passing the time on jury duty by doing a 500-1000 piece puzzle per day. I guess the only lesson there is that I'm old enough to have spent a full 5 days on jury duty!!

Here's a panoramic of the project as it sits today.

Sadly, as I look at this photo it does not translate well the sweat equity invested. Maybe it's the funky angle, or the distance. However, this, among other projects, is a good barometer of how much work all this takes to do it yourself. 2 days of tractor work removing dirt and grading, 3 days of edge cutting and prep, 2 days of rock transport. We did finally break down and buy a pallet of pre-sorted curb rocks to save everyone's backs and some time. You know when the young ones start to show real fatigue it's a serious job. Half the fun is designing it on the fly and watching the boys roll their eyes as I ask them to move the same rocks 2 and 3 times! Luckily, everyone is very good natured about it.

If anyone has some extra lottery cash laying around that they are looking to pawn off I'd be happy to take it off your hands... Just think, I could hire THREE teenagers!

More to come.

The vacation

2008-07-28T20:14:00.000-07:00

Audrey has had her very first ice-cream cone! Can you remember your very first ice-cream cone? That is the true definition of innocence right there! Absolute and pure joy.

Our vacation was an excellent getaway although not nearly long enough, as always. Bill managed to scare up some crazy food poisoning on the second day we were there and spent 2 full days recovering. However disappointing this was as far as quality time goes it successfully saved us from subjecting one more person to the questionable "fun package" that we purchased from the "Ripley's Believe it or Not", "Wax Museum" & "Undersea Adventures"! For years we have taken a family vacation in Newport, OR and stay at a condo at the "Embarcadero" at the end of the boardwalk and bay area. A close family friend owns it and generously lets us stay in it every year. We save our money on housing and spend it on food instead!!

This year we finally broke down and took in the "Ripley's" thing-a-ma-bob. The weather was unseasonably cool and sometimes very windy so we decided to find something to do indoors that wasn't the Aquarium. We've been there half a dozen times and were looking for a change of pace. Well, we got it alright. A change from quality entertainment to a regular "mock-u-mentory" of fun. We bought the package and wished we hadn't before we'd even gotten 5 minutes into the first bit. It had some moments of fun, like the laser harp, but of course, all roads led back to the GIFT SHOP. JayCe thought was the coolest thing ever, but even the gift shop lacked! It did have some fairly fun arcade games so that saved us at the end. It was kind of hilarious when it was all over.

We did manage to take in a tasty sushi lunch during the process - but then laughed even harder when we got the bill for that!! (A few days later we ate 10 times that amount for the same price at our favorite "sushi train" back in Portland.) We got a trip to the original Mo's in and Audrey decided that kale was "tasty"! This harkened back to my childhood memories of always eating the parsely.

We made it onto the beach for some kite flying one afternoon and the wind beat on us so hard that Grammy Carmen gave up and read her book in the car. If it hadn't been our only chance to spend some good sand time I might have joined her!We were all bundled up like we were ready to cross the sahara - but if that's what it takes to make a sand castle, then that's what it takes! Audrey was really bothered by the sand dermabrasion thing at first (no one could blame her) but once she got her hands in the ocean she forgot about everything else. Before you knew it she went from screaming bloody murder to stripping her feet bare and running circles in the sand for 15 solid minutes. We brought several kites - one of which was a brand new "Nemo" kite that Grammy had gotten her as a gift. It lasted about 20 minutes in the gale force winds. It had a good life while it lasted. Ironically enough we chose July because we wanted some home run beach weather - but our usual October foray seems to bring us less wind and just as much sun!

We saved a day at the tail end to spend in the "city" to take in Powell's ("Mom, is it really the largest bookstore in the world?") and another sushi lunch. Watching the kids eat this choice willingly - especially Audrey, who can polish off a bowl of miso soup in nothing flat, was definitely one of those "warm fuzzy" family moments.

At the end of the vacation Mom and Audrey and I went to the Cracked Pots Garden Show at McMenamin's Edgefield in Troutdale. That was a highlight of the vacation for sure. By this time my knee was well enough to walk without crutches for a couple of hours at a time. The primary criteria for having art in this show is that it must be made from recycled materials. This made for some very clever garden art. Everything from toaster "pigs" to light bulb "bees." I found the perfect artist to make the arbor that I want for our new "entry" to the yard. It was a lovely end to two excellent weeks off.

Now back on your heads!

What's in a crutch?

2008-07-13T19:44:00.000-07:00

Well, I've done it. I've reached lucky number 7 on my tally of knee surgeries for my left knee. Last Friday I went in for arthroscopic surgery and am currently laying in a recliner with my leg propped on a mountain of pillows. Not a very productive posture so it's sort of torturing my overachiever side. The funky "cooler" on my head is the water supply for this air cast/cooling cuff - offically called the "cry0-cuff"! We went through lots of ice but it works like a dream!

The "good"news is that they actually found something concrete to fix (more torn cartilage) so there's a chance that I'll get some pain relief. The bad news is that there is ful bone-on-bone arthritis progressing on the outer edge of my knee from previous loss of cartilage. I could go on an on about my knee and all it's surgical history but its long and boring and probably ends with some sort of joint replacement somewhere down the line. I'm sure there's already plenty of sympathetic pain going on at this point so I'll just post this to get it over with so I can move on with the good stuff.

It did get me to take a real vacation - the first one in YEARS! Off to the beach...

Now you too, can have your say.

2008-06-12T16:16:00.000-07:00

I had several people say they tried to leave a comment for a post and were dee-nied because they weren't a registered user. I realized that was a setting I could change - so y'all can say what you feel now.

Just be gentle, this is my first blog.

New Daycare

2008-06-12T08:04:00.000-07:00

We searched, and searched and searched (and searched) for a daycare for Audrey last fall. I went to 10 different, totally disappointing interviews before we found the current daycare center that Audrey attends. We chose it because it purported itself as a fully eco-friendly facility serving almost exclusively organic food. After 3 months of going to this "school" 3 days a week Audrey still cries almost every time we drop her off. This, combined with the new virus she contracts every 3 weeks like clockwork (and the 3 resulting ear infections she's suffered as a result) I'll go for a place that uses a little bleach and wipes a kid's nose now and then. Everyone tells you that it "just takes time", or "it builds their immune system...". But although I've done my best not to overreact I discovered there was one more important missing element than drain cleaner and processed foods. Heart and soul.

Other small to medium disappointments have now piled up week after week. The supposedly mostly organic menu is anything but and they rarely follow what's on the menu. "Yeah, we just sort of make what we have..." which tends to be an enormous amount of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Did you know that there's high fructose corn syrup in just about everything - including good old, comforting, Campbell's tomato soup?!?!? (and graham crackers.) This type of sugar is evil in food - especially for kids - so we avoid it at the sacrifice of some of the favorites that we grew up with as kids. (No, there is not another tomato soup that tastes like that!)

Then there were the major disappointments - like how when the kids are sick no one seems to be enforcing their "non" attendance nor does anyone seem even remotely interested in wiping their snot streamed faces (hours worth are certainly built up) or washing their germ covered hands. Perhaps this is part of their paper saving techniques. I actually got funny looks from some of the providers when we were new and I would have Audrey wash her hands on exiting the building at the end of the day. There's also the issue of the sliding glass door to the play area in the back that regularly comes completely off it's track. I have outwardly complained about this on several occasions and was told that a new French door was going to be installed - now two months ago.

Each of these small and large scale disappointments has lead me to start searching around again for a different daycare. It's one thing not to be happy with their hygiene or play area, or high fructose corn syrup but to see Audrey's chest heave in upset when we tell her we're headed to school each and every time was just too much to bear.

Two weeks ago I went to two interviews. I told Bill that if I didn't have any luck with those two that I would give it a rest for a while and not become obsessed. I went to the first interview and liked some parts of it just fine but it just didn't feel like a true fit. The next day I was feeling a little doubtful about my decision to look for a new place. But when I picked Audrey up from school she was playing by herself outside, again, during a time when they were supposedly doing an art project according to the schedule. (Yes, I'm one of those parents that arrives at different times to check on this proposed schedule of guided activities.) One of the big disappointments about Audrey's current daycare is the amount of "free-play" that the kids are left to. During this time they are outside and left to their own devises with just enough teachers to keep them from killing themselves or each other. I'm all for giving the kids some freedom - but I rarely see the teachers engage the kids much during this time. No rock or stick or leaf exploration, no fun games of hide and seek. Just a line of teachers solemnly standing against a wall looking like a bunch of burn-out victims clocking through the day.

That night we went to interview #2. This one is also in a home but is sort of a cross between home based (usually 6 kids or so) and center (35 where she is now). There are 14 total in this one and Cheryl Reece, the woman who runs it, is all heart and soul. She's also a gardener and has a really lovely place - which makes me really happy. There was a sign at the door when we entered that read "Please wash your hands on arrival and departure. There are many things we like to share - germs is not one of them." Jackpot! More importantly, she has 1700 square feet of pure kid heaven! Loft rooms with cozy kid size settees and curtains for puppet shows, art rooms full of sensory tables of every shape and size with everything from dried peas to colored sand, fantastic outside play area with more toys than the current daycare and a huge main room with the greatest area for story time and show and tell. Just in one visit we saw more love poured out to these kids than I have seen in a month where Audrey is now.

WHEW. What a relief. The initial search was hard and we were excited about our choice then as well, so I hope that these good vibes don't wear off. We haven't even started at this new place yet and already we feel like family - so that's a good start. They don't serve all organic food - but we've decided there are far more important things to a child's development than that. Now we just have to wait out our obligatory paid time left at the old daycare. Audrey's been so sick with her latest ear infection that we've kept her home all week anyway - and with Grammy Carmen visiting at least we've got that option. After that it's only 2 weeks left.

And hey, Grammy wipes her nose at least twice a day whether she needs it or not! (Just kidding Grammy.)

The Chronic WHAT-cles of Narnia

2008-06-02T21:48:00.000-07:00

For years people have been telling me how I should read the Harry Potter series. Finding the time and impetus to read whole books that were not about parenting since I became one has not been easy so I decided to try out an audio book on my new iPod.

I just happened to have the first few Harry Potter books so I thought I'd jump in during my long morning commutes. Long story short I got so hooked so fast that I bought the whole series and read them all in under 2 months! At first I did a hybrid of listening and reading but then realized that I was missing too much detail by listening while I was doing other things so I would read a bunch and then listen to it all over again while I was mowing the lawn or driving or doing the dishes. So in reality I "read" the whole series TWICE in two months.

As I was nearing the end I knew how disappointed I was going to be when it was all over - and lost for what to read next. They actually have websites that have pages entitled "what to read now that you've finished Harry Potter." I decided to revisit the "Chronicles of Narnia" since I started the series as a teenager and don't think I finished. Although C.S. Lewis has all the reputation of a classic writer I still think that J.K. Rowling wipes the floor with him when it comes to detail and style.

Besides that - each time I put one of the books down I find myself singing the Saturday Night Live skit song "The Chronic WHAT-cles of Narnia" until it's a full fledged song tumor.

If anyone has any recommendations on "what to read now that you've finished the Harry Potter series - please let me know!

If a tree falls on the farm...

2008-05-26T21:42:00.000-07:00

There are infinite choices for how to spend a 3-day holiday weekend. We, however, have 3 day weekends every week so we were lucky to remember that there was a holiday. (I know, shut it - we work our arses off the rest of the week to make this happen. )

For this Memorial Day weekend we stayed home, our favorite place to be. Thus avoiding being in the being amongst the endless line of RV's as they paraded by our house headed for their 15 minutes of relaxation for the weekend. With gas prices starting to compete with any good Euro story about pricing how can they afford to fill the RV, the truck pulled behind it AND the two 4 wheelers in the bed of the truck??? I digress...

We, on the other hand, cut down 2 ancient, ailing fruit trees and one small poorly placed teenage maple next to the house. By "we" I mean Bill, while Audrey and I watched and cheered him on. This is a major change for us as each of these trees went towards protecting us from the street view - so we're now feeling a little naked, but it had to be done. Our new driveway and parking area await rock borders to hem in the half dozen truckloads of gravel that will be needed for parking, the bark mulch awaits it's home in the new garden beds, and the grapes await their arbor home that still needs to be built. None of this can be done until the stumps are ground from the trees we took out... And so on, and so on it goes with our list of projects. All a delicately balanced string of dominoes all needing just the slightest push.

Cutting down the trees meant having to deal with the debris and wood. I did my best to help while Audrey was napping but spent more time with the rake than loading the trailer. Bill, on the other hand, worked from 10 am to 4 pm without stopping, as if the perpetual motion would make it hurt less later! Not a chance. Getting old is just something we're learning to accept - but we're not going down without a fight! 6 hours and 6 trailer trips to the pasture later the job was done. No matter the rain, or the mud, or the part about putting in two days work into one. It's done - and now let the cascade of other projects begin. Not the least of which is the wrap around deck that will span the back and South sides of the house and connect with the front porch. (The side you can see in the picture.) The small maple tree was a small sacrifice for the deck! I'll also plant a new pear and apple tree after the arbor is built. Yahoo! The stone path that will lead from this arbor to the house will likely be a project for NEXT summer now that the deck has taken precedence.

My Saturday was spent mowing short the lawn in preparation for the spring over-seed. Bagging an acre full of grass cuttings was my contribution to this weekend's sore muscles. Mulching it covers the precious blank dirt too much so I bagged, and dumped, and bagged and I dumped. Today, while Bill nursed his shoulders I fertilized and seeded the new grass. (or the "good grass" as we've taken to calling it. Bad grass, very bad bad grass is the other 2.5 acres.) This is likely the last big act for the year on this "pet" project. I hope. Or it too, will be very bad grass.

Thankfully Audrey's back to her giggly, happy self after all the sick days. She has started to take a real interest in picking out her own clothes. I applaud her sense of style for sure!

We celebrated our weekend's work with a fabulous steak dinner - at home (Did we mention we've become homebodies?! ) complete with the home-made apple pie that Audrey and I made earlier this morning while Bill caught up on his sleep for the week. In addition to being able to move 3 large trees in one day he also gets up almost each and every morning with Audrey and they let me sleep for that precious extra half hour that keeps me from being face down in my dinner every night. Audrey has still not fully decided to like pie. (what's not to like about pie?!) I thought perhaps if she was involved in making it that she might change her mind. She was at least willing to try it but after a couple of bites she still gave us that funny little face that meant she didn't like it. You know the one, it's a little like the face that cats make when they don't like the way something smells. Oh well, the ice cream was a good consolation for the celebration!

And now for the rest of the news.

2008-05-22T21:20:00.000-07:00

Mother's day seemed to be celebrated for a week around here - YAY! It started on the 3rd with my surprise early Mother's Day present. Bill took the family to the Canby Plant Sale - a massive plant extravaganza at the fairgrounds in a nearby suburb. We all had a great time - me with the money Bill had just tucked in my pocket with the send-off "knock yourself out" and Bill pulling Audrey kicked back in the garden cart livin' large. I managed to more than fill the cart with everything from dogwood trees to giant clematis blooms. A supremely fun family outing. Audrey already knows the difference between evergreen and deciduous. A couple of months ago on one of our walks around the nearby pond we gathered various evergreen branches and I described the differences. Ever since then every single night after she's tucked into bed Audrey requests the "story about the needles." "Some needles are soft, some are pokey, some are round, some are flat, some are short and some are long...." and so on. This "story" is now required before sleep can occur. She's started telling this story to her "bedtime bunny" when she puts him to sleep - which has my gardener's heart warm and green.

Mom (Grammy), Michelle (Auntie Chelle) and cousin JayCe (cousin JayCe) arrived Friday afternoon for Mother's day weekend. Now that all the adult ladies in the family are mother's the holiday packs a little more punch. We started the weekend off right by meeting at a Japanese restaurant that has the grill tables where the chefs do all the fancy tricks (you know, Beni-Hana style) with fire and knives. I think we got the rookie - but it was entertaining just the same. Bill surprised us all by being there when we arrived, even though we thought he'd have to work and leave us on our own. A very nice surprise indeed. No sooner had the chef fired up the grill when he started smearing it with copious amounts of oil. To all our surprise he sent up a grill sized flame that had Audrey out of her booster seat, in my lap, with her arms clutching my neck screaming in just under 2 seconds. She's a little easily spooked lately, to say the least, and this one was a doozy. All the other tables looked over in surprise certainly expecting to see the toddler who was screaming laying on the grill or something of that ilk given the magnitude of her reaction. It was hard not to laugh at the whole scene but I did my best since Audrey seemed genuinely traumatized. This is converse to the month before when we lit a house sized bon-fire in our pasture to eliminate 4 years worth of collecting debris. She squealed with delight when that thing went up - so this reaction at the restaurant was not what I had expected. I guess she and her dad (both Pisces) are water signs through and through. (This fire-loving Aries was in heaven with the bon-fire as all the change that had taken place over the last few years on our property was summarily piled into a huge mound and sent up in smoke.) So when the chef did the firey volcano with the pile of onion slices I was equally entertained. JayCe thought it was pretty cool too. Audrey, however, shrieked in terror.

We spent the rest of the weekend hanging out at the house. No exhausting trips to shop or explore - just hours of eating, reading, playing outside, napping, eating and so forth. We even managed to get a barefoot-on-the-grass play session in the afternoon. It was pretty satisfying to be able watch the kids run and play on the new lawn. It was a short trip when they had to leave on Sunday morning but it left me plenty of time to mow the lawn... Oh, how I love to mow the lawn!

Unbelievably, I laid down the night after everyone left with a tickle in my throat that indicated I might be sick. I told myself it was just allergies, but by the end of the next day it was clear that I was sick - AGAIN. We just had Audrey's latest "re-check" the day before after her SECOND round of antibiotics. She's was doing great but if I thought if I pass this bug on to her and she ends up with another ear infection I just might have a nervous breakdown. The tantrums that ensued when she was at her sickest were earth shattering. One of the days went down in Audrey history as one of the hardest ever - even worse than colic because I couldn't swing or nurse her to sleep or vacuum the house for the 50th time to calm her down. (God bless that vacuum cleaner.) By 3 pm I had to start giving her time-outs for the meltdowns. It's torture to have to punish a sick child, but I had to do something or I was going to end up in a straight-jacket. After about 6 trips to the "naughty spot" the tone shifted and she started understanding that I had drawn a definite line in the sand but getting there was no picnic.

I managed, however, to occasionally distract her with several creative projects. Top of the list was the very first ever FINGER PAINTING! Audrey's skin is unnaturally drawn to being painted ever since we took her to a Holiday party where she got her face painted like a kitty cat. This was a huge success and we've got several albums full of hand prints to work with now!

Each moment that we continued to finger paint brought more temptation to paint the face instead of the paper. I gave up trying to dissuade her because she was having some real fun. Being forever the jokester she kept trying to paint my face too. As I was busy taking pictures I decided to do that next time. She ate dinner that night with the paint still on her face as she refused a wash. It was not until the absolute end of her bath that night that she would succumb to the washrag to the face! This art foray went along way toward restoring smiles all around.

I had a show last week with my favorite cellist, Skip VonKuske. We play together occasionally at Edgefield Winery in Troutdale. He's doing a "Mother's Play" month with singer/songwriters who are now moms in honor of Mother's Day. Always a good theme from Skip. I always have so much fun with Skip. It's been a long while since I've gotten behind the guitar, almost 2 months now, and it felt really good. I guess it always feels good but the thought of booking shows and getting back in to the fray completely makes me shriek in horror. I think I am ready to consider playing once a month or so. A slow and arduous return to art.

Audrey has taken to singing little "songs" that she's constantly making up. Almost everything she does has always been on a running commentary (and now I'm putting my sock on and now Mommy puts on my shoes. Here's my pink puffy coat. It's cozy... and so on and so on) but now this same commentary is being sung. (sung to the tune of "ring around the rosy") "Whoa whao whoa I'm carrying a basket with a ball in it. Carry it around and around and around." On Mother's Day she walked around intoning "Happy Mother's Day, Happy Mother's Day, Happy Mother's Day" to the tune of happy birthday. There was a time when there were so many birthdays in a row that by the end she would wake up every day and said "Today's bunny's birthday, I'm going to make him a birthday." This last "birthday" is code for "cake." For the longest time she thought that the cake was the "birthday." She dutifully sings "Happy Birthday" to bunny after lighting his candle "for pe-tend." The next morning she wakes and says, "Mommy, today it's your birthday, and mine." And we repeat the perpetual celebration all day long! I wonder who's birthday it will be tomorrow.

I can do it!

2008-05-07T21:39:00.000-07:00

I'm committed. I can do this...

After a year of reading all my friends (frequent) blogs and starting my own but not sticking with it, I'm ready. I've been really inspired by a fellow mom's blog whom I stumbled on just shortly after I had Audrey. I found myself commenting on her blog and my posts were becoming long enough to be a blog of their own so I knew it was time. She's hilarious and gives you the good stuff as well as the hard. I have appreciated that approach so this won't always be your average, fluffy, "isn't this a cute photo" blog. I'm hoping to make this a place for me to journal all that life presents. The good and the goo. This one will be long and just barely cover the basics however, because I'm trying to catch up.

This year, so far, has proved to be as much a wonderful challenge as the one that preceded it. Last year it was new routines, laughs, constant teething, communication issues, laughs, and the first bumps an bruises of our new walker's not so stealthy moves. This year started on the fast track with a two week mini "tour" of the Pink Floyd tribute band I sing in, The Floydian Slips. 4 shows in 12 days from Eugene to Seattle. Totally sold out every show and rocked myself silly. It was a lot of work though and when it was all done it was only mid January and I was already tired! We managed some great snow days with some excellent sledding. Such a treat! Through it all Audrey kept us laughing as usual. Such a cut-up that one.

Just a few days to recover and then directly into February's "Fire-hose of Fun." 1 wedding anniversary (ours), 3 birthdays (Mom, Audrey, & Bill - all in ONE week), and one useless Hallmark holiday (Valentine's Day). "What do you mean you didn't get Valentine's cards out" my mother teased. We headed for the beach for our anniversary weekend and got some great weather to boot.

Mid month Audrey had her "Nemo & Dory" Birthday party and that, too, was a smashing success. I focused on kids this year (what a great idea) and invited 7 others (and their parents!) to come play fishing games and "Pin the Fin" on Nemo and Dory.

I managed to make everything either blue or green when it came to the food. My only "shortcoming" this year was to go a little nuts with the blue food coloring! Who knew you only needed like 1% of what I used to get things to be that color! I'm sure the other parents were thrilled! All in all, we had a blast. (and I only blew up half as many balloons!)

The day after Audrey's second birthday she started her new daycare or "school" as they have us call it. First week was OK - but by her 3rd and final day of the week she had finally figured out that we were intending on leaving her here in this place ALL DAY LONG! The meltdowns began. More teething - molars this time. The terrible twos emerged mere seconds after her Happy Birthday song was sung, a new "stranger anxiety" had started causing more serious meltdowns and... we still haven't even made it out of February. Audrey had her very first "picture day" at school. I know it's really daycare and not school but it's still hard to believe we're there already!!

March brought the "cold from hell." First Bill got it, then Audrey got it, then Bill got sicker, and so did Audrey. I managed to get this far nearly unscathed. Then, just as Bill was getting better I got it and Audrey got her first fever laden ear infection. We got the antibiotics, they're pink and some sort of sweet flavor like bubble gum or something. I think I might have the only child who looks forward to medicines. Am I creating a future hypochondriac? We left the doctors office feeling victorious from our clean bill of health on our "re-check" after the antibiotics. I asked if we should worry about getting a lot of ear infections now that she'd had one. He said, "No, you just have to worry if they get sick again quickly after they've recovered from one." I swear to you that LESS than 48 hours later I thought Audrey felt hot and found she had a 103 fever. Great. Bill got it again too. I somehow managed to escape the second one. (yay!?) Thankfully there are no pictures of snotty noses to share.

We did manage to squeeze a trip in to Mom's house in Pendleton for Easter regardless of the illnesses. Where better to sleep it off than at Mom's house where there are doting Grammy's and Aunties to take over?! Audrey and JayCe had their first egg hunt together and the first real live chocolate passed Audrey's lips. None of us will ever be the same!! Now I often hear "Mommy, I want some Choc-lit" coming from Audrey! I knew I would have to cave sooner or later - at least we managed to wait this long! Of course most of my friends say we're Ogre's for not having given it to her by now. I've even heard stories of coaxing toddlers into cooperation using chocolate chips as a reward. However successful this might be I just can't do anything of the sort. I say she's got a lifetime of chocolate ahead of her so I don't feel terribly bad about trying to stave off the sweet tooth a little.

April arrives. Second virus. On the 6th day of it we head to the Doctors office again for a "better safe than sorry" visit since it was Friday and I had hoped to stave off at least a little bit of miserable if the ear infection cropped up again. We were sent off with a tentatively good bill of health and the advice "if she spikes another fever, bring her back." So, of course, 36 hours later, another fever. Monday morning bright and early off to the Doctor again (at least by now she'd stopped being afraid of him) to get a second round of stronger antibiotics. By now we've had sick people in the house for two solid months. Somewhere in there was my birthday - it's all a blur already. Guess what I asked for again this year? You guessed it, ROCKS. More pathways and some garden edging to come. We also managed a trip to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm for their annual "Tulip Fest" with "GeeMa Pat" (Bill's mom). It poured down rain part of the time while we were there but that just gave us beautiful mud puddles to jump in! Audrey rode the "cow train" and squealed with delight as we sped along over the bumps and around the acres and acres of blooming Tulips. Gotta love a good thrill seeker!

During the worst of the colds we did manage to use some of our pent-up house-bound energy to start some crafty projects. Audrey has really taken a liking to me sewing things for her. It started with an ingenious idea to make a couple of pillow cases out of a blanket and has manifested into things like "Hey Audrey, do you want me to make you a cape?" "Yeah!" she replies enthusiastically and "abracadabra" - you're a cape.

May has come and with it already the return of my healthy and (mostly) agreeable toddler and husband. Our new grass has filled in beautifully and we can now sit triumphantly in our lawn chairs and survey the success that has taken us years to sculpt. I'm figuring we're about 1/30th of the way through this lifetime project.

Before...

Bill managed yet another Craigslist score and we now have a working riding lawn mower again. My mother's day present from last year (the fancy new self-propelled Honda push mower) is a dream but no match for 2 acres of grass that needs mowing!

With the return of warmer weather and longer days comes our large scale landscaping planning. The rock edging and pathways I spoke of earlier will take some time to manifest and I'm hoping I can wrangle some sort of permanent irrigation system while we're at it. We've at least gotten smart enough to meet and hire some high school lads to help us with this stuff. More ailing trees will come down to be replaced with new ones in better locations and our firewood stack might just fill up with just those that we have removed over the last 3 years. We still have some drainage issues to deal with along the south side of the house so some excavation will be in order and the last remaining mud around the house will become at least gravel if not a full fledged rock patio.

Whew. There. I did it! I knew I could do it. Hopefully now that I've caught up I can do these posts more often and they can be read at a glance and not over several days! I am in the process of creating an online photo album that I will update as often as possible. We hope this all gives us an opportunity to stay in better touch with those we love.

As Tigger would say "Ta Ta For Now!"

Spring hail and rocks to walk on.

2007-04-18T23:07:00.000-07:00

My birthday has just come and gone and for it I received many lovely tokens of affection. Thank you again for all of it. Among my favorites are a cookie spritzer, a new-used rototiller (and a tilling job) and 1000 lbs. of stepping stones to start bordering my garden.

This year has been pretty mindblowingly busy. Wonderfully busy but crammed so full that I'm certain at any moment the whole thing's just gonna blow and get all over everything! I've never packed this much into 24 hrs, 7 days a week in my life and I thought I was busy BEFORE I became a mom!

Here's the best part of the day...

And another good day.

Who has time for anything else when there are picnics to pack? For now we'll sign off and look forward to sharing some more pictures in the garden.

If you feel like you're just not getting enough from me you can check out this page... http://www.myspace.com/nicolecampbellmusic

Bedtime Bunny!

2007-03-31T21:19:00.000-07:00

A little video of Audrey at 14 mos. old.

Audrey's Birthday

2007-02-25T23:24:00.001-08:00

No matter how many parenting books you read that tell you to opt for the modest celebration for your only child's FIRST birthday party you never listen. Not too many balloons or guests, we don't want to overwhelm the guest of honor. Is 50 balloons and 25 guests too many? Family and neighbors only still filled the house to the brim. Audrey did splendidly - until the pressure of the cake was upon her.

After literally 2 weeks of cake baking practice to get the WHOLE 3D duck, Mommy finally got it right. The perfect yellow cream cheese frosting and orange beak. Even little candy eyes staring back at her. All 25 guests crammed into the kitchen singing a song she'd never heard before. Balloons dangling from every inch of the ceiling. All eyes were fixed - what would she do? She cried. She wanted out of the chair RIGHT NOW! Arms started swinging, hat came off, frosting started flying. She wanted out out out! Out of the spot light and AWAY from the duck.

I was CRUSHED! This was now officially a pie in the face to the expectations of a new parent!

Welcome to Wall Street

2007-02-14T23:35:00.000-08:00

Today I was perusing the internet and because of a search that I did I ended up on someone's blog that I didn't know. I found myself reading about the development of their little girl and how they had cut bangs that day on their 20 month old little girl and made snow ice cream and so on and so on. This woman had over 100 posts over the last 3 years and I suddenly felt really behind in my presence in cyberspace.

With Audrey turning ONE YEAR OLD on Sunday I realize more than ever how time flies and that it means more to me to write about it. For so many years I kept a journal. Boxes and boxes of them in the attic. It was always a good way to drain off the mundane in order to get to the good stuff that songs are made of. Now, if I can find 10 extra minutes in a day it's going to be spent taking a shower and not writing. It's finally time for both hygiene AND creativity. I deem it so, and have made us a blog.

Of course it will be me, sitting here, late at night, poking away at the keys and digging for new pictures of Audrey to post - but I guess I feel like this is documentation I couldn't possibly ever regret. I might even learn enough to get all fancy with it if I don't fall face first asleep at the keyboard.

Here is a little nugget photo of Audrey enjoying a meal tonight.

And thus, it is so blogged.