Friday, December 11, 2009

Holiday Performance

Thursday night was a first of hopefully many annual holiday programs, this one put on at Carina's daycare. After a little bit of stage fright that involved Carina clingy to me and those big blue eyes welling up with tears I was able to leave her with her classmates and get a front and center seat(literally, it is funny how people are with their personal space even when seating is limited). And this is what followed....


Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Random updatedness

Well of course there was Halloween, we spent it at PIR at the ChumpCar race that my older brother was all set to race in but 2 1/2 hours into the 24 hour endurance race the car gave out and despite at herculean effort by his teammates they could not get the car running.
Oh well there was good candy and other little goodies as some vendors were there. Plus we got to see Uncle Chris, grandma and grandpa, uncle Jeremy, Aunt Megan and cousins Leila (the spider witch) and Nathan(umm the only boy, a transformer I think).
Carina's was a princess for the 2nd year, Cinderella this year. She got to were her costume to school, Travis asked me if I was sure about that because she they might go play outside. I said "they wouldn't do that with all the kids costumes on" When I pulled in there they all were on the dirty playground. But it must have been the fairy godmother dust that kept her clean because she didn't have a speck on her.
Of course there are nearly daily trips to the park. Daddy takes her before dropping her off, it is nearly always to late and cold and now to dark when I get her.
The beach trip I will never forget. When we arrived we noticed Seal lion playing in the waves and it beached itself. We, being smart animal loving people gave it a wide birth.
Well Mr. ODFW had to take a look from a respectful distance. Travis has tangoed with them in the past and knows they can be mean. So I went boogie boarding and had a relatively good time. I got a couple good rides in and one really rough tumble. Travis then went out and Sadie, our 50 lbs 9 year old springer spaniel, who is actually a good swimmer(five years ago) decided that he needed to be rescued. I managed to wrangle her back but I got distracted playing with Carina and taking pictures. The next thing I know she is done the beach running after him. I know two things the the current was pretty strong on that day and that Sadie didn't stand a chance. I told Carina to stay in the beach tent and I sprinted after her, again. And again I managed to get her turned back around. But I am not paying any attention at this point and hear a barking behind me. I managed to get between the sea lion and his exit i.e. the water. I make quick evasive maneuvers and get out of the way but then the half blind dog decides to get curious so then I am thinking okay Carina is watching I cant let the sea lion eat her so I dive in between them and grab frantically at Sadie and get her away from the sea lion. Then I realize a small crowed has formed watching the my little spectacle. Sadie was then secured to a large log until it was time to leave the beach. I hid under the beach tent with Carina trying to regain my regain a normal heartbeat. At dinner I drank my Rogue hefeweizen at Mo's like it was my heart medicine.
If you haven't been to the predators exhibit at the Zoo, stop reading this and go....NOW...GO! We also went on Halloween, which was a hoot, they have special enrichment activities for the animals with pumpkins and a scavenger hunt. I wish I could make this a annual tradition, but unfortunately work with get in the way until Halloween is declared a national holiday.
And finally this last weekend we went skiing. Carina is doing so well and loves it even more now that she has pink pants and a pink ski jacket.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

J-E-E-P

While in the changing room today, in the midst of Carina trying on size 4 Oshkosh B'Gosh jeans she looks over at her stroller and reads "j...jee...jeep, mommy that says jeep". 3 years old and she reads. I have known she was smart for sometime but it always amazes me when these moments come up.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Carina's namesake

Hubble Photos

This undated handout image provided by NASA, released Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009, taken by the refurbished Hubble Space Telescope, shows stars bursting to life in the chaotic Carina Nebula. (AP Photo/NASA)

This photo is part of the Hubble Telescope Photos gallery

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

My princess perfect day

Part II
So after my wonderful time with Leila on Saturday I fulfilled a promise that I made to Carina months ago.....that when she was ready we would get her ears pierced. I think she really wanted the earrings but was afraid of the possibility of pain. But after some discussion about what a special day it would be Carina was ready.









She eagerly got up in the chair and held on to that bear for dear life. She was ready but a little scared. The lady pierced her first ear and she had a little shock but she was much more prepared for the 2nd ear.


















Carina was very happy with the results and beamed at her reflection when it was all done.
The day was made even more special by Took joining us. And in aunty like fashion she purchased her some new hair bobbles, a great pink sparkly purse and chocolate to commence the big event. We also went to the Disney store to purchase her Halloween costume.

So the next time you see Carina ask to see her ears....who am I kidding she will show you long before the words come out of your mouth.

Monday, September 7, 2009

My princess perfect day






PART I
The day my niece Leila was born was such a special day, there was so much
anticipation and excitement about her impeding birth. Leila made me an aunt, made my parents grandparents, and my brothers a father and uncle. I know that she was all my mother and I
could talk about for months leading up to her birth and for months after. It is no excuse but life gets in the way and the addition of my own life altering baby girl but I really haven't made a lot of time for Leila in my life. Leila is now joined by Nathan and Kathryn, and I have wanted to carve out some special time for both Leila and Nathan, Kathryn's a bit to little yet for Aunt Tamara to steal her away from mom and dad. So Leila turned 6 on September 4 plus she is starting kindergarten on Tuesday and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to do
something special with her. On Saturday I picked her up and she REALLY wanted to go to build a bear because she had gotten a birthday coupon in the mail. So we went there and she picked out a witch costume for her special stuffed friend at home, she is going to be a witch for Halloween so I am sure they will be a stunning duo.

Then we decided to do a little shopping and headed to the Gap and tried on several outfits. Leila was so excited to pick out clothes and help put together some outfits. Here is want we came up with.

I helped her into her outfits and I told her she was a model. We chose the brown sweater dress with the legging's. Shopping made her work up an appetite for pizza and root beer, or so she said. I think she really just want the root beer and to ride the escalator. After lunch we went to Nordstrom to oggle over the handbags because Leila told me she likes purses neither of us found one we couldn't live without though.

Then it was off to pigtails and crewcuts to get her nails done. I had a really great time and more importantly I think Leila did.

Friday, July 10, 2009

a public service announcement

Non-allergic Amoxicillin Rash.


What started out as two mosquito bites, that the doctor couldn't say did or didn't look like Lime Disease, turned into a full body rash.
Apparently somewhere between 3%-10% of children develop this rash as a result of taking amoxicillin. It is also very common if you have mono and you take amoxicillin. Apparently developing this rash doesn't preclude you from taking amoxicillin in the future. Hummm...I will have to think about that the next time the doctor suggests antibiotics for Carina. By the way I truly don't think Carina had Lime Disease, I think she has incredibly sensitive skin, that according to Grandma Sue, comes naturally.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

4th of July

July 4th 2008.  
We have a local parade that we have attended the last few years and these photos are from last year.  The parade has about a 98% participation verses viewership but it really is a lot of fun for the kids...okay and the mom's and dads.  Mostly it is dogs and kids on bikes decorated in red white and blue.
So about July 5th of 2008 I started thinking about how I could improve our showing for next year.  And this is what I, along with my wonderful mother in-law came up with.For those of you who have been around since Carina's first birthday I guess this shouldn't come as such a surprise. But Grandma loaded up the horse and cart and came to Portland so Carina could ride in the parade.   Carina was afraid at first and really didn't want to get on but once she saw her 90 year old G.G. was going to ride she was all for it.  And along the way Carina picked up her best Friend Wyatt which also helped.  (I see romantic horse and buggy rides in their future.)   
Wyatt's little sister Avery joined the fun and Carina took her job of holding on to her tightly very seriously.  As you can imagine it was a hit at the parade and we even had some people follow us home for a ride.

So now that just leaves me with what to do next year.




Sunday, May 10, 2009

Happy Mother's Day

Whether it's your 1st, 3rd or 36th mother's day, I hope you have a wonderful day and you know just how important you are.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Books from the Heart

I am the point person at my office for the Books from the Heart Campaign. The purpose is to collect books for children in state custody. For every new book you donate you will receive a $10.00 certificate to McCormick and Schmicks restaurants. I will have certificates or you can donate at any Barnes and Noble. The benefit of giving them to me is they will be distributed to the children that are served in my branch. So dig deep and buy a new book or two for children who wouldn't otherwise get a new book.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Skiing....again


When Travis and I decided to teach Carina to ski we decided that it was really all about "growing" a skier. Which as we figure it means that it is our job to make this as much fun as possible for her. We initially started off taking her in a child carrier back pack... and that worked until Travis took a bit of a fall with her and she HATED it after that. We were worried that we had ruined it for her forever. But thanks to some you tube videos of little kids skiing Carina was hooked and hence the "I wanna ski by myself" post of earlier.

We did buy her her own skis and she has enjoyed it. We took her up with the sled this weekend, she wanted to start off in the sled and stayed in there all the way to our lunch spot. It is a beautiful spot with a great view of Mt. Hood.

















Carina and I stayed at the top of the hill while Travis made the drop. We made the snowman and went Sledding. It was an incredibly fun and silly time.









Carina managed to ski for about 1/4 of a mile back down to the car. She did really well but she was tired and got back in the sled and passed out all the way back to the car. When she woke up to get in the car she told me " that was really fun skiing."

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Carina's magic carpet ride

Carina took her first ride at the resort. Mt. Hood Meadows has a conveyor belt like contraption that gets kids, mostly, up a small hill with out the complications of a lift line or the dislodged shoulder of a rope tow.









The first attempt Carina ended up on her buns and in tears. So Travis was then in charge of getting her up the hill. She did pretty good so long as we were both holding a hand going slowly.









But she eventually loosened up and enjoyed going fast and even let me take some action shots.

She even tried a few "fries" and "pizzas"

Monday, March 16, 2009

First Day of School

I started looking at daycare centers about a year ago when Travis got his job. I saw a few and although I did find one that I was willing to put her in I was not ready to let her go. She was just still so little and not fully capable of tattling about anyone being mean to her. Thankfully my friend Took so graciously agreed to take Carina even though she was at the time 9 months pregnant. I was generous enough to give her a 3 day pregnancy leave after the birth before Carina returned from her Aunt Megan's.

Took has taken wonderful care of Carina, loving her like her own fair skinned child. Carina loves Took and her sister in law Ghoy and over the last year they have developed such an amazing relationship. Took got her to nap everyday so that I would have my wonderful daughter in the evenings instead of a little monster. Took fed her everyday, plied her with M&M's to use the potty, didn't charge me a cleaning fee when Carina peed on her brand new couch (because somehow her daddy forgot to put a diaper on her) and taught Carina how to count and say a few phrases in Thai/Laotian. I appreciated Took everyday for this but not so much as I did today when I had to leave my baby with practical strangers.

Carina joined the forces of children of working parents everywhere and went to daycare. I was a wreck all day and worried about her, was she crying, was she missing me, where the other kids ignoring her or hitting her.

When I picked her she was happily playing in fact she didn't want to leave. Her teacher said she transitioned wonderfully and even wanted to lay down and take a nap when she first got there. Carina loves school and can't wait to go back tomorrow. They are having a St. Patrick's day party with cupcakes.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

I wanna be...


Carina thinks grandma Jule is pretty cool. This isn't a passing phase, she's been saying it for a while. Jule may have gotten her wish, to pass on the veterinarian bug, it just took an additional generation.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Mother Daughter bonding

For my mom's 60th birthday I really wanted to do something special and give her something she wasn't likely to give herself. It was also something that wanted but it really wasn't until I had Carina that I really decided exactly what I wanted. I also don't think that until my mom had grandchildren she really knew either. NO I am not talking about a mother's ring, although that would have been beautiful and I am not talking about a sweatshirt with the kids names on it. For my mom's 60th and my 30th I got us tattoos. It took some coordinating but I finally pulled off scheduling an appointment with Alice at Infinity tattoo. My friend Nicole recommended her and since Nicole's tattoos are so beautiful I knew we would be in good hands.
So my mom and I woke up ate a good breakfast and headed out to change our bodies forever. I really wasn't' sure if I wanted to go first but since my mom eagerly volunteered I let her go ahead. She braved it like a trooper and told me while I was waiting to begin that it was like a little scratch nothing to it.




And then I got on the table. I knew I would be there awhile so I brought Twilight with me to read. I figured since I had already read the book it would be a good choice since I wouldn't have to pay to much attention to the reading. Alice started off and I was thinking okay this isn't so bad and I read my book and people watched, some guy was there getting a tattoo done on his lowered abdomen and they had this shade up that honestly peeked my curiosity more then if I could have seen what was going on. It became obvious very quickly that I was not going to get much reading in. The pain in my calf was excruciating and I knew I had at least an hour a head of me. As Alice moved up my calf to the back of my knee the pressure of the needle kept sending shooting nerve pain up my leg. At one point my mother came over asked if I was sleeping, SLEEPING how easy had the tattooing been for her. Since I was laying on my stomach my arms had started to shake and the only way to relax was to lay flat try to remember the breathing that got me through 13 hours of an un-medicated natural childbirth. By the time Alice was done I was really ready to run out of the shop. At no time did I become numb to the pain as others suggested would happen and it never seemed like a little scratch as my loving mother suggested it was. So as we head for lunch my mom says "that really hurt huh" Hell yes it hurt I thought I was just being weak when my mom pretended to have an easy time of it. So I also learned my mom lies in what I hope was an attempt to not psych me out.

So my tattoo is the Constellation Carina, for obvious reasons. And as someone pointed is going to really hard to top if I ever have another child. Which is motivation to never have another child. It is not the natural labor that scares me it is the realization that I would have to get another tattoo.
And yes that is my calf, don't be a hater I can never find boots that fit snug.











And although it is hard to tell from this picture my mom's in a yellow rose with 4 vines coming out with an initial for each of the grandchildren.


So after almost two weeks of healing and pealing we are both are very happy.

Monday, February 9, 2009

The great wolfe Lodge


So we spent this weekend at the Great Wolfe Lodge that they recently build in WA, I think the next closest one is in Kansas. We all had a really good time, especially Carina there was an area just for the little ones with ski-doos and a couple of water slides. At first Carina wanted us with her the whole time, which meant sliding down the little water slide with her over and over and over again. But by the next morning Papa and Momma where a distant memory.


Travis wondered if this would be the trip we looked back on and see that we lost our little baby into the world of little girl and not wanting anything to do with her parents.


I got a few more runs in on the slide with her in fear that Travis was right...and she was happy to have her momma right along side her.