12.18.2014

currently / Rob vs. Kitten / link up

image via 

The deal: Use our themes or use your own - just let us know what is 'currently' going on with you. Be sure to stop by and say hello to the other bloggers linking up - especially to my amazing co-host Randalin of Harvesting Kale.

This week's themes: 
loving, reading, choosing, designing, wondering

We have all been Loving a little kitten named Rosie. We get to pet-sit her for a couple of weeks and we were excited for Otto to get a chance to practice feeding schedules and litter clean-up and for the family to get a sense of what it will be like when we get Otto his birthday kitten. Well it turns out we may have a problem because Rob's eyeballs don't seem to love kitten essence. He woke up after a night of kitten sofa snuggles with demon eyes yesterday and through all kinds of scientific testing (take a shower, go for a walk outside) we are pretty sure they were the classic demon eyes of a cat allergy. So he is like, "maybe we can't get a kitten," and I am like, "well I guess we will have to find a less allergenic kitten and you will need to wash your hands more." Cat standoff?

I'm currently Reading a beautiful, quiet book called Stoner which the New Yorker called, "The greatest American novel you've never heard of." I don't know if it's for everybody, but it's for me. And I'm looking forward like CRAZY to reading Wild with the Ladies Who Book Club. We are reading for the month and then discussing towards the end of January. All interested ladies should join us. We are the best book club in the world <-- fact.="" p="">

Last night the kids had their Winter Concert at school and Loretta was almost Choosing to skip the stage and hang out in the audience. She was pretty overwhelmed by the whole show and cried, just a bit, but I was proud of my brave girl for eventually standing up there with her classmates. Just standing. No singing. Refused to dance. Just a scowling, darling statue of misery with terror eyes. And Otto, you guys, Otto was doing like Michael Bolton-level emotion faces while singing Michael Jackson's "Heal the World" with his class.

I am in the beginning stages of Designing just a handful of things that will be a part of a shop launch in the New Year (hopefully February). I'm not trying to be coy, but there is a lot of fear in my heart as I kick off this little business that's been dancing in my head for days and in and out of months and over a year... So anyways, to be designing feels really amazing and I cannot wait to share more here in just a couple of months!

Otto has been Wondering what could possibly be in all of the packages under the tree. Not a thing from Mom and Dad. We haven't wrapped a single gift. But his Nanas and Papas sent huge boxes full of packages and so under our tree looks ridiculous right now. So much Christmas magic for a near-six year old!

Next week and the next:
'Currently' is taking some time off for the holidays! See you back here in the New Year!!  

12.10.2014

currently / look, we drink blurry cocoa / link up


The deal: Use our themes or use your own - just let us know what is 'currently' going on with you. Be sure to stop by and say hello to the other bloggers linking up - especially to my amazing co-host Randalin of Harvesting Kale.

This week's themes: 
dancing, cooking, losing, clearing, sharing

We have all been Dancing to the holiday station on the radio and also lots of Michael Jackson. Rob thinks he can moonwalk, so there's that to witness. Ours is a dance party house and I can't help but stop and smile and hope we will always be a dance party house, no matter how old the kids get.

Oh guys, in between Thanksgiving and Christmas, not a whole lot of Cooking goes on around here. We are pinching pennies and so so busy. I guess I've been cooking a lot of frozen pizzas and cooking up crescent rolls and Costco's broccoli cheese soup. Almost all meals these days are some combination of fast-to-make and bread-based with cheese as an ingredient.

I wish I could say I've been Losing those last 10 pounds and doing sit-ups like GI Jane but it would be a wild lie.

Same as cooking, not much Clearing has been going on around here lately either. We are gathering stocking stuffers and gifts for the kids and tucking them away out of sight... Cards from friends and family... Catalogs (which, who knew catalogs were even still a thing - I think I have a tree's worth from the past few weeks and Otto couldn't be happier. He loves them). In a few weeks I'm sure we'll feel a need to clear everything, sort, donate, organize, unclutter, but right now it's like charming holiday clutter and we're just wallowing in it.

Loretta has been Sharing in all that we do quite aggressively lately. She is very ready to be a big girl and to do all. the. things. She drags a chair into the kitchen to help do dishes and bake. She helps Otto clean up the toy room. She folds towels, mostly small ones that she rolls like crepes. When she takes her shoes off she throws them to the shoe bucket and if they don't make it she yells, "I missed!" She chooses books for story time. She plays board games. She picks out her own clothes - and God help us cause the girl is tacky. Anyways, it's so nice to have her take an equal part in the little things that make up our daily life. She and her brother just light up our home.

Next week's theme's:
loving, reading, choosing, designing, wondering 

12.04.2014

currently is "calling in sick" this week...

Hey guys, it turns out 4 out of the 6 Harvesting Kale/Ot & Et kids and moms are down for the count right now. We're going to skip a week... We love you. We'll be back, all well rested and hydrated, with nasal passages all irrigated and weird amounts of cinnamon in our systems. xo

11.27.2014

currently / Happy Thanksgiving / link up


The deal: Use our themes or use your own - just let us know what is 'currently' going on with you. Be sure to stop by and say hello to the other bloggers linking up - especially to my amazing co-host Randalin of Harvesting Kale.

This week's themes: 
picking, reading, watching, rushing, planning

I'm 36 years old and I am a turkey cooking virgin. But we're hosting tonight for some friends and so this week I was Picking out my first Thanksgiving turkey. I got a hot tip from a friend that Costco had organic turkeys and Holy Pricey Bird, Batman! Anyways, wish me luck today, friends.

Otto and I have been Reading the third book in the Little House series at bedtime, Farmer Boy. As with the first two, I'm a bit mortified by the child abuse and racism in these books. But, by editing on the fly, Otto is just getting the benefit of hearing about how self-sufficient life used to be and how different childhood used to be. "Doesn't seem like much of a fun life," he said. Ha. Werd. But it's also so fascinating. The books are so procedural, I feel like if I needed to make cheese, maple syrup, or plant a field of potatoes, I could do it now.  

We will all be Watching the Macy's Parade in a few hours! Having the parade on while I cook is MANDATORY.

This week all the Rushing around that seemed to make the whole summer give me anxiety kind of melted away on a sea of Hershey candy cane kisses and slowly enjoyed cups of coffee. Un-rushing.  

We are Planning to get a real Christmas tree this year, probably this weekend. And are planning to take the kids to Big Hero 6. That's it for planning. Happy weekend.

Next week's theme's:
dancing, cooking, losing, clearing, sharing 

11.20.2014

currently - link up


The deal: Use our themes or use your own - just let us know what is 'currently' going on with you. Be sure to stop by and say hello to the other bloggers linking up - especially to my amazing co-host Randalin of Harvesting Kale.

This week's themes: 
finding, writing, dressing, thinking, beginning

I am Finding myself in a rut between Cautious and Safe versus Following Your Heart lately and truthfully I've been in this rut for months and months now. It's basically the end of 2014 and the small business that I intended to kick off back in January still lives in my head only. I keep waiting for that moment of extreme energy and boldness to hit me when I will run with this thing but the sad fact is all I feel most days is completely energy drained and a little panicky about money. Maybe this is a bad time in our lives for me to take on something new? But then if I wait, well, I just don't want to wait. But then every day I wait another day.

Otto has continued Writing his epic list for Santa. Now it's up to Rob and me to start getting a little family Christmas planned and some gifts and stocking stuffers gathered. I'm so excited to plan our Christmas breakfast and lunch. Thanksgiving is amazing and I love it...and need to get that planned as well. But I also just love the idea of a warm and easy Christmas day where the food is slower and simpler. I'm thinking a cheese-based soup, fresh bread, cinnamon rolls, and maybe hot toddies or cider drinks for the grownups. Mmm.

We have all been Dressing in layers. Cold came a little early this year! We are trying to be a bit Scroogey with the house heat as our bills were ridiculous last year. So we're all bundled and huddled under blankets.

Loretta has been Thinking that we are a bunch of dumb dumbs who can't understand a word she says. We also cramp her style. Also she adores us. She is a woman of intense love and fierce independence. I think she is on the brink of a leap in speech skills. She speaks so well, long detailed sentences, but her pronunciation is still mumbled and then she gets irate when misunderstood. I predict a happier little jabber jaw sometime soon. In the meantime, poor thing is frequently annoyed with us all when we don't understand her right away. She says, "I'm very very frustrated!" it breaks my heart.

We are Beginning to play a few boardgames as a legit family with all of us able to participate (Hi Ho Cherry Oh and Trouble) and also Beginning to be able to play some actual, real board games with Otto too. We got Quirkle over the weekend and I'm so excited about it.

Next week's theme's:
picking, reading, watching, rushing, planning 

11.13.2014

currently - link up


The deal: Use our themes or use your own - just let us know what is 'currently' going on with you. Be sure to stop by and say hello to the other bloggers linking up - especially to my amazing co-host Randalin of Harvesting Kale.

This week's themes: 
laughing, crying, cooking, looking, planning

This week we are Laughing at Otto's thick Christmas list. Rob told Otto, "You only get about 1 out of every 4 things on your list." Well between that open-ended advice and all of the catalogs that have been hitting our mailbox lately, Otto's list is at 30ish pages! We've filled him in on the secret that Santa only brings 2 or 3 gifts but he is now in a copying frenzy. I remember being obsessed with things like this as a kid too. It's great handwriting and reading practice so no big whoop. Except now we have to ask round-about questions like, "What are like the top 4 things on this list?" And of course it's a shrug.

After taking a break from Downton Abbey I've found myself with some quiet evenings to myself again lately and oh you guys, the Crying. So much ugly crying in the dark, haha. But so so good.

The kids have been Cooking, well baking really, every weekend lately. I hate making sandwiches for lunches. There, I've said it. Making sandwiches is a drag and it brings me down. I am missing the sandwich-making gene of motherhood. So we've been making vegetable breads and hippied-out cakes and things on the weekend so I can put those into their lunches instead of having to make sandwiches. Otto cuts fruit and veggies, measures, and stirs. Loretta stirs and measures too and if we can see a devilish look in her eye, well then she gets a "rodeo clown" bowl of her own to stir. Anyways, it's been great fun and saved me from making wompy ass sandwiches. Win times 1,000.

I have been Looking at Pinterest quite a bit lately. Funny how it goes in spells. Somewhere between trying to figure out how to love my wardrobe without buying anything new and what to make food-wise now that it's casserole and bread season, I'm back on the P.

We are all Planning for our first quiet little Thanksgiving/Christmas at home in a long while. Otto has changed his Thanksgiving dessert request from popsicles to cheesecake thank goodness! He'd also like to go pick out a real tree this year. I'm starting to think about buying gifts and making Thanksgiving dinner. I'd like to see Big Hero 6 at some point. And maybe a daytrip to Portland to see our friends there. And take the kids to the Nutcracker if it's not too expensive. And evenings at home with popcorn and all the important holiday movies (Home Alone, Home Alone 2, Rudolph, Charlie Brown) and then I need my annual Love Actually to happen, duh. Oh and Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses are here! They're here! Let the season begin!

Next week's theme's:
finding, writing, dressing, thinking, beginning 

11.05.2014

currently - link up


The deal: Use our themes or use your own - just let us know what is 'currently' going on with you. Be sure to stop by and say hello to the other bloggers linking up - especially to my amazing co-host Randalin of Harvesting Kale.

This week's themes: 
reading, running, sending, liking, valuing

This week we finished Reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and have BIG PLANS to watch the movie this weekend. That is about all the BIG PLANS I can handle after last weekend. Somewhere between Halloween excitement and Daylight Savings I'm just absolutely stupid tired, stupid overwhelmed, and stupid stupid. Loretta has been waking up at 4am and yelling at us for no reason about everything, all day long, every day this week. Harry Potter Weekend 2014 is calling my name hard.

Last Friday night the kids were Running from house to house spreading delight in exchange for candy. Loretta was a trick-or-treating rock star. Cowgirl nailed it and gave every single house a goodbye, "Yeehaw!" Amazing. Otto has always been a little awkward with the whole "trick or treat" exchange. People get really excited about his costume and want to compliment him and talk to him but he is all business. I always forget about this but every year we have to have these conversations about smiling, saying thank you, just being a normal and friendly guy. Meanwhile, what a freaking cute little happy Ghostbuster when not being asked to socialize with the nice people who fuel his candy pipeline.

If we are Sending holiday cards this year I guess we'd better try to coordinate some kind of family photo or picture of the kids where their outfits kind of match. Consider this a PSA if you put it off and do a janky job like us every year. Time to get on it, slacker.

I have not had time to be Liking anything. I haven't watched tv, read a book, cooked a decent meal, or anything all week. I have been liking being at work best because Loretta has been yelling at us at home. She is a gnarly two year old.

Valuing friendships. Somehow I have been lucky enough to find "lifer" friends in every place we have lived over the past decade. I truly didn't expect to find that type of friendship here in Eugene. This was going to be a five year blip that I (dumbly) thought would fly by. It hasn't flown. It's been difficult financially, physically, and mostly emotionally... It's just been a challenge and brought me to my knees so many times. But one really golden thing that's come of it is I've met some women I love. Women who inspire and challenge me and make me laugh and have gotten me through some tough days. Let's hear it for the girls.

Next week's theme's:
laughing, crying, cooking, looking, planning 

10.29.2014

currently - link up


The deal: Use our themes or use your own - just let us know what is 'currently' going on with you. Be sure to stop by and say hello to the other bloggers linking up - especially to my amazing co-host Randalin of Harvesting Kale.

This week's themes: 
committing, loving, organizing, watching, shopping

Happy Halloween you guys. This week, we are Committing to finishing the kids' costumes because GULP. It really bothers me how fast time flies. For these costumes, I'm relying super heavily on my organizational skills/creative vision being executed by Rob who has all of the actual artistic ability in the house. Otto's Ghostbuster costume is down to me sewing some badges that Rob made onto Ot's khakis and Rob putting the finishing touches on the baddest ass Proton Pack you've ever seen. I can't wait to share pics. Also, Loretta will be the cutest tutu cowboy you've ever seen. Your eyes will be dazzled by cuteness and badassness the likes of which will blind you. Also I just sincerely hope our cowboy doesn't decide to poop her pants on purpose while we're out trick-or-treating. This is not me being funny; this is a real concern.

Otto is love love Loving Harry Potter. We are just a few chapters away from the end and then I'm going to have to put off book 2 for a while. Too scary, right? Anyways, the other morning Otto woke up and told me he had dreamed he was flying and playing quidditch and Ron and Hermione were there. Snape was there and that made him a little nervous but Dumbledore was there so he knew he'd be ok. But Harry Potter wasn't there because he was Harry Potter! He said this like you'd talk about the thrill of your life. Have I successfully book wormed my child? Is my work here done? Yeehaw!

I need to start Organizing my time better. I'm just like swimming in to-dos and obligations and feeling blah about all of it. And like this vague business idea I keep getting excited about and hinting at on here is the first thing to put off, every day, because I feel so overwhelmed by these other obligations that I don't really care that much about. Dumb.

We've all been Watching Loretta deal with the horrible frustrations of being 2 1/2. She deals by venting. I love her to the bottoms of her toes but she is a straight up nutcase and it's hard on the whole family. All of the angst is really starting to bring me to my wits' ends. Just ohm. Ohm ohm. So much ohm and beer.

Shopping is something we haven't done much of around here lately. Well, except Costco. Costco has this giant sized bag of organic Ruffles that has basically ruined my existence. Have you ever eaten 28 servings of anything in 3 days? Oh, then you lose and I win the Disgusting and I Won't Stop challenge.

Next week's theme's:
reading, running, sending, liking, valuing 

10.23.2014

currently - link up


The deal: Use our themes or use your own - just let us know what is 'currently' going on with you. Be sure to stop by and say hello to the other bloggers linking up - especially to my amazing co-host Randalin of Harvesting Kale.

This week's themes: 
anticipating, contributing, discussing, listening, deciding

I am Anticipating a jam-packed weekend. Halloween is just a week away and Otto's Ghostbuster costume currently is a wildly unimpressive khaki shirt tucked into khaki pants... We need to get a-craftin! ps. I am also Anticipating the full week following Halloween of my kids being sugar fueled freaks. Our method is let them burn through the candy as fast as they want so it's out of the house. Also to sneak it out when they don't notice. Rob also sneak eats their candy and I am like, "Steal away! It makes them jerk robots!"

I am excited to be Contributing to the Eugene Special Olympics polar plunge without jumping into an icy river because I AM NOT CRAZY. The kids' school has generously donated their rec room and an upcoming weekend so that I can organize a huge rummage sale. Now for the part where I make myself crazy taking on a huge project I don't have time for. I am maybe a little bit crazy.

There is a community growing of amazing women in this town and I was stoked to be invited to join a new Lean In Circle recently. Today we are having our first meet-up and there are like 20 women involved! We will be Discussing the unique challenges we face and supporting each other and inspiring each other. I AM NOT EXCITED AT ALL.

Yesterday when I picked Otto up at school the kids were all Listening to the "Freeze" song and having a huge dress-up dance party. Loretta ran over, joined in, and just froze. She wouldn't unfreeze. She froze for the full 2 minutes even during the dance parts and when I tried to get her to dance her eyes were like, "Do NOT fuck this up for me, Mom." She wins everything.

We are planning a tiny little Thanksgiving (just us) this year and we are each Deciding one meal category. Rob gets to pick breakfast, I'm on dinner. And Otto is on dessert. So far he's landed on popsicles so this may be one of those Charlie Brown style Thanksgivings with popcorn and jelly beans and toast.

Next week's theme's:
committing, loving, organizing, watching, shopping 

10.16.2014

currently - Otto & Stitch - link up


The deal: Use our themes or use your own - just let us know what is 'currently' going on with you! Be sure to stop by and say hello to the other bloggers linking up - especially to my amazing co-host at Harvesting Kale.

This week's themes: appreciating, feeling, looking, regretting, playing

I have been Appreciating my children's strengths and weaknesses. Loretta is so resilient and such a force of nature. She face planted into rocks (of course she did) at school last week and got the worst nose scrape and lip cut combo I've ever seen, plus gauged her forehead so badly she needed a stitch. My heart hasn't stood so still since she spent her initial days on this planet in NICU (scariest days of my life). One of our parent friends from school posted this on my FB:

H- has told me (more than once I might add) that "Etta fell down on the sidewalk and landed on her face and she didn't even cry and she is a really tough girl even though she's a little kid."

Meanwhile fail to give this girl a pee pee treat after using the toilet and she falls to pieces.

Otto has been Feeling very cool lately, round-the-clock wearing nerd glasses his Nana and Papa brought him. You guys, I can't. Where did Otto come from? He's like bio-engineered or something. He asked us what a "nerd" was and we were like, "someone who's really smart and so into being smart that it makes them cool." I love that nerd chic is a thing and my five year old is its poster child.

I have been Looking at the calendar and being like what in the what? How is it freaking mid-October already? Is nuts.

I am stumped on Regretting this week. I'm a little bit regretting that I didn't spend all summer visiting the gym and working on my skincare routine. Not regretting those things enough to wash my face before bed most nights or do sit-ups, mind you.

Image via Busted Tees. So! This past weekend we started Playing Settlers of Catan with Otto. On Sunday, we actually taught Otto, my mom, and my dad how to play and Otto hung in there as a team with Rob. Hurray Settlers! Otto rolls so many sevens! I'm tardy to the Settlers party, it's been a favorite of Rob's for years and years. But dudes, this game! I should say that it's still pretty involved for Ot. It's recommended for ages 10+. But playing on Rob's team he did super awesome and I'm such a board game geek it's like actually thrilling to me that this is something we do now. Settlers, Yes We Catan!

We have an open "CALL FOR THEMES" going on so please submit theme suggestions.
Next week's themes were submitted by the wonderful Caz who blogs over at Water Under It:
anticipating, contributing, discussing, listening, deciding 

10.09.2014

currently - link up


The deal: Use our themes or use your own - just let us know what is 'currently' going on with you! Be sure to stop by and say hello to the other bloggers linking up - especially to my amazing co-host at Harvesting Kale.

This week's themes: reading, thinking, feeling, eating, dreaming

At bedtime, I have been Reading the first Harry Potter book with Otto. It's some dark business: terrible adopted family, parents murdered by an evil wizard... that's about the harshest plot Otto's ever heard of but his imagination is just totally and completely captured by the magic of it all. He's over the moon. Where he usually dozes off about a chapter into our nightly books, now he's fighting sleep to listen for pages and pages and pages. Not sure what we'll do when the book ends. I feel like by book three this series gets a little off its rocker with the scary stuff.

I have been Thinking a lot lately about where I put my energy. I tend to do this thing where I take on way too much, freak out, kill myself making sure everything goes great, take about a second to feel good about jobs well done, and then take zero time to enjoy peace/relax before re-taking on way too much. I have this plan to not break this cycle (because I is who I is) but to change the usual course a little. I need to get pickier about just what I'm taking on exactly.

Loretta has been Feeling all the feelings like whoa. I think the top of her emotion pyramid is filled almost completely with independence and yelling. Yes, yelling is a feeling. So, OK... One time when Otto was about three he ran away from me at Target when it was time to check out and I was like, "Terrible twos? Terrible threes!" and then Loretta came along and it's like, "omg I had no concept."

Our Eating has been pretty lackluster around here lately. I did make a kick-ass chik'un (well Quorn) noodle soup last weekend that felt all fall-y and comfort-y. Rob's got some kind of stress ulcer going on so he's off coffee, beer, hot sauce. Basically we have nothing in common at this point.

I am Dreaming of a quiet night with the couch to myself, a hot cup of coffee, a pile of Hershey's candy cane kisses, and Love Actually on the tv. Oh I might as well go all crazy and add "in a new pair of sweatpants" to the dream. There, indulgence fantasy! We all have dream sweatpants, don't we?

That was this week and here are next week's themes:
TBD. Do you have any theme ideas? Suggestions welcome! 

10.08.2014

House Rules

We are not the kind of house that operates under the structure of rules. I'll start with that. We remind each other to be polite and encourage the kids to pick up their messes. But there are no general regulations. Not usually. Routines, yes. Rules, not so much.

But last night Loretta inspired a set of house rules. Within the course of an hour. All the while smiling that head-tilted, cheeky little smile of hers that says to us, "Ain't I a stinker?" A smile Rob and I literally turn and run from because smiling back can only encourage her. Right?

She's a thrill chaser in a family of peaceful easies. Sometimes that's a delight. Sometimes it's like, "Why?! Are?! You?! Crazy?!" Anyways...

Rule 1. Be nice to each other. That's all. Let's all do this always. Politeness rules.

Rule 2. No pooping in your pants on purpose.

Rule 3. No bath tub sploshing of water onto the old, cracked-linoleum floor of our 101 year old rental. Sploshing is strictly forbidden and your washcloth and bath cups will be confiscated. No amount of histrionic crying, screaming, and arm waving into the eyes of your delighted-to-be-having-a-fit reflection on the wall mirror will change our minds. We are onto you.

Rule 4. No ruining. Books, games, flash cards, and other toys ruined on purpose will be immediately ejected from the premises. In fact, actually, ruin away. Tossing junk out of our chaos pile is super therapeutic for Mama.

I suppose to be proper I should couch these rules  in terms of, "Instead of..." And ps. who am I even kidding? There are no rules. This girl just tests my everything. She is the brightest little ball of sunshine and the biggest pain in the ass. And dudes, with the pooping. THAT IS A PHASE I WAS NOT EXPECTING.

10.02.2014

currently - link up


The deal: Use our themes or use your own - just let us know what is 'currently' going on with you! Be sure to stop by and say hello to the other bloggers linking up - especially to my amazing co-host at Harvesting Kale.

This week's themes: throwing, drinking, looking, loving, sharing

I have been Throwing the dinner plan out the window. Thank goodness for frozen sweet potato fries from Costco. (I'm going to needlepoint that on a pillow.) Between Otto's martial arts classes, Rob's semester kicking off this week, Loretta just omg where do I start, and my being a pathetic pile of tired crap everyday by the time I get home it's like, "What can I heat up in ten minutes while the sweet potato fries cook?"

This weekend we were Drinking in the last warmth and sunshine of post-summer niceness. A little daytrip to the coast on Sunday was about the most perfect day I could imagine.

Loretta doesn't know it but she is Looking forward to her ballet classes starting up again. There isn't a whole lot going on in Eugene for 2-year old ballerinas but the place where we took a summer class is having another session this month and I can't wait to get her back in her leotard. She's just into it and it makes me super happy to see, plus it's so stinking cute.

I have been Loving peacefulness and football. We are entering the time of the year where quiet days and crisp walks and Ducks football and baking bread and watching the pumpkins in our yard start to turn orange are all the things. Summer is great but it's hectic. Fall is peaceful and cuddly.

Otto has been Sharing all of his ideas for Halloween costumes. Nothing as inspired as last year's Kung Fu Werewolf but we are waiting for him to have another moment of inspiration. Our plan is to let him brainstorm and when he hits on gold, to ask him to "lock it in." We are devious parents. So far the winning idea has been Human Torch but he keeps changing his mind to Mario. Breath held! Oh and Loretta wants to be a cowboy. She will scowl you under the table if you say cowgirl. Cowboy! You got it, sweetheart.

That was this week and here are next week's themes:
reading, thinking, feeling, eating, dreaming 

9.25.2014

currently - link up


I have to admit I was crazy tempted this morning to skip this post. Loretta had gotten up at 2am last night demanding to go downstairs and play. I finally managed to talk her into snuggling me in bed and when my alarm went off at 4:30 this morning (it's so much easier for me to get up early than stay up  late) I found myself curled up with this little peanut of a girl who rarely will give more than a minute or two of cuddles. But "Currently" has been such a steady part of my life for so long now. I knew I'd regret skipping it. It's really the only blogging I do anymore and I know I'll look back on it and be so glad I have these time-lapse snapshots of our life.

The deal: Use our themes or use your own - just let us know what is 'currently' going on with you! Be sure to stop by and say hello to the other bloggers linking up - especially to my amazing co-host at Harvesting Kale.

This week's themes: watching, learning, considering, needing, changing

We have been Watching the rain come down and feeling cold night air on our faces as we sleep. Fall is so good. I do need to rescue my late-bloomer tomatoes from the garden this week. I'm afraid they'll have to ripen on the counter. Our cucumbers are micro-sized but there are loads of them... I suppose next year we'll need to plant those earlier too and in a sunnier spot. Hard to find in my yard! But it's exciting to know that if I do another garden next year, and just start it a month earlier, we'll be up to our ears in food plants by the end of summer.

Loretta has been Learning to piece by piece add 100 stalls to her bedtime routine. The newest one I want to remember forever. She has some art on her wall with loads of different animals on it and every night we do a little quiz on which animal is what. It took her a while but she can finally say, "hippopotamus!" So now, after she says, "hippopotamus!" she has to run and find Rob and say it again for him and we all go, "oh, you're saying hippopotamus, that's a big word, fantastic!" Last night after she got her rain of praise she launched into a recitation of counting 1 to 20, very slowly, a new stall tactic. She's darling and bedtime takes an actual hour, but it's such a good hour.

This week I am Considering the future. Rob is set to graduate in Spring 2016 and then what? We will almost certainly be moving to another state, the kids will be a bit older, and it will be an opportunity for me to reset a little bit. I've always wanted to own my own business. I remember writing a business plan for a macaroni & cheese themed restaurant - when I was about seven - that included monthly utilities and staff salaries and even the cost of napkins. I'm beginning to do more than dance with an idea I've had for a small business that's been percolating for about a year now. I'd really like to launch at the beginning of the year on a super super small scale so that I can build it up and iron out the kinks while we're here and then really "go for it" when we leave here. But it's scary to think about. Not failing, I'm not scared of that. But just being exhausted. I think for about three months now I've not been exhausted for the first time in years and it's like, do I want to take this on? But I think I do. I think I'd regret avoiding it. So we'll see if I rise to this.

Otto has been Needing a bit more independence lately and it's hard for mama. While Loretta has been testing boundaries since birth, Otto waited until he was nearly six. I think this explosion of testing out sarcasm on us, refusing to do chores, eye rolling (ulgh), etc. is stemming from his move to the K-2nd classroom and exposure to older, grander kids who are changing his view of what's "cool". And I mean, he's a doll, just a doll who now sometimes rolls his eyes and says, "Gosh" like Napoleon Dynamite.

I am excited to be Changing over to Fall clothes. Buffalo Exchange will be happening in my life soon, soon, soon! I could really go for some new-to-me additions to my wardrobe and the whole world looks better in layers. Cheers to that.

That was this week and here are next week's themes:
throwing, drinking, looking, loving, sharing 

9.18.2014

currently - link up


The deal: Use our themes or use your own - just let us know what is 'currently' going on with you! Be sure to stop by and say hello to the other bloggers linking up - especially to my amazing co-host at Harvesting Kale.

This week's themes: calling, loving, eating, riding, wishing

I am going to start by Calling out Mother Nature, of Father Biology, or whatever. OTTO IS NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE HIS TEETH ALL FALLING OUT OF HIS HEAD AT THE SAME TIME. I DO NOT HAVE LOADS OF DOLLARS SITTING AROUND IN MY WALLET FOR THIS AND ALSO IT IS FREAKING ME THE EFF OUT. Go, sit down and figure out how to evolve me like the Electric Grandmother so that coffee comes out of my fingertips and we'll be square. Dismissed.

Loretta has been Loving puzzles, games, and board games. The other night Rob took Otto to Taekwondo and I stayed home with Loretta and we took care of babies the whole time. Nearly an hour of giving babies bottles, feeding them play chicken drumsticks and cans of soup, burping them, laying them down, shaking them awake and yelling, "wake up! wake up!" We were good mothers. And then last night I took Toothless Magoo to Taekwondo and we came home to find Rob and Etta engrossed in a game of Hi Ho Cherry O. Rob said they played it about fifteen times in a row. I remember doing the same thing with Otto not too long ago. Oh my goodness.

This week we were Eating our first pan of green bean casserole of "the season". GBC season, just another reason to remember how much I love fall! Even though I'm scared of winter! But fall! GBC Fall 2014!

I have been Riding my awesome ass Honda Odyssey around town (we are a 1 car family) and it needs an oil change. I'm so excited that this van will be paid off by December 2015 and then we won't have a car payment. The plan is to keep it in great shape so it lasts another five years after that. Therefore, I think this weekend we'll be grabbing an oil change and here's something really awesome about me: I love getting oil changes. I go without the kids, it's like a guaranteed ten minutes of just sitting in the car in peaceful solitude, and the place we go to gives a free carwash and bottomless vaccuum tokens which is like SOUL CLEANSING to just clean the van out. Van vacuuming is so satisfying I have no words for how much I love it.

Lately I have found myself Wishing the next two years would fly by. Rob will get his degree, find gainful employment, and we'll get on with things and not be struggling so much financially and able to put roots down somewhere, finally. But then things like baby milestones and lost teeth happen and I realize I don't want to wish this time away. So I'll switch to wishing for a winning lottery ticket to get caught up in a gust of wind and land at my feet.

That was this week and here are next week's themes:
watching, learning, considering, needing, changing 

9.11.2014

currently - link up


The deal: Use our themes or use your own - just let us know what is 'currently' going on with you! Be sure to stop by and say hello to the other bloggers linking up - especially to my amazing co-host at Harvesting Kale.

This week's themes: falling, wearing, making, smiling, learning

Yesterday Otto's teeth started Falling out. He gave us no grace period to cope with this emotionally or formulate a Tooth Fairy plan. At 4:45 he announced a loose tooth. We had dinner, went to Taekwondo, came home, and at bedtime he brushed that tiny little baby tooth right out of its socket. Less than three hours for the whole adventure. He announced, "In Japan, when you lose a tooth you get two dollars and a baseball!" On the fly I suggested that there are quite a few tooth fairies, each assigned to different houses, and so we'd have to see what kinds of things our tooth fairy would bring. So, we decided the going rate for teeth at our house would be two bucks, but no baseball. Is that pretty on par with the norm?

Loretta has been going to school for a week now and Wearing underpants all day while she's there. I'm so proud of my girl for adapting to her new schedule so well, we hear she's very social and just "a doll" to have in class. Also, only 1 accident in 2 days! That's pretty amazing considering her potty training didn't really take off until August.

I have been Making plans for a beautifully dull weekend and cannot wait for it. Football on tv on Saturday. The kickoff of PBS' 7 part documentary on the Roosevelts starts Sunday (when I heard about this on NPR I was alone in the car and spontaneously shouted out, "I'm so excited!") Other than that, I will be attempting to not brush my hair or otherwise do anything of value beyond playing with the kids in the yard and drinking coffee.

The whole house is Smiling at Loretta's first joke. The other day when we were saying goodbyes Loretta said to Rob, "Bye, hot dog!" I don't even think she said it on purpose, it probably just kind of came out randomly because she's two and her synapses are all misfiring and growing and she's a weird little human. Anyways, Rob said, "Bye, hot dog?" And Loretta laughed! Then we all laughed! And now she started saying it on purpose and we're all saying, "Bye, hot dog," and "Goodnight, hot dog," and "I love you, hot dog," to each other and the whole house is filled with laughter at Loretta's first joke.

For me, this past week was a really tough one and I found myself Learning that you can only do so much and then you have to rely on others to do their parts. I suppose I'm starting to embrace some leadership roles I find myself in, in my life. It's not my most comfortable position to be in, but I'm learning to get better at it.

That was this week and here are next week's themes:
calling, loving, eating, riding, wishing 

9.03.2014

currently - link up


The deal: Use our themes or use your own - just let us know what is 'currently' going on with you! Be sure to stop by and say hello to the other bloggers linking up - especially to my amazing co-host at Harvesting Kale.

This week's themes: loving, craving, demanding, questioning, worrying

Right this minute I am Loving the idea of getting back into a groove. The kids are starting school this week (someone please hand me a pudding cup and hold me, they are so big you guys) and we just came off a many-week bender of events and visitors, including Rob being away for 8 days and me taking the kids on an overnight road trip to Portland. All of it was the best. But also, some of it was stressssssful (Rob being away for a week was pretty stressful. I hardly slept at all, just sat up worrying, ugh). Don't get me wrong, family, friends, road trips, weddings, Rob networking and learning math fancy stuff in foreign countries, sunshine, summer! All good things. But having our schedule blowing in the wind for so many weeks on end has been kind of crazy-making. I don't go with the flow too well. We were like out of fruit. How does that even happen? Mama needs some dull ass weeks and thirty minutes in the bath with a cup of coffee while she meal plans (because THAT is the current fantasy, omg).

Loretta has been Craving fizzy water (sparkling mineral water) and when she drinks it she says, "Oh, mmmm, that's good." Love.

You know you are turning into Crazy Garden Lady when you find yourself Demanding a squirrel, "Get out of here, squirrel!" to the squirrel's face. My tomato plants that I started from seed are officially about a month behind everyone else's. We finally had one good tomato ripen last week. Well one morning just before that I was looking out the back window, admiring my little garden, when I saw a squirrel sitting by my plants with a big, orangey green something in its mouth. In that moment, the part of my brain that exists solely to protect tomatoes went batshit. I flew out of the house in my jammies and the squirrel, shocked, froze in fright. I grabbed a stick and started waving it in his direction yelling, "Get out of here, squirrel!" He bolted past me and ran halfway up a tree, then froze with this big fruit thing in his mouth. Just a few feet away from me, frozen on the tree, we were eye to eye and I realized it was not my tomato (like a weird cucumber, not from my garden) but I was still in a frenzy. I yelled, "Don't eat in my yard, squirrel!" and threw a stick at the tree, not at him but by his feet. He made this crazy throaty sound and like menacingly chittered at me. He looked so weird with that mystery fruit in his mouth, staring me down, chittering, and I swore he was going to leap at me and we were going to have to fight. I was ready to fight a squirrel. But then he was gone, like a rocket the rest of the way up the tree. Off to tell his buddies to stay the eff out of this yard, I hoped. Well, I picked my tomato a few days later and it was amazing. So I am officially a farmer and a scarecrow, bam!

Otto is Questioning everything. All he wants is what he has coming to him. All he wants is his fair share ;) Anyways, he is questioning everything. Can he have ice cream before breakfast? Can he play iPad 24 hours a day? Can he not take a bath? Can he ride his scooter without his helmet? And then the follow-up question, of course. "Awwww, why not?" Good times.

Oh you know me, the day I stop Worrying about everything I can and can't control will be the day I am murdered by a squirrel.

That was this week and here are next week's themes:
falling, wearing, making, smiling, learning 

8.28.2014

currently - link up


The deal: Use our themes or use your own - just let us know what is 'currently' going on with you! Be sure to stop by and say hello to the other bloggers linking up - especially to my amazing co-host at Harvesting Kale.

This week's themes: needing, missing, reading, hoping, playing

This week I have been Needing a getaway. Not you, huh? I am the only one who needs a getaway so the universe should just get on it already. I was watching Naked and Afraid (so were you, you know you were!) and it occurred to me that the first few days might just be wonderfully isolated and relaxing... before you start to starve. Just laying in the the shade on a tropical beach, eating and drinking coconuts, spear-fishing in the cool wade pools, lady bits free as a bird now, listening to the hypnotic sounds of the forest monkeys while you doze in a big palm-leaf hammock...

Loretta starts preschool two days a week next week (she'll stay at her babysitter's the other three days) and I have a feeling she won't be Missing a beat fitting in at Otto's Montessori. Miss Etta will be the absolutely youngest and possibly also the loudest kid in the 2 1/2-5 year old classroom. We do have a little bit of how do you say? Pee Fear because the rule is no diapers or even pull-ups at school. Loretta is potty trained... when she wants to be. Sometimes this means waking up with a dry diaper in the morning. Which, right on. But then yelling so fiercely, "no thank you NO THANK YOU NOTHANKYOU!" when asked if she'd like to try a pee on the potty. "Oh let's just try; it could be really awesome," I said the other day and picked her up to deposit her on the potty. She freaked, screaming, grabbed the door jam in mid-air and was hanging there like Harrison Ford, dangling from the gaping hole in the side of a nose-diving airplane. She was like perpendicular to the ground, four feet up, holding on for dear life as I tugged at her legs to get her into the bathroom. Son of a bitch if she was gonna let her body move past that door jam. NOTHANKYOU! So I pried her stubborn little fingers off the edge, one by one, and sat her screaming butt down on the potty and guess what? Pees. Smiles. Declares, "Peepee in the toilet!" and then dances a little peacock pride dance for herself and gives me a thumbs up. I fear for us during her teenage years.

The Ladies Who Book Club has been Reading How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran. This book is straight up empowering. Not in a, "Burn your bras! Yell at bra-wearers!" kind of way, but in a really smart, super funny, and raw and poignant kind of way. I relate to this insecure, but also incredibly secure, snarky, empathetic, cool, jaded, hopeful, exasperated, wise woman so completely. The conversations we've been having in the book club since starting this book have become highlights of many of my days.

Otto is Hoping for a snack. Can he have a snack? Like right now? Can he have one please? He said to Rob the other day, "Don't worry about ruining my dinner; I am almost always hungry." It's true. That lanky, bigfoot, toehead is a bottomless pit. I feel like my life has become a commercial for bagel bites or something where the boy is just constantly poking around the freezer with his growing boy sized gangly arms and eating non-stop snacks 24 hours a day while the mom stands at the counter putting away a big bag of groceries with a knowing grin, rolling her eyes because Boys! I don't mind it, it's just notable.

And we've all been Playing legos and duplos this week. Like mad! Legos are actually the best toy ever invented.

That was this week and here are next week's themes:
loving, craving, demanding, questioning, worrying 

8.20.2014

currently - link up


The deal: Use our themes or use your own - just let us know what is 'currently' going on with you! Be sure to stop by and say hello to the other bloggers linking up - especially to my amazing co-host at Harvesting Kale.

This week's themes: calling, lighting, making, watching, planning

Last week I was Calling for greater meaning and it's kind of weird but I think a little bit of greater meaning may have found me. My former neighbor and forever friend once told me that when I needed help in this world I needed to ask "the helpers." Just put it out there, out loud, to the universe, what I wanted, yell it, cry it, ugly cry it, just release it, and that the helpers would find me. Well, she's never been wrong. Whenever I've done that and let things out of my heart I've been able to find a way through and today a friend approached me to be involved in a local project for the Special Olympics in our area. It's many months away which means we can do a lot to make this fundraising event a huge success and I'm very excited to help however I can. Thanks Kate, for the advice, and thanks helpers for helping me find one way to make a difference, and thanks Emily for just being amazing and letting me be a part of your amazingness.

Today I was Lighting my head up with stars, and it's too bad that's not cool-mom talk for anything neat or fun. A big piece of plexiglass fell on my head. Wow, there's really no. cool. way. to say that. So... I got to chit chat about Tim Gunn with an EMT for a bit and Rob made dinner tonight so I could take it easier. I guess those were the high points. Now we're waiting to see if I have a concussion and I'm wondering if I'm writing this post lucidly or if, come tomorrow, I'll realize it's all a;la sl=k ja193g;lka edkrr!

Loretta has been Making us crazy asking, "Why?" I subscribe to the Eleanor Roosevelt School of Answering Children's Questions. If it's a question about the world, you answer it, however annoying. I think "Why?" falls under that category but holy man is it annoying. It's like:

"Loretta, be careful on that stool or you might fall off it again and bump your head again.

"Why?"

"Because we don't want you to have fun in life. Our cautions are meant to keep you down. Yes, they're arbitrary and unreasonable but you must obey because this is a dictatorship. Bahahahahaha!" Except not that.

Otto has been Watching some great retro kids movies for the first time and it's like magic to see him captivated by movies that we loved as kids. We watched "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" recently and it's like his brain exploded with joy and then my brain exploded with joy watching him and then Loretta tried to climb on the stool and we reminded her to be careful and she said, "Why?"

We've started Planning for Fall and I never thought I'd say this but I'm ready. Life is quieter in Fall. Schedules are boringer. Scarves make all your outfits look like you're stylish. Baileys in coffee re-becomes appropriate. I'm ready Fall. Let's do this.

That was this week and here are next week's themes:
needing, missing, reading, hoping, playing 

8.14.2014

currently - link up


The deal: Use our themes or use your own - just let us know what is 'currently' going on with you! Be sure to stop by and say hello to the other bloggers linking up - especially to my amazing co-host at Harvesting Kale.

This week's themes: searching, wearing, needing, moving, eating

This week I have been Searching for greater meaning. I know sometimes I come on here and talk about farts or cupcakes or whatever but lately I've been feeling this need to do something more... for my community. For humanity. It's like if each of us just did a little bit more... what could we accomplish? Who could we help? There are so many people in this world who could use a leg up. I need to figure out how to be useful beyond a donation here or there. To be continued... hopefully soon...

We have all been Wearing old clothes and looking like bohemians. Luckily that's the rage these days so everyone just thinks we're hipsters. Or at least that's what I tell myself ::nervous laughter:: Like Otto's cutoffs are actual cutoffs... of pants... that were used pants to begin with. I would say I'm looking forward to wearing fall layers, except I refuse to admit summer will ever end because that's when Oregon goes "All Summer in a Day" and I start crying in the shower for no reason on the regular. So... there's that.

Loretta has been Needing to tell us stories lately and it's just great. She's graduated from short sentences to garbled narratives with punchlines and everything. Her favorite story to tell is about how at a party we went to a few weekends ago this little boy kept trying to hug her and she wouldn't let him. The story sounds like this, "Doobadoo boy! And bubuh hug! And doobadoo no thank you!" Then she smiles and puts her hands in the air and it's the cutest thing in the history of all time.

Time has been Moving so quickly this summer and I'm a little bit freaking out to think that Otto starts kindergarten in just a couple of weeks and Loretta will be starting at Otto's school too (it's a Montessori so he'll be in elementary this year which what?!?!). She'll be starting at the youngest level just a couple days a week. We just decided, after a lot of soul searching, that we'll be keeping Otto at his school for at least one more year and not transitioning him to public school which was the original plan. Public school here is half day kindergarten and that's just difficult and honestly not enough. So I'm a little bit freaking out that my kid is an old man and time is passing but I'm also excited for all this coming year will bring our family, everything my little peanuts will learn, and for Loretta to go ahead and lock in potty training, never poop on the couch again sweet darling!, and hopefully stop smearing all her utensils on my arm at every meal while she's at it.

Speaking of smearing spoonfuls of sesame noodles on my arm... We have been Eating super simple meals lately and this recipe for sesame noodles is my favorite find. Easy as anything, kids gobbled it, cost like eleven cents or something because every ingredient except the green onions was already in my pantry. ps. I used apple cider vinegar because it's what I had and I left out the chili paste and us grownups just did our own spicing with sriracha and it was still fantastic.

That was this week and here are next week's themes:
calling, lighting, making, watching, planning 

8.06.2014

currently - link up


The deal: Use our themes or use your own - just let us know what is 'currently' going on with you! Be sure to stop by and say hello to the other bloggers linking up - especially to my amazing co-host at Harvesting Kale.

This week's themes: craving, cleaning, daydreaming, growing, reading

This week I have been Craving flavored water. I was chugging the delicious stuff at a bridal shower on Saturday and came home craving super cold cucumber, basil, lime water like I've never craved water before. I even broke my "nothing new" resolution to buy a good-sized glass water jug for the fridge to keep my cute-ass water in. No regrets. That's damn good water and the $10 I spent on the jug is way cheaper than how much a certain only other adult in this house spends on bottled beverages each week. Not that I needed a reason. It's a water jug for gersh dernit. Also this kind of coincides with my giving up Coke Zero about a month ago and then all cola products (even the "natural" ones) a couple weeks ago. I'm doing this for not-wanting-cancer and wanting-bone-health reasons. Plus I love making food rules.
image via 

Buy yourself a basil plant, get cucumbers and limes, have a one-man water party it's so good. I promise.

Otto has been Cleaning up a storm. He tidied the kids' toy room and his bedroom over the weekend and actually did a really fantastic job. What?! Amazing. He's going through a categorizing and organizing phase. Laying out all of certain toys, putting things in piles, getting really irritated when Lorettazilla lumbers through a room knocking everything in every direction (and then lately peeing on the floor as a nice final chaos touch, but that's another story). Anyways, he is my little tidy tyke these days and takes great pride in a job well done. I love that. He should be proud of himself, he's the raddest five year old kid I know and I don't mind adding, "good little tidier" to his list of talents.

Myself, I have been Daydreaming about cleaning house. Triple X daydream right? Maybe I should spice it up by daydreaming about cleaning house with Justin Theroux... Whatever. I'm having an unexpected day off on Friday and the plan is to donate every single thing I can bring myself to remove from my house and then take a bucket of soap and water to whatever's left. I feel super overwhelmed lately and decluttering always helps to keep that feeling under control.

Everything in our house has been Growing - string bean children with wolf appetites, piles of clutter, grass that needs mowing, pumpkin vines that stretch twenty feet, mounds of laundry, bills, just name it and it's growing. Things always calm down in September, that's a saying right?

We have been Reading quite a bit these days. Magic Treehouse, Little House, Oz, Flat Stanley, Dahl. We're huge book devourers. I'm on the lookout for a new series to read Otto at bedtime. Suggestions are super welcome please. When did you guys read Harry Potter to your kids? I've been thinking Otto might be ready for the first one but at the same time... I don't know. It's pretty rough and the series gets really dark. Too dark for a kid his age, in my mind. Anyways, we love serials so if you've read any non-snotty, non-violent kids series that you thought were great please let me know. We're on the lookout.

That was this week and here are next week's themes:
searching, wearing, needing, moving, eating 

8.02.2014

A Giveaway - Kate Quinn Organics $100 GC + Toys!

I'm excited to share with you guys that one of our favorite brands, Kate Quinn Organics, is currently having a giveaway on its Facebook and Instagram pages.

Clicking the picture will take you to Kate Quinn's facebook page. From there just comment on the giveaway post with "yay kate quinn giveaway" and you're entered! You can also get an extra entry by following Kate Quinn's instagram page. I do and I love that Kate is a relatable, human, person on there, never just a brand. She's a mom and has lots of pictures of her kiddos and it inspires me to see moms with successful awesome businesses still being actual moms with sometimes messy hair and not in heels and suits with slicked back bob haircuts and scowls (or whatever, you know what I mean, or maybe you don't - it's early and I'm having tea instead of coffee).

*this post sponsored by Kate Quinn Organics, the opinions are my own.