Day 220: Good day, sunshine!

May 4, 2011

A gorgeous, warm day today! Jacob and I went on a nature hike at Jackson Bottom Wetland Preserve. There are so many places to explore out here, and now that the weather is getting nice, I can't wait to see some more of it. The only drawback is that we have to drive to these places. 

One of the first things we saw as we started down the trail was a bald eagle soaring overhead. Awesome. Pretty close. I ran to follow it with my binoculars while Jacob was calling for me to follow him down the trail. I tried explaining how cool it was to see one but he was in his own thoughts. We also saw lots of tree swallows and a yellow rumped warbler.There are lots of bird sightings here, with all the water especially. 

Jacob had a great time throwing things in the Tualtin River, though. Mud, rocks, sticks, woodchips, dandelions. Pretty much anything we could find. There was a cool spot with lots of half dried mud with some animal tracks in it: raccoon, deer, squirrel, duck. 

 There was a little nature center there too. It talked about how this area is used to filter the wastewater before it heads back to the river all the while creating a nice habitat for lots of animals. 

This afternoon I had the chance to listen to Democrary Now. This is the 50th anniversary of the freedom riders, a group of white and black students who rode buses from Washington D.C. to Montgomery, Alabama. The documentary Freedom Riders will air on PBS on May 16th. Very interesting and sad story but also powerful. It is amazing to me that this was going on only 50 years ago. Of course, being from the north, it was different in my local history. But that people really viewed other PEOPLE this way, segregating in almost all aspects of life, is just unbelievable to me. And yet, it happened. 
I wonder what it is about the human race that gets so hung up on differences. Whether it's gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation it all seems to boil down to judging others because they aren't like us. Does that assume that "we" (whoever that might be in whichever argument) are the only right ones? Does it assume to know better than evolution which creates things differently in order to better a species, not produce a monoculture? Does it just assume that we fear what we don't know? 
Either way, I hope it's something the human race can improve on. We have made huge strides in certain areas but there are others that are still lacking. I think God must be a sociologist and is, no doubt, highly "amazed" by some of our more juvenile flounderings. 

Day 219

May 3, 2011

Checked out a new secondhand store, today. Baby and Me. Because it occurred to me this weekend with the nice weather that Jacob doesn't have many shorts that will fit him this year. I found three nice pair, though, at this shop. I'd also like to try making a pair, maybe. It's not difficult, I just wonder what fabric I'll use. Hmm... I also found the most adorable frog rain jacket! It's a size 3T so it will hopefully fit him next year too. Can't go wrong with things like that :)

The other day when we were all outside, Jacob was running around half naked to air his sore little butt out (and because, really, who doesn't love to run around outside naked?). He had to go pee. He wanted to find a "peeing spot". I showed him a good bush, and he diligently went over and let it all out. A couple minutes later, he wanted to go again. He went back to the peeing spot and tried to go, then asked for me to come squeeze! Squeeze him? Squeeze myself? I squeezed him but alas, no more pee.


Dinner: chicken curry which he loved and beets which he loved: Gacob love chicken, Gacob love mushrooms, Gacob love peas, Gacob love beets." Sweet.


We went out to play in the sun for a bit after dinner. I was instilling in him the importance of never going in the street by himself and always looking for cars first. At one point, there's a UPS truck parked on the street a few houses down. It started up as I moved in the direction of the street. Jacob yells, "Mommy, don't go in the street!" I love it. I told him thank you very much for watching out for me.

Day 218

May 2, 2011

Jacobisms:

While shining a flashlight on me: "Light make Mommy look beautiful."

Talking about some Italian soda he got to try for our family gathering party: "Fizzy drink makes mouth slip away."


Is it bad when you come downstairs to find your child dropping crayons down your heating register? Yeah, I thought so, too. That's how Monday began. Followed by a trip to the grocery store where I discovered, at the checkout lane, that I'd forgotten my wallet. Better start laughing cause the other alternative just raises the blood pressure. 

Overall, actually, it was a nice morning. Got some laundry done and played at the park today, too. I'll take it, I reckon.

Day 217

May 1, 2011

May Day. A day with history I only recently became aware of. It began as a labour issue; people coming together to get the 8 hour work day in place and end child labour. It's recognized around the world in this way. Labour is still such an important aspect of our society that continues to be hammered away at. Yes, unions get a bad rap at times but there is a lot to be said for being able to stand together on issues in order to be treated better. Collective bargaining is something no government should be able to take away, in my opinion. Capitalism is sure not going to look out for workers' rights. Neither is the not-so-free free market we have in place. 


Sigh... before I get too political, I'll switch to a different topic. The weather. It is just gorgeous today. I'm going to go get the boy from his nap and head outside!

We took a nice family adventure into the open space behind our house this afternoon. Tromping through the bushes, avoiding the swampy cattails, coming eventually (after navigating some blackberry brambles) to the little creek that runs through the space. We had fun throwing grasses in and watching the current pull them away. The boys got ambitious and walked up to the big, cement drainage pipe and worked on their echo skills. Hilarious. 

Back at the house we spread out the picnic blanket and had some beers and hot dogs, enjoying a warm, sunny Sunday afternoon.   

Day 216

April 30, 2011

A spotted towhee hopped up on our deck this morning. I was eating my breakfast when I saw him out of the corner of my eye. They're handsome birds, I think, with their burnt orange fronts and black head and wings, white spots on the wings adding a little flare. Neat looking.

We all went to an open house at Fraser's work. It was pretty fun. We got to see through the windows into where Fraser spends much of his time. There were other people in their working in their bunny suits, which always remind me of Willie Wonka's chocolate factory. I can just hear the oompa loompa song in my head. They were giving out popcorn which made the scene even more comical to me: people eating popcorn, staring through windows at people covered head to toe in white suits. Haha...

There were other cool things to look at: robots, a giant chess board, tons of free giveaways (pens, magnets, rulers, notebooks, vuvuzelas, calculators, etc), computer games, colored moving lights. It was a bit crazy, but interesting too. Lots of people were there.

This evening we had people over!! It was our first real gathering. It's wonderful for me to hang out with the moms but the dads never get to mingle. Also, I've been wanting a more communal feeling amongst people. So I suggested a monthly family gathering at alternating houses. This was the first one. 

It was fantastic! First of all, tons of people came. There were seven families, including ours. All of which have at least one child, a few have new babies also. The weather was good for us so people got to hang out outside too. The food was delicious. And the best was that all the kids did amazingly well together! They hung out together and separately. The adults had a chance to hang out and talk, the dads mingled, the moms mingled, the moms and dads mingled. I really enjoyed meeting the dads, who were all fantastic also. It was great. I can't say that enough. It was so fun. Everyone had a blast. I couldn't be happier.

Jacob had an absolute ball. He was just lit up, running around the backyard with the other kids, playing ball, hanging out, you name it. He barely hung out with me at all the whole evening. This sounds odd, but it was wonderful. Wonderful to see him so comfortable with so many kids around playing with his toys. Wonderful to see him interact with the other kids. Wonderful to see him having such a fun time. I'm excited about this new endeavour.

Day 215

April 29, 2011

Jacob and I saw some little birds in the neighbour's tree this morning. I think they were yellow rumped warblers. I hadn't seen them before, and they haven't come back. But they were really neat looking little things with little bursts of yellow on their throats and wings amidst a beautiful slate blue and grey.

Mowed the grass today. I know that doesn't seem like much but really, the last time it was cut was by Ray when he and Cynda were out in October. Yes, it doesn't grow as much in the winter, but it grows more than grass in CO in the winter. Weeds also grow well. So, it was needed. Especially because we're having people over on Saturday! 

I've been trying to listen to Democracy Now on the radio in the mornings but oftentimes can't hear much of it due to the boy. So I've been trying to follow up online later in the day. Very interesting news. I've listened to them for years off and on but now I'm making a more concerted effort. I don't want to have absolutely no idea what is going on in the world just because I have a kid. Not that that isn't a justifiable excuse some days but it's also a reason to pay more attention. I would highly recommend listening to the show. If you don't have a local radio station that plays it in the am (usually at 7) or in the afternoon, just go online and you can pick and choose what segments you want to listen to. 

And library has become a new favourite friend: Money and Power (all about Goldman Sachs), Treasure Islands (about tax havens), Mary Oliver books, radical homemaking, cookbooks. These are just some of the books I've been requesting. I have a lot of reading going on these days.

Day 214

April 28, 2011

Went to Playdate PDX today for the monthly kids' playdate. There were a bunch of us this time - I think 6 moms total. It was great because as we followed our kids around, there were enough of us that we got a chance to see each other and hang out a bit too. Very nice. 

Had a little lunch in the park with one of the moms. Definitely a bit chilly. The weather here changes on a dime, seriously. Sunny one moment and 10 minutes later, you're getting rained on. A bit crazy. I'm still learning to be prepared for everything!