Day 284

July 7, 2011

My baby

I woke up before Jacob this morning (5:40) which I really do not like. And he was up before 6 himself. Needless to say, we were both a bit tired this morning which made us both a bit cranky. He wanted to do things that I didn't want him doing, and I didn't have as much patience as I usually do to tell him (again) not to. We had to take a few time outs together. Finally we got out the door to the grocery store which seemed to break the cycle. 


Also did some yoga which is always helpful for what ails you. 


Fantastic nap today. Thank everything holy. It's because I expect it, want it, need it, use it, and know that it helps him too that I really love the days when he has long naps. And I am so very thankful that he is a good napper. I know it's one of the many blessings I got with this kid. 


I did try to work a bit on the finances because I've fallen behind. Never fun. Much better to stay on top of them. But then, because I'd done something "productive" and because my mind was a mess and has been for the past couple days, I did some sewing. Aaahh... My friend Danna's been inspiring me to make some things for Jacob, repurposing things, and I've had this pair of pants almost made for weeks now. The fabric came from some old, adult-size pants that I got for pennies at a Goodwill. It's just the elastic that I was waiting on. Mostly because I was intimidated. I'd never done elastic before this. 

It was way easier than I was... imagining. What helped me turn the corner, actually, was when Fraser said that doing elastic shouldn't be too hard, right? As I explained it to him, I realized that, no, it shouldn't be. The best part, even better than realizing I can do elastic waistbands on kids' pants, is that my mind just felt so much more relaxed and at peace after this project. I get distracted by so many things during the days: watching the finances, paying bills, making phone calls, wanting more order to the house (not always cleanliness, but order) feeling like I'm treading water to stay on top of the things that flit through my mind at 5:40 in the morning. And yet it feels so good to just sit down and do something that brings me pleasure and that gets completed. It's creative, it's practical, it's enjoyable. So, so needed.

He's pretending to be Shilo (notice the tongue licking)

I'll leave you with some of my favourite parts of being a parent: 
Jacobisms:


Yesterday in the pool, a.... larger lady got in and Jacob says," That girl biiig. That girl the biggest you've ever seen." I simply explained that people come in all different shapes and sizes, some are big and some are little. It's just how things are. Which is true. But welcome to the world of politically incorrect things to say, nonetheless. Mostly when he says things like this, I just try to be as simple and honest as possible. Usually that's the best strategy.


I was eating some gum today. We talked about how you don't swallow it.
He says, "Mommy spit it out eventually." Nice word, buddy.


He loves to act like Shilo-kitty. I mean, everything she does, he likes to copy (he's into copying in general, actually). She runs in and out of a room, he runs in and out of a room. She goes outside under the deck chairs, he goes under the deck chairs. Today, as you can see in one of the pictures above, he was getting up on the bench and "washing himself" the way he sees her do it. Trying to lick his neck, his arms, looking around with his head like he saw her doing. Hilarious. He'd keep glancing at her to make sure he was getting it right. So funny.

Day 283

July 6, 2011

A very fun morning. Jacob and I went to the gym first thing. He had a great time in the kids' place playing Red Light, Green Light among other things while I worked out. Then we headed to the pool. It was still early which meant it wasn't super crowded. Nor was it the heat of the day but it was definitely hot enough to be out swimming. He had a blast splashing about. 

After nap things got a little hairy. He woke up early, and I didn't have a plan. Not a good combo. I don't feel the need to spend all our time away from home, but sometimes when we're at home for long periods of time, I go a little stir crazy. I'm just thinking of things that need to be done and things that I want to do and trying to answer Jacob's questions for the 18th time and play his game of talking to Duck and Truck and my mind can't hold it all and it's all just swirling around in one giant fuzzball! And I get tired and crabby. And it was hot today. 

We're sometimes still in this "Daddy, no!" phase also, so even when Fraser comes home Jacob is still attached to me and that makes me even more frustrated and tired. I need to remember that I can leave the house. At times like these, I need to put on my running shoes and just go. I get tunnel vision about it or tell myself I have to be there. It's not true. I can leave. The boys oftentimes do better without me there. Sigh. Lessons to learn, remind myself of, try to learn again. 

Day 282

July 5, 2011

Who knows why but Fraser actually had the day off today as well as yesterday. Whoohoo! 
We smoked a pork shoulder. We got the pork from a local farm at the Farmer's Market. Heritage pork which means pigs that haven't been bred to be factory farmed. And, boy, are they tasty! 

I went out to get my Oregon driver's license. Yes, we've been here awhile but who really ever wants to go to the DMV and even if you are crazy enough to want to, would you like to bring a 2 and 1/2 year old and wait around for an hour or so. Right. Me neither. Unfortunately, I can't count on a officer of the law thinking the same way. I used the time to read one of my latest books (I'm only reading 5 right now, I think). This one is called Treasure Islands and is about offshore banking/ tax havens/ globalization of financial capital. Not one of usual topics but I heard about it on Democracy Now months ago and put a request in for it at the library. I definitely have to pay attention to what I'm reading and still don't understand it all exactly. I understand enough to be highly disturbed, though. Kind of makes me want to take all my "money" (that the bank has loaned out and stuffed in offshore banks) and put it in my mattress. Anyway, an interesting read. I'd recommend it.

But yes, Oregon license. It's a milestone. Somehow, it really means we're here. Not that that is an entirely horrible thing. There are lots of things I really like about this area: I have many more mom friends with kids who are Jacob's age, there is an amazing amount of produce out here. Okay, those are my two favourite things so far. The true berry season is just starting but I think I'm going to love that too.

Anyway, we invited our neighbour friends over to share the pork. The mom is a vegetarian overall but she tried it (due to its locavore nature) and enjoyed it. Yay! And she brought margaritas that she'd blended in her Vitamix blender (a serious contraption like they use to make smoothies at Jamba Juice; carrots, pineapple with the core, celery, unhulled strawberries, spinach, you name it - liquefied. Incredible. 

It was surreal having Fraser home the whole day. Nice. We need to find him something better to do that doesn't involve such long hours away from home. There is just too much life to live to spend it mostly at work. 

Day 281: 4th of July

July 4, 2011

Always sad packing up your home away from home. A beautiful trip for all of us. I forgot to mention that one morning we heard a loon call from somewhere on the lake. Their calls are so hauntingly beautiful. Very nice. 

Jacob could not stop talking about fireworks. Because it doesn't get dark here until 10pm or so we decided not to actually go see any. Instead, Fraser got a fountain pack at the grocery store and some sparklers. He wasn't too sure about the sparklers, especially when they started sparking. One fountain freaked him out a bit with loud cracking and lots of smoke, but he liked the others. As for me, you can tell I'm having a jolly time!

  After bedtime, when the real fireworks started, Fraser and I headed outside to check them out. Surprisingly, they were all around us. Illegal, yes, but really cool. Big ones, too. We actually ended up on our roof to view them better. It was super fun! Slightly disturbing, though, thinking that we are reenacting bombs and war. It makes me very, very, VERY grateful that I don't live someplace where bombing noises are not so... festive.

Day 280: Second full day!

July 3, 2011

The best part about this holiday weekend is that it allowed us to stay for a second full day of camping. 
The boys got in a little bit of morning fishing. No luck. But we did see (I think) a merganser family on the lake, which was cool.

 What to do with our second full day? We busted out the hammock again, which was a total hit for everyone. 

 We also tried a little nature hike by the lake. We weren't going to go the whole 13 miles but we wanted to see if Jacob would ride in the backpack. We're just trying to get a sense of how possible it would be to do a short backpacking trip. 

 There was some riding. Mostly walking - or running, really. The lesson learned for our backpacking dreams: pick a mile hike into a camp spot and just have the boy walk on his own.

Just relaxing and playing. What a concept! I didn't know what to do with myself at one point. I told Fraser I felt a little bored. He said, "That's okay". Hahaha....

Tonight's dinner was Bengali kabobs: cumin, coriander, garlic rub. Oh, so good. We put that in pita bread with tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and a squirt of lemon. Yum, yum, yum. Easy and delicious. Jacob had some, mostly tomatoes. So he had to have a second dinner of two hot dogs later.

Bird experiences today: some crows were pestering the owl up in one of the nearby trees. The owl would give a little hoot occasionally. No way could I find the owl. Too many branches, moss, needles, bark..... We saw a bald eagle, numerous ospreys, possibly a Townsend's warbler and some other little yellow and greyish bird that we can't identify. Next time, bird book (although, even then, I can't always identify what I'm seeing).

More owl calls tonight. Super cool! Beautiful stars and the remains of the s'mores. Mmmm.... s'mores.

Day 279: Hoodview camping

July 2, 2011

 Definitely colder up here in the mountains. Something woke Jacob up shortly after Fraser and I went to bed and there was no getting him back in his bed without tons of screaming. A drawback of going tent camping around other tent campers: noise. So, we slept together the first night, and Jacob got up at the butt crack of dawn. There was no sunlight yet, actually. Ah... parenthood. 

So, we got up and made a tasty breakfast with bacon and eggs and oatmeal. Then the boys got ready to do a little fishing. Jacob was way into it.

Again, that beautiful mountain greeted us. 
The lake is really shallow around the edges and really clear. We could see that there were no fish nearby. Regardless, Fraser tried it out. 

 We were worn out early this morning and thankfully, Jacob took an early nap. So did we. 

 Nice afternoon play in the lake and at the campsite. As chilly as it gets at night, it gets quite hot during the day as well. Fraser jumped off the dock and then Jacob had to do it to (into Daddy's arms, of course). Even I jumped in once. I was proud of myself. The water wasn't frigid but it was chilly. 
Tonight's dinner was pamplonas and grilled zucchini.  The pamplonas consisted of pork tenderloin rolled around provolone and bell pepper. Very yummy. And fun doing it over the fire. I also very much enjoyed not having to think about what to bring/make for dinners. Yay, Fraser!

Daddy and son fishing time again. So adorable. They both really enjoyed that special time together. And you better believe I like it too. The hardest thing for me is staying away with the camera. I want time to myself (which I took to do some reading) but also want to capture the special times too. I think because I am with Jacob all the time I want to capture all the moments, especially because the ones the boys have together are so precious. When I think about this it makes me somewhat understand how hard it is for Fraser to miss so much time with Jacob. I'm just so thankful that at least one of us does.

Day 278: Mt. Hood National Forest

July 1, 2011

It's a bit surreal that it is July, the weekend of the 4th, a time I usually associate with mid-summer. Or at least, summer being in full swing. Here I feel like we're in May still. It's just starting to finally feel like summer regularly here. 

Today, after Fraser comes home from work, we're going to Mt. Hood National Forest for some camping. It should be a great time.

Wow. First of all, gorgeous. Hills and valleys of green all the way to the horizon. I noticed that I kept looking for the patches of brownish red dead trees that we see all the time in Colorado thanks to the invasive pine beetles. I saw none of that here, and even though it looked like Colorado, it's not. I didn't realize how much those common things are ingrained in my head until something like this makes me realize it.

The mountain itself if also so very photogenic. I love Mt. Hood. I remember loving it as a child when we'd come visit out here also. It's very picturesque. 

Our site was nice and wooded. The campground was packed and as soon as we got out of the car, the cool evening air hit us and the wonderful sweet, smokey smell of campfires greeted us. This, to me, is one of the Oregon smells. This and the pungent smell of boxwood will always take me back to Oregon. 

 
Fraser got inspired and ambitious about cooking this time around. He'd been reading The BBQ Bible which could probably inspire a vegetarian to eat meat. The first night, though, we brought something simple: deer round steaks to cook over the fire and some fresh corn. 

  Jacob had a macaroni and cheese appetizer (fastest, easiest camp food I can think of) before he devoured his corn and some meat. It was all very delicious!

The first night is always the night we're up the latest because we get to the site so late. So Jacob got to see some lovely stars which he really enjoys. He wanted to see some bats but there were none here. However, as we were lying in the tent getting ready for bed, we did hear an owl call! It was so cool. It was a great horned owl call. We could hear it close by in the trees and another one farther off. This, I think, was the highlight of the trip for me. Owls are just so incredible and hard to find or hear. Very, very neat. Of course, hearing this and, earlier, seeing a little Oregon junco (that I didn't know at the time) made me realize I had forgotten our bird book and binoculars! Coming from a family that practically wears these things in a holster at their waist (on a regular basis, not to mention on a camping trip!), I was extremely disappointed in myself. I obviously still have some learning to do.