Thirty Weeks

It makes my mouth go dry with shock when I think that baby 2.0 could arrive in as little as eight weeks!  We are NOT ready yet!  There are still all sorts of practical considerations to be worked out such as where will everyone sleep?  Our imminent expansion means that we need to shuffle around the bedrooms in order to provide space for everyone.  This entails clearing out the years of accumulations that is the office, and trying to cram everything extra into our one tiny guest room. I always pride myself on my ability to get rid of stuff, but excessing an entire room is turning out to be a challenge.  When we're finished we should have one functional nursery and one big girl room (in purple!)  Oh the thrill of it all, but also the dust bunnies.  

Pool!

Oh the joy!  Oh the excitement!  We finally put up our pool!  Delphinium received it for a birthday gift back in the spring, but it is just now hot enough to actually use.  Having her own personal pond is making backyard play all the more wonderful.  She will spend a good hour in the water if the weather stays warm enough for a stretch, and we have been known to haul a few buckets of warm water from the kitchen to keep the temp comfortable.  Next up, pool play dates!

Late July Garden

Sad to say it was another gray day today.  We haven't had much sun (and no heat) for the last couple of weeks, and the garden is really feeling the lack.  The tomatoes are still not producing yet, though we can start to see a few green fruits.  The squash are still sort of sitting there waiting for something (sun?) to come along and make them grow like crazy.  Not a single blossom in sight on these or the cucumbers.  The radishes just never did well this year.  I'm not sure why, but they just don't seem to like our raised box.  Maybe I'll stick to peas, lettuce, and potatoes in the future because they seem to be the only really happy plants.

Bear With Me

Forgot to mention our encounter with a bear, yes a BEAR!  Now I will admit that we do live in a fairly wooded area, and animal encounters get reported all the time.  However, I was still not prepared to be sitting there in my car when an actual bear climbed the fence about twenty feet from where we sat.  It was the middle of the day, and all sorts of people were coming and going at the library.  The bear did not even seem to notice them.  He or she just nosed his way around a play yard, over  fence, through a parking lot, and then crossed over a busy street.  There didn't seem to be any fear or even a need to hurry (would I be able to recognize bear fear?) on his part.  People are not kidding, it does look exactly like a teddy bear.

Toddler Loves the Fair 2012

10. Icecream! (everyone shared even after I glared at them)
9. Walking puppets and other people in costume (some of these are huge!)
8. Wand and cape from Uncle (these will get lots and lots of use at home too)
7. Turning everyone into frogs and then back into "peoples" (everyone played along)
6. Riding in backpacks, garden carts, and on Daddy's shoulders (so grown up)
5. Playing with cousins (they are the coolest, funniest, most wonderful people)
4. Parade! (I'm so glad I have a pic of her face because she truly loved it)
3. Listening to different kinds of "mus" (ic) and dancing madly (as long as it wasn't too loud)
2. Dragon! (Chinese dragon with people inside)
1. Stalking Wolfman and trying to shake his paw! (her favorite of the giant walking puppets)

Summer Vacation 2012

You know it turns out that even if you don't work, vacation is still the absolute best time.  We spent five days with family going to the Oregon Country Fair, and it was a total treat from start to finish.  This year, due to my ever increasing girth, we stayed in a hotel instead of camping each  night, so we did have to make the trek in and out each day, but it was worth it.  We got to have lovely relaxed times with the family, enjoy all kinds of delicious food, watch shows, and wander through the amusing insanity that is the fair.  The most best, best, best part was watching our little girl do all those things.

I've been attending this event for more than thirty years, and I still do love it, but it was such a refreshing thing to watch her.  She never really seemed to need toys to amuse her because there was always someone swinging her up in the air, bouncing her on their knee, or waiting to chat with her about the day's events.  Uncles, cousins, grandparents, and even a brand new auntie were there, and every single one of them made real time to play with her.  Our child, like most other children, does not understand why humans ever abandoned tribal living.  

To cap off the whole experience, we spent our final day on the Oregon coast.  After the bustle, heat, and dust of the fair, it felt so good to enjoy sea breezes and fog.  Yachats and Waldport were the destinations this time, and they did not disappoint.  In spite of our very short timeline, we still managed to relax, enjoy breakfast, and visit the tide pools and the beach.  Then it was time to turn for home.  You know how sometimes it is a great relief to get back to your comfortable and familiar life after a trip?  Not this time.  We would all have been completely happy to stay gone for a while, so I guess that means we enjoyed our vacation.  

House Hunting: Failed Bid #2

Gah!  I'm getting royally tired of all this!  Short version?  House #56 was not a perfect house, but it was pretty good, so M and I decided to actually make an offer.  This is only our second offer, so we do not take this stuff lightly.  We thought very carefully about how much were willing to pay because by now we understand how this property market works.  We crafted a strong offer with our realtor, and we really thought we might have a chance.  This time there were only four competing offers (much better than 19!) and our escalator did, in fact, come out with the top price. So we got it right?  NO! NO! NO!  They chose the lesser offer where the people waived the financing contingency.  We would never to something so risky, and now we are virtually out of time.

Fair Prep

It's that time of year again when we go mad.  Yes with the start of July comes the frantic planning for the Oregon Country Fair.  With only two weeks to go until the main event, we are all doing everything we can to be ready.  I've ordered the shirts, the committee has selected the designs, and Grandma is working on converting the art into a print shop-friendly form.  This week we will print prayer flags in our backyard, and Younger Brother will come to do the t-shirts and check up on our booth.  Fingers crossed that we don't need any construction this year!  Fingers and toes crossed that it all comes together the way it should.  I can almost smell the mint, feel the dust, and taste the Tofu Tias.  Ahhhh.

Pregnancy Update

When "they" say that no two pregnancies are created the same, they were not kidding.  I'm really amazed by the differences between the first and second time around.  From the way I'm carrying (somehow more out front) to the way I feel, it is really not the same.  This time I have that "breathless" feeling that so many people describe, and in the beginning I was cold all the time.  With the first baby I didn't have either of those symptoms, but I was getting leg cramps nearly every night.  I have no idea why things would change, but I am very thankful to be so much less anxious this time around.  

4th of July '12

Happy 4th of July everyone!  Here's a day dedicated to the celebration of our best ideals.  While we may fall short of the mark too much of the time, there is still a very good and decent core at the heart of our republic.  Here's to all those people who honestly try to make their corner of the country a better place to live.  They are the real patriots.

East Coast Storms

So sorry to hear about all the trouble with the weather on the East Coast.  People are really suffering from the storms and the heat, and I can't help thinking this is all related to climate change.  While we mourn for our lost sunshine, others are roasting.  This is why it's called climate change and not global warming anymore.  If only we could share!  Please try to stay safe and cool easterly people.