Memorial Day

So we did many, many things this memorial day weekend. To describe it in a post would be long and boring. Instead, here it is in pictures:


This is Pilar at the Tillamook factory as she enjoys her first ice cream cone. Pure Joy!

We also visited the Blue Heron Cheese factory. They had a petting zoo, which the girls liked in theory. Having goats actually lick your hands was not as pleasant as it sounds.

We also went to the beach. (Lena's request) It was MUCH colder than the beaches in California, but they girls had a great time. Lena made a sand castle, which she decorated with shells. Pilar dug around in the sand and made a few small piles.



The next day we visited a light house. Lena slept in the car most of the time, but Pilar enjoyed running around.Once Lena woke up she visited the Octopus tree with her dad. Here she is acting like a monkey.

Finally, we visited another beach (while Pilar slept this time) and Lena collected a few rocks. The views were spectacular.

On Tuesday, we visited Peter in Eugene. My allergies went crazy, so we did not spend a lot of time outside. Although we did visit a local park where I made the girls "flower hats".
There is one day missing because I forgot to pack the camera. Unfortunately, it was also the day we saw waterfalls, which elicited "WoW!"s from both girls. They also got to see some wind surfers on Hood River. All in all, a memorable weekend.

Soap!

I just got a package from my friend Elizabeth. She is the very creative mom behind Gassner Custom Soaps. The soaps smell awesome and Lena INSISTED on taking a bath with the pirate ducky soap IMMEDIATELY. (Which is why it is not pictured.)
I'm very excited to use the body polish and whipped soap. (black cherry scent, yum!) Lena is also excited to try the bath paint. I'm thinking that might be an outside activity since their bath is actually an oversized bucket. I'm sure I'll have pictures soon.

So Many Parks, So Much Time

We are finally back to the Oregon weather I have come to love. Last week we had a couple of over 100 degrees days and I was flashing back to the sweltering summers I thought I had left behind. Lena and Pilar loved it since they were finally allowed to play in the backyard. I've been trying to upload a video I took of them playing in their ladybug pool, but no luck yet.

We are near the end of co-op for Lena and I'm trying to figure out some things to keep us all busy and sane without spending much or any money. There are MANY parks in Portland so I'm thinking of visiting them. We went to OMSI a few weeks ago and Lena LOVED it and has been asking to go back. We may have to spend some money on a pass. Washington County library offers passes to check out for the Children's Museum near the zoo (where we already have a pass. Thanks Dan and Gail!). Anyone who can think of more (free if possible) things to do around Portland, let me know.

All Things Beige and Tasteless

Once upon a Time Lena would eat almost anything. Now adays, she will eat ramen (chicken flavor please), chicken dinos, mac and cheese, and more recently pb and J English muffins. Now, really, I can't complain too much because she will still eat broccoli and corn, but feeding her used to be so much easier. I know it could be much worse. For example, Lena loves fruit and will eat most kinds. The parents of one of Lena's school friends told me they did a little happy dance when their daughter voluntarily ate a bite of apple the other day. Still, I wish she were a bit more adventurous. Pilar, on the other hand could do with being a little less so. Most food is still destined for her nose. I forgot this and gave her corn yesterday. Needless to say, we are still benefitting from that particular adventure. Still, I hold out hope. Berry season is almost upon us here and I can't wait to take the girls berry picking. Lena remembers from last year and is already asking about it.

My mother's day was great. Nice and relaxing. We sat around, ate quiche, talked. Jason and I watched Juno in the evening. I HIGHLY recommend this film. It was the perfect combination of sweetness, drama and hilarity.

Lena and Jason just came back from the backyard where Lena picked some flowers for Tristen. Here they are for you all to enjoy:

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope you all have a great day.

And for your mother's day enjoyment, here are some pictures of the socks Lena tye dyed for me at school. I love me some hippies.

There is also a new video up on vimeo.


Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Got your nose

So I found out yesterday that I did not get the job I really wanted. I'll still do some adjunct work, but it won't be tenure-track. I'm still hopeful something will work out.

I put another video of the girls up on vimeo here. It's long (a little over 4 minutes) but if you like watching toddlers act like toddlers, then this is the video for you.

Pilar is now able to identify most of her body parts: eyes, ears, nose, mouth, chin, hands and feet, though she especially likes to point out her head...and then yours. Her language is really coming along, mostly due to Lena's influence. She loves to follow her sister around copying what she's doing. This is sometimes good, and sometimes not. Lena is still enough of a daredevil to make me slightly nervous, though she at least has some level of caution. Pilar, on the other hand, not so much with the caution, but A LOT with the daredeviling. Pilar has also taken to shoving things up her nose. Currently, she is blowing pieces of biodegradable napkin out of her nose. This is gross, as you may have guessed, but Lena has taken it upon herself to check Pilar periodically. She saw me use a flashlight to look up Pilar's nose one day and now every once in a while lifts Pilar's head up and looks for herself. Most of the time this makes Pilar angry, but once in a while she'll play along. That is of course the moment I can't find the camera, so you'll just have to imagine it yourselves.

No Word Yet

I haven't heard back about the interview and my head is about to explode. I'm hoping it's not a bad sign.

In other news, we are finally getting close to having the girls on the same schedule. Both are napping right now and went down within one half hour of each other. Now if I could only get that to happen at night.

Lena had a playdate with a friend from school yesterday, which was very exciting. For the occasion, her parents actually cleaned the basement. I'm sure everyone is grateful for that. Pilar seemed to enjoy the playdate as well, but took a while to warm up. She is much more of a snuggler than Lena was, which I love. Once she gets comfortable, though, she is just as crazy. I brought their pink pop-up house back for the playdate and they have been good about not dragging it around (or trapping little sisters in it) so I'm letting it stay....for now.

I recently got back in touch with a friend from high school (Hi Clara!) which brought back many old memories. It's funny because overall, I DID NOT enjoy high school. But individual memories are mostly good. There's just an overall feeling of awkwardness that washes over me when I reminisce. Maybe it's because I was SO VERY AWKWARD. You know, 'cause I'm so cool now.

Garden

Two more videos up. See them here.
We spent some of today at a lilac garden in Woodland, Washington. It was the first actually warm day in a long time and the girls loved running around outside. They also got to try out their new sunglasses. I was shocked they kept them on as long as they did. All in all a good day.