More Thankful Than Ever

It must be just getting older, maybe it is because so many of the dreams and goals I have had in my life are being realized in the past few years, or maybe it is because I witness the magic, insanity, and speed at which my two little girls grow and change.  Whatever it is, I am so very thankful for all the blessings in my life. 

This Thanksgiving was so nice, although the day began with me feeling a wave of guilt.  I signed up to run the 4 mile Turkey Trot at the Zoo on Thanksgiving morning, but my friend and I backed out at the last minute.  Something about a dark, rainy morning....  Well, of course once the sun rose it was a beautiful morning and I was full of guilt for not sucking it up and following through with my commitment.  Instead, I decided to run from home, up to Mount Tabor Park.  I hadn't run there before but it is only about two miles away.  I didn't run all the way up to the top (someday I will!), but there and back was four miles filled with soggy sidewalks, numb toes (for the first mile), bright colored leaves, and a decent incline.  Thanks to an NPR podcast that got me through the first two miles, I was so glad I went!  I needed some time to myself and reaching the park with a view of Portland lifted my grumpy spirits beyond measure.  The colors of the leaves, the downtown skyline in the distance, geese flying in formation, and even a bald eagle soaring above made me pause and be thankful for so many things.  Not only for my family, friends, home, food, etc. but also for my health.  While I can find a million excuses on any given day (weather, kids, tired, wrong running clothes/shoes, etc. etc.), when I do get myself out the door and start running, I am so thankful that my body (not that I am that old) still lets me do what I want to do.  (Move it or lose it, right?)


The rest of the day was beautiful.  Sam's parents and sister stopped by for coffee and a quick visit.  Ron and Kim each did their own walk over to our house from their own homes.  (I think that should be a new Thanksgiving tradition.)  Then we had a yummy, relaxed Thanksgiving dinner will the best of everything at my parents' house.  Sasha seemed to enjoy her first Thanksgiving very much, and Morgan enjoyed gnawing on a turkey leg for the second year in a row.

Looking out at the view from Mount Tabor that morning, hearing the voices that fill my home with beautiful noise, and looking around the dinner table at Thanksgiving left me feeling more thankful than ever.  

Miami!

Morgan carried her bear in her dress everywhere

Now that I have vented over the trials and tribulations of just getting to our destination, I can focus on the fun and adventures in parenting we had in our three days in Miami!  We arrived late at night, and fortunately Kim and Sam's cousin, Alison, were already checked in and ready with wine for us.  After a long day traveling, we needed it!  We had also arranged for adjoining rooms, so we had a place to hang out when the girls were asleep.  It was so wonderful having the extra space, but even better that we got to spend time with Alison and Kim.  They adore the girls and the girls adore them.  It was so nice of Alison and Kim to share their space with us, even very early in the morning!  And even when Morgan got silly and danced around with a neck pillow on her head (you had to be there) or asked embarrassing personal questions.

The hotel we stayed at was very nice, on the beach in the heart of South Beach.  Turquoise waters and super white sand, dotted with life guard shacks and colorful umbrellas.   The weather was perfect, about 80 degrees everyday, with a few clouds.  It was quite windy though, so we didn't spend much time on the beach or in the ocean.  Morgan and I did escape for a little "Morgan and Mommy time" to check out the beach.  She loved running around and we found a cool little play area for kids staying at the hotel.  Morgan and I played pirates and had fun burying treasures for each other to find.  And of course we had to dip our toes in the Atlantic Ocean.  The hotel also had a fancy ice cream shop that Morgan (and I) loved, as well as a gorgeous, curved aquarium in the lobby.  All the fish were incredible, just like you see snorkeling in tropical waters.  Morgan made friends with a blue-rainbow fish that always seemed to be hiding, but managed to come out and say hi to her each day.  Who knew a fish could bring so much joy?

Sasha was a bit simpler in her playthings: the curtains in our room were good for peek--boo and looking out the big window was fun.  The hotel was very kid-friendly and had little gifts for the girls and toys that we could borrow.  We borrowed a Fisher Price play table with lots of lights and music.  Sasha could pull herself up on it and keep entertained (a.k.a. stay out of trouble) and Morgan was pretty entertained by it as well.  Sasha enjoyed the pool, which was perfect, with a shallow area for babies, noodles for Morgan to play with, and plenty of palm trees.  Sasha was quite happy floating in her little tropical island.

The whole reason we were there was an international business strategy conference for Sam.  He really enjoyed his conference and got some great feedback on his research, but he also had plenty of time to goof off and spend with all of us.  One night, his conference had a reception at a cool modern building where the symphony plays.  They had a beautiful rooftop terrace, overlooking South Beach.  It was fun for me to get out amongst adults, even if they were just talking about research all night!

While we didn't get to see much of life outside the hotel, we did get to go out in the warm evenings.  One night we went to a hip Cuban restaurant on Lincoln Street, a pedestrian-only shopping area.  It was fun to be able to take the girls out at night (it got dark pretty early) and eat outside.  Of course, when I say "fun" that means for about the first 15 minutes.  Then, they self-destruct and no longer find fine dining very exciting.  But we managed to have some yummy food along with other friends that were there for the conference with the help of Alison and Kim, and (as usual) Sam and I eating in shifts.  But it was kind of fun taking Sasha for a walk in the stroller (so she would stop screaming at the restaurant) and people watch and window shop. 

Kim and Alison were such fun to hang out with!

Alison is a celebrity to Morgan

There was another cool area, Espanola Street, that Sam and I went to on our last night.  We thought it would be fun to have an early dinner in a fun part of town, yet at a kid-friendly place.  We got a sidewalk table at a Mexican place, and Morgan was very excited about getting to have a burrito.  Sasha was in good spirits and snacking away.  We ordered drinks and smiled at each other - this was what vacation was really about!  Fun!  And it was fun....for about the first 15 minutes.  Turns out they only had chicken nuggets on the kids menu and were unable to accommodate our request to make a small bean burrito for Morgan.  Oh well.  So we ordered her a quesadilla and were ready to enjoy a good meal.  As soon as Morgan's food arrived she had this dazed look in her eyes and didn't respond to anything I said to her.  Moments later, she laid her head in my lap and fell soundly asleep!  Well, at least she was well behaved.  As we waited for our food and Sasha finished her baby food, we realized the clock was ticking.  Our food arrived and Sasha started yelling.  For those of you who know Sasha, you know what I mean.  But if you haven't experienced it, she just screams really loudly - not with anger, not crying.  Basically, like an animal that can't communicate.  I love her, but it's really loud and really annoying.  So, off she goes in the stroller with Sam who takes her for a walk.  If she was moving, she was fine.  I shovel down my food with Morgan snoring on my lap.  Gee....this is fun!  Sam returns and its his turn to scarf his food down, while I take Sasha for a walk.  Then, we paid our $80 bill for mediocre food with a side of mayhem.  It was a fitting finale that Sam had to carry 40 pounds of dead weight (sleeping Morgan) for at least 6 blocks, as we walked in defeat back to the hotel.  (We were also laughing at ourselves, because that is the only way you get through times like these!)

It's very fun to look back at the photos.  Even though it felt like so much work to get there and back and take care of everyone's needs and never have one moment alone, the photos show us all looking so happy and having a fun time, and that was all genuine.   We were so fortunate to be able to take our kids to places and see things through their eyes.  And when I see photos all four of us, I still can't quite believe that that is my family - this foursome - and I am the mom! 

Next November, this same conference is in Prague!  What are the odds?  Although Sam and I have fantasized about how fun it would to go back, after this family trip, I better not press my luck.
(PS: If you haven't already figured this out, you can click on a photo and it will open a window where you can view all the photos enlarged together.  There is also a video below, and Sam gets the credit/blame for teaching Morgan the "Miami" song!)

Getting There is Half the ________ (fill in the blank)

Morgan and loved the moving sidewalks!

FUN?  Not exactly the word I would choose to describe getting all four of us to Miami, Florida last weekend.  Perhaps more fitting words would be:  Adventure, Excitement, or Insanity.  But the best word, perhaps, is WORK.  It takes a lot of work to travel across the country with small children.  It didn't help that we had (free) miles tickets that connected us through Boston on our way there.  Not exactly direct.  Two full, 15 hour travel days to get there and back, for three full days of sunny vacation.  A three-hour time zone change, plus losing an hour with the end of daylight savings.  All four of us sleeping together in one hotel room for four nights. Was this really going to be worth it???


A few weeks back, I really had my doubts that we had completely lost our minds.  As appealing as sunshine in November and a fancy hotel room covered by Sam's research budget seemed, I had no idea how it would be to travel with the four of us.  It was Sasha's first flight and our first attempt flying with two kids...in three seats.  We were pretty sure that now that Morgan was four, she would be pretty easy to keep busy and happy.  And she was awesome!  It was so fun seeing the journey through her eyes.  This was actually her seventh, (yes, seventh!), trip via airplane but the easiest one by far.  She was so curious about everything and was so full of excitement about each little thing.  The moving sidewalks were a big hit and she fired off a million questions.  And she kept saying the cutest things - of course, everything was even cuter when she was wearing her horse backpack, "Harriet." 

Waiting in Boston for flight number 2.

When we got on the plane in Portland, it was still dark.  She sat down and immediately asked, "Are we in the air now?"  When the flight attendant came on the PA, she asked excitedly, "Is that the control tower?!"  Later, she asked me if both boys and girls could be airplane pilots.  But then said, "When I grow up I'm going to be a ballerina and a flight attendant!" Go figure.  For some reason, seeing the fuel trucks was particularly thrilling, although the automatic toilets in the airport bathrooms were kind of distressing.   On our way home we flew through Chicago, a four hour flight.  Morgan curled up in her seat and slept 3.5 hours straight.  A super traveler!

All the world is a jungle gym!

Sasha was the real wild card.  This is a girl who at home is very easily distracted, a very light sleeper and whose sleeping schedule leaves a lot to be desired.  I honestly feared the girl would not sleep the entire journey.  But she did better than we thought.  Sam had the magic touch being able to rock her to sleep standing in the aisle and we got a few naps out of her.  Since she normally prefers non-toys to any of her baby toys, keeping her occupied was a challenge.  I admit there were times I let her chew on a foil wrapper or Morgan's water bottle with paint chipping off of it just to keep her happy.   The last leg of our journey, from Chicago was by far the worst.  We had become those haggard, exhausted parents with small children who you dread to see at your gate.  I secretly wished we could just put her in the overhead compartment for a little while.  And true to form, Sasha did her share of screaming and fussing for the four hour flight.  When we finally arrived in Portland, my hair was disheveled and pulled on, I had been bitten and scratched, and was at the end of my rope. But at least that was the end of the trip, and not the beginning. 

It's a miracle....Sam got her to sleep!

I think air travel is great!

But I am happy to say it was all worth it!  On the bright side, some of my fears never came true:  none of our flights were delayed or cancelled and neither of our girls were sick.   Something I didn't anticipate, though, about flying in and out of Miami was how much Spanish we heard all around us.  Like a hunting dog, Morgan's head was cocked and her ears perked up when she heard it being spoken around her.  She'd turn to me and say words that she would pull out of the jumble of conversation with a happy, surprised look on her face.  Even more than the language, though, was the interactions we had with the people speaking Spanish on our flights.  On the flight to Miami from Boston, there were a dozen Argentinian high school students seated in front of us, returning home after a month studying in America.  They were typical, silly teenagers, but they absolutely loved the girls.  They didn't speak much English but kept turning around to entertain them and smile and say how cute they were, especially la bebé.  I can't imagine American high school students (both the guys and girls) fawning over a baby like that.  On our flight out of Miami, we were surrounded by a dozen family members that were speaking Spanish.  Three kids about middle school age sat across the aisle from Morgan.  They kept waving and talking to her, gave her candy and cookies, and played peek-a-boo with Sasha.  Morgan was pretty shy, but at the end of the flight she started talking to them and even spoke a little Spanish to them.  When I studied abroad in Ecuador in college, one of the things that struck me was how child-centered Hispanic culture is.  Everyone in the family is involved in loving and raising the little ones, keeping them distracted and happy, rarely yelling or disciplining them.  No matter how loud Sasha got or how much we were up and down in our seats, there were only smiles and compliments coming from these fellow travelers.  It certainly made the trip so much easier. 

Three hours in and still smiling!

So, we really did have a great time while we were in Miami.  But I will have to tell you more about our Miami adventures in my next blog.  Stay tuned!

Trick or Treat?

We had lots of opportunities to celebrate Halloween this year, and Morgan was raring to go several weeks ago.  Her initial costume idea of a "rainbow" left me wondering what I was going to do.  Then she switched to wanting to be a "red butterfly" so that made life easier...sort of.  Her preschool fall celebration was ten days before Halloween and exactly one day after I started looking for a costume.  I was determined not to spend a bunch of money on a store-bought butterfly costume, which essentially all look like (for the girls) a modified princess costume.  No matter what kind of outfit you are looking for... be it a bug, pirate, animal, or otherwise... all the girl's costumes (and women's as well) are all just frilly dresses.  And those aren't even the "princess" costumes.  But I won't get into my anti-princess rant because I'm sure that's what Morgan will want to be next year!


But Morgan and I did put together a pretty cute (and cheap) butterfly costume that she was very excited about - that was the most important thing, after all.  Thanks to the wonderful invention of sheets of self-adhesive craft foam, we were able to make one pretty easily...in time for her preschool party.  She was dressed all in red, but insisted on purple pipe cleaner antennae. :)  She also wore her costume to our friends' annual Halloween party, and of course trick-or-treating.  She decided that Sasha should dress up as a bumble bee, and after I came up with an equally cheap, homemade version, she basically refused to wear any of the accessories and ended up looking like a referee.  Oh well!

Our jack-o-lanterns:  "Two-teeth Sasha" and "The Pirate"

Our cute little punkin'

Morgan loved trick-or-treating in our new neighborhood, although in her excited state, managed to fall and trip several times, spilling only a little bit of candy in the dark.  Morgan, Papa Ron and I went out with the neighbor kids across the street and it was a lot of fun.  Sam stayed home with sleepy/sick Sasha and Grandma Dinda.  Morgan quickly figured out how to worm her way to the front of the pack at each house.  I'm pretty sure she never said thank you, despite the millions of reminders ... but we will work on that for next year. 

"Smile, Morgan!"

"Smile with your eyes open, Morgan!"

"Smile normal, Morgan!"

La Mariposa

Ready to head out with Papa Ron on Halloween

Sasha prefers TP-ing the house to dressing up.

 Now it is November, and Sam and I have our own version of trick or treat.  We will be spending five days in Miami, Florida very soon!  He is presenting research at a conference in South Beach, and because it is a work trip, we are turning it into an affordable family trip.  We have been both excited for the sun, beach, and a new city, but also wondering if we are crazy to take both girls and all stay in one hotel room together.  We are very lucky, though, because Aunt Kimmy and cousin Alison will also be joining us to both help out and go out with us!  I am definitely looking forward to a girls night out in South Beach! 

I figure, if we can survive the journey to get there and have low expectations for getting a  lot of sleep, staying on a schedule, etc., we will have a great time.  After all, traveling with kids is not really a "vacation," but it will definitely be a break from the laundry...the dishes...the cooking...and most importantly.....the weather!   (P.S.  I have not been able to get that Will Smith song "Miami" out of my head all week.  Awwww  yeahhhh!)

. . . Hello Four!

Morgan is officially four years old now, and I realized so is this blog!  When I first started it four years ago, right before Morgan was born, I didn't realize what I was getting myself into.  Sometimes I am full of ideas and thoughtful writing, other times I post whatever comes to mind, and other times it feels like another thing on my to-do list.  Regardless, I am so amazed at the journey my life has taken in the last four years, and I am thankful that there are these snapshots of the highs and lows and in-betweens of motherhood and the life of my family recorded here.  I never really know who is reading this, but thank you to those that do.  I hope it is entertaining, keeps you connected to us, and isn't too cheesey or self-absorbed!

Anyway... we had such a fun time celebrating Morgan's 4th birthday this year!  By this age, she really knows what birthdays are about, and it felt like Christmas for me, seeing her so happy and joyful.  On her actual birthday, September 29, she woke up to a new big girl bike!  It was a used one we bought from a neighbor and just her size.  She even got to ride it down the hallway before she headed off to school. 

Then it was off to preschool, where she got to share a birthday poster with photos from each year of her life.  Sam and Sasha and I visited to see her get her birthday crown and sing "Happy Birthday" and "Feliz Cumpleaños" to her with her group at school.  It was a warm fall day, and Sam and Kim picked her up from school in the afternoon and we all met at our old neighborhood park to play.  We even ran into some old friends that she used to play before we moved.  Then we headed to a divey Mexican restaurant in our old neighborhood for dinner.  The margaritas are the strongest anywhere, but we went there because they have a great kids' plate Morgan loves.  Honest.

Queen for the day!

Sharing a laugh with Nana

On Sunday, we had a party at our house with family and friends.  Morgan wanted a pony/horse theme, so we got a horse piñata, cake and played a few games, including "pin the tail on the pony," of course.  Most of the adults were upstairs and the kids were in the basement.  It is so nice having so much room now in this house!  I loved seeing Morgan running around in her party dress with a pointy birthday hat (which she made sure I purchased) wearing the biggest smile ever.  She loves other people so much, and having friends and family here to celebrate, as well as games and cake.... well, it was just her best day ever!

When it was time for cake, she had an extra special treat...Uncle Ron played "Happy Birthday" on the accordion for her!  Later, it was time for the piñata.  Since it was rainy outside, so Sam got creative and was able to rig the piñata through a heat vent register in our basement.  It worked perfectly (well, the string only broke that once), so between the preschool set and the older cousins, everyone had a fun time and the piñata was a success. 

Morgan and her piñata

Noah delivers quite a blow

Avery has a graceful swing

Sasha is getting ready for her birthday in a couple months

Morgan has also taken her new bike out for some rides this week and, I have to say, she is a natural.  She can pedal quite fast and knows how to brake (and leave skid marks!).  She learned how to push her bike across the street, steer around corners, and even stand up and pedal to get going.  When she  did this going up a small hill she turned to me and said, "Mom, I like going downhill better."  I will have to keep an eye on her, for sure, but it really is exciting to see her go go go!  

 

Go Speed Racer!!!

Turning four also included Morgan's yearly check-up (and four shots - uggghhhh!) at her doctor.  That was one of my worst days yet.  I was glad we powered through Morgan's screams and fits to get them done, because she won't need anymore for many years to come (so they tell me).  But after shot #3, I was in tears and they had to call in another nurse to hold her down.  AWFUL . . . but even as we left the doctor's office, she bounced back and was her old self.  Amazing.

She chose to sit in the airplane ... and watch TV!

I can't decide if she looks younger or older now!

And to top off this week, Morgan got a haircut - a big one - for the first time at a kids' place.  I have been wanting to get more cut off because her hair, as beautiful as it is and cute as it looks in braids, is a lot of work, especially with baths and swimming lessons.  So, here is the "new" Morgan!  She was very happy to have her hair cut (although she did want to get it cut super short like the neighbor girl she idolizes!)







(PS:  I apologize for the weird formatting.  Blogger has changed their format and I am still trying to figure out the layouts. And it looks different when it posts than when I am editing it.)