The Hansen's

Warren turned 9

2012-01-16T10:10:00.000-08:00

I have been a Mom for 9 years.

I haven't slept in for 9 years(well the meaning of sleeping in changed from 11am to 8:30)

I haven't had a job in 9 years.

I went from being a mother of 1 to a family of 5 in 9 years.

I haven't gone to bed without worrying about the eternal welfare of a soul in 9 years.

I can honestly say I have loved being Warren's Mom. He is easy, rational, unemotional, smart, stalwart, diligent, and thoughtful. Over the Christmas break I went on long walks with him, he on his bike and me walking. I thought he would ride up ahead of me, and he did some of the time, but for much of the time he just wanted to stay by my side and talk to me. I loved these moments with him, so much that when it was the first day of school and my alarm went off, I had a moment of sadness. I thought how can I send my boy off into the loan and dreary world, I'm not done with him, I haven't taught him everything yet. But I got over it when the kids did get off and my house was clean for 8 consecutive hours:)

Happy Birthday to my dear beloved son Warren, I can't wait to see what you are like 9 years from now.

change of scenery

2012-01-04T15:35:00.000-08:00

I come to my blog every day to look and see who has updated their blogs and I got tired of looking at the same old Christmas photos and video title, so I am adding new photos that I like. There is no meaning or relevance, I just like the photos and I like to check blogs a lot.

Christmas Video 2011

2011-12-27T20:52:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2011

Or you can just look at the photos below. I do these videos for my kids.

Best Christmas Ever!

2011-12-27T18:15:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas, but the best part was the kids kept saying "Mom, this was the best Christmas Ever" Here are some of the highlights.

CHRISTMAS EVE

Auri holding up the red hots for the gingerbread cookies on Christmas Eve. My Mom's Christmas Village.

The Christmas Baking

The Christmas Eve p.j.'s

CHRISTMAS MORNING (6:30am)

Warren getting excited about anything Miami Heat related.

Max and his new iPod.Auri and her new doll house.

CHRISTMAS AFTERNOON AT MY PARENTS

Me and Spencer after church.

Auri opening a gift from her cousins.

My favorite photo of the day. A candid shot of all the laughs.

Christmas Dinner at the kids table.

Hope you all had a great Christmas!!!!

Happy 10 Year Anniversary, Good Bye December

2011-12-24T07:40:00.000-08:00

Spencer and I got married on December 20th. Weird I know. But I remember thinking, every year we'll have to take time out from a busy December and do something cool, just the 2 of us. Well, that kind of backfired for the first 10 years because we were always broke and had really small kids. But this year.... we kind of rocked it for our 10 year Anniversary.

We didn't have a lot of time, so we went on a little staycation to downtown Portland. We stayed at The Nines Hotel that is located right by Pioneer Court house. It was awesome! We shopped, we went out to dinner, we walked around downtown Portland for a while, it was fun. Happy Anniversary to us.

This year it was my favorite December in years. I am so sad to see it go. I'm not ready to stop listening to Christmas music, I'm not ready to pull down the Christmas lights, and I am certainly not ready to give up the Christmas treats. My kids have been amazing this season, I have loved watching Christmas specials on t.v.with them, telling them secrets of what I got their siblings, wrapping gifts with them, driving around looking at lights, taking them out to dinner. Why can't it last 2 more weeks? In January the gym gets busy, the food gets boring, and Spencer goes back to California:( This is the "library" at The Nines where they served us dessert at 8pm and breakfast at 8am. We probably spent at least 2-3 hours in here reading and talking.

This is our breakfast buffet, what, I always have my oatmeal in a fancy glass.

Our evening dessert with tea and reading. The pumpkin cheesecake was divine.

Pioneer Square Mall all decked out.

Elephants Delicatessen.

The menorah behind the FOX tower.

Where we had dinner. More hotel glamour.

I love it when someone else makes my bed.

Merry Christmas.

Happy December

2011-12-14T13:51:00.000-08:00

The most wonderful shining star at the Methodist Christmas Program!

We have been having a rocking good time this December. I think the fact that it has only rained once and the fact that Spence has only been in California once has been the main source of my joy. But I have really kept is so simple this year, I've said no more times than I'd like to admit, I didn't force traditions, we just did what we had time for and what we really wanted to do and while I'm sure this doesn't make me the most popular person, frankly I couldn't care less. The less stuff I get invited to the less stuff I have to continually say no to. I like to enjoy the holidays with my kids without being a phycho Mom. Here are some activities that I have gone to that I have LOVED.

Auri's Christmas Program, where they don't substitute the word "holiday" for Christmas. It is a Christmas program that celebrates Christ. It is so beautiful.

Afterwards we took her out to lunch, also a great time.

There is no better way to get to know and like you kid than one on one time with them.

Birthday Lunch at the Cheesecake Factory with my sister Holly.

What in this world would I do without my dear sisters??? I can't even imagine.

Sunday night cookie decorating with the whole family.This isn't just a good picture, the kids were really having as much fun as it looks.

Yes, I know, the cookies look like crap, literally, but it was a rocking good time.

Christmas

2011-12-10T08:10:00.000-08:00

I was reading one of my favorite blogs, (NYC Taught ME) and she said that apparently you do have to post photos of your tree either on your blog or on facebook, and since I don't want 280 something of my "closest friends" seeing my living room and family room, I'm posting them on my blog. So here they are.

You also might notice that some of them are blurry, my goal this Christmas is to not be perfect or care that things are not perfect or even finished because that's what I remember about last Christmas, the stress. So this year, my motto's is either "pretend to care" because it matters to Warren or "I don't care".

I do however like the blurriness because it makes the Christmas lights look like hearts.

Christmas Card Photos

2011-11-28T15:11:00.000-08:00

It was the perfect storm, except by storm I mean calm setting. Spencer was in town, it was almost sunny, no one was sick or throwing a crying fit, there were no activities going on so at the last minute I threw some sorta matching outfits together and called Rachael and we all ran to the park for a quick little photo session. It's like Becky L wrote in one of her last posts, "You can't always get what you want, (like matching outfits and the perfect smile) but sometimes, you get what you need." Like all the family together without rain.

11+11+11=35

2011-11-14T22:15:00.000-08:00

On 11/11/11 I turned a whopping 35. I have mixed feelings about it. I am not one of those emotionally healthy people who are aging gracefully, I want to cry when I think that in 5 years I'll be 40. That said however, I can't think of a time in my life when I've been smarter, wiser, healthier, wealthier, more loved, more stable and leaner. So what am I to make of that?

I share my birthday with my Dad so this year my Mom rented the top floor of the Camas Library and we had a party! We had pizza from Twilight, Red Velvet Cake and Pumpkin Pie, games for the kids and pumpkin pie for dessert. I also did a slide show for my dad, I'll try to attach it, but I think it takes you to the website.

My brother Leland, My sister Kiran, Dad, Mom, my sister Holly, me, and my brother Will.

13 Grandkids

Blowing out the candles

Will's wife Maggie

Will's son Owen.

Leland's wife Denise and their daughter Adaries.

Grace above and Denise below

My birthday brunch with friends at Tasty & Sons.

Halloween Highlights

2011-11-01T15:03:00.001-07:00

Here are some of the highlights of our Halloween.

Putting makeup on my only girl. Seriously, it never gets old. We went with the Jacob and Edward theme,. I heard Bella's gettin married.

I know I say this all the time, but I just die over Max, no pun intended:)

Watching Warren trick-or-treat with his sister was great, he made sure she was front and center at every house, nothing makes a mother happier than when a child is kind to a sibling.

Happy Halloween to me!

Back at the house counting the goods.

I don't know what I like more, my Halloween decorations, or my Christmas decorations......

There is just something about orange that is just so energetic. I love it, my Mother-in-Law

gave me most of my pumpkins.

Good times.

Good Housekeeping

2011-10-16T17:38:00.000-07:00

As some of you know Max started all day kindergarten this year and Auri started preschool 2 days a week and it has been very productive for me. I have been getting a lot of housekeeping done. But in between cleaning I managed to take the kids to the Pumpkin Patch and grab some o.k. photos.

I know it is an eclectic outfit, but we had an incident in the car with a Sonic Slushie and the Drakes let us borrow this skirt.

Our Besties, Rachael and Mary Drake.

Just to name a few of the things that I have gotten done:

gutted the laundry room

cleaned out under 4 sinks in my house(seriously, they are empty), I have 2 left to clean

gutted the play room and took almost 4 boxes to the Good Will

Took 3 truck loads of stuff out of my house, 1 load went to a metal recycling center, 1 went to the Good Will, and 1 went to Waste Connection (The Drakes also loaned us their truck)

I painted my master bathroom

I painted my bedroom

I painted the boys room

The playroom is next

3 Years Baby!!!

2011-09-15T20:42:00.000-07:00

Truth be told, I am pretty hard on my body. I exercise faithfully 5 days a week, I never miss any of the many pills I need to take, if I can't go to the gym in the morning for scheduling reasons I try to go for a walk at night. I tan to maintain a "healthy glow" and then I complain about the lines on my face, irony I know. I bleach my hair as soon as I see those ugly brown roots creep in.
Most days I am frustrated with my body because I feel like I work for it, it doesn't work for me. It doesn't sleep when I want it too, (I wake up most days between 4:45 and 5:30) my blood is either too thick or too thin, and I always have those trouble areas on my backside where I'd like to loose a few more pounds.
When I gain 3 pounds I panic and really kick it up a notch at the gym and try to pay closer attention to eating only when I am hungry.
But one day a year, I DON'T CARE!!! I don't care about what I look like, what I feel like, I don't care that I can't run for very long and I view this as a character flaw on my part, and I don't care that I have to take pills just to keep my body alive. One day a year I just marvel at my beautiful heart, it's audible tick, and the fact that it's a miracle that I'm alive at all.
That day is September 15th, or as we call it around here my Second Birthday.
Last month I got a letter in the mail with a survey. This was one of the questions:

When do you experience severe shortness of breath?

A. With little exertion

B. With a medium amount of exertion

C. With a lot of exertion

When do you experience shortness of breath, not Do you experience shortness of breath.

All in all, I'm doin good and today was a great day, I enjoy having 2 birthdays. My beautiful aortic valve.

Me on my 3rd "2nd Birthday"

Just a few of the pretty things I bought myself for my birthday, Auri helped me pick them out at one of our many trips to ULTA. We have a lot of time on our hands with the boys in school.

Some super sweet perfume and

the perfect shade of red lipstick, it's called burlesque.

A couple of friends took me out to "brunch" at Cupcake Jones in Portland to celebrate.

Red Velvet, S'mores, Chocolate covered pretzel, Chocolate and Oatmeal Cookie

My parents and I had a picnic at the park to celebrate, my Mom brought a heart table clothe and sparkling cider. What a great day!

Another great friend who visited me in the hospital when I had my surgery brought me a gift certificate to See's candy. A gift that keeps on giving.

Best Day of the Year

2011-09-06T09:24:00.000-07:00

The older I get I think the more tolerant and respectful I get of other people's life choices. I try anyways. But the one I still can't wrap my brain around is those tough women who choose to home-school their kids after a long long summer. I absolutely respect their choice to do so, I just don't get it because the first day of school is the best day of the year for me!
After my kids got on the bus I hung out with Spence, took a nap, read my book, and went out to lunch with my Mom and all I could think about was I get to do this again and again for the next 9 months!

I am a rock, I am an island......

2011-08-28T20:46:00.001-07:00

I learned something relatively unimportant about myself the week of my San Francisco trip. I will do anything alone, but very little with kids. Alone, I am fearless, adventurous even, but with kids, I am weary, afraid and trepidatious.

While I was in San Francisco I went to The Ferry Building, Little Italy, China Town, all through the Financial District, the Mission District, in about a dozen cafes, through a museum, to Sausalito, to a movie, and to lunch by myself and loved every minute of it. There was one moment of the day when I thought, "I haven't even heard my own voice for over 4 hours.... this nice"

I was like this when I lived in New York too, I went everywhere alone! My roommate worked the night shift, I worked the day shift, so I did most things by myself. I went to Wall Street, Rockefeller Center, Broadway, Time Square, and took the train and bus up to Boston and cruised around Boston mostly by myself too. I am totally in my comfort zone doing this.

But, when it comes to kids I am a complete looser. If someone gave me free tickets to OMSI I'd probably have to pass unless I had a sister or a very close friend to accompany me and even then the timing would have to be perfect, my kids would have to be on their best behavior and all the stars would have to align for me to work up the nerve to do this.

My only explanation for this is that kids stress me out more than most things, the running around, trying to keep them contained, constantly counting heads to make sure no one has been kid napped or run off, my stress level is at a 10 when I take kids to most things, but walking alone through NYC at night even around homeless people and crack whores doesn't even phase me. (Sorry I said whores on my blog)

Which leads me to my next point, I LOVE Moms that can take their kids to do things and actually enjoy doing it. I wish I was blessed with this gift. I have found a few blogs this summer and they blog about all the cool things they take their kids to do, like bike across the Brooklyn Bridge, go to Washington Park, go to Lagoon in Utah, go to the Beach, when I go the the beach all I'm thinking about is which kid is going to go under and out first. I really admire strong Moms, I wish I was a little stronger. Just a few of the things I enjoyed alone in San Francisco
(my favorite breakfast, chocolate banana cream pie with a gingerbread cupcake)

The Ferry

Building

Tartine Bakery,

I was hoping to get some eclairs, but they sold out, so I got a piece of chocolate cake instead, but it did inspire me to come home and teach myself to make my own eclairs,

they were a success if I do say so myself.

Mission Pie,

they say pie is gaining in popularity when compared cupcakes, I can see why.

I couldn't decide, I got peach and banana cream.

I'll say it, Fisherman's Warf is the most overrated thing in San Francisco, way to touristy.

The best candy shop in Little Italy

My Beloved Max

2011-08-15T21:21:00.000-07:00

Max turned 6 years old lastweek! A whopping 6 years old! He starts kindergarten in a couple weeks and I am so happy for these milestones, but as I was doing this blog post it did make me reflect on my beloved middle child.

When Warren was born it was a painful 28 hour labour with 2 hours and 45 minutes of pushing. I was unprepared for that kind of pain, (I still am, I kid you not heart surgery is easier)The epidural got me through a couple of hours, but not the last ones. After that it took me a long, long time to bond with him, I could barely sit up for heaven sakes, I felt like I had just been hit by a bus, I hadn't eaten in almost 3 days, I had barely slept and I felt like the nurses at the hospital were a little hard on me for not being overly eager to hold and nurse my baby. I'd even get annoyed with nursing mothers who would almost brag about the bonding part of it and do it in public. (I don't anymore, so don't hate me) So I'd say my expections for my second baby were really really low. I really really bonded with Warren when he turned about 9months to a year and even then I took my job as a mother very seriously. We did flashcards every day, we ate on schedule, we did mostly learning activities and played with mostly learning toys. He was going to be an educated MAN! But in my defense, Warren is the toughest kid I know and even as a 2nd grader he took his schooling very seriously, so I didn't mess him up completely.

Then I got pregnant and had my beloved Max, I tear up just thinking about it. It was another hard traumatic delivery, I hope I don't sound too melodramatic when I say that he and I almost died, so I didn't get to see him right away, but man, when I did... It was love at first sight! We bonded immediately! I loved his blue eyes, his black hair, his perfect skin, I would ask the nurses to bring him to me earlier than they would have to. I was just completely smitten by this baby. All my mothering "rules and schedules" went out the window, as I suspect they usually do when you have your second or third baby. I just LOVED this little boy. He is the most loving, caring, sharing, sympathetic child and I am anxious to see what he does whith these special gifts. That is the story of my beloved Max.

He was HUGE! he is only about 7 days old in this photo.

He's about 6 months in this one.

And 9 months in these.

Happy 6th Birthday to Max

Portland Food Cart-run

2011-08-15T20:23:00.000-07:00

Every year on my summer bucket list I add some sort of food festival. This isn't exactly a food festival, but it is an alleyway of food trucks with everything including French cuisine, gourmet pizza, tacos, Greek gyros, and of course my favorite creme' brulee. This is me waiting for my french dip sandwich at the French truck.

This was my FAVORITE!!! I LOVE creme Brulee! I had a slight panic attack when we got there and the place was closed, turns out they just don't open until 12:30.

These are some of the things my friends and I ordered so we could get a taste of everything.

Beet Salad, Fresh Mozzarella Pizza, a Greek Gyro, falafels, burgers, an onion tart, tacos, and 2 sad salads. Honestly, I don't know why anyone orders salads.

And my favorite Creme Brulee and a side of Strawberry Ice cream, on top was passion fruit, it was pretty bad, but the strawberry was good.

And last, but not least, we stopped at a cupcake cart somewhere else in Northeast Portland and I had some AMAZING little mini cupcakes. One was even a Mexican Spice cupcake. Don't mind if I do. You might be wondering by now how I stay relatively thin on such a fatty unhealthy diet, but truth be told, I only indulge on days like this, on regular days, honestly, my diet consists of Grape-nuts for breakfast, tuna sandwich for lunch and turkey meatballs for dinner, honestly. But if your gonna indulge, go big!

My Perfect Day

2011-08-10T16:25:00.000-07:00

My first day in San Fransisco was wonderful. I might even say, it was my idea of a perfect day. After having a healthy and complete breakfast of a gingerbread cupcake with cream cheese frosting and chocolate banana cream pie, I walked up to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and it was spectacular! I have to admit that I loved the alone time. I don't know anyone else who would have gone along with my sugary breakfast, my carrying a map and camera all over the city and stopping any time I wanted to take a picture, nor do I know anyone else who would walk into yet another bakery. I am insufferable I know, it's a problem.

After the museum I went back to my hotel, got all prettied up and went to an economics lecture with Spencer, also spectacular. His professor gave a lecture on utility and how to calculate it, in other words, how to calculate how much satisfaction you get based on how risk adverse or risk loving you are. I thought it was riveting.

The museum featured "The Stein Collection" which was a collection of art that Gertrude Stein and her siblings collected and promoted over their lives. The collection included Picasso, Mattice, and Renoir. Some even say it was Gertrude that made them famous. The exhibit included photos of her office and her lunching with Picasso. Unfortunately, the museum wouldn't let me take any photos of the entire collection. I swiped these from the Internet, they were some of the more popular ones.

Matisse, "Woman with a Hat"

Hans Purrman, "Still life of Fruit"

Mattisse

These are actual photos I took in the museum, I didn't get the name of the artist.

But this was my favorite, I enjoyed this exhibit more than the Stein Collection.

I had to wait about 20 minutes before they would let me into the Stein exhibit so I went to see the "Face of our Time" exhibit, all photographs taken in war-torn countries and some by a man named Jim Goldberg. His goal was to give a face and voice to the refugees in socially and economically devastated countries in Africa. His work was breathtaking. You can't tell from my photo, this print hangs at about 5ft in the museum.

Number 2 on my Summer List of things to Do

2011-08-08T22:32:00.001-07:00

I went to San Francisco with Spencer this past weekend and it was AWESOME! I couldn't blog about it all in one post because I took about 100 photos, so I thought I'd blog about it according to the events that took place. This was one of my favorites.

I (all alone I might add) walked from my hotel, past China Town, through Little Italy, and into Fisherman's Warf to rent a bike. Then I biked all the way over to The Golden Gate Bridge, which was about 6 miles, then across the bridge, which was about 2 miles, and into Sausalito, another 2 miles. Along my journey I met a lovely couple from Boston who wanted go go out to lunch, so we enjoyed a wonderful little lunch on the water over looking San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. After lunch we took the ferry back over to San Fran and I returned my bike and walked another mile back to my hotel. It was a great day. I am proud of myself for doing it and mostly by myself. Later that night I laid in bed, ate cake and watched a Zack Efron movie all by myself, until Spence came back at 10:30 and we went out with his Wharton friends.

Do I look like I just walked 6 miles mostly uphill, then biked 9? Because I did.

Alcatraz

The quaint town of Sausalito.

My biking friends from Boston that I went to lunch with.

Number 5 on my Things to do List

2011-07-30T09:53:00.000-07:00

Friday afternoon I went shooting! I know I said I wanted to learn how to shoot a .22, but the 9 just felt right;) It was amazing! It was exhilarating! I felt ALIVE! I want to learn how to ride a motorcycle, then learn how to shoot a gun while riding a motorcycle;). I'm not the best shot, as you can see from the targets many of the bullet holes are in the black and many of the bullet holes are at the bottom of the paper. But all in all, it was better than hanging out at the park, the mall, or at home on a Friday afternoon.

My awesome Mom took all the great shots.

2011-07-16T09:56:00.000-07:00

One of these days I am going to pitch a show idea to NBC, ABC and CBS. The show is going to be called BLOGGER and it's going to begin with an adorable little blog post where everyone is smiling and everything looks beautiful, the food is all great, the house is pretty the clothes are all stylish and new. The rest of the show is going to be all the nitty gritty behind the scenes, in other words, the whole truth. I've seen this a lot lately, I'll read someones blog, then hear the "real" story behind the post and they are completely different. I'm not judging, no one wants to read people's crap, I'm sure no one wants to read mine, I just think it would make an interesting sitcom/drama. (sitdram)

On a similar note, I heard that facebook is one of the main contributors to depression according to a recent poll. I guess people look at everyone elses smiling photos on facebook and happy funny status updates and thus they conclude that everyone else has a much happier life than they do.

So in the interest of full disclosure I will give you the complete and honest facts of our Beach trip.

Fact: We fit 9 kids and 3 adults into 2 cars, it's a good thing we didn't get pulled over.

Fact: I couldn't have made it without my ipod. (Again, I think it's illegal to drive with headphones in, but it has to be more illegal to hit your kids while driving)

Fact: We stayed 2 nights in a cabin at Oceanside Beach, the cabin didn't have a lot of rooms so it was the first night in her life that Auri has ever slept next to me. I think I got 4 hours of sleep.
Fact: I don't do well on 4 hours of sleep.

Fact:To combat the sleep deprived state I ate about 3 cups of Tillamook ice cream and some chocolate coconut fudge.

Fact: We had the loudest pack of kids at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. No joke, other kids were staring.

Fact: After 2 days together, 48 hours non-stop, Warren still begged to stay one more night at the beach and if not one more night, could cousin Jake at least come stay the night.

Fact: The kids never really fought.

Fact: Even though when I got home I couldn't wait to get out of my house for some alone time, even if it was only to go and get my oil changed, I still talked on the phone to my sister the whole time.

4th of July 2011

2011-07-05T13:17:00.001-07:00

This is how we spent the 4th, nothing fancy, just a lot of laughs, some great food and some jump roping.

My 2 favorite new recipes, Strawberry shortcake, and Angel food cake with lemon cream filling.

Avery, our photographer.

Summer List

2011-06-28T08:33:00.000-07:00

Every summer I have my standard list of things to do and then I try to add some new things. I try to read a classic book, go to a museum, bake a bunch of goodies and spend time in the sun. I'm trying hard to come up with some new good stuff but I seem to be falling short. Help me out a little. Kiran is coming up and all I can think about is hanging out with my sisters.

The classic I picked out to read is Little House on the Prairie. I thought it would be great, my 8 year old and I could read it together, I liked the show when I was a kid, but I have to admit, I couldn't get past the first 3 chapters. I kept thinking "I am waisting precious magazine time on this drivel, I could be finding out what is happening in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, and Yemen, and I am sitting here reading this Ma and Pa crap." Maybe there is something wrong with me. I did however, stumble upon this little gem, it is about the history of Malaria and after finishing a book about Polio a couple of months ago, I have to admit I love reading about infectious disease!

So this is my Summer List of thing to do:

1. Read FEVER How Malaria has ruled mankind for 500,000 years.

2. Take a trip to San Fransisco with Spencer.

3. See if San Fransisco has a good cupcake shop.

4. Visit the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, which is currently exhibiting Matisse, Picasso and an Avant Garde Collection.

5. Learn how to fire a 22 simi automatic handgun.

My list is pretty short, so if you think of anything good to do, let me know.

Cottonwood Beach underwater

This is the movie theater where I hope to spend a lot of summer afternoons. That is until the Smurf's come, then I will pay full price. I can't wait to see that. We still watch Season 1 on DVD all the time.

Father's Day 2011, the only thing missing...

2011-06-20T11:26:00.000-07:00

Leland and his family, Kiran her family, and Will and his family. I always say that the greatest gift my parents ever gave me were my brothers and sisters. They were noticeably absent yesterday among all the festivities. But in spite of their absence we did have a great time. I'm wanting to add Father's Day and Mother's Day to my favorite holidays.

The avaitor shades Kiran got for our Dad, a huge hit.

Max, Jake and Warren laughing it up.

"You don't look a day over Fast Cars and Freedom"

2011-06-20T11:02:00.000-07:00

For my parents 40th Anniversary they combined 2 things each of them love, cars and museums. Saturday we went to the Portland Art Museum to see some gorgeous cars. It was amazing and I love a good museum any day and every year I promise myself that during summer I'll go to the Portland Art Museum. Mission accomplished, summer's going great. Congratulations to my parents on 40 great years, 5 cool kids and 13 grandkids.

"Each Night Before You Go To Bed My Baby"

2011-06-13T11:35:00.001-07:00

I loved being surprised, especially by my kids. Max usually surprises my by bringing me things from outside, (i.e. flowers, grass, even rocks) Auri surprises me when she tells me she likes a song on the radio,... I didn't know she was paying attention. But the other day, this one came out of the blue.

I have 1 very strict, unmovable, non-negotiable rule in my house-BEDTIME. It sounds harsh, but trust me it is for their own safety and so they don't see me turn into a demon/crazy woman, however, that said, I provide each of them with a reading light, plenty of books and I say they can stay up as late as they want in in their own beds as long as they are quietly reading. Well, Warren took this one step further.

He felt like his reading light wasn't getting the job done, so he turned his pillow around and moved his bedside table so it was closer to the hallway so he could read late into the night. I thought it was awesome. I love it when my kids surprise me.

I want my Mom

2011-05-24T17:27:00.000-07:00

34 years later, and they are still taking care of me.

Sometimes you have to be a Mom when all you really want is your own Mom. Yesterday I had to have a tooth pulled, for some odd inexplicable reason it got infected all the way up to my sinuses even though it had a root canal and a crown put on it over 7 years ago. But yesterday I had to have it extracted and it wasn't pretty. I had about 9 shots, condensed into 4 or 5 and I still wasn't completely numb. I was white knuckled the whole time. At one point I was was crying and the dental hygienist had to wipe my tears. My poor dentist felt horrible. I was a mess. But it is over now, the good news is that the infection didn't spread to my heart valve which could have required another open heart surgery, so overall I consider it a huge success, I dodged a bullet, I consider myself lucky.

The funny thing about it all was that when I got home, rather than sit and rest on the couch, take some pain killers and let my wonderful Mom make me chocolate pudding I had to be a Mom and a good one too since my husband wasn't home. I had to get 3 kids dinner, get one kid ready for a baseball game, watch one kid outside to make sure he didn't get kidnapped, and of course change diapers, not to mention pick up some things at the grocery store on the way home from my dentist appointment while I was still bleeding profusely and had huge amounts of gauze in my mouth. I had to get things for the kids lunches and milk so I could make my own pudding after the kids went to sleep.

Overall I love being a Mom, it makes me see that I am stronger than I ever thought I was and I have more LOVE than I knew possible. But one other thing that I really like is how much it surprises me. I am astonished at what my Mom did for me and my brothers and sisters when we were kids, how the heck did she do it?? And how did she do it without yelling that much? I am amazed at what my Mom and Dad continue to do for me today, don't these people ever get to retire? I am amazed at the Moms my sisters have become, seriously, they are making me look bad.

And I am also continually amazed at the kindness of the other Moms around me, it's like they know how hard it is, so they try really really hard to help me. Another Mom came over and took my kid to his game so I wouldn't have to and so he wouldn't miss it. How nice is that?

But while I do appreciate the opportunity to see all the beauty and love around me, I have to admit, every once in a while I just need my Mom.

Just a few of my favorite Moms

2011-05-06T17:35:00.000-07:00

These are just a few of my favorite Moms, I should upload this to facebook, I think you are supposed to change your profile picture this week. Isn't she so pretty?!?!

I Love Max on Mothers Day

2011-05-05T08:16:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite days of the year is Mother's Day Tea at Max's preschool. We drink tea, have cookies, the teacher reads us stories and Max sings to me and gives me a card. It is definitely one of my favorite Mother's Day traditions. This is my 4th year attending it, when you include the years I came with Warren, and I have 2 more years to look forward to it with Auri. Happy Mother's Day to me!

The best thing my Mom ever gave me

2011-04-23T20:46:00.000-07:00

When I was growing up I always felt jipped because we had such a big family, (5 kids total) and most of my friends only had one other sister or brother that was way older and they never had to share any of their stuff and they rarely fought with that sibling. And to be completely honest, Holly, Kiran and I didn't get along all that well when we were kids, but now.... they are undoubtedly my closest friends and the best thing my Mom ever gave me.
Last week I went to visit Kiran in Arizona and we had a blast. I love her, her beautiful daughters, and her lovely home We had a great time, it is hard to imagine that I was once bitter that my Mom had "too many kids" and it gives me great hope that my boys will become great friends one day..... Someday.

My stunning sister.
This is the night I got home, I brought the kids toys and treats, they were so happy to see me and all the candy Kiran and I picked out for them.

I baked cookies and brownies with Kiran's kids. We had a lot of fun in the kitchen.

My favorite time of the day, pool time!

Spring Break 2011

2011-04-12T13:25:00.000-07:00

Spence had some business to do in Seattle so I decided to tag along and take the kids to the Seattle Science Center, the Pike Place Market and swim at the hotel pool. Doing it by myself was pretty hard but worth it, at least to know that it's not really worth it to take my kids to museums yet.

This is us getting up really really early to take Spence to the University of Washington. My kids all time favorite thing to do, swim at hotel pools!

The Seattle Science Center

They couldn't stand the fish smell at the Pike Place Market,

they kept asking if they could wait in the car.

At least I tried.

What to wear....

2011-03-31T09:08:00.000-07:00

Spencer got accepted into 2 of the best executive MBA schools in the country which is amazing, I don't think I have ever been more happy for him and proud of him. They have currently been sending him things and inviting him to events which is also so exciting, and for me, all I can think about is... I have got to get my hair done and what am I going to wear..... Wharton sent us chocolates and offered him a free iPad upon accepting, so they have my vote;)

Which dress says, "I'm almost as smart as my husband, (well, I'm magazine smart and radio pretty) but when I'm not around -ladies stay away from him!"

For some reason, this dress makes me look "hippy" and I don't even think I have big hips but I love the dress.

by the way, my dear friend Rachael Drake loaned me all the dresses, thanks Rach!

My girl turned 3!

2011-03-28T09:47:00.000-07:00

1st Birthday

2nd Birthday

3rd Birthday

The day began with the kitchen table decorated with Dora the Explorer. I love the look on my kids faces when they see the kitchen when they first come downstairs in the morning.

Then Spence and I took just her to the mall for lunch and $3 worth of gumballs.

And later we had a birthday party for her complete with a Dora the Explorer cake.

This is my favorite photo. Warren got her a duck with his own money and Auri gave him a hug after she opened it.

The novelty of having a girl still hasn't worn off.

Sister's Slumber Party

2011-03-02T20:13:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when my sisters Holly and Kiran and I get together for a slumber party.

1. We go shopping at The Good Will and Holly buys a $5.00 dress and puts it together with an awesome belt and has me try it on.

2. We stay up until 11 - midnight drinking tea, eating snacks, talking to our Mom and laughing.

3. We might go through some catalogs or old photo albums.

4. It's awesome until I realize that Kiran has to leave and I get sad.

I actually think Holly and I look alike in this photo.

Spence took this one of me.

Can't Idaho and Arizona trade places?

More than Christmas

2011-02-16T18:23:00.000-08:00

As Pagan as it makes me sound, I like Valentines Day more than Christmas, and I like Halloween more than Valentines day, so you do the math for where Christmas falls on my list. But I just LOVE everything about Valentines Day! It is no secret that Spencer and I do not get each other Christmas gifts,... well, that's not how exactly how I would put it. I say to him, my gift to you this year is-you don't have to buy me a gift. You're welcome. But we celebrate the crap out of Valentines Day! I know most Moms think this is a holiday for their kids, but that's not how we roll. I buy my kids a $1.00 valentine, and the rest is spent on Spence and we go all out.

He gets me flowers, chocolates, takes me out to dinner, dessert, then takes me shopping, provided I haven't eaten so much and I can still fit into anything cute. But our Saturday night date was awesome. We went out to Twilight Pizza in Camas, then to Boarders Book store for an hour then to Whole Foods Bakery for dessert.

I am the official cookie baker for Warren's class, so this year I baked about 60 heart cookies. I loved it. I bought myself 4 new heart shaped cookie cutters.

As an added bonus, a friend of mine suggested we go downtown to the Pearl District to sample some Cupcake Jones cupcakes. I know said that nothing would compare to Sprinkles Cupcakes, but these were amazing!!!!! The Red Velvet felt like it was 2lbs and the chocolate peanut butter tasted like Halloween in my mouth. Why am I just discovering this place now?

Here is me, 3lbs lighter.

We ate all but 3 of these. And these are extra large cupcakes.

We walked up to this trendy coffee shop to eat the cupcakes, I felt like I was back in Manhattan.

I wanted to buy my mug, but they weren't for sale.

What's next, Easter?

I'm getting excited for Valentine's Day

2011-01-26T21:19:00.000-08:00

Which makes me want chocolate more. Or in this case, I want to dip all things in chocolate, including almonds. So I tried it. How hard could it be? I've done it with strawberries several times and I can't count how many time I have grabbed a hand full of nuts and a had full of chocolates and eaten them at the same time. Chocolate covered almonds were the next logical step.

Warren is 8!

2011-01-20T15:03:00.000-08:00

Warren turned 8 last week and we really tried to make it memorable for him, because I have to say it---January birthdays....not so fun. Christmas has just passed, it's cold outside so there aren't a lot of options party-wise, and no one is really all that excited about your birthday.
So this year, because 8 is such a special birthday, we really decided to hype Warren's birthday.

I am the first person up in our house. I wake up every day at 5:45 and I'm out the door by 6, but often Warren is downstairs to give me a hug and say goodbye. Then he'll turn on cartoons and get a snack until everyone else is up. So Spence and I decorated the kitchen the night before with 8 balloons, signs, table decorations and confetti. You can't really see it in these photos because it is 7pm and they have pretty much played with it all day and torn it down but it looked good in the morning and the look on his face in the morning was priceless! It was a huge hit! He kept asking, Who did this, is this for me!?, Where did you get all this stuff? When did you do this?

We had a nice family birthday party for him on Friday night and then a swimming party for he and his friends the following Wednesday. The swimming party was also a huge hit, Spencer and I however, were so stressed at the thought of keeping 13 kids alive, that I don't think we'll do another swimming party for years and years to come. At 10:00 at night I was still laying in bed thinking "Did I leave anyone in the pool?"

This is Spencer, probably counting heads.

Some things that make me smile

2011-01-11T07:08:00.000-08:00

The world has got me down lately with all the stuff in the news, so I thought I'd post some of the things that put a little smile on my face.

First, McDonalds oatmeal. I go to McDonalds so infrequently, infact, only about 4 times a year, and even then only in dire straits, or for a large Diet Dr. Pepper on really sluggish days, so I was pretty delighted to learn that they serve oatmeal. I stopped there on Saturday to try it and it was pretty darn good! Better than anything I make and better than anything else they have on the menu, so YEA McDonalds, if you keep serving a Deit Dr. Pepper for $1.00 we still be friends.
My 3 new cookbooks came in the mail yesterday! Last week after a bad day with the kids I went to Boarders and read cookbooks for an hour. These are the 3 I liked the best so I purchased them off Amazon.com(because they are $40 cheaper). I love this book. It has over 400 recipes, mostly with photos and nutritional information.

I made so many cookies last year that I wanted to try my hand at cupcakes. I made a batch on Saturday and they didn't turn out great, so I'm glad I got this book, I have a lot to learn.

And, I can always learn how to make more cookie recipes.

And this is my what was I thinking moment. I always wear knee length skirts, but I thougtht I'd branch out and get a long skirt, I see other women wearing them and I think they look classy.... nice, but this was comical. When I look at these photos all I can think is:

-Where is the chain for my reading glasses?

-Should I organize my books in the Dewey decimal system?

-Did I turn in my application for the librarian position?

-Where are my 19 cats?

-Shouldn't I be wearing flats with insoles?

Seriously, what a funny skirt choice.

Highlights of my 2010

2011-01-04T15:17:00.000-08:00

As I was reviewing my photos for this post I had to realize, I had an AWESOME year, I have so much to be grateful for, namely, 3 healthy kids. So here are my favorite things that happened this past year, not including Kiran's visits, but I just couldn't find any great photos for those visits.

1. Auri turned 2!!! I love having a 2 year old and I love having a GIRL!!!

2. I found the world's greatest Chocolate store, Drink Chocolate.

3. I found my favorite sandwich place in Portland, Bunk Sandwiches, inspite of the service and accommodations, the food is remarkable. That also goes for Porque no? tacos in Portland, best tacos I have ever had. I'm glad I discovered them this year.

4. I don't know why, but just this year, I discovered Cottonwood Beach, it takes me 15 minutes to get there and there are always cool girls there.

5. I took a trip to the Portland Art Museum with 3 of my favorite girls, Holly, Avery and my Mom.

6. I took a trip to Boise Idaho. We stayed in a nice hotel downtown and visited the home of my grandparents that I went to every summer as a child. It was an amazing experience and my kids loved it.

7. I took a little trip to Bear Lake and the kids got to go on a boat

8. We took a trip to Lagoon for Max for his 5th birthday and I got a fake tatoo secretly wishing it was real;)

9. I took a little trip to Salt Lake to see Will's first born son blessed. Best day EVER!

10. I took a short trip to Lehi, UT to the cemetery to visit the graves my Anderson Family.

11. I visited Sprinkles Cupcakes.

12. I had brunch in Laguna Beach.

13. I watched a sunrise and sunset in Laguna Beach, CA. It was Amazing.

It was a great 2010, and I noticed that a lot of my items had the word "trip" in them. I am hoping to do a lot more of that this year, I didn't realize how happy it made me. I guess that is the benefit of reflecting, you realize what you really liked and disliked.

Christmas Morning Play Time

2010-12-26T20:42:00.000-08:00

We had another great Christmas! We spent Christmas Eve at my parents eating pizza and listening to the Christmas story and trying on our Johns Hopkins Lacrosse shirts. Christmas morning we had the kids take turns opening gifts and it worked out well, I think they liked seeing what each other got. Gifts from Grandma.

It took me almost 5 hours to clean my house properly and put everything away, not including my Christmas decorations.

Our annual Christmas rolls.

A few of the desserts I made.

I bought meringue powder to make this frosting, it was fun to decorate with.

I made an angel food cake to serve something lighter, I made it from scratch, it was really good and really worth it, better than a box recipe.

Grandpa gave the kids cash, what a fun surprise!

Jake is so COOL.

Some Christmas Decorations

2010-12-14T19:25:00.000-08:00

Holly has asked me a few times what my tree looks like this year, well, here it is in all it's glory. We also got one for the kids.

The kids tree.

You know what I didn't like about Skamania?

2010-12-11T19:36:00.000-08:00

Not a thing!!! We loved Skamania Lodge! Although you can't tell by this picture, Max looks like he was punched in he eye, Auri looks kind of homeless and Warren looks super happy for a photo-opp, still we loved the lodge.

I loved how my kids would say, "Mom, are we going to the lodge this weekend?", like we are the kind of folks that "go to a lodge on weekends" and the kind of folks that don't use the word folks.

I loved how they offered you an umbrella when you left, I loved how there were 3 pools, I loved the gingerbread houses, I loved the Christmas decorations, I loved the food, I loved it all and I loved that it only took about 35 minutes to get there.

Just a few of the desserts I sampled from the buffet.

Some of the other families we went with. Jacob and Warren playing at dinner.

The outdoor pool early in the morning, I think I got the moon in the background, that's how early we get up people! That is why I make my kids go to bed at 7:30 sharp, because we get up when the moon is still out!

The gingerbread houses, they had a candy buffet, my kiddos were in Heaven!

We heart you Skamania, thank you Lowders for recommending it!

A few of my favorite things

2010-12-10T10:20:00.000-08:00

These are a few of my favorite things this December.

Amy's chocolate brownies, they take about 15 minutes to make. 1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour an 8in. square pan. In a large saucepan , melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour salt and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Do not overcook.

For the Frosting
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
2/3 cup cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
dash salt

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa, vanilla, dash of salt. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating on medium speed to spreading consistency. Add more milk if needed. Makes about 2 cups frosting.

My Mexican Nativity Set

Super Easy Fudge
and
Peanut butter Fudge

2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 c chopped nuts

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

In a heavy saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate chips with the sweetened condensed milk and the salt. Remove from heat, stir in the nuts and vanilla. Spread evenly into a foil lined 8 or 9 in. pan, (Add about 2 Tbs) peanut butter and swirl in at this point) Chill for 3 hours. Cut into squares or use small cookie cutters.

Auri ran straight to him

2010-12-08T08:40:00.000-08:00

You can't tell from this photo, but she just ran to him.

4 weeks in the making and

2010-12-03T13:00:00.000-08:00

All I can say is I'm glad it's DONE!!! and I'm pretty happy with the result although it helps when you have such low expectations. Here is just a summary of my time and dollar expenses, don't judge me, she is my first girl and last child.

-Black and white dress $25.00

-Red polka-dot dress $12.00 at Ross

I literally spent about 15 hours online looking for a red dress and went out to at least 5 different stores to look for a plain red shiny dress.

-Photos $56.00 at the Picture People, I did have a 6 sheets for $18 coupon.

-$.50 in quarters for Auri to put in the gumball machines.

I'll be much happier about it in 25 years from now.

Christmas Card Preview

2010-11-28T20:10:00.001-08:00

Becky L and I have a Thanksgiving tradition. The day before we either do a kid swap or we get a sitter and do some shopping and the Saturday afterward we take each others family photo for a Christmas card. Here is just a preview of what we came up with for this years card. Our family decided to go with formal dress for several reasons:

A. I look awesome in black.
B. We were going to a baptism afterwards.
C. We had to take the photo on a Sunday because it rained on Saturday so the church clothes we out and ironed.
D. I didn't want to spring for new cute outfits, because I bought myself a new hair straightener,(it's all about my hair) as mentioned in the previous post, although I am too new to straightening my hair for the Christmas photo, maybe next year.

What the kids act like before the photo.

If I can crop out the no swimming sign behind Spencer's head I think I'll go with these.

P.S. If I you know I don't have your new address, please email it to me, I want to send you a Christmas card!!!

hillaryhansen@comcast.net

Thanksgiving highlights

2010-11-26T17:24:00.001-08:00

First of all, I went to the salon got highlights and low lights and I have been attempting to straighten my hair, so that's new. Here are some photos of my new look, I didn't have the auto focus on at first, oops.

Here are the Thanksgiving highlights at my parents house. It was a great Thanksgiving. This is Spencer and my Dad reading.

Mom and I cooking.

One of my good friends made me these delicious rolls.I made pumpkin pie and brownies for dessert.Also one of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving, the Black Friday adds.

Auri messing around after dinner.

I have 2 Christmas trees up already, one left to go!

How I know I'm aging

2010-11-16T14:55:00.001-08:00

Last week I turned 34. I am not particularly happy about this, not that there is anything wrong with 34, it's just that I can't stop aging, there is nothing I can do, I just keep getting older. I was happy at 30, why couldn't I just stop there?

Here are just a few ways I can tell I am getting older.

1. I look at the clock when I want a diet Dr. Pepper. Is it too early, have I had my nap yet, is it too late, will it keep me up? I definitely didn't do that in my 20's, in fact I didn't even need caffeine in my 20's.

2. I would way rather have a bowl of fresh raspberries over candy any day.

3. I would way rather have baked goods over candy any day.

4. If I don't get my sleep, my water and my fruits and vegetables, I'm not a happy camper.

5. I need good shoes to work out in.

6. I start getting ready for bed at 9:45.

7. If I get injured, I'm pretty sure I'll feel it whenever it rains for the rest of my life.

Here's how I know I'm not that old.

1. I have not sacrificed style for comfort yet. I don't think I'll ever give up my 6in high heels. I heart you Steve Madden. "Flats are for Quitters" -Jack Donaghy, 30 Rock

2. I'd rather talk about anything else other than traffic, the weather, or girls camp. Sorry, I'd love to hear about your jeans though.

Me at a respectable 34

One good thing about aging is that my kids age too, and the older my kids get,

the cooler they get.

Lunch with my awesome friends at Sunrise Bagels

Celebrating with my Dad and Holly

I hope I celebrate all my birthdays with these guys.

My favorite little girl

Making a wish that I will never turn 35.

The most photogenic girl in the house

Halloween

2010-11-02T14:57:00.000-07:00

Max was a Ninja, Warren was Darth Vader, and Auri was a Pumpkin Witch.

This is Warren talking to my Mom on the phone telling her about all his candy.

And this is Warren in a sugar coma.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T13:04:00.001-07:00

I'm being myself dressed as me going to my 8th grade formal dance. This is the actual dress I wore, Holly had it tucked away in her closet.

This was actually from my high school senior year Winter Formal.

And I have no idea where this one came from, but I just couldn't resist trying it on, how fun, why do I not go get groceries in these, do the dishes in them, and basically just hang out all day long in them. I know Auri would love it.

This is what happens on a Friday night when mine and Holly's husband's work late. Thanks for taking the photos Holly!

I know this much is true.

2010-10-26T14:32:00.000-07:00

I know I like fall more than summer and spring more than winter.

I know I like cookies more than cake but brownies more than cookies.

I know I like 6a.m. more than 10a.m. and 8p.m. more than 6p.m. (we call it the witching hour around here).

I know that when I go out to dinner I have to order the chocolate dessert and the lemon, (or at least make Spencer order the lemon). I do this because when I was in college I saw an interview with Martha Stewart and she said that when she goes out she always orders the lemon desserts and she can really judge a restaurant based on how well they make their lemon desserts. I concur.

I know when I go out to brunch I will order my meal and always a side of oatmeal, because I love oatmeal....... but not when I make it.

Lately I have been driving myself crazy trying to replicate some past good experiences.

This is the Oatmeal Brulee with carmalized sugar and

berries and cream I had for brunch one day.

This is the oatmeal that Becky L made for me.

And these are my sorry attempts to replicate any good past expreience.

But they were an abject failure.

Sure, I could choke them down,

but I know this much is true,

I like someone else to cook my oatmeal.

SPRINKLES, number 3 on my list of things to do

2010-10-11T14:47:00.000-07:00

If you see me wearing only this shirt this fall, I do not apologize. It says Red Velvet on it and I got it at Sprinkles.

If you see me waisting away down to a gaunt skeletal frame I don't care. Nothing taste as good as the cupcakes at Sprinkles.

If I do not visit all the the other cupcake places on my fall to do list, why bother, they won't be as fun or taste as good as Sprinkles.

If you see me with a new pet, I may just have gotten it so I could name her Sprinkles.

Suffice it to say, I visited Sprinkles and it rocked my world.

Innocent, unknowing me before I went in, I wish I could tell you

to run because cupcakes and frosting will never be the same for you again.

apple spice, red velvet, black and white, strawberry, pumpkin, coconut,

and milk chocolate

Halloween decor, it's time.

2010-10-03T15:55:00.001-07:00

I have said it before, I'll say it again. I'll know I have made it when I can buy all the Halloween decorations I want, not when $19.99 for a haunted house at Target looks offensively expensive. But it is time to get out my Halloween stuff and I do have some great stuff.

Here is my new best friend that my

Mother-in-Law got me for my birthday last year.Notice the birthday cards in the background.And here is an old friend.

I saw this on the Internet and thought they would be cute with my
daughter and niece's photos on it.

And this would be my ideal fireplace and how it would be decorated.

Number 6, update all my photos in my frames

2010-10-03T15:35:00.000-07:00

I didn't have a great photo of Max, so Friday we went outside and took some. I know I'm his Mom, but I just think he's sooooo stinkin cute! These are the rest.

I love this photo of Auri because I know she is laughing at Max.

T. G. I. Sunday Night

2010-09-19T16:37:00.000-07:00

I know it makes me unpopular, right up there with saying I don't like August and doughnuts, but I really don't like Saturdays all that much. When my kids don't have a sports activity there is that need to entertain and make it fun and meaningful for them. When they do have sports, there is a lot of sitting or standing in cold cold weather.

But I love Sunday nights. They are all the same. I do a lot of prep work for the coming week, I cut my breakfast fruit, boil my eggs, and make cookies for the kids. During the holidays it gets more fun, we watch a Christmas movie and do all this. I also love T.G.I Mondays. After the mad rush of Monday morning, after the bus has gone, we have a quiet Monday morning.

What kind of mother lets her 2 year old play with a knife?

Happy 2 year Anniversary Heart Valve

2010-09-14T14:34:00.000-07:00

As I reflect on the 2 years since my open heart surgery I thought of a list of things that I wish the post op-nurses and doctors would have told me to prepare me for my recovery here are some of the things that they did and did not say:

What they did say- It will take you a year to recover, tell someone if you start to experience symptoms of depression, call us if you have lots of fevers.

What I wish they would have said: It will take you almost 2 years to recover, the first 2 months you won't know what hit you.

I wish they would have said: You did some bad things that you felt guilty for in your 20's but nothing can prepare you for the guilt you are about to experience. You'll feel guilty for not holding your baby for 2 months, and for neglecting your older kids for the next 4 months. You'll feel guilty for resenting your friends and sisters for being a better Mom than you. You'll feel guilty that you are a 30 year old woman and your Mom has to come over and help clean your house. Why didn't the nurses and doctors tell me about all the guilt!?!? Do they not train them for that in nursing and medical school huh, huh?

I wish they would have said: You don't need to go back to the gym 5 days a week 2 months
post-op. You don't. No, Seriously, Don't. It will probably do more damage than good.

I wish they would have said: Don't worry about the scar, no one cares about it, you won't be able to remember what you look like without it, and you won't even see it any more after a year.

I wish they would have said: Now you get 2 birthdays! Your actual one and the one on the date that they stopped your heart and breathing for 4 hours. Celebrate them both by buying yourself something pretty.

My Fall list of things to do

2010-09-12T14:37:00.000-07:00

I love the fall and I love lists and since I felt like I had so much success with my summer list of things to do I have thought long and hard and I have come up with a suitable list of things to get done this fall. Here they are in no particular order and they do not match the pictures.

By the way, we went to our favorite farm this Saturday and I let the kids run around a bit. I think it is important that my kids see that food grows on trees, it does not come from boxes with SpongeBob on them.

1. Find a decent recipe and make Pumpkin Soup.

- In fact I'll take it one step further, have a pumpkin soup tasting party where we taste test pumpkin soup recipes, find the most outstanding one, make a huge pot every other Sunday night and have a cup every day for lunch until Thanksgiving.

2. Re-do my fireplace. It has bugged me since we moved in. It needs to be re tiled and repainted. Auri isn't even in the photo that hangs above it.

3. Visit St. Cupcake, Cupcake Jones, and Sprinkles and see which is best.

4. Get a Washington State Drivers License. I have lived here 4 years. It's time.

5. Make a fall play list.

6. Update all the photos in the house, Auri is less than 3 months in all of them.

7. Re-paint my bedroom. I am tired of green and this past spring I got new bedding, I want the walls to go with it.

Summer wrap up

2010-09-07T15:01:00.000-07:00

I can now check off number 8 on my summer list of things to do, which was to make molasses bread. I don't mind saying so myself, but it was AMAZING! I will defiantly make it again and again and probably into rolls around Thanksgiving so I can eat it with Turkey sandwiches.

I also added a number 11. Make Banoffii Pie, and I did it as a back to school treat for Max.

I didn't complete everything on my list but I got the gist of the list, which was to DO STUFF. Last Summer was just not fun at all for me, Auri was still an infant, I was tired all the time, and really struggling with my weight.

This is Auri Last summer.

And this is my fun happy beautiful child this summer!

She is so much more fun to hang out with.

She really wants to take the picture in this photo.

But this is what we did this summer, we cooked out little hearts out. We made dozens and dozens of cookies, literally, I got to the point where I would stop putting the cookie sheets away after I washed them, I'd just set them out to dry knowing I'd use them tomorrow.

Chocolate mint cookies

Snicker doodles, Warren's Favorite

Low-fat triple chocolate, my favorite.

Above is me last summer. I was about 15lbs heavier and dieting(I went on 4 different diets). I was crying a lot, seeing doctor after doctor, being tired and cranky all the time, not wanting to do anything and I was just wishing summer was over so I could start wearing sweatshirts again to hide my huge body. Below is me this summer, I can't honestly say how much weight I have lost because I still have a crippling paralyzing fear of the scale. I am just going by estimation. But I have lost my fear and loathing of food and as you can tell by all the baking I have been doing I have kind of turned into a foodie. I think loosing the stress from dieting helped me loose the weight.

I do love a good list, I have already started thinking about my fall list of things to do.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

2010-09-01T14:50:00.000-07:00

I love it, I love it, I love it!!!! I love school!!! I feel like I have been walking around singing old silly songs in my head for the past several days. For example:

Yesterday, the day before school I was singing: "Tomorrow, tomorrow I love ya tomorrow, you're only a day away!!!"

When my kinds were all off I was singing "ding dong the witch is dead the wicked witch the wicked witch is dead!" not that my kids are witches, but the boredom that they go through is and that constant need to entertain them is.

Then all day today in my silent, clean house I have been singing :"It's the most wonderful time of the year" and "And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again"

I love my kids more than anything else in the world, I really do, I just love them so much more when I have the opportunity to miss them for a couple hours a day. And I love them more when my house is clean. Warren about to go into 2nd grade.

Max going into Pre-K.

Auri had to wear her backpack to drop Max off at school.

Break something Everyday

2010-08-26T14:40:00.000-07:00

That was what my Dad used to say to us kids when we were little. My Grandparents used to call us the wrecking crue. I didn't get it until I had my own kids. Now I TOTALLY get it. But this week I fixed almost everything that was broken for the bargain price of $2.99!!!! This summer my kids broke my necklace, my Nikon, and the new Nintendo DS that we bought. Auri broke the necklace while playing with it, there were beads everywhere, my bad, I know I shouldn't have let her near it, but she was eyeing it all day and it was so cheap, how could I deny her that little joy. I went to the Craft Store and bought a new strand for $2.99. Not bad.

Max broke his DS, I have no idea how, but I got online and figured out how to ship it back with a pre-paid shipping label, it will be fixed under warranty.

I think the kids broke my camera, not sure, could have been me, but I took it into a camera store and had them give me an estimate, they just re-adjusted the lens, and now it works!

This, however, is all new. This is today's mess and I have no idea how to get this out of the carpet.

I'm glad it's in my office and not in the living room, and below is Auri's look of shame. I didn't even get that mad at her, she was just trying to paint her nails red, I can appreciate that.

Number 1 on my summer list of thigs to do, Attend an outdoor concert

2010-08-22T19:14:00.000-07:00

Yea, not gonna happen, but guss who did!!!! My two besties! Holly and Kiran. Kiran flew up for the Lady Gaga concert and they both went. They said they had a great time, Ms. Gaga knows how to put on a concert. Maybe next summer I'll plan a little better and I can check this one off. This is what happens when you let your 5 year old take the photos.

Number 7, The Rasberry Festival, Check.

2010-08-17T09:45:00.000-07:00

I completed number 7 on my Summer things to do list, which was attend a food festival. This wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but I am counting it. I wanted to go to the Portland Food Festival, but we were in Utah that weekend so when my in-laws told me they had rented a boat on Bear Lake and the Raspberry Festival was the same day I was delighted. Here are the highlights. We stopped for lunch before the boat ride.

We went to the Raspberry Festival afterwards.

Max took these lovely photos.

Who knew Utah had white sand beaches.

Summer List Update

2010-08-17T09:15:00.001-07:00

My Pretzel Making didn't go as well as I had planned. They looked prettier on the website and I really need a pastry brush from Williams Sonoma but I never get one because I always say I don't need one, I'll never use it, and there are so many other things I'd rather have for $24 like a new shirt, 2 items at ULTA or a lunch date with friends, but I have needed a pastry brush at least 5 times this summer. Anyways, that wasn't my biggest problem, I think the rolling process was (I hate to roll pastry dough by hand, as you can see by the fact the all the pretzels are different sizes) and the boiling process was. Oh well. Maybe I'll have better luck with the Molasses bread.

But the Portland Art Museum was wonderful. Although to be honest, you don't realize how many nude people are painted in a museum until you go through it with your 5 year old niece. The Genesis exhibit was interesting. The Illustrator "Crumb" wrote out the whole text of Genesis like a comic book and illustrated it. It was a bit irreverent and offensive, but interesting to see his take on the events. He said he was an atheist but there is probably no book of fiction better written than the book of Genesis, it is an amazing work of plots characters, stories, messages and themes so I see why he choose that particular book to do his "comic book".

I'm glad I went, I'm glad it was on my list others wise I wouldn't have gone. I think I will make it an annual thing, every July I will go to the Portland Art Museum.

My Summer Top 10 List of Things to Do

2010-08-15T15:30:00.000-07:00

I started reading a blog called Cupcakes and Cashmere this year and it's author posted her summer list of things to do, they all sounded so glamorous and cool, so I thought I'd make a list and have Becky L make me accountable. So here is my 10 Ten List. Oh how I love a good list!

1. Attend an outdoor Concert (still working on this one, still looking for a concert I want to attend, how I wish I would have gotten tickets to Lady Gaga. outdoor or not)

2. Take the kids to a theme Park. (check)

Natallia's in Downtown Camas.

3. Have Brunch in Camus with friends (check)

4. No Doctors appointments in August (if you don't count the Coumadin clinic, than check)

5. Make a Summer Play List (check, and if you want a copy, let me know, but most of the songs come from So you Think You Can Dance, thank you Alex Wong.)

6. Read a book on Marriage (Check, read Covenant Hearts by Bruce C. Hafen 4 out of 4 Stars)

7. Attend a food festival. (Check, I went to the raspberry festival in Utah near Bear Lake, I wanted to attend the Portland Food Festival, but we were in Utah)

8. Make homemade soft pretzels and molasses bread. (half a check, I made the pretzels, not the bread, I'll do it this week)

9. Go to Seattle with Spence. (not sure I will be able to do this one)

10. Visit OMSI Museum to see T-Rex with kids, go to Portland Art Museum with Holly, Mom and Avery to see Genesis exhibit. (half a check, I'll go to Omsi later this week)

Happy Birthday Becky L

2010-08-09T15:32:00.000-07:00

My friends are always saying " I'm not cool enough to pull off aviator shades" Well, this concerns me a little since I have been wearing them for about 4 years. So I decided to take photos of myself to see what I actually looked like in them and see if I could pull them off, and don't mind if I do say so myself, but YES, I think I can. So Happy Birthday Becky L, I got you aviator shades for your b.day, and YES you are cool enough to pull them off.

Last week, Becky and I were having brunch together and she shocked the heck out of me (an emotion I genuinely enjoy). I was commenting on how tattoos are getting bigger, longer, and generally uglier and she replied by saying "I kind of like them" I about fell out of the booth. So I decided to get a henna tattoo in honor of Becky L for her birthday, but it faded quickly so I got another one. I let Warren pick out the design, hence the spider.

Happy 36th Birthday Becky L. Let's never get matching tattoo's!

Lag$$n-a-Bling

2010-08-09T14:53:00.001-07:00

We took Max to Lagoon and it's adjoining water park Lagoon-a-Beach for his 5th birthday, I generally don't like to keep track of how much fun things cost for my kids birthdays but this was hard to ignore. We still had a great time but I hope he likes a homemade cake and a pinata full of tootsie rolls because that's all I'll be able to afford next year.

Tickets
3 adults 42.95 = $128.85
2 kids 37.95 = $75.95
(we did have a 30.00 coupon)
Lockers =$10
Pool Locker =$5
Lunch =$20
Cotton Candy $3. 95
Churro =$3.95
Icee 3 @ $5 =$15
Henna tattoo =$7
Games 4 @ $5 =$20
Parking = $10

Max's Birthday Party when we got back to his Grandparents house.

His Transformers cake.