Ericsons

The final sled ride

2012-01-23T07:17:00.000-08:00

So we took the girls out on wensday for some more sledding. It was the third day in a row of winter fun so the girls enthusiasm was a little diminished. Nick was in charge of sending the girls down and I was there to capture the moment on film and help them shuffle back up the hill. Now only Nick will ever know if he meant for Moira and Kiah to hit the jump . . . either way the girls were not interested in anymore sledding after this.

snow, snow, and more snow

2012-01-23T06:57:00.000-08:00

Well the last few traces of the snow are finally melting away after two days of rain. The girls and I manged to make a very iconic snowman, ticking off the final winter experience on the girls list. Unfortunatly right after we built him there was a warming period followed by a few more days of snow. He fell over the first night and was quickly burried.

The dogs also thouroghly enjoyed the snow. Suki likes to chase frozen water just as much as the wet stuff, and Kess well she's always happy.

SNOW!!!

2012-01-16T06:09:00.000-08:00

Because we live on the top of a hill in the convergence zone we always have way more snow than anyone when it finally hits Seattle. The girls were super excited to see the first flakes fall, and once fully bundled up spent hours playing in the backyard. The only way to lure them inside is hot cocoa.

It's really fun to enjoy the winter weather with the kiddos. The girls were quite convinced it wasn't really winter until it snowed. We found a great sledding hill by Moira's school. It's a little to far to walk, but a level and easy drive. Moira and Kiah had a whole list of winter activities to cross off. Snow angels (sorry no pictures), snowball fights, and sledding. Build a snowman has been deyaled as the snow is to light and dry to form up well at this point.

The first hill we tried was smaller and ended in a slushy puddle so not the best. Nick went first to show the girls how it was done.

We could hear a fare amount of whooping and yelling coming from across the park so we decided to investigate. Our reward was a far superior hill on the other side of the park, which was awesome for kids. It was steep enough to make it exciting but then finished off on a nice flat ballfield. There was even a set of stairs with a handrail to go back up, can't beat that!

After a few runs with mom and dad Kiah was the first to request a solo mission on the big hill. Moira had already been taken out by an unknown assaliant with a snowball to the face and a pretty spectacular sled crash so she was just fine with letting Kiah taking the lead.

Kiah was adorable screaming the whole way and then just glowing full of adrenaline and pride at the bottom.

After Kiah survived her trip down there were many many more. Sadly Nick can't remote in to work as he's using a Mac for his iphones programming so he'll be taking off in my Subaru today leaving us stranded :( Oh well sounds like a great reason to make cookies.

Rope Swing

2011-11-10T15:18:00.000-08:00

So we have made numerous kid friendly additions to our backyard to help entertain the girls and keep them occupied for a bit outside. The girls favorite outdoor toy by far is the rope swing. I used an old dock line courtesy of Juju, and a round piece of scrap wood for a mini seat or foothold. The swing was a big hit from day 1, and the girls are always innovating, and finding even more dangerous ways to play on the swing.

You should have seen Nick swell with pride when Moira came running in to declare that jumping off the chair on to the swing was the best way yet. Moira is also usually really keen to help Kiah out on the swing, which leads to lots of super cute giggling and playing nicely with each other and who can resist a photo op like that.

Halloween Costumes

2011-10-13T06:36:00.000-07:00

So last year I was going to make costumes for both of the girls, but quickly ran out of time and enthusiasm for the project. I got Moira's finished, and decided I would head to the store for Kiah's. When we got to the store Kiah was actually a little sad that I didn't make hers, but quickly decided on a princess dress. I felt like a horrible parent and resolved to make both costumes this year. Of course both girls wanted to be princesses again, so I imposed a princess ban.

Moira decided that she wanted to make up her own super hero costume with a star for her symbol. I cut out a bunch of colored starts and we moved them around until we came up with a final superhero symbol. Here's the finished product.

Kiah was at a bit of a loss for a costume so we flipped through some of the patterns I've amassed thanks to the $1 pattern sales at Joann's. She decided on a parrot costume. It was certainly more involved than Moira's but not particularly difficult. It turned out warm, fuzzy, and adorable. Both girls are primed and ready for their candy haul this year, fingers crossed it's not raining.

Spiders

2011-09-21T16:32:00.000-07:00

Came across these two spiders in the backyard

Kiah Knievel

2011-09-12T06:43:00.000-07:00

Well miss Kiah finally figured out peddling her tricyle a couple of weeks ago. Apparently she needs another lesson in steering. Poor little Kiah sent her tricycle end over end off of the retaining wall and broke her collar bone.

I of course wanted to wisk her to the ER right away, but Nick pointed out that there wasn't any swelling and she seemed to be able to move all of her parts the right way so we didn't think anything was broken. Assuming she just had a hard fall and would bruise up and be sore for a day or two we put her to bed. After putting her down she continued to wake up crying every few hours. At 3am I decided it was time to head for the er. 2.5 hours later we were headed home with Kian's arm in a sling and a prescription for liquid vicatin.

Thankfully she got a full nights sleep last night and she sems to be figuring out how to move around without aggravating her injury. She must wear the sling for 5-6 weeks, and no running or playing :( We're meeting with her preschool teacher today to see if she will be able to manage Kiah's injury at school.

First Day of Kindergarten

2011-09-06T09:49:00.000-07:00

We've really enjoyed the last few weeks of summer and it has all been a big build-up to the much anticipated first day of Kindergarten. Moira has school from 9-11:30 every day of the week. I drop her off in the morning and a bus brings her home after class. Moira's a little nervous about the bus, but the giant laminated notecard pinned to her chest includes all her bus info and my phone number so I'm sure it will all work out fine. Parents have to wait outside for the kiddos and I'm sure I'll be out there more than a few minutes early.

2011 Campout

2011-09-06T09:43:00.000-07:00

This August we rallied the gang for our 2nd annual campout. Last years camping spot was less than ideal so waaaaay back in Jan I booked the group campsite at Sequim Bay State Park. It was nicer than we could of imagined, with a massive area all to ourselves with little traffic from the rest of the campground coming through. Just below our campsite was a large dock and cobble beach and it was deserted for much of the time we were there.

The kids enjoyed rambling along with their fellow toddlers and the parents all got a chance to relax a little too. I spent most mornings out with my new camera trying to capture some of the beauty of the place.

The group has already started scouting spots for next year, and I can't wait.

Veggies

2011-08-18T07:05:00.000-07:00

Our little raised veggie bed has been highly productive this year. We even had a rogue pumpkin appear from a seed that survived being composted. The girls and I both enjoyed watching it grow and trying to guesss what type of squash it might be. They were delighted to discover that one of their Jack o' lanterns from last year had managed to sprout a seed. So far we have 7 little pumpkins growing out there. Hopefully at least 2 of them will get large enough to carve.

In addition to the pumpkins we planted sugar snap peas, yellow wax beans, carrots, lettuce, cilantro and one tomato plant. The cilantro bolted right away and was a bust, but I let it go to seed in the hopes that we'd have cilantro all over the place next year. We've had numerous salads and bean side dishes this summer, and it has been by far our most productive year. I've stayed on top of the watering and this is the 3rd year in a row we've ammended the soil in spring so it looks like my black thumb with veggies might have a hint of green in it yet.

A little catch up

2011-08-03T07:54:00.000-07:00

So I've been a total slacker with the blog. Despite the lousy weather it's been a busy summer full of fun. Between the country fair, frisbee dogs, and various holidays it seems like every weekend is bursting at the seams.

Here's some pictures from Moira's preschool graduation picnic. Kiah will be attending the same school in Sept, and Moira is moving on to kindergarden!! Due to some silly district lines Moira will not get to go the school that is 3 blocks away. She has to go to the one a mile down the road. The silver lining is that this school is much less crowded and instead of a class of 20+ kids ahe will have around 14 kids in her class.

Kiah Turns 3

2011-04-28T06:52:00.000-07:00

Kiah had a wonderful birthday. Despite the cool temperatures and looming clouds we managed to put together a fun new play house for her. Her little buddies Conan and Morgan made it down to help her celebrate, and all the kids had fun checking out the new toys. Kiah has been overjoyed with all of the new additions to her wardrobe and ditches her jammies as soon as we shut her bedroom door for the night in favor of something more acceptable to her particular fashion sense. It was lots of fun to celebrate Kiah's big day.

Rykers First Birthday

2011-04-10T06:32:00.001-07:00

The girls had a great time hanging out with cousin Ryker at his first birthday party.

Moira Turns 5

2011-03-06T07:26:00.000-08:00

We had a full week of celebrations with dinner at Chuck E. Cheese with the Juju and Paul on wed night, followed by a trip to the aquarium and a tasty birthday lunch on thursday. It just so happened that a friend of my mothers was volunteering at the aquarium when we were there so the girls got some special one on one attention at the touch tank. They took several of the animals out and put them in a smaller bowls so the girls could get a good look. Kiah was fearless about touching the animals, Moira was a bit more hesitant, but quickly joined in the fun.

The crowing celebration was Moira's fishy themed party on sat. We had 9 kids over and everyone had fun. We attempted a game of pin the tail on the fish, with partial success. Everyone had fun, the house was destroyed, and we were all exhausted. Just think in one month we can do it all again for Kiah.

My friends call me Tombi

2010-12-18T08:12:00.000-08:00

There may be a few of you who have no idea that I always introduce myself as Adriana to strangers, and since 7th grade have gone by Adriana at school and work. My middle name is Tombi, but it is the name my family has always called me by and introduced me as.

So at the recent Microsoft Christmas party I noticed that when Nick introduced me as Adriana to his co-workers that it sounded absolutely alien coming out of his mouth. Then I started thinking about the reasons I started introducing myself as Adriana. I was starting Jr. high and switching schools. The last thing I wanted to do was stand out, and a name like Tombi deep in the heart of TX was basically a giant target. To make matters worse I was a total tomboy and it doesn't take a real rocket scientist to make the Tombi-tomboy connection. Thus was born Adriana.

Pretty soon I had this elaborate name structure in which once friends were permitted into the inner circle they got to know Tombi.

While it's pretty amusing to watch people who've only known you as Adriana encounter people who only know you as Tombi it leads to lots of confusion during the birthday song.

Currently a lot of the people I consider friends call me Adriana and it seems a lengthy but worthy task to re-introduce myself as Tombi. So with just a little bit of sadness Adriana Ericson has passed away and been supplanted by Tombi Ericson.

Now for something completely different

2010-12-15T10:28:00.001-08:00

Here are some of the outtakes from this years christmas card photo shoot. I'm still holding out hope that I can get a few cards out in the mail so I'll save the keepers for a later post.

Held Hostage by the American Dream

2010-12-14T06:09:00.000-08:00

So the last ten days have really made me take a hard look at this country, and what it does to it's middle class citizens. The American dream . . . work hard, go to college, buy a house and live happily ever after.

College was a struggle. I started out lucky, and didn't even know it. My parents were able to pay for my school. Instead of taking advantage of this opportunity I floundered and failed out of my classes. My parents of course withdrew the checkbook, and their own financial situation had changed when I was ready to go back to school, so it would be up to me to fund my education. I don't even really know why I went to college, other than the fact that, that is what you do. When I went back to school on my own dime I was a much improved student and never made less than a B. I worked full time while I was in school and was able to keep my student loans down to about $15k. I never got any practical work training through school and my degree in Biology with an emphasis in zoology provides me with zero skills with which to get a job. It would have been really great if the school that I gave ridiculous sums of money to would have sat me down at one point and explained that I would need to work for free as an intern if I wanted any practical work experience. I wish I'd gotten a two year degree . . . then I'd have a skill and a job.

Nick fared a little better. At least he chose a degree you can make some money in. Allthough since he went for a masters his student loans ended up closer to $30k. All in all we're much better off than most students who pay their own way through loans. We came out of school with nothing but $45k in student loan debt over our heads, but at least we never got credit cards.

So we continued our frugal life. We NEVER go on vacation, maybe eat out once a month. Never got to the movies or really do anything that costs more than $5. I keep our groceries below $150 a week and work hard to be a thrifty bargain shopper.

We saved up $60k and decided to buy a house. In the Seattle market that's a scant down payment, but we found a short sale we could afford, and bought a home. 2 years later like many other Americans our house is now worth $70k less than when we bought it and we are now trapped by our house, unable to sell it and unable to rent it for anything close to our mortgage. Despite the added expense of the house we were able to purchase and payoff two used cars and save up another $60k dollars over the last two years.

Another major development was the increasing severity of my psoriatic arthritis. As if my loser father didn't do enough to ruin our family I have the lasting legacy of his genetic disease to remind me my whole life, just where I came from. My arthritis was so severe after Kiah was born that I could no longer walk without something to hold on to. I was taking multiple over the counter pain killers, prescription pain killers just to get through the day. I cried a lot, both for the pain in my body and in my heart. If you would like an idea of the pain think about how it feels to hit your bone against something hard, that sharp pain that makes you cry out, now put that pain in to every joint in your body. Even the ones you never think of in the middle of your hand or foot. It got to the point where my body had begun to refuse to follow instructions because of the pain. I got stuck in the bath tub, unable to crawl out because my body simple refused to move. It's a very strange sensation to realize that your own body is shutting down from pain.

You become keenly aware of just how many joints you have in your body when every single one of them is screaming out in pain constantly. I thought of the burden I already was on my family and the burden would become as I already needed a walker even though I had refused to admit it. I was really, really depressed and even considered taking my own life to prevent my children from having to take care of me, but hope is a miraculous thing and I just kept hoping that this miracle drug my Dr wanted to try would save the day. The day I went to the Dr for the first injection, it took me 10 min to shuffle across the 2 parking spots between my car and the door to the lobby, there was no hand rail and so I had nothing to help me walk, and would fall over from the pain if I tried to take a step.

1 week later I could walk pain free, one month later I could run. I had my life back and whatever the side effects of the drug they were minimal to the amazing glory of a pain free day, that was my salvation. We were very fortunate to have insurance that paid completely for the medication as it is $2k a month without insurance.

Now after being in Seattle for 4 years we still find ourselves unable to make any meaningful connections with people here. Sure we have acquaintances, but it's very lonely here. I don't have any girlfriends so I spend 20hrs a day, usually more at home and the only person I ever talk to is Nick, the kids, or my mom. If Nick goes out for the evening then I don't talk to anyone all day, I'm just alone. It's really hard to meet people when you are home all day with your kids, and for whatever reason our peculiar set of hobbies are shared by lots of people in Bellingham and seemingly no one in Seattle. Everyone we meet, just seems to busy to add anymore friends to their social calendar.

Nick was recently offered a well paying job in Bellingham. A job that pays this well in Belligham only comes along every 5 years or so, I was so happy. I thought everything in the world would be right again. We'd be able to move, I'd be healthy and surrounded by friends. As it turns out we can't sell our hose without being completely wiped out, so we thought we'd rent it and make up the difference in the payment and just live on an even tighter budget in Bellingham, so we could continue to save.

Then we came to the next hurdle, health insurance. We did find carriers that would insure me, but not pay any out for my medication. So I did the math and even if I work full time for $11.50/hr, I will not be able to pay for my medication. I don't even know how to really absorb that fact. I have a college degree and can't earn enough money to pay for just my medication, forget living expenses. I can never go off of this medication . . . this is something I will need my entire life and now in addition to overcoming the challenges of owning a giant money pit of a house I now know that I can never switch insurance carriers and Nick can never switch jobs unless my medication will be covered and after 16hrs on the phone with different insurance companies I am realizing that pigs will fly before that happens.

So just to re-cap before we can move away from this place that has brought us nothing but misery the housing market has to turn around (10 years hopefully). The government has to offer a public option for health care, because no insurance company wants to have anything to do with me. Based on these realizations it's obvious that we're screwed.

I feel like an indentured servant, part of Americas new class of slaves. Canada is looking better every day.

toddler powered perpetual motion

2010-11-29T11:09:00.001-08:00

Addie, Cary, and Conan came up for a visit this weekend. The guys decided that the best way to keep the kids entertained was to get them to jump off the table onto a bunch of pillows. It was lots of fun for the kiddos and did indeed keep them very entertained for an hour, at which point they became to exhausted to move.

Snow!

2010-11-22T10:42:00.000-08:00

The girls were super excited about the snow. They even had their first snowball fight. Moira went straight for the face shot so we quickly changed the game to hit mom with snowballs. I was lucky enough to cath the fun on video.

Busy as usual

2010-11-20T05:51:00.000-08:00

So just to catch up: We survived Halloween, both girls chose to be princesses. I made Moira's dress, but ran out of steam before I could get Kiah's done so she ended up getting pick one out from the store. She had lots of fun, and I think the process of getting to pick out fabric was a little abstract for her.

Both the girls are growing up so fast. Moira is able to read simple words now, and Kiah is almost potty trained. They have recently discovered sneaking back and forth between their bedrooms at night. I'll be the first to admit it was kind of cute at first, hearing them giggle and run back and forth between the rooms, but by 10pm it gets kind of old so Kiah's been barracaded in with a baby gate.

Some of you may not have heard that Kess was dianosed with cancer and had her right rear leg removed :( The good news is that she's getting around great, and at 3 weeks out she's back to her old self. We all kind of miss the drugged and complacent Kess, but it's nice to have the house back to its normal level of chaos. You can follow Kess's story on her very own blog http://kessthebctripawds.com

We are gearing up for a big Thanksgiving dinner at home. The girls are excited to have everyone over, and it's always fun to have an exscuse to dig out the china.

Toddler cuteness

2010-10-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

All the guys got together this weekend, and for various reasons they all had toddlers in tow. We had beautiful weather and the kids had a great time playing while the dad's hung out and talked shop.

Dogs

2010-10-15T06:47:00.000-07:00

For as long as I can remember I've always loved dogs. When I was a kid I was instantly attracted to dogs, and finally when I was 11 I got my own dog. Coco, a ridiculously smart border collie that among other things could turn doorknobs, and knew her way all around Bellingham. On more than one occasion I got the call that Coco had walked several miles and shown up on their doorstep and scratched to be let in. Many times this was to houses we'd only driven to . . . how do they do that?

One of my friends teased that he wouldn't recognize me without my border collie familiar tagging along by my side . . . I'm ok with that.

Dogs have taught me so many wonderful things. Because of my relationship with my dogs I'm a better parent and a better person. They've taught me patience and not to be guarded with my love. When dogs love they do it with every fiber of their body . . .

I can remember the exact moment I fell in love with Kess. It wasn't at the pound, but later that night at home. She was terrified of the cats (with good reason) so she wouldn't come into the house. She was also very nervous about coming up to people. So I laid down on the floor and she came and laid next to me and then slowly started to poke her nose her and there to my giggles and within moments she was jumping all over me, wiggling like mad and licking any bit of me she could find. I was such a happy moment as if both of us just dropped a ton of baggage in that moment and started our lives together.

My dogs have taught me to live in the moment, enjoy life when it's there to be had. The price I pay for all of this therapy? Well the the cost that weighs on my mind most often is that I'll have to say goodbye to so many dogs in my life and it doesn't ever get easier.

Watching Kess grow from a scared shelter dog into the brutish athlete that she is has been amazing. I consider Kess running through an open field with pure joy in her heart to be one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I could watch her run for hours. She was the most graceful running dog I have ever seen. That's why it seems oh so cruel that this athlete would have to endure so much injury and pain.

It's with a heavy heart that I decided to have Kess's leg amputated, but the hope that I can once again see her running and happy will help me through the tough days. So I feel both extremely sad thinking about what Kess will endure, and extremely happy that very soon she'll be able to run pain free again.

It's really hard to love dogs, and it's expensive, but I think it's worth every minute of heartache and every penny, and it's a hardship I'm willing to endure in order to share my life with them.

Giant Bubbles

2010-09-02T06:20:00.000-07:00

There's really not much to say. The girls got a bubble wand from santa and we've taken advantage of it a couple of times on lazy afternoons. Moira got a little ambitious with the dish soap when I wasn't looking, and there are just some of the pictures of a multi-day bubble bonanza while I tried to make the best of the fact that more than 1/2 a bottle of dish soap got squeezed into the mix. Moira and I usually get about an hour of 1-1 time when Kiah's napping so I try to find some fun things to do with her.

We purchased an additional giant bubble maker with promises of 3ft bubbles, but we haven't quite figured out the right soap mix. You can be sure that there will be pictures once we have success.

NW Regional Canine DIsc Championship

2010-09-02T06:01:00.000-07:00

Well we had another successful event. I maintained my queen of donations status and we had a plush registration packet including t-shirts, treats, and custom pint glasses. I had a great day and achieved my goal of finishing somewhere in the middle of the pack. Of course there was plenty of daydreaming about doing better, but there's always next year.

I did make this extra tasty apple pie for the after party, the dog is actually the logo from the Canine Disc Organization so it was a big hit.

and even though I didn't place high enough to win prizes the traditional way I must have been extra lucky because I won 2 raffle prizes with a combined value of over $200.

One of them was this disc bag, donated by the manufacturer, they are around $100 ea. I then got the bright idea to ask everyone in attendance to bring a custom disc to put in the bag for the raffle. Lots of folks will get a custom frisbee made for their club or if they are really good for their dog. It was a very sought after raffle prize. The company that donated the bag liked my idea so much that they are going to do the same thing at their world championships and raffle it off for charity.

We raised just over $300 for our charity, not a huge amount, but not to bad considering everything else we've got going on throughout the day.

It's A LOT of work, but already thinking or next year.

Renaissance faire

2010-08-12T17:14:00.001-07:00

We met up with Gabe, Addie, Cary, Conan, Bo, Charlotte, and little Bella for a fun day at the faire. The girls had a blast and Moira remembered many of the things we did last year. It was fun to have all the kids out together, and the highlight was Gabes audience participation (video in the near future). We managed to make it to a couple of shows and perused the vendors. Our favorite was the gypsy horseback riders, they were off to a bit of a rough start this year so we'll make sure to hit them on the 2nd or 3rd weekend next time.

We've already got grand plans for next year and both the girls have picked out princess dress patterns so they can join in the fun.

Sorry I'm a slacker

2010-08-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

Ok so it's been a busy summer. I will attempt to catch up the blog over the next few weeks :) Took the girls to Remlinger Farms last week. It's a small toddler themed amusement park built around a small farm. The girls had a blast and with a modest entry fee and all you can ride for the amusements it's a great value. The girls loved the pony rdes, but the roller coaster was the big hit for my little adrenaline junkies. After 5 rides on the thing mommy was done. Next time I'll make sure dad comes along.

2010-08-05

Memorial Weekend

2010-06-01T06:28:00.000-07:00

We headed up to Bellingham this weekend to hang out with several friends from college. We had a really good time and it was great to see our new little nephew and niece while we were in town. My camera battery died halfway through the first day, so I have nowhere near enough pictures of all the cute kiddos. It rained all weekend so we were stuck inside, and appreciative of all the good company.

It was nice to day dream of camping trips and sleepovers once the kids are a little older.

Soccer

2010-05-17T07:42:00.000-07:00

Moira traded in her ballet shoes for shin guards. I'm secretly delighted, and Moira has been really enjoying soccer. She's only had 2 classes, but she asks every day if she has soccer school. It's a fast paced class, and it's only 30 minutes long. They play different skill building games, each of which is around 3-5min long and then run back to high five their moms before the next activity. It's all very upbeat and the kids have a blast.

At the end of each class they line up to take a shot at the goal, and the other kids chant their name when it's their turn. This is the highlight of the class for the kids and they all feel like superstars after they boot it in the goal.

Kiah and I keep busy on the sidelines. Here's Kiah showing off her soccer skills. It's a constant battle to keep her from running out on to the field. She's bursting at the seams to start school like Moira.

Fun Day at the Fair

2010-04-20T16:42:00.000-07:00

Juju and I took the girls to the Puyallup spring fair. We had a really fun time and the girls had a blast. There was a surprising amount of free activities. Moira started off the day getting a train painted on her cheek. Here she's checking it out in the funny mirrors.

Kiah and Moira both got to make Mr Potatos, using real potatos.

The highlight of the day was the pony rides. Both girls just grinned from ear to ear during their rides. It was really cute, and was the first time they'd actually been brave enough to get on the horse.

Intruder

2010-03-30T10:42:00.001-07:00

Well we had quite a morning. I came down with the dogs around 6am and Suki went straight to the dryer and was all worked up about something. She had her hackles up and was sniffing like mad. Suki's not the brightest bulb in the world, and she's pretty much afraid of everything so I didn't think much of it. I put the dogs out and Suki immediately went to the deck and started trying to get under it. At this point I figured some creature had probably entered the house and or crawl space via the dryer vent, but since Suki was trying to get under the deck I hoped it had left the same way it had come.

Well not long after I started hearing rustling coming from the dryer area and decided it was just about time to wake up Nick. He came down and pulled the dryer out, determined the critter was stuck in the dryer exhaust. After a bit he he informed me that it had just poked its head out and it was not a rat, but something weird, maybe a weasel. Once we got the "weasel" chased into a bucket, and then dumped into a cat carrier we could see that it was in fact a ferret.

One google search later and I was able to get a hold of Washington Ferret rescue, which is actually only a couple of miles from the house. Someone in the vet clinic next door was able to house the little guy until someone from rescue could pick him up. All in all it worked out pretty well and despite needing to replace the dryer vent, we got quite a story to remember.

Silliness

2010-03-26T08:23:00.000-07:00

The girls were keeping themselves busy while I made dinner. Nick came home and decided it warranted a picture.

Zinnia's

2010-03-26T07:09:00.000-07:00

Well I went a little crazy with the zinnias this year. I picked up a couple seed packets last spring and had such great success with them that I ordered a bunch from seed catalogs this year. They grow 2-3' tall, flower for a month or more, and start really easily from seed. I will say that the seeds I sowed directly outdoors did not do well, but I had about 90% germination and survival after transplant from the ones I started indoors. For whatever reason they only sell them in assorted colors at nurseries, but the catalogs all had them available by color. Below is what I got.

This one is called zowie, I saw it in a magazine at the Dr's office and it's what got this whole thing started.

I had a really pretty set of containers planted with a purple theme last summer and decided to carry the theme throughout the yard. This one is called uproar rose. It's the dahlia flowered variety. Sure I could get dahlia's but then I'd have to dig them up and take care of them over the winter. Since zinnia's are annuals there's no guilt in watching them die as the cold sets in.

Violet

Cream yellow

This is a dwarf mix which only gets about 12" tall, they aren't the right colors, but I guess I'll survive.

I did manage to find cactus zinnias in mix of purples and fuchsia so that pretty much made my day.

And lastly a cactus zinnia mix. I got some really cool colors out of these last year and hope to fill several of the beds in the backyard with them. Can't wait to sit back and enjoy them this summer.

Moira Turns 4!!

2010-03-06T18:41:00.000-08:00

Moira had a great birthday today, and we couldn't have asked for better weather. It was 60 and sunny, so we threw the kids outside and had a bbq. It was a big birthday for Moira who has now upgraded to a "big girl" room. She got a whole new set of furniture and a double size bed. If that weren't enough she got a bike too.

We had several of her friends from preschool over, and friends and family from Bellingham. It was a high energy couple of hours and we were all ready for a nap this afternoon. Expect another big round of pictures when I get them from grandpa paul and hopefully a little video.

My Grandmother, Anne Robb

2010-02-22T09:14:00.000-08:00

My Grandmother is truly one of the most tenacious individuals I have ever encountered. She raised her three girls on her own and managed to make a good life for herself and family. I can only hope that I am as strong as her and my mother in life.

My grandmother was attacked and stabbed multiple times in her bed last night. I can't begin to understand why someone would do this. There is no excuse. You'd like to think that someone who could commit such a violent and horrible act would stand out from the crowd that you could spot them, but you can't. It's easy to forget that this is the world we live in and some days I'm very sad to be a part of it.

My grandma is expected to survive, but it will be a long recovery both emotionally and physically. I can't imagine the strength it took for her to get up and get herself help, but I hope that even a small part of that is within me. I just can't make sense of the world today.

Sick, Sicker, Sickest

2010-02-08T07:40:00.000-08:00

Well we've all been miserably ill for what seems like forever. It started with poor Moira who had an ear infection, then the flu, which got into her lungs resulting in pneumonia and a trip to the hospital and finally finished up with pink eye. She's still coughing a lot, but she eating and sleeping normally and her temperature is only slightly elevated. Then Kiah and I caught it and while we missed out on the ear infection and pneumonia I ended up with severe nausea and couldn't keep even water down. So this time I got a tour of the lovely emergency unit at Evergreen for dehydration. 2L of saline later and some anti-nausea meds and I was back home. I then slept for 18 hours (no I'm not joking) I finally arose from my coma to discover that the anti-nausea medication "may cause drowsiness" I haven't taken any for 24hrs and I've been ok. My fevers still 102, and I've got pink eye, but I actually feel pretty good considering, and just in time because after taking care of this lot all weekend Nick has succumbed to the virus and is now sick in bed.

All in all it's been pretty horrible and I've got about a million things going on right now the least of which is my moms big boating seminar on the 20th. Being hopelessly sick sure makes you wish for the carefree days of summer. Hopefully by this time next week we'll all be back in good health.

Christmas Eve and Christmas pics

2009-12-30T07:59:00.000-08:00

I can't figure out how to embed someone elses's album so you'll have to click the link

http://picasaweb.google.com/jn4now/Christmas2009#5419593560989808914

Princess dresses from auntie Nicola

2009-12-28T17:32:00.000-08:00

The princess dresses were a big hit with the girls, Moira has worn hers for atleast a little while every day.

Toddler craziness

2009-12-28T12:59:00.001-08:00

Moira and Kiah were really hyper after lunch. Moira's dancin' away in the front, but keep your eye on kiah.

A visit to downtown

2009-12-23T08:59:00.000-08:00

We took the kids downtown to enjoy some Christmas activities and make a visit to santa. If I can get our arcane scanner to talk to our snazzy new computer I'll add a pic of santa. Both girls managed to make it onto his lap, and Moira was brave enough to blurt out a few of the things she really would like for Christmas.

This is the teddy bear room, one of the swanky hotels downtown has a different decorator come in each year and fill a suite with teddy bears, it was a big hit.

next it was off to the carousel

Bellevue Botanical Gardens

2009-12-23T08:55:00.000-08:00

The Bellevue botanical gardens does an awesome light display every year. Here are some pics from our visit

2009-12-19

Christmas pics . . . take 1

2009-12-06T11:53:00.000-08:00

Our first attempt at christmas pics was less than successful. The girls were not at all interested in sitting together to get their picture taken, but we had fun anyway. Perhaps we'll try again in a couple of days.

Kiah 18 Months

2009-11-04T16:30:00.000-08:00

the fairy princess and her sister

2009-10-27T19:08:00.000-07:00

I made a fire this evening and Moira ended up "reading books" to Kiah for an hour. It was really, really, really cute.

Yesterday we added fairy wings, a crown, and a magic wand to Moira's costume it really improved it immensly.

Halloween Party

2009-10-26T07:35:00.000-07:00

Kiah working hard to get everything tidied up for the party

Moira chose to be a princess, and despite it coming out a little large, I think it turned out pretty good. Kiah made use of Moira's old pirate costume, which was just to cute to not use again.

Checking out our friends costumes

Little Henry was a big fan of the goldfish crackers

Afterwards the girls played in the dark with their glow bracelets. Kiah has the dark purple one and Moira was sporting the green and pink. This was followed by a rousing game of find daddy in the dark before he jumps out and scares you. There was lots of giggling and laughing and it was a fun end to a good weekend.

Life rolls along

2009-10-08T07:30:00.001-07:00

Not much happening at the Ericson household. Moira continues to enjoy school, but's a little luke warm on the dancing classes. Her first set of ballet clothes have completely disappeared so we had to purchase another set. The real question is did I put them somewhere so Moira wouldn't get in to them or did Moira get in to them and then stick them somewhere that only makes sense to a 3 year old.

Kiah is now the source of constant jabber. She actually knows an astonishing number of words to mommies trained ear. Her favorite word right now is apple. She seems to think that it means I want that. Moira is hard at work informing her which things are not in fact apples.

Here are some pictures of our most recent reward cupcakes

Moira's been taking lessons from dad and proceeded to shove the better part of this cupcake into her mouth in one bite

Banana Splits and Ballerinas

2009-09-28T14:11:00.000-07:00

We started a chart on the wal for Moira, we have 4 main house rules and if she can follow all of the rules she can earn up to 4 stickers a day. Once she hits 15 stickers she gets to pick something fun to do. Last time it was make cupcakes, last night it was banana splits and a movie. Here's Kiah reaping the benefits of her sisters good behavior.

Here's Moira enjoying ballet class. The parents must wait outside the room, but I poked my head in for a quick shot. Moira is one in from the left. As a reward for listening and being allowed to continue ballet class Moira got to pick out a proper ballet outfit.

Moira got a haircut

2009-09-15T10:33:00.000-07:00

Here's one last shot of my little girl before her first real haircut. We really didn't want to cut off all of her curls, but it was starting to get a bit straggly. The haircut went great and turned out good, see first day of pre-school pics for the sfter shot.

First Day of Preschool

2009-09-15T10:25:00.000-07:00

Moira wasn't about to sit still long enough for a more traditional first day of school picture. Fingers crossed that today goes well. For those of you that haven't heard Moira's first day of ballet/tap class didn't go very well. To her credit she was VERY excited about dancin' class and was perhaps just a bit to exuberant for ballet. She was dismissed from class after she convinced all the over the kids it was more fun to run around and scream with her than to listen to the teacher. She gets one more chance before she's expelled.

We're enjoying fall and looking forward to good times ahead.

Flowers and princesses

2009-08-27T18:08:00.000-07:00

Weekend fun

2009-08-24T07:36:00.000-07:00

We went up to Bellingham this weekend to celebrate Keron's birthday. We also spent a day with Addie, Cary, and Conan. It was fun to see everyone and to let the kids play around. The dogs had a great time charging around in the country, and everyone slept good last night.

The boys created a track for the dirtbike and quad so it was some good ol' redneck fun at grandmas.

Moira went out with Addie and picked flowers to give Grandma for her birthday, the bouquet ended up as big as her.

Zoned out on the couch with uncle Abe after a long day.

Painting

2009-08-21T16:15:00.000-07:00

Moira gets to do art projects with mommy as a special treat when Kiah is asleep. On this particular day their naps were a bit off and while I was laying Moira down Kiah discovered that I'd left out the paints. What fun . . . I guess I'll have to figure out some little art projects for miss Kiah.

More summer fun

2009-08-03T09:20:00.000-07:00

We went to a renessance fair on sunday and the girls had a great time. Moira was really into it and whooped and hollered at all of the acts and danced her little buns off. I even managed to whip up some fairy princess skirts sat night. Moira was really into the pirate booth, which had a collection of swords for the kids to play with. She was quick to go for the killing blow.

yeah for August

2009-08-03T09:11:00.000-07:00

July was a busy, busy month. So I'm very happy that August has arrived. My little frisbee dog contest somehow balloned into a massive canine festival. It was very stressful and way to much work for free. In the end I was happy when I looked up and saw it was a success, but I will only be managing the frisbee aspect of the event in future years and leave the rest to the city and the local off-leash dog group. We ended up with around 1000 people at the event and made the front page of the local paper.

Suki took third place in the novice division of the Disc competition, which was quite an improvement over our finish in 2008, dead last. It's a little embarassing when the event host comes in last. In addition to that Suki and Kess finished 1st and 2nd respectively in the clean your plate dog food eating contest, and Kess has the 3rd best tail wag in Kirkland. All of our contest winnings added up to some new dog toys and $50 worth of gift certificates at the local pet store. I was so busy that I took almost no pictures, but you can see a few here, plus a video put together by another club member.

All that's left is to put together notes for who ever handles the event in 2010 and a quick presentation for city council, where we hand over the check for the fundraising effort. I don't have the total, but it's somewhere around 5k.

fddo2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcoo1moSY3A

Garden pics

2009-07-18T22:17:00.000-07:00

I was having a great time checking out the garden while doing some watering today so I grabbed the camera and got some nice shots. The honey bees have given way to swarms of bumble bees.

Oregon Country Fair

2009-07-18T22:13:00.001-07:00

We had a great time at the country fair this year. My mom volunteered to watch Kiah which was great. Moira had a great time and was quite the button saleswoman. The only bad part was that it poured rain on sunday resulting in huge puddles throughout the fair. The mud was almost impassable in places, but everyone made the best of things and we stayed dry in the booth.

Broken Computer and Kiah Cuteness

2009-07-18T22:04:00.000-07:00

Our computer died unexpectedly a few weeks ago and we finally got the new one. It's still not up to speed so I've commandeered Nick's work laptop. It's been a busy July for us with the country fair last weekend and my big dog festival next weekend. I ended up in way over my head in terms of the amount of time I wanted to donate to the dog festival, but it looks like it's going to be a very successful 1st Go Dog, Go! festival with expected attendance in the thousands. It has however been the source of a ridiculous amount of stress so I've already let them know I wont be helping next year.

Kiah found this hat Grandpa Will gave her for Christmas and wore it for a couple of hours. It was pretty cute so of course I had to get some pictures.

CUTENESS WARNING

2009-06-29T16:24:00.000-07:00

I got these for the country fair, but we broke them out early for the solstice parade.

Help!!

2009-06-29T16:20:00.000-07:00

So I was upstairs putting away clothes and heard Kiah start fussing. This was promptly followed by the sound of Moira running. I figured she'd knocked Kiah over and was running off to avoid blame. Then she darted up the stairs to exclaim "Mama Kiah's stuck in the drum and she's really upset!" Since the camera was right there I couldn't resist.

I made a new disc dog video . . .

2009-06-09T16:15:00.001-07:00

Abe and Lindsay's wedding

2009-05-31T06:33:00.001-07:00

Abe and Lindsay had a beautiful cremony that brought the crowd to tears on several occasions. The girls and Nick were in the wedding party. The pictures don't do it justice.

Hawaii

2009-05-31T06:29:00.000-07:00

So we had a great time in Hawaii. The kids did awesome on the plane, and slept pretty well there. There were several snorkeling and boogie board trips. We took full advantage of just hanging out in the sun. With so many helping hands around it was a little disorienting when we got home, but we're back in the normal routine. It was fun to watch Kiah warm up to everyone and Moira had a blast soliciting stories from everyone.

Way Back in April

2009-05-31T06:23:00.000-07:00

Sherrod, Andy and the boys stayed overnight with us in April and I have finally uploaded some pictures. Moira tried desperatly to keep the twins orderly and civilized. By the end she was starting to lighten up a little . . . getting dirty can be fun too.

Busy as Bees

2009-05-17T14:31:00.000-07:00

We're madly trying to get organized for our big trip to Hawaii. I was out front giving everything a once over and this bee was hanging around the whole time. He was just loaded with pollen so 30 pictures later I got one that was pretty cool. Oh the joys of digital photography. I'm sure I'll have loads of pictures from Hawaii upon our return.

Suki and I competed for the first time in freestyle disc and we didn't get last place! I'll try to put up the video at some point in time.

Hopefully we don't have to many issues on the flight over with the kids. Fingers crossed and we'll see everyone soon.

Busy in the backyard

2009-05-03T14:34:00.000-07:00

Well we came up with this plan for a faux tropical garden around the gazebo. It's really shady and stays fairly wet there. We found some really great shade loving plants and even braved a few hardy fushias. The plants include : hosta, fern, day lily, calla lily, violets, columbine, bleeding heart, and oxalis. We're really looking forward to spending time outside in august when we can enjoy the fruits of our labor.

We had a good time at flower world and came home with more than we needed. In addition to being one of the largest plant nurseries I've ever been to, they also have an assortment of animals for the kids to look at: sheep, goats, peacocks, and fancy chickens and ducks. Moira really enjoyed the animals so we'll have to head out to the zoo before too long.

Gabe and Cynthia Tie the Knot

2009-04-28T08:05:00.000-07:00

Gabe and Cynthia are officially married! Despite some wind, it was a beautiful ceremony on the beach. The love these two share is inspiring and it was great to share in this experience with them.

Kiah Turns One

2009-04-23T07:57:00.000-07:00

We had a great day on sunday with a parade of family members and fun. Luckily the camera was around to capture a rare moment of sisterly love and cuteness.

Of course there were presents, which Kiah chose to open in a dainty fashion. Moira fond this alltogether much to slow and was quite eager to "help" Kiah.

The cake was a big hit and after a few tentative licks Kiah dove right in. The last year has been a bit of a wild ride. It's really fun to watch the girls work out their relationship and to watch Kiah go from baby to kid. They are both such wonderful little people and full of the joy and wonder of the world. I can't wait to see what the next year brings.

Baby Steps

2009-04-08T20:38:00.000-07:00

I've read about half of a new book called Don't Shoot the Dog. It is written by the founder of clicker training and a strong proponent of training by positive reinforcement. This book is not written specifically for dog training, and in fact the majority of the examples deal with humans and the ways in which we either consciously or sub-consciously reinforce behavior in our own lives.

The author proposes that we reinforce the good rather than the bad, ie. rather than cursing our own mistakes we praise our own accomplishments. So this got me thinking about parenthood and how in my own life I often feel unfulfilled as a stay at home mom. I think the problem for me and many other moms is that the pay off or the reinforcement just isn't there. Your little sweeties are never going to look you in the eye and say good job mom I'm giving you a raise. My job, unlike most others has nothing in place to make me feel like I've really accomplished something. So my goal over the next few weeks is to take some time to think about all of the things I have gotten done in a day, rather than all of the things I couldn't get done.

Kiah is also working on some baby steps of her own. She can reliably walk about three steps and occasionally initiates some wobbly walking on her own. It's a real delight to see the pride in her face when she walks all by herself. She's at the age where she's figured out that she can indeed communicate with us and I can just see her gears turning as she tries to make sense of it all. Her favorite thing right now is to hand stuff to people, and if you are ignoring her attempts to share she will actually grab your hand, flip it over, and shove said item into it.

Moira is finally starting to outgrow the constant tantrums, and is learning some coping techniques to help calm down when they do happen. She is also starting to enjoy hanging out with Kiah and often asks if her and Kiah can go play in her room. I'm am more amazed every day at Moira and how much she has grown as a person in the last year.

All in all life is good. I started on a new medication for my arthritis and it's working better than expected. The down side is that it lowers your immune capacity. Moira is currently sick so I will soon be experiencing how difficult it is to fight off a cold while on this treatment. My arthritis had progressed to the point that I was considering a cane or walker to help me in the first half of the day and within a week of the medication I can literally run down the stairs, something I could not have done for over a year. I actually just sat down and cried the first time I walked down the stairs like a normal person, one foot in front of the other. You don't take the time to appreciate what you have until it's gone so here's to spring and a new attitude on life!

Moira the photographer

2009-03-29T20:12:00.001-07:00

Juju got a new point and shoot camera. Moira is really in to taking pictures, she has some interesting subject matter.

It's been a while . . .

2009-03-29T17:26:00.000-07:00

My mom took this picture of Moira recently and I just think Moira looks beautiful. She's going to break some hearts one day.

Here's Kiah having fun!

Here's Kiah not having fun :(

Has anyone seen Kiah?

We've had a busy weekend despite my being ill. Moira went to a friends birthday party and then had a sleep over with Juju and Paul. Nick finished prepping the bathroom walls for painting and put on the first coat of primer. We put new dirt into all of our patio flower pots and then planted around 75 annuals. We've decided to go with a pretend tropical garden around the gazebo. The back doesn't get much light so we have 7 hanging baskets stuffed with fuchsia starts and will plant some hardy fuchsias, ferns, and hostas in the beds below. Then for some color we got a tray of impatiens and have planted day lilies.

We were graced with sunshine and warm weather and it felt great to pull up my sleeves and enjoy spring. Both the kids came out and did a great job of helping and getting filthy. I can't wait to sit back and enjoy it all in the summer.

Moira Turns 3

2009-03-08T22:30:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrated Moira's third birthday!! We put up all of the decorations after she went to bed and it was really fun to bring her down in the morning to see the surprise. She was pretty excited that she was going to have a birthday party.

Dad helping put on her birthday princess dress

Playing with baby Henry

Kiah chillin' with Grandpa Mel

Kiah and Nick's acrobatic sideshow

Trains, trains, trains . . .

The kids table

The much anticipated cake

"I like cake"

Moira convincing Grandpa Mel and Grandma Heidi to read her ALL of her new books.

Saturday Shenanigins

2009-03-08T22:19:00.000-07:00

Kiah enjoying some pasta and sauce

The guys TILING the shower!! It has been almost a year since the initiation of this project and now that the shower surround is tiled the end is in site. Since the bathroom shares a wall with Kiah's room it's impossible to work on at night and often we're just to busy on the weekends. Hopefully a few more weekends of lousy weather will help spur us to finish this project up. The guys really did an amazing job and all of the help was greatly appreciated.

Moira and Kiah ham it up while trying on their dresses for Abe and Lindsay's wedding.

Just what's going on in there?

2009-02-26T14:32:00.000-08:00

There was a fair amount of chatter coming from Moira's room while she was supposed to be napping. After peeking in on her I couldn't resist snapping a photo before I hucked her back in bed. Apparently she decided to modify her outfit for the day donning fuzzy leopard pants and a snazzy hula belt. She's also sporting a giant fat lip that she got tripping over the threshold at the Dr's office this morning. At least we were already there! She managd to bruise the roots and gums of both her front teeth and the Dr said it's very likely that her front two teeth will now turn grey :( Oh well at least they fall out!

Gardening is fun!

2009-02-16T13:36:00.000-08:00

I've been taking advantage of the nice weather to work in the garden. The ground was dry enough today for Kiah to crawl around and enjoy getting dirty with the rest of us. It was really nice to see all of the plants coming back and it re-assures me that summer isn't too far off.

Things have been busy around here and the kids are growing fast. Just ask Moira and she'll tell you all about how she's going to be three soon!

Suki

2009-02-03T01:51:00.000-08:00

Suki and I will compete in freestyle for the first time this year and we've been working on a routine. We're still novices, but I'm really proud of how much Suki has learned in the last couple of months.

Cool frisbee dogs

2009-01-14T18:40:00.000-08:00

The japanese freestyle teams combine ninja skills and frisbee dogs . . .

Christmas

2009-01-11T12:33:00.000-08:00

Well for the first time EVER my entire family was together at Christmas. It was the best gift you could hope for and everyone had a really lovely time. My grandmother came from South Africa and my sister and her husband and baby Logan made it from Kentucky despite the numerous weather delays.

It was really neat to see my sister and her husband in their new role as parents. My little nephew was a real cutie and I look forward to the kids having some adventures together as they grow up.

Oh Baby

2009-01-06T07:08:00.000-08:00

I have slept . . . for the first time since Kiah's birth I slept eight hours. What a wonderful thing a nights sleep is. We've been trying to convince Kiah that aside from mom there are all sorts of ways to get food. She had shown little interest in baby food, hated rice cereal, and wold promptly shut her mouth if she saw any signs of a bottle or sippy cup. So we decided that if I was just gone for long enough that she would eventually give in. Well after 48hrs we gave in. Kiah got her way and her mommy. We did accomplish a few things. Kiah decided that if her mom wasn't there to snuggle with then there wasn't any point to waking up three times a night and now sleeps about 10 hours a night. We also discovered she just didn't like baby food. So I've created some recipes that out little gourmet enjoys. Butternut squash with apples, sweet onion, and a little garlic and cinnamon is her favorite.

It's really amazing how much can happen in two days. Kiah can FINALLY sit up. She started crawling and decided there wasn't much point in knowing how to sit still. In addition to figuring out how to sit while I was gone she is now clapping, which is really cute, and on top of all that she got some teeth while I was gone. All in all it was a good thing for me to take a break, I really had fun spending some time with Mora and Kiah and dad had some good bonding time as well.

Christmas Pictures

2008-12-20T07:08:00.001-08:00

Well now that everyone should have their christmas cards here's the rest of the girls chrismas pics.

Happy Happy Joy Joy

2008-12-20T07:05:00.001-08:00

The only thing that likes snow more than kids is dogs. I had a lot of fun taking pics of the dogs charging around at the neighborhood park.

Jingle Bells

2008-12-14T18:54:00.000-08:00

This picture really needs a great caption . . .

2008-12-11T17:17:00.000-08:00

Santa

2008-12-10T07:52:00.000-08:00

Well we headed to the mall yesterday to get pictures done for the kids, only to encounter the most inept photographer on the planet. The first indication that things weren't going to go well was that she had a list of poses she wanted the kids to do. Apparently she hasn't worked with many toddlers. She did manage to get one nice picture of Moira, but it really wasn't worth it since I was going to have to go somewhere else to get pictures of Kiah so we ended up with nothing. We did however decide to stop by Santa. Moira has had a healthy distrust of beards since she was born and last year she took one look at old Saint Nick and ran off in the other direction. This Santa was an old pro and took the time to read her a story while the folks before us settled up with the photographer and while we couldn't coax a smile out of her she did agree to sit with him and even squeaked out that she would like a "train present" So all in all I'll call it a success.

Kiah was completely enamored with Santa. It was VERY cute.

Oh the things you can do online . . .

2008-12-09T09:04:00.000-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Christmas pics

2008-12-07T14:20:00.000-08:00

Well we took the Christmas pictures today and were fairly successful. You'll have to wait for your cards to see the keepers . . . here are some of the more amusing shots.

I don't want to take the Christmas Picture!!

Moira and Kiah's unbridled enthusiasm for the activity

Where's that ringing coming from??

You can't get out antlers and not expect some dog torture.

As usual we're insanely busy around here. Nick worked anywhere from 12-21hrs a day at work last week. Luckily they met their deadline so things should be back to normal around here. We're all looking forward to some time off around Christmas.

Where does the time go

2008-11-21T20:44:00.001-08:00

Well I've been a total blog slacker this month. November's almost over . . .

For starters here are the kids Halloween costumes. Moira was a dragon and Kiah was a knight. Of course despite my best efforts I never managed to get them both in their costumes at the same time which made the adorable picture with both of them impossible. Oh well there's always next year. Moira was pretty anti-costume until we actually went trick-or-treating. Once she scored a few pieces of candy she was really into her costume.

In other news Moira has been really into this butternut squash lately. She carts it all around the house even though she can barely lift the thing. Kiah has figured out how to pull herself to standing and gets really frustrated when she can't.

Nick and I also replaced the molding in the living and dining rooms and repainted both rooms with some help from Gabe. It turned out really nice and I'll put pictures up as soon as we figure out where to put all of the art. In other home improvement news we also purchased the tile for the kids bathroom. We have ambitions to install the floor tiles this weekend. I'm really excited to move forward on this project as our bathroom is also in need of some major remodeling.

Fall

2008-10-18T14:32:00.000-07:00

With the weather so nice today we decided to head out to the UW arboretum to enjoy the colors of fall. Both the kids really enjoyed tromping around outside. Mora was full of what's that? and what's it doin'? It was a nice break from our generally hectic weekends.

Kiah hammin' it up

Oooh what's that?

The motley crew

Moira and Dada

Afternoon photo session

2008-10-10T16:31:00.000-07:00

Kiah woke up from her nap with a beautiful blush to her cheeks so I pulled out the camera . . . here are a few of my favorites.

Kiah strikes a pose

Vice Presidential Debate

2008-10-04T07:33:00.000-07:00

Sick, sick, and more sick

2008-10-04T07:26:00.000-07:00

Poor Moira has now been sick for two weeks. She started out with a nasty cold which lasted about eight days. She was better for a day or so and then was really sick again. After a trip to the Dr we discovered she had a severe ear infection in both ears. The poor girl is in so much pain she just goes up to her room and lies in bed. Every night about the time her pain killer wears off I can hear her start to weep in her room. It just breaks my heart . . . and gives me a new respect for what a tough job being a mom is. There is nothing worse than to see your little babies in pain. Not to be out done Kiah caught Moira's cold about a week ago and according to the Dr the ear infection as well. Luckily it had not progressed as far and she seems to be avoiding the pain associated with it thanks to the antibiotics. According to the trusty Internet the antibiotics should start to alleviate Moira's symptoms today.

You never know what you'll find at the thrift store . . .

2008-10-01T15:23:00.001-07:00

After Moira was born I started buying kids toys and books that featured border collies. Moira pretty much showed no interest in them and so I've adopted it as a collection of sorts. I figure that it has a fine enough scope that I wont be getting border collie themed toys for every christmas.

Here's Kess helping to model the giant stuffed border collie I scored at value village today. It was only $3 and that will be more than worth the look on Nick's face when h sees it. I also got Moira's halloween costume, but that will stay under wraps until I get Kiah's.

Full House

2008-09-20T11:26:00.000-07:00

Well our house is filling up in so many ways! The once demolished bathroom has now been filled with a tub and hardy backer, just the first steps of a very long process as any sort of construction is hampered by sleeping babies. Our Family room has been filled up with Keron's living room set and soon our dining room will be filled up with Ross's parents table and china hutch. Last but not least our bedroom is going to get a make over with a kingsize bed, dresser, and end tables. In addition to all this the current total of living creatures in our house is 4 humans, 4 cats, 3 dogs, and a bunch of fish. Luckily half of the cats and one of the dogs are just here for a short bit because it's starting to get a little crowded around here!

The other big news around here is pigtails! Moira has decided that pigtails are where it's at.

Suki Brings home the Bacon

2008-09-05T09:52:00.000-07:00

Suki Wowed us all by winning in three different events at the Regional Disc Dog Championship. She had to compete in the expert division since Kess and I had placed first last year so I was really proud that she won anything at all. She was only 1 point away from making into the finals in the Distance and Accuracy competition, and had it not been for a nature break in the middle of her turn she would have most likely made it into the finals. All in all I was very proud of my silly little dog.

Afternnon photo session

2008-09-04T16:19:00.000-07:00

Well it occurred to me today that I had not yet taken any naked baby pictures to torment Kiah with when she got older. Here are just a couple of the many adorable smiles . . .

Blogging Bonanza

2008-08-18T06:52:00.000-07:00

Well for a while now our hard drive on the computer has been to full to hold anymore pictures. That problem has been temporarily resolved. I had intended to have everything in neatly organized topics, but time is always of the essence around here so instead here is the summation of the last couple of weeks in no particular order.

With all this hot weather we've been heading down to the beach. It's only about a 10min drive from our house to a nice park right on the water. Moira knows it's her job to convince daddy to go swimming after work and she puts on all of her charms. "pwease da da go swimming, and run and jump in the water pwease

For reasons unknown to me the frisbee dog club uses tie-dye for their performance uniforms. Jennie headed over a couple sat. ago and helped me make some things below are the more successful efforts. Next summer sometime I want to organize a tie-dye bbq before the country fair.

Herding cats . . . getting two kids to smile at the same time is quite a challenge.

Nick officially starts his 1 month off today!! We're looking forward to getting some things doe around the house and plan on spending a week in Bellingham so we'll see everyone soon.

Weekend Projects

2008-08-06T07:51:00.000-07:00

Well every weekend seems to fly by. Nick's got several projects in the works, but because of the kids he rarely gets more than 30 min at a time to work on them. A big boon to our home improvement efforts will the the truck Nick purchased with some of the money he got from selling the jeep. It was hard for him to see the Jeep go as he had fond memories of driving around Bellingham with the top off during the summer, but it just wasn't practical for many reasons the least of which being that it could not accommodate two car seats. A nice young guy bought it for his first car and brought the whole family over on the day he handed over the money it was pretty cute, he was calling all his buddies on his phone while he was here to tell them about it.

Within an hour of bringing the truck home Nick was off to pick up dirt and gravel to finish off his drainage/path project.

Dog Days of Summer

2008-07-31T20:07:00.000-07:00

It seems like there's always just one more thing I need to get done every day. To think that just a few short years ago I was able to fill my time with 1 husband and 1 dog and 2 cats. There's always room in my heart for more love, but it seems like there's just not enough time in the day to appropriately dole it out to all of the people and critters that would like a slice of the pie.

Luckily it seems like you always find the time for the important things and so the house is a little dirtier and the grass gets a little taller, but it works out in the end. Nick and I manage to find an hour or so every evening for each other and I can generally get both kids to nap at the same time for a little while each day, and believe me I take full advantage of that rare magical time to get everything else done!

As some of you may know Kess was injured pretty badly at the start of the summer, she ruptured a disc in her back. This weighed very heavily on my heart since we couldn't afford to go to extremes for treatment. Luckily it looks like she will not need surgery, but she will have to retire from her various sports. She might be able to compete in some capacity in a few years, but she'll never be the jock she once was. I'll just be happy to see her run again . My dogs mean a lot to me. Taking Kess out for some exercise is one of my favorite activities. I could watch her run all day long, I think she's beautiful and graceful and she's the most athletic dog I've ever encountered. Since she's been injured it has taken away the one thing I did to get some me time. As a result Suki and I have finally had a chance to bond. Now comparing Suki to Kess is a bit like comparing a thoroughbred to a donkey, but she's come into her own and is a sweet little dog who always tries her best, which is something to be commended.

This summer has just flown by with so much on my mind and I'm almost looking forward to the quiet grey days of winter. Nick is finally taking his paternity leave starting in mid August. Having another set of hands around all day will be amazing, and hopefully we can conclude a few of the many half finished projects throughout the house.

Moira's and Kiah's first Sailing Adventure

2008-07-21T15:12:00.000-07:00

Saturday was beautiful in Seattle, there was a light wind and calm seas so we headed to Juju and Pauls boat after the kids naps for an afternoon on the water. We sailed over to Bainbridge Is. where we dropped the crab pot and anchored for a bbq dinner. We had a great time and Moira quickly got over her fears and was trying to clamber all over the boat by the end of the trip.

Capt. Judy

The first mate and his trusty sidekick

Kiah gets a quick sailing lesson from Juju

The motley crew

Nick decides to jump in . . . Brrrrrr

Moira chillin'

Moira discussing just how big the crab her and Juju caught was. Obviously she's a born fisherman.

Wuzzup

2008-07-13T10:40:00.000-07:00

Under the weather

2008-07-02T18:04:00.000-07:00

Well as if it wasn't hot enough on mon poor Moira had a fever. Luckily it only lasted a day. To help cool her off I wet down some wash rags and put them in the freezer. She quickly discovered this was a good way to beat the heat and kept one on her head for most of the day :)

Washin' the car

2008-06-29T19:10:00.000-07:00

Nick decided to wash the cars today and so Moira gave hers a once over as well.