Hello, My Friends!

Just letting you all know that I'm ok! (Some of you worry about me and notify my parents if I haven't updated my blog lately... I LOVE that! That is what family is about!)

Our household has been going through some big changes over the last couple of weeks.

First, both kids are in school (yay!). I have really been focusing on taking care of their needs and desires during this time. Danny is LOVING 1st grade. In fact, he would rather be at school every day of the week. We have really been trying to respect a few of his needs. He needs active play (he only has one 20 minute recess ALL day). This means long play sessions after school at the park, trips to the pool, and long bike rides or hikes around our lake. Danny also needs quiet reflective time, which is usually shown through individual play (Legos) or reading. Right now he is loving the World Atlas (thanks, Gramma!) and the book about the human body (thanks, Meema and Papa) he got for his birthday. We are also enjoying reading Magic School House books together, taking turns reading pages. Annelise needs reassurance and individual mommy and daddy time. She is enjoying school too, and is especially happy when all her friends are there. I think she is really noticing the change in her schedule the most. Last year she was going to school two mornings a week and daycare for one additional day. Now she attends school 5 days a week, and stays for four afternoons (M, T, Th, F) until 4pm. She really benefits from the walks that Danny likes, and we often find ourselves talking about all of the things we see. Most of all, Annelise likes to play with her dolls and have Randy or me engage in this play with her. We feed babies, change babies, burp babies, rock and sing to babies... it is like a day care in our house!

The second little bit of news is that I was offered more hours teaching. This was a really tough decision, but I decided to take the extra hours. I was teaching 30% time, and now I am teaching 70% time. CRAZY!!!!! There were several reasons that factored into my decision. Because I am an ESOL teacher, my position is federally funded and is based exclusively on the English Language Learning enrollment at my school (I teach English to elementary school students who speak another language at home... ESL in some states, but ESOL here!). Looking at the numbers across the county and at my school, things are shifting. By taking these extra hours, this will ensure more stability in my future career. I do want that because eventually I'd like to go back to teaching full-time. Another factor in this decision was that Annelise is in a GREAT nursery school environment that has allowances for staying all day. She loves the school and so do we. I feel very confident in this decision as far as the childcare of Danny and Annelise. I still get to pick them up from school, but a friend drops them both off in the morning... pretty dreamy for a working mom! The third factor in this decision was the money. We have been doing fine, but are trying so hard not to go into any debt right now. Every time any kind of emergency or unexpected expense comes up (with the house or car... new tires! getting a wildlife removal specialist to get the squirrels out of our attic! leaking windows!) we don't have any room in our budget for this. We just need to build a financial cushion. And this more than doubles my salary, which is pretty great!

So here I am, trying to make it all work and figure things out. I certainly won't be blogging as much, but I do want to keep putting pictures up. Probably just less words!

Free MP3 on Amazon

Yay!!! I love adding random songs to my iPod (especially for my workout mix), so this makes me extra happy! Amazon is celebrating their twitter following by giving out an MP3 credit to each person who signs in and enters the code at this link. You must claim the credit (enter code) and redeem the credit (pick and download your song) by midnight on Sunday. So go! Do it! AND please write in the comments what song you got. Don't be embarrassed... I got a Spice Girls song.

Portland Aerial Tram at OHSU

***picture from wikipedia

One really fun thing we did while in Portland this summer was go on the aerial tram. It connects different parts of the hospital and university of OHSU (Oregon Health and Science University). Even though it is a quick ride, the kids thoroughly enjoyed it!

waiting for the tram

on the tram

looking down to the Willamette River

Beltway Spotting!

A couple of weeks ago while driving on The Beltway (I was actually passengering, otherwise this photo would not have been taken!) we saw a U-Haul trailer featuring a place near and dear to our hearts!

Waterfront Park

While the kids and I were in Oregon this summer there were a few days where it was very warm. Hot enough that most outdoor playing had to be done before 10am. So my parents took the kids to Waterfront Park, which overlooks the Columbia River in Hood River, OR(click there for a scenic slide show of Hood River). The kids had a blast, of course, so a few days later I went with them and snapped some fun pictures (including the above one where it is so obvious Annelise hasn't even had her hair combed... nice bedhead!).

Six Years Ago...

this one came into my world.


And he continues to change that world!

Yummy!

A friend recommended this ice cream cookbook to me a few weeks ago, and I promptly went to the library to check it out. After trying a recipe and perusing through the pictures and recipes, I decided to put it on my amazon wish list. A week later my dear brother and sister-in-law got it for me for my birthday.

I LOVE it! If you have an ice cream maker, you must get The Perfect Scoop. The photographs are absolutely beautiful. So far we have enjoyed roasted banana ice cream, peanut butter chocolate ice cream and tomorrow we will be trying chocolate mint ice cream (with crumbled peppermint patties) in honor of Danny's birthday. Truthfully, I should get to the lower fat sorbets, yogurts and granitas featured in the book, but the ice creams are so good!