Climbing!

Filthy fun

Despite still being in boxes, we have moved on to creating a climbing wall for the Little Man. Climbing is so inherent in who he is, its as much for family sanity (otherwise he just climbs the walls and doorjambs ;) as for sweetness :). There's an enormous dead tree in the Jungle. While the inspector listed it as a "con" - something in need of removal, E and I figured it a huge "plus.". Climbing path up to a tree house... vertical plant wall... fun in a nutshell :).

So we've been mulling around out back in the glorious Portland weather, ignoring the boxes. Zia thought herself the absolute cat's meow. While watching the boys work (ok, Superman work, Little Man play with fire;) she figured out how to stand up holding a soccer ball. Apparently, this is big fun. Of course, she had to get reeeeal dirty first ;).

Pics of P climbing to come! (And yes, he has already mentioned Uncle Ian's impending happiness when he visits ;)

Bits and pieces

Just some pics n stuff :). Random phone order (anyone know how to line these up blogging by phone???)

P, one second before he fell out of a tree. The heavy vine he was testing? It broke. Knocked the air out of him, but he's fine. Giving thanks to the soft loam of our jungle :)

The kids, sleepy morning snuggles.

Zia. Is it just me or does her smile just scream "ornery"?!

Sleepin'. Been a tough one thanks to the top two teeth (and the Florida Zombie report. Holy gawd - did that creep a night's sleep away from everyone else too?!). Hate to admit it, but she seems to be sporting some strange zombie chompers herself... Gap-toothed would be graceful in comparison...

Z and E. Do you see the drool trail? lol.

Back on the home front... or, I painted my couch.

So we've been in the house two weeks now and been busy with buddies both weekends... This makes for not enough time putting a house in order! Boxes and duffel bags still surround me. To top it off, the awesome HVAC guy has been diligently working to give us some heat in the attic (nights here are still chilly!). This means lots of sawing, (lead, ahem) dust-making and mud tracking. Big sigh for the just painted floors and hand scrubbed stairs ;). But it also means Air Conditioning!!!! Holy Cow. The kind of unit that would work for the attic just happens to both heat And cool. My second favorite question from the Little Man this month (second only to "What's shampoo?") is: "What's air conditioning?". When I told him that the vents that blow hot air would blow cold air he couldn't believe it ;)

Other big news for the week, we have moved into the kitchen. S-weet. Working out of a mini-fridge and tiny cooktop with no counter space makes Jac a not so happy girl. We tried grabbing burritos from an organic place around the corner for a few days, but poor Z got all rashy :(. Started cooking it all from scratch again and whalah - perfect skin! So a real kitchen has been a major upgrade - even without a dishwasher and with the awesome stovetop from the (eek!) 70's! Lol. I DO love my house. Its just a process ;).

Then, drumroll, we schlepped the furniture into our floor! Oh my, heaven calling. It is freaking awesome to have a table to eat at again! Aaand, drumroll, we got a couch! I've been scouring Craigslist for weeks, waiting for the right one (easier than trying to schlep the kids to vintage stores;) And I found the bones I wanted, but they had been beaten and covered red. Hmmm, what to do? Paint it!

No. I'm not kidding. Yes, I painted my couch. No, not the wood. It was a researched decision :). But, for the record, and for anyone considering this sort of project, it takes longer than you plan...

After snagging it from the sweet tatted taxidermist (who had it stored by her body filled deep freeze...) E and P picked up the textile medium and we went to work. E vacuumed out the crystallized food chunks while I ignored the possibility that it wasn't pristine. Then came the patch jobs. Then I taped off the wood and painted. And painted. And painted. And sent E out for more textile medium. And painted some more. That tufted, buttoned back I wanted so very badly? Yah, its a bitch to paint. But the final product is Awesome. And apparently indestructible. Which is what I was going for in the first place, having two littles at home ;). Permanent markers? Bring it. Gorgeous, crazy cheap and childproof? Yes, please.

We also celebrated our pea gravel patio (thank you Superman - I love me a yard without a mud pit !) with a little BBQ. It was sunny and lovely. Fast forward 30 minutes and a *thunderstorm* erupts (Portland doesn't have thunderstorms!) and E is out stirring veggies amongst lightning and driving rain. P thought it most faaaabulous and stomped around in the gravel, getting soaked.

We also finished planting the front bed. Hope we can keep it all alive :). This week we've gotta get our veggies started in back!

Random phone bloggy order: BBQ, pre-storm. Couch, pre and post face-lift. P sitting at an honest to gawd dining table (skipped it in Brooklyn for a floor-side craft space and ate at the kitchen counter in our last rental. I'm in love with sitting to eat!!!) And an attic sun-set.

P and Z

I'm in love with P as a big brother. He is So Protective and So Proud of his sister. The kids woke up at the same time the other day (a rarity) and P was So Excited Zia was in the bedroom, ready to rumble :). She doesn't need nearly as much interaction as the Little Man does, and sometimes he feels flustered as he calls her name, ready for Play and she just goes about her (licking) business. Oh to be so loved and adored. This is one Lucky little lady.

Life is Good

That's the name of the unschooling conference that graces Vancouver each year. Last year we signed up... but had just moved and ended up skipping the festivities. Didn't bother to sign up this year (more moving...) but the Little Man decided Saturday morning that he'd like to dip his toes into the local social options :) Off we went!

As he sat (under a chair) upon arrival, he explained to me that he feels really uncomfortable arriving places with lots of people. He used Aunt Marielle's house as an example. He knows he loves it there, knows he loves seeing Grandpapa and the fam... but he prefers to hide in the basement a bit at first. (Hating to admit this quirk came straight from my egg...).

So he concocted some master plan (which was secret, as his always private personality has grown even more so during this seventh year), and held my hand as he walked around. He found a friend at a Funshop and muttered something about how his plan was fast forwarding nicely :)

By the end of the second day, the kid had had a ball. Made (many) wands at an Ollivander's Funshop. Made a bracelet at a carnival. Made some wings with pantyhose. Made some big burps (ok, leeeetle burps, but he tried;) at a burping Funshop. Made a new BFF (actually, an old toddler-hood friend from Brooklyn!). Made castles from cups. Long story short, when E and I had seen his struggle and been happy to head home (conferences not being our favorite thing;) he had made the decision to persevere. To make friends and fun. And he did.

E and I, following in his wake, his example, actually reconnected with a couple of friends and had a lovely time of it too. Little Miss was less impressed. Nowhere safe for such a tiny baby to roam, she suffered almost constant carrying right when she wants to work on her walk. But she suffered it sweetly :). And with our new Roadtrip Sanity Savers in place (that'd be jazz music. She Freakin Loves Jazz. Funniest thing I've ever seen. Jazz and a bag of toys for P to dole out preemptively at each squawk seems to save the day...) we actually made it over the river and back without (anyone's) tears. Now, if we could just get our old Brooklyn buds (aka:new BFF) who now live in Berkeley to move to Portland, the Little Man's holiday weekend would be complete:)

Pics in some random phone-blogged order...

P and BFF building with cups (perfect example of P in action. Looking for ways to connect, he looks for games with whatever is at hand and then invites the object of his affection to join in such a sweetly excited way, he rarely gets turned down ;)

Pillow fight!

Peaches, all dolled up and ready for her first conference. But first, she has to eat her shoe...

Girl likes to eat!

Zia has become a serious contender at the table this week. Seems she is eating more at a newly minted 8 months than the Little Man was at a year and a half. And she eats with serious devotion. You do Not get between her and the object of her mouth's desire or she will Fall Apart. Ie, you give her a bite of an olive, walk away from the table to grab something, insert FIT. She wasn't ready to leave the kalamatas. LOL.

Lunch today? Roast beef with mustard, guacamole (sans tomatoes, of course. Damn nightshades.), kalamata olives and chicken broth. Kid cracks me up.

Her top tooth is poking through, its mate trying to follow. Fun times ;). At least she can gnaw on cold stuff!

Party girl and the big bro

P had a bday party today. After addressing his buddy's gift, he announced that Zia needed to wear a party dress. He joyfully pulled out the gorgeous frock Aunt Maria gave her, shuffled around the drawer for a bit, and then added the adorable tutu skirt Aunt Alicia gifted (both so wonderfully girly sweet that they could easily stand alone as party wear - but no - not extreme enough for the Little Man to define as Party Princess wear;). He hopped up and down chanting "I'm going to have so much fun dressing you up, Zia!".

His adoration for her Blows me away. Whenever he meets someone, he brags and brags about how she's *already* climbing the stairs and walking. I hear him exclaim, multiple times a day and totally out of the blue, "Zia! You Are So. Cute!". If she falls and cries these days, he rushes to her side making funny faces. And they look at each other and laugh and laugh.

Yes, he tosses her toys and yells "fetch!". But she seems to think it funny ;). And, yes, he repeatedly shut her into a cardboard box the other day (ditto on her thinking it was funny) while he cackled rather malevolently.... But all in all, his joy in her astounds me. When she walked much further than her usual four steps tonight, it was to her brother, who awaited her with open arms and an Enormous smile. So. Sweet.

Anyhoo, the party was lovely and the dresses much admired :). (Thanks awesome Aunties!!!). And when we returned home much later, Superman was practically done with our patio!!! We walked to the store to fill our empty fridge and caught a great view of the eclipse. Five thousand years later (or so a grocery run with two children on a Sunday at the dinner hour seems...) we returned hone to find that Superman's patio was Perfect. A few more weeks (months) of kicking ass at this place and we may be ready to host our own party, replete with dresses, of course :)

Zia, party prepped by P. And Z, happy at the party with a Big Sword.

Taming the Jungle

Our yard looked a bit like an empty city lot when we moved in. Strewn bottles, vine wrapped trees, trash, weeds. We are bound and determined to tame it:). Tree pruning. Vine killing. Fence covering (total score off Craigslist!!!) A nice perennial bed out front (once the home to weeds and lovely lava rock) and a pea gravel patio surrounded by container gardening and a permaculture urban farm in the back. Tall order, but a girl (and guy, and kid!) can dream :)

We all hauled ass allll day today. I worked the front bed with Zia on my back (gawd bless her for getting chill with the back carry!) while the boys spent time on the patio. Which is Quite the project:)

Pics below:
A couple shots of our crazy jungle (the "before" pics for you, Daddy!).
P, watching the pea gravel be delivered (to the street, since we lack a driveway:).
The boys working.
E, digging out an ENORMOUS amount of dirt and tamping the area all down (while P plays with gravel in some wine barrels a guy was selling on the corner).
P and Sophie (new neighbor:) playing on Dirt Mountain. (I'm sure her mother thanks us when she next does laundry).

We went until almost dark but didn't quite get it all done. If Superman can move his muscles tomorrow ;), we might have dinner on a Finished Patio!

Zia: her seventh month

I'll do a more detailed post in a few days, but wanted to catch this on time ;). Zia turned 8 months today. Crazy.

She no longer seems "new." I mean, she is completely a part of this family now - natural as can be. Its a subtle change, but a phenomenal one.

Her primary concern these days (other than licking, Phoenix and lolling on the cat, of course:) is walking. She's a bit obsessed. With P, there was a long period where he walked holding onto our hands. Eventually, he no longer needed our hands and off he went. Zia has never walked holding our hands (that would be encouraging the child...) and yet she's taking steps with such determination its amazing. She balances and wobbles, working up to just the right leg sway and butt counterbalance and then she goes for it. And then she falls. And then she gets right up and goes again. She makes it about four topply steps before bonking. And she Loves it.

Below, her getting her momentum. And the post walk bonk. Such a happy baby:)))

Stairs: not heaven

The stars aligned today and Zia accepted E's invite for a walk, giving me the chance to finally scrub the stairs. HOLY COW. I love this old flight that runs up the back of the house, round and round and round, bottom to top. But it had been used as the access stairway for the attic tenant, an indoor sidewalk if you will, rather than a home's staircase to the yard. As such, it was So Freaking Dirty it made me squee. I mean, it's Portland, for gawd's sake, we see a little rain and mud :).

How dirty you ask? Two stairs and the water was Black kinda dirty. I had to Triple wash the entire case on my hands and knees. That's an entire (large) bottle of Murphy's Oil Soap and two sponges, for those planning the same fun afternoon.

Were I totally neurotic, I'd wash it all a fourth time. But Zia couldn't stand another second, so I'll do that last
run in another few days ;) The good new: the stairs almost shine. The bad news: this only serves to highlight how filthy the walls are... We have projects coming outta our ears here! But we're both kinda lovin it:)

In boxes

Literally ;). We're still living out of duffel bags, trying to stay warm in this unheated attic! The weather has been dry though, so we're focusing on the yard, trying to build a patio and plant a garden. But we've got a couch to plop on, a table to eat on, a floor to play on and plates unpacked for sandwiches. And boxes, of course, for the infinite possibilities they provide ;)

Determined

Determined to defy any barriers we toss up. She cracks me up.

Last day...

Today is... almost over :). Last day of our lease and we gotta get it all done! P and Z are being troopers. I cannot wait to have their new house set up for them. She's ready for some baby-proofed freedom and he's ready for, hell, just a little normalcy :). Poor Superman. He can't even turn his head his back is so wrecked. And I have no idea how he has carried so much heavy shit up and down billions of stairs without some serious tears. What a bunch of super-troopers. I'm a lucky girl :)

Z, starting the day with her first prune. Z, doing her last set of soft stairs. And Z, sleeping, all hot and sweaty. (notice the swollen forehead and scraped up nose/brow... yah. sigh. got to baby proof...).

Chim-chim-cheree...

Waking up amongst the rooftops brings me back to Brooklyn. Love :). There are baby mountains (to a Kansan;) across the river, my phone just didn't grab them ;)

Moving

Oh, the trickiness of this move! Made near impossible by the crawling baby who sucks and grabs Everything. There has been no baby-proof space for her the last two days, and this has frustrated her. She doesn't want to be strapped to my body in the heat all day long! And I'm totally freaking about the lead issue here, until we can get all of this dust cleaned up. I can practically hear her blood being poisoned every time she gets to the floor and licks something...

P, other than being entirely too excited to sleep, is crazy happy to Finally be moving :). Less happy to have to spend so much time at the old house packing up the pieces and cleaning ;).

E is being Superman (of course;). Hauling ass (and boxes) up and down all of the stairs. Zia is in the serious separation anxiety stage, so she will have very little to do with E (except from my arms. In which case, she won't stop making eyes at him:). Packing and cleaning with her strapped to my front (she's rebelling against a back carry right now) is challenging, so E tried to coax a few minutes from her by going outdoors. Of course, it is suddenly summer. And the umbrellas are packed. When I saw him with her out the back window, I fell in love all over again.

E and Z out back. Z sucking (on lead lined - sigh) toes. P, playing peek-a-boo.

Busy bee

Zia is loving everything being placed on the floor during move prep. She managed to make it into this box, where she chattered away 10 minutes of her day.

Big steps

P actually permitted a naked baby entrance into his bath tonight! Zia was looking in longingly when the Little Man's water ran (she is seriously All About the bath these days;) and P asked if she could join him! This is huge, as her nakey butt has, for months, been the subject of his disdain :)

It says worlds about their friendship this month. They "play" together a Ton lately. Probably because Zia is getting so much more capable :). Speaking of, I keep forgetting to type it in - she started saying "Papa about two weeks ago (yea, he melts ;) and her version of "brother" this week. Three words at seven months spells Serious trouble ;). And she decided to start braving those first steps. After spending as much time standing and juggling stuff to challenge her balance as baby-ly possible, she's started going one step away from holds to get to me. Its small, but its baby steps ;)

And on a total side note, we're all excited (maybe not the cat;) to move tomorrow. Its strange to have my last night in the room Zia was born. Such a sacred moment in your kid's life, I dunno, the space feels sacred too. When we returned from Kansas I walked Z through her home before bed, ending in the bedroom, where I offhandedly said "And here is where you were born.". But it wasn't a figure of speech. Like, I land in the Wichita airport and say, "I was born here.". The literalness of it, it was so emotional for me. I, seriously, choked up. Makes me understand how people can grow attached to houses (not my usual issue;).

When a difficulty with the new house came up last week, P overheard me moan and mutter that owning a house is a Pain In The Butt. He crept behind me and quietly asked, "So I should always rent, Mama?". Oy, the weight my words wield. But tonight, on the cusp of this big change, one that I thought would fit like a tight noose, I'm actually (finely;) glad to be settling down. To hold on to the spaces that grow sacred, just because they are integral to my children's journey.

Should get interesting reeeal soon...

This is our house. Today. We move the day after tomorrow. If you're thinking this seems unlikely, join the throng.

So we'll be living in the attic and Seth and Alicia's place for a bit :). I have a feeling living out of boxes spread out over multiple floors with different doors and stairwells with two kids is going to be quite the ride :). Giddy up...

Playdate

Shouldn't you be packing? Why, yes! But it was gorgeous (Spring in Portland is Other-worldly!!!) and we played in the park with friends instead :).

(and yah, her leggings don't match. things are a wee bit mis-matchy here, lol! I feel stupid-proud if the kids are happy and well fed this week. Dressed, that is totally optional :)