Happy Thanksgiving!

It was Talula's first Thanksgiving today. Sniffle...gobble, gobble!

We went back to the friends' house that we did the bottling at. (See yesterday's post.)

Food was delicious, wine was abundant, children were everywhere. It was wonderful. Here are some pics:

Daddy and Talula

My mom and friends in the kitchen

Chillin' by the turkey fryer


The food line


More food line


My mom loooooves the little ones


Tania delicately cuts her meat...


...and daintily devours it


Talula slept through the meal


Our table...of lunatics


The day ends with dancing
(just don't ask about the cowboy)

It was a really nice holiday. I am so thankful to my parents for spending it with us. They broke a decades-old tradition of spending it at my uncle's home on North Shore, Oahu. We would have been really lonely on this first holiday away from home if they were not here with us.

It's Talula's birthday!!!

Talula is 5 months old today! Happy Birthday, Talula! Here are some pics of Lu on her birthday:

With Daddy...


With Tutu...


She's still got a bit of gimpy eye.

We went to Vancouver, WA to my parents' friend's house to bottle some wine. It was so much fun. The operation was so bootleg. Here are some pics.

From the barrels into bottles...


Joey corking a bottle...


The whole operation...


Jim Beam and my Dad...


Mark, Chuck, and my Mom...


My Mom's signature move...


And we got a free case...friggin' sweet!

And here's a little video of Lu on her birthday:

So I guess I'm a "lactivist"

We woke up early (for us) this morning and rushed to catch the Max out to the airport for the nurse-in at the Delta ticket counter. Nurse-ins took place at airports throughout the country. We wanted to show our support for Emily Gillette, who was kicked off of a Delta flight (Freedom Airlines) for breastfeeding her child. Story here.

It was a success! About 40 mothers showed up, and we had 4 news stations, public radio, and Associated Press there. It was a great experience, very peaceful. Many people who walked by clapped or cheered or said words of support. You can find news stories here and here. On the channel 6 one, you can click on the video and see the news story. I see my head in there somewhere, but honestly, I was pretty anonymous.

Here are some photos:







My parents drove up from the vineyard this afternoon. They picked up Tania and went to Vancouver to bottle some wine. Yay! I'll get some bootleg wine in a couple of days. I think Joey and I might go to help them bottle tomorrow. My parents brought us some of their own wine...and it's gone. They brought us a barbecue, a sled, and a half wine barrel to use as a planter.

It's a Cleanin' Day!

I woke up in a panic: "Must clean house! Parents coming tomorrow!"

I swear, if CPS walked through my door right then, they'd have taken my children away and written in their report that they were living in filth. Okay, it wasn't that bad, but I did desperately need to clean.

Interesting items found:

-petrified slice of turkey under the couch
-piece of paper with writing: "Dum, dum, stupid, DUM, DUM!!!"
-shot glasses filled with dried mud
-sake shot glass filled with tiny things: beads, sequins, etc.

So...I cleaned all day until Joey came home. Then Tania went to play at her friend's house while we walked to the grocery store.

Tomorrow, we'll go to a nurse-in at the airport at the Delta ticket counter.

The rain is back

The bad news is that the rain is back. But the good news is that Talula is feeling 100% better.

I have to say though, rain in the morning gives me such a nice feeling. Snuggling up with Joey and my girls with a delicious cup of coffee and a cozy blanket...it doesn't get any better.


And I had to make pancakes today. It was a pancake kind of day.

We ventured out of the house today to go to Fred Meyer. They have boots that I wanted to buy. They were on sale, $39.99 marked down from $60, and they are chocolate brown suede with a genuine wool interior. They are so comfy, and they keep my feet warm and dry.


Now, I just need a decent rain-repellent coat. I know which kind I want. I just don't know where I'll buy it from. But I'm pretty sure that I'm the only non-homeless person in this city who wears a $3.00 rain poncho.

We ate lunch at Burger Ville, which is a fast-food place we don't have in Hawaii. I ate a bacon Tillamook cheeseburger and it was friggin' delicious. And sweet-potato fries. Holy crap.

Tania talked with her cousin and her best friend when we came home. Her best friend got a new kitty. Tania wants one so badly. I hope that we can get her one for Christmas. That would be so awesome. I'd like to get one from a shelter that has already been spayed and dewormed and all of that jazz.

I talked with my parents on the phone. They are coming up on Tuesday from the vineyard. We're spending Thanksgiving with them in Vancouver with their friends.

Tania has been reading the comics and cutting out clips of ones that she likes. I wonder what she'll do with them.

At night-time, we just hung out and listened to all of our NPR weekend shows. We ate nachos and just chit-chatted.

Poor, sick little Lu...

My poor baby is sick today. She slept a lot.


Would you look at the size of those lips?

She has some sort of eye thing. One of them is puffy and it's making her miserable. But, as strange as it may sound to some people, breastmilk in the eye is like an antibiotic, so it's totally helping. She felt a bit better this afternoon.



But you can see that her left eye is a bit red.

We didn't do much today. Joey practiced his guitar. Tania played. They made more paper airplanes and ninja stars.

I found this article about teaching Thanksgiving to kids, so we read it to Tania. I don't know if she fully appreciated it.

We had a nice evening listening to music, chatting, and messin' around.


Lu is keeping me on a short leash today. Gotta go!

Playdate day

Today, we got to play with our friend, Ruby. Aren't they cute? Ruby (left) was born two days before Talula.



The babies played a little...


We went to eat pizza. When we came home, it was still such a beautiful day, that Tania went outside to fly some paper airplanes.

I'm going to take break on writing a monster of a blog tonight, but here is a short clip of Tania and Talula dancing...



Good night.

What a Beautiful Day!!!

The sky was blue today! And I saw the sun!

TO DO:

-Rain gear!!!...check!
-Go for walk...check!
-Call N...check!
-Call K...check!
-Clean kitchen...check!
-Clean bathtub...no...
-Organize Lu clothes...no...
-Organize linen closet...no...
-Listen to Contracts II...no...

I guess I was feeling ambitious. Maybe it's because I woke up at 7:30...thanks Lu. And of course, once I was properly caffeinated, she decided it was naptime.

I ate pumpkin pie for breakfast.

It was a beautiful day! The sky was blue! We caught the bus out to...Wal-Mart...to buy rain ponchos. The cheap homeless-guy ones. And I bought some fabric to make a no-sew wrap.


It's not the most exciting fabric, but it was $2 per yard, and it's that soft, stretchy cotton-synthetic blend that I love. It's sort of a tester for wraps to come. My next one will be fleece. I didn't want to spend $7 per yard and find out it wouldn't work.

Joey is done with school for the week. When he came home, we had coffee and did a crossword puzzle.

We took a walk to this store that we like to buy beer at. The lady is really cute and always really excited about her new beer selections. One of the beers we got is delish. It's called Big Daddy IPA, by Speakeasy, SF. But the other beer made Joey livid. It's an Anchor brand "winter ale," and the fine print says it is brewed with "spices." It tastes like goddamn cinnamon-nutmeg beer. Joey is boycotting Anchor now, and I think we may write them a letter. This is the second new beer we've had of theirs that sucks. And they shouldn't be so sneaky with their labeling.

Anyway...

Guess who's sitting up?


Well...sort of...


By the way, I made a pretty amazing dinner: Soba noodles with a tofu, asparagus, and zucchini stir-fry in a sesame-tamari sauce, and an iceberg lettuce and radish salad with creamy sesame-tamari-furikake dressing. Mmm...

Oh! Have you all seen this in the news? A woman was kicked off an airplane for breastfeeding!!! You know what's even more disturbing? The dummmb comments on the news article. Some people say the lady should have put a blanket over the baby's head. I think that the Puritanical weirdos that are afraid of boobs should have the burden of averting their stupid eyes. Plus, didn't Jesus say something about...if your eye offends you, poke it out...do that if you have a problem with a baby eating the best sort of food available. I can't even go on about all of the stuuuuupid comments. Go read them. (Well, I can't whip out my penis in public...Boobs are sexual...The baby was too old to be breastfeeding...Airplanes aren't the place to be asserting your rights...The mother is selfish for thinking she has a right to breastfeed that trumps my right not to see her boobs...and on and on...)

I'm all worked up now. I hate stupid people. And you know what I hate more than stupid people? Nothing.

Studying for the Bar Exam

TO DO:

-Clean house...check!
-Listen to Contracts I...check!
-Make pumpkin pie...check!
-Call L...check!
-Call E...check!
-Find rain gear...nope.
-Go for walk...too windy.

Goddamnit!!! I had computer issues this morning, but I called my local Qwest assistance person and got the problem resolved. By local, I mean that I had to keep saying, "Excuse me?" because I couldn't understand his presumably Hindi accent. Anyway, all I had to do was delete cookies, delete files, and clear history. Now I'm back in business.

I made Talula some faux baby legs today. I cut the feet off a pair of argyle socks and, voila!


I think they're cool.

Tania played with mud, making chocolate Wonka bars. Then she created a dollhouse. Then she practiced her yo-yo. Then she practiced some of her dance moves. Then she played a game she calls "Soap-a-bar," that I've never heard of. She insists that she didn't make it up.

I listened to my Contracts I cds...very exciting. I read about knitting. I'm going to start soon. Tania and I did some yoga. Tania made me a melted cheddar and turkey sandwich on a potato-sage roll. Holy crap, it was delicious. Tania read some Judy Moody. Joey came home from school and took a nap.

Thus evening, I made a pumpkin pie as practice for Thanksgiving. I made this cheeseburger pasta that's sort of a Hamburger Helper-ish thing, except it's that Annie's brand, so you're supposed to feel really good about it, because it's all organic. Joey is going to bed early.

Tania played video games aaaaall night. Now she's jogging in place. We're going to go read about Medieval history now,

Oh, and I consolidated my student loans today. Yippee!

Dare I Venture Outside Today?

I feel well-rested. I love coffee. This was my to-do list for the day:

TO DO list:
-finish folding laundry
-wash diapers
-make chicken broth
-try to find rain gear
-vacuum
-listen to Contracts CDs (bar study)
-go for walk
-call L
-call E
-go grocery shopping

Joey came home early today...early enough to make me breakfast!

Miss Maniac has been getting out energy in this device:



I didn't get much done on the list today. But, we did go grocery shopping, which is a walk, so I killed two birds with one stone. I got the ingredients to make a pumpkin pie. It seems like cold weather and baking have a conspiracy. We got beer too. I think it's my all-time favorite: Fish Tail IPA. And there's only one left. It's mine. Joey can deal with the PBR.

Oh, I also washed the diapers and I did try to find rain gear, so I did a few things on the list.

Tania has been pretending that she's a "doughnut farmer." I took a beautiful picture of her today.


And also today, Lu was striking on boob milk, so I had to pump some out. It was about to become a situation. Then, Joey and Tania fed her the milk with a spoon. It was so fun!


We took Tania to play at her friend's house and hung out with the parents a bit in the evening. It was okay having some adult conversation. But I was glad to get home. I'm becoming such a hermit.

Coffee, get me the coffee

It's hard to say, really, what time we woke up this morning. Let's see, there was 12:30 a.m.; there was 2:30 a.m.; there was 4:00 a.m.; there was 5:30 a.m.; and finally, there was 8:00 a.m. Then, Little Lovely Lu stayed up until 11:00 a.m., and after an hour of boobing, went down for almost a three-hour nap!!! What's with all the daytime sleeping? Why not some nighttime sleeping? Geez. Well, I made myself a nifty little list of things to get done today, and boy am I glad I did. I cleaned the entire house and got all the laundry washed and put away. I even cleaned the refrigerator. I even took out the recycling. By the way, can someone explain to me why other people's milk cartons are in my recycling bins? The trash collectors are going to think we drink the stuff morning, noon, and night. Tania spent all morning on the computer. She's now getting into crossword puzzles, just like her mom and dad! Then, she typed her grandma a letter and began typing a story about a princess who lives in the tallest tower in the world. If you stand out on her balcony, you can touch the moon!

When Joey came home from school, we made muffins and had some coffee. I told Tania not to take the walnuts out of the muffins because they are a good source of Omega-3 Fatty Acids, and she said, "Fatty Asses? Why would we want Fatty Asses?"

Tania then went outside to play in the mud. She pretended that she was a servant in a medieval chocolate shop. Her masters treated her kindly, and she liked making chocolate all day long.

Joey has a big test tomorrow, so he's been studying. We had a pasta for dinner tonight that we named Mushroom Cream Linguine. The only requirement is the pasta and the sauce, and you can add whatever meats and vegetables you have on hand. We added chicken and bacon, and mushrooms, onions, and zucchini ribbons. I don't know why I always post about what I eat, except that I like to cook and I like to eat.

It is 7:30ish and Talula is sleeping. I do not expect it to last for very long. But I'm off to try to spend time with Joey until she wakes up.

Talula's a Maniac!!!

<---Does it get any better than this? My handsome, bearded husband playing on his guitar a song that he wrote for me. (Tania's family portraits in the background aren't half-bad either!)

Holy crap! Talula is a freaking maniac! She woke up five times last night to boob. She's been wiggling and flailing about all day long. She's been chattering, yelling, screaming, and shrieking. She's been rolling over and over again. She's almost sitting up all by herself, and I'm sure it's because she's built so much muscle from all the flailing.

Ack! She's stressing me out. I feel like this is somebody else's baby. My baby is calm and collected. She naps in her sling, wakes up, coos a bit, nurses, plays with some toys, naps again. This baby is not the same baby I knew a week ago. I feel like she's possessed.

Well, we did not do much today. Actually, Joey did a lot. He went to two of his jobs today.

I read some books to the girls, did a bit of cleaning, and baked the most delicious cookies: Oatmeal, walnut, and date cookies. Yum.

Oh! I wanted to write about how unschooling is fiiiiinally paying off. Tania finally feels free to learn things. She wouldn't touch anything schooly for months. Now, she's using reference books to look up stuff she wants to learn about. This may not seem like such a big deal, but trust me - it is. Before she went to school-school, she was very curious and loved to learn about everything. But after she had been in school for a while, she wanted nothing to do with schooly stuff on her free time. If we could learn something, she wasn't interested. When we stopped going to school, I tried to "do school" with her at home and she totally resisted. So I decided to stop. I held my breath and crossed my fingers. And I think the curious child in her has come back to us.

At night time, we ate omelettes. Joey played the guitar for us. He wrote me a really pretty song. Tania read us a story called Spider Woman. It's not like Spider Man. It's more of a mythological tale about the origins of the world.

Miss Maniac fell asleep in the bathtub tonight. I guess she wore herself out with all the screaming and flailing about.

A Couple of Items of Business

First, a friend of mine has started a new business. She makes delicious baked goods and ships them right to your home. Check out her site and note that her contact information is under her profile if you want to order any goodies. Soon, she'll be coming out with some awesome baby slings too, so keep checking back for that information.

Second, I think I finally figured out how to get a video clip of Lu up on here. This is Little Lu playing peek-a-boo with her mama.




Also, here's Lu screaming at Tania.

Cartwheels

This morning, Tania gave me a little present. It is a new friend.

<---This guy. He came in that bag.

I was really missing my friends from Hawaii last night, and she wanted to make me feel better. She says I can talk to him when I'm sad. His head is stuffed with underwear that her Grandma got her that are way too big.

I thought it might not rain today, and I wanted to walk somewhere, anywhere, to remind me that Portland is pretty and that I'm not sorry I moved here.

But truly, my heart is very heavy today. I miss my friends. I miss my little loft studio. I miss when the ocean was in my backyard and Tania and I used to feed the crabs. I miss swimming in the ocean with Lu in the sling. I miss barbecuing with friends every weekend. I miss driving to North Shore with Joey and eating sushi and drinking beer. I miss wine nights with the girls. I miss going to the store and seeing fifteen people I know. I miss seeing the sun and Aloha shirts every day.

But enough about that.

Tania has been practicing her cartwheels. She can't keep her legs straight. Otherwise, she'd have it already.

We ate pancakes for breakfast. Mine were raspberry pancakes. Tania likes hers plain. Joey had to work this morning, but he's not a real pancakes guy anyway. He likes bacon and eggs.

I listened to NPR and wrote in my journal. I have really grown to like Car Talk, even though I don't have a car and I'm not a real car gal. The guys are funny. And of course, This American Life; Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me; and Prairie Home Companion are true treasures.

Then, around 2:30, Joey came home from work and we walked to the Sellwood-Moreland library. It was a nice 2 1/2-mile walk there. It was so nice. Sellwood is a such a cute little town with unique stores and beautiful streets and homes. I think I might like to live there eventually.

The library might be the smallest one I've ever been to. But it is really cute. I got some knitting books for Tania and me. We are ready to learn, I think. Surprisingly, they have a very extensive selection of children's knitting books. Tania got several fairy tale books from medieval times and different cultures. I got some costume books for Tania. I also got a Spanish Level I set for me to learn, so I have an edge at Legal Aid. I tried to learn last spring, but law school got in the way.

We went to the Sellwood New Seasons, which was insanely busy. We got really tired on the walk home.

We ate spaghetti with meat sauce for dinner and had a $6 bottle of Sangiovese. And during dinner, we listened to Jake Shimabukuro on NPR. Way to make me miss Hawaii even more!

Then Joey read The Korean Cinderella to the girls. He's going to bed early, because he has to work again tomorrow.

Anyway, I had a great day! I was sad when I woke up, but I'm happy going to bed.

Brrr...!

It's cold! It stopped raining for a while, but I think the rain actually keeps things warmer. Of course, now it's raining again.

The house was a mess when I woke up this morning around 8:00. (Yay, me!) I made some coffee and cleaned the kitchen. Much to my delight, Joey woke up around 8:30. (No school on Fridays.) We listened to the Adam Corrolla show together. The dude is funny. You should listen to him sometime. My favorite is when he has this Phelps lady on his show and has drunk people challenge her to a debate.

Lu woke up around 9:00 and was just ever so smiley and cuddly.

I fiiiiinally mailed my Legal Aid resume and bar application stuff.

I found this paper Tania wrote that maps out all her imaginary fairy and mermaid towns and villages in and around our house. Mr. Tom Goodfellow lives under the table holding our "stareow." Our kitchen is actually a bakery. Our garden is actually a maze. Some shattered glass on the street is actually a beach of seashells. Tania's room is the Fairyland Palace. Our room is Jack Frost's Ice Castle. A ditch behind our house is actually a stream, and our shed is actually Mrs. Merry's Cottage. Isn't she cute? I love the way her mind works.

I remember playing with my little brother when I was a kid. I was big on pretending to be a Native American. I have no idea why. But we had this area at the beginning of our driveway that would always turn into a giant puddle when it rained a lot. We would pretend it was a lake and that we lived behind this tree near the lake. We'd spend a good part of the day gathering these little berry things and pretending we were trying to gather our food for the winter. You have no idea how happy it makes me that Tania plays these imaginative games too. I think a lot of creativity in children today has been lost to school and "learning" activities.

Today, we wanted to go to the Japanese Garden at Washington Park. It's right near the Rose Test Garden that we went to a while ago. It was free today, for reasons that I don't know about. Tania asked if they would have musubi there. But alas! It's raining. So we're not going after all. Another day.

Joey cooked turkey bacon, eggs, and toast. Talula napped. And Tania finally woke up at 11:00. Well, she did stay up late with her friend Wednesday night and they woke up really early Thursday morning to get some more playing time in.

Tania had two friends over to play, and only God knows what all those thumps and thuds were coming from in her closed-doored room.

I practiced whistling for a while. Lu was very entertained. I still can't do loud fingers-in-mouth whistling. I wrote in my journal. After Tania's friends went home, I read her some Story of the World, Volume II, per her request. It was about the Ottoman Empire taking over Constantinople and renaming it Istanbul.

Tonight, Joey's friend came over. She just moved out here from Phoenix, his hometown.

I'm tired, and I think the weather is depressing me. I wore my pajamas all day.

It wasn't a dream!

The Dems actually did take back the House and Senate!

Well, it actually wasn't raining today when I woke up...at 10:00. In all fairness, Joey kept me up with his snoring for a good portion of the night. As soon as I got up, I had to rush and get ready for a Mothering playdate. This entailed rushing Tania and her friend, who were deep in play and operating according a schedule. See picture. They even factored in time to jump on the bed. Well, I actually had to wake Talula up at 11:00, because she was still sleeping!

The playdate was fun. It was in the NE area, way east (to me). It's always so nice to be around Mothering moms, because you can just whip out your boob and it's no biggie. Well, mine are never a biggie, but you get my drift. And it's so fun to see a bunch of babies crawling around and playing together. There were some big kids too that Tania got to play with, but mostly, she hovered around the snack table.

Even the bus ride back was fun! We got to catch the MAX from way out in the Parkrose area to Lloyd Center. It's reall cool to whiz past the freeways during rush hour.

Joey had a field trip today. They went to a cabinet place and then to a specialty wood store. He was home before we left for the playdate, and he brought a friend and six-pack number one with him. By the time I got back, Stumbleina was in full effect.

Tania demanded that we take her to the park since it was finally sunny. We ended up going over to her friend's house, whose parents we have befriended, and watching a movie called "A Day Without A Mexican." It was sort of a funny satire about how much USA actually depends on Mexicans. Joey thinks the acting was horrendous.

We came home and ate nachos, prepared by Joey. And we have been drinking Deschutes Brewery Jubelale, A Festive Winter Ale. It's pretty good. I like the picture on the front. It's a cabin all covered in snow.

Us girls took a warm bath. Talula loves to splash around and Tania has figured out how to make her chuckle by making loud sharp noises. It's hilarious.

Now we're all sitting in our room singing 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat.' Seriously. In medley format.

Hooray, Democrats!!!

I woke up this morning and it was not raining! I think it may have stopped raining for a brief moment in time because the Democrats took back the House. YESSS!!! Hooray for Nancy Pelosi, the first woman Speaker of the House! (Even though it is 2006.) And I'm pretty sure they're taking back the Senate too. I can't believe it.

The Democrats also did well in Oregon. The governor was re-elected, thank God. His challengers were that bastard Saxton, who aside from being a Republican, also spouts the importance of the public schools, blah, blah, blah, but rented an apartment in the good district so his son could go to school there; and, that freak Mary Starrlett, of the "Constitutional Party," whatever that means, since she wants to take away rights, not defend them. She's one of those weirdos who believes that environmental problems are caused by the end times, and not by pollution and overconsumption. Blech!

Also, I was sooooo stoked that Hawaii Senator Akaka kept his seat and that Mazie Hirono got Ed Case's old House seat. Sucker! Ed Case gave up his seat to challenge Akaka and he lost! He's one of those pretend Democrats that curiously has mostly Republican values, and I can't stand the man! I wrote him a letter once in his capacity as House Representative, asking him to vote in favor of a bill that would protect children placed in private institutions. He wrote back saying he would vote in favor of the bill, but he didn't. I've despised him ever since. He should have at least said he'd look into it or something like that, not told me he would and them gone back on his word.

And that's what I have to say about politics today.

Oh! But in Oregon, we voted NO on a bill that would require minors to notify parents before getting abortions. I'm really happy about that. And...the good people of South Dakota voted NO to the abortion ban. And!!! The good people of Arizona voted NO on the gay marriage ban! But...several states still voted to ban gay marriage.

So. It's a good day for Democrats and women's rights, but a mostly bad day for gay Americans. But with more Democrats in the House and Senate, the chances are better that the Federal Marriage Amendment won't pass.

Now. On to other things.

MUST mail out resume and paper to bar people!
MUST clean house!
MUST take Tania to the park today!
MUST make thank you cards.
I want to eat tacos tonight.
Thank you cards. Must do that right now.

Our day:

We woke up around 8:30 this morning. Yay, us! Talula screamed at her toys for a bit. I told her that when your friends make you mad, you don't have to scream at them. Just don't play with them anymore, and find someone else to play with.

Since we went to New Seasons yesterday, we had a smorgasbord of cereals for Tania to eat, so she tried them all out. There's a peanut butter flavored one that's quite delicious.

I sat and cheered at the computer for a while about all the Democrat wins. I swear, I had a skip in my step and a smile on my face all day long. Then I made some pretty cute cards. Aren't they adorable? They're big though. I need to get big envelopes so I can mail them. Tania's being Miss Half-Ass about writing in the ones for her friends. She basically writes, "Hi. Bye." After all my hard work.

Joey came home with some beer to celebrate the big Democrat win, and we ate tuna-cheesemelts.

Then it started raining again! Tania thought there was some sort of conspiracy to keep her away from the park.

But we called her friend to come over, and now she's spending the night here. It turns out that they don't have school tomorrow. Maybe the teachers are celebrating the FRIGGIN' DEMOCRATIC TAKEOVER!!!

Still freakin' pouring!

It was still raining when I woke up, and hard. Apparently, this is not normal for November in Oregon, and there has been a lot of flooding and landslides because of it.

So we were stuck at home...again.

We decided to make forts today. And thank you cards for some people. We still need to do that.

Yesterday, we made some napkin rings. We decorated construction paper and glued it around an inch section of a toilet paper tube and then glued a leaf to the front. They're cute, if I do say so myself.

We thought we'd have to send Joey to the store to buy groceries today because of the rain. But, behold, the rain stopped, and we were able to take a walk to New Seasons. I even saw some blue sky. I think I get depressed if I don't go to New Seasons for a while. Our walk was lovely. Tania splashed in some puddles. We stared at some leaves. Joey and I got to talk.

I said that I would write more about the job for which I am applying. It's with Legal Aid. It's part-time. It would be great experience for what I ultimately want to do, which is open a Law Center for Women and Children. The place I want to open would handle a lot of the same types of cases that Legal Aid handles, but it would be different. For one, we'd take cases for people in that bracket just above the one that would qualify them for Legal Aid. We would also take policy cases. For example, we would initiate a lawsuit by a woman against her employer for discrimination simply because we believe in equality in the workplace, and it wouldn't matter what her financial situation was. (That was a poor example, but I've only had one cup of coffee.) We'd also take juvenile law cases, which is an arena that I really want to get involved in. And we'd also take family law and domestic violence cases. Oh, and best of all, we'd help women to set up businesses. So we wouldn't just be pulling women out of bad situations, but we'd be helping them when they want to better their lives. But not in a patronizing way, like Legal Aid sometimes does. As community members, as fellow women.

So anyway, the Legal Aid job would be good experience. But when I think about leaving Talula, my heart hurts and my eyes fill with tears and I want to die.

That's another thing about the Law Center I'll open. People who work there will be able to bring their kids to work. We'll have a playroom, even. And the receptionist will be trained in childcare.

So anyway, Talula. She's four months old and loves, loves, loves me. She can't sit with Joey for four minutes without looking around for me and then frantically yelling if she can't see me. When I cook dinner, Joey has to sit in the kitchen with her so she can stare at me. So I'm having issues with leaving her...even though I haven't even mailed my resume yet, let alone been shown any interest for employment. If it all works out perfectly, I'll get the job, but not need to start until March, after the bar exam, and when Talula is nine months old. It's probably bad luck to talk about a job I'm applying for on a public blog. Maybe I hope I won't get it.

Talula's new thing is screaming at people and toys. She's very pleased with herself when we laugh at her.

Tania wrote me a note yesterday. Not a nice one. She did not like being scrunched up in bed with us. She wanted a better spot, but there wasn't a lot of room. So she went, I thought, to sleep in her own room. But actually, she left a note for me on the toilet, and lied in wait outside the bathroom door for the moment I would find it. But when I got up to use the bathroom, she was already sleeping. The note said:

To Mom
you made
me mad and
if I was
taller
then you
I wud
scwish you
like a bug
Tania

Tonight, we're having french bread and brie and wine. I hope Joey comes back home soon. He went to go buy tools.

Rain, rain, go away!

Well, at least I got to wake up to this beautiful sight today.

I may blog more, because...one, I feel like this blog should represent what we do all day and I've really only been highlighting special things we do; and two, I may have more time as the weather becomes more unbearable.

I'm also thinking of changing the name of this blog. Although, I haven't checked if I can do that. The reason I might change the name of the blog is because it has begun to annoy me. Actually, the whole obsession people have with learning has begun to annoy me. If learning is truly a way of life, why do I have to name my blog after it. It's like, "A Breathing Way of Life," or "Our Family Opens Our Eyes During the Daytime." I realized this when we went to the Children's Museum the other day and there were these posters up telling parents why building with clay is conducive to learning. It's like we have to convince parents that something is worthwhile only by relating it to learning. If it's "just fun" then it might be a waste of time. I saw the word "learning" on the walls of the museum so many times that I started to utter it as though it were an expletive, sort of spitting it out of my mouth. "Learning," I sputtered disgustedly. "Why are people so obsessed with learning?" I asked Joey. And since most people must bring their children here on the weekend when school is out, why can't it just be fun?

So that's my rant about that.

Today, I wanted to walk the 2.5 miles to Sellwood-Moreland library. I haven't been there yet. But it's raining hard. In fact, we have a flood watch here in the Northwest! Damnit! I should have listened to God when he told me to start building that ark two years ago!

Today:

Joey woke up at 5:00 a.m. and went to school.
I woke up at...yawn...stretch...9:00 a.m., poured coffee, and checked my email.
I wrote a cover letter for a job for which I am applying...more on that another time.
Lu woke up around 10:00 a.m. We chatted.
Tania woke up a few minutes later and immediately went in to play computer games.
I made breakfast. It was an oatmeal day...walnuts, maple syrup, milk...but Tania prefers cold cereal, so she had her pretend organic fruit loopie things. We also ate a pear.
Listened to classical music on the NPR station. Clipped my nails.
Am now listening to Talk of the Nation...elections are tomorrow.
Looked for photos online of miniature Christmas villages...Tania wants to build one.
Talula is napping.
Tania is playing something in her room that involves talking to herself.
I have to clean the house, mail my resume, mail a paper to the bar association that I forgot to include with my bar application.
I have to look up my student loan information.
I have to call this kid I'm supposed to tutor.
We need to go buy groceries.
I want to see about buying a car. I heard the USA brands are all overstocked.

Notes:

Death by hanging? How archaic! What, is it 1600?
So sick of hearing about "traditional marriage." Traditionally, women couldn't own property if they were married, and couldn't get a divorce unless they could prove infidelity. Traditionally, it was perfectly legal to beat your wife. Traditionally, parents chose husbands for their daughters. I don't know about you, but I don't want to go back in time.
So sick of hearing about immigration reform. Unless you're Native American, your recent ancestors are immigrants. Maybe if USA traded fairly with Mexico, people would be able to stay there and work.

I'm off to eat some delicious soup that I made last night. It has chicken, corn, tomatoes, quinoa, onion, bell peppers, garlic, oregano, and other spices in a thick tomato broth. Yum.

Autumn pictures and poems

Nothing Gold Can Stay
by Robert Frost

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold,
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

Gathering Leaves
by Robert Frost

Spades take up leaves
No better than spoons,
And bags full of leaves
Are light as balloons.
I make a great noise
Of rustling all day
Like rabbit and deer
Running away.
But the mountains I raise
Elude my embrace,
Flowing over my arms
And into my face.
I may load and unload
Again and again
Til I fill the whole shed,
And what have I then?
Next to nothing for weight,
And since they grew duller
From contact with earth,
Next to nothing for color.
Next to nothing for use.
But a crop is a crop,
And who's to say where
The harvest shall stop?

Fear of Winter
by Candice Aiston

I met you on one of your good days
When your sky was remarkably blue
And your trees were lush with green
When the roses perfumed your streets
You mesmerized me with your autumn
Your oranges, yellows, and reds
Your cool, brisk air flushing my cheeks
Even on one of your bad days
You were gray, cold, and wet
But your colors lit up my window
They say your days worsen
That you'll be so cold and gloomy
And I'll long for the days we first met

A rainy day at the children's museum

Well, it seems as though the rainy season has begun. And it's cold. It got down in the 20s for a few nights. I'm dreading the day we get our electricity bill. But it's still very pretty outside. The gray sky contrasted against the fall leaves is pretty incredible. I'll post pictures of that later.

On Friday, I attempted to hold a playdate at my house. Only two moms showed up, but it was fun. Their babies were born the same week Talula was born. It's cool to meet these little ones and their moms. I didn't know anyone else with a baby, really, when Tania was a baby.

On Saturday, we went to the Portland Children's Museum. It's near the zoo. I think I was trying to go there when we ended up at the Forestry Center. The Museum is really cool. There's one like it in Hawaii, but this one has more activities that the kids can do, so they're not just running from room to room. Tania made this little creation in the arts and crafts room. They have all kinds of materials to make inventions. Wood, foam, thing-a-ma-jigs, they even have a drill to make holes in things. All kids need is their imaginations and they can make something cool. They also had a clay room, where Tania made a snowman and a Christmas tree. They had a something like a NICU, which is kind of creepy, but Tania loves her some babies, so she spent a good hour taking care of the babies. The special exhibit was about life in Japan. They had a Japanese classroom and home that you could walk through. It felt sort of strange infiltrating a little girl's bedroom, but it was interesting.

Anyway, Talula calls, so I'm off.

Halloween...spooky times!

Yayyy...Halloween is so much fun! My girls were both witches. Joey and I were going to be witches too, but we were both sick and didn't have the energy for it. Tania looked really cool, and Talula just needed a hat, since the rest of her is always covered with her sling. I think she looked cute.

We didn't really do anything terribly exciting. It was friggin' freezing that day, so when Tania's friend's dad offered to take the girls trick-or-treating, I quickly agreed. Talula passed out just moments after I put the hat on her. We retreated back to our warm, cozy house, where Joey and I ate some delicious stew. Later, we went to Tania's friend's house and hung out with the parents a bit.

Hopefully, next year I can plan a little bit better and do something a little bit more exciting. We never made it to the pumpkin patch this year. And there's a wicked cool one here too, with a corn maze and everything. Next year, we'll rent a car if we have to do so.

So, that was Talula's first Halloween and our first Halloween in Portland. Now, to plan for Thanksgiving...

Tania's vineyard adventures

Tania came back from my parents' vineyard on Halloween. Yay! We missed her so much. She had a great time with my parents and brother, though.

Here she is in a trailer full of grapes. They picked them on Saturday. Tania helped and said she got purple fingers. The way they decide when to pick the grapes is by testing the pH of the soil. They call the buyer of the grapes, and if the buyer likes the levels, they pick. If he doesn't like the levels, they wait. So they picked and then put the grapes in to bins, and then drove them up to Eugene on Tuesday.

Tania also got to help my parents housesit for the neighbor. They have a beautiful property with many different fruit trees. And, best of all, they have a trampoline! Here's a picture of Tania jumping. She also got to sleep on a princess bed that was several feet off the ground. She made a new friends while she was there. It got so cold while she was there that when they woke up one morning, there was a thick layer of frost everywhere. It was exciting for Tania, but the frost can completely halt the grape production.

Well, she had a great time, but we're glad she's back!