Our house, is a very, very very fine house...

She's ready for her close up!

She's 4, y'all!

Mr. Oliver-almost 2 months, surveying his kingdom!

Nom, nom, fingers taste good!

Where had I gone?

Has it really been that long since my last post?  4 months??!!  So many changes have occurred since then.  I feel like I'm going into the confessional booth to list out my many sins!

I am now typing, rather inadequately, on our new/used macbook.  I am so excited to finally join the Apple cult...Steve Jobs...take me to your leader....

My baby boy is now out of the womb and over a month old!!!  Oliver Richard Hoyt was born July 15, 2010-18" long and 7lb.6oz.  Blue eyes and just a little bit of red hair left on his perfectly shaped head.  

Daughter #1 is beginning her own new adventures as a 1st grader in less than three weeks...at a new school.  She has joined Girl Scouts, as well, and we are looking at after school activities for her through her elementary school when that starts up.

Daughter #2 is going to be a whirling dervish soon when she starts her gymnastics class at the community center!  

The husboard is still gainfully employed...knock on some serious wood, there...we are so thankful!

I am sticking to the homefront, attempting to be mommy extraordinaire while keeping my sanity somewhat in tact!

What else???

Baby #3 is in cloth diapers and I am happy to report I love using them!

We have a new vehicle-the swagger wagon, aka the minivan of peace, love and harmony!

Joined MOPS.

Both grandmas came and visited after bebe's arrival-good times had by all!

New item of the week:went for a family walk today after hubby got done w/work.  Lovely except for grumpy kidlet #1.  All better now, though.

Well, must get little bambino from his baby jail(the crib).

love and hugs to everyone I have or have not talked to since my last post.  I will try to stay more current now...although it may require the use of only one arm/hand since the other may be occupied with my little guy!

my buddha buddy

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one getting burned.

The Buddha


Nothing more than the quote right now, but enough to get me digesting and thinking and searching. Anger, denial, bitterness, doubt, frustration...How can I deal with all these things in a more healthy way, a more spiritual way?

Jump around, Jump around

I just bought the invitations to Miss almost 6's birthday bash happening at the end of this month. I can't believe how much my favorite 'all in one' store, Target, was charging for some of those things! Crazy! But I ended up with some that were pretty harmless. I have addressed all the envelopes except for the families who didn't include that info. in the school directory. I will have to hunt them down or just stuff the invite in the kiddo's classroom box and hope it makes it's way to momma or dad!
The party, deep breath, is going to be held at a place called JJ Jump in Clackamas. Just looking at the website and listening to the insane music makes me spaz out a little. An indoor inflatable romper room, a private party room with 25 children, cake and ice cream...oh gods help preserve my sanity-especially because I can't take anti-anxiety pills while pregnant! : )
My lovely parents are coming down to join in the mayhem-I don't know who I feel worse for, myself or my dad and husband who have to be out with the kids for over an hour! I'll be sure to update you after the party...

how can i keep from singing?

all which isn't singing is mere talking

all which isn't singing is mere talking
and all talking's talking to oneself
(whether that oneself be sought or seeking
master or disciple sheep or wolf)

gush to it as deity or devil
-toss in sobs and reasons threats and smiles
name it cruel fair or blessed evil-
it is you (ne i)nobody else

drive dumb mankind dizzy with haranguing
-you are deafened every mother's son-
all is merely talk which isn't singing
and all talking's to oneself alone

but the very song of(as mountains
feel and lovers)singing is silence

e e cummings

Ants and Lice

I still don't have any pictures of our new fab. house yet because I am not sure where the camera-computer cord is. Oops. I'm sure I'll find it hidden under some dirty socks in a box with an old unused diaper and some pens. That's what happens at the witching hour of packing/moving! BUT,
we love our house. We want to send it a card and give it flowers and never say bad things to it. My only character flaws for Les Home are that the sink is shallow(a pain to wash pots and pans in!!!) and we had a case of ants. Now, for those of you who have never lived in Portland before, let me just forewarn you-this is a city built on a damn ant hill! It seems no matter where I have lived, what part of the city, no matter how clean I kept my kitchen, the ants would show up! My children began recognizing them at an early age, stomping on them(as their crazy mommy does!), saying, 'bad ant, we don't want you in our kitchen!'. Sooo, we are in the battle #1 of 2010 for our kitchen and my sanity! I bought some little ant hotels and am going to stock up on some mint and spray vinegar, especially since being pregnant and having two kids around I do not want to be spraying anything toxic in the house! This is day 2 of the battle. I'll keep y'all posted...

Now on to.....drum roll please.....lice!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(I figure it needed it's own set of exclamation marks for gross cootie points)

Took my 5 1/2 year old to the doctor because she was having some tummy pain. Tums and tylenol weren't doing the trick, neither were any of the other remedies we tried. The doc took a listen and a look and said she might be having some poop issues. Ah yes, poop. A word only a mom or dad could truly love! So now my and my daughter's duty is to keep track of when she goes, what it's like, how often, etc. Having gone through similar issues as a kiddo I totally sympathize with her and definitely DO NOT want to resort to chemical ANYTHING!!! I had to take some horrible tasting, military doctor prescribed liquid shit as a child, and it has traumatized me for life!
That's not really the big news, though. The BIG news was as we were leaving the doc leaned over girlie #1's head and said, have you looked at your daughter's head lately? I laughed and said I had and thought she might have some stubborn dandruff. NOPE!! That's not dandruff sport's fans-that's a raging case of LICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why us?!!??? My husband and I never ever had lice as kids, and the girls never came home with it, even after being in the YMCA childcare system for a couple years. So, needless to say, I was mortified. That was actually exactly what I said. I. Am. Mortified!
With the joy of having two adorable little ones come the added joy of the both of them getting it. Hooray for Nix!
Tomorrow will begin our great leap of faith that these little buggers can be gotten rid of. Wish us luck...and pray that neither of the big kids(Zakk and I) have it.
All I know is, #1 could not have gotten this anywhere other than school, which means there is either a kiddo with lice who doesn't know it, or a parent didn't alert the class. Although I don't want to go through the embarrassing task of telling Class 101 that one of their classmates has licey lice, I will do it, and hopefully save a couple of heads!

Phew,
all for now.

Good night, New York, We love you!!

My husband laughs at my love of certain 70's rock-Jackson Brown, Bob Seger, Steve Miller Band, etc. But for some reason I feel drawn to them. They remind me of the times before I had children, before I gained 'mommy weight', before I had more bills going out than checks coming in. There is something about their guitars, their piano rocking, dudes with long hair(which I can't stand under 'normal' circumstances!!!)...No worries, no cares, just jammin' and laughing and singing at the top of my lungs out the car window. Responsibility is not a privilege, folks, it's a burden. I'm not talking about being responsible for my children, because I took that on knowingly and willingly, but all the other bullshit we have to deal with day to day. I'm just sayin'. Let's all get off the grid and start a commune........but it will have to have a radio, for sure.

_____________________________________________________________

'Night' songs seem to bring out the memories, too....

-Nightswimming by REM
-Night Moves by Bob Seger
-Because the Night by Natalie Merchant
-Strangers in the Night by Mel Torme
-Tonight, Tonight from West Side Story
-Starry, Starry Night by Don McLean

Daytime usually belongs 90% to my children and running a household, but the night still belongs to me-I read, I write, I listen to music, I waste time on the internet. Well, 10% at least.

tidbits

Note:
When a salesperson, customer service rep, or, oh, say a medical facility says, 'well, we don't usually do things that way...' what they are really saying is, 'we just don't want to do it for you because we are lazy and not getting paid enough to deal with you and your problems'.

Quote:
"Definition: fairy tale- n. A horror story to prepare children for newspapers." -Ambrose Bierce

Song:
Fake Plastic Trees by Radiohead


...all just a part of my little day, friends.

Today

: : We call her Princess Sparkle Face! (from summer 2009)
: : A picture of the wee one from November of last year.


-Drizzle, no sun, cloudy and a little chilly atop our fair hill. I think our whole family has SAD...

-I only took a 45 minute nap, brought on by a sudden head-cold. My wonderful youngest girl was so patient with me, only waking me up once to ask if I could help her with her legos!

-I perused some crafty-mom blogs; ones I like to call the "anti-Martha's" of our age.

-I got a little more "moving" paperwork done. Only 3 or 4 more entities to notify...I think. Hopefully no one too important is trying to find us!

-Got a visit from the lady who used to take care of the house we are currently occupying, Linda. She was very nice, and is bringing us smoke detectors this week-hooray for progress!

-Unpacked a couple more boxes (2).

That's about all I can think of for now. More later, gentle readers.

Whoa, Ho, Ho, Ho

So I missed posting anything relevant about Advent, Christmas or New Years-big surprise. But I can regale all my loyal cafetorium fans with stories of 2010 already realized!

One-baby to be is doing very well--heard the heartbeat for the very first time today!

Two-hubby has been battling recovering from a tonsillectomy...not recommended for people over the age of 8 in my mind! Two ER trips and a lot of drugs later he's on the road to mending.

Three-We are moving. There I said it. The mess that has strained the seams of our humble abode is actually for a purpose! Hopefully this will be the last time in a looooong time! As my husband so aptly put it,"When we aren't being gypsies..." We are all pretty excited about the new digs, the new surroundings, and the change of pace.

Four-While packing boxes, found out that the basement does leak, and that the spiders came out from hibernation during a warm spell. Ick.

Five-Going to work up my courage and try out another prenatal yoga class. This one is a stone's throw from our new home. No excuses, right? And, even better, I can occasionally reward myself for my good and healthy deeds with a trip to a yummy bakery.

I was going to post a #6 but my attention span and memory at this point are both quite limited.

So, a late Merry Christmas and a most Happy New Year everyone!

Pics of the new place coming soon....