Flushed Face

Easter 2011

2011-04-27T01:10:00.001-06:00

On Friday we colored eggs.

On Saturday the Easter Bunny brought baskets... and we hunted for eggs in the living room.

Later that day we enjoyed a gorgeous sunny afternoon and a trip to Jenkins Estate.

On Sunday we got dressed up in our Easter Sunday best... and went to church.

Later on Sunday we went down to Grandma and Grandpa Comptons and had a delicious Easter feast and did another fun egg hunt... in the rain!

Happy Easter!

La Blogotheque does it again

2011-03-15T19:23:00.000-06:00

And this one was long overdue...

My Baby is Walking!

2011-02-02T01:03:00.003-07:00

Here is my little Coley. He is now 15 months old... and walking!

The first video is from about 2 weeks ago when he first started walking on his own.

This second video I took last week, and he gets a bit steadier everyday, though he still does a fair amount of crawling.

When we took Cole to his 15 month dr. checkup, he measured in the 4th percentile for his weight, the 50th percentile for his head circumference, and the 75th percentile for his height. Tall and skinny... just like his dad and brother.

Christmas Crafts

2011-01-04T00:53:00.001-07:00

In December I decided to take every Friday off, and then I took the whole week before Christmas off. Among lots of other things, I was able to get some Christmas crafts finished.

For the third time, I participated in an online handmade ornament swap. It's so fun to get 10 or so different handmade ornaments in the mail from all over the country in the days leading up to Christmas. Here are the ones that I made for the swap:

These are made from some nice wool felt. On one side I made one flower and on the flip side... the other.

I really like the way they turned out.

I got the idea for doing the flowers while making this wreath:

It's actually not finished yet, but it's been on my list of Christmas "to dos" FOR-like-EVER!

It's from the The Purl Bee. Click on that link to check out the real deal.

I'm hoping mine will look as pretty once I get it all stitched up.

In addition to all that, I also made a festive snowflake pillow.

I found an XL men's flannel shirt in this lovely charcoal color at Goodwill. And then I used some leftover fabric from the wreath to cut out the snowflake. I should've taken a picture of the back because I just used the buttons from the front of the shirt to button the pillow inside! Super simple.

This is actually the second pillow I've made like this. I also made one in the fall from an XL Men's plaid cotton shirt.

I had a small swatch of flannel gray fabric hanging around (from Cash's elephant costume, if you remember that) and made the leaf. It also buttons up the back.

Finally, I also got around to finishing up some stockings. These have been sitting around naked since last year. I finished them on Christmas Eve. Wheh!

These were really fun to make.

So that's it! All my Christmas crafts for 2010.

I still have some cross stitched ornaments to finish. They've been sitting around for 3 years now! Yipes. Maybe I'll get them done in time for Christmas 2011!

one-one-one-one

2011-01-01T23:24:00.001-07:00

Happy New Year!

I am writing this post from my brand new laptop that I got for Christmas!

Hi! Here I am in my jammies!

Not the greatest picture, but it's more than I could do with my last laptop. You see... my last laptop was slowly dying. A very slow, very painful death. Take a look:

I bought that Mac Powebook in 2003. And I LOVED it. I LOVED it to death. Literally. I loaded it up with so much stuff... that it just couldn't hold any more. I couldn't load any more pictures onto it. Even with my external drive, it just couldn't take any more. And I had no word processor. So it had basically turned into a glorified web surfing tool. And then the boys got to it. Cash stuck a penny into the disk drive... so I could no longer burn or rip disks. Then, when I wasn't looking Cole ripped off all those keys. Not all at once, mind you. No, one by one, he ripped them off... it took weeks. That's what I mean by a slow painful death.

I won't blame my entire lack of blogging in 2010 on my poor Mac... but I am going to blame a portion of my dearth of posts on it. I mean, really. It was painful to try to get pictures loaded. And those two above... took just seconds. Woot woot!

So, here's to more posts in 2011. I hope to get back into the groove. And I might even try to do some back dated posts... because we really did have a great 2010... and I'd hate for it to go undocumented!

Feeling Christmasy

2010-12-06T23:55:00.001-07:00

Winter Songs from Crush Creative on Vimeo.

This is cool

2010-10-28T20:36:00.000-06:00

I am testing the new blogger publisher. If this works, I may start blogging again! Oh, and I love this photo.

Happy Birthday to me

2010-09-01T00:33:00.009-06:00

Several weeks before my birthday this year, Paul kept asking me what I wanted for a gift. I had a few thoughts about different things, (a serger, an iphone, a new laptop; none of which we can afford) but it wasn't until I ran across a blog post about a girl who transformed a china cabinet she found on craigslist... that I knew what I wanted. So, I searched on craigslist... and found this:

(this is not my garage)

And all last week I spent 2 hours in the garage every morning... transforming it into this:

The beautiful antique china was given to Paul and I by his mother. Her father bought it in Denmark and brought it back to Canada years and years ago. It finally found its way to her in Utah... where she gave it to us right before she moved to Oregon.

I put it inside the cabinet with a couple of modern pieces I picked up from Target's "Liberty of London" collection.

Love it!

I removed the hardware, sanded it down, and then painted the whole thing white... straight from the can. THREE TIMES (primer and then 2 coats). And then I painted the back wall a lovely lavender (Behr's "Light Mulberry")to match my favorite colored flowers on the china. I replaced the metal knobs with some clear glass ones, and I actually just put the drawer pulls back on... though I might still spray paint them white. What do you think?

ps... remind me to never paint a china cabinet again. It is A LOT of work!

I am still alive...

2010-08-26T20:54:00.003-06:00

and am loving this video/song "Comme de enfants" by Montreal singer-songwriter "Coeur De Pirate". Enjoy:

you better just go watch it over on youtube... while i figure out a better blogger template.

Month 8 - Bear Compare - Cole

2010-06-14T16:55:00.003-06:00

Here's our big boy. Now 8 months old!

Mother's Day

2010-05-11T01:00:00.007-06:00

This year we rang in Mother's Day in the Emergency Room.

Let's back up. We'd actually had a very lovely Saturday... starting with a trip to the Beaverton Farmer's Market. That's where I picked up some beautiful flowers to celebrate Mother's Day weekend.

And earlier in the week, Cash had come home from preschool with a special gift for me.

He painted me this little pot...

Filled it with chocolate kisses...

And made me this adorable handprint card...

With this on the inside...

(click to enlarge)

This is the first year Cash has been old enough to express "Happy Mother's Day" and let me just say I LOVED that card. (Thanks, Teacher Karleigh!)

So, later in the evening on Saturday we went over to a nearby park for a picnic with Paul's sister Marin and her family. That's where the evening came to a crashing end... literally... when Cash tripped and fell while running on a rocky blacktop path. He must've landed on a pretty big rock... cause it cut a big chunk out of his little knee. This photo was taken moments before the big crash:

See that little goofball? Yeah. He's a spaz. (I see you Cole!)

So, to make a long story short... we ended up at the hospital... where Cash got three stitches in his left knee. We finally left around 12:30am... and as we walked out... all the doctors and nurses reminded me that it was now officially Mother's Day!

hooray...!...?....

Needless to say, we spent Sunday mostly lazing around the house... though we did manage to get out of the house for an hour of church and then a trip to the park to eat dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Compton and the Mattias cousins. Due to rain, we left a bit earlier than scheduled... which was actually okay by me... since I was dead tired. So when we got home, we all snuggled in the bed. Me and my boys.

It actually turned out to be a very nice Mother's Day... despite it's beginning.

And Happy Mother's Day to my fantastic Mom! Ti Amo, Mama!

An Untrained Plebe

2010-05-03T19:06:00.014-06:00

Every once in awhile I have small brushes with fame. Like that one time my comment appeared on CNN. Or that one time the inside of my house appeared on a super popular interior design blog. Okay, so maybe "fame" is the wrong word... but "brushes with popularity" doesn't sound nearly as cool.

So, during the entire month of April, I had a brush with fame... and I didn't even know it. Until today... which is May. Oh well. Better late than never, I guess.

Here's how the story goes:

Back in March, I was reading dooce.com. You know. The most famous mommy blog in all the land. She had a post wherein she requested suggestions for her new masthead. (You know, the title of the blog. Some people actually change theirs from month to month.)

Go here to see that post.

Okay, now scroll all the way down to comment 27. (After the advertisement, they are numbered in grey on the far right hand side at the very bottom of each comment.)

Okay, see that one? Number 27? It's a comment by none other than "flushedface". Yes. That is me. And I suggested a line she used from one of her posts that I thought was funny. In that post she called herself "an untrained plebe". I laughed... and then I had to look up the word "plebe". It was a funny sounding word to me, and I had no idea what it meant. Seemed like the perfect suggestion!

Now, I will save you skimming through the other 91 comments (since I already did that) and just tell you right now that I am the only person who suggested that masthead title.

Before the big reveal, a point of clarification: When I read everyone's blogs... I use a feed reader. For those non-techy folks... that means I never actually have to go to a person's blog to read their posts. I just log into the feed reader and when a person has a new post, it just shows it to me without having to access their page. So, for the entire month of April, I read dooce.com via my feed reader.

It was only today, that I remembered her soliciting ideas back in March. And I thought to myself: I wonder what she used for her masthead last month. So, imagine my surprise when I went to her masthead archive tab... and clicked on last month's masthead... which revealed this:

Nice.
Do you think I can put this on my resume?

It would read: Wrote April 2010 masthead title for a blog with a daily readership of 300,000 people.

Multitasker

2010-04-21T00:30:00.001-06:00

Cole's Bear Compare - Month 6

2010-04-20T00:39:00.003-06:00

After the bear compare smackdown... it appears Cole and the bear are back on speaking terms...

And here's what Cash looked like at 6 months old:

Hey! Maybe they look like brothers after all!

The Comptons

2010-03-21T23:54:00.007-06:00

Jourdan just posted a great shot of their family on her blog. Since Cole was born, we have taken NO, ZERO, NADA photos of our new little family together. I've been wanting to take one for awhile. So last week, we attempted to take one... with less than perfect results. But since she posted hers... I'll post ours.

So here it is: The only photo in existence of our little family:

Great shot... eh?
Maybe it will look better if you squint? Hm. Maybe not.

When we got home from church last week... and everyone still looked presentable, I forced everyone onto our front steps. I set our little camera up on our gate, centered it up, set the timer, and then ran back to the steps.

Well, Cash was being his regular self... making silly faces... so the first shot we KNEW was not going to work.

So, instead of walking around to the back of the camera, I just stood in front of it and hit the shutter button... not realizing that instead of focusing on the people on the steps... it was now focusing on my chest!

So, after we tried and tried (unsuccessfully) to get Cash to smile like a nice boy... we gave up.

When I went to look at the pictures, I realized that it didn't matter anyway, since we were TOTALLY OUT OF FOCUS!

Oh well, we'll be trying again sometime... and maybe I'll actually have someone else take the shot! A novel idea, I know. And at some point in the future we are going to get a professional one done too! Imagine that!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2010-03-17T16:45:00.000-06:00

What a silly Leprechaun we have!

Hey Look! He's Roley Coley

2010-03-16T01:25:00.004-06:00

A new trick from Cole.

Tilt the head... and let gravity do the rest.

Bear Compare - Month 4

2010-03-04T00:35:00.007-07:00

Here is cute Coley-Cole at 4 months old:

When I looked up Cash's 4 month old bear compare... I saw that in addition to his bear shot... I showed a shot of him holding the bear. Cole is also at the point where he can hold things... but I think he's a bit more advanced than Cash was. Because during this photo session Cole really showed that ol' bear a thing or two!

Teddy Bear Smackdown!

The heft...

and then the launch off the side...

That Coley... he's one tough cookie!

OK Go does it again

2010-03-02T18:12:00.004-07:00

Way back when I started this blog in 2006, my 8th post was entitled "The Best Music Video EVER." I then posted the now famous video of the band OK Go doing their treadmill routine. Well, it now appears the band has tried to outdo themselves. Take a look. This video is all ONE SHOT.

Pretty amazing. Though, there's a reason I didn't call this post "The Best Music Video EVER EVER!" I actually still think the treadmill one was better... simply because of the kitsch.

Liberty of London at Target!

2010-02-23T18:59:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but I am SO looking forward to March 14th!

Listening To:

2010-02-01T21:16:00.002-07:00

Am really digging Laura Veirs:

July Flame

And speaking of animated music videos, I'm also enjoying Efterklang.

Top Songs of 2009

2010-01-17T23:00:00.006-07:00

So much music... so little time.

I don't have time to even listen to music... let alone post about it. But I did manage to hear some really great songs this year... and I would feel like my year wasn't complete if I didn't list off my fav songs of 2009. This is sort of in order.... but sort of not.

1. Phoenix - 1901 & close 2nd Lisztomania
2. Noah and the Whale - The First Days of Spring
3. Animal Collective - My Girls & Summertime Clothes
4. Fanfarlo - Harold T. Wilkins
5. Cast of Glee - Don't Stop Believin'
6. Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks
7. The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You
8. Andrew Bird - Fitz and Dizzyspells
9. Neko Case - People Got a Lotta Nerve
10. God Help the Girl - Come Monday Night

Now, here are some bands whose new albums I wanted to check out... but haven't gotten around to yet:

Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career
Loney Dear - Dear John
Metric - Fantasies
The xx - XX
The Swell Season - Strict Joy
Bon Iver - Blood Bank

And then there are already some great albums coming out in 2010.
So far I'm looking forward to:

Vampire Weekend - Contra (this is already out (Jan 12th) but I haven't bought it yet... though I have listened to it on NPR and it is FANTASTIC).
Spoon - Transference (Out this week on the 19th!)
First Aid Kit - The Big Black & The Blue (Out on the 25th!)

See my previous year "top songs" here and here.

Cole's Bear Compare - Month 3

2010-01-15T00:55:00.006-07:00

Here he is! Little Cole is now 3 months old!

Despite my lack of posting... I have been taking pictures.

Here was Cole at 1 month:

I don't have a "Month 2" Bear Compare since we were in Utah during his 2nd month with no bear to compare him to.

Doing the "Bear Compares" the second time around is a bit more tricky... since I have an extra helper now who also wants to be IN the photos.

For instance... here was my first attempt:

Are you under there Cole?

Cash thought he was hilarious. Cole... not so much.

But they are a cute little duo:

Even if Cash is a little faker:

So I guess for future Bear Compare posts I'll have to post one photo of Cole alone:

And one of Cash and Cole together:

I guess it's good to see how much they've both grown.

Cash at 3 months old.

Chillin'

2009-11-03T16:04:00.003-07:00

A thumbs up from Cash... and Cole's already throwing gang signs...

Things are good here at the Compton house.

Halloween and birth story posts are coming sometime!

Introducing Cole William Compton

2009-10-26T00:55:00.005-06:00

As most of you know... I've been a bit busy the past 2 weeks with an unexpected arrival!

Baby Cole decided he wanted OUT on Sunday, October 11th at 4:52pm. A full 2 weeks and one day early!

Here are a few photos to tide you over 'til I write up the whole birth story... which will hopefully be sometime this week. Maybe even tomorrow!

And I promise to post pictures of him with his eyes OPEN in my next post. They are bright and beautiful.

Something to Look At

2009-10-01T10:39:00.010-06:00

Jourdan posted her adorable mobile yesterday... so now it's my turn.

Mine was always meant to be more of a wall hanging than a mobile. Even though it was inspired by this cute mobile tutorial I found online. And for the life of me, I can't find my fishing line that I was going to use to hang it... so for now... some twine and thumbtacks are doing the job of keeping it out of Cash's grubby mits.

So, it's not quite hanging how I envisioned... but close enough. Paul found the branch for me while he was out walking. You can't really tell from the pictures but it's a great branch because it really sticks off the wall and out over the crib... so it definitely serves the same purpose as a mobile, it just doesn't move around. And too bad our camera is awful... because the pictures don't really do it justice. Plus... it's much more cute in person.

I love the way all these little birds turned out... and they were sooo simple to make. Maybe 5 minutes a pop. I can't wait to make more birds! Anyone need Christmas ornaments? I think I'm going to make many many more of these birds.

And I like how a few are posed all snuggly on the tree. They're all just hot glued into place.

In the meantime, the countdown continues... about 25 days until we have a lil' babe to put in this crib!

Week 36 - Month 9 - The Final STTRRREEEETCH

2009-09-28T23:26:00.008-06:00

Alright kids, here I am. 9 months pregnant... with the belly to prove it.

(and yes, I got a haircut.)

Phew! I am feeling very big right now. Not so much when I look down, as when I try to move around. Getting up and down from the bed (several times every night) is a major pain. I keep hitting myself in the stomach with doors. Getting in and out of the car... not fun. And there is no room left for my lungs or ribs. It is not fun to eat... or breath. Luckily, I read tonight that the baby does not grow much more from here on out... because I have NO MORE ROOM!

I actually shouldn't complain too much. I've had a very uneventful pregnancy. I feel like I've been surrounded by women (at work, and church) who've either had to go on bed rest or had pre-mature babies... so I DO feel lucky that things have progressed well so far.

Oh yeah, here I am with Cash around the same time... in a much tighter shirt.

And here's a quick video I took the other night of some of the movement I've been observing in my belly. This is taken from my point of view... looking down. Can you make out the waves moving across my stomach?

(Sorry that quality is awful. I think our camera is slowly dying.)

That baby wants to get out!

Should I post weekly photos from here on out? We'll see.

Music in Multiples

2009-09-25T17:54:00.013-06:00

When I was 10, or 11, or 12... or maybe even 14, or 15, or 16 (I don't remember exactly) I would sit in my bedroom with my tape recorder... and record myself singing songs. I'm trying to remember which songs I'd sing. At any rate... I would then play it back on a seperate player (my alarm clock tape deck) and harmonize with myself... and record the harmony part on the first player. It was great fun. I liked singing with myself. And I liked hearing my voice sing both the alto and soprano parts of the song. I liked the harmony of my two voices together. I think the song I remember doing this the most with was "Closer to Fine" by the Indigo Girls. And I think when I was in my early 20's, and I learned to play the guitar, I recorded myself playing and singing both parts. Geek.

The past couple of weeks I've been finding a lot of people doing the more "hi-tech" version of what I did with my tape recorder. Harmonizing with themselves... but in bigger and better ways.
Here's one dude... doing a cover of Fleet Foxes "White Winter Hymnal". It's pretty cool.

And here's a kid named Sam Tsui who does a pretty amazing cover... with himself (5 times over!) of "Don't Stop Believin'" (for all you GLEE fans). (You might want to watch these on the larger player over at youtube... so you can see all 5 of him.)

And here's an even more amazing Michael Jackson medley (with Sam doing 6 of the parts! I don't think the beat box dude on the far left is him.)

(I'm pretty sure I better give props to Kurt Schneider who produced those 2 last ones. Wow.)

All this makes me want to bust out my old tape players! Hm. Too bad I don't have them any more.

In other music news... I've been streaming the new Avett Brothers CD "I and Love and You" over at NPR this week. Its official release date is next Tuesday. Take a listen. I think you'll like 'em.

Brand New Car Seat!

2009-09-16T23:22:00.007-06:00

So this last weekend, I spent every second of my free time making this:

This is Cash's old car seat, and I wish I would've taken a before picture, because the difference is pretty amazing.

That old car seat cover was GROSS... plus I think it had been chewed apart by mice or something. But the frame from the car seat was perfectly fine. So after Paul scrubbed it down... I went to work remaking the cover.

I pretty much took the old one apart to see how it was put together. And then I made this brand new one from scratch... using some super thick quilt batting... and some great Joel Dewberry fabric. (Did you know he's a BYU grad? Yup.) This is from his "Deer Valley" line since he now lives in Park City. And while it's pretty bold, I quite like it. Our baby will definitely stand out in the crowd!

I also learned a lot during this project... and was glad to finally figure out the right tension on my machine for sewing with batting. I still need to find the little insert that makes the seat smaller for newborns... and remake that too.

This weekend's project... repainting a chest of drawers!

Weekend in Vancouver

2009-09-15T23:37:00.018-06:00

I thought about breaking this post up into three different ones. One for each day of the week we were gone. And then I knew if I didn't do it all in one go... I might never finish it. So, brace yourself... for A LOT of photos.

I knew that Labor Day was going to be my last day off of work before my maternity leave, so we decided to make the most of it. I've been to Vancouver before, but Paul had not. We left Saturday morning. Since it's only 5 hours away, it's a great weekend destination. If you can handle the drive with a 3 year old.

Most of our drive was filled with non-stop chatter from Cash. A lot of ear piercing chatter... as you can hear. And then there was the entire half-hour discussion about Seattle. You see... we told him we were going to Seattle first. And then he wanted to know all about "Attle". Where she lived... would we go in her house... does she live in a big building? And each time we tried to explain that we weren't going to see Attle... we were going to SEATTLE. We even tried to slur the word together to explain it. "Seattle, it's the name of the city," we would say. And a few minutes later, Cash would ask where "Attle" lived. "No, we're going to *see* Seattle. *SEE* SEATTLE!". "At her house?" This went on for A LONG TIME. ON both the way there... and the way back. He still doesn't get it.

Finally, we reached the border.

It took us about a half hour to get through.

Once we got settled in the hotel... it was already evening... so we went to explore Chinatown. It's second only to San Francisco's Chinatown.

We ate dinner at the Chinatown Night Market.

Paul got these noodles, but was only able to eat a couple of them. Too noodly.

But Cash and I quite enjoyed the stir fry noodles.

Then we took an evening drive through Vancouver's famous Stanley Park...

...with a stop at the totem poles.

On Sunday, we got up and went to Granville Island. We took a little tour that took us past some fresh seafood...

at "The Lobster Man."

We ate breakfast at a great little cafe and that's when it started to rain. So we decided to take a covered boat ride up and down "False Creek" to see the city from the river. This was THE HIGHLIGHT of Cash's day.

See that boat... in the background. We were on one of those.

Then it was time to explore Granville Island's famous Public Market! Wow! VERY COOL! Check out all the food!

And there were some great buskers.

Paul gave this guy a "Loonie" because he was playing Gordon Lightfoot's "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald."

And this next guy just cracked me up, with his excessive thanks to the non-existent audience:

For lunch we headed over to historic Gastown.

Then we explored the Yaletown area of Vancouver... with a stop at the playground.

Then a walk along the seawall.

For dinner we ordered out some great greek food (Souvlaki, Dolmathes, french fries, and greek salad) and ate it back at the hotel.

On Monday morning we headed over to the great shopping area Robson Street. But Cash was not having the walking. It's AMAZING how his legs stop working when we're walking... when he's perfectly capable of running non-stop for hours at a time.

We checked out of our crappy hotel (which was at least centrally located)...

Here's the countdown clock to the Olympics that take place in February.

But we were bound for Stanley Park again... to ride the miniature train.

This was a great little train ride...

...through tunnels...

...over trestles...

...and past all kinds of fun sights...

Then we spent a little while at their Adventure Park before it was time to get in the car and make the trek back home.

Paul and Cash decided to walk from Canada... back to the U.S.

See them there?

All in all, we had a great time and will definitely return someday when we have more time and can take a sidetrip to the lovely Victoria!

Conversations with Cash

2009-09-15T23:32:00.005-06:00

On the walk home from preschool... Cash asks Paul: "Where's Mama"?

Paul responds: "She went to work."

Cash dramatically throwing his arms at his sides and says: "Again??!!"

Oh Yeah, I'm 36!

2009-09-03T00:22:00.014-06:00

Last month I celebrated my 36th birthday! Even though my birthday was on a Sunday, I decided to celebrate it the whole weekend!

On Friday I hung up this great birthday banner that Jourdan made for me. This was the first chance I've had to use it... but I will be pulling it out for all of our birthdays! I love it!

On Saturday, Paul's brother Jesse was in town, so we decided to show him the town. We started at the Portland Farmer's Market (and yes, we enjoyed a breakfast tamale).

Then we ventured over to the waterfront and Portland's Saturday Market... which has a lot of flea market type booths.

A quick stop in Chinatown...

And then we went over to the Alberta neighborhood so that I could stop at Bolt Fabric Boutique (where I got Cash's backpack and carseat cover fabric). After I got my fabric... we stopped for lunch at:

Only in Portland. It's a food cart that sells every kind of grilled cheese sandwich you can think of. Check out the menu here. and you can either eat them outside... or inside a giant school bus... converted into a cafe.

So we ordered.

...and took a seat inside the bus.

One side is a bar with stools.

The other is the school bus benches... turned to face eachother with tables between.

It's super cool in there... with an amazing mural painted on the ceiling. I wish I had taken some detail pictures. Oh well, next time.

Paul and Jesse split "The Cheesus Burger" a hamburger... but the buns are grilled cheese sandwiches.

And Cash and I just split a regular grilled cheese. As good as it sounds now, I wasn't in the mood for a havarti and ham grilled cheese then... But sometime we'll go back and I'll report on it.

Then on my actual birthday, after church, we went down to Paul's parent's house where his mother had made a fantastic birthday dinner. This was the only picture I took that day of my 3-6 candle birthday cake. It was a great! Thanks for the great day Comptons!

Also for my birthday, Cash picked out these flowers for me:

And I love them because they are from my two boys.

I also ordered two prints I've been eyeing for awhile... and told Paul they were from him:

These are both by artist Eleanor Grosch and I love them. With the other birthday money I got from Paul and my parents I bought frames and mattes and now they are hanging in my sewing area! Thanks everybody!

And speaking of prints, here's the close-up Anna requested of the Alphonse Mucha print I have hanging over my bed. It's "Princezna Hyacinta". Mucha is one of the founders of Art Nouveau (which I love) and I just think all his work is amazing.

Backpack, Backpack (for Dora fans)

2009-09-02T23:34:00.006-06:00

So here's Cash's new backpack I made for him for preschool. I used this pattern.

I got this adorable fabric from Bolt.

This was my first time sewing with piping... and I loved it. I love the finished look it gives. This was also my first time sewing with webbed straps.

The pattern doesn't have an outside pocket, but I added one... and used this cute button to close it up.

And this pattern makes it super easy to make your zipper look great! Hoorah, success with a zipper!

But the best part was trying it on for size.

Look at that cute big boy!

and another angle... 'cause he's so cute:

And from the back:

Yay! I love it. He's all ready for school that starts next Tuesday!

(And guess what? He's almost potty trained!)

Week 32 - Month 8

2009-08-31T23:18:00.014-06:00

Hi!

Remember me?! It's been a month!

I now look like this:

This was what I looked like around the same time... with Cash:

Pretty similar, eh?

So far I've gained 12 pounds. I'd gained 14 pounds at this point with Cash. Good! But I started this pregnancy about 15 pounds heavier than I started with Cash. Boo! (Then again, with Cash I'd just returned from 3 months in Europe where I spent every day walking at least 5 miles!) I'm going to have a lot of work to do after this boy is born! And trying to lose weight in November, December, and January... is not going to be easy. Hello Holidays! Yikes!

So, we are heading to Vancouver, BC for Labor Day weekend. Our last "hoorah" before the baby is born. We haven't had a single vacation (other than long weekends where we've crammed stuff in) all year, since I've been saving up for maternity leave... so this little adventure is much needed. When we come back I will be buckling down to get everything prepped for the baby's arrival. At least I have this much done:

I fixed the glider I got from my KSL co-workers (Cash had broken off an arm) and then turned all the cushions over for a clean look... and then added a pillow that matched...

...the new bedding for Cash's old crib. I totally scrubbed down... and put some touch-up paint on Cash's old crib and with the new bedding it looks as good as new!

So where is Cash, you ask? He moved over to the guest room... and couldn't be happier! Instead of getting him a new bed... I just got him some new bedding and put it on my antique bed frame and voila... he loves his "cars bed".

I'm guessing eventually our boys will share a room... so why buy him a new bed now, when this one is perfectly fine?

Speaking of rearranging things... since Cash moved his room around the corner... Paul wanted to create a little Cash space in the public area of our upstairs... where my sewing corner used to be... and where Paul's computer sits. So I cleaned out my sewing corner... and we created Cash's corner here:

With a bean bag, a table for drawing, playdough, and whatever else... and you can see the little Ikea rug there for car play. And... oh yeah... there's the TV. This is Cash's view... when sitting on the bean bag:

So, where did my sewing area go? Into our bedroom... which I've decided I prefer anyway!

My new sewing corner sits in the corner of our bedroom. And I can lock the door and Cash can't mess it all up! And yes, I have been sewing!

See, I made that sewing machine cover.

So... we also did a bit of updating in our bedroom. Paul actually won a PlayStation 3... and decided we needed a new TV in our bedroom. So while my side is all girly with sewing supplies, jewelry boxes, and knicknacks... his side looks like this:

A GINORMOUS TV, a PlayStation, an XBox, video games, all our CDs and some surround sound speakers. Lovely.

And I was finally able to get a frame to hang my Alphonse Mucha print that I bought in Prague 4 years ago! I LOVE that print... and amazingly, it matches the grey/blue/black and tan color scheme we've got going on in there right now.

So that's a quick tour of our updated living arrangements.

Still on the list of things to do before the baby comes:

1) Recover Cash's old carseat

2) Find and wash Cash's old clothes

3) Repaint an old chest of drawers we have and get it moved into the baby closet.

4) And if I have time, I want to make this cute fabric bird mobile I've been thinking about for awhile.

I also want to show you Cash's new backpack I made for him. He starts preschool the day after we get back from Vancouver, so maybe then I'll have more time for blogging! We'll see!

Week 28 - Month 7

2009-08-03T22:14:00.005-06:00

Alright, only three months to go! Woo woo! Sigh. I wish it were only 1 month away... or less. Here's what I looked like tonight:

And here's what I looked like around the same time with Cash:

So, I think I'm pretty close to exactly the same. If I look bigger in the 2nd photo it's only because of the way my hands were positioned. And yes, that is the same skirt. I LOVE that denim skirt and would wear it every day if I could get away with it.

Fantastic Mr. Fox and St. Vincent

2009-08-03T18:10:00.008-06:00

I've always been a HUGE fan of Wes Anderson. He is definitely one of my all time favorite directors. I love the imagery he creates on screen through his amazing attention to detail and I love the quirky characters he helps the actors develop. And I love the actors he's used too. Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams, Angelica Houston, Ben Stiller... the list goes on and on.

So, when the trailer for his new film "Fantastic Mr. Fox" (based on the Roald Dahl book) came out last week, I was excited to check it out. However, I was also a little sad to see that it will be a stop-motion animated film. Don't get me wrong, I can definitely appreciate the art that is animation... it's just that I would MUCH rather see a film with living breathing people. Actors add so much to a film... so I'm afraid I won't like this one as much as his past films.

@ Yahoo! Video

Speaking of actors... it reminds me of this music video... from St. Vincent. I like her music very much... even if she is too cutesy for words.

Week 24 - Month 6

2009-08-01T15:38:00.007-06:00

Quick, before it's too late! On Monday I start my third trimester... and I never even posted a "Month 6" picture. So here you go:

This was actually taken on Week 24... so on Monday when I post my "Week 28 - Month 7" photo... you will see that I actually don't look like this anymore. sigh. I look MUCH bigger.

I am feeling so much movement these days. Much more than I remember feeling with Cash. Lots of squirming... though I know a lot more kicking is coming. My only complaint with this pregnancy is the heartburn. I endured it with Cash... and took a lot of "Tums." This time around I've discovered that chewing gum is actually quite helpful in alleviating the burn... so I've become a gum chewer before... and sometimes after meals. I guess when I think about it... I'm also complaining about being tired... and not being able to get into a comfortable sleeping position. I'm such a stomach sleeper. As for feeling tired... I'm probably not getting enough iron in my diet. I already take a supplement... but am always close to anemic when I get tested.

This coming week I go in for my 28 week appointment and will have to do the "glucose test" where I get to drink that sugary syrup and get tested for gestational diabetes. I'll also have my iron levels tested then... and probably find out I have anemia! Should be fun!

Tune in Monday for my week 28 picture!

Also, I am going to try to finally post about all our summer activities:

1) Our trip to Astoria

2) Mom and Dad's trip to Oregon

3) Our trip to McCall, Idaho for the 4th of July

4) The "nesting" going on at the house... including Cash's new room, a new baby room, a new play area, and our new bedroom look.

5) Our fun morning at "Oaks Park" with cousins Molly and Keenan.

6) Surviving nearly a week of 100 degree temperatures (thank goodness we have AC, a luxury in Portland... and it got up to 107!)

7) Cash's new found love for swimming in our community pool.

8) And how my computer nearly caught on fire... and other technical woes. (Which is as good an excuse as any for why I haven't been blogging this summer.)

Stay tuned!

I know!

2009-07-13T18:58:00.003-06:00

So, it's been a while since I've posted. I really am planning to get back to things here. But between family vacations, some computer issues, and some major "nesting"... the blog has taken a back seat.

So, to hold you over... here's another great band I've been listening to. I will hopefully get around to posting about our summer activities... this week sometime!

Fanfarlo

Listening to...

2009-06-23T12:04:00.004-06:00

I'm going to post about my Mom and Dad's visit to Oregon sometime this week. But for now... enjoy this video from "God Help the Girl". Their first album came out today and I'm LOVING it. Very retro. It's from the world of Stuart Murdoch of "Belle and Sebastian" and I think you will like it too!

The music starts after a short intro bit.

MacGruber!

2009-06-12T00:22:00.009-06:00

One of Cash's favorite birthday presents was a "Sky Ball" he got from Grandma and Grandpa Compton. It's a small plastic ball... with the power to bounce high into the sky!

On Sunday he was playing with it in our "front yard" and he bounced it over the fence... down the street... and right into a drain.

He came running into the house... asking for help to get the ball back. So Paul went outside to retrieve it. They both came back in later, saying it was too far down the drain to reach. But Cash looked very sad... plus he had just gotten that ball, and I wasn't about to let them give up!

So we all went back outside... armed with some long kitchen tongs! Unfortunately they weren't long enough to reach the ball either. So, we went back inside and I fashioned a long sticky pole using my sewing yardstick... and some duct tape. Paul still could not reach that ball... and the fact that it was floating in water didn't help either.

Then Paul decided the tongs might work... if they were taped to the end of two long poles... like broomsticks. So, we went back inside and fashioned a VERY LARGE set of tongs! Just like MacGyver... (or MacGruber for SNL fans) we used a bit of duct tape, the kitchen tongs, and two broom handles. Back outside... Paul floundered around in the water for awhile... and had to lay on his stomach and use the very nubs of the handles to reach far enough (it was down FAR) but soon enough... he pulled that little ball out!

MacGruber!

Way to go, Daddy!

Week 20 - Month 5

2009-06-09T01:20:00.007-06:00

So, I'm officially half-way through my pregnancy... though it doesn't seem like it since you're already about 6 weeks pregnant by the time you even find out!

Here's what I looked like this morning:

(Nice tag! Don't worry, I did not wear this shirt in public.)

I still think I look more "fat" than pregnant... especially when I'm not wearing form-fitting shirts.

I have my 20 week appointment tomorrow... so I'll find out how everything is going, plus see how much weight I've gained! Yikes. I am definitely feeling a lot of movement these days. Even though I've been through this once before, it's still fun and exciting to think about the little guy that is growing inside!

We are tossing around some names... but haven't agreed on anything yet. I'll let you know when we do!

Henry Cash Turns Three!

2009-06-07T21:34:00.017-06:00

On Saturday our little baby Henry Cash turned 3 years old! I can't believe it's been 3 years since he was born!

When I went into his room Saturday morning I sang him "Happy Birthday" and he said "It's my birthday today, Mama?!" And he was so happy when I told him "Yes! It's finally your birthday!" So after getting dressed, he REALLY wanted to open his present from Grammie and Grampa. It had been sitting in the house for a few days... and we'd been telling him to wait for his birthday... so we gave in and let him open it right away!

There is a big smile behind that Diego video!

Then it was time to head to the Grand Floral Parade.

Cash had a lot of fun watching the marching bands, seeing the floats, and he even declared lunch to be "the best pizza he EVER had".

After some "quiet time" at home we packed up the car and headed to Cash's favorite park "Camp Rivendale". There we met up with Grandma and Grandpa Compton and the Mattias' for a picnic dinner.

After dinner and some play time at the park...

...it was time for the main event... a pirate treasure hunt!

Ever since Cash saw Peter Pan... he's been using his plastic golf clubs to have "sword fights" with us... and shouting "Aye, Matey"! So Paul suggested the treasure hunt, and then wrote out 16 different clues and placed them all over the expansive park. The kids got to dress up as pirates... while they ran around looking for clues.

It was also a great way for the adults to see the area. Great idea, Paul... and well executed! Of course, at the end of the hunt... there was a giant treasure full of dollar store wonders that delighted the kids!

Then we sang "Happy Birthday" and ate cupcakes...

...and opened presents!

Cash especially liked the "robot claw".
Here he is trying to grab the camera!

Thanks everyone! Cash had a great day!

Cookout Season!

2009-06-04T00:13:00.027-06:00

Here at the Comptons, we love us a good cookout! As soon as the weather was nice, Paul busted out our tiny grill... and got to work. Back in April we enjoyed our first burgers of the season!

Though it was still too cold to eat outside.

And then last weekend Paul made us one of our favorites... baked potatoes and salmon!

Those potatoes were huge!

And delicious!

And then a bit of summertime dessert... popsicles!

If you can believe it, this was Cash's first experience with popsicles... or popsTicles... as he called them.

I made these ones with some grapefruit juice.

And Cash slurped...

...and slurped them down.

But he hadn't gotten a nap in that day and by the time we had eaten... he was so, so tired.

You can tell just how tired and loopy he was in this hilarious video.

(make sure you get to :58 where he does the lip puckers)

I mean, seriously... he looks like he's a junky who's high and taking hits off a bong here.

Here's to many more great meals off the grill this summer... and lots of cold treats!

It's a BOY!

2009-06-01T14:48:00.008-06:00

I know I said I wanted a girl... but we are thrilled that Cash will get a little brother to be his buddy! Now if we can only figure out ANOTHER boys name. Coming up with one was hard enough!

(why do I feel embarrased for him posting this picture? I may have to take it down.)

I really need to get a new scanner. I just took photos of these and the reflections are awful.

Cash Gets Pretty

2009-05-30T01:02:00.006-06:00

Well, he finally did it. Cash got into my mascara. I've seen countless other pictures of kids with make-up smeared on their faces... and now I have my own.

This is before he realized what he looked like:

And this is after he realized what he looked like:

Also, stay tuned to this space... on Monday we find out whether we're having a boy or a girl! I will post the results as soon as I get home... probably around 12:30pm PST!

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-27T23:36:00.008-06:00

Last weekend we celebrated the long weekend, by taking a camping trip to Cape Lookout on the coast! We had a lot of fun... when we were having fun. That's the way Paul put it, because to be honest, it wasn't all fun all the time.

Here are the highlights... because we didn't take any pictures of the lowlights. The drive out through the Tillamook National Forest was gorgeous.

By the time we got there on Saturday, we set up camp and were ready for dinner. So we threw some "tinfoil dinners" on the coals... and half an hour later... were eating.

Mmm. They were really good. Then we walked over to the sandy beach and watched the sun sink in the sky. We didn't stay long enough to watch the actual sunset, because it was just too cold... and Paul forgot to bring pants.

Our camping spot was great, nestled in the trees near a great nature trail with lots of cool trees.

We tried to attend the program at the amphitheatre that night... but Cash is not so good at sitting still... even when there are big whales projected on a giant screen. So we left 5 minutes into it... and decided it was time for bed. Unfortunately none of us slept very well... and Cash's 3am wake-up call didn't help either.

The next morning Paul cooked us a delicious breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast.

Mmm. bacon.

Then we went on a little walk on a nature trail that took us past all kinds of interesting plants and trees.

Then we decided to drive over to the beach at Oceanside... where Cash tried his hand at blowing giant bubbles...

...and even flying a kite!

He LOVED flying that kite and I was surprised at how well he was able to hang onto it!

Cash also had a lot of fun digging in the sand and throwing rocks into the crashing ocean waves. He also had a little water gun that he enjoyed shooting into the water.

After our beach adventures, we were all getting tired. So we decided to go back to camp for a little nap. We laid Cash down in his "Bob the Builder" sleeping bag... and then tried to sack out in our own bags. Unfortunately the idea of taking a nap with Mama and Daddy inside the tent with him was too much excitement to handle... and for the next half hour he proceeded to jump all over us. With none of us getting much rest, still feeling tired, and the prospect of another sleepless night ahead, we decided to pack up camp and head home. So... by 5pm we were back on the road... and by 7pm we were at home, eating our planned camp dinner of pasta, salad, and bread. It was still good... even though we weren't sitting by a campfire.

I was a little sad to think that this will probably be our last camping trip for a few years... since I won't be camping any more this year... and I don't think we'll want to try camping with two little ones for at least 3 years. Oh well. We'll be good and ready when we finally head back out.

So, since we now had Monday to spend at home... we had a great time of doing some much needed maternity clothes shopping... eating lunch out... and then while Paul and Cash hung out at home... I went and saw the new Star Trek movie! It was great!

I felt so refreshed going back to work on Tuesday! It was a much needed long weekend, even if it didn't go exactly as planned.

A Visit from Scott

2009-05-22T23:22:00.005-06:00

This week we got a visit from award winning author Scott Calhoun. (For those who don't know, he is Paul's sister Deirdre's husband.) Scott was here to promote his new book "Designer Plant Combinations" at Powell's Bookstore.

I wasn't able to attend his reading at Powell's because I was working, but Paul and Cash says it was great. We were all able to catch up for lunch the next day.

Paul picked up Scott's book at the reading, and I've been flipping through it all week. It makes me really wish I had a yard again! Oh well, some day.

When we do have a yard, this book will be a great resource. It's chock full of information on which plants work best together and where. Perfect for beginners and experts alike. If you have a yard and are wondering how to landscape it, I highly recommend you pick up Scott's book. You won't regret it. Way to go Scott.

Sunday BBQ

2009-05-22T23:16:00.002-06:00

Last Sunday the Mattias' invited us over for a BBQ.

We had a delicious meal of burgers... hot off the grill, watermelon, veggies, chips...

And of course I had to take a close-up of the pasta salad I made. It was pretty good too!

Then there was some silly kid-time antics...

before we sent them all off to bed and got down to the nitty gritty of the evening...

...a round of settlers!

Thanks Mattias'! We had a great time!

The Red Balloon

2009-05-21T19:14:00.005-06:00

It's become a cult classic over the years. The 1956 French short film "The Red Balloon."

I remember when we were little, we had the picture book. Remember it, Marg? At that time, I had no idea it was a movie. I remember pouring through the pages... admiring the glossy photos... and developing a crush on Pascal. And I remember my excitement when I finally discovered it was actually a movie!

Now "Grizzly Bear" (a fantastic band) has edited the movie to fit one of their songs. I really love it.

It must be the pregnancy hormones, but the end brings a little tear to my eye.

Full Weekend

2009-05-20T23:32:00.010-06:00

Last Saturday we woke up, got dressed, and headed straight over to the Beaverton Farmer's Market for breakfast!

They cook up a mean veggie omelet that is HUGE and super delicious. All three of us split it.

Mmm

There's not much to purchase at the market yet, aside from tons of gorgeous flowers...

...various "greens"...

mmm, basil.

...oh, and of course, Cash's favorite... kettle corn!

There's always some band performing and we were treated to this great pep band who played classics like "Louie Louie" and "Roll out the Barrel". They even danced around in the audience. It was a lot of fun.

Then, it was free admission day at Pittock Mansion. I'd never been up there before and was amazed at the gorgeous views! From this majestic estate you can see 5 different mountains!

We walked around the gorgeous gardens first and took in the views.

Then we went inside. But with a 2 almost 3 year old... we were quick!

But our adventures weren't over yet! Next stop... the Alberta Street Art Stomp. A street festival where local artisans could sell their goods.
By now Cash was getting tired. He wanted to climb inside the back of his stroller... which is way too small. He rode around like this for about half an hour:

Silly boy.

Mostly, there was a lot of good people watching...

And lots of girls in interesting outfits...

By now it had gotten hot... so we decided to find a place to cool off. We drove over to the banks of the Willamette to dip our toes in the water.

Cash had a great time gathering up sticks to throw in the water.

By now, Paul had fallen asleep in the car. Unfortunately I had made all these plans the day before and then Paul had a bad case of insomnia and hadn't slept a wink. But he was a good sport and went along with everything anyway. We had a great time! Up next, Sunday's BBQ at the Mattias'!

Loved It

2009-05-20T10:11:00.000-06:00

We watched last night's premiere of Glee and I really loved it! Now we just have to wait to watch the rest of it in the fall. Ugh.

Anyone who knows me well... knows that I LOVE musical theater. I've always wished that I was a better singer than I am. I would have loved to have been in my high school's show choir... but I was never good enough.

That's why I love this new TV show on FOX about high school misfits out to win the show choir championships. The storyline itself has been done a million times, but there's always such an earnestness about high school kids singing their guts out. If you didn't catch last night's premiere, I highly recommend you watching it on hulu. It's available there for the next 21 days.

Here's a clip from the end of the show... to show you just how talented these kids are. But really, just go watch the whole thing.

Also... the creator of the show... Ryan Murphy was on NPR's Fresh Air this week and I caught part of the show while driving to work. It's really interesting to hear him talk about the show. If you're really into it... listen to that too right here!

GLEE!

2009-05-19T16:20:00.002-06:00

I am REALLY excited to watch GLEE tonight... after American Idol. I think you should all tune in.

It's gonna be good.

Mother's Day

2009-05-18T01:02:00.007-06:00

On Mother's Day we woke up and Paul made breakfast. By the time we went to church at 1pm, I still wasn't hungry. So, I battled Cash through sacrament meeting, where they handed out chocolates to the mothers. Then I battled my Sunbeams through class. And then I actually got to attend Relief Society for the third hour thanks to all the men taking over the third hour of church. By the time church was over I was starving, but we were headed straight to a picnic in McMinnville to meet up with Grandma and Grandpa Compton and the Mattias family. Unfortunately, the way there is filled with twisty turny roads and the chocolate I popped after Relief Society to stave off the hunger was NOT sitting right. Needless to say, the Barnes and Noble bag that Paul had used to give me a Mother's Day CD came in handy. Blech. I did feel much better, however... and we had a great picnic and playtime at the park. Here are a few photos.

I'll post what we did this weekend, this week sometime.

Portland Farmer's Market & Sesame Street

2009-05-16T23:15:00.014-06:00

Okay, so before I get too far behind... here's what we did last weekend. Not today... but a week ago today. First we went to the Portland Farmer's Market. I thought it might be a bit less crowded earlier in the season... but alas... it is always crowded. Great, but crowded.

Of course we had to get a tamale again...

And Cash needed a cookie to get through the morning...

(While we enjoyed a pan au chocolat, mmm mmm.)

While there we also met up with one of my best ever friends Nadine! (We met at BYU our freshman year and have remained loyal friends for going on 18 years! Can you believe that Nadine?!) She actually just moved to Portland a few weeks ago and I am sooo happy that she is now so close. Now if I can just find some time to see her more often!

She took our family photo...

And then we were off to see Sesame Street Live! I got some free tickets through work.

Cash got a little restless so we decided to leave at intermission.

We sat on the grass outside the venue and ate sandwiches while Cash rolled down the grassy hill. So nice to soak in the sun.

I'll post our Mother's Day activities tomorrow!

16 Weeks

2009-05-15T11:50:00.005-06:00

So, I am 16 weeks pregnant this week. I always like seeing what people I know look like pregnant, so I'm going to show you! I don't really care how fat I get... or how lumpy I look. Then you'll see what I have to work with when I go to lose all the weight come November. Though, I will spare you the bare belly shots. So, this was me this morning:

And this was me around the same time (16 weeks, give or take a few) with Cash. I'm curious to see if I grow at the same rate this time as I did last.

I'll try to post monthly shots of my growth... and maybe I'll take pictures of myself in something other than my gym clothes!

These bikes are very cool and I want to win one!

2009-05-14T18:29:00.002-06:00

click on it!

Mother's Day Corsages

2009-05-13T22:58:00.003-06:00

This year for Mother's Day, I made Mom and Grandmother fabric corsages! I found them online here... and they were super simple to stitch together.

When I showed them to Paul he said they looked like something a clown might wear. But I mailed them off to Arizona (where Mom and Dad were visiting Grandmother) anyway.

I like the way the "carnations" turned out best.

But the "lily" and the "leaves' are cute too.

Mom informed me that both she and Grandmother wore them on Mother's Day. I hope no one tried to honk their noses!

I'll report on our weekend activities, including Mother's Day, later this week.

Elmo's Riding

2009-05-13T18:55:00.002-06:00

This song has been stuck in my head all day!

It's the second time I've seen it on Sesame Street... and I have to say, I quite like it.

Chanel No. 5 Ad

2009-05-08T19:52:00.006-06:00

This is all over the interwebs right now... but just in case a few of you haven't seen it... it is a must watch for fans of Amelie... or just fans of beautiful things. It's a new ad for Chanel No. 5 directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet who also directed Amelie and stars the lovely Audrey Tautou. And I highly recommend the "behind the scenes" stuff too. It's simply beautiful.

click here to watch

5 Things I've been Thinking About This Week

2009-05-05T20:25:00.009-06:00

Maybe it would be fun to take Cash to this this summer. You wanna go Mattias family?

Paul and I read this article in Wired this week and I was so surprised that I've lived in Georgia and never heard of this thing. Read it. It's pretty interesting.

I can't believe I'm already having heartburn with this pregnancy. And, if I concentrate, I think I can feel slight movements in my belly.

Maybe I should've put this song on my top 10 list of 2007... instead of this one. Paul had the CD playing in the car, and recently I've been digging "The Underdog" more than "Cherry Bomb". Really, watch that first clip. You will tap your toes.

I'm looking forward to NBC's new Fall lineup. They announced some new shows yesterday and heaven knows we need some help in the programming department. These two upcoming shows look like they may be good.

Feeling Pissy

2009-05-04T00:44:00.005-06:00

So, I thought Cash was ready for potty training. Apparently, he is not.

Maybe, I was more ready for potty training than he was. I mean, I did everything. I read the "How to Potty Train your Child in a Day" book (even though I knew it would take longer than that). I took Cash to Target to buy the underwear. He excitedly picked out the Transformers (even though he's never seen a Transformer in his life). I bought him the "Pull-Ups" for naptime (Note: we found out the hard way they do not work overnight). I bought the treat he said he wanted. I even got a great deal on a used "Potty Time Elmo" doll on Ebay. And then on Saturday, I did everything I read in that book. Promised him treats, taught, was patient, begged, pleaded. And actually... he taught that Elmo doll to pee so well! But unfortunately, that Elmo doll did a lot more peeing in the potty than he ever did. He LOVES that Elmo doll. LOVES to give it it's sippy cup. LOVES to run it to the potty when it says it's "gotta go". "Gotta go" he shouts... running it to the little plastic potty sitting right next to his bigger plastic potty. "Hooray" he shouts... when Elmo sings a song about getting to the potty on time.

Cash's new best friend.

Unfortunately... the idea never quite translated into HIM getting to the potty on time. He actually did go in his little plastic potty 3 times on Saturday. But that was after I followed him every second... asking him if he had to go. And the third time was just before he got into the bathtub... and I KNOW the sound of rushing water always makes him pee. This time I just caught it in the potty before he did it in the tub.

So, after 3 accidents today... Paul put him back in diapers. Neither of us have the energy to follow him around all day with a potty. Especially when he is so distracted most of the time building towers with his blocks, or tearing the couch apart, or eating lunch (2 of the accidents happened while in his high chair.) I was hoping to have the boy out of diapers before a new one arrives... and who knows... maybe we will... but for now... all potty training is on hold. He'll get it when he gets it, I guess.

Pregnant Women are Smug

2009-04-30T17:10:00.007-06:00

I'm re-posting this video I found via the hilarious Libby of the hilariouser LibbyLogic.

This is so my brand of humor... but may not be for all my readers. (there may be one or two off color words... but not the bad ones.)

It's called "Pregnant Women are Smug"... and it is so true! Plus, I always love two girls harmonizing while playing guitars and keyboards.

If these girls look familiar it's because you may have seen the girl on the left (Kate Micucci) recently on "Scrubs" as Ted's girlfriend. The girl on the right (Riki Lindhome) had a recurring role on "Gilmore Girls." Together they are the comic duo "Garfunkel and Oates".

The Walk of Shame

2009-04-29T19:38:00.008-06:00

I know many of you parents have been through this before, but I thought I'd share what happened to me this past Sunday.

During Sacrament Meeting, I was out in the hallway with Cash because he was being his usual rambunctious self. He ran down to the end of the hall (which he often does) and as I followed, to my horror, he threw open the door that leads to the stand and ran onto the stage. I stood frozen for a second... amazed that he had gotten the door open in the first place. Then I ran to the door and quietly opened it to peer in (it was a surprisingly lightweight door). I couldn't see him anywhere. So I ran back down to the foyer doors and looked into Paul who was seated on the front row of the overflow aisles. He looked at me and pointed to the stage and mouthed: "He's up there!" So, I ran back down to the "rostrum" door, as it was marked, and again peered in, I still could not see him... and I DID NOT want to have to walk out there. So, again I ran back down to Paul who I found doubled over with laughter. I peered around the corner and there was Cash... holding onto that front divider wall... like a little sunbeam ready to sing a solo. So, I ran back down to the rostrum door, took a deep breath, and began my walk of shame. After I entered, I saw Cash running through the 2nd aisle of the choir loft. So, I folded my arms, bowed my head... and quietly followed. He spotted me, and instead of letting out the blood curdling scream that I expected, he just giggled a little and then ran to the other side of the stand and then down the stairs on the opposite side. I quietly followed... of course, my face flushed BRIGHT RED... and walked the length of the choir loft, down the stairs, down the aisle, and across the whole back of the church to where Cash was now quietly sitting with Paul. Ergh! It was the longest walk EVER. I was SOOO embarrased. I later learned that during my laps up and down the hallway, Cash had also made several laps back and forth in front of the bishopbric. All of this, while some poor woman was bearing her testimony. (We had fast and testimony meeting last week since we have Stake Conference this coming Sunday.)

After that excrutiating performance, I dropped Cash off in nursery and then headed off to teach my Sunbeams, where one child farted on my lap as I held him during sharing time. Nice.

And I drag my family to church every week, why?

Baconize it

2009-04-24T17:39:00.007-06:00

If you would like a side of bacon with my blog (and I know Paul would) please click here.

If you would like to add bacon to any website you visit (and I know Paul would) put this http://bacolicio.us/ in front of any website address.

For example... this: http://bacolicio.us/http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism

Apologies to Anna. Hee Hee Hee.

Baby Update

2009-04-22T11:07:00.006-06:00

As part of my "geriatric pregnancy" we went to a genetic counselor last week... where Paul and I discussed our family histories and went over the possibilities of having a child with down syndrome or neural tube defects. Then I got another ultrasound where they measured the fluid at the base of the baby's brain and then they took my blood for a genetic screening. Well, all the results came back yesterday and everything looks great! Our chances of having a baby with any problems is 1/10,000 (the lowest score possible)... so as a result I've decided not to get an amniocentesis. Hooray! I was not looking forward to getting a giant needle shoved in my belly. Everything is looking great! We'll probably find out the sex between 18-20 weeks so stay tuned for another announcement in about 5 or 6 weeks!

Portland Walks: Buckman

2009-04-20T23:16:00.009-06:00

This weekend we did another walk from our Portland City Walks book. But first, we fueled up at Grand Central Baking Company... where we enjoyed some great sandwiches.

I had the chicken salad and Cash and I "split" a cookie.

Then we were off to explore the Buckman neighborhood.

It's full of great old homes. Many of them, historic.

About halfway through, the walk took us right through the middle of a park. Perfect for a small break.

And Cash loved the tire swing.

The walk also took us past some little eateries. We'll have to stop back by Zell's Cafe for breakfast some morning.

And this old home is on the National Register of Historic Places. Here I am with the book:

We've had such awesome sunny weather the past few days, and all the blossoms are so pretty. Too bad I'm having a hard time enjoying it because my allergies are SO bad. Believe me... sneezing and pregnancy... not a great combo.

Easter Sunday

2009-04-20T00:10:00.007-06:00

We awoke on Easter morning to a very wet; yet beautiful, green day.

We all went to church with Grandma and Grandpa Compton. Then we went back to their house for dinner.

(This is a picture out the window of the three rows of berries that they have going!)

Soon Marin and Kevin and Molly and Keenan arrived...

...and Uncle Paul entertained the kids for a bit while Grandma got things ready.

Then we all sat down to a delicious dinner...

...of ham, twice cooked sour cream potatoes, peas, carrots and hot rolls.

Mmmm. It was all delicious! Add some carrot cake for dessert, and we had a great feast!

For more... Marin already did a great post about Easter Sunday... which you can read here.

Thanks everybody, we had a great weekend!

Easter Saturday

2009-04-19T19:11:00.008-06:00

The day before Easter on Saturday we were down in Dallas with Paul's parents. We drove over to Salem to see the cherry blossoms on the capitol grounds. Even though it was quite overcast, it was so pretty it looked like it had just snowed.

Right behind the capitol is Willamette University, so we wandered around campus for a bit...

...and Cash pondered one day being a college man.

Easter Preparations

2009-04-19T17:43:00.007-06:00

I have three different Easter posts I'm about to do. So, I'm calling this one "Easter Preps". I had the great fortune of having a three day weekend because the company I work for gives everyone Good Friday off. A very Good Friday, indeed.

So Cash and I spent the day making treats and coloring easter eggs. First I made a batch of rice crispie treats which I colored green, formed into nests and put little jelly beans in. I've made them before with coconut, but Paul (and now me too) prefer them this way.

Then I made a batch of what I call "adult rice crispies" because they are just too good to waste on the kids. Hee hee. They are a layer of rice crispies, then a layer of semi-sweet chocolate chips, mixed with peanut butter, and then a layer of dark chocolate. They are rich... and to die for. I can only eat one per sitting. But Paul's dad managed to eat 3 per sitting. They are that good. I found the recipe online right here. You should try them. Seriously.

Then we did the egg coloring.

Unfortunately, by the time Cash had helped me put the eggs in the boiling water, helped me get them out, then bounced them in and out of the egg carton, most of them were broken. I think out of 12 we may have had 3 eggs that were not totally busted. Oh well, we colored them all anyway, and had a great time.

Also, brightening up our kitchen all week was this cute table.

See the adorable crocheted duckie and chickie? Grammie made those! They arrived in the mail a few weeks ago and I LOVE them. Perfect for Easter. And Cash loves them too!

They were so cute sitting next to my new yellow flower plant from IKEA and on top of my Orla Keily tablecloth from Target. (I finally made it over to Target to check out all the Orla Keily stuff and they only had one end cap of stuff left so I snatched up the cute tablecloth, 4 matching napkins, and 4 matching plates.) Up next... Saturday at Grandma and Grandpa Comptons.

A Big Announcement

2009-04-13T13:08:00.006-06:00

(That giant empty sack on top is my BLADDER, which was TOOO full. Believe me.)

I am due October 26th. Today I am 12 weeks pregnant. And if you're reading this... and I work with you... don't tell anyone yet. I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to tell my boss that I'll be missing the most important month of the year (November Sweeps) to have a baby! Yikes!

We are all very excited. I keep telling Cash that I have a baby in my tummy, but he definitely doesn't get it. He says, "no, I'm the baby." When I ask him if he wants a brother or a sister, he tells me a sister. I tell him that I want a sister for him too. But I'll take a brother too. But mostly, I want a sister... a girl.

The past several weeks have been awful. The thought of foods other than sandwiches, salads, and soups has made me nearly lose it. I never felt this nauseaus with Cash. And I've been tired. Sooo tired.

Now that I'm 35 and considered a "geriatric pregnancy" I will have to undergo more testing and I will get to have more ultrasounds. We get to go to "genetic counseling" this week! Geesh, what a difference a few years makes! Right now though, I feel good and so far everthing looks "normal."

I'll keep you posted!

Dough-Nu-Matic

2009-04-08T19:27:00.004-06:00

If you know Paul, you know he LOVES donuts. And I love them too. I just try not to eat them as much as he does. I think this would make the perfect gift for him!

Conversations with Cash

2009-04-08T11:06:00.002-06:00

These aren't really conversations, just moments I want to remember.

For about a week... after Paul put Cash to bed... Cash would get out of bed and turn on his light and play until I got home from work. So one night Paul took the lightbulbs out of Cash's fixture. After I got home from work one night, we heard Cash in his room... trying to turn on the light... and calling out: "I need some batteries."

We went to Burgerville for lunch one day and they have free balloons for the kids. Cash LOVES balloons and carried it around all day. The next morning he woke to find it deflated on the floor. He looked at it and declared: "My balloon is tired!"

Actor Boy

2009-04-08T00:34:00.004-06:00

Cash is turning into quite the little actor boy. He was not being super cooperative during this filming session. So, I'm going to have to work with him on the "on-demand" emotions in front of the camera... so we can turn him into our "cash cow".

I was trying to get him to do this face that's like the Macauley Culkin face in "Home Alone", minus the hands on the cheeks. I don't have a good name for that face... other than the "Oh My Goodness" face. He hasn't quite associated that name with that face yet, I guess.

Listening To:

2009-03-23T22:43:00.004-06:00

Neko Case's new CD is out.
This song is great. This video is really cool.

I Still Hate It

2009-03-09T20:51:00.002-06:00

Regular posting will resume soon... hopefully.

In the meantime, please refer to this post from last year for how I'm feeling today.

City Walks - Kenton

2009-02-17T23:35:00.011-07:00

I was inspired by Alicia's post about exploring Portland's parks and neighborhoods through her discovery of this book by Laura O. Foster.

So I bought it.
And then I discovered that she wrote another book:

So I bought it too.

And this past Saturday we went on our first exploration of the historic Portland neighborhood called Kenton.

These books are so great because they provide a ton of information about the history and architecture of the buildings you're seeing as you walk.

The walk actually reminded me of Paul and I's trip to Europe where we used the Rick Steves guide books to take walks through towns and learn about their history.

Each walk is about 4 miles long... which is too long for a 2 year old. But they can easily be broken in half. We had a great time and took a few shots before the battery on the camera died. (Note to self: charge camera battery before heading out on walks.)

The famous Paul Bunyan statue:

And of course I had to snap a shot of the bar across the street.

And then we found a house for sale by Paul's dad!

We had a fantastic walk and I can't wait to take more and explore and learn as much as we can about this amazing city!

I'll try to take more pictures next time and share our explorations with you!

SuperBowl 2008

2009-02-08T23:04:00.000-07:00

We watched the SuperBowl over at our house this year and invited Kevin, Marin, Molly and Keenan. I made up some sloppy joes, veggies and dip, and these delicious sweet potato skins.

We had a great time eating, watching the game, and the commercials.

And, as evidenced below... we especially enjoyed half time.

Top 10 Songs of 2008

2009-02-01T00:18:00.024-07:00

Okay. I know it's February now... but I'm posting this anyway, so I can remember what I was listening to last year.

Just like last year... I'm listing off my fav songs of 2008. I've been carrying this list around with me for about 2 months now... so it's nice to finally scrunch up the paper and throw it away.

(Most of these songs were also on excellent albums, but I'm only listing my favorite songs of the year, not albums... though Fleet Foxes was my fav album of the year.)

10. Bon Iver - Skinny Love

9. She and Him - Why Do You Let Me Stay Here

8. TV on the Radio - Family Tree
7. The Killers - Human

6. Coldplay - Viva La Vida

(Some may question this one, but come on, it was the anthem song of the year!)

5. Nada Surf - See These Bones

4. Mates of State - My Only Offer

3. Vampire Weekend - Kids Don't Stand a Chance

(close 2nd - Walcott I really grew to love this album after multiple listens last year.)

2. First Aid Kit - Cover of Fleet Foxes song Tiger Mountain Peasant Song

(I really just LOVED this but I gotta give props to the original songwriter...)

1. Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal

(close 2nd He Doesn't Know Why and a close 3rd Tiger Mountain Peasant Song and really the whole album!)

Many of these I mentioned in posts as the year went along. Just looking and listening to this list makes me excited for all the new stuff that will be coming out this year! Some stuff I'm already digging... like the new Andrew Bird album that just came out a couple weeks ago. Take a listen!

Conversations With Cash

2009-01-30T02:00:00.004-07:00

I've decided to start a new series of posts which I'm calling "Conversations with Cash" because now that he's talking pretty well, I want to remember all the funny and cute things he says.

So, for my first installation:

(Pointing at our wedding photo)

Cash: It's Mama and Daddy.

Me: Yep, that's when Mama and Daddy got married.

(After looking at the photo for a minute)

Cash: I want to go to married.

Taken this past weekend at Uncle Kevin's Birthday Party.
(Happy Birthday Kevin!)

25 Things About Me

2009-01-29T10:53:00.000-07:00

So, this has been going around Facebook... and I've really loved reading everyones "25 things"... so here's mine. Many of you probably already know all these things. That's because I tend to be an oversharer. Feel free to make your own list. If you read this... I want to know 25 things about you in return!

1. I don't eat fruit... except crisp apples and crisp watermelon. I think it's a texture thing, since I like juice.

2. I don't have my ears pierced. If I ever got something pierced, it would be my nose. I once went to get it pierced, but since I was also leaving on a trip to Mexico, they recommended against it. I never went back, but sometimes I wish I had.

3. I've driven the same car (my Geo Prizm) for almost 12 years now... though we did get a new car last year. But I don't get to drive it to work.

4. I LOVE our new car. A 2008 Honda CR-V. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it and I always volunteer to drive it.

5. Yesterday I survived a round of layoffs at work. 6 people were let go. I am grateful I was not one of them.

6. I LOVE to travel. If I could, I would spend tons of time and money traveling.

7. If I could be anything in the world, I would be a Broadway star. I LOVE musical theatre and wish so badly I could sing and dance and act. Martin Guerre is one of my favorite musicals... and I've never seen it.

8. I am the primary bread-winner for my family... and probably always will be.

9. I had a crush on my husband's roommate before I fell for him.

10. I'm allergic to raw carrots. They make my mouth itch.

11. I've backpacked through Europe twice... and have been to about 20 countries. My top 5 cities are: London, Barcelona, Stockholm, Santorini, and Prague.

12. I knew I wanted to study "Communications" in college, when I was in junior high.

13. I love to sew and cook. I'm always trying new recipes.

14. I'm addicted to house selling/buying/renovation shows.

15. I mostly hated high school.

16. My top 3 hates are: 1) losing things 2) practical jokes 3) cars/motorcycles with no mufflers.

17. I love movies and when I was single spent nearly all of my free time in movie theaters. I have no idea how many movies I've seen in my life... but it's in the thousands.

18. I've seen nearly 100 shows between Broadway and London's West End. I cried the first time I saw "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat" which was the first show I saw in London.

19. I love to eat. Good food makes me very happy... except when I look at my hips. I prefer salty things over sweet.

20. I'm petrified of spiders.

21. While I love living in Oregon, I know Utah will always feel the most like "home".

22. I read more magazines than books. I only read 4 books last year... and 2 of them were books on CD which I listened to on my way back and forth from work. I subscribe to 5 magazines... and read them cover to cover every month.

23. My favorite season is spring. There is nothing better than fresh flowers, blue skies, and warm temperatures with a slight breeze.

24. I've moved 12 times in the last 10 years.

25. Having Lasik Surgery done on my eyes was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

I've seen people make a "100 things about me" list maybe sometime I'll try to do 25 more.

Da Plane, da plane!

2009-01-27T10:58:00.008-07:00

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day... we went to the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville with Grandma and Grandpa Compton.

It's a giant warehouse... built specifically to hold Howard Hughes enormous Airplane/Boat also known as "The Spruce Goose". Perhaps you remember it from the movie "The Aviator"? You can read about it here. It really was amazing to see in person.

The museum also holds a ton of other war era aircraft and even some modern stuff. Cash loved looking at all the planes and it was tough trying to hold him back since he wanted to ride on everything. Thank goodness they had a kid area where he could actually get in one for awhile!

Here Cash demonstrates one of the laws governing flight. Too bad I can't remember what it was... but you move around this wind thing and the ball follows.

New Hair

2009-01-26T01:04:00.004-07:00

On Saturday I got a new haircut!

Here is the before:

Here is the after:

And here is an alternate after:

I've had this haircut before, and decided to go back to it. I had started growing out my bangs about a year ago. You can see how far I got in the "before" photo. But I got tired of sweeping the hair behind my ear... so I went back to bangs. I quite like them. Paul prefers I clip them back. What do you think? Which do you prefer?

a) bangs
b) clipped back
c) what were you thinking?! Why did you even get your hair cut in the first place?!

The Blogging Blahs

2009-01-23T23:47:00.002-07:00

See that post down there? Christmas 2008? I just posted it tonight January 23rd. But see how it's dated January 12th? Mmm Hmm. It's taken me that long just to find the desire to finally finish it. The motivation actually came from 2 seperate people. My sister-in-law Marin (Paul's sister) got tired of coming over here to FlushedFace and finding the same old slippers post. So, this week she started her own blog. Hooray! Then Uncle David wrote about how nobody's posting anymore... including me. So, that was the inspiration I needed to finish that post. I really do want to blog. I enjoy looking back over the past few years at everything that's gone on here and am so glad that I have a record of it. Unfortunately blogging can be time consuming and frustrating. In fact, this is the second time I'm writing this post because the first time, it disappeared when I went to post it. But I want to rededicate myself to it and try to post at least once a week... at the very minimum. I figure if I say it publicly, I'll be more motivated to do it! We'll see how it goes.

Christmas 2008

2009-01-12T01:48:00.015-07:00

Our tree:

Cash coming down the stairs... to see what Santa brought:

His first reaction to the presents!

We had hidden his new bike around the corner so it wouldn't get in the way of opening all the other presents, but Paul decided we should point it out right away so as to avoid that "Christmas is always disappointing" feeling.

He stood in awe for a moment...

Then he moved it over by the tree to continue the fun.

Cash also got:

A drill:

But the safety glasses were a bit too big for his wee head...

He's since solved that problem by only drilling things above his head.

Cash also got a big transporter truck to hold the millions of matchbox cars he's accumulated.

He also got a golf set. All summer he used Daddy's clubs and balls to play. Now he has his own.

(Uncle Jesse was there Christmas morning and joined in the festivities before we went down to Grandma and Grandpa Comptons)

Paul got a mug from Powells:

He also got 4 new books. Have I mentioned he's a voracious (compared to me) reader? Mmm Hmm.

Then Paul opened his big gift:

a brand new flat screen computer monitor:

I got a super cool purse from the etsy shop: MadebyHank which I love love love!

Cash spent the rest of the morning playing golf...

And riding his new bike...

While we whipped up a quick breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast.

Then we were off to Dallas to spend the rest of the long weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Here Grandpa proudly shows off the hip deep snow out their back door!

The rest of the time was filled with delicious food and way too much Rock Band.

Here Paul, Jesse, and Kevin rock out:

But everyone got in on the act... including Cash.

You would not believe his version of "Come as You Are". He sounds just like Kurt Cobain!

I did not capture any shots of Marin... or myself playing... but believe me... we jammed as hard as the rest of them.

And here are some parting shots of the Christmas treats that I made to give out to the neighbors... but never did.

Instead we ate them... and what wasn't consumed by us... was quickly inhaled by the KGW newsroom!

Merry Christmas!

Slippers

2009-01-02T23:05:00.001-07:00

For my Mom's birthday (December 21st) I decided to make her a pair of slippers I had seen in a Martha Stewart magazine.

They turned out so cute I decided to make a pair for Carrie since I had her name for Christmas.

Cash decided he really like the slippers too... and wore Grammy's all around the house before I could get them in the mail.

So, I traced his little foot and made him a pair too!

Unfortunately, he doesn't like them as much as he liked Grammy's and this is about the only time I could snap a photo of him wearing them!

I have just enough wool felt left over to make myself a pair! We'll see if I ever get around to it!

Ornament Swap

2009-01-02T17:51:00.000-07:00

For the second year in a row, I participated in an online ornament swap.

Here's how it works: You sign up and are matched with 10 other people. You then make 10 ornaments and send them to those people. Then you sit back and wait for 10 ornaments to appear in your mailbox! Both years I've really enjoyed making the ornaments and it's so fun to get 10 unique and handmade ornaments in the mail!

This year I used felt to make some little twigs:

I got a lot of cool ornaments in return. I have a little Christmas tree where I display all 10... and then each year I plan to add them to our big Christmas tree.

Snow!

2009-01-02T14:08:00.013-07:00

We survived the Arctic Blast of 2008!

(Though Cash and I both got pretty sick.)

Portland and the surrounding area is in no way prepared to deal with snow. Let alone nearly 2 feet of it! The city completely shut down. With only 50 snowplows... the freeways were the only roads that got plowed.

Here are some images of our White Christmas:

(The view from our bedroom window)

We decided to take a winter walk. But it was snowing... and getting in Cash's mouth... which he did NOT like.

I took a few photos of downtown Portland on my walk to the post office to mail a few Christmas packages.

Snowboarding down the steps of the First Christian Church.

This is a major road in downtown Portland. Was it ever plowed? Nope.

Waiting for the MAX train... on my way home from work.

My car, buried.

But it was nice to have a White Christmas.

I'm hoping I'll get around to posting actual Christmas photos this weekend.