Sunday at the Beach

We went up to see R's Aunt/Uncle/Mom/Stepdad/and little brother again. It was a wonderful relaxing time. And as it was the reunion of my parents death it was exactly what I needed. We had amazing hamburgers on the grill then headed to the beach with the kids to look for sea glass. Bean has started a little collection and I've given her a couple of glass jars to keep them in.

Summer And Hamming It Up

Bean loves the camera. She'll twirl and jump, make funny faces just to see what kind of pictures I'll take. She adores being the center of attention.
Summer has been flying by fast, I've been working a lot which makes me appreciate every second all the more. We've started to play a new game - One Lie One Truth. Where each person tells two stories or facts about themselves. One must be a lie, the other true and the other players. It's a great way to learn more about each other.

Bean made this candy airplane at the Arlington Fly in and was so proud she wanted me to share a picture of it.

A few weekends ago

I am behind on blogging as I'm currently working crunch time. But in between the long hours I'm getting a few things done around the house. I cleaned up the top of the china case, and have started work on sorting the linen closet. In an effort to simplify things we are getting rid of all the sheet sets but 2 per bed. It's not neccessary for a family of 3 to have 7 sheet sets. It's an excessive waste of space. So off to the thrift store they'll go. I'm using those vacume bags to hold blankets and fabric bins to organize the remaining items.
Two weekends ago we went to the Highland Festival in Anacortes. We saw family, boffer fighting, cattle dogs, pony riding and rain. Lots and lots of rain. But before we were rained out Bean participated in throwing a stuffed sheep over a pole winning a medal she was very proud of and made a shield and clan flag in the children's art tent. After the festivities we headed over to R's aunt and uncles house for some amazing home made chili and smoked salmon.

Portland - father's day, birthdays, cooking and Rock Band

It's R's 40th birthday so we drove down to Portland for the weekend to see our good friends Chad and Bree who were also celebrating Chad's birthday and throwing a party. We took my new picnic basket from Target and stopped along the way at a rest stop for a small picnic and some dog walking. The traffic was absolutely horrid and the goodies in the basket really helped. Although I adore the basket as it's woven with a red check lining the handles are absolute crap and can't support the weight of a full basket.

We started the next day with breakfast at a cute little place called Old Wives Tales. They had a little painted room that the kids could play in and the menu had all kinds of unusual but yummy foods.

Acrossed the street was a cool old building with a retro looking 7-up sign. Portland has some of the best buildings, so much quirk and history.

Later in the day Bree, Bean and I spent time in the kitchen. Bree's kitchen is beautiful, sunny with a vintage style that inspires and comforts. I now understand all those chick flicks about cooking in Tuscany. It was such an amazing experience. I'm not the most skilled person in the kitchen and I learned so much from her. And I watch Bean thrive as she did things she'd never tried. I felt reconnected with things I feel I missed out on when my parents died - skills in the kitchen and a sense of self. I'm now commited to spending more time with Bean in the kitchen. Making food that takes time which rewards us with time to connect to each other.

We made a wonderful salad and Bree made the cake of awsomeness. Her cake was amazing and all the food was a huge hit at the party. We drank, ate and played some Rock Band. Even Bean got in on the action wowing all the adults with her vocals. I think we're going to have to spring for the Beatles Rock Band when it comes out. Bean and I left the party early leaving the adults to continue the merry making. But it was a very enjoyable weekend.

Bean's Play: Hard Knock Life, Junie B Jones, & Jigsaw Jones

Bean's spring acting and musical theater classes are over. For her final class the kids put on a play for the parents. First they did an act from Junie B Jones and Bean played Junie's friend Herb. Then they did an act they created on their own of Jigsaw Jones and Bean played a kid bouncing a ball. For the final class they sung two songs from Annie. We loved seeing how she interacted with the other kids. She fit in so well with them, and they gave each other hugs good bye. It was everything we could have wanted out of the class.

If only some of the parents showed that same kindness.

Before each class all the parents lined up outside the class studio. For the second class this one family - you can see the old red haired woman in my picture, charged up to the front of the line demanding to get in first. Her second niece was playing one of the 'Annies'. One of the dads stepped up and told them to go back and wait in line. So she went storming to the back giving us all the pig eye. To my families misfortune she sat in front of us. Bean was directly in front of us and we had a perfect view. This woman's kid was on the right side of the room. We were in the back row by choice so that R could stand in the isle and record as they requested. So in the middle of the song this old broad got out of her chair, crossed over a few seats to stand directly in front of R as he's recording and starts taking pictures of her kid. I suspect she was intentionally trying to get in his way as she had a perfect view from her front row seat of her child. I traded places with R so he could continue filming and she completely blocked his camera. After the first song she went back to her seat. But on the second song she got up and did it again this time crowding into my space while I was taking pictures. So I flipped my camera to flash and started timing my pictures to screw up her's. I couldn't make a bigger scene - but man did I want to.

Bean's Bully

R picks Bean up from daycare after work. I usually make it home a couple of hours later - although lately i've been in crunch mode and have been getting home late. Friday after he picked her up he noticed she was acting very odd. After a bit he finally got her to open up about what happened. There's a girl named Serena in her daycare that's been bullying her. We've been working with her to deal with the girl who has a very 'Nellie Olsen' attitude. Friday though it escalated. It was Serena's birthday and she had declared that everyone should do what she says as it's her special day. She then asked who wanted to play with her. Bean offered and Serena says 'No. Not YOU.' Bean has another friend in her daycare that she adores named Kyle. He is closer to age to her, they play pokemon together, we've had playdates and he's what she considered one of his best friends. His mom also works there in the classroom.

Kyle tells Bean to come along and play anyways and be a 'spy'. Serena then tells Bean that she can't play with them because she's a cry baby, Bean tells her that she's not that way any more - she has made huge changes to her maturity this year and is better at handling her emotions. I'm proud of her for understanding that.

Serena then takes Kyle aside and shortly after that Kyle and Serena walk up and Kyle slaps Bean a crossed the face. Bean pushes him away then Serena comes up and shoves Bean hard. Bean push her away from her and at this point Kyle's mom notices what is going on. She breaks it up and tries to get Bean to tell her what happened - but she won't talk because she's Kyle's mom. Instead she's absolutely heart broken that the one friend she thought she could trust betrays her and humiliates her in front of her bully. She spends the rest of the day quitely by herself. Later Kyle asks her if she wants to play and she (thank god) tells him no.

It was so hard for her to tell her Daddy what happened. When I came home she couldn't say it again - he told me and I told her how very wrong it was. How it's not her fault. How what they did wasn't acceptable, cruel, heartless and stupid. She opened up and was able to talk to me about it. I took her out for ice cream and we talked - I depowered Serena by comparing her to Nellie Olsen and told her how stupid Kyle was. I got her to laugh. This morning she woke up in tears again, heart breaking sobs that he had betrayed her and hit her.

I'm pissed as all hell. I can barely hide it.

The daycare is closed over the weekend. I'm taking her into school on Monday then going in to the daycare and talking to the director. I don't blame Kyle's mom - we know her and know that she'll do what a good parent will and in a way I feel for her that this affects her job. But there had better be a bully policy in their handbook.

On a lighter side. We took Bean to a birthday party and she had so much fun. It was for a girl from school . It was good to see Bean amoung friends who were kind and fun to each other. The girls even have a secret handshake that they do with a chant they made up. Bean asked me to make her a doll and I made a poppet and small felt fairy doll to go with her that I had to finish in the car. It was a hit at the party and I had another mom ask if I would make one for her. She's a quilter and we might do a swap. I was just relieved to see Bean connect with people who were nice people.

Bathing Bella

This picture is from Sunday but is still too cute not to share. A new puppy has really changed the dynamic of the house. This morning Bean got herself up, got dressed took care of both dogs and made herself breakfast with out any involvement from me. She has become considerably more responsible. And to our relief Bella has attached herself to Bean following her around like a little lost duckling.

Mother's Day in Portland part 2

When visiting Portland we stay at Red Lion Jantzen Beach as it is near our friends and is pet friendly. The hotel is interesting, it's two large buildings seperated by a bridge, it sits on the river with a pier, a beautiful outdoor pool, an indoor restuarant that serves a very pricey Sunday buffet and they host a lot of weddings. But one of the two hotel buildings is closed and fenced in. They've done some restoration on the inside of the open building but it still feels old, our hotel room had also been updated new TV and pretty beds, except the bathroom had cracked and broken fixtures. Still it's affordable and clean even if it's quirky.

Chair storage.

A 'wall' made from chairs and couches. It seperates a walk way from the buffet area and coffee bar.

After eating at Voodoo Doughnuts we said good-bye to our friends and met up with the puppy seller to pick up the newest member of our family. Bean has begged for several years and we finally caved and bought her a puppy. A pretty petite 'shorkie' which is 1/2 Shitzu and 1/2 Yorkie. She was a beautiful little girl but got car sick and had to ride home in her crate. Leaving Bean to cuddle with Remy.

Bean has named her puppy Bella and she's such a little cuddle bug. She likes to bound over the grass like a rabbit, then drops down and hides in the green like a ninja puppy. We'll have to enroll her in puppy classes. But right now she just wants to sleep with us on the couch. Remy is not completely amused.

One nice thing about being an adult is that you can go to Disneyland as many times as you want, it's like having chocolate cake for breakfast.

It's not the rides, smiley characters or fake buildings that we love so much. It's that at Disney there is so little to worry about. We go during value season, I'm great at preplanning, R is great at keeping us organized the final days up to our trip. It can be cheaper than a trip to the beach or camping. So the minute we step into the airport the only thing we need to do is relax and spend time as a family. Our families must think we're nuts as we've gone to Disneyland and Disneyworld twice in a very short period. But we're all so busy at home, with work and school - that it recharges our little family and helps us get to know each other better. We've had some great arguments on our trips. I miss it already, though we are planning on taking a little Disney break and focus on other vacations for the next few years. We want Bean to experience other things.

Bean handed me a tiny yellow post it note yesterday while I was bent over my sewing machine. It was an invitation to her Pokemon Club. I headed downstairs to discover her bedroom door was covered in more tiny post it notes with various signs such as 'We have Turtwig, Picachu and Zubat', 'No Team Galactic' and 'Train your Pokemon Here'.



She had her room set up as a battle arena and after I picked my pokemon (Pikachu) we battled it out. Her pokemon of course won, mine kept attacking me and she was some what tolerant of the moves I made up - although she kept looking up moves on the little Pokedex she got from Grandma Mary to check if I was doing it right.

After playing pokemon we dressed up her build-a-bears. I wish the clothing was better organized in her room. Right now it's all shoved in a plastic drawer, or hanging on paper hangers in her closet. It's not an ideal storage solution. I thought about purchasing this until I saw it in person at the store:



It's almost $40 and the inside drawers and compartments are cardboard. For that price I expect it to be better made - as is I didn't feel it was worth more than $20. It also didn't look like it would hold much.

If she had the floor space I would just purchase a short bookcase and glue a rod inside it to hang clothes.

May 1st was our ten year anniversery. In celebration the three of us went to dinner at The Melting Pot. I love fondue, the tiny forks and gooey dips are right up my alley. R enjoys it but it's not his favorite food, and Bean had never had it before. We arrived early and killed time by walking around the streets of Bellevue. It was a beautiful evening and the spring flowers were out.

Bean is wearing a dress from the children's resell shop. She picked out the socks herself. And her dog Pudding insisted on joining us.