India's eye appointment-so so news.

Day of eye surgery, just 5 months old.

Since India’s eye surgery back in February 2008 and getting her glasses in February 2009, we have been making a visit to the ophthalmologist’s office every 6 months, and every time we hear the same thing.  Her eyes are doing what they are supposed when she wears her glasses.  I expected to hear the same thing today, but sadly, this was not the case.  Her left eye is starting to get what is called Dissociated Vertical Deviation (DVD).  From http://www.aapos.org/terms/conditions/44  “DVD is a condition in which one eye drifts upward. The eye may drift upward only occasionally or be deviated almost constantly. The amount of drifting may even vary during the course of the day. Often, DVD is only seen in one eye by a parent, while testing by an ophthalmologist may reveal the problem is actually present in both eyes.”  She is making up for this by leaning her head to the right.  Jeff and I never noticed this until they pointed it out to us today.  It is just a slight lean, but enough that it is totally obvious to me now.  


 The good news is that her eyes want to work together, if they were not her left eye would be drifting around all the time not just occasionally.  The bad news is that she will more than likely need another surgery.  I had really hoped that she would never need another, so I am pretty sad to hear that it might still be an option.  We have to go back in and have her looked at again in three months and see if anything has changed, and possibly change her prescription, get a patch or schedule a surgery.


I know that there are so many worse things that could happen to your kid, but hearing your child will probably need surgery is still something, no parent wants to hear.  I will post more after our next appointment.    

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The Apple Picking Gang

I heard a couple of families at preschool talking about apple picking, and I realized that I have never picked apples.  I looked at the weather forecast and told Jeff I thought it would be a fun family event, and he agreed.  What I probably should have looked at was how far away the place was!  It took us about an hour and a half, which seems a little far for apples to me but I decided to look at it as an adventure instead.

When we got to the place, it was packed.  They were doing their yearly Edelweiss event.  If just seeing the word Edelweiss doesn’t get you singing the song from “Sound of Music” I don’t know what is wrong with you!

 

Most people seemed to be just getting apples out of bins, and I freaked out for a second thinking that maybe there wasn’t any u-picking going on.  While we roamed the orchard, we saw a hayride go by so we jumped on.  The ride made a stop to see a few animals that live on the orchard.  There was a giant steer and a 44-year old horse.  I had no idea horses lived that long. India feed the steer a pear, and I hoped that none of my family would have their eyes gouged out by its horn. 

We finally figured out the u-pick situation, and headed out to the orchard.  We ended up with 11 pounds of various apples for $11.  Pretty good deal in my mind.  Hadley doesn’t have a huge vocabulary at this point, but she did learn to say “apple” while walking the through the rows of apples. 

We had a great time, and I will add this on to our things to do again in fall list.  What must do fall things are on your list?

Hanging out with Hadley

30 day challenge, my take on it.

I was just reading a post on Activewomom.com about going coffee free for 30days, and I shuttered at the thought.  I love the smell of coffee, and I love drinking coffee.  However, for all the love of coffee I have, I drink less than two cups a day and rarely do I have coffee after lunchtime.  The article got me thinking of something that I could give up for 30 days, and the answer was nothing!  But it did get me thinking about what I could add to my life for 30 days and in turn become more of a way of life (hopefully).  I am not a glass half-full kind of a girl, but I thought it would be easier to focus on the positive for me.

Here is my list of things to add to my life.

• Run 3 times a week.
• Workout 5 times a week.
• Eat a fruit or vegetable at every meal.
• Have one healthy snack a day that is primarily a fruit or vegetable.
• Have a healthy meal for dinner 5 times a week. 
• And the tough one, drink 8 glasses of water. 
• Get up by 6:30 on the weekdays so I can add a half hour of stress free mornings to my life. 

This picture has nothing to do with the post, but it was to cute not to share.  

Anyone care to join me?

Fall TV is back

Another sign that fall is just around the corner; my DVR finally has more than one program to record!  That’s not quite true, but knowing that Breaking Bad (AMC) only has three more episodes this season is sad, so it will be nice to have to fillers until Mad Men (AMC) comes back in winter.  Oh, how I have missed Don Draper and crew; l have made sure to keep up drinking though in honor of the show.

Looking through my scheduled to be recorded shows, nothing is really calling my name but here is what my DVR is looking like for this week.

Tuesday

Glee (Fox)
New Girl (Fox)-I have mixed feelings on this show, but I like the lead Zooey Deschanel so I am giving it a try
Raising Hope (Fox)

Wednesday

Up All Night (NBC)-the pilot was funny, but it went from 10 p.m. to 8 p.m. so the humor might change. Modern Family (ABC)

Thursday

Millionaire Matchmaker (Bravo)
Community (NBC)
Parks and Recreation (NBC)
Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
Project Runway (Lifetime)
Person of Interest (CBS)

What shows are you looking forward to returning or are excited to see for the first time?  Comment below.  

A quick video of the girls at the park

Didn't summer just start?

Even the though the calendar doesn’t say it is fall yet, school started this week and I made a pot of soup, so in my mind summer is officially over.  Or like my friend Chloe said, she had to switch to from white wine to red this week!  It seems like summer went by in the blink of the eye, so sad.  I would probably rank fall as my second favorite season after summer, I love the brisk mornings and warm afternoons, the wearing of boots and apple cider.  I try to forget that fall leads into a rainy and gray winter, which the last couple of years have been incredibly long.  I probably owe a post about the summer, and now that India is back in school, I will try to get to it. 

India did a few months of preschool after we moved to Portland earlier this year, but this week marked her first fall day of preschool.  She had some separation issues last year, but had a blast her first day.  After not wanting Hadley and me to go at first, once some play dough caught her attention, we were like chopped liver to her.  She didn’t want to come home after class and asked that night if she could go back the next day.  This is a far cry from the little girl that was hugging my legs last year begging me not to go. 

What a cutie!

I hope that fall brings lots of beautiful fall leaves and changes to wear my boots without them getting wet.  I tried on a pair of red pumps that I hadn’t worn in months, and my poor feet forgot how to even wear them!  I guess that it what just wearing flip-flops and sneakers will do to a person!

Suri's Burn Book

Looking for a fun snarky read?  Check out this blog Suri's Burn Book.

We did it!

I couldn’t have imagined a year ago that I would be able to say that I have run a half-marathon, but here I am a few days after and feeling great.  The whole running thing started last June when my stroller strides group started a running club.  You could train for a 5 or 10k, and even though the most I had ever run was a 5k, I decided to try for the 10k.  I remember at one point Hilary (the instructor) saying, “you aren’t going to try, you are going to do it.”  I ran the race with my friend Kelly in early September and we kind of joked about doing a half-marathon the next year.  We were having dinner with some friend’s right before we moved to Portland, and the husband and I were talking about running and on a whim decided to do the half.  Jeff later told me he would be interested as well.

I signed us up in November, and we started our training in spring.  The training called for 3-4 days of running, with a long run each Sunday.  With both of training we knew this would be a bit of a problem since we have the girls to think about.  I don’t know if we ever ran four days a week, and I probably missed a quarter of the long runs.  Jeff on the other hand did something to both of his ankles and essentially had to quit running in May.  He was determined to run the race though, even if we had to immediately go to the hospital and have his legs amputated! 

On our way to the starting line.

The day of the race, we had to get up around 4 a.m. and I was anything but excited to get out of bed.  I had been very nervous the day before (hell, pretty much anytime I thought about it) but when we got up, I felt okay.  We had moved up our estimated finish time to 2:10 and I felt that it was doable, as I had been pacing myself in training to run around a 9:55-minute mile. Even though Jeff and I were starting together, we agreed not to try to run it together as we were not at the same pace at this point.  I was pretty worried about Jeff, so when we saw each other at the water station at mile two I was pretty happy knowing that he had made it that far and timing wise wasn’t that far behind me.  Although I had seen a video of what the course was, I wasn’t expecting the hill at mile four to be so long or how steep the hill at mile nine would be.  I don’t like heights, and bridges freak me out, so I had been a little worried about the end of the race where you running on a overpass but what I hadn’t thought about was my hatred of driving through tunnels and now I had to run through one.  It was over a half-mile in the tunnel I believe, and there wasn’t a lot of air and it was very hot.  I was so excited to see the end, and definitely picked up the pace to get out of there! 

I had read in my training book that mile nine should really be considered the half-way point, but that the excitement of reaching the finish line would carry your through the last few miles.  I can’t say that this happened for me.  It took everything I had at the last mile not to walk it in, but I knew that if I kept going I would meet my goal of 2:10, which is what I did.  My legs felt like jello, but I kept moving after the finish line so I wouldn’t cramp up.  My friend Kelly was already done and found me right after, and I was so proud of her for doing the race in under two hours.  We went to get our bags and wait for Jeff to cross the finish line.  We kept waiting and waiting, and finally I went to see if he was our other meet up spot in case I had missed him.  I was so happy when I saw him standing there.  He had come in 13 minutes after me, so I must have missed him while I was getting our things. 

Kelly and I after the race.

Here is what I have learned:

• I am a lot stronger that I thought I was.
• That it is important to stick with your training, and your plan.  I was running with a friend for a while during the race and I realized that I was running faster than I had trained for.  I had to wish her good luck and go back to my pace.
• Recovery is a lot quicker if you listen to your body.
• Even though there wasn’t anybody cheering me on, reading other people’s signs of encouragement would not only give me chills but kept me going.  Same thing could be said for any little girls I saw cheering on their mamas. 
• Seeing a lot of American flags and people wearing blue shirts in remembrance of fallen soldiers will bring a tear to my eye.

Jeff and I in the beer garden after the race. 

Jeff and I are both on board to do the race again next year, and our plan is to continue to keep a good running base in the “off season” and work towards finishing faster.  We are doing an 8k in August and I have a 10k scheduled for September, so running isn’t finished for the year by any means but the level of intensity has dropped off.  I go for my first post half run tonight and I am looking forward to it. 

Let’s talk “The Voice”

I haven’t blogged in forever, so a post about a TV show might seem a little odd but it is what it is.  When NBC started promoting the crap out of this show, I thought blah another American Idol, just what we need.  However, one afternoon the girls were napping, and I had a pile of laundry bigger than my SUV to fold so I watched the first show through on demand and really liked it.  Even when India woke up, we continued to watch it and dance.

I liked how they did blind auditions with the coaches (judges) having their back to the singer so that they would basis their decision based on their singing vs. their looks.  After that round was the battle round where two singers on the same team had to sing the same song together and the coach had to pick the best singer to move on to the next stage of the competition.  I can’t say I agreed with all the choices they made, but that’s fine. 

This week was the first “live” show, and of the four singers on each team, only two will move on to the next round.  The two teams to perform were Blake Shelton’s and Christina Aguilera’s.  I had thought that Adam Levine had the team to beat but I am not sure now.  I really liked the two videos below and really hope that these girls move on to the next round.  We ended up downloading Dia and Kenye’s version of this song (we already had The Fray version) and played them back to back.  We liked the remakes a lot more.  I like Xenia’s voice, but I feel bad for her since she is so shy.  I don’t see her ever performing in front of a large audience but I bet she would rock a small venue. 

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Several years ago, I had seen a VH1 show about Christina and thought she seemed okay, but on this show, she is just horrible.  Besides her very nasty outfits (they are all about two sizes to small), the input she gives has nothing to do with the singing.  I find her incredibly rude, and honestly, whenever she talks I kind of want to punch her in the face.  I don’t listen to country music, so I don’t know a Blake Sheldon song to save my life, but I really like him on this show.  You can tell he really cares about his team, and wants them all to do well.    

I am looking forward to next week’s show to see who moves on and to see the other judge’s performance.  Who are you looking forward to seeing or want to move on to the next round?  Comment below.  

Weekend fun!

We had a nice weekend, and the weather give us a glimpse of hope that spring might actually happen…

Friday-The girls and I started the weekend off with our typical Friday morning, Stroller Strides and music class.  Afterwards we spent the afternoon in the backyard enjoying the sunshine.  We toured Jeff’s new office and picked up our race packets for the next day downtown and headed to The Spaghetti Factory to carb up.

Saturday-Race day!  Jeff and I ran a 10k and India ran her first race and did awesome!  I beat my previous 10k time by almost three minutes, but missed by goal of under an hour (one hour even).  We quickly went home and got ready to throw my dad a surprise birthday party.  It went off without a hitch, although my dad did ended a little late as they were stuck in traffic.  He had no idea, and his first reaction was to walk right back out the door.

Running with Grandma

Practice round of "surprise"

Sunday-My sister hosted Easter brunch and an egg hunt for the little ones.  India really enjoyed and Hadley could have cared less, one-year-olds, what are you going to do?  India fell asleep in the car on the way home, so I quickly hid some eggs around the house.  She ended up just being freaked out about the whole thing.  She was still pretty groggy, so I don’t think she was able to really enjoy it.

Ari and India during the 1st round of the egg hunt

Has anyone ever thrown you a surprise party?  Or do you secretly hope someone will?

Pizza face

India was very excited when she got her Highlights High Five magazine a few months back and saw a recipe for “pizza faces”. We have had it a couple of times, and it is an easy and fun meal for toddlers to help out with.  Here is our version:

• 
  
• English muffins (1 per kid, and 1-2 for adults depending on hunger level) 
• Red pepper 
• Broccoli 
• Sliced olives 
• Spaghetti sauce (jarred or homemade) 
• Cheese (we use what we have on hand) 

Adult work 
1. Preheat the oven to 350
2. Cut pepper into thin slices
3. Separate broccoli into little pieces
4. Split English muffins and place on a baking pan
5. Spread sauce over entire muffin (kids could do this, but it’s a little messy for India in my opinion)

Kid work 
1. Put cheese on muffin
2. Put eyes (olives) on
3. Put nose (broccoli) on
4. Put mouth (red pepper) on
5. Have an adult put them in the oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese melts
6. Enjoy!

I am trying to come up with how I could do this with fruits as more of a morning meal but haven't come up with all the ingredients yet.  Anyone have any ideas?  Comment below if you do.

Maybe the glass is just too small

As I am sure everyone has, there are days when I am just so annoyed and every little thing sets me off.  I can’t lie, this typically coincides with days that my three-year-old is being a handful.  You can only hear so many tantrums before you start to feel like having one yourself.  Or what about the days when you are already running late and frazzled and realize that you forgot this or that and now you are even more late.  It’s easy to think what a crappy day you are having and have a little pity party, I know I have attended more than one.  However, looking at the whole picture, I have to attempt I have it pretty good.

What you might be saying, is Erin being optimistic?  I am a self-proclaimed glass half empty kind of girl (I said this yesterday and a friend said “no” in a mocking tone).  Right now I know two different families that are going through such heartbreak that it makes my “bad days” look like a joke.  Family number one is dealing with a nasty tumor that is offering an average lifespan of 8 years.  I can’t imagine being given those numbers and this family has three little ones under four.  The second family has a little boy less than two weeks old who stopped breathing last week and has been in the hospital ever since.  He isn’t able to breathe on his own for long and there doesn’t look like there is much that can be done for him.  He doesn’t seem to be in pain and his family can hold him, but tears spring to my eyes just typing about him.  It makes my morning of children screaming because they just want me to spend time with them look like a walk in the park not the nightmare I had made it out to be in my head.  I guess all it takes is just a little change in perspective…

Half-marathon training week one

Yesterday ended our first week of half-marathon training and overall is just went okay.  I ended up with bad allergies the end of the week, and running did not seem like a great idea.

Sunday-3.5 miles at least I think that is about what I did.  The battery died on my Garmin, so I had to guess where I thought a quarter mile was at one point in the run.  I have since done the route and I would say it was pretty close.  B+

Wednesday-3 miles before coffee, yikes not something I would normally enjoy but actually it felt good to get my run in before the day started.  A

Thursday-4 miles didn’t happen.  I woke up with a sore throat, and a crazy bad headache.  F

Saturday-3 miles but it felt like 30.  Again, my head was hurting and my nose was all stuffed up.  I hadn’t even gone a mile and I was ready to quit.  I was able to do the whole thing, but didn’t enjoy it.  C-

Total miles run=9.5

I really want a pair of Nike Free Run shoes, has anyone tried them?   

Running, running, running

That is going to be Jeff and I starting today. We officially start our half-marathon training this afternoon with a 3.5 mile run. We are doing the Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon at the end of June.  It freaks me out to think about running 13.1 miles, but it the thought of running 6 miles last year seemed crazy too and I did that no problem.  Any running or motivational tips?  Comment below.

After the 10k last September

Maybe spring is right around the corner...

The girls and I headed outside for a little sun this afternoon and I was so surprised that it was actually warm!

This is how we do spring break

Cabo, tequila shots, random hookups… Damn, that was something on TV; our spring break was nothing like that.

Monday-The girls and I had a lazy day as I realized we didn’t have to be anywhere, so why get out of pajamas before noon? When Jeff got home from work, I went for a run while he took the girls to the park. We traded off when I was finished and came home for dinner. \

Tuesday-Headed to Stroller Strides, and then home from lunch and naps. India had ballet and back home we went. Doesn’t get crazier than that.

Wednesday-Back to Stroller Strides, and playing at the mall afterwards. India had a great time, and didn’t want to leave but poor Hadley was practically asleep in the stroller. In the afternoon we head to Home Depot to meet the electrician to pick out a range hood. Wow, thank god I am not driving while typing this or I might fall asleep at the wheel.

Thursday-Once again Stroller Strides, I am starting to see a pattern here. After lunch both girls were relaxing (or sleeping in Hadley’s case) so I decided to relax for a while and watch something on Netflix. It was nice for the 45 minutes it lasted.

Friday-Off to another day of Stroller Strides, followed by indoor play at the mall. Afterwards five moms with double strollers invaded Swirl Frozen Yogurt. We had never been before, but it was really good. You pay by the ounce and there are about 12 different flavors and a ton of toppings to pick from. We split a strawberry/blueberry mix with granola, crushed almonds and marshmallows. Minus the marshmallows, it was pretty yummy. Later that evening we hit up Laughing Planet for burrito and chips. We tried to buy margarita fixing’s but the stupid liquor store closes at 7 p.m. I guess the people in the Woodstock area are better prepared for Friday evenings than we are!

Saturday-We decided that we would do a little retail therapy, and once again went to the mall. Jeff got some work things, and India and I also grabbed a few things. Sorry Hadley, you will have to wait for the hand-me-downs in a few years. We got lunch at The Ram followed by more frozen yogurt at Swirl. We also decided to get a new Wii as they were on sale at Fred Meyer. India was very excited to get a pink controller. We spent the evening making lasagna and playing Wii.

Sunday-Both Jeff and I went to get our haircuts as our hairdresser is moving to San Diego. Bummer, we both really like her and she was crazy affordable. Oh well, easy come, easy go I guess. Afterwards we hit up Starbucks for coffee and a cookie. Hadley dazzled us with her new skill, using a straw. We spent the rest of the hanging out and relaxing.

Our spring break wasn’t exciting at all, but it was a nice break from the normal weekly running around.

What did you do for spring break?

Mom, why did the bad guys take our computer?

This is a common question now in our house after it was broken into last week. We weren’t home and everyone is fine, but the whole thing is unsettling. The girls and I came home from Stroller Strides last Tuesday, and I ran Hadley up to her room as she was exhausted. I came downstairs and walked into the kitchen and noticed the laptop was gone. I briefly questioned if I had been using the computer in the living room (not a typical place for it) and looked over and saw the back window was open. I yelled to India to put on her shoes, grabbed Hadley and my purse and headed to the car. I realized while sitting in the car that when I had unlocked the house it didn’t seem like I had to turn the key much. The police came and checked out the area, and told us that there have been quite a few break-ins in the area, with laptops and jewelry being the prime target. The thief or bad guy only took our laptop and the Wii and all the games and controllers. We had quite a few other items of worth sitting out right next to the computer but I guess they weren’t interested in them. They were very clean about it, and I don’t even think they went up stairs; they just grabbed what they wanted and headed out the front door.

The whole experience has left me feeling both violated and heartbroken. I had thousands of pictures on the laptop, and was going to back them up on an external hard drive the same morning this happened, but had decided to do it after lunch while the girls were napping. Quite a few of the pictures are online, but I hadn’t uploaded nearly as many over the last year, so more pictures than I care to think about of Hadley are gone. I find myself jumping over any movement in the backyard, robins being the main culprit. I know that it could have been worse, but I wish the whole thing won’t have happened in the first place…

Happy Birthday Hadley!

I don’t know how this happened, but my baby is one already. Hadley turned one on Sunday and we celebrated with a family party. In attendance were one and a half sets of grandparents, three aunts, an uncle and four cousins plus her immediate family and a friend of her aunts. The house was full to say the least. India had to take a couple of breaks from all the action as it was a little overwhelming for her. Hadley wasn’t really interested in opening her presents, but luckily she has an older sister that was all over that.

My sister made a beautiful cake and cupcakes, and Hadley enjoyed the frosting quite a bit. On Hadley’s actual birthday we went out and got ice cream, and later made cupcakes at home. You can’t celebrate a birthday enough around here!

On a totally different note, Jeff and I ran a 5k on Sunday morning as part of our work up to a half-marathon in June. The course had more hills than we were expecting, but we felt pretty good all in all. The biggest downside to it was the weather. It rained the entire time we were there, so by the time we got home several hours later both of us were just freezing. I think I am still cold today…

The house of illness

 

I don't know what is going on with our health since moving to Oregon, but I swear one of us is sick with a cold or worse pretty much every week. This week’s hardest hit victim is India who has just a cold, but it is knocking all the life out of her. She pretty much wanted to snuggle all day yesterday, or to nap which is the complete opposite of the kid that just likes to move around all the time. She woke up seeming better today, so she went to preschool and her teacher even came over for an hour after lunch and she played very hard. After the visit, we made cookies and the crankiness returned. After telling her to go take a nap and to stop getting near the hot cookie sheet she went into the living room to snuggle with her blanket. After not hearing her for a few minutes, I found her wrapped up in a blanket sound asleep on the couch. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon, I would join her but I need to get ready to go running. I think I know who got the better end of that deal.

Mom, can I borrow the car?

India took yet another step towards independence and not needing her parents anymore, she started preschool.  She has been so excited about being a “preschooler” and what a big kid she will be.  She showed me her stomach this morning after eating breakfast as evidence of her bigness.  When we got to school she was a little shy, and hanging on my legs but after about 10 minutes she could have cared less that Hadley and I were taking off.  She will be going two days a week for three hours, and then we can stick around and eat lunch if we want to.  It is a co-op preschool, so I will be working there every 6-7 weeks while Jeff works for home and takes care of Hadley. 

While I am excited to be involved in her school, I almost wish that we were starting a few weeks later as we now need to solicit donations for a fundraising auction.  This is so not me or Jeff for that matter.  It would probably help if we knew the area better or frequented an establishment all the time, but that just isn’t the case.  If you have anything you want to donate, let me know!

Yikes, Hadley is turning one already next month.  I can’t believe how fast this year has flown by.  She still isn’t showing any interest in walking, which is okay.  Her new favorite game is peek-a-boo; she just laughs and laughs when she hides under her clothes.  

What is wrong with fire alarm designers?

Stupid fire alarm is all I can say!  I woke up a little before 3 a.m. to Hadley whimpering, and a loud beep.   I figured I must imaging things as I was here when the brand new alarms were installed a month ago.  I stood in the hallway for a few seconds and turned back into our room only to hear the beep again.  Jeff too was awake (this will tell you how loud it was as he is a deep sleeper) and said it must be the battery.  He got out of bed and we tried to figure out which alarm it was, not easy when there are five of them within 10 feet of each other.  Jeff determined it must be the one in the hallway above the stairs, great only that is probably up the wall 16 feet.  Not a problem if you have a ladder, but we are renters, our ladder is at the old house.  We learn by taking down a different alarm that the beeping isn’t the battery but a malfunction.  Jeff tries to reset it by using a curtain rod (bonus points for creativity) but all it does it run the test alarm (all bonus points lost).  The test alarm is not at all quiet or quick, and did I mention this is at 3 in the morning!  Hadley is completely awake at this point, and India soon follows.  As luck would have it, the alarm that was malfunctioning was actually in Hadley’s room (no wonder she was whimpering) so Jeff took it down, and we all tried to get back to sleep.  I still heard India playing in her room at 4, but that didn’t keep her from getting up at her normal 7 a.m. schedule.  I really wonder if the people that design fire alarms are just horrible people, or just enjoy getting up in the middle of the night.  It’s going to be a long day…

Hadley enjoying an afternoon snack

India has taken to picking out her own outfits lately...

A new place to call home

After crashing at my parents for almost two months, we are living in Portland now.  Besides enjoying having a place of our own, it is so great to have Jeff home at a normal time.  He was driving to a park-n-ride about 50 minutes away, and getting on a bus to downtown Portland which would take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour depending on traffic (where are the HOV lanes in this state I wonder?).  We are just renting at this point, and will be renting out our house in Bothell. 

We had thought when we first talked about moving to Portland, that we would end up in the Beaverton area and Jeff would take the Max line (light rail) to work.  But my mom mentioned that Sellwood was an area that people liked, and for kicks we drove through the area.  We ended up really loving it, and kept our eyes open for a house on Craigslist.  We found what was listed as a "newer" home, and by newer they meant built in 1980!  I don't know why each house we live in keeps getting older, but it seems to be the trend with us.  The house really sticks out as the majority of the homes around it were built in the '30's.  India really likes that her room has a little storage area in addition to the closet that she can play in.  I can barely stand at the tall end of it, so it is perfect for a little girl and all of her toys.    

We are still getting settled in, with lots of boxes still to unpack.  I can't believe how much junk we own, seriously there were close to 300 boxes or items that the movers brought in.  With that being said, they did count the legs of tables as an item.  Luckily the house has a ton of storage, and we have decided that as we unpack we will start getting rid of things.  Most people would probably do that before they moved, but Jeff's work paid for the house to be packed for us, so what was the point!  I am hoping by next weekend we will have unearthed all the things we really need, and can deal with the rest whenever.

If you are in the Portland area, let us know.