I will be running here…
With my momma friends from here…
(if you are there, look for us in our team shirts with the above picture on them)
home is…running in the rain with good friends.
Tag: postaday2011
cooking up a remodel
A little over a year before we moved from Denver to Portland we completed a total kitchen remodel.
via me
I loved that kitchen.
Our current house has a dated kitchen that is in need of some remodeling attention that we just can’t afford to give it now.
My taste has changed a bit in the last 6 years. In Denver I wanted warm wood cabinets, slate floors (which I would be happy with here, too), and saturated colors (you can see the red, green and yellow that was on our walls in that home).
The kitchen below is almost exactly what I would do in our kitchen if we could remodel.
via bhg.com
I love the crisp white cabinets, touches of chalkboard paint, the center island, and the dark countertops in the kitchen below. It’s the opposite of what we have now (wood cabinets, white countertops, and light floors). With the grey, wet winters that we get here in the Pacific Northwest I think this bright kitchen would end up being my favorite space in the house!
via bhg.com
I could always start by painting our current cabinets and walls white, right?!
A new sink and faucet wouldn’t hurt either…
via bhg.com
And, I have plans for our pantry/refrigerator wall in our kitchen…minor changes that would make a huge difference.
Like getting rid of this mess…
via me
This kitchen desk is just a clutter catcher and a huge waste of space!
home is…cooking up a kitchen remodel.
spring fever
Last night the rain pouring down on our skylights kept me up for a couple of hours from about 2am until 4am. I love the sound of rain falling on the roof, but this was like buckets pouring down on the roof!
We had a chance to play outside earlier this week.
There are some flowers blooming in our backyard.
Plenty of mud to play with.
Getting some practice mowing the grass with lawnmower races.
Dirty, soggy, forgotten toys.
Wormies!
home is…catching a bit of spring fever.
{all photos taken with my iPhone using instagr.am}
share the blog
Today, I want to share with you some of the other blogging mommas in the Pacific Northwest who inspire me.
Some of them I know in real life.
Some of them I just know in cyberspace through blogging.
Some of them I haven’t met, but would love to!
I don’t have a lot to say today, but please visit their sites and tell them I sent you…
If any of you know others who you would like to add, please leave a comment.
And, don’t be afraid to leave your own blog. I am HAPPY to share!
home is…sharing the blog.
{tuesdays with lola} the allison
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
– Ferris Bueller
Life is good.
It’s easy to forget that when you are frustrated about migraines, 3-1/2 year olds who don’t go to sleep at bedtime, stomach cramps, teething toddlers, messy houses, death, arguments, and all the other normal stuff that happens in life.
It’s all good.
What makes it tough is if we don’t stop to appreciate all of it. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
I don’t know who is in charge, but “they” have a plan for all of us. We’re just along for the ride.
Speaking of ride, lola and I went for a drive this morning after we dropped the little guy off at school. When I don’t feel like tackling the to do list I often just go for a drive.
This morning the sun was peaking through the clouds, and I thought we would get out and enjoy it before raindrops start falling again.
We drove down to The Allison. One of my favorite places to take the kids for a little bit of an adventure. We walk around the beautiful grounds and soak up a little bit of what the Willamette Valley has to offer. It’s a little different every season.
Here is what we found today…
home is…putting the to do list away for a morning.
get moving…
…it’s Monday!
I did get moving this morning, and then I fell flat on my face!
Not literally, but after my almost 6 mile run I felt terrible this morning!
I had a wonderful weekend sandwiched between the migraine I had on Friday and some stomach yuckiness I had today.
I am going to try to get moving again tomorrow…
Sorry for a silly post today.
Please come back to visit tomorrow.
I can’t promise greatness, but I can promise that I will have another post.
I am taking part in the WordPress Post a Day 2011 Challenge, you know.
home is…another day to get moving.
thanks, i needed that
On March 5th, 2010 I went wine tasting to celebrate a girlfriends birthday. We went out to dinner, spent the night at The Allison Inn & Spa, had breakfast, a massage, and stopped for lunch on the way home. It was good to feel independent for 24 hours.
When I got home I found out that my baby girl had not eaten anything since I left the previous day at noon. She had a jar or two of solids, but no milk. She was 6 months old and wouldn’t take a bottle.
I felt like a terrible mom.
I felt like a terrible wife.
How could I have left to have fun when nobody was having fun at home?
What was I thinking?!
She never did drink from a bottle.
We tried for 6 months after that.
I bought every bottle I could.
We tried sippy cups.
Nothing.
When she turned a year old I asked the pediatrician how I should go about weaning her. I was ready to be done. I needed a break. He just told me to stop…cut one feeding a week. (Meaning, if I was feeding her 4x a day, cut down to 3x for the 1st week, 2x for the 2nd week, etc.)
I did.
It took a little over a month.
It was fine.
She still doesn’t drink milk.
On March 4th, 2011 I spent the first night away from my kids since that night. Almost one year to the day.
This time I did not worry about the bottle. Baby girl can eat. She eats all day.
I felt liberated.
Independent.
Free.
(But, I still wanted Ryan to send me pictures of the kids eating their dinner and sleeping in their beds)
Thanks, Ryan. I needed that.
I’ll write more about it later.
home is…not worrying about the bottle.
peace
home is…the peace of being calm in your heart.
stay tuned for color…
I know.
I was supposed to post about using color in our home today.
Once again, I ask you to be patient.
I’m not even going to tell you that I will write about it next week.
I will write about it, I just don’t know when.
I can tell you it will be on a Friday.
Stay tuned.
home is…seeing colors (and auras).
aura
Migraines.
Do you get them?
I do.
About once a month. Sometimes more. Sometimes less.
Today I got one.
Before 9 am.
Mine start with an aura or prodrome.
“A migraine with aura comes with additional symptoms, which often begin about 30 minutes or less before the headache. These early symptoms are called a prodrome.The prodrome or aura may last for five to 20 minutes, or it may continue even after the headache subsides. Symptoms of aura include:
- blind spots or scotomas
- blindness in half of your visual field in one or both eyes (hemianopsia)
- seeing zigzag patterns (fortification)
- seeing flashing lights (scintilla)
- feeling prickling skin (paresthesia)
- weakness
- seeing things that aren’t really there (hallucinations)”
(from WebMD: http://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/what-is-a-migraine-with-aura)
The positive side of aura is that I always know when I will be getting a headache in about 1/2 hour. The negative is that the aura is often worse (and scarier) than the actual headache.
It is interesting to me that only about 20% of migraine sufferers experience the prodrome (aura). I have always experienced it. I started getting migraines when I was a teenager.
I know that I am sensitive to light and that different light sources can cause a migraine. I used to get migraines after walking into our darken sorority house after walking home in the sun from campus at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
I have found in the past year of so I tend to get migraines after I exert myself (usually after a Stroller Strides class). Although, in a lot of those classes we also move back and forth from indoor light to outdoor light and I have a feeling it may be a combination of exertion and light sensitivity that sets me off.
Of course, hormones are always part of the equation, too. I then to get a migraine a week before I get my period (sorry if that is too much information for the men who read this, but it is true).
It is also interesting to me that the article on WedMD notes that serotonin and dopamine are two chemicals that cause migraines with aura. I have a feeling that my body has trouble regulating those chemicals anyway (I have bouts of mild to moderate depression and have taken antidepressants in the past), so I am not surprised.
I always mention migraines on a health history when visiting the doctor, but I have not visited a doctor (other than an OB/GYN) in over 5 years. I am thinking it may be time to go (and maybe even see a neurologist).
I was lucky today because I was at home. My husband was working from home and able to keep an eye on the kids while I went in a dark quiet room and rested for a while. That hasn’t always been the case. Many times I am away from home with the kids…driving with an aura is dangerous. I have waited the aura out. I have also driven with the kids in the car hoping that I will be able to see well enough to get home to ibuprofen, a Coke, and safety.
My mom used to get them (and I think she still does). My dads sister got them. I have cousins who get them. It runs in families. I hope my kids don’t get them.
home is…having an aura about me.
stephany taddeo 