sunday

Today was a good day in my book.

I got up before the sun.

I rode public transportation.

I explored downtown Portland before daybreak.

I saw some of my favorite mommy friends.

I exercised.

I accomplished a big goal.

I celebrated.

I relaxed.

I spent time with my family.

I got domestic things done.

I ate well.

I drank enough water.

I drank coffee.

I drank beer.

I drank milk and ate cookies.

home is…a good day in the books.

tomorrow…

I will be running here…

Shamrock Run Portland 2011

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.

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.

white cottage small kitchen floor plan

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!

white cottage small kitchen

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…

white cottage small kitchen sink

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…

jones design company

gruve mom times

northwest hospitality

the inspired room

a. joy at home

isabella and max

urban bliss life

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.

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).