Tis the Season...

Portland Getaway

A few weeks ago we snuck down to Portland for a surprise birthday weekend for the 40th birthday of our friend Greg (aka Nellie). Nellie is like me--a big surprise party would be his worst nightmare. But Kristin wanted to do something fun for him, so she arranged for just a few of us to stay at a hotel in downtown Portland with plans to surprise him when they arrived at the restaurant in the hotel for dinner. It was kind of a gift for all of us though--so much fun to stay downtown, hang out with friends, and eat lots of yummy food. (Our girls were staying at the Nelsons with Kristin's kids and her parents so they didn't miss us at all.)

For me, this weekend was very much a payoff for "all my hard work." (Feel free to eyeroll. I'm rolling my own eyes at myself.) Working 40 hours a week is kicking my butt. Just a big adjustment for me. I don't mind waking up at 4:45am, but I'm not staying awake much past 9pm, and the second I sit down I fall asleep. I know I'll adjust eventually, but right now "work tired" is the name of the game. (I do LOVE my job though). So it was nice to use my paycheck to pay for this weekend, it's nice to understand what all the hype is about weekends finally, and it was lovely to truly enjoy the weekend with Kolby and friends.

The Civil Wars

Last night Kolby and I went to see one of our newest favorites in concert. Kolby heard them on Prairie Home Companion a few months ago and downloaded their album when he got home, and we have listened to it over and over and over again since then. I cannot get over the beauty of their voices weaving in and out of each other's like musical instruments. Absolutely one of the most beautiful "duos" I've heard.

Last weekend when we were in Portland (post to follow), Kolby and I were talking about how some of our favorite concerts ever were at the Aladdin Theater, an old movie theater in SE Portland. We saw Steve Earle and Josh Ritter there years ago, and it was the perfect venue for both of them. When we walked into the Neptune Theater last night, we were so pleased to see it looked almost identical to the Aladdin.

On stage, it was just Joy and John Paul with his guitars. Their sound was so pure and they looked like they were having the time of their lives. This concert definitely ranks in my top 5 ever, and if you haven't heard them (and like Americana music) you should definitely give them a listen.

Give me candy.

We all survived our first Halloween with me working. This was probably the hardest day for me so far because I've always gone to the girls' Halloween parties. But we are all alive. Nobody seems to scarred by my not being there. Amelia put on her costume by herself at school. Maddie had the neighbor do her eyeliner for her. Kolby picked them up and took them to Microsoft to trick or treat, and I beat them home with just enough time to heat up some beef stew to warm them up before they went out and demanded candy from strangers.

Halloween stuff...

Kolby and I always think we deserve Parent of the Year awards for actually getting around to carving pumpkins. Digging elbow deep in orange slime is not high on either of our lists of Favorite Ways to Have Fun, but the kids absolutely love it, and it's always fun to see what they envision come to life.

My family wanted to decorate for Halloween. I had to practice defensive decorating, as there was no place in my life for the skinned torso and bloody decapitated head they had in mind.

But I'm cheap. And I have a sister who likes brainstorming with me. And we have Pinterest in our lives now. So with a few cans of spray paint, a lot of old Christmas decorations, and several telephone and texting consultations, all is well.

Portland Getaway

My mom was in Portland a few weeks ago for a quilt convention, so the girls and I headed down to spend the weekend with her. We got a room in the hotel where she was staying so we could be close since we weren't sure how much time she'd be working and how much she'd be able to play.

It was such a fantastic weekend. It was gorgeous fall weather and we had a great time walking around downtown, taking the train around, swimming in the pool, and eating at our favorite restaurants. For some reason it felt like we were living there hanging out at our favorite places with my mom. We drove around our old neighbhorhood in North Portland. I have so many great memories of running those leaf covered streets in the fall, and walking them pushing the girls in the stroller with my mom when she would come to visit. I think we were all feeling very nostalgic, so we decided to head out to the pumpkin patch we visited when the kids were in preschool. Mom always came to visit in the fall, so she'd been out to Sauvie's Island with us.

One of my favorite photos of Amelia as a baby was taken at the pumpkin patch. I made Amelia pose in the pumpkins so I could get a comparison photo this time.

It does not seem that long ago that my kids were this size!

Spooky Sunday Morning

Our morning.

Winning popularity contests

This will absolutely put you at the top of the list for coolest person on Earth. At least if the person you are trying to impress is Madeline.

Maddie's all time favorite dinner is French Dip Sandwiches, which I find more than a little endearing since it's also one of my favorites. I've used this recipe for a while, and have found no need to modify it since it was pretty much perfection.

Until today.

What was the difference? Timing. I wake up at 5:15am for work. I start making my eggs and drinking my coffee around 6am. That is when I started my French Dips this morning. I omitted the pan-searing step and just dumped a thawed 3 lb. roast straight from the fridge into the crockpot, poured two packets of onion soup mix over the top, and added enough water to barely cover the roast and turned it onto the low setting. I came home from work 12 hours later to the most beautiful, delicious, fall-apart-at-the-touch-of-a-fork roast you've ever seen. With no work. I quickly threw some sliced cheese (I used Beecher's Flagship, but provolone is the usual) onto sourdough hoagie rolls, piled on the shredded beef, and broiled for seconds until the cheese was melted.

Now here's an important detail. Horseradish sauce. Don't leave me yet!!!! I thought I hated horseradish. It's served at Arby's, for crying out loud. But just give it a tiny taste with this sandwich as you dip it into the "au jus." (French for "juice"--the stuff left in the crockpot. So pretentious, I know. But supposedly those French guys gave us this amazing sammich, so their pretention can be overlooked.) The kids do not get the draw to the horsey sauce. But Kolby and I PILE on the horseradish sauce, and it is SOOOOOO GOOOOOD. Seriously. Just try it once. Trust me. (And if you live near a Safeway, you are in luck. Kolby and I could drink the "Beano" brand horesradish sauce they sell there. But don't be discouraged with other brands--just use it sparingly until you know how much of a kick it carries.)

So yeah. I'm the coolest person on earth tonight. And I will be for the rest of the weekend as we continue to eat the leftovers. Being a working mom isn't so bad.

And if your kids are more adventerous than mine, you might want to try this super easy variation. Instead of using onion soup mix, dump an ENTIRE bottle, juice and all, of pepperoncininis over the pot roast and cook on low for hours (6-12 hrs). Serve on a hoagie with the peppers piled on top of the beef and dip in the juice. With horseradish. :)

When Mom's Away...

There were plenty of days that Kolby got the girls off to school while I was in nursing school, but since that felt temporary, I think he was fine with them looking homeless as they walked out the door on those days. But now that I am working at a real job, and it feels somewhat permanent or long-term that he will be the parent getting them out the door to school, he's decided it's time to do their hair.

We had a brief tutorial the night before I started my new job. I showed him on my own hair how to part, and did not realize what a skill that actually is. I should have--the girls have yet to master that technique, or maybe they just don't care about it. But we worked on that skill for a bit, and then moved on to braiding.

The next morning on my break, I checked my phone and burst out laughing. I was treated to these photos on Facebook the first few mornings I went to work. I love that it's mostly my friends cheering him on in the comments.

Day One of Dad on Duty:

Day Two--Daughter #1

Day Two, Daughter #2

And just so you know, this is what he starts with. It is no easy task to whip this into shape:

But he has, and each day has gotten better.

It cracks me up to see him looking at hair blogs now, checking out french braids and fish braids and saying that he needs a Topsy Tail hair tool for doing cool pony tails. Love that guy.