Rotating beds

Finn got a new bed yesterday, well new to him anyway. He is in a toddler bed now with easy access to getting in and out by himself. He was pretty fired up about it last night, excited to go to bed. "Come see my big boy bed mommy!" With Finn moving to the big boy bed Henry moved up from the small wooden crib to the big rickety one that Finn just left. Henry was starting to get to the point where, standing in the smaller one, he could almost pivot out. Now he is a little guy in a sea of crib. Henry didn't take to his new bed like Finn did. He was screaming and crying each time we left the room. Finn would yell at him that it was OK, but Henry didn't seem to think so. With a warmed up bottle of milk Henry finally saw the light, or stopped seeing lights all together and drifted off to sleep. They both slept through the night after a rough go the night before where both of them were up and crying in our bed at different times. Nap time today will be a real test for Finn to see if he stays in bed or gets down and starts playing but he is pretty good at going to sleep. They are growing up fast, too fast sometimes.

Got nothing to do today, why not read a story

http://blueful.com/

It's cold here, but not that cold

It has been brisk in the pre-dawn walk to the train. Thanks to a great Christmas gift of warm gloves from Scott and Mandy last year and good scarf I have been pretty warm. I got a travel buddy who works at the same place and gets on the stop just North or me. He showed me how we could get on the bus right away a couple stops earlier and not have to spend anytime waiting int he cold. He also pointed out that our company offers discounted Monthly passes that will be a significant savings from my current Craigslist search. After getting a talking to for being late a bunch the first two weeks I have found the rythem and am now 20 minutes early for work taking the good train and bus.

Finn got to spend some time at Grandma Debbie's house today giving Henry some time to not get knocked around and play with whatever he wants. It was a win win I think. Kate and I made her own dress form that turned out super cool. I'll post pictures later. This weekend was nice time of making dress forms, fixing sewing machines, cooking dinner, and folding clothes. Not to be cocky or anything but i'm kind of a catch!

Crazy clawfoot goodness

The boys in the bath

Adventures in public transport

Day 1

With my January All-Zones pass secured I started my new public transport work life this week. I got a pump for the tires on Jesse's bike and a lock to bring with me. The 6:40 train will get me to to the stop closest my work at 7:45 leaving me a mile ride to work. It was lightly raining and though I thought to pack an extra pair of pants last night before going to bed, I didn't remember to actually do it in the morning. I made it to the train just fine and it was running a couple minutes late. I got to the stop by work at 7:50 and was 3 minutes late coming into work. I also had a wet muddy strip on the back of my pants and lost my glasses some where along the way. It was an uncomfortable day squinting and trying not to go anywhere so that no one would see brown stain on my bottom. I made it back to the train but missed the 5:15 train that would get me home at 6 and so had to wait for the 5:25 train. It was a good ride back with some vetern bike commuters that set me straight on things like reflectors, lights, and most important: Fenders! I couldn't get on the Yellow line train that would drop me off by the house so I rode from the Rose Quarter back home up a little hill. The bikes gears were not working and the peddles would slip as the gears caught and switched making impossible to peddle hard. I made it home tired and dirty and having learned some good lessons. I need a bike of my own, it needs fenders, I need an extra set of clothes anyway, and I am going to enjoy this.

Day 2

Knowing that I need to get my own bike and not yet able to do that I left the bike at home and took the train/bus option today. I needed to get the 6:29 train in the morning to make it to work on time and I missed it by 2 minutes. That meant waiting another 15 minutes for the next one and missing the bus connection by work that would get me to work on time. Knowing I was going to be late I sat back and read with the other commuters. At the Sunset Transfer Center there was a fare check, the first one I have experienced in the few times I have taken the train. A couple of people got pulled off for not having fare but it was a pretty quick check. I got a ride from work to the station and made the 5:15 train with no problem. I made it home to Ribs, beans and Salad and far dryer and cleaner then the day before. I learned that 15 mintues is not enough time to get up, have coffee, and make it to the train so an earlier alarm was in order.

Day 3

Alarm went off at 5:45 this time and I awoke with a terrible headache. I called into work and went back to bed. No train today, we will see how Thursday goes.

New Seasons

Coming out of New Seasons Market with my lentil soup into the quickly piling snow I am starting to feel at home. It is cold and wet out and I can see my breath as I make my way around the store to the back where I parked. There are people waiting as the train pulls up and looking through the window of the cafe inside the grocery store the hipsters are out in force. I'm not sure that Portland is who I am but I think it is who I want to be and that makes it homey in a way that I can't easily put into words. My Eco-Indie-Liberal-Hipster-bicycle cred is lacking and I am more likely to stay in then hike to base camp at Mt. Hood but there is something about the city that resonates with me in a way that Hawaii never did. I loved getting the chance to live in Hawaii at a great house on the beach with a swimming pool and convertible sports car to take in the sights. All of those things were great but they didn't resonate. I may never have a Suburu or drink Pabst Blue Ribbon at the Douglas Fir but I hope to take the train more, buy local, grow what I can, and enjoy good coffee, who knows I might even get out and hike a little.

The tree really tied the block together man!

On the my first trip into the neighborhood in the giant moving truck I got too close the overhanging branches from our neighbors tree and ripped a large branch right off. Tom the owner of said tree came out to ask what happened and I apologized profusely. This is not how I wanted to introduce myself to the block but you know what they say about second chances and first impressions. I told Tom I would clear the limb up and he was forgiving. A couple days later while returning from Home Depot for some household gear Tom met Finn and I outside to let me know that the tree may be terminal. That is the opinion of the neighbor across the street who seems to be the local Amateur Arborist. Carly's friend Jessica says the tree is fine and she studied such things in college. Tom is going to have the official City Arborist make a house call and give us the diagnosis. If the tree is terminal then I will have to have it removed and replaced, a significant cost i'm sure. Let's hope that our little tree is OK, if our tree can survive with a gash like this out of it the tree above should be fine right, right?

Mika - Happy Ending

I really like this song, so much so that I wish I was 16 and breaking up with someone just so I could fully enjoy it. I was listening to the Mika CD in the car driving back home with Finn and after hitting replay for the fourth time Finn said "Turn that off daddy." I said "Don't you like that song?" and Finn said "There's a semi truck with lights on it!!" You can go here and watch the proper video but they won't let you embed that so I just grabbed the song.

Moving day has passed

Yesterday was moving day and it was probably the single hardest day of work in my life. I have worked long hours off shore, worked in the heat at summer camps, did some time as a roofer, and even worked a day in the heat at a station set up to get rid of household hazardous waste in 100* weather and even that was easier then yesterday. The day started at 6:30 AM, before the sun came up but long after the rain had started. We finished up after 7 PM with the rain still going strong and the sun long since down. There were washing machines to come out of basements and headboards made of lead to come down stairs and go back up at the new house. It was exhausting and wet and hard but it is over. We have boxes piled in room but they no longer have to come out of trucks through the rain. After lowering the last Dryer down the basement stairs of the new house I went into my new room and felt defeated. I thought I would take a hot shower and then grab a blanket and just sleep on the mattress. I could make the bed tomorrow before Kate got home. I went in and had a bath in the great claw foot tub and when I came back out My friend Carly had made my bed up. I'll be honest with you I cried a little when I saw that. I was so tired and sore and that beautiful gesture was more then I could hold in. Right now we are on the same page with this house and we are really preferring each other and I hope that it will last a long time. There are going to be tough times that come up and communication will break down but I hope we can continually come back to times like this.