Tag Archives: portlandoregon

People Love Dogs In The Pearl!

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I’ve known for awhile that people in the pearl love dogs! It’s a thing. And when you have a dog in the pearl, you’re part of it. But when you have kids you’re on the outside. But when you have kids and a DOG you are golden. It cracks me up the kind of attention people will show when you have a dog in the pearl. Even our grumpy cleaning lady in the building busted into a huge smile today and wanted to chit chat about our dog.F0ECF848-3E0D-4A06-B6F9-5A916B38ABCCShiver licking his chops.7B24EE76-53BF-4BB5-BA8C-2CD865C3F415Shiver’s best friends (Ziggy, Leroy and Shiver) all lined up for a treat at camp Mimi

Yesterday a woman dropped to her knees in the elevator to pet and love on Shiver. All three of my kids were trying to talk to her but she was obsessed with Shiver, our dog. I joked that Shiver was my 4th child so he was in heaven with her loves. While she was petting Shiver, Kai was talking to her about multiplication fractions while Pepper and Blaize simultaneously wanted to know about her glasses-could she see without them? Right before she got out of the elevator she asked if Shiver was an ESP? Uhh, what’s that I asked? She said is Shiver an “emotional support pet?” Haha! I laughed and said “what do you think?!” as the elevator door closed and Pepper yelled “See ya next time!”

Kids are alright in the pearl but dogs are the cream of the crop in this neck of the woods.  Haha!

In A Love Relationship With Yoga

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Yes, I’m in a committed, love relationship with yoga and it’s going great. We like to see each other everyday but sometimes we have to miss a few days. It only makes our reunions that much sweeter when we do see each other. If I could I would see hot yoga everyday but I’ll take what I can get. IMG_4150.jpgChilling in Maui post run and yogaIMG_2893_2Teeny, tiny smile post hot yoga class. Happy on the inside but totally wiped out.

I don’t always want to do yoga or feel like I have time to do the yoga. But love doesn’t flourish without  lots of quality time and attention so I make the time.

I’m not flexible at all…And hot yoga feels really awful for part or all of the class every.single.time. Yesterday I ate a cafe yum bowl about 45 minutes before hot yoga and regretted it throughly for the entire class. What you eat, drink, don’t drink can affect your hot yoga class with the intensity of a full body regret.

Improvise Is A Staple Attitude At Our House

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We celebrate life LOUD and PROUD at our house. The good times roll and roll quickly every.single.day. We have so much fun and get after the good times! No, I’m not supermom-I just like to have fun. And lucky for me I have 3 small kids who LOVE the fun with me. So we get out in the city a lot. We talk a lot, laugh a lot, eat a lot, adventure a lot and improvise a lot.

Yesterday, in the elevator we told one of our best little friends who’s 8 years old about improvising. She was confused because the game plan changed from the park to a hike. I asked Pepper what we do when we don’t get our first choice in life? Pepper said with a straight face and a 5 year old voice (that only a mom and speech therapist can love and understand) “we IMPOOOvise when we don’t get our furst choice. We say, it’s ok because maybeee next time we wheel get our furst choice. And if we don’t, it’s ok we let it go.  We still have fun, she said with a barbie doll smile!”

YES! That’s my girl! That’s my 5 year old miracle baby that I prayed for since I was 12 weeks pregnant.

So, now that I’m a single mom with three little kids in tow I subscribe hard to the “improvise dance.” Sometimes, it happens on a layover at work where I have 8 pairs of underwear for a 2 day trip and NO SOCKS. Oy! Or it happens a lot at the gym when the four of us hustle down the street to LA Fitness. It’s only a few blocks away so we walk. And it’s a chance for me to get my workout and shower in for the day. I pack my shower bag in a frenzy and always forget something. Today, I forgot my shower towel which has happened before. It’s not the first time people, but it’s the first time I’m talking about it. At least I have my razor and shower flip flops I tell myself. I’ve even dried off with paper towels before. #truth

It’s definitely not my choice to dry off with a hand towel at the gym but by golly I’m going to workout and shower any chance I get. Screw the shower towel, the show must go on! I just avoid eye contact hard! Haha!D3C6DC80-7E23-4997-A691-62EEE5BF80F1.pngIt’s so amazing when I hear one of my little peanuts rattle off some good grown up advice about “improvising” in the real world.

It’s a magical mom moment where I breathe in all the goodness that this little person is sharing with the world.

Big Family, Small Herd

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Days are long. Years are short. Days are long. Years are short. IMG_3974.jpgKai, getting it at the playground!IMG_0494Pre bedtime snuggle with my girl band! 

Our days are bat shit crazy busy with kids stuff so I keep our afternoons/evenings very low key with a hard emphasis on the bedtime routine. Yes, Blaize and Pepper are 5 years old but they need their sleep. And so do I!

They are not the kind of kids that can stay up til 10pm and be “cool” the next day. I still plan my life around playing and chasing the fun with my kids during the day while honoring our “family sleep schedule.”

More music, more singing, more adventures and sleep, lots of beautiful sleep.

Happy sleeping my friends!

Root Down To Rise Up

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This. Is. Amazing. Root down to rise up. They say this all the time in hot yoga and it resonates with me in every single way. IMG_3087Last summer-chilling at the splash pad for a quick picture

Physically, I know that you must build yourself up from the bottom to the top through the middle to feel good.

Mentally, I know that you must put your own oxygen mask on first before serving others.

Spiritually, I know you must believe in something bigger than you to be humble and resilient in this wild world.

Mom-ally, I know I must lead by example and say what I mean and mean what I say to raise, healthy, happy well adjusted kids.

Personally, I know I am accountable to myself, for my actions, decisions and words to grow and evolve as a person.

Why are some days so hard? And why does it look so easy for everyone else on the social media? 

Well, my friends it’s all about the swan.

Like my grandma Ardie used to say, SWIM and PADDLE like crazy (under the water) and SMILE with POISE and dignity on top of the water. Then REPEAT the very next day and everyday thereafter. Also, make your bed everyday. That’s important too. As a mom to 3 little humans, making my bed may be the only thing I actually finish today. So make that bed!

I write and share on this mom blog because no matter what it looks like on the Instagram or the Facebook, everyone is paddling like crazy under water just like you and me. Of course, I enjoy the pretty part on top, who doesn’t?! But, I like the real stuff and talk about the “underwater part” which makes the pretty part even bette if you ask me.

Now, roll on summer so I can work on my kiddie, splash park tan. 🙂

Instagram Why Are You So Weird

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I have to talk about it because it’s happening all the time and really weird. And people that do instagram don’t know what I’m talking about until I show them. Why, oh why? Haha! I like the instagram, feels like how facebook was 10 years ago. Pictures without all the political bs. Surprisingly, you can write a lot under your instagram pictures. #justsayin

And when I publish my book, Instagram will be a great place to spread the love.IMG_3175Taking a break from the instagram weird and working out in the hotel gym. Always me in the gym and one bald pilot. Haha!

Instagram has a texting or DM component (direct message) for all my non-instagram people. However, there’s a second tier of direct messages under Direct and titled REQUESTS. These messages under REQUESTS requests are creepy. I have a revolving list of 20-30 different randoms wanting to “chat.” I don’t follow these jokers so they can’t direct message me-they can only “request” the DM. Some guys are basic with opening lines of “Hi and Hey.” Then it goes downhill from there really fast. Pictures are offered. No, I’ve never accepted one-a message or a picture.

Who knows if they are real people or robots? For all I know they’re catfishing on Instagram. I can block them especially when they get cranky and send angry direct message requests from the second tier. But really, who has time to block the freaks. Ignore them and they’ll go away is how I play it. They can delete their direct message request and a new round of freaks appears in the second tier of messaging. WTF?

Tell me, do you have a line of creepers on Instagram trying to “request” direct messages with you?

“Instagram, why you so weird?”

Experiences Over Things

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I’m a minimalist at heart so being a mom to three little people has it’s organizing challenges.IMG_2076Blaize and Pepper in all their glory. Post dinner scooter party with my toms wedges and all. Haha!

Yes, I want to save the stuff you want to save. But, we collect SO MUCH STUFF every.single.day. The daily pictures, math problems and cursive practice sheets from home alone are wild.  We live in the Pearl so don’t have a garage or attic to store all the extra “stuff.” That makes it challenging to hold onto.

Years ago, a friend told me about “clipping” people. And how important it was to get rid of the blood suckers. You know, the takers. The ones that constantly take and forget to give back. These days, I’m clipping the stuff. 

As, I did my quarterly closet clean out for Blaize and Pepper, I found bags of stuff to donate. Of course they still have the rotating single socks (at least 40 single socks without matchers) and the clothes. Single socks happen in every house but are rampant in two parent homes.

But a highlight for me during the closet clean out is getting a clothing item out of the rotation! It’s either too small, too stained or too tired. That feels good. Maybe next time, I’ll throw those 40 single socks away and start fresh?

I hope this post tickled your clipping urge. Less is more if you ask me.

Surfer Girls In Maui

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IMG_9080Longboard surfing with my mom!

It’s amazing how much fun you can have in 24hours when you focus on “the fun.” I think short term travel vs. long term travel are two different animals. I’ve done both and like both. However, as a mom I don’t want to be away from my bebes for too long. So, I squeeze in the fun whenever I can. So much fun to be had on a layover!

Small Talk Is Not My Favorite Talk

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I can’t remember if I used to be good at small talk. These days, I’d rather be in uncomfortable silence than be forced to engage in small talk. Maybe, it’s the single mom thing where I have very little time to waste and zero time for bs. Maybe it’s a life thing but small talk is one of my least favorite things to do. Let’s talk about real sh*t. And if not, let’s just stand next to each other and smile…IMG_3852Real talk doesn’t have to negative and I prefer that it isn’t. There are so many juicy, positive and funny things to talk about.

Recently, after yoga I was chatting with the instructor about class. Which quickly turned into a conversation about self acceptance and self love. Which quickly turned into her sharing her recent trip to a nude beach and baring her chest. She told me how freeing it was and how good the water felt without her top on. Wow, good for you, that’s awesome! I loved you before this conversation, now I really love you. 🙂

But it get’s better… A young girl we both know came walking by and joined in on our “real talk.” She took it to the next level with all sorts of real topics and quickly. She introduced the idea that the size of his nose is likely to match the size of his…

Yep, that’s what she said. She claimed that it’s almost always true for her. I laughed and thought about it. Hmmm, maybe there is similarity?!

She also suggested that single guys carry a business card stating his “stats.’ I laughed and agreed that knowing what you’re getting into before you spend months dating would be nice. And it only seems fair. One of my favorite funny lines is, l”et’s just see what we’re working with, shall we?” I’ve actually talked about a little button that guys could wear on their tshirt or lapel that stated the info. The buttons would read SMALL, MEDIUM and LARGE. A  facebook friend recently mentioned this would be tricky because guys would be “rating” themselves. Exactly was my response to his concerned comment. That’s why there would only be three basic categories. And anyone in their right mind would understand the three categories and their “self proclaimed range.”

This is my kinda talk. The real stuff. The funny stuff. And the stuff that could eventually “make or break” a relationship. #justasyin

 

 

Kid Pedicures Rock

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IMG_9897This is Five!IMG_9872.jpgBirthday Pedi’s!

IMG_9924Pepper LOVED every part of birthday mani and pedis- especially the massage. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Haha!