Ghost Sighting

There was a ghost sighting on Friday afternoon on the 39th floor of the Bankcorp Tower.

Rhett's Week of Spooky Lunches

This week Rhett has gotten a Halloween themed lunch everyday. Everyday he has eaten every bite of food. First Rhett had an all orange lunch before I went to the grocery store for the week for the other goods.

Pesto pasta, ogre eyes, jack-o-lantern clementine, and Halloween Z bar.
I was pretty proud of my jack-o-lantern.

Spooky pizzas.

Ghost and pumpkin pita with hummus, honey stick, and the obvious.

Mummy hot dog, apple mouth with gummy worms, pomegranate seeds, and mustard for dipping.

Next week...boring lunches.

Freak of Nature

Our tree was struck down by lightning.

I believe that it was struck while we were away Saturday evening. After the kids were in bed I heard a loud crash against the house. All I could see was that the tree fell over. The next morning I saw the charred tree. What else could have cut the tree in two and left it burnt and charred? What are the chances? The house wasn't hurt...from what I can see. Rhett has been nervous of lightning ever since he learned about the tree. It's a good thing lightning doesn't strike in the same place twice.

*Regarding the spider in the car...I wasn't driving. I tried to jump out of the passenger seat, but it was locked! If I was driving I think I would have crashed the car for sure.*

A Belly Shot

Photo by Rhett. Baby fetus...17 weeks.

Fourth Annual Pumpkin Carving Party

We had our family pumpkin carving party last night. It was a first for Rhett...he carved his first pumpkin ALL BY HIMSELF. He kept saying, "I'm just so impressed at myself." His way of saying he was proud of himself. In case you see Rhett...his pumpkin is supposed to be Jack Skellington. We had a delicious dinner, pumpkin/chocolate brownies, pumpkin carving, and Casper the Friendly Ghost. Mezmur is getting more brave these days, but she WAS terrified of Dan's pumpkin! Now, I better get to work on the costumes!

More Answers and Comments about the Pregnancy

My dad, "Well, it looks like you will be as big as a house again." Yes...thank you dad.

Aris, my brother, "How's the parasite? You know the creature that will be living and feeding off of you for 9 months."

No, we aren't going to find out the sex of the baby. We have NO problem referring to the baby as "it" or "the baby." Or in our case, "mung bean" and "sesame seed."

No, we will not be sharing our name choices with anyone. That's our secret. Why, because we don't want to see the look on any one's face when they disapprove or we don't want to hear about that one really mean kid in your jr. high school with that name. Trust me, the names we have in mind will raise an eyebrow...well, at least the boy name.

No, I'm not having twins...thanks for pointing out how freakishly huge I am.

I don't think I'm freakish, just huge. I like being huge and I feel better about my body when I'm pregnant than when I'm not pregnant.

Mezmur loves babies, but if a baby looks at me she will shout, "NO BABY, MY MAMA." We may be in trouble. Then again, she says the same thing about a loud truck or a spooky bug. Like the spider that was on me and bit me in the car. Thanks to the baby and our need to buy a mini van with automatic locking doors, otherwise I would've been jumping out of a moving vehicle. I tried, but I was too shaken up to figure out how to unlock the doors.

I'm not exaggerating...this was the spider. It was a Garden Orb Weaver. The body was the size of a dime.

We feel so blessed by this pregnancy. So relieved that all is going well. We waited a long time for this baby and we had a scare early on, so we do not take it for granted. I just can't believe we still have to wait 5 months to meet this baby!

Hoe-Down

Last night we went to Krueger farm for the Harvest Hoe Down. There were pumpkins, hay rides, hay bale "diving", sunset, corn maze in the dark, bonfire, square dancing, a loooong line for the best carmel apples ever, beer (for Dan), and sleepy happy kids. I was the crazy mom who bundled her kids up even though it wasn't that cold and who kept telling them to stick together, because it was so dark. It was a great night.

African Elders of Portland

I have been very fortunate to work on an important project with Lori. Lori works at Africa House in Portland, which services to African elders who are both immigrants and refugees. These elders come from Ethiopia, Somalia, and Eritrea. Recently the elders were introduced to art and it became apparent that many of these elders had an interest in art. One would even take home some art supplies and work at home.

As these things tend to go...funds were running out for art supplies, so Lori thought selling the art would be a great way to raise the funds for the art supplies needed. With very excited permission from the artists, we started the project of selling prints from the original artwork. The artists were tickled at the thought that others WOULD buy their art.

One way to purchase is by visiting Yo Choice. Lori and I have created a display of their art there and you can purchase the art with the frame right off the wall. Go check it out and see the prints up close...who doesn't love frozen yogurt!

You can also go to the etsy shop... http://www.etsy.com/shop/africaneldersofpdx .


Purchase a print, so master N can continue with his amazing abstract art and beautiful and sweet T can continue with her talent.

Oh, the Sacrifices

This week I needed to get my wedding ring cut off. Sad.

Is it a bad sign that both me and Dan needed our wedding rings cut off in our 10 year marriage? Dan has worn a $9.99 ring from Clare's for the last 8 or 9 years. Titanium isn't easily fixed...good thing my ring is. It's also a good thing I'm not superstitious...

Thursday's Lunch

Today's lunch: bagel, hummus, cucumbers, carrots, and kiwi.

Don't worry. This is the last lunch post you will have to put up with. There is no school tomorrow. I ordered some new little lunch containers this week and there will be a trip to Uwajimaya in the near future, so Rhett's lunches are bound to become even better.

Wednesday's Lunch

Today's lunch: turkey/cheese/apple sandwich, cookie, and grapes.

I don't have an after shot...busy day! Rhett ate half of his sandwich. He said it was "the best sandwich ever!" He said he couldn't finish it, because he didn't have time. I hear this a lot...it sort of bums me out, but what are you going to do? Rhett is one of the slowest eaters on the planet after all.

Tuesday's Lunch

Today's lunch was flat bread pizza, marinated cucumbers, apple slices, and granola bites. The pizza was made with Trader Joe's Middle Eastern Whole Wheat flat bread, jar of marinara, pepperoni, and cheese. The "granola bites" were a failed attempt at sugar-free granola bars. They turned out more like a healthy crunchy cookie. I did add dark chocolate chips, so they weren't totally sugar-free.

Ummm...I'm thinking today's lunch was a hit.

Monday's Lunch

Making lunches everyday for Rhett was a source of anxiety for me when school was starting, because Rhett isn't a fan of sandwiches. There are only a couple sandwiches he will actually eat. Rhett, like his Mama, prefers hot lunches. Since a friend gave me the link to my favorite lunch blog, I've come to see making lunches as another creative outlet. I actually enjoy making his lunch.

Rhett's lunch this morning. Smoked turkey and provolone "roll ups", raw green beans, grapes, a bag of chips (in the guitar bag), and two happy little ginger gummy bears.

After lunch...it turns out Rhett isn't a fan of provolone. I learn something new everyday about our kids. He ate almost all the chips and all but five of the green beans...not such a bad lunch.
I hope you all don't think this is a terribly boring post series, but I'll try to make the lunches just as cute as my favorite lunch blog...

The Weekend After Dan's Birthday

It was the weekend after Dan's birthday, so you know what that means at our house? Halloween can officially begin! We started the weekend with pumpkin waffles and getting out the Halloween decorations. We rounded out the beginning of the Halloween festivities with a little trip to The Fantasy Trail with the Rices. It was so much fun! The only one who didn't have a lot of fun the entire time was Mezmur, who seems to have many fears of what comes out during Halloween time. We found ourselves kissing and hugging some of these freaky characters to set Mezmur's mind at ease. We have basically made-out with the skeleton at our house...it doesn't really seem to help much.

Coming up later today...a week of Rhett's lunches.