Momcouragement

I say, to mothers collectively, in the name of the Lord, you are magnificent.  You are doing terrifically well.  The very fact that you have been given such responsibility is everlasting evidence of the trust your father in heaven has in you.  - Jess, Alora Handmade

Thanksgiving Vacation: Day 8 - It's Over???

It's been 190 hours and our amazing week of nothingness is coming to an end... and I am now, officially, a believer in staycations.

We have never taken an entire week to just be together as a family - no traveling allowed!  {And, NO, when P was born doesn't count because it was kinda a lot of work!} This week we:

- napped

- hung our Christmas lights outside 

- baked

- watched movies

- took long walks

- napped

- started projects around the house {mostly Chris}

- giggled

- drank coffee

- raked leaves

- cuddled

- played at Frog Pond

- did some real estate stalking 

- napped some more {mostly P and I}

To be honest, there were 2 days that P and I were in jams until after second nap... {And, yes, "second nap" is an official term in the House of Thorns}... 

This might sound enormously sentimental, but, this week has been one that I know I will cherish forever.  And although I'm not sure if we will ever quite capture this beauty of nothingness again, I think we ought to make it yearly goal.  Tonight our home is filled with peace, warmth, and the joy of having soaked one another up every second of the last 8 days.  It's an incredible feeling. Am I high on family time???

Tomorrow Chris will kiss me on the forehead as he walks out the door.  I will eat my breakfast while I watch the TODAY Show and attempt to quietly get ready for work so that P sleeps until the very last second.  I will leave for a job that I love and come home to a family that I will have missed like crazy.  We'll start our daily grind again and rush around until it's Christmas and then wonder where the time went.  But I will think back on this week and remember what a blessing this time was.  I am so thankful.  

Amen for staycations at the House of Thorns.

Thanksgiving Vacation: Day 1 - True Crime

Happy Monday... 
The House of Thorns is on Thanksgiving Vacation!!!

In the spirit of staycation, we ventured out to experience a little something new in our neighborhood.  Today it was a  new coffee shop {we are weekend Peete's devotees}and it was fab.  It's a cute little place called Java Love.  And now I digress... I was going to post a quick little link to the shop but when I typed in "java love lake oswego" I found something FAR more hilarious and so much more telling about the city that we call home.  The following is ALL real, and nothing - no nothing - has been added by moi.  Must share: 

Taken from the LO Police Blotter: July 28, 2011 

9:18 a.m. A big yellow dog ran into Java Love coffee house.

5:28 p.m. Two “weed” smokers were jumping off the dolphin statues at Oswego Point Drive.

6:31 p.m. Two nuts were bothering people in Millennium Plaza Park by jumping on tables. A park ranger put a stop to this nonsense.

6:49 p.m. A silver BMW was besmirched by egg throwers on Fifth Street.

7:33 p.m. A bush on Tanglewood Drive was the scene of a drug deal between a male and female.

9:01 p.m. Three juveniles were caught red-handed on the roof of Rivergrove Elementary School.

10:09 p.m. A woman saw mysterious eyes peering out at her from a bush on Hallinan Circle.

10:05 p.m. A birthday party for a 5-year-old grew so loud that neighbors complained. The parents promised to quiet things down and send the children to bed soon.

10:58 p.m. A 16- to 18-year-old male ordered a meal at a restaurant, then dashed away without paying for it.

12:38 a.m. Two subjects rang a doorbell on Douglas Way, ran 

8:02 a.m. A man on Uplands Drive went out to his pool and found feces floating and damage to his lawn chairs and barbecue.

11:04 a.m. Some mischief-makers on Pioneer Court unplugged lights, inverted outdoor light covers and tossed over planters. The damage was only $100 but chagrin ran high.

11:23 a.m. A daughter did not want to go to church with her father.

11:50 a.m. A disgusting concoction of ingredients was spread over two cars on Pfeifer Drive — a mixture of ketchup, relish, chocolate syrup and powdered sugar.

True Story.  Each of these incidents were cause for alarm and required police attention for the residents of our sweet little town.  I am cracking up.  Happy Holidays from those of us in crime ridden Lake Oswego.

Occupy Portland {and my mind}

Weird thing happened at work today.  I was sitting at my desk, sipping on my PSL {stabux lingo, ya'll}, when all of a sudden I heard yelling and shouting which sounded like it was coming from the front of the shop.  I popped out of my chair {forgetting my camera, darn!} and raced to see what the commotion was all about.  I was shocked to see hundreds of Occupy Portland protesters streaming in through the front doors of our building.  They were chanting things like "banks got bailed out, you got sold out" and so on.  I could do nothing but stand there with my eyes wide, taking it all in.  It wasn't until almost all of the protesters were in the building that I noticed police in riot gear surrounding the exits outside the building.  WTFace???

When I told my husband, he said "did they look homeless?"... um, no.  They did not.  They looked like us.  Some younger.  Hipper.  Maybe dirtier.  But, no, not homeless.  They were organized, loud, and they made me feel kinda weird.  As I watched them march down the hallway of the US Bancorp building, I couldn't help but feel the nagging sensation that I might be missing something.  Do I have my head in the sand?  Why aren't I standing up for myself?  They're chanting about me.  Yeah, I guess I got sold out.

I am by no means the protesting type.  I am also not convinced that this movement is going to be effective {yes, for all of the same reasons that you are thinking right this moment}.  The feeling wasn't about right or wrong, effective or nuisance.  It was the feeling of odd detachment, watching other people stand up for a notion that directly affects ME.  And my family.  It made me think of the civil rights movement and I wondered if I had been alive then, would I have marched for equality?  That wasn't easy.  It certainly wasn't pretty.  Or popular in most circles.  I'm sure at times, that movement seemed full of crazies and had their equivalent of the directionless and homeless hangers-on.  It was dramatic and sensational and a fringe movement.  But the end result dramatically changed the society that I live in and I am so grateful for those that demanded change.  That's all.