Adventures of Bean and Sprout

i love this pic. click on it to make it bigger. now check out ivy's expression. awesomeness. her enthusiasm makes everything about a million times more fun then it would have been without her. i'm pretty sure she's one of the best things we ever made.

we were river rats this weekend. it was great! i told tom that i'm pretty sure it was the best weekend EVER. all of us have new tans and we're all sleeping like rocks at night. amazing what 8+ hours of sun and water will do for a person. the girls were beyond content. they dug in the sand for hours without any real purpose. tom and i would alternate between laying on the beach towel on the sand and swimming because we were too hot. sometimes the girlies would come splashing through the water to be closer to us and other times, they just didn't care to leave their warm, sandy playland.

too much said by rae ann @ 12:12 PM | 0 other thoughts  
filed under ivy, sun, swim

i found a heart shaped raspberry while i was picking them at my mom's the other day. i split it in half and gave the girls a piece each. i kinda felt like i was administering communion or something (my baptist roots were showing).

it's fun to see them so amped and excited over things in nature. we took my mom's rhubarb plant to the ground after picking berries. the stalks were so dense and plentiful that the new growth was rotting below. it was the perfect landscape for slugs and they were slopping around in droves. the girls were impressed to see them move a little faster as i chopped down their shady protection of leaves. once the initial excitement wore off, stella and ivy started helping me collect the leaves for the compost pile and sort the stalks into paper sacks (to be chopped up later). we talked about how the old, ripe stalks had to be pulled from the ground to allow for the new stalks (with tiny, tightly bound leaves) to push up to the sun.

i'm not sure what the lesson was in these conversations, but i'm sure there's something wise in there...

too much said by rae ann @ 9:22 AM | 4 other thoughts  
filed under sun, urban farming?

my computer is back and it's practically brand, spankin' new! the $400 was painful at first, but the more i plunk away on my little laptop, the happier i am that we spent it... it was worth it.

it's HOTTTTTTT here! typical portland weather- 70 degrees one week and then spikes to mid 90's the next. i love it.

perhaps the biggest news around our little casa is the nakkie girl. as suspected, her naked antics were the early stages of potty training. she's been sporting cute little girlie knickers for a week now and has only had a handful of accidents (one was REALLY bad. i can't even begin to tell you how bad... i'm still recovering. and i know you're not supposed to call them 'accidents' anymore, so what the hell are you supposed to call them?!). i can't even begin to describe how much i lovvvvvve not changing a million diapers.

as the girls grow older and my girlfriends keep having babies, i'm finding that i'm really glad to be done with the baby-stages. i know that it was so worth it and that i'd do it again in a heartbeat, but there's a lot of freedom that comes with having preschool age kids as opposed to where we were 2 1/2 years ago (2 in diapers, 1 who didn't talk, 1 who barely talked, 1 nursing). as they get older, it gets a little easier and a lot more fun.

tom's still working away at trying to find a job. he's constantly working and reworking his portfolio (both online and the hard copy). we've enjoyed his unemployed summer though. it's the best time of year for the papa to be home and even though we'll be super stoked when he gets a job, we've loved having him home and being able to go on weekday adventures with him.

i've been doing some work from home for a couple of small, local companies. i do their social networking and manage their accounts to help grow their business. it's been really fun to connect with local businesses and i'm loving the work itself. the pay is good, but my hours are minimal. it would be interesting to see if this could grow into something more.

we're off to the river today to cool off and work on our tans. did i say that i'm stoked for summer???

too much said by rae ann @ 8:24 AM | 2 other thoughts  
filed under here they grow, job, potty, sun

still here.

i should be getting my little mac back tomorrow... hooray!

i should probably admit that i don't know that i would be posting very regularly right now even if i had my computer home. the weather, this summer, is too good and i don't want it to pass us by. we've been drinking in every ray and taking advantage of every last drop of sunlight. of course this means that the littlest people in our house are going to bed later then normal, but their sun drenched skin and ruddy cheeks tell stories about how much fun they're having.

more soon.

too much said by rae ann @ 3:19 PM | 2 other thoughts  
filed under sun

i've got a REALLY good excuse for not posting lately. it's good, promise.

my poor little macbook crapped out. the thing gets used constantly and it finally got tired. it's off at the mac repair place, taking a little sabbatical and resting up. of course this little excursion is going to cost more then $400 but i suppose that's cheaper then buying a new macbook.

we've been around. no more trips to the beach recently. we're keeping close to home and enjoying our little neighborhood of friends and family. it's been nice to be able to fall into our routine again and take advantage of the predictability of our days.

unfortunately, that's all i've got for you right now. i'm sitting here and trying to drum up cute stories and needless information to keep you reading and i hate it when i do that.

i'll be back early next week- at least that's what the macbook repair guy said.

too much said by rae ann @ 7:42 AM | 0 other thoughts  
filed under beach, technology sucks, what up Ps?

i'll do a real post later. i'm kinda lacking the time and the energy at this point. we're headed back to the beach with ron and linda this weekend so i'll have even *more* pictures to share next week. in the mean time, i only have a handful of days to cram in berry picking and strawberry jam making.

too much said by rae ann @ 9:00 AM | 8 other thoughts  
filed under beach, pics

There was much girlie nekkidness on manzanita beach... 'nuff said and pics to come.

too much said by rae ann @ 11:48 PM | 0 other thoughts  
filed under beach, vacation

I think it's Tuesday... I think. If it is tusday, that means we're on day 4 of 'round the clock frsh air. Nice. The girls spend their days riding their bikes all over the camp ground, playing in the sand on the beach and sleeping hard and solid at night. We're all very happy!

too much said by rae ann @ 10:30 AM | 1 other thoughts  
filed under beach, vacation

the baby turned 3.

3!

i can't hardly believe it. she was insistent on having a "blue birthday" so i made her a blue cake and she loved it. she also exploded into full face smiles whenever we would burst into a round of 'happy birthday to you!' i love that about her. she requires the use of her whole body to smile when she's really, really happy or excited.

the girls and i are headed to the beach to squeak in a week of camping with tutu (and maybe robbie and basil for a night or two...?). tom's going to spend the week fishing, motorcycle riding, putzing and maybe even doing a little designing.

when we get home, i plan to launch full force into strawberry season (especially since i'll be missing the first week of it). there's a ton of jam to be made and berries to be frozen for winter.

too much said by rae ann @ 7:30 AM | 0 other thoughts  
filed under beach, birthday, camping, lulu

i went to visit a friend last night and came home to this. i would have stuck a post it on the front door or sent a text message. not TC. nope. why do that when you can tape a sign across the doorway?! why be small when you can go huge?! i loved it. i especially loved it because that wet sign meant that my kitchen floor was spotless! one thing's for sure- TC's an excellent mopper. even with a gajillion stitches down the center of his belly and a brace holding everything in it's place, he can mop with the best of 'em.

things around here have been pretty mellow, hence the lack of posts. tom's divided his time between playing with the girls and working in his den (aka: basement, cave, hole). we're all adjusting to what life with dad home looks like and it seems to be going okay.


*last pic is of the girlies visiting my sister's baby's grave on memorial day.

too much said by rae ann @ 7:22 AM | 2 other thoughts  
filed under gone too soon, in my kitchen, job, my TC

and we will pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off... after we fall apart a bit over the next few days.

perhaps this will be the best summer yet. tom will be home. maybe we'll take up camping again.

things to be thankful for:

-a severance package
-continued full coverage health benefits for 18 months
-no more commuting
-paid out PTO
-it's almost summer!

the list goes on.

we'll be fine. in the long run, we'll be fine.

too much said by rae ann @ 3:58 PM | 15 other thoughts  
filed under job, losing my mind, my TC

no news! they made a big deal about having a mandatory company wide meeting and then they simply announced that they'll be doing layoffs and reorganizing the company over the next two weeks. in the meantime, everyone is watching HR shuffle through their departments and watching hand trucks full of empty boxes and tape be stacked around every corner. it's psychological mayhem.

he has a meeting with his boss's boss's boss's boss guy today at 2.30. i know i feel sick to my stomach so i can only imagine how TC is feeling. plus, he's expected to work up until the meeting. i think i'd just spend the day dinking around online or something.

his body is healing up just fine. his scar looks amazingly good and he survived the last 2 days without any problem. he's just a little more tired at the end of the day and needs to lay down when he gets home.

i can't drum up any cute girlie sayings or stories right now. my head is consumed with life at the swoosh. please say a little prayer or make a little wish for us today. more to come.

too much said by rae ann @ 9:15 AM | 0 other thoughts  
filed under job, losing my mind, my TC, surgery

this is where mr. P has found himself for nearly the last week. it's only been the last few days that he's been up more then half the day. he's planning to go back to work tomorrow- i keep trying to remind him to take it easy. fortunately, he spends most of his days sitting, but i still worry about the strain that has on his abs. ultimately, he's in charge of his body and knows what to do and how to respond though.

the swoosh is gearing up for a big round of layoffs. we're waiting with baited breath to find out the results. there's a mandatory company wide meeting tomorrow so we should have more information then. it's a toss up- my honey will either come home with a grin on his face or a pink slip in his hand. he feels pretty secure at this point, but it's a scary situation for everyone and there's no guarantee. if you wouldn't mind, say a little prayer for him tomorrow.

we've been enjoying our very mellow weekend and the lovely weather that's swept through the city. the girls and i are all sporting some nifty tan lines and ruddy cheeks. this surge of sunshine is therapeutic and encouraging.

too much said by rae ann @ 4:38 PM | 4 other thoughts  
filed under job, my TC, surgery

we're here.

we're fine.

he's doing great.

the narcotics are nice.

he sleeps alot.


girlies are good.

stella announced today that she just loves the rain.

oh good- someone does!

ivy wants to get an aye aye.

she's kinda pissed i said no.


no matter how much i sleep,

i'm still tired.

exhausted.


our fridge is exploding with food.

we're so spoiled.

our neighbors are the BEST.


i've planted dahlias

and raspberries

and more dahlias

and boxwood.


i think i'm ready to get our routine back.

too much said by rae ann @ 9:17 PM | 7 other thoughts  
filed under my TC, quotes, surgery, what up Ps?

the surgery's over and it went well. those are the only 2 details i have.

tom's currently in recovery and they're waiting for a room to open up so they can get him settled. i have to wait until they move him before i can see him. however, i talked to him on the phone and he said that he hurts and that he's pretty groggy still. he's going to try to sleep off the rest of the anesthesia while he's in recovery.

too much said by rae ann @ 10:37 AM | 1 other thoughts  
filed under my TC, surgery