Pieces of Me (or us)

Slacker.

That is the only word that can describe me and this blog lately. Nate, Ben and I are still getting use to having so much to do with family and friends around. Here are a few quick updates with us and I promise you won't hear that 7 letter word around here again.

• Possibly the only thing I am good at keeping up on are Ben's monthly updates so you should all remember that little Ben is slowly turning into Big Ben. He's 8 and 1/2 months old and still has no teeth and is just about to take off with his crawling.
• I have a job! I am getting paid in experience rather than money but I am so excited! I am working once a week (so I'm not sure I can really call it a job) at Kate Kelly Photography. I am working as an assistant in the office and on shoots. Hopefully soon I will get to be a 2nd shooter on portrait sessions. Kate is an amazing photographer! If anyone needs photos taken definitely check her out!
• Nate has been to every home Duck game this year and Ben and I have been faithfully watching on TV.
  
  
  
  
• We are enjoying everything Fall in Oregon. We've been walking in the cool weather, gone to The Pumpkin Patch, and taken many driving "naps" through the country. Have I said how much I love Oregon?
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• We are looking forward to a ton of changes this year (and no, I'm not pregnant). It's like 70% fun and 30% scary not knowing where we'll be a year from now. Stay tuned because who knows where life might take us!

Farewell Texas

Tomorrow is the big day. The day Ben, Cooper and I (with the help of my parents) get onto the plane and fly back to Oregon. The day Nate begins the long drive back home in the Uhaul.

I never doubted for a second that I am truly an Oregonian but I have to say that I am definitely sad to leave. Texas has been good to us. We have met some of the best friends ever. We have eaten tons (literally tons) of delicious Mexican food. We have enjoyed more hot weather days than I've probably experienced in my whole Oregon life combined. Texas also gave us our very own little Texan.

For this baby of the family, living on our own has taught me a lot. I've learned a ton about myself and Nate. I value my family and the time we have together more than ever before. I hope I never have to live away from them again. I've learned a little more Spanish and how to make queso. Nate and I have raised an almost 5 month old baby mostly on our own. I've learned to never assume something doesn't have meat in it just because it's not listed on the menu. I've learned a ton about the Alamo.

I now know what a real rainstorm looks like and I've lived through many thunderstorms. I was never bitten by a rattlesnake (nor did I ever even see one). I've tried on cowboy boots and been about a foot from a longhorn.

Here are some things I adore about Texas.

• The weather in the winter.
• The HEB sells Texas shaped crackers.
• Seriously, everything is bigger in Texas.
• Sonic (specifically Sonic Happy Hour).
• Super Target
• Christine, Lauren and Shae (as well as Beckham and Elise).
  
  
• Bunco
• Bennett was born here. We can take Ben out of Texas, but we can't take the Texas out of Ben.
• Taco Cabana
• Our neighborhood pool
• It stills feels like I'm on a perma-vacation with all the gorgeous flowers and palm trees.
• Our home.

I know we will be back to visit but it will never be quite the same. I know Nate will miss Texas more than I'll ever know. I know Ben will wonder about the place he was born. We will have many stories to tell him.

Thanks Texas. We will miss you!

July 18, 2007

Two years ago Nate and I were busy unpacking in our new house. Today we are packing that same new house back up.

Here were some of our discoveries of Texas and our new house.

Scorpions, Red Ants and Crickets (oh my!)

**Disclaimer** Do not read if you are an animal rights activist.

Scorpions:
Fact 1: Scorpions are not as big as my hand. In fact they are more closely compared to my baby finger.

Fact 2: Scorpions do not chase you.

Fact 3: Any scorpion that chooses to come into my house will die.

Advice: When buying new carpet for your home, opt for a non-scorpion color. Those suckers blend in well.

Red Ants:
Fact 1: Red Ants are not actually red nor do they have flames painted on them to warn of the painful bite that is to come.

Fact 1 part 2: If you look carefully, you can see a tiny red head (more like maroon really). Unfortunately, by that time it's usually too late.

Fact 2: Pouring boiling water on a red ant hill also kills the grass.

Fact 3: Just like their sugary cousins, red ants do not like windex.

Crickets (by far my favorite of the 3):
Fact 1: Crickets come in a variety of sizes. Some are quite large in fact.

Fact 2: They like to hang above the doors at stores and drop on unsuspecting shoppers at any time.

Fact 3: Crickets are not very bright. They jump into any open door where you find large piles of their dead friends. The poor people at Blockbuster must have to sweep the floor every half hour.

Welcome Home

With our time in San Antonio quickly coming to a close (only 9 days left) I thought I would share some memories of our home that we are so sad to leave.

Nate and I built our home two years ago when we moved to San Antonio. We are so lucky to have sold our house in less than a month but we are both so sad to leave it.

Welcome to our home, please come in.

This is our entry way. You can see our pup, Rufus. He's Cooper's BFF but Cooper gets very frustrated because Rufus never seems to want to play (he's a guard dog you see).

Come on into our dining room.

This is where we ate our first Thanksgiving on our own. We also had Christmas Eve dinner here (since we were trapped in SA because of bedrest).

Just across the way you will find my office.

This is where I do all my work. Mostly that work consisted of painting the office gray and then looking at it.

Come get a snack in our kitchen.

Nate cooked our first Thanksgiving Turkey here. Unfortunately it was still raw the first time and we had to keep cooking it. No one wants to eat a raw turkey (except for Brady, my parents' dog).

Just turn yourself around and enjoy our great room.

This is where I spent 3.5 straight months of my life. Our couch will never be the same.

Join us in our bedroom.

At night you will often find all four of us snuggled up in this bed. It's usually Lindsey all the way to the left, Nate all the way to the right and Cooper sprawled in the middle (with Ben thrown in on occasion). I wonder who rules this house?

And here is the bathroom just off the bedroom.

This is where I spent the first 4 months of my pregnancy. Cold tile does a lot for a sick pregnant lady. Ben currently shacks up in the exercise room directly off the bathroom.

If you'd like to wander upstairs you will find Ben's nursery. This may be my favorite room in the house and the one I am saddest about leaving. He will never remember it (except for the pictures) and has not spent one night in it.

The rest of the upstairs consists of guest rooms, media room, etc. If you want to see more pictures you can look here.

We will definitely miss our house but are looking forward to making our home somewhere else.

A farewell gift

From our house to us.

To clarify, this was not found in our cup but on the floor. We just put it in a cup to corral it.

Paranoia, paranoia everybody's coming to get me.

I have an unnatural fear of natural disasters. It doesn't matter what it is, if it's natural I'm totally freaked. The other night there was talk of a tornado around San Antonio. I had about 45 dreams about tornados that night. 

After the tsunami of 2004 I woke up in a cold sweat at my brother-in-law's beach house. I was alone in bed and it was dark. If there was a tsunami, how would I know which way was up? 

About 2 months before I was born, Mt. St. Helen's erupted. My hometown of Portland was covered in snow-like ash. My parents still have some to this day. Maybe this is cause for my unnatural fear.

I love any movie that has anything to do with natural disasters (also man-eating sharks but that's a different story all together). It's like a train wreck I can't turn away from. Tornados, planet destroying astroids, volcanos, nuclear winter. Whatever. I'm into it.  Is there an actual known phobia for my condition?  

As a mom a whole new fear has crept into my being. I'm totally freaked to have Ben sleep anywhere except next to my bed. He's asleep there as I type (in a bassinet because his bedroom is way upstairs while ours is downstairs). What if there was a fire while he was upstairs? What if a crazy craigslister broke into our house while we were asleep? What if a tornado rips through our home (or a hurricane or astroid)? How does one overcome this fear? 

You see, I have plans. Things I will do if any of these scenarios come true. We're downstairs if our house lights aflame. I know where to go if there is a tornado. I sleep with a weapon next to my bed when Nate is gone (when Nate's home he is my weapon). If an astroid hits us I guess we're pretty much screwed no matter where Ben is sleeping. At least that would be fast. But for the most part, my plans are foiled with Ben upstairs. 

As it stands, poor Ben is going to be 15 and still sleeping on the floor next to my bed (I guess I should say poor Nate as well). They may both end up in therapy twice a week. Hmm, maybe I'm the one who needs the therapy.

Here's what we're missing.

Nate and I should be packing right now. I would probably be doing laundry and straightening the place up. Nate would be setting all the Christmas lights to timers. We would be waking up very early tomorrow morning. Packing Cooper up in his airplane crate. We would be driving to the airport. We would be going home. 

Instead we are here. Nate is working. I'm sitting on the couch. Cooper has bad gas. The cleaning lady is here instead. She is helping us get ready for my parents' arrival on Monday. It will be a different sort of Christmas this year. A relaxing sort of Christmas. It may be a smelly sort of Christmas if Cooper keeps up with his gas.

Here are a few glimpses of what Nate and I are missing in Oregon this year. 

Here is my brother-in-law Jim. He's married to Megan. Karley (my other sister) and I made him this shirt for Christmas last year. It says "I was just diagnosed with awesomeness." As you can see, he is awesome.

Ellie, my niece, lost her first tooth last Christmas. It was such an exciting day! 









Brady is Cooper's bosom buddy. He doesn't ever seem to have bad gas. He did, however, lick the raw turkey last year. Luckily I'm a vegetarian.







My sister Megan and my niece Makena (in the belly). We actually had snow in Portland last Christmas. That is totally rare (though it looks like it could happen again this year). 

This year will be Makena's first Christmas.










After Christmas we headed up to Black Butte in Central Oregon. It was so gorgeous and snowy. We went sledding and walking. 













The Nees Family came with us. My oldest sister, Karley. Her husband, Rob. The rugrats Ellie, Luke and Drew. 








My parents with said rugrats.

We will miss Christmas in Oregon this year! Only 372 days until next year!

Camera Shy last Christmas: my nephew Max

I love Nate!

And this time I don't mean my husband.

Nate Berkus is one of the top people I would love to show up at my front door (Knock, Knock, it's Nate!). Not only is he yummy but he loves to decorate. Sometimes when I'm decorating my own home, I think about how much Nate would love it!



For those of you to the west of me, watch Oprah today! You won't be disappointed.

BTW, our nursery is WAY cuter than the one on the show! Thanks again Bryn and my mom!

10 things Nate tells us how to do:

1. Mix expensive things with inexpensive (read cheap) things.
   
2. Use unique items. Who wants to hit the flea markets with me? If only I could get off the couch!
   
3. Use pictures from books for artwork.
   
4. Art doesn't have to be two dimensional. 
   
5. The lack of color can be very calming (obviously not an idea I subscribe to).
   
6. No themes (amen to that)!
   
7. Mix the old (or old looking) with the new.
   
8. Fake people out with window treatments. 
   
9. Use things in unexpected ways.
   
10. Ask for a better deal!
    

If you love Nate as much as I do, check out his book! It has great pictures (including some of him) and great ideas!



Nate- if you want to come knock on my door I know you won't be disappointed!