Category Archives: Children

Crowds, Music and Ice Cream: The Mississippi Street Fair

I love going back to work on a Monday knowing that you made the most of your weekend. We had a great time living it up in the Sunshine. Favorite moments:

  • Group bike ride down to Mississippi ave for the street fair, including Mayumi’s first time on a bicycle in 10 years (and she stayed on!).
  • Catching the Star Wars Lego windows and Thomas being unable to cotain his excitedment.
  • Braving the crowds to make it down to Por Que No! (Spelling?) for lunch – and then finding a quieter table in the shade when the live music became just a little too loud (but the band was great).
  • Buying matching fairy wings for Samuel and Karin (blue for him and pick for her).
  • Ice Cream!
  • Sitting with my husband on our NEW DECK on a balmy Saturday evening, sipping beer and catching up. (Note: finishing touches still be made to deck but should be done this week)
  • FUN photo shoot with a family who won a session in an Auction fundraiser for Thomas’ school. Adorable kids and incredibly friendly parents.
  • Grocery shopping with Mayumi – she has now conquered her fear of New Seasons. (last week she went by herself and felt so overwhelmed that she left with only a bottle of Orange Juice).
  • Friendly people at the grocery store who remember Mayumi and Karin from their previous visit.
  • Playdate/birthday party at the park for one of Thomas’ school friends which included a gathering of parents who speak Japanese.

Of course, I also managed to take a few photographs of the festival, although the logistics of managing three kids (even with three adults) amidst an incredibly crowded street fair made it difficult. Next year I might have to find a little time to go by myself. So many wonderful photo opps that I missed.

Life with Karin: Day Two

I’ll be posting a lot of photographs over the next few months so consider yourself warned. It’s not only because I suddenly have a new, adorable, photo subject (although that’s a big motivator), but also because I hope to use this blog to share pictures of Karin and Mayumi with their family back in Fukushima.

Mayumi and I spent her first night in our house talking about her experience in Japan after the Tsunami – she in her broken English and me in my VERY broken Japanese. She talked about how the playgrounds in her neighborhood were empty due to the fear of radiation. How Karin no longer took afternoon naps because she didn’t get enough physical activity to tire her out. How they never left the house except to run errands.

So, after a sleep-in to recover a little from Jet Lag, I took Mayumi and Karin to the park. It was the most perfect Portland day. After weeks and weeks of grey skies and rain, it seems the sun had appeared just to welcome Mayumi and Karin to Portland.

We walked past the rose garden and as the smell of the flowers hit our noses, we both shed a tear. Mayumi, because she was outside with her child for the first time in months, and me because I realized how much I take for granted and how thankful I am that one small child (a child I didn’t even know two days ago but already love as my own) is able to play outside without fear of illness. If it sounds dramatic, it’s because it IS dramatic.

And I think the look on this child’s face tells the rest of the story…

 

Our Japanese Visitors

About three weeks ago I responded to a call on the Urban Mamas blog for families who were willing to host a Mother and Child (or children) visiting from Japan. Many areas of the country, particularly in the Tohoku region, have been affected by radiation from the leaking nuclear power plant in Fukushima. The effect this has had on the day-to-day lives of people who live in the region is enormous. Playgrounds are empty because parents are asked to keep their children indoors, food that once came from local farmers is now being shipped from across the country, electricity rationing means that air conditioning and elevators are turned off, even in high rise apartments.

But the thing they worry about the most is the health of their children. I can’t imagine a mother who would not want to remove her child from the potentially harmful effects of radiation, even if only for a short time.

And so we put up our hand and were contacted by Mayumi, a young mother with a two year old child who had the means and the motivation to leave. Just for a few months, but enough time to give her daughter the chance to run around outside for the Summer and heal some of the damage that may have already been caused by exposure to radiation.

Mayumi and Karin arrived today after a very long flight and Karin made herself home in no time at all. Thomas has taken her under his wing and Samuel is cautious, but friendly – which is the most we can ask for given he had to give up his bedroom and his space is now being infiltrated by a being of similar size, stature and cuteness.

I will definitely be back to share stories about Mayumi and Karin’s visit and the impact they are already having on our lives. But, for now, I have time to share just a few photos -mainly for Karin’s Daddy who is so far away and undoubtedly already missing his little girl.

 

A Weekend Well Spent

There is nothing better than returning to work on a Monday with the feeling that your weekend was well-spent. This weekend I had the perfect mix of getting some work done around the house (painting started but laundry not quite finished), time with the girls (hello, karaoke!) and family time that also included a whole lot of bike riding. No wonder I slept so well last night, although I could easily have done with a couple more hours. I’m waiting for my second coffee to kick in and get me through the rest of the day.

For my I heart faces entry this morning, I chose a photo that I took while we took part in Portland Sunday Parkways. The challenge is “whimsical” and I suppose this fits the bill…

Had to borrow a friend’s child for the photo because my two boys would rather do anything than run around under a sprinkler and get wet.

This week promises more house painting, prepping Samuel’s bedroom for Japanese guests (SO excited!), more laundry and, hopefully, a little time to squeeze in some photo editing, car cleaning and maybe even a pedicure. Bring it!

5 Things Friday: Children’s Books Worth Reading More Than Once (because you always read them more than once)

I became accustomed to reading the same books over and over again with child number one. But then along came child number two and those books that I grew bored with the first time around became just plain painful when reading them for the 80th time. So it comes as quite a treat when, every now and then, a childrens’ book comes along that just begs to be read over and over. And when my children and I find delight in that very same book, it serves as a magical break from those annoying books adapted from TV shows, or WAY too much Dr. Seuss (as much as I love him, his books are LONG and very repetitive).

To honor those special books that I wish my children would choose more often, I present my top 5 – although I could have easily expanded the list to 10 or 20, I’ll save that for future posts. Here’s my personal criteria for a good childrens’ book:

  • Good story – one that is original and clever and will not get old the 3rd (or 5th or 20th) time around.
  • Great illustrations that look like pieces of art – critical because I am Taurus and apparently we are attracted to pretty things.
  • A lesson or moral of some sort – Not absolutely critical, but it nice when the story carries the conversation with my children beyond just the book.
  • Not too long – this criteria alone cancels out Dr. Seuss.

The Top 5

1. The Way Back Home by Oliver Jeffers. 

I bought this book in Australia a few years ago and it quickly moved Oliver Jeffers to number 1 on my all time list of favorite children’s authors. While all of his books are wonderful and quirky, this one about a boy and a martian who help each other out when they become stranded on the moon is just wonderful. Bonus points for the Aussie/English version that we own because it uses words like Petrol and spanner which are translated in the American version.

2. Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems

I am so thankful that Mo Williams decided to release a couple of follow ups to this book because our copy of the original is literally falling apart at the seams. The story of a lost toy appeals to parents as well as toddlers and I love how he mixes illustration with black and white photos of New York. Favorite line of the book: Trixie was so upset “she went boneless.”

3. Zen Ties by Jon J. Muth

Almost every family we know has a copy of Zen Shorts, the first in this beautiful series of three books about a giant Panda called Stillwater. Zen Ties, the second in the series, is my favorite thanks to the appearance of Stillwater’s cousin who speaks only in Haiku. I love the use of Buddhist parables to teach a lesson and the slow, calm  pace of the book. Perfect just before bedtime.

4. I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato, Lauren Child

Charlie and Lola has been a favorite in our house for a long time but this book is a new addition. Charlie is the older brother who is always dealing with his “small and very funny” sister, Lola in wonderfully inventive ways. In this book, Lola is a very picky eater so Charlie tries to trick her into eating things by pretending they are something else (mashed potato is really cloud fluff). Fun books to read (especially when I put on my English accent) and this one earns bonus points for convincing Samuel to eat edamame (green drops anyone?). It’s also worth checking out the adorable TV series that’s available on Netflix, but make sure you buy the books that Lauren Child wrote herself, not the ones adapted from the series.

5. The Curious Garden by Peter Brown

I bought this book as a present from the Easter Bunny because of it’s Spring theme. The story is lovely but it’s the illustrations that really drew me in. Each time we read it together it seems we discover something new in the highly detailed and beautifully colored pictures. I think we’re definitely going to add a few more of Peter Brown’s books to our wishlist.

So there you have it – a few of my favorites. Please share your own in the comments and help me build our library. I’m on a quest to phase out the Thomas the Tank Engine book that plays music and every new addition gets me closer to my goal.

Sunshine and Artistry

The sun came out for a few minutes a couple of weeks ago so Kei had the brilliant idea to set the kids up in the backyard to do a little painting. I’m looking forward to more of this as the weather continues to warm up – although right now it feels as though Portland is teasing us with warm, sunny skies one day and hurricane-force winds the next.

Still, we are without a playroom for the next few weeks so I suspect we may have to brave the outdoors regardless of the weather. (more on the reason we’ve lost the playroom coming soon).

Oh, my poor youngest child. You have no idea how much teasing I have endured over the years due to an uncontrollable need to poke out my tongue whilst concentrating. I’m sorry that I passed it on to you, but I promise to protect you from your grandparent’s inevitable comments as much as I can.

At this point I’ll mention how wonderful it is to see Thomas painting with color. For a long time every single picture that came back from school was a black and white drawing of a Storm Trooper or Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker. Now, we still get the same pictures of Star Wars characters but sometimes they come in lovely jewel tones.

Samuel has recently declared that his favorite color is blue. Must drink from a blue cup, wear blue pants, shirts and socks, eat with a blue spoon – you get the idea. Conveniently there is no shortage of blue in the boy’s clothing department.

I think it’s safe to say that we’re all excited with the prospect of a little more sunshine, a little more paint and a lot more blue.