Ho Ho Ho!

Merry Christmas, friends! I'm writing to you from a genuine winter wonderland in the middle of Oregon. There is snow on the ground, we've been sledding, had tea and hot chocolate for days, and had an explosion of present opening today! It was awesome. We still have to make a snowman, take naps, decorate some cookies, and make a big old meal tonight (salmon - so Northwest!). Pictures to come, I promise. I've actually highjacked my brother-in-law's computer for this message, so it's got to be a quickie. Just know that I'm thinking good thoughts about you today (yes, you!), and hoping you're getting everything you want too!

I'm Seeing Spots

Does anybody know how to get nail polish out of carpet? Oh my.

Hernia Schmernia

We had quite the morning today! Here's my little man, all suited up for surgery, calmly distracted by Dinosaur Train on PBS. Back when I wrote about his hernia in October, we still hadn't seen the pediatric surgeon for his opinion. I was relieved when he and his resident agreed that we could wait it out since it hadn't been seen since that first time. His advice however, was to take a picture of it, should it ever pop back out. I thought that sounded like such a great idea! So high tech! That was until it did pop out around Thanksgiving, and my husband took a pic of it with his phone, then texted it to me so I could email it to the doctor's office. I was pretty sure we were all looking very pervy, but it was all legit! I swear! Blech.

So, the doctor said, "Let's just get it taken care of." That's what we did today.

Ollie was so brave! He never cried once, or even seemed to think that he should! He listened to what the nurses told him, took the yucky medicine they held out for him, and never hesitated or said that he didn't want to go through with this. The nurse told us that he was probably okay with everything because his parents were setting a good example for him (gold stars for us!).

I surprised him with this little box of snap-together toys that I thought might keep his mind off everything. He loved it so much, some of it even stayed in the bed when they wheeled him off to do the deed.

The poor guy had some serious drugs to help him cope with pain, nausea, and anesthesia - I noticed a sudden change in him just a few minutes before the nurses came for him. It seemed like his head was too heavy for his neck, and then he said very quietly, "Mama..." I leaned in really close so I could hear him and he said with his eyes closing, "Can I just go to school now?" Ha! He didn't want to go home, he wanted to go to school! I can't wait to tell his teacher!

Long story short, he came through just fine, slept it off, ate the required popsicles, and we took him home, played Uno, and asked him about a thousand times how he was feeling. So far so good, and he didn't even complain that I ate the most rocky road ice cream of anybody! What a champ!!

Great News!!

We are in the middle of a very exciting weekend! Here's why...

#1.  Opening Day at The Circuit Bouldering Gym!!

This is our little family business! My husband is the owner and mastermind behind this beautiful idea. His first gym opened here in Portland just over five years ago, and now, hot on its heels, comes the second one! I couldn't be more proud of him. He's very humble about it, but the whole town is buzzing about this - as it should be! If you're still thinking, "What the heck is a bouldering gym?," I usually explain that it's a form of rock climbing, but without the harness & ropes or scary heights. It's perfect for kids because they almost always love scrambling around on anything - at least my kids do. They will climb any little thing that makes them taller (steps, retaining walls, trees, grocery carts, kitchen counters...the possibilities are endless!).

We've had to kind of give up most of our free time with Andy since he started building this place with his crew back in July, but now we're looking forward to lots of family time spent here, and of course at the first gym (which isn't going anywhere), as well as in other places (have I told you about our Spring Break trip to Nicaragua? Dios mio!)

I'm so blessed to raise my family in such a supportive, positive environment! I feel especially proud for Andy that he can provide good jobs for people right now (including the building crew he has about 30 people on his payroll!). Plus, he has created a community in Portland that has proven to be very important to a lot of people. Seriously, some people have met their spouses at our gym! Babies have been born! We even hosted a wedding a few years back (totally adorable - they did their vows on top of the kiddie boulder, then slid down the slide after their first kiss!)! Can you tell how much I love this place? So, I'm expecting great things out of the new location. Please come by and visit if you're ever in town, and if you live in Portland, you've got friends waiting to see you at The Circuit! Come see!