Fill in the Blank Friday

Another FITBF from Lauren @ The Little Things We Do. Happy Weekend!

1. I am looking forward to my daughters coming! The weeks have been dragging lately...although I know I should savor this time because once they're here, everything I know about life is getting chucked out the window!

2.  Something kind of embarassing that I still love anyway is  Saturday morning Disney shows. You can't beat That's So Raven for some laughs. Oh, and yes, I am a Belieber.
 
3.  My favorite car is oooo, I'm not a car girl. How about a Vespa? A few years ago, we borrowed our friends' two Vespas one afternoon and rode all over the Rogue Valley. It was a blast.

4.  If I could pick one type of weather to live with for the rest of my life it would be  the British weather - almost Portland weather, but a little different...always very cozy, and you can get a good summer day in.

5.  My favorite thing to do after a bad/stressful day is watch Gilmore Girls! 

6.  This weekend is a total freebie! We're going to the ballet on Sunday for the last showing of OBT's Song and Dance show. I haven't been in so long and I can't wait, because Nicolo Fonte's Left Unsaid is my favorite piece of all time. 

7.  If I were a color, I'd be green  because green can take on any mood and any season and still look great! It also reminds me of nature - the color of leaves and grass and moss and all the earthiness that I love.

PDX Birth Bucks!

Art by Mara Friedman

I feel so fortunate to live in Portland as a first time mama. Every question I've had, I've gone straight to Urban Mamas, our local web community, and always found an answer. For moms of multiples, Full House Moms has also been a wealth of information; I've already learned more about twins than I ever thought possible.

Then, I found Zenana Spa, with an amazing Prenatal Yoga class taught by Camille Mulchi at Mother Wise Yoga...and through them I found my chiropractor, Dr. Jess Barr Desbrow, and acupuncturist, Colleen Gibson. These ladies love their mama patients.

I sound spoiled, don't I? But they've been lifesavers. Jess puts my ribs back - Afton is just hanging out up in my ribcage - and Colleen makes my headaches go bye-bye! Camille is more than just a yoga teacher, she's also a doula, and I have learned more from her about laboring comfort measures than from anyone else.

If you're a mama or an expectant mama, you should definitely pick up the free coupon booklet put together by Mother Tree Doula Services called Birth Bucks! I picked mine up at Zenana Spa on SE Clinton. It's filled with savings and intro offers and I've already used my coupon to sign up for a Baby Care class in June! There are deals on photography, acupuncture, shopping, doula and lactation services, and much more.

portland weekend

Our good friends from Medford came to visit this past weekend! We went to the Farmer's Market and Saturday Market, which we hadn't been to since last year! It was good to see our city again, and walk through my old school campus...I miss it! 

If I could, I'd go back to school in a heartbeat and stay there forever. I love the atmosphere. 

The girls and I ate a crazy good berry and cream empanada, biscuits & gravy from Pine State, and a hot chocolate from Spunky Monkey. We also bought some Venison Pate from Chop Butcherie & Charcuterie - it is wicked good. 

On Saturday morning after a delicious wild mushroom omelette breakfast at Besaw's , Jess and I headed to Piccolina - I am growing fast and need more maternity clothes! I love resale stores - I can't justify spending $25 on a shirt that I'll probably end up growing out of in June. 

two tarts

A lovely surprise waiting on my desk at work! 

A sweet little box with a Lil' Mama, Fleur de Sel chocolate chip (I ate before taking this picture), a Hazelnut Baci, and a Peanut Butter Cream. 

I love those Two Tarts. 

cozy cabin weekend part three

The next afternoon, we all packed up, strapped on our shoes or skis, and headed home. The sun was peeking through the clouds, and the sounds of laughter echoed through the trees as our small party enjoyed the last few deep breaths of mountain air. 

Convinced we needed a treat after a good hike, we stopped at the Waffle Window and I had the most delicious waffle YET. The Blueberry Cheesecake waffle, with homemade cream cheese pudding, fresh blueberries, graham cracker crust and homemade whipped cream is, hands down, their best waffle EVER. 

cozy cabin weekend part two

We had volunteered to take on dinner that night, so after trekking in and relaxing for a few hours, Andy and I holed up in the kitchen and put together our two curry meal, with this view from our kitchen: 

The day before we left, I made two separate curry sauces: one for tofu and veggies, one for shrimp, using this recipe from TasteFood. I built the sauces two different ways - adding all the veggies (spinach, onion and tomatoes) to stew in the sauce for the shrimp curry, and keeping the veggies out for the tofu curry (spinach, red onion, cauliflower, bell peppers), leaving them to cook right before dinner. I poured the sauces into big mason jars, and we were ready to go. 

Add some rice, naan bread and cucumber-yogurt salad, and we're ready! 

 

cozy cabin weekend, part one

We spent this past weekend with a group of friends up at a cabin on Mt. Hood. Even though it's almost spring, we couldn't resist one last "snow-day," a chance to cozy up to a fire and eat good food, and play some games, and just relax. I even started knitting a scarf from yarn Andy had picked out over a year ago - although I only got about 10 rows in.

Chimney Rock chalet takes a mile-long hike in on snowshoes. We each rented a pair at Mountain Tracks in Government Camp, strapped them on, and got trekkin'. Both Andy and I had to laugh when my neither my ski pants or my jacket would zip at all. 

A brand new fresh piling of snow covered everything - it reminded me of powdered sugar...

 

No potty breaks - unless you want to climb into the bathroom.

I quickly realized that this would be my last labor-intensive activity (well, besides labor!) because my back was NOT having it at all. The girls really enjoyed the fresh air though - can't you tell? 

Home sweet home! 

 

sweet little somethings.

I just realized I have $19.00 in my PayPal account!

What to buy, what to buy.

I just felt a kick from each side of my belly, so that must mean it has to be for the girls. Did I mention that I'm completely ecstatic that I'm having TWO girls?

Of course, Etsy is the place to go for a sweet little something(s).

Jeabmade's adorable handmade hats for a nice fall walk...

 

...and completely unnecessary baby ballet shoes for all occasions! Each Baby Souls slipper is beautifully made by Revolutionary Soul. 

Fill in the Blank Friday

 

If you live in Portland, go have hot chocolate at Bread & Ink Cafe. It's delicious!

As usual, this FITB is courtesy of the most lovely Lauren at The Little Things We Do.

1.   The best prank I ever pulled was   apparently not that memorable. I am terrible with pranks - I get a smiley-smirk on my face and just feel dumb.

2.  The best prank ever pulled on me was wow. strike 2. 

3.  A day without being thankful for everything I have is a day wasted.

4.  The most important things in life are people! I love the people in my life, whether I see them once a day, once a week or once a month! Oh, and books.

5.  I dream of traveling the world again with my little family - I read this book about a couple who took their kids out of school and just traveled for a year, learning so much more than they would have in a classroom. That sounds like something we would do. I hope we do. 

6.  I dread getting older. Not wrinkles, or anything like that, just life passing by without me noticing. 

7.  A discovery I made this week was that my little girls are on opposite schedules...Ruthie is awake in the middle of the night and Afton is awake during the day! This does not bode well! But I love when they are awake at the same time...I get a kick in my groin and a punch in the ribs. I feel so loved already, ha ha.