Countdown to Day One. Of course our New Year officially started off on New Years Eve where it wasn't until about 4 or 4:30ish p.m. that afternoon that we decided what we wanted to do that evening...which was sort of nothing. But being home never stopped us before from creating our own party and having a good time, which is exactly what we did. First, we popped over to Freddie's for some tasty dinner makings (yes, steak and baked potatoes were involved). Once home, we kicked on the "Party Favorites" on the music channel and that's when things really got rolling as we revived our official living room version of Dance Party USA (which admittedly has not made much of an appearance since leaving Dinwiddie Street). While I unfortunately don't have any photos to commemorate the revival of DP USA, I do have some video - which I may or may not be sharing in the near future.
Once Ian enjoyed his requested New Year's Eve meal of a "tostada" (aka, quesadilla) and a piece of Santa chocolate - he headed off for a bath and bed (well, not by himself - we were there to help him). After Jeff and I wrapped up dinner we returned to the dance floor - some of us longer than others - before heading back out on tour with the Stumptown Burpies downstairs. And then before we knew it, it was approaching midnight so we called off the tour and came up to watch Dick Clark...who now looks frighteningly similar to Ryan Seacrest...drop the ball. And let me just pause here to say, wow is that show bad. And besides that, what I really want to know is, who are these people who actually think that standing in Times Square with zillions of people screaming while freezing their butts off for hours on end actually sounds fun?? Because personally, you couldn't pay me to be out there. Well, I guess it would depend on how much you were offering - but it would have to be a lot. Maybe enough to pay off our mortgage or something like that.
Day One. Our first day of the New Year started off on a very positive note with Ian sleeping in until something like 8:30 a.m. Though, I have to say that with the holidays and recent weather issues throwing off all our schedules, he's been sleeping later a fair amount. That was the first 8:30 morning, though. I sprung out of bed with bells on and was M-O-T-I-V-A-T-E-D to start the year off right. How, you ask? Organizing, of course! Being it was the beginning of a new year and the fact that the weather was super nasty out (rain nasty, not snow nasty) - what better day to get the household in order? So that's pretty
much what we did from morning till night. We took down the tree, the lights outside, packed away all of the Xmas stuff, I filled boxes with the latest round of outgrown Ian clothing and put it in the garage, we broke down boxes and hauled out trash and recycling for Friday pickup the first time in 2+ weeks, we made some money by selling our old high chair and fireplace set on Craigslist (we hated that high chair but were sad to part with the fireplace set - though we just didn't know if we'd ever need it again...), I reorganized our main storage closet in our den while Jeff cleaned out and organized the garage, and I put new pictures in frames...it was great!
much what we did from morning till night. We took down the tree, the lights outside, packed away all of the Xmas stuff, I filled boxes with the latest round of outgrown Ian clothing and put it in the garage, we broke down boxes and hauled out trash and recycling for Friday pickup the first time in 2+ weeks, we made some money by selling our old high chair and fireplace set on Craigslist (we hated that high chair but were sad to part with the fireplace set - though we just didn't know if we'd ever need it again...), I reorganized our main storage closet in our den while Jeff cleaned out and organized the garage, and I put new pictures in frames...it was great! Day Two. Jeff worked from home on this day, so Ian and I were on our own. Still tuckered from the previous day's activities, I have to say that we weren't overly ambitious about getting out early. And Ian is really into being in his jammies these days. In fact, we are having a lot of battles about putting on our "day clothes", but that's a story for another post. So he was running around with stickers all over him (Santa brought him transportation stickers in his stocking) and at one point I see him walking over with this big fat Elmo phone stuck to his ear. He's clearly having an important conversation with someone when he goes over to the drawer with our takeout menus and pulls out the menu for Lin's China Jade - still with phone to ear.
Me: What are doing, Ian?
Ian: Please be quiet. I'm ordering.
Me: Oh, okay, sorry to bother you. Carry on.
Ian: (Walks over to chair in the living room and puts menu down point at items.) Yes, I'd like a grilled cheese. Yes, and a peanut butter and jelly, too!
So, apparently the Chinese joint has expanded their menu since we last ordered from there, which is good to know. But since I know that kids often mimic what they see their parents doing most, I'm not sure how to take that little episode - but it was funny nonetheless.
And speaking of takeout and food, the real highlight of Day Two of 2009 came in the evening. After we had subjected ourselves to some crazy number of nights eating at home (it was at least four!), we were overdue for either takeout or a dinner out. So, we went with the latter. We decided to splurge a bit and take Ian out to a nicer little Thai place (but still kid-friendly) that we usually just get takeout from. And let me just say that we had the loveliest dinner with our two-soon-to-be-three-year-old! More and more lately it seems that we are finally reaching a point where we can enjoy a meal out w/o anxiously gulping down our food at light speed and asking for the check halfway through the meal. And boy have we waited a long time for this day! We actually sat there perfectly relaxed amidst candlelight, ordered appetizers (!!), had not one - but two - glasses wine and enjoyed a tasty dinner. Ian loved his sticky rice and chicken satay with "peanut butter" sauce. Heck, we even had to wait for him to finish his dinner before asking for the check! This is a new and pleasant trend, for sure. Of course, I should also mention that a little added bonus of this particular place is that it has full-length windows that sit right beside the light rail train track - so a train would come through every few minutes, much to Ian's delight.
Day Three. The perfect day of organizing on Day One was complemented on Day Three by a much-needed visit from our beloved Maria (who like many other things - had to miss a visit during the bad weather). And poor Maria - it is a wonder she gets anything done with Ian as her little helper who follows her every move like she is a rock star. As soon as she walks in, he whips out his broom and dustpan and helps her "clean" around the house. About mid-morning Jeff, Ian and I left the house for a visit to an aviation museum in McMinnville, which is about 30-35 minutes from here in the wine country. We came across it one time when we were driving to the coast and it looked quite impressive from the road so we took note to take Ian back sometime. I mean, this place isn't the Smithsonian or anything, but they have quite an impressive display of aviation nonetheless - including that it is now the home of Howard Hughes' infamous Spruce Goose. Ian seemed to enjoy walking around and looking at all the airplanes. Then, last evening we shared a babysitter with our neighbors and went for dinner to an nice Indian place on the east side, followed by a fun cocktail party that was being hosted by a good friend of both of our neighbo
rs (and who we see fairly often as he visits our hood quite a bit).
rs (and who we see fairly often as he visits our hood quite a bit). Which brings us to Day Four. I'd say it's been sort of your typical end-of-holidays Sunday before the business of the New Year really gets started. Grocery store, a bit more organizing and all that fun stuff. Plus a little catch-up blogging, etc. But despite today not being particularly exciting, it's still good to feel like you are getting things in order. Tomorrow Ian will start going to school full days on Monday and Wednesday while continuing with a half day on Fridays. I'll be using that extra time to step up my search for something that might actually pay - ideally in the form of freelance work for now. It should be interesting to see how that goes as it has become apparent to me in recent months that there are a lot of job seekers out there right now.
So all in all, it's been a great first four days. Now just 361 to go!
Until I write again.
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