Life without Maria

Did I mention that our housecleaner broke her arm? If not, I'm very surprised because I think about it, and her, at least once every five minutes these days. This was maybe six weeks ago now. She called one day to tell me that she slipped and fell in the bathtub. Ouch. Poor Maria. Even worse, that she was in a cast and would not be able to work for a while. However, in typical Maria fashion, she said that, despite what the doctor was telling her, she thought it wouldn't be too long before she'd be able to come back to work.

So, we left it at that. I hung up the phone, looked around the house and spent about two seconds pondering the fact that I may have to actually clean my house for the first time in, oh, seven or so years. And then it was too much to process so I immediately stopped thinking about it and instead went immediately into the denial stage - which I seem to do so well. No worries, she said she'll be back soon. The house can survive a month without a major cleaning. (Note that it had already been more than a week since she was last here when I received the call.)

Two weeks (or so...I've lost track) later the phone rings again. It's Maria. We had gotten together with our two sets of neighbors (who also use Maria) to send her a "get well soon" bouquet of flowers. Of course she didn't realize how literal that sentiment was for each one of us. No, really, please get well soon! So Maria was calling to thank us (profusely, because she is very sweet) for the flowers and to provide us with an update on her condition:

Maria: So I wanted to let you know that the doctor switched me to my permanent cast today.

Me: Oh, your permanent cast?

Maria: Yes, he said it's going to be at least another three weeks that I'll need to be in this cast and then he'll have to check me again for my progress.

Me: Oh, at least three weeks, huh? (??!!!!!!!!)

Maria: Yes, I'm so sorry for any inconvenience in not being able to clean your house for all this time.

Me: Oh, Maria, it's no problem at all. (What a liar.) You just rest and focus on getting well and give us a call after you talk with the doctor again. Oh, and can you just tell me what you use to clean the toilets?

So, again, I'd lost count but basically at this point we were approaching somewhere in the vicinity of a month w/o a cleaning with clearly no end in sight. As I looked around at the dust bunnies mingling around the floor like best friends at a cocktail party, I knew that denial was no longer an option. Someone needed to clean the house and it clearly was not going to be Maria. Ian offered and I considered it for a minute before deciding that might not be the most efficient route to go. And Jeff didn't really offer. Which is understandable, I guess, since he's got that whole work thing going on.

I spent the next four or so days getting siked up for my adventures in housecleaning. I mean, it's not like I've never cleaned before. I used to be the Queen of Clean(ing), as a matter of fact, before we bought our house in Virginia. But once multiple levels entered into the picture, I decided I was okay with enlisting the help of outside resources. And then it's just hard to go back after that decision is made. To prepare, I spent the weekend doing some deep breathing and stretching exercises, along with reacquainting myself with the myriad cleaning supplies at my disposal. Come Monday morning - with Ian dropped off at school - I was ready. It was a beautiful day outside and I had a lot of energy that morning. In short, it was Me vs. The House and I was determined to come out the winner!

Just like Maria does, I started upstairs in our bathroom. First of all, I never realized how big our vanity was before. Lots to clean there for sure. After that and the toilet, I tackled the bathtub, which took much more bending and general contorting of the body than I anticipated. By that point I was already saying, "Oh, that's good enough!" Next was the shower. I thought, "You know, the shower still looks pretty clean...I've been at this an hour and there's still a lot to do...I'll just skip the shower for now." Well, about 2.5 hours, one more bathroom, four bedrooms, one laundry room later and about two breaks later - I was finally ready to start moving downstairs. Admittedly, I was getting a little tired and it took a little longer than I had hoped. Still, I was not discouraged. One more break and I was ready to tackle the main level.

About 1.5 hours later - somewhere in between cleaning the kitchen, vacuuming the wood floors and getting started on the mopping - is when it first crossed my mind that whomever thought it was a perfectly good idea to buy a 3,000+ square foot home clearly never planned on cleaning it. By that point, I'm pretty sure my energy level was decreasing by the millisecond and breaks were becoming more frequent. Somewhere around that same time Jeff arrived home and sadly, attempted to go up the very same stairs I had just spent 20 minutes vacuuming WITHOUT TAKING OFF HIS SHOES FIRST. I mean, I don't want to exaggerate and say that I flipped out or anything but let's just say I don't think he'll be making that mistake again.

By the time I finished with just minutes to spare before it was time to go pick up Ian, I was not well. For sure it had been Me vs. The House except that I do believe The House came out the winner. By 6pm that evening, every bone and muscle in my body ached. I can only liken it to how one feels when they are coming down with a bad case of the flu. It was, in a word, embarrassing. The next day, I was useless. I did nothing except spend most of the day praying that Maria would return before it was time to clean again. That was about 2.5 weeks ago now. I've recovered but the house is getting dirty again. Especially that shower. And still no call from Maria. As a side note, I can't go without giving credit where credit is due. I did have a couple of helpers that day. Here are some photos of them in action.

Gathering bathroom rugs for the wash:

Overseeing the dusting in (or outside, as the case may be) our bedroom:

Bathtub quality assurance advisor: And finally, taking a break from mopping:

Until I write again.

Fun in a tube

Last Sunday we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weekend weather and head up to Mount Hood. We found out that one of the ski resorts has a tubing hill for kids (and adults...) so we thought it would be a good opportunity to introduce Ian to the world of snow sports.

Because we live on the west side of town, the drive up to the mountains is about an hour and 20 minutes for us. (We have the advantage when it comes to going to the coast.) Skibowl is right at the town of Government Camp, which is a cute little village area just below Timberline Lodge. We arrived just before 11 a.m. and found that the place was practically empty. I guess that everyone decided they'd rather stay in town for the nice weather than spend it on the slopes. And yesterday I heard that there are some avalanche issues right now with the sudden warm weather, so perhaps that was a deterrent (?).

We parked the car, got our tickets and headed for the "Tube Park" which consists of about five groomed paths down a not-too-scary-looking hill. However, once we watched a few people come down, it was clear that this wasn't a total snoozer. They were getting some good speed on that thing! So after our careful tube selection, we headed for the rope tow up the hill. For Ian, this was half the fun. At the top, we were a little nervous about pushing him down on his own at first so we decided that it would be better if one of us went down with him by holding on to his tube. Of course I nominated Jeff for this job. And before I knew it - off they went swooshing down the hill. We really weren't sure what to expect out of Ian...whether he'd think it was the greatest thing ever or if he would immediately be on the phone to child protective services once at the bottom of the hill. Luckily, it was the former. He laughed and giggled the entire way down and before the tube had even come to a complete stop, he was asking Jeff, "Can we do it again??" So, we repeated this process (complete with the request to "do it again") about 10 times while switching off who went down with him. After a while we asked him if he still wanted to go down with us or go by himself. "By myself!" he said. So that's what he did for the rest of our time there.

We had only purchased a two-hour pass, which was plenty of time for tubing fun...not to mention sore bottoms and snow exposure in mild temperatures. (We made sure to put on plenty of sunscreen that morning.) So, we were headed out toward home by 1 p.m. - leaving us enough time to still squeeze in a nap. It was a brief, but fun little activity. Not surprisingly, Ian seems to really like being in the snow and seemed especially intrigued by the skiers. And okay, by the snowboarders as well. He kept saying, "Look at that! Look at them, Mommy/Daddy! I'll do that when I'm bigger?" We are hoping that next year, when he's four, he'll be able to take his first ski lesson. We figure we'll help him to learn how to ski and then he'll probably teach himself how to snowboard. Because I can promise that you'll never see me on a snowboard in my lifetime.

Until I write again.

Signs of spring

After a couple of rain-soaked weeks, we are seeing some glimpses of spring this weekend. This morning we woke up to clear blue skies and afternoon temps in the 60s, and tomorrow and Monday it is supposed to reach 70 degrees. Woo hoo!

However, being that this is now our third year going through the seasons here, we will not be fooled. In fact, we now know all too well that this period from April through June marks the toughest time of the year here. That's because while everyone else is, for the most part, enjoying the glory of spring/beginning of summer and warmer weather, we will undoubtedly continue to experience our fair share of rain and cool temperatures. In fact, we'll be back to the 50s by Tuesday. Sigh.

In the meantime, all the flowers are in full bloom - including the tulips, which I just love and always like to have around the house this time of year. Here are some pretty ones on our dining table:

Until I write again.

We may be reaching Code Red

So, let's see...I last talked about Ian's bedroom situation maybe a couple of months ago now? And I'm sure you are all thinking that has been completely resolved by this point. Well, guess what? It hasn't. (I've said before that I'm indecisive and I meant it.)

The good news, however, is that I'm close. I mean, I know I said I was close a while back - but this time I'm really close. After approximately 298 scouting trips to IKEA, 156 trips to the paint store(s), three paint samples and one trip to World Market - I have definitely decided on the safari theme. In fact, I've more than decided on it. I've committed to it. Last week the piece de resistance - which I got on sale, by the way - arrived in the mail and it's now sitting spread out across the guest bed up against a couple of large pieces of paint samples. And, I'm pretty sure I'm not even going to return it.

So, if that is the good news...then what is the bad? The bad is that I think we may be running short on time. This is because I do believe that after three plus years, the novelty of the crib seems to be wearing off, while the intrigue of sleeping in an actual bed seeming to be heating up. At first it was very subtle. Little questions and statements here and there about where "Ian sleeps" versus "Mommy and Daddy's bed." Every now and then he'd climb up on our bed and liked sitting on it a bit. Okay, fine. Then one day he laid down. Then, he pulled the covers up. "This is how Mommy and Daddy sleep?" he asked. "Well yes, but it's not much fun," I said. "Oh." And that was the end of that. (Sometimes I still amaze myself with my quick and witty comebacks.)

But really, it wasn't the end of that. And recently - as in, this week - things have taken a turn for the worse. Yesterday, late afternoon, he decided that he was still tired and needed another nap. Really?? Jackpot!!! That's what I was thinking. But Ian had other things in mind. "I'm going to go to sleep in there," he said, pointing to the bed in the guest room. So I thought that was cute and I played along. He hopped up on the bed, pulled down the pillows and pulled up the covers. And there he was: Snug as a bug in a rug! Then I made what may have been my biggest mistake in at least the past two days. I shared "the plan" with him:

Me: You know, someday very soon you are going to have your very own bed just like this one and the one that Mommy and Daddy sleep in.

Ian: I will?

Me: Yes. You won't have your crib anymore and you'll sleep in your own big boy bed.

Ian: Oh!! (He says with a big smile.) And I won't sleep in my crib anymore? (Turning what I just told him into a question as if the outcome might have changed in the past two seconds.)

Me: Nope, just your new bed.

Ian: Oh!!! (More big smiles.) I'm going to practice in the cat bed now, okay? (For some reason he calls the guest bed the "cat bed" even though I kick Catalina off every time I even see her try to get comfy on there. Because that's the kind of mean cat parent I am. Does anyone want a sweet cat, by the way?)

Then, he did something that's been happening more and more lately: I was asked to leave. On the way out he said, "Can you shut it?" "Shut what?" I asked. "The door. Please shut the door." I obliged, checking in every now and then to find this:

When Jeff arrived home a bit later, Ian was still doing his practice session, so we ended up all piling in the bed together which Ian thought was more fun than eating a quesadilla. Well, okay, we won't go that far. But he was pretty tickled. Then this afternoon, as soon as we got home from school, guess where he went? Straight for the cat bed for more "napping." When I told him that he couldn't stay there long because it would be time for him to go into his room and his own bed for a real nap, I heard the inevitable question: "Can I take my nap here?" Uh oh. We were clearly reaching dangerous territory with this whole bed thing. When I told him no, that he needed to nap in his own room for now, I feared some level of flip out might follow but it didn't. Whew. (You can really never be too grateful when flip outs are averted.) Instead, he got down and went into his room and came back with a selection of his favorite items from the transportation sector. He asked, "Can I play with these on the cat bed until my naptime?" "Sure."

Tonight I told Jeff that it's time to get a transition plan in place. Sort of like the Obama team transition plan, but a little less important.

Until I write again.

The Somewhat (infrequent) Daily Quote

Catalina is a cat. And she says meeoooow because she wants to eat! (Yep, that about sums things up.) And babies say waaaaaaaaaaa. Like my baby cousin Ellie. She says waaaaaaaaaa!

-Ian Burpo, Age 3, noted while getting ready to eat breakfast this morning.

Bonus quote (just heard):

I'd like some more cereal. With milk, please. And that will be all.

Until I write again.

Visiting the orangutans

It was a gorgeous, albeit chilly, day here in Portland today. So, we went to the zoo with our friends Tabitha and baby Marshall. Here are Ian and Marshall getting up close and personal with the orangutans:

Until I write again.

Our brush with fame. Sort of.

As long as I can remember I have been loyal to NBC television, especially when it comes to news. I'm not sure exactly why or how it started, but that is how it is. I teared up when Tom Brokaw and Bob Hager retired, though have since warmed up to Brian Williams and Tom Costello. And of course we won't even talk about Tim Russert. In DC, I only watched WRC-TV for local news. And when we moved to Portland, it didn't even occur to me to check out any other station before turning straight to local NBC affiliate KGW. For what it's worth, the news quality of NBC does seem to surpass other broadcasts - though please recognize that I use that term quality loosely when referring to local news sometimes, especially in the Portland market. But KGW was also the first station in Portland to start broadcasting in HD last year, which is a nice little bonus.
So, of course it piqued our interest early last year when KGW started running fancy-smancy, yet somewhat secretive, ads announcing that their new "Studio on the Square" was "coming soon". It was clear that they were building a new studio with a window on Pioneer Courthouse Square - the centerpiece of downtown Portland - ala the Today Show. Several months went by and eventually the ads disappeared with no word spoken about the "Studio on the Square". It seemed that maybe KGW's new venture somehow hadn't quite worked out as planned. Until a couple of months ago. As quickly as they disappeared, the ads started reappearing on TV and finally, one day, an actual announcement that the studio was near completion and that they would begin broadcasting the morning, noon and 7pm broadcasts from the new location. Last week there was coverage of a special launch party and another announcement that they would host an open house for the public to come and see the new studio on Saturday morning. Sweet. We are always looking for weekend adventures, large and small. Plus, I guess I happen to have some interest in the inner workings of television given that whole PR career path and all. (And I did have the chance, through work, to tour the local ABC affiliate in Washington some years back. Kathleen Matthews, the evening anchor at the time - and wife of the infamous Chris Matthews - gave us the tour, which was kind of cool.)

Now, as I often do, this is where I have to back up for a minute. Earlier this past week, I took Ian on his first MAX train ride (MAX is Portland's light rail system). And I guess I should admit here...my first as well. We hopped on at a station near our house and rode downtown to Pioneer Courthouse Square, walked around a bit, ate some lunch and then headed back. It was nice. In many ways it was like an instant flashback to my daily trips on Metro in DC and reminded me how nice it is to have that as a travel option, but in other ways it seemed like a much different experience. However - my observations aside - Ian LOVED it. And you can only imagine that we've been hearing about the ride on the "electric train" nonstop since then. Along with the seemingly constant sound of "ding, ding, ding, ding, ding" ringing throughout the house as he simulates the sound of a railroad crossing. So, I suggested to Jeff that we hop on the train again and ride back downtown on Saturday morning to take him on a tour of the new KGW studio. And that's what we did.

Ian's second train ride was no less exciting to him than the first. We got off the train at Pioneer Courthouse Square and were a bit surprised to find that there was a line to get in the studio. They were shuffling people inside in groups and it took about 15 minutes in between each group. It was cold out and threatening rain, so it didn't take me long to launch into complaint mode noting they should have planned for more people and done more of a constantly moving line through the studio. Keep 'em moving. Keep 'em moving. That was my recommendation for maximum efficiency, though clearly no one asked me.

However, once inside - I realized that no, they were doing this the Portland way. Meaning, they weren't doing this just to see how many folks they could shuffle through in a few hours. They actually cared about locals - their viewers - having the opportunity for an "in depth" look at their proud new home. First there was a brief orientation in the hall with the news producer and managing news director who talked a bit about the history of the studio, took questions and even asked for some viewer input on one of their Friday morning segments. Then, we were moved inside the studio where we were able to walk around and see all the cameras, computers and of course the new anchor desk in front of the window on the square. In the middle of everything, seated at a round table, were almost all of the anchors and reporters we see on TV everyday, talking with all the guests, thanking them for coming and signing autographs. There was no pretentiousness going on - only smiles, friendly faces and seemingly genuine excitement and gratitude that we had taken the time to come down. Ian proudly introduced himself to Business Reporter Joe Smith and I got my picture taken with Weather Guy Dave Salesky (who is extremely tall, by the way). Jeff took pictures. All in all, it seemed kind of silly yet kind of fun. Before we knew it, we were back outside and heading back home on the train. With one very excited three-year-old. Mission accomplished.

Until I write again.