Category Archives: Family Talk

Problem after Problem

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 5 March, 2014 None comments

I can’t seem to grasp that life simply just happens…. You literally have no control over what takes place and the reality is why try? It’s going to happen anyways. I guess this is what I am resorting to. You have heard of all our house drama with the clogged pipe, desperate need of a French drain, flooded laundry room, rotten pipe leaking waste, and now this. This morning on my way to Church I smelt gas filling our driveway. It was almost as I walked into a gas chamber with myself, Cooper and the car. I strapped Cooper in his car seat and head out not feeling too concerned as the smell only resided outside at that particular time. When I reached church the smell was incredibly pungent when I stepped outside. A gal who parked behind me even commented on it.

“but why mommy, I don’t understand”

As I was leaving church I received the strong scent killing my brain cells as I stepped towards the car. This time as I was driving down the road, the smell began to fill the entire inside of my car. Who passed out first, Cooper or me? Well thank the good Lord above no one passed out but I must say I had to pull over and call the dealership as I was extremely frightened that my car was going to ignite and scatter us into a million pieces. And to be quite frank, I was extremely light-headed!

Knowing that our car would need to be fixed we didn’t want to make any drastic decisions that our pocketbook would later say “this is no good.” So I put our lives on the line and drove 25 miles to my husbands work to exchange cars while he did some research. Good thing I did because this has been a common problem with thousands out there. We also have a friend who lives in California who works for the same dealership and solidified our concerns. He said we wont blow up into a million pieces but it needs to be fixed very quickly.

It’s extremely weird but the problem only exists when the gas tank is full. Once the fuel level drops, the leak desists. Needless to say, I was thankful to rotate cars as I was concerned for my son but it doesn’t help that my husband now has the problem.

Pray he doesn’t pass out on his drive home tonight. ;)

Moment of Truth: We are alive and didn’t pass out and I live to see my husband and son another day. :) Rejoice in the little things.

Juice Detox day 5

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 3 March, 2014 None comments

And… we are on day 5 of our fruit and veggie detox. My husband called this morning telling me he snuck some sugar into his coffee as he treated himself to his “birthday drink” at Starbucks. :) The cheating has officially begun. :)

Tonight we got a babysitter and my husband decided to tell me he is going to cheat on our date as he really wants steak and sautéed vegetables. So, we are cheating but he doesn’t want carbs. I had a feeling this would come at some point and though I don’t blame him as it can get very tiring to eat the same things meal in and meal out. I am still watching him closely. :)

Zucchini, Carrots and Tofu

Keeping you up to date and on your toes while we embark the remaining 5 days of “juicing” or shall I say cheating? Will he remain strong the next few days or will tonight begin the sinkhole of eating “real” food again?

Stay tuned for the remainder of the 5 days!

The Juice Detox Begins…

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 1 March, 2014 None comments

Ten days of juicing has officially begun…my husband has decided to take a detox including only fruits and vegetables. Seeing as he is doing this and I am the cook around here, I kind of began the detox as well since that’s what is being eaten and I am his biggest supporter. I don’t want to be mean and cook tasty treats while he’s around. And naturally having a lot of fruit in the house, that’s what I gravitate to. I wasn’t necessarily desiring to do this detox but I pretty much stick to it besides breaking the detox at lunch for some carbs in a sandwich or with eggs and toast. I feed Cooper his usual meals but we all drink the shakes and come dinner we all eat veggies and fruit in some fashion or another.

Drinking smoothies and eating vegetables as well as cooking them and eating them raw seems to get old. You can only make them taste so different without using seasonings that include sodium. The shakes are the best flavor and tend to fill us up pretty well. Although when you cut everything out of your diet that quickly, you begin cravings pretty instantaneously and not only are you cravings a juicy steak but the unhealthy fatty fast food burgers and fries. Trying to fight those temptations while you are eating sautéed Brussels sprouts and mushrooms is not an easy task.

So today I set out to find something tasty for dinner tonight and succeeded. I decided to make homemade black beans for a bean burrito bowl minus the tortilla. Yay for something more filling and not just a typical bowl of sautéed veggies.

We are currently on day three….it’s progressing but there are seven days remaining. How will my husband handle the next few days? Will he cheat on his detox now that the weekend has come? Stay tuned and see what happens….

Opps!!!

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 22 February, 2014 None comments

A total mom moment. Unfortunately this shows how my day went yesterday. A bit crazy!

Bath time

Mommy please take my socks off.

Please mommy!

Yay! Socks off and lots of playing to do!

Houseboat Livin’

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 20 February, 2014 None comments

Did any of you know that we live on a houseboat? My husband for years has said how he would love to live on a houseboat and live a simple life. Well when we met he did not live on a houseboat, he was living in a nice house in the suburbs of Portland. Recently we moved and yet again, it was not to a houseboat. His desire still remains and he would love to fulfill this dream and to be honest, I’m not sure we ever will. Although, the closest we may come to that is probably right now. With all the rain the last week or so on top of the mass amount of snow we received, I think my husbands dream has finally come true.

Thanks to saveourhouseboats.com

We are living in a house that is floating on water, filled to the brim with water and yet I must say our house was not designed for this task.

Recently, before the snow hit the rain began. Portland is notorious for rain and to be honest, it’s never really bothered me. When the snow decided to flake down I thoroughly enjoyed the change as I grew up with a lot of snow and have missed it for quite a few years. The 2-3 day span of snow is just enough for me to enjoy it and wish it gone. When the snow vanished it literally vanished so quickly we didn’t have time to worry about driving in it. Unfortunately soon after the snow, the rain set in. We’ve been in a “storm” for the last few days and it will continue for another three days.

You maybe wondering why I am giving so many details on our weather forecast as I am not a weatherman. :) Well- as much as Californians are yearning for rain due to the drought they are in, I’m yearning for it to stop. I could probably ship enough water down to cover all California to help rid the drought from our house alone. Okay not really, but pretty close. Our house is a cold, murky swimming pool. Right below my feet lies a swamp that I would prefer to not know what all lays within this swamp. I know my toad is down there croaking happily, but apart from him- I’m not too sure. Our crawl space has turned into a large swimming pool.

My husband and I opened up the crawl space a couple of weeks ago to find about 6 inches of water below. After the snow hit and the rain began, we have roughly 8-10 inches of water now. It’s an eerie feeling to open up the closet floor in our bedroom to see this site. Sleeping above a flood is not necessarily a peaceful nights sleep for me.

When we purchased our house we purchased during peak season- SUMMER! No rain to be had, dry as a bone was our crawl space. Our first rainy season has proven to be beyond messy and expensive. We are in desperate need of a French drain. Desperate need my friends. Our yard is puddle after puddle looking entirely messy and ugly but that’s just the outside of the real problem.

Immediate action must take place. Our excitement to fix this problem has been beyond ecstatic that we have pushed it off for quite some time. ;) Well low-and-behold this wasn’t our only problem. The morning of my husbands birthday we woke up to our plumbing acting up. Every toilet, sink and bathtub decided they wanted to act up. They quit flushing, draining and doing their job. We spent some time buying harsh chemicals they say not to use because they ruin your pipes, well my friends we were desperate. We dumped anything and everything down these drains so that we could clean them out and use them to their full potential. Sadly, this didn’t work.

Yesterday I phoned our ‘on call’ drain guy and asked for immediate service. My husband had just showered in a muddy bath which I am unsure to this minute how he got cleaned; this defeated the purpose of showering. Anyway, they reached our house at 8:15 in the morning and didn’t leave until after 12pm. Was our problem fixed? NOPE!!! $3000 more dollars and it will be…!!! We decided we would try to take on the work ourselves and to try to figure out which task to tackle first; deciding seems to be impossible and expensive. Both jobs together would equal over $11k if we had the work done for us. Both are in desperate need of fixing and time is NOT on either of their sides, or shall I say OUR side.

So here we are a couple of days later and the rain still hasn’t stopped. I’ve worried our paint marker from the drain is going to wash away losing our $300 paint stain on the yard. Let me explain to you the importance of these two marks. The money we spend to have our plumber come out for 5 hours was simply to paint these two marks on our grass. By doing so it indicates the exact location of the pipe and the length of the problem which lays underground. These five hours spent to locate this section was quite expensive for shall we say, paint and it would be an utter shame if the paint washed away. It would probably be the death of me as of right now. ;)

Not sure if any of you know that before you dig anything in your yard, even though it’s YOUR yard, the state must be notified. This is state compliance and could be a massive fine if they found out after the fact. So thankfully our plumber advised me in this matter and this is the FIRST free thing we’ve encountered throughout our entire house problems the last 8 months. Needless to say, I was grateful! You can dial 811 and follow the prompts for your state, don’t miss dial and press 911. :) Basically this company notifies any and all utility companies forcing them to come to our property and survey the land. They mark with different color paints to help guide us where to avoid digging; gas, electrical, water, so on and so forth. We have 5 companies that need to come paint a canvas on top of our greenish grass. They are supposed to be here and finished by Friday at 8:30pm. Praying they abide by this so we can begin our family digging Saturday morning.

Moment of truth: Life simply hasn’t figured out that the ‘problems’ it’s dealt us, has been anything BUT cheap. Or maybe it’s something I’m supposed to acknowledge that never goes away. Either way, pray for sunshine this weekend as my husband and I decide to dig ditches together.

Little Cooper Man

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 14 February, 2014 None comments

Oh the sweet sounds of a toddler filling the backseat while we drive through town. The precious coos and tiny giggles that have officially transitioned a great deal into small words and loud laughter filling the air with his precious voice. My loves only grows deeper as each day passes. Just when I thought I couldn’t love any deeper, any harder, or anymore, I am utterly surprised as each day approaches and the depth of my love that continues to take place.

My reality of losing my baby has been very tough for me; the snuggle time, gazing at my precious sleeper, the little smiles and tiny fingers has officially passed. My little baby is only growing and becoming a delightful little toddler. I am beyond surprised how much he has grown over night; literally over night. His vocabulary has flourished since yesterday. His interactions with me has become so much more “conversational” I use this word lightly, but the depth of this little personality and humor has just begun. We are barely scratching the surface of this amazing, gorgeous, precious, sweet, humorous, silly, goofy, lovable, huggable and kissable little one.

The little things are the greatest things to me. I realize how much he has learned and the growth is immeasurable. He continues to surprise me.

This morning while driving to church I hear little words coming from the backseat. I kept hearing “ah, ah, ah, ah” and as I look back in the mirror he is signing “more” as I have taught him sign language beginning when he was 5-6 months old. He has mastered the basics. Trying to figure out what he wanted more of I was quite unsure as he hadn’t eaten anything since being in the car. I ask if he wanted his milk and he quietly says “yup…moooo.” (moo is the best he can do for milk) A few miles down the road I hear “mama, mama, mama” and as I glance back I see him reaching out his hand trying to hand me his milk. He had finished drinking and instead of tossing it on the seat next to him, as he used to, he has learned to hand me things when he’s done with them. I was beyond shocked as I realize how much he is advancing and how quickly it all falls into place. This moment gave me joy that I absolutely love and couldn’t fill without him.

Yesterday he loudly shouts “UP!” and uses it all the time. It was so precious last night how he signs “please” and shouts “up!”

Last night at dinner daddy and him were playing games and he was shouting “UP!” as daddy tossed him into the air. The giggles that came from this overly joyous baby simply melted my heart. “This is all I need in life” I think to myself.

I love these two men more than words can describe. I am beyond grateful to watch my little boy grow and develop and continue to snuggle with me praying that never goes away. He’s a little lover and loves to give love and kisses.

I love you Cooper John!

Fun at the park

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 4 February, 2014 None comments

The other day we met some friends at a park we had yet to encounter. There are so many nice parks in West Linn/Lake Oswego area. We love going to parks as Cooper could spend all day outside if I let him. He loves the fresh air and the toys that are so different than home. :)

It was such a beautiful day we played for almost two hours and little man was so exhausted by the time we got home. I love watching him race around finding fun things to do as I ponder what’s going through that little brain of his. If only I knew. :)

Even at the park when there are so many options to choose from he still gravitates towards the trucks…

Playing and playing with trucks and so content doing so…

After the park we headed home to the bathroom that is getting remodeled while Cooper insists on helping daddy and doing a very maticulous job at it I must say.

“Mommy please let daddy and I have some guy time with our tools,” was the hint I felt he was trying to tell me. I must say this was my little rag-a-muffin the night prior to getting those little bangs chopped off. :)

A day at the salon

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 2 February, 2014 None comments

A day at the salon or shall I say the playground. My son absolutely loves airplanes, cars and truck as I know you’ve heard me mention plenty of times. The salon we went to was Little Clippers catered for the little kiddos. They had a whole playground for the kids to hang out at before and after their haircut. Cooper fell in love the moment he say the giant car to climb all over. Their chair was either a car, truck or airplane for the haircut itself.

Let me preface the salon experience with the fact that my son has an extremely full head of hair and has had one since the moment be entered this world. My little boy received his first haircut when he was 6 months old. I chopped the mullet and the combover as that was all I could do without more experience. Between 6-19 months I’ve cut his hair 12 times. It has finally got to the point that as many times that I had hacked the hair the mullet wouldn’t fully disappear. He has the thickest head of hair and a LOT of it. Little did I really know how much hair he had until he sat in the car and the hair kept falling to the ground. I wasn’ the mom to cry about his first haircut as it is the norm in our family but was in awe of the piles of hair that had fallen to the ground.

The gal who cut his hair was very quick and effecient. His little face pops out now that you can see it without the little hair trapping him inside like cousin it. He looks so much older and is a little toddler now!

He hated the cape…

We took the cape off and he was content

Lots of hair

New hair do!

Stylin’ little 19 month old!

Saturday’s Adventure

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 25 January, 2014 None comments

We went to the park today as it was a beautiful day to be had. Cooper got to see the ducks as we fed them old hot dog buns. He literally had no fear of them and if I had let him, he would have hugged and loved on them as if they were a stuffed animal. The ducks themselves were all too friendly as they see many people who continue to feed them on a regular basis. It was a bit frightening as the big geese started to hiss and dominate their territory but we still had fun with slight chasing involved.

We missed a nap today as Cooper drank some of my coffee while we were visiting my sister at her work; Black Rock Coffee. The caffeine kept him up playing in his crib for over an hour, I was so baffled as I couldn’t place why he was still awake until it was far too late. As we were at the park he literally ran around everywhere falling in the mud while his tiny little eyes were beyond tired allowing plenty of opportunities to lose his little feet beneath him. He absolutely loved it. We had no tears and he was very fond of the duckies. :)

He refuses to take pictures anymore as he knows that mommy is CONSTANTLY trying to snap photos of my happy baby while every portrait lately displays a complete uninterested baby boy. A lady passing by thought he was adorable and he waved to her and gave her a large smile. I quickly asked for him to wave again and he took off running and giving a quick wave on the go. He’s a little stinker and all too smart. :)

On the go….

Pausing for a brief minute.

One of the many beautiful views of the river.

Walking back to the car….you can’t see it, but this was a very large incline and he managed the entire way.

We had such a good afternoon with the amazing weather holding together quite well. Coming home my husband spent a large amount of time on the remodel of our bathroom and I made a quick, healthy pork roast with fresh vegetables for dinner. (Click here for the recipe) The day is finished and Cooper is currently sound asleep as we speak. Sweet baby!

Coffee, Trains, and Goldfish

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 21 January, 2014 None comments

Now-a-days we got get coffee where little Cooper can play and run around. There is a cute little toy store near us called Frog Pong Toys. They have a great play area and yummy Portland coffee. We went for a walk on a cold morning and ended up quickly inside at this toy store so conveniently placed for Cooper. :)

We ordered our coffee and tea and a cupful of goldfish for Cooper.

He loves anything and everything cars, trucks, tractor and train related. We have a new found love for Thomas the Train and are highly considering purchasing the table with all the gadgets included. This little set is roughly $149 but pretty amazing. We haven’t made the plunge as we are going through a lot of changes right now and it simply isn’t the right time. As much as I would love to get Cooper anything and everything his little heart desires, I know this isn’t always in his best interest. ;)

Little man will one day own his own Thomas the Train set but when it comes to leaving this toy store it begins a fight. He refuses to leave 99% of the time without me picking him up and then the cry begins. Poor guy but I know the toy store doesn’t want a permanent residence with the Cook’s either.

This was our little outing for the day.