Scandinavia, it’s been fun but…

14 days and nights. This is how long I will have been away from home by the time I land in Seattle on Saturday.  14 nights in 4 different hotel rooms, 14 mornings of waking up without the kids and by far the longest stretch Mike and I have been apart since the summer of 1995. 

On the not-so-negative side, I’ve managed to workout every day but one since I landed and aside from struggling to fall asleep at a reasonable hour, am adjusting to the various time zones quite well.  We are enjoying the local cuisines and the few sightseeing excursions we’ve managed to squeeze in.

We’ve experienced Norway trolls, a lot of cold fish, reindeer and veal.  Pea soup and pancakes (more like crepes) are served on Thursdays in Sweden and was so good that if you’re visiting Stockholm in the future, make sure it’s on a Thursday.  The “Rock Church” in Finland is the highlight there- a Christian church in the middle of the city that was built amongst the rocks. 

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We had dinner at Gondolen, a restaurant that “floats between the sky and the sea” in Stockholm; we asked our client to choose their favorite and later read that it’s the most expensive restaurant in the city (lesson learned, but it was good).

I depart tomorrow for my final stop- Copenhagen- and am looking forward to it not only because it’s the home stretch but also because in Finland it’s –15 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit)!

I typically don’t travel for more than one business week per trip...I’m definitely ready to come home.

The Rock Church- Helsinki, Finland

SNOW DAYS!!

Sorry, no time to post…6 inches fell on Sunday (enough for a snowman) and we’re expecting somewhere between 2in-16in tonight. Apparently the weather men out here suck worse than the ones in Wisconsin so that’s the best they could estimate.  School’s cancelled, work is cancelled (sorta) and we’re going to do our best to juggle and play.

2012, hang on, we’re coming!

We spent a wonderful week in Wisconsin with our families, New Year’s Eve with friends and neighbors back in Seattle and are, in true high speed fashion, back to work, school, ski lessons and travel. The year is off to a fast start and we’re not quite ready for it!

Our trip back home was a whirlwind but well worth it despite the fact that the flight home was a stressor so much so that we left our Nikon SLR on the plane.  Thankfully the airline found it and when FedEx brings it back, I’ll be able to post a handful of great photos from the holidays.

The boys embraced Christmas this year- the entire experience - Giggles’ daily visits, looking at the Christmas lights, opening gifts and laughing endlessly with their cousins was magical.

We went out to dinner on NYE for the first time in well over a decade.  Our “old” nanny Sara watched the boys (they miss her terribly) and although we had fun at dinner, I think they had more fun than we did.

It’s nearly 60 degrees and sunny today.  I’m thinking about upcoming trips to Cancun and Hawaii and wishing I could skip over the last 2 weeks of January when I’ll be in the Nordics where it will be freezing cold and dark!  If you’re reading my blog and have some suggestions for places to see in Finland, Norway, Sweden or Denmark, let me know.  Though it will be cold and dark I will as always embrace the experience.

GREY*isms*

• G: “The guy in Tin Tin had a drink problem”

We wish you a magnificent 2012 and hope to blog more often this year!

An Anniversary and a Party (but not an Anniversary Party)

We celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary a week ago Saturday. Unfortunately December 3rd was the only date that worked to host the annual Allegis Christmas party so our 'celebration' consisted of a houseful of employees and their spouses, a fully catered gourmet meal, a fully stocked bar and a bartender...when I put it that way, maybe it wasn't all that unfortunate!  It was a very late night and we did have a few overnighters but all in all, everyone had a great time and we budgeted a house and carpet cleaning just a day later so the mess was handled for the most part.

The past 12 years have flown by.  The speed started feeling twice as fast after Greyson was born and I expect the next 12 will in retrospect feel just as, if not more than, fast.  We aren't a couple to make a huge deal out of an anniversary. We talk about return trips to Lake Tahoe where we tied the knot but an anniversary in early December precedes what is usually a whirlwind celebration of many things anyway so we usually choose something simple, quiet and relaxed.  I'll admit a big party doesn't necessarily fit that criteria but I didn't have to plan it; I didn't even choose the menu.  I provided the venue and the team took care of the rest.  

We leave as a family for Wisconsin in just over a week.  I should feel a little anxious given the experience with Graham on our last flight, the fact that I've done almost zero Christmas shopping, my Christmas cards haven't been mailed yet (though they arrived well over a week ago) and our work schedules are packed until our flight on the 20th.  What I feel instead is peace, gratitude and a sense of calm.  Tonight while Mike and I sat in front of the tree, Graham danced to the musical ornaments and Greyson sang 3 Christmas carols.  There's nothing to be anxious about after that.

Getting ready for the party!

Our cocktail server insisted on taking a picture of the anniversary couple

Greyson's "Christmas party girlfriend" and his Badger fan sidekick

The Badgers are headed to the Rose Bowl!

The party attendees

The Allegis Group Services Seattle team

GRAHAM*isms*

• M: "Graham, what's in your mouth?"
• G:  "Tongue"

It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing

Greyson and Graham got a new nanny this week.  Sara was with our family for 3 years but it was time for a change.  Our new nanny Heather has a 1 year old son and was born and raised in Green Bay. She hasn’t lost her accent and Midwest values and she’s going to be a great fit for our family.  Graham loves the “baby” and so far the 3 boys are getting along great.

• G:  “Daddy has longer nipples than me and Graham”

November was family month for us.  My mom and brother visited me and the boys for an extended weekend (see video below for a snapshot of how we spent our time).  Mike had a blast in Costa Rica but is not recommending it as a future family vacation spot.  I received a few texts from him over the course of his short visit but this one took the cake, “Just got done signing autographs- I’ll explain later”.  Ask him- it’s a great story.

Mike’s parents spent Thanksgiving week with us. We ate, we shopped and we relaxed; not necessarily in that order.  It was a wonderful visit and after seeing both sides of our family for a bit, we’re as excited as ever to get home for Christmas (a white one!)

• G: “I’m going to sleep with Grandma because I only sleep with girls”

Our decorations are up, our first Christmas card arrived (yeah Hirsts!) and our own cards are waiting to be be addressed and stamped.  We’re preparing our house for the 2nd annual Allegis Seattle Christmas party. It’s tomorrow night. Wish us luck.

Halloween 2011- better late than never

What I really want to blog about right now is Thanksgiving preparation, upcoming visits from my family and Mike’s and an amazing “Fakesgiving” meal at a friends house but I still have this Halloween blog drafted from 2 weeks ago and need to publish it before I can move on.  This is not a technical glitch, it’s just the ‘who I am" that contributes to my inability to stop reading a book I hate because I started it which means I must finish it.  So, here’s the Halloween recap:

I cannot take credit for this work of art but I had to share because it’s cute, creative and fun and upped my appreciation for Halloween.  Graham appreciated it too!

We enjoyed dinner with friends the night before Halloween and my friend, a Halloween lover, went all out for the kids as you can see.  She served monkey brains (spaghetti) and eyeballs (meatballs), fangs (fruit wedges) and bones (breadsticks).  The highlight was the witch cupcake.  After the kids finished, the adults had a wonderful meal as well followed by an impromptu performance by the 8 kids hopped up on sugar and decked out in a combination of costumes. They came to the ‘party’ as one character, they morphed into different variations (one Spiderman hand, one Transformer face, a cowboy boot etc.)

Trick or treat was in fact a real treat. Graham was into it and I’m a particularly proud mom this year because Greyson chose to donate his candy to his dentist for cash.  It was coincidence that his dentist appointment happened to fall the week before Halloween so the idea was fresh on his mind.  He followed through and used his cash to buy a   Dr. Thomas sends the candy to troops overseas (sorry about that cavity, soldier!)  We will be purposefully scheduling all future 1/2 year dentist appointments the week before Halloween.

In the 2 weeks since Halloween ended I:

• Composted the pumpkins
• Pulled out some additional harvest-themed deco
• Took a quick trip to Paris and Copenhagen for work
• Hosted a dinner party
• Attended 2 dinner parties
• Started the menu planning for Thanksgiving
• Started a weekend with my mom and brother (Uncle Nate)
• Said ‘so long’ to Mike who is leaving for Costa Rica to see PEARL JAM

No Additional Words Necessary For This Post

~Mrs. Deneall Owens, Greyson’s Teacher, October 2011

Party Fit for a 2 Year-Old!

We could have had a party with kids of all ages, a bouncy house or trampoline, Halloween costumes and other fun themes.  An end of October birthday provides a canvas of opportunities to celebrate Graham’s special day.

We chose to keep it simple…

On Saturday morning, cars of all shapes, sizes and sounds awaited Graham along with car-shaped chocolate chip pancakes. 

We kept our PJ’s on all morning while Graham had fun with his vehicle-centric gifts (thank you family!!).

After homemade pizza for lunch, more chocolate in the form of a (nut-free) chocolate layer cake from Rae’s Bakery.

After naps, the boys watched, what else? Cars.  Mike and I cleaned up the “party”, made stuffed peppers* for dinner and let our new 2 year old stay up until 8:00pm!  He deserved it- he’s not a baby anymore (sniff). 

No party is complete without the requisite party hat.  Greyson rocked it well.

Happy Birthday to our sweet baby Graham. We are madly in love with you and every new day is another chance to watch you grow, learn, love and best of all, laugh.

*Stuffed peppers = healthy, yummy and Greyson’s new “favorite” food. Who woulda thought? 

Halloween Fan? Nah.

GREY*isms*

• G: “Mom, what is that?”
• Me: “It’s a cap gun”
• G: “You can shoot cats with it?”

October is my favorite month.  The mornings are starting to get cold (~45F) but the afternoons are sunny and fall-warm (~60F).  It’s primetime pumpkin patch weather but we haven’t scheduled it yet.  Here’s to hoping the sun/no-rain holds off for one more weekend.

If you know me well, you know I’m not a huge fan of Halloween so it begs the question, why would October be my favorite?  On the one hand, it’s 31 days of spiders, bats, witches and zombies; black and orange (just a hot water rinse-cycle away from Chicago Bears colors), creepy lawn decorations and Styrofoam headstones.  On the other, it’s fall colors, cinnamon candles, sweaters and puffy-vests, Harvest-themed decorations, family time* and football (Ok, baseball too, when the Brewers are in the post-season- alas, not the World Series).

Now I feel I need to clarify because most of my friends, family and readers are massive fans of this “holiday”.  I do not dislike Halloween.  I do not dislike kids in costumes, trick or treating, jack-o-lanterns and scarecrows.  I do dislike ME in costume.  I do not enjoy handing out candy to 17+ year old trick or treaters without costumes holding a pillow case (I prefer not to provoke this set by turning them away so I smile and let them choose what they want- my fear of “crazy” is a blog post for another day).  I recently listened to Rob Lowe’s audio book** Stories I Only Tell My Friends and he recounted a trick or treating night in his neighborhood when Martin Sheen dressed up in camo, painted his face and hid in the bushes. Even Martin Sheen wouldn’t alleviate my lack of appreciation for unexpected scares jumping out of the trees.  ‘Party Pooper’, ‘Boring’, ‘Annoying’- call me what you want.  I LOVE my kids’ excitement over costumes and candy, pumpkin carving and toasting seeds, hot apple cider and a late bedtime.  I embrace Halloween on behalf of my kids and will stimulate the economy with purchases on their behalf (that is, once they’re old enough to choose their own costumes- until then, hand-me-downs it is).

Greyson has chosen the Bumblebee Transformer.  Graham has not chosen, but will be, a soft and cuddly bumblebee.  I will post more pictures and you will ooh and aah.  Just don’t scream from behind the bushes.

3 Reasons to love October

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*As opposed to family time in the summer which typically includes more people, more trips and more organization. Aside from a weekend business trip for Mike, we are home together until November 6th when I depart for business in Europe and Mike goes to Costa Rica shortly after I get back.

**I highly recommend “listening” to his autobiography. He could read the dictionary and make it pleasurable

Orca are family just like us

Carmen, Brian and the kids paid us a visit a couple of weeks ago and I’ve been meaning to post some pictures ever since.  Jake, Bria, Greyson and Graham got some great bonding time and I’ll warn you now, you’re going to wish you lived here when you see the beauty that is a whale in its natural habitat.  But first things first…

Mike took the gang to Seattle for a day.  First stop, Space Needle.  I laughed out loud and for a very long time when I saw what at first looked to be a very nice family photo until your eyes pan to the right. I laugh still.

Bria and Greyson got their fill of Kinect- Dance Central, Boxing and Soccer were big hits and I have enough video of them jabbing the air, kicking imaginary goals and ‘getting down’ to Lady Gaga to make a movie.  They were two peas in a pod all weekend.

The whales, though, always steal the show…

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The dreaded gum wall (click here for context) received a few more donations and Brian went crazy at the fish market so we feasted like kings on fresh salmon, halibut and Dungeness crab.  We miss you already and are looking forward to the holidays at home this year. Thank you for visiting…come back soon!