Work-At-Home-Moms group featured "above the fold"

I'm quoted in a front-page, above-the-fold article in today's Peninsula Daily News about my participation in a Work-At-Home-Moms group that started up in January.

Life coach (and my good friend) Heather Flanagan leads the group, but in the article she kindly gives me credit for the idea of starting it. The way I remember it, over the course of our Friday morning stroller walks around town last summer, we jointly conceived of a forum of other work-at-home moms--we wanted to find them all and drag them out of their home offices!--where we could share challenges and advice and build camaraderie.

I like to say that being a work-at-home mom puts you in a halfway place: you're not a stay-at-home mom because you're always sneaking away to the computer during naptimes instead of taking a nap yourself or tidying up the house, and you just don't get to take your babe to the beach as much as you'd like, or attend every library storytime; and you're not a working mom who lines up day-long childcare and leaves the house to go earn a living. You're a bit of both, and really only other work-at-home moms understand that.

In just a few weeks, the group has helped me get focused on my long-term business goals--something I'd set aside for the first year and a half of having Soren in my life. And Heather has coached me through raising my fees as well, which means I'm working less (and more efficiently) and earning more (and striving to give my clients more value).

Ah, it's an ongoing process of adjustment, but I wouldn't go back to being an employee for anything!

Read the article here.

Closing the door

Well, we can close the door on one project around here: The Nest and attached two-car garage passed its final inspection with the city building department this week. Hooray!

Sort of apropos, here's Soren playing in a kitchen cabinet at the family reunion rental house at Fort Worden in December. (Honestly, none of our kitchen cabinets are that uncluttered!)




Spoken language is arriving in dribs and drabs. Soren's newest phrase is a very cute and clear "Uh-oh!" He continues to sign a whole bunch, with a recent addition being the word "dirty" (waggling fingers under chin). I find this useful for pointing out dirty dishes (NOT to be unloaded from the dishwasher), dirty shoes (NOT to be worn into the house), and dirty trash (no, that cigarette butt on the ground is NOT to be touched).

OK, this anecdote is rambling along, but the other day Soren stepped in duck poop at our neighbor's house and I used the sign "dirty" as well as the same sign for "poop" that we use for his potty training. This made a big impression on him. Now when I sign "dirty," he worriedly signs "poop?" I can't explain how he signs a question, but he does. No, the dirty dishes are not poopy!

To all of you in houses where potty talk is not a daily occurrence, count your blessings.

The Nest takes shape

I haven't posted an update on The Nest/garage construction since Nov. 10 and I'm sorry to report the project is not wrapped up yet. But soon, we hope -- soon!

You can see that The Nest is looking more friendly, with lights, heater and carpet installed, and a few pieces of furniture moved into the space. No bed yet.
The Nest was supposed to be ready to host guests for Christmas, but in early December we hit a roadblock with a mis-ordered toilet part. This sounds silly, but when we ordered a low-flush Caroma toilet like the ones we have in our house, one of the parts that arrived was for a different model and not usable. This was not noticed until the plumber came to install the toilet. A new part was ordered, but by then the holidays were approaching and we were told all shipments would be delayed. Apparently our part was being shipped from Australia by barge.

Christmas came and went with no toilet.

A replacement part arrived the first week of January, and dang it if it was still not the right one! We sent it back and it was not until today that the correct part was delivered. We can't schedule a building inspector to come and sign off on our project until the toilet is installed, so it may be a couple of weeks more.
The paved driveway is working out really well. Jeff is slowly building a retaining wall on the left-hand/uphill side using small interlocking concrete blocks. And he's built a wooden gate (and painted it bright yellow!) that will replace the metal gate at left that got ripped off its hinges by the excavator during the earth-moving phase. Hopefully the new gate will be installed this coming weekend.
Everything else is pretty much done, and we've been slowly working on the furnishings and decor. To date:
--Cabinets installed, sink hooked up and working. Need to purchase under-counter fridge.
--Corner bench seats built in. Cushions yet to be made (need to select fabric).
--Carpet installed -- a nice neutral gray.
--Pedestal table for corner nook purchased from restaurant supply store. Jeff is in the process of stripping the finish off the heavy oak top and installing a swivel so it can be rotated to allow easier passage past it on the cabinet end.
--Curtains and rods purchased but not hemmed or hung.
--Desk moved to Nest, but modem for Internet still needs to be hooked up before I'm going to go to the effort of moving my operations out there.

Jeff is sure glad to have Soren as a helper as he builds the retaining wall!

Holidays with the Garrison clan

Soren met several members of his extended family for the first time over the holidays, at the (in)famous Garrison family reunion, which has been undertaken in the week between Christmas and New Year's for at least 12 years running. In attendance this year were my new-to-Soren cousins Forrest and Gwen (the two oldest above, both college students in Montana and Oregon respectively) and also my cousins Luka and Shanti (lower center and on lap at right). Cousin Melanie (upper center) was introduced to Soren last year. What a wacky, fun bunch!
We rented a big house at Fort Worden State Park, which is a 7 minute drive from our house in PT, so we got to home at night but showed up every day ready for group meals and action. Soren loved hanging out with the big kids, especially Shanti (5) and Luka (8).
They live on Quadra Island in British Columbia, and their mom Robyn (pushing, below) made the two-ferry trip down with them.

The hallowed tradition of "Spoons" was faithfully followed one evening. A simple card game with cutthroat silverware grabbing. Like musical chairs, there's always one spoon too few, so someone is knocked out of the round. I was runner-up to Gwen! Speed Scrabble and Apples to Apples were other favored forms of table-top entertainment.
Another fun activity out-of-doors was exploring the batteries and bunkers of early 19th-century Fort Worden. Everyone had their own flashlight, even Soren, and with my dad and I "supervising," we had some adventures indeed. At one point I wanted to turn around in a tight tunnel, leave the others, and go back the way we'd come, but Dad insisted we stick together. Soren never made a peep on my back, just shone his flashlight all around. Quite the explorer.

One day we hosted a gaggle of relatives taking a break from their nearby family reunion for a day visit to Port Townsend. They hail from California, Kansas, New York and other points of the U.S. Left to right are Karina, Scott, Cayley, Seth, Megan, and my mom, Ann.
We're out walking around Point Wilson and the lighthouse at its tip. This is all part of the state park, and I daresay it's one of the most beautiful places in the world that we are so fortunate to live in. Don't disagree with me!
Aunties Jill (above) and Nora (below) enjoyed beach time with Soren (watched over by Mt. Baker). We had a spell of warmish sunny weather that we soaked up.

And this reunion story would not be complete without Soren's great-grandparents, Karin and Gerry. Although she is frail, they make the trip from Vashon and fund this gathering so that we can all build up stores of happy family memories for the years to come. Thank you!
A span of four generations washing dishes...

Merry Christmas '09!

Yes, the old saying is true, give a kid a present and they'll love the box. The big box Grandpa and Grandma sent from Eastern Washington filled with presents became Soren's airplane (of course, those are wingflaps!) until it literally fell apart.
It's the day after Christmas and I have to say we haven't opened all the presents yet. Soren got so interested in the first present he opened -- a wooden train set with stackable blocks, from Grannie and Papaw -- that we held off introducing any more excitement. "Choo, choo...choo, choo," he immediately piped up with, and has barely stopped since.

Then it was off to "the Castle" for Christmas day dinner with my extended family. Manresa Castle, an 1890s gem (more interesting history here), has one of the fanciest dining rooms in town, so we dressed up for the occasion. Soren doesn't have a tux jacket or a bowler like Dad, but he does have a cute little vest and bandneck shirt, and they're not going to fit him much longer!
Here's our little family posed outside the castle, and the Testerman Troupe in the lobby. From left to right, Shelly, Ann, Soren, Bill, Nora & Jill.
We hope you enjoyed your Christmas as much as we enjoyed ours. All best to you and yours!

Our piano man

Soren isn't talking much yet (with his voice -- he uses 35 signs, however!), but he is usually quite clear in his communication.

Here, for example, he wants to play the piano. Grannie boosts him onto the bench. He gets into the rhythm with a sway and a smile. And with a flourish, adds a low bass note -- he is currently fascinated with the left end of the keyboard. The high notes on the right don't hold much thrall for him.

Yes, that's a clear "Mommy" you hear at the beginning, and from then it's 21 seconds of our Piano Man.

(This video is from the new camera and should be much better quality. Hope the file size isn't too cumbersome.)

Visit with Clear Lake friends

This week Soren and I made a trip to Clear Lake to visit long-time friends -- and ride on a rocking horse that has been around their house for about 25 years. I might well have ridden it!

Anne and Ann (our Grannie Annie), both pictured above, have been friends since their children were very young. In the past year, they both became grandmas!
Here's Anne's grandson Keegan (three months older than Soren) and his mother Heather.
This was the first time for Soren and Keegan to meet, and they played very well together. A highlight was romping around Anne's yoga studio with balls. Keegan taught Soren how to request a somersault: by getting in "downward dog" position with your bottom in the air and waiting patiently until an adult flips your heels over your head!
At some point Soren started a hug-fest that had both boys hugging all four adults -- and each other!
Taking a walk with the Ann(e)s. Soren sometimes likes to hold two hands, and he's awfully winning when he reaches up for yours!