so long Indian summer

Caution: Brain dump ahead.

This long summer has been just what we needed.  We packed in a lot of fun (graduation, trip to Hawaii, California visit, Colorado visit, Smith Family Reunion, and visits with friends) and have taken our time settling into a routine and a new life.  It has been in every way relaxing and stress free and long enough that even I am looking forward to Fall.  I love the beautiful blue skies and warm sun we have sandwiched between cool, crisp mornings and chilly evenings.  The kids can still run and play outside and yet the days are darkening more quickly and I can smell chimney smoke in the evenings.  

The chill in the air has also hit me smack in the face with the realization that summer is over and that we are not going anywhere.  We were not on some extended vacation (though it has felt like it at times).  We live in Eugene now.  The thought is exciting and scary and hits me at random times.  Like when I walk into Stevensons office building and see his name on the wall, or when I see a house for sale and start calculating which stores are nearby and what school district it is in.  Another time was when we went to Trader Joes for the first time here and the kids were looking for the monkey (so that they could get a prize) and we couldn't find it.  I asked about the monkey (FYI the employees will tip you off to where it is if you ask- which comes in handy if you are in a hurry!) and then informed the kids that this Trader Joes, which is now our Trader Joes, has a Yoda instead of a Monkey!  

Here are some things I really like about Eugene:

There is no traffic.  It doesn't exist (except after a game).  Even early in the morning or at "rush hour" there isn't any.  

It has almost every store we need.

The University of Oregon is here which brings everyone together.  Seriously.  You can not know a person but anyone will talk to you about the Ducks.  And everyone wears green and yellow not just on game day but the day before game day as well.  Having grown up in the Bay area where there are so many teams to choose from this is kind of fun.  The UofO also keeps the town young and happening as far as entertainment and food is concerned.

It has a small town feel.  I see people I know everywhere I go (and I don't know that many people here.)  

Eugene is surrounded by farm country and has a great farmers market.  

Eugene is not what I am used to or what I grew up with, but I can see us here if that makes any sense.

I have learned how to preserve food!  This Summer we canned peaches, dehydrated figs and pears, made golden plum jelly and sauce, froze a million blueberries and blackberries, pressed and froze apple cider, canned some salsa, and made apple butter.  Only possible thanks to a mother in law who has all the equipment and a father in law who turned his land into a garden paradise. 

We find out on Thursday if we are having a boy or a girl.  And just this week I have finally been able to feel the baby move for sure.  I have begun to feel great which, paired with the change in weather, has helped me start to tackle some projects around here and get slightly organized.  The impending baby is a good motivator and I think knowing the gender will help that as well.  

My big kids are changing with the seasons too.  Spencer is big.  He has started climbing on things.  He climbs on a chair with a box stacked on top to reach the Lightening McQueen bandaids, on the fence to reach the golden raspberries, and I looked out the window to see him trying to climb a tree the other day.  Boy, that was a moment.  My little boy trying with all his might to climb a tree.  Spencer is aware of what is going on around him (unless lost in an intense reenactment with his cars or building something with his legos) and there isn't much that we can sneak past him.  Which has provided some interesting conversations.  Spencer has the best sense of humor and knows when he is being funny.  He is my best helper and loves to do "surprises" for me (getting his jammies on by himself, making his bed in the morning, or cleaning up a big mess of toys and then running to me and shouting "surprise!") and can talk Nellie into helping as well.  He still loves to cuddle and read books and I secretly love when he sneaks into my bed around 6:00 in the morning.  He will snuggle right in and hold still and we can snooze on and off for the next 45 minutes or so.  He also can get out and get his own cereal and milk without making too much of a mess.  His imagination has exploded this summer and he and Nellie are most often found setting up a "base camp," or ship, or packing their "car" to move or go on a trip.  They all involve moving their most prized possessions, blankets, toys, and snacks and acting like whatever animal or movie character they are into that week.  The most recent enactments have been protecting baby squirrels (???) feeding them and making sure they don't get squished, being Pongo and Perdita from 101 Dalmatians and searching all day for their puppies, being Robin Hood and Maid Marian and getting married, and most recently pretending to be the Octonauts.  

Nellie is potty trained night and day with accidents maybe once a week now?  Although I do look out the window to see that she has completely stripped down to nothing at least once a day so that she can peep outside like brother.  She does not like wearing pants but does like to dress herself.  She is most often seen carrying around at least one baby, if not 3, and is usually looking for the other 2 if they are not with her.  Although she cannot count to 10 or sing the ABCs (poor second child!) she is so verbal!  After her hair (being so ridiculously curly and cute) her speech is the second thing that people comment on.  She's a talker (takes after her grandma Linette :). She is also the best at throwing fits and has a very strong will.  Do not get on her bad side or she might threaten to "punch your baby" or tell you that you need a time out.  She gives the best hugs and kisses and tells the best secrets.  Yesterday she whispered that "you are the best mommy in the whole world that I picked out at the store."  Nellie is tough and can keep up with Spencer, but is also very concerned with feelings and asks me several times a day how I am feeling.  I think we are all glad that the morning sickness is over and that my response is a good one.

Stevenson likes his job and he likes being a real dentist.  After the stress and agony of dental school he was shocked with how nice life outside of school can be.  The comment that he made to me that sums it up is, "it's really weird, but people are nice to me."  He comes home happy most days and the stress level has gone way down.  He has been spending his free time picking berries, making apple pies (I think we are up to 11 pies so far?), finding apples to press for cider, mowing the lawn and other manly yard work type activities, reading about the Ducks, going to Duck games, and harvesting honey from his dads bees. 

I have been growing a baby and feeling pretty content and happy with life.  I love eating lunch on the back porch, or sitting out there in the sun with a book while the kids play happily in the sandbox.  I haven't felt a need to be out and about like I did in Portland.  I think the tiny apartment had a lot to do with that.  It is actually a struggle to drag the kids away from playing when we need to go into town for something.  Now that we have started preschool and made a friend or two we leave the house almost every day, but I am so content to not go anywhere- which is a new thing for me.  

Stevenson and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary this Summer.  Our first not in school.  I know it sounds cliche but I love him more now than ever.  On mornings when our kids have climbed into our bed I look over at him and can't help but smile.  It is so weird to have two kids and another on the way, to be done with school, to be driving a minivan, and to be making adult decisions.  How did we get here?  

Our life is by no means perfect or easy.  Nellie still wakes up almost every night, our kids fight and still put things in their mouths all. the. time.,  i haven't exercised since I got pregnant, we don't know how to make adult decisions that are big, the minivan we just bought is making a weird sound, and one of us always seems to be sick. And yet,  for the time being, I still feel like I am playing pretend.   A magical, dreamlike pretend.  

If anyone is still reading this, you deserve a prize.  I'm going to go eat a piece of chocolate cake.