Washington Trip

Ryan: the best ring bearer ever

With the new addition to our family in August it has been more challenging to travel or take vacations.  It took a unique situation and several months of us getting a handle on caring for a new baby again for us to attempt this trip.  Luckily the timing worked out and we were able to pack up the family and go to Washington to see Pamela's brother, Tommy, get married.


Traveling with little kids is quite an experience.  They are so small but they require such a large amount of support equipment and supplies.  When Pamela and I traveled by ourselves we could go on a trip twice as long with 1 large suitcase each.  For this trip we had 4 full rolling suitcases, 2 shoulder bags, 2 car seats, a stroller, plus Ryan had his own small rolling suitcase.  Luckily my mom decided to join us on the trip to make things easier.  It was great having her along as an extra set of hands and eyes for dealing with the kids and all of our stuff.  She would also be very useful later when we were preparing for activities, traveling in the car for long distances, and watching Audrey for a portion of the wedding so we could enjoy the reception.

Plane Ride to Seattle

On Friday we left for the airport early in the morning.  We had to leave early so we could arrive in Washington, make it to our rental house, and be ready for the rehearsal dinner that evening.  Our many days and weeks of planning before the trip paid off because we forgot very few things we needed on the trip and each phase of the trip was fairly well planned.  Ryan and I dropped Pamela, Audrey, and my mom off at the terminals while we parked.  They checked the bags, got boarding passes, and checked into the flight while Ryan and I parked the car and took the Sky Train over to the gates.  I'm very thankful that the airports do a decent job of working with families.  It is difficult enough to travel with these tiny people without all the airport complications.  Most airports will allow you to go through a shorter line at the security checkpoint if you have small children.  They will also let you gate check your car seats and strollers so you can use them to get through the terminal and they are not subject to as much baggage handling abuse as regular checked baggage.

I wanted to jump straight to the vacation portion of the trip but in reality the journey was a large portion of the trip.  The kids did an amazing job, for the most part, at the airport and on the planes.  They were off of their normal routines and nap schedules but they were happy and well behaved a large majority of the time. 

In Washington we rented a van and rented a house to stay in for the weekend.  Now that we've tried it, renting a house on vacation seems to be the best way to go.  It was affordable, convenient, and much nicer than staying in a hotel.  Looking for a house or condo to rent on vacation is going to be our first option from here on out.  Our rental house was a beautiful 2 story house in Woodinville.  It was on almost an acre of forested property in the winery region of Washington.  The house itself was beautifully appointed, with stainless steel appliances, upscale furniture and decorations, and even had a toy box full of toys for Ryan. 

There was only a little time to get settled before we needed to start getting ready for the first activity of the weekend, the rehearsal dinner.  I don't believe rehearsal dinners are usually such a big deal, but Pamela's parents went all out for this one.  They rented a large venue, brought in catered food, and invited almost a hundred people.  It was nice to have an extra evening of visiting with the family.  There were so many relatives there that having an extra night before the wedding to catch up was very welcomed.  Plus the food was awesome.  They found a gourmet food truck that was willing to set up their equipment at the venue and cook for us all night.  Their specialty was waffles of all kinds.  The dinner portion was hearty chicken & waffles, pulled pork & waffles, and cheddar jalapeno & corn waffles.  Following dinner, they switched it up and started serving sweet waffles paired with different fruits and chocolate.  We stayed out pretty late because we were having a good time and the kids were doing well.  Audrey started to fade but Ryan was still in a good mood and playing with some new toys. 

Saturday morning was our chance to take it easy and recover from the long travel day and late night at the rehearsal dinner.  We knew we needed to seize this opportunity since the wedding would be a very active time and we may be out late.  Pamela's sisters Kim and Liz came over to the house to visit and get ready before the wedding.  Now that both sisters live out of state it is nice to see them whenever the opportunity arises.  After getting ready we all headed to the wedding venue a little early to join in for the pre-wedding pictures.  Ryan was the ring bearer and Pamela would need to get in on the family shots with Tommy.  We were unsure of how Ryan would do as the ring bearer since he has never done it before and is still a little young for following directions.  I was also nervous since leading up to the ceremony he was starting to get annoyed with all the waiting and taking pictures.  When it was finally time for the ceremony Ryan did amazing.  When it was his turn to go down the aisle he proudly marched all the way down with a huge smile on his face right to his uncle Tommy.  All the guests gave him a big round of applause and he couldn't be more proud of himself.  He then sat politely with me during the whole ceremony, eating his snack for most of it, but it kept him occupied and happy. 

Having fun at the wedding!

The reception was great and again we took this opportunity to catch up with family members that we don't get to see very often.  Ryan took this time to play and burn off some energy that was built up from waiting around pre-ceremony.  Tommy and Jen did an excellent job with the wedding.  The venue, decorations, food & drinks, DJ, and everything were well chosen and we had a great time.  It wasn't long after dinner before Audrey started to fade again and we excused ourselves to go back to the house and put her to bed.  My mom was able to stay at the house and watch Audrey so Pamela, Ryan, and I could go back to the reception for a bit of cake and dancing.  I'm glad we were able to go back because the cake was great and the dancing was a blast.  If we didn't mention it before, Ryan LOVES to dance.  As soon as we walked in and he heard the music he started to do his little hop/skip/trot dance.  We weren't even to the dance floor, he just picked an open area and started going for it.  Ryan was a hit; all of Pamela's sisters took turns dancing with their favorite nephew.  Then Ryan took turns dancing with several other people, some of which he didn't even know.  After an hour of extra reception time Ryan finally ran out of energy, I think we were about 3 hours past his usual bedtime at this point... He had taken a nap earlier in the day and he was still having fun so it was worth it but the poor guy was exhausted.

Someone had a lot of fun at the wedding

The next day we drove down to Olympia to visit my sister.  She has been living in Washington for several years and had bought a house there 3 years ago but we hadn't seen it yet.  It was really nice seeing her, John, and my Dad in person.  Her house is really nice in a quiet neighborhood nestled in amongst some large pine trees.  Ryan probably liked seeing her animals the most though.  She has a rabbit that lives in the house like a dog or cat.  It just roams around the house and we were able to coax it over to us for some treats.  In the backyard she keeps two ducks.  They were not as friendly as the bunny and would not let us get close enough to interact with them but they were still fun to watch.  We spent a few hours there catching up and walking around her forested backyard before packing up to drive back to the rental house.

A rare unplanned activity came up for Sunday night, which was to hang out with the newlyweds and Pamela's sisters Kim and Liz.  We all met up at a restaurant near where the wedding was held the night before.  This was really nice to have everyone come together again the night after the wedding.  There was so much going on during the wedding and reception we didn't get much opportunity to just hang out and talk with everyone.  We also got a chance to try some delicious desserts as well.

Monday was our last full day in Washington and we planned to visit Tommy at his fire station in Seattle.  This may have been Ryan's highlight of the trip.  Tommy showed him all over the station and every inch of the two fire trucks that were in the garage.  He even got to ride in the driver's seat and turn on the lights.  All of the other firefighters were so nice to us and the kids and really went out of their way to accommodate us.

Ryan driving the fire truck with his uncle Tommy

The fire station was definitely the most fun for Ryan

After the fire station we decided to head to Pike's Market to poke around and get a few tasty treats to eat.  Pamela and I had been once before many years ago and did a food tour of the marketplace.  Luckily, we were able to remember most of the stops from the food tour and recreate a similar experience on our own.  There was cheese, fruit, donuts, chowder, candy, and gelato; it was awesome.  Pamela's sister Liz was able to join us at Pike's to help out with the kids and spend some more time together, which was great.

After one final night in the rental house we packed up and went to the airport late Tuesday morning.  Again, we were pleasantly surprised at how well the kids did at the airport and on the plane.  If it wasn't so much work for Pamela and me we would probably take them on more trips.  It isn't really much of a vacation for us with the kids along.  We both took Wednesday off of work so we could actually have some down time to recover from all the activities and travel.  But we did have a great time visiting and making memories for the kiddos.

Plane ride home

TV Repair

Last week we got a bad surprise when we went to turn on our main living room TV and it didn't come up.  It was a bit confusing at first because it gave the Samsung audio jingle like usual but the screen didn't show anything.  We could still hear the sound coming from the TV so we knew it was on and still basically working.  Our first instinct was that Ryan had something to do with it.  Many times when our electronics aren't working right we can track it back to Ryan messing around with them and putting them into some weird mode.  However, after playing around a bit it became clear that it wasn't just stuck in some menu or setting, the screen was legitimately not working.

We were pretty disappointed since this TV is less than 3 years old.  So I took to the internet to see if there was anything that could be done.  Luckily, I found a few sites and videos describing our same situation.  The audio and back light were still working but there was no picture on the screen.  The diagnosis for this was either a circuit card called a T-con board was bad or the main screen went out.  If the main screen breaks that is basically it for your TV, but the T-con board can be replaced and is much much less than buying a new TV.

So I took the TV down and opened it up to see what model of T-con board to buy.  That was the advice on one site; make sure you get the exact same model board to ensure it will be compatible.  I ordered the card and hoped that it would arrive quickly and fix the screen.  Three days later it came in the mail and I quickly swapped them out.  Taking all the screws off to remove the back of the TV took the most time.  The board only had 4 screws and 3 cables to disconnect and reconnect.  If you ever have to do this I recommend taking notes and staying organized with all the screws that come out.  There were a few different sizes and I wanted to make sure it all went back together after the repair.

10 minutes later the TV was back on the wall and to our relief the picture came back!  I'm not sure what the odds are of the T-con board going out vs. the screen but I'm sure glad it was just the circuit card in our case.

It was a sad few days with the TV missing.

The patient on the operating table

All opened up.  You can see the T-con board in the middle with the cover removed.

T-con board close-up.  You can see the 3 cables that had to be disconnected and reconnected to the new board.

My method for staying organized with all the screws.

Success!  It's working again!

Our model TV is a Samsung UN60EH6000 60" LED TV.  The T con board I ordered was a BN95-00628C but if you do have to make this repair I would check the part number of your board first before ordering.  Also, even though we had success with this repair it is necessary to note that opening up your TV is risky.  Once you start taking things apart and replacing parts you run the risk of not being able to fix your TV or possibly damaging it worse.  This blog is not a guide and I am not responsible for anyone damaging their TV by trying to repair it themselves.  :)

The Resolution Months 8 & 9 - Bonus Room

Busy few months and a lot to catch up on!  But wanted to start by recapping our house project for August & September.  We combined 2 rooms - the old office and the old gym - into one big "Bonus" room upstairs.  Since it was two rooms, we gave ourselves two months, and boy did we need it!  There was a lot to do in these rooms and a few hiccups along the way.  Here's a rundown of the highlights:

• Curtains:  This was as easy as a trip to Kirkland's Home for a curtain rod and some fun printed curtains in teal.  We had actually started at Target and found some beige and coral curtains that we liked but didn't love.  Then we ducked into KH on the way back to our car and found these beauties instead.  This probably made the biggest "pop" of difference in the room.
• Wall Art: In order to pull the teal color over onto the adjacent wall, we decided to re-purpose some canvas art work from our last house by covering it in fabric.  We went to JoAnn's and found the peacock-inspired fabric below.  Matt had to paint the canvas white since the previous art was darker in color.  Then a few minutes with the staple gun and we had stretched the new fabric over and hung these bad boys up.
• New Furniture: Our old desks were very basic table-tops from IKEA and our bookshelf was a hangover from Matt's college years.  So ordering new furniture was a fun splurge and took up most of our budget for these rooms.  We found this Sauder set online and had good experience with the brand (Ryan's bedroom furniture) so we went for it.  But the shipping was a bit of a debacle.  It took a while for it to get here, and when it finally arrived, a few of the key pieces were visibly scratched and had to be replaced.  Getting the replacement pieces was a pain since some of them were on backorder, so it really stalled our progress.  Frustrating, but the end result was good since we really like our new desks and bookshelf!
• Photo Array: Always looking for places to put more adorable pictures of our son, we decided to create a photo array in the bonus room.  That way we could look at fun photos while we work (me) or play video games (Matt).  I selected a few of my recent favorites, bought a few cute wooden frames on sale and Matt was kind enough to hang and level all of them for me.
• Gym: We consolidated all of our gym equipment into one area to clean up the room some and make room for the desks.  I got rid of my treadmill since I haven't been using it much (at all) lately.  It's too noisy to use while Ryan is sleeping, but if he's awake, both he and the dog want to walk on the treadmill with me.  You can see how I might not get the best workout with their "help" :)  Matt offloaded him on craigslist and our new home gym is down to just essentials.  

Before

After

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After

 We were able to do a lot of cleaning, organizing and consolidating throughout these two rooms.  Now the Bonus room is an enjoyable, open space for both working and working out.  The old office is now an empty room - a landing space for extra storage for the time being while we try to decide what to make of the space.  Stay tuned for the rest of the housing excitement coming soon!

The Resolution: Month 7 - Master Bathroom

Month 7 is in the books!  And although I despise cleaning bathrooms, I do love me some sparkly clean ones!

We included our closet with the master bath since it is connected and we didn't have a ton to do in the bathroom itself besides extensive scrubbing.  Matt and I are both pretty good at maintaining a "Goodwill pile" - a pile of stuff we no longer need or use that is still in good enough condition to donate.  Any time the pile (hamper) gets full, I just make a stop at the Goodwill on my way to work and we are free of the clutter that could easily overrun our house.  But for some reason, we both have a hard time getting rid of clothes.  Maybe because it is so darn expensive to buy in the first place.  Or maybe because certain outfits remind me of life events and I enjoy the nostalgia.  Or maybe because the inner hoarder in all of us whispers, "Maaaaaybe you'll wear that top someday.  If you get invited to an 80's-themed Hawaiian luau..."  So our mission for the closet was to purge anything we didn't need, hadn't worn in recent history, or didn't have a good line of sight to wearing soon.  Between the two of us, we were able to weed out more than 3 boxes worth of clothing, accessories and shoes!  A little cleaning and organizing, and voila:

Before

After

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A minor upgrade, but a necessary one, was switching out the stool that we use outside of the shower for our towels.  The old one was an IKEA as-is find that we got for $10 years ago and used to sit on while we played the drums in Rock Band.  Not the classiest piece of furniture we own.  Lucky for us, the Fry's Marketplace right by our house was having a closeout clearance sale on their home goods, and we were able to find the wooden beauty below at a steal.

Next came the bathtub - which has been overrun by Ryan's numerous bath toys over the last few months.  He's got boats, dogs, ducks, frogs, books, animal clings and more - and they were all lined up along the side of the tub each night to dry out.  So Matt went onto Amazon.com and ordered a nice little Oxo bath toy storage bin that has holes on all sides to drain the toys (and prevent mildew from building up.)  Then a little scrub-a-dub-dub and we called that piece done.

So many toys...

Much better

The only remaining big piece was the vanity.  Drawers needed to be cleaned out and organized, and counters/sinks/mirrors needed some TLC.  It took a while to get through all of it, but it makes such a difference in how nice the bathroom looks when everything is clean and put away!  

The rest of the bathroom was just a ton of cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning, which is boring so I didn't take any pictures.  The only major cleaning tip that I learned was in regards to the toilet, but I decided to spare the pictures on that one :)  AZ is notorious for their hard water, which leaves nasty calcified rings around the toilet bowl (and anywhere else water sits.)  I had read that a baking soda/peroxide mix was key in removing the ring, but after about 3 rounds of that, I was getting frustrated.  Matt suggested I use a pumice stone that he had originally purchased to use for the calcium lines in the pool.  Sure enough, 10 seconds of light scrubbing and the toilet looked brand new!  

Ryan Update - 15 Months

We just had Ryan’s 15 month checkup at the doctor, so I thought it would be a good time to put up some pics and do a little Ryan recap.  SO much has happened over the last few months and he is growing and learning every day.  It is seriously incredible to watch him change from a baby into a little boy.  He is so fun, loving, smart, curious, and funny and we are enjoying every new milestone with him.  First, some stats:

• He has 8 full teeth (4 top, 4 bottom,) and just broke through with 2 new ones this last week.  
• His favorite color is Yellow.  Any time he colors or has to pick from the same toy in multiple colors (like balls, cars, etc.) he will pick the yellow one.
• He now weighs in at close to 25 pounds!  In the last 3 months, he has gained 5 pounds which was a happy surprise to us after a year of only gaining ounces in between appointments.
• He also grew 2 inches taller in the last 3 months and has grown out of two sizes of shoes.  No wonder kids are so expensive!
• His head is (and has always been) in the 98th percentile for size.  Smart like his parents :)

Some fun stories and development milestones:

• A few months ago, he started making the connection between books and real life things.  So every time we would see a puppy in a book, he would get really excited and run off to find Jordan so he could pet her.  He loves to read, so we make sure to get to at least a small stack of books each day.  His favorites are his Thomas the Train set, anything with animals, and anything with pop-up or moveable parts.  On each page, we will ask him where things are, and he is great at finding and pointing out all of the people and things he knows.  
• Speaking of Jordan, the love continues to grow between the two of them.  Ryan loves to hand her toys, play keep-away with her stuffed animals, pet her and give her sweet kisses on her head.  Jordan loves that Ryan is flush with treats that he is often willing to share.

• He likes to dance to music – sometimes “real” music that we play on Pandora for him, but mostly just to the songs that his kid toys play.  Dancing is a little bounce of the knees to the rhythm, but we will sometimes twirl around the kitchen together too.
• His vocabulary is continuously expanding.  He now says (in context!) Momma, Dada, Dordan (Jordan), Up, Hop (when he sees bunnies, kangaroos, wants to hop,) Baba (bottle,) Hi, Bye-Bye (complete with wave,) More (for more food,) Hide (when he wants to play hide and seek) and Oh No/Uh Oh (for when toys fall over.)
• He loves food and is willing to try pretty much anything.  And, man, can he eat.  While he used to have maybe 15-25% of whatever I was having, he will now match me bite for bite on some meals.  His favorites are Trader Joe’s macaroni & cheese, grapes, potatoes of any sort, yogurt and applesauce.  He will even bite through the foil lid of his yogurt and applesauce and slurp the whole thing down without even needing a spoon.
• He loves to play, and plays hard every day.  I try to get him outside, although the hot weather makes that difficult for most of the day.  He likes to dig in the soil, play in the pool, play with the hose, pick out rocks and pull leaves from the trees.  He also loves to play a modified Hide and go Seek where he and I will hide under a blanket while Matt runs and hides himself somewhere around the playroom.  Ryan will emerge from under the blanket and look for Matt, and when he finds him, he squeals with glee and races back to me as fast as he can saying “Hide! Hide!”  Then I quickly throw the blanket over our heads so Matt can’t get us, and we start all over again.  He would play this all day if we let him!

Fun at the Library

Very busy at the i.d.e.a. museum

• Although it is too hot to go to the actual zoo, he has been practicing his zoo animals so he can be a pro when the fall comes and we are able to go back.  He now has a Little People zoo set that will tell you the animal’s names and what sounds they make, which he loves.  He also has multiple zoo books that he likes to read, and a few YouTube videos of zoo animals that he likes to watch.  He knows quite a few animal noises too, including elephant, lion, monkey, and rhino.  

Learning his animals

Fun at the zoo with Dad & best bud Zev

We love our little bud and will update again after the 1.5 year checkup!

Pajama Party

Easter family shot

He loves his dad!

And his Mom :)

Doing some gardening

Coloring

I kidnapped a baby duck and it was totally worth it to get this picture

Reading with Grandma

The Resolution: Month 6 - Master Bedroom

This month’s project was the Master Bedroom.  Aside from the deep cleaning involved in these projects (curse you, horizontal blinds and baseboards...) we had a few fun things to do as well.  To start with, I wanted to refresh our bedding with new sheets and new pillows.  Since we spend so much time sleeping, might as well do it in comfort!  We ordered a grey chevron bedding sheet made out of microfiber on Amazon.com that got great reviews.  It is a cute pattern and a very light, thin fabric that is breathable and great for summer.  But the chevron fitted sheet with the chevron flat sheet on top was messing with our eyes and making us dizzy, so we bought a complementary plain white set at Bed Bath & Beyond to match up with it.

We also needed new ottomans for the foot of the bed since the ones we had were from our wedding and have since lost most of the cushioning in the top.  Turns out it is really tricky to find a nice ottoman for a reasonable price – even online.  We searched for a few weeks before I finally took a trip to the Kirkland’s Home store by our house.  I found a really cute ottoman stool with a design that wasn’t too flowery or girly, and Matt liked it too.  It looked grey-ish in the store, but when we got it home and put it by the grey bed sheets it became clear that it was actually more brown in color.  Good thing the walls and carpet are brown, so it doesn’t look crazy in the room.  I love the feel these give the area – like a chic hotel

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After

Another big project was finally getting around to hemming the curtains we bought when we moved into the house over two years ago.  I had pinned them up after hanging them, and then life got busy and I never got around to finishing the job.  So they were just hanging around with sewing pins sticking out, which became problematic when Ryan decided that the curtains were his favorite place to hide while playing.  I pulled out all of the pins to avoid an accident, but the extra foot and a half of fabric laying on the floor was posing a tripping hazard for the hiding baby now.  Thank goodness for my sweet mother in law, Carol!  She came over and helped me to cut, iron and sew up a new hem on the four panels (and by help, I mean she did all of the work while I assisted!)  Now they look so much cleaner and better – and they are much safer for play time.

Before

After

Matt installed new tamper-resistant outlets in the bedroom (as he has been doing for all of the rooms in the house as we go.)  Another great safety move, since Ryan also likes to pull out the plastic child-safe covers and play around with the outlets.  He organized the cables around the TV and the nightstands and helped me to hang some pictures too.

Another major part of this month’s project was cleaning out and organizing our drawers and my jewelry armoire.  I was able to purge about 2 full bags of jewelry, part of which I gave to my sister Liz.  She is busy cleaning out her own jewelry collection, but nobody can resist fun new jewelry when it’s being offered – fact!  We worked through our drawers and I talked Matt into using a rotational system for wearing things that will bring him further into my happy little OCD world   One huge trip to Goodwill later, and we are calling our Master good.  I love the new look and it is such a treat to fall asleep in this lovely little room every night.

Next on deck is the Master Bathroom, which includes the closet.  Wish us luck – we will need it!