iPotty

Warning, this entry is all about potty training, so you can skip it if that subject makes you cringe.

For those of you that are down with PT, read on...

The girls are 19 months now, and for the past couple of months they have been notifying us that they need diaper changes, sometimes prior to actually needing one. So, we decided it was time they started getting acquainted with the potty.

This weekend was monumental in a way. Shell jammed out to Silverdale and picked up a hip potty for the kids, and on the same day Olivia happily broke it in on the first try. Her reward was a sticker. Vivienne was a tad gun-shy, but she eventually did her duty on the following day. She was also quite pleased with herself, and her sticker. We still have a long process to endure before we can cut them loose from the Huggies, but we had good progress early on, so there is hope that it will happen quickly.

That hip potty kinda reminded me of an iMac, so I think it should be aptly named the iPotty.

PDX

Our trip to Portland (PDX) last weekend was fun, disappointing, refreshing, challenging, and so on. We went there to scout the PDX scene for what we were hoping would be a restored or solid Craftsman home (PDX is full of bungalows) at a price that would allow us to sell our new bungalow on the island, and live comfortably on my income alone. This would have allowed shell to stay home with the kids full-time, and spend some time exploring other goals she has.

Well...we did see some nice homes, and some of the neighborhoods are wonderful. We even found a great house with enough space for all of us, a home office, an extra room, and a huge basement where I could set up a music room. The trouble was, the homes in the neighborhoods we wanted to live in (safe, close to cool stuff, good for the kids) were overpriced, and the home we fell in love with was in the ghetto.

That's the trouble with PDX right now. There is really no great job market to support the prices, but Seattle is close, so the prices up here tend to have an effect on the prices in PDX. That's my theory anyway. I have noticed that many of the asking prices have been consistently falling there, so I am keeping my eyes peeled in case something interesting comes up.

In the meantime, and probably the foreseeable future, we will stay put here on the island.

As for the island, and our house, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. In fact, that was a heavy influence on our decision *not* to aggressively pursue PDX, because in order to replace what we have here, it would take a very special house and neighborhood.

The challenging part of the trip was trying to keep our twins from kicking our a$$#@ for dragging them around in the car for three days. They had *some* fun, and we actually got to eat a nice dinner alone one night since the hotel hooked us up with a great baby sitter. The girls also got to enjoy some fine room service as you can see in this picture.

So...Bainbridge is still home.

What Happened?

I got busy and forgot I had a blog, that's what happened!

Anyway, where was I...

Oh yeah, the girls are growing like weeds, and beginning to enter the phase known as "NO!". They are almost 19 months old now!

We went on our first plane trip since returning from China, and it went pretty smoothly. OK, there was a snag in the form of Alaska Airlines delaying the flight to the point where we arrived at Grammy and Gong Gong's house at 1:30 am, cranky kids in tow. That sucked but the rest of the trip was fine. The girls are pictured here with Grammy and Gong Gong.

The girls got to see both sets of grandparents and they even got to meet one of their great grandmothers. They also met some great aunts, uncles, and great great uncle Raymundo (aka uncle Ray).

We have been busy working, and following our daily routine since then, and are just now coming up for air. I had the distinct pleasure of being solo dad for a week while Rachelle was out of town. The girls and I had lots of fun, and I now have a new appreciation for the benefits of daycare. I worked from home the entire week so I could be close to daycare in case I needed to fetch a sick kid or something. I actually accomplished more in that week than I have in a while, probably due to an extra 3 hours per day I didn't spend commuting.

This weekend, we are heading down to P-Town, PDX, Stump town, or as most people know it, Portland, Oregon. We are going to explore the neighborhoods a bit, take the girls to the Chinese Gardens, and contemplate what Portland might mean for us in the near future.

And with that, Happy Chinese New Year to all. Eat your pork because it's the year of the pig!