Freckled. Girl. Talk...

2022-02-07T17:34:00.007-08:00

HOW did I let this much time go by without posting. My last post was on April 1, 2020. That's almost 2 years ago!!!

HOW!

WHY?

I had so much to say. HOW could I let my blogging platform down like that and WHY did that even happen.

I'm ready to write and express myself again here at portnatalia.blogspot.com.

Homeschooling Day 6 & 7

2020-03-31T20:07:00.001-07:00

Yesterday and today were all a blur to me. I hope to write more on Day 8.

Homeschooling Day 5 of ...

2020-03-27T14:10:00.002-07:00

Funny how Facebook connected me today to someone I went to college with who posted a cute video of her reading the Kissing Hand, by Audrey Penn.

Welcome to the world of read along books!!! Our go to right now is StoryTime at Awnie's House.

I sat Sam down for an hour this morning to go over today's super sight word - where and then we learned more about the equal sign. Working on number bonds and number sentences with a 6-year-old has got to be one of the toughest assignments to date. When the world goes back to normal, I will be hugging and sending so many notes of encouragement to Sam's teacher.

This week has pretty much worn me out! Below are some cool sites I stumbled across that you might think are useful as well:

Art for Kid's Hub, Sam watched the video entitled How to draw a kitten in a hot air balloon.
Khan Academy, for math and writing lessons
You can read to your kids while this video is playing to Love is Kind by Laura Sassi
My mother-in-law also has some great ideas so please make sure to visit her newsletter at Links to Lovely Things.

Be back on Monday until then stay well everyone...

Homeschooling - Day 4

2020-03-26T18:00:00.002-07:00

Happy Thursday to you all during these strange days all thanks to COVID-19.

We woke up and did the usual, got up, showered and put our clothes on. Yes, my kids like to walk around the house in nothing but their underwear so getting these two dressed for the day is a major accomplishment.

I poured the last two bowls of Coca Puffs this morning, shudder... and then as Grandma does with Sam every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday starting at 9ish o'clock, she helps me with Sam's homeschooling needs and this morning we went over a number of sight words to find out that Sam has only 6 of them to work on!!! Grandma and Sam read to one another the book Playing Together. We chatted for a little bit, you know chatted about how to keep groceries COVID-19 free and then Colette entertained us with a photo she drew of us of our future adventures to Jazzy Bagels. Sam drew a totem pole that he ended up turning into an arm cuff to ward off the virus.

Don't tell Dad but we went for a quick scooter run around the neighborhood - talk about the most stressful thing I've done all week long. I feel like such a terd now when I see another human being, yelling at the kids about how we need to steer clear of them/us/human beings...

Lunch was Mac & Cheese.

After lunch I put on a Scavenger Hunt in the backyard. The kids loved marking off their finds! We played some frisbee afterwards. Once back indoors we video chatted with my Mom over a cup of tea.

Dad's home now and well, we are about to bbq porkchops!!!!!

Homeschooling - Day 3

2020-03-25T20:01:00.004-07:00

A few firsts which are super obvious, living through this COVID-19 health crisis which has resulted in me turning into a first time stay-at-home-mom. May I note there is not one second, minute, hour that you have to yourself with a 4 and 6-year-old! NOT ONE MOMENT.

Today we woke up to Wake up and Wiggle by Melissa Barnett!

Pete and Cat entertained us via PBS Kids with their livestream of Pete and Cat who taught us all about shapes and how to measure things!

Grandma, please visit her at Glenys Nellist, spent an entire hour with Sam this morning to go over sight words and make sentences with him.

I let the kids have an hour of outdoor fun in the backyard. Sam made a makeshift obstacle course using all of his toy trucks.

Lunch was another ramen noodle and soft egg duo! The kids absolutely love the egg addition and today was the first time that I EVER read who invented the ORIGINAL Top Ramen - it was Momofuku Ando.

After lunch Colette was able to practice her ballet via some online tutorials and Sam was finding his Zen!

Feeling as if I had conquered the day like a SUPERMOM Colette changed ALL of that for me when I thought I had a free moment to fold the laundry she decided to sneak off and drink some children's medicine. It was Poison Control online to the rescue to calm my already &$###%& nerves that she would be okay and to monitor her over the next 12 hours!

.........................

I hate to say this but I am already dreaming of the day when I can go back to work and go on vacation when this COVID-19 is all over with.

For realz!

Homeschooling - Day 2 - I can do this!

2020-03-24T19:24:00.001-07:00

What better way to start the day with a 4 and 6 year old with some yoga. Who of my children enjoyed it the most - it was Sam!

Thanks to Grandma we used an online session of someone who teaches you how to draw animals starting out with tracing out different shapes of your hand. This kept us busy until lunch time. While Sam was drawing animal after animal I managed to find some leftover play dough for Colette to keep herself busy with. Before lunch the kids had bath time where I let them play with their face & body paint.

Lunch was Mac & Cheese with a can of chicken!

After lunch I (we) decided to watch the Incredibles 2. I know, I know but it is Spring Break and we shouldn't really be doing this homeschooling thing in the first place.

Once our matinee ended, Sam worked on some sight words with his super sight word being 'little'.

Sam didn't feel super well once Fabio's meatball run hit the fabulous TV - where the kids jump, duck, and dodge around obstacles to help Moose Fabio deliver delicious, juicy meataballs to his GrandMoose Filomena.

In between all of this I did laundry.

Before my hubby got home we watched a few episodes off Arthur.

Homeschooling - Day 1 of Quarantine

2020-03-23T18:38:00.000-07:00

First thought of mine - do I start this homeschooling business today when technically it falls on the first day of my kid's spring break?

Second thought of mine - I'm just gonna wing it!

Got up and filed my weekly claim of UI while the kids were still fast asleep!??

I started the day off with a movie and Coco Puffs! Sam is on a Scooby Dooby 2 kick and well, let's just watch it one more time. We read some books together followed by watching Mo Williams who has online sessions called Lunch Doodles which completely inspired Sam to create his very own 8 page story book about a dragon who didn't like the world - go figure! We tried to chat with my sister and her 4 little ones but the connection was poor. Grandma then worked with Sam via video chat on his sight words. I had squirreled away some worksheets that we had not completed from the last few weeks of school to work on before heading into a few dance and exercise videos compliments of GoNoodle.com. We got our heart rates up and then for the last part of the day the kids played out in the backyard and made masks. Leaving you all with some words from the book Zen Happiness - "Be someone you want to be around. What we do now is what matters most...be kind to yourself. Whatever you do today, let it be enough."

One word to go into 2020 with - INTENT!

2020-01-10T15:50:00.000-08:00

2019 Year in Review

2020-01-10T14:30:00.001-08:00

· Went snowshoeing for the very first time at Trillium Lake Trail

· Had a few Snow Days which who doesn’t love a Snow Day!

· We hiked Metzler Park

· I painted Colette’s nails for the very first time, hot pink!

· Sam graduated from Kindergarten.

· Steven and I went on a very long and overdue honeymoon to Bend, Oregon.

· Frequented all things in Hood River: Hood River Pipeline and Pfriem to name a few.

· Camped at Cape Blanco State Park, visited the surrounding areas at Battle Rock Beach, Port Orford, and dined at the Golden Harvest Herban Farm, walked around in awe at Prehistoric Gardens, Agate Beach.

· Watched Sam’s school be demolished and turned into a brand new school!

· Found an unknown gem at Pacific NW live Steamers

· Took Sam on a volcano themed birthday trip in July! We visited Warm Springs, went rock hounding near Madras, and walked the Lave River Cave, Lava Butte, a few days spent at Sunriver Resort, a drive to see Fort Rock, Hole in the ground, drove around Crater Lake making it up to the highest point at 7,865ft – making it the highest road in Oregon. Sam turned 6!

· Found our favorite food cart nearby – Kasoyco!

· Went to our very first matinee at the Mt. Hood Theater.

· Got Sam all ready to start 1^st grade in September!

· Hiked Cooper Spur and Mirror Lake with Chelsea, James, Sharon, Gareth and Steven

· CHANGED JOBS to keep myself healthy and happy!

· Colette turned 4 in September and started ballet! And so began my Saturday morning ritual!

· We walked in our very first parade – the Teddy Bear Parade in Gresham.

· Sam performed at school for the first time, through a collaborative effort/funding between his school and the Right Brain Initiative, Sam and his classmates were taught by a Ghanaian drummer the significance of drums in his culture. We got Sam a similar drum since he had gotten so good with his drumming techniques and rhythms.

· Glenys and David celebrated the Thanksgiving holidays with us!

· Met up with Kate & Tim at Migration Brewing near our house!

· Scored another noble fir for Christmas at our favorite tree lot by Buckland Christmas Trees.

· I celebrated turning 46 at McMenamins Edgefield.

· Colette had her very first ballet performance on December 7^th and was dressed up as Cindy Loo Who!

· The best gift I think we got for Christmas was an air fryer – first time I ever made hasselback potatoes!!! And I must say Christmas Day went so well this year!

· Ended the year with a hike at Milo McIver State Park!

2018-12-31T11:05:00.001-08:00

Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. My 2018 bullet point recap:

My kids rode around on their scooters - A LOT!
Planted 3 new trees in our backyard, from Garden World
Grandma visited end of February for a week
Hiked to Eagle Fern Park, Powell Butte Nature Park, Old Salmon River trail and checked out the End of the Oregon Trail.
Fixed our fence, thanks to wife and hubby muscle power
Planted our very first garden
Created a Nellist-at-home gallery
Traveled to Athens, GA to see my brother Rami get married to Molly mid April, stayed at the Graduate Athens
Visited Milo McIvar State Park numerous times throughout the year!
Took a road trip to Boise, Idaho Memorial Day weekend, stayed at the Modern Hotel.
Bought a Nissan Leaf and a Jeep Commander
Jehan and family visited us on July 4th! Cousins reunited!
Glenys and David visited again for Sam's 5th birthday, visited Wintler Park and for the Christmas holidays!
My mom visited in August, we discovered an amazing trail in Hood River and two amazing restaurants - Sugarpine Drivein and Pfriem!
SAM started Kindergarten on September 10th. A HUGE adjustment for the both of us!
Colette turned 3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! on September 15th, the same day my husband went in for a ruptured appendix.
Found our Halloween pumpkins at Mr. Tree's pumpkin patch
We baked two turkeys this year (Thanksgiving and for Christmas).
My husband finished lifting and putting new tires on our Jeep.
Found some really cool playgrounds: Imagination Station, Cully and Luuwit View.
I turned 45!
Found Shirley's Tippy Canoe restaurant on the Historical Columbia River Highway
Stayed at the Adrift Hotel - our fourth stay - in Long Beach, WA for a night, December 29, 2018 and dined at the Pickled Fish. Stumbled across the Lost Roo and ate their twice! - best chicken wings EVER! Sam also took a little fall into the Pacific Ocean that I don't think my nerves will be right for another month or so! But before Sam took a dive the beach was incredibly picturesque to include a double rainbow, blue patches of sky along with stormy pockets and Colette running after foamy beach clouds. Walked to the lighthouse at Cape Disappointment and took a drive to Oysterville.
Colette likes pickles and anything pink. 3 words that describe her: independent, feisty and moving.
Sam likes lemon bread, a recent discovery, drawing and packing up his backpack! 3 words that describe him: strong-willed, kind and unafraid.

I posted last January the below which I'm going to take with me into the New Year:

If you always try your best

Then you'll never have to wonder

About what you could have done

If you'd summoned all the thunder

And if your best

Was not as good

As you hoped it would be,

You still could say,

"I gave today

All that I had in me."

A rainbow for the New Year, thanks Glenys

2018-09-11T11:18:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was Sam's first day of Kindergarten!!!

Here is what I took away from his day after getting home from work:

He managed to lick his chapped lips silly so it was chap-stick to the rescue.
The tiredness is real!
Eating dinner with us was a struggle but we got through it and then it was off to bed.

Highlights from Sam:

Someone took my friend away from me but I am going to meet another one tomorrow.
There is this castle you can play on.
I had pizza for lunch.

The End.

2018-09-07T16:10:00.001-07:00

My first born is now a Kindergartner!

Sam's first day of school was to put in mildly, pretty awesome. I had my fears but by the end of the day the vibe I got from the teachers and staff made me feel less anxious and full of excitement for Sam!

The first thing Sam noticed were the cracks in the floor and had to investigate a hole in the wall to see where the damage was coming from. Soon after that, I left with Colette taking one more glance back at him sitting there so peacefully on the classroom floor mat.

When it was time to pick him up I found Sam at one of the tables and asked him what did he like the most and he answered me with "I met a friend."

That evening I sifted through all the paperwork they gave us and noticed a yellow star paper clipped to a sheet of a paper with the cutest poem telling the child to place the star under their pillow to wish the student a good night's sleep before his first Day of school on Monday.

This morning, Sam woke up and had that little yellow star in his hands making me feel certain that it's going to be a really amazing year for all of us!

My Mom is here!!!

2018-08-09T10:04:00.000-07:00

2018-07-10T12:40:00.000-07:00

Hello there! In 10 days my little boy will turn 5! F I V E | Y E A R S have passed by already?!!!! 😄 Sam is all limbs and likes to flex his muscles at me to show me how strong he is. This morning he pleasantly surprised me by not resisting our typical morning routine. I don't know if it was me saying to him, your birthday is very close and don't we want to be a good boy before you turn 5? It seems he took heed of this and has been nothing but helpful. He was being super kind to his sister this morning and so I rewarded him with crackers that he got to eat in the car - ssssshhhh don't tell a soul since my husband would blow fire out of his ears if he knew I let the kids eat CRACKERS in our new electric car. My little girl is full of conversation these days, some of it makes sense some of it is gibberish but it's progress, I say! In the car, on my way to drop them off, I'll listen to the two of them talking to one another and Colette listens with such interest and then responds with the perfectly crafted and grammatically correct sentence. Makes me so proud as I press the pedal hearing really nothing since our engine runs off of electricity. In the evenings, I let the kids watch a show or two, and then we turn the oh-no you shouldn't be watching TV device off and read or talk or work on an art project. Our backyard has an inflatable pool to keep them busy and I've found two very cool kid-friendly parks and they are Luuwit View Park and Cully Park.

What these two little ones are into these days:

SAM COLETTE
Building with his Legos Eating a bread stick from Winco
Picking out his own clothes Wearing dresses
Using tape Pointing her finger
Ice lollies Ice lollies
Chicken drumsticks When the music is on, it's a dance party!
Chaulk drawing Request for two ponytails

5 more days till our Fourth Year Wedding Anniversary - been together since June, 2007

2018-06-01T12:45:00.002-07:00

Boise, Idaho trip - Memorial weekend 2018 PURE FUN!

2018-05-29T13:50:00.002-07:00

2018-05-01T14:22:00.002-07:00

In twenty-three days we are packing the Jeep up and heading to Boise, Idaho for a long weekend gone-exploring-kind-of getaway. I'm not sure who is more excited, me, my husband or Sam who knows that we will be pulling him and his little sister around in a bike trailer on one of the days. He meticulously will tell me how our day will unfold, Mom, so we get up, brush our teeth, eat breakfast, then get dressed, then put our stuff in the Jeep and ride, it will be a long drive Mom, but we'll get to Boise and then go to our hotel. And with each checklist item, I tell him yes, that is correct. That has been something I've always said, yes, that is correct, but my husband will always mock me by saying it back in a more studious, dorky fashion. My little girl is currently in potty training mode right now so by the time we head to Boise, NO more potty training for us - fingers crossed.

The | lows & highs | of weekends that go by way too fast

2018-04-23T16:16:00.002-07:00

I got hit - we're talking direct hit - on the nose by the force of a 2 year old’s head |more painful than labor pains I must say|, there were a few moments strung throughout my weekend where I thought I couldn’t keep my eyes open since I am currently perpetually exhausted, cleaning out a dishwasher over and over seems like a cruel joke, my oldest decided to pull his sister on a toy cart where she ended up face first in a puddle of mud, going to the grocery store with two young children after 5pm is a bad idea to yeah, yeah, yeah let's look on the bright side I love to spend every moment I can with my husband and two kiddos. When she hugs me without force, I feel like a winner, when my boy comes up to me and says Mom, followed by a question, I feel like a winner. To plant marigolds in our garden and discuss where to place future tomato plants, I feel like a winner again.

Never did I think the thrust of a toddler's head could land with so much force... knowing this now, winning.

2018-04-19T14:31:00.000-07:00

No more thinking I need to nap. This year of the Nap idea of mine is being tossed to the curb and I am going to move forward and shake things up a bit.

Things on my mind these days are creating an email address for both of my children. I'm thinking of emailing them a few times in the year and then once they are of age to have email, they can read all of my messages throughout the years.

My husband and I have been eating more vegetarian meals and it's crazy to think how meat heavy our dishes have been.

We finally have a garden and will be working in it this weekend. Current dilemma is keeping whatever is eating at our strawberry leaves OUT!

I am also determined to get my photos out there - create a site so they are for sale or just have a following, for starters.

And at the end of May we are headed to Boise, Idaho! Road trip for us four Nellists! I can't wait to check out Hell's Canyon National Recreational Area and bike through the city of Boise.

BLOG MORE, worry less.

My brother got married and my two little ones couldn't be any cuter!

2018-04-19T11:22:00.002-07:00

The Year of the Unsung Hero award goes to:

2018-02-09T16:03:00.000-08:00

2018-01-16T16:38:00.003-08:00

Kicking it since 2007.

2018-01-09T11:58:00.004-08:00

What a great little picture book! Good for ages 3-5. I picked this book up at the local library not even having perused through it. To my surprise while reading it to my children, once we got to Fall the laughter ensued. The following best describes the book:

Accessible artwork and a rhyming text that flows along as clear and unassuming as the watercolor illustrations. -- Booklist

In visual humor that will elicit shrieks of laughter, the tree bursts into one inappropriate image after another. -- The Bloomsbury Review

The author has used the tree to teach young readers about the seasons, and also about differences and tolerance. -- Children's Literature magazine

How something so simple can bring so much joy to my little wannbe readers!

Check it out...

Yes!

2018-01-08T16:25:00.001-08:00

2018-01-02T13:15:00.001-08:00

Here's my take on 2017 - YOU wore me out!

I had declared at the beginning of the year it was the Year of the Nap. This now has officially changed to what will happen in 2018! We visited my family mid-January, my father was about to start his first round of chemotherapy. Once we got back home to Portland I posted Instagram sayings such as "work hard, drink coffee, stay sweet, enjoy life" and "there's always room to be a better person, always." As I write this entry I now see that these messages were more directed to me and not intended for the whole wide world. My children, Sam and Colette, grew up like weeds this year. Hiking at Milo McIver State Park made for muddy children and endless smiles. A long weekend trip to the westernmost point of the 48, near Port Oxford was epic and then we spent two weeks in July with our family in Michigan, our summer vacation went by way, way too fast - as they always do. My father's battle with cancer did not go away after all of the treatments and surgery so August arrived, so did September and by then we all knew that my father wasn't going to make it till the end of the year. These were dark days when the sadness crept in and I went for a visit at the end of September to see my father which ended up being my last, and that has got to me the hardest thing I've ever had to write.

My last text from him was:

After sending him a photo of Colette on her birthday, he wrote "Cute BD girl!" 9/15/2017

I couldn't have made it through the year without the loving support of my husband. He is what holds me together, keeps me true to myself and is the love of my life. There are not enough words to thank him for everything he does for me.

Glenys and David visited us over the Thanksgiving holidays and then we celebrated Christmas with my scooter kids and our new-found fun is sledding. We've gone twice now to White River sno park.

Cheers to a peaceful 2018! I have a few goals I'd like to achieve and they are:

Date nights with Steven, make time for us!

To remove the stress from last year from my core, find the calm in my day - always!

To love up on my two little ones. I can't believe Sam will enter Kindergarten this year.

To be kind to myself.

To turn on every night my new lava lamp, my Christmas present from my husband, and to always remember to slow down and breath.

I asked my sister to read the below email to my father, I had sent it to her on Friday, October 6th and he passed away surrounded by my mother, two sisters and brother on Wednesday, October 11th.

Papa,

I am happy we got to see one another last weekend. It was so nice to sit next to you and feel your presence in person. You must know that when seeing you, I only saw my father, the one that raised me, the one that was always there for me, the one that always gave me that look to sort myself out, the one that would end his handful of emails or texts with TOAO (the one and only). You were always my rock. You were inherently good and I am so proud of who you are as a person – your heart is golden and you always meant well. There are not a lot of human beings like that Papa. I plan to instill that goodness in my children and as I grow old together with Steven. I hope that you know with 100% certainty that I love Jehan, Rami and Jasmine and even though we are quite different - at the end of the day, we love one another. We all have so much to learn from one another still!

Please remove the word disappoint from your thoughts. You have never disappointed me or anyone.

My hope is that you are at peace and have a chuckle here and there. Remember the time when during a periodic table competition, I got stumped and you wiggled your ring finger – answer was AU. Remember when we got to dance together at my wedding – I remember you saying, I am proud of you. Remember right after that, you and Jasmine surprised me with a dance of your own and I loved that you did that so very much. Remember when you made me that steak dinner and my contractions kicked in right after that – so I have to blame your amazing BBQ’ing skills for kickstarting Colette’s arrival!

I love you Papa and I am humbled by your love!