Fiona's Grandparents

This is Honey and Big Daddy, also known as my mother, Kathy, and my other father, Mitch. They have been married for almost 24 years so I hate to use the word stepfather (it seems so distant.) And yes, they picked their names!

This is Papa G, or Mike, Kris's father and (my third father) with the little munchkin over the holidays.

This is Gege, aka Kris's mother, Pam, with their dog Killian when he was still a sweet little pup.

This is my other mother, Candy, who as of yet doesn't have a particular Grandma name because they are letting Fiona decide what she wants to call them on her own.

Lastly, this is my father, Francis, who like Candy hasn't chosen a name to be called so for now, he is Grandpa Foy.

It is totally hectic around here right now. We put our house on the market tomorrow. Fiona and Ella are napping right now and I have a work crew in the basement digging a trench to fix out foundation leak. I live in Portland, everyone has a leak in their basement. I actually think I fixed the leak when I added a bunch of compost and mulch to the yard this past weekend and re-worked the slope of the yard. I haven't seen any water penetration since I did that, but I want to make sure that it is done right before we sell.

Anyhow, I need to get some painting done while the girls are sleeping so I am off..............

Snack Time

Falling leaves

I took these pics of Fi the beginning of October at Laurelhurst park, up the street. I love these pics. She was so fascinated by all of the leaves. I actually took so long circling the park looking for the spot with the most leaves that she fell asleep in the stroller which is the last picture shown. So sweet.....

The Unfortunate and the Ungrateful

This was Fiona's first trip to the beach. She was 7 months old. We went to Seaside, Oregon with Gege and Papa, Kris's parents. It was a lot of fun. Fi ate sand, of course.....And loved it. Lucy went too and she ran circles in the sand, herding every man, woman, child and animal in sight.

I was looking at a website last night and got sidetracked and again got sidetracked and ended up on some unknown blog. As I was scrolling down I read a headline about some woman who left her baby in the car while she went to a Jerry Springer show. After I was done on the computer, I turned on the news to a story about a father who killed his two month old daughter, followed by a story about parents who kept their 12 and 16 year old kids locked in a bathroom for three years and how they appeared half their age. I was becoming more sick to my stomach by the moment.

What is up with that? Hasn't anyone heard of adoption or abortion? I am not an advocate of the latter, but for crying out loud, I would rather see a spirit set free from the body before it is given a chance to be put on earth than see a child suffer from abuse and then set free from the material world. Why on earth do you keep a child that you obviously don't love and how is that even possible to not love your child???? I can't imagine life without Fiona, but in the days when a child seemed less appealing, I would never have behaved that way!

So then I started thinking about all of the cracked out moms using babies as a means to get more money from the system and how those children suffer. Meanwhile, there are all of these parents out there who want, more than anything in the world to have a baby of their own and they can't get pregnant. What injustice. These are the kinds of things that make me question "God" and his/her role in the universe. What kind of god would create such an unbalanced world? It doesn't make sense and it breaks my heart in to a million pieces. There is something about having a child of your own and then seeing these stories on the news. It is heart wrenching to watch. I constantly think about how horrible it would be for my child to suffer from whatever it is that the children on the news are going through. I can barely get through a day without crying from one story or another that i hear on the tele or net.

Also, I am starting to think that there is a direct link to the amount of violence that happens in the world and the increase in violence on television and in the theaters. If you are a sicko to begin with and you go to see a psychological thriller about a serial killer, like say "Seven" does it inspire you to do something even crazier than you had in your mind on the first place. I dunno, but i suspect that the far-fetched scenarios that play out on prime time, nightly, don't do anything other than help the weirdest reach a new weird. Enough about that. It makes me sick and that is that!

Health Inspector

This is our resident Health Inspector. She checks the refrigerator periodically throughout the day to make sure that there are not any undesirables in it. She's pretty thorough. I think there must be something wrong with the Annie's Natural Honey Mustard because she keeps taking it out of the fridge and chewing on the lid or maybe she just really wants to try it....Not sure. She loves to be in the refrigerator. Every time I open it to pull something out she books it over and gets an arm in before I can close it...Typical Health Inspector!

I am hoping she can take over my duty as the family refrigerator cleaner-outer when she gets a little older. I am that relative that comes and stays at your house and while I am there, I check the expiration date of everything in your fridge and then you come home from work one day and I tell you that you need to go to the store because 80% of what was in there expired over a year ago and it is all in the trash now. I am so crazy about that. I think my mom might just wait for me to come to here house and do my bi-annual clean out. Actually, I think she plants things so that she knows that I am doing a thorough job because without fail there is a bottle of dressing that expired well over two years ago and it drives me crazy. I am always thinking, " I just did this 6 months ago, where did this bottle of dressing from 2001 come from?" It is a conspiracy I tell you.

I recently stayed with my in-laws for 11 days over Christmas and they had the pleasure of receiving their first ever Michelle Kanaly refrigerator purge. I guess I like to do it. I am in to cleaning and manual labor, anything that most normal people like to put off, I am on it...grocery shopping, cleaning, yard work. I guess that is why I am such a damn good house wife!

Homeless Hoopla

Doesn't she look so little? This was our first camping trip with Fi. I think it was July or August... I can't even remember at this point. We went to Oswald Lake in SE Oregon. It was at a pretty high elevation and really cold at night, but a lot of fun. We went with three of Fiona's friends and their parents....Very interesting. I can't wait to go again, weather permitting.

So, I have to vent. Apparently, Portland, is the best place in the country to be a homeless person. There are so many bleeding hearts here that we just support the homeless without any opposition. I have definitely become a little jaded on the topic since I moved here. Hell, ten years ago I couldn't pass a homeless person on the street without giving them money. Now, I threaten them within an inch of their lives for ringing my doorbell and spare changing me in the privacy of my own home. That is absolutely unacceptable.

Last week, two days after I had just cleaned out my cupboards and had two sacks full of food, someone knocks at the door. I look out to see a shopping cart at the end of my sidewalk and decide not to answer. The knocking continues and it gets louder, then the doorbell rings...Persistent little bugger! I have both of the girls, so I hesitantly answer. This woman asks me if I have any plastic or glass that she can have. I look at her and then I look right next to her shopping cart at my empty recycling bins turned upside down that were just emptied that morning and say "uh, no!" She then proceeds to ask for money. I, in turn, offer up my two bags of food. She has the nerve to ask what is in them and if she can see it. I said "no!!!' and slammed the door in her face. How ungrateful. This is how the homeless is Portland are, though. They are greedy jerks.

That is the third time someone has come to my door asking for money or totally tweaking asking to mow my lawn in the past year. I am not down with that. They are lucky I don't believe in having a gun, because they wouldn't make it off of my property, if I did.

Today, I was on my way to pick up Kris from work, when I was stopped at a red light in China Town. I looked over at the line wrapped around the building of a local mission.....So many people waiting for a hot meal, all smoking cigarettes. Are you kidding me?? What do smokes cost these days, 4.00 a pack? That is enough to feed a person for a whole day if you eat fruit, veggies, bread and fresh foods. I feed my whole family for about 15.00 a day and we eat mostly organic, so i know it is possible. But, these people would rather keep the money that they guilt the naive few in to giving them so that they can smoke and drink and support their drug habits, while we the taxpayers feed them, clothe them and pay for their health care expenses that they incur from abusing their bodies. That is screwed up.

Ah, I just needed to get that off of my chest. I am done feeling sorry for them. I can't help someone who can't help themselves. Crap, I tell you!!

Queen of the Laundry Basket

Here is Fiona playing with Dada and the empty laundry baskets. She was in rare form this evening. We were so busy that day that neither her nor I changed in to clothes suitable for leaving the house. We just hung out in our pj's all day. This particular evening was a perfect example of why kids don't need as many toys as they have. They enjoy using their imaginations. I had just put up two loads of laundry when she walked over to the stacked baskets and wanted to get in. Dad picked her up, sat her in and zoomed her around the house until he was breathless and she was laughing hysterically.She found the hat in a drawer in the kitchen that is reserved specifically for the munchkins stuff. Whenever she drags something in to the kitchen and leaves it, I throw it in the bottom drawer. This time, she found her pink corduroy hat and a couple of puzzle pieces in there. The puzzle pieces were the square and circle from the wooden Melissa and Doug shape puzzle. She took turns with each shape, sticking them in her mouth and walking around. After a while, Kris and I decided that she was using them in place of her binky (which doesn't come out of her room or the car these days). They have the big knobs on them and she was sucking away! Silly girl.

On a completely different note, I am so excited for American Idol tonight. I am pathetic, but that show just sucks me in every time. I really like that there are so many different emotions tied to the show. You can be so happy for people who are getting a chance at their dreams and then laugh like crazy at the side show freaks! I don't normally watch many shows religiously....None actually. I used to watch Jeopardy every night and over the years have been a big ER and X-Files fan. I also really enjoy Arrested Development. However, last night and the night before I spent watching the 24 season premiere and it was so INTENSE that I managed to get through about 3 of the 4 hours of the premiere. It is a great show, but I feel like I am going to have a heart attack most of the way through it. Now I feel like every Monday and Tuesday I will be glued to the television between the two of them.....Damn FOX!!!

Animal Activist

Do you think it is possible that a love of animals is hereditary? I know plenty of people who flat out hate dogs or cats.....and then there are people like my self, who love them. When I lived in Norman, Oklahoma, my friends sometimes referred to me as Saint Francis (of Assisi) because everyone knew that if they found a stray animal, they could dump it in my yard and when I got home, not only would I be excited to find a new pet but I would take it on as a personal challenge. I have found homes for so many pets, it is ridiculous. i have spayed, neutered, de-wormed, de-flead and fattened up more than my fair share. I have never had more than two of my own at a time, except for maybe when I was a child and our cat had kittens.At that point I think we had a dog and maybe 8 cats but that didn't last long. My father, is a sucker for dogs and cats as well.

So over the holidays, we were visiting my in-laws and they have a dog, but they don't treat animals the way that animals were treated in my family, not that that is bad! My family has a tendency to get pushed out of bed my their subordinate friends. They have this boxer, pictured above, that is a total spaz....But so sweet. He has to stay in an area of the hall that is blocked off on on end by the end of the hall where two doors close and at the other end is a cage. Fiona would go check on him and give him kisses. I swear in this picture he was telling her how to break him out!

She loves animals too. When she wakes up from nap, the first thing we do is check on Lucy, who is always napping on the left end of the couch. Dog was the first sign she learned in sign language and her third word. She adores Lucy, always wanting to cuddle, pet, climb on and kiss her.

Being just like her in this respect, it concerns me a little bit, because I have a scar on my nose from when I was about year or so older than her and my grandmother's Husky bit me. I lied and told everyone that I was climbing on the fireplace and fell off. Yes, I lied to keep the dog out of trouble and I still have a scar 28 + years later. I also have a scar from a cat bite on my lip and a lizard on my nose. The point is, I have always been very affectionate towards my animals....Apparently too affectionate, I suppose and I don't want her to end up with scars all over her for the same reason.

Thank dog Lucy is so patient!

How sweet it is............

I took this picture last Monday. I cannot believe how cute she looks, like such a little girl. Every month or so, there is that one picture that really catches you off guard. This would be that one. I looked at it in the car as we sat at a stop light on our way to pick up Dada from work on Friday and thought "oh my god when did her hair get that long?" I also thought how she looked just like Shelby, Kris's youngest sister. I just want to eat her up. Speaking of, that is her new thing...eating us up. If we are lying down, she walks over like a drunken sailor, belly flopping on to our face as though she plans on suffocating us and as she distracts us with her shrilling scream she leans over and bites you.....me on the forehead and Kris on the nose. I am not sure why there is a different preferred place on each of. It is naughty actually, the biting thing, but the way she goes about it is so funny that you are usually laughing while trying to tell her "no" which I am sure is pretty ineffective.

I have been teaching her where her belly button and nose are so she loves to see people's bellies....and she keeps trying to touch Ella's nose while she is over, which makes me crazy because I feel like I have to hover over the two of them sometimes so that she doesn't accidentally fall and poke her in the eye.

I worked on the basement all day today. It almost looks like a bigger mess than I started with but I know I had to have made some progress. What a big job! It was so dirty that I went to Home Depot this morning and picked up a 12 gallon shop vac and one of those 39 compartment organizers for all of the screws, nails, washers and miscellaneous junk that was stretched from one end to the other on the work bench. I finally know where all of the drill bits are! The shop vac ROCKS! I love it. I can tell we will be very good friends. I can't wait until we have a rain-less day so that I can give it a try on the cars interior. We have had a stomach bug for the past 24 hours and I am ready to crash so off to bed I go.................

Somer's Wedding Date

My little sister, Somer, and her fiance, Gary, have set a date for their wedding. Mom called two days ago to see if Fiona could be a flower girl on December 9th. That sounds like trouble to me, but I am sure she will be adorable. I can just see her shoving flowers in her mouth as she walks down the isle, visiting all of the people in the rows along the way. This is a picture of them that I took at Fi's birthday party. He is very sweet and a welcome addition to the family. I know he will treat her like she deserves to be treated. He has a good ol' boy feel and is one of the few remaining men out there with an ounce of chivalry which is always a plus.

Right after the wedding, the whole family is going to Montana for Christmas. My Aunt Carol and Uncle Larry who live in Tacoma, WA have a house in the mountains and they have rented another house on their street for the week, so all of my aunts, uncles, cousins from Oklahoma will be there. I cannot wait. It will be a lot of fun. We can walk across the street from the houses to the best cross country skiing in the nation, so I really want to give that a whirl. I have never been downhill skiing because of my knees....I am still "sitting on that". I would hate to have to have knee surgery #3.

It will be a nice break from the usual shuffle. I look forward to cooking big meals, maybe doing some knitting and just enjoying my family. Hopefully it will be better than our Opryland Christmas in Nashville...Good god!

First Snow

The morning before Fiona's first birthday it snowed in Oklahoma City. It was her first time in the snow. It was also my nephew, Khairee's first experience with snow. They were so funny......So cute. Ky ran around in circles as he loves to do and Fiona just watched with her big bright eyes.

We also celebrated Christmas with my mother, step-father, brother, sister and soon to be brother-in-law later that morning. They live in Texas and we have so many families that we had to do Christmas three different days. As we opened presents in front of a huge picture window, huge flakes were coming down. It was one of those warm fuzzy moments, at least for me. I can't even remember a Christmas in my lifetime that it snowed on or around Christmas. Of course, it was 73 degrees with 40 mile an hour wind two days later, but that is the great plains for you.

My sister gave her the outfit she is wearing for Christmas. It totally rocks. It is a camouflage hooded sweatshirt with pants to match. Aunt Somer put Fiona's name across the back in Vato (Calligraphy) letters with rhinestones. there is a gold beveled star on one cuff and a rhinestoned cross on the front chest area. The pockets are trimmed in rhinestones and there a couple red hearts in various areas, as well. I think it is my favorite present...And it wasn't even to me!

I am so glad our generation has gotten beyond the whole baby blue and powder pink for babies. What a drag to have to look at those colors day in and day out. Funny enough, older people mistake her for a boy all the time when she is not dressed in pink, even if she has on striped tights or a red skirt.

That is why I view the baby slings I make as an extension of MY wardrobe, not another indicator of my child's gender. For crying out loud, enough with the blue teddy bears and crap! Seriously, how many of you mom's out there want to wear a jacket covered in blue teddy bears or trucks? So, why would you wear a sling covered in them? Sorry, that drives me mad. I am more than my toddler.

73 degrees and sunny

I just like to look at this picture of the sun beating down on a day like today. Portland is rainy, go figure, right? I think we might just be on the road to a record from the looks of it. Every time I check out the ten day forecast it is rainy, heavy rain and mid-40's....lovely. You know, I have actually acclimated to the rain finally and seeing as how I am swamped with indoor work, it doesn't much matter to me if it is raining. Unless........I have to walk to the store. I have now broken a record for the longest amount of time an undeveloped roll of a film has managed to survive in my purse. That is when you know it is too yucky to do much. I don't mind the rain, but I feel bad getting out in it when I have Fi in the sling and to be quite honest, she is not too big on the stroller these days, especially when I enclose her in the large vinyl rain shield. I usually just throw a hoody on her and shelter her face if it is raining too hard. My first preference, however, is to just stay in the house. I am going to research is there is a an anti-rain dance.

Cleaning Protocol when Selling a House

So, I am preparing to put our house on the market and I began on the kitchen today.....Nothing major, just replacing the hardware and cleaning. I always end up way deeper than intended when cleaning. I went from replacing the hardware to pulling everything out of every cabinet and drawer, creating a trash, garage sale, pack now and pack later pile to cleaning all of the spice jars and dusting the ceiling. Mid way through this, I thought to myself "Why I am I going to this much trouble to make the insides of the cabinets and drawers immaculate? Will anyone actually notice?" When we moved in here, it took me an eternity to clean that kitchen. It looked like they had been slinging soup or curry or some other runny food all over the walls. It was disgusting. I guess I feel like it is common courtesy to clean the house you are selling. Unfortunately, I am not sure where to draw the line. When they show my house will it need to be spotless? Am I going to go crazy trying to keep it clean in the process? I have never sold a home before, so I am not sure what the protocol for this kind of thing is. I am just trying to take it day by day, scratching one thing off my list at a time.

Toddler Behavior

A friend of mine, Terrie, just started a new job today and I agreed to watch her daughter, Ella, while she is in the office for 10 hours a week. Ella and Fiona are three days apart, both on the Sagittarius-Capricorn cusp. Fi being the Sag (12/20) and Ella being the Capricorn (12/23). I have only had the two of them by myself one other time, before either of them were walking and it was a little difficult then, but Ella is now full on walking and Fiona is cruising along in that direction, so it was an all new dynamic. I find it fascinating how babies so close in age can be so similar yet so totally different. Fiona is a very good natured baby, so happy most of the time, but intense. She is a lot like her mother, I must admit. Lat night while I was cooking a big Indian dinner, she played by herself in the kitchen. She has a ton of magnets on the fridge. She took a handful of them off and placed them in my mixing bowls that were on the wire rack next to the fridge. Then she moved them all to the large glass measuring cup on another shelf... then back... and back again....Over and over for about 20 minutes as I watched in amazement. I am self-diagnosed OCD and I am going to go ahead and diagnose her after that episode. Ella, on the other hand is so chill. She takes one toy out and plays quietly for a while, then maybe goes back for another 30 minutes later. You hardly even know she is there. I am excited about taking care of her because I think it is great for each of them to have social interaction with another little one their own age. They can push each other developmentally, which will be nice.

Aside from that, Kris and I are just plugging away at our websites and trying to address all of the repairs we need to do on our home before selling it. Though they are few in number, it is still very hard to find the time to paint, landscape and fix things up. On that note, I must go paint!

Idealistic Parenting

I just took Fiona in for her 12 month shots. It was hellish, of course. She had to get four in all and she cried harder with each one, until she was beet-red in the face. It is amazing to me how it is so easy to be idealistic about things concerning the children that you don't have but as soon as you pop one out, it changes so rapidly.

I had no intention of getting Fiona immunized before she arrived, scared by the thimerasol and it's link to autism as well as other risks. I also never intended to be induced or have any drugs in labor or give her fluoride or allow her to have millions of toys or watch TV, etc. I did have to be induced, but not with drugs. My midwife burst my water and the rest progressed naturally without any drugs or intervention with exception to a couple of blood pressure tests. That was intensely painful but I would do it again and will, I imagine. I quickly gave in to the immunization argument, deciding that keeping her alive was my ultimate goal and the percentages of children who have ill effects from the shots is very small. Also, the thought of what could happen if everyone decided not to vaccinate seemed far fetched but scary to say the least. It seemed (and this is MY personal opinion) selfish of me not to do it. Shortly after she was born, I had more clothes and toys than I knew what to do with since she is the only grandchild on my side and my mother has a shopping problem. Now, my living room looks like a day care and I spend ten minutes after dinner rounding up toys from under the couch, chairs and dog to throw them in the basket which gets dumped immediately in the morning. I do let her watch Baby Einstein and Brainy Baby videos as well as PBS when I need a couple of minutes to myself.

Basically, I have decided that there is no point in setting unreasonable goals. It doesn't have to be black or white. Life is a balancing act. IF I need to occupy her by putting her in front of an educational video for a few minutes so that I can run and grab the cleanest clothes from my bedroom floor to dress myself, it is not going to ruin her life. Hell, I had a TV in my room from 18 months old and I think I turned out alright. The one thing that I would change is all of the toys. It is hard to tell people not to buy your child toys, though, and I don't want to seem ungrateful because we are very grateful for everyone's generosity but she is honestly happiest with a couple of plastic measuring cups, an empty box or a balloon. I am starting a 529 for her in hopes that I can persuade family and friends to put their money where it really counts...In to her education, if they are so inclined to spend money on her. We will see how that goes.

New Year, Old Issues

Each year, I make a New Year's Resolution. Usually it has to do with exercising more, as this year's does. My goal for this year is to do yoga three times a week. That seems like a reasonable goal, right? Yoga is such rewarding exercise for both the mind and body and I can see good results after only about three sessions, so it seems like it would be a no-brainer.

However, I am already off to a bad start. It seems that I can't find a good time to do it. I would do it before Fiona gets up, but she wakes up between 5:00 and 6:30 am on average and let me just say that I am not quite that ambitious. Naptimes would seem to be another prime candidate if I weren't already trying to cram in a shower, checking my emails, paying bills, cleaning, laundry, sewing baby slings and blankets, working on my business website and sometimes dinner prep (if I am lucky enough to get a break that time of day.) Thank God Christmas is over, because I was also having to shop during that time or get everything ready and in the car to go out shopping when she would wake. By evenings(actually, at straight up 5:00 pm, as my husband would add in) I am ready for a glass of wine and ready for some relaxation which usually adds up to more work either around the house or business related.

Even if I wanted to do yoga before bed, is it really acceptable to do yoga after having a glass of wine. I feel weird about that. Such are the dilemmas of life, I suppose. It is all about prioritizing, which I seem to have issues with. I am a worker, always have been. My dad is a worker and so is my mom. We are all a little neurotic and obsessive about things being perfect. Perfectionism is a double-edged sword.

I start to think back to my single days. What did I do with all of my time? Before a full time job or a significant other.....I used to sit at the bagel shop and read while smoking cigarettes for hours on end. I would go to The Deli to do homework at 3:30 in the afternoon so that I could discuss whatever assignment with BBQ Bob, my very over-qualified bartender and friend. I would craft, garden, hang out with friends, nothing of great importance in the over all scheme of things, but I enjoyed life. I still enjoy life, but in a very different way.

I view time the same way I do money. The more you have, the more you spend. The less you have, the better you are able to budget what you have.

Fiona is a punk rocker, fiona is................

This is the love of my life....Fiona Isabella Kanaly. She just turned one on December 20th. I have no idea where the past year has gone, but I do know that it has been a crazy, wild ride. She is the happiest little thing ever....Always smiling and giving kisses. We just got back from Oklahoma City where my husband, Kris, and I are originally from. We were there for 11 days. It was too long and too short at the same time.

I love Portland for all of the wonderful things that it has to offer, but Oklahoma is where our roots lie. Family is such an important part of life and I think it takes moving 2000 miles away from them for that to truly sink in, at least for me. Our current plan is to move closer to them come Spring. We are looking to move to Tulsa, which has more to offer from a cultural standpoint than OKC. I am excited at the thought of being near friends and family but saddened by losing Portland. We live in the best neighborhood and our location affords us the ability to walk everywhere, which is drastically different from Oklahoma. If you are afoot in Oklahoma, people think you are poor or your car must have broken down. I mean, why would you voluntarily walk, right? Another thing about Portland, or Multnomah County, rather, that impresses me is that for the third year in a row, it has the highest circulation of any public library system in the nation, checking out 19.4 million books per year. That equals out to 28 books for every man, women and child in the county. No wonder it is such a progressive city/county. I wonder what the stats are for Oklahoma County. I doubt they come anywhere near those of PDX. I will have to check in to that......................