that time we went to Portland

You may remember that last month we took a whirlwind trip to Portland, which was also Cora's first time on a plane and first time out of the state. Both kids were amazing on the plane, and good thing because they put us in the row DIRECTLY behind first class with the only divider being a thin curtain. Christian was mostly entertained with the iPad or back-of-seat-TV entertainment, and Cora was entertained being a 2 month old.

Even though the purpose of the trip was to have Cora's tongue and lip tie revised, which went off without a hitch, we wanted to pack in as much fun stuff as possible. 

We arrived Saturday evening, late. Well, 10pm, which is late by parental standards. We checked into the Embassy Suites in downtown Portland, and man, downtown Portland was in FULL Saturday night swing. The streets were busy, and I wanted to be part of it... but not more than I wanted to go to bed. This Embassy Suites did not really look the part of a traditional Embassy, but more of an old, glamorous hotel, and it actually used to be a different hotel at one point. It's one of the many beautiful historical buildings around Portland, built in 1912. The crib they provided was also from 1912. 

{photo cred}

We were across the street from lots of really cool things, including the giant Saturday Market, a splash pad, Voodoo Doughnuts, and the Willamette River. 

Prior to arriving in Portland, Rob made a reservation for us to take a tour of the Widmer Brothers Brewery. Everyone has had their famous Widmer Brothers Hefeweizen. Right? Ok, if not, then you must. We may or may not have a keg of it on tap at our house at this very moment. The tour was fantastic, the beer was great, and the food at the Gasthaus Pub afterward was... pretty good. :) But seriously, we had a blast, met some cool people... and is everyone this friendly in Portland?? 

After the tour and lunch, we headed over to Voodoo Doughnuts. But not the original one downtown, the other lesser known (??) location in the burbs. There was still a line, but nothing like the one across from the hotel. 

I will say, the doughnuts were good, but definitely more of a novelty. They weren't all that. 

Sunday evening was a REAL treat! Back when we lived in LA, we were part of this awesome small group/bible study. I have talked many times about how much I love all the people that were part of this group. It just so happened that one couple, Jenny and Joe, plus now their two adorable kids, were vacationing in Portland. They were staying in an amazing house with the most ridiculous backyard that was a former salmon hatchery... because Portland. So we went over there to BBQ and catch up on life. When I left, my heart was full. It was like my tank was replenished of something I didn't even know was missing. Oh, and the kids, especially the two boys had a BLAST throwing rocks in the creek, throwing themselves over the hammock, getting as wet and dirty as possible... you know, being boys.

It was truly an evening I didn't want to end. But we headed back to the hotel and mentally prepared ourselves for Monday, the day of the tongue tie revision aka the whole reason for flying to Portland. 

Honestly, it wasn't terrible. The procedure itself literally took 3 minutes. Three minutes.   The numbed the area with some cream, took her away, and THREE minutes later she was back in my arms. Dr. Ghaheri was amazing and had so much great information. I really enjoyed chatting with him. Rob and Christian were out in the waiting room, and then we joined them there. We hung out for a while before heading to Trader Joe's... buying all the chocolate covered peanut butter pretzels. 

After clearing the aisles of Trader Joe's, we went back to the hotel to relax. Well, Cora and I relaxed. Rob and Christian went back to the "splish splash," or the splash pad as it's more commonly known. 

We checked out of the hotel that afternoon and had lunch at the Deschutes Brewery Portland Public House. The food was yummy! I drank the delicious Black Butte Porter... you know, all in the name of increasing my milk supply. It's now one of my new favorites. 

Monday night was our final night in Portland. We stayed with one of Rob's college roommates and his family. The same family that stayed with us back in February. They are seriously some of the most wonderful people, and I wish we could be next door neighbors. Rob and Christian camped out in their backyard - tent and all! And Cora and I camped out in the living room. 

Tuesday morning we left for the airport, where we did NOT get on our flight back to Honolulu. See, free travel isn't always the best. Hah. They wanted to put Rob in the cockpit, and Christian 6 rows behind me. Tempting, but... probably not in the best interest of everyone else on the plane. We ended up flying on Alaska Airlines into Maui and then taking Island Air back into Honolulu. It was great to fly on my alma mater.

And home sweet home. 

It was indeed a whirlwind trip, but I'd like to think we made the best of a short stay in such a wonderful city. I would love to go back to Portland and spend much longer than one weekend. 

Cora has been doing great since the tongue tie revision and it was 100000% worth the trip out there. 

Thanks Portland! A hui hou!! 

meanwhile in Portland...

So we're not there yet, BUT we are leaving for Portland on Saturday, and I am very very excited for many many reasons, besides the very obvious reason of getting Cora's tongue tie fixed. I have never been to Portland. I have been to the airport a thousand times. But I never actually had a layover in Portland. So, this will technically be my first time IN Portland.

We will arrive late Saturday evening and check into a hotel in downtown Portland. We'll stay there for 2 nights, and Monday we will stay with friends - Rob's college roommate and his wife and their beautiful family. I met his roommate years ago when we went to a wedding in Costa Rica for another one of his/their college roommates. And within the past few years, we had the pleasure of meeting his wife when they would come to Hawaii for her job. (Everyone needs a job that brings them to Hawaii once a year, right?) Anyway, they came to Hawaii a few months ago and stayed with us a few nights. We had a BLAST. They are just such wonderful, genuine people, and if everyone from Portland is like that, then I believe I could pick up in an instant and live there. True story. They are that awesome. We'll be heading back to Honolulu on Tuesday, and promptly upon landing, head to our chiropractor so Cora can get Craniosacral Therapy.

I am on a pretty intense nurse, pump, nurse, pump, nurse, pump schedule to in the very least maintain what little supply I have until Cora can latch and nurse efficiently, which will hopefully get my supply back up. I'm actually trying to increase my supply by way of Lactation Support pills, fenugreek (I currently smell like maple syrup... pancakes anyone?), oatmeal every single morning mixed with flaxseed, drinking TONS of water, power pumping with a hospital pump, and as of yesterday...LACTATION COOKIES! Oh sweet mercy, they are delicious, and I probably ate eight too many.

Two nights ago I got the sweetest text from a friend who said she had read my blog and baked me lactation cookies. And if you're not familiar with lactation cookies, they're basically like regular cookies, just with a few extra ingredients that are known to up milk supply, like oats and Brewer's yeast. Although this isn't the exact recipe she used, it's very close.)

Back to Portland.

We debated back and forth for a while on whether to bring Christian because we knew it would be a pretty quick trip. We weren't sure how the weekend and doctor's appointment would play out, or how long we would be gone. In the end, we decided to make a fun little impromptu family trip out of it, and we're just gonna roll with it!

As I was trying to say above, since I'm on this pretty rigid schedule where I'm pumping and nursing every few hours, I'm not sure how much we'll be able to do. I basically feel like I'm on lockdown at home right now, but one thing I know FOR ABSOLUTE SURE, is a stop into Voodoo Doughnuts. Christian has already informed us that he wants the Captain my Captain and The Loop doughnuts. And every other doughnut topped with cereal. We also plan on taking a tour of the Widmer Brothers Brewery. We actually have their Hefeweizen on tap right now. I wonder if they have a dark beer... you know, in the name of increasing my milk supply. :)

Cora's appointment is first thing Monday morning. I don't anticipate that it'll take very long, just from what I've heard from my friend's experiences. THANK YOU everyone for sharing their experiences with us. It eases my mama mind!

I would say Cora is plumping up nicely this week. I've been trying to nurse as much as possible, even more than I had been previously. Since my supply has dropped, she gets a little frustrated, so that's definitely hard and emotional for me. Don't even ask me how many times I've cried this week. Or today. I supplement each feeding with a bottle. I try my very hardest to pump enough milk for each of these feedings, but I don't always get enough. When I don't, I will usually mix what I have with formula. This morning she weighed in at 10lbs 3oz, which is up about 11oz since Friday.

This is life right now. It's been a very emotional week, and we're all taking it day by day. I'm trying to keep this all in perspective. If this is the worst thing we ever have to deal with, then we are very blessed, which I already know to be true. 

we're home!

Well, alooooooha! It's super early. Like, "the-sun-is-not-awake-yet-Christian" early.

Christian and I arrived safely back in Hawaii yesterday afternoon after a few non-eventful flights. We had a successful time flying stand-by on Delta from RIC to JFK, making our trip back home a whopping $30. I know. I know. We "paid" for it in our journey from T2 to T5 in JFK. And I do mean journey, similar to what I imagine the Oregon Trail would have been like.

Christian did great on the plane, and we were showered with compliments from surrounding passengers once we landed. Thankyouverymuch. I really have to give my sincerest thanks to God, Apple for inventing the iPad, and the dollar bin at Target where we picked up several packs of stickers.

We left Mom's house at 5am to head to the airport and we pulled up in our driveway at about 3:30pm (Hawaii time), so after traveling approximately 16 hours, I was exhausted. Christian was stoked on life that Rob met us at the gate. (He flew in from SFO about an hour before us.) Rob then so so so graciously took Christian to the park, fed him dinner, gave him a bath, put him to bed, while I was dead to the world for a good long time.

Hello green mountains, I've missed you!

At this early hour, I am sitting on the sofa watching Tom & Jerry (what else) with a toddler that had a very very early morning diaper situation and was never able to go back to sleep... naturally, drinking coffee, and listening to the birds wake up. But I love it.

What I am NOT loving is the smell of cat pee. Yep. For the first time EVER, Baxter sprayed/peed... in Christian's room. So yeah, had to take care of that situation this morning as well. I guess we made him good and mad for being gone for so long, even though he received the MOST EXCELLENT care from our landlord's daughter. Oh, I mean it. Baxter ran out of wet food (which I knew he would be without wet food for a few days... oh the horror) and they went and bought him CANNED SALMON. Spoiled much? Anyway...payback.

I am ready to get back in a routine. So ready. Especially Kaia and Stroller Strides. My sources of sanity. My eating habits have been less than stellar for the past two weeks, so I'm also ready to clean my diet back up. And oh yeah, that little half-marathon I decided to signup for. So I guess I need to start training for that too.

But I do think this was one of our best trips out east, EVER. We did SO much and saw so many people, and had a blast. Christian said yesterday when I was getting him dressed (at the wee hour of 4:30am) to go to the airport, "maybe Nannie can come to our house tomorrow?" Christian had so much fun spending lots of quality time with Nannie. She showers him with attention and affection, and basically whatever he wants. (More pictures from our actual trip later.)

Now that the sun is actually awake, Tom & Jerry is over, and my coffee cup is empty, I guess that means... I need to refill my coffee.

Have a wonderful weekend!

aloha friday, y'all! and, we're here!

We're here! We're here! Many hours after leaving Hawaii, we have arrived in Virginia. More specifically, Richmond. MORE specifically, Varina. Yes, I have now lived in two places that rhyme with... Varina, and Aina Haina. You can figure it out. 

The flights were uneventful, and we had seats together. Christian slept a solid 4-5 hours, and watched the iPad the rest of the time. We only had an hour and a half after landing in JFK until departure to Richmond, in completely different terminals. OF course, we were in the last row, BUT happy to have seats, obviously. We hustled, and made it with about 10 minutes to spare before boarding. I'm also so glad we decided to try our hand at standby on the way to Richmond because the plane was empty, and I would have been a sad puppy if I had paid the $450 one-way per person that was Delta's asking price. 

Christian JUMPED his way down the final exit of the terminal when he saw my mom waiting for us. He was very excited to see her... and the toys she brought for him. We made our usual stop at the grocery store, WHERE I WAS STRONG and did not buy banana pudding. After munchkin went to bed, at a normal-ish time of 8:30pm, I went out in the still light "night" for a run/walk/run/walk/jog around the hood. There was a beautiful sunset! By 9pm it was still light out, which I just love. And lots of lightening bugs, which we have been talking A LOT about with Christian. They're in a few of his books we read at home, and he doubts they're a real thing. 

Speaking of not real things, this cat. It's lifelike and creepy and looks straight out of Pet Cemetery. It meows and purrs and licks it's paws at seemingly random times. Christian is treating it like his personal pet. Maybe he misses Baxter. I don't know, but my Mom really got us both with it. Because I certainly thought it was real when I first saw it sitting on a chair and heard it "meow." Mom thought it was hilarious, just waiting for my reaction and watching my face say "what the hell?" If you ever wonder where I get my sense of humor from... Because I thoroughly enjoyed watching Christian encounter it for the first time as well. 

This beautiful magnolia flower bloomed last night and IS real. We have (technically, Mom has) a large magnolia tree in our/her front yard that my dad planted. It recently needed some trimming so she took a flower and put it in water last night; this morning it opened up. So beautiful and fragrant. We're officially in the South, y'all. 

Where even AT&T doesn't reach the depths of Varina. 

This morning we're planning on visiting the Metro Richmond Zoo and praying we don't melt in the heat and humidity. Hawaii may be tropical, but it doesn't have anything on Virginia in the summertime. 

I hope you have a wonderful weekend... staying cool. I know we will; Mom keeps her thermostat set at 43 degrees. 

Happy Aloha Friday! 

beer > wine

This reformed wino will happily choose one of Rob's homebrews over my formerly cherished glass of wine any day of the week. And now that also applies when on the (very) rare occasion that we dine out, at Kona Brewing Co., naturally. Give me a good beer. And I am in no way saying I know anything about beer, except I know what I like, and am slowly learning more via Rob's big brain.

I can't tell you too much about the beer brewing process in your home, but I can tell you that having mild OCD is an absolute must. It is such a meticulous process. But the end result is worth it, at least for me since I'm the one reaping the rewards.

According to Rob, this is the very "basic" process to making your very own delicious beer with my wifely observations added. Where does he get his supplies you ask? There's a homebrew store over by the airport that he gets most all his grains/hops/etc. from.

Crush grains.
Steep grains at 150 degrees fahrenheit. 
Boil water. Our stove will not get the big ol' pot he uses that hot. So MacGyver wraps a beach towel around the pot to get it hot enough to boil. Said towel has now been relegated to only beer brewing and Rob surfing since it has a huge burnt hole in it. However, here we're trying foil.
Add malt extract.
Add hops. 
Boil 60 minutes, adding additional hops at set times. Smells delicious!
Quickly chill below 70F. Our freezer is FULL of frozen gatorade bottles for this purpose. Curses!
Aerate with O2 very well, add yeast and liquid in bucket. 
Seal for approximately 3 weeks. 
Clean bottles. He sterilizes them in the oven. Smells weird. 
Add small amount of sugar to "flat beer" and mix in bottling bucket. 
Bottle beer. 
Curse a little when beer overflows out of bottle. My observations.
Wait 1-2 weeks for yeast to eat sugar and carbonate beer. 
Put in fridge and...
DRINK COLD! 

He also adds that different varieties require adding other things at the end of the boil, like lemon or orange peel, coriander, rosemary, etc. and some had stuff added just prior to bottling like vanilla and coffee.

IPAs all have additional hops added for a week in the bucket prior to bottling called "dry hopping."

Also, not a fan of IPAs.

Some of Rob's very delicious homebrews include:
Amber Ale
Coconut Porter (yummm)
Coffee Coconut Porter (double yummm)
Stone Ruination
Vanilla Stout
Wheat beer (personal fave)
Stone 2
Lemon Rose Wheat
Saison (This is a Belgian farmhouse ale... Rob has told me this 100x so I'll most likely never, ever forget.)
IPA
Berry Saison
Honey Hefeweizen (more yummm)
Belgian IPA (Saison IPA)
Holiday Ale
Honey Wheat (I love wheat beers)
Belgian Triple

It's a long process to make delicious beer, but Rob does it. And he does it way-more-than-well. The other day I heard our landlord telling Rob that one particular beer we gave him was the "best beer [he'd] ever had." True story.

If you're wondering how he got started, or where to even begin with such a hobby, buy a beer brewing starter kit. A friend of Rob's from Colorado visited sometime a year or so ago and brews his own beer. Rob picked his brain and was interested, but sometimes getting started can be a little overwhelming. I ended up seeing a Groupon for a brewing starter kit through Midwest Supplies, which he purchased.

I have so much admiration for my husband. He's one of those guys that is just so frustratingly good at everything he does. He is a God-loving family man, surfer, beer brewer, and so much more. His passion for his hobbies is contagious, hence my surfing and beer-loving self. He taught me to surf oh so many years ago, and now he's converted me to beer. What in the world.

Not surprisingly, while in Richmond, our new favorite hangout is Hardywood Park Craft Brewery. If you live in RVA, then please, GO THERE. They still have things going on during these (your) freezing cold Winter months. Last year when we went during the Summer they had a gaggle of food trucks. Every Thursday (more during the Summer). Everyone had their blankets set out, kids running around. It was so much fun for everyone. They also frequently have live music.

And continuing on this beer themed post, there's a movie on Netflix called Drinking Buddies. I loved it! It's an independent with Olivia Wilde (gorgeous), Jake Johnson (New Girl), Anna Kendrick (duh), and Ron Livingston (Office Space guy). I read that there was no actual script; all improv. Anyway, it's about two people that work in a brewery that are "just friends."

And also for throwback fun, that time we visited the Guinness Brewery in Dublin. (PS- do you know how delicious Guinness is straight from the source??)

Cheers!!