time to say good-bye

Today we took Haruka our house guest of 6 months to the airport. I think she had a good experience. I hope she had a good experience. She lived in Portland for 1 year learning and observing in an American elementary school. She'll take those experiences back to Japan and finish university to become a middle school or high school teacher by next year this time. Looking forward to hearing about her future adventures.

that's my girl

gutter ball or no gutter ball she has a great time throwing that big heavy ball.


i'd love to bowl at this bowling alley and we definitely can't wait to visit the newly remodeled grand central restaurant and bowling lounge. maybe we'll add it to the spring break to do list.

Freezer Paper Stencils AGAIN?

I can over dose on freezer paper stencils every once in awhile but I always come back to it.

Can you believe that all 3 of my children's teachers are pregnant right now. What are the odds? I made this cute skateboard onesie for Hunter's teacher who is having a boy very soon.


I couldn't resist making these two 0-3 month onsies were for our neighbors new baby. It's their 3rd boy! They were totally high school sweet hearts in the 80s with a tendency towards the finer art of hard rock. I'm not sure but I suspect there was some mullet action going on back then.

Happy Monday!

Random Sunday

I've lost my voice. Literally and figuratively. There are so many things I want to say but I'm having trouble expressing them. The fact that I'm consumed by a volunteer obligation for our elementary school and that our nice camera is still waiting for a back ordered part is starting to wear and tear on me. I most definitely appreciate the opportunity of not having to work right now so that I can focus on the kids and school. However, in good ol'Sarah fashion I keep volunteering and soon it becomes a full time job and I'm turning on the TV to occupy the kids while I complete my volunteer obligations. WHAT???? Also, taking pictures with the ok camera while the other one is in the shop isn't as much fun so capturing life in our household has been slow lately.

Here's for a random Sunday.

Our overnight trip to the Portland Ace Hotel.


Shells I collected on Shuuki's Beach in Japan.
6x6 Ikea Shadow Box Frame.

Travel Swap - BRAZIL!!!!

Angela this was my favorite swap yet. I am still so excited that I had a swap partner from Brazil!

I love everything.. the picture book of Sao Paulo, the photo album she made me, the hand crafted goodies, the crafting bag full of the cutest buttons and ribbons, Brazilian candy and exotic juice boxes. I'm crazy about passion fruit. I love it in desserts, drinks, and anywhere else I can get it but it's either so hard to find or is very expensive here in Oregon. So, I'm really enjoying my passion fruit juice and candies.


Check out these handmade goodies. The three flowers are pins and they are going to look so good all together on both me and Bryn.

Why are we drawn to maps? All kinds of maps. The Sao Paulo map is the cover of the photo book. I will most definitely save it for those future Brazil travel photos.


I'm a label girl. Each of her items were intimately wrapped with their own little note. Especially fun to open the packages that said "Surprise No 1 and Surprise No 2." So much anticipation.

I had so much fun sending my package to Angela and receiving hers. I'm still thinking of items I should have sent her. You can check out what I sent Angela here.

obrigado Angela (did I get that right)! You've got me dreaming of Brazil.

Food & Aliens not Alien Food

I heard the interview with Michael Pollan on NPR about his new book In Defense of Food and couldn't wait to read it. Allison bought the book the other day and I'm sure she'd share but I couldn't resist when I saw it on the shelf at Powells the other day . In fact, I'm down right proud of myself for only walking out with one book for myself.

After deceiving my kids for weeks now with Deceptively Delicious recipes like pancakes with pureed sweet potatoes and mac'n'cheese with pureed cauliflower, I'm very curious and conscious about what I'm feeding my family. Please disregard Mondays mention of feeding my kids a hot dog Costco dinner. Moderation. Everything in moderation.

The whole book summed up by Michael Pollan, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." I think he wrote that as a reminder just for me.

Now onto aliens.....

I also just finished The True Meaning of Smek Day by Adam Rex. It's a memorable book to have on the shelf for those tween years. The adventures of an 11-year girl and her friend (a Boov alien) during two alien invasions. How she saves the world and is wise enough not to take the credit.

Here's a little piece of Boovish History:
400 years ago--Art is replaced by Entertainment.
350 years ago--Entertainment is replaced by Talking About Entertainment
325 years ago--Talking now almost always occurs over vast distances--on phones, or by computer. Face to face communication is carried out mostly by t-shirt. (167)

Mommy Monday

The other day while out and about with Hunter after a doctor's appointment he told me, "Your day is really boring". Ouch! I never feel bored more like overwhelmed sometimes with so many little tasks that need to happen every day. Meg said it best, "...i feel like i'm swimming through molasses." That's exactly how I feel some days.

A Mommy Monday ~
6:30 - wake up.. fold laundry(turn on TV to see who won Oscars).. wake up kids.. breakfast(read 3 pages of most recent Smithsonian).. iron kid clothes(because they sat in the clean laundry pile too long).. get dressed.. kids to school with 3 minutes to spare.. gym.. visit home of a potential Japanese intern host family.. Powells Book Store to pick up gifts for interns leaving soon(they are short 5 books-also purchased In Defense of Food).. pick up Gray from preschool.. visit Powells on Hawthorne to find more books (they have 2 but can't find them).. home for lunch.. fold more laundry.. check email and bloglines.. Sean calls he forgot his gym shoes.. trip downtown with Gray to drop off shoes.. shower.. more laundry.. pick up Japanese Interns for ESL class.. bank.. car wash.. Sean calls again to say, "I Love You and your a great mom" (I needed that).. straighten house.. pick up kids from Meegans (thanks for the great play date).. straight to Costco for Haruka's eye appointment (and a wholesome family dinner).. home for homework and piano.. crawl into bed with Gray for cuddles and fall asleep.

Not a boring day just a busy day. I'm dedicating the rest of the February to not feeling overwhelmed.

the first day of the next 10 years (or 120 months)

Thank you so much for all the phone calls, cards and emails yesterday. It was a very memorable 10th anniversary.

We had to adjust a few of our plans last night and un-invite family for dinner due to illness in the house but we ended up ordering take-out from Nicolas. The restaurant we ate at on our first date. The last ahhhhh for the week I promise.

This morning while performing our regular morning routines of Sean making his coffee, me finding socks for everyone to wear, and telling Hunter to brush his teeth for the 6th time Sean leaned over and said, "today is the first day of the next 10 years". Even though it's a day like any other around here I was excited by the idea of the many adventures that await our family!

i heart today. p.s. happy birthday oregon

Yes we did get married on Valentine's Day. Please insert ahhhhh here. Just joking. I knew our wedding day was just right when Sean held my hand during the ceremony and his hand was as sweaty as mine. another ahhhhh.

Actually, it was really just a matter of finding a 3-day weekend because I was in the middle of school and Sean was just starting his business. We ended up taking a 3-day mini-moon to Black Butte Ranch. I think we'll do a real honeymoon for our 20th anniversary.

Nowadays we celebrate this special day with our kids at home. We tried to go out for dinner on Valentine's Day in the beginning but since we have to share this day with everyone else if felt more right to be at home with our family.

10 year recap
3 moves

3 babies

4 pregnancies

2 house remodels

1 college graduation

3 businesses started(1 successful, 1 dissolved, and 1 on hold)

3 brothers who have lived on our couch

0 Cinquini sister-in-laws produced

4 cousins

6 international house guests

many wonderful memories of being with friends and family

the next 10 years
1 high school graduation

3 teenagers

a family trip to Japan with Aunty Lulu

celebrate turning 40

a honeymoon

learn Japanese together

maybe a few more sister-in-laws and cousins?

invest in high quality folding chairs for all those sporting events

the opportunity to show our kids the world

I love you Sean. You're a great dad and my perfect companion.

p.s. Happy Birthday Oregon

Rituals and Traditions

So I'm not totally clear on the difference between rituals and traditions. I've always thought of traditions as being related to holidays but my more grown up self believes traditions are an extension of our rituals and they can create uniqueness of our individual selves or family.

Rituals on the other hand are something I've never really paid much attention to before but recently I have become very aware of them. I've begun to depend on them. They create a sense of structure and security in my life that I'm desperately craving right now. Like Wednesday mornings at Colleens house. After I drop off the kids at school I drive straight to my friend Colleen's house. Her house is a place of sanctuary for me where a delicious breakfast and great conversation await. After breakfast we usually head to her sewing room where we sew, craft, and mostly talk. I absolutely love it.

It was at Colleen's that I finally finished my first cute skirt. I've never really worn orange before and I'm loving it. I especially like saying "I made it" every time sometimes says "cute skirt".

Future Polar Bears

For not feeling like I've been accomplishing much recently I got a lot done today which feels good especially for a Friday. The highlight though was putting my Travel Swap package in the mail and its on the way to Angela in Brazil right now.

I also played around a little with ilife and put together this 4 four minute clip of our trip to Mt. Hood last weekend. Actually, it's only one part of the trip but you'll get an idea for how much fun we all had together.

I'm still figuring out ilife and keep forgetting that once on youtube it's not displayed in high def like on my computer. It's kind of grainy and kind of long. Sorry. My great accomplishment was actually getting the music and Bryn's feet to stomp in rhythm and I'm pretty happy with the ending. Enjoy.



Sean has free box tickets to this on Saturday night. I can't wait to hear about it.

Hearts for February

Blah Blah Blah January. I'm glad it's over because I was so unmotivated the last two weeks of January. It didn't help that it snowed everywhere in Oregon this week except the eastside of Portland! Which is so rough because it's cold and I do not like the cold unless I get to enjoy the snow.

Instead of enjoying a good snow day I've been dreaming of warm Hawaii and all the lush tropical fruit we ate. In fact I would say a good 20% of our vacation was dedicated to visiting farmer markets and trying new fruits. I'm definitely dreaming of 5 papayas for $1. Hunter trying Coconut Milk (water) for the first time. Avocados the size of Grayson's head. Sean attacking a pomelo for the first time. Grayson asking "if the rambutans were living sea creatures."

Looking forward to a very productive month. In sticking with my RRR Challenge I've decided not to buy one piece of fabric, paper or craft supply until I have finish five projects already underway or that I can complete by using my stash of supplies. First up is a set of freezer paper stenciled baby tees for the neighbors new baby. Skateboard, Flames, and AC/DC.

Here's to a happy productive heart filled February.