November Andventures and Thanksgiving

November has been a crazy month of relocating and establishing residency her in Oregon. I feel as though I have been going 100 mph and running in circles. However finally the dust has settled and life is seaming some what normal. All the finding of doctors, schools/day cares, work, stores and my way around town have come to a comfortable place and I feel life slowing down. Just in time for the holidays of course. Being away from home has been emotional for me but we have in a way started our own family traditions and made the best of Thanksgiving. I was going to make my first turkey but chose not to and the four of us went camping for Turkey Day. Yep, camping. It was a super special experience and tones of fun. I did some cooking at the camp site and we ordered a pre-made turkey that we reheated on the fire grill. The kids had so much fun and for the most part behaved. I am sure all of you are thinking that it was cold but it wasn't. We stayed at Nehalem Bay State Park in between Manzanita and Nehalem Bay OR. It is a large State park right on the ocean that provides tent, trailer, motor home, and YURT camping. We rented a YURT for 3 days, a round rubber like tent with electricity, heat, tables and chairs and beds. YURT stands for year round, universal, recreational, tent. It was a great experience and one that we hope to do again. The kids had so much fun out on the beach, in the yurt, camping, roasting marshmallows and exploring the outdoors. Our first night there two raccoons got into our ice chest withing the first ten minutes we were there so we learned quickly to keep the food inside. It rained part of the time but was also nice a few of the days.

Now that we are home and back to everyday life the pace has picked up a bit. I have finally started my new teaching position at Peace Learning Center and am happy to be back working with children. Not to mention saving money on day care costs. I am teaching in the toddler room on Mondays and Tuesdays and in the 2 1/2- 3 1/2 room with both Braden and Lily on Fridays. Meaning I get WED and THU off to be home with the kids and do my housewife duties.

But now that it is already December I can not wait to return home to Tahoe and see my family for a few days. Lily and I have been preparing for this trip for some time now and I cant wait. However I am also very excited to have our first Christmas here in Oregon as a family.

Photot to share

Braden and Lily siting in their toy box playing

Lily takes her baby to the park.

Lily the pretty princes


Her splint and sling before her hard pink cast

Big beach smiles from our little man
Sitting in the hospital ER room after braking her elbow.

New hobbies and Halloween

Things are slowly getting better and better. Braden is with us now and the children are always a struggle but worth every minute of it. We have not had much time to go out and do things but here are a few photos of what we have.Halloween Was fun and Lily was quite the trick-or-treater saying thank you and everything. However that night she also fell off the couch and fractured her elbow. She is handling it well but was not a big fan of the x-rays.

Are new hobby has been looking at and photographing the wild mushrooms that grow in our lawn it's pretty neat. Here are a few that we have found.

Settling IN

Lily and Chris walking on the beach

I do not have a ton of time to write posts but here is a quick up date. Work is going well and I am learning lost of stuff. Lily is doing amazing and has developed a attitude and a half that I am doing all I can to curb. She was Abby for Halloween and actual fell of the couch braking her elbow! She gets a hard cast tomorrow :-( I have been loving the different environment and all of its natural habitat, and beauty. Below are some pictures to share our trips to the beach, aquarium, daily life and more. Love you All!

A attempt of 3 person self photo

Chris's Octopus that is in the Seaside Aquarium


Lily loves all the BIG boats

There are tones of spiders everywhere AHHH

New Beginings

Finally a time in this blur I am calling life I have found the time to slow down enough, that I can share with the rest of my friends, family, and loved ones the adventures that have filled my life sense April.

My move in April was a little bumpy and the roommate situation did not work out out. However, it was between then and September that I made a loving comment to my boyfriend Chris and his son Braden.

With this comment the two of us made the decision to move our family to the North West Coast or Oregon. Even with all the signs showing amazing and wonderful outcomes the what was thought to be to good to be true home was not so good. So instead of settling in after our surprisingly fun, and bonding drive it was a hard, emotional, and disappointing first few days. Thankfully with lots of loving support, understanding, and hard work we were able to get into a place on Friday October 2end. It is not a 3 bedroom home with a large yard but it is a comfortable, safe new townhouse apartment in Warrenton OR.

Chris has been working since the 5th and I began work on the 8th. Meaning that Lily started a new daycare (without me)! Until things are settled Chris will will continue to work doing telecommunications and the get back out on the sea to do some fishing once the dust settles. I am currently working for a company named CRS a none profit organization that assist disabled adults. But am trying to get a teaching positioning at Peace Learning Center, Lily's day care in Astoria. Lily just loves it there and is doing so well. She is constantly blowing me away with her abilities and knowledge. One that I am very proud of is that she can correctly spell her name. MISS LILY.

The move

So I finally have gotten the time to write another post so the one that I had begun in march I just posted and never finished hope it shares a little of what has been going on in my life. For most of you there has been a lot of BIG changes in the past few moths and I am very excited to share them with you all.

School has been going great and I am doing amazing. I am in my second quarter of working towards my medical assisting certificate and still working on a ECE certificate as well. I am truly loving my new ability to learn and enjoy school and am so glad to have this opportunity.

Work has been wonderful also. I have been exploring great new activities and loving the spring weather. Children are amazing and fill my heart with so much joy. I am so blessed to be able to be with Lily and watch her as she grows, building life long friendships and begins to understand the world around her.

Okay moving on here is the big news!! As of the 19th of April I have moved out. I am now living with Nicole, a girlfriend who is also a single mother of an amazing little girl, Serenity, who is 2 weeks younger than Lily. Nicole and I are old time friends from elementary school. We reunited in child birth class and I happen to be her daughters preschool teacher. The girls are great friends and will hopefully be the best of friends for life. Pictures will be available soon. For now here are some fun photos of the 2nd b-day and more.

Changes!!

Changes are a part of life a means of survival. So this blog is all about the changes in my life. To start the few small changes here at Lily Bug and Me... as you've seen I changed the background and with it come a few little glitches. First is that a few of my old posts photos now over lap, and my list of other peoples blogs has been erased. Nothing big, I am working on fixing those problems.

Moving on to the big changes. I have finally fell into a salary teaching position at the college and am a classified employee. I am the afternoon toddler teacher and having so much fun. Here are a few pictures to share my fun filled days. A few of the kids having a pot and pan band and a few of the girls gathering in the playhouse. Children are such a blessing in everyday life. They warm your heart in so many ways! Not only do I get to watch them all grow but I am a taking part in helping these little people gain knowledge and life experiences. Having the amazing ability to be with Lily is also a once in a life time opportunity. She is growing so fast, talking, jumping, running, singing actual songs and developing friendships and trusting other adults. Like her wonderful am teacher Diana.

Talking about all these new changes for Lily brings us to our next life changes. It is March and that means that Lily will be turning 2 in less than a month!!!! Oh my how she has changed in the past few weeks. She is an amazing little girl full of lost of spunk, inelegance and heart. Just in the past month her vocabulary has more than doubled, her ability to communicate sky rocked and her comprehension is that of a young child not a toddler. She is speaking in full sentences, understands all directions, and engaging in imaginative play by her self. It is amazing. And she uses the potty! Not all the time but is doing a great job training her self.