City Trip & Quick #Pasta

Did everyone have a good weekend?  With the Thanksgiving Holiday we did enjoy a super long weekend.  We spent Thanksgiving in Portland, and on Friday drove up to...take a guess...

 ...yup, Seattle.  This is somewhat of an annual trip for us.  A fun way to start off the holiday season and Ron {my runner husband} loves to run the Seattle 1/2 Marathon.

We started the trip with a visit to the American Girl Place where each of the girls took a look the beautiful dolls.  Let me just say, that both now know what they will ask for from Santa ;).  And no, we did not make a purchase but still both girls said "this was the best day ever". Now that is what the parental units really wanted to hear :), oh yes a hotel with a nice pool and fantastic view sweetened the deal ...

One of the great things about travelling to Seattle is that we really do not have to worry about food choices for the girls.  A Whole Foods is in walking distance from the hotel, and vegan options, soy milk, etc.  are available in most restaurants. We even had vegan pancakes....- The girls rode the carrousel, we explored the city, and Ron had a fantastic run.  Take a look....

Oh, and yes I did make dinner last night.  Let me just call this Cheater's Quick Pasta Dinner.  A jar of Newman's Own Sockaroni Sauce {enhanced with some Paremsiano Rind}, a box of Farfalle Barialla Pasta, and a sprinkling of fresh parsley. Voila - perfect cheater's dinner plus leftovers for the lunchbox.  Hooray...does it not look fancy ;)

The last couple 2012 summer days...

we spent just lazily at home, and in Portland. On Thursday we took a long walk around our neighborhood, met the new teachers for the girlies {it will be great}, and - of course - spent a lot of time on the playground.

Ron and Mia Rose

Ron and I made dinner together {whoo-hoo - that does not happen very often and it was so much fun}; Summer Linguine with fresh corn, fresh tomatoes, and garlic - it was simple, but so good :)  We really need to do that more often, right?!

The 31st of August was our - tadahhh - 15 year anniversary.  The girls were so curious about it and wanted us to tell them the story about how we met over, and over again.  It was quite cute.  You know, the big question for them was "How did you meet if you did not grow up in the same country?"; "Mama did you always know English?"; "If you did not know each other, how did you talk with each other?".  It was really, really cute...OK, for us it was probably not for most of you :)  So we told them, and I will tell all of you as well.

We met in Chicago shortly after both of us moved to the city.  Ron from Wisconsin and me, well a little farther, from Germany. Our first date was at the Chicago Blues Fest, and from there on out we were inseparable {little did we know that we also share the same recessive gene for Classic Galactosemia - it was just meant to be :) } .  Yup, that is right :)  We got married outside on Labor Day weekend at the Cheney Mansion in Oaks Park, on a beautiful hot, late summer day.  It was a fun luncheon reception, and let's just say that both of us had a fantastic time.  We stayed in Chicago for a few more years, and then in 2002 moved to Portland, Oregon. This is where we are now - 15 great years later, two beautiful girls....

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That is us...

Oh, and just in case you are wondering we all went out to dinner last night.  It was Lardo - a food cart turned into a simple, rustic restaurant.  The parental units had desert from the adjacent food cart "Sugar Cube" while for the girlies we stopped at "Swirl" where both made their own desserts.  Dairy free Lemon-Strawberry sorbet topped with - Alena and Mia Rosie made it - Skittles, Nerds, and Marshmallows....

City Hike at Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge to Oaks Park Amusement Park...

You may know by now that this family likes to be outdoors.  We very much - well, okay three of us - love to hike; so a hike to the amusement park was perfect to keep everyone happy.  Mia Rose had been asking all week to go to Oaks Park so finally yesterday was the day.

We parked the car at the trail head to the Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge in SE Portland - Oaks Bottom another amazing gem in the middle of the city.  Walk down the trail and there is only nature around - it is one of our favorites.

Ron and I have come here since we first moved to Portland ten years ago.  I actually remember our first hike talking about what a great incentive it will be for our future children to hike Oaks Bottom with the incentive of a carrousel ride :)  Well, time flies and yes we have hiked with the girls before but this is the first time I actively remembered our very first hike...


The hike there was so much fun - Ron and the girls were looking for snakes while I happily walked ahead...

Look at those trails. It is so hard believe that this is in the middle of a large city, is it not?

Once we got there - there was all kids of fun to be had.

The girls hydrated with a Sprite for the hike along the Springwater Corridor via Oaks Bottom back to the car

And there was also a treat of ice "cream" at Staccatto Gelato in Sellwood with five different "safe" sorbet's to choose from :)

The girls milked a cow...

at Playmobile Funpark in Germany http://www.playmobil-funpark.de/en It was obviously not a real cow, but a life size playmobile cow :) We had so much fun!!!

Hello friends....

We drove drove up yesterday from the Lake of Constance to visit our friends in Nuremberg and to visit the Playmobile Park with both families.  The visit was so worth it - total fun for all.  Take a look at the pictures

Alena with the King and Queen (can you find her?)

Amazing water features

Can you find Alena on her way off the Pirate ship?

Can you find Alena on top of the climbing structure?

Mia Rose milking a cow

And finally dinner at a brewery in Nuremberg http://www.erlebnisgastronomie-nuernberg.de/ -> it was Pommes Frites and Nuernberger Wuerstchen for our ladies :)

Urban hike on a sunny Sunday

Yesterday it was three more sleeps to the last day of school, and four more sleeps until we leave for Germany.  Yikes - where did the time go?!  Anyways, we were just so glad that it was finally a sunny day again.  You certainly know by now that we really like to be outdoors - so it was the perfect day for a hike, but we really did not want to drive anywhere. So we planned to walk from our house to Burgerville - a guilty pleasure before our trip to Europe - stop at the playground and back.  Just so you get an idea of distance, it is about 45 blocks from our house to Burgerville.  So it is a good distance for the girls.

Our butterfly Alena led the way as we strolled through the neighborhoods, admired the flowers and gardens.

The girlies were pretty happy when we reached or destination and they got to indulge on their Hamburger Kid's Mean {yes, it is "Galactosemia" safe}.  They even got to drink a rare soda as a treat for the fantastic walking job....

On the way back up, yes it is uphill to get back home, we first stopped at a playground with lot's of monkey bars before walking back.  Luckily we found a couple of swings on the way....

Since it really is a very good distance for the girls to walk we stopped not only for foot massages

 but also at the food carts on Division in search of treats.  We were so excited, because we found an ice cream cart that only sells vegan ice cream.  What about that?!  Is that not absolutely awesome?! All 100% vegan and galactosemia safe for our girlies.  Whoo-hoo, plus 100% delicious - yay, yay, yay that was such an unexpected happy surprise when the owner told us that ALL of his ice cream is vegan. Check it out ->  http://oregonice.com/

Alena enjoyed a scoop of Marionberry, while Mia Rose enjoyed Mango-Pineapple. Yum, yum, yum...

Oh, and yes we did take the bus for the remaining 20 blocks back.  We had lot's of fun in the sun :)

Friday Night Dinner Out...

at the Hedgehouse. After these last couple of days dinner out was much needed, well at last by me. The girlies had their usual (P)A.B.ST. Sandwich without the Provolone before playing in the grass. Oh, and just in case you were guessing...yes, that is me next to Alena.

Family night out...

Ron had this great idea to go see the Lorax at the Bagdad this Friday night.  I love that place -> http://www.mcmenamins.com/219-bagdad-theater-pub-home mellow, kid friendly, you can have a pizza, and enjoy a drink while watching a movie.  Yesterday however, we first at at the pub before heading over to the movie theater to watch the Lorax. The girlies each had a hamburger - without the bun as all bread options had some type of milk in it...

The girls chose our seats upstairs, on the balcony.  Let's just say it was a great choice.  Comfy chairs,  sofa's and a great movie.  We love the Lorax.  Such a great message - it was actually the second time we saw it...

On the way home we were in for a special treat as we saw this beautiful rainbow.

Yesterday late day - today dentist

Just a couple of days in our ordinary lives...Portland Public Schools a.k.a. "PPS" start two hours late once a month.  Yesterday was that day and it ended up as an unplanned as well as first "bring your kids to work day".  Why, well...OK if you really want to know I will tell you.  After  almost an entire school year completed, I was under the impression that the girls would be in school by 9:45 and therefore made an appointment at ten in my downtown office. As we were getting ready in the morning something felt strange and that is when it hit me.  Yes,  school starts at 10:35 and there is no way for me to make the meeting plus have the girls in school in time. So that is how the girls ended up in my office yesterday for our inaugural "bring your kids to work day".

Today we were on time in school, however both girls had a dentist appointment. So today I picked both of  them up before lunch.  Luckily both really like to go - it must be the prizes

Mia Rose was determined to sit in the pink chair

As the lunch break at school was already over we stopped at Whole Foods for lunch.  The selection is amazing, plus every ingredient listed, and allergens are declared - it sure makes life so much easier. After lunch the girls went back to school, and dinner?  A sunny day in Portland, and the entire family was home a perfect day to  go to the Hedgehouse. We all get to sit outside and the kids have time to run in the grass...Oh, and in case you are wondering what they ate, it was the usual P.A.B.S.T. Sandwich without the "P" so Avocado, Bacon, Tomato Sandwich  - the "P" stands for Provolone which - of course - was not on their sandwich...

Root Beer and A.B.S.T. 

You may remember from my prior posts the place next to the Hedgehouse.  If you guessed Pix Patisserie you are right?  Both kids were determined to have dessert, and today there was a great day for "milk free" people at Pix. Six different, vegan sorbet's to choose from.  Whoo-hoo...now who says kids with Galactosemia never get to eat dessert out?!

Strawberry Sorbet

Thursday Night Dinner at a Brew Pub

the Hedgehouse in SE Portland to be exact. The weather has been crazy - pouring rain by the bucket, hail, drizzle and by late afternoon sunshine. Yes, there was sunshine when wie arrived at the Hedgehouse and wie decided to sit outside. We were actually the only outdoor guests. I guess nobody else trusted the weather. And...we did not get rained on. The girls got to play outside before dinner - Avocado Bacon Tomato Sandwich with chips - was served, and we also ate outside. And the drinks? Well, you know when in a brewery one must drink beer - that is also true for my girlies and that is why they each got to enjoy a root beer...

Here is the info about the Hedgehouse -> http://www.newoldlompoc.com/hedgehouse_home.html

Friday Night Dinner -> Out

and we went to Dick's Kitchen on Belmont in SE Pdx for the first time. Wow - how could it have taken us this long to try out this restaurant? Fantastic burgers, sliders for the kiddos but you know what is the most fantastic thing about this restaurant? All - yes all - buns, and also sides vegan. Whoo-hoo!!! That makes this mother's heart sing; Galactosemia safe bread = burgers with a bun for the girlies :))) And yes, the burgers and buns are amazing...There are two locations in Portland - here is the link http://www.dkportland.com/

Do you know what is next door to Dick's Kitchen? No? I will tell you, St. Cupcake and so you know what that means? Yes, dessert for the girlies...a Big Cookie 'n Cream Vegan Cupcake for Alena, and a small Vanilla with Chocolate Frosting Vegan Cupcake for Mia Rose. Happy girlies and Happy Mama :)))

Sunday hike and dinner out

It has been sunny in the great Pacfic Northwest and yes, the entire weekend long.  Nothing can keep us inside all day and we had to get out.  A perfect time for a family hike.  Today we went across the river to Camas, Washington for a hike I found in our "Northwest Oregon" hiking guide.  What an amazing hike - complete with a couple of waterfalls, lily meadow - just about to bloom -, and a fantastic playground.  http://www.portlandhikersfieldguide.org/wiki/Lacamas_Park_Lily_Field_Hike We took the trail to "Pothole Falls", then to the Lower Falls, to the Lilly Field, and then returned back across the dam. Both of our girls are good walkers - and yes, Mia Rosie did fuzz a little, but the prospect of the playground made it all better.  We looked for fairy hideouts, smelled blooming skunk cabbage - no one enjoyed the scent ;) -  and listened to the birds sing in the forest.

Our hike leader

In the meadow

Mother-daughters hug

For dinner we drove back to Southeast Portland and ate the Country Cat http://thecountrycat.net/ which is a great restaurant but admittedly does not have a lot of Galactosemia safe choices for our girls.  The

Fun on a no school day...

every so often we do not have school due to a teacher planning day and yesterday - Friday - was the day. We left early as we had a meeting at PSU.  The meeting actually did not involve me, just the girls as a couple of Graduate Students from the Speech Department at PSU are working to put together a teaching video regarding speech therapy and bilingual children.  Alena's speech therapist at school asked whether we would be interested, as we are bi-lingual (German/English).  The girls gave it a thumbs up.  Alena's session was already taped last week, and it was Mia Rosie's turn yesterday.  In any case, so we started our day downtown Portland spending time at the PSU Campus.

Our next stop was at the house at one of our friends for lunch, and playdate time.  Yay - my friend made us lunch - all Galactosemia safe - and even got vegan cupcakes for the girlies.  How can that not be a success, right?  All of us need fresh air, and exercise to the next stop was the playground...

Mia Rose found a treasure in the sandbox 

Alena taking a break from the monkey bars in the sand...

and yes, there is more because there still is dinner, right?!  For dinner the three of us went back to downtown Portland and met Ron for dinner at the Deschutes Brewery Pub.  Dairy free pizza for the ladies....

Pizza Night at

A Pizza Scholl's - house salad to start followed by a sausage-onion pizza of which one half we ordered without cheese. This must be the best Pizza in town, the entire family loved it.

We had a great dinner out. Ron had the great idea to walk to the restaurant. On the way there the girls feasted on chives, and on the way home we stopped at the Albina Press for coffee and hot chocolate. Ok - Mia Rose had a vanilla soy steamer, Alena had the soy hot chocolate (we always double check to make sure that the chocolate used is vegan). I have to say that walking to the restaurant made this dinner even better. Yes, rain and all...

First "Al fresco" dinning of 2012

took place on March 1st, 2012 at the Hedgehouse in Southeast Portland. Look at that sky, the sun, oh and did I mention the cute sunglasses?! - This is a fun brew pub with a large grassy are for the girls to play, great adult beverages, and good plus "safe" food.
We have been going there for years and never had a bad experience, or had any up issues because of the girls diet. The breads from Grand Central Bakery - safe - chips are plain potato chips - check, safe, and their favorite sandwich is the Avocado-Bacon-Tomato Sandwich. It usually comes with Provolonne, but we explain to the server and they have always been super nice about it. Oh, and you know what Is next to the Hedgehouse? Pix - fantastic desserts most of them are unsafe, but there is always sorbet, and fruit pate. So after dinner the girlies had some Lychee Sorbet....
Here is the info for both places http://www.newoldlompoc.com/hedgehouse_home.html and Pix http://www.pixpatisserie.com

An entertaining weekend...

recap on this rainy Monday morning.  We had another fun weekend and I did not cook one meal the entire weekend.  Can you believe it?!  Not one meal - besides breakfast on Saturday morning....I probably should not admit to that, right?! So what did we do? 

We spent our Saturday as usual, with the girls going to the Sophie Scholl German Immersion Saturday School, and me working while they are there.  After school, we met Ron at Porque No in Southeast Portland for lunch, and then went back home to relax.  The sitter around 5 pm, took the girls to the playground, made them dinner, etc. while Ron and I went on a date.  Fun was had by the entire family!  

For Sunday we went out for lunch - again - to the girls most favorite places.  Do you know what it is?  Do you want to guess?  No, ok, ok...here is a picture of Mia Rose at the restaurant

Do you know where this is?  Yes, it is the occasional fast food at Burgerville.  The girls certainly enjoyed their Hamburger Kid's Meal along with a - very, very rare treat of an orange soda.  And yes,  it is galactosemia safe :)  Just in case you are interested here is the link to the allergen information on the Burgerville Website http://www.burgerville.com/our-food/special-dietary-needs/

We followed up the fun with a trip to the movie theater where we saw The Lorax in 3-D.  It Ron's fabulous idea - and I have to say it was a fantastic movie.  No, no worries I am not about to start reviewing movies - but we all enjoyed it very much.  What however is a visit to the movies without popcorn, right?  Even if you have just eaten lunch...

here is Mia Rose ready for the movie, and eating the family pop corn.  By the way,  at the concession stand they made a new batch just for us which was popped right into our bag.  The seasoning did contain lactose.  We all very much appreciated the extra effort by the staff.   The key as always is to ask.  People almost always want to help.  Oh, oh and before I forget here is the link to the movie http://www.theloraxmovie.com/index.php#/splash

Sunday concert fun

After our amazing breakfast - courtesy of Ron :) - we headed downtown Portland for our last concert of this year's Kids Concert Series of the Oregon Symphony at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall .  Each concert in this series has a different theme.  This ones was "Castles & Wizards" and it was - as all the concerts - wonderful. Here is the link with a brief description http://tickets.orsymphony.org/single/EventDetail.aspx?p=1686

Take a look at the girlies - not quite sure....

...and wearing their crowns.

This one is after the concert together with...

...Princess Orange who by the way performed "Almost there" by Randy Newman from the movie "Princess & the Frog".  Both girls were just in awe by the princess a.k.a. Pam Mahon who is also the narrator extraordinaire of the Kids Concert Series.

Now, you just know what comes after the concert, right?  Yes, dinner out.  We have been going to Pastini's downtown Portland, but we - the parental units - felt like something different.  So we headed back to Southeast Portland and went to Hoda's Middle Eastern Restaurant.  http://www.hodas.com/ As you probably know, our girls eat all beans, legumes, fruits, veggies including garbanzo beans and both love Hummus.  We feasted family style and it was enjoyed by the four of us.  One word of caution, if you omit milk do not eat the Baba Ghanjoue  as it contains milk.

Here is a picture of the girlies after dinner...

...their smiling faces make my heart sing :)