Monthly Archives: March 2008

P365 Day 77 – March 17th 2008

This is Thomas all nice and clean after his bath and “pretending” to be asleep for the camera.

Now that we have moved his bedroom downstairs we can hear just how long it takes Thomas to go to sleep at night. Usually he lies in bed singing, pretending to read in the dark or talking to the 10 or 12 toys he has taken to bed with him that night. I usually let him continue for about 30 minutes before I go in there to tell him it’s time to go to sleep. The funny thing is that when he hears me open the door he gets down under his covers and makes snoring sounds so I will think he’s asleep. It’s so funny because he can’t help doing it without a smile on his face and his fake snoring is actually quite good (must be all that time listening to his father). This kid cracks me up. 🙂

P365 Day 76 – March 16th 2008

Saying goodbye to our house the way it is.

The porta potty has arrived (for the workers, not for us) and the dumpster will be delivered by the time we get home. Who knows what else will have transpired by then, but I do know that our lives are about to get just a little more crazy.

I took this photo of our upstairs hallway. The space is so pokey that it’s impossible to get a clear picture of the space. This is the view from our bedroom to the stairs.

There are so many things I hate about our second floor:

  • Thomas’ tiny 9×9 bedroom
  • The teeny tiny little toilet room that I hate using
  • The fact that we have just one hot wire that powers the lights so everything is on pull cord
  • The lack of elecrtrical outlets (and the fact that the one in Thomas’ room doesn’t work at all)
  • No insulation – Stinking hot in summer and freezing in winter – and heating in only one room.
  • The fact that opening a window takes super human strength
  • The one closet that fits most of my clothes but none of Kei’s

But on the other hand… this is the very first house we bought together – just two years ago, warts and all. I painted Thomas very first bedroom myself, 9×9 is a cute size for a nursery and I like living without dust and construction.

So I have mixed feelings… but admittedly they are leaning very strongly to one side. Bring it on!

I’m making a list…

I frequent a blog called Cool Mum Picks and I really should stop looking. There is just too much fun stuff that I want. Not NEED – Just WANT. (Don’t worry Kei – I am just window shopping right now). I keep telling myself that I am just trying to fill the gaping hole left by the lack of frilly, pink, girly things in my life. 🙂 

Fun T-Shirts and onesies from a company called Green with Whimsy who specialize in eco-friendly clothing with a fun message. I especially love these two designs. Perfect for Boys.

I could also see Thomas wearing this

And love the idea of getting one of these for each of them with their names in the ABC to hang in the playroom.

 

Oh, and how sweet is this?

I did fill part of the hole by buying some new baby stuff for Mummy on Sunday. My old diaper bag is looking very shabby thanks to about two years of continuous daily use so on Sunday I headed alllll the way over to SE Portland (seriously about 10 minutes) to peruse the special sale at Queen Bea Creations, makers of the fabulous Chickpea Diaper bags. All bags are handmade out of soft vinyl that looks like leather. See – my purchases are helping to save the planet! OK, that was a stretch.

I picked up this little gem for about $20 off – still expensive but hey, I don’t have to buy any baby clothes. 🙂 Mine is green, not turquoise. Thomas helped me pick it out – while I was trying to prevent him from being trampled by bargain shoppers.

It came with one of these little changing pads for free. (gotta love free!)

 

I also bought a small tote bag – just for me. Not Mummy related in any way. Mine is actually brown with little pink flowers like cherry blossoms. VERY girly thank you!

I just love looking at fun baby stuff. Wish I had the money to buy it all but I’ll settle for a new second floor on our house. Construction starts tomorrow and I am a little nervous but very excited. I’ll send pics of the demolition phase. Should be quite a spectacle.

Nicole

Digiland and CT news

A few things to share:

Lauren has just relased her full 365 Remembered series. There are three separate bundles to buy, each containing four months of kits and templates.

Tara is celebrating St Patrick’s day by giving away a copy of her “You Shamrock” kit. All you have to do is leave a comment on her blog.  Here’s a page I made with this very cute kit.

And, really? Only two views on this LO? I guess it doesn’t pay to upload on the weekend. 🙂

I posted a fun little piece of Mojo on Lauren’s CT blog today – you can check it out here.

And here’s a LO I made with Lauren’s latest kit – a fabulous boy kit called Sexy Tractor. I think my favourite part of the kit is the alpha. You can expect to see a lot more of that one. 🙂

I also splurged a little and bought my very first Dani Mogstad kit since I left the team. It kills me that I need to buy her kits now but they are just so good that I couldn’t resist. It’s a little bit girly but I felt an urge to brighten up my day and the colours were calling me.

And that’s a wrap folks. Have a great Monday.

Nicole

P365 Day 75 – March 15th 2008

I just love the colours in this photo – and the fact that I was able to get a good shot even though Thomas kept moving towards the camera. 🙂

P365 Day 74 – March 14th 2008

This is a daily ritual in our house. As soon as I get home from work Thomas asks for some milk and we sit and cuddle on the couch while he drinks it. I love this time we spend together and I hope it can continue to some extent after the new baby arrives.

P365 Day 73 – March 13th 2008

I know he’ll hate me for this when he gets older but I thought it was important for me to create a record of where we seem to be spending a lot of time lately. The good news is that Thomas is showing an interest in the potty. The bad news? I can see that it’s going to be a very long process. I’m hoping he will just wake up one day and get it. Preferably before I am forced to change diapers for two kids.

P365 Day 72 – March 12th 2008

Decluttering.

With our renovation starting on Monday, Kei and I have been busy tring to get the house ready. Translation: purging everything possible to make room for the three of us downstairs. Here is part of my contribution to last night’s declutter – cleaning out the catalogues. This is about half of the final purge pile. And I cleaned them out just two months ago.

There are a few things that bother me about living in the States – one of them is the enormous amount of everyday waste. And a big contributer to that waste is the endless supply of catalogues that come through the mailbox. Oh, I admit I am partly to blame. I signed up for Pottery Barn (not sure why – I can never afford anything) and maybe a clothing catalogue or two. The problem is that these things are like rabbits and seem to multiply before your very eyes.

“Oh, seems you recently requested a birth certificate for your newborn – how about we send you this Fischer price catalogue to add to your growing pile of stuff?… Well, if you like Fischer Price you must LOVE this random catalogue of very expensive children’s clothes that are WAY beyond your income level… Come on… who wouldn’t pay $60 for a little girl’s swimsuit? (!!!!)… and whle you’re at it we should just add you to the mailing list for a catalogue of random crap… You can thank me later…”

So my contribution to reducing the impact? I wrote down the names and phone numbers of about 15 catalogues I no longer want to receive (not Pottery Barn. I LOVE Pottery Barn). Tomorrow I am going to dial those 15 numbers (Toll Free of course) and remove myself from the mailing list. And I am determined to continue this practice – slowly reducing the number of catalogues that come through the mail until I am down a few inspiring favourites.

May have to keep that kids clothing catalogue though. I was just waiting to spend $70 on the right pair of toddler size shoes for Thomas to grow out of in two months…

P365 Day 71 – March 11th 2008

Warning – Contains Potty Talk

We had a big night in the Ishida house. For the VERY first time, Thomas pooped on the potty. Oh, he has dabbled before. He peed a couple of times after sitting there for twenty minutes. He even peed NEXT TO the potty last week. But last night was the real thing!

He told me he didn’t want to pee in his diaper and then that he didn’t want to use the potty. I then explained that those were really his only two options and he said “OK – Potty”. And then he Pooped – on the potty!

We have started a reward system where he gets a marble everytime he uses the potty. When his little jar is full, Thomas can trade the marbles for a toy of his choice. He has had the jar for about three months now and, as you can see, it hasn’t been a huge success yet. Two of the marbles mark this particular occassion. He has been showing renewed interst lately though. We have been reading potty training stories – most of them involving Sesame street characters.

I am way more excited about this than I should be. In fact it is right up there with my anticipation about the Wiggles concert next week. Yes – those Aussie men in colourful skivvies.

And to think I once used to get excited about silly things like going out to dinner and traveling. Oh how life has changed