Hot Hot Hot! – and this is just the temperature INSIDE the house. Outside it has been in the 90s almost every day (that’s about 32 degrees and above in celsius). I can deal with it for a couple of days (after all I AM and Aussie), but the house starts to really heat up after a couple of days. I am getting a little tired of sweating and the kids have started to fade. Thomas spent a day at daycare just sitting on the teacher’s lap.
Saturday was a crazy day. The three year old parties have well and truly begun for the summer and Saturday brought two parties and one very exhausted toddler (and mum).
The first was held at an outdoor pool at a private club which was really nice although we really didn’t make the most of the pool. Kei stayed home to paint and I am not quite ready to get into a bathing suit yet. It didn’t matter because Thomas wasn’t at all interested in the water – except to freak me out a little by playing too close to the edge. He chose to play with his friend Evan from daycare doing…well…the same thing they do every day at daycare.
The first party finished at 1pm – naptime. So Thomas fell asleep in the car as I predicted he would. I set up the picnic blanket on the front lawn when we got home, opened all the windows in the car and just let him sleep while I read a book. The car was parked under a tree so it wasn’t too hot. I have done this a few times lately because Thomas just isn’t dealing with the car to bed transition at naptime lately. Better to just let him sleep where he is.
The afternoon party was held at a toddler gym and, after taking some time to warn up. Thomas had a LOT of fun. He wasn’t really interested in the managed play – he preferred to freestyle. So as soon as they let them go on the play equipment he was off! This photo shows him copying the way the teacher crawled across the bars. I was very impressed with his flexibility and balance. Maybe he’ll be a gymnast. 🙂 Instead of a gift for the birthday boy, we were asked to bring a book for a book swap which is such a nice idea. So each child left with a gift from their friend’s party. That never happened when I was a child.
This is just the beginning of party season. Now that Thomas has more than one circle of friends, the party schedule has become a little nuts. There are at least 20 kids who could conceivably invite him to their birthday party this year which is just crazy. My solution is to be choosy about the ones we attend, stock up on books from Costco to use as gifts and try not to get too stressed out. Oh, and Thomas is not having a party this year. Instead, we’ll celebrate with family in Australia. That is one event I would rather avoid, especially when he’s unlikely to remember it in a couple of months.
Our renovation project is done! The final construction worker leaves today, the scaffolding is gone and the basement is free of building equipment. It has taken over 4 months but we are finally able to move upstairs…almost.
We decided to do the painting ourselves to save money so we have A LOT of painting to do. The trim is the worst part but I think we’ll just do the bare minimum and then worry about the rest after we’ve moved up. I just have to do the trim around the windows before they come to install our new blinds on Friday (so exciting!). A quick coat of paint on the bedrooms and we’ll be moving. Spreading out. Stretching our legs. Phew!
I can’t believe we’re there. It’s a little surreal but I will be so happy to have us each in our new bedrooms and get the playroom back. I am tired of having toys all over the house.
I haven’t taken a photo of the finished outside of the house yet but I have this quick before, during and after of the inside to commemorate this important day. Without the paint of course.
BEFORE – two bedrooms, one toilet, one tiny closet. No insluation and old windows that won’t open.
DURING – no walls, lots of dust.
AFTER – 3 bedrooms, 3 closets (one walk in), two extra windows and ALL of them open easily (can you say cross ventilation?), insulation and a FULL bathroom.
I am giddy with happiness. The space is so beautiful and even on these hot summer days, it has stayed relatively cool upstairs. And those are our original fir wood floors after being cleaned up and re-laid. Aren’t they gorgeous?
Now… back to the painting, and the yardwork and the cleaning and the… It will never end.
Hanging out in the new space. Samuel’s room to be exact. Although we haven’t moved in yet, Kei has begun working up there which explains the presence of Thomas’ little red table in the corner.
It took a lot of attempts before this self portrait was just right. Lots of out of focus, off center and just plain ugly photos preceeded this one. But I think I finally got it. Look at those chubby little cheeks.(Samuel’s I mean. Mine would be called jowls.)
Just a small glimpse at our brand new second floor. It is so close to being done. Just a little bit of outside work like gutters and some siding and it will be complete. Oh and then there’s the painting. Which we are doing ourselves. We may just be a little insane to have taken on this enormous task but hey, we’re saving about $6k. It will take us a while to paint everything (especially all the trim) but then we’ll have that sweet feeling of accomplishment. Or the overwhelming feeling of exhaustion. Or maybe both. 🙂
You are looking at the top of our stairs and the landing. Our bedroom is the door straight ahead with a bathroom and a closet off that. Samuel’s door is just to the right of that handrail that you can see straight ahead and Thomas’ room is behind. And don’t worry, the entire bannister will eventually be painted white. Along with all the trim. Yes – LOTS of painting in our future.
I am currently at stay at home mum which means I am responsible for picking up Thomas every day. This means I am also responsible for carrying on the tradition of the Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich. Having one of these bad boys on me when I collect Thomas means that we have a much easier time leaving and the walk home is much more pleasant (and quicker!).
Thomas is sitting on our brand new stroller. It’s a double stroller without the bulk of a double. Thomas can either sit or stand on the back and Samuel rides up front in his car seat. I LOVE my new stroller. In fact I think I love it more than if someone turned up on my doorstep and said that I had won an all expenses paid luxury trip to Bermuda. Yes, this stroller is better than a vacation. It’s just that good.
Samuel seems to have a very strong neck for a 7 week old. His favourite position is up on the shoulder so he can have a good look around at the world. Then when he gets tired he nuzzles in right under your neck to go to sleep. He loves that little nook and having him sleep there is the best feeling in the world.
OK – I get it now. I understand the obsession with the Twilight series of books. At first the subject matter didn’t sound at all appealing (a vampire love story aimed at a teen audience… huh?) and I was a little burned by my experience with Harry Potter. I saw the movies first so the books just weren’t that interesting for me. Much better the other way around when you can see the images in your head come to life on screen. Lesson learned – always read the book first.
I can honestly say that I am now well and truly obsessed. I have finished books 1 and 2 and am now well into the third. I just love getting caught up in some good reading. I even find myself finishing a chapter in the middle of the night while I am feeding Samuel. It’s the only thing that can keep me awake – although sometimes I find my imagination getting away from me while I try to get back to sleep. 3am shadows can be a little creepy when you’re reading about vampires.
The best part? I “discovered” these books just as the fourth and final book is about to be published. This suits me perfectly because I just hate waiting for sequels and I should have some great reading on the plane to Australia.
The movie is out later this year as well. Apparently it was filmed in Oregon but since I have been living under a rock I was not aware of this until recently.
The most inspiring part? The books were written by a mother the same age as me. She had a dream and then just went for it. Of course when I sauid to Kei that I could write a book and become a multi millionare like Stephanie Meyer he brought me back to earth with a thud. Apparently you need time, patience and the ability to write to make it happen. I just think you need the passion and a good story. I guess until I get those two things I’ll have to make do with a career in Internal Communications.
I have been in a little bit of a scrapping rut lately. I just haven’t been feeling inspired. It may have something to do with the constant haze I have been living in thanks to the little being who has been waking me up every two to three hours for the past seven weeks. I had this same feeling in the first trimester of my pregnancy and I just hate it. I want to create something desperately but it’s just not coming easily to me.
So to get back on the horse I decided to keep it simple. I have been focusing on my photography more and more so I figured I should maintain this focus in my layouts. Less stuff and more substance either through a great photo or some meaningful journaling. Here are a few of my latest pages and I am happy with them for the most part. I’m not quite there yet but I slowly feel my mojo returning.
This first one was a lift for the LRD blog. All images are clickable for credits.
I had to scrap this photo. I just love it!
This was a Raklift for Lauren’s CT. This month we lifted Darcy Baldwin.
This one is for the template challenge on Jen Wilson’s team blog.
This LO is posted on the LRD team blog right now and I actually really love it. It has the two elements I mentioned – A good photo and meaningful journaling. The team lifted a LO with a white background and the results are fantastic. Check out the blog for some very inspiring pages.
Seems my creativity is slowly returning. Slowly – but that’s good enough for now.
Nicole Ishida Photography 