Monthly Archives: April 2009

Classic – April 2nd 2009

We have a claw foot tub that doubles as a shower. Our house was built in 1923 and the claw foot tub fits the style of the house and I love its size and depth. It also doubles as a shower and, until we completed renovations last year, this was the only shower in the house. As someone who loves her shower, I can honestly say that using this shower was one of the least pleasant experiences in my day. It had a shower curtain – actually three shower curtains – that wrapped around the entire bath. The curtains had to hang inside to stop the water from dripping on the floor and when the heat came on, the air pressure would force the curtains to move in and stick against my body. It was claustrophobic and uncomfortable and only became more and more of a problem as I grew more and more pregnant.

Now we have a beautiful shower upstairs, fully tiled with a single pane of glass acting as a shower screen and no shower door. It’s like heaven.

The only question in my mind right now is where should our guests shower? My brother and his fiancee are visiting in a few weeks and I am trying to work out the living arrangements. Do I give them the entire bathroom downstairs so they have their own space, shower curtains and all? Or should they use our shower which is directly off our bedroom and a little less private but a much more pleasant showering experience?

These are the questions that are keeping me up at night. Not the economy or the war in Iraq – it’s all about bathroom usage.

A Connection – March 31st 2009

It is so cute watching them together now that Samuel is a little more aware of Thomas. And now that Thomas is not always trying to get Samuel away from his toys. Every now and again I see a small preview of what I hope will be a wonderful relationship between these two boys.

A Guest Gig and an Old Friend

I am so excited to be guest scrapping for Paislee Press this month. I just adore her clean and simple designs. Of course I had very little to choose from in the store because I already own most of it. Nevertheless I just couldn’t pass up these goodies that were just made for a photographer.

 

I’ve  jumped right in and made a couple of pages. Focus on photos and a minimalist design. Takes the pressure off and I love the results.

I also started deigning for an old digi friend this week. Holly McCaig has started designing again for Two Peas and was looking for someone to help promote her kits. Of course I put up my hand, started immediately and promptly fell in love with this background paper and frame.

In other scrapping news… I am still going strong with the P52 project at Jen Wilson Designs. Her store has been down but the challenges continue to be inspiring.

I also entered the “So You Think You can Scrap” contest…

…and then began to wonder where I would find the time for all of this. I may just be a little crazy. I’m already half way through the contest though and the kits they are offering for 50% off are just too cute to pass up. 

It’s an illness.

All the better to eat you with – March 30th, 2009

I know it’s a terrible photo. Samuel looks a little freakish and the light is missing from his eyes so they look like cavernous holes in the middle of his head…

…but seriously, check out those enormous teeth!

Watching and Waiting – March 29th, 2009

This is Samuel’s favourite place to be now that the sun has finally come out. It buys me at least 10 minutes while he keeps himself occupied watching whatever is happening out in the front yard. Of course if that something happens to be his Daddy and brother playing, contentedness soon turns to frustration and then anger until we let him out to play. Samuel sure knows how to get his point across.

Davis Family Session

I was so thrilled with my first family photo session that I relished the opportunity to do it again. Of course I was nervous. What if the first time was a fluke? What if I lucked out with an extremely photogenic family? What if I really can’t success without that fabulous green chair?

Yes, I was nervous and conditions were less than ideal (Hail (yes, hail) and a toddler who ran out of patience), but I realized that what I love about taking photos is the ability to capture the moment – not the perfect smily photo, but images that reflect real life.

I am just so happy with the moments I managed to capture for this family – complete with the surly 3 year old.

This is quite possibly my favourite…

And this one is a close second. One of those moments where I walked outside, turned around, and there was the photo. I was being pounded by hail, but it was definitely worth it.

And then the hail stopped just long enough for me to catch a photo of little Iver sitting up for the very first time. I hope they always remember that moment when they look at the photo.

I did manage to get a couple of smiles.

And of course at this time of the year you have to make the most of the cherry blossoms.

Thank you Davis family for letting me capture these moments and for giving me the opportunity to photograph some adorable baby blue eyes.

Rainy Days – March 28th, 2009

What do you do on a very rainy Saturday in Portland? Why head to Powells of course – where, inevitably, you end up buying a bunch of new kids books (all on sale) and spend a lot of time following your baby around so you can replace books as he pulls them off the shelves.

I remember browsing the children’s section at Powells when I was pregnant with Thomas. I stocked up on Aussie children’s books like this one and this one in the hope that I would share at least a small part of my culture with my American children.

Fast forward nearly four years and I find myself listening to another Aussie mother talking to her two pre-teenage children while they respond with thick American accents and I realize that this is my future. But then I get home and Thomas says “bath” with a soft “a” like a true Aussie. It’s just one word but it gives me a smidgen of hope.

Spring Break Continues – March 27th, 2009

The final day of Spring Break and it was a busy day in the Ishida house. Kei took the day off work to look after our kids and a couple of others – Liam is around the same age as Thomas and Zoe is two weeks older than Samuel. That’s two toddler and two kids. I worked from home so I could help when necessary.

It was a fun, if busy, day. My working at home meant Kei could take some of the kids out while the others were sleeping (bless Samuel for his long naps). It also meant I could practice my photography on someone else’s kids.

I am just so inspired by photography lately and I love the results I am getting with my camera. It helps that I had two adorable kids to practice on. I mean, check out this handsome guy.

And the beautiful eyes on this one.

Samuel was playing a little hard to get. (FYI – I had difficulty coming to terms with the fact that Kei didn’t get Samuel out of his pajamas all day while Zoe was dressed in a cute little outfit).

Oh yeah, and Thomas was there too.

And finally here’s Kei as the Manny (coming soon to a theatre near you).

He gained a lot of credit from the daycare mums for this photo, but he’s been talking about using a nanny to help during the next daycare vacation. I think he has support from some of the other parents as well. It was a busy, but fun week andI didn’t realize looking after other people’s kids could be so much fun, but he may be onto something with the nanny idea.

Food Staple – March 26th, 2009

There was a period last year when, thanks to a spinach e-coli situation, we could not buy Veggie Booty. Yes, the little snacks that boasted spinach and kale in bite sized puffs, and were endorsed by my pediatrician (really), were gone from grocery store shelves. It was a tough few months but we made it through and now Thomas has a healthy addiction to cashews and peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches.

I am incredibly thankful that Veggie booty was returned to the shelves by the time this little guy was old enough for solids. Sometimes it’s the only thing that keeps Samuel happy while I frantically make dinner – and he inhales them like there’s no tomorrow. So, thank you makers of Veggie booty. You have preserved my sanity on more than one occasion.