Monthly Archives: June 2009

5 Senses…uhhh…Wednesday

This post is inspired by fellow Portland blogger Abby Try Again. I have been reading more and more local blogs lately – particularly photography blogs. I just love seeing other photographer views of the city I live in and Abby’s photos are just so soft and beautiful. They’re not perfect and I think that’s what I love most about them. I can totally appreciate another photographer who embraces the blur and makes it part of her unique style.

Today I am stealing Abby’s blog topic and posting my own version of Five Senses Friday… but on Wednesday night.

Sight: Giant bubbles as Samuel’s birthday party.

Sound: The many noises of a nature hike – birds chirping, wind rustling in the trees…

…all drowned out by the sound of about 20 toddlers looking for scavenger hunt items.

Taste: Cherries. A food which, for most of my life, was associated with Christmas (love Australia’s summer holidays), but is now associated with the enormous relief in May that winter may well be over for another year.

Smell: Some beautiful peonies which provided decoration for a girl’s picnic in the park.

Touch: bare feet and thongs (or flip flops of you prefer) – made possible thanks to a fabulous pedicure.

This was fun! Leave me a comment if you post your own list of five senses.

Benema Part 1

My brother (Ben) and his fiancee (Emma) were here for a short visit. I’ll call them Benema whenever it’s more convenient and, well, because it’s funny. It was the first time either of had been to the US, and over six months since we visited them in Australia, so we had a lot of catching up to do.

Of course I knew Thomas would “catch up” quickly – especially because I had prior knowledge of the little gift that was coming his way all the way from Australia.

Nothing like a Fireman Sam costume to make sure your Nephew remembers you well after you’re gone. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Thomas so excited.

The rest of the first day of their visit was spent bonding. It didn’t take long. Apparently Benema are very likeable.

Oh, and we drank a little bit of alcohol. It continued through the five days that they were here and this is the last time I will mention it…Let’s just say that someone drove by in a van to collect the bottles for recycling. A van.

Dentist

Thomas’ very first visit to the dentist. Of course they laughed when I pulled out the big camera to memorialize the occasion, but isn’t your first dentist appointment something you want to remember? Many years down the track, Thomas will look back on these pictures and remember how your and innocent and cavity free he was. And, as someone begins drilling into one of his molars, he’ll be able to reflect on a time when the dentist was a fun, new experience full of free toothbrushes and star wars figurine bribes.

Yes – I bribed my son to go to the dentist.

It was the pleas of “I don’t want to go Mummy” that finally got me. That, and the fact that our dentist office is right beside Fred Myer. I think they planned it that way.

Actually, there really wasn’t much for me to worry about. We began with the hygenist introducing Thomas to all the cool tools (no drills!). The mirror was his favourite and he asked for it again and again. I’m sure he gets his vanity from his father.

The cool glasses were also a hit. I’m surprised he gave them back.

And there was not even one tiny complaint when some strange woman began shoving her fingers in his mouth. I always complain when that happens.

Final verdict – beautiful teeth. Straight, healthy and clean. He gets THAT from his mother.

8 Things

I was tagged by Karen and, since summer TV has begun and I am watching reruns of Law and Order SVU, I thought now was the perfect time to respond. I really hate Summer TV season. 

8 Things I’m Looking Forward To

1. Friday (around 5pm)
2. A girls weekend in Seattle next week (whoo hoo)
3. Finally getting to see Samuel walk (the kid has been teasing us for a long time)
4. More arugula from our veggie garden
5. Seeing my brother and (soon-to-be) sister-in-law again – missing them already
6. A trip home to Australia for their wedding next year
7. My Mum’s visit in August.
8. The bottom of the pile of laundry that I am working on.

8 Things I Did Yesterday
1. Caught up at work after a week of leave.
2. Edited Photos 
3. Blogged 
4. Picked my boys up from daycare
5. Watched Samuel laugh – a lot.
6. Hosted the little girl next door for dinner (without warning)
7. Tidied up my house (it was overdue)
8. Laundry (still not done)

8 Things I Wish I Could Do
1. Quit my job and take up photography full time (dreams)
2. Get someone in to clean the house (working on it)
3. Get Samuel to sleep later than 5am
4. Click my fingers and have our whole backyard look like an oasis.
5. Choose a colour to paint my house
6. Win the lottery so I could travel home whenever I felt like it.
7. Get my act together and organize my US citizenship
8. Eat sushi for dinner every night in the summer

8 Shows I Watch
1. Lost
2. American Idol
3. Desperate Housewives
4. Law and Order SVU
5. Medium
6. Oprah (and not ashmaed to admit it)
7. House
8. Criminal Minds

Now don’t you know more about me than you ever needed to?

I have no idea who reads this blog (Karen may be the only one). So if you’re reading, now is the time to complete this tag and link me up. 🙂

Keeping my head above water…

…barely.

Our guests left on Monday morning and I feel out of control busy. It doesn’t help that this is the first week that I have gone back to five days of work. I have been working four x 10 hour days since Thomas was born and it worked well for a long time. It seems, though, that the addition of a second child can shake up the schedule and suddenly getting home at 6:30 for a 7:00 bedtime just wasn’t an ideal situation. Work also asked me to change my schedule but, to be honest, I was leaning towards it anyway. It did speed up the process though, and would have preferred to have waited until September when Thomas starts pre-school.

Oh yes – Thomas was accepted to pre-school. We literally won the lottery on that one – the school lottery anyway. I’m still waiting for my real lottery dream to become a reality.

So today was my first Wednesday in the office for some time and it was tough. With my flexible schedule, I enjoyed the break in my week, the chance to spend some time with my boys and the extra time to get things done around the house. Apparently my house falls to pieces by Tuesday night and, until now, only my Wednesday at home was keeping it all together. And don’t even get me started on the laundry.

I admit that it may be worse than usual this week. Our guests just left on Monday morning and half of the laundry pile is towels and sheets from their visit. Still, I miss my catch up day. This is a big change for my family and a large part of me is in mourning for the small amount of flexibility that I once had.

Maybe next week will be better. Ooops – childcare issue next week mean I’ll be juggling work from home and nannies.

Maybe the week after next will be better…

…just need to keep my priorities straight.

Alive

I have not dropped off the face of the earth – it just feels like the earth is spinning faster and faster. We have just been so incredibly busy lately that this blog has taken a back seat.

But I have so many photos and stories to share that I promise I’ll be back on track in the next few days… just as soon as I get a chance to read all the email that poured into my mail box while I was out of the office last week.

A week off was great, but there’s always catch up.

In the meantime, I’ll share a photo of my one year old (I remain in denial).