Author Archives: Nicole

P365 Day 103 – April 12th 2008

Kei had a training course all day today so THomas and I went to the zoo – along with the rest of Oregon. Apparently Elephant’s 47th birthday plus first sunny weekend day in months equals thousands of people wanting to visit the zoo. We had to park in the overflow parking lot and catch a shuttle the rest of the way. And when I say shuttle, I mean converted school bus that is not really designed to carry whole families AND their wagons full of zoo visit crap.

Thomas enjoyed the bus ride though and the beauty of having a zoo membership means we can go for just a couple of hours and not feel like we are watsing our money. On Thomas’ wish list for the day – the elephants, the giraffes and the tigers. Done! We can also add the hippos who were actually visible this time (hence the photo) and the zebras who showed more than their backsides for once. I don’t know what it is about te zebras – they always seem to want to face AWAY from the crowd. I probably would too if I had people staring at me all day.

P365 Day 102 – April 11th 2008

The long walk home. I think I may have mentioned before that there is a park on Thomas’ walk home from daycare and that sometimes he can become a little distracted and that short 3 block walk can become an hour long adventure. Such was the case on Friday when I picked Thomas up from daycare. It was a beautiful warm afternoon and we made the most of it by hanging out by the fountain and checking out some baseball practice. Thomas wanted to go down the slide as well but I wasn’t able to follow him so he did it on his own for the ver first time. But just one time and then we HAD to leave.

By the time we got home we had worked the VERY long way and I was exhausted. A 15 minute walk had turned into an hour. I just don’t have the stamina I used to have.

P365 Day 101 – April 10th 2008

I love the ideas that go through my mind when I see other people’s photos. The bright colours, the toddlers frolicking outside with multi coloured umbrellas that are just so much fun.

Instead the Ishida’s have a black umbrella and this totally unstaged moment is my reminder to buy something that is more camera-friendly. But I guess black is how we roll.

This IS one of those times when photos could speak though (yes, I know about video). Thomas was singing “I’m singing in the rain” while I took this photo. 🙂

Sunny Days… Sing it with me…

Random Tuneage

Today is the day of random songs in my head.

I woke up with “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go” by Wham. There’s a line in the song that goes “Sun Shines brighter than Doris Day” which led me to…

“Que Sera Sera” because Doris Day sang that. Which then led me to

“Rock a Bye Your Bear” by the Wiggles – but I think that’s because Kei was singing it this morning and any parent knows that once you get a Wiggles song stuck in your head then that’s pretty much it for the day.

Until… I started thinking about the weather and how it’s 75 degrees outside (and such a shame that I am in the office) which of course led me to “Sunny Days” – the opener to Sesame street.

So I clearly need some new adult music on my ipod. Any suggestions?

Thursday Night TV Review

I love Thursday night TV, but with American Idol on last night and regular shows coming back after the strike, I did feel a little overwhelmed by choice. Good thing we have Tivo now. 🙂 Recap:

  • American Idol – Boo Hoo. Michael Johns, my fellow Aussie, is gone. Seems to be little reason for me to watch it now. I mean he was good for the ears AND the eyes.
  • Survivor – Yes, I admit I am one of the few people who still enjoy that show. Feel really sorry for Eliza but maybe she is more annoying in p[erson than she is on TV. LOVE that she was smart enough to recognize that the stick was not an actual immunity idol but had the courage to use it anyway AND out Ozzie as the one with the idol. He is so cocky.
  • 30 Rock – not as funny as other episodes but I do like this show. I just love Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin. But sadly no laugh out loud funny moments last night.
  • The Office – The new episode had me crying with laughter. I think Kei summed it up best when he said that it was like the British version of The Office – uncomfortably funny. And now you can watch the full episodes online – Sweet! One of the best moments – Pam handing over a bottle of wine and Jan saying “this will be great to cook with – thank you”. I KNOW people like that. 🙂

Baby Update

Had a Doctor’s appointment this morning. Just five weeks and three days to go (eeeck!). Apparently the child has decided to lie sideways across my belly. I figured as much as I have been getting some pretty nasty kicks in my side lately. Heart beat is good, blood pressure is good and everything else is just dandy. Well, everything except the big “H” – women who have been through this before will probably know what I mean by that. This is the first experience for me and not at all pleasant, but bearable for now.

The good news is that I seem to be managing my weight better this time. I think it’s all that running around after Thomas.

Oh, and the hormones have been getting to me a little – particularly after work when I am tired and emotional. Of course Kei saying “I’m sorry you’re hormonal” is NOT helping.

Signing Off

Have a great weekend. Hope it’s sunny where you are too. You didn’t think I’d go without posting this did you? 🙂

Having problems posting the video so I’ll leave you with the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hksil-KkebQ

P365 Day 100 – April 9th 2008

Day #100 – wow! And to celebrate, another bath photo. Did I mention that the bathroom has the best lighting at night? 🙂

Thomas was being a little grouchy in the tub one day so Kei pulled the shower curtains closed. It’s now started a fun game where Thomas likes to hide behind the curtains and have me open them and say boo – over and over and over and over again. OK – it’s getting a little old but, hey, at least he’s happy right?

The problem will be solved when we have a shower upstairs and there will no longer be a need for a shower curtain around the downstairs bath on a regular basis – whoo hoo!

P365 Day 99 – April 8th 2008

I don’t post my P365 photos everyday. I usually take two or three days worth of photos and then post them – still within a reasonable timframe so that I don’t forget the story behind the picture.

Sometimes I take pictures to support a story I want to tell and this picture is a good example. When I took this two days ago I knew I would write about the Easter gift that keeps on giving. How we gave this little M&M bunny to Thomas for easter and the M&Ms are so small that we have been able to give him just two or three a day when he asks for it and it is still half full. Talk about getting value for money. It’s win/win – Thomas gets a little treat for being good and we are able to give him something that is so small that the sugar and caffeine intake is negligible. Plus he hasn’t worked out how to open the “bunny” so it’s a fun little toy that he carries around with him,

That was two days ago. Last night Thomas woke up at 1:30am. He was standing inside his bedroom door telling me wanted to go and lie on the couch. Very strange because he hasn’t woken up in the middle of the night for a long time. I told him that it was the middle of the night and time we were all in bed. After a little whimpering and a few minutes of me hopping into bed with him, Thomas did go back to sleep ans slept through until his regular wake up time of 6:30am.

At 6:30 I went in to get him and we went through the usual routine of gathering everything that he had taken to bed with hm the night before – Curious George, his blanket, a booster pillow from the couch (?) and various other little bits and pieces that provide him with comfort during the night. One of these things was his little M&M bunny. He handed it to me and said “I opened it”. And yes, he had. And he had also eaten the remaining contents of the bunny – way more chocolate than he is used to – especially before bed time.

So mystery solved – the reason Thomas woke up in the middle of the night was because he was so hopped up on Sugar and Caffeine that he couldn’t sleep. I guess we should be grateful that he slept at all after he fed his little chocolate habit. Lesson learned – never underestimate the ability of a two year old to work out how to open…well…anything.

Oh, and Thomas pronounces it “Chocowat” – so cute. 🙂

Outlets and Sconces and Switches Oh My!

Had to make some major life-altering decisions this morning about the electrical work on our renovation. My entire life I have fully underappreciated the fact that SOMEONE had to make decisions about these things. I rented an apartment and the outlets were there. I bought an apartment and the outlets were there. I bought a house and THE OUTLETS WERE ALREADY THERE!

Granted, our second floor has had just two working outlets the entire time we have lived here. One in the bathroom and one in the master bedroom. Yes – TWO OUTLETS! Oh, and two overhead lights that worked with string cords. And not one of those lights was in the master bedroom.

Yes, we have been living like we have been camping for the past two years making the most of extension cords and double adapters and seriously pushing the limits of existing fire codes.

I am now experiencing the exact opposite situation – an abundance of choices, but all of them permanent. Ah, nothing like knowing that any little decision you make will be something you will have to live with for a very long time. And if it’s the wrong decision you know it will eat away at me until I want to run screaming from the house yelling “I didn’t know I would need an outlet in the closet…” Living with someone else’s mistakes is a lot easier.

So we probably have WAY more outlets that we need and I know that we’ll be very well lit (pleasantly so. :)) but better to be safe than regret a decision to go with canned lighting rather than sconces because, you know, a sconce can add atmosphere and in the process… CHANGE YOUR LIFE. And that is no exaggeration.

Off to do a little online sconce shopping now – wish me luck.

Photobucket

Fun Discoveries

Some new and unique and some not so much…

And finally, this song. Madonna and Justin Timberlake – what’s not to like? I am a pop music fan and proud of it!

P365 Day 98 – April 7th 2008

A small glimpse of my desk (cube) at work – the very same desk that I am in the process of cleaning up in anticipation of my impending maternity leave. This time my goals is to just get rid of as much as possible. I came across a box under my desk a couple of weeks ago that I had not looked at since I packed it up for my LAST maternity leave – over two years ago. The rule is that if you haven’t needed it for two years then you don’t need it now.

I may have to update my photos when I return. I took that photo of my nephews in the pool over 5 years ago and I am just torturing myself with a picture of Kei on a boat in Hawaii. Yes, I think a cube makeover is in order when I return. I mean I do spend up to 40 hours a week there.

P365 Day 97 – April 6th 2008

Sunday – another day another bookstore, but this time it was an outing for the whole family. What started as an attempt to choose doorhandles for our new doors (what sort of hardware store is closed on Sunday?!), ended at Powells – possiby the best bookstore on the planet – and rotating Sushi for lunch. The day ended with yet another nap. Geez, you’d think I was pregnant or something.