Author Archives: Nicole

A Weekend Well Spent

There is nothing better than returning to work on a Monday with the feeling that your weekend was well-spent. This weekend I had the perfect mix of getting some work done around the house (painting started but laundry not quite finished), time with the girls (hello, karaoke!) and family time that also included a whole lot of bike riding. No wonder I slept so well last night, although I could easily have done with a couple more hours. I’m waiting for my second coffee to kick in and get me through the rest of the day.

For my I heart faces entry this morning, I chose a photo that I took while we took part in Portland Sunday Parkways. The challenge is “whimsical” and I suppose this fits the bill…

Had to borrow a friend’s child for the photo because my two boys would rather do anything than run around under a sprinkler and get wet.

This week promises more house painting, prepping Samuel’s bedroom for Japanese guests (SO excited!), more laundry and, hopefully, a little time to squeeze in some photo editing, car cleaning and maybe even a pedicure. Bring it!

Five Things Friday: Inspired by Wes Anderson Cocktail Parties, French Street Artists and More…

This weeks Five Things Friday is a wonderfully random adventure.

1. If I lived in Sydney I would do everything I could to attend this Wes Anderson themed Cocktail Party.

From the Frankie Magazine Website:
“There will be Steve Zissou inspired burlesque, Wes-themed DJing, goodie bags for the first 50 through the doors, and of course, cocktails! The best dressed will also win a monogrammed bams & ted suitcase, a la Darjeeling Limited.”

Since I am about a million miles away from Sydney, I think I’ll have to console myself this weekend by watching Rushmore for the 37th time with a Royal Tennenbaums chaser.

2. Got a spare 25 minutes? Spend it watching this TED talk by JR, a French Street Artist who pastes massive photos human faces on public “canvases”. Don’t have 25 minutes? Then watch it in shifts. You won’t be sorry.

3. If I were even a little bit crafty, I would make this frame tent for my boys…

4. This blog post reminds me of why I miss traveling to work on public transport: Lessons We’re Learning Riding Mass Transit. (via Zen Habits blog)

5. Of course I could cut down on my commute dramatically if had one of these in my back yard. (Via Poppytalk Blog)

Plans for this weekend include Karaoke, a fun bike ride and a quite a bit of painting in our back room. I hear the sun may even come out for us in Portland.

Happy weekend.

Celebrating Fatherhood

Unless you’ve been living under a rock in America, you’ll know that today was Fathers’ day. A day that, thanks to it’s close proximity to U.S. graduation, earned the unfortunate marketing phrase “Dads and Grads.” It’s sad that Dads don’t get their own marketing phrase. Fathers’ Day falls in September in Australia and does not conflict with any other major holidays. I’m sure that’s by design.

But I digress. Today was about celebrating the dad in our life – the Yin to my Yan – the one who makes this whole parenting thing a true partnership and provides balance. The one who makes up for my weaknesses with his strengths.

The man who will get down on the floor and wrestle. Who will talk through an issue when I just want to put them both in time out. Who persists with the bike riding and the T-ball and everything else that I (honestly) don’t have the energy for. That’s what makes this whole parenting together thing so perfect.

Happy Fathers’ Day to the man who helped me bring two wonderful little boys into this world. I truly could not do this without you.

This photo is also my entry in the latest I Heart Faces challenge, “Let’s hear it for the boys.” Ok, now I have that song stuck in my head for the next couple of days…

Cause for Celebration: 1000 Blog Posts

Turns out that I passed the 1,000 blog post mark this week while I wasn’t paying attention.

This is post 1,004. Wow.

That’s a whole lot of stories, photos and ramblings… And I have a couple of readers so it’s more than just talking to myself.

This adds just one more item on a list of things Kei and I will be celebrating at date night tonight, a list that includes:

  • a new job (for Kei)
  • the end of Pre-K (for Thomas)
  • a special family coming to visit us for the month of July (I’ll share more as we firm things up)
  • an almost-finished backyard deck
  • AND finally some sunshine in Portland (to enjoy that deck)

Life is good. I think I might treat myself to a cocktail. Cheers!

 

5 Things Friday: Children’s Books Worth Reading More Than Once (because you always read them more than once)

I became accustomed to reading the same books over and over again with child number one. But then along came child number two and those books that I grew bored with the first time around became just plain painful when reading them for the 80th time. So it comes as quite a treat when, every now and then, a childrens’ book comes along that just begs to be read over and over. And when my children and I find delight in that very same book, it serves as a magical break from those annoying books adapted from TV shows, or WAY too much Dr. Seuss (as much as I love him, his books are LONG and very repetitive).

To honor those special books that I wish my children would choose more often, I present my top 5 – although I could have easily expanded the list to 10 or 20, I’ll save that for future posts. Here’s my personal criteria for a good childrens’ book:

  • Good story – one that is original and clever and will not get old the 3rd (or 5th or 20th) time around.
  • Great illustrations that look like pieces of art – critical because I am Taurus and apparently we are attracted to pretty things.
  • A lesson or moral of some sort – Not absolutely critical, but it nice when the story carries the conversation with my children beyond just the book.
  • Not too long – this criteria alone cancels out Dr. Seuss.

The Top 5

1. The Way Back Home by Oliver Jeffers. 

I bought this book in Australia a few years ago and it quickly moved Oliver Jeffers to number 1 on my all time list of favorite children’s authors. While all of his books are wonderful and quirky, this one about a boy and a martian who help each other out when they become stranded on the moon is just wonderful. Bonus points for the Aussie/English version that we own because it uses words like Petrol and spanner which are translated in the American version.

2. Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems

I am so thankful that Mo Williams decided to release a couple of follow ups to this book because our copy of the original is literally falling apart at the seams. The story of a lost toy appeals to parents as well as toddlers and I love how he mixes illustration with black and white photos of New York. Favorite line of the book: Trixie was so upset “she went boneless.”

3. Zen Ties by Jon J. Muth

Almost every family we know has a copy of Zen Shorts, the first in this beautiful series of three books about a giant Panda called Stillwater. Zen Ties, the second in the series, is my favorite thanks to the appearance of Stillwater’s cousin who speaks only in Haiku. I love the use of Buddhist parables to teach a lesson and the slow, calm  pace of the book. Perfect just before bedtime.

4. I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato, Lauren Child

Charlie and Lola has been a favorite in our house for a long time but this book is a new addition. Charlie is the older brother who is always dealing with his “small and very funny” sister, Lola in wonderfully inventive ways. In this book, Lola is a very picky eater so Charlie tries to trick her into eating things by pretending they are something else (mashed potato is really cloud fluff). Fun books to read (especially when I put on my English accent) and this one earns bonus points for convincing Samuel to eat edamame (green drops anyone?). It’s also worth checking out the adorable TV series that’s available on Netflix, but make sure you buy the books that Lauren Child wrote herself, not the ones adapted from the series.

5. The Curious Garden by Peter Brown

I bought this book as a present from the Easter Bunny because of it’s Spring theme. The story is lovely but it’s the illustrations that really drew me in. Each time we read it together it seems we discover something new in the highly detailed and beautifully colored pictures. I think we’re definitely going to add a few more of Peter Brown’s books to our wishlist.

So there you have it – a few of my favorites. Please share your own in the comments and help me build our library. I’m on a quest to phase out the Thomas the Tank Engine book that plays music and every new addition gets me closer to my goal.

Not Quite Wordless Wednesday: Five Minutes Before He Disappeared

Meet Wicket, Thomas’ beetle that he grew from a meal worm for a school project. You can imagine my joy when they sent him home so we could continue his upbringing.

This photo was taken just before Thomas decided to let Wicket explore his toy castle.

How a black beetle disappeared so quickly in the space of five minutes left us all stumped. Despite a thorough search, it seems Wicket is now roaming free somewhere in our house. I wish him the best in new life and hope he doesn’t fall victim to the suction of the vacuum when the cleaners come tomorrow.

 

A shocking turn of events

My boy is about to commence his last two days of Pre-K. OK, so maybe I’m more shocked than anyone else, but I can’t believe that my baby is on the verge of beginning Kindergarten, which is called Prep where I come from. You see, in Australia, prep marks the beginning of elementary school (primary school) and I CAN STILL REMEMBER PRIMARY SCHOOL! (Thank you, Miss Fraser).

How did my child get so old? How did I get so old? Why is this happening to me?

Before I know it he’ll be six, and then seven…and then nineteen! It just doesn’t seem right.

And I am completely unprepared. Not only because I am in (a little) denial about the fact that my child is going to be an adult one day (too soon!), but also because his experience of school is going to be so completely removed from mine and I am going to be learning right along with him. I went to Primary school and High School. That was it. There was no middle school, no cafeteria lunches, no fraternities and sororities (ok, maybe I’m getting ahead of myself). My point is that it’s all foreign to me from here on out. I may as well be living in a different country (wait…).

So I have about three months to get used to the idea that I am soon to be the mother of a KINDERGARTNER. Rest assured, I’ll be taking lots of deep breaths and drinking a few glasses of wine to get used to the idea.

Oh, and here’s my photo entry for this week’s I heart faces challenge – bright and vivid. A photo of Thomas (my soon-to-be-kindergartner) taken on the last day of Samuel’s baby daycare before he moves into the pre-pre-K class.

June is really not a good time for mothers…

5 Things Friday: Street Photography

Welcome to my new Friday blog feature – a collection of things that inspire me each week. Some weeks will be themed, while I anticipate others to be a hodge podge of random stuff from around the web.

For my first 5 things Friday blog post I decided to post a few sources of inspiration under the topic of Street photography.I am so incredibly inspired by photographers who capture the world around them. I love the questions that street photography can evoke and that one simple image can tell an incredible story. Here are a few sites/blogs that I visit regularly for a little inspiration.

1. Vivian Maier
I’ve mentioned Vivian Maier on this blog before but she deserves an encore. Amazing historical collection of photos and a wonderful story about how they were discovered.

2. Shoot Tokyo
I came across this blog in my search for on-the-ground experiences following the Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan. Now it acts as a daily visit to one of my favorite places in the world.

3. The Frame from The Sacramento Bee
A daily download of photos from around the world – some posts highlight a specific topic while others share a series of photos taken on the same day from around the world. Bonus points for allowing their full feed to display in my RSS reader.

4. Urban Weeds
Love this ode to real-life style on the streets of Portland. Although I am far from a fashionista, I find people’s individual styles fascinating and love the pairing of close up headshots with the full body photos on this blog. (Bonus points for the fact that I can identify most of the locations). I am really looking forward to seeing more in the uniforms series – example of hipster letter carrier below.

5. Markus Hartel street photography blog
A new discovery for me. I just love the way he describes street photography on his About Me page “What is street photography? A reflection of every day life – real, unaltered impressions of public places, places that everybody visits every day, the street where you live, the parking lot of your favorite grocery store, the subway. Street photographers document the truth – take candid pictures of things that you don’t notice in your daily grind. Street photography involves attention to detail. The photographer pays attention to scenes, moments that you only recognize subconsciously. The camera is an unobtrusive extension of the eye in any given situation. Oftentimes, street photographers take pictures they feel; the photographer happens to be there and captures the mood in a fraction of a second. He freezes a moment that you will forget in the same amount of time…”

So, there you have it. Just a few of the thousands of street photography blogs out there, but a few that inspire me. I’m always looking for new inspiration so feel free to share your own favorite street photography blogs in the comments.

Taking Off: A Proud Mama Moment.

Thomas didn’t know he was riding unassisted until he saw the video. Now he’s so proud of himself that he’s been out practicing every day since. Chalk that one up to just one of the parental benefits of modern technology.