Category Archives: Motherhood

The Up Side

Every day lately seems to be a struggle with Samuel. Independent spirit is a gentle way to describe him. “I. Do. It. Myself!!” is on repeat. He becomes frustrated and angry when I try to brush his teeth, put the lid on his sippy cup, help him put on his pants, etc. etc. and I don’t even want to talk about what happens when his blood sugar drops a little below normal.

He likes to torment his brother, hit (me and others – something we’re working on) and throw tear-filled tantrums.

But he also tells me he loves me about 10 times a day (often for no reason at all), can’t leave me without a big wet kiss and a cuddle, breaks out into an enormous grin without too much prompting, says sorry easily (especially when he thinks he’s going to be put in time out) and is constantly trying to make me laugh.

I know he knows that all of this makes me more tolerant of his bad behaviour, but I just can’t help myself. The kid is a charmer and he’s adorable.

I guess you could say he has me wrapped around his little finger.

Reminders

Today is the last day of the school year. I have been looking forward to this day for a few weeks, not because I desperately wanted Thomas to finish his first year of pre-school, but because it means that both children will be attending the same daycare for the summer and I will be able to shave about 90 minutes from my commute each day.

I am hoping that this extra time (and a little stress relief) will help us get back on track. The past couple of months have been challenging for a number of reasons – rain, work challenges, cranky toddlers, sassy pre-schoolers, and did I mention rain? I think we’re all suffering from a severe vitamin D deficiency and a sunny day would go a long way to helping us get back on track.

We went out for dinner tonight and, as we left the restaurant following a quick but impressive rainstorm, we saw this…

It reminded me to look on the bright side and consider the many small wonderful things that are happening in our lives right now.

  • Samuel is learning to dress himself and managed to get his legs into two different holes of his pajama pants tonight.
  • Thomas has a best friend who will be in the same class again next year. We’re setting up a few play dates and sleepovers during the summer.
  • Our veggie garden is growing – at least half of it – and we have a few strawberries ripening in my new hanging  baskets. We’ll tackle the second garden bed this weekend.
  • We have family coming to visit in July – I am excited to see how much my nephews have grown over the last few years. It’s been far too long since we’ve seen them and I can’t wait to have a house full of boys (ok, I’m a little frightened as well).
  • We are planning another overseas trip – this time to Japan. (yippee!)
  • Thomas knows how to write almost the entire alphabet – in Japanese and English. I am so proud of how much he has learned in just one short year.
  • Samuel still says “I love you” every day and doesn’t hesitate to give me big hugs and kisses whenever I ask (and sometimes when I don’t). He also went to bed without crying tonight (a small victory) and has completely given up the binky (aka dummy or pacifier, depending on where you come from).

I am also grateful that I stumbled across these pictures tonight. A reminder of that special brotherly relationship.

Also a good reminder to never let your guard down with a two-year-old.

Friday Flashback

Nearly three years ago I traveled with a teeny tiny little boy to Australia and took this photo. He was not quite two years old, an only child and kindly waiting until after we returned home to hit the dreaded terrible two’s (actually, he waited almost until he turned three to hit that milestone – his brother, however…).

This morning that same boy declared to me that “My brain is the Policeman of my body. If I feel like I want to hit, then my brain tells my body not to do it and my lungs put my body in jail”. It’s crazy how much change can occur in just three short years.

Yellow

Of COURSE I had a photo for this week’s I ♥ Faces challenge. The theme is “Yellow” and anyone who knows my son is aware of his obsession with the colour – one which has faded over the past year as his obsession with Star Wars has taken over. I am thankful that the days of him declaring “I like yellow! No one else can like yellow!” are over, most importantly for the fact that his little brother is free to wear yellow hand-me-downs without vilification.

I often wonder whether my child is more obsessed with things than others. He seems to cling to a particular object or theme and not let go for many months. But then we also have Samuel who’s hat obsession is equal to that of his brother at the same age. So either it’s completely normal for children in their first years to experience this type of behavior or it’s an Ishida family quirk.

Recently Thomas has also declared his love for the color red so it now equals yellow in favorite color status. There is one exception, however. Red and yellow in the form of traffic lights are NOT ok. That has become the latest chant from the backseat on the drive home from school and, frankly, I can’t say that I blame him for that.

Two Today

My baby turns two years old today (pause for some gentle sobbing).

At two, Samuel:

  • Says “I love you Mummy” daily, without prompting.
  • Loves hats and jackets and coats. It’s quite the obsession.
  • Wears his helmet around the house every chance he can get.
  • Assigns ownership to everything. (MY hat, Daddy’s guitar, Mummy’s shoes, Thomas’ shirt).
  • Loves to play outside and ride his bike. We have had more than a couple of tantrums when he’s been asked to come inside for dinner.
  • Has just started blowing kisses with almost every goodbye. It’s adorable.
  • Likes to torment his brother when he finds a weak spot.
  • Still sings the “Goodbye Song” at the top of his voice at every chance he gets, but has added “Twinkle, Twinkle” sing-a-longs at bedtime.
  • Is a great dancer.
  • Still says please and thank you – although sometimes only after he finds that screaming won’t get him what he wants.
  • Usually does what he’s asked by the time I count “1… 2… 2-and-a-half…”
  • Responds well to time outs… most of the time.
  • Is accident prone right now (I was embarrassed to take him to the pediatrician today with his cut lip, bruise on his back and scratch on his cheek).
  • Has started peeing in the potty almost every night before bath.
  • Has almost given up the nighttime binky. Almost…
  • Has three “babies” – a blue bear called ‘Baby’, a koala called ‘Koala’ and a blues clues dog called ‘Blues Clues’. He likes to stick with the basics when it comes to naming his babies.
  • Is a truly adorable, chatty, fun, inquisitive, funny, active, wonderful two-year-old.

Finally, a few photos of him jumping on his birthday present – his very own big boy bed. He has slept in it for three nights now and so far, so good. I am secretly enjoying his requests to “lie down with me Mummy” when I put him to bed at night. NOT so fond of them at four in the morning…

Happy birthday baby.

Motherhood

This week’s I ♥ Faces photo blog challenge is all about celebrating motherhood. So of course I went back through my photos to find one of me with the kids and, sadly, there weren’t many to choose from. Ok, there were a few, but I didn’t like the way I looked in them. It’s tragic that when I look at a photo of me with the kids, I find it so hard to get past the “me” part. It’s the curse of the photographer – never wanting to be in front of the camera.

So I am determined to take more pics of myself – with the kids, with my husband and by myself. I bought a remote for my camera a while ago and I have barely used it. Consider this my wake up call.

Thankfully I did find one photo that I love. It’s not perfect by any means, but I love how it shows the fun part of being a mother. I so often get bogged down by the frustrations and the arguments and the terrible two’s (which we are knee-deep in by the way), that I forget how much fun we have together.

Happy Mothers’ Day

I just returned home after spending an evening with a few of my fabulous friends, who also happen to be fabulous mothers. On this Mothers’ Day eve, it seems fitting that we spent our time discussing the constant juggle of our family lives, our work live and ourselves. I feel truly blessed to know so many wonderful women who make it look easy to everyone else, but who work so hard every day to find that elusive balance between calm and insanity.

I leave you with a couple of recent photos that remind me why I work so hard to try and be the best mother I can be.

And of course the man who obviously supplied about 75% of the genes, and who helps me stay sane on those days when it all seems so hard.

Catching Up: P365

It’s been a crazy busy week (funny, seems I say the same thing every week). The good news is that I have been maintaining my photo-a-day habit and have a few more to share.

The first one is from a dinner-date with my two boys while Kei was at school. It started off in the way the photo seems to suggest – all calm and peaceful. It ended with two boys running around a restaurant while I managed to inhale my dinner and then make a promise to myself that I would think twice before taking the boys out alone for dinner again.

I used a funky preset on this next photo (taken at work). I try to limit my use of presets that drastically change colours, because it is so easy to get carried away with them, but I really like the colour green that was brought out in this one and I am a huge fan of anything that will make ventian blinds look more interesting.

Driving home from a quick trip to Seattle for work – 3 hours up and four hours back thanks to terrible Seattle/Tacoma traffic. I think I took this photo about 3 hours into the return trip while I frantically searched the radio airwaves for anything that was not country or christian music. (apologies to fans of either genre – just not my thing). Isn’t it a human right that you be able to access NPR from anywhere in the country? Well, it should be.

Samuel and I had the rare opportunity to spend some time alone together. He baked me a cake out of plastic easter eggs and then made me sing “Happy Birthday” over and over again while I pretended to blow out the candles.

Dinner at the Japanese Izakaya again. I think that officially makes it twice in two weeks. The food was fabulous but the kids were difficult. I fear our days of eating out together as a family may have to take hiatis until the boys are… well… eighteen… I remember feeling this way with Thomas at around the same age that Samuel is now and, while it took us a little while, we did eventually work up the courage to venture out of the house to eat again.

Back with more soon. I have some more catching up to do.

Living: P365

This P365 post is really a glimpse at our life over the past week. Well, I suppose that is the purpose behind the project, but I find that some of my photos provide more of a documentary of life than others. There are definitely days when I struggle to find something to photograph – when I can’t imagine taking one more photo of my kids at bathtime – but this week seemed more natural. Maybe it was the craziness of our schedule or the fact that we have an extra hour of daylight. Whatever the reason, I know I’ll enjoy looking back on these images knowing exactly what our lives were like in the second week of March, 2010.

The first photo is something I have been wanting to capture for many weeks – ever since the very last season of Lost began and I invited a couple of girlfriends over to enjoy the experience with me. What began as a small gathering for the premiere has become a weekly ritual that I am going to miss when it is all over in just a couple of months. Yes, I love the show and I thoroughly enjoy discussing all of its intricacies with people who are similarly obsessed, but I think the unexpected side-effect of our get-togethers is the ability to enjoy each others company without the distraction of children or…well…life. We find ourselves chatting for hours after the show ends. Lost is really bringing people together (ok, that was a little corny).

I captured this photo at breakfast a few days ago. I just love the way Samuel is in awe of whatever it is that Thomas is doing. It’s a fair representation of their relationship right now – one of hero worship (although not devoid of arguments).

After-bath hair – one of the many small thrills in our ordinary lives.

The Ishidas had a good week last week so we took an opportunity to celebrate with dinner at a local restaurant called Miho Izakaya. Fabulous Japanese “pub” food. I know we’ll be visiting again.

Fun coincidence: Miho is my sister-in-law’s Japanese name so we should be able to remember the name fairly easily.

Saturday brought a much-anticipated girl’s weekend. My friend’s mother kindly offered up her house while she is out of town so we took the opportunity to drive 45 minutes out of Portland, but it may as well have been 6 hours. I felt like I had a true break. There are more photos of the weekend to come, but for the purpose of P365 I share a glimpse below.

I started writing this on Tuesday, but since it’s now Wednesday I suppose it’s appropriate to wish everyone a Happy St. Patrick’s day. I appreciate it for the simple fact that it takes one more step out of the daily getting dressed decision-making process. Green shirts all round.