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.

Amusement Park: A Photo Walk

On Saturday morning I managed to drag myself out of bed at 4:30am to head to a photowalk at a local amusement park. Rising at the crack of dawn on the weekend was a challenge, but it was definitely worth it. I feel like I learned more about my camera in just a few hours than I have in many months. It’s amazing what a little photo “me” time can accomplish. I played with motion, lighting, colour and angles and it was just so much fun.

The trouble was culling the 700 or so photos that I took down to my favourite 20 or 30. And now what should I do with them? Maybe a book? Or perhaps I should consider printing some to hang in my house (my house is woefully lacking in the photo display department – it’s tragic).

I had to submit one photo to the photowalk website. I chose one that I thought was unique to our walk and would grab attention. Which one would you pick?. I have three days to change it so please be honest (and quick) with your response. 🙂

Purple

It’s funny how Monday’s are so much easier to deal with after a fulfilling weekend. Mine was packed with a special photowalk at an amusement park (at 5:30am!), a fun five-year-old pool party where we discovered our little water baby (Samuel – we’ll take you to the pool again soon, promise!) and a wonderful pot luck get together with good friends. And to top it all off, I have downloaded the first episode of Mad Men. Sometimes Monday’s aren’t so bad.

This week’s I ♥ Faces photo challenge is “Purple” and, well, there’s not a lot of purple in my world. I have never been a very big fan of the hue and, with two boys, purple does not make much of an appearance in our closets.

So to meet the challenge, I unashamedly borrow the daughter of a good friend who has declared purple to be her favorite color – right down to the specially chosen first pair of glasses.

Now off to watch Mad Men. I’ll be back with photos from my weekend adventure soon.

Wordless Wednesday: To Mary

Sending photos your way soon, I promise.

Mosaic Monday: The Special iphone Edition

I know I have been MIA lately. Work is busier than I remember it. Or maybe it’s my life that’s busier and it makes it harder to fit work in. Either way, I have barely found time to breathe. I have been relishing every moment away from the computer instead of enjoying the “me” time that it provides.

On the up side, I have been taking a lot more photos as part of my day job and I love that! It helps me dream of a day when all I do is take photographs from dusk until dawn.

Speaking of photographs, I my iphone arrived a week or so ago and I soon discovered the joy of camera apps. In the mood for a Holga? It’s right there in the phone.

So, today’s mosaic is a collection of iphone pics. It should also give you a tiny glimpse into how I’ve been spending my time lately.

Off to babysit for a neighbour and then enjoy two whole days off from work. I see a visit to the zoo in our future.

Back soon with more – promise!

Wordless Wednesday

Truly no words needed.

Friday Flashback: Then and Now

The boys have arrived…

…and they’ve turned into giants.

Photo #1: 2003

Photo #2: Last night.

Excuse the poor quality of the photograph. It was late and I had yet to take out my camera. I plan to do so a lot more over the next few days but would appreciate it if the rain gods would give us JUST ONE LITTLE BREAK. Don’t they realize how difficult it is to seat 9 people around a four-person dining table? A nice dry backyard would be useful right now.

Plans over the next few days include a visit to the Nike campus, a day trip to the coast and a little time on the waterfront before the boys head out for some more adventurous activities.

More to come.

Wordless Wednesday

Drive-By Blogging

Too busy to write an essay but here are a few things I am thinking about:

You MUST see this movie. It’s animated (but definitely not for children) and set in a suburb of Melbourne. Voiced by Philip Seymour Hoffman and Toni Collette. In short – one of the best movies I have seen in a long time and instantly on my list of all time favourites.

I also saw another great movie over the weekend (I love it when my Netflix queue comes through with the goods). A wonderful period drama that makes me want to learn more about Queen Victoria… and speak with a british accent. Melbourne also made an appearance in this one in the form of Lord Melbourne, the person after whom the city was named.

Thomas picked out Samuel’s clothes yesterday and they were both dressed by the time I came downstairs. Just wanted to share this newly discovered benefit of the sibling relationship. Of course I then had to go back and re-dress Samuel so that his pajamas were not underneath his shorts and his legs were through two different holes of the pants. Still, it’s progress.

Kimonos courtesy of Obachan, all the way from Japan.

Speaking of Japan, my third and final chance for the World Cup bowed out this morning. I still don’t care, but it would have been nice to jump on the bandwagon if they had won.

The next photo is for my sister-in-law. Her name is Emma and I think the illustration looks a little like her. Random.

And, finally, a photo to celebrate the fact that we had a temporary foray back to ice-cream weather on the weekend (although the pic is a couple of months old). I have my fingers crossed that the sun will shine throughout my four day weekend.

By the Seaside

I just realized that I failed to post more photos of our trip to the Oregon Coast last month. I think I mentioned that it was raining and cold during most of our stay, but we had a fabulous time nonetheless and I believe the sun even came out for a few minutes during our last few hours.

Five families, 10 adults and eight boys under 5.

We stayed in a couple of houses right on the beach – nothing fancy (and about 100 years old), but big enough to hold everyone without driving the parents crazy, and with some amazing views.

There was also a play structure right on the beach that I think Kei enjoyed just as much as the kids.

At times the weather was perfect for flying kites, although a little chilly.

And we found things to keep us occupied when the rain kept us indoors, because when you are stuck with eight boys indoors, it’s VERY important to keep them occupied.

On the final night we gathered around the campfire and cooked up some ‘smores. You could almost say we were camping (although I’m glad we weren’t). Camping or not, my intense fear of children around fires is the same. I spent so much time saying “Don’t go there” and “Keep back!” that I’m surprised I was able to get any shots at all.