Category Archives: P365

Project 365

P365: Sugar Rush

On Friday night we picked Samuel up from daycare and then Thomas from school so we could all head out to grab a little sushi. It had been a tough week last week with everyone being sick, so we decided to get out of the house and share our germs with the rest of Portland. Ha – kidding Portland (Really!).

I love that my kids love to eat sushi, even if it is the messiest meal on the planet. Samuel insisted on eating with chopsticks which meant he kept stabbing large pieces of california roll and managed to get about three grains of rice in his mouth at a time. That kid is stubborn and takes a REALLY long time to eat a meal.

After dinner we headed to Ben and Jerry’s for ice cream – which was Kei’s idea, and a good one until we got home and the kids were all hopped up on sugar. Thomas chose chocolate ice cream of course.

For my next photo, I couldn’t choose just one… Samuel’s facial expressions definitely deserve a series.

Saturday was busy with two birthday parties for Thomas to attend – one right after the other. The first one was at a jumping castle indoor playground where Thomas enjoyed the sensation of bumping into things without getting hurt. He spent most of his time with his friend Grant who he insists on calling by his full name – first and last – every time he talks to him, refers to him or yells to him across a crowded playground. I think he’s found a new best friend at school in Grant and it seems the feeling is mutual. Thomas was telling us today that Grant just wants to play with him all the time but that sometimes he just wants to be alone and he has to ask Grant to go away (nicely, of course). Not a bad problem to have.

I picked Samuel up to join us for the second part, this time at an indoor kids gym. He enjoyed watching the big kids run and jump, but most of all he loved the cupcakes.

After getting them both hopped up on sugar, I took them home where they both passed out and I left for 3 hours of shopping ON MY OWN. Yes, it is a rare occurrence and I enjoyed it immensely, mainly because I found three dresses to choose from for the upcoming wedding (yay!).

Sunday was sunny and warm enough that Kei and Thomas enjoyed a little sidewalk chalk while I lay inside and tried to finally recover from my cold. I am assuming this piece of artwork is Kei’s.

Sunday night was Mummy’s superbowl, otherwise known as The Oscars. I LOVE watching it but the downside is that it starts way too early on the West Coast so I have to try and pay attention between desperate cries to “watch soooomeeethinggg”. During all of this, Kei left to pick up our new car and make us the proud owners of a (drumroll) mini van! Yes, I am now officially a driver in the pre-school mini van convoy.

And, finally, Monday night was a quiet one where we tried to recover from the weekend and look forward to the next one. It can’t come soon enough.

Feeling Poorly

We had all been doing so well and seemed to have avoided many of the illnesses that have been rampant over the past couple of months. Sadly, though, this new epidemic has hit three out of the four of us so Thomas, Samuel and I have been home today. Of course, given that I am sick I haven’t been the best caretaker. We went to the doctor this morning and have one confirmed ear infection. The rest of the day has been spent trying to track down our prescription (still don’t have it), napping and watching a lot of TV.

I am also behind in posting my P365 photos so I have quite a few to share from the past week.

Taking advantage of the warm weather with a walk to the park on the weekend.

And what’s a weekend without a visit to Ikea? This time we picked up a run and some cushions for a little reading area we have planned for our freshly painted landing upstairs.

And Kei is clearly happy about the purchases – or his cheap Ikea lunch.

My three (hilarious) children.

The kids have been taking showers while our downstairs bathroom is being painted a beautiful shade of chocolate brown. OK, it doesn’t sound beautiful but trust me, it is very spa-like and sophisticated – and much more attractive than the lavender walls and pale yellow ceiling than the previous tenants decided to bestow on us. It only took us four years to change it…

I’m not sure why I like this photo so much. It’s clearly out of focus and the framing is all wrong, but there’s something about the way Samuel is covering his face and Thomas’ smile in the background that I just love.

I’m not sure how many Star Wars figures Thomas now owns but it feels like they are taking over the house and he keeps asking for more. I guess he just needs enough to make a conga line.

I took the day off today to look after my sick children and my sick self – although every mother reading this will know how impossible that is. First thing in the morning we headed to a clinic for an ear infection diagnosis and a couple of prescriptions. That was the quick part. It then took us another couple of hours to find out that we couldn’t get the prescriptions – 30 minutes of which we spent hanging out in the toy section of Fred Meyer while Thomas picked out the things he MUST have for his birthday. Of course September means nothing to a four year old.

As for Samuel, he saw the ball aisle and it took everything in my power to prevent him from picking up every single one and announcing “ball!”.

Kei finally picked up the prescription at about 5:30pm after another 30 minute wait and about three more phone calls but, after Thomas asked for a second dose of ear drops, I realize that the wait was probably worth it to ensure a pain-free sleep for my babies.

Here’s hoping everyone is able to go back to daycare and school tomorrow and that we’re fully recovered by the weekend so we can really relax and enjoy it.

Giddy

Today’s I Heart Faces challenge is “Outtakes”. Pity I didn’t see it before I posted my project 365 post late last week because I’m pretty sure this would have qualified.

So I went back into the archives and discovered that I have many outtakes to choose from. That’s what comes from having two silly boys who love to make faces for the camera (or even not for the camera – who needs a reason?).


We had a great weekend, although it was busy which seems to be our normal state these days. Samuel and Thomas played well together and I can really see a bond forming between them. I love that they can now “talk” to each other and play games to make the other one laugh. Samuel has become Thomas’ little shadow and follows him around endlessly yelling “Toma!” (his way of saying Thomas) and then copies everything he does. The downside to this is that we have had to talk to Thomas about the fact that Samuel likes to do everything he does, but with less balance and control. It can be a recipe for disaster, especially given one of Thomas’ favourite activities is to walk along the top of retaining walls while we are out in the neighborhood.

I just love coming off a weekend when everyone was in a relatively good mood. In fact I don’t think we implemented even one time out the whole weekend. That must be a new record.

Oh, and my bathroom is getting painted today. Almost makes up for the fact that I was scrubbing down bathroom walls at 9pm last night. The end result will be worth it.

Looking forward to a week ahead that promises much productivity, a new episode of Lost, more early spring days and a few days closer to my girls weekend and an Aussie vacation. I think I may be sleep deprived – I feel almost giddy at the prospects.

Happy Monday!

We’ve Entered The Silly Season

Spring continues to bloom in Portland. Now that I pick Thomas up from school every day, I see many more of the back streets of the city, rather than just experiencing the freeway. This is especially true on nights like tonight when I am forced to take the back streets to avoid wet weather traffic – it took me two hours to get home!

Where was I? Oh yes, enjoying the spring flowers that are blooming in the back streets of Portland. I had never noticed how many cherry blossoms lined the streets until I was forced to look at them over and over again during my marathon drive home. Happy place. Happy place. Spring Flowers…

With spring also comes the fast growth of my oldest child. He has entered the silly season when a simple photo request comes with a funny face and and even funnier (nonsensical) story. I was thinking the other day about how I have so many more P365 photos of Samuel than I do of Thomas. This impromptu photo session reminded me of why that is the case.

Walking through the halls of Thomas’ school today and I spotted this rather tidy display of gumboots – evidence of rainy days and, thanks to a school veggie growing program, time spent digging and planting.

Waving Goodbye to Rain…Soon.

Samuel has always been very good at his greetings – waving and saying “hi” and “bye” to anyone that crosses his path. Lately the greetings have gone in another direction. He likes to sit on his little bike and push himself around the house singing “GOODBYEEEE! GOOOOOODBYE!” at the top of his tuneless voice while he waves and pushes himself into the next room. The blame lies with a revival of Yo Gabba Gabba in our house.

I asked Samuel to look up at me and he immediately gave me this cheesy grin which made me think 1. The kid knows how to perform in front of a camera and 2. He no longer looks like my baby – he is a little boy. Makes me sad and happy at the same time.

I had to run an errand in St Johns the other day and took the opportunity to walk quickly down to the bridge and take a few pics. I have driven past this bridge many times and taken photos out of the car window as we drive by at 50 miles an hour. Such a beautiful landmark that I’m sure has been photographed many times – but not by me. It was nice to be able to take my time and compose my shot without having to stop my children from running into traffic.

I picked Thomas up from school today and noticed that one of his teachers had already decorated the classroom door with a few Sakura (cherry blossoms). I also noticed that our sunny days have ceased for the time being and the rain is back. This decor reminds me that the sunshine WILL come back soon, although it didn’t quell Thomas’ requests on the way home that we move to a different country where it doesn’t rain.

Day 50

This post marks 50 days into my Project 365. It’s gone quickly, but I can’t say it’s always been easy. Sometimes I find myself struggling to find something worth photographing, especially after dark when I know the photos will be less than perfect. I am trying to remind myself to take more pictures of the everyday. That’s the purpose after all – a record of our life this year. Now on to the next 50…

This little one has developed quite the personality. This look is one of his classics. He dips his head and looks with his eyes upward and a stern look on his face. Then I return the look and we stare each other down until Samuel starts laughing. After laughing for a few seconds he gives me the look again in the hope that I will continue to play the game. This can go on for quite some time.

Posing for a quick picture with some Wiggly fingers. Yes, that is a Star Wars shirt – his other obsession. Don’t worry, he has never seen the movie. He just understands the story and characters through conversations with his friends. He has also gathered quite the collection of small Star Wars figurines. It’s like they have multiplied and taken over the house. But he plays with them almost every day, acting out scenes in his imaginary world, so it’s worth it.

Spring is already arriving in Portland. Of course now that I’ve said it out loud, we should be expecting a snowstorm any day.

On of the many ways that we have witnessed Thomas’ growth this year is with his love of drawing and art. I has been amazing to watch how his drawing has changed in just a few months. When he started school last September, he was drawing people with one big circle head/body with stick arms and legs. They all looked the same and were all declared to be Stormtroopers. Now he draws elaborate scenes with people who have heads and bodies and elbows and fingers. Today he drew a picture of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, complete with a tornado. He has also been learning about French artists in his after school program and every day I receive a lesson about Monet or Picasso or Seurat (for the record, Monet did not like Seurat). I thoroughly enjoy his enthusiasm and hope it never goes away.

There is so much going on in this photo:

  1. Samuel enjoying a snack after school by himself. He often sits by himself at the table because he likes to linger while he eats and the rest of us run out of patience. Today he sat there for about 30 minutes before dinner and another 30 minutes during dinner.
  2. The helmet is back. Samuel is obsessed with hats and if he manages to get his hands on his helmet then he’ll wear it non-stop until we hide it while he’s not looking.
  3. Still wearing his jacket and shoes even though he’s been in the house for 30 minutes – another obsession.
  4. Red paint samples on the wall to the left that promise a soon-to-be painted dining room and a big massive pile of paint swatches in the middle of the table – although I’m not sure how having 1000 paint colours to choose from makes the decision-making any easier.
  5. A tiny little bit of daylight remaining at 5:45pm – the days are getting longer.

Sweet Things – P365

We begin this P365 post with a photo that is not the best, not even in complete focus, but that tongue in the cheek says it all. Pure concentration. Thomas came home from learning about Monet at his after school program and just had to paint. I think you’ll agree that his work of art would rival Monet any day of the week.

Just a couple of days before Valentine’s day and that means candy has begun infiltrating our house again.

Kei and I had an actual adult night out on Friday. We visited a restaurant that I been wanting to try for a long time (about three years) and the food was AMAZING! I’m still thinking about the soft shell crab with the shrimp gumbo, paired perfectly with a cucumber mojito. Then we headed to see Avtar in 3D (fun, but a little long) before picking up the kids. The only downside to the entire evening was that we didn’t have time to make it to Pix for a totally extravagant dessert. Next time we’ll see a shorter movie.

I told Samuel that I was going to take a picture of us. He said “no picture” and pushed the camera away. This is the result.

For the past couple of months I have been purchasing our groceries online from New Seasons. It means paying a little more – both for fully organic groceries and the “bring it to the car” fee, and I have been wondering if it is really worth it. Today we decided to make a trip to Fred Meyer for our weekly grocery shop, mainly because we had to pick up a couple of things that were not available from New Seasons. Within five minutes I had decided that New Seasons was worth every penny. No whiny children asking to buy every toy they see, no guilt at having to purchase products that were likely shipped from halfway across the country, and no wasting two hours doing something that you can do in 30 minutes with a laptop. I think I’m sold.

Here’s the whiny kid – well, one of them.

Catching Up – P365

This week has been crazy. It began with my blurry trip to San Francisco and then on Tuesday I hosted a Lost season premiere party (no photos – too busy watching the show) add snack duty at pre-school and a very busy day job and I’ve been a little under water.

Good thing I take photos every day. Sometimes I’m not sure there’s any other way I would remember our lives.

Thomas likes to set the chairs up like this, using one as a chair and one as a table. Samuel has become his little shadow lately and so of course he had to be set up with his own chair/table as well and Thomas was more than happy to oblige.

I tried for about 10 minutes (and risked my camera getting wet) to get this glimpse of Samuel’s reflection. He’s wasn’t in a very cooperative mood.

This kid is funny.

Old fixtures in an old house.

Making the most of some good window light during our visit to the Crystal Ballroom on Sunday. More photos of that fun family outing to come.

Pretty much all I saw of San Francisco on Monday during my quick visit. Oakland airport is probably the least inspiring place on earth so I’m pretty proud of myself for being able to take at least one decent photo while waiting for my flight.

OK – I forgot to take one photo this week. I blame it on Lost – I was so caught up in that show (and maybe a little wine) that I forgot to take my photo for the day. So it seemed appropriate that I took a photo of my coffee cup as I got ready for work in the bathroom the next morning.

Samuel playing in the curtain before dinner. It’s amazing how a piece of material can keep him occupied and entertained.

And finally, a photo of me (shocking!). I decided I needed a new facebook picture so I took a few quick photos in the mirror. Probably not the most inspired idea after a long day at work but I have since decided that high key black and white conversions are my best friend – over-exposure can make anyone look good.

P365 Days 11 through 16

I begin today’s P365 post with another plug for the Iron Bartender Charity event

The event is next Thursday, Jan 21st. It’s going to be a lot of fun and I have it on good authority that there are some fabulous raffle baskets up for grabs. You can buy tickets at the door if you attend. I’m talking about Sunriver vacations, a starter wine cellar, a kayaking trip and some swee-eeet Blazers tickets (my husband will definitely have his eyes on those).

You can purchase tickets here. Plug over. 🙂

I took this P365 photo at our last meeting at the Doug Fir bar in Portland. Very low light so my ISO was cranked way up and it resulted in a lot of camera noise, but I think it’s pretty nonetheless.

Avert your eyes if you’re uncomfortable with potty talk. Yes, we have begun potty training with number two (no pun intended). He said he wanted to pee and then went and sat down and…well…did. Two nights in a row. He was so proud of himself, although he hasn’t done it since. I have my fingers crossed that the second child really is more advanced with this particular skill.

Samuel enjoying an afternoon snack. This kid spends a lot of his time eating so you’ll likely see more of these types of photos during the year. I like how it looks like he was caught in the act.

A little naked playtime after bathtime. Boy, Samuel is really going to hate me for this post in a few years.

Happy year of the tiger. We enjoyed a little taiko drumming and traditional mochi pounding (pictured) at an event at Thomas’ school. I am embarrassed to admit that I did not know that mochi was made out of just rice and water until a couple of nights ago. I still don’t like it although, with the speed that Thomas swallowed the mochi sample, I predict a visit the Japanese grocery store in our future.

And then today. This was the calm before the storm when the boys enjoyed a rare moment of playing nicely together at Barnes and Noble before we took a trip to doctor’s office. I took them for their swine flu vaccination and let’s just say that the older and more aware they get, the harder it becomes to jab them with a needle. Thomas insisted that Samuel go first – and then he cried. Loudly. Then it was Thomas’ turn and who can blame him for not wanting to endure the same experience. Nevertheless, I held him down (yes, traumatic for mama) and he was jabbed. And then he cried too until the nurse gave them both a cookie to help ease the pain. After the tears had subsided a little, Thomas declared that he didn’t want to go back to the doctor ever again. Good thing his birthday and annual checkup is not for another 9 months.

This P365 is a Hodge Podge

Thomas in the bath. He’s always had very long lashes and he inherited them from me. His father can claim the hair, eyes, nose, skin tone and…well.. everything else. I’m clinging to the eyelashes.

This was inspired by a photo I saw on another blog. I just love the red against the white tile. Of course our house is currently being overrun by dinosaurs so it wasn’t difficult to find a subject to photograph. The hard part was deciding between the triceratops , the anchylosaur or the brontosaurus. I love that Samuel calls them simply “Suarus”.

I just love it when little girls wear fairy princess dresses for no other reason than that they want to be fairy princesses for the evening. This one was also wearing her brand new ballet shoes.

I won an award – Not quite an oscar or a Golden Globe, but nearly as prestigious. This was a Jenny Sizzler Golden Facebook award. A couple of my friends play in a band and we take the kids along to see them once a month at a local pizza place. It’s very family friendly and a great night out – especially since it starts at 6pm and includes an easy dinner. On Friday night the band handed out their inaugural Facebook awards for, I guess, people who spend way too much time on Facebook. I guess that’s why I won third place. It’s a small honor, but I am definitely worthy.

We went to the Portland Japanese gardens today – our first visit in about five years. I forgot how calm and serene it is (apart from the children calling Mummy and Daddy every two seconds – oh wait, they were my children). Every time I see a garden like this, it inspires me to grow bonsai and rake rocks. If only it weren’t so high maintenance…

More Japanese garden photos coming soon. I may use them for my Mosaic Monday post this week.

I just realized how many of my photos in this post were in a vertical format. Very unusual for me, but it shows me that I should tilt the camera more often.