Category Archives: P365

Project 365

Random iPhone Photo Dump

Today marks the end of a crazy week and the beginning of a crazier one. Between photographing charity events (one down, one to go), trying to keep up with a busy workload and a little business travel being thrown into the mix, I barely have time to post a few recent Phone pics.

The following photos were taken using an eclectic mix of phone apps – Instagram, Hipstamatic and IncrediBooth.

And one bonus one courtesy of Samuel. A snapshot of what’s most important to him right now.

On the agenda for the weekend is a visit to the Pumpkin Patch and a little time to regroup and reorganize after last week’s very unproductive sick weekend.

Wordless Wednesday: Running from the Boogie Man

Meet the Boogie Man, otherwise known as the very patient and entertaining server from one of our favorite family dinner hangouts.

Waiting…

Here he comes!

Is it safe?

Bless him for keeping the kids entertained.

The Outtakes

I was going to come on here to share a few wonderful photos of my children on their first day back at school – and then share some of the outtakes just for fun. But then I looked through my photos and realized that the outtakes were the norm and that, really, our life is just one long series of outtakes these days.

The first day back went as well as could be expected. I only had to leave one screaming child in the arms of a caregiver (Samuel) and was able to peel Thomas off my leg within 5 minutes, so I consider that a successful drop off.

Thomas’ first day of Kindergarten (that’s Prep, for my Aussie readers) was just an orientation so they only needed him for an hour – just enough time for me to grab a coffee and read a few emails on my first day back at work before I had to go and pick him up for his assessment. He did extremely well at assessment and declared himself to be “possibly the smartest kid in the whole school.” So I guess his confidence level is right up there with his math and reading scores.

Excited for the rest of the week – a birthday to celebrate, a real first day of Kindergarten to prepare for and a whole lot of work to do. Two weeks of vacation doesn’t do any favors for the inbox.

For now, enjoy some of our first day outtakes photographs.

 

 

Friends? More Like Siblings.

The photo in this post is my entry for the latest I Heart Faces photo challenge, “Friendship”.

It’s interesting to look back over the last month and see how things have changed since Mayumi and Karin first arrived.Karin is not a shy child so, from the very first moment they stepped off the plane, she seemed comfortable in our house and with our children. But being comfortable and feeling at home are two different things and I think we can now safely say that Karin feels right at home.

This past weekend was the first time that Samuel and Karin really connected. And when I say “connected” I mean fought like siblings. Until now, Thomas and Samuel have kept up their constant bickering but Karin has largely stayed out of it. Now she is right in there with them, sometimes purposefully causing problems between the boys or trying to play on her cuteness. And I see this as a good thing. It means she’s comfortable. It means she can be herself with us, which I love.It means she treats our boys as she would a brother.

The challenge, however, is that the same rules don’t apply with Karin as they do with other children. When Karin takes a toy away, I can’t just ask Samuel to tell her how he feels and ask for it back because she doesn’t understand him. Of course the same is true of Karin – when she is upset she has trouble expressing her feelings in words unless Mayumi is close by to translate. Unfortunately it has resulted in a little more frustration and sometimes they act out that frustration by hitting. Still, I see this as a good lesson in patience (theirs and mine) and communication techniques when words don’t work.

So, where’s Thomas in all this? Well, he’s experiencing his own frustration. He doesn’t like it that the two little ones copy everything he does or when they take things away from him. He’s also having trouble finding his own space which is something we need to work on.

At the end of the day, though, the first thing Thomas and Samuel say when they get home is “where’s Karin?”. And Karin is all smiles the moment they walk in the door and they’re pretty much inseparable from that moment on. Maybe it was just a case of too much time together this weekend. Or maybe we just all need a vacation (coming soon!).

One thing’s for certain though, they are going to miss each other like crazy when Karin and Mayumi head home. Maybe, by then, I’ll manage to get a picture of the three of them together without the funny faces – or maybe this photo is a better reflection of real life right now, just a little bit crazy.

A Cloudy, Warm, Sunny, Snowy Day in the Gorge: Part 1

A couple of days ago Mayumi and Karin hit the half way point in their visit – which means they have been staying with us for a whole month.

A month!

On the one hand it feels like we have known them forever but, on the other, it feels as though the past month has gone by incredibly quickly. Mayumi and Karin have quickly become part of our family and I am trying not to think too hard about the fact that they will have to go home one day. Still, we will make the most of their visit while they’re here.

So far we have shown Mayumi and Karin around the Portland downtown area, given them a fireworks show, taken them to a local street fair, visited the Japanese Gardens and spent a lot of time at the park and in our own yard.

Last weekend it was time to finally leave the city so we headed into the Gorge for the essential waterfall/Hood River/Timberline road trip. We left the house at 9am and returned at 8pm exhausted, but satisfied with a day well spent. And Kei only had to threaten to leave Samuel by the side of the road once. I’d say that’s one of the hallmarks of a successful outing.

We started out on the Old Columbia Highway with a visit to Vista House. I have been in Portland for about 8 years and that was very first visit to Vista House – crazy.

The view was a little hazy but it was beautiful nonetheless.

The view inside was arguably even more beautiful.

Next, we headed to Bridal Veil falls which required a short 2/3 mile trek into the forest. Of course an easy downhill walk on the way to the falls means an uphill walk while carrying a small child on the way back.

While we were there Kei decided to make me sweat by helping Thomas climb onto a large rock in the middle of the river.

I stood by and tried not to think about all of the bad things that could happen while everyone else enjoyed looking at the waterfall.

After deciding that another small waterfall stop could compromise blood sugar levels, we made a beeline for Multnomah falls. Thanks to a little sunshine, it seemed the rest of Portland had the same idea.

The walk to the Benson bridge was a little easier than the Bridal Veil walk and was definitely worth it, even if Thomas complained most of the way up.

To avoid making this the longest blog post in history, I share more photos in Part 2 tomorrow, including a shot of the tiniest snowman in history.

Until then…

Finally Hot Enough for a Little Water Fun

We had such a wonderful, busy, productive weekend and I have so many photos to share. Of course I need to edit them all first (I’m a little OCD on that front) so, in the meantime, I’ll share a quick photo for this week’s I Heart Faces photo challenge of “Water”.

To be honest, when I saw the challenge subject last week I was a little skeptical that I’d actually be able to take a photo this year that fit the bill. While the rest of the country has been baking, we in the Pacific Northwest have been enjoying an extended spring. What that means is rain, lots of rain. Quite frankly, I’m a little tired of the rain. OK, that’s an understatement.

So, when the sun came out this weekend we did what almost every Portland family does at one time or another, we (actually, I) blow up the wading pool and let the children play while the parents relax on their brand new deck.

May I say again, that the backyard deck is possibly the best invention known to man? We tried it out this weekend and it offered everything we had dreamed about and more (more, meaning a lot of mud thanks to a grassless patch of ground where we set up the wading pool).

Mayumi said it best when I offered her a glass of white wine while we sat and watched the children as the sunlight filled the yard – “I am very happy!” Me too, Mayumi. Me too.

Socially Acceptable Behaviour…

…for a three year old.

You can only get away with mowing the lawn in your underwear for a few short years before someone calls the cops so you might as well enjoy it while you can.

 

 

On Being an American Mother

Growing up in Australia, my primary understanding of American childhood and adolescence were the images that came from the TV and movie screen. Happy Days and Grease (High school in the 50s), Family Ties (Family life in the 80s), Beverly Hills 90210 (High school angst in the 90s), Sesame Street (childhood with Muppets!).

Now, I realize that these representations of middle-American life are more stereotypical than true to life, but they gave me enough information to appreciate the many differences that existed for those wonderfully cool and attractive people that lived on the other side of the world, most notably…

  • School cafeterias
  • School buses
  • Cheerleaders
  • Jocks and football, track, basketball…etc. (but, strangely, few female sports)
  • Proms, homecoming dances and people who were given royal titles for such occasions.
  • Being able to drive yourself to school!
  • Lots of partying and drinking

Note: none of the above happened on Sesame Street. What I learned primarily from that show is that people and monsters can live side-by-side in harmony.

Right now, Kei and I are catching up on the one and only season of Freaks and Geeks. I don’t think the show ever made it to Australia and, if it had, I can’t help thinking that my view of the American adolescence may have been a little less bright and shiny and a little more like my own Australian experience (minus the cheerleaders).

I was the least popular girl in one of the slightly popular groups. We were not quite outcasts but we definitely lived near the fringe of school life.  I was in the singing group (think Glee but with less impressive choreography), I played a minor character with a solo in the school production of Oliver!, I got mostly A’s but a few B’s (until they changed the grading system and I started getting S’s and C’s). For the most part, I flew under the radar and I knew, without a doubt, that my life would get better when I went to University.

And it did. Phew!

Now I find myself raising children in the world I saw on television and not the world I knew. Sure, there are similarities, but my kids will eat in a cafeteria, one day ride an iconic yellow bus to school… and then there’s the sports.

Thomas just finished his first season of T-Ball. Two practices and one game each week for three months. He’s only five. In two years he’ll have to try out for the team. On the one hand, I am excited that he’s growing up and spending time outside and, right now, seems to enjoy himself. On the other hand, I’m a little afraid of this brand new world that we’re both moving in to – the world of school buses and organized sports.

One thing’s for sure, though, I have never felt quite so much like an American mother as I did when I watched Thomas at his final T-Ball game of the season. And, while I felt as though I were having an out-of-body classic-American movie experience for some of the time, it was fun to watch my little boy run the bases.

And the best part? I can tell him about my couple of seasons spent playing with the Ferntree Gully Fireballs T-Ball team. Despite the fact that many of his other childhood adventures will also be new experiences for me, we’ll always have T-Ball.

I guess we’ll learn the rest together.