Category Archives: Photography

Only a month late

Yes, Samuel had his first birthday party a month ago. Yes, I have been slow uploading the photos. But I have this thing with continuity. I HAVE to post my photos in order. It’s a problem I am trying to overcome.

But the important thing is that we DID have a party. And even more importantly, PEOPLE CAME. And even more important than that – I managed to get Thomas to wear something other than sweatpants and a long sleeved t-shirt.

Oh, and despite the fact that I was hosting this party, I still managed to take a surprising amount of photos. I know, shocking!

We had bubbles

BIG bubbles

This is Samuel’s girlfriend. 🙂

Look at this sweet one. She’s a little too young right now but she’ll be kissing and punching Samuel in no time.

The best thing about American birthdays in May is that it is warm enough to have an outdoor event – and sometimes hot enough to play under the sprinkler.

And that is sometimes enough to bring out the child in anyone.

I would hire her as my nanny any day (or maybe just let her be an aunt to my children).

There were also a few adults in attendance, but they were mainly invited just to wrangle the children

Lucky for me, Samuel LOVES Emily. 🙂

The biggest part of these parties, though, is the shock I feel every time we get together and I see these children that were just babies yesterday and now suddenly seem so grown up.

About 5 minutes

I estimate that I have approximately five minutes before Samuel wakes up from nap, so just going to share a few quick things that are in my plans for this long weekend.

Taking more photos of everday life. My camera has been taking a little break lately but I miss having those daily reminders of what we do every day – and the feel of the camera in my hand. I also need to take advantage of the fact that the rose garden near our house is only in full bloom for a few days.

Working on my patience with Thomas. He and I have been challenging each other the past couple of days and I think we need  a few non-stressful days to get back on track.

Getting this one healthy. He had a fever of 103.5 yesterday. Right now the round-the-clock doses of Tylenol and Motrin are helping but we’re keeping an eye on him. I called the nurse yesterday and she said it could last up to 5 days! He’s relatively happy when the drugs kick in which makes the whole thing bearable. It’s just hard to watch when the drugs start to wear off and he just lies there moaning. Poor baby.

Eating lots of ice cream. It’s going to be a warm weekend and if that gives me an excuse to partake in a little gelato, then so be it.

Oh, and sitting in my house on the evening of July 4th, listening to fireworks, hose at the ready and praying that my children will sleep through it. I know – what a party pooper. I can appreciate beautiful fireworks displays as much as the next person, but it’s the personal displays that worry me.

So instead of enjoying them in person, I’ll watch out the window and play a little game of “which is the firework and which is the gunshot?” (we live in a neighborhood where sometimes it’s a tough call).

Now that I’ve sufficiently freaked out my family back home, I’ll sign off. Happy 4th of July to my US neighbors and happy Saturday to my Aussie ones (I guess it’s still 4th of July though…)

Nicole

Benema in the City

As soon as I knew Ben and Emma were coming to visit, I decided we would have one day where we would split up. The kids would be in daycare, which would leave Ben and Kei to play golf and me and Emma to have a girly day of pedicures, lunch and window shopping (and maybe a little real shopping).

Of course we got the pedicures.

And then I introduced Emma to the joy that is the Peete’s Dark Chocolate Mocha Freddo. Oh, Emma, I am so sorry that I teased you with the delicious chocolate goodness and then you had to say goodbye. (of course I’m sure you more than made up for it over the next FOUR weeks of your round the world vacation. Can you hear the sympathy?).

Next up was a little shopping where we checked out some funky t-shirts and I drooled over a lot of over-priced children’s clothing. If you saw what my children manage to do to their clothes on a daily basis, you’d understand why I didn’t invest in a $40 t-shirt.

I also drooled over these dresses that, I know deep down, I am just not funky enough to actually wear.

And finally a trip to the mall where we walked away disappointed that Macy’s clinique gift time was over, but then rejoiced when Nordstrom came through with the gift. It’s the small things in life.

Then I tried on a funky little top that was just way too cute on the hanger. Sadly though, when I went into the dressing room to try it on, it turned out to be a jumpsuit. A jumpsuit! Not sure why, but I could not stop laughing enough to even tell Emma about my wardrobe malfunction. Maybe it was the image of myself in the mirror trying to work out why I couldn’t get the leg hole over my head.

A good laugh at the end of a great day.

Random Monday

A few things that are interesting/insipiring me today:

 

Thankful for sunny days and short holiday weeks.

Happy Monday.

Nicole

The long and winding road: Benema at the beach pt2

You can read about the first half of our day at the beach here.

When you’re traveling with two small children you need to think carefully about planning your trip around nap times. This is especially difficult when one of the children is still taking two naps. Before Samuel was born, I had forgotten about the inconvenience of the late morning nap.

But sometimes you have a day when you just get the timing right and our trip to the beach was just that type of day. Both boys slept in the car on the way to the coast int he morning and woke as soon as we arrived. We played on the beach and had lunch and, by the time we were ready to continue our drive down the coast to catch the alternate route, they were both ready to pass out again for an hour or so. Not only did this ensure we were avoiding two cranky children, but the adults were able to stop the car a few times on the way to take in the sights without having to worry about getting the kids in and out of carseats.

We had one primary reason for driving the long way home – the Tillamook Cheese Factory. We have driven by the factory a number of times but have never ventured in – once arriving 5 minutes after it closed (one of the more frustrating moments of my life).

This time, however, we arrived many hours before closing and we had two freshly napped children – nothing was going to stop us.

The first thing that hits you in Tillamook is the smell of cows and cow manure. It’s not pleasant, but I suppose it’s necessary and a good reminder that some animals work hard so I can eat that delicious sharp Tillamook Cheddar. Still – makes me grateful that I live some distance from the source.

The visit begins with a view of the factory. It was mesmerizing watching them cut the cheese (yes, we heard the jokes).

And then the walking tour leads to the store and…samples!

(My brother teased me for taking this photo at the time but I bet his mouth is watering now. You’re welcome, Ben.)

The finale – ice cream all round. I think Thomas would have had a meltdown if we didn’t get ice cream. He chose chocolate (of course) and ate the entire thing.

And of course we couldn’t leave without the goofy photograph.

Then we got in the car and drove back to Portland. The end? Not quite…

There’s a story that members of my family like to tell over and over again. It involves a windy car ride from Sydney to Melbourne, a stop at the cheese factory where we ate ice cream and cheese samples and a little girl who didn’t have time to tell her father to stop the car before throwing up all over the back seat and her two brothers. My mum and my brother Ben are particularly fond of telling this story at every family gathering.

Well, I have some good news. Now Ben has a new story to tell. We were just miles from home and Thomas had been quiet for a little while – he didn’t seem quite himself. In hindsight the signs were there, but at the time we really had no warning. Poor Curious George was collateral damage and had to be washed three times and sprayed with febreeze before I was finally able to get the smell of vomit out of his fur. Thankfully we had a few days to air out the rental car before returning it.

Thank you Thomas for changing the subject, although I apologise in advance for the fact that your uncle and grandmother (and possibly your aunt) will still be talking about this incident when you’re 30.

Benema at the Beach

It has been so long since we’ve been out to the Oregon Coast. It’s only a couple of hours away, but usually the only time we can go is on the weekend. A sunny weekend means half of Portland is trying to get to the beach and with only a couple of two-way highways to choose from, traffic can add a couple more hours to the trip. Add in a couple of kids, diapers that need to be changed and constant requests for snacks and it can be hell on wheels.

So we waited until the time was right – an unusually sunny May week in Portland and some extra entertainment for the kids in the form of Uncle Ben and Auntie Emma.

The weather was incredible – sunny, warm and a very small breeze. Of course it was the Oregon Coast so not exactly swimming weather (it never is, thanks to the frigidly cold water courtesy of Alaska), but it WAS beach weather. And of course I took photographs…a lot of photographs. Here are just a few.

We bought a Kite.

Thomas, it appears, is quite the kite flyer.

I promise, it only looks like they’re destroying their nephew’s sand castle.

And what’s a beach without sand? I’m still finding it weeks later. I wish I’d managed to take photos of this child rolling around in it. His goal in life is to create more laundry.

And this was only the first half of the day. More to come…including a long-awaited visit to the cheese factory with a familiar outcome.

So Unfortunately “Nicole” Has a Reputation

I was reading  a blog where it was suggested that you can use Google to generate funny little anecdotes about yourself. Type in “Unfortunately [your name]” and then see what comes up in the list of searches. Of course her’s were all very artistic and civilized (she has a literary name). Mine on the other hand…

  • Unfortunately, Nicole never considered the fact that she could get pregnant while doing alcohol and drugs while having unprotected sex. [this really was the first thing to come up]
  • Unfortunately, Nicole was having a wardrobe malfunction.
  • Unfortunately Nicole is a typical white Australian [this one was in reference to Kidman]
  • Unfortunately, Nicole seems to have an incredible memory, or maybe because she’s just hungry for gossip.

So to help overcome the stereotype, I am going to go ahead and post a few photos from my girls weekend in Seattle. We were drinking soda, of course. 🙂

And to prove I was really there – the only photo of me. The only that will be posted anyway…

And to answer your question… yes, we really are that funny. I did not stop laughing the entire weekend.

Pure Joy… well, I’m working on it.

Heading to Seattle for a girls’ weekend tomorrow. I’m sure Samuel won’t look like this while I’m gone, but I’m pretty sure I’ll have a smile on my face after a few cocktails and a night on the town.

I’ll miss my boys…but every mama needs some girl time. And it’s well timed after the week I’ve had. While I don’t expect to return refreshed (it takes much more than one night away to do that), I do hope to come back with a renewed appreciation for the fun parts of life. Sometimes work takes control of my emotions. This weekend is about getting them back to where they need to be.

Oh and Thomas knows just how to cheer me up. I was telling Kei a story in the car on our way to dinner about something that happened at work today – something that was not my fault, but that really upset me. Thomas kept trying to interrupt to tell me something, but I kept telling him to wait and be patient. He interrupted about 3 or 4 times and each time I told him to wait – each time a little more forcefully.

Finally I had a break in the conversation and I turned to Thomas and told him he could tell me his story now. Without a beat he replied “I want to get some roller skates”.

I have no idea where it came from – I didn’t even know Thomas knew what roller skates were – but the comment was so random and unexpected that it made me laugh and completely lifted me out of the funk.

Talk about bringing me back to the true priorities in life…

Ben

We haven’t always had the best relationship. In fact I recall hating him when we were teenagers. I think it was combination of being too close in age (17 months) and the competitive spirit that we both possess.

High school was tough for me. I was on the outskirts of about three different cool groups – which meant I wasn’t popular at all. Ben came up behind me and was voted Prefect (= popular). I was in the chorus in the school musicals. Ben was lead. I got straight A’s (OK a few B’s). Ben got straight A+’s with a few A’s.

But over the years our lives drifted in separate directions. I took the straight path – University straight after High School, travel, marriage, job. Ben was more interested in an artistic life with less responsibility (and less money – sometimes supplemented by my parents which was another source of frustration for the always-responsible oldest child). He didn’t understand me and I didn’t understand him.

But now that I am 34 years old and Ben is 32 we find our lives merging again and suddenly there is a renewed respect for each others’ life choices. Granted, he has drifted more toward the standard path over the past few years (regular job, car, looking for a house), but there seems to be a level of appreciation and understanding that wasn’t there before. We’re not in competition anymore (well, not all the time) and we can have adult conversations about the paths we both took to get where we are.

I still don’t understand his obsession with junk food – specifically missing out on a visit to Burgerville (ok, maybe I understand it a little. Burgerville is FANTASTIC!).

But I am grateful that we can now talk like adults without the adolescent crap that somehow made it’s way into our 20s.

Maybe it also has something to do with the fact that he chose to marry someone who is eerily like his sister in many ways.

Come on…I had to say it. 🙂