Category Archives: Thomas

Not Quite Wordless Wednesday: Five Minutes Before He Disappeared

Meet Wicket, Thomas’ beetle that he grew from a meal worm for a school project. You can imagine my joy when they sent him home so we could continue his upbringing.

This photo was taken just before Thomas decided to let Wicket explore his toy castle.

How a black beetle disappeared so quickly in the space of five minutes left us all stumped. Despite a thorough search, it seems Wicket is now roaming free somewhere in our house. I wish him the best in new life and hope he doesn’t fall victim to the suction of the vacuum when the cleaners come tomorrow.

 

A shocking turn of events

My boy is about to commence his last two days of Pre-K. OK, so maybe I’m more shocked than anyone else, but I can’t believe that my baby is on the verge of beginning Kindergarten, which is called Prep where I come from. You see, in Australia, prep marks the beginning of elementary school (primary school) and I CAN STILL REMEMBER PRIMARY SCHOOL! (Thank you, Miss Fraser).

How did my child get so old? How did I get so old? Why is this happening to me?

Before I know it he’ll be six, and then seven…and then nineteen! It just doesn’t seem right.

And I am completely unprepared. Not only because I am in (a little) denial about the fact that my child is going to be an adult one day (too soon!), but also because his experience of school is going to be so completely removed from mine and I am going to be learning right along with him. I went to Primary school and High School. That was it. There was no middle school, no cafeteria lunches, no fraternities and sororities (ok, maybe I’m getting ahead of myself). My point is that it’s all foreign to me from here on out. I may as well be living in a different country (wait…).

So I have about three months to get used to the idea that I am soon to be the mother of a KINDERGARTNER. Rest assured, I’ll be taking lots of deep breaths and drinking a few glasses of wine to get used to the idea.

Oh, and here’s my photo entry for this week’s I heart faces challenge – bright and vivid. A photo of Thomas (my soon-to-be-kindergartner) taken on the last day of Samuel’s baby daycare before he moves into the pre-pre-K class.

June is really not a good time for mothers…

Just Hanging

This weekend was the first 80 plus degree day in Portland for over 7 months.

Let me give you a moment to think about that – 7 MONTH!

Can you even contemplate the pressure that puts on a person to have a great weekend and  to soak up every single second of sunshine and warmth?

I didn’t quite soak up every second but we got outside for the most part. Kei and Thomas went canoeing on Saturday morning and then headed to T-ball in the afternoon. Samuel and I spent the morning at the park with a “progressive snack” which is just like a progressive dinner except it involves snacks consumed in a variety of park locations that are chosen at a three-year-old’s whim. It took a long time to get from one end of the park to the other but we eventually made it to the playground before I took Samuel home for a nap.

After nap and T-ball, we rode our bikes to Mississippi Ave for some ice cream. The perfect pass time for, what turned out to be, a very warm spring day.

I didn’t take this photo on the weekend – it’s about a week old – but I think it summarizes my Saturday with Samuel perfectly – just hanging out.

It’s also my entry for the latest I heart faces challenge, “From a distance”.

Happy Monday!

A Sad Goodbye to a Wiggly Shirt

This is the story of one very much loved shirt/singlet/tanktop and it’s sad, sad demise.

You see a few years ago before our household developed obsessions with Star Wars, Fireman Sam, Yo Gabba Gabba and every other childhood pop culture phenomenon from a seemingly endless list, we were DEEP into the Wiggles. So deep in fact that I walked hundreds of precarious steps from the top of the Rose Garden Arena right down to the floor level while 6 months pregnant, just so we could see the Wiggles do their thing LIVE, right here in Portland.

And I encouraged this obsession for the following reasons:

  • The Wiggles are Australian
  • The music is not too annoying (sometimes even catchy)
  • They were one of the reasons I once heard my child say car with an Aussie accent (as in, Toot toot chugga chucca big red “CA”).
  • Grandparents in Australia = lots of access to Wiggles-related paraphernalia that we can’t buy here (and easy suggestions for birthday gifts)
  • The Wiggles are Australian.

Alas, the obsession came to an end at about the same time that Star Wars started taking over our lives (and our house).

But one little thing remained – an obnoxious little Wiggles tank top.

While I cursed the shirt’s existence every time I had to bribe my child to take it off so I could wash it, I admit that I appreciated this one small constant in the ever-changing world of toddler pop culture.

Of course there did come a time when, inevitably, Thomas outgrew the shirt and it was ceremoniously passed down to Curious George. He then enjoyed wearing it for a couple of years, including during at least one trip to Australia – a “coming home” of sorts for the shirt.

But then a couple of months ago the shirt began to show signs of impending retirement. First a small rip led to a bigger rip, and then this…

Even George couldn’t wear it any more. I thought Thomas would be devastated and, to be honest, he was a little sad when he realized that he would have to say goodbye, but after a couple of days I put the shirt aside and, like most things out of immediate sight for a five year old, it was quickly forgotten.

I held on to it for a while though, mostly because I wanted to take one last photo but, if I’m honest, it was partly because I was going to have a tougher time saying goodbye.

Last week I took a final photo and threw the shirt away (buried in the rubbish so a curious five year wouldn’t drag it out again). There were no tears, just a few small pangs of sadness from a mother who had to say goodbye to something more than just a shirt. (OK – I admit that was a little dramatic).

But now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure Samuel hasn’t yet seen every Wiggles episode that we have on DVD. I see a family movie night in our immediate future. I’ll have him saying “CA” in no time… “Beaudy Mates.”

Have a great weekend. I’ll be enjoying some sunshine and holding on to a little childhood.

Five Random Things Friday

It’s Friday, it’s sunny and I am looking forward to the weekend. This week has been busy with a mini birthday celebration for my little man, then a sick birthday boy. And of course there was work, lots and lots of work. I need a glass of wine and a little time in the sun – I just hope the Portland weather holds out for just a few more hours so I can enjoy it to its fullest.

To kick off the weekend I thought I’d share a few random things that I came across this week. They made me laugh, feel inspired and remember that there is a life out there waiting for me when I manage to peel my eyes away from my inbox. These things make me happy.

1. Bossypants. Loaned to me by a friend and I’m half way through. Tina Fey is the kind of person I would want in my circle of friends. If this excerpt doesn’t make you want to buy the book right now then I recommend borrowing it like I did. Either way, you need to read this book.

2. A door sign that makes me want to sing.

3. When my 5 year old likes getting his picture taken.

 

4. Creatively sharing your POV. Saw this guy on a Hawaiian cruise a few years ago but didn’t know who he was (true story). Turns out he’s quite famous and very funny and clever – and all in support of a cause that I stand behind.

5. This photograph of my three year old and taking photos from under big umbrellas while we walk in the rain (although that’s not an invitation for the rain to come back…)

Have a great weekend.

My Sweet Thing is a Sick Thing

So, while I was thinking about my photo for this weeks I Heart Faces challenge, I came across this photo that was a little bit soft (in color) and more than a little sweet – the face, the boy and, of course, the Reese’s treat courtesy of the Easter Bunny.

Sadly, the boy in the photo is not feeling well. He has the stomach bug that hit Samuel last week. Reports from others at daycare suggest that it will only last 24 hours and I’m hoping that’s true. I need my boy back to his usual self (but perhaps with a little less whining).

Sunshine and Artistry

The sun came out for a few minutes a couple of weeks ago so Kei had the brilliant idea to set the kids up in the backyard to do a little painting. I’m looking forward to more of this as the weather continues to warm up – although right now it feels as though Portland is teasing us with warm, sunny skies one day and hurricane-force winds the next.

Still, we are without a playroom for the next few weeks so I suspect we may have to brave the outdoors regardless of the weather. (more on the reason we’ve lost the playroom coming soon).

Oh, my poor youngest child. You have no idea how much teasing I have endured over the years due to an uncontrollable need to poke out my tongue whilst concentrating. I’m sorry that I passed it on to you, but I promise to protect you from your grandparent’s inevitable comments as much as I can.

At this point I’ll mention how wonderful it is to see Thomas painting with color. For a long time every single picture that came back from school was a black and white drawing of a Storm Trooper or Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker. Now, we still get the same pictures of Star Wars characters but sometimes they come in lovely jewel tones.

Samuel has recently declared that his favorite color is blue. Must drink from a blue cup, wear blue pants, shirts and socks, eat with a blue spoon – you get the idea. Conveniently there is no shortage of blue in the boy’s clothing department.

I think it’s safe to say that we’re all excited with the prospect of a little more sunshine, a little more paint and a lot more blue.

Spring Change

The Portland sun came out for a full hour or so on Saturday – just enough to spur a burst of energy so powerful that I went for a run. Those who know me will be able to appreciate just how much of a big deal that is.

And it didn’t stop on Saturday. Each day since, I have been motivated to power up the Wii and spend 15-30 minutes with my virtual trainer to do a little yoga and a few toning exercises. It’s not as much as I would like to do, but it’s the most I can accomplish in the brief allotment of time that I have between walking in the door after work and when Kei brings the boys home. The upside of all this movement is that I feel a little more energetic and the stiffness in my joints has eased up. The downside is that it hurts when I sneeze and, thanks to Spring allergies, I am uncomfortably reminded of my new workout commitment many times throughout the day.

The emergence of Spring has also brought with it a few changes for the Ishidas. Samuel started at a new daycare this week – a big shift given he started at his other daycare way back when he was four months old. Thomas is also attending the new daycare for Spring Break and, so far, they both seem to be having a wonderful time making new friends and engaging in new experiences. I was told this morning that Thomas has quickly brought the other kids of his age up to speed on the full Star Wars saga and that Samuel is nearly up to full chatter capacity after a couple of shy days. Yes, it seems they’re settling in nicely.

And, finally, one more big change coming on Thursday. My date with the laser is imminent. I’m a little nervous about the whole CUTTING INTO MY EYE thing, but looking forward to  some Xanax and the promise of 20/20 vision. More to come on that soon.

For the moment I leave you with a few photos from our brief, but wonderful, sunny Saturday. Oh, and note to the ice cream vendors of Portland – next time can you wait until the temperature rises above 50 degrees before you start trying to cash in on the families coming out of winter hibernation? I don’t need to hear Greensleeves while I can still see my breath.

This mischevous look captures my youngest child perfectly.

I like to think that Samuel was pretending to be asleep, but I think he was actually playing dead. The joys of role play with a two year old.

Thomas was just shielding his eyes from the blinding sunlight (OK, it wasn’t THAT bright). And, honestly, he looks a little uncomfortable lying on the sidewalk. What won’t a cruel mother do for a photo?