Category Archives: Thoughts

At 20 months Samuel is…

…stubborn, demanding, frustrating and loud. But he is also adorable, chatty, smart, funny and affectionate. Sometimes I have to remind myself of the latter when he’s driving me crazy with the more challenging aspects of his personality. I can definitely say there is never a dull moment with Samuel around. Just a few things I want to remember:

  • Kisses – He LOVES to give big wet sloppy kisses and ‘uggs (Hugs). I love it that he won’t let me leave the house in the morning without a kiss.
  • Words – Samuel has a LOT of them. Tonight he said “Thomas! Brush. Teeth. Now.”
  • Adoration – for his big brother Thomas. He now asks (OK, demands) Thomas to play with him. It’s adorable.
  • Independence – I know he probably gets it from his mother but it can be a little much sometimes – especially when I am trying to brush his teeth.
  • Cheekiness – The kid knows how charming he is, and plays it to his best advantage.

I played around a little with textures for the latest challenge for

I don’t use textures very often, but I really like the effect it had on this photo. Ignore the obnoxious hat. I was hoping it would disappear after Thomas was done with it, but it’s amazing sometimes how lost items resurface when you have two curious boys despite your best efforts to hide them.

Car Boot Diaper Changes, Old School Buses and a Grown Up Night Out

This week was busy – crazy busy. For 7 months I have been on the planning committee for the 2010 Portland Iron Bartender Event and our hard work all paid off on Thursday night. I will have more photos to share as soon as I have a moment or two to edit them.

But before the Iron Bartender, I had to get through the week… Here are my P365 photos.

On Sunday we made a pilgrimage to the Japanese grocery store to stock up on noodles, sake, saba (mackerel) and natto. I would have loved to take some photos of the rows of shelves stocked with my favourite foods but a little sign out front said no photo or video and I’m too chicken to break the rules.

Instead I resorted to a picture of Samuel waiting in the boot (trunk) of the car for his diaper to be changed while I was rained on. The trunk of the car seemed more practical than squeezing myself into a public bathroom that may (or may not) have had a changing table. Samuel didn’t seem to mind.

I spotted an old school bus after my impromptu playground photo session on Monday. It gave me the perfect opportunity to play around with a few vintage photo edits.

Have I mentioned how much I love Ikea? One of our latest purchases was a couple of ghost night lights – so cute!

I pick Thomas up from school every day and every day we make the same walk down this long corridor to the car. It’s where we begin our “tell me about your day” conversation that often continues in the car. My commute home each day takes a long time now that I make this extra stop – anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes – but I never get tired of the extra time that Thomas and I have together.  The way he talks sometimes is so grown up that I forget that he has only been on the planet for four years.

One of the Iron Bartender competitors from Thursday night. It took me a long time to choose one photo from the 300 or so that I took over the course of the evening, but this one captures the vibe. So much fun! I’ll post more photos from the event soon.

Samuel got an owie at school yesterday, right above his eye. He has been so clumsy lately that I suspect he is having a growth spurt. Samuel is taking it in stride but I am a nervous wreck.

Supporting Haiti

I was listening to NPR this morning on my drive into work and the stories coming from Haiti had me in tears – particularly those of children without parents and parents without children.

Mercy Corps is an organization that Kei and I support – as does the company I work for. The vast majority of the fund they raise goes directly to relief efforts and they have a proven history in supporting women and children – something I am passionate about.

I also sent $10 to the Red Cross this morning just by keying a few numbers into my AT&T phone. T-Mobile and other carriers are offering the same. It will show up on my phone bill next month and I doubt I will even notice the extra charge.

These are just a couple of things that we plan to do to help. You may have other organizations that have special meaning to you. A donation as small as $10 can go so far.

Something to consider on a Thursday morning…

Bye Bye 2009

Kei and I are seeing in the new year with a glass of wine, a DVD and a child who refuses to go to sleep. How’s your party?

I am not a big fan of resolutions. I prefer achievable goals and here are a few that I am aiming for in 2010:

  • Project 365 – embarking on my photo a day project again. I gave it up early in 2009 and I really miss it.
  • Learning more about my camera and overcoming my fear of using flash. Suggestions for courses or workshops in the Portland/Seattle area are welcome.
  • Building my photography business while also continuing to evolve my day job into something that supports my creativity. I love the way Lyrebird Images is taking off and I hope it grows even more in 2009.
  • Getting my US Citizenship. Of course I’ll still be an Aussie. I’m just trying to add one more passport to our complicated travel experience.
  • Finish painting the inside of our house – 18 months after we finished the renovation.

There are others of course but they would fall under the title of resolution so I’m scared to put them in print.

2009 was good to us but I am looking forward to 2010. For now though, as Samuel would say, “Bye Bye 2009”.

Wearing Pajamas and Meeting Santa

In October (yes, October) I purchased tickets for the Polar Express. I am not ashamed to say that I was more excited than my kids to take part in this new Christmas tradition. And I was even clever enough to purchase tickets for a trip in early enough in December to avoid possible weather cancellation. In fact the week after we took our trip they closed down the freeway for a couple of days due to ice.

The day we took our trip on the Polar Express, though, it was unseasonably sunny. So much so that taking photographs was a challenge – well, beyond the usual challenges of two unwilling participants.

This is Samuel saying “go away!”

Kids wear their pajamas on the Polar Express, just like they do in the book and movie. It was the perfect (and rare) opportunity to dress them up in their flannel pajamas and little dressing gowns (or bath robes in American).

Int he process of dressing them I realized I may have the cutest kids on the planet (and I know every mother thinks that).

Ignore the obnoxious Wiggles hat. He has a much cuter hat that he never wears but I’m choosing my battles.

We left in (I thought) plenty of time, but ended up arriving about only 10 minutes before the train left. I hate being late and that last 30 minutes in the car was tense.

But we did make it and quickly found our seats. Samuel refused to take off his coat for the first 30 minutes or so.

And then the fun began. First, some hot chocolate and cookies. (I only managed to get a shot of the back of one of the servers).

And the story was read over the speakers. I came prepared with our own copy of the book to follow along but left it in the car in our mad rush to get to the train.

How did a photo of me get in there?

After about 45 minutes we reached the North Pole and there was someone familiar there to greet us.

He boarded the train and went around greeting each child.

Mine were a little freaked out by the whole experience and refused to sit on this strange man’s lap. Maybe that’s not a bad thing.

Each child received a bell as a gift.

After some carol singing and another hour or so, we arrived back at the station. It turned out to be about 15 minutes longer than perfect, with the kids starting to become a little stir crazy.

As we walked back to the car for the long drive home, it really felt like Christmas had come for the Ishidas.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a quiet event in the Ishida house. Most years it has been only the two of us (and then three, and now four). Kei I used to go out for Thanksgiving dinner and then we had children and… well… let’s just say that it’s more relaxing to stay at home.

And I buy a takeout turkey dinner.

What? I’m not ashamed. It’s easier and it tastes just as good and I get the chance to spend the holiday with my family rather than in the kitchen. And besides, I’m Australian. Thanksgiving is my adopted holiday so I am free to create new traditions.

And I did make the brussel sprouts (the key is LOTS of bacon).

In the midst of a string of unusually sunny Portland days, Thanksgiving was still grey and miserable. We tried to keep the boys occupied with indoor football.

Excuse the blurry images – it was a dark Portland day and I am not a big fan of the flash.

And I’ll let you in on a secret… the photos are in black and white in the hope that it will hide the colours of our messy house.

Then it was time for lunch and the discovery that Samuel REALLY likes corn.

Hey, how did a photo of me get in there? That almost never happens.

After lunch I tried (unsuccessfully) to get a picture of the boys together. Here are the results.

So, yep, an uneventful Thanksgiving. Just the way I like it.

Better Late Than Never

I realize Halloween was over a week ago and you’re really supposed to post photos of an event like this in the days immediately following but, hey, I’ve been busy. And as the saying goes, it’s better late than never.

Our Halloween had two parts – and two costumes. WAY more effort than I usually contribute to the holiday.

I promised myself that I would not have a stressful Halloween this year. I have traumatic flashbacks of last-minute visits to thrift stores in the hopes of finding something (anything!) to wear. So this year, when I passed a pair of striped tights and a witches hat in Freddies (local enormous grocery store), I grabbed it and said done.

Kei had other ideas…

For the record, I was NEVER going to be Thing 2.

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This inspired ensemble was what we wore for the adult party on Friday night (saved at the last minute by a wonderful neighbor who came to watch the kids after our babysitter canceled at the last minute).

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It took me a little while to get over the fact that my friends all dressed as sexy kittens and sexy race car drivers and sexy…well… wenches(?), while I was basically dressed in sweat pants and an old lady wig.

But I did get over it. And we had a good time with the cookie monster…

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And one scary-ass clown.

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Or maybe this was the scary-ass clown.

Coming soon.. the costume I was supposed to wear…or a lesson in how to overdress for a walk around the neighborhood.

The Person Who Invented Infused Sake is a Genius

I have always loved to sing. I was in a few musicals in High School and I loved it – but it was clear that it was never going to a career. I was destined to be in the chorus so the dream didn’t follow me to university.

I think my voice is OK. In fact I have full confidence in it when I sing lullabies to my children at night. And by lullabies, I mean whatever mellow song I can remember the words to – Away in a Manger, Silent Night, Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds…

And the I moved to Japan for a year and suddenly I became a pretty good singer in a sea of people who loved to sing regardless of their level of talent. There is no such thing as false modesty (or even real modesty) when you are with a group of Japanese people in a Karaoke bar. EVERYONE is expected to sing and everyone marvels at your singing ability. There’s nothing better to boost your confidence level.

That was about 12 years ago. It’s been a long time between Karaoke sessions, but the truth is that I didn’t leave it my love for Karaoke in Japan. I have carried it with me for 12 years – that desire to get in front of a group of friends and belt out classic songs from the 80s.

And then a couple of weeks ago my friend Leeann requested a Karaoke night for her birthday. It may as well have been MY birthday present.

It started off well with my signature Karaoke song, but I’m pretty sure it went downhill from there. Although, admittedly, it was difficult to make an informed judgement after the 4th jalapeno-infused sake.

Two things I was reminded of during the evening:

  • You are really not as good a singer as you think you are, and
  • Karaoke is FUN (especially when you’re drinking jalapeno-infused sake)

Oh, and one more thing. A great evening of Karaoke ends with a very grand finale.

Indulge me

We recently held a birthday party for Thomas in the park near our house. I have been feeling overwhelmed lately, so the goal was something low key – just a few kids, a pinata, pizza, cupcakes and some playtime at the park.

And of course we had balloons. A beautiful bunch of bright primary colours that I planned to hand out to the kids as an extra party favour at the end of the party.

And when a photographer has balloons, well, you know….

Ten minutes after I took these photos, the very clever slip knot tied by the guy at the party store proved to be not very clever at all. I watched helplessly as the balloons floated away into a perfect blue sky.

But that’s the great thing about photography. The balloons would have been deflated in a few days anyway, but these photos will remain forever.

Until Next Year

My mother recently flew back to Australia after a three week visit. It was wonderful to have her here and witness Thomas and Samuel getting to know her a little but more. And, let’s face it, it was nice having the break from cooking and a little help with the cleaning and childcare around here.

One of the sacrifices that come with living in another country is the distance from family and all that comes with it.  Thankfully we are able to get together for an extended period of time every year or so and the boys have the chance to spend some quality time with their grandparents. It was a little disappointing that dad couldn’t make it this time, but we’ll see him early next year when we head back over for my brother’s wedding.

I have more photos to share from “Nan’s” visit, but I think I’ll start with goodbye.