The project so far...

I finished my first month of Project 365. I'm a bit surprised that I managed to take a picture every day. I was pretty sure it would be a big Fail for sure. I got behind with posting the photos a few times, but I caught up eventually.

So what I've learned so far from the project........

I have a lot to learn about my camera and I'm glad I've got the rest of the year to do it, because that's probably how long it's going to take. I actually borrowed some photography books from the library last week. They make NO sense to me whatsoever, and I still don't understand what ISO means exactly, but I'm going to keep trying to learn.

The project has helped me to slow down. I look at things differently. I think in moments more often. I stay in the present more often. I look for stories during my day. It's funny, for several years now, I've tried to practice mindfulness (pretty casually, I should add). But ever since having kids, I've all but forgotten it; I get so caught up in the flurry of things to do, things I need to do, things I haven't done that I should have, etc, etc. So often, I'm everywhere but right now, and I know that means that I miss things. This project is helping me slow down and see more again. It really is. I think it was just what I needed.

One of my favourite places to visit on a weekend. White Feather Country Store is about 15 minutes north of us on one of the country roads. It started out as just a little market that sold farm fresh eggs and when my mom and I started visiting years ago, it was a little market with a bit of a gift shop attached. Well now, it's a huuuuuge building with a big big gift shop area and they still sell their fresh eggs and tons of other foods. On a weekend, the crowd is huge. People driving in from the city wearing their 'weekend outfits', looking around as though it's an amusement attraction ;)

Hayden picked out some Valentine cards for his class and I bought some peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies and a cookbook. I have to remember to go there more often though. They have so much freezer food and it's all very fresh and made in Ontario. Good stuff :)

I bought this book yesterday. Damn you, Oprah. I know it will tell me what I already know or sensed. But now it's just going to be harder to avoid. Sigh.

Pizza Sauce or Poison?

Only time will tell. I made myself some nice little english muffin pizzas this afternoon for lunch. As I finished the first half of my mini pizza I suddenly realized where I took the pizza sauce from. NOT the same place that I put it the other day in the fridge. What does this mean, you ask? It means I used an OLD bottle of pizza sauce. I don't know how old; could be 6 months, could be 2 years.

Let me expand on this by telling you that I have some "issues" shall we say, around food. A bit of paranoia about expired, contaminated, or otherwise bad food. I suppose you could say I probably qualify as having a mild phobia around food contamination. This is not good. It doesn't help to live with a person who basically believes that no food can go bad, and if it can go bad, you can probably just cook the 'bad' out. Wrong on so many levels.

The body scan begins.....is that a stomach cramp? A slight wave of nausea? Is that a malaise I'm feeling???

Is that a gecko on your shoulder?

This is one of the little 'prizes' that Maddie likes to carry around with her everywhere....one of those stretchy, rubber geckos. It's Hayden's of course :)

We have a stair climber now. She's not nearly as cautious as her brother was though. With Hayden, I never had to feel overly nervous because he was so cautious. Not the case with this little one. She doesn't seem to have much concern for gravity. It makes for some rapid heartbeats sometimes. She'll stand right up, hands-free on a stair and then suddenly just FALL. Needless to say, we're right behind her all the time.

Oh, the poor little thing....already she just wants SO much to be able to do everything her brother does. She tries so hard! She follows him everywhere, and her favourite things to play with are toys that she has seen her brother playing with (i.e. "White Guy")

This is Scout. The oldest of our 2 cats, she is 13. She is still every bit the tomboy as her name would suggest. This is cautious Scout, watching Madeline from above. She's so good with the kids, but doesn't necessarily always trust the little one :)

Something old #3!
I was driving with the kids while they slept (failed attempt to go to the library, LOL). So I went by my old house. Or one of them, I should say. This is the first house I loved in that I have memory of. We lived there until I was 5. It's so strange to go down that street now because it looks so small and in memory, it was soooooo long. The backyard is so small too! I remember it being the size of a football field at least. I remember so much about this house though; it's hard to believe I only lived there until I was 5. Still looks pretty much exactly the same.

Something old #2: This is the Visual Arts Centre in town. I remember my brother and I took an art class there when we were kids. I sucked, but I still loved it. We learned how to make one of those little animation books and I thought that was a pretty big deal. A little stick man jumping over a puddle :)

The building is an old mill and there's a really nice, wandering creek right behind it. I used to play a lot of my baseball games there in the park, and it was one of my favourite parks to take Hayden when he was little. Lots of shade, a walking trail, and he could watch the fishies in the creek too.

This couldn't be a more fuzzy and dull photo, but it got dark outside REALLY fast when I decided to try taking a picture, LOL. We were out for a drive on Sunday and we were near the lake and noticed all the little fishing huts waaaaaay out in the middle. This looks like the loneliest, coldest place to be, if you ask me. There is nothing appealing to me about sitting in a hut in the middle of a lake in winter!

Something old indeed! This is my old Fisher Price Clubhouse. I loved this toy SO MUCH! My parents still have it and it was a favourite of Hayden's to play with for a long time. Now that he has come to realize that it doesn't involve superheros or ninjas of any sort, his interest has faded a bit.

So this is what we ended up with on Saturday. I felt so badly. Hayden had a cough for a couple of weeks, but didn't complain and it didn't get any worse and there was no fever. So I assumed it was viral and it would run its course. On Saturday morning, I noticed some dried blood in his ear, so off to the Walk-In. The Dr. loaded him up with antibiotics, puffers and ear drops. Poor kid. Never complained once about not feeling well. I thought this might be his first winter without puffers and that he had finally outgrown his preemie lungs :) Maybe next year.

Today was sooo, soooo unproductive. I've been behind posting my pictures and now I'm rushed and can't think of what to type. Anyway, last night was just a long painful blur. Hayden was restless all night and speaking in tongues from what I could tell. Maddie was restless and fussy. This whole teething thing; babies teethe for what, a year and a half? Two years?? Do other people have babies that sleep through the whole ordeal? Mine don't. I can only imagine how uncomfortable it is for them :( So, after the long, tiring night, we were pretty lazy today. Hayden wanted to strike a few poses with Maddie. My dear son, why is your first instinct to put your finger in your nose for a photo opp?? Oy..... But I managed to catch Maddie without her 'camera face' :) I don't know where she gets those ears, but she has such an elfish little look to her sometimes. She's starting to get little wisps of hair growing over her ears too. Does anyone else find it difficult to resist the urge to just SQUEEEEZE their kiddies sometimes?

A picture of something wooden. I wish I could remember what this is called! I thought it was called a "yogi" or something like that; it's supposed to take your worries for you. One of those things I bought back when I was in my early 20's (I HATE the way that sounds, by the way). I still like it for some reason, yet no reason in particular.

I want to be able to take a good picture of a tree! I was on one of our afternoon drives this week and while the kids were asleep in the car, I pulled over to take a picture. I loved the shape of the branches and I wanted to try taking a few more pictures for a better shot, but the battery died after the first picture, LOL. I'll have to go back and try again.

Most people don't know this about me, but I can build stuff. I keep it on the down low because I don't want people to make a "big fuss" about it. It's nice to have the engineering degree on days like this. It helps me to decipher the exhausting number of instructions involved in a Lego project (insert eye rolling here)

"Mommy, that was a really good project. It wasn't fun to put together, but it's fun to play with."

Unfortunately, Hayden doesn't yet understand the delicate nature of a Lego vehicle. Within 5 minutes, half of the pieces were laying haphazardly around the room; those tiny little choking hazards. Oh, and he has also learned the pain of the tiny lego piece embedded in the foot. Ouch.

2 hours to assemble; 2 minutes to destruct.

Sigh.

My favourite, favourite lunch! Greek Quinoa Salad. I would happily eat it every day.

He just keeps growing up.

~Persevere~

On a day like Wednesday, this is what I remind myself :)

Wii-laxin'

I don't know what is worse; how much I love playing Wii, or the ridiculous new 'words' I come up with containing the word "Wii"

Ordinary Day

"The ordinary acts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest. (Thomas Moore) "

Quote:
"Today at school, I told Jake that I live in Canada. So now he'll know how to get to our house."

Did you say TUESDAY??

I still can't believe it's only Tuesday. TUESDAY. Please, could someone just watch my kids for a few days while I catch some REM? Teething, bad dreams, cold feet that find their way out of the blankets, nosebleeds.....what else??? You know that feeling when you wake up after too little sleep and your eyelids feel like sandpaper. Nauseating.

Fortunately, with buckets of coffee, I seem to be able to function at a somewhat normal level. I can drive and communicate in sentences. Both children made it to their beds tonight, so I'm calling it a success. The day went surprisingly well considering 3 of us put together didn't even get a full night of sleep :)

Did I mention I love coffee?

I hadn't used the Bodum in a very long time because of our newer "fancy" coffeemaker. Last weekend, we tried to buy the little cups for our machine, but they were sold out everywhere. So I brought out the Bodum. Scott was skeptical. But we were in crisis mode and he would do whatever necessary to maintain caffeine levels until we could get our usual supply. My sister has been talking about this "Kicking Horse" stuff, so I decided to give it a try this week. Oh, I love it. It's even Fair Trade which makes me feel like I'm doing something good.

QUOTE:
"Mom, I really like that guy (new pediatrician). I'm in love with him. You know, like sometimes on cartoons when hearts come out of their heads."

The Mommy Drives

One of the things I really like about living in this area is the fact that I can drive to Toronto in a half hour, and yet if I go just a few miles from our home, I'm in the middle of farm country. I love it.

Today the kids and I hung around the house until after lunch. By mid-afternoon I start to get a bit stir-crazy, and on certain days, I can tell that Hayden is in need of some rest. So I pack us up and we go for a drive. I stop at Tim's for a coffee, get out my iPod and start driving. The kids are usually asleep within 15 minutes and other than the music, it's so QUIET :) I've seen more of the country roads in the past 10 months than I did during the entire time I grew up here.

Today I replaced the iPod with my camera. I've never known the 'tricks' for taking outside pictures, so I'm still just playing around with different settings. I even decided to pull over while the kids were asleep so I could fiddle with the camera some more while taking pictures. I guess the shoulder wasn't as wide as I thought it would be and I felt the car sticking a bit. Trying to drive through it only made things worse. I called Scott to tell him that I was stuck on the shoulder and I was pretty sure I needed CAA. He said he would leave work right away, saying,"Trust me, I'm not worried....that car is light. I'll just give it a push."

I was surprised how many people drove right by! (I was just as happy they did)

Scott arrived just as the kids woke up. Hayden reported that he "didn't like having to lean so far over," and Scott suggested that it would have been more accurate to tell him that I was in the DITCH. He had a point :)

He and 2 other kind strangers pushed the car out and we were back in business.

(I didn't tell Scott that the whole reason I pulled over was to take pictures for this Project. Ssshhh!!)

Quote of the Day:
(While crying): "I don't feel like dancing, but I have to dance"

"Be Happy"

That's what Hayden said to me tonight. I know I'm not exactly mysterious when it comes to my mood, but how is it he always knows? He's right, too.

Sidenote: These two are going to be quite the pair. I just randomly grabbed the camera to take this picture and later wondered why Hayden was playing with a wooden spoon and Madeline was chewing on a picture card from a game???? Oh, and why was it Hayden's first instinct to put the spoon handle in his ear??


I've decided that I need to add a Quote of the Day. I always mean to write things down that Hayden says and I always forget later. So maybe this will help!

Quote of the Day:
"I love our home. We're like a bunch of families living together."

Good for the Soul

"...And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit."


Yesterday was all about old, dear friends.

"Mommy, can I tell you a truth?"

When a quiet voice asks that question from the next room, it usually means mischief :) It's funny, Hayden never did things like this when he was younger; he was so cautious and always asked before he did anything. But he's making up for it now. This was the first time he drew on himself yesterday. For some reason he felt compelled to confess halfway through his project. He was trying to draw on himself to look like "Ironman". So after this, he had to draw on his hands and also draw around his mouth. He was telling me very seriously about this project and I was in tears from laughing. He couldn't understand what was so funny.

Catch up!

It doesn't even surprise me that I didn't make it through week 1. But I will catch up--I've been taking pictures, but haven't had the chance to think of what to write. These are pictures from the library. I started taking Hayden regularly after Maddie was born. It's become a weekly routine for us, and there's something about that place that I find so relaxing and calming. There's a really nice little children's area and this the dragonfly that hangs from the skylight above the reading area.

There are 2 of these chairs in the children's reading area and I LOVE them. My favourite spot to sit while Hayden peruses the books.
The children's area is dedicated to a woman we knew. It's a bright, cheerful place to be, just as she was :)

A Ham and a Camera

If she can still be this happy after keeping me awake all night, how can I possibly hold it against her, LOL. Mostly I remember being awake last night and just wishing for some REM sleep. But I never feel as tired the next day as I think I will. She is just so HAPPY all the time (almost all the time). And she was sweet enough to have a nice long nap this afternoon and I joined her (big brother was at school)!

I don't know how it started, but for about 2 months now, this is the face she's been making every time she sees the camera (the 2nd and 3rd picture aren't from today).

"Mommy, where's my white guy?"

I often wonder how many strangers in public have heard my son say these words...and what must they be thinking, LOL.

This is "White Guy". He is a circa-1980's action figure that belonged to my brother. My mom resurrected him some time in the last year, along with a bunch of our other childhood toys. Hayden managed to sneak away with this one a few months ago. There is also "Motorcycle Guy," "Bobblehead Guy", "Star Wars Guy" and a few others. But White Guy is the elite. Funny how kids pick their favourite toys. Hayden absolutely covets this guy; he goes everywhere with him-on trips, around the house, he takes him to bed every night.

Of course, since White Guy has so many secret missions in a given day, he usually goes MIA at least once, and this initiates the recovery mission. After White Guy had been missing just over a day, I found him hidden in a Christmas House on the side table today. Another victory for The Mommy ;)

Ho hum....

That seems to be what we're feeling around here today. I know Scott isn't looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. I'm going to miss all the family time. And I'm REALLY dreading the impending job search that I have to start this week. We've barely left the house for the past 3 or 4 days and today was the same. It was bitter cold outside and snowing quite a bit, so we didnt' even try to go anywhere :) This was the view from the back window this morning. There's a tiny bit of a slope at the back of that fence, and the little kids go down it on their sleds. Poor Hayden hasn't made the trip over the fence yet this winter. Maybe this week?

We put away all the Christmas decorations too. Just another element of the 'ho hums'. Of course, we were particularly sad to see "Tweety" go into storage. A few weeks before Christmas I took the kids to a local nursery to see all the decorated Christmas trees (they were beautiful). I told Hayden he could pick out one new Christmas ornament/decoration and of all things, he managed to find this parakeet (budgie, I don't know?? LOL), and so he came home with us! He sat on top of the stair railing at our front door on a nest of garland. See you next year, Tweety!

Then The Mommy Bakes

For some reason I can only go all-or-nothing. So I will want to make 3 things at once when I get some uninterrupted time in the kitchen. Anyway, I tried a new muffin recipe from the Cheese Magazine, LOL. Berry Ricotta muffins.....again, they don't look nearly as attractive as the picture suggested they would. And when I made the batter I was sure it wasn't going to work because it seemed more like cookie dough. But I've taste tested and they are really yummy! And only 1/2 cup of sugar in the whole thing.

This is where I mention that I love anything related to cheese :)

I can see already that this blog is only going to result in more of me monopolizing the computer.

When The Mommy Cooks

Oh my gosh, today couldn't be any lazier! It's 6pm and even though I've showered today, I'm still in pj's! Shameful :)

Today I had this great motivation to do some cooking- I've made a decision that I want to eat more soup in 2010...for lunches and stuff. Peanut butter sandwiches be gone! But it was like any other venture in the kitchen: missing ingredients, making a huge mess. How did we end up with FOUR boxes of Chicken Bouillon cubes and not a single beef or vegetable one?? I was sure I had tomato sauce in the pantry but no. Scott was proud when he found a can when he went digging in the back of the cupboards, but I had to kindly point out to him that the can was bulging and the expiry date was 2008. Thank God for expiry dates on canned goods; otherwise we would have perished from botulism long ago. Scott was nice enough to run to the grocery store but they had none left. At least he grabbed some Timmies on the way home so it wasn't a wasted trip :)

He convinced me to do something *not included in the recipe instructions* which is completely out of my comfort zone, LOL. This is why he prefers to do most of the cooking. I always think it's going to be relaxing, but I think it just stresses everyone out to hear me ranting in the kitchen because I can't find stuff and the recipe isn't working out exactly.

It is FREEZING outside today. Not that I would know firsthand. But rumour has it ;)

We started New Year's Day by sleeping in until almost 11am. ALL of us! Crazy. I don't know how we'll ever get back on schedule. Had pancakes for breakfast (or maybe lunch) and went to the Oshawa Generals game. Hayden was thrilled to see the "real hockey players" and Madeline was quite content to sit and watch and flirt with people sitting near us. The girl at the ticket counter gave Madeline the little tiara and Hayden decided he needed to try it on too :)

Oh, the Generals lost but it was a fun game to watch. Not the same as watching the Knights though!

Seeing this picture of Hayden really makes me realize that the girl who gave him the last haircut really did a Lloyd Christmas on him. Poor kid.

So I'm going to give this a try....my very own "Project 365." A picture for every day of 2010! It seems like a fun idea; 365 days is a pretty big commitment for me though, so we'll see how it goes. If I could tack a few other projects onto this one, I'd be in great shape; say, housecleaning, dieting?

So I have my blog set up. Now I have to figure out how to post pictures!