This ones for you, Jen!

I only wish I could shoot one of these babies through Internet land and have it land in your hand for your personal enjoyment! This is number 1 of many that we deserve!!

Ok, so enough of the cryptic talk that only Jen will get....

It's been a pretty boring day here at my house, but I have snapped a few photos. Up first, is Natalia's must have bedtime item, her bear lamp. She won't go to sleep unless it's turned on. I took this picture around 12:30am this morning. Natalia didn't even notice me taking photos.



Do you remember the mess that was Emma's room? Well, we got it cleaned up. It took some time and some pressure from Mommy but it looks wonderful. I am sure it won't last more than 24 hours. Hmmm, that gives me an idea. Maybe I will take a photo or two again tomorrow and we can see just how long this clean streak lasts! Any guesses?





As I was taking photos of Emma yesterday, I noticed she was pretty puffy looking in the face and I wondered if she was coming down with something. She said she was feeling fine. Well, she's not so fine now. Here she is this afternoon, complaining she is freezing while wearing her hat, sweater and at least 2 blankets. A few hours later her temperature spiked and she was no longer feeling fine. But, no worries, in true Emma style, once the Advil kicked in she was bouncing around the house like a normal kid. Drugs do wonders for her! Now we just have to wait for her to crash and we know it's time for another dose.



One last photo for today, it's nothing just some folded laundry but I have a rule in my house when it comes to laundry. The rule is...if it can't go in the dryer, it doesn't belong in my house! Everything, and I mean every piece of clothing in this house goes in the dryer. I cannot be bothered worrying about shrinkage or anything getting ruined, besides I'm 4 foot 11 inches tall, shrinkage is a good thing for me.



So this is it. January is officially over and I didn't miss a single day for my project 365. I am looking forward to developing my photography skills over the coming months and I would also like to say, Thanks for checking out my blog and leaving all the wonderful comments. It sure does help to keep the motivation. See you in February!

A new day means new photos

I have had such a nice day today. It started out with my girls playing like angels together. Emma and Natalia both dressed up as princesses and Emma was nice enough to Natalia's hair for her as well. There was no fighting just peaceful playtime. It was such a sweet moment to watch.





I admit these are not the crispest shots but they had to be snapped quickly before the moment passed.

Next up for me was a trip to the dentist. This is one thing I was NOT looking forward to. I think the last time I was there was mid 2006. Ouch! Too long and I knew they would be digging and scrapping forever. Much to my surprise, my teeth were not too bad. Both the dentist and hygienist were surprised. I have one cavity but I knew I had it. I had it in 2006 and never had it filled then so I am super surprised that there wasn't more. I didn't feel right taking a photo in the dentists office so instead I took a pic of the free goodies that I left with.



While I was at the dentist the girls spent the day with Daddy at work. It is so nice to have some quiet time to myself. It just doesn't happen often enough. I decided to take my time getting home and just enjoy the silence. As I pulled onto my street I noticed this...



Today was garbage and recycling day. For those who don't know, recycling is part of garbage pick up every week here in Ontario. Every house has a blue box to put their recycling into. I was so proud to see that each and every house on our street had a blue box on the street today. I hate seeing people with 4 bags of garbage and no recycling. You can't tell me that there is no products to be recycled in all of those bags.

Last but not least, I'm curious, do you think this is a sign of my kids having too much stuff? It's beginning to drive me CRAZY!! She cannot keep it clean for more than 2 hours. I swear!





I know what I need to help with this. I need some "Mary Poppins Magic." Just snap my fingers and the mess cleans itself up!

Oh wait, I almost forgot...I have my week 4 layout finished up. Here it is

I am so tired of being cold!

It is starting to feel like winter will never, ever leave. We have 6 foot snow piles on our lawn from scraping the driveway. It is bitter cold walking Emma to school and no matter how hard I try, I cannot get Natalia to walk faster than a snail on the way to school in the morning. Today seemed fine when I left. I think the thermometre read about -9 degrees, which is good in comparison to the temperatures that we have had lately, but what I wasn't expecting was the wind. Jeez Louise, It was BRUTAL. My cheeks were stinging by the time I got home.

It amazes me how the cold doesn't seem to affect the kids as much. They really don't complain much and if it were up to them they would stay outside for hours and play. The problem is that I don't want to be outside watching them.

Needless to say, my photos are all about the weather today.

First up, is a very, very rare shot of my girls together and they both look pretty decent.



While Gerben was shovelling the driveway last night the girls were beyond excited to see their snow mountain growing and growing and growing. The just had to admire it on the way to school this morning. Then after school they used it as a super cool slide. Oh how I wish I had their energy.



The long, cold walk to school! It's actually quite a short walk but when it's so cold out it might as well be 3 miles uphill both ways! :)



Natalia standing on a little hill at the end of our sidewalk. She trips over this hill each and every day!



Playing it up for the camera. She loves how the snow makes a great chair when it's piled up at the edge of the sidewalks.

What was I thinking?

So, after editing my winter photos from this afternoon, I got this dumb idea that I would like to try taking some shots of our street at night. Of course, the minute this idea comes into my head I just have to do it.

Picture this scene...

It's 12:30am, it's -10 Celsius and you see your crazy neighbour outside without a coat taking pictures of a street! I am sure my neighbours think I am a few bulbs short of a chandelier but that's ok. I got a pretty cool shot! Not bad for being hand held, as I was too lazy to dig out my tripod.



Ok, so I could have done without the goofy angle but I was starting to shiver and I was trying desperately to hold the camera still. Next time, not only will I use a tripod, but I will also put my coat on... and maybe my hat and mitts!!

My Croc Hunter

I have this awesome pair of crocs with the fuzzy liner in them. I absolutely LOVE them. They always keep my feet nice and warm and my feet are often cold. Well, lately I have the worst habit of leaving them all over the house. When my feet finally get warm I kick them off. It doesn't matter where, so honestly, I am constantly losing them. Natalia has become my "Croc Hunter." When I can't find them or I am too lazy to go upstairs and get them I send the Croc Hunter. Natalia loves doing this for me and of course I have to play on it!!




Next up for the day, Natalia and I made cupcakes. They turned out terrible! I think the batter was old. But, at least we had some fun time together. I had to laugh when Natalia took a page from Ava's book. As soon as she saw the beaters she covered her ears. I was just waiting for her to climb under the chair next!! Unfortunately she didn't. I was hoping. It would have made a great photo.



Now, I have a confession to make... I'm a beater licker! I LOVE to indulge myself with this little treat while I bake. I know I probably shouldn't, given that there is raw egg in it, but it's Oh so Yummy! How can I resist? And besides, I've made it almost 32 years and haven't gotten sick from it yet.



I also had to take some pictures of the weather today. I couldn't believe how much snow fell here. Poor Natalia had a brutal time walking to school, the fresh snow was about 6 inches deep. Here's some shots from our front door this afternoon.

Little House

As a child, one of my earliest memories of reading, was sitting at the table in Metz with my Mom reading. We were reading different books but it was quiet time that we shared. I remember reading the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. My set of books were yellow. I have no idea what happened to my old copies of the books so I decided to order a new set from Emma's book order this month. The order came in today and Emma was so excited to get these books. I swear, she hasn't been home from school more than hour and she has already read 12 pages. Have I mentioned that she is only 5? Gerben and I are also big readers, so it's not a surprise that Emma is too. We read each and every night and are constantly at the bookstore.

Thank God for my King Size Bed

If there is one thing I hate, it's having my kids sleep with me. My bed is my space. Unfortunately for me, Natalia loves coming into our room and night. I am usually too lazy to get up and take her back to her room but now that we have a king bed it's ok. I don't mind her sleeping with us so much. Last night, she was struggling with bad dreams. After coming into our room once and having Gerben take her back to bed she got smart and came to me the second time. I totally don't remember doing it but I guess I picked her up and put her in bed with us. She must have had a good long sleep after that because I had to wake her up at 8:30 so that I could have Emma to school for 9:00.

More photos with the new toy

Slowly, slowly, I am working at getting better with my new toy. There is always a learning curve but so far I am happy. It seems to do extremely well in low light situations which is a huge bonus!

Gerben made us a fantastic Sunday breakfast today filled with yummy fruit and croissants. He even finished it off with a fantastic Breakfast Dessert, strawberry mousse with lady fingers and berries. Yummy!

Here's my photos for today but I need a little help with the last one, do you prefer the colour or the black and white?

New Glass for my Camera

Ok, so I have been really frustrated with my camera in low light lately and would love a macro lens. Today, as a gift for my anniversary and birthday, Gerben let me go shopping for a new lens. I decided on this one for my Nikon D80.



My current most used lens is also a 18-70mm but at a 3.5 to 4.5 aperture with no macro. I am hoping this will cover the low light issues and give me an added bonus of the macro which I really want. I haven't had a great deal of time to play with this tonight but here's a few shots and for you techies that understand I will put the settings with each photo. Oh and yes, I realize my shutter speeds are still crazy low.

1. ISO 800, Shutter 1/40, F 2.8, no flash, 17mm, hand held



2. ISO 800, shutter 1/50, F 2.8, no flash, 17mm, hand held



3. ISO 800, shutter 1/125, F 2.8, no flash, 17mm, hand held



All in all, I'm pretty impressed. I definitely need to play some more to decide if this is what a need and if it is a good replacement for my current favourite as I will have to sell the one I have.

Now, on to my photo of the day. This afternoon, I took Emma skating at an outdoor rink in Cambridge. As usually, Emma was completely freaked out to begin with. She has only really skated twice before and they both started the same way. With a lot of pushing on my part and a lot of tears her part we managed to get her going. Once she finally gets her footing she is fantastic. She is full of smiles and having fun. She is just tough to convince to try new things and be brave. I chose two pics for the day to post here. They are the happy shots!

I remember these days

It's inside-out and backwards day at school today. Emma is so excited about it. She has been planning what to wear for days and days. This morning she was up early and dressed in no time. She was so proud of herself because she even thought to put her underwear on inside-out and backwards. Can you say, "Wedgie?" Damn, you wouldn't catch me with my underwear on inside out and backwards. Although, I am sure that when I was 5 and it was inside-out and backwards day that I probably did the same. I remember going so far as to wearing the tie on my outfit on my back and putting my ponytail at the front instead of the back of my head. Here's a few shots of Emma's little clothing adventures this morning.





Now, on to my layout for week 3. I used a kit called Day Dream Believer by Angie Kovacs and Jennifer Barrette. The doodles and attachments are from the kit Life 365. Large alpha by CD Mucklosky and small alpha is called "Burst my Bubble."

The difference between me and my husband

At times, Gerben and I are polar opposites. I tend to call him "anal!" Something I am definitely not. He likes to have his toilet paper hung a certain way, he lines up all his books alphabetically and then, I think, by release date on our shelves. It used to drive him crazy when our kids were babies and they used to mix up his books. He always hangs his shirts a certain way and can't handle too many wrinkles in his clothes. I have to admit that he has eased up since living with me.

I, on the other hand, am the furthest thing from anal and if he wants clean clothes then he can't really complain or they may not get washed. For a long time, I wouldn't even fold his shorts because he was so picky about the seams lining up. In my world, if the books are on the shelf neatly I could care less what order they are in. I don't care how the toilet paper is hung, as long as it's hung. And, as long as my clothes are clean, that's all that counts. Most things he has lightened up about, over the past 7 years of living with me. But the other day he just had to show me his sock drawer. He was so excited by this...



All I could do was roll my eyes. If this is his little piece of anal-retentiveness that he gets to maintain when I am around, I can live with it. he he he

Oh and it wouldn't be fair if I didn't show you my drawer for comparison, so here it is...



I just ball the socks up and pitch 'em in!

Recently, we redecorated out bedroom and the theme is mostly black, grey, white and red. Well, if you are a Twilight follower and lover as I am you will understand this, the covers for these books are a great match for my new bedroom scheme. Well, I decided to stack the books nicely on the fireplace in our room for decoration. They look so good there. Next thing I know, he has put the books on the bookshelf. Urg, the battle has begun. I will win, these books are definitely worth showcasing! Even though in his little anal world they belong on a bookshelf.

Don't they look pretty?

OK, seriously, ENOUGH Mamma Mia!

Don't get me wrong, I love Mamma Mia. I love the music, I love the movie, I love it all but my 3 year old is beginning to drive me Mamma Mia CRAZY! For the last 4 hours, we have watched the movie, danced to the music on CD and then watched just the songs on the movie, over and over and over again! And, in case you are wondering, she is upstairs now, dancing to Mamma Mia in her sisters room!

The best part of today is that she sneaked up into Emma's room. Put on Emma's favourite dress and is now dancing around the room while using Emma's radio and carrying Emma's purse! If Emma was home, she would have a total FIT! Lucky for me, she is at a friends for supper.

Here's some proof of the little munchkin at work.




You would almost think I didn't do anything, child friendly with this kid considering her obsession with Mamma Mia, but today, we went to the "Launch Pad." It's a fabulous drop in program in my city for kids from newborn to about 6. Natalia loves to go. There is crafts and toys and of course circle time. She loves all the songs and dancing. Today, they had real clay to play with and the water table was filled, mud and water, what could be more fun for a 3 year old. Here's a few photos of her enjoying her time away.