365 / Day 18 ~TGIF

Friday, August 6th, 2010

TGIF!! This week has been short but I woke up this morning with the feeling that this is a Monday blah kind of feeling. I had an unlucky, rough day yesterday despite meaning to make the most of it and the past three hours have been insane with the kids. Finally, they are all, I mean ALL asleep for naps. Can you hear the huge sigh of relief coming out at you from the depths of cyber space? That was me! Miss Abigail has been super sassy today and has had numerous time outs. She needs way more activities then I can give her and more playmates to keep her happy and two days at home has her jumping on my nerves. I should go lay down myself and have a nap since my girls never sleep at the same time and Abby normally doesn't nap at all these days but I set out to do this project and that I will do. I am getting quite fast at my work flow management for this which can only mean good things for my client photography sessions.

Here are some snaps from this mornings park adventures. Have a good weekend everyone!!


Abby has taken an interest in pressing the shutter on the camera this week. Normally I am so cautious with my other camera but decided that I will encourage it for this project. This is one of the ones we both tried together at the park. I think it might go towards the iheartfaces challenge since this week the callenge is to get me in the photo too...or I might attempt to look a bit better for the photo and try another family portrait this weekend. It depends on the cutoff time.



My sweet baby. She is growing so fast and starting to say three and for word sentences such as "I did it!", "I don't want it." and "I'm silly." I love her little voice. She loves chatting to herself and singing without words. xoxox

365 / Day 17 ~ Carpe Diem

Thursday, August 5, 2010 8:30am

Carpe diem! I will steer away from my computer after this entry until nap time and get out for a walk to smell the flowers this morning and tackle my to do list of non computer related business. I have the power to control how my day goes. It will be a good one and lived as though it is my last!!! Ha! With kids, that doesn't always work as well as I would like. It is a roller coaster ride of mood swings that are either up and happy high or down with tears and upsets no matter what we have planned for the day. Not a lot of in between. Abby has already had a temper tantrum when I tried to go in her room to pick out an outfit for her. She is acting like a teen already and doesn't want her sister in there or me now :(. It is terrible. I can see it in the near future...a sign that says "STAY OUT" posted to her door (shhhh, no ideas please). We got her a nice bunk bed this year, a new desk for her future homework and this is how she repays us. The bunk beds were more for the idea that maybe the girls can share a room one day and we might gain a spare bedroom and I am not sure how well that will be received the way she is already acting.

4.5 hours later....

I love her to the moon and back and more and will always but she sure does test my patience! I have to laugh at my earlier entry from this morning. I tried, I really did try to seize the day, but today I already want to rewind and start over. I finally got one of my girls down for a nap and the other is actually playing quietly and nicely by herself for now, but this is after the turmoils and follies from this morning and my head is pounding from a mishap that involved Abby jumping while I was lifting her almost taking my head off in the process and then acting silly and talking back to me with a sassy attitude. My goodness, if this is a taste for the future teenage years I am in for it. I really wish there was a nanny McPhee to becon to our house and straighten her up some days.

Here is a pic from this mornings walk and another awesome treasure find! I think I will need a set of newborn twins to try this out on in the future!! In the mean time, the girls LOVE it and have claimed it for their dolls and barbies. I will have to borrow it from them ;).

365 / Day 16 ~ Calm before the storm

Today has been stifling hot and humid. The girls and I enjoyed a morning at the splash pad in Ajax Rotary park with friends. I decided not to bring the camera along this time. I was wilting but grateful for the soft, cool wind off the lake. Both girls gave me a 15 minute break today after I unloaded their sleepy little selves into their beds from the ride home and my afternoon has been full ever since. It has been one of those days where my thoughts are my own for seconds before the demands for attention, food, drinks, freezies, questions, etc. start up again. Right now I write this up for my sanity to get away for mere moments before getting dinner together. It is hit or miss with meal time these days and I can't wait until their little taste buds develop so I can start introducing more interesting food - not that I haven't tried again and again. So, while I prepare and type, I have been thinking of what type of photo to take as the light starts to fade behind the gloomy gray smoggy sky. I really hope that means rain is on its way to give us some relief from this heat....I managed to sneak out and snap a few photos after Matt got home before getting down to work on designing an album. I got some of the girls but with the lack of naps they were very miserable looking that I decided not to share them. Madison had the biggest temper tantrum yet and has learned to use the word "NO" a lot lately :(. I am not very happy about that, but at the same time, it does sound really cute in her tiny little voice.

Here are a couple of shots I got of an itsy bitsy spider busy building a web in our garden. I long for a macro lens, but my 50mm will have to do for now.

365 / Day 15 ~ Summer Days and Apple Picking

Today was a lovely surprise. My husband Matt had a floater day off from work so we got to spend some time together as a family after I got some work done in the morning. With the weather being so hot and humid it was a perfect day to spend the afternoon in the country at Grandma and Grandpa's place to have a swim in their pool and pick some apples that are surprisingly already ripe! Here are some shots I played with from this afternoon. I love using textures to add a little creative flare to my photos.
















We forgot Madison's swim suit in the rush to make a break for our leave this afternoon...sometimes unplanned events are better with kids but also leave room for error when packing. She is a water baby through and through. I can barely hold onto her without her trying to jump out of my arms these days when she is in the water.

365 / Day 14 ~ Bug Bites and Baby Bliss

While we were at the cottage Madison received a parting gift from a hungry bloodsucking mosquito. The poor thing had a rather alarming reaction that got worse over night. This is what she looked like when she awoke yesterday morning :(. The last time she got bit they had a feast on her arm and had around 10 swollen bites a month ago and the marks are still there. I spoke with a nurse over the phone and she indicated that this sounds like a mild reaction and that reactions can span a childs' entire face in some cases. The horror! Me, the nature enthusiast, has a child that is allergic to bug bites. She must take after her father. A few years ago he got bit by a horse fly on his hand at the cottage and within an hour it looked like he was wearing a boxing glove.


To save time, I also posted today's mini session with my nephew on my photography blog here.

365 / Day 13 Cottage Days

Sunday, August 1st, 2010

Up early with the fishermen of the cottage since the walls aren't very sound proof. My little sound sleeper wasn't so sound this morning. I took Abby for a nature walk through the trails to the black berry patch while Matt stayed with Madison. I am thankful for dogs. I used to have no fear walking through the woods by myself and it is most certainly because I had the dogs scaring any large and potentially harmful living creature away for me. Unfortunately the little nature sitings such as deer aren't as frequent. Abby had fun putting finding acorns and picking berries.


Wild Turkey feather collection.

The girls playing in the sand together.

All packed up and ready to go home to give Grandma and Grandpa some peace and quiet this evening. Abby is really attached to her water baby. She is so sweet and hints every so often that she would like me to have another baby for her.

365 / Day 12 ~ Summer at the Cottage

Saturday, July 31, 2010

We enjoyed a couple of days at my families cottage this weekend. I must say that it is a lot more work with a toddler these days and not quite so relaxing as it was before children however well worth every little bit of the experience to see how much they enjoy being surrounded by nature.

Below is a portrait of myself taken by my husband Matt. I metered before hand and changed the settings and post processed the image after. I am not a fan of getting my photo taken very often but really like this one, messy summer hair and all.


Here is a little green world under foot near my favorite quiet spot up at the cottage. I love moss and the moss bokeh in this photo was the perfect green background for this little piece of nature.



Even Aspen went for a swim. Despite being a water dog this will be the second time in her life that she has actually gone in far enough to do the doggy paddle and like it. She got spooked by waves when she was a puppy with her first lake / water experience.