Nancy - 23/365 - Cleveland, Ohio

Mom H & Owen

May 12

Vacation Day 6

• Weather is still crappy. 50ish degrees, but no rain.
• Scouted locations for wedding photos in Cleveland. Found some fabulous places on CSU campus and the West Side. So. Very. Excited.
• Owen tagged along for the ride and was a total trooper.
• Visited Mom H's office to show off the perfect grandchild.
• Tasty vegetarian lunch at Tommy's on Coventry.
• Shopping at Nordstroms. Purchased new Camper shoes. !!!!
• Shopping at Trader Joes. Why can't we get one of these in Orlando?
• Read a few chapters in front of a roaring fire tonight.
• Finally downloaded photos from our trip.

So enjoying this time away.

A few more favorites from today:

Amy - 22/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

Chad received his iPad in the mail yesterday (thank you, Mom) and finally found a moment to play with it today. I'm trying really hard to not want one ;)~ Here is a comic book that he downloaded, it zooms in like the iPhone and shows each scene individually on the screen, too. It is so cool and the screen size is amazing.

Nancy - 22/365 - Kent, Ohio

May 11

Day 5 of vacation

Very, very, very ugly weather. Rainy and in the 40's. So not the springtime weather we'd hoped (and packed) for.

Hung out with the fam.

Completed some wedding preparations.

Spent a lovely few hours with my hubby in Hudson. Lunch and a little shopping in my favorite stores including The Learned Owl bookstore. I so love independent booksellers. Bought two books and made note of a few books I want to read:









Ordered Jeff's birthday gift.

Watched an impromptu concert of jeff and doug on the horns (decorative) and John on the piano. It was, in a word, hilarious.

Enjoyed a fabulous dinner and conversation with Doug, Davelene, Mom, Dad and Jeff. So looking forward to their big day and grateful for times like this.


Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Amy - 21/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

I've barely been on the computer the past few days and have spent most of today cleaning. We have a rental home inspection tomorrow and they always stress me out! My hands hurt from my effort; however, it always feels good to see everything spick 'n span (even if it only lasts for hours with three kids)!!!

Now it's time for a little reading and then bed...


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Nancy - 21/365 - Kent, Ohio

May 10

Day 4 of vacation

Slept in. Again. (though Owen was up 3 times overnight).

Finished my book. Woohoo!

Owen took a 1 hour nap this morning!! Other two naps were over 30 minutes - a trend?

Weather was GORGEOUS.

Accidentally let the cat out. Oops. After many hours he came in. For food. Not like he needs it.

Hiked 3 miles. John hiked some of it. Owen napped in the ergo. Good prep for Aspen.

Worked in the yard.

Ate an amazing dinner made by my hubby!

D & D fly in shortly. Can't. Wait. For. Their. Wedding.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Nancy - 20/365 - Pennsylvania Pike

May 9

Day 3 of vacation ~ also Mother's Day

Slept in til 9:00!

Tasty brunch of French toast and fruit salad with Grandma Hanniford, Aunt Sarah, Uncle Neal, Aunt Nanny, Bizzy and my sweet boys.

Drove 6 hours to Kent, Ohio. Only two stops. Owen continued to prove how much he hates the car seat. John was a model rider and was treated to his first Happy Meal. Jeff and I chatted and dreamed.

Encountered ridiculously cold weather for May. Hard to believe that just last week we were in 90+ weather at home.

Arrived at my in-laws with two happy boys. Unpacked, bathed and put the boys down.

Delicious dinner with great wine and greater company.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Amy - 20/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

This is posted out of order (posted on 12 May and backdated for flow), but I didn't want to miss the day, even though I was away from my computer...

Here is Lynsie completing her homework on Monday (shocker, since it's not due until Friday) about months and seasons of the year. I was aiming to get a picture of her grip and handwriting, when I realized how weird it was to help her with the worksheet ... all the months are opposite to the USA!!! So, "Winter" is June, July, August, etc. We had a little talk about funny it is for me to see this, since America is opposite. I love opening her eyes to the differences and educating her.

Amy - 19/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

This is a picture of the new candle and hurricane from my family for Mother's Day. It is so beautiful and I thought it would make a great picture for today to represent the light that our three children bring into my life ... so much more than this flame, my life would be dark without them.

Amy - 18/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

This picture is (a censored version of) what you get when the boys are alone with the camera! Logan had a boo boo and needed a band aid, so Chad took him inside to get one. When I came in the house with the girls, he laughed and said, "Check out your camera! I had to get a picture of it..." Of course, there are about twenty in the series and a few of them are straight forward middle finger action! BOYS!!!!

Amy - 17/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

It was a busy day Friday (that's why I'm finally posting on Sunday night) with a birthday lunch for a friend and then the afternoon up at school for Mother's Day Tea. There will rarely be pics of me on here, so I thought that would share one from lunch today taken by Simon. Here I am with Sam, Kristy, Annette, Brooke (BD girl), Sarah (Host) right before we splurged on yummy cakes :)

At school, both Lynsie and Logan's class hosted a Mother's Day Afternoon Tea for us. There were handcrafted presents, singing, eating, drinking, and socializing. Tons of fun! One of the moms from Lynsie's class took our picture and I snapped a self-portrait with Logan :)
Leila was with me during all of this and was miserable to share the attention - LOL! She is coming down with a cold and wanted to be carried all afternoon. Hopefully, she will feel better soon!

Nancy - 19/365 - Carlisle, Pennsylvania

May 8

Day 2 of vacation was fabulous.

Highlights include:

Sleeping in until 9:00 (though it should be noted that I was up with Owen at 11:20, 4:00 and 6:00).

Owen napped 1 1/2 hours this morning (a record).

Hanging out with the PA Hanniford family at their farmhouse.

Beautiful, though crazy windy, weather.

Date with my hubby - Lunch at the Boiling Springs Tavern, stroll through town and a beautiful drive to Peter's Orchard.

Wonderful family turkey dinner.

All in all a beautiful day.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

nancy - 18/365 - Carlisle, Pennsylvania

May 7

Vacation!

Today we made our way to Carlisle, PA to be with grandma Hanniford for a few days. The morning was full of the usual travel bustle. Owen did great on his first flight, though some passengers around us may have disagreed a bit ;).

The weather is gorgeous. Spent the afternoon catching up with family, napping and reading (3 chapters no less!!!).

Tonight jeff and I are going to dinner. Just us! Thank you aunt Sarah and Bizzy!

Not too shabby for our first day of vacation.

nancy - 17/365 - Orlando, Florida

May 6

Today we had school in our new, temporary facility! The kids loved being under one roof again. We started the day with singing and praise.

They sang the butterfly song.

John and his best buddy examined all of the "new" cars.

It was all round super awesome.

This school has consumed so much energy over the last 10 days. It's been totally worth it all. I can't wait to see what happens next!

In other news, what happened to the baby?

Photo by Jana

Amy - 16/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

Introducing...The "fake vomit" cookies! Tonight, I had to make something for the kids to take up to school for the Mother's Day tea tomorrow afternoon. Chad hid a snicker when he tried the cookies and I thought it was because of the taste, but found out it was because they reminded him of fake vomit. Nice - thanks, honey!!! Fortunately, everyone loved them to point of me swatting their hands away to save enough for school ;)~


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

nancy - 16/365 - Winter Park, Florida

May 5

God has blessed our family in so very many ways. From the first time I spoke with her on the phone I knew she'd fit in perfectly with our family and that we'd quickly wonder how we functioned without her. She loves my boys with all her heart and folds easily into our daily life. Today we celebrated her upcoming birthday with some lobster tacos, a gatherer salad, a mahi mahi sandwich (with little fries, of course) and some homemade sorbet. It was quite wonderful. Just like her.

xoxoxo

Amy - 15/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

You know how some things just remind you of people that you miss?!? Well, tonight I was struck with a longing feeling for my closest friend in Houston by the pic below of mini colored chocolate chips. If she's reading this, I can bet there's a knowing laughter at the smart-bottom comment I would make to her about sorting the colors! She's a bit OCD about those things and the Yin to my Yang :) I am happy to report that our flights back to the USA are purchased and I will see her some time soon! Miss you, Stewbie! xox


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Amy - 14/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

I didn't get this posted yesterday and now the wireless isn't working with my laptop! Go figure ;{. Thankfully, I took pic with my iPhone, too, since the kids and I were so fasinated!


Almost every morning, I scramble one egg white with a whole egg. This morning's first egg held a triple surprise with three little yolks! The kids and I couldn't believe it and then compared the "full size" yolk of the next egg to them. Science talk over breakfast is so cool!


Lynsie kept saying, "It's our family ... See, Mom, three kids like us!"

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

nancy - 15/365 - Orlando, Florida

May 4

We now have a dirt pit for a backyard. This morning two guys worked the sod cutter and hauled all the leftover grass (read: weeds) to the dump. The guy pushing the sod cutter was alternately struggling with the machine and texting on his phone which I find sort of disturbing because

a. the sweat and the dirt would really make his phone nasty

and

b. it seems a bit dangerous to text and operate any machinery

Can't wait for the new yard!

nancy - 14/365 - Orlando, Florida

4:56 pm ~ hanniford household

owen's eating dinner - sweet potatoes, rice and pears (all homemade, of course)

i'm making dinner - turkey tacos, guacamole, and salsa

john is reading Cars and Trucks and Things that Go

carly, andrea & brookie are visiting

i'm waiting for several school-related phone calls and emails to come through

the repair guy is servicing the A/C unit that appears to be not working well

madeline is sleeping

jeff is in a meeting (surprise!)

the house is spotless (thank you jessica!)

Monday May 3, 2010

Amy - 13/365 - Perth, Western Australia AUS

Who says that bubble machines are just for parties?!? Not me! Leila and I had some fun this afternoon chasing bubbles around the backyard :) Needless to say, since the picture captured it, she had a blast (and so did Mommy)!!!

nancy - 13/365 - Orlando, Florida

Sleep has not come easily for Owen during these last 5 1/2 months. He's a sleep fighter and frequent waker. He naps in 30 minute increments. He sleeps at night in 3 hour increments. He's had two good nights in a row (one awakening) and I'm holding my breath. Will this become a trend?

please. please. please make this a trend sweet boy.

technical notes:

taken in the evening in his room. very low light. using 2000 iso on my d700, 1.4 on the 50mm. love that camera and lens combo.

Sunday May 2, 2010

nancy - 12/365 - Orlando, Florida

Since he woke up at 5:45 in the morning, we decided that John needed an afternoon nap/quiet time to get through the rest of the day. He begged Jeff to snuggle with him for a few minutes. Since they don't get much together time during the week Jeff obliged. About 20 minutes after they lay down I began to wonder why Jeff hadn't emerged from the room. This is what I found. John was just giggling and singing and Jeff was sound asleep.

I woke him up.

Saturday May 1, 2010

Amy - 12/365 - Perth, Western Australia AUS

I took some time alone to walk around the track and read the remembrance bags created by loved ones. So many of them made me choke up and think of people in my life that have been lost to cancer. There was a ceremony and then five minutes of complete blackness for reflection. To see H*O*P*E lit up in the grandstands and all the bags (only a small portion are pictured here) that were around the entire track was a reminder to embrace each moment with our family and friends ... life is precious and not to be taken for granted.

Amy - 11/365 - Perth, Western Australia AUS

This weekend, I participated with the American Women's Club of Perth in the Relay For Life event. This is one of our club's biggest fundraiser projects of the year and sixteen women participated in the 24 hour relay. I had a great time and wanted to wait to post my both Saturday's and Sunday's pics from the event. Here I am grabbing a self-portrait under our tent and my group during the first lap as an entire team :) We raised over $6,700AUD as a group - well over our $5K goal!

nancy - 11/365 - Orlando, Florida

It has been a crazy, busy, frustrating, uplifting, exhausting, irritating, blessed and joyous week all rolled into one. Add being a single parent (Jeff was traveling) and it just about did me in.

This week we, the parents, alumnae and friends of John's school, have encountered/completed the following:

• dropped our children off Monday for what we thought would be a normal April school day (and also Teacher Appreciation Day)
• learned abruptly around 10 am that the Director and teachers had been fired
• immediately pulled our children out of the school (ALL of us. Every. Single. One.)
• met under the trees of Dartmouth park and cried, prayed and ultimately hatched a plan
• incorporated a new school
• secured a temporary location for our new school
• secured insurance (!!!) for the school
• enrolled all children in this school
• continued school throughout the weekend in many locations across town
• met as a parent/alumnae/friend group 3 times
• began investigating permanent locations
• obtained a Federal Identification Number
• registered with both the Department of Education and the State Department of Education
• fingerprinted and ran background checks on every single person that might come into contact with the children (including me :) )
• started the process of filing for non-profit status
• consulted with non-profit attorneys and CPA's
• set up payroll
• voted a Board of Directors
• opened a bank account
• raised $$$
• planned two fundraisers

PHEW.

About 10,393 other things occurred as well, but I can't remember them all.

I'm exhausted, but so very excited and grateful for this community we are so blessed to be a part of. I think I'll be feeling the emotions of this week for a very long time. It was amazing.

Friday April 30, 2010

Amy - 10/365 - Perth, Western Australia AUS

Pee-A-Boo - I found you, Logan! I love it when our kids play together :) They are really into building forts and playing hide 'n seek. It is the sweetest thing when they include Leila, who is just a little too young to completely understand the concept of not wrecking the forts and hiding quietly. I know they all love each other so much and hope they continue to be there for each other...

nancy - 10/365 - Winter Park, Florida

There are 8 sleeps until we leave for a 10 day trip and about 502 things I need to do during that time to prepare for said trip. Today I crossed off 'get John's hair cut so he looks presentable as the ring bearer in D&D's wedding'. He had a blast and enjoyed getting his hair shampooed and cut by Val. Check out the snazzy Thomas boots he has on as well. Summer boots, he calls them.

In the year since I got my iPhone I've taken 217 photos but have never downloaded a single one. I'm not sure why I never took the time to do a quick google search. Now they reside on my hard drive.

Thursday April 29, 2010

Amy - 9/365 - Perth, Western Australia AUS

What's wrong with this picture?!? There are actually two things (the head and the thumb by the baby's head), both will forever remind me of our strong-willed littlest one. It's quite ironic that we bought it while on holiday in Bali, Indonesia in memory of my dedication and many years of breastfeeding all three kids. However, the damage is equally as symbolic to the joys (*cough*) of raising children and the havoc they can cause!

It was broken on Sunday, while I was attempting to enjoy a little alone time and a shower. The girls were just around the corner, in our bedroom, when I heard a big clunk... seconds later the two pieces were carried into me and I was informed that Leila throw it off the bed! Needless to say, I was not happy :( Oh, well - so it goes...

I posted two shots of this for my March Photo Challenge: 1 & 2

POSTED: 5:27 p.m.

Thursday, 29 April 2010

nancy - 9/365 - Orlando, Florida

The day devolved kind of like Owen's attire, though the highlight was being treated to lunch at Ravenous Pig with a friend who is helping with this huge project. More meetings, more emails, more phone calls, more notes, more lists...

Wednesday April 28, 2010

Amy - 8/365 - Perth, Western Australia

Testing...


Today, I did some research to find a decent application for the iPhone that will allow me to upload pics directly to blogger. I know that there might be some days, especially when travelling to the USA in a few months, when it will be harder for me to post daily and I want to keep up with our challenge!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone (while watching American Idol in the gameroom and relaxing on the floor in front of the faux fireplace! LOL!)

Nancy - 8/365 - Orlando, Florida

Fred is John's best buddy. He is well traveled and, quite obviously, well loved. He's also about half of the frog he used to be, but his owner hasn't noticed.

John is faring well with the news of yesterday. So much optimism for this new season of our lives.

Tuesday April 27, 2010

Amy - 7/365 - Perth, Western Australia AUS

The engineering toy that Logan is intensely playing with has been the best investment. "Build Its" (as they are officially called by the kids) are a hit with all ages and genders. Santa brought a starter set two years ago and several big sets this past Christmas that have been played with daily. In this picture, Logan is showing me his "gaming seat" that he built before school and continued to play with in the afternoon. Sometimes I wonder where he gets such creative ideas?!? It's my goal to keep encouraging him to come up with more!

POSTED: 9:54 p.m.

Tuesday, 27 April 2010

Nancy - 7/365 - Orlando, Florida

A phone call this morning absolutely broke my heart and changed John's little world as we know it. I wondered how we would all pick up the pieces. Lots of hectic meetings, phone calls and scrambling throughout the day. Hope was offered and by sunset a plan was in place. God is certainly busy with his work. I'm exhausted.

I downloaded my photos this evening to discover photos taken tonight while our sweet Jana babysat so I could attend an impromptu meeting. The photos made my day. A hint of the fabulousness by Jana:

Thank you.

Monday April 26, 2010

Amy - 6/365 - Perth, Western Australia AUS

*giggle* Oh, the joys of being a father of girls :) Here's Chad getting his hair combed and clipped by little Leila. I was cleaning the kitchen when I heard "Ouch! Gentle!" coming from the living room. When I peaked over the divider, I saw a little pink comb working its way (roughly) through his hair and had to grab the camera. She ran out of the room and then came back with the little purple clip to finish the look!

POSTED: 7:37 a.m. (Oops! I fell asleep last night and didn't get it up here!)

Tuesday, 27 April 2010

nancy - 6/365 - Orlando, Florida

He stayed an extra few minutes to read bedtime stories to the boys even though he had a flight to catch. They love it when he reads How I Became a Pirate because he uses "pirate talk." I hope he makes his flight, though we wouldn't be disappointed to have him home another night :).

Sunday April 25, 2010

Amy - 5/365 - Perth, Western Australia AUS

Today's picture features one of my "adopted" sons from my closest friend in Perth. He is a hoot and an "old soul" that is always telling everyone what to do! We had just finished taking a bunch of pics of the group, when he decided that enough was enough and informed me, both verbally and non-verbally! I love his assertive honesty :)

POSTED: 8:23 p.m.

Sunday, 25 April 2010