nancy - 50/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

june 9

today I'm grateful...

that the car started slowly enough that I knew I had an almost dead battery

that Bob could replace my battery AND my oil in a mere 45 minutes

that I randomly had two jars of owen's food in my bag since it was lunchtime

that there was a slight breeze making the walk from Bob's to lunch bearable

that our playdate was just delayed and not cancelled

that the boys so thoroughly enjoyed playing in the cold water

that Jeff went to get Pei Wei for dinner and picked up a book at the library for me

so, so thankful.

YUMMY:

Amy - 51/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

Today, I had a decision to make: gym for me or gym for the kids. Guess it's obvious which option won?!? We met up with some of Logan's Kindy friends at Jungle Gym for the their Open Gym time. The kids had a blast and I had a blast watching (and photographing) them ;)~ We'll definitely go again!

nancy - 49/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

June 8

It was one of those days where you feel woefully behind on everything. You cross one thing off the list and add ten. Tonight I'm attempting to pay bills for the month, balance the checkbook and file. Keeping it real here on Robin Road.

Amy - 50/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

In my opinion, one area of weakness that my photography has is my lack of attention to lighting. When I upload my pics to the computer, I am usually disappointed. Sooooooooo, today I practiced using natural light (at suggested angles from one of the pointer books I'm reading) with my willing model and first baby! She is so helpful and loves posing for me! Even when I was done, she kept offering to do more ... gotta love that girl :)

Amy - 49/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

Kids of all ages in our house are addicted to the educational games on the CoolMath4Kids website. Last night, Lynsie had a huge meltdown, because she couldn't figure out the Bloxorz Stage 7 puzzle. I tried to calm her and stop her, "I'm an idiot!" self-hate by discussing how the puzzles are supposed to get harder with each level. "If they were easy, you wouldn't be exercising your brain muscles and helping them grow stronger ... which makes you become smarter!" She didn't buy it and the meltdown continued for awhile :(

Above: Lynsie and her best friend, Wil, after school - trying to complete the stage, again!

Say it with me: "What's gonna work?" "TEAMWORK!"

PHOTO DATE: Tuesday, June 8, 2010

ALL CAUGHT UP ... for now ;)~ xox

Amy - 48/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

STRESS! STRESS! STRESS! The trip home to America has to be more fun and relaxing than the planning process, right?!? It seems like it would be easy to figure all this out, but it is NOT! Our family lives in nine different states ... seriously! Though, you would think that we would not be expected to visit everyone, we still need to visit the four states of each parent: IL, KS, OH, TX Oh, how must sweeter and simpler would life be if these states were closer? HEAPS ;)~

The "To Do" list just keeps growing!

+ Rental Car Reservations: ORD to IAH, CMH, MCO, ORD (?)

+ Accommodations: Galveston Beach House, Houston Hotel (Chad), Ohio, Orlando (all timeshare?)

+ Airline tickets: IAH to CMH, CMH to MCO, MCO to HOU (Chad), MCO to IAH (Amy + kids)

+ Timeshare exchange: ORLANDO! We deserve a real vacation out of this trip!

+ Buy sporting tickets: Browns & Ohio State (Chad), Cubs (Amy)

+ Work with Chad's sister to find a babysitter for Browns game

+ Not to mention trying to manage and fit in all the "dates" we'll have to catch-up with people

PHOTO DATE: Monday, June 7, 2010

nancy - 48/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

June 7

Proofing more wedding photos today. I love this part of a shoot, even though it's the most tedious.

Thoughts I've had repeatedly while proofing these photos:

• What beautiful people
• What a beautiful day
• Wow! I nailed this shot
• Thank God Jana came with me
• Isn't Davelene beautiful?
• Gee, Doug looks alot like Jeff
• I'm so glad D&D agreed to pull over and photograph in front of this apparently abandoned building
• Why didn't I hire someone decent to photograph my wedding? I wonder what the photos would've looked like.
• I love people who are so totally in love
• Wow, I took alot of photos. So did Jana.
• I'm so glad that Davelene is family now. How'd we get so lucky?

Amy - 47/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

This weekend, I was lucky enough to see two movies on the big screen - woo hoo!!!

Iron Man 2 - Saturday "Date Night" with Chad, even though he was still not feeling well, he "sucked it up" and treated me to dinner with a movie :)

Sex in the City 2 - Sunday night a friend from our company that I was communicating with via Facebook (about how we both want to see it) called to meet up ... so great!

YES! If you notice the tickets prices ... they are very expensive in Australia.

PHOTO DATE: Sunday, June 6, 2010

nancy - 47/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

June 6

We call him toothie.

Eight teeth in all. Four on top. Four on the bottom.

I love to see them all, especially when he squawks and squeals. When he wants to make any big noise, he gets real serious. Then he cracks a slight smile. Slowly the face crinkles up, the eyes close and SQUAWK!

Nancy - 46/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

June 5

Checking on him before I head to bed. My firstborn no longer smells like a baby, but a full fledged boy. Even after his tubby. A sprinkle of dirt, a cup of sweat, a dash of soap and dollop of sunscreen. I'm trying to memorize the smell.

nancy - 45/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

June 4

His latest Highlights Magazine just arrived in the mail. In a matter of days we've read it at least 25 times. He enjoys thumbing through it alone. This is a new thing for him. I imagine he's reciting the stories in his head as he looks at each page (by now he knows them by heart I'm sure). So sweet my red headed boy.

Amy - 46/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

Hello :) My name's Leila and I'm teething my two-year molars. Guess what?!? Teething hurts, so I've had my hands and fingers crammed in my mouth all weekend long ... ouch!

PHOTO DATE: Saturday, June 5, 2010

Amy - 45/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

Mmmmmm.... my lunch from today that I photographed to track my WW points when I got home.

Chad came home yesterday (Th) with the Man Flu, so Leila and I stayed clear of the house by shopping the day away :) So, I was lucky enough to see more friends over an impromptu lunch today. We meet Kristy, Olwen, & Sue at Miss Maid's, shopped 'til we dropped (or cried because nap time was love overdue), and treated ourselves to ice cream for the (messy) drive home!

PHOTOS DATE: Friday, June 4, 2010

nancy - 44/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

June 3

Ni Hao, he says.

Wo ai ni Mama.

Jana is teaching him chinese and he's enjoying speaking it.

Ni Hao my sweet boy. Wo ai ni VERY MUCH.

nancy - 43/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

June 2

Hard to believe he's sitting on his own. No more pillow, though I put them down just in case because the floor isn't so forgiving. I find myself excited for this stage of play and sad that the baby is growing up.

nancy - 42/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

June 1.

Moments like this are why we wanted to have two children. I was running around trying to get the house ready for the cleaners, fold and put away laundry, prepare for the first day of swim lessons, fix breakfast and amuse both kids. Knowing how busy I was, John grabbed a few books and climbed on the bed with Owen and his toys. They just laughed and giggled in their own little language for much of the morning. John "read" the book to Owen and "made" us all smoothies. The yellow canister was the blender, the red cubes were strawberries, the blue cubes were blueberries, the green cubes were yogurt, and a few shakes of the bumblebee for honey. Just put the red top on the canister, shake and serve. Yummy!

Awesome.

Amy - 44/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

Thank goodness the red wagon was strong enough to handle this load, because I barely was!!! After the half mile, uphill walk home ... I was exhausted and sweating (in the winter)! All the giggles I heard walking home is one of the best parts of parenting :) I love it!!!

Oh! I am thankful for my iPhone, too, so I could capture this spontaneous threesome overload on the way home!

PHOTO DATE: Thursday, June 3, 2010

Amy - 43/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

Today was another "Mommy & Logan" day and we had a great time together! We went to the park and he willing (for the most part) participated as my "model" during the playtime, so I could practice taking pictures outside and using the sun to my benefit (plus, I played around a bit with perspective). All of this just adds to my preparation for a friend's wedding that I am photographing in October. It's in the afternoon and outside, so I anticipate that the sun and shadows could be either my worse enemies or best friends!!!

PHOTOS DATE: Wednesday, June 2, 2010

LOCATION: Piney Lakes Reserve

nancy - 41/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

May 31

It is HOT. Hot, hot, hot, HOT. And humid.

The tomatoes agree.

While they are still prolific it is now too hot for them to set any more fruits. Decline has begun.

We have been perplexed as to why we have huge sunflowers and no blooms. We discovered this weekend that squirrels are eating them. grrrrrrr...........

Amy - 42/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

Today was a beautiful, sunny first day of winter day in Perth! Perfect for meeting up with friends at Hillarys Boat Harbour for lunch and chit chat. I had a chance to catch-up with Kelle before she left with the girls for Ohio and Robin before she moves to Houston.

Sometimes it's difficult, as an expatriate, to make new friends (shocking for me, since I am soooo not shy)! I find that many Australians are hesitant to let me into their circle or get to close to me, knowing that we will only be here for 3-4 years. And this location is unique from a company standpoint, since we all live in many different suburbs and not on a compound, like so many other oil locations. However, I have built some amazing friendships with the other wives in our company and know I am building friendships that will last for years. It is inevitable we will soon be separated with new assignments, but I have faith and hope that our paths will cross again soon.

PHOTO DATE: Tuesday, June 1, 2010

LOCATION: Hillarys Boat Harbour

Amy - 41/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

Ahoy, mates!!! I'm about to play catch-up with a week's worth of photographs...

Alas, Lynsie's pink camera has been found! She has a little Samsung point and click camera from Christmas two years ago that was buried in a pile of kids' school art projects :) I always crack up when I download her pictures off the camera ... she takes a wide variety of pictures, ranging from odd to amazing. Above she is posing for me to take a few pictures of her, to have addition to all of the self-portraits (yes, she is in a laundry basket "ship")!!!

Here's my favorite self-portrait she took:

We talk a lot of what love is and means in our house. She looks so serious here and I wonder what she is thinking about?!? One of the biggest and most important lessons that we stress is to love yourself :)

PHOTO DATE: Monday, May 31, 2010

nancy - 40/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

note the river running down the street

May 30

The summer rains have begun, a few weeks early, messing with our swimming and playdate plans on a regular basis. While we are a bit bummed the humidity arrived so early, the yard is quite happy.

nancy - 39/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

photo by the amazing Andrea!

May 29

Wednesday afternoon she sent a text. The babysitter was booked and reservations for 4 were made. After contacting no less than 10 potential babysitters, we begged my Mom to come to town and babysit so we could go out with our friends.

So worth it. The meal, conversation and company was fabulous. We need to do it again soon.

xoxoxo

nancy - 38/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

May 28

One of the biggest surprises about life with children is the inordinate amount of time I spend in the kitchen, cooking and washing dishes. Sometimes it drives me crazy because I really like a clean, organized kitchen. Other times I remind myself how blessed I am to be standing in this sweet little kitchen, cooking my children meals, and peering out the window at our little neighborhood.

Nancy - 37/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

May 27

6 month appointment today, a few weeks late.

"He's a big & healthy boy!" the doctor said. This is no shock to me and my tired arms. "Boy he sure does have alot of energy." tell me about it.

Notes about this month:

• 17 lbs 10 ounces
• off the charts on height and weight
• 7 teeth (almost 8)
• sits on his own, though he's still a bit wobbly
• doesn't yet have a command of consonant sounds, but can squeal like a pterodactyl. often sounds like a wild animal.
• scared of madeline.
• wakes up, on average, two times per night. me? I'm OVER. IT.
• adores his brother and thinks he's hilarious. the feeling is mutual.
• has recently become picky about eating. seems to be a little too early for this, in my opinion. will eat almost anything if i combine it with sweet potatoes.

I can't believe that 6, almost 7 months, have passed.

Amy - 40/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

This is what a typical moment at our dining table looks like! One of my goals during this photo challenge is to document the little details of life and I laughed when I looked at the table on a walk pass. It's covered with Chad's work stuff that has been pushed out of the way for Lynsie's craft project (which looks much tidier now than it did an hour ago before bed) ... too funny :) Thankfully, I just framed the picture right, so you cannot see the laundry basket at the opposite end left by me. There are some times when I beyond frustrated with the mess of life and other times it makes me smile. Good thing, tonight, I can go to sleep with a smile on my face, knowing I have a lot of picking up/cleaning to do on Monday!

Have a great week!!!

Amy - 39/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

Daddy and his girls! I love this picture because it captures Lynsie's personality as Leila tries to hold on ;) Plus, Chad looks so happy to be playing with them! We've been enjoying a relaxing and lazy weekend ... sooooo good!

nancy - 36/365 - Orlando, Florida

May 26

madeline

aka mad, maddie, the queen, mad-a-lee, madster, mama, little girl

Sweet, sweet girl.

The only other female in this house of boys.

Oh how we all miss her brother. I don't know who misses him more.

Amy - 38/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

More wedding practice for October by playing around with our ten year anniversary rings. I had to use the flash, since I was inside and it was evening. It created some interesting reflections and highlights. Next time, it'll try outside to see how different the lighting is.

Amy - 37/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

Here's my friend, husband, and babies' Daddy :) He just got back from a business trip up north to Dampier, Western Australia and then out to the Atwood Eagle oil rig in the Indian Ocean. While on the rig, he sunk styrofoam cups to a depth of 1400 meters for the kids (see science article). Of course, he didn't want me to take his picture, hence the face! Thanks for loving our kids and thinking of them on your trip - their mini-cups are so cool!

Amy - 36/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

In preparation for my first official "gig" as a wedding photographer in October, I've been reading a few books and playing around with settings on my camera. Taking a break from my friends week, I turned the flash off and tried to get some good close-ups on the kids. From what I could tell on my view screen, the shots were clear; however, they were not really sharp :( I read after these pictures a suggestion to zoom in on the screen to be sure the image is good, before moving on to a new shot. Something I did not do ... live and learn ... that's why I'm practicing now!

The focus of these two shots are their "boo boos" - Logan's bruise under his eye and Leila's fat lip. It's always amazing how many bumps and bruises kids have! I'd imagine even if we lived in a padded home, they'd figure out a way to get roughed up - LOL!

nancy - 35/365 - Orlando, Florida

May 25

Jeff woke up sick today. He never gets sick, but now he has strep throat. :( Praying we don't all get sick.

I woke up exhausted today. Owen was up alot last night. It was ridiculous. Teeth? Skin? Growth spurt? Anyways, to add to that I accidentally squirted motrin in his eye at 11:30 pm because of a malfunctioning syringe (omg I can't believe I'm documenting this parenting lowpoint), couldn't fall asleep because who knows why, and then had a crazy (and upsetting) dream that involved being on a subway in Poland with a friend and John and then getting off the subway without them and then they went on and then no one seemed to know of the city I thought they were headed to and.....I didn't fall asleep again.

And today was the appointed day to do a crapload of cooking and freezing in hopes of making my life easier. The fridge was filled with fresh veggies and protein that had to be cooked today. I made spaghetti sauce, pesto, taco meat, two roasted chickens, one roasted turkey breast and 8 sauteed chicken breasts. The freezer is packed!

Anyways, the point of this picture is that John was a total Happy Camper today. He was a good trooper despite being kind of ignored all day. He is such a sweet, sweet boy.

nancy - 34/365 - Orlando, Florida

May 24

I make most of his food. It's pretty easy and I make it in batches so there's less daily work. This morning I made pears (red bowl) but he's all of a sudden boycotting pears. And bananas. And rice. And avocados. And acorn squash. And peaches. And butternut squash. But sweet potatoes? He'd eat his weight in them if I'd let him.

And Prunes. But we shouldn't let him eat too many of those :).

nancy - 33/365 - Orlando, Florida

May 23

12 years ago today I married this amazing man!

It's hard to believe that it's been 12 years. So much has happened in that time. Many big moments like traveling, buying & renovating our home, Jeff going to business school, me starting a business, and starting a family have occurred and you'd think they'd define us. But it seems that the little moments define and sustain. Not the grand gestures, but the thoughtful kindnesses extended. The phone call in the middle of the work day. The sweet voice mail message that begins with hi beautiful. The thoughtful note left on the counter in the morning. The pot of decaf brewed first even though he's jonesing for some caffeine. The glass of wine poured as I sit at the computer and proof client photos. The countless meals cooked. The gentle touch of a hand as we pass during a busy day. Waking up with me in the middle of the night to settle Owen or change a diaper. Taking a day off of work in the midst of busyness because I just needed a break. I could go on and on and on and on....

Looking forward to another 12 and then another 12 and then another 12 and then another 12 and then another 12 and then another 12 and then another 12.............

yes i cheated. this is a photo of my hubby at the wedding, but i just couldn't post an iPhone pic taken tonight at Season's 52.

Amy - 35/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

Since moving to Australia, I've spent a lot of time making new friends and developing important connections over a "cuppa"! Sometimes all we need from a friend is an excuse to relax and an ear for a few minutes to make us feel better. Ooohhh! A little yummy whipped cream helps, too :)

Amy - 34/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

Leila (top right) with some of her "friends" at school pick-up today. I love how she is mostly observing them, since she is the youngest and feels excited just to be part of the gathering.

Day two of "friends week", so I brought my camera up to school for a picture of all the moms waiting for school to release. Many of them are my first friends in Perth and are important to my life in different ways ... however, I did not get a good reception and even had a lunch box blocking one face to refuse a photograph - LOL! I gave them fair warning that I would be showing up with the camera, again, another day and to be ready :)

When I was brainstorming the pictures I might take this week, I started the think about how friends often reflect the current stage of your life. As a parent, we are frequently acquaintances with other parents from school/activities and our kids are "friends" by association with siblings friends and their siblings - so many friendships are based on our connections that we have little time to seek new connections outside of that box. Boy! That sounds confusing when written, but in my head it makes a lot of sense!!!

Since I've moved around a lot (even across the world), I don't have a lot of life-long friendships and though I have reconnected with people from my youth on Facebook, it doesn't mean that we are really friends. Being a true friend should appear effortless, but indeed take work because you care about the person enough to give yourself to them in some way. I am happy to be spending time with you through our photographs and narratives, Nancy, and value that our friendship has spanned over twenty years and many life changes. You will always have a special place in my heart...

nancy - 32/365 - Orlando, Florida

May 22

Dude is cutting FIVE teeth right now. FIVE. Three just popped through and two are about to arrive. This will make his total tooth count EIGHT. Yes, he's only 6 months old.

Guess we'll be serving him steak for his first birthday.

Yikes!

Nancy - 31/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

May 21

Today was the last day of preschool for this year. It seems like just yesterday that I dropped him off for the first day. I was very pregnant and full of emotions. He seemed like such a baby then and now he's such a big boy. This year has brought so much change for him and he's embraced it. What an awesome kid!

To celebrate the last day of school, Daddy came home early and we went out for pizza!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Amy - 33/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

Mmmmmmm ... Tonight, I enjoyed a yummy steak and veggie dinner with my "Australian sister", Kristy. She was cracking up during most of the pictures with kids trying to get in the background! Thankfully, I was able to get one of just her and the lovely dinner we had. We are like family to each other and usually have a meal together once a week or so. There will be a lot of steaks and orange juice in our future (such a shame - LOL), since she is trying to get her iron levels up - good thing I love steak!!!

FRIENDS WEEK :) I thought I'd give myself some focus for the week and decided to dedicate this week to my friends! I will have to get creative when it comes to posting pictures of my American friends, since they are supposed to be taken on the day of each entry.