Where Was I...?

I too have been suffering from brain scatter. I'm all over the place. I can't focus. I'm trying to maintain several different thoughts in my head and IT'S NOT WORKING.
I'm trying to learn some new photography things and just get some photos up on our walls. You'd think that would be easy enough.
And read a book.
And we're hosting a get-together and getting shots and attending 2 kids Christmas parties this weekend. Which is fun, but requires planning and organization.
And mostly it's just the usual 'I go to get something out of the cupboard and get distracted by the laundry which needs stain spray and then somebody cries or gets into something and I want to check my email, is that toast I smell burning?'.
The more I get involved in my head focusing on a project the less attention I can pay to what the kids are up to. Or what they want for lunch. And the more laundry and bathing and cleaning floors I have to do, the less I can concentrate on anything interesting.
It's a vicious circle for me.

I need a fabulous haircut. Have you seen my glasses? How do I load this action in photoshop? What size prints do I want? Is that a cheerio over there? Should I make meatballs?

I'm not sure where I was going with this....

Baby Girl 6 Months

In the past month The Babe has really been checking out the gear. Rather than using me as her only entertainment, she has fun in the jolly jumper, her exersaucer, her bumbo chair and her swing.
6 months is such a happy baby age. And The Babe is a pretty happy baby. She's not moving around much yet but I'm not complaining. Once they figure out they can move they never sit still again!


And she's still not a great sleeper, although I think we're making some progress. Maybe? I'm too tired to remember...








The Babe and her brothers are still getting along quite well although they have tried a few times to steal her toys away. The Bee likes to inspect any new toy or baby gadget that comes in the house and may then claim it as his own. The Bug will just grab toys away from her. She is going to have to get tough with those brothers. I suspect it's just a matter of time before she is running the show anyway.
Overall The Babe is getting more curious about her world and watching everything going on around her. That cute little hand that used to rest on my chest now grabs my hair or sticks her fingers in my mouth. She laughs when I 'bite' them.
She has been a bit fussy again in the evenings, but is happy to go out and visit or just shop at the grocery store.






Mostly she is sweet and adorable and lots of fun!
(Oh, except for the deafening cat-like screeching that will make your ears bleed, but I'm sure that's just a phase...)

33 Months

Hmmm...let's see what's been going on the past month.
Halloween was fun, of course. And then came the sniffles and coughing, barfing, etc etc. Don't worry, no pictures of that.
The boys continue to develop their own personalities in so many ways. It's sometimes hilarious and also a bit scary at times.







The Bee continues to be sneaky and then will act all innocent when you catch him with something. He likes to take things out of the utility drawer (screwdriver, batteries, utility knife) and try to sneak them down to his room when he thinks you're not looking. Then when he's busted he'll hand it over with a look of 'oops I don't know how this got here and I was just going to bring it to you since obviously I shouldn't have this'.

The Bee has also been developing his new love of singing. It's soo cute. He may not know the words, but he is happy to sing along with songs on a video or music. He likes the songs from Cars and The Bear Necessities. And sometimes Old MacDonald. So funny!
He's such a people person.




The Bug continues to be somewhat more introverted. He can play well with others, but he will often be quite content to play with his cars. His vocabulary is getting quite good, but he talks a lot less than his brother. Maybe he's happy to let him do the talking, but maybe he can't get a word in edgewise!
He's really good at puzzles and coloring. He loves a good chase. And if you ask him for a hug he will give you a kiss. Or at least make a good kissing sound in your direction.




Little by little they are both becoming more independent. Although neither one can get himself dressed yet. Just too much work? All those arm holes and leg holes.
The Bug continues to be more particular about what he wears. He has a favorite pair of shoes.
The Bee likes his boots best.





They both love to go for rides in the van and play outside, and are crazy about their daddy.

Apron

I would totally look cute in the kitchen in one of these...

And so would you!

This is a really fun site. Who knew aprons could be so stylish?

thanks for the tip jenthemom

Grooooooss

I just finished cleaning up a small boy with 'explosive falling out of his diaper coming out the back' diarrhea. The best part is when you think you've got it all and you find a smear in another unexpected place.
And about half an hour prior to this I was cleaning up a room full of puke. Another small boy. You know it's bad when you open the door and it hits you before you even see it.

It's 10:15am.
We're now out of spot shot.
I'm thinking of outfitting them in garbage bags. Too much?

If you need me I'll be bathing in bleach.

Downtown...and Camilla Engman Artwork

I had to go downtown last night to pick up a print from here. This was my second trip. I made a very specific trip downtown Saturday morning to view the show and Camilla's work.
AND NO ONE WAS THERE.
I brought Shishi and the baby and a stroller and my sister brought her roomate all under the premise of checking out this cool show and nothing. I'm on the mailing list so I had a recent 'hours of operation' and everything.
Now I'm not a demanding shopper for the most part. I don't get all hissy over little things, but getting downtown is a big deal for me. It doesn't happen often or without a certain amount of pain.
So I wasn't happy.
So I emailed.
And there was an apology (but not a discount!)
ANYWAY...I headed back downtown last night because they were open late for a special 'shopping night'.
And it was crazy. It was like rush hour at 7pm on a Thursday. And parking was non-existent. And I had to carry the baby around because she had fallen asleep in her car seat. And she's a heavy little thing.
And I picked up my print which is lovely!
Mine is framed which makes me happy, but you can order all 4 right from Camilla for a great price.

AND...All that driving around downtown while I was looking for a place to park reminded me of something. Downtown is sexy!
It's mostly difficult and annoying, and downtown daytime is corporate and dull, but at night there are well dressed grown ups going to events at swanky hotels and shows and shopping at pretty stores and having sexy dinners at trendy restaurants.
I used to work downtown every day and mostly I don't miss any of it.
But Sexy Night-Time Downtown, I miss you!

Out Takes

My goal, since The Babe was born, is to get a nice shot of the 3 kids together. It hasn't really happened. Everyone can have a bad day, or a goofy face but one child in particular is often uncooperative.
Here are a few examples of the photos that will not be appearing in our Christmas card this year...

Those Days

I am having one of 'those days'. I have felt guilty for even admitting that I feel this way, but it seems unrealistic to not have them. There may be superwomen out there who don't feel this way, but I do.
And it's not that the kids are doing anything out of their normal sphere of mess making and being difficult, I'm just not interested.

Instead of cleaning up the same food off the floor and looking for socks and listening to whining I'd rather take a shower for as long as I want and read something when I feel like it or have a nap. Or go to a store that doesn't require a shopping buggy for 3. And even though laundry can be fascinating, I'm just not interested in doing 4 more loads today.

Don't worry, the kids are not being neglected. The Babe is impatiently sitting on my lap at the moment. It's true I am probably a lot more impatient today.
I might even venture to say I am bored. And yes, that may be because I am boring and fail to find the spectacular in everything around me. But there you have it.
Go ahead and judge me.

And the Heavens Opened and Doves Flew Down

The Babe hasn't been sleeping. First she was eating every two hours for a couple of weeks and then she got a cold. The night before last was probably the worst night she's had since she was a day or two old. She just kept waking up and crying a pitiful sad miserable baby cry. All night. My poor little baby.
And I'm surrounded by snotty, slobbery, sloppy faces. It's gross. Oh how I love November. Last November still haunts me with the vast assault on my senses and my sanity.

However, by a stoke of magic or whatever you want to call it, but it did require nothing short of a higher power, my Charming Husband and I went on a date. That's what you call it when two adults who might sort of like each other get to go out and eat dinner. Together.
And we were tired and grumpy and he was late getting home and we took the baby even though she was snotty.

And we had a good time anyway. It wasn't very long. But I got to eat Vietnamese food. And we were relaxed and even smiling.
Big thanks to Shishi for babysitting. Which is really just fun time for the boys.

And then to top it all off...The Babe only woke up once in the night! Angels singing!!
Which doesn't undo all the damage of not sleeping for 3 years, but it makes for a very pleasant morning.

Texture

It seems like all the cool photo kids are using textures to get special effects in their photos. I recently stumbled across some vague instructions and this is what happened...

I took this before photo at my parents place on a foggy morning, but it didn't really have the dramatic effect I was trying to capture.









Add a texture, and more drama...yes?
(You really just add a layer of texture overtop of your image and adjust opacity. I'm sure there can be more tweaking, but this is a fun start!)

Brushes

I was having a difficult time feeling inspired for November. Blech. So I was playing around with these brushes from Jason Gaylor and started to feel quite inspired! He has some really amazing brush sets.
And the font was a freebie from Adobe. Just what I was looking for.

Halloween Hangover

Well, it took some serious persuasion and a little bit of bribery but we got The Bug to wear his costume for Halloween. The Bee was already dressed and ready to go, of course. And can I just say, Halloween was so fun!
I took the boys while The Babe stayed with daddy to hand out candy. We went to our next door neighbours first, and they practically filled up the buckets in one stop. We really only went to about 5-6 houses but the boys were so cute. Sure, they thought they should come on in whenever someone opened the door, but they were very polite.


The Bug said 'thank-you' every time.
And the little kids who came to our door were adorable too.
I've always thought Halloween was fun, but who knew it was so rewarding just to watch the wee ones.








And The Bee loves the jack-o-lanterns.
Officially known as pumpkinheads at our house!






















Now it's on to November.
And we've eaten too much candy (well, the grown-ups have).
And we all have colds.
Ugh.