February 21, 2010

Today I am thankful for little helpers.  The kids had completely destroyed the livingroom this weekend, so it was time for a little pick-up game.

Although it was cold and rainy outside, the weather didn't bring me down.

It was a brisk and invigorating morning, to head out to church.

(*I'm glad we haven't started working on our yard yet.  We're still getting settled into the addition, but hopefully this Spring/Summer we'll get started on the landscaping.) 

After all the picking up and cleaning up in the livingroom, Eli had to take a break, but Bayleigh insisted on helping me fold clothes.  (*She can be such a sweetheart at times.)

When I went out to chore, the ground was just saturated.  The snow is all melted away, and now we're water logged.

I filled the stove twice today.  I've found that there's a fine art in loading it up.  A few small pieces on bottom; a few medium pieces; a couple of big pieces; a few more medium pieces; and then back to the small stuff to fill in the holes at the top.

I managed to finish my layout for the day, and get quite a bit accomplished on my day off.  Sloppy Joes and Olympic hockey (Congratulations team USA!), and lots of time spent with the kids.

February 20, 2010

Today I'm thankful for my children.  Although they can be difficult and trying at times, they force me to relive my youth on a daily basis.

We basically spent a full day on the basketball courts.  Bayleigh's basketball camp from 10:30 to noon, and then the Alumni games from 6:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. when we finally left.

The rest of my day was spent on laundry.  (Oh joy!)

I'm having a blast with my layout a day project, but I'll be glad to get back to my normal routines in March.  I'm needing a little break.

February 19, 2010

Today I'm thankful for old books and learning something new. 

I've been participating in the Develop: on Fridays assignments and here is one of the photos I took for this particular assignment.

Concentrating on different angles.  It was a fun assignment, without too much challenge.

After getting up early for my morning workout (I'm up to 40 push-ups, and I'm beginning to like jumping jacks. There's got to be some psychological malfunction in me somewhere.) I ended up doing a few minor chores around the house and then vegging with Eli on the couch. 

Before lunchtime, Dave took Eli to the park so I could get some rest, but my body just wouldn't cooperate. I ended up coming upstairs to work on my layout for the day, and catch up with emails and computer work.

  Dave has been so busy working on his research paper, that he hasn't really got to spend any time with the kids over the past few months, so I think it was good for all of us.  Dave and Eli got outside to play together, and I got some much cherished quiet time.

Unfortunately our sunny weather didn't extend to today.  It's looking like a storm might be moving in at any moment, and I can hear the thunder booming in the distance.  It's almost time for Bayleigh to get off the bus, but I wanted to get my post in early today, so I could unplug everything for the oncoming storms.  I love a good storm, so I'm sure I'll be taking more photos to add to this post later.

February 18, 2010

Today I'm thankful for good books and more SUNSHINE!

The weather seems to be looking up.  I actually got outside in short sleeves for a short while today.

I, for one, will be glad to see the end of the wood splitting . . .

tree cutting . . .

stove filling weather!  Bring on SPRING!  I'm more than ready!

After getting to bed around 1:15 a.m. and getting up at 5:00 a.m., I couldn't believe how much energy I had.  I ran through my morning chores, and then tried to lay down and rest . . . but sleep wouldn't come.  I ended up finishing the book I started last night at bedtime, and then headed upstairs to put my daily layout together, and edit a few more photos.  When I went out to chore today, I decided to look for something with color, and shoot in RAW mode for the first time.  I love the results!  The little briars above were a perfect subject to start out with.

And I quickly moved on to the garden to help Dave put plastic over some of the beds, to get the soil warming up in preparation for planting.  I couldn't believe I found some remnants of last years crop still hanging on the vine.

Of course Eli had to help out too. 

Fuzz Face wasn't much help, but she was a cute subject, and I couldn't resist getting this shot of her laying on her back soaking up the sunshine.

Right now, I'm still feeling energized . . . like I need to clean or something . . . but I'm going to curb the urge and head downstairs to feed the family.  I'm hoping sleep will come quickly tonight.

February 17, 2010

Today I'm grateful for SUNSHINE and undemanding friends.  Like Elvis and Miss Kitty.

It's rare that I catch these two in a companionable moment;

when they're not sleeping, they're fighting or chasing each other through the house.

Miss Kitty is my cat.  She runs and hides when anyone else is around, but when I'm sitting alone at my desk, she will come out of hiding to curl up in my lap. 

Elvis is usually Dave's cat, and he can be found pestering Dave any time he sits down.  But today, I think he wanted to join in my scrapbooking fun.  Or maybe I wasn't trimming my paper to his specifications.

While I was scrapbooking, I noticed the sunshine coming through my window and dancing across my very first camera.  It truly amazes me how far we've come (technologically) in such a short period of time.

After I cleaned house this morning, I came upstairs to do some back-ups and photo editing.  I got quite a bit done, but I'm still editing January's photos.  Maybe tomorrow I can finish them off and get them downloaded to my secondary back up.  I sorted and edited until Bayleigh got off the bus, and then I bundled up both kids for a trip to the library and the grocery store.  On the way home, I happened to catch the sun setting in my side mirror, so I pulled off the side of the road and took a picture.  It seems like it's been FOREVER since I've seen the sun, and I regret that I spent my day indoors editing, when I could have been out taking more pictures.  But, alas, there is always something to do around here.  Maybe the sun will come out again tomorrow and I can sneak in a few photos.  Here's hoping!

(My favorite shot of the day . . . #3.)

February 16, 2010

Today I am thankful for a little girl who can read bedtime stories to her little brother.

Today has been an extremely busy and trying day.  I've been attempting to catch up on all the laundry, dishes, housework; and basically just MAINTAIN.

Discipline seems to be a hard thing for Eli, but he's understanding that sometimes (a lot of times) things don't go his way, and he just needs to learn to deal with it.  He got sent to bed early for sticking his hand down into his milk glass at dinner tonight, and sloshing it all over the place.  I took his food and drink away, dunked him in the tub for a bath and sent him to bed.  Bayleigh was nice enough to read him some bedtime stories, but he still didn't want to go to sleep, and cried for a full hour, before finally dropping off.  It's tough being a parent, but it's the toughest job you'll ever love.

The past few days I've been dealing with jabs of criticism, and how I "need to do this", or "do this differently" in regards to raising the kids, without any offers of help to actually assist me in changing these things.  I finally got tired of it and aired my opinion on the matter. I don't feel it's right for someone to criticise me, unless they've walked a few miles in my shoes, so to speak.  Right now, I'm the one having to play both parents while hubby is working and going to school.  Maybe when Dave graduates in May, things will level out, and I won't feel like I'm being pulled in twenty different directions at the same time. 

Thank goodness tomorrow is another day.

February 15, 2010

Today I am thankful for changes.   First of all, for the changes that I've implemented in my life the past few months, and my commitment to FOCUSING on simplifying my life and putting first things first.

After braving Jillian Michael's "30 Day Shred" again today, I jumped into the housework and got quite a bit done.  School was cancelled today, due to more snow, so after I finished my chores, I took Bayleigh out for a trek through the woods.

I've been meaning to visit this particular spot for quite some time, but just haven't had the opportunity.  I spent many a day laying across this old rock, listening to the creek gurgle when I was younger . . . and I spent hours tromping through these woods in search of new treasures, new sights, new sounds and new textures.  This was my favorite "thinking" spot.

Today the creek was cold and icy, with the snow blowing in all directions.

It amazes me, how water can seemingly freeze like this in thin air.

I'm glad to see that Bayleigh seemed to like this spot too.

Maybe when she's a little older, she'll visit it like I used to do in my younger years.

On our way back from the creek, we tried to search out unique things.  This bright yellow, immediately jumped out at me . . .

but I ALMOST missed this little jewel, hidden away in the cedars.  I'm guessing that this was one of my grandpa's old tractors.  An old Fordson.  Even though it hasn't been used in eons, it still shows a lot of character.

On the way back home, Bayleigh and I stopped to visit my mom, and Bayleigh stayed there for the rest of the afternoon.  After I got back to the house, Eli wanted to go help daddy cut wood, and I went with them so I could watch Eli while Dave cut wood.

The cows weren't impressed by our arrival.

So to keep Eli occupied, we walked through the trees to the pond.

I picked a "cattail" for him to play with, but he soon got cold and we headed back to the truck.

We made it back to the truck just in time to help Dave load the wood. 

This day started out pretty rough . . . with a broken bowl, and a runaway three year old, but I'm happy to say it ended on a much better note.

Here is one of Bayleigh's pictures from our trek through the woods:

She comes up with her very own unique perspective, and I love to encourage her.  She was using my back-up camera . . . an old Nikon Coolpix 4600.  She got a focused picture of the reflection in the creek, and me walking by her side.  I'm so proud of her and glad she likes to take pictures too.

(I can't even begin to pick a favorite here . . . but Bayleigh's photo is pretty close to the top.  I'm also liking that bright spot of yellow in the midst of all the browns and whites.)