plus one

This is Ollie. We adopted him last week. He is a 3 year old maltipoo.
He brings us smiles, giggles, and fleas :)

Welcome to our family, Ollie. We love you :*

just me and myself

it has been almost a month that both my little ones are in school full time. i've been busy getting to know myself, meeting up with friends nearby, yapping on the phone with ones that are far away.

i've been txting like a fool, dancing like a fool, taking pictures of myself like a fool. life is good and it gets even better when they get home at 3 o'clock and we get to do the fun little things we always do together..


and it feels just a teeny-tiny bit more special since we've missed each other all day.

and I end this post with one last photo of me, looking so refreshed and loving this new routine. :D

falling in love...

...with basketball...

...indoors...outdoors...we can't stop playing.

hello

We are still alive and well. Making applesauce and stuff. Why applesauce? Because we bought a jar of applesauce the other day and none of us can open it.

some kind of normal. or not

i was happy to see jin and maku sewing again. this time with grandma's help.

and i am taking photographs again. and blogging. i should slow down, i might start eating again and gain back all the weight i lost so effortlessly ^.^ no wait, not to worry, i am not back to showering daily yet. ;)

a tango of confusion

Oh how our lives have changed! I go to work and the children go to summer camp. It was the second day of camp today and Maku was looking a little confused. He asked, "Mommy, everyone is dressed differently from yesterday. How am I suppose to remember who they are?"

We had a surprise visit last week. He rolled down some hills and away he went. Don't ask. He's just as confused as Maku was this morning.

the three of us

finding a sense of peace and comfort in nature
those brief moments of joy
amidst our sorrow and grief

teddy bears and picnics

if you go down to the woods today...you're sure of a big surprise...

BOO!
Snow bought a teddy bear with her birthday money and called it Luna. She asked me to make a baby sling; a sling and not a toy stroller. Seeing her brother grow up strapped to me, not some bulky baby gadget, influenced her way of playing mommy. I am hoping this will carry on to her motherhood as well.

Later she asked me to make her pretend boobies. But, you see, Luna is a bear, she can only get bear's milk from a bear or a bottle. So now we have to get bottles. I have an empty sake bottle we can use. I wonder what the moms in the playground will say about that, a bear in a sling, drinking sake.

Speaking of moms, I have two new mommy friends. One is a homeschooling mother of three, a hottie with a fashionable Eastern European accent. The other is from Costa Rica, tall and tan, with beautiful wavy hair and toned abs and, of course, a sexy accent. If this isn't inspiration enough to get back into shape then I don't know what is.

We are having a picnic at the waterpark. The camera will stay home as I will be fully engaged in some worry-free splashing and sliding. I hope Maku is tall enough to go down the big slides.

december 1st

How time flies when you're grown up. It's hard to believe it's the end of another month and that we are approaching the end of another year.
The first of December marks the start of our holiday decorating and gift-making. Maku is putting together little pots of aloe for his friends this year. He adorns them with pebbles and puts leaf beds for tired fairies to rest in.

Snow is sewing marble pouches like the one she made for herself a few weeks ago. Jin has complicated plans but nothing she can't handle on her own...

...just look at this cutie crayon case she made for a friend.

this weary traveler

After seriously delayed flights, persistent pokes from a little black dog tucked underneath my plane seat, Dave's vertigo, and Maku puking a massive amount of orange vomit on ME, I find myself still recovering from our weekend travel.

Despite all odds, we had an excellent Saturday at Niagara Falls with Granddad, Hal and his family. The children were just thrilled to spend time with their cousins. Hopefully soon, between doctor's appointments and making dough for a relief map project, I can sneak in some time to sort out the photos.

self portrait project

me and my flirt

simple maku

Not too simple Snow. With two left hands and two right feet, oh and paws too.

Snow as a rockstar. 5.6 is her rockstar name. Her current singles are Love is my Destiny and My Tooth is Wiggling.

My tooth is wiggling oh yes it is...oh...oh...mmmm...yes....pony
Oh love! Is my destiny! mmmmmm...sssssss...oh love! Is my time!......mmmm......ssssss

A short introduction

During a visit to Granddad's office, Montana fell in love with a wooden family of four (Dr. Granddad is a psychologist and has assorted toys that he uses for play therapy). She spotted a similar looking family at a toy shop the next day, and here they are: The Merkurs.

The Merkurs enjoy their after-lunch stroll over by the rocks where the little boy Giant plays.

It was a challenge to interrupt play on a bright and beautiful day but I managed to grab this shot. (^o^)
Reminds me of our family portrait of chaos taken last year:

This was the best we could do. Really.