Resolution Time?

Is it that time again, already?
Okay, here are my goals for the new year...

1) launch my pet photography business



2) update my maternity/newborn photography site

3) make time spent away from my family worth it <-- I vow this one.

4) eat a vegetarian/vegan diet (I'll do the best I can with that one...but I don't plan to obsess about eggs in bread, or milk in my coffee just yet)

5) exercise. I plan to work-out in some form 5 days a week. If that is wii dancing, fine. If that is a big walk with the baby, fine. If that is a 20k bike ride, fine. Something. 5 days a week (my weekends already involve about 15,000 steps...so that's covered).

I plan to be buff by August.

Seriously.

Stop laughing.

So, what are your goals for the New Year?
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Classic.

This is a photo of a photo--so not the greatest quality--but you get the idea.



I love this photo.
I love all our Santa photos. I love seeing a baby, a toddler, pop!, another baby...one crying at 2, another crying at 2, and a third crying at two. And now with Santa's expression...priceless.

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas.

:)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Her Life Story

JJ and I finished putting her homework assignment together last night. It was a bit tricky considering JJ knocked our external hard drive flying last year, wiping out a year and a half of family photos. But, we got it done, and I thought it was so cute.


















{Since she hasn't quite hit 6 yet, she was told to just write about what she would like to do. So unlike her Mom on this one! I'd be happy to never step foot on a plane again).


It was really sweet to go through all the photos (that we do still have), and see how much she's grown.

It was also remarkable to see just how much JJ at two looks like Colie Coco today!



No wonder I call Colie "Jamie" at least once a day!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Meet the Teacher Night

I wasn't sure if we would make it. It all depended on when the hubs got home from work. But, Jamie was sure hoping we would go. As soon as she came in the front door after school she was screaming, "Meet the teacher night! Meet the teacher night! Can we go?! Can we?!".

To be honest, I always kind of feel like, "What's the point"? I mean, we've already, usually, met the teacher. And we've usually seen the classroom. And it's too early in the school year for the teacher to give us any real input as to how the kiddos are doing. But, the girls sure love it.

They love showing off their work.












And their desks.









And, of course, their teachers.






They get so excited about it all and are always so happy when we are there that, in the end, it's always a great time. And, i remembered, sharing in their excitement for education is the whole point.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Back to School, 2010

Back to school, in pictures.

(Colie brushing out Maddie's hair for her).




(All set to go at the bus stop).




(Jamie James's first day of grade One!)



(Of course I had to have more than just the iPhone photos for first day of school!)







(Mama cannot manage to ever have dry hair that early in the morning. But, at least the kiddos look great) ;-)




Coco and I headed for the park to cheer ourselves up. Hard to not have ~either~ of them home anymore. All day. Every day.






Growing up way too fast.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Let Them Eat Cake.

Last week was my hubby's birthday. I could take this opportunity to tell you about what a great guy he is. How he works so hard to take care of all of us. How he is so great, and so hands on with the girls. How he buys the groceries, and cooks, and makes lunches. How, when I casually mentioned that I liked the water bottles with the wider openings, I caught him setting them all aside for me a few days later. But, I won't.



Instead I'll tell you about the nummy cake the girls and i made. A cake so nummy Colie just had to get up on the kitchen chair to get at it. And knock it over. And start digging into it with her bare hands.









When I showed the big girls what she did, they were horrified! So I did what any reasonable mom would do. I said, "Well...grab a fork".



Maddie then declared that it was "The Best day EVER!"






Anywho...
Happy Birthday, Davey!
We all love you very, very much and we are very sorry about your cake.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Linky Love.

One of my hubby's clients in his landscaping biz. is an older lady. Very friendly. Very sweet. Very wise. One day in conversation they were talking about the new baby, and how things were going...
and she said to him,
"You know, if your wife ever has a problem...something that bugs her...something that makes her life difficult, find a way to fix it and you will become rich".

I thought that was so interesting. And so true.

Keep your eyes open, ladies.

Edited to add: ACK! I forgot to thank the wonderful Stacy Julian for sharing this video clip. I loved it (obviously! I just blogged about it, too)!  Thanks Mrs. Julian. You rock :)

Fitness Friday: Monthly Wrap Up {August}.

The month of August found me hitting the trails.  A lot. 
I used to cycle all the time in high school. On the roads, then. But a close encounter with a car left me afraid of going anywhere near the roads again. I mean, ya' think when you are crossing a road, at the cross-walk, with the light, in broad daylight, no one is going to try and run you over. You'd think so. Anyway. Ironically, my orthopaedic surgeon recommended cycling for rehabilitation for my knee. Insurance even paid for a new bike. But, I never used it. Not once. I was just too afraid. But, since moving to an area that is so close to so many trails...there was really no excuse anymore (well, except that my bike was in pieces and hubby kept delaying putting it together for me). But! August found me back in the saddle. And I've been loving it!! 

I quickly found that I was in need of a few upgrades. 

And some accessories. 
My best friends are my new riding gloves (my hands were starting to get really sore without them), my new bike shorts (they may look like regular ol' shorts, but don't let that fool you. There is some cushy science in them there shorts. And, my butt is very grateful), and my iPhone with a GPS app. that records my every move (distance, elevation, calories burned. It even records my time against previous times, maps my route, speaks to me during my ride! Coolest thing ever. And the best part--I just let my music play away and the app. continues to work in the background--just interrupting every few minutes to let me know how far I've gone, and how I'm doing, and if anyone has left me any messages on Twitter or Facebook. So. Cool. I heart my iPhone). 
So, what kind of numbers did i rack up in August? Well...just keep in mind it was my first month back cycling in, uhhh, well over a decade. Also, I am riding a Mountain Bike now and not a Road Bike. And I'm riding on the trails, not the road. So...speed might not be too terribly impressive (oh, how i do miss flying along!). Oh, also, i didn't get the app. until a few days after i actually started. But, anyway...enough of the justifications..here are the numbers:
August, 2010
Rides: 11Total Distance: 103.08 kmsTotal Time: 5:58:54Total Climb: 223 metresTotal Calories: 2264Average Distance: 9.37 kmsAverage Time: 32:38Average Climb: 20 metresAverage Calories: 206Average Speed: 17.23 kms/hr
And how do i feel? Terrific!!My legs feel so energized!They are that slight, tingly, just a wee bit sore feeling you get when you know you are accomplishing something, but you aren't incapacitated. I can actually see muscles in my legs that are getting bigger, and stronger...and some that i never even remember seeing before(like the one that runs across my shin. Hello there, muscle! Where have you been?)
I will definitely be continuing my cycling throughout September, and I'm hoping to continue on even when it gets cold out. Me? Out in the cold?? Ya, my hubby is finding that one hard to believe, too. But, i'd really like to! I'm loving it so much. We'll see how it goes. 
I'll be back next month with another wrap up. 
In the meantime...What have you been doing to take care of yourself lately?

Four Simple Goals.

I came across this cool little post over at Ali Edward's blog. It is about creating Four Simple Goals for yourself for the remainder of this year. This is perfect timing for me as I have just started back to this blog and I love to start off something new with new goals...and the New Year is still so far away. So, here are my Four Simple Goals:

1) Don't waste time. 

Okay, that sounds way too vague to actually put into action so let me concrete that one up a bit.

Get up and showered first thing in the morning. Don't wait until the baby has her nap because that nap is coming later and later and you don't want to be a slob all morning, do you? Also, stop checking Twitter so damn much. Yes, there are lots of interesting people on there, with lots of interesting links, but you have too much else YOU need to get done in YOUR own life...so stop checking already!

2) Plan. 

Remember that time you made a dinner plan for the week and Davey got all the groceries for it, and you actually made dinner all. week. long? Wasn't that nice? So much better than standing in the kitchen at 6 pm wondering what you can create with a bottle of spaghetti sauce and last night's left-over fajita chicken, wasn't it? So, make a meal plan every week. And, then, make dinner.

3) Drink More WATER. 

Ali used this one and it is my total nemesis. I cannot get myself to drink enough water. But, I have just bought a nice little water bottle for my bike rides. Is there any reason why I can't fill that up in the morning and carry it around with me through-out the day? I don't think so. Hang on. I'm going to go grab it now.

Okay...it's a little plastic-y tasting and while they assured me it was BPA-free...I dunno. Maybe I'll get a different bottle. But, HEY, no excuses. No waiting for the fancy-smancy perfect bottle. Drink some water, woman! Now. And Every Day. All Day. M'kay?

4) Create a Scrapbook.

You have been harping on this so long. It's boring. You are signed up for Cathy's class. You big puffy heart Cathy. You big puffy heart the book the class is based on. You don't need anything fancy to get it done. So get it done. I'll be so proud.

I'm not sure why I wrote all that in some sort of weird third person, but there ya' go. My Four Simple Goals. 

Good luck, me.

How about you? Do you have Four Simple Goals you could make for yourself?

Mommy Project: The Abridged Version.

So, another reason for starting back up here at The Mommy Project is that I, once again, have a lot of projects coming up on the horizon. I'll still be working on the photo biz. which I big puffy heart love, but I will also be going back to school to finish up my last two credits in my Landscape Design course! I had almost decided to just let that slide away, but Dave and I have been talking and we have decided to go ahead and expand the landscaping business with a new, fresh, start and new, fresh, name! We have "owned" the new business name for awhile, but we weren't sure if/when to make the leap. Well, we've been working with a designer and we have a brand new logo and we are getting together a website and marketing materials and a whole lotta' other new goodness. So exciting. The new "improved" business will be expanded much more into the design aspect, while holding on to the property maintenance as "the bread and butter" as my favourite teacher, Dennis, would say. Design is the only part I'm really interested in, to be honest. I'm not much with a weed-whacker. Speaking of design...

I am also now signed up to take another class over at Big Picture Scrapbooking with my total girl-crush, Cathy Zielske. Gawd. She is just so darn adorable, isn't she? I think she is super amazing, and super talented, and her personal fitness transformation has been just...well...nothing short of inspirational this year! In fact, I have just started back up with some serious cycling (well, as serious as someone who is completely out of shape can get) because of her. I'd run, Cathy, but...I can't run.  I accept that about myself. 

Anyway! Suffice it to say that there will be a lot going on in the next little while and I thought that it might be nice to share some of it with you (you know who you are). Also, I wanted to beg ask you if you might like to take Cathy's course with me?! It sounds like it is going to be a lot of fun, and fairly simple, and will result in the completion of an actual scrapbook. Crazy talk? No, really. The course is modelled around one of my all time favourite books, "Encylopedia of an Ordinary Life", by the also super talented Amy Krouse Rosenthal (a.k.a. Rosendal). Love that book.

Here...let me get my bud Cath to tell you all about the class herself:

Me: The Abridged Version
An A to Z All About Me 4-Week Album Workshop

Sometimes I wonder what makes scrapbookers avoid telling their own stories. I've heard the claims that journaling is hard and that these stories aren't worth telling -- and I don't believe either claim for a minute. To prove these ideas wrong, dear scrapbooking friends, is where Me: The Abridged Version comes in. By focusing on specific but wholly unrelated random details from your own extraordinary life, I'm going to teach you that you're a lot better at writing than you think. We won't fret over flowery prose and excellent grammar. We'll work with run-on sentences. And fragments. And lists. And stuff that you might not think makes for perfect writing, but that most definitely WILL make for perfect story-telling.

In this four-week workshop, I'll be your guide to making the coolest album that captures a little essence of the person who puts so much time and care into documenting everyone else in her (or his) life. That person is you.

Will you do it? Will you come on this little journey and make this album with me?

• 
  
  
  
  It's not about design (though the design is cute and we will cover some fun digital stuff!). 
• 
  
  
  
  It's not about photos (though you will get to choose 52 shots that best represent your various entries… shots you already have or shots you'll take). 
• 
  
  
  
  It's not about product (though you will need an album, a bunch of cardstock, and your favorite patterned papers to accent the album with!).
• 
  
  
  
  But it IS about you. And when you're done, you'll have the coolest, most interesting snapshot of your life, right now, that you could ever imagine. A snapshot that only YOU are truly qualified to present. In the process, you'll get a handle on journaling the stories from your every day life and emerge a more confident storyteller. 

I think you have stories just waiting to get out, and I want to help you tell them. See you in class!

Run-on sentences? Fragments?? Lists?!? This course is meant for me!! How 'bout you? Hope to see you in class!  If not, at least I'll see ya' around the good ol' bloggity. Jeez! I'll have to post a picture of the baby for you! She's gotten pretty big in the past 6 months!!

Knowing Me: Knowing You...The August Edition.

Well it has been 6 long months since I've written anything on this blog...which isn't too bad when you consider the fact that I wasn't really planning on ever coming back again. So...why am I back? Well, I need a place to write my answers to The Fairy Blogmother's "Knowing Me, Knowing You" quiz!


Here goes...


1. What is your favourite kind of pie?

Mmmmm, pie. I love pie. You may remember the whole "I'm going to bake a different pie every week!!!" kick that I got on just after having Colie: Post-Partum Pieforia, I believe it's called. Unfortunately, one pie a week didn't go so well with the other kick I was on, which was "I would like to lose some of this baby weight, rather than add to it". So, ya, anyway...what was the question? My favourite pie? Strawberry Rhubarb. For sure. Not with a crumble crust though, and not with the lattice top (although I wouldn't turn my nose up at either). I like strawberry rhubarb pie, heavy on the rhubarb, with a normal pie-crust top. 
2. What kind of wedding did you have. I am making the broad assumption here that you are married, if you're not.. what was the last wedding like that you went to.

We eloped. To Jamaica. 
Best. Decision. Ever.
{I just kind of wish we hadn't bothered with the overly expensive "at-home reception" after, that we are still paying for, and no one really gave two hoots about anyway). 

3. Ever been too a 3D movie?

Yes. I saw "Creature from the Black Lagoon" when I was about, oh, 10 I guess. There was one scene in the water with the fish swimming around and it looked like one was coming right at me. So cool. Horrible movie but, at 10, I thought that was pretty awesome 
4. What is the worst movie ever made?

Listen very closely because this cannot be overstated - The worst movie ever made is "A.I." Have you seen that movie? Dave and I tried. We had high hopes because of Hailey Joel Osment and "The Sixth Sense". Oi. I could not get through the movie. It just sucked. that. bad. 

5. Are you all set for back to school?

No. But, no biggie. The real question is...am I ready for summer to be over and the answer to that question is...
NOOOOOOO!

First Brett Favre, and Now This!

I'm back, baby!

First Oprah, Now This!!

So, this may (or may not...) be a bit of a sad post.

Here


's the deal.
I go back to work in less than two weeks (half-time as a R.V.T.). I am also starting my photo biz in about two weeks (I have an ad coming out in a local baby expo...so I'll be goin' public. For Real Life. So scary). I am also taking this great course over at Big Picture Scrapbooking which is showing me a great way to get all my gabillions of photos (paper and digital) organized so that I can actually start scrapbooking them. That course is a LOT of work, though. And, when it is over I actually want to start, you know, scrapbooking.

This blog has served as a sweet little on-line scrapbook of me and my family for the past couple of years...but, you know, if I am forced to pick one form of scrapbooking over an other (due to time constraints)...I just think my family would prefer the kind they can actually touch.



Also, with the photo biz starting up I will have to start showing my poor photo blog some love (i.e. actually post something in it once in awhile).

Plus, there is the fact that I am still a Mom to three little girls and I really need to have time left over for them...and my home...and my hubby.

Somethings gotta' give.

Do you see where this is going?



Yes...I think this may have to be about it for The Mommy Project.
Oh, my tummy just flipped a little as a typed that. I feel like I am giving up a part of myself. But, truly, I just don't think I can fit it all in. I think, what will happen, is that I will never have time to blog here and it will just get all sad and kinda' pathetic when my last blog entry becomes one that I did 2 months ago. Then, out of guilt, I will post something else. Woo. How exciting. Who is gonna' want to keep coming here for that.

So, let this not be Good-bye...dear, sweet, readers (and you know who you are, The Fairy Blogmother, and Widney Woman and Mami Picture...ha ha!)...
for you can still catch-up with me on Twitter, and Facebook, and my Photoblog (which is gonna' start being the happenin' place to be...with improved photography, to boot. Oh! I still love you iPhone camera!! Really, I do. But printing your pics bigger than about 4x4 isn't really that swell.


So...
ya...
for now...
I'll just say
So Long...
and thanks for all this fish.

{Please come follow me on my Photoblog! I'll miss you if you don't!!!}

Wordless Wednesday

Family Day: Family Date.




With an extra chair pulled up this year.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Happy Valentine's Day!

Breakfast in bed!






Complete with Halls that Jamie peeled and fed to me.





{Dear Mom I hope you fel gud today}.









Ahh...
and a card from the hubs, too!!



I hope your day is as sweet as mine.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone