A usual day

A random picture taken during dinner prep (a yummy tomato, mushroom and basil quiche)... Sam has a cheeky look on his face because he was trying to roll the cherry tomatoes under Jacobs chair and onto the floor... if you look closely you'll also see a lone egg by the chopping board... this egg almost made it to the floor as well.

We were also making lunch as well when this picture was taken.... I was boiling some eggs for Sam, he saw the eggs, saw me put them into the saucepan and started crying his little eyes out and yelling "MY EGGGGG FRIEEEND!!!" Oh dear, maybe creating a friend out of an egg a few weeks ago wasn't such a great idea! By the time the eggs were done and lunch served, he scoffed them down and said "that was so yummy"... kids get over things so quickly... :) 

P.S Finished run #3 today... still feel like I'm dying but my mind is handling the ordeal a tiny bit better! 

Running

I really love running... I'm not a super-star at it that's for sure, and I have a long way to go with my fitness ... but I really do enjoy it. I had been doing a little running program to get my fitness up to running 5kms a day, but for some reason for a good few weeks I got out of the habit, life got busy, it got HOT etc etc excuses excuses. So last night I decided enough was enough and I was getting back on track with my program. Instead of doing the sensible thing and starting off at a good pace and building up again, I decided that I was going to not only run as far as I did before I stopped but I was also going to go FURTHER! Remember a few posts back where I said my mind doesn't stop?? Well that goes for when I'm running too...here is a little glimpse into my random thoughts while running...I think I may need to practice zoning out... my brain hurt as much as my body did after this little activity!!!!!

"So good to be running again, I can do this EASILY!"

"I ran 3.2kms a few weeks ago, so this time my goal will be 3.7kms"

"I wonder what runs they have coming up early next year, maybe I can train for one of those..., will look into that'

"mmm this is getting tough"

"Hey, maybe if I put up the speed, I can cover more distance, that's a good idea" (p.s it WASN'T a good idea!)

"this is hard"

"okay you can definitely do this, this is EASY! No problems... don't think about it.. just zone out.. "

"zoning out not working, stare at the label on the treadmill.. that will help"

"that's not helping, this is getting really hard, I think I might not last"

"I HAVE to last.. I can't stop now!"

"hey I might write about this on my blog.. "

"Damn, now I actually DO have to reach my goal otherwise I will look like a wimp"

"I guess, I don't HAVE to write it on my blog, which means I could actually stop running now...."

"DON'T stop running - you'll be so disappointed in yourself if you stop running"

"Okay I can DO THIS.. I REALLY CAN, you went through a ridiculous number of hours of labour TWO times, surely you can run a measly 3.7kms...!!!"

"ABSOLUTELY I CAN! LET'S GO!"

"I think I'm dying, my legs are feeling funny... I think this may be worse than labour.. "

"Okay.. it's not worse than labour but it feels PRETTY BAD"

"Least with labour at the end of it I got a cute babies.. what do I get from this running?!!! NOTHING.. well maybe not nothing, I get satisfaction.. I get fitter..it's good for me"

"NOPE NOT WORTH IT!!! it's not worth it!... okay maybe it is worth it... those are good things"

"Oh.my.gosh... I am not going to make it.. this is torture.."

"You can't stop now you only have 5 minutes to go"

"2 mins.. why do I do this to myself..."

"30 seconds... 3.6kms is stuck... it's NOT MOVING... why wont it change to 3.7kms?????!!!!! I really am going to die!!!!... "

"I DID IT!!! YAY!!! That wasn't so bad! I could do it easily! I'm going to do this every day, that's a great idea!"

Hillarys

Today was a GOOD day! Jacob enjoyed spending the day with Nanna while Lewy and I took Sam for a very special day out.

Perfect day for the beach - it was pure bliss! I could have stayed in the water all day. My water baby Sam had a ball as usual.

Spot the cutie in the blue hat :) 

Sam had a love/hate relationship with this ride. He began his journey on a kangaroo then decided he wanted to swap.. and fell face first onto the floor.. after some tears and a hug he was ready to jump back on, to test out the emu.

Next was a visit to Time Zone and few races with Dad.. (or pretend races in Sam's case :)

Lewy is enjoying this just as much as Sam... 

This photo was taken pre-pose.. but I had to post it because I love the look on Sam's face... obviously my beer was causing Sam some concern!

Perth

Jacob and I had a very special outing together this morning. We left home early and drove to South Perth foreshore... it was so lovely spending time alone with Jacob, this boy lights up my life :) We set up the blanket in the shade and enjoyed some quality time, peace and quiet and fresh air. We also walked up and down along the foreshore and when Jacob fell asleep I got out my camera and tripod and got busy taking pictures of Perth.

It would seem that doing my hair this morning wasn't on the priority list....Jacob's top says "Mummy's little stud muffin'.. Sam also wore this top when he was little too :) 

HDR Photography makes me very very happy..

I get so excited when I can spend time taking HDR photos ... I enjoy it so much. Today, me Sam and Jacob went to a park in Guildford to have our lunch, visit the playground and take photos :) Sam is great...so patient and knows he can't wander too far away while I have my eye stuck to the camera! Jacob enjoyed laying in the pram looking up at the trees, and then was so relaxed he fell asleep for the rest of the outing - my gorgeous angel :)

To get these 4 pictures - I took a total of 60 photos.... most of the photos I processed didn't turn out as well as I hoped. Whenever I think a photo is going to look great, it never turns out as expected.. but whenever I randomly take a photo because the view catches my eye - THOSE are the ones I always love the best! Sometimes I get ahead of myself and try to get all creative and arty.. note to self: DON'T do that, it doesn't end well!!!

On the way from Guildford, we stopped near our house to take some pictures.. (these are actually the trees responsible for the view that I see when I turn onto our street :) 

Sam having a break from all the playing.... he is so cute :) 

Cupcakes

Because I've been doing the photo a day for 1 month, a habit has been formed and now it feels like something out of my day is missing if I don't put up a new post! I'll run with it while it lasts! Sam made cupcakes today, with only a little help from me :) See how seriously he takes the task of cooking?! Love it :) 

 It doesn't look like it - but Sam was actually having a good time!!!

Finished product! Lamington Cupcakes :)

It won't be long until our gorgeous Jacob will be crawling... he is one strong little guy!!

Clouds

What is it about looking at clouds?! No matter what I'm feeling, by stopping and looking UP, I always feel better. On the way home from work on Monday, the sky was gorgeous. These photos (I took on my phone) don't do them justice at all. I almost wanted to pull over just to get out of the car and stare at the sky! There was this glowing blue tinge to the clouds and it looks amazing. (Don't worry, Lewy has already told me off for taking photos while I'm driving... point taken!!)

Here is a close up.

The problem with me is my mind DOES.NOT.STOP!!! It doesn't switch off.. it's full of thinking, analysing, researching, worrying, trying to solve every problem I come across, ways to improve, ways to do better, busy busy busy busy busy.. even when I'm thinking happy positive things, my mind decides that I need to do MORE and do BETTER! When it gets to the point of no return ... I go outside, and stare at the sky. (Really, this means I finally LET GO and let God take over). Every time without fail, God calms my mind, sorts me out, helps me solve the problem and restores me to being refreshed and ready to continue... but of course, next time it happens I go through the same little process until I finally go outside again and stare at the sky :) This morning I took my coffee outside and sat on the edge of the fountain and LET GO. Sam came out and said to me 'What you doin, Mummy?', and sat next to me and stared at the sky too :)  I'm sure my neighbours would love to ask me first of all, why is my son always naked.. and secondly, why am I always outside looking at the sky? :) 

Getting ready for Christmas..

While Lewy and I were at the wedding, Sam helped Nanna decorate our tree. Sam is so excited for Christmas he can barely contain himself! Today we put on some Christmas music and hung up the stockings and other bits and pieces.

Funny Sam

See... updating the blog already! Just had to share this pic I took of Sam this morning. Lewy asked him to go and put on some "big boy pants", Sam went into his room and came out like this... maybe Lewy should have been a bit more specific :)

Project Complete!

Well I did it! It's been a fun little project and I've enjoyed doing this blog so much that I've decided to keep it! Obviously I won't be updating it every day but I'll definitely keep updating as often as I can. It's a great option for me, especially not having a Facebook account, to keep in touch and share photos with you all :) Thanks everyone for looking and keeping me motivated to see the month out! Make sure you keep checking back every now and then  :)

Day 31

The wedding at Willow Pond. :)

Isn't this sky amazing? I didn't take my good camera... which is probably a lucky thing otherwise I would have spent most of my time looking UP rather than concentrating on the wedding!!!!

Getting a bit wind swept by this stage (well I was anyway... :) Luckily the rain held off for the ceremony and photos. 

Before the wedding we had a lovely visit from Val, Shanika and baby Quintin. 

Shanika and Sam had a ball playing together :) 

The car makes another appearance :) The kids were distracted for a moment by watching TV.

Showing their muscles

Day 30

With only today and tomorrow left until the month is up - I'm completely uninspired as to what photo to take for today! I have tried taking some HDR's.. they didn't look great, I tried to take some pics of me after getting my hair done this morning.. I didn't like them, I took some pictures of the sky... they were pretty average. So basically just for the sake of putting up a photo.. I'll put up one of the pics I took of the sky. Nothing fantastic, but it's all I've got!!!!

Day 29

I wanted to take the boys to a different park somewhere near the river, so headed towards Bassendean and drove around till I found a good spot. Wow! How is it that I have never been to the back of Bassendean where all the mansions are hiding! What a beautiful piece of suburb that is!!  Had some time at the playground, then Sam wanted to go and look at the water near the boat ramp. My mobile rang and in the 2 seconds it took for me to answer it, Sam had stripped off all his clothes and was heading towards the water. Don't worry - he didn't go swimming (although he would have loved too!) he just had fun walking around in the water saying over and over again "I'm having so much fun Mummy!" and "this is lovely, lovely water".

Jacob was too busy falling asleep to worry about posing for this pic :)

Today is also me and Lewy's 4th wedding anniversary :) This time 4 years ago we were on a boat on the Swan River cruising from Freo to Perth and back again for our reception.. it was a gorgeous night and so much fun :) It's been a very very happy 4 years ... and now we have 2 beautiful sons .. what more could we ask for? it's perfection... I can't wait to see what is in store for our family in the next 4 years! Tonight we had a little candle-lit dinner with me, Lewy and Sam.. Jacob didn't make the celebration as he was fast asleep :)