Day 84 and My Week Off!

I'm in a very rare position this morning. Sam has just been picked up to go to the pools with Nanna and then back to her house for lunch, Jacob has just gone down for a nap, Lewy is at work... and I'm here, in the house and it's QUIET and I can do whatever I want! Nice!

See that bruise on my little angels head? That's what happens when I try to take 5 minutes to catch up on the phone with a friend, whose voice I was so excited to hear, when Jacob decided to head dive into the window! 

Notice the blue on the paving? Oops.... that was from my spray painting effort the other day. Clearly, I didn't put enough paper down. 

I'm taking a week break from work starting from tomorrow, so decided I might also take the opportunity to take a break from my blog and the computer in general. I'll still be checking my emails every few days but will make sure when I get back into the swing of things, I'll reply to any emails. Next Sunday, I'll be back in business and will update my blog with the biggest post of all time and I'm sure a whole stack of photos - so brace yourselves! 

Signing off for now.. I'm going to make a cup of tea, get a book, sit outside and soak in the peace and quiet! Have a great week everyone!  xx

Day 82 & 83

While Sam was at Kindy yesterday, Jacob and I set up a blanket in the shade at a park nearby. The birds in the trees were so loud and flying around over our heads the whole time. It was great, and Jacob spent the first part of our outing looking up and listening to the beautiful sounds. 

This photo would have been so much better if the little guy hadn't moved out of the shot the moment I took the picture and I hadn't of turned my head to look at him when he moved!.. I got his ear in at least :) What a cute little ear it is....

The boys got stuck into playing with a box of shoes when we got home... and Sam thought it was great that they both had blue gumboots...

Friday.... it's been a day of playing. This morning, Sam and I set up the cars on the train track and then all the toys in the 'field' in the middle. 

I thought it would be really funny and Sam would get a kick out of me making The Incredible Hulk come through and wreck our 'city'...... I was wrong. Sam yelled "Muuuuuuuummmmy, noooooooooooo stop wrecking everythingggggggg!!!! 

After we cleaned up the 'city', Sam said The Incredible Hulk could stay if he stood still in one spot and didn't cause any trouble.... :)

 After lunch, me and my boys spent some time outside with the hose running and us all enjoying a cool down.

I love this photo. Sam made these ears at Kindy yesterday and has been wearing them every since. They're upside down, but they are his 'listening' ears. Picture this... all us mums waiting outside the Kindy for our kids to come out.... and out they come all wearing ears. It was the cutest thing ever!

Concentrate Sam... don't let that fish out of your sight or it might get away!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Day 81

I love seeing the sun reflecting from the glass at our front door onto the tiles in our family room every morning... it's such a small thing, but always makes me happy :) 

Jacob doing his yoga moves in the warmth of the sunshine... :)

 My favourite corner of the kitchen in the morning... 

I've been in a real 'home maker' mood so me and the boys headed to Bunnings this morning for some bright blue spray paint. I decided our lounge room needed a big splash of colour to brighten the place up. 

BEFORE - boring old brown photo frames... 

AFTER! Amazing what a bit of colour can do. So pleased with the finished product. 

My sister Pam came over during this crafty arvo... and we decided to do something about the sticks in the vase. Seen as I had stacks of spray paint.. some of the sticks got a freshen up also. 

All finished...

What a productive day. I'm sure Pam was looking forward to a relaxing afternoon with a cup of tea .. instead she ended up spending the whole time helping me hold wet spray painted sticks while they dried and keeping Sam away from the wet paper and the photo frames! Thanks for your wonderful help Pam!

Day 79 & 80

It's been a busy few days... full of planning, organising, baking, getting ready for a birthday, appointments, the list goes on.

Yesterday was dedicated to my wonderful mother in law Sharon. Before she arrived to spend the day with me and the boys, Sam and I got busy preparing for her special birthday dinner and getting her present ready. 

Making Apple Crumble. When Sam helps me bake.. he actually does help! He did a great job of mixing the crumble and putting it on the apple. 

Such concentration ... I love it!

Home-made birthday card... the best kind. 

Although it was Nanna's birthday, Sam was lucky enough to be put in charge of starting off the Happy Birthday song and blowing out the candles... 

Sam's Apple Crumble was a big hit... finished off with custard and a Miss Maud's Cheesecake. 

Jacob's 8 month check up this morning....my little champion :)

After appointments and a work meeting.. while Jacob was napping, Sam and I spent some time outside.. 

Kicking the footy with my boy, while he was wearing shoes that were too big... 

Sam left his toy snake on our bed..... 

It's a good thing it's not real as clearly our cat would have been no help whatsoever in protecting us....

Day 78

My sleeping beauty...

After Sunday School today I was pushing Sam on the swing outside and I overheard this conversation between 2 little girls:

Girl 1: "Excuse me, you could be Rapunzel - your hair is sooooo long"
Girl 2:  "Oh no, I couldn't be Rapunzel, my hair isn't that long"
Girl 1: "It's, like, still pretty long though, you could pretend to be her"
Girl 2: "We should play Rapunzel, I'll be Rapunzel.. you be the prince"
Girl 1: "I don't want to be the prince, I want to be the baddie"

I was quietly giggling :)

Day 77

Sam and I went to the park today... just the two of us. It was lovely. I told Sam in the morning that we were going on a special outing "just us". He said "ohhhh yay!..... can Jakey come?" :) I love that he loves his brother so much.

I know it seems like all I do lately is post pictures of my boys... which I love doing because I happen to think they are so beautiful .... but it's also because I've been experimenting with different photography effects. It might not be noticeable, but I've been playing around with the settings of my camera a lot more and trying to work out what settings produce what outcome... and it's easiest for me, as a stay at home mum, to practice this photography on my boys!

For old times sake...here is a HDR I created this morning and the original next to it:

Just in case you are interested in looking... I follow this guy on Flickr who has just completed a '100 Strangers' project. Basically the project is set over 100 days, and you post a photo that you have taken of a 100 strangers (with their permission of course!). It's becoming quite a popular thing to do..... 

Quick Note: Do Not Worry, I absolutely am NOT going to be taking on this project, so you can rest easy knowing that you won't have another crazy project of mine to keep track of! 

Anyway, back to this guy. I have loved keeping track of his work, his portraits are fantastic and he writes a little story about his interaction with the person he has taken the photo of. You might enjoy a quick look :) - 

100 Strangers Project

Not photography related.. but I found a recipe the other day for a delicious sauce. You can use it to serve over basically anything... meatloaf, any meat dish, pasta, chicken, rice, veges... anything really, especially if you are needing a bit of a kick to an otherwise 'bland' meal or wanting to create a special meal. It is gorgeous!

Ingredients

Tomatoes either 6 fresh, or

2 and one half cups of canned ones

One Onion, sliced in thin rings

One teaspoon Cinnamon

One half cup Brown Sugar

One teaspoon Vinegar

One half teaspoon Salt

Just combine the ingredients and simmer for 2 hours.  Easy! It's well worth it :) 

Okay, I think that's enough from me for today! Happy weekend everyone!