Happy 2nd Birthday to Cordelia!

we had a busy weekend celebrating Cordelia's 2nd birthday. family came to help celebrate. the weather was fantastic so we could hang out and eat outside... i can't complain about the beautiful early spring we have been enjoying this year. i feel like we've gotten to see the sun so much more than usual and it makes a huge difference to my state of mind! :)

flowers blooming everywhere...

Claire and Cordelia by Lake Monona

here's the birthday girl on her birthday!

and her cake - vanilla cake with caramel frosting. i'm eating a leftover slice even as i type this. :)

Hello, it's been ages!

it has been much too long... and i have really missed being here, but the time away has been good for me to consider what i'm doing with this space.  the time has been busy, busy, busy, and hard, hard, hard, but my girls are getting bigger, i am finding some room how to find myself again and wondering, who is this stranger? so, i hope you will join me once more as i ponder these questions and share some of my thoughts and photos.

we are enjoying this summer-like spring!! it feels so good to run barefoot in the grass!

Happy birthday, Claire! (and thank you)

my sunshine girl is 4 today!!! we are looking forward to celebrating! her party is next weekend, rather late, but thankfully she is young enough not to be bothered by this. here's a shot of my dear girl.

have a great Sunday, everyone, and thank you, thank you, thank you, to all my friends who attended the Adornment show - i felt your love and support and they mean so much to me! thank you!

This Week

i've been so busy, i haven't taken any film photos lately. i think it will have to wait until after this friday. so, i was running around at the end of last week, picking up my paintings from the frame shop and picking up my prints from the print shop. this week, i'll have to get the paintings hung, prints packaged, and try to keep our daily life going. Claire's 4th birthday is at the end of the week - i have been neglecting birthday celebrations. that too will have to wait until after friday!

but it's going to be fabulously warm this week and that makes me happy! what a treat we've been having with this great fall weather. if the snow holds until december, we may even get to see my parents here for Thanksgiving - since they aren't used to driving in the snow from having lived in Kenya for so long, they don't leave the house much in the winter. :)

happy monday, everyone! i'll leave you with this photo from a couple of weeks ago.

Halloween

did you all have a lovely weekend? or should i ask, did you all have a crazy weekend? our halloween weekend wasn't too exciting until yesterday. the girls woke up, all excited about going trick-or-treating. Claire would have run out in the early morning to fill up her candy bucket. i know parents complain about kids being on sugar-high, but my kids were on anticipation-high all day. it was a relief to let them out of the house. the part i enjoy most about halloween is seeing all the neighbours out with their families. time to catch up, see some neighbours we haven't seen in a while. now to figure out how to throw out some of the candy without the girls noticing...

Phil said to me this morning that we may get rain and snow this week. i'm hoping he's wrong, but then again, anything is possible since we've had such a warm fall. i'm not sure i'm ready to hunker down yet. but those days of staying in, baking cookies, decorating the tree, those days aren't too far off.

happy monday, friends!

The last warm days

before the days turned cold, we tried to enjoy the beautiful fall weather by going on picnics. these pictures were taken by Lake Kegonsa. the girls loved it so much they've been asking to return. i think we'll have to wait until spring. it's suddenly gotten cold, it finally feels like winter is on its way.

The past weekend

i was hoping to have another kind of post for you today, but last thursday, we were introduced to something quite new and i spent the whole weekend working on that. i debated on whether to share this with you - i couldn't help but wonder what will you all think of me?? i wondered if you would judge me, wondering what sort of personal hygiene i teach my children, if i never clean my house, etc, etc. but, it is a part of my life now, so here goes. Skye came home last thursday and complained her head was itching. usually, i probably would have brushed it aside, but her school has been having lice outbreaks, so i immediately looked. and sure enough, there they were, those horrible creepy crawly things. i went into hyper-mode. don't you dare move - keep your head still! take off all your clothes! take all the sheets off the beds! the first night, we tried the olive oil treatment, but by friday, i was at my wits end and used the strong stuff called Nix. i spent the entire weekend combing through Skye's hair, killing lice with my fingers, pulling nits out... honestly, i will never look at hair the same way, ever again.

Skye returned to school today and she seems clear so far. the thing with lice is they can come back. it is rather exhausting work being vigilant over these tiny, barely visible eggs. i wouldn't wish it on anyone. and the irony of it all? i hear that oil keeps lice away, so if you don't wash your hair, you are less likely to attract lice. so, maybe it's time to tell the kids to stay dirty.

Sunshine

hello, everyone!

hope you are having a good monday so far! we've had some glorious fall weather for the past week - bright and sunny, rather crisp in the mornings and evenings, "champagne" days. :) the weather makes all the difference on my perspective, how about you?

i received a very thick letter in the mail today from a friend - that too makes me very happy. no matter how much i love facebook and emails, they cannot diminish my happiness in sitting down to read a handwritten letter. :) do you have things like that in your life, something that instantly makes you happy?

i am right now at Skye's violin lesson, listening to her learn a new piece of music while Cordelia, having taken a good nap, entertains herself here next to me with a piece of paper which she will shred to pieces.

happy monday!

My girls

Sisterhood

when i was a little girl, i always wished i had a sister. when i look at my girls, i grow warm inside thinking they will always have each other. over this past summer, i really got to see how good they were together. Cordelia's face lights up when Skye or Claire walks into the room. Skye takes care of Claire when i am not able and Claire provides companionship for Skye. of course, there's the bickering and fighting, but on the whole, the girls are happy together. could a mother ask for more?

The Winding Down of Summer

where has summer gone? the air has that slight chill in the mornings...backpacks are ready to go to school...i'm trying to figure out where everyone needs to be when and how i'm going to fit in Cordelia's naps. this is our last week of summer. i have to say, i'm looking forward to schools starting, :) but let me take this moment to look back on our summer. i won't miss all the bickering and the sweltering humidity, but i have enjoyed being with all my girls all day long. our times at the pool were mostly good times. i was glad for their happy spirits as i blundered along, trying to adjust to taking care of the three of them. Cordelia is 5 months this week and these 5 months have been a blur with moments that stand out like exclamation points. i will remember this summer as the one where Claire learned to swim, the one where Skye emerged from a swim meet heat a proud winner, the one where all of my family came to visit, the one where i often looked at Cordelia's sleeping face wondering how i was going to survive yet another few days without Phil. there were moments when i was completely overwhelmed and my girls witnessed me at my worst, but i'm sure to forget those moments. will my girls forget too? i hope so.

i am looking forward to this year. the girls are growing so quickly and there will be many new experiences ahead. we will mark many milestones in each of their lives - please celebrate with us here!

Cordelia

i've been waiting to put up some pictures of the cordelia lilies that have bloomed - i'm afraid you are going to have to be satisfied with the photo i took with my point-and-shoot camera. my film shots will follow, perhaps next week? it's been crazy busy here, so i haven't had much time with my camera. and of course, a recent photo of Cordelia to go with her lilies...doesn't she look great sporting my pink headphones? :)

Swimmer

so what have i been doing with my time while i haven't been blogging? i'm afraid all my energies are sent towards the pool these days. and this short video will show you why:

it was a truly exciting moment for us, and of course, esp for Skye. :) she won her heat and placed 6th overall. and Claire, inspired by all the swimmers around her is THIS close to swimming too.

summer days

pool, pool, pool, and more pool! that's how our days have been for the past 2 weeks. i've been struggling to adjust to the new schedule and finally, this week, i feel like i am moving with the flow. we go to the pool in the morning for Skye and Claire's swim lessons and swim team practice. we often take it easy in the afternoons, but if the girls are hot, they want to go back to the pool. so we are getting pickled in the chlorine and turning into little brown fishes. :) i've been away from the blog because it's been overwhelming on most days.

Skye has become quite a swimmer in the past 2 weeks. the swim team practices every day have made quite a difference! when summer first began, she couldn't swim across the width of the pool without stopping. now, she swims lengths without stopping!! it's such fun to watch her swim in the swim meets. there'll be more of that as the summer progresses.

Claire is getting very comfortable in the water and is oh-so-close to swimming. if i didn't have Cordelia to hold, i could work with her and get her swimming before the summer is over, but alas, such is not the case. i remember i worked so hard with Skye in the water before Claire came. such luxuries when you have just one child!!

i've managed to take some photos. people have been asking for more photos of Cordelia whose face does seem to change every week, so here they are! and Cordelia is in such a fun stage. she smiles and laughs, responds to us in her baby way - so beautiful! she's trying so hard to lift her body up when she is on her back. i feel like she is quite impatient to be up and moving, just like her sisters!

Her first little black dress

first of all, thank you for all your support, empathy, advice yesterday. today was a complete opposite of yesterday...perhaps i just started off all wrong yesterday. but when i'm in the thick of it, it's good to know i have you all behind me!!

today, i received some clothes i'd ordered for Skye - the girl is growing up so fast i can barely keep up! well, i was speechless when she put this on. when did she become a lady??

did you ever have such a moment, when you looked at your child and suddenly realized she is all grown up? please share!

Rainy Day

it rained all day today. so we spent the day drawing, doing puzzles, making paper dolls, futzing with the camera, and making soup. what do you like to do on rainy days?

Summer Reading #2

this is a fun book to read. i've read it out loud to the girls and both of them love it. i'm thinking of having Skye read this herself this summer. Clementine is a modern version of Ramona Quimby, according to the lady at the bookstore when i bought it. i think that's a pretty good picture of Clementine, except her personality is so lovable. i have to say, next to Ann Shirley, Clementine is one of my favourite redheads.

Favourite moments from last week

the girls enjoyed eating on the high stools at Marigolds on a saturday morning

peonies from our garden

*sisters*

Skye bikes to school on "bike to school day"

the pool finally opens up!! and what a hot day it was!

Summer Reading #1

as we prepare for the summer, i've been thinking about books, especially for Skye to read over summer break. this book, Happy Times in Noisy Village, is a favourite which will be on the list for Skye. i will make more recommendations over the next few months. i would love to hear what you and your children are reading over the summer!

Revisiting an old diy

when Skye was born, Phil was still a student, so we were frugal in our preparations for the new baby. one of the things i made from stuff around the house instead of buying it new was a mobile. i used an old wire coat hanger for the frame, made the sun and leaves from construction paper and laminated them, and made the birds and butterflies from paper i'd bought from Venice during our globe-trotting days. i've often thought about replacing it, but it comes out with each child. and it has been added to - when Claire was born, Skye added the string of hearts. now, Cordelia loves to look at it. i hope she is feeling all the love that went into it! :)