tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39993950534110602752024-03-13T07:54:16.816-04:00btsoi blogsbtsoi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09837067944330100727noreply@blogger.comBlogger818125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999395053411060275.post-73047933926910964412015-05-10T06:30:00.000-04:002015-05-11T07:37:42.727-04:00This Happy Mother's DayToday is Happy Mother's Day*.<div>
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It's the one day of the year I'm supposed to be allowed to sleep in and be showered with gifts. Right? </div>
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While I knew I probably wasn't going to get to sleep in, I didn't think my 9-year-old would be the one to cut my rest short. Nathan who is usually my latest-riser, was way too excited about the gift he made for me, and woke up around 6am. I could hear him moving around his room, then shortly after, he came into my room to check the weather forecast so he could get dressed for the day. That's when I knew he wasn't going back to sleep. A few minutes later, he was back in my room, standing in front of me with bright eyes and a big grin on his face. He handed me his hand-drawn card and asked me to watch his Keynote presentation about how I was the "Best mom ever". It included animated flames engulfing a picture of monkeys. My mind was a little foggy at that point; I wasn't really sure how it all connected.</div>
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Next up was Caleb. He came home from school with a Mother's Day card and gift on Friday. I asked if he could give it to me on Sunday, he told me "but today is Happy Mother's Day!" and proceeded to open my gift for me. It was a beaded keychain he made in class but I can't show you what it looks like because he's taken it to be his own key to unlock things around the house. This morning, he insisted on celebrating by opening his own market stall, which must have been a last minute addition to the plans because Andrew immediately disappeared downstairs, scrambling to make wares for Caleb to sell. Yes, we had to buy my Mother's Day breakfast from Caleb's stall. I had yellow jelly and chocolate chip cookies to go along with my tea.</div>
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Mia quietly and contentedly observed as her big brothers gave me their gifts and waited until I sat down at church to give me a gift of her own - a big, loud cry letting me know that she's not going to sleep quietly in Andrew's arms this week. So we sat in the cry room instead. She was nice and quiet there.</div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">*according to Caleb, today is not "Mother's Day", it's "Happy Mother's Day". </span></i></div>
btsoi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09837067944330100727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999395053411060275.post-32055762626232449222015-05-06T06:30:00.000-04:002015-05-11T05:33:17.668-04:00Futsal FinalsNathan's futsal team had another fantastic regular season this year. They finished at the top of the ladder, undefeated, scoring 109 goals through the season (40 goals ahead of the next team). They were looking forward to finishing the futsal season with their finals games but due to weather and schedule logistics, those games were postponed until now.<br />
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The semi-final and grand final games were scheduled for the same day. If Nathan's team won the 4:30pm semi-finals, they would advance to the grand final at 7:10pm. It had been a couple months since the team played together and I secretly wondered how they would do. Would they remember how to play together? Would they play as well as they did during the regular season?<br />
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Before long, I had my answers. The team started the semi-final game off quite laid back, but soon they tightened up their game and in the end, they won 2-0. We had just enough time to go out and grab some dinner for the kids to refuel for the next game.<br />
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When we got back from dinner, we found out Nathan was going to play the grand final game against the Samurai Blue. They were our toughest competition during the regular season and I was seriously nervous at the possibility of our team losing. We couldn't make it to the end just to lose again! Right?!<br />
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Both teams warmed up. There was a little speech and then it was kick-off time. It was an intense game. Both teams fought so hard. You could tell towards the end of the game that everyone was getting tired - it was getting late. But in the end, Nathan's team won, 1-0.<br />
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As we made our way to the foyer for the awards presentation, one of the moms commented to our coach that all us parents were screaming like banshees on one side of the gym, and he just stood there calmly on the other side, watching. He simply told her: trust. He trusted the team to do their thing.<br />
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And rightly so! After all the hours he poured into this team over the past two years, he would know best what they were capable of and tonight, he trusted that they would come out on top as grand final champions.</div>
btsoi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09837067944330100727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999395053411060275.post-28474980353679439282015-05-03T19:31:00.000-04:002015-05-03T19:31:16.589-04:00Grow | 10 Things I Learned in AprilAs part of my aim to take the word GROW and see how it fits into my life this year, I'm ending each month with some reflections on things I've learned and different ways I've grown (or not).<br />
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Here are the 10 things I learned in April...<br />
<ol>
<li>Sometimes, if you step back, have a little faith and let your kids do the work instead of stepping in and doing it for them, they will amaze you with what they can <a href="http://btsoi.blogspot.com.au/2015/04/nathans-last-market-stall.html">accomplish on their own</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://instagram.com/p/09Qct3xim6" target="">Gold Class</a> is awesome. Relaxing in those armchairs with my feet up was probably the best thing I did for myself during my third trimester. Having food delivered to our seats during the movie was pretty cool too. </li>
<li>Watching a <a href="http://btsoi.blogspot.com.au/2015/04/brisbane-roar-game.html">soccer game</a> live is a thousand times more exciting than watching it on TV.</li>
<li>Nathan came about 24 hours after my water broke. Caleb came about 12 hours after my water broke. I totally expected my water to break and Baby #3 to come 6 hours after that but that's totally not how it happened. At all. People well tell you that things go faster the second and third time around but people are not always right.</li>
<li>Mia and I went out for the first time, two days after coming home from the hospital. We went to church in the morning, then I brought the 3 kids to the mall by myself to pick up a birthday present on the way to a birthday party Caleb was invited to. Fellow moms told me it was "incredible" that I was out and about already but in reality, I knew that if I didn't get out of the house that day, I would have just stayed cooped up inside for the rest of the week.</li>
<li>Two weeks later, I would spend an entire morning curled up in a ball on Nathan's bed (the only bed that gets the warm sunlight in the winter), shivering uncontrollably. That was my body's way of telling me to slow down. It turns out you really do need time to let your body recover after giving birth and getting right back into packing and running errands around the city is not part of the recovery plan.</li>
<li>I know I should spend more time purging and packing since Mia sleeps so well during the day, but I just want to stare at her beautiful face and play with her tiny fingers!</li>
<li>Being a mom of 3 requires a <i>lot</i> of energy.</li>
<li>The Café Grande ice cream by Connoisseur is basically <a href="https://instagram.com/p/1-D831xiho/">everything a breastfeeding mom shouldn't be having</a>, but it tastes so, so good. And it gives you a quick hit of "energy".</li>
<li>Ever so often, you'll make friends who really <i>get</i> you. I am lucky enough to have a bunch of those in my life.</li>
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btsoi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09837067944330100727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999395053411060275.post-68148769395609246362015-04-21T06:30:00.000-04:002015-04-23T03:46:00.689-04:00Currently | April<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j8du7DqvSOE/VTZv9FrUdlI/AAAAAAAAQCI/edph1L8ILfY/s1600/backtoschoollastterm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j8du7DqvSOE/VTZv9FrUdlI/AAAAAAAAQCI/edph1L8ILfY/s1600/backtoschoollastterm.jpg" /></a></div>
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<i>Adjusting</i> to life at home with three kids, each with different needs and demands.<br />
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<i>Preparing</i> myself mentally, physically and emotionally for the start of Term 2 - this is the beginning of the end.<br />
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<i>Waking</i> up before the sunrises on most days.<br />
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<i>Rugging</i> up. I can't believe just last week we had the air conditioning on. Now the temperatures have dropped to the low 20's and we're really feeling the chill.<br />
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<i>Sorting </i>through the stuff we've accumulated over the last 4 years.<br />
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<i>Reminiscing </i>on our time here in Brisbane as we pack away our things.<br />
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<i>Getting</i> rather agitated as I think about everything we're giving up to move back to Toronto.<br />
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<i>Eating</i> red velvet cupcakes from Coles because they're so moist and sinful, and somehow that makes things feel a little better.<br />
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<i>Watching</i> the NBA playoffs with Andrew and occasionally, the boys. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I can't wait to have a TV to watch sports on again.<br />
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<i>Regretting</i> booking our flight home. How did we get stuck at the back of the plane <i>and</i> have no accommodations for our overnight stopover in Korea?<br />
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<i>Kicking</i> myself for the days I don't get out of the house because I'm not taking advantage of the little time we have left here.btsoi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09837067944330100727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999395053411060275.post-66452982596091496882015-04-20T06:30:00.000-04:002015-04-21T07:18:25.496-04:00Introducing Baby Tsoi #3<div>
Our sweet little girl is here! </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-93ls7IsAqUs/VTYMcNnFZdI/AAAAAAAAQBw/VHz593BCfV4/s1600/introducingmia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-93ls7IsAqUs/VTYMcNnFZdI/AAAAAAAAQBw/VHz593BCfV4/s1600/introducingmia.jpg" /></a></div>
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Mia Elizabeth Tsoi </div>
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Born 15 April 2015 at 3:19pm. </div>
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Mia made me work hard for her arrival but she's been an angel ever since. After two relatively peaceful nights in the hospital, we came home to two very excited big brothers who could not wait to hug her and kiss her, and fight over who was allowed to hold/touch/talk to her.<br />
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It took us an extra five days to decide on a name for our precious girl but she is so, so loved.</div>
btsoi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09837067944330100727noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999395053411060275.post-3439396669075603722015-04-09T06:30:00.000-04:002015-04-28T19:32:29.873-04:00Sticky Date Pudding<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I discovered sticky date desserts (pudding, cupcakes, etc.) here in Australia so I felt it was necessary to add it to my baking repertoire before we leave. I figured it was best to learn these recipes here while I still have people to ask for advice if anything goes awry. Though I wasn't keen on baking with dates because they seem so sticky (read: messy), I liked the desserts enough to give it a try. Plus, dates are supposed to be healthy, right?<br />
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I quickly whipped up a sticky date pudding and brought it over to a friend's place for afternoon tea and everyone loved it. Everyone had seconds or thirds, and no one held back. That's how I knew <a href="http://www.karencheng.com.au/2015/01/19/sticky-date-pudding-recipe/" rel="nofollow">this recipe</a> was a keeper.<br />
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<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
<ul>
<li>200g dates, pitted and chopped (about 11 Medjool dates)</li>
<li>1 1/4 cups water</li>
<li>1 tsp bicarb soda</li>
<li>60g butter</li>
<li>3/4 cup castor sugar</li>
<li>2 eggs</li>
<li>1 cup self-raising flour</li>
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Caramel Sauce</div>
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<li>100g brown sugar</li>
<li>100g butter</li>
<li>1 cup cream</li>
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<b>Directions: </b></div>
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<li>Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 20cm cake tin and line with greaseproof paper.</li>
<li>Combine dates and water in a medium-sized saucepan, bring to a boil, then remove from heat. Stir in bicarb soda and let stand for 5 minutes.</li>
<li>Add butter and sugar to date mixture, and stir it until the butter has melted. Blend mixture until smooth (using an immersion blender). Leave the mixture to cool for 10 minutes.</li>
<li>Beat the eggs into date mixture one at a time. Fold in the sifted flour. Pour mixture into the cake tin and bake for 50 minutes.</li>
<li>While waiting for the pudding to bake, make caramel sauce by gently heating and stirring the butter, cream and sugar without boiling, for about 3 minutes.</li>
<li>After 50 minutes, take the pudding out, pour half the caramel sauce all over the top and put the pudding back into the oven for 10 minutes. </li>
<li>Serve the pudding warm, with the remaining caramel sauce and cream.</li>
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<b>Notes:</b></div>
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Dates are not as messy to work with as I thought.</div>
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I like my caramel sauce a little thicker, so after pouring half onto the pudding, I cook the rest for a little longer.</div>
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You can also make this recipe without all the added sugar, if that's your thing. </div>
btsoi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09837067944330100727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999395053411060275.post-10275652362680760362015-04-02T06:30:00.000-04:002015-04-13T09:07:55.377-04:00Brisbane Roar Game<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One of the items on Nathan's Brisbane Bucket List is to see the Brisbane Roar play, and maybe even get a jersey. So Andrew and I hatched a plan. We bought tickets and jerseys for the boys. The game we were going to just happened to be on the last day of school - it was going to be a great surprise. Then we saw the forecast - rain. And lots of it.<br />
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I figured if we had raincoats for our walk to the stadium, we'd be fine. Andrew then informed me that Suncorp is an open air stadium which meant even when we were inside we could get rained on, so we really needed those coats. And then, of course, in our excitement we forgot the raincoats at home so we had to buy ponchos that didn't even keep us that dry.<br />
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But it didn't matter at all once we stepped foot inside the stadium. Can you tell how excited Nathan was just to see the field?<br />
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And our seats! Andrew got us seats right in the middle, second row. The boys thought it was fantastic. I thought we could have been a little further back to see the game a little better, but what do I know? We were so lucky the rain stopped as soon as the game started because being so close to the field meant we weren't sheltered at all. It would have been pretty miserable to watching the game while being pelted in the face with rain.<br />
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The boys were given these signs to hold up during the game. Nathan was too busy watching and yelling out to the players but Caleb was all business. He asked me what each side said, then dutifully held the correct sign up throughout the game.<br />
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When the game was on, he had "Go Roar" facing out. As soon as they scored, it was "GOAL"! What a cutie.<br />
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The more goals they scored, the more Nathan got into the game. He got louder and louder and by the end he was jumping out of his seat. The noise bothered Caleb a little.<br />
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But eventually, he got into it, too.<br />
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Literally two minutes before the game ended, it started to rain again. At that point, it didn't matter. The game was over. After being on a bit of a losing streak, our team came out on top and won 6-1* against the Central Coast Mariners.<br />
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What a wonderful way to celebrate the end of Term 1.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*I thought it was funny that the one goal for the other team was actually an own-goal, so technically, the Brisbane Roar scored <i>all</i> the goals tonight.</span>btsoi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09837067944330100727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999395053411060275.post-85342902179676406572015-04-01T06:30:00.000-04:002015-04-29T00:01:31.853-04:00Nathan's Last Market Stall<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aIW7RCOdo9Q/VSZgHT4Ec6I/AAAAAAAAP-U/zJbIkwnwPpw/s1600/Nlastmarketstall-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aIW7RCOdo9Q/VSZgHT4Ec6I/AAAAAAAAP-U/zJbIkwnwPpw/s1600/Nlastmarketstall-1.jpg" /></a></div>
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Just before the end of term, Nathan ran one last market stall with his friend. From my point of view, it was hard to see how this stall would turn out. Nathan initially started off planning a market stall with two other friends, but that didn't work out. Then, as they were planning what to sell, they kept adding items, changing what they wanted to sell and recording the cost of purchasing those items as "free". I could tell the boys didn't have a lot of planning time, partially because Nathan was spending more time visiting Cycle 3.<br />
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The two boys didn't involve the parents (aka the people who were actually going to purchase and make the items they were planning on selling) until very late in the game. And the funniest bit was that both our family and the other boy's family were in the middle of packing up our houses to move so neither of us had very much to work with.<br />
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At the very last minute, the boys finalized their offerings and the mums quickly divvied up the work. The boys put up their signs and set up their stall with minimal help from us - just the way their school likes it.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dil8m1cLrhE/VSZgHaLrdhI/AAAAAAAAP-Q/FQ4Ac-8W1mQ/s1600/Nlastmarketstall-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dil8m1cLrhE/VSZgHaLrdhI/AAAAAAAAP-Q/FQ4Ac-8W1mQ/s1600/Nlastmarketstall-3.jpg" /></a></div>
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It was very rainy that afternoon and their stall got moved from the school entrance to the verandah outside their classroom, quite far from all the afternoon pick-up traffic flow. Even though very few families stuck around that day, the boys got a lot of business.<br />
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The market stalls run for one hour after school. It was suggested to the boys to drop their prices halfway through to help sell off more of their product. </div>
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In the end, the boys made over $100. After paying back their expenses (like the float, printing costs, a percentage to the P&F and initial cost of the product because it was not, in fact, free), the boys still had $89 in profit to donate to the RSPCA.<br />
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The boys did such a great job and they should be so proud of themselves. What a wonderful way to finish off the term.btsoi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09837067944330100727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999395053411060275.post-1598209764491241622015-03-31T06:30:00.000-04:002015-04-03T11:46:29.552-04:00Grow | 10 Things I Learned in MarchAs part of my aim to take the word GROW and see how it fits into my life this year, I'm ending each month with some reflections on things I've learned and different ways I've grown (or not).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2QupQOoVpbY/VR6wmBdYqRI/AAAAAAAAP9A/cfrry36uMaM/s1600/Grow-March2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2QupQOoVpbY/VR6wmBdYqRI/AAAAAAAAP9A/cfrry36uMaM/s1600/Grow-March2015.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo by <a href="http://chicoz.com.au/" rel="nofollow">Chicoz Photography</a>. Thank you, Michele!</span></td></tr>
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Here are 10 things I've learned in March...<br />
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<li>Big life decisions aren't easy to make, even if you've been thinking about this decision and have been weighing out the pros and cons for the past 18 months. At the end of the day, you just have to do it, like ripping off a bandaid, and just deal with the pain afterwards.</li>
<li>It's eye-opening, the things you learn about people when they're put in stressful situations.</li>
<li>When a friend asks you to come over to help her test out lighting for silhouette photos, she might actually be planning to surprise you with <a href="http://chicoz.com.au/maternity/brisbane-maternity-photography/" rel="nofollow">maternity photos</a>. It's not something I'd choose to do for myself, but I'm glad I have something to remind me of this time in my life.</li>
<li>I have made a wonderfully diverse group of friends over the past four years here. Having a bunch of them gathered together at my surprise <a href="https://instagram.com/p/z7T61Xxil6/?taken-by=btsoi">baby shower</a> reminded me just how blessed I am, and pulled me out of a dark and ugly place.</li>
<li>Even being 36 weeks pregnant can't stop me from sitting in the car for 10 hours just to <a href="http://btsoi.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/sweet-baby-hatchlings.html">see baby turtles hatch</a> and make their way into the ocean.</li>
<li><a href="https://instagram.com/p/0oH2W3RikM/">Learning to cook</a> authentic Thai dishes from friends is a million times better than learning to cook using recipes.</li>
<li>Andrew goes to great lengths to make our birthdays special. After spending weeks trying to locate a Ripstik (the only thing Nathan’s been asking for since before Christmas) in Brisbane, he drove 45 minutes out to Redcliffe to pick up what was basically the very last available one. Then, he pulled an <a href="https://instagram.com/p/0xDFhxRimh">all-nighter</a> after his late shift to create a scavenger hunt for Nathan when he woke up the next morning. </li>
<li>Parenting is filled with <a href="https://instagram.com/p/0xCagZRilC">little moments</a> that make your heart want to burst into happy tears.</li>
<li>Andrew's really good at selling our stuff (aka purging). I'm good at packing (aka hoarding). I think we balance each other out. </li>
<li>Sometimes I neglect this blog because I'm busy living my life and I'm okay with that. I'm also okay with going back to fill in the blanks, writing posts that should have gone up days/weeks ago. I do that so that when I look back and try to figure out what happened when in my life, things are in the right order. To me, memory-keeping is more important than social media. </li>
</ol>
btsoi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09837067944330100727noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999395053411060275.post-56036455689029228562015-03-30T06:30:00.000-04:002015-03-31T05:24:21.873-04:00Prenatal Yoga<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I have about 3 weeks to go before Baby comes and as hard as it is to move around with my growing belly, aching back and swollen legs, I've been trying my hardest to make it to any yoga session I can get myself to. Sometimes I'm just too exhausted, and other times it's a timing issue. </div>
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Lately though, I've cut it down to just one class - my prenatal class. It's low-impact and I don't feel so awkward because I'm not the only one struggling with my balance and shifting my belly trying to work into the poses. I feel like if I can make it to this class, at least I'm doing something good for my body and relaxing once a week.</div>
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Usually, Andrew can watch the boys while I go so it's a bit of an escape for me. But last week, Andrew had to work. A couple weeks before, I brought the boys along to the daddy class, even though Andrew had to work then, too, and they were so quiet and well behaved so I brought them along again. Even though they were relatively well-behaved the second time around, all I could hear the whole time was their whispering and shuffling. My instructor kept reassuring me that it was okay and they were fine but I couldn't get over it and I couldn't block their noise out of my head.</div>
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Now that we're getting down to the last days, I'm so glad I could just go to my class by myself again today because sometimes I just need to get away from it all and find some quietness inside my head.btsoi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09837067944330100727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999395053411060275.post-57302935190990143672015-03-23T06:30:00.000-04:002015-03-24T10:19:29.889-04:00Sweet Baby HatchlingsI was telling my friends about our <a href="http://btsoi.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/100-day-countdown.html">Brisbane bucket list</a> when they asked me what <i>I</i> wanted to do before we left Brisbane. Up until that point, it hadn't occurred to me that our list was filled with things the boys wanted to do. I have been so focused on making this move easier for the boys and helping them get some kind of closure that I forgot about me.<br />
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My "Australia Bucket List" could be at least a hundred items long but I had to be realistic and narrow it down to things we could actually do over the next 100 days (a.k.a. while I'm very pregnant or caring for a newborn and recovering, and while the boys are still in school during the week). </div>
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One of the things I wanted to do was to visit the <a href="http://www.nprsr.qld.gov.au/parks/mon-repos/turtle-centre.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mon Repos Turtle Centre</a> again. A couple years ago, we drove up and we got to see a mother loggerhead turtle <a href="http://btsoi.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/meeting-loggerhead.html" target="_blank">lay her eggs</a>. This time, I wanted to see turtle hatchlings come out of the nest. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-696hYD8-LuQ/VRFBPxo2dNI/AAAAAAAAP6U/MfPsSRpk1Ws/s1600/monreposhatchlings2015-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-696hYD8-LuQ/VRFBPxo2dNI/AAAAAAAAP6U/MfPsSRpk1Ws/s1600/monreposhatchlings2015-1.jpg" /></a></div>
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So after church on Sunday, we packed the boys into the car and made the 5 hour drive up to Bargara. It wasn't the most comfortable thing to be doing while 36-weeks pregnant but it had to be done. When we got there, we found out that we had signed up for the very last tour of this season. How incredibly lucky we didn't wait any later!<br />
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We didn't have to wait very long before they called us out to the beach. And because it was a Sunday night, our group was very small, probably not much more than 30 people, so we managed to get an excellent viewing spot. The boys sat right in front of the nest and watched as the baby turtles dug their way out of the sand.<br />
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Once all the little turtles had emerged from the nest, they lined us all up along a path between the nest and the ocean. The rangers came around with a couple hatchlings. We held out our hands and felt those tiny little claws scratching our palms as they frantically paddled their little flippers.<br />
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After everyone had their turn, the rangers asked for volunteers who had their own torches to make a tunnel of light. Luckily we brought one so Nathan got to be part of that. Unfortunately, it was a hand-crank one that we had left sitting around for the past year so he ended up having to crank it while he stood there in the tunnel. He did so well trying to keep the light where the turtles needed it. Nathan later told me he felt sorry for us (Andrew, Caleb and me) because we didn't get to be part of the tunnel but I'm glad he got the chance to do it.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jQROQzzQ5tg/VRFBQqlM2xI/AAAAAAAAP6k/Mf_t-D1Qbl0/s1600/monreposhatchlings2015-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jQROQzzQ5tg/VRFBQqlM2xI/AAAAAAAAP6k/Mf_t-D1Qbl0/s1600/monreposhatchlings2015-4.jpg" /></a></div>
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Once the last of the little turtles made it into the ocean, we went back to the nest for the nest dig, which is when they dig up the nest to count how many successful hatchlings there were. As our ranger dug, he found a bunch more turtles who had yet to make their way out so he had to actually fill the nest back in to let the turtles do their thing (dig themselves out).<br />
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Most of our group wasn't interested in sticking around for the nest dig anyway so the ranger brought us all back to the centre. Nathan was interested in watching the nest dig so we decided to stick around. We waited awhile for them to find another nest for us to see but eventually, they called us back. By this time, our group had dwindled down to 8 people.<br />
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As we made our way back across the beach, I heard Caleb tell Andrew, "Daddy, I'm going to sleep soon. Can you carry me?" but he ended up walking all the way to the nest anyway. We found one more little turtle who was still making his way out of the nest and then it was time to dig into the hole.<br />
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Caleb worked industriously alongside the ranger, digging up his own hole. At first I thought he was just playing around, then I realized he was doing exactly what the ranger was doing. It was adorable to see him mimicking the ranger's actions - the scooping, the piling of sand. "I'm doing what he's doing," Caleb explained.<br />
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As the ranger was finishing up his count, the skies burst open and it started to pour. We made our way back to the centre as quickly as we could and the boys stayed pretty dry with their raincoats on but Andrew and I were drenched. It's a good thing we packed a set of clothes and towels for everyone - we changed, tucked the boys into their seats and drove another 5 hours home. It was a bit of a whirlwind trip but it was worth it.btsoi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09837067944330100727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999395053411060275.post-21962355049953788622015-03-22T06:30:00.000-04:002015-03-22T23:45:27.995-04:00100 Day Countdown Today marks 100 days until we board a plane with a one-way ticket to Toronto. <br />
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It's hard to think about our time here coming to an end. I know we always have the option to come back and visit, and I haven't gone past the idea of re-evaluating our situation in 2-3 years time but the reality is that even if we visit or move back, it won't be exactly the same as it is right now.<br />
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So in the meantime, we'll be making the most of the time we have left here. The boys and I have come up with a Bucket List and we'll work through as much of it as we can. I have to admit I'm probably the one holding us all back, being 36 weeks pregnant now and moving slower than ever. And once Baby comes... well, we'll just keep pressing on. <br />
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This is our list so far but chances are, we'll keep adding to this list as the days count down.btsoi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09837067944330100727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999395053411060275.post-69275699354880822582015-03-16T06:30:00.000-04:002015-03-17T09:13:10.268-04:00Into The Cold<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The boys spent Sunday afternoon ice-skating at a friend's birthday party, in preparation for our migration back to the True North.btsoi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09837067944330100727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999395053411060275.post-18433536903903194122015-03-09T06:30:00.001-04:002015-03-09T12:01:08.160-04:00Breathing Space<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've been riding roller coasters and running marathons since last Thursday. I am physically, mentally and emotionally spent. It's time to take a break and have some breathing space.btsoi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09837067944330100727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999395053411060275.post-83374981065198415502015-03-07T06:30:00.001-05:002015-05-03T20:17:39.774-04:00Showered With Love<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A few weeks ago, one of my good friends told us to save the date for a BBQ get together she was planning on having. We didn't hear about it for a while, but when the day finally came around, I was feeling pretty miserable and stressed out. We had just heard back from Toronto about Andrew's spot and I was so exhausted from all the pressures of having to decide whether to move back to Toronto that I was seriously thinking about thinking about taking a rain check on the BBQ. Andrew convinced me to go. At the very least, it would help me get my mind off of the decision for a while.<br />
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As we drove into the cul-de-sac, I realized that there were a lot of cars that I recognized. Little did I know, that BBQ was actually going to be a baby shower for me and Andrew had been in on the surprise all along. I was blown away.<br />
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My 3 South African friends had gone to great lengths to plan this surprise baby shower for me. They invited a bunch of my friends, some of whom they didn’t even know. They decorated my friend’s home with everything pink, and they put out a delicious spread for afternoon tea. I have no idea how they found the time to do all that because they are some of the busiest moms I know.<br />
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What I do know is that being surrounded by close friends will definitely put a smile on your face and melt away life’s stresses. And Andrew volunteered to bring the kids out to the park so we could have a child-free party, even though he had just come home from an overnight shift at the hospital, and was going in for another one that night.<br />
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I was so touched that all these women, most of them with young children at home, were able to come out and spend a few hours with me. I left the shower feeling incredibly loved, like everything was right in the world again. (But I also felt extremely guilty that I’d probably have to tell them we will be leaving very soon and they won’t even get to see this baby grow up.)btsoi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09837067944330100727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999395053411060275.post-278431395998236842015-03-07T06:30:00.000-05:002015-03-07T06:30:00.949-05:00December Daily 2014 | Day 26 - 31<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Once Christmas had passed, things quieted down quite significantly. Okay, wait, that's not entirely true. We did manage to squeeze 7 hours of Boxing Day shopping out of the boys this year. Afterwards, we went home so they could open their Christmas gifts before we went to watch Big Hero 6 with our friends. I kept our popcorn box and cut it down to be the insert for that day. On the back, I covered it with some leftover wrapping paper from a gift we had received. It's a little wrinkled but I think it kind of goes with the chaos of this photo of the boys opening their gifts. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0A4PMAzzVgc/VPamqiT9uUI/AAAAAAAAP2Y/vAl0wz5m27U/s1600/DD2014-30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0A4PMAzzVgc/VPamqiT9uUI/AAAAAAAAP2Y/vAl0wz5m27U/s1600/DD2014-30.jpg" /></a></div>
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There wasn't a whole lot to document on the twenty-seventh except for Caleb and his beloved Baymax cup so I included the recipe for our <a href="http://btsoi.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/mango-avocado-salad.html">mango avocado salad</a> which made quite a few appearances throughout December.<br />
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We spent the twenty-eighth chilling out at home, mostly watching the Night at the Museum movies. On the twenty-ninth, we decided to get some fresh air. We also went to try out this new ice cream place, Nitrogenie. It didn't live up to the hype in my opinion but I thought I'd include the little flyer anyway.<br />
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On the 30th, we spent the day at the beach and then had KBBQ for dinner. I didn't really take too many pictures at the beach so I focused on our dinner and how Caleb refused to let anyone eat that baby octopus. Our New Year's Eve was spent half at home and half at our friends' place. Again, it was pretty low-key so I just included a photo of the boys standing there, watching the fireworks on TV. I originally planned to hide some journaling behind the photo about the boys wishing each other a Happy New Year but it would be too hard to access so I just sprinkled on some confetti and called it done.<br />
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To finish off the album, I used the other side of that wrapping paper I used to cover the popcorn box as a background and adhered a bauble coaster from Starbucks that I had been hanging on to.<br />
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See more of my <a href="http://btsoi.blogspot.com.au/search/label/December%20Daily%202014">December Daily 2014 here</a>.btsoi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09837067944330100727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999395053411060275.post-70719040099402538232015-03-06T06:30:00.000-05:002015-03-06T06:30:01.960-05:00December Daily 2014 | Day 21 - 25<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The next few photos will look pretty similar because I inadvertently included three small inserts in a row. They all happen to be about the same size so they hide behind each other which I like, but I don't. I like it because it doesn't look cluttered, but at the same time I wanted there to be some variation in sizes of the inserts I put in and for those three days, it's like you're looking at the same pages over and over again.<br />
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I briefly contemplated adding some text, even if it was just one word, to the 4x6 photo but I decided against it. There wasn't much to say. I was just waiting for the boys as they played in the water.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TXMRhD0Uz9A/VPalsQy7dcI/AAAAAAAAP1U/t9PuDPSrXg8/s1600/DD2014-21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TXMRhD0Uz9A/VPalsQy7dcI/AAAAAAAAP1U/t9PuDPSrXg8/s1600/DD2014-21.jpg" /></a></div>
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The second 4x6 insert is a postcard I found at The Pancake Manor. I thought it was so funny and there was just enough space to include a short story on the back of it. The final small insert was our Family Pass for the Sciencentre.<br />
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There were so many interactive exhibits and I snapped so many photos of the boys it was hard to choose which photos and stories to include but in the end, I kept it to these two photos of the boys taking turns being giants. The human body exhibit is represented by the green activity sheets. <br />
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We didn't end up filling out these sheets but on the back I had the boys draw pictures of themselves when we got home. And of course, I have to show you each of the boys' drawings of themselves or it wouldn't be fair. This one is Caleb's:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JKwKanpMuks/VPaluuEHXhI/AAAAAAAAP1s/YVuPYKzyKH4/s1600/DD2014-24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JKwKanpMuks/VPaluuEHXhI/AAAAAAAAP1s/YVuPYKzyKH4/s1600/DD2014-24.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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And here is Nathan's:<br />
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The Christmas-related festivities continued on the twenty-fourth. We baked gingerbread cookies in the morning, decorated them later on in the afternoon and snapped a family photo in the evening. I didn't have anything to put on the back of this photo so instead of using a pocket page, I glued the photo together on a piece of card stock. You can see the seam in the middle but at least our body parts match up! Not bad for a makeshift 6x8 photo.<br />
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On the back, I just adhered that gorgeously letterpress card with Kal Barteski's script in gold foil. Our Christmas Day was pretty busy but still low-key. I attached some journaling behind the "Let the good times roll" card with that star paperclip. I like how it mimics the photo of our Christmas tree just above it.<br />
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I included all of our Christmas cards in a 6x8 pocket with a clip at the top to keep them all from falling out. It was nice to have a place to keep all our Christmas cards for once!<br />
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I was going to try to finish off the album with this post but it's gotten quite long already so I'll share the last of it tomorrow.<br />
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See more of my <a href="http://btsoi.blogspot.com.au/search/label/December%20Daily%202014">December Daily 2014 here</a>.btsoi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09837067944330100727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999395053411060275.post-81834201806173727692015-03-05T06:30:00.000-05:002015-03-05T06:30:02.418-05:00December Daily 2014 | Day 11 - 20<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The relaxed, carefreeness of our vacation carried over to my documentation of the eleventh as well. I can't even explain how relaxing it was to spend the morning on the beach then go straight into the pool at the house. I think I know where I want to retire.<br />
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On the twelfth, Nathan was invited to go to Australia Zoo with his buddies so we all went along (not with Nathan of course, we let the little dude have his space). I kept a couple pieces of ephemera to include in the album but that day was mostly little photos and a quote from Caleb.<br />
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We came home on the thirteenth and one of the most memorable parts of that drive home was Nathan being in charge of selecting music. I included him in this album by getting him to write down some of his favourite songs.<br />
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I hadn't planned for this to happen but I have a full-page photo on the seventeenth which sort of marks the beginning of all our Christmas-y activities.<br />
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We received a few Christmas cards this year and I knew I had to keep one of the envelopes because this could potentially be our last Christmas here! Anyway, this one was from our friends in New Orleans. It was so festive with a Christmas wreath stamp and everything so I had to include it in this album. I thought it went really well with the photo of the boys "writing to Santa" (aka drawing pictures while I shopped for Christmas decorations) and I didn't have anything else to include for the eighteenth so I glued the front of another card I had received to cover their address.<br />
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I gave this "dividing a photo" thing a try and sometimes it works but I think all the times I used it in this album, it didn't really turn out the way I wanted it to. I did this mainly because of the pocket pages I had available and because I didn't have the means to print a 6x8 photo. It bothers me a little but I'd rather have this project done than drag it on and try to make it look perfect.<br />
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I think this is my favourite photo of the month - Andrew with the boys lying on the ground after his graduation.<br />
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See more of my <a href="http://btsoi.blogspot.com.au/search/label/December%20Daily%202014">December Daily 2014 here</a>.btsoi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09837067944330100727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999395053411060275.post-81905964596264055322015-03-04T06:30:00.000-05:002015-03-04T06:30:03.119-05:00December Daily 2014 | Day 01 - 10<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Andrew's birthday is on the first day of December so right from the get-go, we're documenting big stories. This birthday was a pretty big milestone, in my opinion. He turned 27 and we celebrated his first birthday as a doctor. Since he was finished med school, we got to spend the entire day together. We went for my 20-week ultrasound, then had lunch at The Boatshed. </div>
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On the back, I have a couple photos of us celebrating Andrew's birthday with the boys. For Day 2, we announced the gender of Baby #3 on Instagram/Facebook. I kept some of the flowers Andrew had collected for her and wrote about that. </div>
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The pocket with the flowers is see-through, which I like. I have to say, my sewing machine gave me a lot of trouble sewing on the plastic and I ended up completely destroying a page but that was my machine and not the actual sewing on plastic, in case anyone is weary of trying it. On the third, we didn't have a story to tell so I wrote down some references for the Christmas Story from the Bible that I had seen online. On the fourth, I documented the boys writing their Christmas cards and their teacher gifts. </div>
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Again, on the fifth, we didn't have a specific story to share so I wrote about our December Traditions. On the sixth, I met up with friends for breakfast and one of them gave me a little gift so I kept the wrapping as it was and used that as an insert. I think that's one of my favourite parts of this album. </div>
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The seventh was a special day - Caleb's 4th birthday party. There was so much I wanted to remember for that day but I chose the two most important stories to document. I made a shaker pocket and included one of the cupcake toppers that I had made to identify the date. </div>
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Caleb's actual birthday was on the eighth. It was a pretty low-key day. We did his birthday presents in the morning and a quick FaceTime call with my parents. It was supposed to be his last day of school but he spent the first half of the day at home because he was tired and a little unwell. We ended up going to school at lunch time for him to celebrate his birthday with his classmates, and then we went to Sizzler for dinner (his choice) with Andrew's parents who had just arrived for their visit. </div>
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On the ninth, the boys met their cousin for the first time (who had arrived with his parents in the middle of the night) and we went up the Sunshine Coast for a little vacation. I included a little insert of two 4x6 photos glued back-to-back to document a bit of our time together. For the tenth, I added a quick little note about the house we were staying in but for the most part, I was going to let the photos speak for our time there. </div>
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See more of my <a href="http://btsoi.blogspot.com.au/search/label/December%20Daily%202014">December Daily 2014 here</a>.</div>
btsoi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09837067944330100727noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999395053411060275.post-55937903414764668372015-03-03T06:30:00.000-05:002015-03-03T20:15:00.184-05:00December Daily 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I am so happy to finally be able to share a completed December Daily album here. I came across the <a href="http://aliedwards.com/projects/december-daily" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">idea</a> back in 2011 and of all the years I've attempted to start a December mini album, this past December was the only one I actually finished. It also happened to be one of our busiest. Go figure.</div>
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A lot of people tend to build their foundation pages ahead of time so they can be filled in as things happen. In 2012, I tried to <a href="http://btsoi.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/december-daily-2012-prep.html" target="_blank">prepare for my album</a> ahead of time by setting aside products and cutting up base pages for my album but that didn't work out very well for me. I like to design my pages around photos and stories. Some days, I have more stories to tell, other days I don't have any stories at all, so I like the flexibility of not having the constraints of pre-planned pages. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hLd_fYp3hco/VPWSncYWILI/AAAAAAAAPvo/hdw5F1v6CmU/s1600/DD2014-completed.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hLd_fYp3hco/VPWSncYWILI/AAAAAAAAPvo/hdw5F1v6CmU/s1600/DD2014-completed.JPG" /></a><br />
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This means I don't create each page as the days carry on and I certainly don't have a finished album by the end of December but that's okay with me. It was important to me, however, to have this project completed before Baby arrived. So I followed a similar process as the one I used with my <a href="http://btsoi.blogspot.com.au/2015/02/recording-stories-how-i-got-caught-up.html" target="_blank">Project Life catch up</a>. </div>
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I chose an old Studio Calico Handbook to house my December Daily. Then, every few days, I would go through my photos, pick out a photo or two for each day or decide on a story I wanted to highlight. Based on the photos and stories I had, I sketched out the layout for each day and put the pocket page into the album, so it was ready for when I had the photos printed and inserts finished. After that, I went through the whole book again and filled in the empty spots with ephemera and other "generic" December/Christmas-related journaling.<br />
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Once I had the basic skeleton planned out, everything came together quickly. At first, I wanted to type all the journaling up so it would look more neat and uniform but I soon realized I was spending more trying to rewrite my stories so they would fit the small journaling spaces than finishing up the project so for the longer stories, I ended up handwriting. The good thing about working on the album as a whole instead of finishing each page at the end of the day is that you can't tell where I decided to stop typewriting and start handwriting; it's all mixed in together.<br />
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The last thing I worked on was the album cover - I wanted to paint it white. The finished look isn't quite as clean and even as I had envisioned but it's good enough for me. I also wanted to spell out "December" instead of just "DEC" but I didn't have alpha stickers in the right size that would fit into that label space so I just went with what I had. I also wanted to decorate the cover with Christmas-y themed embellishments but in the end, enamel dots were just the right thing to finish it off.<br />
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Up next, the inside look of my <a href="http://btsoi.blogspot.com.au/search/label/December%20Daily%202014">December Daily 2014 album</a>.btsoi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09837067944330100727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999395053411060275.post-40092980287210765572015-03-02T06:30:00.000-05:002015-03-02T06:30:00.999-05:00Getting Messy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A couple Sundays ago, I found myself smack-dab in the middle of one of my worst nightmares. In the car, Nathan told me he wasn't feeling well then proceeded to vomit into a bag... that had a giant hole at the bottom. It took every ounce of strength for me to drive home without vomiting as well.<br />
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Over the next few hours, I poured all my energy into washing vomit out of the car and his clothes. Then I had to disinfect every surface he may have touched, and do all sorts of other cleaning to distract myself from the atrocity that was unfolding. It is so hard to have emetophobia and be empathetic and care for a sick child at the same time. Between cleaning and checking up on Nathan, I had to do something else calm myself down.<br />
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So I sat down to paint the cover of my December Daily album. Afterwards, Caleb decided he also wanted to paint so I let him use some watercolours. He did that for a bit but it wasn't enough for him - the colours weren't bold enough, the paint didn't "last" long enough. He wanted to use acrylics just like his mom. By this point, I was too exhausted to argue with him so I braced myself and let him go wild with my paints.<br />
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Caleb squeezed colours straight from the tube, moved them around the paper with his brush, then selected his next colour.<br />
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I have always wondered how people paint, especially abstractly. I've always been curious to know whether painters have a picture in their mind that they re-create on their canvas, or if they approach a blank canvas with nothing in mind, letting their brush move freely. Of course, I can't generalize and just say this is how all artists do it, but watching Caleb over the next half an hour gave me a little glimpse into maybe what happens inside the mind of an artist, or at the very least, in Caleb's mind.<br />
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As he chose colours, he explained to me that one side was the goodies (black) and the other side was the baddies (yellow). He added grey to help the goodies, then added colours to help the baddies. He'd drag one colour to touch the next, saying things like, "red is having a piggy back on yellow".<br />
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I can now understand his painting as not just a random smooching together of colour. There is a story behind why he chose certain colours and where they are on his page, why some colours are touching and some are not. One day, the story behind this painting will probably be forgotten but the beautiful art will still be there.btsoi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09837067944330100727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999395053411060275.post-9373037252768559142015-02-28T06:30:00.000-05:002015-02-28T06:30:00.647-05:00Grow | 10 Things I Learned in February<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As part of my aim to take the word GROW and see how it fits into my life this year, I'm ending each month with some reflections on things I've learned and different ways I've grown (or not).<br />
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Here are 10 things I've learned in February...<br />
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<li>How to <a href="http://btsoi.blogspot.com.au/2015/02/balancing-eggs.html" target="_blank">balance eggs</a>. </li>
<li>2015 seems like the year for me to get stuff done. I've had some items on my list since 2012 and somehow, they have been crossed off. It's not really by any planning on my part or anything. My body seems to have switched into a <a href="http://btsoi.blogspot.com.au/2015/02/recording-stories-how-i-got-caught-up.html" target="_blank">"get it done" mode</a> so even when my body is tired and my brain feels like mush, I somehow push past that and get things done. <a href="http://btsoi.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/the-great-lego-cleanup-of-2015.html" target="_blank">Lego clean-up? Done.</a> Sorting through the boys' clothes and packing up what they don't fit anymore? Done. Project Life 2012 albums? Done. December Daily 2014 mini album? Done. Project Life 2014 albums? Done. Nesting is real, people.</li>
<li>I constantly need me-time to recharge. I've always known this but it's hard because I also enjoy going out, doing new things and being with my favourite people. But at the end of the day, if I don't get a concentrated dose of me time, I become irritated and burnt out, and I needed a reminder to fight for me-time to acknowledge this about myself.</li>
<li>When friends give an open invitation for your boys to stay over at their house when we need it (i.e., when I go to the hospital), and also insist you call anytime, even in the middle of the night and they'll come over in their PJs so we don't have to wake the boys up, they're more than your friends. They are family.</li>
<li>I want and need to learn how to be that kind of friend.</li>
<li>I have now reached the point where my belly catches random drops of food because I cannot properly lean in to eat over my plate. It is getting big.</li>
<li>That said, I have discovered just how irritating it is for people to say, over and over again, how huge my belly is getting. I never really had this problem the first two times around. I don't recall anyone really talking about my belly or how big it was, and so I didn't understand why it was such a big deal when some expectant mothers complain about people talking about the size of their belly. But now, I get it. And here's the thing. My belly is <i>supposed </i> to be getting bigger - it means my child is growing inside me. I would be worried if it <i>wasn't</i> growing. Even so, is it really necessary for people to constantly point out a pregnant woman's belly? </li>
<li>How to make <a href="http://btsoi.blogspot.com.au/2015/02/homemade-flour-tortillas.html" target="_blank">tortillas</a>. </li>
<li>Being pregnant in the middle of Australian summer is so completely different from being pregnant in the middle of Canadian winter. My feet have never been more swollen and I have never used the A/C as much as I am using now.</li>
<li>I'm getting a little anxious about the things coming up in the next couple of months.</li>
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btsoi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09837067944330100727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999395053411060275.post-48034462625465465082015-02-27T06:30:00.000-05:002015-02-27T06:30:00.991-05:00Project Life 2015 | Week 01 + 02I was originally planning on sharing my Project Life spreads by month this year but since we're at the end of February and I still haven't finished the last week of January, I'll just share what I have so far and go on from there.<br />
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<b>WEEK 1 : JANUARY 1-3</b><br />
This was a short week and I spent 48 of its hours re-assembling Lego sets so I kept things super simple.<br />
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See? I wasn't kidding.<br />
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I used a 6x8 Studio Calico handbook page protector with 4 pockets. One of the pockets was the date card for this week, two used <a href="http://www.cathyzielske.com/2013/08/playing-with-instagrams-free-card-download-tutorial.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cathy Zielske's Instagram template</a>, and the last one holds journaling on a Studio Calico card. Done.<br />
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<b>WEEK 2 : JANUARY 4-10</b><br />
This week was slightly busier. It was Andrew's last week off before starting orientation at his new job so we tried to pack in a few extra activities so the boys could spend some extra time with him.<br />
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I really liked doing strips of typed text on coloured backgrounds this week. I find it oddly therapeutic piecing the stories together that way. Andrew brought the boys to watch Penguins of Madagascar so I clipped their tickets to a card and cut a slit to tuck them in so we could have space for Andrew's journaling. <br />
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You can see the right side of the spread is quite journaling-heavy. For the past few years, I've been including a lot of photos, leaving very little space for journaling so this year I'm trying to shift the focus to recording our stories. This week, we had a lot of different "trying new things" and "being brave" stories that had to be documented.<br />
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Something I tried that was a little different on this spread was putting the date in the bottom right corner, as part of another card. When I finished sketching this spread, I realized I didn't leave any space for the date and that card was the only one with extra space left. I kind of like how it looks there, I might try doing it again.<br />
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<i>See more of my <a href="http://btsoi.blogspot.com.au/search/label/Project%20Life%202015">Project Life 2015 here</a>.</i>btsoi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09837067944330100727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999395053411060275.post-63155923776228428462015-02-25T06:30:00.000-05:002015-02-25T20:15:37.991-05:00Homemade Pizza DoughBack when Andrew and I lived in Toronto, we used to buy frozen pizzas all the time. They were cheap and so convenient, which was great because our work schedules were so chaotic. And they were tasty - maybe a little too tasty. Once we moved to Brisbane and the boys got older, we finally accepted that frozen pizzas were no longer economical, and they really weren't very good for us. So we started making our own pizzas from scratch.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9vew8YjFPz8/VO5zR5SzgdI/AAAAAAAAPtI/7vsmPqOjXok/s1600/feb-homemade-pizzas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9vew8YjFPz8/VO5zR5SzgdI/AAAAAAAAPtI/7vsmPqOjXok/s1600/feb-homemade-pizzas.jpg" /></a></div>
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We seem to go through phases where we make certain dishes over and over again for dinner until we become tired of it. Lately, we've been going through a pizza phase. It's been especially nice this time around because Caleb is old enough to help out and will always join me in making the dough. As long as I make the dough far enough ahead of time for it to rise, it's a quick and easy dinner solution for us. The boys love choosing their own toppings, and assembling the pizzas as well if there's time.<br />
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I use a very simple recipe, adapted from one by <a href="http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/02/my-favorite-pizza/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Pioneer Woman</a>.<br />
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<b>Ingredients: </b><br />
<ul>
<li>1 1/2 cup warm water</li>
<li>1 tsp instant yeast</li>
<li>4 cups flour (I use 3 cups plain + 1 cup wholemeal)</li>
<li>1 tsp salt</li>
<li>1/3 cup olive oil</li>
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<b>Directions:</b></div>
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<li>Combine warm water with instant yeast in a small bowl and set aside.</li>
<li>In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and olive oil. </li>
<li>Stir yeast mixture and pour into the large bowl, mixing until the dough is formed.</li>
<li>Lightly coat dough with olive oil. Cover with a damp towel and let it rest for at least an hour. OR cover with plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge until you need it.</li>
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<b>Notes:</b></div>
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To bake, preheat oven to 500°F/260°C then bake pizzas for 10-12 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly.</div>
btsoi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09837067944330100727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999395053411060275.post-16416939509258056952015-02-23T06:30:00.000-05:002015-02-23T06:30:01.344-05:00Recording the Stories / How I Got Caught Up with Project LifeI began doing Project Life in 2012. Like any avid beginner, I started off strong. Then, I flew to Toronto for a couple weeks which put me in a situation with more memories to document and no supplies to do it with. I fell behind a bit and for the rest of the year, my enthusiasm went up and down leaving nice big gaps in my memory keeping for that year. By the beginning of this year, I had started 6 albums and only managed to complete 3 of them.<br />
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The idea of leaving the incomplete albums as they were did cross my mind several times. Every time I thought of filling in the blanks, I pushed it away - it was too much work to recall the stories. After all, two of the albums were from 2012 and I had doubts about whether I would be able to accurately recount the memories.<br />
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But at the end of January, a wave of creative energy swept over me and somehow I managed to finish my first album for 2012. As the weeks went on, I finished my second album for 2012. And then my second album for 2014. In less than a month, I had caught up with things that were sitting on my to-do list since 2012.<br />
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Aside from intense focus (which I can only attribute to nesting), here are some things that helped me get caught up with Project Life:<br />
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<b>KEEP IT SIMPLE, GET IT DONE</b><br />
That was my mantra for the times when I got stuck. I still wanted my spreads to look good but they didn't have to be perfect. I didn't need the spreads to have a cohesive look and I used way less embellishments on the “catch up” spreads. The goal was to get those stories documented before I forget.<br />
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<b>PLAN IT OUT</b><br />
In 2012, I roughly planned out each layout with which photos to use, dates, and little notes about journaling. (Marcy Penner has some really great <a href="http://marcypenner.com/shop/shop/pocket-page-planners/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">planner pages</a> available.) I had the photos printed and put into their slots, and that was huge for getting caught up. Most of the work was done - printing is the longest and hardest process for me (choosing, editing, resizing, uploading, waiting, picking it up from the store).<br />
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More recently, I've been trying to keep notes in my planner of what we do each day. I write my boys’ quotes in an app on my phone and I’ll also write down journaling if I have the words for a story but haven’t quite figured out how I want to lay it out/design it into my spread yet. That way when I'm catching up, I can just quickly copy it onto the card.<br />
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<b>KEEP EPHEMERA</b><br />
I keep a random assortment of little bits and pieces, like business cards, packaging or the boys' work. A lot of the time, these pieces don't make it into my spread because I have way too many photos but they do come in handy when you have extra pockets to be filled. Now, I just have to learn how to let go of the pieces that don't get used, except for the boys' drawings because I will cling onto those forever.<br />
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<b>LOOK THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA</b><br />
If you’re like me, Project Life isn’t the only way you document your life. I post quite regularly on <a href="https://www.blogger.com/I%20started%20doing%20Project%20Life%20in%202012.%20I%20started%20off%20strong,%20then%20flew%20to%20Toronto%20for%20a%20couple%20weeks%20which%20put%20me%20in%20a%20situation%20with%20more%20memories%20to%20document%20and%20no%20supplies%20to%20do%20it%20with.%20I%20fell%20behind%20a%20bit%20and%20for%20the%20rest%20of%20the%20year,%20my%20enthusiasm%20went%20up%20and%20down%20leaving%20nice%20big%20gaps%20in%20my%20memory%20keeping%20for%20that%20year.%20By%20the%20beginning%20of%20this%20year,%20I%20had%20started%206%20albums%20and%20only%20managed%20to%20complete%203%20of%20them.%20%20The%20idea%20of%20leaving%20the%20incomplete%20albums%20as%20they%20were%20did%20cross%20my%20mind.%20After%20all,%20two%20of%20the%20albums%20were%20from%202012%20and%20I%20had%20doubts%20about%20whether%20I%20would%20be%20able%20to%20accurately%20recount%20the%20memories.%20%20But%20at%20the%20end%20of%20January,%20a%20wave%20of%20creative%20energy%20swept%20over%20me%20and%20somehow%20I%20managed%20to%20finish%20my%20first%20album%20for%202012.%20As%20the%20weeks%20went%20on,%20I%20finished%20my%20second%20album%20for%202012.%20And%20then%20my%20second%20album%20for%202014.%20In%20less%20than%20a%20month,%20I%20had%20caught%20up%20with%20things%20that%20were%20sitting%20on%20my%20to-do%20list%20since%202012.%20%20Aside%20from%20the%20intense%20focus%20that%20I%20can%20only%20attribute%20to%20nesting,%20here%20are%20some%20things%20that%20helped%20me%20get%20caught%20up%20with%20Project%20Life:%20%20KEEP%20IT%20SIMPLE,%20GET%20IT%20DONE%20That%20was%20my%20mantra%20for%20the%20times%20when%20I%20would%20get%20stuck.%20Of%20course,%20I%20still%20wanted%20my%20spreads%20to%20look%20good%20but%20it%20didn't%20have%20to%20be%20perfect.%20The%20colours%20didn't%20even%20have%20to%20match%20exactly.%20I%20used%20way%20less%20embellishments%20on%20the%20%E2%80%9Ccatch%20up%E2%80%9D%20spreads.%20The%20goal%20was%20to%20get%20those%20stories%20documented%20before%20I%20forget.%20%20PLAN%20IT%20OUT%20In%202012,%20I%20roughly%20planned%20out%20each%20layout%20with%20which%20photos%20to%20use,%20dates,%20and%20little%20notes%20about%20journaling.%20I%20had%20the%20photos%20printed%20and%20put%20into%20their%20slots,%20and%20that%20was%20huge%20for%20getting%20caught%20up.%20Most%20of%20the%20work%20was%20done%20-%20printing%20is%20the%20longest%20and%20hardest%20process%20for%20me%20(choosing,%20editing,%20resizing,%20uploading,%20waiting,%20picking%20it%20up%20from%20the%20store).%20%20More%20recently,%20I've%20been%20trying%20to%20keep%20notes%20in%20my%20planner%20of%20what%20we%E2%80%99ve%20done%20everyday%20and%20write%20my%20boys%E2%80%99%20quotes%20in%20an%20app%20on%20my%20phone.%20I%E2%80%99ll%20also%20write%20down%20journaling%20if%20I%20have%20the%20words%20but%20haven%E2%80%99t%20quite%20figured%20out%20how%20I%20want%20to%20lay%20it%20out/design%20it%20into%20my%20spread%20yet%20so%20I%20can%20just%20quickly%20copy%20it%20onto%20a%20card%20later.%20This%20means%20when%20I%E2%80%99m%20catching%20up,%20I%20don%E2%80%99t%20have%20to%20spend%20a%20lot%20of%20time%20coming%20up%20with%20the%20words%20I%20want%20to%20tell%20my%20story.%20%20KEEP%20EPHEMERA%20I%20have%20a%20random%20assortment%20of%20little%20bits%20and%20pieces%20I%E2%80%99ve%20kept%20that%20I%20might%20want%20to%20put%20into%20Project%20Life.%20A%20lot%20of%20the%20time,%20these%20little%20pieces%20don%E2%80%99t%20make%20it%20in%20because%20I%20have%20way%20too%20many%20photos%20but%20it%E2%80%99s%20nice%20to%20have%20some%20ephemera%20on%20hand%20to%20accompany%20your%20photos%20and%20journaling,%20or%20for%20pockets%20that%20need%20to%20be%20filled.%20Now,%20I%20just%20have%20to%20learn%20how%20to%20let%20go%20of%20the%20pieces%20that%20don't%20get%20used.%20Except%20the%20boys'%20drawings.%20Those%20I%20will%20cling%20onto%20forever.%20%20LOOK%20THROUGH%20SOCIAL%20MEDIA%20If%20you%E2%80%99re%20like%20me,%20Project%20Life%20isn%E2%80%99t%20the%20only%20way%20you%20document%20your%20life.%20I%20post%20a%20lot%20on%20Instagram%20and%20on%20this%20blog%20-%20this%20was%20especially%20helpful%20when%20I%20just%20could%20not%20remember%20little%20details%20about%20an%20event.%20You%20can%20also%20try%20Facebook%20and%20Twitter%20if%20you%20use%20those%20often.%20%20Text%20messages%20are%20a%20treasure%20trove%20for%20me%20as%20well%20-%20I%20tend%20to%20send%20Andrew%20messages%20about%20what%20the%20boys%20are%20up%20to,%20things%20they've%20said,%20things%20they've%20done%20through%20out%20the%20day%20so%20I%20don't%20have%20to%20wait%20until%20he%20gets%20home%20to%20tell%20him%20(because%20I'll%20have%20forgotten%20by%20then,%20no%20doubt).%20It%20takes%20a%20lot%20of%20scrolling%20back%20but%20sometimes%20it's%20worth%20it.%20%20LOOK%20THROUGH%20PHOTOS%20For%20those%20stories%20that%20just%20did%20not%20make%20it%20into%20social%20media,%20I%20went%20through%20iPhoto.%20Recording%20the%20date%20was%20especially%20helpful%20for%20these%20stories%20because%20then%20I%20could%20go%20to%20my%20computer%20and%20look%20back%20on%20other%20photos%20from%20that%20day%20to%20help%20jog%20my%20memory%20of%20what%20happened%20that%20day%20and%20usually%20that%20will%20help%20bring%20the%20stories%20back%20%20My%20mantra%20was%20%E2%80%9Ckeep%20it%20simple,%20get%20it%20done%E2%80%9D.%20%20DON%E2%80%99T%20FORCE%20IT%20Work%20for%20as%20long%20as%20you%20can,%20take%20breaks%20when%20you%20need%20to.%20I%20find%20that%20the%20more%20I%20try%20to%20force%20my%20creativity,%20the%20less%20fluidly%20it%20flows%20out.%20There%20were%20times%20when%20I%20knew%20exactly%20what%20I%20wanted%20to%20have%20down%20on%20the%20page%20but%20I%20just%20didn%E2%80%99t%20have%20energy%20or%20creativity%20to%20put%20it%20together%20so%20I%20moved%20on%20to%20the%20next%20piece,%20or%20I%20had%20to%20walk%20away.%20Other%20times,%20I%20was%20physically%20aching%20for%20a%20break%20but%20my%20hands%20kept%20working%20and%20ideas%20kept%20coming%20so%20went%20with%20it.%20%20Remember,%20just%20do%20what%20works%20for%20you%20-%20memory%20keeping%20is%20supposed%20to%20be%20an%20enjoyable%20process,%20not%20a%20torturous%20one!%20And%20there%E2%80%99s%20no%20prize%20for%20being%20caught%20up." target="_blank">Instagram</a> and on this blog. Digging through my archives was especially helpful when I just could not remember little details about an event. You can also try Facebook and Twitter if you use those often, and news websites if you like to include some of that.<br />
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My text messages to Andrew were a gold mine for me. I tend to send Andrew messages about what the boys are up to, things they've said, things they've done through out the day so I don't have to wait until he gets home to tell him (because I'll have forgotten by then, no doubt). It takes a lot of scrolling back but sometimes it's worth it.<br />
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<b>LOOK THROUGH PHOTOS</b><br />
For those stories that did not make it into social media, I went through the photos on my computer. Recording the date was especially helpful here because I could go straight to that folder and sift through other photos from that day to help jog my memory.<br />
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<b>DON’T FORCE IT</b><br />
Work for as long as you can, take breaks when you need to. The more you force creativity, the less fluidly it comes out. There were times when I knew exactly what I wanted to have on each spread but I just didn't have the energy or creativity to put it together so I either moved on to the next part, or I had to walk away. Other times, I was physically aching for a break but my hands kept working and ideas kept coming so went with it.<br />
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Remember, just do what works for you. Memory keeping should be a good experience, not a torturous one. Enjoy the process!btsoi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09837067944330100727noreply@blogger.com1