btsoi blogs

My Top Picks (March 2012)

noreply@blogger.com (btsoi.) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 04:24:00 +0000

I thought I might just quickly share a few blogs and apps I've recently added.

I don't get too much time to click around on the computer (or phone, or other electronic device) so when I do get that chance, I like to make it count. I'm pretty picky with my blogs and apps - if I don't like it right away, I usually don't give it another chance.

Blogs:
The Cheese Thief : If you've seen my Pinterest, you'll know that a bunch of the tutorials I've pinned are from this fantastic blog. A lot of awesome DIY happening here.

Big Box Detox : I've only just started reading this one but I get that there's a lot of DIY and home decor stuff going on at this blog. Probably going to pick up a lot of good ideas here for making my home more home sans the big box stores.

Apps:
Draw Something : I discovered this game by accident last night and I've been hooked ever since. It's Pictionary, but you can play with your friends on the other side of the world.
Word of warning - everything you draw gets recorded, so your opponent sees your every move! I had no idea so one of my friends had to see me draw/erase/delete about 47 times before I actually got the drawing done.

Flipboard : Gone are my days of lazily flipping through magazines, but thank goodness for this app because I can do that and keep up with the news at the same time. And it's pretty. I like pretty apps.

Evernote Food : I've been waiting for something like this for a while. I like taking pictures of my food when I go out, but I've never had anyway to store them and document my meal until now!

Teuxdeux : I think I found this through The Pioneer Woman. Love this to-do list app because it automatically carries forward your yet-to-be-completed items. And Andrew can access it, too, so it really helps with our productivity at home.

And just for fun, some additional...
Top favourite time-~~wasters~~users:
Instagram
Pinterest

So what are some of your current favourites?

Chicken Rice

noreply@blogger.com (btsoi.) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 03:31:00 +0000

I've been craving chicken rice for the past week or so, but since we no longer live in Toowong, we also no longer have quick and easy access to decent Chinese food.

We very loosely followed this chicken rice recipe.

Let's just say that while our second batch of rice was extremely tasty, we'll probably leave this one to the experts.

Looks alright though.

This is Asian dish number 19 of 24.

Wide Awake From PIE

noreply@blogger.com (btsoi.) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 16:51:00 +0000

The only reason I am sitting here in bed writing this post at 2:44am is because 6 hours ago, I thought it might be a good idea to take my antibiotics before I accidentally fall asleep and forget to take it.

Two hours later, I had accidentally fallen asleep without taking the meds. Hah.

So I quickly took the pill and sort of dozed off again only to be awoken a little while later with this horrid feeling in my throat like the pill got stuck on the way down.

Desperate to make that awful feeling go away, I downed half a bottle of water but it didn't help. The feeling grew. Pain radiated through the top of my stomach and up my esophagus. I didn't know what to do.

Thinking it might have been heartburn (4 hours after I had scarfed down my dinner with no issue...) I drank some milk and propped myself up. It didn't help. I briefly contemplated trying to cough it up but I could never go through with it seeing as how I have an extreme vomit phobia.

With the help of Google (which automatically makes me an incredibly knowledgable doctor, capable of diagnosing even the rarest of diseases), I eventually diagnosed myself with pill-induced esophagitis. As in the lining got irritated because my pill got stuck and dissolved there instead of in my stomach.

So now I sit and wait in agony for my esophagus to heal. The pain has subsided but not enough for me to fall asleep.

There's no telling how long it will take for this to heal, but I'm hoping it'll be soon, because as I sit here wide awake, I've been thinking... I need to be functional again. Our trip home is coming up soon and I haven't started packing. Yikes!

Anyway, take it from me, people: Don't swallow pills lying down.

This message brought to you by a now-incredibly sleep deprived mama with absolutely no formal medical training.

Moving Up To Cycle 2

noreply@blogger.com (btsoi.) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 13:19:00 +0000

Starting today, Caleb and I won't be able to walk Nathan to class.

Or wave bye to him at the window.

Or stand outside his class after school and see him run out of the classroom to greet us.

Excuse me while I go shed a tear. My boy's growing up too quickly!

Birthday Banners

noreply@blogger.com (btsoi.) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 05:33:00 +0000

The sun peeked through just long enough today for Nathan's friend's birthday party.

I had completely forgot about the party until late last night and didn't get to make her birthday card until this morning.

I was feeling a little crappy this morning being all rushed and unprepared with the card not made and gifts not wrapped. But when the birthday girl opened her presents and the two gifts Nathan gave her were the only ones she wanted to open and play with right away, it made me feel better. God always knows just what my heart needs, when I need it.

While we were at the party, Nathan got invited to another little girl's birthday party tomorrow. I'll probably make a similar card for her.

And it's a good thing I bought a spare beading set just in case.

Diaper Off

noreply@blogger.com (btsoi.) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 22:37:00 +0000

Someone thought he was being so funny the other day when he took his own diaper off.

Thank goodness he got this bright idea after I had changed him out of his dirty poo diaper!

Atop Popcorn Clouds

noreply@blogger.com (btsoi.) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 05:55:00 +0000

We inherited some IKEA mattresses last week and we finally got around to putting one down in the boys' playroom over the weekend.

Now they have something soft and comfy to sit on.

And jump around and be silly on.

They were super excited to get this new addition to their playroom.

I have a feeling Andrew might appreciate it as well, when he's in there watching Caleb...

Growing This Week

noreply@blogger.com (btsoi.) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:10:00 +0000

I have been an awful blogger this week, but I'm glad it's because I've been too busy enjoying my life.

It's amazing how much can happen in one week.

This week, Caleb...

... started climbing up the playground stairs and sliding down the slide all by himself! (And I only started letting him climb up the stairs last week)

... slept through the night, but not as consistently as last week.

... voluntarily jumped (wiggled) into the pool when I called for him to.

... started blowing kisses.

This week, Nathan...

... 's teacher informed me that she's already put the paperwork through for Nathan to transition to Cycle 2*.

... was invited to have lunch at Cycle 2.

... somehow got Caleb out of the crib in the morning (twice).

... showed me he has a wiggly tooth!

Can someone press the pause button? My boys are growing up way too quickly!

*Edited to add: The Montessori system uses 3-year cycles instead of grades so Cycle 2 refers to the second cycle, ages 6-9.

This Past Weekend...

noreply@blogger.com (btsoi.) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 11:54:00 +0000

... we made a quick trip to the Apple store for some new covers.

... my baby got a pair of Crocs.

... we went mini putting with our friends.

... we went out for dim sum after church with more friends.

... we had everyone over for afternoon tea and board games.

All to celebrate my 26th birthday.

I'm so blessed to have been surrounded by people I love (and people who love me) this whole weekend, and to have received so many lovely birthday messages from my friends and family from all different parts of the world.

I have good feelings about 26. This year is already starting to look better than last year and last year was pretty amazing.

I can't wait to see what this year has to offer.

Caleb's Favourite Time

noreply@blogger.com (btsoi.) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:31:00 +0000

I think after school pick-up has become Caleb's favourite time in the day.

He loves walking along the path to Nathan's class. Sometimes, if we're lucky, Nathan will be sitting near the window and we'll catch his eye, and the boys will wave furiously at each other.

This week, I've started putting Caleb down at the fence by Nathan's classroom for him to walk around himself.

I love watching him wander around, exploring by himself.

This week, Caleb started playing on the playground as well.

He can climb up the stairs by himself, but can't quite make it up to the slide. That's where Nathan comes in. He gently boosts Caleb up and they go down the slide together.

And sometimes, when Nathan's not too busy running around with his own friends, they just chill.

My Boys

noreply@blogger.com (btsoi.) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:26:00 +0000

Sometimes, people ask me if I wish I hadn't waited so long to have Caleb so that the boys would be closer in age, and my answer every single time, is no.

I love that I had plenty of time to spend with Nathan and really get to know him before Caleb came along. And now, Nathan is more independent and going to school so I get to spend quality time with Caleb.

I also love that the boys can spend time together.

Nathan's reading skills have blossomed over the past couple months. He's reading so fluently now and he's putting that skill to good use, reading to Caleb.

Caleb really looks up to Nathan and copies so many of the things that he does. He shows interest in things Nathan's interested in and makes sounds to imitate what Nathan is saying.

You can almost bet that wherever Nathan is...

Caleb will be right there, trying to do the exact same thing.

Sure, we still have to deal with one of the boys being jealous of the other's attention, or someone being a little too rough, but the moments when they're happy being with each other makes all that worth it.

It's a beautiful sight to behold and I hope and pray that the boys stay close as they grow up.

Becoming Supermom

noreply@blogger.com (btsoi.) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:00:00 +0000

I really got my act together today and had a fantastic supermom kind of day, and I thought I should document this so I can look back on it when I have a not so hot day.

Nathan's been sleeping in in the mornings and today instead of wasting my time trying to wake him up and fight him all the way out the door, I took Caleb downstairs and fed him breakfast first. When I came back up to change Caleb, I woke Nathan up and he got ready and went down for breakfast. While Nathan was having breakfast, I read to Caleb.

I love having breakfast together, but I love having a quiet and calm start to the day just a little more.

After dropping Nathan off at school, and picking up my box of material prep stuff I'm helping his classroom with, I brought Caleb to swimming lessons.

He missed last week because of the eyebrow incident, but he was so pumped to be back in the water. He could not wait to get in. And once we were in, he was practically throwing himself into the deep waters.

Caleb's been falling asleep in the car a lot lately, and it sometimes throws off his schedule so as I turned the roundabout and heard a little snore, I was cautiously hoping that he was tired enough to transfer to his bed and continue napping.

And he was. He ended up napping for two glorious hours.

In those two hours, I managed to do all the dishes, cook sushi rice and make sushi for dinner, do a load of laundry, pick up the lounge (aka Nerf gun room), put together a few decor pieces for the kitchen and pack our swimming stuff for a play date after school.

Then, Caleb woke up and I fed him lunch which he ate happily.

When he was done, I changed him and surprisingly, he reached for Nathan's bounce back racer. That thing hasn't been touched for quite a few months now, after Nathan threw it one day and it stopped working. Since Caleb was really wanting to play with it and I had been meaning to take a look at the car to see if I could fix it (or will it back to work), I took out Andrew's tiny screwdrivers and went at it.

By the time Andrew came home, it was working again. It was also time to pick up Nathan from school.

Nathan had a quick play at school and then we were off with a couple of his friends from school to a nearby playground with a water play area. It was so hot outside today I was happy to be in the water again. And so I spent the next 1.5 hours following Caleb around. I was surprised by how much more steady and confident he was in the water this time compared to the last time I was with him.

Then when it started to rain, we raced home for a quick shower and dinner before I headed out again with Nathan back to his school for a Working with Your Child session.

He showed me a whole bunch of his favorite work.

We worked together on this chalk drawing, taking turns adding parts. He requested that I draw the house "small because it is far away" and he reminded me to draw daddy and Cabee at home. I was a little sad when Nathan told me we had to wash it away.

I think he was a little thrown off by that because he just looked at me with wide eyes and said, "we have to". So I accepted it and moved on.

On the way home we stopped by at Coles for some clementines. The boys have been inhaling them since Saturday. We literally ate half the bag today.

It's such a refreshing change to feel like I'm on top of things for once. Over the weekend I was just telling Andrew how I felt like I was always behind, running out of time, trying to catch up. And today I finally got everything crossed off my to-do list so I could sit back and relax. Thank you, God for lifting that burden off of my shoulders. I feel so free.

He Can WHAT?!

noreply@blogger.com (btsoi.) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:16:00 +0000

The first time he ever used chopsticks, I remember this distinctly, was on Andrew and my 2nd anniversary. We were at AYCE sushi and he ate with chopsticks for the first little bit then reverted back to stuffing sushi into his mouth with his fingers.

Since then, every time we have dim sum, he's been asking for a fork so I just assumed he wasn't able to use chopsticks well.

Then, last night we were at our friends' house having lo hei and without thinking, I just gave Nathan a plate with chopsticks and he quietly sat in a chair and BAM, this happened:

Like it was no big deal!

Since when could my big guy use chopsticks so well?!

I was blown away.

And he looked at me like I was embarrassing him with my shock and amazement.

I told him I was going to watch him eat all night.

He looked annoyed.

So I stopped.

The end.

Ice Cream

noreply@blogger.com (btsoi.) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:09:00 +0000

Nothing like having dinner and ice cream with Nathan's friends (and their families).

Life is good.

Sidenote: Anyone notice the ".au" that's been added to the end of my URL? Weird!

SC CHAllenge - 2 Layouts

noreply@blogger.com (btsoi.) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:50:00 +0000

I tackled a few more Studio Calico CHAllenges with a couple 12x12 layouts.

First up:

This is my very first 12x12 layout and I'm pretty darn proud of it.

Jen's challenge - use layers
Nik's challenge - use a journaling spot

I took these photos during an impromptu photo shoot one day. It was also around that time we discovered that Caleb has a nasty habit of pulling people's hair and refusing to let go. The expression on his face is like he doesn't even realize he's doing it. Poor Nathan!

Next up:

This photo is super blurry and the colouring is really bad, but I wanted to use it anyway. Embrace imperfection, right?

Jen's challenge - use layers
Nik's challenge - use a journaling spot
Stephanie's challenge - use doilies
Tina's challenge - use at least 2 stamps as a focal point

One thing I'm going to really work on this year is my handwriting - either make it nicer, or learn to love it.

Healing

noreply@blogger.com (btsoi.) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:11:00 +0000

This is not one of my proudest parenting moments but it happened and is a part of our story and because of that, I feel it needs to be documented.

Caleb got hurt over the weekend and we ended up going to the ER.

He loves climbing and he's a daring little boy. Usually he's pretty stable on his feet, but that day, Caleb slipped off a cushion and smashed his face into the back of our couch where all the metal pieces are sticking out, which resulted in a huge gash through his eyebrow.

I'm generally not bothered by the sight of blood, but when I saw the blood gushing out of my baby's face, all I could do was imagine how it must have felt for him and instantly I was filled with guilt. I cringed. It bothered me that there was blood coming out of my baby's face, out of this deep cut in his flesh.

I yelled to Andrew that we had to go to the hospital.

Caleb was a true champion during this whole ordeal. He had cried and screamed when he got cut, but after I fed him, he calmed down and was back in good spirits all the way to the hospital, while we waited for the doctor and afterwards.

The morning after, he was back to his boisterous little self, as if nothing had happened.

I hate that this happened, but I am thankful.

I'm thankful that Caleb only cut his eyebrow and his eye was unaffected.
I'm thankful that we got to the hospital quickly and he was treated quickly.
I'm thankful that he's back to his old self and doesn't seem to be in pain.
I'm thankful that I've been able to forgive myself for not watching him more closely.
I'm thankful for all the messages I got over at SC, reassuring me that I'm not a horrible mother and that accidents do happen.

Now, I just pray we don't ever have to make another trip to the ER again and that Caleb will heal quickly and well.

SC CHAllenge - Hi Card

noreply@blogger.com (btsoi.) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:42:00 +0000

Studio Calico has a bunch of CHAllenges up and I thought I might participate to get my creative juices flowing again.

Here's a card I made for Dawn and Susan's challenges:

Dawn's challenge - use die-cut washi tape
Susan's challenge - use at least 4 punches on a card

I had a lot of fun covering punched out shapes with washi tape. It got a little addicting!

Yellow Burst Cushion

noreply@blogger.com (btsoi.) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 17:55:00 +0000

It's been rainy and gloomy for the past two weeks.

I don't even remember what the sun looks like anymore.

All this miserable weather is making the fact that we can't find a suitable entrance table for our place even more depressing, so when I saw some yellow fabric at Ikea, I snatched it up right away. We needed something to brighten up our home.

For my first make-our-rental-homier project, I made a cushion.

I used this tutorial as a guideline and made a few alterations of my own.

I stitched two lines across the opening edges to reinforce it. I like the look of two lines; it looks more finished to me.

I purposely made the case a little smaller than it should be so that the pillow would look puffier and not saggy like some of the cheaper Ikea pillows. Right now, it's a little over-puffy but I'm hoping that with the boys jumping on them and sitting on them, it'll flatten it out a little.

And here it is with my other brightly-coloured cushions. They're not all the same size, but I'm okay with that.

Australia Day 2012

noreply@blogger.com (btsoi.) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 02:02:00 +0000

So here's how our Australia Day went.

We started off the day with a quick trip to the mall to pick up some storage boxes for the boys' toys. Exciting, I know. But we're determined to get this place organized so we can start living comfortably.

While Caleb napped, we did a bit of reorganizing and I found a new project for Nathan and I to do (more on this later).

Then, after lunch, we raced over to Lone Pine - the only place that didn't shut down their Australia Day events due to rain.

We finally got our picture with a koala! Figured that was as Australian as we could get today. The boys are sporting their green and gold for Australia Day, and after a little hesitation, Nathan agreed to hold the koala!

We also fed the kangaroos.

Even Caleb had a turn, but Andrew ended that after Caleb grabbed the kangaroo's face.

Our little guy loves animals but he's not very gentle when showing his affection and excitement.

And finally, we raced off to Ikea to pick up a few pieces of furniture for the boys, then came home for dinner.

It's too bad we didn't get to see fireworks this year, but we did hang out with some Australian animals and we were highly productive!

Happy Australia Day!

noreply@blogger.com (btsoi.) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 07:50:00 +0000

It's our second Australia Day here and since we didn't really celebrate last year, we were itching to take part in the festivities this year. Only problem? I woke up this morning to check out what events were going on and found that everything was cancelled due to heavy rain and inclement weather.

Well, the sun is peeking through the clouds and it's barely 6am. I'm determined to find something to do with the family; I'll be back to let you know exactly what we did.

Caleb Starts Swimming

noreply@blogger.com (btsoi.) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:18:00 +0000

Caleb started swimming lessons today.

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of him in or around the pool because I had to keep him from climbing in before our lesson, and then for his lesson I was in the water with him.

He had a great time though. He loved being in there and didn't even mind when the teacher dipped him under.

I'm so excited for him to learn how to swim, seeing as how he loves being in the water so much.

Back to School 2012

noreply@blogger.com (btsoi.) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:58:00 +0000

We all got up bright and early this morning for Nathan's first day back to school. We even had enough time to take a few pictures before heading out the door.

Nathan brought an apple to share with his class today. Every morning, the children are invited to bring a fruit or vegetable to share with the class so there's always fresh food for morning tea.

Then, of course, Nathan's version of a back-to-school picture. This year, he went with a wink. (Remember last year's?)

And little Caleb didn't want to be left out, so we let him have the apple for a little while until he threatened to leave teeth marks in it.

It was a beautiful day to go back to school. The sun was shining, and Nathan was so ready to go back.

Vintage Typewriters

noreply@blogger.com (btsoi.) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:20:00 +0000

While looking for home decor to make our home feel more like home the other day, we wandered into a little vintage boutique called Can you keep a secret?

We didn't find anything to decorate our bare walls, but we did happen to stumble upon a little vintage typewriter.

A little while ago, I mentioned that I've been wanting a vintage typewriter to scrapbook with. After searching online and locally, all the typewriters I found were either not working, out of my price range or on the other side of the world. So I temporarily gave up the search.

Seeing that little typewriter revived my hope and since it was right in front of me and reasonably priced, I had to find out if it was still in working condition. And it was.

Moments later, Andrew was carrying the typewriter (in it's carrying case!) to our car.

So after the boys went to bed, I spent three hours cleaning that baby up and now it sits on my scrapbooking table, ready to be used.

Now I just have to find some new ribbon for my typewriter. Anyone know where I can find some typewriter ribbon? Or what model my typewriter is? Or can someone confirm whether it's the Olympia SM9?

I'm so excited to start playing with my typewriter!

I think someone else is, too!

A Place To Call Our Own

noreply@blogger.com (btsoi.) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:45:00 +0000

With our last rental, I got trapped into thinking that just because we are a student family living on zero income and just because we are renting with the likelihood of moving back to Canada at the end of Andrew's training, we should spend as little as possible on our home.

The thing is, last time around, our apartment didn't feel like a home. (It felt like living in prison. However, decor may not have been the only contributing factor to that, but I digress.) And because it didn't feel like a home, I spent the entire year floating around, refusing to put my roots down because in four years, I'm probably not going to be here anymore anyway.

But four years is a long time. And it took me a whole year of living uncomfortably and two very smart ladies to tell me that one morning.

So this time around, I've decided to make our home feel more like our home.

I'm not saying that I'll have this place decked out floor to ceiling, or even have everything we want to have. We'll get just enough to make living comfortable. Most of our furniture was either from IKEA or on sale, and I'm okay with that.

But I'm going to put a little more effort into adding little personal touches to make this space reflect us a little better.

You can bet I'll be doing a lot of little projects in the weeks to come and I'll be sharing them here.

Now, where do you look for decorating inspiration?

Chilling in Chermside

noreply@blogger.com (btsoi.) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:22:00 +0000

My iPhone died on me this morning and I was frantic.

It has literally been my lifeline for the past week or so, since we still have no phone or internet at home. So Andrew suggested I go to the Apple store and see if they could do anything for me.

I generally don't like the idea of bringing the boys to the mall myself, especially when it's far andI have no idea how long we might be there for, seeing as how I'd have to wait for them to squeeze me in to their Genius Bar appointments. But I needed my phone.

So after we dropped Andrew off at the hospital, we headed to Chermside.

Luckily, when we got to the Apple store, Nathan occupied himself with an iPad and Caleb was generally manageable until some guy named Michael came to help me out.

Michael asked me what the problem was, took a look at my phone, then turned it on. Seriously. Just like that, he turned it on, like nothing was wrong with it at all. He must have thought I was an idiot. So I asked him to check and make sure that there was definitely nothing wrong. He did, and he said everything was working just fine.

Slightly embarrassed, but relieved, I walked the boys out of the store and we got a Starbucks to share - caramel frappuccino for me, whipped cream on top for the boys.

Then, I let the boys play in the play area since it was pretty quiet, until it got too busy and other boys started knocking Caleb down.

I love that we're still on summer break and I could take the boys out with me on such short notice. I also love that we had the extra time to share a drink and for the boys to have a play. I'm going to miss this when Nathan goes back to school next week!

I think Caleb's going to miss him, too.