Yippy Kaiyiyay!

I am so very excited! Yesterday I got to order my new Canon EOS 40D. I was warned off the lenses that come with the packages, so I got the camera body and ordered a specific lens (50 mm f1.8) to use until I can afford my coveted 28-70mm f2.8. The Canon models of lenses get the great reviews, but there is a company (Sigma) that makes a copy of this lens for much cheaper. I will dream about this lens until I have it...but until then, the lens I did buy gets great reviews not only online, but from actual real people I have chatted with that love it.

I couldn't bring myself to purchase one of the oh so boring bags available here in Thunder Bay, so I found this bag (Tracy Joy) made SPECIFICALLY for mothers who tote around their little ones and their camera alike. This is actually a camera/diaper bag. The dividers are thick and padded so camera parts wont bump together, but it can also accommodate for some diapers, etc. Seriously? How cool is that. The one I ordered is similar to this one, only chocolate brown rather than black. And I included a picture of what the inside will look like too.

To make life even sweeter, I just got the LAST spot in a 20 hour college offered camera workshop specifically for DSLR cameras. I am currently enjoying a wonderful online course I am taking through Sheye Rosemeyer (Australia) and am hoping to double up on figuring out aperture, iso, shutter speeds and so on and so forth. I cant wait to get some real "bokeh" with my new toy, that is en route as we speak.

So today is a GREAT day and I cant wait for tomorrow :)

Atikokan Show Girls

Good Girls are just bad girls who don't get caught. Keeping this in mind, and as to not blow our cover, I will give you a condensed and cleaned up version of Lee-Anne and my weekend trail ride/poker derby in Atikokan.

We arrived Friday night to our first ever poker run in Atikokan, Ontario. The grounds were beautiful grass, with a great huge pond (or is it a small lake?), fire pits, a great chalet and some of the friendliest people I have ever met. Fuji blew a shoe the night before and the easy boot/duct tape route was not working, so Jessica loaned us the coolest leather boot and saved the day, as well as Fuji's foot.

We acquainted ourselves with the company around the campfire on Friday night, REALLY got to know each other (some more than others), roasted some smokies, lunged the geldings in this large beautiful sand area that was wonderfully level and perfect for the occasion, and generally had an awesome time. The police made regular checks on the facility to be sure all was well, and some of the rowdies got frisked on the police car.

The weather was a bit shaky on Saturday morning and the set 10:00 departure time was pushed off for those fair weather riders (aka, ME)...so we left a bit closer to noon. The first 20 minutes with the "show" horses was a bit hair raising, as both were wet, cold, and completely unfamiliar with the concept of being bush whacker trail riding, water crossing, hill climbing, cliff dwelling true blue redneck real workin horses.

We had a few hops, leaps, spins, and otherwise scare the hell out of my pansy self's panties moments when the snobby show horses couldn't wrap their delicate sensibilities around the sound of large groups of horses coming up from the rear, but in all fairness, between the gaited horses and the loose rocky, gravelly section we were in, the sound did remind me of a wild herd of horses thundering in from wild yonder. We did survive it though, and were awfully thankful it didn't happen on the very beautiful, but very scary (for me) cliffs with the sheer 1000 foot drop offs. Thankfully, we decided, since horses are rarely suicidal, most wont leap off cliffs even in a moment of panic. But truthfully, we did make it through these sections uneventfully (though I wouldn't let Lee-Anne be the photographer she wanted to be while in these sections). I thought.....the more time we linger, the more chance for umm...difficulty.

For Fuji, this was his first trail ride ever. He was well educated. Turns out he is a great pack horse (he wore his AND Jags..as Jag decided saddle bags were fine EMPTY, but full ones were totally unacceptable..and rightfully so, he IS a show horse (aka pansie), after all.). Fuji did a great job and so did Lee-Anne, who piloted him through a few horse eating rock piles, boogy man water coolers, and monster leg dissolving water sections. He sucked it up like a true trail horse and was ready to say uncle about 10 kms into the 25 km ride.

It took us close to 4 hours to complete this ride at a nice graceful walk. Slow and safe wins the race. In fact, we were SOOOO slow, the other riders dubbed us the "Show girls" due to our super speedy mounts and actually sent someone looking for us, as apparently, there was some concern about what may or may not have happened in the cliff section (I should remind you that these sections do have a fair amount of trees dividing you and the actual drop off...but what I could see THROUGH the trees still made me pee a little). Ha. We were hiding in the last section during this time and arrived back at the camp a few minutes later, safe and sound.

We arrived to a hot meal of homemade chili and buns, pasta salads, burgers and smokies, drinks and desserts, the announcements of the poker winners, and the very cool prize winning. There was a large, beautiful tent set up for eating in, and a warm chalet with hot chocolate for those of us needing some warming up.

I cant say enough how awesome this ride and experience was. The trails were perfectly groomed, marked so well you could have found your way completely drunk (NOT that we would do that....), the people were wonderful, helpful, cheerful and welcoming. The facility was beautiful. The prizes (that absolutely every rider received) were great, the money (that we didn't win) was awesome ($350 for first place), and everyone left with huge smiles on their faces.

Thank you all for a wonderful weekend!

See you next year :)

WAIT, it is the Canon 50 D I want :)

Aren't they cute?

Olivia lately has been the devil. She has this cry, sounds like a wounded calf, but more irritating like...maybe more like a Siamese cat in heat. Makes you CRAZY. Last few days she has started to use this cry first thing. By 10:00 am, I am hanging precariously on the bottom of my rope hoping to hell that Ben or Mom, or someone, ANYone comes to my rescue. And someone has. Lee-Anne, my sister in law.

We leave this evening to go to Atikokan for the weekend for a trail ride. I can hardly wait.

Hayden is SOOOO close to crawling. He can get up on all fours and rock, but he has yet to discover to move his arms. This is a frustrating situation for him. He makes his way around backward, but this is not pleasing him anymore. He gets his eyes locked on something in front of him and he wants to get to it the fastest route possible. The kid has amazing hand eye coordination, and I am starting to be concerned that when he does get going, he is going to be a true handful.

Svea loves boxes. We bought them a new toy box and she has had a blast with the box. I loved boxes too, so I am thinking its hereditary. I let the girls colour the box with crayons, and have since discovered all kinds of artwork on my walls. Nowaday crayons wash easily, which has been my saving grace, since we all know how much I love cleaning.

I have been delinquent in my blogging for several reasons. Camp, and this photo workshop. So bear with me, I should be back to my regular blogging self in a month or so.

Cheers :)

Photo school

So, I want to get decent at taking photos. Mom bought me an online photo workshop and this was lesson number one. Telling a story with a picture.

How have my children changed my life? lol. Seems obvious. Truth is, its much more complicated than what can possibly be seen from anywhere besides in my particular pair of shoes.

Who I am, and who I was, and how I think and feel and wish and dream has completely changed. Obviously on so many levels, I am the very same Kaija you all know (and of course, LOVE). But I am not the same. I am forever altered....in a good way.

Anyways, my big dream.......is the Canon D50. So if you are thinking of shopping, please get me one :)

I have been tagged

by Patrizzia

If you are tagged, you must first post the rules:-Write 7 strange characteristics about yourself. They interest us all!-Tag 6 other people at the end of your Post.-Visit everyone that you have tagged and leave a comment on their blog to let them know that they have been tagged.

I have to just not go visiting other peoples blogs today though, because I am in a mad panic to get laundry done and get back to the lake....ahhhhhhhhhhhh.

But here goes

1. I cant stand the evening sun shining into my house. For some reason it annoys me and I find myself closing my blinds to block it out.

2. I like to be seated on the toilet, poised with my book ready and open to an interesting article before I can....*ahem tmi ahem* "relax" and let nature take its course.

3. I find undergarments to be restricting, abrasive, and unnecessary.

4. I cannot begin to change a child's diaper and then not follow through (even if it turns out the diaper did not need changing).

5. I hate talking on the phone and would rather spend 5 times the time typing it out online instead.

6. It has become a pet peeve of mine to put shoes on Hayden. Therefore, he is almost always, barefoot.

7. I never , ever watch TV. Don't ask me if I saw it. I didn't. Guaranteed.

Candi

Shelley

Liisa

Kaidi

Mom

Mailis

You guys can put it in my comments if you fancy :)

Charming

Every mother thinks her children are the most perfect, most wonderful, and most beautiful children to have ever graced this earth. I am no different. Only, this last picture of Svea has me questioning my theory at least slightly....since she had just rubbed ice cream and cake vigorously into her hair. Quite vigorously actually. And Svea has learned this new trick about being...charming. She does what she wants, ignores you while you shout out protests and commands and when she can tell she is starting to get you annoyed, she stops, turns toward you a bit and gifts you with one of the most cherubic, angelic and heart warming grins that will have you quivering in her hand like a bowl of jelly. Mission accomplished, since its impossible to stay genuinely annoyed after receiving "the look".

Olivia has her charm too. She giggles. Oh does this one giggle. She does it at night time even, as she encourages her twin to engage in nighttime communication through the wall that separates their cribs. And she practices this giggle in the mirror. She puts her hand over her mouth barely covering the wide toothy beautiful smile. Tilts her head slightly. She already has Ben wrapped snugly around her finger, and she is working on, practicing and perfecting the look she plans to use on me. Punctuated with a giggle. This child, when asked for a kiss, offers you either her cheek or her forehead, like royalty. She is sure that princesses don't kiss on the lips. Not even mine. Svea is not nearly as choosy about kissing. She has plenty to offer and likes to make a smacking sound right on your lips. She has learned however, to settle for Olivia's head in any general area, after several unfulfilled attempts at smooching her on the lips, as Liv is adamant that she will not be violated in this way. Princess princess. No idea where this comes from.

Hayden has also perfected his two toothed goofy little grin that will make you want another baby. I am freaking out about this one growing up. He is doing it so fast already. He is almost crawling. Olivia freaks out because now he can get himself around (mostly backward, mind you he has figured out how to sort of make circles as to get to the toys that appear, initially, to get further away from him the harder he tries to get them, if he circles around, they come back :)). He sleeps 13 hours a night undisturbed. Seriously. I was so freaked out about leaving him alone, I kept him in my room until 2 weeks ago. He is a big boy now. Wants his own space. Either way, I am glad to say he is now a charming, cheerful, beautiful and very busy bouncing baby boy. It seems his awful continual screaming days are a thing of the past. I almost dropped him in the shower the other day! Slippery wiggly little bugger that he is. I was busy soaping myself up with my one free arm and I guess when he became wet in the areas that had previously had been sort of "stuck" to me, he unstuck and fast like. I caught him at knee level. My heart just about burst out of my chest, and he was blissfully unaware that he had ever come close to danger at all. At that point I put him on the floor of the shower so I could finish my own washing without further danger to the innocent child. When I went to pick him up, I realized the reason the bottom of the shower was filling with water was because I had sat him right on the drain. Poor little bugger had little...floppy mushy parts pushing right into that drain. Good thing I lifted him up slowly and gingerly for fear of him slipping again.............

Here she comes la la la lalalalala

Thought I would share a few more pics. Olivia is our little Diva, in case you haven't noticed. Svea cant wait to wear (or something like that) a bra, Hayden continues to be absolutely heart meltingly adorable, and Ben made it up for the first time on water skis. And one of those embarrassing nakey bum shots I can tease Svea with as she grows up.

Svea is just starting to talk in sentences now. She tells me to "leave door open" as she has recently acquired a fear of the dark. Olivia gets upset any time the baby touches any of the toys, even if she doesn't want to play with him. Hayden cheerfully grabs whatever he can get his grabby little hands on and I am positive I am in for it when this one gets mobile. We had a group bath today. Svea dumps water on Hayden's head and he gets mad. So he kicks Olivia in the back and she becomes enraged. I tell Svea to stop dumping water on his head, and she gets all emotional about hearing no. I gotta say, 3 kids screaming in the tub is like a horrible opera in an amphitheatre. It reaches an Octave I am sure the neighbourhood dogs on the next side road can hear. Only way I could make them stop was to agree to let them dump water on my head. So I sat there with Hayden peeing on my lap, Svea dumping water on my head, and Olivia slapping my face and giggling. It was...great. haha.

I think AF is coming (but I am not going through making all these periods red again, thankyouverymuch). I am horribly emotional and feel like I am at the end of my rope. My mother is enjoying herself in Vegas and Ben is at work, and that truly leaves me completely alone with the three musketeers. I put them to bed at 6:45 tonight. They went straight to sleep. I wonder if it makes me a bad mother if I cant hear them shouting for me in the morning until at least 9 because the air conditioner is running? I spose it would. Either way, I am moody, sensitive, crampy, emotional, overwhelmed and exhausted. So I suspect the nasty old witch is here any day.

Emo Rocked

The drive to our horse show left little to be desired. Both the girls ate some bad raisins (this is my educated guess) and blew chunks starting about 20 minutes into the trip and lasting almost the entire way. Gravol was used with little success. Diarrhea followed the chunk blowing and my truck smelled (and still does) like the sick section in the pediatric unit. Gross.

The horse show, however, was most excellent. Jag put on his bestest behaviour and I have decided that if he doesn't genuinely love me (refer to earlier post), than I do absolutely and genuinely love him. He was honest and forgiving and we had an amazing show. He did decide that one particular mare at the show was the evil devil from far below (not only did she kick sand onto the steel rails forcefully, making a very scary sound, but she also bucked and hopped about resentfully) and I spent a fair amount of my western classes avoiding her, since he made it clear that she was MUCH scarier than the fact that a big loader was tearing down a nearby barn. Yes, since the Emo fair follows our Quarter Horse show, the fair board decided that ripping an on site barn down during our western pleasure classes was perfectly appropriate. Jag, however, ignored the barn and stared fearfully at the big grey mean mare instead.

Anyways, I had my team (thank you SO MUCH Kathy, Liisa, and Kaidi and Gramma) which definitely contributes to any success I have at these shows. Kaidi and Gramma are the "A" team, whom takes care of the three Amigo's so I can ride and show without three snuglies strapped to my chest while I do it. Liisa and Kathy are the "B" team, whom not only provide me with Beer, but attend to all horsey needs. All I have to do is drink the Beer and ride. I would do a thousand more of these horse shows if it didn't cost a thousand dollars to fill the gas tank and I didn't have a nice cool lake calling my name at the lake, lol.

I will follow with pics once Kaidi the "A" team photographer passes some my way. I know she got some super hot ones and I am excited to see them uploaded.

So, we made it through another show. Last one is likely the Thanksgiving Classic in Brandon. I cant wait :)

Deja Doo Doo

This Doo doo thing is gonna push me over the edge.

Last week we did away with day time Doo doo usage completely. It was a rough week initially, but we got it done. Then we went out of town for a weekender horse show and the girls regressed. Since my horse finds the sound of screaming babies rather offensive, we opted to give doo doos freely on the weekend. So Monday (today, ugh) marks the first day of being Doo dooless during the daytime since the weekend.

Olivia started the day with approximately 45 minutes of screaming non stop. She eventually got over it and didnt ask for her doo doo again all morning. Well, Svea, upon waking from her nap has begun (yes, present, I am writing right now to avoid other action, as the sound of these two girls pair screaming is currently eating my last nerve and I need some sort of outlet to keep my hands busy and my mind sane) screaming for her doo doo too. This screaming somehow triggered Olivia into regression and they are both frantically screaming for the damn things until their little faces are beet red. Oh yes, and I put Svea for a time out in her room after she threw the yogurt and fresh Saskatoon berries (Daddy had picked and left in fridge for us) at me, and when I went to check on her, she kicked me out of her room and slammed the door. LOL. I thought that was reserved for teenage behaviour. Svea is getting an early start, beginning her door slamming at a mere 26 months.

I do need to throw these things straight into the garbage. For all the difficulty they have caused for me. Unless I choose to join them. Please come over......... I am currently red faced, frantic, and am sucking on a doo doo.....which is truly somehow strangely calming.

Crap.

I need a babyless vacation. Help.

Butterfwy kisses

The girls say everything I do lately. And well, that's not always such a good thing. But its great fun, because it means you can use them to relay messages. Like..."Daddy is stinky"...and well...other things too. They pick up little parts of sentences and repeat them over and over. They love to dance around in the kitchen in the morning and say "HOT coffee, HOT coffee". Lately I have been teaching them to say "oh nuts"...in replacement for the other word they say...which they also say for umm....fork, and frog. Lesson learned.

Since I forgot my playpen at the lake, Hayden had his very first sleepover in his own bedroom last night. I slept fairly well until 3:00 am when I woke and raced downstairs to watch him sleep comfortably in his own bed...and well...at 5:00 am too. And by 7:30, I was exhausted from straining to hear him from a few floors up. By 8:30 I couldn't take it any longer and went downstairs to check him. He was hanging loose in his crib, happy as a poopy pig (SEE, I am trying to clean up my language). "Poopy pig, poopy pig". I have to be very, very careful what I say out loud...I may hear it all-day-long. But yes, he slept over 12 hours with not a peep and has officially graduated to his own bedroom. I miss him. I thought I would never say it, but I am kind of freaked out about knowing I will never have another little baby sleeping in my room with me again. Unless that 2% chance inflicts itself on me. But we aren't gonna talk about that.

My body is old. I don't remember being sore from fun things like water skiing, or being pulled on a tube. But boy, do I hurt. My boobs hurt...or the muscles do that used to hold them up. My shoulders are in agony. My feet are bruised from the water ski's. I have rode my horsey two days running now, and just add some inner thigh and butt pain to the picture and pretty soon I am gonna need a cane. There is almost no muscles that don't scream in protest when I move. I guess its a good thing that my husband works out of town, cuz I cant take any more kinds of ummm...activity then I already have going on.

Ben says I must have 30 pictures of the girls for every day they have been alive. And I nodded politely knowing that its more like 50...each. Which is why if you see him, you should tell him I need a much bigger, better, and more expensive computer.

Well, its off to Emo for a horse show this weekend. Wish me luck.