30 Day Challenge 4 of 30

Day 4 of 30 From a high angle

This is what I get to look at every day while I'm making his lunch! So impatient!
In other new, he took 3 steps on his own yesterday. Hopefully soon - a walker!

30 Day Challenge 3 of 30

Oh geeze. Only day 3 & I've already messed up. I somehow skipped the 'clouds' prompt & realized it two days later. So coming up in two days: CLOUDS!

Day 3 of 30 Something green (supposed to be clouds)

My daughter cracks me up. I was starting to have concerns over her drawings especially after she drew the 'zombie baby w blood on it's head'. She later told me (after much nervous questioning) it was a baby wearing a mask of ketchup so the zombies didn't get her. It made me realize that art is not objective when you are a child. One questionable picture from your kid & you are quickly getting a call from the school counselor. Sigh. A friend reminded me not to be so anxious about the art & just embrace her creativity so that is what I'm trying to do. Since it's close to Halloween I guess this is her interpretation.
Mummy mommy princess, blowing bubbles. She wanted me to take particular note of the eyes. The green eyes.

30 Day Challenge 2 of 30

Day 2: What I wore

Today we went to Naha for the biggest tug of war in the world! I believe there were about 275,000 people there & I was so happy to get to see it up close this year. Two years ago, the first weekend we were on the island we went to the festival but didn't see a thing! Such a disapointment. This year we went w some friends & we all got to actually pull the rope too. I'm so happy we made it back there. It's always nice to see something from a new perspective. So today, this is what I wore: the baby in the Ergo. It got a little hairy there for awhile, in a crowd of 275,000. Luckily he never got too scared but this was pretty much the expression he had the whole time. haha

30 Day Challenge 1 of 30

Wow, remember that 365. Yeah, that was a great idea... until it wasn't. It's been like, forever since I posted a picture but my buddy is doing a 30 day challenge & since she will likely be the only person checking this out (Hi, Courtney) I told her I'd do it with her. It took me a couple of days to get started but here is Day 1.

Day 1: Self portrait, 17 wks pregnant



This isn't great but it was a lovely cloudy day here. Perfect for tricking me into thinking it's fall; not so great for taking pictures. I just shot this right inside my front door to get as much natural light behind me as I could. Hence, the bushes & trees. Plus, in an effort to make those vertical lines more vertical (which still aren't dead on) I had to cut off more of my shoulder than I wanted... Whose idea was it to stand against the door frame anyway??

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We were watching my friend's girls overnight & this morning my husband got up & made them a full breakfast! Romanian pancakes, sausage, bacon & home made fried potatoes! This is a really terrible picture I realize, but I had to catch it. If you know my husband, this just gets him one step closer to making ours a family of 7.

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Tonight we were invited over to some friend's house for a shrimp boil! Everything was super yum & it was a great evening.

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Blowing dandelion dust.

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No picture today.

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Look who crawled all the way into the kitchen by himself! Boo ya!

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Lucky for me, Courtney always has her camera so I shot this of the kids, thanks to her. She pointed out to me you rarely see see-saws at parks anymore... This was the first time I think the kids had been on one!

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No picture today.

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No picture today.

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Tonight I finally got out to take the boy's 6 yr pictures. It started out a little rough but in the end we had a great time. It was just him & me & we had lots of fun playing in the sand. It was hard to narrow it down to just one to post but I chose this one bc it really shows his personality.
I love you, buddy! I can't believe you are 6!

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This week I learned I'm not giving up on my 365! Yea me. What did you learn this week?

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No pictures taken.

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Today my dad went diving w the husband so I took my mom & the kids up north to see some sights. We were able to hit Pizza in the Sky & I got this great shot. I love it bc my mom looks so happy. She is notorious for not smiling in pictures!

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We were up North pretty late today & the last place we hit was Nakijin castle. Nakijin is amazing when the cherry blossoms are in bloom but unfortunately my parents missed that. It was still really beautiful & I was thrilled to be there during the golden hour to get some pics.

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Today we took my parents to a tourist street in Naha called Kokousai. It was actually the first time we had been too so it was fun to walk around & see all the shops. I think these pig heads are outside of a restaurant. The Okinawans are known for loving their pigs & they literally use & eat every part!

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I love this shot. The baby has been having such a hard time since my parents have been here. I think it's a combination of teething, upset tummy & lack of naps. Either way he was so upset today he just couldn't settle himself. Nana finally put him to sleep w some firm pats on the back. I love seeing my parents in the background of this shot, while my mom holds his head.

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Tonight we took my parents out to a place that features local food & has a drum show. I really wish I could get better shots in this place but this is the 3rd time we've been & the lighting is pretty terrible. Ah well!

Shot on auto.

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Today we had the boy's first kid birthday party. In the past, we've always had big family parties so this was the first time I had to prepare for lots of kids! Even tho it was chilly the kids had a blast in the bouncy castle. Who doesn't love to bounce?

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No picture today.

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We also got to celebrate my dad's birthday while my parent's were here. Even tho he wasn't up for morning ice cream we still had to make him a birthday waffle. Happy Birthday, Dad!

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Happy Birthday my gorgeous birthday boy, today you are 6! Our tradition here is the birthday waffle. Love that morning hair too.

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To celebrate the boy's birthday we took him to a place called Okinawa World. It was a full day excursion but the highlight was when he got to take his picture w the boa!

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Today we went up North to an antique shop but it was closed. Luckily the grounds were just as amazing as I imagined the insides to be. We had the best time just wandering around the grounds & looking at all the little treasure. There is a place to make shi shi dogs & that's is where I shot this.

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I'm including another picture especially since I haven't been keeping up. I know you won't mind. We also hit the aquarium today & I love this shot of my parents watching a whale shark.

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No picture today.

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Today was so exciting for us! It has been over a year & a half since we've seen my parents & tonight they finally got here. The kids & I were thrilled to meet them at the airport & they were thrilled to see us after 20+ hrs of flying!

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No picture today.

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The husband got up early & made the kids blueberry & white choc chip waffles for breakfast! What a guy! When I came in the kitchen this is what I saw: the boy had gone thru & eaten only the blueberries & choc chips. This is where you either say, Ah kids, gotta love 'em or What a turd.

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My newest addiction. Dark choc. The darker the better. I have been trying to find 76% & above.

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Reason #127 why dad is more fun than mom: dinner al fresco.

It was so dark outside I think I may have even taken this on auto.
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I took both the kids to get their hair cut at my Japanese salon on the seawall. It's so much better than the base salon or (worse) barber shop & a great price too. I shot this one of them sitting on the seawall while we waited to go into the salon.

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Love Love Love these chunky, little, dimpled thighs.

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The husband got us this beautiful wall hanging while he was in India & we finally got it framed. It is made out of pieces of antique wedding dresses all sewn together. This is one of my favorite spots.

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Happy Lent! This marks the first of our Fish on Fri-days. I prefer to go to the fresh fish market but when time doesn't permit, I just hit the Japanese grocery store.

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I loved seeing a lot of other people's bathtub shots so I wanted to get one of my own. Unfortunately, my bathroom is like a cave. I still think this one came out pretty cute.

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Can you believe I even did a Monday me? This was one of those days where I had minimal time so my multi tasking brain decided to set up the tripod & shoot while I unloaded the groceries. And don't judge me for those plastic bags. I forgot my cloth ones at home. I also shot like, 200 pictures not realizing my foot was cut off in all of them. Again, don't judge me. ha

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Have you ever eaten one of these? I had never had one until today. The husband tells me they are kumquats but whatever they are, they are delish. I ate them till my tongue was numb.

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I love these little socks. They were a gift for the boy from his Godmother when she went to Barcelona. They are so bright & colorful I've had all the kids wear them.

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No picture today.

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Happy hina-matsura! March 3 is Japanese Girl's Day. The boy made this at school to help celebrate.

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Mmmmm. It's that time of year again. You haven't tasted a strawberry till you've tasted one from Okinawa. They are seriously like little bites of sugar. On base they are so expensive (sometimes $8 a carton)! But off base you can find them for much less.

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Don't be too disapointed. This picture was taken first thing in the morning & it was a pretty cloudy day but I loved this moment. The husband is such a great daddy & all the kids get such a kick out of him. The baby loves a little story w his O's.

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joy of LOVE 28: the future

Wow, 28 days of joy of LOVE. I must admit, some of those prompts really had me stretching my imagination some days. Seeing as this is a Monday Me as well, I decided to focus on my more immediate future. I am looking fwd to a great summer w fantastic friends & lots of kiddies playing all around us!

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joy of LOVE 27: what they say

This is probably a stretch but I'm making it work so I can show off. I got a great idea from Courtney to display some photos once I saw how good hers looked in her house. I'm so lucky she lets me 'borrow' all her ideas & never says anything abt it! At least not to me. ;)
I used the first idea from Pimp Our Hallway bc once I saw those magnetic boards in Courtney's house, I knew I had to have them. My husband is the solo adornment hanger in our house, especially since most of our walls are concrete (ugh!) so he has been telling me for a few days that this weekend he would hang my boards! Today he was so sweet to do it for me, even tho he is feeling under the weather AND got called in to work. He spent his morning helping me clean house & hanging my boards! Awe, what a guy! Thanks, Courtney for saying I should display my pics & thanks, husband for following thru on everything you say!
PS, Kathleen & Courtney, you both kinda made it to my boards bc well, I needed some filler & you guys just fit! :)
PSS, is anyone doing any challenges in March? I can't believe joy of LOVE, I mean February, is almost over.

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joy of LOVE 26: the bromance

Being in the military has given me the opportunity to make the best friends. Life long friends. Friends who stick by you, cook you meals, watch your kids, cry w you, laugh w you, bitch & moan w you. The friends I have met thru the military are not just casual friends, they are life long friends - if you're reading this you know who you are. ;)
But it's also nice when the guys make friends. Working so much, I think it's hard for them to invest as much energy into friendships & I'm here to tell ya, friendships are like a newly seeded garden. They take a lot of care & tending to.
I really didn't know what I was going to use for my picture today but then we got invited to dinner by our neighbors. It was the perfect chance for me to snap this shot of these two guys. The husband & Mr T (who made us a smoked prime rib roast) took turns hand whipping the cream, to which they added horseradish to schmear all over the meat. Delish.

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joy of LOVE 25: when you love them the most

I went the whole day without taking a single picture until 7pm. I actually started to get a little panicky abt how I was going to complete this prompt & then I remembered my notes. While waiting for dinner the boy made 4 little notes, one for each of us, then he put each note in our rooms. They all say the same thing: "I love you ___." It's these little unsolicited acts of kindness that reassure me I'm not a terrible mom, he isn't a wild & uncaring boy & that I should probably relax a little more.
And don't mind that this picture was taken in my very dark room & that my unfolded clothes are on my dresser. :)

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joy of LOVE 24: where

This prompt was kinda tough since we move so often. I'd love to show you where I met the husband, where our first home was, where our kids were born or where we had some of our favorite vacations. But alas, those places are so very, very far away. Instead I took the kids out to visit the beach. It was a beautiful evening & I thought what better place to photograph than Okinawa. Living here has had it's ups & downs for me. But I have a kind of fickle love affair w the island. It's where my kids have learned Japanese & explored places they will never see again. It's where I gave birth to my beautiful son. It's where my husband & I have fallen in love w friendships & the possibilities of our future. Okinawa, like so many other places we have lived, will always hold a very special place in my heart.

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joy of LOVE 23: facebook

Um, ok. This prompt... Well I didn't want to use an old picture from facebook since I'm trying to stick to the while 3-6-5 thing. And btw, way to go me, for day 54 & still a picture every day! So instead I stayed true to the cause & took a picture today. And I may even post it on facebook just so I can feel like I'm still playing along. I snapped this at the playground today while the baby has his afternoon sip of juice. Those feet crack me up.

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joy of LOVE 22: face (a portrait)


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