Further Reflection...

Thank you to everyone who commented on my previous post!! I think the big thing that people mentioned on  the donation of products/services/time is that we need to choose what/who we want to give to, and also, to be a cheerful giver. I don't want to be grumbly and resentful about it. I think that in the grand scheme, we are not asked to give a lot. However, where we are in life right now, and the desire to strike some sort of balance, it is a lot.   

 Looking back 10 years ago, I was teaching full time and coaching and going on school trips and helping at dances and driving the bus for sports etc. I would go to the gym at least four days a week or run on those days. I would SEEK OUT VOLUNTEER opportunities (eek, I had so much time!!).  One example?  Every Saturday I would bike over the Cambie street bridge (yes, I lived in Vancouver) and volunteer at a Seniors Home in Yaletown. My job? Painting with seniors. If you know me, this is hilarious because I a terrible painter/drawer.   The only thing that would be funnier is if I was singing with them.  However, I was able to assist and lead and that is what they needed.  We would find pictures in calendars/magazines and use that as our inspiration.  So funny. I had a great social life (with friends, not the seniors.  ha.). I was busy but had the time. I didn't watch any tv and had no desire to.

It's weird to go from that, to now.  The major difference now being that I have these three little people who require oodles of my time and energy.  My exercise is walking to Extra Food pushing a stroller.  Oh ya, and a big house with mortgage payments and vehicles that need to be repaired etc :) Oh and throw in that then I was getting about 8 hours of solid sleep a night, and well, last night I was up 3 times with a teething baby and have only slept through the night 4 times in the last 11 months.  I am not complaining about this, it's just a need to adapt to this change and where we are in life.

 If you know the `True Colours' categorization of people, I'm pretty much as gold as you get. Time orientated, punctual, wise with money, organized, planner, responsible, rule follower,  etc.  How does this look in life and relationships?  We like to help and keep things organized and are hardworking.  Family time is high on the priority list.  What stresses golds out in regards to something like being asked to donate/volunteer more than I feel capable of?  A lot going on at the same time and too many responsibilities.   

Anyway, thanks for `listening' and caring.  

I hope you have a great weekend.  We have something fun planned and I'll fill you  in later :)

Also, just in case you were wondering...OUR VERY FUN SUMMER TRIP begins in 79 days (we are actually going to Whistler before SE Asia).   Some people have asked if I plan on blogging while there and I think I would like to at least once/week.  I likely will not be editing our travel photos while there so I will just post  iPhone photos (which is all I seem to do now anyway!).  We'll see how the wifi is where we go...

Love,
Louise

PS I found this website which explains the True Colours personalities in marriage/relationships.  The gold is so me (I am also a touch of blue).  If you look at the bottom of that page, you can see what your colour is like.  If you don't know your colour, it's interesting to take the test...I think I've done it three times in my life at various professional development type things.  Interesting the important info for significant others.  Gary is green.  We are so different :)

Advice Needed

Three different parts of my life that I would love some advice on!!  I love the variety of people that read this so would really appreciate any perspective you could offer me.

1.  Okay, so my hormones are crazy.  Like, bring me back to when I was 15 years old.  I mean, I've always been a bit like this with my emotions anyway, but I think that all the hormonal changes that come post pregnancy and then delayed by breastfeeding etc. it can be a wild ride.    And you know, I'd rather have those high highs and the low lows, than just being a flat line all the time like my husband.  Not that Gary's is bad either, it would be nice to wake up feeling the same way every day.

My question is, what are some natural supplements that I can take to help relax/not be so crazy?  They must be breastfeeding friendly as that is still going strong....fish oils? St. Johns wort?

{First Shoulder Ride :)}

2.  We get asked A LOT to donate our photography services.  Like, a lot. And we do.  I should also clarify that some of the time we are offering to do it as well.  Thousands of dollars worth each year...at least 1/5 of how much we make in our business.  I don't know.  Maybe everyone is asked to donate their services?    We donate photography to church and school and low income families and immediate family but I don't know where to draw the line.   The problem is that it takes away from calendar space where we could be making money as I only do one session per week.  It takes away from family time.  I WANT to give and WANT to help but where is that line?    In some cases we do get a donation receipt which is helpful.  I'm not trying to sound mean or cheap or anything, I just don't know what's the right amount and what to do about it and what's right business wise.  I would love any feedback on this :)   Please note that this is not about donating money, that's often a lot easier :)  It's about the extra work...

{Loving momma's spaghetti.  Loved by all three kids and their momma.}

3.  Being that I spend hours a day working on the computer, I have realized that I could also utilize my mind a bit more by listening to podcasts.  I'm into a variety of topics, is there anything you would recommend me listening to?  Faith, marriage, kids, health, science...all good.  Just not history...sorry, not into that.  Oh ya, I should blog about a gender studies talk I went to, pretty cool stuff.  Remind me.

{Another blast from the past...Kai at 1.5 (?) years of age.}

 If you do not feel comfortable leaving a comment here, I totally understand!! Please email me at louisechap@gmail.com :)

{Starting to plan her 1st birthday!!! So fun!!}

Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Louise

Some Things Never Change

Yesterday I spent a few hours going through old photos to clean out my computer and get rid of about 75% of them.  I didn't really realize how many photos I took of Koen when he was little until I went through the 2009 folder.  It is so cool to see Nya playing with all the same things that Koen did.   Here is a photo from 4 years ago...

And from this weekend.  She won't kiss her momma but she'll kiss her new best friend!

Some cute things Koen has said over the past week:
Koen: Mom's Day is coming soon!
Gary: What are some things that she loves that we can get her?
Koen: We can put me and some chocolates in a box!

Me: Koen, what kind of behaviour are you going to have?
Koen: Gooder than Super Duper!

Koen: Santa is old, what happens when he dies?
Kai (matter of factly): The government will vote for a new one.

We had a good wedding on Saturday (yay, no rain!!) and now the work will be non stop until July.  However, then we have 5 weeks off to travel and enjoy our own family.  I think the boys are wanting a countdown so we should probably figure out how many days it is until July :)  Just did.  83 days!! Yahoo.

I hope you have a great week!
Love, Louise

Looking Back

Sometimes I like looking back to see where we were a year ago.  I was working way too much (three weddings in a row at 34-37 weeks!)  Look at little Nya in there!!!  

The belly looks cute to me but I do not miss being pregnant and uncomfortable.  I have many friends that are due in May so will get any baby fix I might need through them.  

We had family photos done last Spring Break.  Can't wait to get them again when Nya is a bit older.  By the way, Gary lost this purple shirt, I liked it.

And, looking back at Koen at 10 months of age, he already had a great love for his Bubi, `Blue'.  He still loves Bubi more than anything in the world, even more than his cars.  I've had to sew his head back on about 10 times and each of the ears have also been ripped off and sewn back on.

And looking back even further.  This was the day after Gary proposed  to me up at Green Lake seven years ago.  We are a great team and I'm so thankful to have him as my partner.  Not who I would've chosen but someone God chose for me.  It's not perfect but it's great.  I think of all the ways my life could have gone differently and I'm so thankful to be where I am.  You just never know who God has for you and where you find him/her or the journey it will take to being together....:)

And here is something  that is going around on facebook.  I really, really hope that I don't make life sound perfect.  It's not.  I think something I learned from my parents is to focus on the positive and be thankful for what you DO have.  Something that I learned from being in Africa is that our first world problems are mostly pretty silly.  However, the reality of our life is that our kids drive us crazy (when all together).  My husband drives me crazy (although less these days!).  I'm too controlling/bossy/irritable.  I would like to lose a good 10 lbs but am not willing to give up homemade cookies or whipped cream or bacon.  My fridge really needs to be cleaned.  Kai and Koen fight like crazy.  I wish I had my mom here.  I wish my health was perfect.  I could go on and on.  But that's not what I focus on because it's not the big part of my day/life/thoughts.

And finally, something that is not even the least bit related to this....If one more person says `So you're not working?' even after I tell them that yes, I am a photographer that works about 10-20 hours a week, I'm going to lose it. Ha.  Just kidding, but seriously.  Because I'm not teaching right now, I'm not working?!  If you mean to ask if I'm teaching right now, then maybe phrase it that way.   Do you know how much work it takes to run a business with 3 kids and a house to take care of?   The only reason I vent this is because I get asked this about once a week and sometimes I feel that work at home mom's aren't really recognized as people who are working.  Or maybe it's that photography isn't recognized as a profession. I don't know. The end.

PS on the work front, I'm really enjoying the balance right now.  I'm doing so much less which goes against my normal instinct but it is so good.  Must stick with it.

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Love, Louise

Food and Islands

To all the single ladies that read this, I have a piece of advice.  If you like to eat good food, look for a guy who loves cooking and baking.   And single guys, learn how to make some good food :)  I'm kind of joking but seriously, I LOVE that Gary loves being in the kitchen.  Yesterday he baked some soft pretzel buns.  Not so healthy but really good.  Yum.  Doesn't he look handsome with his slight beard too?  

Nya enjoying the banana chocolate chip muffins I made.  I changed the recipe to make them healthy but still added some chocolate chips :)

And, if you would like to see 11 seconds of cuteness.  Here she is waving and giggling in her `boy clothes' as Gary called them. 

A large portion of yesterday I spent researching various islands.  Most of our trip is planned except for 4 ish days in the Philippines where we will be on either Camotes Island or Bohol Island.  I'm leaning towards Bohol because there seems to be more activities to do and nature to explore.  Gary isn't a `beach' person and although I love it (and will be doing some serious snorkeling), I want to make sure we have a variety of activities. If it was just Gary and I, I wouldn't plan so much in advance but with 3 kids, it's a little more difficult to find good places to stay that can fit us all at a reasonable rate!  Also, being that it's a million degrees, we'll need a place with AC and a pool :)  Not really roughing it...

{Camotes Island photo taken from here}

{Bohol Island photo taken from here.  These are the `Chocolate Hills.   Bohol has amazing beaches too!!!}

Well, it's back to school today and I have to say that I am LOVING how quiet it is at home. No fighting!!!!!!

Have a great week!

Love, Louise

PS I did post on Sunday as well.

Oh Happy (and Sunny!) Day

I was shopping for some new shirts last night (I decided it's much easier to buy new clothes than to try to lose 10 lbs right now..usually I can do it but not right now) and thought, `Oh, I should get Gary some back to school clothes!'.  I totally thought it was summer holidays.  It's just sooooo crazy warm and sunny and I feel like we have been hanging out as a family for FOREVER.   So ya, our Spring Break has been wonderful.  I wouldn't have minded if this 18 C weather came while we were on the island but I'm sure glad it showed up this weekend. Awesome.

Kai is a mini Gary. Sports. Sports. Sports.  Here is he is checking out the standings for March Madness.  I do hope he keeps being obsessed with sports because that kept Gary out of trouble when he was a teenager ! 

We went to Gary's  parents for the Chapman Easter dinner.  The kids loved their Easter egg hunt which provided them with enough chocolate to last a month.  They have a hot tub that the kids always go in as it's a kid friendly temperature...Nya just had to go in so she just went in her clothes.  She loves the water more than the boys ever did, that's for sure!

Nya with her gramma.  She likes gramma because gramma wears necklaces to play with.  I have to say that it has taken a long time (7 years!!!) but I now feel 100% `normal' when she is with the kids.  I no longer feel a sense of resentment (that word is too strong but can't think of another) in the sense that I wish that MY mom that could also hold/play/be with the kids.  I can't explain it but if you've been there, you know.  I am thankful for Gary's parents and the role that they have in our lives.  They love our kids.  Dan, Gary's dad, even chose this shirt for Nya to wear when I was dressing her. So cute :)

Nya loved her first egg hunt although we quickly replaced these eggs with plastic ones as every single thing goes in  her mouth these days.  What age does that stop? One?  I forget.

On Saturday, the kids went to my niece and nephews birthday party.  Their birthdays are 2 weeks apart so it worked to combine them :) 

{I did pictures of them this week as well as two other families.}

Then, my sister Jackie (a Public Health Nurse) came over to give us our Hep A vaccinations.  We got the prescription through our doctor and they could have given it to us in the office but it was much easier to have Jackie come and do it.  By the way, this saved us $200+.  Had we gone through the travel clinic, we would've had to pay a consultation fee AND the price of the vaccine is double there for the kids and 25% more for adults.  We are going to get the kids their boosters in 6 months so that they are good for life.  Might as well as I'm sure they will do more travelling!   I know we could have gotten way more vaccines but that is the only one I feel we need. 

{Mentally insert photo of Kai freaking out about the immunization.  Poor guy.}

In the afternoon, we all went to my sister Maria's house for Easter Dinner. It was perfect!!!  They have a great yard so all 11 kids could just roam around and play.  I had decided to make a ham and turkey which was a little crazy and we ended up finishing the ham in the bbq so we could get the turkey done in time.  So good though and enough leftover meat for the week!  So glad my husband is so good in the kitchen!  I had a really good time hanging out with my family.  I like Gary's too, don't worry.  We are so blessed to be surrounded by so much love.  And seriously, all the little `babies' roaming around??? So cute!!

The bad news for the holidays is that we brought our car in and had to pay $800 in repairs plus another $250 or so that Dan is doing for us (thank you Dan!!).  Our car is only worth $1200.00 but it's worth it to keep it running well for another two years, in my opinion.  I just don't want to invest another $10,000+ into another vehicle right now, especially with our big trip coming up.  We will be replacing our van and our car in about 2 years.  My car is ugly but man, it has been great.  I've had it for 12 years and it has been so dependable.  It's been great for Gary driving to and from work.  

After church and Nya's nap, we went to Brae Island in Fort Langley.  We were wearing shorts, sandals and sunscreen.  So awesome.  I just carried Nya on my back and gave her a stick to play with.  She is just a little ball of giggly cuteness.  She is so happy and I think Gary even melts a little when she waves and giggles at him saying `Dada'.   Seriously, she brings so much happiness to us all, the boys LOVE her and have all the patience in the world for `Cutie'. 

We did two geocaches and then the boys were able to go in the water and Nya went straight in too.  The Fraser River is not warm but she did not care.  It made for a messy but happy kids.

She now has 4 teeth! The top 2 are half way through and this means that she is waking up at 3am each night (along with an 11pm feed and then getting up at 6am for the day).  I'm tired.  One day I'll sleep!  I've decided to give her one bottle per day.  I do feel that I need some freedom.  So, tomorrow we start!  If we lay her on the ground, by herself, when she's thirsty enough, she'll take it.  We just have to ignore her and leave her alone. 

I am very ready for Kai to go back to school.  Sometimes I think that I could homeschool them and then a holiday comes around and we are all together and the boys start fighting.  If you have two boys who are both very `boyish' and physical, you know what I mean.  Koen is such a pesky monkey and knows how to drive Kai crazy (Koen will often say `Koen knows everything!! Woo Woo!!' and that drives Kai CRAZY).  Kai reacts physically to him.  They are both physical.   When they are on their own, so easy.  Together, sooooooooooooooooooooo frustrating!!!  And yet, they are best friends and can be so good together.  It's payback for all the fighting my sisters and I did when we were teenagers. 

I hope you all had a good Easter weekend.  It was good reflecting on Easter with the kiddos each day and listening to Kai sing `Oh Happy Day!' numerous times.

Love, Louise

Nya Starting to Walk

More to blog about later, but for now, my cutie pie moving on two legs :)

Green Lake

Baby Tip: I meant to share this so long ago!!!  To get rid of cradle cap, just rub coconut oil on their head.  Wait 20 minutes.  Comb it out. Done.  They smell like a beach and it does the trick!! I have tried many things and it was amazing how well it worked.

We just got back from Green Lake today.  I can tell you that three little Chapmans are so happy to be home!  It's not that they don't love holidays but they are just like their momma, they love coming home and having time alone.  It can be a bit busy being in a house with 11 people for 4 days!!!

First off, if you did not see the photos of Nya and I, here are a few above. I love her.  I know I'm biased because I'm her mom but man, she is sooooooooooooooooo happy and sooooooooooooooo cute!!!!  She was an amazing traveller on this trip and she slept pretty well for 2 of the 3 nights.  Yay!!  She currently has her two top teeth coming in so I'm bracing myself for a wild ride over the next two evenings or so.  She is starting to walk by pushing her car so I'll get some video of that tomorrow.

Every Spring Break, we go up to Green Lake with my sister Maria, her husband Kris, and their 4 girls.   My dad has a house there (available for rent if you want!!!  Check it out here if interested...) and it's where Gary proposed and where we got married!  

The kids played so well together.  No fighting!!  Well, Koen may have thrown a snowball or two in Izzy's face but not bad!  The big kids played outside and then Maria and I hung out in the house with the three youngest.  

Here they are on the frozen lake flying kites.

Last year they built a quinzee, this year, an igloo!

I have never seen my dad flying (oh man, he sounds so fancy), but he flew up for the day.  Here is above the lake and below, you can see him close up.    If you don't know my dad, this is very `him'.  

He landed in 100 mile house and then drove down to visit for the afternoon.  PS Can you find Nya below? It took me a while :)  She's sitting at the table eating..

Gary and Kris took the kids geocaching.  Here Kai is leading them with the GPS to a little island that they can walk to on the frozen water.

The clue was `orange'.  Only one rock covered in orange lichen!

It was pretty cold outside, hence all the layers, but it was so nice and sunny.  

Maria and Kris got out for a few walks together and Gary and I out to climb Mt. Begbie.  

It has been a good Spring Break so far.  The rest of it is just visiting with friends, doing errands, painting the bathroom, finishing our bedroom (hanging blinds, mirrors etc), and then church and Easter dinners.  Oh ya, and two photo sessions.  After soooo much family time, and even more to come,  I look forward to getting away with Gary for a night or two in the fall.  

I have enjoyed our Spring Break.  I have cut back on work so much this year which allows me to have a lot more guilt free time with my family.  I'm probably doing about 65% compared to last year.   It's hard because obviously we are making less this year (especially because for  6 weeks we have no sessions in prime time due to our trip!!!  That's a loss of about two weddings or just over $4,000!) but to me, it's worth it.  Also, with three kids, and one being under 1, it is a busier time right now.  

It was gorgeous out there today.  I'm so excited for the rest of the week's forecast!  Hope you are having a wonderful week!!

Love, Louise

10 Months Old

You can see Nya's 10 month post on our GC Photography site.  I was so glad that the sun came out so we could quickly get some photos of my beautiful little monkey.  Check them out here.

Kai's Tooth!!!

My baby is getting her first teeth (she has two now) and tonight something exciting happened with Kai Bear!!

We have been waiting patiently for this day for a long time.  Tonight he came out of bed and asked me to wiggle it.  Being that I've pulled out a few of my sister's teeth back in the day, I knew he was ready!

Part 1 can be seen here.  Won't make you queasy.

Part 2 can be seen here.  If you don't like teeth being removed, maybe don't watch!   It's just 42 seconds long.  Good thing I'm not pregnant or I'd be crying like crazy.  I'm definitely a bit more excited than he is :)