I didn’t start asking Noah to do MD photos until 2009, but I found photos of me and the girls before then, starting only at 2005, somewhere around May-ish. Before then, I don’t have a digital copy of a photo of me and Kaylie, and my scanner is broken. So. Anyway.

Oh! Before I show you the photos of me and the kids over the years, in keeping with the MD theme, I’ll show you a couple of me and my mom. The first is a photo that my Aunt Jane sent me, which I also posted here. The second –of me, my mom, and my sister Erica — is from last summer, when I went to BC for my Opa’s funeral.

1983:

2011:

photo by Chelsey Poelman

And now, the photos of me and the kids. We did photos again this year and … it didn’t go awesome. Getting three kids to look in the general direction of the camera is harder than you’d think. I didn’t even care about smiling. Just LOOK AT THE CAMERA. It’s all good, though. I never expect perfect photos when it comes to kids. And plus, reality is much better.

2005:

photo by my mom (I think)

2006:

photo by Randee Armstrong

2007:

I’d just given birth. Not that you can tell or anything. (HA!)

2008:

photo by Teresa Braam

2009:

photo by Noah (and all the one ones following) (two-year-olds are fun!)

2010:

this is one of my very favourite photos. i love the contrast the red roses give.

2011:

2012:

take one. Preston is not impressed with the whole sitting down thing. and he was sticking that gun in his mouth the very wrong way.

while Preston walked around, I got some photos done with each of the girls, just in case the whole me-and-three-kids thing didn’t work out. i really like this one of me and Kaylie, but it would be a lot better without Liliana’s photobomb.

that’s better

this kid. so much stress, so much laughter.

i bribed him with a bit of nursing and he finally came over for a photo. he’s such a goober.

take four thousand one hundred and fifty-two. this is the best we’re gonna get.

So, go for it. I’m sure you guys have better ideas than I do.

Okay, well, I will share two with you. I did not let myself use the word “daily” in any of my resolutions, because if I did use that word, if I miss one day I’m already shot. Anyway. Here are two. In one photo.

1. take more photos with my real camera
2. re-read the Harry Potter series

I have a goal to, one year, take a photo every single day, but I’m not making it a resolution, because that would be too much pressure. So, taking more photos is easier to do than taking daily photos. I’m reading the Harry Potter series with some friends and I’m already halfway through the first book. Because I cheated and started early. Because I have no patience. And I’m not the only one who did so, so I don’t feel so bad. Noah thinks I’m a huge nerd for reading Harry Potter books but I DON’T CARE.

How about you? Did you make any New Year’s Resolutions? Or do you think they’re dumb and WHO WOULD DO THAT TO THEMSELVES?

She went and made a guide with all the lens/film combinations. She didn’t include the flashes, but I never use those anyway.

Do you use hipstamatic? Then go! Read! Learn! If you don’t use it and think that this is just all too nerdy, I’m completely okay with that.

I went for a walk today. I was feeling claustrophobic, I had a craving to take some photos, and my legs needed the exercise. I swear my muscles are nearly atrophying lately. They needed to get out.

I didn’t walk far, only about two blocks. I got to these train tracks and was going to walk through the knee-deep snow and take a photo on the tracks, but I’ve been watching too many crime dramas lately and I was scared of discovering a body under the snow, so I only took a couple steps and then turned around back to the road.

I TOLD you I was insane.

The sky was so perfectly blue today. I spent 20-some years enduring dreary northern British Columbia winters, where the sun rarely makes it through the clouds. I can’t get enough of the prairie sky. I just love it. And there are no mountains blocking it!

I must have looked pretty hilarious walking down the street. I was wearing Noah’s dorky winter hat thing (the only thing that fit over my ponytail), his huge bulky sweater (mine doesn’t cover my whole belly anymore), and my ginormous winter boots. The only thing missing from my awesome ensemble was a scarf. I started back home when the biting wind was too much for my face to handle.

I actually really like my neighborhood. There was a drug bust a block north last summer and a murder a block west last fall, but it’s really pretty! (Our doors are always locked.) The tree-lined streets would be even prettier if there weren’t cars parked on them all the time, but oh well.

I’m thinking that now that it’s warming up-ish (well, kind of, it’s supposed to feel like -36 tomorrow), I might start taking a short walk every day. It’s painful to walk, but it’s also painful to sit and lie down, and walking is the most productive of the three.

And also, this way I get to take photos.

He later read more of her blog and asked me in the car this morning as we were dropping off the kids, “How far are you going to go in sharing on your blog?” He was flabbergasted at the intimate and embarrassing details the other blogger had written about herself and was wondering if I’d ever go that far, especially with Kaylie getting older.

I said no, I would not go that far. I’m a fairly open person, but not that open. The other blogger is one that I respect and one who writes brilliantly, but we have very different styles. (I don’t want to link to her because that might be just awkward as I’ve never met her, but she is a fellow Canadian.)

I explained to Noah that there’s a reason that I’m very careful about what I write and there’s a reason I write less about Kaylie than I once did. I may share a lot about depression, but I doubt that’s anything that, should one of Kaylie’s friends come across my blog one day, she’d ever get teased about. I’m pretty sure she’s at least a couple years away from having her friends google her, or having her google herself, and even then, I’m not too worried. (Also, if you were wondering why I blog more about Liliana than Kaylie, there’s your answer.)

I like the variety in the blogging world. I find it fascinating the details some people will share with the internet – they make me laugh the awkward laugh.

**

I came home from work early today. You’d think that working a (four) office job(s) would be easy peasy while pregnant, right? I try my best to just deal with any pain, as I need to work and I’m planning to work right up until my due date, but today it was just too much. The pain was causing me to see stars and the stars were preventing me from seeing my computer screen. I tried different positions, a different chair, getting up and walking around, and finally gave in and called Noah to get me. I went to tell the other ladies in the office that I was leaving and they’re like dude, your face is white. GO HOME. I can’t say enough good things about the people I work for.

I got home to find that Noah had made a bazillion double chocolate cookies. It’s nice having a house husband, I’m going to miss that when he goes back to work. I made myself horizontal for a couple hours and that seemed to ease most of the pain. When I saw the physio guy last week, I almost laughed when he said, “Well, there’s one thing that will cure this pain you’re experiencing – having that baby.” It’s a tiny bit easier to deal with knowing it’s temporary. And worth it.

After being horizontal on the couch for a couple hours, I was feeling a bit better. The girls were home from school and daycare and I was feeling claustrophobic (not from them, but from being immobile for so long). So, I decided to go for a short photo walk. The physio guy recommended I try to walk more and I wanted to attempt to get out of my photo rut. The wind had died down and it was “only” -24C (-11.2F). And there was SUN. The sun was the main thing that got me out. I missed it. Kaylie wanted to come with me, so off we went.

We only walked about a block, as the cold was biting our faces and I walk really slow.

We walked to the park that we discovered this summer, where there’s a sledding hill as well.

One of the first things I noticed after we moved to Regina was the tree-lined streets. I fell in love with them instantly. After we moved here, I was delighted to find that the streets here are the same.

I’m still not loving winter and I still can’t wait for spring, but it felt good to use my “real” camera for a while. After I uploaded the photos, I noticed that it had been 12 days since I last touched my camera. TWELVE. That’s a lot for someone who usually likes to take photos daily.

I wouldn’t say I’m out of my rut, as it’s still cold and it’s still not spring and I still don’t like being outside. But it felt great to take photos in natural light again. I missed it.

I just went to my Flickr stream to find that the last 21 photos I’ve uploaded (including the one above) came from Noah’s phone, not my camera. I haven’t been feeling it lately. The cold and the snow I expected, but it’s also been overcast for most of the winter. I don’t like overcast. It reminds me of Terrace and the weather there is DEPRESSING in the winter (and in the summer) (and in the spring) (and in the fall). I love my prairie sun and I miss it. A lot.

I also love taking photos and I miss it. A LOT.

How many more sleeps until spring?

Now I can live-tweet Three’s birth! With photos!

(I’m kidding. Even I don’t want to see that.)

2. I’m also addicted to this season of The Bachelor. I don’t watch every season and I didn’t watch the first season that this Brad dude was in, but I like what he’s done with his life since then – what he said about mental health was cool.

At the same time, there’s a bunch of psycho women on the show. Yikes. Drama, drama, drama. It’s the best of bad TV. There’s also a couple of ladies that I instantly liked though – Emily being my favorite. Oh, and the girl with the vampire teeth. I think she’s there for comedy relief. It’s a good thing the awesomeness of Castle is on tonight as well to counteract the badness of The Bachelor.

3. I was told at my prenatal appointment this morning that I failed my first glucose test for gestational diabetes that I took at the end of December. I’m taking the 2-hour one tomorrow. If you’re the praying type, can you pray that it goes well? As much as I would have no problem eating completely healthy for the remainder of the pregnancy (I’ve craved nothing but vegetables and fruit so far), I’m TERRIFIED of delivering a ginormous baby.

The rest of the appointment went perfectly though. Three’s heartbeat was at 150 bpm – my favorite part of any appointment. Noah was able to come and meet my nurse practitioner, so that was cool too.

ps. Can someone bring me about 14 pillows? Laced in fetus-friendly sleeping pills that ward off nightmares? I’d be forever grateful.