Indicator Lamp / Suburban Sunset

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Indicator Lamp - I've never been good at feeling earthquakes. I think I feel movement when there isn't any, and I don't feel anything when there is. There have been literally hundreds of aftershocks, but most of them are small enough that I haven't really been feeling them, although sometimes I think I feel movement and it turns out to just be my own heartbeat reverberating through my body. But ever since the sun went down on Friday and I turned the lamps on, I realized that this chandelier lamp is the best way to tell if the earth really is moving, because even the slightest movement is amplified first by the dangling nature of the lamp, and then again by the way that the light is spread across the wall. And yes, that is a rubber duckie with a Santa hat on. I actually have no idea why it's still out.

Tara: Suburban Sunset - Taken from my bedroom.

Arc Light / That's Easy!

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Arc Light - At Ikea I found these awesome glass vases that, if you put six of them together, form a circle. They come in six different colors, so naturally I got one of each. Today I finally bought some flowers to put in them. I had wanted *white* sweet peas and tulips, but I do like how the pink and purple turned out. I put a candle in the middle of the circle and it's really lovely how the light glows through the different colors of glass. From above, though, it just reminds me of a multicolored, flowery Iron Man chest. Iron Girly Girl, maybe?

Tara: That's Easy! - I work with my kids using educational workbooks. This was found in one of Maggie's books. Not sure what she's supposed to do here since it's kind of already done.

Invisible / Fancy Fan

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Invisible - A few days before my husband's ship pulled out, he brought us on board for a little tour. Brandon was so excited that he insisted on wearing his "Navy Outfit" - a little child-sized replica of the new "aquaflage" uniform. (Because everyone knows that sailors need to blend in to...the deck of the ship? The water? I actually have no idea what the point of that pattern is supposed to be.)

Tara: Fancy Fan - These are leftover rainbow decorations from M@ggie's birthday party. Not sure if it's laziness or the fact that we like them that has kept us from taking them down. Probably laziness though.

Ume / Sick Day

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Ume - It is cold. Really, really cold. But the blossoms have already started. I'm pretty sure that these are ume (plum blossoms) - they're the first ones that bloom. Brace yourself, there are going to be a lot of blossom pictures once sakura (cherry blossom) season starts.

Tara: Sick Day - My necessities of the day. Tissue, moisturizer for my sad dry nose, ChapStick because of all the mouth breathing, water in a plastic cup so I don't have to keep picking up our extremely heavy glasses, and of course Jell-O. I'm starving but it's the only thing I can consider eating. Why don't they make Jell-O with medicine inside of it? I'm kind of high on meds right now so I'm not sure if that's a brilliant idea or stupid.

Cautiously Fascinated / Messy Reader

Kerry (Top) . Tara (Bottom)

Kerry: Cautiously Fascinated - This is Brandon and his best friend from the playground. A somewhat older boy had just popped out from the other side of the fence, and they didn't know quite what to make of him. They stood completely still, staring at him, for at least two solid minutes.

Tara: Messy Reader - We have given my son the bottom two shelves of the bookcase. Every night when we clean up, I put his books away and have them all lined up. Halfway through the day, they look like this.

Wallmates / Firecracker

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Wallmates - At the pier at Aloha Tower, there's a low wall where you can look over the edge into the water and watch the fish swim around. It isn't like any other urban pier I've ever been to - it's like a saltwater aquarium. There are all kinds of colorful tropical fish. Since Brandon is too young to go snorkeling and doesn't have many opportunities to see these kinds of fish in their natural habitat, I sat him on the wall (holding on super tight around his waist!!) so he could see the fishies. When I took this pic, he was somewhat distracted by the pigeons.

Tara: Firecracker - My son's 4th of July shirt that his grandparents sent him. Happy Fourth everyone!

Carnage / Rain Storm

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Carnage - I diced up a watermelon today. I ended up with watermelon juice all over the counter and the floor. I guess my watermelon dicing skills aren't quite up to par.

Tara: Rain Storm - For the last week there has been at least one thunderstorm every day. Yesterday we took my son out on the front porch and let him watch it. He's a little wet in the picture because he got brave and kept inching his way to the edge of the porch.

Lazy / Kisses

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Lazy - I was feeling really uninspired today, so I just snapped a picture as my camera was sitting on the desk in front of the computer. And, yeah, I'm eating ice cream.

Tara: Kisses - I'm totally being lazy too. At least Kerry took a picture yesterday. I couldn't even be bothered with that. This picture is old. It's just my son giving me some kisses. Which are the best by the way.

Helpful / Ring Ring

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Helpful - Brandon is so helpful. He helped to wash Daddy's car. Of course he also got himself completely soaked, and muddy; and he was wearing a disposable diaper, which exploded, leaving huge lumps of those nasty absorbent crystals all over the carpet, the bathtub, and himself. But he helped get the car clean!!

Tara: Ring Ring - My new awseome bike bell. This bike is turning me into a little girl. I found pink leather streamers for the handlebars that I want to get. I think those are for Harleys but oh well.

Coffee / Ghost Lamp

Kerry (Top) . Tara (Bottom)

Kerry: Coffee - This is a coffee plant at the Dole Plantation. If I were ever to own a coffee shop, this picture would so be in a big frame on the wall. [This is a backup entry. I am traveling and was unable to get to a computer to upload a picture today.]

Tara: Ghost Lamp - I bought this lamp a couple of years ago because I think it is so tacky, it's cute. I figured I would put it in my future daughter's room one day. It's a funky looking flower with jewels dangling from it. You can't see it at this angle, but the base is a stem with leaves.

This was taken with morning light from the window and it made it look kind of creepy.

UArts Grads / Bike Flower

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: UArts Grads - Whenever Brian and I see a performer working somewhere really crappy, we say "That's a UArts Grad!" This is at Wiggles World at Six Flags New England.

Tara: Bike Flower - My new beach cruiser just came in so now we can use my son's helmet from a couple of posts down. I got a super girlie one. White with pink accents and flowers all over it.

Chapel of the Bells / Binkies in a Row

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Chapel of the Bells - We went to Vegas in December. (Everyone in Hawaii goes to Vegas at some point. Seriously.) We talked about getting "remarried", just for fun, but didn't do it. We totally should have. [This is a backup entry. I am traveling and was unable to get to a computer to upload a picture today.]


Tara: Binkies in a Row - There is always a row of binkies on the window sill next to my son's crib. If he ever wakes up in the middle of the night, it's much easier to grab a spare binky then to search around his crib for the one he lost.

Lounging / Safety Fish

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Lounging - We hardly ever use our strollers anymore, but when we do, Brandon loves to put his feet up. He always has. [This is a backup entry. I am traveling and was unable to get to a computer to upload a picture today.]


Tara: Safety Fish - We recently bought my son a bike helmet because I just bought a beach cruiser and a trailer to put him in. We ordered everything on the same day and the helmet was the first thing to come in. We're still waiting for the stuff to use the helmet with. Oh well.

If you look closely you can not only see the reflection of my camera but the reflection of the TV as well. Blues Clues was on to occupy my son while I took this photo.

Chandelier / Mouse in the Dark

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Chandelier - We bought this lamp at Target a few years ago, and it's been on my dresser. Yesterday we moved it to the living room. There are no words to describe how much Brandon loves it. (His face looks cut off at the forehead because he was wearing his baseball cap backwards. I flipped it around because the brim was blocking his vision and he kept on running headlong into the playground equipment.)

Tara: Mouse in the Dark - My son's Crocs are a Disney version so instead of holes on the tops of the shoe, there's Mickey Mouse heads. I thought the light coming through looked cool.

Big Boy Swing / Gum Galore

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Big Boy Swing - My son is 18 months old, and he can sit on the big swing. I was pretty much floored when I discovered this. I think, though, that he prefers the baby swing. I push him a lot higher when he's in the baby swing. (Please disregard the fact that his shorts don't match his shirt. His shorts got dirty and these ones were clean and at the top of the drawer.)

Tara: Gum Galore - I kind of like Orbit gum. My husband knows this and saw a 15 pack box of it at the store and surprised me with it. My husband arranged them in the cupboard like this.

Scribble-Face / Shoes

Kerry (Top) . Tara (Bottom)

Kerry: Scribble-Face- After dinner, Brian decided for some reason to draw a face on the whiteboard that's inside the door of the computer armoire. Brandon decided that he wanted to climb up on the box of computer paper we keep next to the armoire, and scribble all over it. He actually added quite a lot more scribbling after I took this picture. And of course he drew on the armoire itself, too. He's only marginally interested in sitting at his little desk and coloring with crayons, but climbing on top of a box to draw on the furniture...now that is fascinating.

Tara: Shoes - Our hall closet door is broken so it doesn't close all the way unless you force it. We usually don't close it all the way. Yesterday, while my husband and I were cooking dinner, my son had went in there and brought out one of my shoes and one of my husband's shoes. He arranged them on the living room floor like this. We didn't notice them until after we put him to bed and started cleaning up the living room.

Napoleon Cymbalhead / Watermelon Me

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Napoleon Cymbalhead - We have a lot of random stuff lying around our house. A lot of it (like this Napoleon Dynamite Mad Libs) is stuff that was neatly put away until Brandon grabbed it. We then end up sticking it somewhere where he can't reach it - which is pretty much limited to the kitchen counter, the (middle of the) dining room table, and on top of the computer armoire. The Mad Libs and the finger cymbals are on the telephone table, which he could actually reach if he stood on the couch. (Which he sometimes does.)

Well anyway. Napoleon Dynamite has cymbals for a head! That's just wacky!!

Tara: Watermelon Me - I'm kind of addicted to watermelon. During its season I average about one a week. With no help from my husband who, like all fruit that isn't an apple or a banana, hates it. He grew up in a house that didn't have have much fresh fruit. Where as I grew up in a house that had a mini farmer's market in the kitchen. So me? I freaking love fruit. Especially watermelon.

As soon as I buy a watermelon, I cut it up into bite size pieces, put it in my designated watermelon tub and put in the fridge to chill. Whenever I feel the need, I go to the fridge, get my tub and a fork. I have to admit that I only have to do this about three times before the watermelon is gone. This last time while I was cutting my watermelon, my husband thought it he would be cute and carve my name out of the watermelon that was leftover on the rind. He then tried to make me feel bad for not eating my name. I made him taste it to see why I had left that part on the rind. As soon as he tasted it, he quit making me feel bad.

Super Fork / Leaning Tower of Milk

Kerry (Top) . Tara (Bottom)

Kerry: Super Fork - I officially lifted the ban on pictures of my son on the internet. Try not to go crazy with it. FYI, he didn't actually eat any of the stew.

Tara: Leaning Tower of Milk - I was walking down the hallway and saw this. Never mind the Cheerios sitting next to it.

Rocks / A Duel

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Rocks - We set up a slide in the backyard for Brandon. Sometimes he uses it as a ramp for rolling his ball, but mostly he gathers up rocks in his wheelbarrow, pushes them around the patio, then puts them at the top of the slide and slides them down the ramp. This is the rocks on the mats at the bottom of the slide. (Sometimes he goes down the slide himself, too.)

Tara: A Duel - My husband and I both have Macs that we lovingly call, Mac Daddy and Daddy Mac. Yeah, we stole it from Kris Kross. I always find it funny when they sit across from each other because it looks as if the two apple logos are about to fight. I don't know why. This is just the way my brain works.

Wheel in the Sky / Not a Drop to Ink

Kerry . Tara


Kerry: Wheel in the Sky - keeps on turnin', I don't know where I'll be tomoooooooorooooowww...

Tara: Not a Drop to Ink - This is a jar of pens in our office. I think, maybe, three actually work. Oh and yes, that is a Tide to Go pen. I don't know why it's in there.