Photo A Day is Back Again!

Welcome to 2011!

Well we're all ready to move out of 2010. It gave me limited sleep, no sleep and fractured sleep. Did I mention about the sleep?

But this year Harriet is off to school, Ted turns two and starts to be a proper little person (I love from 2yrs, there's a lot more fun to be had), I've got my photography business to work on and I'm sure James will have some changes too! So it looks as though 2011 will offer up some changes whether we like it or not. I know I'd rather keep Harry at home a few more days a week for another year but then again it will be so lovely to spend some quality time with Ted. Doing all the little person activities again - Lennox House, interminable playground visits, ordering babycinos and sides of avocado in cafes, that kind of thing. Although it already looks as though Ted has the makings of a bolter, so maybe not so much with the cafes and more with the running tracks.

Today marks the start of my Photo A Day Challenge. In case you haven't been along for the ride before, each January I take a photo each day that aims to represent what we did that day. The aim isn't to take great photos or sanitise life - it's to remember warts and all what life is like for us as a family right now. Last year I put the blog posts and photos in a big book and they came out looking a treat, so I'll be aiming to do the same thing again at the end of this Challenge.

Today we started what looks like becoming a bit of a tradition - spring cleaning on NYD. James started with scrubbing out the bathroom and then I started on the walls (ergh, the walls were SO dirty but I can never find the energy to scrub them down during the year apart from big noticeable spills). James even tackled the top of our cupboards in the kitchen and let me tell you, without a rangehood that is some courageous chore.

Harriet read and Teddy painted while we worked and there was a pleasant calm throughout the house. In fact for a while there I was a little confused...what was wrong? What was this strange sensation? And then I realised it was....SILENCE! Oh yes! What great fortune to stumble across on the first day of a new year. Give a toddler some paint and free reign and walk away. Give a five year old a bag full of library books, a floor cushion and walk away. Now if only I had thought to walk away and get a massage rather than scrub down walls.

So after Ted had a massive sleep (to make up for being awake all night mind you), Harriet and James played the Harry Potter card game (with intermittent success), we decided what to cook for our guests tomorrow night and then ditched going shopping to get ingredients in favour of a spontaneous trip to Clifton Gardens in Mosman.

I tell you, the water there is so disgusting. We recommended to Harriet to stay away from the water with her head (and of course giving this girl a caution is a surefire way to ensure she will never do it and ask every time in the future that she might do it even when she's been told that all is ok). Unofrtunately Ted swallowed some though - we're expecting him to contract cholera in the next week.

Went for a potter down the jetty and watched boats take off with great fascination (Ted) and people fishing (Harry) and children jumping into the water (Mama). Then, from the jetty Ted points emphatically off into the distance. "Do you like that boat Ted?" "No" "Is it that one?" "No" "Are you looking at the towels hanging over the boat's deck?" "No" *lights go off* "Are you pointing at that playground off in the distance?" "Yeh!" "Do you want to go over there for a play?" "Yeh!Yeh!"

So off we went for a play. Much closing of gates and swinging from knotted rope later we ran back to the bags for a quick game of Tip and then Harry screamed the whole way back up to the car about how she had no energy. NO ENERGY and NO SHE IS NOT LYING and STOP THINKING SHE IS LYING because in case you hadn't heard SHE HAS NO ENERGY. Of course we never said or implied or even thought she was 'lying', she just has this strange fixation on believing that we don't believe her. Oh the joys.

It's nearly January the second now so I better go and get ready for tomorrow's photo. Goodnight!