Photography Don'ts

Me and the camera are still working with each other and this post will give you an idea who's winning.

Whoa Jack, do you need to use the bathroom man? Yikes, what has it been a year since you last went?
Uh oh Kamden, you seem to have sprung a leak in your arm. That can't be good.
AHHHH, now your brains are exploding out of your head. Watch where you are shooting that, I don't think Logan is interested in getting slimed today.

Camera - 1 Kami - 0

Daisies in the back yard.


I bought two hydrangea's this year however, since they are native to the Azores in Portugal (see Teeni, I learned something from your travels!) I am wondering how they will winter here. One is blooming already and I had to capture it on film. I may be posting pictures in the spring of the dead twigs...


I forget what this one is called but it's new this summer too. See my froggy peeking in the background?

Camera - 1 Kami - 0.5

I'll master the bugger yet but I just don't have the heart to play with it right now. Maybe photography is not my passion after all....well only if it comes easy to me. Good attitude, no?

Back in the Saddle

*please excuse the varying font sizes and paragraph spacing, Blogger apparently is out to drive me to the looney bin - I am ready to rip my hair out after an hour of fighting with it to no avail*

I have a friend, one that also is home almost full time. Her son, Logan, is Kamden's best friend.

(excuse the extreme brightness! Camera and I aren't speaking and my editing skills ar e lackluster)

Her and I are alike in that we need play dates. We need to get out of the house and visit with an adult. We have been doing it for almost 4 years now, ever since the boys were babies. She also has a daughter, Hannah, who is Jack's age.

It was the perfect situation. The kids were occupied and we could talk about anything and everything. And I mean everything. She is an exhibitionist after all and while I might not be that liberal, I am pretty open. We have a lot in common. And I always had diapers when Logan needed one and she had forgotten her bag, yet again.

The last few months though, she's been busy. Very busy. She used to blog. The last post she did was about how she just found out she was having twins. But at 30 weeks she was hospitalized for early labour. Then she was on bedrest.

I've been missing my friend. We have kept up. We've talked. We've visited in the hospital. But there were no picnics in the park, sitting the shade and gabbing, no girl's nights out. The last few summers have been filled with afternoons at the park with her and her kids. I have been missing that. My boys have been missing that.

Seven weeks later and the twins are two weeks old. Healthy, beautiful and perfect.

Meet Rachel Anne and Alexander Douglas (left to right). They are the sweetest and I can't get enough of them.
They are loved by so many. Kamden told me this afternoon right after he kissed Rachel, "I kissed her because I love her so much". I think maybe, just maybe, Kamden has met his betrothed. Who can blame him, she is beautiful.

Here he is giving Alex a manly pat on the forehead. I think Kamden is still small, still my baby, but this? It really puts it in perspective. He's growing up.



There are ten tiny fingers and ten tiny toes to cherish. Each and every baby is a beautiful miracle, these even more precious because they shared the womb. The bond they have is unique and truly a gift.

And the best part is that Candace is back in the saddle as she put it. Back at the park, sitting in the shade visiting. And I get my play date partner back, with the added bonus that there are now two sweet bundles to hold.

Congratulations Candace and Devin!

I look forward to many more afternoons in the park, this summer and in summers to come. But sorry, I won't have diapers anymore!

Ramblings of a part time lunatic or boring housewife, you be the judge

That might go down as the longest post title ever here at the Khlopchyk house. I am not sure if anyone has noticed that my heart isn’t quite in my writing. I would guess you have since the stats are way down over here. I don’t really know why but I just don’t have any passion to write lately. And without the passion, the posts are uninspired and snoring. That would be boring with a touch of snore added in.

This post will be irrational and random. Kind of like me on any given day. I am trying something new, writing while I think. We’ll see if this post sees the light of day.

I have read on other sites, not my regular blog friends, but others that I peruse on occasion that it’s wrong or immoral to only comment on those people’s sites that comment on yours. Basically, if I get the right drift, it is formally frowned upon in the blogging world.

Wow, I think when I read that. See my take is a bit different, as always. I sometimes march to a different drum over here. Could be the voices in my head, jury is still out on that one.

I started this blog to keep friends and family in touch with us and our boys. And for a long time, I had about 3 readers who were not family. Turns out when you have your blog set to private not too many people can get to it. When Einstein over here figured that out, suddenly sweet wonderful people came to visit and blogging became so much more than that. I have made so many friends. I have had the pleasure of meeting some in person and I hope to meet many more.

It’s been amazing and intriguing to see who is interested in coming by here and who isn’t. There are people who I thought would be regulars who have never stopped by and those who I never dreamed would be interested who come by daily. And there are many who come but because there are no comments or emails, I’ll never know who you are.

That leads me to the comment thing. If blogging has brought me so many good friends and that has all come about through commenting on each other's sites, thereby getting to know each other, then doesn’t the whole idea that only commenting on sites where you are mutual readers being frowned upon seem kind of backwards?

Yes, that sentence will make you English majors and stellar writers cringe but bear with me okay? I am an accountant.

Blogging is about building relationships. To the extent that 1,000 woman bloggers converged in San Francisco this weekend to meet, face to face. In case you live in a box, there’s this annual blogging conference called Blogher . A couple of you were there (Hi Ladies! Glad you had fun!).

It’s all about connecting with people as far as I can tell or why, oh why, would there be a conference where most people were just excited to meet their fellow bloggers, live and in person?

There are many bloggers whom I commented on regularly in my early days of blogging, only to never hear a peep back from. I eventually realized that some people have a million readers and they couldn’t possibly connect with every one of them. But again I ask, if blogging is about relationship building, why would I continue to comment regularly?

I still pop by most of them occasionally but I barely have time to keep up with my friends blogs, I had to limit it somehow.

Then there are those in the crowd who question the safety of letting it all hang out on the internet. I see their points, but also? I think they have no idea. No idea of the 1,001 other positive things that come about because of blogging - meeting new people, sharing ideas, and the encouragement from other women to name a very small few. These things outweigh any risks by 1,000 to 1.

Or am I wrong?

I would love to get some dialogue going on this. If you have a blog, do you agree, disagree and why? If you don’t but you come by I am ever so appreciative, but why? I don’t mean why you come here to this site per se but why do you read blogs in general, what motivates you to click over?

If you aren’t comfortable commenting, email me at kami.wer4@gmail.com.

The comments and emails inspire me, and if you have a blog, I don’t need to explain it to you! It’s not that we need them, but they sure to make the blood, sweat and tears we put into our post worth it.

For me, blogging has become more than a hobby. It’s an outlet for me to develop my writing skills (and yes, I am aware that they need development), document my boys as they grow up and I would be lying if I didn’t admit that the comments, the connections and the encouragement keep me coming back for more.

To all of you whom with I have connected, thank you. You have touched my life in so many ways and I hope, in some small way, I was also able to touch yours in a positive light.


To family and friends, thanks for listening, it’s a joy to know that you read this. And also? Thanks for not mocking the insecurities that I float out here, I am forever grateful that you still talk to me after reading my drivel.

To those of you who remain anonymous, thank you for coming by. I would love to know you or know that you read so that I can share some of the blogging love with you.

That’s enough random for today. Hope you all had a fantastic weekend!

Sum-sum-summer Time

You all know how much I love Bon Jovi’s latest album, Lost Highway. Or maybe not but humour me a little today, kay.

One of my favourite songs on the album is called Summer Time, to hear it go here . Blogger doesn’t seem to be able to support audio files.

The song is perfect since it compares those fantastic moments in life to summer time.

The sand in between your toes….

The lemonade in your glass (add vodka if you wish)….

Sun kissed skin from days at the beach….

The insane itch of mosquito bites…

Wait, not that, ignore that. There are no mosquitoes here.

Back to the beach….


Honestly, I could live at the beach. What is your favourite thing about summer?

15 and counting

I am a few days late on this post but what with all the enjoying summer going on around here, blogging has been scarce. Better late than never.

Every year Jay and I celebrate two anniversaries. One for our wedding anniversary on May 8th and the other for the anniversary of the day we began dating, not to be confused with the day we met. That day, what with the yawn and stretch move, did not go well.

No, it was about two weeks later to the best of our recollection. We were hanging out again with the same friends…his friend was a friend of a friend of mine… and this time we hit it off.

That day?

Was 15 (FIFTEEN) years ago – July 1st, 1993.

Now if that doesn’t make us feel old, I don’t know what does. I was 19 years old and Jay was 23. I thought 23 was so grown up when I met him, snicker, snicker. We were children.

But smart children. We knew we were made for each other; brought together by fate, luck or divine intervention. I happen to think it was the latter.

Sometimes we look back at all the events that led to our meeting and it’s astonishing that it even happened. One or two events omitted and we may not have ever crossed paths.

We both wonder what our lives would have been like without the other. It scares me.

Most of what is important in my life is because of Jay, because of us. And I am not talking tangible materialistic things. We have those too but those are not what I think about NOT being there if Jay were not in my life. No.

It’s his friendship, his support, his unconditional love, the two fabulous boys that our love has brought forth into the world.

Where would I be without these three men that mean the world to me?

I can’t even fathom. I don’t want to even consider it.

This week, to celebrate, Jay arranged for us to have a couple’s spa treatment. It was, as it always is, relaxing, wonderful and invigorating all rolled into one. After, we enjoyed a delicious lunch at a new Mexican restaurant. As we ate, I asked Jay if he could have imagined his life being anything like this 15 years ago.

“What? Eating Mexican food and loving it? No way,” was his response. He’s deep, my husband.

So much has changed, yet nothing has changed. We are still one. Two parts that individually are a fraction of what we are together. And we are more than we ever thought possible all those 15 years ago.

Back then we had nothing but dreams.

Now, we have everything we ever dreamed of.