family – Blue Moment

Day 9: Bookworms

February 8, 2026February 8, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Alanna, Family, Home, KiaraTagged 365 Project, Alanna, Children, family, Home, KiaraLeave a comment

Books are big in our family. Stuart and I read a lot. Luckily we both love Kindles, or the biggest room in our house would have to be dedicated to books.

We’ve also been reading aloud to the girls every day since they were just a few months old. We still read a bedtime story together every night, even though Alanna and Kiara are starting to read on their own.

At the moment, Kiara enjoys stories in chapter books, while Alanna loves comics. Both also enjoy good non-fiction. That part they get from their daddy.

Day 7: Pikkunen

February 6, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Home, Kiara, PeopleTagged family, Home, Kiara, 365 Project1 Comment

Pikkunen is my teddy. I got it from my grandma when I turned 14. But as it’s the most huggable teddy in the world, the girls have claimed it as their own – even though they certainly don’t lack soft toys themselves

Day 5: Water Habit

February 4, 2026February 4, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Alanna, Everyday objects, Home, WaterTagged 365 Project, Alanna, Children, Everyday objects, family, HomeLeave a comment

No one in our household is big on drinking water. We all drink at mealtimes, but between meals we just… don’t. I keep making vows to improve and often carry a water bottle around for a week or two. But nothing sticks. The girls are a little better, but not by much.

At night, however, they wake up to drink – and to alert me the moment their bedside bottle runs dry.

Day 2: Burning off energy

February 1, 2026February 2, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Family, KiaraTagged 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Espoo, family, KiaraLeave a comment

There is a wonderful Finnish word, mökkihöperö, loosely translated as “going a bit loopy from too much time indoors.” After a weekend mostly stuck inside because of the –20°C temperatures, the girls were definitely going mökkihöperö. And, with all that excess energy, so were Stuart and I.

The easiest solution is a half-day at an indoor playground. Alanna and Kiara are big enough to run around on their own, so I can (albeit with a lot of interruptions) sit and edit photos. Unfortunately, we were not the only ones who had the same thought. Do you have any idea how hard it is to recognize your child among 50+ others, all yelling “Mum!” at regular intervals? Luckily, it’s a big place.

Another try

January 31, 2026January 31, 2026Posted in 365 ProjectTagged family, Getting started, Home2 Comments

Eight years ago, I got to day 168 of my ‘365 project’. Then my morning sickness got the better of me, and I spent the next 7 months trying to keep my food down and my energy levels sufficiently up to continue with the absolutely necessary. In March 2018, my twin girls, Alanna and Kiara, were born. And you can imagine the rest.

Over the years, I have often wanted to restart the 365 project. But the time is scarce, and it was never the right time. It still is not. But I’ll give it another go anyway.

My project, my rules… I will take a photo daily, and will try to post as often as I can – but realistically, it will not be every day. I will take at least 30% of the photos with my camera and not with my phone (although some of my best photos are with the phone).

And maybe I’ll cheat all once in a while. I’ll try to make sure no one notices.

Hello world! How you been?

February 5, 2013February 17, 2013Posted in Getting startedTagged familyLeave a comment

There is real beauty in capturing the small, everyday moments. Finding interest in routine. Allowing individual pictures to create small insights into our life and our world. This is why we want to start this blog – to push ourselves to keep an eye out for those small, happy and beautiful moments in our lives.

Therefore also the name – Blue Moment. The blue moment is that fleeting moment just after the sun has set and it’s not quite dark yet. It is so common you don’t typically even notice it. But it can be incredibly beautiful. (There is a nice old word in Finnish for it – hämäränhyssy – that has been a source of repeated arguments between Erika and her Finnish friends. Just believe me, the word does exist!)

There is also another reason for this blog. With our families and friends spread across the 5 continents, we want to have a way to share what is going on in our lives – and our photography. What better time to start one than now – while there are so many major changes in our lives? The last two months have fundamentally uprooted our lives: getting married, moving to a new continent, starting a new job for both of us. There should be plenty of reasons to take photos!

This blog will mostly be about photographs – although we’re likely to write a few comments to complement them.

Thank you for joining us! We are very excited to get started!