Friday, February 24, 2012

Photo Friday 2012 ~ 8 ~

This week's theme was 'cabin fever'.  I have to say that I haven't experienced it this year to the same degree that I normally do.  The mild winter weather has definitely helped.  The kids have even been able to ride their bikes and run around with the neighborhood kids about once a week.  That has done wonders for their moods, and in turn, for mine.  Still, I long for those beautiful spring days where I can soak up some sunshine and sit on the deck and read a book while the kids play in the backyard.  It is still grey and the sunsets come way too early.  I'm hopeful that spring will be here before I know it.  Yesterday afternoon my boy and were just hanging out and he is often bored and restless in the afternoons before his sister gets home so I told him yes when he asked for the last lollipop from his Valentine's party.  He was being silly and I snapped a few pictures while he was in a good mood.  Here's what I got...

I couldn't pick just one so I decided to make a little collage.  He is all about the silliness lately.  I guess it's a five year old boy thing.

Just looking at his California shirt is making me have cabin fever.  We went about this time of year 2 years ago and haven't been back yet.  I would love to go back soon.  And can you believe that when he was little I used to think he might be tongue tied?  Now he can almost touch his nose with his tongue!

Have a great weekend!

project 52 p52 weekly photo challenge my3boybarians.com

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

From the Archives

I can't even believe I am going to say this, but I kinda miss the snow this year.  Can you believe I said that?!?  I  am going crazy or something.  I mean, I normally hate winter.  I really do.  The thing is, it's been such a mild winter (not complaining about that!) and that has been so nice, but I really think I would like to have one big snow.  So that the kids get a day off school and we can go sledding and build a snowman.  Then it can all melt and be warm again.  : )  The thing is...it could totally still happen.  Ohio weather is ridiculously weird.  It can be 50 degrees one day and snow 6 inches the next.  I actually have photos from 2008 to prove it.

March 2, 2008.  She got a new bike.  Notice my husband wearing short sleeves!  And for the record, that is the only time she has ever had bangs and as soon as I cut them I didn't like her with them and we immediately started growing them out.  I only have a handful of photos of her with bangs since I started pulling them back with barrettes within about 2 weeks time.  Look how little she looks here!  She's already outgrown that bike and got a new bigger one for Christmas.

Taken March 8, 2008.  Yep, from short sleeves to snow in less than a week.

She used that bank of show as a slide.  We haven't had snow that deep in a long time.

Maybe the kids and I will do a little snow ritual this week.  Have you guys heard that you're supposed to put on your pajamas backwards (or inside out - the kids can't agree which one it is, so we have one kid doing each) jump three times (or turn around, I can't remember) and flush the toilet?  Sometimes they flush an ice cube down the toilet too.  I don't remember doing this as a kid at all, but they think it's fun!  I'm probably going to eat my words as soon as it snows.  Oh well...the kids will be happy!

Friday, February 17, 2012

Photo Friday 2012 ~ 7 ~

This week's theme was 'true love'.  And since I truly love my kiddos, I'm just going to share a couple of photos I took of them this morning.  It is a surprisingly beautiful February day around here!  And they are off school!  It's so nice to spend some time with the two of them.  It really makes me long for summer days.

Pretty in pink. 

I love her outfit and her little pose.  And I didn't even realize when I made her stand there that there was a line of trees behind her.  And that's in our side yard...I guess I will have to make better use of that tree in the future.  Also, I took these at almost noon which wasn't really the best time for lighting.  I'll have to try again in the evening one day.


He truly loves his sister still and it is so cute.  If you ask him who he's going to marry when he grows up, he'll tell you he's going to marry her.  She keeps telling him that you aren't allowed to marry your sister, but he says he doesn't care.  I love that she's the only girl he loves.  And I love that she acts like she doesn't adore him, but she still wants to have a sleepover with him in the playroom on the weekends.  I hope they stay friends like this forever!

Have a great weekend!

project 52 p52 weekly photo challenge my3boybarians.com

Monday, February 13, 2012

4 People 12 Times

Remember way back when I announced I was gonna do this project?  Yeah, I didn't do quite so well at it.  I have done so well with my weekly project (3 years running!) that I really thought that this once a month thing would be a breeze.  So, as I sat down this morning to write I started wondering if I ever finished up the year and realized that I didn't.  The whole idea around the project was to do a family photo once per month, nothing fancy, just a snapshot, and then summarize the month in a post.  I really am glad I did it, even though I failed miserably because if I hadn't I might not even have one photo of the 4 of us together for the entire year!  How sad would that be?  I'm not going to officially be doing it again this year but it has helped me to be more aware of handing someone else the camera occasionally and getting my whole family in a photo even if it isn't the greatest most flattering photo and I most likely would never in a million years hang it on my wall.  Probably in about 20 years I will love these...I know I will.  I'll look back fondly at how young we all were instead of being self critical like I am now.  If you want to view these in order, click here, scroll down and read the bottom post first and work your way up and then come back and read the rest of this post.

Here we are in October 2011.
This was taken on our weekend trip to the Smokies by some random couple who I handed my camera to in hopes that they wouldn't hop in their car and drive off with it (they didn't).  I took their photo in return.  I should remember to set my camera to 'auto' when I hand it to someone else next time.  Oh well, it's still us.  And since we go here every year I need to remember to try to get a photo each time so that we can compare them through the years.  This is the first time we've gotten a photo of all 4 of us...I usually just snap the kids.  I kinda like it.  And I have some really fond memories of these little weekend getaways.  The drive is so beautiful and it's the perfect way to enjoy the fall colors and the crisp air and just take some time to enjoy it instead of the business of school and work and my photography (fall is my busiest time of year) making it go by in a blink.  We went hiking (the kids hated it), we had a campfire and roasted marshmallows, we explored a bamboo forest we didn't even know was there, we went shopping, we had pizza, we sat and admired the beauty of nature and we were refreshed.

On Thanksgiving Day, 2011.
Thanksgiving came before we knew it.  My mom hosted it at her house for the first time.  We all crammed into her dining room and were all together.  It was her birthday too which was fun.  I have a whole series of her and her twin making the same exact faces while blowing out their candles.  Twins are creepy sometimes. : )  The kids settled into their school routines during November and photography started winding down a bit for the season.  We painted our garage doors and house trim.  My husband had a birthday.  I guess November was just a blur since I can't really remember much else.

Christmas Eve, 2011.
How is it that in December, when we are at so many family gatherings, that's the month that I don't have a photo of the 4 of us?  This is the best I could do.  These were at least taken the same day.  December is so fun with my kids.  We did a lot of celebrating and just enjoying each other.  Lots of fires in the fireplace and movie nights watching the Christmas specials.  We did all the typical activities we do around Christmas and I have fond memories of all of it.  I love the holidays.  I'd say overall we had a pretty great year.

I really am glad I did this project.  I have a feeling I will scroll through this series and read it in the coming years and be grateful that I did it.  I hope it inspires you to take more photos of your family as a whole and to jot down some memories too.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Photo Friday 2012 ~ 6 ~

I almost forgot to write my post today!  I promised my daughter I would make this brief since I need to take her to buy a birthday present for her friend's party tomorrow.  The theme this week was 'drink up'.  I have to say that this was my least favorite theme so far.  I completely forgot about it all week and just remembered last night so I had my son pose with his drink while we were having pizza for dinner.  I'm sure I could have gotten way more creative, but sometimes I just don't have the time or desire.  Here's what I got...

I wish his expression were a little less blank, but I do like his little milk mustache. 

And here he is posing with his new jar of marbles.  He just got them the other day and we've had lots of fun with the "He's lost his marbles!" expression.  : )

Here is my daughter doing what I call her 'vampire face'.  Her teeth are coming in just a bit crooked enough for her to make them stick out when she smiles.  They aren't her actual fangs, but close enough.  Reminds me of my fang from before I got braces.  I'm hoping and praying that hers straighten out on their own!

Have a great weekend!  I promise I'll try to do better with next week's theme!

project 52 p52 weekly photo challenge my3boybarians.com

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

A Dog Party

My daughter turned 8 a couple of weeks ago.  What?!  How am I old enough to have an 8 year old?  It's so weird.  I still feel like I just had her and she was my squishy little chubby cheeked toddler yesterday.  She's gotten so tall (and I'm so short) that she barely fits in my lap anymore!  And now she's all arms and legs and stabbing me with her elbows.  I still take all the cuddles I can get though.  She is completely obsessed with dogs lately (okay for like the past 2 years) and so of course she wanted a dog themed birthday party.  We were lucky enough to find some stuff at the party store to match her theme which made it pretty easy.  We just had a family party this year again since she opted to take her best friend to see the Chipmunk movie instead of a kid party.  That was completely fine by me.  This was also the first year that we really celebrated her birthday on her actual birthday too.  I guess in the past she really thought of the party day as her birthday, but this year she was really into celebrating multiple times.  We let her pick the restaurant to eat at on her actual birthday and we gave her one present to open.  Yep...she picked McDonald's so she could get a happy meal toy.  Here she is opening her present from us.

I love her face in these.  It was a camera.  She loves it.  Also, she wore a fancy outfit to school that day because she said, "I hope I am the center of attention all day."  Whatever happened to my painfully shy little girl?  I'm glad she outgrew that stage, but sometimes she just amazes me with her self confidence now.

Right before the party started I took her outside for a couple of photos.  It was really windy, but I still can't believe how warm it has been this winter!   I could take her photo with no coat!

My sweet girl.

Back inside posing with her cake.

Her dog cake.  I found a similar version online and copied it.  The eyes were made with melted Tootsie Rolls and the nose and tongue were melted Laffy Taffy.  The bow and collar were Fruit by the Foot.

 Some more of the decorations.

My nephew entertained us with his hula hooping attempts!

I think they had fun. ; )

My favorite photo from the day.  Right before she blew out her candles.

Happy Birthday, baby girl!  I can't believe how fast you are growing up and I am so proud of the lovely girl you are becoming!

Friday, February 3, 2012

Photo Friday 2012 ~ 5 ~

I can't believe I didn't blog at all this week.  I had intentions of posting my daughter's birthday party photos but she came down with some sort of bug and was off school for three days.  Poor thing.  She hardly ever gets sick, but when she does she wants her mommy.  She got totally spoiled being at home too and I had to make her go back yesterday.  She was like, "Do I have to go to school if I have a sore throat?"  I said, "Yes." She asked, "What if I have a headache?"  I said, "Yes."  "What if my ears hurt?"  I finally told her "The only way you aren't going to school is if you have a fever."  "Oh darn."  Yep...I'm on to her...  Anyway, I didn't get a lot done this week, but that's okay.  I'm just glad that I don't have to worry about working on days like those.  I can stay home and snuggle my baby and not feel guilty about it knowing that home is the place I am meant to be.

This week's theme for my Project 52 group was "shadows".  I guess to tie in with Groundhog Day.  As soon as I read the theme I knew what I wanted to do, I just had to wait for the right sunny morning for it.  Yesterday the sun cooperated. : )  Every time it's a sunny morning at the bus stop my son likes to play this game where he steps on my shadow.  And then I move all around and he chases it and tries to stomp on my head and I pretend it hurts.  He thinks it's hilarious.  I'm sure people who see wonder what on earth we are doing, because I'm sure it looks silly.  Here are my shots.

I like how you can see my shadow just peeking out from behind him.  And I have this thing about liking the way his head looks from behind.  This might sound weird but sometimes when I sit in church and look at the backs of the heads in front of me I notice things like how some of the men have totally weird shaped heads and strange ears and hairlines that go way down their necks.  Yep...I notice the weirdest things!  But I like my boy's head from the back and his little ears sticking out and his little dent in the middle of his neck.  Do you other mom's notice weird things like that?

Running to stomp on my head.  He's holding a piece of bread as a last minute breakfast since I didn't realize all he had eaten was yogurt and I didn't have time to make anything because of the bus coming.  Just keeping it real for you!

I love, love, love this.  The shadow of the tree in the background, the winter branches all blurred and his sweet serious face.  He always squints his eyes like that if I tell him not to be so silly.  Most of the photos before this had his tongue out or his eyes closed (on purpose).  Guess it makes me appreciate this one more.

Have a great weekend!!  If you get a chance check out more of the project 52er's over here.

project 52 p52 weekly photo challenge my3boybarians.com

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