a bag of chips

My generous child

I hab comb downd wid Aidand's coldh.  (hachew!!! sniffle, sniffle)  Mby sweet, gederous mboy gabe me dis.  Thankh you, mbaby mboy.  I feel like crap, andh so ndoes he.  Mbisery lubs compady.  (sniffle, cough)  Ndow I cand look forwardh to a Ndyquil-inducedh haze for da ndext few ndays.  Three pathedic cheers for Ndyquil. 

Happy Birthday, Kelly!

My good friend, Kelly, had a birthday yesterday.  And for her birthday I took these pictures of her lovely family this morning.  As I was taking these photos, marveling at how gorgeous these people are, I was struck with how much this family means to me.  Kelly and I have grown pretty close the past two years and I have come to appreciate very much this very beautiful, creative, intelligent, caring and thoughtful woman.  We have struggled with infertility together and have experienced the joys of adoption and parenthood together.  I have depended on our outings together for the adult conversation and adult friendship that is sometimes so lacking in my daily stay-at-home-mom lifestyle.  And our kids love to play together.  We have swapped baby-sitting favors with each other and we have rotated toys amongst our kids.  And she's an incredible cook.  What more could a gal ask for in a friend?  I can only hope that I have been as good a friend to her as she has been to me.

So, Kelly, here's to you on your birthday.  I pray I continue to have the honor of your friendship for many years to come.

A day to be thankful for

Well, I know that Thanksgiving Day is the day we gather together and give thanks for our many blessings, but today I'd like to give thanks for Thanksgiving Day.  Without this day our family would not enjoy those special moments that really only happen on Thanksgiving - the prayer before dinner with all 30 of us holding hands and offering our collective thanks to God; the miracle of our large family and how close we are; the amazing food that so many people brought to the table; and the joy and happiness - and total chaos - that only comes from spending time with this family.

Our family has had many blessings and many difficulties this past year.  And even though I have prayed throughout the year for my family members who are in pain or are suffering - physically, mentally, emotionally or financially - I always feel the need to pray extra hard on Thanksgiving for healing for the people I love and am so thankful for.  And even though I thank God everyday for the blessings in my life, I always feel so much more thankful on Thanksgiving. 

So, I'm thankful for Thanksgiving, for allowing us all to step out of the hustle and bustle of our daily lives to stop and to truly love and be thankful for one another.  And, of all my blessings, I'm most thankful for my family, without whom all the rest would be meaningless.

And now for some photo happiness.  I took advantage of having all of my cousins around to take some pictures.  Only one of us - sorry Annie - didn't appear in front of my camera.  There are thirteen of us grands - I'm the oldest at, ahem, 36, and JoJo is the youngest at six.  So, click here to view my beautiful cousins.

Thank YOU!

Whew! Yay!

My first photo shoot went very well.  I am happy with the results and I sure hope my client is, too.  The family is SO beautiful and fun, and their dog, Snoopy, got in on some camera action as well.  We all had a good time.  View a few of my faves here.

And thank you for your support.

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Edited to add:  I have a Canon Digital Rebel 300D.  I had the camera set to "P" or Program Auto Exposure.  I control the ISO (set to either 100 or 400) and the camera controls the shutter speed and aperture.  There may have been better settings but I'm not complaining about the quality of these pictures.  I'm very happy with the results.

And here I go...

...feet first.  Today is my first paid photo shoot.  EEEK!  Dang, I'm nervous.  Not only is this my first EVER, but it's also a shoot of my ATTORNEY and his family.  Oy.  If this isn't pressure then I don't know what is. (I'm shooting my attorney - how many people have wanted to do THAT??? Just kidding, Tom.)  I'm looking forward to it in so many ways, and I know that once we all get together and the shutter starts clicking it will all gel and it will all be great.  And I'm eager to see how everything comes out, and if the manuals - both in paper and on-line - about how the hell my camera works have been worth the time and money.  But, first and foremost, I sure hope my client is pleased.

So, without further delay, I'm off. I'll post the photos once I've finished my editing, and once I've heretofor received the express permission of the aforementioned attorney to publish his photographic likeness, and that of his spouse, progeny and parents-in-law, on my blog. 

Whine and cheese

You know how in the movie "Monster, Inc." they power the city by bottling up the screams of children?  Well, if I could bottle up all the whining that goes on in my house, I'm sure I could power at least my home, or maybe even my whole neighborhood, for the next century.  And, from what I understand, the whining won't stop for many, many, many, many years.  (*sigh*)

And at least with all the whine comes some cheese.  My daughter is a major cheese.  She's got this show-me-your-teeth-there's-that-damn-camera-again smile that cracks me up every time.  And Aidan does this squinty-eyed, raised-eyebrows, clown-face thing when he's actually in a mood for getting his picture taken.  Usually I'm just clicking away at the back of his head.  I'll take what I can get. 

So, without further ado, here is some whine and cheese for your enjoyment.

Cheers!

 

My other other obsession

I am a SAHM so my family is my first obsession.  I am also a photographer so my camera and it's subjects are my other obsession.  My other other obsession is scrapbooking.  I am embarrased to say exactly how much of my husband's hard-earned income I've spent this year on scrapbooking supplies, so I won't.  Just know that it's a almost a double-digit percentage figure.  Oy.

Scrapbooking is a wonderful artform - yes, folks, it's art.  I get to display my photographs (my other obsession) of my family (my first obsession) and create fun, meaningful, colorful, heirloom pages of our lives.  Scrapbooking is a more popular hobby than golf according Creating Keepsakes Magazine.  Who knew?  And scrapbooking is one of the ways I keep my sanity while chasing after two very active toddlers day in and day out.  Thankfully, very thankfully, I have a very supportive husband who appreciates that being a SAHM is a 24/7 job and encourages "me" time so that I can scrapbook.  I love you, honey.

So, in case you haven't yet checked out the link to my portfolio at Two Peas in a Bucket, here is a layout I did the other day of Makena examining her navel on a beach in Trinidad. 

Enjoy!

The forest or the trees

I have two amazingly beautiful and smart children.  That I'm the slightest bit partial as their adoring mother is beside the point.  They've both known their colors and their body parts since about 15 months old, and they both love to sing and dance.  They're both avid readers, and they both can listen to the Baby Einstein music CDs and know exactly which scene or scenes the music accompanies on the Baby Einstein DVDs.  Aidan has known for months every single name of every single train, car and character from the Thomas the Tank Engine shows.  Remarkable, really, for a 21-month-old and a 3-year-old. 

Aidan can even spot the tiniest, faintest, whisp of a moon in a bright noon sky, or a speck of a jet at 42,000 above his head, or a tractor from miles away on a distant hill - things that take me several minutes to find.  But ask him to pick up something at his feet?  Forget it.  He'll twirl around for minutes on end, running all over the room trying to find the thing that needed to be picked up which is no longer right at his feet.   

Sheesh.

Three going on Twenty

Today at lunch my three-year-old son, pure and innocent, spotted two twenty-something girls quite scantily dressed sitting a few tables away from us.

"Mama, I wanna go see doze yadies over dare."

(Chuckle) "Maybe when you're eighteen."

(Blank stare.)

"Mama, I wanna go tickle doze yadies over dare."

(Worried chuckle)  "Maybe when you're twenty."

Oh, boy.

We've been busy

My mother-in-law and my nephew from Trinidad are visit us right now.  Adam leaves Tuesday and Joyce will stick around for a few more weeks.  It's always great having Trini company.   The endless shopping (um, that's a good thing), the Trini food, the abundance of sing-song conversation, the sight-seeing, the time together. 

On Tuesday last week, we went to SeaWorld.  We watched the dolphin show, laughed at the corny jokes and at the people getting soaked.  Aidan and Makena really had fun.  Then we saw the shark exhibit and then the kids and I left for naptime, leaving Joyce and Adam to enjoy the park for a few more hours.

On Wednesday we spent the whole day shopping - Ikea, Sears Essentials, Office Depot, Target, Old Navy, Costco.  The whole day.  From 10:00 AM until after 4:00.

On Thursday, with the threat of rain, we headed to Disneyland.   Aidan rode his first rollercoaster (that's my boy) and loved it.  He's tall enough for the likes of Space Mountain, but I don't think he's (read I'm) ready just yet.  Big Thunder Mountain was plenty of speedy, whiplash fun for now.  Makena had more fun running around the place and taking in the sights.  She didn't really go on any rides but that didn't seem to bother her.  Adam was my companion on the roller coasters, and we both really got a kick out of Space Mountain.  I actually laughed out loud and kept laughing after the ride was over.  It felt as if a lot of my stress and tension had been relieved in the 4 minutes it took to be hurtled through mock time and space and back to earth again.  I'd forgotten how much fun that ride is.  Both kids and all four adults remained quite cheerful throughout the day, despite the lines, crowds and long car rides.  We all had a wonderful time and not one raindrop fell.

On Friday I assigned the kids and myself a day at home.  We dropped Joyce and Adam off for a WalMart spree, but for the most part we kicked back, had a nap, played in the backyard and had a somewhat normal day.

Yesterday, Chris, the kids and I joined my sister-in-law, her kids and her mother, and my mother up in Perris, CA for a day with Thomas the Tank Engine.  It was actually quite a good attraction.  Save for the hot weather (which we didn't dress for), the screaming, whining kids everywhere and the middle-of-nowhere location, it was fun.  They had tents with activities, train tables, story time, shopping, face painting, food, picture time with Sir Topham Hat and, of course, a ride on Thomas.  An actual train car made up just like Thomas and a couple of antique passenger cars, clanking and clunking down a short track for about 20 minutes.  Heaven for a tired but happy three-year-old boy and his indulgent parents.

So, here are a few photos from our busy week, and thanks for letting me bore you to death the the details of the past few days.  You guys are champs.

Aidan and his daddy on the Mark Twain steam ship at Disneyland.

Surveying the sights while on the Mark Twain.

Patiently posing for mommy in Toon Town.

My beautiful girl showing me her teeth.  Check out those catchlights in her eyes.

 

Booboo and her binky.

Kissing cousins - Makena and cousin Dylan.