I participated in an alphabet challenge with my favorite group of photographers. I rarely have portraits that do not involve drool or chubby bellies, so this was a fun adventure! Here are some of my favorite images to share:
C is for Coke
D is for Duck
F is for Flower
I is for Iris
J is for Jump
I am so proud of the Easter service project that my kiddos and I worked on. We answered a call for care packages for deployed soldiers from the photo community. Big B spent so much time deliberating the perfect crackers and chapstick. E-Man drew pictures and proudly sealed the envelopes. Miss J rearranged her box a million times. I contributed gossip magazines and Farkle, our new favorite family game. Our one box turned into three, which were mailed off this week to big smiles here (and hopefully overseas too).
These three are a little bit fuzzier than my usual newborns! The in-laws brought baby ducks when they came to visit last weekend, which should NOT have been such a shocker. In my mother-in-law's mind, it is perfectly acceptable to give live animals as gifts. My kids have also received (and promptly returned) a duck, turkey, and chicken over the years. I'm just relieved she left the baby goats at home!
The kids loved taking care of their duckies, named S'mores, Mario, and Luigi. My gang requested photos with their feathered friends, and here they are. I am happy to report that the ducks are happily back home in Texas!
I am so proud of my do-it-yourself Valentines this year for the munchkins. They were simple and easy, copied from a sample I found online. Bonus: I did not have to stand in the Valentine aisle at the store debating Kai Lan, Dora, or Strawberry Shortcake for hours!
Take a photo of child with arm out to the side, making a fist:
Use an exacto knife to make tiny cuts above and below hand, then slide sucker or pencil in:
I added some digital flair, and printed on pearlized postcards. You could easily print at home on cardstock, or print as a 4x6 photo.
I love Thanksgiving. I feel like it is a holiday celebrated just to make me happy! I love the autumn season. I love that my wedding anniversary is Thanksgiving weekend. I love that my parents drive 400 miles to eat turkey with us. I love our Thanksgiving pinata tradition. Here are some random thankful thoughts and ramblings from yours truly. Wishing the happiest of Thanksgivings to all!
1. I am thankful that my living room overhaul is finally complete. New furniture, new TV, new fancy remote that I do not know how to work. I have officially turned into the parent that asks their kid how to work the DVD player.
2. I am thankful and excited that our family elf, Lil' Red (named after Husker mascot) will be joining the family again after Thanksgiving. If you do not have an Elf on the Shelf, go buy one TODAY. Seriously, click on over to amazon.com and get shopping!
3. My husband should be thankful that I bought him nasty Pimento spread stuff that goes in the middle of celery slices. He just can't have Thanksgiving without it, and I usually attempt to boycott the orangey-red stinky stuff. That's love, folks.
4. I am thankful for my kids and their amazing imaginations. I love to 'meet' whichever new persona Miss J greets me with (today was Kella the hair lady). I love that E-Man just named one of his freckle Joe Momma. I love that Big B still wears costumes to fight crime in the Miller household.
5. I am so very thankful for my Kindle. Don't know how I lived without it.
6. I am thankful for my clients that bring me fat, happy babies to play with. This is the best job ever.
My middle child chose to be a banana for Halloween, which totally fits his personality. I have been singing this Chiquita banana song for weeks now, after looking up the old commercial on YouTube. I did NOT, however, tell E-Man that it featured MISS Chiquita, not MR. And now, I curse you to have the banana jingle in your head all day:
I'm Chiquita banana and I've come to say
Bananas have to ripen in a certain way
When they are fleck'd with brown and have a golden hue Bananas taste the best and are best for you
You can put them in a salad
You can put them in a pie-aye
Any way you want to eat them
It's impossible to beat them
But, bananas like the climate of the very, very tropical equator
So you should never put bananas in the refrigerator
Halloween and Thanksgiving don't have a chance, with stores displaying Christmas in August, and with toy commercials playing every ten seconds to spark the shopping season. All my toy catalogs and magazines have arrived. I gave Miss J a crayon and told her to circle the things she liked from a magazine - every single "girl" item was given a loopy black circle. Some got circled twice.
Since there are only 78 shopping days til Christmas, here are my favorite online shopping sites:
I used to shop from this catalog for my classroom, and now I shop for fun and novel gifts for my own kiddos and nieces and nephews.
I love Amazon. You can buy so much in one spot (and ship to the relatives at the same time)! My favorite kid brands: Melissa & Doug, Learning Resources, ThinkFun games.
This site has specific suggestions by age, gender, category, etc. I shop for fun and unique family games here.
Love me some bargains! You can find everything from down pillows to Tag Heuer watches to wii games.
I LOVE this site. Handmade kids clothes, knits, vintage, and random gifty stuff.
This dress is $17.50 plus shipping! Seriously. Buying it for my girlie.
Please leave a comment below if you have any great sites to share. Happy shopping!
I distinctly remember my Grandma buying a Polaroid camera and making our family pose for trial pictures. I have seen the results hundreds of times in our family photo albums. I've been playing "name that date" in my head, and think it was about 1983 (a conclusion based on the fact that I was wearing a Smurfette shirt, not yet taller than my little momma, and had braided piggies down to my booty).
My Grandma was always the pioneer with new "toys", and the Polaroid was new to us. She also had a ginormous microwave oven back when they were the exception, not the rule. She bought a video cassette recorder as soon as they hit the market, and was certain that BetaMax was going to change the world.
When I saw a posting about Polaroid conversions on a photography blog, I had to play a little, because Polaroids bring back great memories of life with pig tails and of my Grandma. You can play too at http://www.rollip.com/, with free downloads!
I converted some shots from our zoo trip last weekend and love the casual vibe:
I am so excited to announce that I was accepted as a photographer with Operation Love Reunited! OpLove offers photography sessions to deployed soldiers and their families free of charge. An album of prints is sent to the deployed soldier. How great is that?
For more information, check out the website: http://www.oplove.org/. Interested families can browse the site for info, or search for a participating photographer in the US.
