A Kindergartener's Life

It is Fiesta Day!

What is Fiesta Day you ask? Well, it is our Kindergarten's version of Cinca De Mayo! (Yes I know it is actually on the 5th, but they are celebrating it today.)

Christina came home from school yesterday and was so excited about today. They are making pinatas and they are having a fiesta. And she wanted to wear a dress today.

"What is Fiesta Day?" I ask.

"A day to celebrate people from Mexico!" was the reply. "People from Mexico wear those really big hats!"

"And where is Mexico?" I ask (trying to stifle my laughter).

"Um, I dunno."

So funny. I like that the school is making such an effort to teach the kids about different cultures, but it is obvious that they really have no clue what they are celebrating.

Christina has been doing really well in school. Her reading has completely taken off. Last summer she started reading Dick and Jane. Less than a year later, she is reading chapter books! Yes, there are some words that she doesn't know, but for for the most part, she is comprehending the story as well.

Take yesterday, I went to the library and got a bunch of books when she was at school. She was so excited to read them all. One book I got her was "Junie B. Jones, 1st Grader at last". I was planning on reading it to her, but she decided she would just read it herself. I left to go to the gym and she just sat and read and read and read.

Then my hubby noticed she was wasn't around. He looked around and found her, outside, hanging upside down, reading her book.

Of course, isn't this where we all go when we really go when we want to curl up with good book?

Yup, that's what I thought.

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It was an Easter candy showdown....and I emerged victoriously!!!

We had a very nice Easter Sunday. Before we left to go to my family's, I tried to get a picture of my three girls together.

But Caroline hated the sunshine (she is sensitive to light).

And Christina was trying to keep her arm around Caroline.

And Kallie, while having a very tight grip on Caroline's hand, was more concerned about the boo-boo on her knee.

I don't think I have any pictures of all 3 of them looking at me! Oh well, they are cute anyway...


The girls had a great time, playing with their cousins, going on their annual Easter Egg Hunt and eating LOTS of candy.

Which brings me to the "showdown".

Kallie, almost 3, like most little ones, would rather eat candy than anything else. My only recourse is to hide all candy where she quickly forgets all about it. I'll take out a piece now and then, but leaving it out in the open is only asking for BIG trouble.

Like yesterday morning, when her sister left the Easter candy sitting out in her room. And Kallie came bounding down the stairs, with a big ole smile on her face, and a chocolate bunny clenched in her fist, proclaiming "I WANT CANDY!!!" at 9 a.m in the morning.

Well, since you didn't have breakfast, sorry dear, but the answer is "NO". And, as expected, she didn't like that answer very much.

And the battle ensued.

Kallie started crying. REALLY crying. Full blown, crying, fist-in-mouth, meltdown.

I calmly told her that if she ate some breakfast, she could have "some" candy.

Yeah, she didn't like that option.

But I was determined not to cave. I proceeded to make her some toast and get her some milk all while she continued to scream and cry "I WANT CANDY" another 3,298 times.

Once the toast was done, I placed it on the table, put on a favorite movie and left the room.

OH she cried, and cried, and cried, and cried, and.....then stopped!

Before I knew it, she was sitting at the table eating her breakfast. And she ate every scrap.

And then she promptly found me to declare "I WANT CANDY!".

So she finally got a bit of the chocolate bunny. And the rest of the Easter candy is now tucked away in a much safer spot.

But honestly, I was so surprised at how well my determination worked! Unfortunately, I have caved more times than I care to count, but it is nice to know that if I do hold my ground, I can actually win a battle or two! Maybe there is hope for me!

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Forsythia

For April's Photo Contest! Like I need more reasons to post photos!

If you like my photo - please vote!!!

Have a great week!

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It's Easter!

Easter? Yes, Easter. Our church is of the Eastern Orthodox variety and our Easter is today. It is definitely the biggest celebration of the year. As it should be.

Our Easter this year is about a month behind everyone else's. Some years it is on the same day, some years it is only a week apart, and some years, like this year, it is VERY far part. We do not celebrate Easter until AFTER the passover has started. And since Passover started last weekend, our Easter is today.

We are off to my family's for the day. It is an all day party up there. We get all dressed up, spend all day socializing, have the traditional Easter egg hunt, go to church, and have a huge dinner at my mom's. And we will be dragging our WAY over-tired, over-stimulated kiddos home late tonight.

It is a gorgeous sunny day today, so I expect to get lots of pictures (surprise surprise!) and expect to have a wonderful day.

And yes, we did trim up Kallie's bangs so she will actually be able to find those eggs!

Have a great one!!!!

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Your camera doesn't matter!

I read a great article this morning that I really wanted to share:

Ken Rockwell - Your Camera Doesn't Matter

So many people - me included - are under the impression that if they just had a 'big dog' camera, they would improve their photographs tremendously.

Not necessarily so.

I won't reiterate the entire article, but in summary, great photography is really all about the photographer, not the camera. Yes, a better camera may make your picture taking easier and faster, but truly great pictures come from the skill and eye of the photographer.

I really love my new Nikon D40, and the quality of the pictures are amazing, but I think, by far, the thing that has improved my photography skills the most has just been all the reading and studying I have done on composition, exposure, camera settings etc.

I have also spent some time studying other photographer's work on sites like Flickr and Digital Photography School. And that means really studying. I often will see a picture that is incredible, and I stop and really try to determine what that photographer did to capture that scene. I look at where the subject is located, what else catches my eye, how closely the photograph is cropped, etc. etc.

As a result, I think my eye for photography has greatly improved, and my new camera just makes it much easier to use what I have learned.

As Ken says, Ansel Adams was arguably one of the best landscape photographers of all time. And he took his pictures in the 1940's. To this day, after all the incredible advancements in cameras and lenses and even the addition of Photoshop, no one has been able to duplicate his work. And I am sure they tried!

Makes you think, right?

Just an interesting observation! Happy Saturday!

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Skywatch Friday!

It's time again for Skywatch Friday! Hosted by Wigger's World!!!

Have a great weekend!

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What is that smell???

Living in the country can be really nice. It is quiet, we have lots of wildlife, it is beautiful.

However, the one time of year where it is definitely not so great, is fertilizer time!

Yup, that is the time when the neighboring farmers spread manure and, when the winds are blowing just right, you literally have to shut up your house and stay indoors. The smell is overwhelming.

And our farmers don't spread cow manure, they spread chicken sh+t! UGH.

Anyway, on the same subject line...our friend Mr. Bear is still around. He got into our garbage cans over the weekend and ripped up the cans. He ruined another neighbor's bird feeder.

And he left us all a nice gift smack dab in the middle of our street:


I wasn't going to give you all a close up view, but yes, that is a nice sized bear dropping. I found it when I went on a walk the other day. Later that day we took the kiddos for a walk and my hubby confirmed that that was in fact Mr. Bear's excrement. Yuck. Although, can you imagine how hilarious it would be to catch this guy in the act?

Well, Kallie is at that age where she is a little obsessed with anything toilet related. So this discovery has made quite an impression on her. She has literally said "the bear went Po0pies" about 10, 756 times since she has seen it.

And the most hilarious thing about her obsession is that she has concluded that the bear dropping is the cause of the neighborhood stench. "The bear went po0pies, it's stinky!!!"

Aren't kids just hilarious?

Oh, and this picture is not really related. Kallie and Nugget are just standing in our front yard waiting for Christina and Daddy to come back from their bike ride. I thought they looked so cute.

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It is a VERY exciting day!

At least for my 6 yo! Not me as much...

Yes, it is my birthday. And so far, I have received 4 homemade cards from my daughter telling me how much she loves me, along with this nice reminder on our calendar:


Look at that cake! She honestly tried to put 41 candles on that cake.

My birthday is a much bigger deal to my kids than it is to me. My hubby and I had date night this weekend so we aren't going out. I already splurged on my camera a couple months ago so I told my hubby not to buy me anything. Seriously. I don't need anything, I buy anything I do need or want, and it is not like we have that much money to throw around. So today should probably be like any other day.

Although Christina was obviously NOT mentioning my birthday this morning so I am guessing there is at least some little thing being cooked up. We'll see...

Today was also "Muffins with Mom" day at school. All the moms get to bring their child to school in the morning and have breakfast before school starts. It was really nice and Christina was SO excited. I was a little embarrassed though when Christina's teacher wished me a 'Happy Birthday'. Apparently she has been telling her teacher about this day for WEEKS now.

During the winter the school had "Donuts with Dad" but Christina ended up with stomach flu that day so they couldn't go. She was so disappointed.

Well I am very tired today, I didn't feel well last night and was up very late. Hopefully I can get a little nap in this afternoon. Yeah, I am feeling old today.

Have a great one!

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This and that..

This post is just going to be a mish-mash because I have a few things I wanted to write about and none of them are related. So here goes....

First topic...

Did I miss a month? Because only a week or so ago, there was snow on the ground! And this weekend it was 80! EIGHTY! Crazy warm! But oh it felt wonderful. Even the rest of this week is supposed to be sunny and 70's. But aren't we supposed to have April showers? We are getting to the point where we could use a good rain. A little dusty in our little world right now.

My hubby and I also had a date night over the weekend. It was so nice, especially because we were able to eat at a little casual spot with a big outdoor dining area. I love eating outside, feeling the nice breeze, enjoying my glass of wine, and watching the people go by.

Next topic....

Gas prices! HOLY Cow! This is crazy nuts. I can't believe how much more gas costs now. With no end in sight.

So I have a question...what are you doing in reaction to the gas prices?

Last year, we replaced my husband's Explorer with a tiny old, high mileage Honda Civic (42 mpg!) through ebay (we don't spend much on cars). We also have a Dodge Caravan which we really need if the entire family, including Caroline's wheelchair, needs to go somewhere. But 95% (or more) of our driving is without the family so the Civic is always used. We have already paid for this car in the gas savings. We probably save $100 a month in gas. Gotta love the Civy!!!!

But it is enough? I don't know. We are still going on a beach vacation, although the cost of the drive is scaring the heck out of me (obviously we are taking the van). We also just drive less, consolidate trips etc..

But with the rising prices, over time people are going to have to consider BIG changes to their lifestyles.

Like moving closer to work/shopping/family - or wherever you drive the most.

Or starting to realize that you really do not need a big F250 truck, or a 4 wd SUV. My BIL still honestly thinks he can't live without his big truck. And he is in sales and spends $75 every other day filling it up. He is one of those people who wouldn't be caught dead driving a Civic.....don't get it....

Are people going to start moving away from the suburbs? Are we finally going to start constructing communities where people are encouraged to walk or bike? Are we finally going to be a country full of tiny Smart cars and bicycles like Europe?

Honestly, it may be a very positive result from this mess.

We have constructed millions of homes in communities that are only accessible by car. Kids can ride their bikes around their streets, but then they (and their parents) jump in the car if they want to go anywhere else. And then we complain that we have an obesity problem in this country so we DRIVE our kids to their organized sporting events! Crazy.

I keep thinking that as much as I love being in the country, maybe someday we may have to consider moving into the city.

And maybe the malls/Walmarts/big shopping centers in this country will actually start adding sidewalks so we can WALK to the store without having to scale a fence or trudge through a drainage ditch. I am still considering writing to Walmart about their newest store in our area where the people who literally live next door, cannot walk.

Last topic...

Not really a topic, just a couple cute pictures from the weekend:

Christina enjoying the weather this weekend after some Photoshopping to brighten/BW and remove the chocolate that was all through her teeth! I love this picture!

And Nugget in her favorite summertime sleeping spot. She loves to sleep under bushes in the mulch. But if you know cats, you can see by her ears that she knows I am nearby her. She is not completely relaxed.


Have a great week!!!

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Skywatch Friday!

I have a hard time getting good skywatch pics as I live in the woods so my sky pictures from home usually include lots of trees as well. But I liked the colors and perspective of this shot from last night.

Skywatch Friday is hosted by Wigger's World!

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Photoshop fun!

One blog I enjoy is Pioneer Woman's blog (of course, who doesn't read her?). Her stories are often interesting, but the main reason I read her is to try to grasp just a little of her incredible photography and Photoshop skills. Her photos are amazing. And her Photoshop tutorials are wonderful! She continually amazes me at how she can take a so-so picture of her kids, or her ranch, and turn them into works of art.

She recently posted a bunch of Photoshop actions that you can download for Photoshop CS. I was playing around with a bunch of her tips and actions and was pretty happy at how much I could improve this picture of Kallie:

This is her SOOC (straight out of the camera) shot. It isn't bad, she looks so happy and is having so much fun enjoying the nice weather:

But then I started making a few adjustments....

Like running the Fresh and Colorful Action, and Making eyes pop and lastly, BW beauty. Once I was done, I went into Picnik to make a slight vignette and frame (it is just easier, IMO).

And I love the final result! Her eyes just jump out of the picture.

Trying to determine what Photoshop actions would work best in what combinations with what photos is really hard.

But it is fun learning!

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Coffee! And some free stuff!

I have finally come to realize how much better a GOOD cup of coffee is. I have always been a bargain hunter. So when it came to buying coffee, whatever was the cheapest is what I would buy.

Then I had the urge to try a better coffee. The Folger's el-cheapo-roast I have been drinking is leaving a lot to be desired. So yesterday at the grocery store, I purchased a little more pricey coffee.

Holy COW! My cup of coffee this morning was so much better than the junk I used to drink. I think coffee is like many things in this world, you get what you pay for and sometimes the good stuff is worth paying for.

One of the best coffees I have had was the one I had on my honeymoon in Jamaica - Jamaican Blue Mountain. It was heavenly. But I have yet to get the nerve to shell out that much money for coffee. Last time I checked, I don't remember how much it was, but I do remember it was about 2x the cost of other coffees.

I also wanted to share a couple of coffee freebie links I have found:

A free full size bottle of Coffeemate. I prefer plain ole half and half with ALL the fat. But Coffeemate (only liquid in my book) is pretty good! Especially when it is free!

And a free sample of Seattle's Best Coffee. Never tried it, never been to Seattle, so I can't tell you if it is the best, but I will definitely try it if it is free!

Enjoy!

Oh, and I am curious...what coffee do you brew (at home) and why?

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A few more spring pics..

The daffodils are blooming...


My heather bush has a few flowers which look so much prettier in this picture than in real life...


Christina is enjoying the spring weather and is always eager to give me a big, bright smile...


And Kallie Wallie still is a very uncooperative photo subject...



Have a great one!!

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A visitor to our little world! Yikes!!!!!!

I woke this morning to bright sunny skies and cold temps, but it really looks and sounds like spring. And you definitely know it is spring when the neighborhood gets nighttime visits from our biggest resident.....Mr. Bear.

Over the weekend, we added finch food to our feeder and filled up our suet and sunflower feeders. And this is what I found this morning...

My finch feeder pulled down to the ground and chewed through and emptied...



My suet feeder pulled backwards and the feeder is gone. I even did a little search through the yard and couldn't find the feeder. Mr. Bear must have just taken it into the woods to gnaw on it.


And lastly, the biggest evidence of his visit....footprints on my back deck!


Here is a trail camera picture of this guy from last summer:


It is a little scary thinking of this big guy (he has been seen and he is BIG). But according to my hubby, this is the time of year they are more apt to be around. He is out of hibernation and he is HUNGRY. There aren't a lot of leaves and berries so they tend to come around and empty feeders. Once spring is in full bloom, they will stay in the woods where there is plenty to eat.

Until then, I think I will keep my feeders empty...I don't need to spend my money feeding Mr. Bear every night and I definitely don't want to encourage more nighttime visits!

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Weekend happenings along with some Sunday Snapshots!!!

It was a very busy weekend. I spent some time Saturday with a friend doing some shopping and lunch. It was nice. We have been friends forever...literally. Our moms grew up together so we literally have known each other since birth. We haven't seen each other in a long while so it was really nice finally getting together. We got to catch up and I got a little break from being a mom for a few hours.

Today I went up and visited my family. Christina was dying to play with her best friends/cousins so off we went. It started out as a very cold wet morning, but by mid day we had bright blue skies. I put Kallie down for a nap at my mom's and spent some time outside in her yard with my camera. Even though not much is growing yet, I still got a few fairly nice shots (click on the pics for a better view):

The maple trees are budding and the red buds looked so nice against the bright blue sky:


My parents have a little pond out back so I took a few pictures of the reflections in the pond. I never really noticed them until I started looking at her yard through my camera lens. The trees are so clear that it is hard to tell it is actually just a reflection:



I also took some pictures of the bright purple violets my mom has in her kitchen window:


Having a busy weekend can be nice...I am really looking forward to spending tomorrow just hanging around at home!

Have a great one!

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Playing with your kids

I was watching Supernanny last night. I really like that show. Initially when I watch, I wonder how in the heck a parent can let their children get so out of control. I mean, these parents really grow to resent their kids! They are MISERABLE!

Did you see the show last night? The laughing lady? Yeah, she was driving me batty!!! I could not believe that a simple trip to the drug store could be so completely out. of. control.

But as the show progresses, I sometimes feel a sense of guilt. Supernanny is very into schedules. Scheduled times to wake, eat, sleep, run errands and PLAY. I think she would be a bit appalled at my lack of a schedule.

Now I definitely believe in somewhat of a schedule, like for sleeping. I read once that the only time you can leave it up to a child as to how much sleep they get is when they are infants. I completely agree. Of course, I can't make my kids fall asleep, but I can definitely make sure my little one is in a cuddly and quiet bed for naptime, and all kids are tucked in bed at a reasonable hour. We have a neighbor with a second grader whom we see outside on walks at 9 (or later) at night! They were going in to eat dinner at 8 p.m. last night? And that neighbor complains that her daughter is a bear to get up in the morning. Is she serious!? (They are a little strange anyway, I should post a photo of their "political" signs in their yard. That is a whole post in itself....interesting...)

Anyway, what I really have a hard time with is a schedule for playtime. Supernanny advises parents to have scheduled times to sit down and play, or color, or do crafts... every day.

I do not play with my kids like that. Yes, we sometimes go on fun outings, yes, we play games sometimes, yes, I will go outside and play baseball or soccer once in a while. But no, not all the time. And no, I do not spend hours playing dolls, house, school, etc. etc. And I do not make up games for them to play. I leave that up to their own imagination.

Many times (most times), my kids play by themselves. Even during the day when my oldest is in school, my youngest plays by herself a lot. I guilt sometimes. Especially when I am doing something like blogging. But I also do a lot of other things like cleaning, laundry, yard work, bills, etc. And believe me, my house is far from perfect.

But, for some reason, my youngest Kallie is happiest when I am hard at work. When I am cleaning upstairs, she gathers up her blanket, a few toys and her drink and lays down in the doorway of each room as I clean it. She loves watching me and loves helping me. The other day, Kallie helped me pick up sticks in the front yard. She loved it!

And we also go run errands, or visit grandparents. So I am definitely not neglecting her. But I do not spend a lot of time sitting down and playing with her when we are just home during the day. My mom NEVER played with us (that was usually my Dad's job). And we turned out OK I think.

But Kallie has also learned to play so well by herself. Right now she has her Barbie and the prince doll and they are dancing together. I am not kidding, she will just hold these dolls and have them "dance" for HOURS.

So, what do you do? Do others really have scheduled "playtime"?

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Finally - getting the kiddos OUTside!!!

This weekend we finally had serious spring weather. We finally had sun AND warmth at the same time! What a novel idea!

The kids played outside a LOT, which was much needed. Five months of being cooped up inside is definitely enough. The kids eat more, sleep more, and are just much happier little campers when they get lots of time running around outside.

Take this morning.

Kallie was up at 6:30. (ugh). We got her sister off to school and came home. And then it started:

"Mommy, I want somefing to eat!"

"What do you want?"

"Ummm, go-fish!"

"Ok, here you go."

Two minutes later:

"Mommy, I want somefing to eat!"

sigh "What do you want?"

"Ummmmm, pop-ickl (a frozen gogurt to the rest of you)"

"Ok, here you go."

Ten minutes later:

"Mommy, I want somefing to eat!"

bigger sigh "What do you want!!?"

"Ummmmm, pis-getti" (spaghetti)

Mind you, this all took place between the time of 8 and 8:30 a.m. AND after she already had a breakfast of cinnamon toast and Carnation Instant Breakfast drink. It wasn't hunger, it was boredom and just general stir-craziness.

And no, she didn't get "pis-getti" at 8:30 in the morning.

So after I got Caroline up and bathed and ready to go, we headed outside. And boy that made all the difference in the world.


We went for a walk, we played baseball, we played soccer, we looked at flowers and we gobbled down a pb & j while sitting in the sun.

And then I tucked my 2 girls into bed for a nap where they quickly fell fast asleep.

I am so glad spring has sprung!!!!!

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Crocus after the rain

I got out this morning to try taking pictures of my lone flower right after the rain (click on it to see it better). This picture turned out OK, but since it was cloudy, the shutter speed was much slower and a lot of the pictures had a bit of blur to them. I should have used a tripod, but instead just balanced the camera on a rock. I completely understand why you need a tripod, I just really hate lugging it around. Maybe next time.

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Finally, a FLOWER!!! With a couple flower photography tips..

In my part of the world, we are usually the very last to see any signs of spring. In town, the leaves will be out, the flowers will be in full bloom. And, only 10 minutes away, we will be brown, brown, brown. The problem is, we are at a higher elevation than "in town" so we stay colder for longer. Not fun.

We did see some chipmunks a few weeks ago, but that has been about it.

Until today! I finally found my crocuses starting to bloom.

I love this photo I was able to get. It is pretty much straight out of the camera. Other than a little sharpening and a frame, I didn't do any Photoshop work. I think it almost looks fake!

I am always so excited to see crocuses as they are the very first thing to bloom in the spring. The only problem I have had with these flowers is where to put them in my yard. I have moved them around, but they are so small, and nothing else is green when they bloom, and they always just looked lost. So finally I dug them up and threw them in my side yard with all the dead leaves.....

Where they continue to bloom every year. They are hardy suckers! You can't kill them!

Does anyone have crocuses and discovered a nice/pretty way to display them? I'd love to hear it or see examples!

Now I am not even close to being a professional, but here are a couple flower photo tips I have recently read. Although I am sure there are a lot more:

1. Take pictures on cloudy days, you get softer light and less harsh shadows (but I took this pic in the sun).

2. Get down and take the photo at flower level or even lower- most people take flower photos from up high. I was lying on my stomach in my yard when I took this pic.

3. Fill the frame with the subject, get in as close as you can (which pretty much applies to most photos).

4. To get a dewy, misty flower look, take the photo after it rains or spritz the flower with water. I haven't tried this yet, but I definitely plan to!

I am so excited for all my flowers to start blooming. I just love spring!!!!

And now you can look forward to 8 million flower pictures over the next months!

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Look at this crazy coincidence!

I don't know if you will get as big a kick out of this as I did, but I wanted to share.

I just got this book through Amazon about my new camera.

I got it used for under 10 bucks. It is supposed to be a much better book than the manual on how to use my camera to its fullest potential. And it has some great general photography tips as well. I was excited to get it in the mail yesterday and sat right down to soak it all in. I really is an easy to read book with big full color pictures and diagrams. I can see that it definitely is going to be extremely helpful. (And if you happen to have this same camera, I would highly recommend this book.)

As I started reading the book, one of the first photos I came to in Chapter one looked very familiar.

There was no notation on what the photo was. I stared at it for a few minutes, looked through to book for some notations and found nothing. Then I quickly ran to my computer and looked up my photos from the other day. And look what I found!



Yup, I took the same exact photo of that lighthouse 2 days ago! With the same camera as the author is explaining. Strange, huh?

Now, this lighthouse is in a fairly small town. And this photographer isn't from the area as far as I can tell. It was just a complete coincidence. I don't know if anyone else cares, but I just had to share this!

And I also wanted to share a completely unrelated picture from yesterday of my youngest. We had some warm weather and Kallie and I went outside for a bit. She usually just runs away from me and my camera (I guess I my hobby is getting annoying). But I just love her look.


And lastly, I wanted to add that Christina's problem in school from the other day seemed to have resolved itself...for now. She has gone to school the last few days with a big ole smile on her face. So I really have no idea what really was wrong - sickness, mean kids, being tired - who knows what was going on. It is so hard when they are really too young to verbalize what their exact problem may be.

Have a great day. Unfortunately, our 60 degree spring weather from yesterday has turned into 30 degree weather today. Yuck.

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