On Being ROK'Zmom

Follow Me, Follow Me

2011-03-14T12:53:00.000-04:00

Okay, so obviously I'm not really keeping up with this blog anymore. It is the unfortunate by-product of focusing all my extra energies on building my photography business.

But don't despair! You can still keep up with the activities of our family, as well as those of my business on my new blog: APZ Photography Blog
Hope to see you there!

The Flowers are Coming! The Flowers are Coming!

2010-03-12T15:55:00.000-05:00

These are day lillies that were newly planted last spring. It is always exciting to see the flowers starting to poke up each spring, and there's a special excitement about seeing new plants return to life.

Artist

2010-03-11T15:51:00.009-05:00

Ryan has always enjoyed drawing with pencils. We've seen a variety of phases in his subjects: golf courses, monsters, miniature golf courses, macabre amusement parks, and now he is fascinated by fighter jets and tanks. He's really quite talented and shows a real aptitude for mechanical drawings. Perhaps a career in engineering is in his future?

Home

2010-03-10T15:48:00.011-05:00

The past few weeks have been really challenging between allergies, colds, a stomach virus, Box Tops, the passing of Kevin's grandmother which added another trip to his already quite full business travel schedule.

But today he is home until next Tuesday, and things feel better already.

What Lies Beneath

2010-03-09T15:44:00.009-05:00

The grass is just starting to get greener. I remember a book by Erma Bombeck called "The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank." Wanna take a guess what lies just below this patch of grass that is markedly greener than the surrounding areas?

2010-03-08T15:37:00.009-05:00

I found a stack of underwear in my room this afternoon. It wasn't there earlier in the day. It was all clean, but it had not been freshly laundered. Apparently Olivia and Katelyn have decided to purge their underwear drawers of all panties that featured princesses or carebears. And while I understand the sentiment, and honestly some of these are probably on the small side, I can't help feeling a little sad.

Friends

2010-03-07T15:27:00.011-05:00

The girls went to a birthday party today for our neighbor, Carly. It was a spa party, complete with manicure, pedicure, hair and makeup stations. All the moms helped out as the "technicians," and I was the photographer. Before the official fun began, I happened to capture this little pyramid of friendship as Olivia and Katy piled on top of Sydney.

Championship Bracket

2010-03-06T15:20:00.005-05:00

Today was the first game in the playoffs for this year. We came up against the Blue Devils again, the only team who we beat by only 1 point. It was an exciting game, and was pretty tight until the last quarter, but we ended up winning 23-17 which puts our team in the Championship game next weekend. Go Hokies!

Pappy, Father, Daughter Dance

2010-03-05T15:09:00.013-05:00

Par-Tay!

2010-03-04T15:03:00.008-05:00

The class that brought in the most Box Tops for our Spring contest was rewarded with an ice cream cake party donated by Kerrigan's Ice Cream, a local parlor. After counting over 12,000 coupons, I was thrilled to award the prize to Mrs. Garver's 4th grade class! And yes, that is my son in the white T-shirt in the back, and no, there was no cheating!

Always Remember

2010-03-03T14:59:00.000-05:00

I know the day will come that you won't be holding onto a favorite stuffed animal when I come in to check on you at night. I want to always remember this sweet innocence.

I DO Like Green Eggs and Ham!

2010-03-02T14:50:00.003-05:00

I always seem to remember Dr. Seuss's birthday too late to have a fun and silly celebration of our favorite author. This year, the first grade classes had pajama days and pancake parties today to celebrate and I got my act together to do something at dinner. Ryan knew about my plans, and was excited to join in the silliness. Katy and Livvy were so surprised, and Katy dug in to her green eggs without hesitation. Livvy enjoyed her ham, but wasn't willing to try the eggs--not a surprise since she doesn't like them when they're yellow either.

Evidence of Them

2010-03-01T14:45:00.011-05:00

The kids are back at school this morning after a nice, relaxing weekend. And as I walk around the house getting it back in order after a weekend of heavier use (compared to the weekdays when most of the family is out of the house), this is what I found in the living room. Guess who were making pillow forts yesterday.

Dishwasher

2010-02-28T14:30:00.002-05:00

We had a wonderful Italian dinner at our friends, the Shraga's, last night. Each family brought something to add to our feast. I made a tossed salad with homemade dressing using the recipe from Sabatino's restaurant in Little Italy in Baltimore. If I may say so myself, it was a delicious salad with romaine and radicchio, sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives, cucumbers, shaved carrots, shaved radishes and shaved romano cheese. Sure used a lot of dishes, though!

How "D" Wins Games

2010-02-27T14:25:00.007-05:00

Our basketball team is the number one team for defense in the league, allowing the least number of points scored per game and overall. Most teams are used to getting the ball and being able to shoot and possibly score. They are totally unprepared for the aggressive defense played by our boys. Here Ryan is going for the steal while Kyle West is trapping the carrier. It has resulted in games with typical scores of 20 - 4.

It's Hard!

2010-02-26T14:19:00.009-05:00

We continue to have pizza most Friday nights, but there have been some changes. For instance, instead of ordering pizza every week, we either make our own or buy frozen, and save the ordering out for once a month. Tonight, we had frozen and the girls were strangely fascinated by how the cheese and pepperoni were hard! Also, instead of watching movies, we've recently started watching Survivor taped from the previous night. The kids are really enjoying this show, and it is nice to have a break from animation.

Girls' Day

2010-02-25T13:58:00.012-05:00

Kevin and Ryan had basketball practice this evening, so the girls in the family had some time to spend. The two littlest girls thought it would be fun to do mani-pedis. So I clipped, filed, massaged and painted 20 little nails. Olivia decided to go with a single color on her toes and her hands. Katy wanted to do a pattern.

Smorgasboard

2010-02-24T13:54:00.001-05:00

Remember the robins having a worm feast on our lawn? Well they're back today. And Bella seems to be imagining a different kind of feast...

Spring's Harbingers

2010-02-23T14:58:00.000-05:00

Last night we had rain for several hours. There was a total racket outside this morning, and I looked to see what could be making so much noise. There were approximately 25 robins all over our yard and more in the trees and neighbors' yards. They were having a worm feast!

A TV of his Own

2010-02-22T14:52:00.003-05:00

Cooking Out

2010-02-21T19:48:00.001-05:00

In keeping with the warm up this weekend, we just had to cook dinner on the grill tonight. Mmmmm, cheeseburgers! With leftover tossed salad from last night's Italian-themed dinner gathering at the Shraga's. And sliced peaches.
I had planned to just cook out, but eat inside until Katy begged to "please eat outside tonight." We had to put on jackets to do so, and it was probably still a little chilly for dinner outside since the sun was on its way down, but it still felt so good to have our first outdoor meal of the year. We are all feeling the tug of the outdoors after being so cooped up most of the fall thanks to tons of rain and the winter thanks to the frigid temps. Here's to Spring! You can't come fast enough.

Yes, Spring is Coming

2010-02-20T19:26:00.000-05:00

We hit 62 today, and even though that's generally cooler than we keep our house, I couldn't resist opening the windows and letting some fresh air in. It just smells so much better and feels so much cleaner to have that air circulating. The kitties couldn't keep away from the opened windows. Midnight kept meowing when he saw the girls outside and they would come over to the window to say hello to him. Their little kitty noses were quivering with all the smells that must have been coming in through the open windows.

Warm Up

2010-02-19T19:07:00.009-05:00

When the kids got home from school this afternoon, it was in the upper 50s outside. Their eagerness to get out and enjoy the warmer weather is a testament to just how cold it has been outside this winter.

Yet another true harbinger of spring? Breaking out the baseball gear. The travel team is planning to get together next week and start gearing up for this year's tournament schedule.

Getting Healthy

2010-02-18T21:16:00.000-05:00

It's easy to eat lots of fresh veggies during the warm weather months, but I find it harder to fit in as many as I should when it's cold out. Salad is just not at the top of my list of "things I really want to eat" right now.

To help add more veggies to our daily intake, I'm trying to make at least 2, if not more with our dinner each night. Kevin's and my current favorite is this pepper, onion, mushroom medley. Sometimes I'll add a can of diced tomatoes too. It is so yummy!

My Life as a Monkey

2010-02-16T20:59:00.018-05:00

A good friend of mine once told me that her husband's philosophy about buying shredded cheese was "there's some monkey somewhere shredding that cheese and we're paying them to do it, so why don't we be the monkey?"

Made a lot of sense to me! Especially when I noticed that buying the cheese shredded vs. in a block is nearly double the price. So I tried shredding our cheese at home, and you know what I discovered? It takes about 2 minutes for me to shred an entire 8 oz. block, and if I buy the even less expensive 16 oz. block, I'm done in less than 5 minutes. I save my family at least $3.00 per week by being the monkey that shreds the cheese. And it really tastes so much better! It melts more smoothly too.

There are other "monkey tasks" I've taken on, such as buying large containers of snacks and portioning them into individual baggies, grilling more chicken than we'd ever need for a single meal and then slicing it up and freezing it to make my own "short cuts chicken," etc. And then I don't feel bad if I take a little bit of that money I'm saving and buy a delicious bottle of wine!

Bird Watcher

2010-02-15T11:41:00.007-05:00

When not staring longingly at our fish, Midnight is often found staring longingly at the birds out our kitchen window. I love to imagine the thoughts going through his little cat brain as he mentally stalks the creatures who always seem to be just on the other side of the glass.

Valentine Pictures

2010-02-14T11:22:00.018-05:00

When Ryan and Samantha were a little over a year old (in 2001), Stephanie and I got together with another friend and her daughter and set up a mini photo shoot to celebrate Valentine's day. We used the photos to make Valentines for our husbands. Little did we know at the time that a tradition was in the making.

The three of us continued to get together for the next 3 years to do Valentines pictures with our kids. In 2002, Steph's son Cam and Tracy's daughter Madison joined the group. Our 2003 pictures feature a VERY pregnant version of me--about 8 weeks before the girls were born. And in 2004, our group expanded to include Livy and Katy. Tracy moved away before Valentines of 2005, but Stephanie and I kept taking pictures in 2005 and again 2006. Then I moved to North Carolina and we haven't been together at Valentines since. Were were so excited to get the kids together for one of these group shots! I think they've changed just a little bit since 2006...

Rare Bird

2010-02-14T09:35:00.013-05:00

Getting a great, posed picture of Ryan is like searching for a rare bird. Or a needle in a haystack. He is generally so self-conscious that his smile either looks strained or fake. Or he won't smile at all. The only way I get good shots of him is when I happen to have the camera out and catch him off-guard. But today he was relaxed. And I had the pleasure of capturing him the way I see him when the camera isn't around. My sweet, funny, handsome 10-year-old son. I am so blessed to have this rare bird in my nest.

They Brought Their Weather

2010-02-13T11:18:00.005-05:00

When I checked our forecast prior to Stephanie's arrival, we were supposed to have a chilly, but dry weekend ahead. There was nothing in the forecast about snow other than a slim chance for some on Monday.
Within hours of their arrival, our forecast began to change and sure enough, the snow began falling Friday night. We got nearly 3 inches! Crazy. Fortunately it is supposed to be warm enough this afternoon that most of it should melt quickly.

Counting on Them

2010-02-12T11:10:00.015-05:00

It's Box Top season again, and Ryan and Sam were willing to help with counting the submissions we've received so far ~~out of the goodness of their heart~~ in exchange for payment. It was a fair deal to me. I got to spend the day scrapbooking instead of counting those little pieces of paper and cardboard, and they had something to keep them busy before basketball practice.

Surprise!

2010-02-11T11:03:00.010-05:00

Steph and the kids were planning to come visit us this weekend, but the status of their visit was a bit up in the air thanks to the massive amounts of snow dumped on their area. However the snow ended up allowing them to come down a day early because schools were cancelled. All the main roads were fine for travel, it was just all the neighborhood roads that were an issue for buses.
Our kids got home from school this afternoon and worked on their homework. Just as they were almost finished, the door from the garage opened and in walked Sam, Cam and Stephie! They were completely surprised and thoroughly excited. And to top it all off, Kevin got home several hours early from his 3-day trip to Houston. It was a banner day for all of us.

There IS a Sun!

2010-02-10T10:58:00.001-05:00

After almost a week of cold and dreary days, with some rain mixed in for good measure, it was a thrill to see the bright sunshine pouring in my front windows this morning.

Some People Love Ice Cream. And Some People LOVE Ice Cream...

2010-02-09T10:58:00.001-05:00

Apparently Ryan's ice cream sundae was exceptionally good tonight. I suppose tomorrow's lesson on table manners can't come too quickly...

Back to the Grind

2010-02-08T10:47:00.005-05:00

We were supposed to celebrate the 100th day of school last Friday, but our little snow storm pushed things back. One of the projects that the first grade classes do in preparation is completing an "I can Read and Write 100 Words" worksheet. It is amazing how many words the girls can actually read now and we had fun going through a few different books to fill out the worksheet. One of our favorites was "I can Teach my Dog 100 Words."

Game Time

2010-02-07T10:40:00.009-05:00

Winding down for bedtime on a cold winter night. You can't see it real well, but the fireplace is going--Kevin got it turned on today and the kids are loving it. A joint game of A-Z is being continued while Olivia gets her bath. A nice end to a quiet weekend.

Captive Audience

2010-02-06T10:34:00.015-05:00

The girls have logged a lot of hours at big brother Ryan's sporting events throughout their lives. I used to keep them entertained with snacks and little toys. Now they bring their DS's and I have pads of games they can play to help pass the time.
They check out the score every so often, and get excited when Ryan's team is winning (which has been every game so far this season). But generally their time is spent patiently waiting to leave.

Still There

2010-02-05T10:28:00.006-05:00

Typically when we get snow in North Carolina, the kids have to race out in the morning because it is gone by the afternoon. But this year, not only have we gotten more snow than usual, it has stuck around longer. This has been one of the coldest winters recorded for our area. Darn global warming...

Here we are a week after it began to fall. I know it's nothing compared to what our northern friends have been experiencing, but I'm done with the white stuff. It can go away now please.

Bounce

2010-02-04T10:24:00.005-05:00

Ryan finished his homework before any of his friends were available to play. He was dying to get outside so he made his own fun. I snapped a picture while he was bouncing a golf ball off our front porch steps and then I reminded him that perhaps he should be using a softer ball in case it accidentally slipped and hit a window...

Stir Crazy

2010-02-03T10:13:00.008-05:00

It snowed on Friday. We only got about 8 inches. Today is Wednesday, and the kids are still home from school. Seriously. It is 55 degrees outside, and what little bit of snow that was left is close to being gone. The kids haven't been able to play outside in the snow because it rained Monday and Tuesday and we're all just a little bit stir crazy!

So instead of being bored, we went bowling! It was just the kids and me, but we had a great time together.

Dramatic Much?

2010-02-02T19:49:00.001-05:00

"I look miserable." --Ryan, age 10.
With age comes responsibility and Kevin and I have decided that it is time to pass the torch of scooping the box to Ryan. He is less than thrilled with our decision. *insert evil grin here*

Dam Ice Dams

2010-02-01T20:42:00.000-05:00

Somehow all of the snow has caused an ice dam on our roof. Fortunately the leak seems to be isolated to the garage. Kevin had to take down all the tubs from the top shelf and punch a hole into the soaking, soggy drywall to create a drain last night. This seems to be helping the water not to spread and cause more drywall damage, but there is still a fairly large wet spot.

This afternoon while drying clothes, I noticed a smell like burning lint. I immediately turned off our dryer and called Kev at work. He said that our dryer vents out to the same part of the roof that had all the snow, so perhaps the vent was being blocked. I pulled all the clothes out of the dryer and hung them in the laundry room and our bathroom to finish drying. During the process, I tried to keep reminding myself that we were fortunate to have a home that could sustain damage, and clothes that required drip drying. But to be honest, I was a little frustrated at the situation.

When Kevin got home tonight, he climbed up on the roof (scaring me to death and prompting a LOT of praying on my part) to shovel the snow away from the area that he suspected was the source of the leak. Sure enough, he discovered an area that had melted, but then had re-frozen into a huge chunk of ice. This ice was blocking the melted snow from going down the roof to the downspout and the water was rising over the facia board and going into the garage. Hopefully the issue is fixed now, and fortunately Kevin is handy enough that he should be able to repair the drywall himself once everything dries out.

Hitting the "Slopes"

2010-01-31T19:58:00.002-05:00

Those Eyes

2010-01-30T16:59:00.000-05:00

They still get me every single time. What a lucky girl am I to wake up to those eyes every morning.

Here Comes the Snow!

2010-01-29T14:41:00.006-05:00

We are predicted to get 6-10 inches of snow tonight and tomorrow. So far we have about 2 1/2 as of 9 p.m. The kids are ridiculously excited and can't wait to break in their new snow boots and snow pants that they received for Christmas. It's a chilly 18 degrees F outside right now, and the snow is fine and falling steadily. It will be interesting to see what we wake to find in the morning.

The record snowfall for Charlotte, NC is 12 inches. I'm hoping we don't go breaking any records, otherwise the kids will not have a spring break!

More Toys

2010-01-28T14:34:00.000-05:00

As much as I would prefer being a completely "natural light" photographer, the reality is that there are times when there just isn't sufficient natural light to get a decent image. My camera does have a pop-up flash, but these create such harsh light and shadows. So I broke down and got a Speedlite flash that has the ability to change the direction of the light (up and down, side to side), as well as a cool little gadget called a Flip-it. The Flip-it allows me to both bounce the light regardless of the height or color of the ceiling and acts as a diffuser to further spread out the light coming off of the flash. So, just when I was starting to figure things out, now I have more to learn!

Evidence of Them

2010-01-27T14:27:00.003-05:00

It looks like the girls have been playing on the front porch and front sidewalk again. I know that the day will come that I miss finding these little reminders of their being here, and I try to keep that in mind. But if we're being honest here, I sure would prefer seeing the chalk that they left behind at least put back into its container...

Doodling with Legos

2010-01-26T13:54:00.006-05:00

When Ryan first became ~~obsessed with~~ interested in Legos, he would primarily follow the directions for whichever set he was using. But now that he has an abundance of pieces, he has started enjoying making his own creations (he refers to this as doodling). Currently, he, Brandon and Brady are working on a base and several new fighter jets. The project can keep them occuppied for hours.

the rain rain rain came down down down

2010-01-25T13:43:00.005-05:00

We had a ridiculously heavy rainstorm this weekend. At one point while I was outside for about 2 minutes, I got completely soaking wet!

The downpour was so hard that it washed a bunch of mulch out of our side bed down into the yard. Kind of an interesting pattern, but now we need to rake it back so it doesn't kill the grass.

Perhaps a good job for our growing son...

Girls Scrapbook Club

2010-01-24T13:29:00.013-05:00

Some of the moms in our neighborhood have started scrapbooking on Thursday nights. Our daughters have all been expressing interest in scrapbooking too. One of the moms was kind enough to host a scrapping party for the girls this afternoon. They were all so excited to pick out pictures and do some cutting and pasting! Marc (our hostess's husband) is an amazing cook and surprised the girls with special cupcakes that he decorated just for them. We are going to try to make this a monthly event since they enjoyed it so much.

Action!

2010-01-23T13:12:00.013-05:00

Have I mentioned how much fun I'm having with my new camera?! These shots were taken indoors, without benefit of any flash. Pretty cool, huh? Now, I know that some of the action is a bit blurry, but the overall quality is so much better than last year.

And while we're talking about things being better, you should see these 4th grade boys playing basketball! They seem to have grown so much in just one year. Not only are they taller and faster, their skills are so much better. And they're playing on courts with the net at full height. You should see them running plays with screens and their defense is getting really good too. It is so much more fun to watch their games now, not to mention exciting.

My First Newborn Photo Shoot

2010-01-22T12:59:00.007-05:00

Today was my first attempt at photographing newborns in an artistic way. This sweet little boy was just one week new, and it was quite an experience! The process to get the pictures takes much longer than expected because of the need to take frequent breaks to allow the baby to eat, or to settle the baby down and get him back to sleep (and keep him asleep when the clothes/swaddle comes off). And then there is the physiological issue of what babies do when they are without a diaper... Regardless of these factors, I'm still really pleased with how the photos turned out. Here is a small sampling of my final results.

Embracing the Spirit of the Woods

2010-01-21T12:29:00.024-05:00

There is a wooded area in our neighborhood that has become the location of a fort for the boys. Ryan, Brady and Gavin have been busy building and collecting and imagining for several months now. When Ryan describes it for me, he reminds me of when I was a kid and the fun I would have in the woods with Laura and Susan. They have created a world in their minds similar to the one in Bridge to Terabithia.

Sometimes the slightly older boys will come to play too, but they tend to scoff at the make-believe. Ryan was thoroughly annoyed with Brandon's attitude one time and said, "Look, Brandon. We know this is pretend, but we're having fun. You just need to embrace the spirit of the woods." I was so proud of him for standing up for himself and the other boys. And Brandon has begun to join in with these activities now too.

In this picture they are collecting grenades (pinecones), arrows (sticks) and other weapons for their armory.

A-Maze-ing

2010-01-20T12:21:00.006-05:00

We were given this space maze when Ryan was about 2 years old. Kevin's uncle used to work for Back to Basic Toys and someone had returned this item. They usually sell for over $200, and he got it for about $20. Cool, eh? We only pull it out a few times a year since it tends to take up an entire room while it's out, but every time it comes out the kids have so much fun with it. I love it because I make them clean the playroom before I'll set it up! Sometimes it is a playhouse, sometimes they play hide and seek in it, and lately they've been playing a game called "crusher" which involves a group inside the maze crawling around as fast as they can trying to avoid the person (crusher) outside the maze who tries to, well, crush/catch them.

Willing Model.

2010-01-19T21:43:00.005-05:00

Baking Brownies

2010-01-18T23:18:00.002-05:00

I received a Perfect Brownie Pan as a Christmas gift from Nana this year. The kids were all very excited because they had seen the amazing things this pan could do on its TV advertisements. Then, Olivia and Katy were given personalized aprons from Aunt Melanie this weekend. We have finally finished all of the Christmas cookies, and needed to make something yummy to put into the kids' lunches. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to give the new pan and aprons a try.

We found a new brownie recipe to try on Allrecipes and we were off! The girls did all of the measuring, dumping, egg cracking and mixing with just a little supervision and advice from me. They even managed to crack four eggs without a single shell fragment in the bowl! I gave the brownies a final stir or two and poured the batter into our new pan. (FYI, I followed the advice in the comments section for the recipe and reduced the amount of flour to 1 cup because we like fudgy brownies, not cakey ones).

The recipe had to bake a little longer than prescribed because our pan is a bit deeper than a 9 x 13, but the end result was delish. Ryan commented that they were the best he'd ever had, and that the advertisements were true, they really were soft on the inside and a little chewy on all four sides.

Home Again, Home Again

2010-01-17T22:40:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday, Mandy!

2010-01-16T22:24:00.021-05:00

So my sweet, adorable niece, Mandy, is one of the cutest babies I've ever seen! She is pensive, and thoughtful, and gentle in spirit. And thanks to my precious husband, I was able to be in Maryland when she first came home from the hospital, and again this year to celebrate her first birthday.

Of course I had to bring my new ~~appendage~~ ~~toy~~ camera! I took a lot of pictures, as I am currently in the "spray and pray" phase of photography: you know, take a bajillion shots and pray that a few of them turn out. And then study those that turned out to figure out what I managed to do correctly. And for those that didn't turn out quite as I had hoped, play with them in Photoshop to see if I can make them better.

My sister and brother-in-law have seen the originals of these pictures, and I think they can vouch for the fact that I have made them better. Unfortunately I didn't do as well as I had hoped in capturing this event. But I learned a lot, and that's important too.

And one of the things I learned? My sister is an awesome baker! The cupcakes and giant cupcakes she made (from scratch!) were moist and delicious, and the frosting was some of the best I've ever tasted. Go Beth!

Winter Berries

2010-01-15T22:19:00.000-05:00

Bella is Bella

2010-01-14T12:45:00.002-05:00

When we got Bella almost a year ago, she was a cute little kitten, but her markings weren't that special and she was rather scrawny looking. She really didn't live up to the meaning of her name, but in the name of Twilight, I ~~pushed for~~ suggested that name anyway. In a way, she reminded me of the little kitten that the very old man and the very old woman from Millions of Cats adopt at the end of the book. Well, just like that kitten, Bella has grown into herself and has some really beautiful, distinctive markings. And she is just as sweet, and diminutive as the kitten in the book. She's my little shadow who jumps her upper body up to meet my hand when I bend down to stroke her. She has earned a special spot in all of our hearts.

Before the Cut

2010-01-13T12:29:00.015-05:00

We took Ryan to get his hair cut today, so I convinced him to let me take a few pictures before it got neatened up. I actually like it this length but it drives Kevin nuts. This is another one of those photos where I applied the color popping technique. I think I like the technique, but wish it didn't leave the skin looking quite so washed out. Have to see if there's some way to do this while leaving the skintone more intact.

By the way, while I play around with the camera and such, I would really love any input about the results--do you like techniques used or should I not fiddle so much? That kind of stuff. Feel free to be brutally honest, please. Perhaps I should post before and after pics? In advance, thanks!

Willing Model

2010-01-12T12:19:00.006-05:00

Olivia is having fun with my new camera and keeps asking me to take her picture. And she lost another tooth.

Being Artsy

2010-01-11T12:06:00.007-05:00

Alright, so not only am I playing around with my new toys, I'm also playing with Photoshop. Apparently this technique is all the rage in portrait photography right now (the washed out color with popped eyes, not holding a cat's tail). I do like how it makes her eyes look, but not sure about the overall appearance. I'll keep playing with it though. The picture is just Katy being silly after dance class this afternoon. I asked her to show me a dance pose, but Midnight walked by and this is what she did instead. Gotta love that sense of humor.

Bokeh, Baby!

2010-01-10T14:56:00.000-05:00

Bokeh: a photography term referring to a part of an image being fuzzy or out of focus. It is used to refer to the effect of shallow depth of field that creates a pleasing blur of color behind the subject. The type of lens and the depth of field play a large part in determining how out of focus the area is and whether or not it creates a pleasing effect in the image.

I'm finally taking some pictures (153 in the past two hours, but who's counting?). It's really fun. And I'm playing with all the settings, but I'll be honest I have no idea which settings I used from one picture to the next. Some of them turned out really nicely, and others, not so much. So next I need to start playing with purpose: taking a variety of pictures with certain settings so that I can review what is and isn't working (ISO settings, white balance settings, aperture and shutter speed and all the things I don't even know to be reviewing yet!

But for today, I'm enjoying the beautiful bokeh that is so easy to get with this camera, and the crispness of the portion of the images that I focused on. And the fact that I am getting amazing shots without needing to use any flash--loving the natural light.

And now it's time to go play some more. And maybe eat something.

The Rest of My Life

2010-01-09T14:12:00.020-05:00

There's a quote from When Harry Met Sally that sums up how I've been feeling for the past 6 weeks: "when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible." Okay, it's not entirely accurate, I've already known who I want to spend the rest of my life with for some time now. But I did realize what I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing as far as a career is concerned, and waiting for that to start has felt interminable.

When January 1st finally rolled around and I could make the purchases (gotta maximize those tax deductions!), I felt giddy. But then there was the wait for them to start arriving. My camera bag came on Wednesday. My lenses came on Thursday. And my new baby came on Friday. But then I had to wait for the battery to charge. And then I realized that I didn't have a memory card--it supposedly shipped on the 3rd, but I was notified on the 6th that my order had been cancelled because they were out of stock. Huh.

So today, all of my stuff was ready. Today was the day that I could finally start to play. I'm embarrassed to say that I found the prospect thoroughly overwhelming. Just look at that monster! It's a really big camera. And it's got so many buttons and knobs and screens and things that I don't understand. So I sat, and read my manuals, and looked at it, and couldn't bring myself to actually take a picture. Lame. I know.

I guess the rest of my life can start tomorrow, because tomorrow I WILL pick it up and start shooting.

Mommy Playdate

2010-01-08T14:07:00.006-05:00

What better way to kick off the weekend than with a Mommy Playdate? Ryan was outside playing with his friends, and Barbara came over with Mia, Carly and her new Scrabble board. None of the other mommies in the neighborhood were available to play (until Allyson showed up a little later). We enjoyed some wine, snacks, Scrabble and laughs, all while waiting for the UPS man to show up with my new toy...

Evening Dash

2010-01-07T14:02:00.009-05:00

Katy helped get drinks ready for dinner tonight. She loves taking the drink orders and then preparing what was requested. And I think she only licked the chocolate off of her own spoon, but I can't be certain about that!

After dinner, we piled into the van and headed back up to the school for the Science Fair awards ceremony. We received a call from the school this afternoon letting us know that Ryan was one of the top three students for the fourth grade. Not bad considering there were over 180 entrants. He was thoroughly embarrassed when I rushed up to snap a picture, and refused to look over at me.

Baby Book

2010-01-06T17:13:00.001-05:00

Olivia's teacher is getting ready to go on maternity leave next week. She'll be back in March, and plans to stay active with lesson planning during her leave. The teacher's assistant will still be in the classroom, so a level of continuity will be maintained for the kids. We are planning a small shower for her on Friday, and one of the gifts is a scrapbook that I am putting together from her students. Each child was given several writing prompts from which to choose, (When I was a baby I liked... or The best thing to do if a baby is crying is... or If babies could talk they would say...). Today I took pictures of each of them holding a babydoll which will go on their page along with their sage advice. In addition to her advice to give a baby lots of love, Olivia commented that she thinks her teacher's new baby will be very cute. I'm sure he will be too, but not as cute as my sweet girl!

Just in Time

2010-01-05T16:53:00.019-05:00

I have always been a procrastinator when it comes to projects, and have tried to instill better habits in my children. Generally, I've been successful, but this particular project that spanned the Christmas season was an exception. There was just so much else going on throughout December, that I didn't stay on top of Ryan to get it completed earlier. Oh, and there was the issue of our not purchasing him the sugar cubes until two days ago that may have had an impact. But the project is done, just in time to be turned in by tomorrow's deadline.

While helping him to get the numerous photos into smaller formats, he commented "Mom, I really appreciate what you're doing for me." Without any prompting from me or Kevin. I was floored, and touched, and made to feel worthwhile with that one little heartfelt sentence. If only they understood how something so little means so much.

ETA:
Ryan won 2nd place for the entire 4th grade in the science fair! We are so proud! And is it bad to say thoroughly surprised?

Getting Ready

2010-01-04T17:16:00.009-05:00

I am so excited about launching this photography business! I am spending ridiculous amounts of time going to other photographer websites to get ideas about what I do and don't want to include in mine. And then there's the time spent in Photoshop trying to design a logo. I've registered my domain name and gotten it linked to the host site and have set up a custom e-mail account, and purchased a book about HTML and CSS so that I can hopefully design my website myself rather than having to pay someone else to do it for me. I've spent countless hours researching cameras and lenses and figuring out what do I have to have to get started and weeding out those things that I'd like to have but that can wait until I'm making some income. My gear has been ordered and should all be starting to arrive by the end of this week! Oh, and I have my first newborn client--Olivia's teacher. I've offered to photograph her baby for free in exchange for allowing me to use any good pictures I happen to take in my portfolio. So excited to see where this career will take me and my family, and having a hard time waiting for it to start already!

Science with an Ulterior Motive

2010-01-03T16:47:00.010-05:00

All students in the 4th and 5th grades are required to submit a project for the Science Fair. Ryan has been talking about his project for over a month and we finally bought the sugar cubes today so that he could complete the testing. He wanted to see what effect temperature, agitation and acidity would have upon the rate of dissolution of a sugar cube. Cool, right? But as soon as we got the sugar cubes open, the real reason for his decision to conduct this experiment became apparent as he began begging to "please let me eat just one!"

Extracted

2010-01-02T16:16:00.000-05:00

Olivia got a DS for Christmas along with a game that has allowed her to adopt and train several puppies. She hasn't complained about being bored once since she got it. Guess she knew what she was talking about.

A New Year, A New Project 365

2010-01-01T15:57:00.013-05:00

It's a new day, it's a new year, and it's a new Project 365. I can't wait to see where this year takes us, and I welcome you to join our family's journey. And what better way to begin a new year than with a well-organized garage? There are also all new shelves on the wall to the left. Kevin's favorite part? So many shelves are completely empty! What a great feeling to know there is some room to grow, if needed.

I Did It!

2009-12-31T15:44:00.029-05:00

Zirkle Project 365 is complete for 2009! I can not believe that a whole year has passed since beginning this endeavor. Time has a way of flying by, but I'm enjoying reliving the minutiae of the year as I review the pictures that I've taken.

And now it's time to evaluate the project as I gear up to do it again in 2010 (hey, that rhymes):

I love my results, and feel as if my photography skills have really improved over the past year, but the pictures and accounts seem to be a bit one-dimensional since nearly all of the pictures were taken by me and all of the updates were written by me. In 2010, I plan to give the camera to other family members more often and have them supply the written update to correspond with their pictures.
I need to make sure that I get the pictures posted more frequently, because doing more than a week's worth of pictures at a time is really overwhelming. And I also need to recognize that posting the updates on a daily basis is just not realistic. So, continue posting each day's picture and update, but perhaps every 3 days, instead of daily or weekly or (ahem) monthly.
More reader input would be greatly appreciated! See a picture that you really like? Leave a comment! Did a post crack you up? Let me know! It is so much easier to keep up with this type of a task if I know that folks are reading it.

Thanks to this project, I have been inspired to turn my passion for photography into a business, so be looking for some updates about that in future posts. I can't wait to take a picture of my new camera!

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T15:38:00.007-05:00

We rang in the new year with our neighborhood friends at the Christiano's house. The kids came too for a fun night of games, karaoke, and general frivolity. We're not talking about the table though. Sigh.

Necessary Mess

2009-12-30T15:31:00.011-05:00

Kevin has been frustrated with the shelving in our garage for some time now. So now he is building new shelves that will get a lot of stuff off the floor, allowing more room for bikes and scooters. Of course, before new shelves can go in, everything needed to come off the old shelves. Seemed like a perfect excuse for me to get all of our Christmas decorations put away since all of the tubs were already down. We're both looking forward to starting the new year with the house cleaned up and a bit more organized.

Gaming with Gram

2009-12-29T15:26:00.005-05:00

One of the girls' favorite new games is Parchesi. Gram was patient enough to play it with them four times during her visit with us. That's saying a lot because the game is not a fast one, and they can get a little distracted after the first 30 minutes of play. Today's game followed a fun girls day of shopping with lunch at Panera while Kevin and Grandad started work on new shelving in our garage.

Devoured

2009-12-28T15:22:00.001-05:00

Baking with Nana

2009-12-27T15:17:00.009-05:00

Nana brought a new recipe with her for old-fashioned pound cake. It required sifting the flour three times! She had a special cake pan shaped like a circle of Christmas trees and she sprinkled the finished cake with powdered sugar and red and green sprinkles to make them look like they had been decorated with snow. It was so pretty, and the cake was quite tasty.

All Together

2009-12-26T15:11:00.018-05:00

My parents came today to share in the celebration of Jesus' birthday. It was their 45th wedding anniversary! I prepared a special turkey dinner, followed by Paula Deen's Molten Lava Cakes (if you've never tried these, this is the best recipe I've ever found, and they are sooooo delicious). There was a lot more game playing: Apples to Apples Jr., Parchesi, and Sudoku, which all led to more laughter. Katy couldn't resist the invitation to get really messy and pick the turkey carcas with Grandma.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T15:05:00.001-05:00

Not only did we spend Christmas morning in our house this year, we got to spend the whole vacation here because all the grandparents came to us. Christmas morning started early (5:56 a.m. to be exact), but it was relaxing and full of love and laughter. We spent the rest of the day playing games and just enjoying our time together. I have never felt more blessed.

Christmas Eve

2009-12-24T14:58:00.016-05:00

I purchased a gingerbread house kit at the beginning of this month and have been asked nearly every day if today was the day we would get to decorate it. There has been so much other stuff going on, that it just hasn't been a good time. Several days ago, Katy suggested that we wait and do it with the grandparents, which I thought was a fabulous idea! Grandma did the icing, and the kids did the candy. By the last side, the kids decided to try to fit as much candy on as possible just to be funny and I love their resulting candy mosaic.

We also had a lot of discussion about what to do about Santa's treats this year because of our milk-loving kitties. I suggested leaving a beer, but they didn't like that idea, so Olivia wrote Santa a note and we put the glass of milk in the fridge.

It's the Most Sweet Time of the Year

2009-12-23T19:46:00.000-05:00

At least it is around our house. I try to keep the amount of sweets around the house to the bare minimum to avoid temptation for all of us. At most, there is one type of sweet item to pack in lunches, and perhaps some ice cream for dessert after dinner. There's cake for birthdays, but that's really it. So the kids are completely excited and a bit overwhelmed by the fact they have five kinds of cookies from which to choose! The decision can be really tough, so tonight I let them each pick two. It was still a big decision, but the reward was so sweet.

Wrapper in Training

2009-12-22T16:44:00.008-05:00

When I was a pre-teen, I wrapped nearly all of the Christmas gifts for my family. I really enjoyed making the boxes look pretty, although I never came close to rivaling Aunt Melanie's talent--some of her boxes are still circulating! Somehow, after we got married, Kevin took on the roll of wrapper for our family. He is an expert at using the absolute minimum of paper, and while his packages turn out a bit utilitarian and minimalist, they are very neatly executed. This year, Ryan expressed an interest in wrapping his gifts to his sisters, and I wonder if perhaps the torch is being passed again.

Breakfast of Zirkles

2009-12-21T15:31:00.001-05:00

When I came downstairs this morning, I discovered that all three kids and Kevin had already finished breakfast. And none had remembered to put their cereal boxes away. Grrrrr.

The Last Sunday of Advent

2009-12-20T15:25:00.014-05:00

We have two manger scenes, or creche, in our home, but this one is my favorite. It reminds me a lot of the one we had in my house when I was growing up, and it was Kevin's from when he was a boy. The kids love plugging in the light bulb to illuminate it each day, and it helps us all to remember the focus for this season. It is also a tiny bit bittersweet, because just a few years ago the figures would be rearranged every time I saw it, but now the kids keep their hands to themselves. I guess the mantra: "Look with your eyes, not with your hands" finally stuck.

Christmas Came Early

2009-12-19T14:19:00.007-05:00

We got the kids new snow boots and snow pants this year for Christmas. We weren't sure if we'd get any snow this winter, but knew we were planning to try snow tubing a few times. Thanks to the early arrival of winter, some presents arrived early too. The kids loved their new boots (good thing because I bought them large so they can wear them for 2 years). Unfortunately the snow pants did not arrive in time, so we made due with old, short ones and some other waterproof clothing items (e.g. Kevin's rainpants zipped off to shorts underneath one of the girl's sweatpants covered with jeans).

Snow Day

2009-12-18T13:45:00.000-05:00

At this point, we have had freezing rain and sleet for about 5 hours, so there is a very slick surface on all the roads. The kids have been home from school since 10:15 a.m., and we have everything we need in case of power outages. There is a chance we may get a good amount of snow, but it will probably be mostly ice. The kids are dying to get out and play in it, but the snow that is falling is very wet and mixed with sleet so it hurts when it hits you. But it is quite novel to have snow and Christmas decorations at the same time in North Carolina! We're not naive enough to say we'll have a "white Christmas," but we'll enjoy the snow for the time we have it.

ETA: We ended up with about 4 inches of snow when we went to bed, but it changed over to freezing rain which compacted it down to about 2 inches when we woke up.

Christmas Party

2009-12-17T11:25:00.000-05:00

Aftermath

2009-12-16T13:07:00.015-05:00

Katy and I sometimes butt heads. Today, she refused to take her cold medicine because she claimed it felt like slugs in her mouth. I gave her 5 minutes to take the medicine on her own or I would give it to her. She chose not to take it on her own, so I chose to give it to her. And then she spit it all out into my hand.

In one of my not-so-proud parenting moments, I then smeared the goo all over her face. How's that for maturity? So, I may be a grown-up in age, but I still am learning to control my temper. After Kevin cleaned her up (he recognized that I was probably not of the proper mindset at the time), Katy apologized to me for not taking her medicine. And I apologized for my reaction. And we both forgave each other and moved on.

Believe!

2009-12-15T22:32:00.000-05:00

It is a first grade tradition at our school for the children to come back to school one evening just before Christmas in their PJs for a special The Polar Express night. Livvy and Katy were so excited, they could barely finish dinner (I'll blame it on excitement, and not the fact that they didn't really like my baked ziti...). They were greeted by their teachers, who were also sporting PJs, and each received a golden ticket to board. Then it was hot cocoa and Christmas cookies all around, a craft, and finally each student received a jingle bell to prove that they still believed, just like the boy in the story.

Cooooooookieees!

2009-12-14T20:32:00.000-05:00

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons brandy
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 package white chocolate chips
1 1/4 cups dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cream together butter and sugars until smooth. Add eggs and brandy. Stir in flour and baking soda until incorporated. Mix in chips and cranberries. Drop by rounded tablespoonful onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Yield: 4 dozen

Sleepy Head

2009-12-13T16:49:00.000-05:00

After the benefit concert, we went to our neighbor's home with the other neighborhood families whose daughters were in the concert for dinner. We all enjoyed pizza and games and the girls played for a while and then watched a movie. Olivia didn't manage to stay awake through much of the movie and Kevin settled her down in the quieter front room. By the end of the movie, all but two of the girls had fallen asleep. The boys were all at Brandon's sleepover birthday party, so things were definitely quieter than usual. We let them all sleep on the couches for a little bit longer while we finished a rousing game of Catch Phrase.

Better Late Than Never

2009-12-13T16:15:00.000-05:00

Usually our house is completely decorated by December 7th, but we've been a bit slow this year. The weather has not been cooperative with getting outdoor lights up: it's either been way too windy or raining, or I've had other projects taking precedence. And then my concerns about decorations with the cats has slowed me down inside. Fortunately, the kitties are showing little, if any, interest in our holiday decor, so I'm moving forward full tilt! If we were traveling for the holidays, I'd probably not bother with anything other than the tree with such a late start, but since we'll be home for the first time in years, and actually have visitors coming to celebrate with us, I'm going all out!

Sticky Situation

2009-12-13T16:04:00.000-05:00

We've been having some issues of late with the girls using stickers in ways they shouldn't. Primarily putting stickers on surfaces that aren't meant to have stickers on them: walls, toys, furniture, etc. Our house rule for stickers has always been: only on paper or people. Because of the aforementioned misuse of stickers, I have confiscated all stickers and only allow the girls to use them while I'm supervising them (quite a step backwards for them). Apparently I missed some sticker sheets, because this is how Katy came downstairs for dinner today. My first instinct was to get angry. After all, she had used stickers without my supervision. However instead of reprimanding, I reached for my camera. Can you see the relief shining through in her smile? I took the chance to praise her using the stickers in an acceptable way before having her bring the sheets down for me to add to my stash.

Holiday Benefit Concert

2009-12-12T16:33:00.016-05:00

Most years ADFA performs the Nutcracker at Christmas. But this year, a benefit concert was planned with the proceeds to benefit the Loyd family. The Loyd's youngest son was severely injured in April when his grandfather backed over him with a riding lawn mower. The child's recovery has been nothing short of miraculous, but their medical expenses are massive. The girls got to perform a dance to "Let it Snow." They were so excited for their stage debut. After their performance, we stayed to watch the ballet company perform excerpts from the Nutcracker. This was their first time to see a ballet performed live, and they were enchanted by what they saw.

Just Skate

2009-12-11T16:29:00.005-05:00

I'm waiting for the pictures, unfortunately I left my camera in my van and didn't take any myself. Grrr. But the girls' best friend Sydney had a roller skating party for her birthday tonight. Kevin and Ryan missed the fun because of basketball practice, but the girls and I spent the evening making memories together. We can't wait to go back! We all started out in traditional skates, but first Katy, then Olivia and finally I switched over to blades. I was so proud of how well they did with learning this new skill.

The Halls are Decked

2009-12-10T16:27:00.004-05:00

All of our holiday decorating is finally done! I can't wait for folks to come down and see things in person. Now to move on to the baking. For some reason the kids are w-a-y more excited about the baking than they have been about the decking...

Grouchy Helper

2009-12-09T16:22:00.008-05:00

Generally Olivia is quite helpful around the house. She often asks to pitch in with things that I'm doing, and loves earning quarters for doing chores. But today was not one of those days. She prefers unloading the top shelf of the dishwasher, and was really angry about getting stuck with the bottom shelf because of the silverware. I tried to snap her picture to share her grouchy expression, but she deliberately pulled her hair forward to try to hide her face. Despite her grumpy attitude, she did still complete her assigned task.

Field Trip Chaperone

2009-12-08T16:15:00.009-05:00

The days of Ryan wanting me to chaperone his field trips are limited. In fact, once he gets to middle school, there are no parent chaperones anymore. So when he asked me to please volunteer for his class trip to Old Salem, I made the necessary arrangments to do so. It was a great (albeit cold) day filled with hands-on activities to help learn about colonial times in this Moravian settlement. I got lucky with a great group of students, and we all had a lot of fun. Ryan's favorite part? The bakery. Mine too. :)

Keeping Dinner Fun

2009-12-05T15:43:00.006-05:00

I love those days when I ask Kevin "what are you in the mood to have for dinner?" on a weekend and he replies "Chinaman!" Okay, not grammatically or politically correct, but gives me a thrill nonetheless. There was a time, not that long ago, that the kids would groan when we ordered Chinese food, but not anymore. Ever since I pulled out my chopsticks, Chinese food is fun. An adventure! And eagerly anticipated. I'm amazed at what they are willing to try, if only they get to try to eat it with two sticks. Their current favorite is General Tso's chicken, but they have tried (and enjoyed) Moo Shu chicken and they all eat tons of the vegetables. Almost makes me want to break out the chopsticks at every meal, but then they would lose their novelty, and also their effectiveness.