photography

Well, I have been getting lots of positive feedback about the photography lately (Yeah me!) and also lots of questions. Here are a few answers:

I use a Nikon D50. It was Nikon's entry level digital SLR camera. It has been replaced by the Nikon D40. Most of the time I shoot with either a 50mm or 85mm lens.

I've linked some good posts about basic photography techniques to get all of you started on your way to better pictures too. Go here at In the Trenches of Motherhood. Then try Creating Keepsakes here, here, here (although the video link doesn't work anymore) and here.

In partnership with good pictures, there is good post processing too. I use Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0. Doing just a few simple things can make a huge difference. Call it today's digital darkroom.

Remember, I take A LOT of bad pictures too. I'm learning and practicing all the time. My friend even told me I was abusing my kids with the camera (and then she asked me to take her kids' pictures too, ha ha). While I have learned a lot there is still much to learn. Let's all get picture happy together!

happy color

I painted my basement with the help of my brother, Colin. Goodbye boring beige. Hello, Lime Rickey.
Yep, its green. Its rather bright. Maybe too bright. However, it is a basement playroom. Dave thinks its great and when he gives me positive feedback with no qualifiers, I have to be pleased. I see this glimpse of color from upstairs when I walk out of the laundry room. I smile every time.

I think I want black and white furniture/accessories with other pops of bright colors. Wouldn't it be fun to put these on the wall.


I can't put much in the way of furniture down there since that is where I teach Kids Company. However, if I had the room and of course the money, I would buy this chair from Ballard Designs. I would be so happy to sit and read while the kiddos played.
Well, its fun to dream but the reality is that I probably won't do much for a while. At least its painted.

I have cute neighbors

We were outside playing. I had my camera of course. I noticed my neighbor's one year old walking, which I hadn't seen before. She said, "You can take pictures if you want." Okay, twist my arm.

Beethoven's wig is really big...

Sing that sentence to the tune of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. My kids love these CDs.


They are light-hearted and creative. Its a great way to introduce your kids (and yourself) to classical music. Although, you won't be able to hear Eine Kleine Nachtmusik without thinking, "Mozart, please don't play your violin at night."

Today Slade and Emma were playing with Playdough. Out of the blue, they start having a wonderful musical conversation. They were making up their own words to Hungarian Dance #5 by Brahms. Made me so happy.

We also like the Classical Kids CDs. We have enjoyed: Mozart's Journey Through the Magic Flute, Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery, and Mr. Bach Comes to Call. However, the best one we've heard by far is Beethoven Lives Upstairs. Find it here.

Its always fun when Grandma comes...

When Grandma comes, hooray! And this time she brought Grandpa with her. Hip Hip Hooray! We had lots of fun with Grandma and Grandpa Slade the last few days. Keri got to enjoy them on Wednesday but they came down to my house on Thursday. Grandpa took us to his favorite store, DI. Twice. We came home with a bike for me, a bike for Nathan, a wingback chair, a new toy for Slade and rollerblades for Emma. Gotta love DI.

Mom made Nathan's requested blue birthday cake for his birthday party Thursday night. She put blue food coloring in the batter, decorated the outside with blue frosting, blue M&Ms and blue Skittles. Cake, frosting, candy. Sugar, sugar, sugar. Yum, yum, yum.
Nathan got a big playground ball as a present. Good excuse to go outside, enjoy the lovely weather and take pictures. Lots.
Friday night we went up to Draper to watch my brother Colin perform with the BYU Folkdancers. He is on Spring Performing Arts Company. Dave and I performed on SPAC in 1996 (man, was it really so long ago?). Friday night's performance was for a ward party. It was a gorgeous setting, right up against the mountain. They were great. Good times. Good memories.
On Saturday, Emma had her last soccer game. This was her first season of soccer and she loved it. They lost the game but as Dave likes to say there were moments of brilliance when the girls were actually passing the ball and working together. Too bad it was the last game.
The fun just never seemed to stop on Saturday. We came home and sent the kids outside to play. Nathan also a got one of those water T-ball things so they got their swimming suits on and got wet. Colin, my brother, brought three of his friends over. We played Cucumber and ate lots of cookies (I made the chocolate with mint chips). Mom and Dad left to go see Keri in Thoroughly Modern Millie at the Hale Center Theater, so it was out to the yard for us. I mowed. Dave started to tackle the weeds taking over the side yard. I also swept all the sand from our stairwell that is underneath the deck. We had the sandbox on the deck and of course, the kids don't keep the sand in the sandbox despite our endless nagging. I think I swept of a 50 lb. bag worth of sand. Too bad it had too many dead bugs and leaves in it to make it reusable. Anyhow, it felt to good to be outside and get some needed work done.

To finish off the wonderful weekend, we went to Keri's for dinner. Once again, lovely weather, good food and great company. After crying the whole weekend every time she came near, Sawyer finally warmed up to Grandma a little. She introduced him to watermelon rinds.
I took lots of pictures of Nathan and finally got one I like.
Its always sad to see company leave. Thanks for coming Mom and Dad. We loved every minute.

one, two, THREE

Happy Birthday, Nathan!

To celebrate:

ate pancakes
played with playdough
ate Dino nuggets for lunch
played with water in the sink
played outside
ate pizza for dinner
went on a walk to the park
and played in the bathtub

The big three. Three at our house means no more pacifiers, no more diapers. I don't think Nathan is going to like three. I am not so sure I am ready for him to be three either. He is very attached to his pacifiers. And potty-training is such a pain. Plus, what will I blame for his latest misdeeds (like lotion all over the living room rug) if he is no longer in the terrible twos?

to my mother

We had my sister Keri and her family over for dinner one evening not too long ago. We were playing Settlers and Keri said something about me being careful or I'll turn into Mom. Dave replied, "Too late." Its true I am very much like my mother. I find that a very high compliment indeed.

Mom, Happy Mother's Day!

Thank you for:
loving me
loving my children
loving my dad
developing your talents and sharing them with others
seeking knowledge
living the Gospel
and for aiming high in everything you do.

I could go on and on. For these and everything else that you do and are, I will forever be grateful. I am so glad I am your daughter!

not just a mom

Today, I watched Jane Clayson Johnson's opening address at the Sept. 2006 American Mothers Conference. It was rebroadcast on BYUTV and I was able to watch it on-line. I was grateful for the uplift and the reminder that I am not just a mom. I am a mother!

You can watch it on-line here. Choose Sunday, May 13, for the date. Jane's talk was at 12:00. You can also watch Stephen Covey's at 12:30 and then Flylady at 1:30. I found Jane's talk to be by far the most inspiring. You can also read the text of her talk here. Enjoy.

genius lost

Last night I was busily typing away a post of pure genius! It was brilliant and witty. I'm sure you would have raved about it. Alas, just as I was finishing, the power went out and all was lost.

Just kidding. I was actually just writing about more of my exciting adventures in parenthood. I share these with you so you feel better about your skills as a parent because though your kids may drive you crazy, at least they aren't like mine! Yesterday, it was Nathan again who gave us such delight. The downstairs toilet was completely plugged up. No amount of plunging made a difference. Finally, Dave went to Home Depot and got some sort of something designed to fish out whatever is blocking the pipe. He managed to pull out an orange rubber ball, just the right size for complete blockage. I should have taken pictures. Then, we got to enjoy Nathan's presence longer than usual, as he would not go to sleep. 10:00, still up. 10:30, still up. 11:00, still up. Finally, by 11:30 he had zonked on the family room floor. I know, I know. All of you parents with well-behaved children would surely have just put him in bed and shut the door with a child-proof knob on it. Oh well.

In order to make myself feel better about myself, I like to think that all of these traits--independence, persistence, curiosity--will someday serve my children well. If only I could teach them the other qualities they need like obedience and respect for property.

cute, isn't he?

Sawyer is 7 months old (two days ago but I forgot to post). We went to the doctor today for his six month well-baby check-up (yep, I'm late on that too). He is 18 lbs. (50th percentile) and 28 inches (95th percentile). He also had to get four shots. Ouch.

He has two teeth now. He got one of them on the same day that Emma lost one. He eats a ton. He is still drooling like a running faucet. He is also starting to get up on his hands and knees. Agh! I don't need a mobile baby on my hands!

Anyhow, for all you out there, who care about my little guy's growth, Sawyer is doing great!

weapons of mass destruction

About a week or two ago, Slade was possessed with some kind of desire for destruction. He took a steak knife and stabbed several holes in our family room sectional. All on one cushion, luckily. I never got him to actually confess but Nathan, who usually is the one leaving mayhem in his wake, kept telling me that "Fwade did it."

Today I walked into the living room to find Slade sitting on the couch with a steak knife in hand. My quick glance did not reveal any damage so I just gave the standard lecture about knives being dangerous, took it and left. Of course, tonight as I sat on the couch trying to compose myself from some other adventure in parenthood, I felt holes.

WHY?????? Tell me its not just my children! Perhaps it is just my offspring so would the rest of you out there with well-behaved, non-destructive children please let me know how you do it. I could use some help. And a new couch. Or two.

a chocolate chip cookie kind of day

Today was one of those days. The lovely spring weather we've been enjoying turned into the other kind of spring weather--cold and rainy. I actually like rainy days. They're perfect for snuggling up inside with a good book. However, my children do not like to snuggle up with me so rainy days can be awful. I needed to reclaim my house after the last few days of company, so I indulged in a special treat for the kids--TV in the morning.

Things seemed to go steadily downhill after that. Lots of crying and fighting. Whining from Emma about having to do schoolwork. Chocolate milk all over the kitchen, compliments of Nathan. Dave came home for lunch but instead of eating spent the lunch hour dialed-in to work. He is stressed. I taught a class of Kids Company today. Only 4 out of 7 girls showed up and Sawyer suddenly decided that a babysitter would just not do and screamed inconsolably. I finally had to get him and just teach while holding him.

Anyhow, I have a point. It was one of those days when you just have to whip up a batch of the best chocolate chip cookies ever. Comfort food. Fat and sugar and lots of it. I thought I would share my favorite recipe for when you have such a day.

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies (via www.allrecipes.com)

2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 package vanilla pudding
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
Chocolate chips

Whisk flour and baking soda together in separate bowl. Set aside. Cream butter and sugars (I like to cream for a minute or two, until it gets lighter in color). Add pudding. Add eggs and vanilla, then flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls on stone. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Makes about 3 dozen.

I cook these on a baking stone which may add to their yummy goodness. The first batch goes in for about 10 minutes and the second for 8 since the stone is heated. Store them in an air-tight container and they are even better the next day. This recipe is also fun for variations. I have baked and enjoyed chocolate pudding with chocolate chips and chocolate pudding with mint chips. Yum-o! When I make these with chocolate pudding, I add about a third of a cup of cocoa in with the flour to boost the chocolate taste.

The cookies must have helped too because the afternoon did get better. The rain stopped and so Emma and Slade got to play with friends. Nathan fell asleep. Tonight Dave "sacrificed" to stay home and play video games with the boys so Emma and I could go watch a concert. And we all get to sleep in our own beds tonight.

a new family begins

My cousin Shea got married today. She married very handsome, wonderful, Brazilian Bernardo (Berns). I have been privileged to have four stunning Brazilian women in my house the last two nights along with Shea.

Dave took some time off work this morning so I could go to the wedding. They were married at the Mt. Timpanogos Temple which is only about three minutes away from my house. It is always good to be reminded of the covenant I made myself almost nine years ago. Those words are always very powerful. It was also neat to see sweet little ball-of-fire Riley sealed to Shea and Berns. Quite awesome really.

At the luncheon afterwards, we ate yummy "Fiesta Chicken". My aunt Denise gave me her recipe--salsa verde (pureed in a blender), sour cream, lemon juice and cumin, with chicken. The exact amounts for those ingredients are left to the chef's discretion. You know, until it tastes good. Serve over fettuccine noodles. Delish. Try it. And if you come up with some actual proportions for the ingredients, let me know.

Beautiful weather. Beautiful ceremony. Beautiful bride. Beautiful day.

saggy trampoline sadness

Alas, all is not well with our new trampoline. We purchased a "soft-bounce" trampoline, designed for children under 8. Within just a minute or two of jumping, Emma replied, "This trampoline isn't bouncy at all." So our soft-bounce trampoline would appear to be more of a saggy-bounce. The kids actually leave behind indentations in the mat. I don't think that is supposed to happen. It just isn't taut at all.

We have contacted the company and sent them some pictures. I really hope they will help us resolve this without too much drama.

a happy mail day

Yesterday all three of the shipments I have been expecting were delivered. I got new photo books and a new math curriculum for Emma and Slade. Last but not least, we also got this:




My favorite moment of the night was when Slade, who was frustrated about everybody stealing his bounce, said, "Okay, everyone who is not me, stop." The kids are out back happily jumping away right now. Yeah for trampolines! Yeah for good mail days.