Picture Perfect ... Almost!

Man-Made I guess this is more kid made than man made!

My kids make the strangest faces when they play!! I promise they were having fun!!

I'm in the second week of my photography editing , self-care class.  This week's focus for the photos was getting into the photos myself.  It was about thinking of who I am - what I enjoy doing, what I dislike about myself, what words describe me. Then, we edited our photos in black and white.  I had no idea there was more to black and white than just removing the colors.  Now I know SO much more about doing this edit.  I learned how to up the contrast so the picture is brighter.  Picmonkey has awesome color tints to add an artistic feeling to the pictures.  Mostly I learned black and white is a great way to turn a photo whose color is off into something great again! Here are the photos I took along with how they fit our weeks focus. I know this one isn't me but it was grainy from a high ISO before the ed it and it's cute! The beach is a place I feel happy and calm.  It's a place I can enjoy my family and feel peaceful no matter what is happening!

This week's topic for my Project 52 was "Details."  I was having a hard time deciding what to photograph because my lens doesn't zoom way in.  I have to be a little bit back so getting the close details of something was difficult.  Then D inadvertently solved the problem for me. When I picked her up from school on Wednesday the teacher reminded her to look at her jacket so she could remember what it looked like.  It's a new jean jacket that she had never worn before.  As we left I said "Don't forget, it has pretty flowers on it."  She looked at me and said "I'll remember it's mine because it has sparkles in the center of this flower."  I looked and sure enough pink sparkles.  I smiled as I realized she focused on the pretty details of the jacket rather than the big idea of the flowers.

I'm taking another photography class for the next 12 weeks.  It's called "Radiate" and it centers around self-care with editing as the photography focus.   This week the focus was finding the pieces of yourself that others don't know just by looking at you.  It was about introducing ourselves to others through both pictures and words.  But not doing this focused only on what we do.  I always have trouble answering the question "What do you do?" from people I just met.  This week gave me a chance to examine this question and I found the answer is much more complex than just "stay at home with my kids."  In fact the question for me becomes, "Who are you?" not "What do you do?"  There are many pieces of me that are just laying low at the moment (National Board certified teacher, cross stitcher, dancer).  These pieces are just as important to who I am as the ones I use each day. I really enjoyed this introspection.  It's

D started Preschool last week.  She goes 5 days a week from 9-11:30.  After much discussion last Spring, B and I decided to put her in the "almost 5" class even though her birthday isn't until late January.  Our hope was this would provide a bit more academic challenge and structure similar to Kindergarten.  The structure is wonderful with what I've termed structured independence.  The kids know what they are supposed to do and how to move around the room.  But it's up to them to do it.   D LOVES school and can't wait to go each morning.  So far her proudest moment was last Tuesday (the 2nd day), standing in front of the class and counting by herself to 100.  This is a goal the teachers hoped the kids would master by the end of the year.  She got a gumball certificate that is displayed proudly on our basement door.

Week 10 Flowers - D drew me a flower in the sand while we were on vacation! Week 11 Shallow Depth of Field - I took this one for an Abundant Mom class I'm taking about being peaceful and playful.  The leader liked the photo and asked to use it as the lead picture in her blog!   Week 12 Reflections - This one is also from the beach

D started soccer today.  She's playing on a U5 team through PWSI.  She is the only girl and when asked on Wednesday what the team should be called she replied "Fairy Princesses."  Unfortunately, the team decided on Sharks instead.  She insists when we cheer we say "Go Fairy Princess Shark and other Sharks!" Today's game was a blast for her to play and us to watch.  It was a little like herding cats as the coaches tried to get the kids to follow and kick the ball.  D is used to playing just with us and had trouble realizing she could (and should) kick the ball away from somebody else.  She said "It was GREAT!" and can't wait until the next practice. B and I are anxious to see how she grows as a player this season.  Most importantly we want her to enjoy being a part of a team and have fun. Cleats Before the game Encouragement First Kick Goal Kick Half time snack Congratulating a teammate after his goal

The OCEAN!!!  By far the best part of our trip ... it's beautiful, relaxing, and just makes me happy.  Plus it's hours of endless fun for the kids! D LOVED everything about the ocean.  Our last trip she was very cautious about it.  This year she ran right in.  As you can see she put her face in, jumped in the waves, and even rode a boogie board.  We warned her ahead of time not to open her eyes in the water (she does that at swimming lessons) and it's a good thing!  She excitedly rode the boogie board pulled by Daddy and Grandpa.  There were a few wipeouts but she got right back on and tried again.  Such a change from the last trips. S also enjoyed the water.  When he saw the ocean for the first time he screamed "BATH!"  From there he just ran to the water whenever we got on the beach.  Like most toddlers he liked when he had a big hole with water to splash in.  He also liked to get the coffee can to play with.  He'd point to the ocean, h

I love the beach but I HATE the sand!  Okay that's not true ... I like the sand on the beach.  I don't like the sand on the towels, the blankets, the kids, the shoes, the kids, the chairs, and the kids.  Each day we turned the bathtub into a sandbox getting the sand off of D and S.  In fact I'm still finding it in swimsuits, towels, and shoes.   But the kids loved everything about the sand.  They built (and destroyed) sand castles, made holes, drew pictures, drove cars, and jumped in it.  S isn't a big fan of our sand table so I wasn't sure how the beach would be for him.  As it turns out there was no need to worry.  He loved it and could have cared less about getting sand EVERYWHERE!