Picture Perfect ... Almost!

Project 52, Week 36 - Animal Project 365, Days 53 - 59 Day 53 - Looking Forward D "driving" S around! Day 54 - Potential Living Room renovations Day 55 - Jump Day 56 - Future Investment Day 57 - Engaged Day 58 - The Season Day 59 - SWAK (Sealed with a Kiss)

Project 52, Week 35 - Landscape Project 365, Days 46 - 52 Day 46 - Depth of Field Day 47 - Flowing Day 48 - Wide Day 49 - XOXO Day 50 - Isolate It Day 51 - Colored Bokeh Day 52 - Indistinct

Oh the process of getting 2 kids ready to play outside in the snow!!!  It's enough to make me crazy. Here's a glimpse at the many things needed ... Boots, which have to go over the inner lining of the pants but under the outer lining.  Boots, which undoubtedly fall off at least one time outside! Snow pants, which are overalls with an impossible zipper for S and WAY too big pants for D (despite being her size). Coats, which have inner zip in jackets to stay extra warm.  But these always come unsnapped at the cuff, causing a ton of drama when trying to get arms through both sleeves! Accessories including hats, gloves, and scarves.  The gloves have to be shoved over the coats' cuffs in order to keep the snow out. After getting all of this on, you're finally ready to go! Until the inevitable "Mommy, I need to go potty!" ...

We finally got more than a dusting of snow!  I was beginning to think this winter would be a bust in terms of snowfall.  We've had a few flurries but nothing measurable ... until last night.  We got about 6 inches of fine, powdery light snow.   D and S were in heaven when they woke up this morning and saw the yard and hill behind us covered with snow.  At 8:00 S was begging to go outside and sled.  We managed to put him off until 10:30 when we headed out for some before lunch playing.  The only thing you could do was sled and kick the snow around because it was so powdery.  But the kids didn't care and LOVED sledding!  After lunch we headed back out for an hour and a half.  The sun had warmed the snow up enough to make it packable so we had a huge family snowball fight and did some more sledding. Now the kids are worn out and watching a movie!  Definitely a great day for everyone!

Project 52, Week 34 - Red Project 365, Days 39 - 45 Day 39 - Pink Day 40 - So Lovely Day 41 - Striking Day 42 - Cozy Day 43 - A Favorite Day 44 - Pretty in Pink Day 45 - A Valentine

I don't know where the time has gone or how my tiny, 6 lb 10 oz baby has become an energetic 3 year old!  But he has! Yesterday S had a great birthday!  We were busy and out so I didn't get too many pictures.  First we had a music class where we sang about bumblebees!  Then we headed to lunch at Cicis before going to an extra swim class.  Afterwards we went over to get some birthday cupcakes for after dinner.  We finally made it home in time to take a bath and go get D.  B soon came home and S got to open his presents.  He LOVED this and kept yelling "Thank You!  I Love it!" after opening each gift. Then we went to dinner at Cracker Barrel with Nana and Pop-Pop.  The last part of our celebration was cupcakes at home!  What a great day!  Happy 3rd Birthday!

I tend to convert photos to black and white when I totally mess up the coloring in the original photo.  I get the white balance wrong so it has a weird yellow or blue tint.  It's too dark or too light.  In fact, I'm not a big fan of black and white photos so not too many of mine get changed. Yesterday I learned some new reasons to convert to black and white.  The biggest thing I learned is to make a photo black and white if it helps the viewer focus on what's important in the photo! 1.  To add drama ... What's important:  S's face that shows he's getting frustrated and right on the verge of tears 2.  Remove distractions ... What's important:  D's confused, humorous face; not the mess of toys behind her! 3.  Low Light ... What's important:  The comfort of both S and B during S's brief nap. What's important:  S's concentration as he plays! 4.  Highlight details ... What's important:  S's litt

Cropping photos has always been (and still is) difficult for me.  I worry about cutting off an arm in the wrong place or removing something important to the details of the event.  What I learned in yesterday's class was that there's no "right" way to crop.  Instead you need to think about your intention for the photo and decide what needs to stay or go.  Then start cropping different ways to make the most important part (or parts) of the photo most prominent. Original I love the twinkle in her eyes and how she has her pinky up as she drinks from the glass! Original I removed some of the distracting objects from the sides of the photo.  I love how you can just see D at the top of hill.  You can tell S is desperately trying to catch up to her! Original I love the look of determination on S's face that is more prominent in the cropped version. Original D was practicing fractions (on her own).  I love how she's concentra