It's official....the kids are on their Christmas break!! Now if we can just get Grandma home from the hospital and Tyler can catch a flight here (he's currently stuck in Denver), it will finally feel a bit more like Christmas.
Lauren had her Christmas show at her preschool this past Wednesday. Doug was unable to make it and Anna was in school. So, I was there by myself with our very squirmy little boy. Needless to say, my attempt at getting a decent video of the show wasn't so hot. For this particular song, I was actually nursing Jacob and holding him with my right arm and holding the video camera in my left hand. The only way for me to zoom in was to drop the camera into my lap, make the adjustments and then try again. So, when you see the scene go black for a moment...don't leave...there's more a-coming. Lauren is in the third row up from the bottom with a cream flower and headband.
Friday, December 18, 2009
SYTYCD
Are you guys "So You Think You Can Dance" fans? I know some of you definitely are. I must admit that my interest seemed to wane somewhat this season. I felt pretty ambivalent about the whole thing and didn't care so much about who actually won. There have always been one or two routines from the past seasons that I adored....the hummingbird routine with Hok and Jaimie and the bleeding love routine with Chelsea and Mark. Even though I wasn't as psyched about season 6, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVED, Loooooooovvvveeeed the Wade Robson group routine. I mean I seriously want to dress my kids and husband up and have us all dance this routine around the living room. Am I insane? I may be losing it...
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Projects...
So many projects, so little time... Here are a few of the items on my workshop table...ahem... (dining room table).
Grandma, the kids, the dog, and I are all sick. Doug is the only one left standing at this point in the game. Grandma Ruth actually went into the hospital on Monday as she was feeling so ill. The doctor told us he felt it was just the flu and dehydration. Yesterday they "quarantined" her because they received a positive H1N1 test result. Doug had to wear a virtual space suit to see her last night. As of today, apparently the prognosis has changed and they now say she does not have H1N1. She is feeling very tired and I'm sure anxious to get home. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. It just doesn't feel like Christmas around here without Grandma.
Grandma, the kids, the dog, and I are all sick. Doug is the only one left standing at this point in the game. Grandma Ruth actually went into the hospital on Monday as she was feeling so ill. The doctor told us he felt it was just the flu and dehydration. Yesterday they "quarantined" her because they received a positive H1N1 test result. Doug had to wear a virtual space suit to see her last night. As of today, apparently the prognosis has changed and they now say she does not have H1N1. She is feeling very tired and I'm sure anxious to get home. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. It just doesn't feel like Christmas around here without Grandma.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
The Singing Christmas Tree
For the past few years, we've taken the kids to see "The Nutcracker". This year we thought we would try something a bit different. So, last night we drove to Sacramento to see "The Singing Christmas Tree". We really had a good time. The singing and the costumes were amazing. The girls particularly enjoyed the parts when the actors ran through the audience and the angels danced in the aisles. Jacob watched a little but he was much more interested in emptying the contents of the diaper bag. He pulled each toy out and flung it as far as he could causing the folks in front of us and behind us to gather our bits and pieces to return to us. Afterwards we headed to our favorite Turkish restaurant, The Anatolian Table. Their food is out of this world. We're always there at either lunchtime or for an early dinner. Last night we sat down around 7 pm and were surpised to see a belly dancer begin her act. She was fantastic and Anna decided she wanted to be her (she also wanted to be the angel at the top of the tree at the performance). Lauren stuck money in her belt. And Jacob? He was mezmerized by the jingling of her belt. It began with a stare, then he started to point, and by the end he was swaying in his high chair. It was a good evening!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Our Little Wallflower
Our sweet Anna is so shy. She doesn't make friends easily and she never has much to say. You put her on stage and she just shuts down...no charisma, no flair, no color. Yeah...right! Take a look for yourself.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Our Christmas card picture--the story
This card was totally inspired by the crazy talented Chea Lamb of Chea Lamb photography in Arizona. She did it first and she did it best. I saw the idea last year and fell in love with it. I had completely forgotten about it until I came across Jacob's outfit. The outfit and the idea just seemed to go together. It was then that the insanity started. I went on a search for the girls' outfits, a Model A, and a chicken.
The girls' outfits were easy. The Model A and a chicken were a different story. I started by looking on flickr and the web for abandoned cars in fields in the area. I found something in Bodie, CA but couldn't convince Doug to drive 4.5 hours to get there. I attempted to make contact with a few folks on craigslist that were selling old Model A's but received no response. I began to give up hope that I would find one and so I screwed up my courage to ask permission to photograph the kids in front of an old patchwork barn I had seen near our home. There were "No Trespassing" signs everywhere and a long winding road to the home where I would need to ask permission. I telephoned Doug to let him know where I would be as I kept envisioning scenes from Cujo and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It didn't make me feel any better that as I neared the home there were signs that read, "Beware of the Dog" and "If you can read this, you're in range." As it turned out, the family living there were super friendly and agreed to let us come out and take a photograph that weekend.
Of course, immediately after this I made contact with a friendly gentleman that had not only one 1929 Model A but two and he was willing to let me use them but he wasn't available until the following Monday. As I had just purchased a chicken from a farm in Loomis (off of Craigslist) that very day, I was concerned about what to do with said chicken in the interim. In the end, we just took the picture at the patchwork barn. I decided that I couldn't handle two occasions of photographing three kids and a chicken so we didn't drive out for the shot with the Model A. It also worked out that the owner of the patchwork barn already had a flock of chickens and was happy to welcome another one. The kids had already named our little hen "Cabby Woodstocka" and were sad to see her go but I was relieved to have found a good home for her. Sometimes I get so caught up in the idea of my photo, that I forget important things such as "what do you do with the chicken after the picture is done??". A funny side note is that I later found out Doug's mom thought we had purchased the chicken for Thanksgiving dinner. Later in the day when she realized the chicken was no longer in our garage, she assumed we started to feel sorry for her and gave her away.
There were a lot of funny moments during the afternoon photography insanity. Jacob wouldn't stop eating the apples. Everyone's hats kept falling off. The chicken wouldn't pose properly. All three children would never look at the camera at the same time and if they did, one would have a crazy look on their face. It was cold and Anna kept making a break for the truck. The owner's herd of cattle came over and stood in a line watching us. The kids were so busy looking and moo'ing at them, I couldn't get their attention back. In the end, it was a miracle I got anything at all.
So, without further ado, here is a look at a few of the 200+ pictures I took to try and get 1 decent shot of my three kids with a chicken and a basket of apples.
The girls' outfits were easy. The Model A and a chicken were a different story. I started by looking on flickr and the web for abandoned cars in fields in the area. I found something in Bodie, CA but couldn't convince Doug to drive 4.5 hours to get there. I attempted to make contact with a few folks on craigslist that were selling old Model A's but received no response. I began to give up hope that I would find one and so I screwed up my courage to ask permission to photograph the kids in front of an old patchwork barn I had seen near our home. There were "No Trespassing" signs everywhere and a long winding road to the home where I would need to ask permission. I telephoned Doug to let him know where I would be as I kept envisioning scenes from Cujo and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It didn't make me feel any better that as I neared the home there were signs that read, "Beware of the Dog" and "If you can read this, you're in range." As it turned out, the family living there were super friendly and agreed to let us come out and take a photograph that weekend.
Of course, immediately after this I made contact with a friendly gentleman that had not only one 1929 Model A but two and he was willing to let me use them but he wasn't available until the following Monday. As I had just purchased a chicken from a farm in Loomis (off of Craigslist) that very day, I was concerned about what to do with said chicken in the interim. In the end, we just took the picture at the patchwork barn. I decided that I couldn't handle two occasions of photographing three kids and a chicken so we didn't drive out for the shot with the Model A. It also worked out that the owner of the patchwork barn already had a flock of chickens and was happy to welcome another one. The kids had already named our little hen "Cabby Woodstocka" and were sad to see her go but I was relieved to have found a good home for her. Sometimes I get so caught up in the idea of my photo, that I forget important things such as "what do you do with the chicken after the picture is done??". A funny side note is that I later found out Doug's mom thought we had purchased the chicken for Thanksgiving dinner. Later in the day when she realized the chicken was no longer in our garage, she assumed we started to feel sorry for her and gave her away.
There were a lot of funny moments during the afternoon photography insanity. Jacob wouldn't stop eating the apples. Everyone's hats kept falling off. The chicken wouldn't pose properly. All three children would never look at the camera at the same time and if they did, one would have a crazy look on their face. It was cold and Anna kept making a break for the truck. The owner's herd of cattle came over and stood in a line watching us. The kids were so busy looking and moo'ing at them, I couldn't get their attention back. In the end, it was a miracle I got anything at all.
So, without further ado, here is a look at a few of the 200+ pictures I took to try and get 1 decent shot of my three kids with a chicken and a basket of apples.
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