Actually, I viewed everyone’s on Thursday, chose this week’s featured photo and never had a chance to write about it … until now.

This week’s featured photo belongs to Tonya at Bits of My Life. I love her use of light and the simple creativity and also, I’m a fan of Valentine’s day. I just loved this image!

This week’s You Capture photo is “looking in,” I invite all of you to give it a try! Remember, there are no wrong answers in photography!

Have a great week!

I took this photo the other night after dinner, after sweeping, while holding Clara. I had to crank up my ISO pretty high to let the light in, luckily my camera can handle that without creating a lot of noise.

and my other “still life” shots.

That’s it for me!

PLEASE READ THIS GUIDELINES, especially, yes, especially if you have never linked up!
1. Anyone can join in on the challenge at anytime.
2. Please make sure the photos you use were taken for the challenge, meaning do not search your archives for an appropriate photo. The goal of You Capture is to get you out taking photos each week!
3. Use YOUR photos.
4. When linking up, only link to your You Capture blog post, not your main blog URL. (incorrect links will be deleted.)
5. You MUST link back to You Capture in your post. (please do this! don’t link up to promote your blog or even to promote your own photo challenge, k?!)
6. I encourage you to visit other participants and leave comments. This is a great way to meet new friends!
{more You Capture info can be found here.}

Looking in

Happy Capturing!

I hired a nanny last week. She’s here three days a week.

Clara turns four months old today. I have no idea where the time has gone but I’m appreciating her new growth-i-ness. She’s much happier these days.

My first workshop is this weekend. While planning this workshop and all of it’s beautiful details, I realize how amazing this workshop is going to be. (and I’m not just saying that. It’s going to be awesome.)

I am honestly bummed that all of the spots have not been filled.

After this workshop, I’m looking forward to moving to a normal schedule with work while having a nanny here.

Anna is singing in a talent show this Friday.

I bought Noah a new pair of pajamas yesterday and showed them to him and he said “about time.” (he feels he really needs pajamas)

Eli burned himself on the stove on Monday. His little finger has a blister. Makes me so sad.

I actually showered today.

Brian has a cold. I’m trying not to catch it. No kissy-kissy for us.

Clara loves having her diaper changed. It’s actually something everyone should experience. As soon as you lie her down, her faces breaks into complete happiness.

I often wonder why so few people comment on blogs anymore. Thoughts?

I miss you all.

Last week’s featured photo goes to FrogMum. I just love this image. (achieving such great white balance in a bathroom is hard work!) Nicely done, friend!

Luckily, I found color elsewhere.

Like, Legos!

aaand bowls of fruit!

and macro strawberry shots! (still trying to figure out this lens!)

and Eli! (HE’S IS SO CUTE IT HURTS.)

That’s it for me folks, now it’s your turn to share! Be sure to check back this week to see the featured photo of the week! (I didn’t choose one last week because my blog was so broken. Made it too hard to link up and visit blogs. heh.)

PLEASE READ THIS GUIDELINES, especially, yes, especially if you have never linked up!
1. Anyone can join in on the challenge at anytime.
2. Please make sure the photos you use were taken for the challenge, meaning do not search your archives for an appropriate photo. The goal of You Capture is to get you out taking photos each week!
3. Use YOUR photos.
4. When linking up, only link to your You Capture blog post, not your main blog URL. (incorrect links will be deleted.)
5. You MUST link back to You Capture in your post. (please do this! don’t link up to promote your blog or even to promote your own photo challenge, k?!)
6. I encourage you to visit other participants and leave comments. This is a great way to meet new friends!
{more You Capture info can be found here.}

Still life (we’ve done still life before but it’s been a loooong time. I just love it. For ideas how still life, go here!)

Happy Capturing!

So, what’s tomorrow? My birthday.

How old are you going to be? Nine.

Do you feel older? A little bit, I feel very different.

Do you feel taller? A little bit, I felt like I was growing a little bit earlier because my legs started hurting.

Did you have a birthday party last week? Yeah. What kind? A ceramic party.

Was it fun? Yes.

What’s your favorite color? Green and blue

What’s your favorite food that Mommy makes? Pasta. Macaroni. Hot chocolate. Chicken.

Do you like to help me in the kitchen? Yes, I’m your sous-chef.

Have you received any birthday presents yet? Yeah, I got the thing that I really wanted. I got the girl legos.

This past year, a lot of things happened. Can you name a few? You had Clara and I turned 8 and I swam in my friend’s pool.

Did you get a new roommate? Yeah, we traded rooms and me and Noah share a room now.

And do you like it? Yeah. A little bit.

Do you miss your old room? Yeah.

What’s your favorite thing to do? Play basketball, play with my friends and ride the bus.

Can I take you to school tomorrow? No. I was thinking of it but I changed my mind because I like the bus because I like the smell.

Do you smell everything? Yeah, I smell the seats, they smell like plastic.

How much do you love being a big sister to THREE siblings? I loooove it because I’m the oldest. I get to hold Clara a lot.

And how much do you love having a sister? I love it! I’ve been waiting all these years.

Is she very special to you? Yes, she is.

Tell me one thing that you love about your brother Noah? He’s nice and he shares and we play Legos together.

Tell me one thing you love about Eli. He gives hugs, he calls Noah “elmo,” gives me kisses and he watches Elmo.

And Clara? She’s cute and fluffy, in a good way, like soft and smooth.

Does she smell good? Yeah.

What do you think you’ll be when you’re older? I don’t know. A sushi waitress? (tons of laughter) I’m just kidding!

What do you do everyday on the iPad? I check the weather for everywhere in the United States.

What do you love about your Mom? She’s pretty and nice and she let’s me play on the iPad.

What about Dad? He is awesome, he gives us our own computers because he fixes them and I don’t really get to see him a lot because he has work and school.

But when he’s home, he’s pretty fun, huh? Yeah, REALLY fun. So are you, Mom.

If you could do anything in the whole wide world on your birthday, what would be? Give everybody in the whole world a hug.

***

Happy Birthday to our sweet baby girl!

(I’ve been interviewing Noah for many years, you can read previous interviews here.

4 years | 5 years | 6 years | 7 years

So, Noah, how old are you going to be tomorrow? Eight
Are you excited? Yeah. Very.
Do you feel any different? Yeah, I feel taller.

Do you like it when you and Anna are the same age for five days? Yeah. It’s fun.
What’s your favorite thing about Anna? She has a pretty face.
What’s your favorite thing about Eli? I love that he’s a cute chubby boy.
Does he love you? Yeah, he loves me a lot. Cause he always chases me around the house.
What do you love about Clara? What I love about Clara is that she has these little tiny screeches that are really cute.

What’s your favorite color? Orange
What’s your favorite food? Pizza with sausage
What’s your favorite thing that your mom makes for dinner? Macaroni and shells, pizza delivery, chicken enchiladas, chili and lasagna.

What do you like to do in your spare time? I like to sometimes play Legos, place DSi and Wii, I like to read before bed, chess and I play with Anna, Eli, Cade and Fabio.

This year, you started Cub Scouts, baseball and basketball. Which is your favorite? Basketball and Cub Scouts.

You always seem to follow the rules, can you tell me why that’s important to you? (he did not like this question) Because I don’t want to get into trouble.

What’s your favorite subject? Math

And how much do you love your Mom? So so so so so so so so much.
Why? Because she makes really good food, has great skills on cheerleading and teaching Anna cheerleading and photaography. (I almost forgot photography, wow.)
What do you like to do with your Dad? I like to go in the summer and go outside and he pitches and I try to hit the ball with a bat.

Do you want to go to bed now? Yeah, I’m really tired.
One final question … how old will you be when you get a moustache? 16 or 24
How many kids do you want? I can’t decide, maybe 3 or 4.
And finally, what do you want to be when you’re older? Maybe I’ll be a computer person, like Dad.

Good night my big boy. Good night, Mom. *runs away as quickly as possible to avoid further questions*

***

So, that interview was done last Thursday, the day before his birthday. On Friday evening he had his birthday party, a Lego party and it was really fun. I’m planning another post to tell you all about it!

Right now, I’m enjoying my TWO eight year olds for just two more days!

It’s so very cold outside. Unless you’re in Florida. If you’re in Florida, can I come over?

I’m so sorry You Capture is just now being published. I had a newborn session this morning and those last hours and then I have ten hundred kids. Now, Clara is sleeping and Eli woke up, so I have a quick moment to get this going! (I can’t say I’ve ever posted so late before. Makes me sad.)

Brian bought me a new macro lens for Christmas. It is positively amazing. I’m still learning how to use it, they’re not super easy to use but I journeyed out into the snow last week and located my pretty winterberries.

That’s it for me, now it’s your turn to share!

But first:

PLEASE READ THIS GUIDELINES, especially, yes, especially if you have never linked up!
1. Anyone can join in on the challenge at anytime.
2. Please make sure the photos you use were taken for the challenge, meaning do not search your archives for an appropriate photo. The goal of You Capture is to get you out taking photos each week!
3. Use YOUR photos.
4. When linking up, only link to your You Capture blog post, not your main blog URL. (incorrect links will be deleted.)
5. You MUST link back to You Capture in your post. (please do this! don’t link up to promote your blog or even to promote your own photo challenge, k?!)
6. I encourage you to visit other participants and leave comments. This is a great way to meet new friends!
{more You Capture info can be found here.}

Colorful

Happy Capturing!

Last week’s You Capture challenge was mornings. I love this photo because it seemed so everyday yet so perfectly captured. It also feels warm and soft and cozy which is perfect for this chilly time of year.

This photo was taken by Pieni Lintu. Such a great capture!

And look! The new You Capture button!

Right click on that baby (or control + click on a mac) and pop it into your sidebars! It’s yours!

It appears I’m not super motivated to photograph things in the morning. Not even mornings. heh.

But I did capture my two older little babies when they were brushing their teeth before school. They’re so good in the mornings. They hear their alarm clock, pop up and head down stairs for some cereal, helping themselves. When did they turn twenty?

I love that someday they’ll look at this photo and make fun of it. The pajamas, the socks, the hair, the shower curtain because it’s all out of style. Like what we do when we see old photos of the yellow and green floral wallpaper and the yellow linoleum. Know what I mean?

Anyway. That’s it for me. Now, it’s your turn to share! But first:

PLEASE READ THIS GUIDELINES, especially, yes, especially if you have never linked up!
1. Anyone can join in on the challenge at anytime.
2. Please make sure the photos you use were taken for the challenge, meaning do not search your archives for an appropriate photo. The goal of You Capture is to get you out taking photos each week!
3. Use YOUR photos.
4. When linking up, only link to your You Capture blog post, not your main blog URL. (incorrect links will be deleted.)
5. You MUST link back to You Capture in your post. (please do this! don’t link up to promote your blog or even to promote your own photo challenge, k?!)
6. I encourage you to visit other participants and leave comments. This is a great way to meet new friends!
{more You Capture info can be found here.}

Cold

Happy Capturing!

So, after paging my on-call dentist and being ignored, I drove to the urgent care center where I was put on antibiotics and pain medicine. (but not before the doctor made it perfectly clear that she thinks I’m addicted to pain pills because I was given pain pills when I had a c-section with Clara three months ago. SERIOUSLY.)

Either way, come Saturday night, I was so miserable. If you’ve never had a toothache, it’s not just a little pain, it’s unbearable, throbbing pain that affects your whole face. No distractions work and honestly, even vicodin can’t take the pain away. (so if someone says they have a toothache, don’t think “WIMP.” Think, “oh no, how can I help?” k?)

Anyway.

This is my first week to feature a photo for You Capture! I am so excited to be doing this. Also, you get a sneak peek of the new look of You Capture! You can even update your sidebar button soon!

This week’s featured photo belongs to Pool, Party of 5!

What’s not to love about this photo? The joy, the situation, the editing … it’s perfect!

Will you be next week’s featured photo? Remember, Thursday’s You Capture challenge is “mornings!”

Don’t you think?