Rants & Raves

Dylan's 7th Birthday Party

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Wed, 20 Nov 2013 15:02:00 +0000

The story before the story is that since there has been a lot going on in our household the past few months, I waited until early October to start thinking about Dylan's birthday party. That messed everything up. Way too many emails were sent out. Plans were made, then changed, then made, then changed. We finally booked the party room at a theater and planned to see "Free Birds" with just his cousins and a couple close friends. Then, Wednesday evening I got a call that they were pulling the movie from the theater because it wasn't making enough money! Thursday, (2 days before the party!), I called the only place I hadn't called yet, (because we had his party there LAST year). Once again, we partied at Chuck E Cheese. Not ideal, but I'm pretty sure Dylan still had a blast.
I am never happy with the birthday party photos, since the lighting is always horrible, but here's a few anyway...

The party was from 12:30-2:30 , so afterwards, since it was a pretty warm day, we went to the park. I was taking photos of Dylan playing, and Jim was spinning Dylan around on the tire swing. He would stand still and make Dylan and the tire swing spin around him, while I commented that it didn't look like a great idea. Then Jim got the bright idea that I just HAD to do it, and take a shot of Dylan that way. He was so emphatic about the idea, saying "that way he'll be in focus, but everything else will be blurry"! I tried it, just to appease the poor man, but told him it wouldn't work with the lens I had, so he decided to try it with his cell phone. And that brings us to perhaps my favorite part of the day...

(What's that? I should have asked him if he was okay? Well, I would have, but I was laughing too hard! Hey, I did walk over to see if he was still moving! He says what makes the video so funny is me laughing my @## off).

After that awesomeness, we went to Boston Market for dinner, and then headed home for Jim's favorite part of the day. This was something he had been waiting for since he first found out he was having a boy - introducing him to Star Wars. I was really nervous that after all the buildup to the event, that Dylan was going to be completely bored and ask us to turn it off halfway through the movie, but luckily that didn't happen. Although he asked a billion questions the entire way through the movie (at least I was told - I fell asleep half way through), he seemed to really enjoy it, and asked to see The Empire Strikes Back the next day. He keeps calling Darth Vador, "Dark Vador", but Jim is taking great pride in explaining it all. We had to go get 2 light sabers (one for each "boy"), with his birthday gift cards, so let's hope the force is with us all.

To Dylan on Your 7th Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Wed, 20 Nov 2013 02:15:00 +0000

Dear Dylan,

Today you are seven! I figure rather than be completely predictable and complain about how much bigger you are, and talk about how sad I am that you are growing up so fast, I will list all the ways you haven't changed at all.

1. You still love to laugh, and you do it with gusto. One of my favorite memories of this past year, is taking you to see "Despicable Me 2", and listening to you laugh louder than anyone else in the theater. Your sense of humor is maturing, and you often "get" your dad and I's sarcasm and jokes we don't expect you laugh at. At the same time, though, if I chase you around the house saying "I'm gonna get you", you still laugh and giggle like when you were a toddler. There are few things I would rather do than make you laugh.

2. You still love to go places and try new things. You have a sense of adventure that I love. Like always, when we asked you what you wanted for your birthday, you didn't really know. You're much more interested in doing things than in having things. Your favorite place to go lately is to an arcade - Chuck E Cheese, the arcade at the mall, FunFest, Dave & Busters - an place you can play games. Your dad has much more patience in this area than I do. The noise makes me a little crazy, my dear. You loved going to Great Wolf Lodge, and doing the Quest. You also enjoyed the pool and water slides, which is a change. You finally conquered your fear of going under the water this year, thanks to your swim instructor, Eden. When you went off the diving board for the first time, I was pretty sure I was going to explode with pride!

3. You continue to amaze us. Everyone talks about your math skills, and you always choose to do your math homework first. You are really becoming a great reader, although we still have a hard time getting you to read to us. You still do NOT like doing homework! Even though it is easy for you, you complain, and get very dramatic if you mess up, or feel like it is taking too long. You seem to like your first grade teacher, and never complain about going to school, although we still don't get much information out of you about your day.

4. You are still sweet. One day when I stubbed my toe, you immediately ran to get ice for me, and then sat rubbing my back for a while. My proudest moment of the soccer season was when you stopped to ask someone who fell if they were okay. I've watched you around your friends and you are sweet to them too. You laugh at their jokes, play what they want to play sometimes, and comfort them when they are sad. You put a lot of time and thought into making cards for everyone. You are very sweet to your neighbor friend, always coming inside to get the two of you snacks or drinks.

5. You still adore your dad and I. You still give us drawings that say "I Love You Mom and Dad". You still tell us you love us (all.the.time!), and give us hugs and kisses. You promised me recently that even when you don't fit in my lap, you'll still snuggle with me. Today, when I dropped off your birthday snack at your classroom, you came over to hug me in front of all your friends! You like to spend time with friends, but you are still very happy to spend the day with your mom and dad. Your dad and I are going to soak it up as much as we can, and I would love it if I can write the same thing in next year's birthday letter!

I love you my sweet boy and I am so proud of you!
Mom

Mother's Day 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:00:00 +0000

Dear Dylan,

I want to remember this Mother's Day forever.

I want to remember that when I came in your room to wake you up the day before Mother's Day, and you said "Awww! You're waking me up today?!", I had it all wrong. I got mad and my feelings were hurt. I thought that you wanted to see your dad and not me, so I told you, "If you're going to be mean to me, have Daddy make your breakfast!" I felt horrible later, when I found out that the reason you wanted Daddy to wake you up is so you could work on my card!

I want to remember that on Mother's Day morning, I came down five minutes earlier than I usually do, and Daddy said, "No! You can't come down! Go back up and get back in bed!" I went back up, got in bed, and waited and waited, until the two of you finally appeared. Daddy was carrying breakfast and you were banging two plastic bottles together, singing "Happy Mother's Day to you..." with a big grin on your sweet face.

I want to remember the three of us talking in bed, while I ate my breakfast. Daddy said that you asked "When is Kids Day? Moms get Mother's Day, and dads get Father's Day. When do we get a day?" Daddy told you that every day is "Kids Day".

I want to remember how sweet you were to me all day. Every time I would do something, you would say "You shouldn't be doing that! It's Mother's Day!"

I want to remember you hiding the presents you made (at Mi-Mi and Bubba's house). There was two for Mi-Mi and Mi-Ma, but three for me, "because you're the specialest". We each got a drawing and a gift certificate, and I got a special gift you made at school, a painting with your little hand print.
I told you that I am going to save the "one free hug and kiss" gift certificate until you are a teenager, and you said it expires when you are 11. I told you "Nope, sorry, there is no expiration date on here, so I can use it whenever I want!"

I want to remember your answer to the question "What is your favorite thing about your mom" - "She will love me no matter what I do".

Yes, I will, my sweet boy! Thank you for a great Mother's Day.
I love you,
Mommy

Play

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Thu, 09 May 2013 01:22:00 +0000

I finally took Dylan out during the "golden hour" and got some shots. It was a beautiful day, so we headed to the playground. I managed to get this shot, before another little boy came along and wanted to play, which of course meant that photo taking time was over!
(I entered this in I Heart Faces May "Play" photo challenge).

He Is Kind

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:19:00 +0000

There has been a big change in Dylan this year, and I need to write about it, so that I can remember. Dylan started going to preschool when he was almost 2. As an only child, I felt it was important to get him around other kids regularly. Unfortunately, each year I seemed to be getting the same report from the preschool teachers... he didn't interact with the other kids that much. Dylan has never been shy, but he just seemed to like to do his own thing.

I will never forget going to the spring program at the preschool 2 years ago (when he was 4). The teachers had asked each child a few questions and put their answers on big posters placed on the walls. One question was "Who is your best friend at school?" I looked to see what Dylan had said... "Maya". Then I looked to see who Maya had answered. It wasn't Dylan. I held back tears as I noticed that no one had answered that my sweet boy was their best friend.

I worried at the beginning of this year. Would he make friends in kindergarten? At the beginning of the year, things seemed to be the same as they were in preschool. But, sometime during the course of this year, things have changed... in a big way. In his kindergarten class, each child gets a chance to be "Kid of the Week" once. A couple weeks ago, it was Dylan's turn. Once again, I had to hold back tears, but this time, they were happy ones. This is what he brought home...

Dylan has always been described as "smart", and I have to say that each answer made me really happy, but nothing made me more proud than seeing that someone said "He is KIND".

You know the expression "Be careful what you wish for?"

Well, yea, I'm living it! There is a little girl that is a year older than Dylan that lives next door. The two of them are inseparable lately! We cannot take a step out into our back yard without her appearing, and vise versa. The two of them playing is unbelievably cute. Dylan is SO sweet to her, always giving her drinks or snacks when they play, letting her go first, being very gentle with her when they play. (Once when I said they could play a certain game, he replied, "I don't know about that. That might be too rough. She is very delicate". DELICATE?!

I sometimes joke with Jim that we might have a problem on our hands with these two when they are teenagers. The other day, Jim and I were finishing dinner while Dylan and her played in our yard. Suddenly, she appeared at our back door, saying that she picked flowers for me! After I thanked her and she went off to play some more, I told Jim, "I might cry! My future daughter in law picked me flowers!" He laughed, and replied, "She's already buttering up her mother in law. Smart girl!"

(I don't know if you can tell, but they were pretending to talk on the phone!)

My Photography Journey

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 14:27:00 +0000

Maybe you noticed that this space is seeming more and more like a photography blog lately? I apologize for those of you who are wondering if I will ever get around to writing something again. There are two reasons I don't write as much as I used to. One, Dylan is in school all day and I don't see him as much as I used to, so I have less stories. Also, he is getting older, and at some point he might not appreciate me sharing certain stories on my blog. Two, since making the decision to shoot only in Manual, in January, I have found something I am passionate about and I have immersed myself in it as much as I possibly can. I'm pretty much an all or nothing kind of gal.

The first thing I did was to join a Project 52 group through My Four Hens Photography. I missed the first three weeks, but I've done it consistently since starting. I have even had some of my photos featured!

Week 2 : Fresh : I missed weeks 1, 2, and 3, so this one was not entered. I still need to take a shot for the week 1 and 3 themes to catch up.

Week 4: My Daily Routine (as a part time nanny)

Week 5: My Favorite Color : Green

I love the color green, because my husband, son, and I all have green eyes. I love that I can see myself, (literally and figuratively!) in his eyes in this shot.

Week 6: Light: *Featured*

I watched the sunset for a while on this evening, and suddenly there was a ray of light shooting up into the clouds! It had an otherworldly feel to it, and looked like something out of the movies. (This is SOOC).

Week 7: Composed:

I wanted to do a self portrait. I think this captures the fact that I try not to take myself too seriously, and I crave fun in my life!

Week 8: Inspired: *Featured*

The love that my grandparents shared inspired me. I kept this book that my grandfather wrote in, and this is what he wrote about his first kiss... "my main kisser is my wife. When she kisses you, you forget about everything else. That's why we have been married for almost 58 years. A kisser you never forget. That's my wife".

Week 9: White:

Week 10: Sunshine: *Featured*

“As the years pass, I am coming more and more to understand that it is the common, everyday blessings of our common everyday lives for which we should be particularly grateful. They are the things that fill our lives with comfort and our hearts with gladness -- just the pure air to breathe and the strength to breath it; just warmth and shelter and home folks; just plain food that gives us strength; the bright sunshine on a cold day; and a cool breeze when the day is warm.” - Laura Ingalls Wilder

Week 11: Wild Card: *Featured*

Week 12: Natural Beauty: *Featured*

I took this self portrait to portray the fact that as women, it it easy for us to see the beauty in others, but often extremely difficult to see it in ourselves. When I was in my 20's, I made a CD for my friends called "Girl Power", with inspiring songs by powerful women. One friend told me recently that her 8 year old daughter is now listening to it. I love that it is inspiring the next generation. Here are lyrics from one of the songs on the CD...
"When I look in the mirror and the only one there is me. Every freckle on my face is where it's supposed to be. I know my creator didn't make no mistakes on me. My feet, my thighs, my lips, my eyes, I'm loving what I see".
(India Arie - Because I Am A Queen)

Week 13: Pride and Joy:

When I was a kid and my parents took me to the museum, there was one room that I loved - the Hall of Architecture. Every time I went in there, I would stop and stare up at the large columns and sculptures in awe. You can imagine the joy I felt, when I took my son to the museum last week, and he stood staring up at everything in that same room, muttering "Wow!" I love the wonder he finds in so many things. I am incredibly proud to be his mom.

Week 14: Warmth:

"We enjoy warmth because we have been cold. We appreciate light because we have been in darkness. By the same token, we can experience joy because we have known sadness".
-Unknown

Week 15: Texture:

Spring Break 2013 : Great Wolf Lodge

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 20:38:00 +0000

We went to Great Wolf Lodge, in Sandusky, Ohio for Spring Break. We had been to Kalahari water park for my 40th birthday, which is in the same area, but this time we wanted to try Great Wolf. I'm so glad we did! We had a great time. These are the things I want to remember...

*Dylan singing his own made up song on the way there, called "I Love Today". Me telling him I wished he would sing that song every day, because I loved it... the first few times. After about the 20th time? Not so much.

*It snowed on the way there. At one point, I was complaining about how dark and cloudy it was, and Dylan said "Hey, at least it stopped snowing, right?" Love his positive attitude!

*Dylan's huge smile when he first got in that water.

*The first day of the Magi Quest game, we did one "quest" and Dylan was ready to quit. I insisted we do "at least one more". After that second one, he was hooked! He said that was the best part of his day, and the second day he insisted that we do every single quest, until he got the "Master Magi" button for completing them all.

*The looks on all the parents faces who were doing the quest! We all started helping each other, just to finish.

*Dylan trying to help the little girl in front of him pull the first "lily pad" closer to her, and falling in the pool. Him attempting to go across the first time, and Jim saying "I see him going in the pool" seconds before he did indeed fall in the pool. He got right back on and finished, before trying a second time and mastering it.

*Dylan falling asleep within minutes of us pulling out of the parking lot to go home.

The day before the trip, my new camera (Canon D60) and new lens (50mm 1.4) came in. I was too nervous to take the new camera, but I did use my new lens and I love it! I'm still figuring it out, so the pictures aren't perfect. In other related news, I'm taking "The Best Darn Beginner Class Ever" from Clickin' Moms this month. I already had my first "a-ha!" moment, after only the first lesson!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday : March 24

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 12:23:00 +0000

After skipping last week's Scavenger Hunt, I am back, and ready to get right to it. Three of these weren't taken this week, but all were pretty recent.

Dylan always DRAWS a little smiley face on his practice spelling tests.

There were some WAVY branches on this rock, at the zoo.

Some bamboo (also at the zoo) fits the ASIAN theme.

The SOFT texture on a cat tail at sunset

The color and texture of an artichoke is interesting to me, so I took some shots of one this week.

Enjoy your Spring Break week everyone!

Spring Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 12:29:00 +0000

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

It's been a crazy busy month so far. I decided to take a little time for myself and enjoy the spring flower show. I discovered two things while there. One, looking at flowers really does lift a person's spirits. Two, photographers are chatty. I only had a couple of hours to myself, so I was on a mission, but there were a lot of other photographers there and they kept stopping me to ask questions about my camera, my shots, etc. I hate to say it, but I wasn't very friendly. I had a job to do!

An Irish Blessing for you:

"May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day. May songbirds serenade you every step along the way. May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that's always blue. And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through".

Scavenger Hunt Sunday : March 10

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 13:33:00 +0000

The prompts this week for Scavenger Hunt Sunday were based on children's television. A bit unfair for those people without children, wouldn't you say? I mean, I have a child, and I still wasn't thrilled with the prompts. I felt a bit boxed in by them. Maybe we could do an adult theme sometime? The prompts could be Bills, Laundry, Errands, Wine, and TGIF?! Anyway, I got it done, and that's the important part, right?

Dylan and I SHARED some quality time at the zoo yesterday. He SHARED a staring contest with this fish! I was remembering how difficult and exhausting it used to be to take Dylan to the zoo myself. Yesterday, he was a complete delight to be with, and we had the best time.

FIVE cents

If you're going to have a WORD OF THE DAY (Love), Dylan feels you must have a letter of the day also (M).

Caterpillars WIGGLE, right?

Milk and COOKIES, anyone?

Have a great week, and see you next time!

I'll Pray For You

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 21:06:00 +0000

My son (and my husband, cough, cough) can be a tad dramatic. He (they) can overreact when things don't go their way. He (they) tend to exaggerate! As a matter of fact, I just explained the word "exaggerate" to Dylan this week. "It's when you make something that is bad even worse than it really is, by what you say or how you act... like when Daddy said he would be back from work IN THE SPRING , or when you said your bum was going to hurt FOREVER(don't ask)".

For someone like myself, who usually hopes things will go my way, but is never that surprised when they don't, this personality trait can be a bit frustrating. (COUGH!) When I'm at not at my best, I probably handle it with eye rolling and even yelling. At my best, I try to handle it with humor. Take this morning for example...

Dylan was upstairs getting dressed for school, while I cleaned up breakfast. When I got upstairs and looked at my sweet 6 year old, I had to smile. His buttons were all wrong, and his undershirt was on backwards.

Me: "Hey, hon. Let me help you with your shirt."

Dylan: "WHAT DO YOU MEAN?! I BUTTONED MY SHIRT ALREADY! IT'S GOOD!"

Me: "Yes, you did good, but you missed the top hole, so we'll have to do it again".

Dylan: (Fell on the floor, dramatically, as soon as I said "missed the top hole"). "OH, COME ON!!"

Me: "Hey! Get up! It is not a big deal! And, I hate to even tell you this, but your T-shirt in on backwards, too."

Dylan: (Who now looks like he might cry over the complete inhumanity of not one mistake, but two!) "AARRGGHH!"

Me: "Dylan! This really, really is not a big deal. I promise you. Do you want me to help?" (He nods). (As I'm helping) "There are lots of bad things that can happen to a person. Putting their shirt on backwards is not one of them. Buttoning their shirt wrong is not one of them. Do you think someone says, "You know, this morning I put my shirt on backwards!", and other people go "GASP! OH MY GOSH! YOU POOR THING! THAT'S TERRIBLE! I'LL PRAY FOR YOU!"

Dylan: (Laughing) "No".

Me: "Do you think if someone says, "You know, this morning I buttoned my shirt wrong!", that other people will go "WHAT?! YOU'RE KIDDING ME?! HOW AWFUL! I'LL PRAY FOR YOU!"

Dylan: (Really laughing hard now). "No!... Mom! Stop making me laugh! Stop being funny!"

Me: (Smiling) "I just can't help it. Pray for me".

Dylan: (Laughing as he goes down the hall, fully dressed and ready for school) "Mom!"

I Heart Faces : Framed

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 14:16:00 +0000

This shot was taken at Ohiopyle State Park. I love the fact that my fearless boy is leading his dad behind the big waterfall, and they are framed in the waterfall's light. This photo was submitted to the I Heart Faces photo challenge - www.iheartfaces.com.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday : March 3

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 13:45:00 +0000

I was excited about this week's prompts for Scavenger Hunt Sunday, because I figured colors gives you a lot of options. I had ideas. I had plans. Then Dylan got strep. Then I got strep and all my plans flew out the window along with my energy.

On Friday, when I realized I hadn't tackled even one of the prompts, I recruited Dylan. That's how I got my first BLUE shot...

He was not the least bit happy about the prospect of being my model, as you can see. But, then I told him I had a "project" and I needed his help to find things to take pictures of that were red, orange, yellow, green, and blue, and suddenly he was very interested!

Is it just me, or does he look a whole year younger when he's sad?

First, we found some blueberries he was going to eat for lunch.

He thought his "Captain Bones" math would work well for GREEN. If you never saw "Crashbox" on HBO, the idea is to move only one "bone" to make the equation a correct one. Can you solve both of these? (I'll tell you the answers at the bottom of the post!)

He made this flower pot at school, complete with his school photo. He pulled the flowers out that weren't YELLOW!

An ORANGE slingshot that I like playing with more than he does.

This is what Dylan wanted me to take a photo of for RED, but I liked this candle holder...

(Captain Bones answers: For the first one, you move the top right stick in the nine to the bottom left, to make it a six, so that 2+4=6. For the second one, you move the top left stick in the nine to change the minus to a plus, making it 2+1=3. Who got them both right?)

Time Warp Tuesday : Grandparents

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 01:20:00 +0000

It's been a while since I participated in Time Warp Tuesday over at Juggling Life. The idea is to show some photographs from the past, and since I asked my mom to search for a specific photo of my grandparents this week, I wanted to show these.

Yep, that's little me.

Here's my grandpa reading to my cousin, Brian, and I. How about those pants? Ah, the 70's.

Even though we didn't find the exact photo of my grandparents I wanted (one of them in their younger days, in a passionate embrace), my mom did find a good one. I used that to take a photograph for My Four Hens "So Inspired" theme, and it was chosen for the "Eye Candy" post today! A shot of a sunset I took was featured a couple weeks ago, but I'm extra proud of this one, because my grandparents meant the world to me.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday - Feb. 24

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 14:40:00 +0000

It's Scavenger Hunt Sunday! I'm just going to jump right in.

1. Time To Eat - This shot was taken before I fixed his hair. He always wakes up with at least a few strands sticking straight up.

2. Playtime - On President's Day, Dylan and I played this spelling game so many times I lost count. He had to win before we could quit. (I'm a good speller, and he wanted to win fair and square).

3. Sweet Dreams - I took this in the morning, before I woke him up. He was not too happy to wake up to a camera in his face! Poor kid with a camera crazy mom!

4. Scrub-A-Dub - Dylan has been taking showers for quite some time, so I figured I wouldn't get a "scrub-a-dub" shot. Would you believe he requested a bath this week?! I had to post four shots, because I love them all.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday - February 17

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 13:25:00 +0000

I really enjoyed the prompts for Scavenger Hunt Sunday this time around. It was another crazy busy week! Between work, physical therapy (I'm having bad back pain), volunteering at my son's school for the Valentine's Day party, refinancing our home loan, and having friends over, it is a miracle I managed to take some pictures!

1. Candy - I shot a series with these chocolate kisses. I call this one "Dare to Be Different".

2. Red - Red hair, red pajamas.

3. Kisses - Get it? Their bodies are in the shape of X's.

4. Love - My Valentine, Jim. I love how relaxed he looks in this picture - like he's laying on a beach somewhere, instead of on icy snow!

5. Smile - Okay, these last three are from last week, but they fit the prompts too well to not use them!

Hope you enjoyed your Valentine's Day week! You didn't eat all the candy yet, did you?

Scavenger Hunt Sunday : Feb. 10

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 14:26:00 +0000

The prompts for Scavenger Hunt Sunday this week were...

"Window Beauty" - after gray, dreary skies for the past few weeks, looking out the window to see a blue sky was beautiful!

"Work of Art" - I was watching the sunset, when a ray of light shone up into the clouds, making the sky look like a painting.

"The Small Things" - Small things like watching my two guys zoom down the hill with big smiles on their faces make me the happiest.

"Valentine" - I've been cutting these hearts out for an activity I plan to do at Dylan's school this week. Wish me luck! Going into a room full of energetic kindergarteners is always intimidating.

"Illustration" - I took this shot with my iphone, and converted it into an illustration. She's only 15 months and she already loves purses!

(Yes, I know I have the prompts out of order! That's how they loaded, and I don't have the energy to fight with my computer today, so it wins). Have a great week, and a happy Valentine's Day everyone!

I Heart Faces Photo Challenge : Love

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 16:10:00 +0000

I knew that I wanted to enter a photo in the "I Heart Faces" Photo Challenge this month. The theme is Love, and the more I thought about it, I knew the love that I wanted to portray was loving yourself. I would say that is probably the most difficult and most complicated love for women. We are constantly being bombarded by images of "the perfect woman" in magazines, in movies, and on television. It is hard not to feel inadequate. It is hard to quiet those nagging voices of self doubt. It is easy to see the beauty in others, but not so easy to see it in ourselves. I do believe, though, that there is amazing beauty in each of us. Yes, even in myself.

Roller Skating

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 17:57:00 +0000

(I have to apologize for the quality of these photos - they were all taken by my iphone, in horrible lighting!)

First, Dylan drew this for school. The assignment was to write a sentence about something you want to learn this year and illustrate it. Well, you know me. I'm all about crossing things off lists, so that is what we did this past weekend.

Then, this happened. I was in the bathroom drying my hair, when I saw a blur go past the door, and turned to see this. Rollerblading... in the house... perfect.

We finally arrived, and this happened.

And, this happened, for a while.

Then, this happened.

This happened... a LOT.

For those of you who went skating most weekends in the 80's, remember couple skates? Apparently, they don't have that anymore, so we made our own. They did play some great 80's tunes, though. "Abracadabra", anyone?

We had a blast! It went SO much better than ice skating.

Plus, by the time we were finished, this happened...

Scavenger Hunt Sunday - February 3

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 14:14:00 +0000

It's that time again! Time for Scavenger Hunt Sunday, with Ashley Sisk. I'm just going to jump right in...

1. Hidden

2. Plain - Half plain, half pepperoni to be exact. I took this shot with my iphone, (at Seven Springs). Oh boy, do I have a story about that, but it will have to wait.

3. Fast - I had to use a fast shutter speed to capture Dylan jumping on the trampoline. It was 67 degrees this day. The next day it snowed! Living in Pittsburgh is confusing sometimes. (It was "crazy sock day" at school, if you're wondering about the sock choice!)

4. Peace - I was wondering what to do for this prompt. Then, Dylan won these for "Win A Cake" day at school. Problem solved and a happy boy!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great week everyone.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 15:42:00 +0000

I cannot believe it is time for Scavenger Hunt Sunday again already! There's been a lot of stress around here lately, but I won't go into all that. Let's just get to this week's prompts, shall we?

1. LACE - My 6 year old's shoes, that he wears once a week on chapel days at school.

2. BLING - I'm not a "bling" kind of gal, but I do love my engagement ring.

3. WOOD - Our wood mantle above the fireplace, and my boy putting on one of his "shows".

4. FUZZY - My hands are always cold, so I bought these gloves to wear in the house. This is at my employer's house. (I'm a part-time nanny).

I hope you all have a great week! I'm looking forward to seeing your photos.

Scavenger Hunt #2

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 14:55:00 +0000

It's time for Scavenger Hunt Sunday! I have to admit, I wasn't really feeling it this week. I had a rough time with these prompts. I mean, it was 25 degrees, so going to the "Park" was not happening. All the "Auto"s around here have an ugly layer of mud and slush. Plus, I had a super busy week, but I did it, and didn't cheat by going into my archives, so I'll call it a win. I can't wait to see what everyone else came up with!

1. Basket - I got this basketball hoop when I saw it sitting by the curb, with the trash. It looked brand new! My son has been playing with it for 3 years now!

2. Park - I took this shot while "parked" at a red light. On the rare occasion that Dylan comes out of school grumpy, I ask him "Did you leave your smile at school? Do we need to go back and get it?" This is him trying desperately NOT to smile in response.

3. Auto - Like I said, all the cars around here are dirty, so I went with this nice shiny red one.

5. People watching - The lighting was horrible for these shots. The only light was coming from a tiny lamp to the left of Jim. Dylan and Jim were playing "The Masked Avenger", which entails a sleep mask, crazy wrestling moves on the bed, and lots of giggling.

An Extra Big Hand

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 22:55:00 +0000

Back when Dylan was about to start kindergarten, the plan was for him to take the bus home from school. Due to the completely ridiculous bus schedule our district came up with, yours truly ended up taking him to school and picking him up each day. Days like today make it all worth it.

When I picked him up today, I could tell something was wrong. He usually comes running out, with a big smile on his face. Today there was no smile, and he was walking very slowly, looking depressed. He got in the car and handed me the "big" hand (which says "Great day", and means that he did everything he was supposed to do) without his usual smile.

Me: "Hey! You had another great day! Good job, buddy!"

Dylan: "Yea".

Me: "How come you don't seem happy about it?"

Dylan: "You know... Victor got an extra big hand today! He got an extra big hand THREE TIMES already!"

Me: (They get an extra big hand if the teacher sees them doing something kind, or if they are "extra" good) "Well, Victor must have done something nice for someone".

Dylan: "No, I think he got it for being extra good in chapel. I was good in chapel, but it's really hard for me to be extra good in chapel. It's SO long, Mom!"

Me: (Trust me. I've been there. I know what he's talking about). "I know, honey. It is long, and I'm sure it is hard. But, you were good! You've been getting big hands so many days in a row. You are doing a great job. I'm proud of you!"

Dylan: "I know, but I like to be the best".

Me: "I know you do, but you can't always be the best".

Dylan: "I know, but I didn't get ANY extra hands yet, and Ethan and Hannah got extra big hands today. I don't think I'll EVER get one!"

Me: "Honey, I'm sure you will! There's four and a half more months of school! You just have to do something nice for someone. I know you like to help people."

Dylan: "I do help people in my class, but the teacher asks me to do it, so I guess I don't get one if she asks me. Maybe sometimes I do something nice, but she doesn't even see it!"

Me: "Well, the important thing is not that she sees you, or that anyone sees you. The important thing is that you do nice things. The person you do nice things for will be happy and THEY will appreciate it. That is what matters."

Dylan: "Well, sometimes you do nice things for someone and they don't even say "Thank You" and you don't feel like doing anything nice for them anymore".

Me: "Yea, that happened last week, remember? When I freaked out yelling at you and Daddy, because I felt like no one ever thanked me for anything I do?"

Dylan: "Yea, Mom, but if I thanked you for everything nice you do for me, I'd probably have to thank you, like 20 times a day, because you do A LOT.

Me: "Wow, good talk".

(I'm kidding. It didn't end there. But, it WAS a good talk).

A January Day at the Zoo

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 03:03:00 +0000

That's right. It was 61 degrees last Saturday, so we headed to the zoo. As usual on Saturdays, we were having a bit of trouble getting out of our pajamas and actually leaving the house, so we didn't get there until 2:30. Our zoo membership had expired, so we stood there trying to decide if we should just pay the regular admission, or if would make sense to renew our membership. We ended up deciding to renew, which we soon learned was a good decision since the zoo was closing at 4:00! So, we didn't have much time, but these are the shots I got, and we are anxious to go back in the spring.

My First Scavenger Hunt

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 15:39:00 +0000

Welcome to my very first Scavenger Hunt! (Head over to Ashley's HERE to see what everyone else came up with, or to join in). Since this is my first month shooting in manual mode, these shots (while not anything special), are a BIG step in my photographic journey. I had no idea what I was missing while shooting in Auto mode, and I'm pretty mad at myself for not learning sooner. But, since there's no time like the present...

1.OUTSIDE - One morning, when I was taking Dylan to school, there were tons of lines in the sky. It was pretty, but also a bit disconcerting. It reminded me of "Missile Command", (that old Atari game). I'm showing my age here... uh, never mind.

2.BACKSIDE - My husband graciously volunteered to model for this prompt, but I went with the "backside" of our house/yard instead.

3. LITTLE THINGS - I was sitting at the table having lunch, when this little guy landed on my finger, and decided to check out my ring.

4. A CUP OF - I try to drink a lot of water. Hmmm... do you see it as half empty or half full? I try to be a half full kind of gal.

5. REFLECT - I love to get shots of trees reflected in water, and the early morning light on this day was pretty amazing.

If you have any tips or suggestions, I'd love to hear them. See you next time. Have a great week!