WHE Father/Daughter Dance

One of the great things about my job (and I use that term lightly, because it's hard to consider something I love so much to be a job!), is that I have the opportunity to give back to this community our family is a part of.

I'm fairly active with my kids' school, and happened to mention my photography to one of the PTO officers while discussing the Book Fair (I'm the chair person for our schools' book fairs--LOVE to read, LOVED going to the book fair when I was a kid, LOVE getting to pass along those memories to my kids!). Anyway, she asked if I would be interested in taking candid photos at the upcoming Father/Daughter dance. To say that I jumped at the chance may be downplaying my reaction... I am always asking Kev and the girls what they do at the dances each year and am never satisfied with the level of description I get. I was thrilled to get to be at the dance and spy on them see what actually happens!

I was told that I could keep all profits from any sales of photos that I took during the dance if I was willing to take the pictures for free. That sounded great, but I decided that I would prefer to donate the proceeds of the picture sales back to the PTO. We are so blessed to live in an area with low property taxes, but the current economy is taking its toll on our schools. I love to give back in any way that I can.

I have to say that nothing prepared me for the noise level in the gym and cafeteria! Especially when Justin Bieber started playing... But having the opportunity to watch the girls have fun dancing with each other, and then seeing the sweet moments with their dads was worth listening to every squeal.

Ultimate Twice Baked Potatoes - Recipe

Our friends have an annual St. Patrick's Day party at their home that we so look forward to each year. We write limericks, and bring food, and laugh. A lot.

I like to bring something in the food department that somehow relates to the theme of the party. One year I brought an avocado corn salsa (it's green!), and I've brought a hot reuben dip, and even a Guiness chocolate cheesecake (ah. maze. ing.). This year I stumbled across this little recipe, and it is a real keeper! I made it using mini red potatoes so that they would be bite-sized.

Ultimate Twice Baked Potatoes
2 boxes of mini red potatoes
8 slices of bacon, cooked and really crispy for crumbling
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
4 Tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 cup shredded, sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
8 green onions, thinly sliced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Bake the potatoes in preheated oven until tender.
When the potatoes are done, remove them from the oven and let them cool for 10 - 15 minutes.
Slice the potatoes in half and scoop the flesh out into a large bowl. SAVE THE SKINS! I like to scoop just about all the potato out since they're so tiny. The skins are a bit fragile, so practice with this a bit.
Cream the insides of the potatoes with the sour cream, milk, butter, salt, pepper, 1/2 the cheese and 1/2 the green onions. After it is well-mixed, stir in the bacon by hand.
Gently spoon the mixture into the potato skins. And maybe a little bit into your mouth...
Top each with remaining cheese and green onions, and then bake for another 15 minutes.
Try not to eat them all before you get to where you're going! (I double-dog dare you!)

Boys Will be Boys - {Capture the Flag}

My house runneth over with nerf-gun bullets. Every place I look there is bound to be at least one of those bright orange sticks lying around. Not only is Ryan obsessed with them, his sisters gladly join in the nerf wars around the house.

Parents are not safe from being ambushed either. But now the weather is nice outside. And I have moved the nerf wars to the great outdoors.

The boys in the neighborhood are having a great time joining in the nerf madness, and the game has morphed into capture the flag.

Kevin is often commenting that perhaps the kids are old enough to take down the play set (which I am not even remotely ready to accept). Now, thanks to this newest game, I can point to the fact that it is still being regularly used by even the older kids...

Even the most camera shy will allow me to stalk them during capture the flag.

The shouts and laughter as the kids play actively outside fill my heart with gladness! I love that they are having so much fun just being kids.

And I really love that the nerf bullets are now raining down outside for the next few months...

Growing Up {POTD}

We tend to measure our children's growing up by the big milestones: first smile, rolling over, crawling, walking, talking, potty training, etc. But so often the tiny moments in their lives that represent maturing are lost on us.

Today my girls have asked to please have more "grown up" panties. With flowers on them. Or peace signs. Or polka dots. Or days of the week. Or just, gulp, plain.

So while I rejoiced the day(s) that we moved from diapers to big girl pants, today I'm feeling a little sad to leave those days of princesses and care bears behind.

Twenty Tiny Toes

A picture can relay so much information about its subjects. For instance, when I look at these little toes I see:

1. Katy's personality shining through with her choice to paint her toes lots of different colors. In a pattern.
2. Livie's love of order with a single color choice (and her current favorite color is blue).
3. Katy's toes are sticking straight out, with confidence, and she's having a hard time keeping them still (see that one big toe that's in mid-tap?).
4. Livie's little toes look a little shy, curling back and under just the tiniest bit.
5. Katy's feet are shaped a lot like mine (and my mom's, and my sister's, and my maternal grandmother's): kind of wide at the front, and narrow at the heel. But she got lucky with nice toe nails that just beg to be painted (mine are really itty bitty teeny tiny).
6. Livie's feet are shaped a lot like her daddy's (and his mom's): somewhat narrow at the top and more narrow at the heel, and her first 3 toes are all even in height. She also got lucky with those fabulous toe nails!

And this is what I love about photography. That so much information be captured, and preserved, at the touch of a button.

Picture of the Day {POTD} - Project 365

Looking back over my first Project 365 from 2009, I can only feel grateful for Becky Higgins who was with Creating Keepsakes magazine at the time (now she's got her own amazing business!), for introducing the concept to me.

While I was an avid scrapbooker for about eight years, I was always behind. And while I continued to scrap regularly after the birth of my twins, I really just kept getting further behind.

Now, I still love spending time scrapbooking with friends and being creative with paper and adhesive and photos, but I was in desperate need of a way to get a little caught up; a new way to look at my hobby; a way to capture and document those everyday moments that tend to fall through the cracks. Project 365 was my answer: a picture a day for an entire year. Now, I still take WAY more than one picture a day! And I will still make individual scrapbooks for my kids with photos and ideas that are more specific to them, but our family scrapbook will be done like this.

The best part to me? When you pick up your camera every. single. day. for an entire year you become much better at taking pictures, and you start to capture those things that make up your actual life.

And today? On February 22, 2010? We're grilling out for dinner. Yum! So here's my picture of the day, so that I can always remember that tiny little detail:

Lunch on the Deck. In February. No Jackets Required!

I may have mentioned that I really enjoy winter in North Carolina before, but the sentiment bears repeating! It's February. And we've definitely had some cold days, and even a little snow.

But today? Today is gorgeous. And when the girls asked to have lunch outside, I simply had to oblige.

Our pal Syd spends a fair amount of time playing with my girls. Let's just say that the path between our homes is well-worn in both directions!

I'm sure there will be more cold days ahead, but we will take these spring-like days any time God chooses to give them to us! (Have I mentioned that I am in love with this 50mm lens? So glad I went ahead and got the 1.4 f-stop...)

Loyal Fans?

As the younger sisters of an athlete, the girls have logged lots of hours in gymnasiums "watching" basketball games and practices. Thank goodness for these little game pads that I found in Wal-Mart this year! They love to play the boxes game where you connect the dots and try to make as many boxes as possible, and these pre-printed sheets are wonderful!


They also regularly raid my purse for gum, mints or lollipops. And this is my Picture of the Day (POTD) for my current project 365.



Those Eyes

They still get me every single time. What a lucky girl am I to wake up to those eyes every morning.

Snow Day

The threat of snow does not come often around us, and when it does, it generally isn't more than an inch. But today? We got 5, count 'em, FIVE inches of snow! The kids are so excited to get out and play. The plans for snowballs and snow forts, and sledding are being made.


There won't be any rocking on the porch today...



Not many people will venture out to go to work today, and of course the schools are closed! There really isn't much in the way of snow removal around here because it typically just melts within 24 hours.  

Someone couldn't resist smacking their hand into my pretty snowy table...

It was fairly windy last night before the snow came in, and our little plastic adirondack chairs got blown over. The kids can't wait to be the first down the slide! 

And based upon our forecast? This snow isn't going anywhere any time soon. The rest of the week is going to be C. O. L. D... 

Miss Bella

My mom was very allergic to cats when I was growing up (fortunately this has improved over the years). And my dad did not like cats when I was growing up (still doesn't, for that matter). So I didn't really know how to love a cat.

Kevin grew up with cats in his home. And in his aunt's homes. And at his grandparent's farms. And in his dad's home. And he loves kitties. A lot.

So soon after we became an official couple, we adopted two little kittens who had been born on his grandma's farm. Oreo and Airy soon worked their kitty magic and I became smitten. And eventually they broke our hearts when they crossed the rainbow bridge to kitty heaven.

It took some time until we were ready to invite a new kitten into our home, and into our hearts, but last year we took the plunge. On Valentine's Day. We adopted Midnight (sweet, mushy, lovable boy) and Bella (tiny, skittish, but lovable on her terms little girl).

And it turns out that Miss Bella is my kitty. She looooves me. I am the one she chooses to sit with, and it is my lap she curls into (especially when it is quiet around the house because the kids are at school or in bed). And with a face like that, she has me thoroughly wrapped around her tiny paw.

Little Things

Last year I started a photography project where I took a picture a day for an entire year. There were so many days in the beginning when I'd be at a loss what to photograph--there wasn't anything going on that day! But as the days passed, my eyes were opened to the true purpose of this type of endeavor - kind of like those gratitude journals - to notice those little things that make up our lives, those details that we perhaps appreciate on some level, but don't really pay much attention to.

Today as I was bringing the kids back from the bus stop my eyes were drawn to the little wooded area next to our driveway. The sun was shining on the nandina and making those red berries look like they were exploding with color. I could say it took my breath away, but that would be a little trite and over-exagerated. But they were really pretty, so I went in and picked my camera off the kitchen counter (where it tends to live) and took the time to capture them so that I could always remember those little jewels.

Carolina Winters

There really is nothing like a gorgeous, Carolina winter day. Not every day can fall into this category, but they pop up with amazing regularity throughout this traditionally cold season.

They tend to start off like a typical winter day: brisk, chilly, warm coats required. But during the course of the morning they begin to warm. And by the time the kids get off the bus around 2:30, the coats have been crammed into the recesses of their backpacks.

These are the kinds of days where the option of playing indoors isn't even considered.

These are the kinds of days when your neighborhood friends come over as soon as they've finished their homework and you go exploring together. 

These are the kinds of days where you just can't stop smiling. 

These are the kinds of days where you enjoy that golden sun for as long as it shines.

These are the days where you can't wait to get more sticks and rocks and bricks to work on that fort that you've been building with your buddies in the woods.

These are the days that you will remember, and look back on fondly when the true chill of the season returns. And these are the days that will make you smile again as you look back on them once you are grown. 

There's No Birthday Like a First Birthday

I absolutely love living in North Carolina, except for how little I get to see my parents and my sister and her family. We made a special trip to visit over this weekend to celebrate my niece's first birthday, and it was just ONEderful

My girls got to play with my older niece, who has developed a fondness for doing art projects. My sister loves this new hobby too, as it is one of the rare times that Ally will sit still and quiet for any length of time!



The party theme revolved around winter and Beth had decorated the house with paper snowflakes she and Ally had made over the previous week. She had also found some crafts for the older children to make that had a winter/snow theme. Little did any of us realize how appropriate this would be given the two HUGE blizzards that hit the area where they live in the upcoming months!

Katy enjoyed her snuggle (and tickle) time with Grandad. It is such a wonderful thing to watch the relationship grow between my children and my parents. It fills my heart with love and adds a whole new dimension to my relationship with them. They all enjoy each other so much.

Gram especially enjoys the way that the youngest children in our little crew need her, and we all appreciate the break from some of those day-to-day tasks.

The house was filled with laughter as we played some of the games that we had received as Christmas gifts this year. 'A to Z' is one of our particular favorites, as is 'Apples to Apples.' There is nothing like being away from home so that time can be spent enjoying these simple moments of being connected. Focusing on the things that matter in our lives, as opposed to the chores that seem to steal our attention so often.

Mandy so enjoyed her new bell toy! She had all of us just beaming as she would carefully press the button on top of each bell.

Each time the bell would make a sound, she would just stop, as if she weren't quite sure where the noise came from.

Katy is such a care-taker, and has been for as long as I can remember. She loves to help other children. Throughout pre-school, she would take it upon herself to make sure that Livie was doing okay, to the point that she would worry about Livie excessively. Splitting them into different classes in Kindergarten was the best decision we made for both of them - Livie has had to learn to fend for herself, and Katy can concentrate on just herself. Although any time we are around younger children, Katy's little mommy instincts kick right in. She is going to be an amazing mama someday.

Of course I had to take the opportunity to attempt a few "formal" pictures with Beth and Mandy. After all, you only get to turn one once! And it is such a special moment for a mother since our memory of our child's arrival in our world is still so fresh.

In keeping with the winter theme of the party, Beth made amazing cupcakes decorated with silver sprinkles and sparkly snowflakes. While they look beautiful, the picture doesn't begin to describe just how wonderful they tasted! The cupcakes themselves were fabulously moist (especially the chocolate ones, although I may be a little partial since chocolate is my most favorite flavor). But then she frosted them with a swiss meringue buttercream frosting recipe that was pure heaven in your mouth. Perhaps it had something to do with the 2 POUNDS of butter?

I would love to know what the birthday child is thinking when everyone sings 'Happy Birthday' to them at their first party? Obviously they've never experienced this before: being the focus of attention while lots of people sing to them all at the same time. It must be a bit overwhelming! I know that it was also quite an emotional experience for me at each of my children's first birthdays.

It is quite easy to figure out what the birthday girl is thinking when she gets her very first ever taste of cake! I love the way that Beth is watching her--Beth's absolute adoration just fills my heart to the brim.

YUM!

You don't have to be the birthday girl to enjoy a cupcake...

Happy Birthday, beautiful girl. May this be the first of many more wonderful celebrations!