The alternative

Tres refuses to sit down when she eats -- even (or especially) when placed in a high chair. The girls and I were trying to coax her to sit at dinner last night. I pulled out the old standby, "Look, Tres, all the cool kids are sitting!" And then Uno jumped in:

"Hey Tres, if you don't sit down you won't go to heaven."

"If she never sits down, where will she go instead?" I asked, wondering if Uno had any concept of the traditional notions of heaven and hell.

"She'll go straight to JAIL!" she said.

So ... I guess that's a no, then, lol.


~RCH~

Santa Love

Here's my favorite pic from the past week of trying to capture the Christmas Spirit on film. It's Photoshopped nearly to death, as you can see, but it cried out for a vintage treatment. (And plus I cut off Tres's feet and Santa's hat in the original and had to "glue" on those parts from another, much less cute photo to make it full frame.)




~RCH~

Photo-Off: 'Tis the Season

I'm submitting two photos for my Photo-Off Challenge this week, because I am (as usual) indecisive like that. The first one is an abstract of our lovely Christmas tree, the first non-artificial one I've had since I was a kid (not that you can tell from the photo, but still).


Nikon D70 - 85mm fixed lens; 1/15 at f/5.6; ISO 1100

Kind of festive, right?

The next one is sooooooo close to being a fabulous shot ... but it isn't. It's of Dos looking at our tree with a priceless expression -- but the particular thing she's looking at (a gold ornament) is obscured by some very out-of-focus branches. It looks instead like she's gazing in wonder at a big green rectangular blob. I wish this were the sort of shot I could fix and recreate, but 4yo models don't take direction well enough for that. Or, at least my 4yo doesn't.


Nikon D70 - 85mm fixed lens; 1/100 at f/1.8; ISO 1400

The point of these challenges is to push myself, to break through the same ol' same old, and to learn new things about photography. One thing I've learned from this challenge, and from that second photo in particular, is that I need to prepare for those perfect moments far more carefully. I couldn't have known she'd make that sweet face, but I should have noticed the lack of lights and ornaments in that half of the shot. I should have put some extras on, or moved a branch or two out of the way. Fabulous pictures happen by luck, absolutely, but not just luck.

Your thoughts, class...? :-)

I do have another photo to share, but it required some Photoshopping (and then I really went to town with the Photoshopping, lol) so it doesn't count as a Challenge picture. But if I get a little time tomorrow, I'll try to post that one too.


~RCH~

Happy Good Hard Worker Doctor Day!

From Uno, who is always trying to invent reasons to have a party.

I told her that, while I'm sure Daddy would love a party (complete with her trademark hors d'oeuvres of potato chips and snack cheese in paper bowls) for being such a hard worker, what he'd probably like more is a clean house to come home to. So maybe she could help me out with that.

She harrumphed and walked away.

Scenes from our most recent affair, the Happy Hey Mom Don't Worry About It, Just Sleep In party, which they had ready for me when I woke up Tuesday morning:









They've been cracking me up a lot lately. Here are a few Quote Book worthy episodes from the last week for your enjoyment:

No. 1

Uno & Dos stayed with my parents while I was in Phoenix; they took the girls to the town Christmas parade on Friday night, at which they saw Santa Claus. All the way home, my mom reports, they debated which list each girl might be on: Dos is fairly convinced she's on the Nice list. Uno figures it could go either way for her.

No. 2

Uno told me on the phone that she had devised a plan to take care of the neighbor's cat. (She's terrified of cats, this one has sharp claws, and it's always in our yard.) Step one: Get a fake mouse and put it in the driveway. Step two: The cat will come put his claws in the mouse; his claws will get stuck, leaving him incapacitated. Step three: Uno will hit him on the head with a shovel and then quickly put him back in the neighbor's yard. (Don't worry that she'll grow up to be a serial killer who got her start torturing cats; she's just been watching too much Tom & Jerry.)

No. 3

When Tres and I got home, we hung out at my parents' house for the big family Sunday dinner. Uno used the opportunity to wield her power over all the cousins in putting on a show: As the grownups visited in the living room, I could hear Madam Director ordering all the other kids around; occasionally she'd come to me to ask how to spell a word, which she'd then scribble madly on a white board. At one point I heard her say, in her best (unintentional) impersonation of a punchy 40s movie star, "Hey Caleb, can ya' read? Here's your lines! ...Dos! You just sound it out!"

No. 4

Sibling rivalry, as done by Uno and Dos during lunch the other day:

UNO: ...Well, at my school we have computers!

DOS: At my school we get snacks!

UNO: At my school we learn to read!

DOS: At my school we learned all the way to the letter Z!

UNO: At my school we have recess!

DOS: At my school we play all the time!

UNO: Yeah, well today at my school we jumped off the roof and flied!

DOS: At my school, we jumped off the roof and DOUBLE FLIED!!

Take that, suckas! :-)


~RCH~

Photo-Off Challenge: Architecture

I'm not very good at photographing buildings. I'm just not. I don't have that particular gift that can make the prosaic details (or even interesting ones on older buildings) worth a second look. I tried: I shot houses; the old ZCMI / bank / current hardware store in our town; "deconstructed" architecture in the form of abandonned, crumbling barns and farm houses.... Eh. Nothing.

When I asked DH if he knew of any interesting buildings or stone work anywhere, he suggested an old dam that's way out in the country north and west of here. So I loaded up the girls and we went for a drive! This turned out to be the most interesting photo of the week:

Dam It!



Those of you who can and do photograph architecture well, spill your secrets! I tried and tried, but I kept hitting that proverbial brick wall. Ha, ha. ;-)

Mary, your next challenge is ... lights! You should have plenty of holiday subjects, if that appeals to you, but feel free to go in a different direction if your heart leads you elsewhere. As always, I look forward to your results! :-)


~RCH~

Oh, and PS!

Very quickly, as I need to change a stinky diaper: Tres took her first steps late Monday night! Accidentally, of course; she began by holding on to the entertainment center, and when that ended she kept going for two more steps before collapsing.

I tried to make her reenact the moment for DH tonight, and she took three steps before falling over! Give her a few more days of practice and she'll have this whole walking thing down pat.

Yay Tresy! :-)


~RCH~

Well hey, look at that! It's December.

I always miss the best photo ops. I was rushing to get the girls out the door for their karate lesson at 4pm this afternoon, and as soon as I pulled out the driveway and headed down the street I saw it: A strong golden slant of light coming from the only break in a gloomy, cloudy sky shining (I kid you not) directly on the white steeple of the church down the street. So pretty! I didn't have my camera with me and the girls were already very close to being late, so I did the best I could. I dropped them off quickly and sped back home to grab the Nikon -- but of course by the time I had all my gear, the light was gone.

*Sigh!*

I drove around a while, hoping for another dramatic break in the clouds somewhere. No luck. Oh well. I did still manage to get a pretty shot or two, but nothing like what I'd hoped for.



I got back to karate about half way through their lesson. They had finished practicing their forms and were on to a rousing game of Dragon, Dragon, What Time Is It? It's sort of like Mother May I, as I remember it: One person (the dragon) stands at the front, her back turned to the others, while they chant "dragon, dragon, what time is it?" in unison. She replies three o'clock (or whatever) and they have to move forward three paces in the predetermined karate stance (chicken kicks seems to be a favorite). When they get close enough, the dragon replies "Dinner time!" and chases them all back to the other side of the room.



When we got home from karate, we realized our water had been shut off. The city has been tearing up the underground water pipes for the last two months or so, and while they've been working all around us nearly the whole time, they have only now begun work on our particular street. It would have been nice to have had some warning -- a little note tucked in the door yesterday, or even a knock at the door today before they got started: "Hey, FYI we're cutting off vital services for a few hours. Hope you don't mind!" -- but no.

GRRRRRRRR.

It's back on now, and we've stocked up on bottled water for the inevitable days of continued incompetence before they move on to the next street, but just.... UGH.

In other news, my little weekend trip to Phoenix is coming up! I feel like I have all sorts of things to do to get ready, but when I sit down and actually try to do some of it, I experience a mental block; all I want to focus on is the fun I'll have, not the work it'll take to get there. I am overwhelmed and useless. I should probably be doing some of it now, in fact, lol.

Welp. I guess I'll do that, then. :-)


~RCH~