Ry's 3 Year Photo Shoot

Well, my first photo shoot is over...and it was interesting.  Photographing an almost 3 year old is tough work!!  She wouldn't give me a real smile and had ZERO interest in looking at the camera.  So, my quest for a good picture of her looking straight at the camera and giving me her beautiful real smile was defeated...BUT, I still got some decent ones of her none the less.  I was so nervous about this shoot.  I have been playing with my camera for a few months now and felt pretty good about my settings.  I had also gone out a few nights prior and took some photos of the locations I had in mind to get an idea of the settings I would need to use according to the lighting at that time of evening.  I waited until a day that was warm enough for Rylee to wear her dress and not windy or too wet.  When that day arrived I mustered up the courage to say "lets do this!" and off we went. 

Rylee, who dislikes wearing dresses, put on the outfit I wanted her to wear and told me she felt like a princess.  I thought for sure this was a good sign that the shoot would go well!  She was excited to go with me (since it included a Gator ride to the location) and I was super excited to get started...and get it over with.  The first 8 minutes or so went well and she did everything I asked (accept give me a real smile or look at the camera).  These 8 minutes were all in the same spot.  When I told her it was time to go to a new spot, she asked if we could go home....bummer.  But I got another 35 minutes out of her and I could tell she disliked every minute of it, but she never once complained!  She asked if we could be done and go home and also told me she was ready for her treat that I promised her..."just a few more pictures," is what I kept telling her, and she humored me each time.  I did deliver on my promise....with a bowl of ice cream and sprinkles as soon as we got back home.

I took a couple hundred pictures and after weeding through them I have about 60 left that are decent...and about 10 that I really like a lot!  I was just hoping for one good one, and even though I didn't get the exact one I was hoping for, I am happy with the results!  I just got my photo editing software and was going to wait to show some of my favs with you until I got them edited...but, I'm pretty sure my first editing experience will inspire a whole other blog post.  So, without further ado, here are some of my favs from our shoot, unedited. 

I learned quite a few things from the experience, regarding my camera settings, things to watch for in the background, composition items to watch, ways to use the evening sun to make the lighting just right, etc.  The most important thing I learned though is that you can't ask a small child to do anything you want them to do, because the picture really turns out "fake".  The best way to photograph a child is by letting them do their own thing and taking pictures as they do it.  The most genuine faces I captured of her were when she was ignoring my requests to smile and look at the camera and just being herself.  I already promised her I will never ask her to look at the camera and smile again. 

I also learned afterwards from my fashionista husband that, "Rylee needed a belt...that's what they would have done on The Devil Wears Prada."  Thanks honey...we will be sure to get your advice FIRST next time :) 

Picture Perfect

Hi everyone!  I'm still here.  I haven't had anything I've been eager to write about lately.  I have felt overly compelled to post something though and while rummaging through my last few weeks I decided to write about my newest hobby that has been consuming my thoughts and "free time" lately.  Photography.

I've always loved seeing that perfect picture with my own eyes and thinking, "where is the camera when you need it?".  Boy have I learned that what you see with your eyes is SO HARD to capture through a lens!!!  It seems so simple....look through the viewfinder and push the button, right???  Well, if you want to trust the camera to get the picture "right", then sure, it's that easy.  However, if you really want to capture the mood of the image and add your own style....that's a whole other set of instructions!!  This other set of instructions comes with jargon of it's own too, like Aperture, white balance, noise, ISO, bokeh, and so on. 

Before I decided to purchase a DSLR camera, I spent a fair amount of time reading about photography and watching youtube videos on how to operate the camera as well as the way to use each setting of the camera.  By the time I was done with that, I wasn't sure I still wanted to jump into this hobby.....I'm still not even sure, ha!  It really is a lot to learn...but practicing on my kiddos is so much fun and every once in awhile I get a wonderful picture of them!  I'm hoping to never pay for professional photos again. 

I have only just begun this hobby and am only surface deep in what my camera can do.  I feel like I am getting a decent grasp on the basics, but then again, I haven't tried taking pictures in many different settings.  I found a couple of neat places to take pictures today, but then I realized I have to get there at a certain time for the sun to be just right and it can't be a windy day, and oh boy, this really is a lot of work - ha!  Oh, and trying to get a stubborn 2 year old to let me take her picture -- forget about it!  I'm already planning lots of bribes for her 3 year pictures coming up!  I take lots of pictures of the kids' toys for practice too...they are so bright and colorful and really quite perfect to practice getting my lighting just right. 

And then there's editing, which I haven't even touched yet....my mind spins just thinking about it!  I've been researching editing software and just can't decide if I want to buy something yet or not.  I like a lot of my pictures without any editing.....but I know they could probably be even better with some touch-ups.  Oye.....I understand why photographers are so expensive!  Though I have to say that now that I'm learning about photography, I'm finding a lot of "professional" photographers' pictures to be mediocre in my mind.  Not saying I can do better, I just find myself critiquing their photos more than I ever would have before. 

I googled "DIY photo backgrounds" the other day and my thoughts are now consumed with all of these ideas I want to try.  This could become an expensive hobby!  I already bought a 2nd lens and am only a few months in!  Who knew that there are so many lens' and they all portray images differently?!?!?  I know in the end though I will come out ahead if I am able to take my own pictures of my kids for the rest of their childhood. 

As I think about it, this hobby is really perfect for me, because it gives me something to learn, practice, perfect...all while creating fun tangible items to keep.  Since I don't have a "job", learning photography has been a great way for me to use those "on the job" skills that have gotten a little rusty....learning on my own, researching answers, patience and perseverance (a different kind of patience than I have to have with my kids), etc.  I'm really quite enjoying it....at least for now.  We'll see what happens in a few weeks when I do my first real shoot with my daughter as she turns 3.  I'd like to get into some landscape photography as well.   My goal is to have an entry or two at the state fair sometime in my life :)

Weego Boomey!

What's more fun...creating a nickname for someone, or then calling that person by their nickname??  To me, nicknames are terms of endearment to our most loved friends and family members.  I love being able to call someone by their nickname and having bystanders wonder what the heck I just called that person and why. 

Growing up, my nickname was Emo (pronounced "M-O").  My mom did daycare when I was young and one of the little girls there couldn't say my name correctly and called me Emo....it became my identity until I went to college.  My dad, brother and some friends only called me by my nickname.  In fact, those same people still call me Emo.  I even had some high school teachers call me that.  I was looking through one of my high school yearbooks recently and noticed that almost every person who wrote in it referred to me as Emo.  Once I went to college though, no one knew me by that name and I heard it less often.  I do have one college friend who somehow started calling me Emo though, so that was fun (shout out to you Amanda!).

Sometime in Rylee's first year of life, she got the nickname "Weego".  Odd isn't it??  James got it from a beer commercial and called her that a few times.  We had some friends over shortly after that (shout out to you again Amanda), and when James called Rylee "Weego", our friends new exactly where he had gotten that.  I never did see the commercial (until just a few minutes ago when I decided to try Googling it), but started calling her that too.  She is almost 3 years old and still occasionally answers to "Weego" or "Weegs".   Here is the commercial if you are curious https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD-tmlGtDLE

Wyatt got his nickname, "Boomey" recently.  Once he started to make real sounds with actual letters, all of his whines sound like he is saying "boom boom boom".  So one night James called me from a work trip and asked what I was doing.  "Oh, just put Boom Boom to bed", I told him.  "Boom Boom?", he asked.  "Yeah, you know...'boom boom boom'", I replied in my best whiney Wyatt impression.  So began him being called "Boom Boom", which has turned into "Boomey".  I will tell Rylee to say goodnight to her brother and she says, "Good night Boomey"....so stinkin cute!!

While thinking of a title for this post I realized that when I put the kids' nicknames together it sounds like a sentence...."We go Boomey" (not that Boomey is a word).  People would put my nickname and middle names together and it also sounded like a sentence..."I'm okay" (Emo Kaye).  Weird. 

Anyway ...do you or your kids have strange nicknames...and how were they created??

What's That Smell?

You know how when you walk into someone's house you immediately notice that it has it's own scent?  Ever wonder what your own house smells like??  I do.  When I come home after being gone for a couple of days I notice that my house still has that "new house" smell....but I wonder if that's what others smell when they walk in too?  We've had cats, 2 babies who spit up daily, and a toddler who went through potty training.  I'm sure it smells like a "lived in" home. 

I was reading some peoples' comments today online on why our homes have certain scents.  One person suggested it's the smell of all of our bodies combined and that we should shower and wash our sheets daily to keep our house from smelling like ourselves.  Another suggested we need to vacuum our floors, furniture and curtains daily.  Interesting thoughts, but I don't notice anyone's house smelling like them....not that I lean right up against the people in the house to see what they smell like.  Isn't it interesting though that after leaving their house you bring the scent of their home with you on your clothes!?! 

I used to love having candles burning (or Scentsy warmers turned on), but ever since I started cleaning with mostly just Norwex cloths and water, I have been turned off by things that smell.  I feel like my house is just fresher without all of the chemicals and lab created smells in my home.  A friend of mine who also cleans with cloths and water said the same thing happened to her...strange.  Anyway...my truly favorite scent for my home is the fresh air coming in from the outside..CANNOT WAIT TO HAVE MY WINDOWS OPEN DAILY!!!!!   I read once that you should open your bedroom windows every single day, even if it's just for a few seconds.  The theory behind that was that we spend a majority of our time in our bedrooms and that's the room that needs the most fresh air (to keep it smelling clean??). 

I love having a sense of smell and feel bad for those who don't.  It's so amazing to me that smells can bring back memories.  Sometimes even the thought of a scent brings memories for me.  Rylee does this weird thing where she smells her blankie all the time (especially when she's falling asleep)...I was reading online that it's just a comfort thing.  She will sometimes put her blankie up to my nose and tell me to smell it....it's just strange to me....but I guess scents can be comforting too. 

While I could definitely do without a lot of scents in this world, most are pleasant.  Here are a few scents that I enjoy:

Fall -- everything Fall -- the air itself, leaves burning, etc.
Fresh mowed grass
Cinnamon rolls -- okay, really anything baking -- baked apples and cinnamon..YUM!
Chocolate - duh!
Whole Foods Grocery Store
Chlorine pool (the official smell of summer, right?)
Oranges
Lemonade
Pureology Hair Conditioner
Aveeno Baby Wash

You know what else I find odd about scents....how come I can wash my hands at someone's house and love the smell of their soap...but then when I go buy the exact same thing and bring it home, it just doesn't smell the same???  Or I love the smell of someone's clothes (seriously, everyone who uses Tide smells good), but when I give in and buy the same expensive laundry soap just for the scent I don't smell it on my clothes???   Strange. 

Anyway...this was kind of a random post, but as I've been doing some spring cleaning the last couple of days and had the windows open yesterday, I was thinking about my house scent and wondered if you do to?????

Speaking of senses...if I had to lose one....definitely the taste sense....then I could eat 100% healthy!! 

My Favorite Hobby

While visiting with a friend recently, we were discussing how our husbands have numerous hobbies.  We discovered that both of our husbands have told us that we need more hobbies.  As I thought about all of my hobbies, I realized that they probably don't seem like hobbies to my husband because 1) my hobbies don't always produce tangible products like his do and 2) I don't have much time for hobbies at this point in my life.....which lead me to the discovery of my most participated in hobby...my kids!

I spend approximately 14 hours each day with my kids.  They are my priority and my thoughts and actions revolve around them.  I'm either actively doing something with them, or thinking up activities to do with them at a later date (this summer, future vacations, chores I want to give them, lessons I hope to teach them, etc.).  Even when they are napping I'm doing something for my kids...washing their dishes, picking up their toys, preparing their supper, organizing pictures of them, writing journal entries to them, going through their clothes to see what still fits, etc.   I enjoy spending time with my children and would consider them my favorite hobby right now. 

When I do get time to myself, my other hobbies include:

Reading -- haven't done much of this lately because I get too engrossed in my books and choose to read over other important things I should be doing.

Sewing -- this is just a "once in awhile" thing.  I'm not that into sewing, but sometimes I get in the mood for it...currently working on a quilt (something I said I would NEVER do). 

Line Dancing -- I missed about 4 months of dancing over the winter months while my husband was traveling so much.  I'm back at it though and loving it!!

Blogging -- I wish I had more time for this, I'm really enjoying sharing my thoughts!

Walking/Working-out -- We recently put in a little home gym and I've been trying to get at least 20 minutes in each day.  It makes me feel so much better!  When it's nice outside though, I love to walk!!  I would probably walk every day if I could.  Being out in nature is so energizing!

Photography -- Okay, this one is new.  I purchased a DSLR camera a couple months ago, but prior to doing so I spent a lot of time learning about photography and how to manually use a DSLR camera.  I have been thoroughly enjoying learning the ins and outs of my camera.  My kids and their toys have been great practice for me. 

Cooking/Baking -- hahahahahahahaha, just kidding!!  I only cook out of necessity.

Hobbies, no matter how big or small, are great things to have.  Hobbies keep us learning and entertained.  Gardening (both plants and food) is the next thing I would like to get into.  I had planned to spend the winter reading about it, but that didn't happen.  Maybe in a couple of years when my children aren't so small and needy, I will be able to pursue my hobbies more regularly.  But for now, I will enjoy my favorite hobby daily, my children.

Veggie Tales

Veggies Smeggies!  Why are some of the best foods for us gross?  Well 'gross' might be a little harsh...but seriously, veggies are not very exciting.  My list of veggies that I actually get a little excited about is VERY short...like 2...maybe. 

The number of vegetable servings recommended per day, is about how many I have every two weeks.  I don't even know what the number is...but considering I eat about one veggie a week (sometimes), I'm guessing it's close.  Okay, I just checked..according to choosemyplate.gov, I should eat 2.5 cups per day...eek...maybe it's closer to every three weeks that I eat that many veggies.  Yikes!  That's pretty bad, huh. 

Here's the deal.  So I know we are supposed to eat for no other reason than to fuel our bodies...but seriously, I need to feel at least a little satisfied after a meal, and veggies are definitely not going to do that for me.  I will eat a salad here and there for lunch...but then I immediately grab a handful of m&ms or a small dish of ice cream to wash it down with.  Today I made a conscious effort to eat a bunch of veggies at lunch (I bought the vegetables on Tuesday with lots of plans for them for the week, and here it is Friday and I'm just now getting to them).  I had to choke down my meal...and to be honest, I only ate half of it.  I tried to just dice and sautee a bunch of veggies and eat them with pasta....I chose bad pairing of veggies and needed some sort of sauce/dressing on my pasta.  Fail!  I had a scotcheroo (or 2) afterwards to make me feel better.  And last night Rylee wanted mac n cheese, so I decided to try throwing in some tiny pieces of broccoli with it for myself...I ate it all...but it totally ruined my mac n cheese...I was bummed! 

I need help!  How can I eat more veggies without feeling like I'm eating veggies??  I read a few good websites early this week with great suggestions...but I think the only thing that will work for me is if someone else makes the food so I don't know it's in there.  Ha.  Here is the list of veggies I like or can tolerate:

Carrots (not cooked)
Broccoli (sometimes)
Zucchini (I actually really like this one)
Green Beans (my other fav)
Peas (only from a can)
Onions
Bell Peppers (cooked and in my food)
Any leafy greens
Corn (I guess there is argument whether or not this is a vegetable)
Avacado (not plain)
Cucumbers

Veggies I do NOT like...don't even recommend them to me....
Celery (unless it's diced small and cooked and in my soup)
Cauliflower
Sweet Potatoes (REALLY wish I could like these)
Tomatoes (I can eat them pureed in sauces)
Squash
Asparagus (I could probably eat it if I had to)

I just looked at choosemyplate.gov's list of veggies...I've never even tried half of them...or know what they are.  Oh boy, I'm pathetic!!!  Eek!  Rylee eats even less veggies than I do, which is really really bad and part of the reason I want to cook with them more.  She ate all of the pureed veggies when she was a baby (as does Wyatt).  I made a lot of my own baby food and would try new veggies as I was making them for the babies...but never found any new ones I liked.  I'm not sure if there is hope for me in the veggie world....but I'm going to try...even if it means having a bowl of ice cream afterwards.......wait a second....yes, that will be my motivation for eating more veggies!!  Ben&Jerry's, here I come (actually I buy the cheap stuff)....I mean, Squash&Celery, here I come!

12 Loads Lighter

About 4 months ago, I wrote about de-cluttering as I had just finished a book on Minimalism that inspired me to do so.  I received several messages from friends that it inspired them to do some de-cluttering of their own.  I thought I would give an update on my progress in case anyone else needs some motivation for spring...er winter..cleaning. 

I have just finished my 3rd book on minimalist living and am addicted to the thought of living with less.  Whether or not I can actually get there is still unknown, but I'm on a good start.  I have taken 12 car loads of stuff to Goodwill.  You know the large white tubs you unload your stuff into at Goodwill....I have packed at least 12 of them!  It feels SO GOOD to get rid of stuff!!!  I get in moods where I just want to pitch anything in my way...and so far I haven't missed anything I've gotten rid of.  It's very freeing!

Friends have asked me, "What are you getting rid of?" and "How do you have that much stuff to get rid of?"  I have always been a sucker of the marketing world and loved to go shopping (I'm using the past tense as I hope to change this habit).  Pretty, bright colored things always found their way into my shopping cart and hitched rides into my home....where I then had to find a place to put them and then maintain them.  What I've learned through my readings and 12 trips to Goodwill in 4 months is that most of those things aren't worthy of taking up space in my house or my time that I have to clean them.  I have gotten rid of things that I just recently bought and felt the stab of "why the heck did I waste money on this???" Most of the things I have bought aren't worthy of my money either.  Darn marketers!!!  I know they will never go away, but I can change the way I think about marketing.  I'm already doing a lot better at just leaving the pretty things in the stores to be viewed there only.  Knowing how much time and energy I have spent (thus time away from my kids) getting rid of things helps me say "no" to something I have my eye on.

When de-cluttering, it is recommended that instead of pulling things out that you want to get rid of, you should instead pull everything out and only put back in what you want to keep.  I tried this method with my clothes and with my bathroom linen closet.  It worked wonders!!  Previously I would have maybe pulled out 5-6 shirts in my closet to get rid of, but using this method I got rid of 15.  I first put back in the shirts that I knew I had worn in the last couple of weeks and then put back those that I wear occasionally and do like.  Everything else....gonners.  Now, everything in my closet is actually worn and it's so much easier to decide what to wear, because I truly love everything in my closet and know that it fits me and is comfortable.  And before I went through my linen closet I wrote down the items that I thought were necessary to have in there, and then I only put those items back in.  The rest of it got a hard interview to determine if it was worthy of being kept or not. 

I finally got rid of all those items that I kept saying "I might use this someday" or "I might wear that someday".  If I couldn't remember the last time an item was used, I got rid of it...no matter how much I liked it.  If it isn't useful to me on a regular basis, it's not worthy of space in my house and my time to maintain it.  I also thought hard about the realization of organizing.  Too many times I have organized a space and felt so much better about it.....only to have to reorganize it again later.  Organizing isn't de-cluttering and inevitably you will have to touch all of those items again at a later date for another round of organizing.  If we instead just get rid of the items that don't truly need to be in that organized space, we won't have to touch them again later. 

Why is living with less so interesting to me??  Minimalism is deeper than just de-cluttering. 
It is understanding what is truly important to yourself and ridding your life of those things that distract you from that.  I want to focus more on family time and less on dusting, cleaning, organizing, etc.  I want my family to spend more time outdoors than in the living room.  I want our home to be just a space where we eat, sleep, shower...the necessities.  There are so many great things in this amazing world to experience and spending so much time in our house doesn't allow us the opportunity for learning about our world.  Some lines that I highlighted in my readings regarding minimalist living are:

"the more stuff you own, the more your stuff owns you"
"living life is more enjoyable than managing and organizing stuff"
"there is more joy to be found in owning less than can ever be found in organizing more"
"minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we value and the removal of everything that distracts us from it"
"minimalism values relationships, experiences, and soul-care and in doing so, it finds life"
"minimalism slows down life and frees us from this modern hysteria to live faster"
"our possessions rob us of precious minutes every day by being required to be cleaned, organized, maintained, fixed, removed"

Something I have been saying recently that I never thought would ever come out of my mouth is "my house is too big!".  When we were creating our floor plan for our house 4 years ago, I wanted there to be a spot for all of our stuff.  Anything that didn't have a "spot" in our old house, was going to get itself a spot in our new house.  What I didn't realize at the time is how much I was giving our stuff priority.  We all think we need a bigger house because all of our stuff is suffocating us...but what we really need is less stuff!  The reality of a house is that it provides shelter, a true basic necessity.  It's nice to be comfortable in our houses as we spend quite a bit of time in them...but no one really needs as big of a house as they think they do.  All it does is require more of your time to maintain and allow you to acquire more things that you do not need.  If I could, I would empty all of the contents of my house onto my yard, make a list of true necessities and items used regularly and bring only those things back into my house.  If it was just me, I would honestly do this...but I have 3 other lives to consider too.  Which brings me to my next thought....

Getting rid of unnecessary items and turning our attention to what's really important in life seemed like such a great thing to start now while our kids are so young and untouched by marketing and peer pressure.  The book I just finished is about living with less with children.  There are so many great points that the author highlights about teaching our children what's really important.  He discusses some of the greatest gifts we can give our children, and none of them are bought in a store.  One of my favorite things he says is, "Allow children of all ages to dream bigger dreams than cozy homes, cool cars and white picket fences." 

I let Rylee help choose which of her items she wants to keep and which to get rid of.  The interesting thing is that when I ask her to find some toys/books/etc to get rid of, she instead picks out the things she wants to keep -- which is exactly the way you are supposed to do it, according to my readings.  What I like about this is that not only does she have all the control over what she keeps, she has the ability to pick out those items that are really important to her and see the rest as "no big deal" to get rid of.  We are on the right track with her I think.  She likes the idea of giving things to other kids (which is what I tell her we are going to do with her stuff she doesn't play with). 

I've said it a million times and I'll say it again -- I'm SO READY for spring to get here so we can get outside and enjoy nature and all of the outdoor activities we haven't been able to do in months.  My husband and I just recently agreed that TV is doing nothing good for us and we need to turn it off and spend more quality time together...all 4 of us.  This will be a challenge, but one I'm definitely ready to take on (after this season of The Bachelor is over of course..and I will still watch Nashville..but the rest can go). 

If you are interested in reading more about minimalism or just want some more motivation, the books I read and would recommend are:

Miss Minimalist: Inspiration to downsize, declutter and simplify.. by Francine Jay
Clutterfree with Kids: Change your thinking, Discover new habits .. by Joshua Becker
The Minimalist Women's Guide to Having It All .. by Meg Wolfe

The first two listed were the most in depth and inspiring to me.  Read them and then spend the last few weeks of winter (I hope) getting rid of stuff that doesn't make you happy so you can enjoy life in the beautiful weather to come! 

Have a great week!