1 down, 19 to go!

G lost her very first tooth on Saturday - considering the cavities she has it is surprising it took her this long to lose one ;). Her permanent tooth grew in behind the baby tooth, so when Mister pulled the baby tooth out with pliers (no, I was not home at the time) she already had a replacement one set up. Smart girl!

Same expression, different species

They just LOVE it when I take their pictures.

Rockin' the Suburbs

Last night Mister and I went out on a date for the first time since Little L was born - and what a date it was. Our kind neighbors volunteered to sit for us (they are heavenly those Kaufmans) and we trekked down to the Tabernacle to listen to the acoustic stylings of the one, the only Ben Folds (and a piano).


It takes a special kind of talent to entertain thousands of people solely with your voice, your personality and a piano, and Ben is one talented man. He played through a whole catalog of his songs, from the time he was in Ben Folds Five, to some unreleased tracks on his upcoming album (Levi Johnston's Blues, anyone?), to a ditty he crafted on the spot melding Free Bird with Sweet Home Alabama and eventually turning it into a ditty about his experience in Atlanta, including a trip to the container store and L5P. I really didn't want the show to end, and it seems, neither did anyone else.

He came back for an encore and played the one song that the crowd had been begging for- why they were begging for this song, I don't really know because although it is quite kitchy to turn a rap song into a piano ballad, it really isn't his best. But, he play B*tches ain't Sh*t anyway, and left partway through the song after coaching the audience to keep repeating a part of the chorus in unison until he came back. Happily he did return, otherwise I am certain that some of the audience member would still be there this morning, still singing the same refrain, just waiting.

During the concert, there was a woman in front of me trying to take pictures of Ben with her wee point and shoot camera. Now, seeing as we were sitting in the attic, there was no way her flash was going to reach Ben, so setting her camera to Auto was a really bad move. She then switched it to night portrait mode, which is even worse for a concert setting, unless you are trying to take a picture of your fellow concert goers. I tried to tell her that her pictures would be better if she turned off the automatic flash, but I think I spooked her... she tried to figure out how to do that and then gave up, choosing to finish taking pictures on Auto somewhere else. I so badly wanted to snatch that camera out of her hand, set the settings for her properly, and give it back, so she would be able to get some great shots, but that would have really freaked her out I think, so I am going to tell you all what to try in a concert/theater situation instead.

First, set your camera to portrait mode, then bump your ISO to as high as you can - 800 will probably be good, if you have a newer camera try 1600. Then, turn of your auto flash. Then, if you are up for it, set your Aperture to as low as you can get it - if you aren't up for it, don't sweat it. If doesn't that do it for you, and the shots are blurry because the people on stage are moving to fast, try action/sport mode with a high ISO and with the auto flash turned off.

Lullabies and Mudpies - life unedited

Today was a gray and rainy day. G had off from school for a teacher work day so I shlepped all the kids down do the aquarium for a day of fish gazing. The belugas are back, finally, after a several month long vacation while some construction went on - the kids and I were so happy to see them again. Little L really loved pointing to all the fish this time, she is really becoming more aware of her environment.

When we got home, the downpour had slowed to a drizzle and Little Guy decided to dig in the mud outside. You can tell we are in Georgia from the lovely orange color of the mud.



A few days ago I decided from now on I am going to put fancy dresses on Little L whenever I feel like it. We have no one to hand them down to, so why not let her be fancy on any random Tuesday? I took these shots of her while we were playing outside the other day after G came home from school... she's getting so toddlerish these days.

Squirrel!

The 82nd Academy Awards are on tonight, and I have had such a hard time planning the menu. Last year, Slumdog Millionaire made it easy - this year I just couldn't come up with anything until I heard a story on NPR this morning about the nominees for best original score. The movie UP's score was nominated, and it took me to a place of 1950's black and white television and TV dinners. So, our menu was home steak, garlic mashed potatoes, green beans and chocolate pudding.

UP was my favorite movie last year... granted I did not see The Blind Side, but I doubt that it would have pulled at my heartstrings the way UP did in the first 10 minutes. UP was a wonderful movie - the best animated movie I have seen since Nemo, and if you haven't seen it yet, you really should... even if you don't have kids to watch it with you. If you don't, you will definitely end up in the cone of shame.

Everyday Snaps

Hi there

I've not been blogging much lately - instead I've been watching the Olympics and hanging out with the kids. They are growing up so quickly, it really boggles my mind. Little L is now running around the house and has just learned to come back down the stairs after climbing them on her own Little Guy is now writing his name and creating works of art that look a bit like Japanese anime, and G is full swing into Girl Scout cookie time and has added at least 300 calories per day to our diet with those hard to resist Thin Mints of hers. Mister weatherstripped all the doors and windows last weekend, after effort to utilize the fireplace for warmth ended up with the entire house smelling like a campfire.

Here are a few snapshots I took today of the two littlest ones and our poor dog. It is supposed to snow again tomorrow - stay warm!