from our home to yours!

where have I been?

Has it really been over two weeks since I last posted? Yikes.

In my defense, I have been busy over here, posting pictures of other people's kids.

Halloween was also a big event around here. Much bigger than it ever was before kids, and I think this year was the most fun yet. We spent the week decorating the house inside and out with spider webs, lights, pumpkins and ghosts. The girls each had parties at school, treat or treating at Daddy's office and then finally on the big day, a pre trick-or-treat pizza party, the actual trick-or-treating and then an after party. Claire wore the pink cat princess costume that she spotted in a catalog back in September and was determined to have. Abby, after years of princess costumes, went with super girl this year.

I would post fabulous pictures of them in costume at these various events here, but I did not manage to get a single really good picture. Or any pictures of them actually trick-or treating. Heh. Some photographer I am. And also kind of funny considering that on Abby's first Halloween, I snapped a picture of her at each and every door.

Instead, a few random snap shots...

pink cat on parade

super kindergartener

on the big day, ready to party

a week in review

So what have we been up to for the past week?

Well, let's see. There was some snow.

There was a lovely dinner at my brother's house.

the girls with grandma, grandpa and their great nana

And there was New Years, which also happens to be my birthday, which also happened to be the day another snow storm rolled through.

We ordered our traditional take out Chinese and let the girls stay up to shower Daddy with kisses at midnight. If you think that means they slept any later the next day, you would be wrong.

And the rest of the week? We watched movies. We watched lots of SpongeBob. We took turns napping. We slept in. We ate leftovers and breakfast for dinner. I even set some goals for myself in the New Year.

Our regularly scheduled program of work, school, activities and playdates resumes tomorrow and the quest to lose the five pounds gained over the holidays begins.

Wahhhh.

thank you santa!

This is Claire hugging the package of ten Disney Princess lip glosses she got from Santa. "This is my favorite! I love it! I love it! I love it!", she exclaimed after opening this gift and pretty much every gift she got. However, in mysterious two year old fashion, she still insists Easter is her favorite holiday.

After some anxious moments on Christmas Eve (I did my best to be good, really I did. I did not mean to hit Claire, Mommy, I am REALLY telling the truth), Abby was thrilled to discover gifts from Santa on Christmas morning.

However, I think her proudest moment came when she got to hand out the gifts she had carefully selected and payed for all by herself at her school's holiday shoppe. For her, I think this was as exciting as opening her own mound o' presents.

It turns out Santa was pretty good to Mommy too. I got almost everything on my wish list, including two new camera lenses that I am having lots of fun playing with (the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens and the Nikon 18-200mm) and these awesome slippers that are not coming off of my feet until spring.

But at the end of the day, even the girls agreed that it was the house full of family, food and laughter that was the best gift of all.

Two days later, my carefully cleaned house looks like an American Girl/Disney Princess/Polly Pocket disaster zone and we have done nothing but eat leftovers, hang out in our pajamas, watch movies and work our way through the numerous half empty bottles of wine hanging around the house.

A perfect, perfect end to the holiday season.

Maybe we will make it out for New Years. If I still fit in my jeans, that is.

oh, the excitement

Three straight days of snow. Three days until Christmas. You could say my kids are just a bit excited these days.

Tomorrow the cooking and the cleaning begins.

Wednesday will feature Christmas Mass and some quiet time as a family.

Thursday will be a blur of Santa, presents, family, food, more presents and more family.

Wishing a very Merry Christmas to all!

let the christmas season begin

The malls of America may have decided that the Christmas season begins in August, but for this family it begins the day after Thanksgiving with the selection of a Christmas tree.

Excitement was high as we piled in the wagon, cranked up the Christmas tunes and headed to our local tree farm in search of that perfect tree.

Each tree was carefully evaluated for size, shape and prickliness (apparently prickliness is an important factor for 2 and 4 year olds).

Finally a rather cute, non-prickly tree was found and the family was forced to pose in front of it.

Then the tree was brutally cut down (sniff, sniff).

Then we had hot cider and candy canes (yay!).

Then it was back home to decorate our little tree.

This entailed the four year old lovingly hanging each ornament at a height of about four feet all the way around the tree while the two year old wandered off unsupervised and slammed her forehead into the coffee table.

Let the Christmas Season begin!

thanksgiving is

For years now, our Thanksgiving ritual has been simple and unchanged.

First, preparations in Oma's kitchen...

...then little surprises for each of the girls, the last of which is always two chocolate filled advent calenders to begin the countdown to Christmas...

...then a traditional meal with all the trimmings...

..and finally, men watching football...

A wonderful and relaxing day in a year when we have so very much to be thankful for.

Opa, Claire, Oma, Abby, Daddy and Uncle Adam

photography do's and don'ts

Tip #1: Do ask your kids if they can see themselves in the lens of the camera (if you have a DSLR camera). They can in fact see themselves in the mirror, and they will scoot together and look directly into the camera long enough to allow you to get a few shots.

Tip #2: Don't put your kids in stupid hats, thinking it will make for a fun and festive picture, then cut off the top of the hats in your picture. It will ruin your otherwise cute picture.

The quest for a Christmas card worthy picture resumes tomorrow...



Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

the halloween recap, a photo tip and a contest

They got into costume and posed for a Halloween portrait.

They partied.

They enjoyed the pizza.

They hopped on their broom.

And finally hit the neighborhood.

Then decided it would be easier to ride.

And finally, they enjoyed all of their loot!!

Halloween is a tricky holiday to photograph, since most of the excitement happens after dark. This year, I was quite pleased with the results I got using the night portrait mode on my camera (the one with the picture of a little man standing in front of a star in the sky).

Basically this mode combines a flash with a long exposure, so instead of white faces and a black background, you get light on the person being photographed and a long exposure to fill in the background details. The problem of course is that you should really use a tripod to prevent blur due to camera shake, which is not exactly practical for trick or treating.

All of the outdoor pictures above, with the exception of the first one, were taken using this night portrait mode after it was dark outside. Although they are blurrier than I would like, I love the color and the fact that the background is not pitch black. Overall, I think they capture the mood pretty well even if they are not technically perfect.

In the end though, I have to go with the last shot of Claire enjoying her candy as my entry for Best Photo in the Halloween Photo Contest sponsored by Parent Bloggers Network and the fabulous folks at Blurb (where you can import photos, artwork or even your blog and turn it into a bookstore quality book, which is a prize I would so love to win).

While I am at it, I will also enter this shot of my little kitty cat in the Cutest Costume (age 2 and under) category. Personally, I think her annoyed expression just makes her that much cuter.

And this shot in the Cutest Costume (age 3 and up) category.