Be happy...it's MONDAY!

Greetings blogger friends. Has Monday got you down? 

Need a pick-me-up? Ready for a little somethin' to beat your blues?

You've come to the right blog today my friends. I am here to help.

Over the weekend as I did some editing, I collected a little ensemble of faces that I thought you might like to "try on". It's a simple little exercise that might move you out of your comfort zone  and get you to have some fun, maybe learn a little something. And I hope you will find, like I did (yes I've done this already--give me some slack it was raining today), that sometimes you just gotta make up your mind to act, move, get going, do, choose, and the emotions will follow.
So are you ready?

Ok, so all I want you to do is try on, or do your best impersonation, of the following faces. And no halfhearted attempts. Give it your all.

First face: the Hardy Har Har face. (And let's hear a good hardy har har with it!)

And the Cheerleader face! All right....let's go! Let's see you put your whole body into it.
(Gals, you know you've done this one before in front of the mirror.)

You don't need any coaching for this next one...
(And then you get to cover your face in embarrassment, how convenient.)

How about striking a pose? Go ahead, give a little "vogue".
(If you were not a Material Girl of the 80's and you have no idea what this means,
then you might need to google it.)

Need a little break? Do some face scrunches to loosen up.
Breathe in...exhale...breathe in.

Now give me your best "HEY!" (Or your best squinty "CHEESE" if you gotta it.)

And then a little dainty "ahem...excusez-moi"
(Don't forget the hand gesture, it's what makes the move.)

And finally, to recover most of your dignity, give me your best smile.

See, that wasn't so bad, was it? Did you feel a slight shift in your mood? Did you notice that you forgot that it was Monday and that you had to be blue (just because it was Monday).

Sometimes you just need to try on a new face. It is not about pretending folks, it's just remembering that sometimes you need to remind yourself that you get to define what kind of day you have. 

Your heart has a way of following your mind.

So be mindful today of where you allow your thoughts to go and your heart will learn to play in tune.

And if you need to come back to this little exercise, by all means, come back.

Training your mind (and heart to follow) takes practice.

Have a fantabulous Monday!

xoxo

What the tide teaches us

I have been meaning to share this story...

A couple of beach trips ago I was happily capturing The Littles playing in the surf...

When I noticed out of my peripheral vision some commotion....

A group of kids had found a lame bird struggling in the surf and were eager to protect it.

Upon closer inspection they discovered that his left foot was completely entangled in thick fishing line and that the hook was attached all the way up into his chest. Fortunately a Ranger was cruising the beach in his truck and the kids sent for help.

He donned some gloves and his bird rescuing skills (a distraction with the left hand and then a quick grab of the neck with his right) and carried him off to a special box in his truck.

The kids then watched as he drove away.

They stood there and talked about what had happened, reliving the moment they saved a bird from likely death. It feels good to be a hero and I was glad they experienced that pride of doing something good, protecting life. I also thought it cool that the adults stopped and watched these kid-heroes. True examples. I am such a sap for moments like this. I have an overly sensitive spot for anything that embodies life. (I cried one time when I salted a snail, sizzling the life right out of him.) And I also love it when kids rise to amazing heights of maturity and thoughtfulness.

I know from experience that kids learn to do random acts of kindness because they witness them first. Maybe from a relative, a neighbor...but mainly from us, their parents. Somewhere in the course of their maturation we teach them that life matters (or doesn't) and that their actions and choices (such as throwing garbage into the ocean, hurting someone, our selfishness, or simply not caring at all) have consequences that touch more than themselves. 

It is such a basic truth that I often deny: my choices are like the tide, they roll out and touch my children, my family, my neighbors, my community, my nation, my world. 

I am not an island.

What I do (and don't do) matters.
And I am teaching this truth to my children whether I realize it or not.

Food for your weekend. :) See you Monday...
xoxo

Two Spidermen and one Spider Bean

Is this not the coolest climbing structure ever?
My son was like a monkey on it. Freaked me out a little bit.
There were two structures like this and a smaller one nearby.
A true home for the Spidermen and Spider Bean.

It has been a good Spring break: sun, beach, park, movie, Easter candy, sleeping in a tent in the family room, lots of neighborhoods kids in my driveway, football and roller hockey in the street, planting some shrubs, too many episodes of Suite Life of Zach and Cody, and riding Ruby.
Papa just picked up Zach to go fishing and Bean and I are going to go do something girly.  I hear it is going to rain again this weekend, need to go soak up all the sun that we possibly can!

Happy weekend!

xoxo

Playing in the tide (mental note: Bean needs a new swim suit)

It was a beautiful spring day at the beach yesterday. It was one of those kinds of beach days where you are enjoying the gorgeous weather and you forget to put sunscreen on your kids (oops) and then thank the heavens above that they did not get too fried. (My brain hasn't yet transitioned into the warm weather beach packing groove. By the end of summer I will have mastered the beach packing/sun screening routine.)

"The Littles" (as we like to call 'em) spent some time down in the tide doing a little tide dancing.

Mr. Little may be little, but he is one studly tide jumper with killer vertical skills.

Bean really wanted a spin on the boogie board.

It was her first ride of the season. That big smile is actually an exclamation:

"Mom! It's freeeeeeeeezing!"

(It's the Northern Pacific girl, by summer you'll get used to it.)

What's with the cut off sweats Bean is sporting? So glad you asked. She informed me that her suit was too small. It was doing a little cheek ridin' and she did not appreciate flashing her toosh.  (I can totally empathize.) Geez, I just spent money on her brother yesterday for new pants. And he is going to need new shorts soon as all his school shorts from last fall are now above the knee. Key word here people: above the knee. In case you do not have a ten year old son--hem line placement soooooo matters. 

I really do not want my kids growing any bigger because I miss their smallness, their cuteness, their innocence, and, it means I'm getting older. But really, when it comes down to it, I just cannot afford their growth spurts.

Does anybody else feel my pain? 

Anyone?

photography note: full bright sun is a bear to shoot in, especially at the beach (or snow) with all that light bouncing off of the foam in the tide. Sometimes you just gotta work with it. One thing you can do is turn your subject with his/her back against the sun so the face is in the shade. But in my case the Littles were running around in the water and I had no choice but to just take what was given. Your light meter will want to expose for all that bright sun and pull everything to the middle mostly likely giving you a weirdly underexposed shot with deep contrast and dark faces. So I had to play with the shutter speed and trick my camera into keeping it's shutter open just a little longer than it wanted it too to let in more light. (You can also use a polarizing filter on your lens for those kinds of scenes, which will help cut the glare. But alas, I have not bought one for my newer lens. And I'd forget to use it.)
AND, most importantly, I also decided to just not stress about getting the kids in perfect exposure, or worry about blowing out highlights. Instead I decided to play with composition. For most of them, I placed the kids up into the top of my frame where the shallow depth of field made them a little blurry and I could focus on the foreground. I like it sometimes when the subject is a "suggestion" or a "hint" of a subject. It creates a perspective in which the subject is thrown into the peripheral vision of the viewer. Almost like you were a part of the scene but your thoughts were not focused on the subjects. You know when you're in a day dream and you realize your eyes have de-focused making everything just dreamy blurry? Make sense? Anyway, I like those kinds of photos. :)

Just sharing, because some of you photography friends often ask me how I do things. I am NO expert. But it occurred to me that I might share some of this stuff for those that care and that are learning like me. I love hearing how other photographers do what they do. I love it when they freely share. So there you go.

And if you've got suggestions too from your experience, please do tell.

using my own wings

Yesterday I took advantage of the sunny spring day and packed up some lunches and met my dear friend and her kids at a nearby park. The kids climbed the super cool, massive spider web structures for a while (pics to come) and then we found a picnic table near the small lake to partake of our lunch. (Hello day three of hard boiled Easter eggs.) Aside from the intrusive, boundary-less geese that slowly invaded our circle of trust, it was a beautiful day.  When we made our way down to the lake shore to play at the water's edge, the flock of seagulls that congregated in the center of the lake were busy conversing, guarding territorial limits, and basically arguing like toddlers. Their brilliant white feathered bodies were beautiful against the deep emerald of the water. Imagine hundreds of them floating together, linked as one. And then something, perhaps a Nervous Nelly, spooked them to flight and they rose like a swarm of bees to cover the sky. It was really quite amazing to witness.

With the first thought to aim my camera into the sky, I immediately heard a million little voices:  
You don't have the right lens silly. They'll be dots against a bald sky. You don't have time to expose for the bright sun. You can't capture what you envision in your head. Don't even try.

A lot of silly, noisy little birds in my head--conversing, guarding limits, arguing like toddlers.

And then I dismissed them all and aimed my camera up into the sun.

Rockin' the circle

I have been thinking A LOT.

I can push myself to stand in the "circle" of conformity, popularity, applause, fads and trends.

Or...just rock what I got and do what I love.

Be true to my own path.

The latter is so much more freeing. Authentic.

Don't you think?

Spring Break Essentials... (Ariel-style)

Hanging with your BFF's...

And a possible Prince on the side...

A perfect sun hat...

and your feet poolside...

bathing suit not necessary...

This is how my Bean booked a vaca for her bath friends several days ago.
I discovered the par-tay while on my way to grab some dirty laundry and stopped in my tracks to take note of the actual set up. It was Ariel's sun hat that first alerted me
(and then her lack of modesty).
I asked my hubby, "Have you noticed the nude Ariel sunbathing tubside in our bathroom?"
Yep.

It's Monday, the first day of our Spring Break. It is raining out and the kids have watched the entire first season of Suite Life of Zach and Cody. (Please save me.) Easter basket grass is strewn all over the house, taking root in my carpet, and the dishes in the kitchen sink are starting to grow eyes and limbs.

Shoulda had Bean book me one of them fancy vacations.
(bathing suit included, please)

Happy Easter

This is how God showed his love among us:
He sent his one and only Son into the world
that we might live through him.

This is love: not that we loved God,
but that he loved us and sent his Son as an
atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Dear friends, since God so loved us, 
we also ought to love one another.

I John 4: 9-11

It is that last part that convicts me every time.
It is one of the truest measures of my faith:
that if I am willing to stand on the roof tops and proclaim to you that God is love
yet I refuse to withhold my love (from my neighbor, spouse, child, enemy) then I am simply a "resounding gong, a clanging symbol"
or in my words, a noisy hypocrite, a barking fool.

The events of Easter always reminds me of what I believe to be the purest act of love.
Not sure how you celebrate it, how you believe, (or if you believe at all?)
but know that I believe you are loved
and that the events of Easter prove that your were worth it.

Have a blessed weekend...

xoxo

Silly Series Day 5: The Top Ten Guide (Perfecting the Art of Silly)

It has been a wonderful week of posting Sillies and I have learned quite a lot about perfecting the art of silly. Have you? If not, let me present to you a little guide of sorts on how you too can (re)learn. Friends, I present to you: 

The Top 10 Moves For Perfecting Your Silly Face

Hope you found this useful!

I discovered that silly faces are quite universal and instinctual. Our children need no training or guidance, they come quite naturally to perfecting the art. They are the masters. And somewhere along the way we adults decided that silly was...well...silly...inappropriate and perhaps a little disgusting (#8 gives me the creeps).

It is a little sad to me that our "demure, proper and reserved" genes take over somewhere in our adult years but I found that witnessing their joy in the simple silly was a lesson for us all:

Don't be so serious!

Seriousness can be a shackle to our joy. A stopgap to experiencing the release of laughter. And laughter is good for the soul. It really is. (It was for mine this week as I battled a stupid head cold.)

So go grab your kids (let them be your teacher), a friend, or a significant other, and let loose for moment: go find your silly.

Take the Top Ten guide if you must. But I think once you attempt the steps you will find that you used to know silly by heart. After all, you were once a kid.

Silly Series Day 4: The Undignified Princess

I am not sure the Queen would approve.

The paparazzi will eat this up. (This may just top Jenna Bush's lovely shot.)

The "feigning serious" look. (Yeah right...even your cohort disapproves.)

The "come hither" look. (Undignified by cohort's rabbit ears.)

The "I'm not doing anything Paris Hilton wouldn't do" look.
(Yes, and we know where that landed her.)

The "I can strike a dignified smiley, albeit slightly ditzy" look.

We'll take the somewhat dignified smiley, albeit slightly ditzy look...for now.
(We've got work to do little missy.)




*disclaimer: In no way do these pictures accurately represent my niece. She is always perfectly behaved and demure and camera ready. (Cross my heart, pinky swear) If these pictures find their way on TMZ or Access Hollywood she will plead the fifth...

...or blame it on the copious amounts of sugar in her mother's birthday cake.

(Smooch, hug...love ya Lolly)