Saturday, February 28, 2009

It was someone's birthday...



Well, I didn't get a chance to post birthday wishes for Emily yesterday, so here I am one day late. Yesterday, I became the mommy to a 4 year old. FOUR--why does that sound so old? We've had a great weekend, and we will post pictures of the festivities later. I will post "official" 4 y/o pictures of Emily after I take them. And that won't be until her black eye is gone. She crashed into the hard head of one of her friends at school over a week ago and still has a black eye!



Who knows what this year will bring! She says that she will stop sucking her thumb when she is 4, and she says she will learn to read when she is 4. We'll see!!!



I love you, Emily, and we had SO much fun celebrating with you this weekend!!!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

My Little Ponies and My Big Horses

Hello, trckatalk, how I've missed you! It's been such a crazy few weeks. And by crazy, I mean calm and organized. But in order for me to stay organized, I have been going nonstop, without any time for fun stuff like blogging.

This is what I have been up to:
Running--I have slowly built up my running distance from 60 seconds to 20 minutes.
Dieting--I tried doing the "eat healthy and exercise" thing all January and lost a whopping 2 lbs. I bit the bullet and started WW again and lost 4 lbs in one week. So WW it is!
Cooking--I have been cooking nightly and not going out to eat (except Valentine's Day, of course).
Lesson Planning--I have the rest of my school year planned and copies made for my Calculus and PreCalculus classes. Algebra is not done yet.
Grading--I have graded everything that has been assigned and turned in.
Organizing--I have cleaned out my kids closets, toys, and my closet.

Because of the previously-mentioned items, this is what I have not been up to:
Blogging
Painting my toenails
Browsing FB
Reading my photography books
Listing the above-mentioned cleaned out items on craigslist
Buying Emily birthday presents
Cleaning out my car
Watching 18 saved shows on my DVR (and that's just in my den, not the DVR in our bedroom)

This post should probably be 2-3 separate posts, but if I try to do that, I will NEVER get this post done. So here's the next topic: "The Cute Thing Emily Said Today."

E: Mommy, is it dark because Mr. Sun went to sleep?

Me: Yes, that's right.

E: The sun went to sleep, and the moon woke up.

Me: Yes, that's right.

E: Sometimes, I see the moon when Mr. Sun is still awake.

Me: Me, too.

E: I think when that happens, the moon is helping Mr. Sun put his pajamas on and brush his teeth.

Me: Yes, I think you're right.

I just love that girl!

Speaking of that funny little girl, here's my next topic. I took her for a little "Get a Picture for your BDay Invitation" photo shoot. We took her My Little Ponies to a local park, and I wanted to capture some pictures of her playing with them. These are some that I liked but didn't use on the invite.



I love how the pony's party hat is flying away in this one.


How many ponies can you hold at once?


The next day, she attended a birthday party which was horse-themed including horse rides in the back yard. This is her first time on a horse, and she loved it. She was not afraid at all! I was super-proud of her. And please notice the tutu and bare feet. Typical Emily.


I was not able to zoom out because I was using a prime lens, so there was no room for the horse's head in the frame. Note to self--get a wide fisheye lens the next time Emily rides horses. I wish!


And a little b&w for that old-timey feel.


I actually got to ride (by myself, without a grown-up leading the horse). The grown-ups didn't have to stay in the back yard. I looked like a total dork riding a horse around a subdivision, but it was fun. I loved hearing the clip-clop on the street!

I guess that about wraps it up. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the pictures!