Just Playing Around..

I was just messing around with some photos that I took with my little camera - I loved Gabriels face and expression but the camera quality was driving me nuts, SOOO I played around in GIMP for a bit and accentuated all the flaws that made it look like a photo from 20yrs ago and added my own little touches and voila...something I can look at without cringing! lol
Still gotta love his little face though.

Cupboards and other such places that breed trouble...

This is one of those things that I keep getting asked about when I talk to people about my children's latest exploits (i.e. messes)

"Don't you have childproof locks on your cupboards?" The answer is yes I do BUT I have rather creative children that apparently have too much time and space on their little hands! There have been several large catastrophes in the last six months and so many mini ones I can't keep count. Let me recap - Well it all started with sharpie markers and scissors - both can make changes that are almost permanent!! Eliana's art on our walls and hair that is about 6 different lengths can attest to this. The day I found the two of them COVERED in Vaseline sliding around Gabe's room stands out for me. To clean them up we had to cover them in cornstarch which was a lot more fun for me that I would care to admit. Most recently Eliana began her cooking career in her bedroom - six boxes of jello powder, a small bowl and a cup of water can make one heck of a mess. Funny thing is that Gabriel's job was to stir the concoction with a toy golf club (I spied on them before I made the bust!). Just this morning Eliana decided to feed Selah(our dog) our last 2 Lt's of milk!!!

Now I do know that my kids really are not any different than any other kids. I know I am not raising my own version of "Pinky and the Brain"...

"What are we going to do this Morning Eliana?"
"Same as we do every other Morning Gabe - Try to Destroy the house"

No, I know that they are acting their age. Exploring, Experimenting and all that other good stuff. The one I question, is myself. Am I acting my age and doing my job!?! I don't have an answer to that one yet. Beyond if I am even able to watch their ever move - I don't want to!! I want them to be able to have the space to become independent and confidant in their own ability to take on new challenges BUT my job and love for them has to fence that all in with creating a safe space for them to explore in. I find the balance tricky. Maybe all parents do?? The day that Eliana got into the Tylenol and drank the bottle (YIKES!!!) I was ready to fall apart. Luckily for us she was ok but it was enough to shake me up. How do you foresee all their adventures or buy a 'cupboard locks' for all the potential dangers that will come their way. Ugg.

Welcome to parenting I guess!

i Heart Faces - "Best Face Photo"

The most challenging part of this week was the little catch that we were not supposed to go digging into our archives for our favorite face photo - recent?? Have I been taking photos recently?? Over the holidays between traveling and all the other celebratory chaos my poor camera usually ends up getting dragged everywhere are rarely taken out!

Then I remembered that at one of those family events I was asked to snap some pictures of one of my cousins for my aunt. Phew. So without any further ado...here's my cousin :)

i heart faces - " i heart faces week! "

So i heart faces is coming up on its' very first birthday! yay! To celebrate this week we had to incorporate the i heart faces logo. The prize is a very much coveted tameron lens - who wouldn't want it!!

Anyhow here is my entry...



This is one of my favorite 'fight' photo moments. We became a Brazilian jiu-jitsu family this past year and since I was spending so much time at the club - I thought 'why not bring my camera!' I'm glad I did, so many great moments and expressions!!



I spent a bunch of time putting this one together and had a bunch of fun doing it. After I was done I got to thinking if the little stars and heart I used had permissions - :( They do for personal use but not for commercial use so this pic is not an entry. Although after spending the time on it I thought I might as well still share it.


After checking out mine head on over and see some of the other cool entries at i heart faces :)


“I am submitting this photo into the I Heart Faces logo photo contest. By entering, I am granting I Heart Faces LLC permission to consider my photo for use in the marketing and promotion of their website.”

Kate's Favorite Things #1....Finally!!!

So if you are just dropping by be sure to check out the rest of my list thus far: #10, #9, #8, #7, #6, #5&4, , #3&2

Well for this final climatic entry I am going to break the rules a little bit - because this is not something you just buy - this is an experience, a challenge, a community and so not a product!! :)

Some of you may have guessed this
My Number 1 new 'thing' of 2009 is...

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu!!!!

Ha! I love it. If you have been around me at all in the last 3 months I bet you are probably rolling your eyes - because this has been all I talk about!!!
For me, Jiu-Jitsu has been a way for me to become myself again. I know it sounds weird but being able to challenge myself to become better, physically and in almost every other way has opened me, to be me again.
As a mom, it can be so easy just to go a little numb from the monotony and the constant demands that everyone else places on you. It is awesome for me step into the club and for me to make demands of myself. To push myself to work harder, become stronger, think faster - and then in one tiny little moment some of those things come together - I feel victory and accomplishment. Things that you rarely get to feel when you are with kids at home!! (Don't get me wrong I love being at home with my kids but the job is never done!!! :)
So yes my number 1 is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

I would be happy to answer any question if you are interested in checking out this super cool martial art.

Happy New Year:)

Kate's Favorite Things #3...and#2

So if you are just dropping by be sure to check out the rest of my list thus far: #10, #9, #8, #7, #6, #5&4 Ok I know I know I - Here we are in the new year and I am still not done this list!!! Well I commit to be done by next year. lol I am actually hoping it will be sooner that - life and blogging must go on!

Alright so my #3 is...
The Lightsphere

This is such a cool product. Admittedly expensive for the materials that make it up (Basically a Tupperware cup!) BUT has been such lifesaver for me with indoor photography. If you know me, you know I HATE indoor photography. Lighting is always such a pain and it drives me so crazy. Yay for lightsphere - basically it is just a really BIG diffuser - meaning that it takes the light from the flash and spreads it around so that it is not so harsh. Super cool product and although it is not a perfect solution it is very useful. Useful enough to make my #3!!

My number 2 is...
Sony Vaio Laptop

Ok this one is big for me. I LOVE my laptop. It is my lifeline to the outside world on days that I can't get out (of the house that is!!) We got this laptop on a telus promotion so we were kind of expecting to get a piece of crap computer. We have been very pleasantly surprised by how well this little laptop works. The only thing it really lacked was a decent size hard drive which was easily remedied by buying an external for storing all our pictures and videos. It is so easy to bring along on a trip or take into another room to find some peace and quiet.