Techie Mommy

We woke up today excited for X's swimming class. There was no class last week, and we missed the week before that (When I came back from San Francisco). When we got there, we learn that the class was cancelled because a meet was scheduled. Bummer, we were looking forward to some swimming time. At lunch, we packed everyone up to attend a birthday party at the Jump Zone. XYZ enjoyed themselves and had fun! Had a couple of photos but especially loved this one of Z. He's a bit mesmerized by this funny mirror and he kept on looking at himself on it. One time, I caught him doing this! And I don't blame him. I kiss him everytime I see him too. He's just soooo cute :)

First day of the 3 day weekend. No plans, no parties so am looking forward to a weekend of relaxation and fun with the kids. Valentines day is tomorrow so the girls and I are planning to make a card for Daddy. To make a card, we need photos! I was hoping to get a photo of the three kids together, but nanay put Z to sleep as soon as dinner is over, so it's just the girls and I. The shoot lasted 20 minutes, which is usual with the kids. But it was a VERY successful 20 mins. First, I got Y to dress up, which almost NEVER happens - and she was actually in the mood tonight. These are two of my favorites from the girls: There are a couple more good shots, but these 2 make the photo of the day, and since I'm trying to just use 1 photo each day (unlike January), I made a card out of these two. Instant card made using Sweet Stuff Page Kit by LaWanna Desjardin, Desjardin Digital Designs.

Landed in Chicago around 5am, and finally got home and on my own bed around 6:30am. X has a 10:30am swimming class that we missed because X (and I) both overslept. In the afternoon we attended Nathan and Danny's birthday party at the Odyssey Fun World. X, Y and Z all had fun in their own way. We played games and won tickets, went and played at the Exlporation Adventure. I can't pick any one photo so I collaged three, one for each of them. X loved the obstacle courses, Y the moon jumps (as long as she was the only one in there) and Z loved walking, running and riding the horsey! Thanks Nathan and Danny for such a fun time.

Today is a momentous day, Y goes to school! Since Mamu is back in the Philippines for a vacation, we decided to put Y to school so nanay is only home with Z. So for a couple of weeks now, we've been weaning her off of her bad habits (like sleeping really late) and getting her used to a more regular routine (dinner, bath, play, sleep). And today is the first day we get to see if that's all successful. Last night we slept early. Yay! We woke the girls up early and get them all dressed up. X is used to all these, but Y is new to this routine. When we got to school, we brought her to X's classroom (Pre-K) then to her own classroom (Intermediate). She was a bit hesitant at first, but I spied some stacking cubes - and knowing how much Y loves her mega blocks, gave it to her to play with. And that seemed to be successful. She played and didn't even complain when her dad I and left.

1 month milestone.... w00t! Went out with the girls to run some errands today, and ended up eating and playing at McDonald's. Y, who is usually brave at these things surprised me by chickening out of going up the slide. X loved it though (and she used to be so scared of climbing up these maze like tubes). Y was happy enough eating her french fries, cheering her "ate" and taking photos from mommy's phone. I forgot to bring my camera with us, so today's photo of the day is brought to you by the iPhone.

I have this picture in my head that I've been trying to take. I've seen other pictures of it but they don't really explain their setup or their equipment, so all I can do is experiment. For all I know, I may not even have the right equipment for it. Anyways, this morning, with the light coating of snow flurries that were on the car, I thought I may have the opportunity. I think it's close to what I want, but it's not quite there. I wanted a photo that would show the individual snowflakes in detail. Not all of it, but at least some of it (at least 1!). However, this is the closest that I got to what I wanted. The others were really just either a chunk of ice, or a blob of white :) Maybe next time, it will be better. Meanwhile, I also got one of those rare moments where my 3 angels posed together for a photo. Y is even smiling! X is not in her best smile, and Z has his deer in a headlights look -- but this photo is preciously rare :)

The weather has turned for the worse this week. From the rainy but warm(ish) days we had last week and the weekend that melted ALL the winter snow accumulation, we woke up to chilling temperatures and a light coating of snow. As such, its inside the house photography again, courtesy of my kids. I had a series of fun portraits with X and this one is my favorite. We are featuring her tattoo from Y's birthday party. That one was already almost gone, and we put a new one just before the shoot.

Last night was so much fun and Sunday was spent cleaning up, and resting. Today is also the day we open Y's presents! Y says "Thank you for the presents!" and yes, I have video to prove it... Ha ha!

3rd party in row! This weekend is Y's long awaited birthday party. We normally schedule her birthday party around this time in January because the 2nd is too close to the holidays and who knows who can come ?! Instead, we keep that day to celebrate Y's and my brother's birthday with family instead. While I've been researching and preparing for this party for a while - I wasn't really able to spend time to execute any of the plans until last weekend! With all work slowing down, and the long weekend over MLK, twas the perfect time to finish all the preparations, and invitations. Apparently, Blue is no longer very popular so the party stores don't carry her as a theme anymore. I had to order theme related stuff online, drive over a couple of neighboring cities to find a Target with the cake in stock and had to manually do the rest. There's also the small matter of Y flip flopping between being excited about her party, and NOT wanting a party at all (...

I've been trying to find bugs in the house to photograph lately and I just can't find one. Tonight, while I was in the basement with the girls, they screamed "Spider! Mommy!". So yeah, apparently, there are a couple of house spiders in the basement - but they're really too small, thin, and pale to take pictures of. But, beggars can't be choosers - so, I grabbed my gear, dropped a comforter on the floor and tried to get to it's level. The tripod was too high, so I have to do this hand held. There isn't a lot of light, so, with a macro lens and hand held, I had to up the ISO to make it manageable. This bug photography again is not simple, its not like, you can grab them and pose them your way so you can get a clear view of its eye. For the most part, they crawl away, and show me their ass. I found another one in the ceiling, and that was too high up that again, the tripod is useless. Anyways, after a couple of tries, and a lot of discarded pho...

I brought the camera out with me when we went to Costco today with the 105mm prime still attached to it. I forgot how good this lens really is and how spoiled we get by zoom lenses. You know what else I forgot? I forgot that Costco closes really early on weekends. I've been spoiled by all the late night hours during the holidays. So anyway, we get to Costco at 5:57, then we saw that it closes at 6pm. Luckily, the guy still let us in, and nanay still got all her shopping done. While waiting (at the cafeteria area), I've been taking a photo of X. She loves getting her picture taken and poses every time she sees me raise the camera. Today though, I told her NOT to look at me while I take a picture. It's so funny because she's still smiling her "fake" portrait smile even though she's not looking at me. There was a bit of window there though that she lost all that and was just staring naturally into space. That's when the photo below is taken. ...

At the end of this project, when I go back and read these blogs, I wonder how many Sundays like today we'll have. It's our typical winter Sunday which means stay at home, watch TV, read books and play with the girls. For the second day in a row, mommy treated the girls to a bubble bath, but I've already done that photo yesterday. Normally I tell the girls not to splash, but today, I made them do some splashes for me. For today's blog, I am featuring one of my girls. This is Y, who just turned 3 last week. At three, she is a smart little girl who is more interested in blocks and video games than dolls. She can recite the alphabet, count to 30 in english, and up to 12 in spanish (thanks to Dora) and she loves singing nursery rhymes. She is super smart and have been glued to her Leapster 2 or the computer on sites like Nick Jr and/or Dress up Who.com. In the past few weeks, we have been weaning her off of pacifiers, drinking her milk in a bottle, and sleeping wi...

Today is the first day of X's winter swimming class. I thought for sure I was going to regret doing this, but the weather cooperated and while it was cold outside, the sun was bright and shining so it wasn't too bad. I dreaded the water and clothed X and myself accordingly, but looks like we were the only one wearing shirts on top of our swimsuits today. Really need to buy X one of those bodysuits. I took my camera with me at the rec center, but was afraid someone will get mad at me for taking pictures of kids in swimsuits. So strike #1. After lunch, we attended a prayer service for a friend's mom who recently passed away. We went back to their house for a small get together. Since we left the kids at home with papa and mamu, we had to go back early to make sure the kids are ok and more importantly to see if Y or Z need diaper changes. While papa is really good at baby sitting, diaper changing is not in his repertoire :) After dinner, I had to give Z a bath coz m...

We've been planning to take down the Christmas decor for a few days now, but due to one reason or another, it's still not done. Tonight, I got home to find the tree partially taken down. All the ornaments are out and only half of the lights are left on the right side. All the wreath on top of the fireplace mantle have been removed and I noticed one sock (Y's) is no longer on its hanger, but X and Z are still there. It's like someone decided to start taking things down and then was interrupted in the middle of things. Such is the life in our household. With three kids, it's really difficult to get something started and completed without any distractions and or pauses. Christmas is over, but I guess the decors will just have to wait. It will get taken down... eventually.