Photo Shoot Rules to Follow

I am not a professional photographer.  

For every decent picture I take there's about 5 before and 5 after that aren't so great.  I do however have some rules that I try to follow so I don't pull my hair out, get frustrated, scream at the kids, and give up during  a photo shoot.  When I follow these rules I'm not as disappointed when going through the pictures later on my computer.

1) Prepare everyone ahead of time with what you want to accomplish.  

In this case I told the kids before we were standing in a chigger infested field sweating that we'd be taking some pictures standing, some pictures in the chair (and yes, we'd take turns getting to sit in the chair).  Sometimes Carter would hold Jonah and sometimes Evan would hold Jonah.  If they know what's going to happen ahead of time it's easier to move from one pose to the next.  

2) Shoot in digital!  It takes so much of the pressure off.  You can snap a million photos and hope there's a good one in there somewhere.  

This series is a perfect example.  Evan is a stone cold poser!  He looks directly at the camera, smiles, doesn't blink and even attempts to comfort Jonah all while looking right into the lens. 

3) Listen to their ideas.

 Rather than fighting with Evan about holding the bluebonnet in the picture (which I started to do), let them have their way for a few pictures.  What does it hurt?  He's excited that we used his idea and even though I'm not going to hang these on the wall, I still enjoy them and they make me laugh a little.  Trust me...a strong-willed child needs to be heard, accepted, and validated often.  This was an easy way to do that without a huge fight.

 4) When it's sunny use the "1...2...3...open" approach. 

 They're not going to be able to stare into the sun while you set up your shot.  To avoid as many squinty eye and closed eye shots explain to the kids that they can keep their eyes shut until you count to three and say open.  Practice inside for a while so they understand what it feels like and how to open their eyes and not look crazed.  

You might still get a picture like this though.

5) Make sure you're the only one with a camera at the photo shoot.  

It's frustrating to upload your pictures when you get home thinking have a decent picture of all three boys but one is actually looking at someone else's camera.  

Only have one person giving direction too.  When there's too many leaders and too many cameras the kids get confused and frustrated.  You will not get good pictures if they are frustrated.  

You have to keep the models happy!

(Evan's goofy smile in this one cracks me up.)

6) Don't let the models eat...not even the props. 

7) Most of us mommies aren't professional photographers so lighting may not be perfect and your composition may be off a little. The easiest way to improve your pictures is to eliminate distractions.

  Don't let them wear distracting clothing.  Solid color shirts are best.  

Jonah's socks were really cute that day, but the label on the bottom was distracting.  Pay attention to those things and remove them from the picture.  

Also look for things like houses, people, or telephone lines that might end up in the background of your photo.  Your kid may look cute but if there's an old junker car in the top corner of the picture you won't be able to use that for a greeting card.  Try your best to pay attention to these things.  Sometimes they can't be cropped out.  

8) Don't be too hard on yourself.  Accept that you're doing your best and capturing memories that you otherwise wouldn't have if you didn't try.  

Texas Bluebonnets

We finally has some rain here in Central Texas.  A lot of rain!  With a lot of rain comes a lot of flowers.  Bluebonnets are the state flower here and if you live in Central Texas you take pictures of your kids in bluebonnet patches.  It's just something you have to do.  You dress them up, you take them into a field, you get chiggers, you sweat, and you say things like, "look here...smile please...just a few more...come on guys...".  It's great fun.  

Here are the best pictures from that day.  

(I'm so thankful for digital cameras because we had a lot of duds.)

Carter 8, Evan 6, Jonah 5 1/2 months

Carter wanted one of himself laying down in the bluebonnets.

Evan is such a ham.  It's hard to believe I got one of him looking so serious.

They grow like weeds.

Always happy and always there to brighten your day.  

Blogging has become increasingly more difficult over the past few weeks and even months.  We no longer have a cleaning lady, so my mornings are spent cleaning up the house.  Before my mornings were spent reading blogs, writing blog posts, and drinking a cup of coffee.  Jonah is on the move now. Well....he's working his hardest to be on the move.  He doesn't crawl yet, but that could change later today.  He's almost there.  

Baseball has taken over our lives.  Both boys play and Shawn helps coach Evan's team.  I love going to watch them all dressed up in their uniforms.  Jonah enjoys the great outdoors and is usually happy being pushed around in his stroller.  After basketball he's used to hearing me yell for the boys.

Big things are happening to the Cheek house too.  We're in the very beginning phases of adding on some extra space to our house.  We've been meeting with builders, looking at land, and doing our very best to make the right decision.  We decided to stay in our house and add some fun extras.  As things get moving I'll keep you posted with updates and pictures.  

Until the next time I can sit at the computer I want you all to know....I think of you often and I'm so grateful for each person in my life.  

Spring Break Activities #2

The boys have been wanting to go camping for quite some time but the problem is, their parents aren't much the camping type.  Good thing their Gramps is! Time is not usually on our side when it comes to our schedule because of church, baseball, the studio...etc so camping far away was really out of the question.  An easy solution for that problem is camp in Gramps' back yard.  

First they built a fire pit. 

Then they built a fire. 

(I'm a worried Evan may be a little too interested in fire.  He wouldn't stop throwing things into the fire, poking the fire, staring at the fire. Help me!)

They pitched a tent.

(Actually Gramps pitched a tent. Carter and Evan mostly just got in the way.)

They cooked hotdogs and beans over the open fire. 

They told stories around the camp fire.

Shawn, Jonah, and I left after eating and playing a little guitar around the fire.  What I don't have pictures of is what happened at 3:00am.  The wind picked up, the rain started, the thunder clapped, and lightning lit up the sky.  Carter woke up and said, "Gramps it's raining." Evan slept through it all had to be woken up right before they decided to make a run for the house. There's something about my dad and camping that always seems to bring the rain.

The kids thought the trip was successful. I thought it was successful because they slept all day Sunday.

Spring Break Activities #1

Over the break both boys finally had the determination to learn to ride their bikes.  Carter learned first and that lit a fire under Evan.  A few days after Carter learned, Evan learned.  This is a video from his first independent ride down the street.  

(By the end of the week he wasn't jumping off the bike every time he wanted to stop.)

Carter and Shawn rode their bikes to the Donut Shop for coffee, orange juice, and donuts one morning.  The next morning Carter and I rode our bikes to Rocket Cafe for pancakes.  At breakfast Carter said he feels just like Henry Huggins when he rides his bike to "town".  

Evan likes to cut through the fields behind out neighborhood and ride all around the high school, intermediate, and junior high. He picks up rocks, tennis balls, and other various "finds".  He informed me he needs a backpack for all his treasures.  

Boys and bikes....it's a beautiful thing!

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iHeart Valentine's Day

I don't know what it is about Valentine's Day, but I love it!  I love little hearts everywhere....heart themed clothing, heart themed food, and heart themed gifts.  I love chocolates.  I love the kids little Valentine's day cards and the parties they have at school.  

We don't do anything exceptionally special on Valentine's Day.  Shawn and I certainly didn't get all dressed up and go out on the town.  In fact, I write this blog post surrounded by papers for an upcoming website project, clean folded laundry, a plate with tuna sandwich crumbs, and shhh....a half eaten box of chocolates.  We didn't even have a special dinner (did you notice...tuna sandwiches.)  

I've received some pretty cool Valentine's day gifts in the past.  In junior high I remember getting one of those giant CD/Tape/Radio boom box with the big speakers from my parents.  It was all set up on the kitchen table the morning of Valentine's Day.  Valentine's day is just fun!  It's not a particularly important holiday, but can be special with little gestures from the ones you love.  

This morning I spent some time writing down some of the reasons I love Shawn, Carter, and Evan on cut-out hearts.  It's an easy project that didn't take me much time.  All I needed was some white printer paper and a thin Sharpie pen.  What was written is the important part.  When the kids got home from school I took them each aside separately and read theirs to them.  

To Carter, I wrote that he was the first baby I ever loved.  He helped me learn how to be a mother.  I love that he has blue eyes and can remember just about anything he's ever been told. 

To Evan, I wrote that I love his gentle and giving spirit.  I love the gap between his two front teeth.  I love how he's so precise about small things like how his socks fit or the way he likes to line up his toys.  I love that he'll give anything to anyone without thinking twice.  

To Shawn, I love that he loves the Lord.  He's a great father to boys and a friend to me.  He's smart and can always make me laugh.  He always holds Jonah when I need him to the most, and he never complains about getting up early with the kids.  He holds my hand while he drives and he's the perfect match for me. 

Shawn gave me a box of chocolates and a card.  The card, when opened, plays Don't Stop Believing (he knows I like a good 80's power ballad.)  I like all that stuff, but the most important thing about his gift was what he wrote inside the card.  He said, "You are a great mother.  I don't see how you do all that you do each day.  I owe you forever."  He doesn't owe me forever...I won't hold him to that...but it's nice to hear.  I can't think of a better compliment than to tell me I'm a good mother.  

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Book Review :: Who Was...

Carter received these three books for Christmas from an Aunt of mine.  He loves non-fiction so this was a perfect gift.  We've been reading together at night, just a few chapters at a time, and finished Who Was Harry Houdini first, then Who Was Leonardo da Vinci second.  (We have saved the best for last, Who Were The Beatles).  

I've tried to turn reading these book into more than just a lesson about the person.  When their birthplace is mentioned we go to our world map (a gift from another Aunt) on the hall wall and find it.  We use our fingers to see what route they may have traveled and how far away Texas is.  Evan had a lot of fun with the fact that Harry Houdini was born in Budapest....or as Evan kept saying over and over until it wasn't funny more, Bootypest. 

Shawn is really into Art so we have, on our computers, pictures of just about every famous painting from the sketches of da Vinci to the modern paintings of....well...modern painters.  When we were reading about Leonardo da Vinci, it was fun to go on the computer and talk about the different artists he worked with and the significance of their paintings.  It's interesting to hear an 8 year old's critique of a painting from the 1800s.  

I have big plans for reading all about the Beatles!  Shawn and I have a collection of vinyl records we've picked up here and there at garage sales, used book stores, and specialty record shops.  I have several Beatles albums that I plan on playing for the boys as we read.  I don't always approve of the rock star's lifestyle, but I can't deny that they made some great music.  

There are many more books in this series and I hope to add them to our library some day soon!  

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Evan's After School Routine

 Each and every day after school Evan rushes into the house so he can be first on the piano.  He may not be a musical genius yet, but he's certainly working on it.  

After 20+ years of teaching piano lessons Shawn has finally decided to start writing his own piano method.  It will include a lot of American folk songs and some original tunes.  The most unique part of his method will be that he includes instructional videos (something he does well) that correlate with the written music.  Featured in the videos will be Carter and Evan.  Carter thinks he's going to be famous.

It's fun for me to help brainstorm how to distribute the videos and files but beyond that I can't be of much assistance.  I'm no musical genius....I also don't practice. 

I had to throw this picture of Jonah into the post just because he's so darn cute!  This is his Joey from Friends, "How you doin?" look.  

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This Weekend

This weekend we...

went shooting at Gran & Gramps' house.

(Photo not from this weekend but it's a picture of Evan holding a gun...I thought it worked well enough.)

I went from having long hair to having very short hair.

I took a spin class at the YMCA....as a result I can't sit on any hard surfaces.

We took basketball pictures.

We played basketball.

(Photo courtesy of Shawn's camera.)

We took basketball pictures - round two.

We played basketball - round two.

We signed up for Little League baseball.

We had a baby play date at an old friend's new house. 

Special Oatmeal Cookies

What could be so special about oatmeal cookies?  When you add orange zest and a whole bag of white chocolate chips and semi-sweet chocolate chips they go from ordinary to something special.

It's a cookie you can't walk away from.  If you're a one cookie for dessert type of person think again.  These are too good to walk away from after only one.  You'll feel the need to eat them until your stomach hurts.    

These cookies are also special because it's just about the only cookie recipe I ever make.  They're so good no one complains about the lack of variety.

Orange zest is one of those ingredients that elevates a dish and heightens the flavor of other ingredients in a recipe.  Chocolate for example goes well with orange zest.  At Thanksgiving I found out that orange zest goes great with sweet potatoes too.  

If you have a canister of Quaker Oats you have the basic recipe for these cookies.  Add a few extra ingredients and take out the raisins (yuck, who wants raisins in a cookie?) and you have something special to share with friends. (...Or you can bake the cookies on a day when no one is home and eat them all by yourself.)

Special Oatmeal Cookies

adapted from Quaker Oats

1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 6 Tbsp. butter, softened

3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

the zest of 1 orange

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt (this is an optional ingredient, but I never skip the salt)

3 cups oats, quick cook or old fashioned, uncooked)

1 bag good quality white chocolate chips

1 bag good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips (I like Ghiradelli)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars on the medium speed of an electric mixer until creamy. (I use my Kitchen Aid stand mixer).  While your mixer is running add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and orange zest.  Beat until smooth and creamy.  This should resemble something similar to a thick icing.

In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.  Add to your wet ingredients in thirds with your mixer on low.  Mix just until combined.  Scrape down edges and mix quickly once more.  Add oats and mix until just combined.  Remove from mixer and add white and semi-sweet chocolate chips.  Mix with a wooden spoon.  (I've gone through several spoons with plastic handles that have snapped in half trying to mix this batter.) 

Use a small ice-cream scoop to make even sized cookies.  Drop on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Cook on the middle rack of your oven for 10 minutes.  Let them cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute before transferring to a wire rack. 

These cookies freeze great (if they last that long.)

***

My kitchen counters are good for cookie baking and baby bathing.  

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10 True Confessions

I'm going to tell on myself in this post.

If you're feeling like a slacker mom just compare yourself to me then pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

1. I don't clean my own house.  True story.  I pick things up. (But don't look in my closet.)  I organize (Oh yeah...don't look in our game closet.)  I haven't mopped the floors or vacuumed the whole house in over a year.  Before you freak out and think I live in the dirtiest house in America....I've hired someone to clean.  She does the dirty work.  I feel for her on occasion when she has to clean Carter and Evan's bathroom.

2. I haven't cleaned out the vegetable drawer in my fridge since before Christmas.  At this point I'm a little scared to.  There is a bag of grapes in there that has probably grown arms and legs and is planning a rebellion.

3. I just pulled a load of laundry from the dryer.  It's been there since last Tuesday.  If you see me at the grocery store next week I'll most likely have a wrinkled shirt on.

4. I was late to both boys basketball games today.  I was feeding Jonah but still, I could have started five minutes earlier I guess.

5. There are some soiled pants belonging to Jonah soaking in my kitchen sink.  I don't feel like dealing with them yet. (That's why I'm blogging.)

6. Wait for it.....wait for it....MY CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS ARE STILL OUT!

7. I watch The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

8.  I'm pretty sure Jonah was watching it last night too.

9. Everyone in my house can work any Apple product you put in front of them but can't change the toilet paper roll when it runs out.  Myself included.

(I feel good that Shawn is the only one with a cup of coffee. Carter on coffee....yikes.)

10. I had chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes for dinner.  Then two hours later I ate a bowl of cereal.

The one thing I feel good about today....

I'm glad I could help you feel good about your skills as a wife and mother.

Jonah turned 3 months old today.  I can't believe 3 months has gone by.  Can't it slow down just a little?  This is why I don't nap.  I'm afraid if I close my eyes for just a minute I'll wake up and Jonah will be 6 years old like my last baby.

I also don't nap because I am really grouchy when I wake up.

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Evan Says, "Let's Be Honest"

Yesterday morning I made a very tasty yet healthy breakfast.  The recipe made exactly 10 mini frittatas.  Evan ate four.  He added enough picante sauce to make most six year olds cry then scarfed them down.  He also ate two slices of turkey bacon, a Cutie orange, and drank two glasses of milk.  I said, "I'm glad you like this very healthy meal Evan." Evan said, "Let's be honest, when you make a healthy meal we like I'll eat a whole lot.  When you make a healthy meal I don't like...I just eat candy." 

I know he has a candy stash...I just have to find it.

And when I find it do you think I'll gather it up and throw it in the trash?

No, I'll scarf every last piece of candy while he's at school.  He can't get mad....if he does he'd be admitting he's had a candy stash all along. 

**The recipe I referenced can be found at the blog Eighty Twenty.  Her philosophy is eat 80% healthy foods and indulge in 20% of the good stuff.  She shares great recipes and tips on leading a healthy lifestyle. I suggest you visit her site and find something to make for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.**

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Happy New Year

I should have written something about the new year on January 1st, however that would have required rest and planning.  I didn't write in January 1st because I was doing this on December 31st. 

That's right people.  I rang in the new year playing Bingo.  Bingo with lucky black eyed peas as place holders.  I also rang in the new year wearing my newest fashion accessory...Jonah.  It's best to be celebrating the new year in the highest of fashion.  

The people I party with....they're family.  

They also wear the latest in fashion design.  See those t-shirts? 

See these glasses?

This might have been the hippest party in all the United States.

Christmas Morning

Thankfully my children value sleep.  Carter and Evan didn't wake up at the crack of dawn.  In fact, after I fed Jonah at 7:45 I decided Shawn should probably get up and start the pot of coffee.  By the time our pot was brewed Carter was up.  He was excited to see some unwrapped gifts under the tree.  

These little puppets were part of the unwrapped group of presents.  What fun they've been so far. 

Here was my little stack.  Carter and Evan each wrapped their own presents to me.  Evan added a little extra embellishment to the paper.  The box from Evan was the new Barnes and Noble Nook.  The gift from Shawn was some perfume I'd been wanting, and the gift from Carter was a pressure cooker.  

Twas The Night Before Christmas...

and all through the house, creatures were stirring leaving crumbs for a little mouse. 

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care.  We said "farewell" to our Elf "until next year. Please come back."

With Uncle in his sweats and I in my jeans had just settled in to build a castle with blocks from Great Granny. 

While visions of mommy danced in his head.

Then all of a sudden Uncle Tyler collapsed when a 6 year old Evan jumped right on his back. 

Hoops

Last saturday morning Carter and Evan had their second basketball game of the season.  Carter's league is made up of first and second grade boys.  Evan plays in the kindergarten league that's both boys and girls.  Evan had to adjust to the idea of playing with girls.

Carter's games are exciting.  They move up and down the court pretty quick with some control over the ball and they sometimes make baskets.  See everyone is moving so quick the picture is blurry. 

A lot of what goes on during Carter's games are four boys simultaneously yelling out the name of the one boy who has the ball.  So if Carter has the ball, the other four players are yelling, "CARTER CARTER CARTER". When the ball is passed to another player everyone starts to yell his name.