Snip Snip

So our chunky monkey got his first haircut. When he first got home 6 months ago, I was a bit intimidated by his hair, what to do with it, how to care for it, etc. I always joked that we couldn't bring home an Ethiopian daughter because this mama wouldn't know how to do her hair! Anyway, I eventually got a care system down. But we just kept letting it grow. It was looking a bit crazy and seemed to fit his personality. But then there were days that well, it didn't look so cute. So while we were at Disney last weekend, we took him to the Barber Shop. He did great and could have cared less that there was a man behind him with scissors. They gave him a bunch of stickers to play with and he also got a hat that says "My First Haircut" on the back.

Here's a before shot taken about 2 weeks earlier.....just after a bath all picked out.....

Getting a bit tall don't ya think?

Checking himself out after Kenzie took his picture with Matt's phone.

My two handsome dudes.......

My Camera

I love taking pictures. Three years ago, we bought a new camera, a Canon Powershot ES. I liked it because it had some weight to it, had a 12x zoom, and could take continuous photos in a sports mode. It had a bunch of other modes on the dial but I didn't know much about those. We had a Canon Powershot before as well but a much simpler model. It had been a great camera. I have always wanted to learn more about my camera but the manual is not user friendly. I've thought about taking a class but have just never got around to it. Lately, the itch is worse. I'm wanting to research buying additional lenses and such. So I started playing around and took another shot at the manual. The more I read, it is beginning to make sense....aperture, shutter speed, iso, all that stuff. And I figured out the macro mode.........love it, and the digital zoom. I like to take close ups. So I had a little fun over the weekend and thought I'd share a few of my favs..........

You can blur the foreground by adjusting the aperture.

Same here but I blurred the background by decreasing the Fstop.

Madalyn's birdhouse

Macro mode

Although there is increased pixelation here, I love this one. This is our very worn antenna topper. I know, Disney....we're so gay.

Artsy

One of a zillion lizards in our yard, this one is peeking over our pool screen.

Using my digital zoom.

I don't know much about this one and haven't been able to do it again. You see that is b/w with only the red accented. Apparently you can accent certain colors but I don't understand this one much.

So now I want to figure out if I can reduce the excess pixelation. I'm wondering if I will need another lens. If you have any thoughts, let me know. I have said for years now that if I wasn't a counselor, I'd be a photographer. No where near that now but having fun.............

We Welcome the Tooth Fairy

Big day yesterday!! Madalyn has wanted to loose her teeth since she was about 4 or 5. She has been so excited and really began working on it about 2 days ago. We kept saying, "any day now". Then she realized the other one was coming in behind it. For about a month now, she has walked up to us daily and asked us to wiggle her tooth for her to see if it was any more loose. It had been bleeding on and off as she played with over the last day or two. We were in the van on the way to Disney and had just left the house. We didn't get far when she began yelling from back, "My tooth is bleeding, my tooth is bleeding. My tooth came out!!". We pulled over to celebrate the moment and take a few pics. Here they are.......


Examing her newly extracted tooth...


Very proud moment...

Always beautiful....

We had asked her a few days ago how much she thought the Tooth Fairy (which Kenzie calls the LOOSE Tooth Fairy) should bring her. She told us $78. Then Kenz informed her the loose tooth fairy couldn't carry that much. Anyway, she received $2 and the Tooth Fairy also left a note. We had a Dollar Store date day later to spend her well earned moolah.............

Chores Galore..........

I've tried several different chore systems and then my friend in CO, Tiffany, shared this one. It's great and the girls are so excited about doing it so far. So I went to Walmart and bought these magnetic, dry erase boards for $5 and a pack of magnets for $1.50. I printed off some play dollars off the internet and then took pictures of their chores. Tiffany laminated her dollars and pics but I don't have a laminator so I bought a roll of clear laminate instead. Clear contact paper would work too I imagine. Which, by the way, did you know that if you try to scan in real money, it has some sort of security thingy in it that prompts a warning on your printer to refer to the US treasury to review the rules. Had no idea. Anyway, read on to hear how it works......

So, the pictures have magnets on the back (or mine will but I haven't done this part yet). You pick what chores you want them to do and place it on their boards. Once they have completed the chore, they place one of those circle magnets on top to indicate its done. Some of our chores include watering plants, emptying the dishwasher, sweeping the floor after dinner, wiping down the bathroom sink, cleaning the glass on the french doors, cleaning up the pool toys, and feeding the dog. Cleaning their room every day is a given. So, if they complete ALL the chores, they earn a dollar. But its ALL or nothing. The idea is that there wouldn't be any discussion but this first week has been about training and instruction so we'll move in that direction. They can earn up to $7 a week. We may consider having a day off so this might change.

So this is the Treasure Basket, basically a bunch of dollar items from Michaels. I have priced the items higher to avoid them getting 7 items each each week. Otherwise, I'd be refilling it too often. So most things are $3 or $4 with a few $2 items and some as high as $7. They can spend it all or save it. I was very excited about the cute basket I put together. If only I had a basket to pick from when my chores were done..........

So here they are with there money. They each had $5 to spend since we only did it 5 days this week. They have been ready and willing to check their boards in the morning and get started.

Considering their options.....

Working out the finances.........

Do I want this or that? Notice the lollipop stick hanging out, she cracks me up.

She's made her selection, some play money and a wooden doll to color....all for $4 with $1 to put towards next weeks loot.

Kenzie chose a pony and she has $2 to forward onto next week.

Honestly, I was surprised they saved any at all. They both have their eyes set on a hula skirt complete with a lei and coconut bra but that's more than they could afford this week.

So thanks, Tif for the idea. We love it. It does seem to be the easiest system I've had so far. It doesn't require much work from me after the initial set up. So go get organized Moms, schools starting soon................