The Zoo!

Went to the zoo in *almost* Spring...but not really...here in central PA, once the temp hits 35ish, everyone declares it is Spring. Winter coats are thrown off. People break out their bikes and running shoes. Kids beg their parents to go to the park, and said parents take them. No matter that snow remains in the shadows and the trees have not budded yet. No matter. We are no different now. Saturday, the high was going to be 48, so Joe says, "let's go to the zoo." And we did. Joe map quested a more scenic route to Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is the coolest city...more on that in a sec.

So, we are enjoying the snow-y yet warmish country side when...I declare...

The Amish are coming! The Amish are coming! 

I break out my camera like the most obnoxious tourist ever, and Joe, in a moment of what can only be described as true-love, clicked on the windshield washers just in time for me to snap this.

Cool. 

We were in Amish country. And lemme tell you something, there is nothing cuter than pudgy Amish toddlers girls in those little black bonnets. Soon though, the novelty of being in Amish country wore off. Another horse and buggy. Another horse and buggy. Another...you get the point.

Then the funniest thing ever happened. Way down the road, Joe saw a horse and buggy on a side street. We are in a car mind you. Anyhow, he says, "He is not going to pull out in front of me, is he? Is he? Is he going to pull out in front of me? Surely not, right?"

"Surely not. He is not going to..."

Oh no he di'nt! Awwww no!

Oh yeah he did.

You know how when a car pulls out in front of you, almost cutting you off, it will accelerate real quick? I swear that horse did that. We had to slow down, cause you know, we were in a car, but that horse sped up when that buggy pulled out in front of us. Then, we just crawled, which allowed me to take this picture. Note the no-passing double yellow line. Yes, eventually we were ready to be out of Amish country. And, to the Amish people, I am sorry for the obnoxious camera face. You fascinate me and I could not help myself. Please forgive me.

After Amish country, we got lost, twice. By the time we got back on track, this happened.

Which was a really really good thing because he started screeching right as we got lost.

Eventually, we were almost to Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is not at all what I expected. Not at all. It is the 'steel city' you know. You know that lady with the rolled up sleeve and doo-rag, the 'we can do it' lady? I expected to see here there. And, I expected the streets to be filled with a bunch of steel union workers, wearing hardhats, carrying tin lunch pails. Storefronts? Nah, maybe just row after row of industrial factories. Smoke and plumes and whistles...Okay, maybe I am exaggerating, but I had serious misperceptions about this city. For starters, as you get close to Pitt, you see these type of neighborhoods.

Bright, right? I don't normally go so bright, but Joe was standing over my shoulder when I was editing these pics, and he asked me to make them nuclear. After switching on the windshield wipers for my Amish photo op, I could not say no. Anyhow, Pitt is surrounded by hills and hills and hills. There is still a good amount of green outside the city. When you get close, the hills are dotted with an insane amount of these houses. Small, built very close to each other, countless in number. Each hill dotted with these houses appears to have been its own fully functioning community as well, with an old factory and huge church. It is funny like this up north. Even though a town may only be 5 miles from the neighboring town, they were different communities with their own parish, schools, and identity/pride. This is the original urban sprawl. Not the 50's ranch or 90's mcmansion sprawl. So, when you get into the city...it is just really cool! Neat eateries, store fronts...very cosmopolitan I tell ya. 

So, finally, we get to the Zoo. 

Joe, Jude and Joey took the elevator. Me, Pete, and Paul took the escalator. It was a race.

Right after we got on, Paul realized he was just a little bit scared.
But we won!

It was fun. Thanks for the idea daddi-o.

Coloring and such...

I'll have you know that my expensive new toy is on the way back to B&H. For 300 bucks, I don't think I should have to tinker with exposure compensation. Anyhow, here are the last of the fuji 400h pics. I really do like this film. The colors are fun. And, for cvs scans, these aren't too bad! What I don't like is that I had to sacrifice precious iso by overexposing these. And, look, I used flash with these, so maybe metering flash with film isn't so scary after all.

You know that Pete likes to color.

Did you know that Jude does too?

Okay, not really.

 No Jude! No!

He just likes having or doing whatever the boys are having or doing.

Even though he is just a baby. Shhh...don't tell *him* that.

I have been having the most fun with this wide angle on my film camera. I love looking down at the kids, making them bobble heads.

Showing you what I see 99% percent of my day...the 'pick me up or I will totally and absolutely freak out' baby.

Love him.

But if Daddy is home, this is not my view. It's Dad's. When Jude hears that back door open, he runs to it, babbling, happy, giddy, goes over to Joe, and demands to be picked up. It is so adorable.

We all love it when Daddy comes home. :)

 So that is it for the fujih. I don't know what I will do about shooting film now, without a light meter...I might look into getting a cheaper used one. That way, if it is off, I won't be nearly as offended. 

It is Ash Wednesday!
As I type this, I am nagging the boys to hurry up and eat lunch so we can go. I don't want to take hungry kid to Mass. I don't know if we'll make it, but we will try. And per Joey's request, we are going to the fish fry at church later. Joe said, "we are fasting all day, and you want to eat that later? are you sure?" LOL Yes, a good ol' fish fry is extra tasty when you are extra hungry, Joe. ;) Now, for the giving things up part of Lent...I am giving up eating between meals, and trust me, this WILL be a sacrifice. ;) A girl needs to snack eat ya know. I will also read a psalm every day. :) Joe and Joey will pray 10 minutes a day together. :) Paul? He keeps changing his mind. He says he is giving up Candy. We'll see. Pete says he is "giving up a toy you blow into." Joey rolled his eyes, saying, "we don't have a toy that you blow into Peter." So, I guess Pete gets off easy.

Yesterday...

Still undecided about this light meter. I need to make a decision today. Yesterday Pete and I played with some harsh light and shadows. This is Kodak 400NC converted to BW. 

 When he realized I was photographing him *and* his shadow, he decided to make friends with it. Oh this was pure joy. He was playing with Mr. Shadow. Pointing out Mr. Shadow's body parts. :)

Later, he was a ghost. :) Still Kodak 400NC

And I managed to get one decent exposure of Jude-y playing with his feet. Sweet baby.

Paul reading a book...notice the distortion? Yes, 35mm on a 35mm is 35mm. Wide. 

Then it was back to the digital age...

I found some nice backlight and gave Paul a book. 

Joe and Jude are still best friends.

And sometimes they find mischief together. Like the other day when Joe gave Jude a temporary tattoo.

Oh, and there is a speedlite workshop giveaway, and I really want to win it! OCF here I come...maybe! LOL

Eating

Amazing, this life. So much beauty, everywhere. Yes, it's amazing that I can find so much beauty in how a baby and toddler eat. Everything about it is something that I want to cherish and remember. These were shot with my 35mm canon film camera wit fuji 400h, seriously overexposed, but they came out because my new pricey light meter is seriously underexposing stuff, well in my humble opinion(more on this later). 

Jude is a super eater. He loves to eat. The other day, I fed him eggs and Cheerios. Okay, they are the generic brand of Cheerios.

But he likes them all the same, you know. 

This bib is super helpful. 

When we feed these little ones, of course food ends up on the floor. But, it is usually stepped on, pressed deep into the cracks of the wood floor. *sigh*

I unpacked Pete's old pedipeds for Jude. These shoes are so cute on him. Oh, do you like my new boots? Hey, thanks! ;) 

 What do you see out the window Jude? 

Hey, that is a good idea, baby!

Hey Jude!

Pete was there. Having a bagel snack. Sometimes he will gimme a smile...

But sometimes a toddler just wants to eat his bagel. 

Joe comes home for lunch sometimes. I LOVE that. LOVE it. I make coffee, we joke around about our days. I so enjoy his company at lunch. The other day, he walks out of the kitchen, comes back in and says, "go look at Pete. He is so small at that big table." I look and then yank out the camera. Joe laughs, asking me why I am taking a picture of that. 

This is why.

He does look tiny at that big table. And he is adorable. I am going to miss this tiny toddler at my big table someday.

So, I don't know where I am going with this film thing. I like the look of film, but there are things I don't like. I don't think any of the pictures I have taken can be printed larger than 5x7 because of the grain. I know a medium format is key for larger prints. And, you need a light meter for film. With my digital, I feel like I really get my histogram. I love my histogram. LOVE it. I use it with natural light, with my speedlite, and it is so accurate in getting perfect exposure. You don't have the luxury of a histogram with film cameras. So, I bought a light meter. And, the drama begins. It seems to be underexposing just slightly. I underexposed quite a few pictures on a roll of film. :( Annoying. Some of this may be user error too, I admit I am not light meter savvy. I don't know...I am just not sure if tinkering with this light meter is worth 300 bucks. :( I will probably return it. But, then what about exposing for film? I don't know, maybe I will use the palm of my hand method until I decide how much time and money I want to invest in this filmy adventure....

Family movie night

On Fridays, we have a family movie night. The kids look forward to it all week. Everyday, Pete will ask me, "is tonight movie night?" I will say, "no, today is Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday..." So, finally, when he asks me this question on Friday, and I can say "yes," his face just lights up. All smiles and squeals. This week, we got a box from Grandma full of movies. Thanks Grandma. We watched Open Season. The kids loved it. 

We even let them eat in front of the TV. And, it was only after the meal that I realized that giving coleslaw to a coleslaw loving 3 y/o to eat standing up while laughing and jumping was a bad idea. Lesson learned. Oh well. All in the name of fun.

I played around with my new light meter, trying to figure out this flash metering business. And, on that note...you know, when you start to learn things, understand what makes a good/bad picture, technically speaking, it is very easy to trash your imperfect pics. Soft focus. Bad comp. Etc. Pics you might have even though looked good before you knew any better. These pics above are far from perfect. But, you gotta remember that if they capture the moment, then you gotta keep 'em. That's what its all about. I can look back on these and get the whole movie night vibe. 20 years from now, I won't regret all the mistakes I made. I will just treasure these pictures of my sweet boys. 

Tramp pants!

So, not too long ago, I mentioned that I had let myself go. More about that now. I think every mom goes through this. And, it is not like we wake up one day and say, I'm gonna just stop trying and look like a slob from now on. Of course not. That would be...weird. No, it is something that creeps up on ya, little by little. You don't have time to shop. You don't have time to fix your hair. You don't have time to...you get the point. Everyone else comes first, and you neglect yourself. Or you spend more time blogging than in front of a mirror... I would not trade my life for the world, not complainin' here, just stating the facts. My mom put it best. She said that she always felt like a piece of pie, and everyone got a piece, and at the end of the day, she went to get hers and it was gone. Good news is that most of us moms have this epiphany-like moment where we get jolted back into normalcy. We realize we look like slobs. We get embarrassed. We vow to find our sass again. And, when we do, we vow to not let it go again, although we probably will. This is the mama cycle. You gotta fight for the time to primp or shop or maybe even catch a shower *and* shave your legs with that shower time too. 

So, my epiphany came the other day. I woke up to a numb foot. Scary. Joe asked me if I wore anything tight the day before. Oh the shame...yes I did. I most certainly did. My old skinny size Levis. See, I got back in my old jeans, but not really. They were tight. I could button them, so I wore them. I had to take them off the day before because they were just too uncomfortable. That was the culprit. I would have to deal with some temporary foot numbness now. How did this happen? Why was I squeezing into ill fitting pants? Because I had maternity clothes and my old size, and I did not want to waste $ on a 'fat' size. El Cheapo Mamacita. I figured that in 2 weeks or so, they would fit better. That was like 9 months ago. I knew I needed to order some new pants, but I put it off. So two things here...1) I have been walking around looking like tramp mom in her tight tramp pants. Oh the shame. 2) being cheap and not making time to shop for myself cost me the temporary use of my foot. 

So, I vowed to change, talked to Joe about it. Joe, who cares nothing for fashion, agreed that I needed to shop. I have not been to the Mall in over a year, if that says anything...He said, "I don't care what you spend. You just gotta do...SOMETHING." Then he looked at me funny and laughed. LOL!!! So I did. I bought some cute 'fat' shirts and 'fat' pants and shoes and I decided to start accessorizing. I just quite doing that. I have jewelry. I just stopped wearing it. I pulled out some of  my old pieces. I had to buy jewelry cleaner. I then bought some more.

It's funny. It has been so long since I have bought anything for myself(save camera gear and baby wraps, of course), I did not know what I wanted. Not too long ago, the market section of the Wall Street Journal, there was a picture of this powerful CEO woman, and she had the loveliest pair of knot earrings on. I thought, hey those look like smart earrings. So, I decided to hunt down a pair of my own. Typing this out makes me realize that the market section of the WSJ is probably not the best place to get fashion advice. But, powerful CEO lady, I dig your earrings, thanks for the inspiration girl. ;) After that, I decided to get a big ol' necklace of sorts to dress up this t-shirt wearing mama.

Enter Etsy. I love etsy. So, I got 100 inches of gray freshwater pearls. Perfect. They came from China, see the Chinese writing on the package? I am like a kid with international mail. I get all giddy about it. I saved the package to show Joey. He was not nearly as excited as I was about it.

I probably like these so much because I can tie a knot in them, like I used to do with those plastic pearl necklaces when I played dress up as a kid. :) 

I vow to wear this more often.

The pretty yellow scarf, not the Rapid-1 camera strap, umbrella, or Crumpler camera bag. Although these things are nice too.

This scarf matches my funky new wellies, you know. Remember?

Yes, there is a new mama in the house. I will shop for myself and accessorize. I will make the time. :)

And, today, I turned the corner to see this.

I am not sure why he likes doing this with is shirt. Weird. But, I do know it is cute. Really really cute. :)