Say cheese

July 5, 2010


I don’t really get jealous over people with bigger houses than mine (too much to clean) or better bodies (they must never eat chocolate) or who drive fancy cars or wear expensive shoes (too much to worry about when they get scratched or muddy).


But, there is one envy I feel to the middle of my bones: It is jealousy for people who are great at photography.

Every time I see a baby photo that makes my heart stop, I think, why didn’t I do that when my babies were little?!?!

If I go to the zoo, I don’t even bother taking out my camera because I know I’ll end up with a bunch of teeny animals swimming in the middle of a big circle of nothing.

Even my pictures of food don’t look like anything I’d want to actually eat.

I know, I know part of my problem is ignorance. I know nothing about the mechanics of photography except Use Natural Light and Shoot Your Subject Off-Center, and I know both these “rules” have asterisks after them for the exceptions.

But, I finally got a “good” camera, though it is a point-and-shoot, not one of those SLR jobbies. Hey, if it doesn’t say “Auto”, I’m in trouble. And, I’m trying, I’m trying. I actually signed up for month-long photography workshop after I reviewed it for Cool Mom Picks.
Picture Summer isn’t a class, per se. But, with such limited time and brain space for photography lingo, I like that it’s forcing me to actually bring my camera with me and, this is important, use it.

How’s it going? Well here are my favorite shots from each day (I upload about three each day to the gallery). I’m still working to capture action and emotion up close, and learning how to keep an eye on the background so it doesn’t distract from the subject.

And, I’m also taking the photo on the same day as the prompt. No searching archives or, worse, using one of my husband’s pictures as my own.

Day 1: A sign of summer

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have a seat

Day 2: Splashy (water shot)

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bike wash

Day 3: Getting Centered (see the photo on my July 3rd post as well)

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dirty angel

Day 4: Holiday Traditions

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up for air

So, if today you see me taking a photo of a glass of water in various places, please don’t look at me funny. I’m doing my homework.



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Filed Under: Blog Love, Fairly Odd Me 26 Comments

Birthday wishes

June 21, 2010


My sister hit a milestone birthday last week, and though I don’t want to spread her age all over the internet (I did that already, heh), I thought instead I’d share the 40 Things I Love About My Sister:


1. She likes me enough to take me on her fancy trip to Topnotch Spa in Vermont, where I ate my weight in sushi and had a foot massage that can only be described in vowels: aaaaauuueeoooooooo.

2. She has always loved my children like her own. And they know Auntie K has their back.

3. She listens politely when I try to give her “helpful advice”, otherwise known as “meddling”.

4. She not only doesn’t make fun of my more questionable attire, she often bought it for me:

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5. She has the most kick-ass birth story ever. Seriously.

6. She is an amazing entertainer, throwing birthday parties that make mere mortals weep.

7. She is even louder than I. I think. Or maybe we are equal. I can’t tell anymore. My ears are shot.

8. She remembers things about my dad I have long forgotten.

9. She moved within a half-mile of my mother, thus insuring that I am NOT the geographically closest child.

10. She hosts Thanksgiving, saving me the anguish of having to cook a turkey.

11. We babysat the same kids, so though we are three years apart, we have many shared memories, some we both wish we could forget.

12. We also worked in the same laundromat,

13. cashiered at the same neighborhood market,

14. and worked at the same amusement park (before it got all cool and called itself Six Flags).

15. She endured being “Christina’s little sister” as a child without growing up to hate my guts.

16. I can call her and complain about my mother without her contradicting me or telling me to “grow up”.

17. We share similar tastes in music, meaning she was with me at many, many of these shows, and I don’t cringe when she turns on the car stereo. In fact, I’m pretty certain she has no idea who Michael-fucking-Buble is.

18. She changes her hair style almost as much as I do, making me feel less schizophrenic about my hair.

19. She always has great liquor, including my absolute favorite: Three Olives Grape Vodka (seriously: put it in lemonade right now).

20. She gets excited to come see my girls twirl on a stage every spring at their dance recital.

21. She answers my phone calls, even with caller ID.

22. She always has good snacks.

23. and good magazines to borrow,

24. and good DVD’s to borrow

25. and books,

26. and jewelry. . .(geez, maybe I should go shopping. . . )

27. I love her friends. And they totally tolerate me.

28. She still tries to beat me into the pond every year (well played this year, m’dear).

29. Without even trying, she can make me laugh. Mainly thinking about her 80’s hair.

30. Or maybe I’m thinking of one of her funny stories,

31. Oh, no, I’m remembering this photo (thanks, Mom! always wanted matching nylon running suits!):


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32. Or this one: (do we even look like sisters?)


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33. Homemade marshmallows. ‘Nuff said.


34. She made my niece and nephew who I love to pieces. Could they please hurry up and grow up a wee bit more? Auntie wants to do a big pig-pile sleepover.


35. She always invites us to visit on their annual pilgrimage to the Cape.

36. It won’t bother her one bit that I’m a week late getting this post finished.


37. She isn’t a conservative,


38. but she isn’t too politically correct either.


39. She is living proof that my mother’s constant assertion that friends come and go, but a sister is forever is definitely true.


40. She finally has a blog! And, if you’ve made it this far, please stop by to wish her a Happy Birthday.


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Filed Under: Blog Love, Family n Friends 8 Comments

With its new third grade curriculum, my daughter’s interest in DreamBox has really multiplied

April 29, 2010

About a year ago, I got to try out a cool new math program for K-2 students called DreamBox.

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I ended my review with this sentence:

(The) only thing I wish? That DreamBox went on to even higher grades. It’d be nice to have their support in a few years when we get to the really tough stuff, like Calculus.


Well, they haven’t gotten to Calculus yet, but they have added 100 third grade lessons just in the nick of time, as I am about to beat my head into the ground trying to get my third grader to understand multiplication. Oh, she memorizes the facts enough to get by, but does she really understand what those numbers mean?

Which is why I love having a program like DreamBox in my arsenal. Not only does it reviews facts that kids learn in school (public, private or home), but it shows kids how to approach math from different angles, knowing that not all kids “see” things the same way. And since it’s a dynamic internet site, it adjusts the lessons to fit a child’s ability, repeating skills that weren’t quite mastered, and letting kids breeze through skills that come naturally.


The new third grade level approaches multiplication in a few different ways, by using a number line, picture arrays and area models. Kids also play games to “find the factor” for a product, something that will come in handy when they get to division.

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And since their lessons are based on skills set by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, I can feel pretty good that these are skills my kids should know.

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Plus, unlike some math “game” websites, I don’t just throw them on Dreambox and hope for the best. Instead, I get regular email updates and have access to a “Parent Dashboard” so I can see where my kids are on the program, how much time they’ve spent and what skills they have mastered to date.

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But, as much as I’d like to find a program that take over math in our homeschool completely, please note that I recommend Dreambox in addition to whatever regular curriculum you’re using. I think it’d be a great, dynamic addition to the classroom, especially since teachers could pretty quickly see how each student is doing. And, since it’s designed to be fun and has incentives for kids to keep going, I find my kids spend more time on it than any other math website we’ve tried.

Want to see a demo about how DreamBox works? Check it out here:


Congrats to Heather for winning a free month of DreamBox!

You can also try out DreamBox for two weeks for free; see the details on their website.

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I haven’t been paid by DreamBox for this review, although they did let my kids tool around the site for a few weeks to test it out.

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Filed Under: Blog Love, Fairly Odd Reviews 12 Comments
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