Fall Photo Shoot!

I had an idea today. My idea was to drag the girls after school to a little place in the Doris Duke Estate off the public road where there's a stone gazebo with well in the woods. It's such a quaint spot, I thought it perfect for a little photo shoot!!

I am still learning the settings on my new camera so the photos aren't exactly perfect. I hope to tweak the settings and try some more the next time we have a nice, bright sunny day. As you can see in some of the photos, myself and a tree behind me were causing shadows that I didn't really notice while taking the pictures. Another little lesson learned LOL!!

Over all, it was a pretty fun little photo shoot and the girls had a blast. I learned a lot about the camera and angles and such and have a starting point for the next photo shoot. My girls were so patient with me, I am so proud of them and happy that they enjoyed it as much as I did!

Hair Do or Don't?

My 5 year old has recently discovered the art of hair manipulation ( combing... ummm.. rather YANKING!!)
Lucky for me I have circus-freak hair and yanking, pulling and tugging doesn't hurt me at all!! While we were waiting in the car, she wielded a brush and I was her 'model' ! What a way to pass some time!
Here's some of the silliness she created!

New Camera!

My poor little digital Olympus died a few weeks ago. I had admired my mother in laws Canon Elph for quite some time so decided to go check out Target to see what they had.
Well.. they had the newest version of the Canon Elph that my MIL has so I decided to take the plunge and get it.

Wow!! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this little camera!!! It's not the most expensive thing on the planet and it's by far, nothing like the Digital Rebel... BUT.. it's a powerhouse of a little camera and does an amazing job! The view screen is a lot larger than the one on the Olympus and there's virtually no lag time when I press the button. I hated that about the Olympus....... it didn't take the picture instantly, no matter what setting it was on, so it took me 20 attempts to get one good shot.
Just had to share my excitement about my new toy!!

Temper Tantrum!!

Wow... has your child ever had a super-sized, enormous, huge-ass temper tantrum that lasted for an hour or more?
My 5 year old has the occasional tantrum, much like the one I described above. Hers are super cell tantrums, much like that of a tornado. She starts off starting to jump up and down, then her face gets red. Her eyes get all glazed over and red, mind you, there are NO TEARS.... her tantrums are all about CONTROL and the rage that follows if she doesn't get her way!!
Most often the things that set her off are VERY minor little nothings to any passer by. This time it was the fact that her sister, age 3, joined the conversation without being invited. She merely said ONE WORD and that was the ignition to the tantrum. My 5 year went full force into an F-5 raging tantrum that lasted 40 minutes!
When she is mid-tantrum, there is NOTHING that can be done to ease the rage. She generally says one thing over and over and over and over again. This time it was, "I want to tell you something!" to which I replied, "Yes? What do you need to tell me?"
And rather than just tell me, she kept repeating, with more and more rage, "I want to tell you something!" There was nothing that could be done. She was out of control, out in the middle of the back yard where the WHOLE neighborhood could hear her yelling and see her flailing herself on the grass, kicking and screaming. My 3 year old stared at her in disbelief and my husband simply went inside!
I stood on the patio, waiting for the storm to clear for what seemed to be forever. She kept up with fierce tempo, "I want to tell you something!""I want to tell you something!""I want to tell you something!" Screamed over and over again in an eerie rhythm. It was almost like she was in a self-induced trance or something.
After being ignored for about 35 minutes she showed signs of recovery. She had demands though and was determined to show the world that this calming of the storm was HER CONTROL and hers only. She made demands that I STAY STANDING right where I was until SHE told me otherwise. I found that amusing and started to giggle which only fueled the storm back to an F-4 for a few moments until she realized that I wasn't going to cave to her demands. She gathered her senses, stood up and walked over to me, asking for a hug.
I guess they get all their frustrations bottled up to a point of explosion and when that ignition is sparked, it just goes full force until the needle is on empty!!!
Thankfully those tantrums are Few and far between!!