Life With My 3 Boybarians

This blog has moved.

2009-06-20T23:25:00.003-05:00

You will be redirected to:

http://www.my3boybarians.com/

Goodbye Blogger. I will miss you. (Or not.)

2009-06-17T23:09:00.006-05:00

Remember how I told you that you were involved in a project and didn't even know it? You are! I need you!

I've taken the leap. I'm leaving Blogger. Why?

Well, the recent IE / Blogger mishap didn't help. And in spite of nearly everyone telling you guys to abandon Internet Explorer, I can see from my visitors that about 30-40% of you are still on IE. And some of you are still on IE6! Ack.

But don't worry. I'm not going far. I'm migrating over to Wordpress. WP has tons of great features... and furthermore, fewer compatibility issues for those of you who refuse to go download Safari or Firefox. I still like ya!

So, here is where you come in! Remember how I said you were involved?

I'm super duper worried about leaving some of you behind. So, wouldja.... couldja.... please head on over to:

http://my3boybarians.com

And, like any blog party... there is a bribe involved!

This URL will only stay active for another day or two. Soon, it will be GONE. Please don't stay back in the lonely, echo-ey halls of Blogger.

It only looks like I'm ignoring my blog.

2009-06-16T22:59:00.002-05:00

But I've really got some big things going on behind the scenes.

Anyone wanna take a stab at what?

I'll give you a hint. It involves you. Yes, YOU.

In a reader? Come visit me; it's prettier here.

10 Things I Rather be Doing Today

2009-06-12T07:14:00.001-05:00

10. Reading New Moon. Again.

9. Baking cupcakes. I have no reason to bake cupcakes. I just think they are pretty.

8. Taking a bubble bath at ~110 degrees with a fresh issue of Real Simple with no one interrupting me for an hour.

7. Having a sleepy newborn over so I can wrap him in a knit pod and practice taking a billion pictures, all while he never wakes up.

6. Clicking leisurely through Amazon.com ordering whatever book I feel like, knowing it will be here in 2 days.

5. Shutting down the computer and not opening it again until Monday. Or, the next Monday. Or August.

4. Discovering I've saved my pennies long enough and can now afford the camera I want. I'm not even close.

3. Piling the boys into my lap and reading Run Away Bunny for the 7424726376457592378th time. I might actually do that today. Only one won't roll his eyes and tell me he's too big for Run Away Bunny.

2. Getting through an entire day without someone saying, "Mommy, he ________ me!" and bursting into tears or melting down.

1. Sitting with my hubby under an umbrella on an uncrowded, tropical beach with a warm breeze and a refreshing drink with no plans other than to sit there.

What would you rather be doing today?

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Out and About

2009-06-11T06:56:00.001-05:00

Wanna hear something funny? After all that about my sidebars and cluttering them up with stuff so I can enable you to become an Amazon Prime member, get terribly addicted to illy, finally breakdown and order Photoshop and Lightroom? Turns out some of you on Firefox can't even click through my ads. Ahehahehheaheha. Isn't that just a kicker?

I'm working on fixing it. But um, you can email me if the links don't work for you.

I hope to continue this series of blog tip posts. I got a lot of emails with questions about categories and ads and pricing and reviews. Rather than email you each individually, I'll tackle those in an upcoming post here at lwm3b.

In the meantime, I found these posts in my google reader and knew you'd love them, too.

Design Mom posted about free gorgeous, high-res vintage images you can print - even at a poster size - and frame. Thrifty!

My friend Dianne is giving away the book "Understanding Exposure." I really want to win, but maybe if you do, you can let me know if you learned something and if I should read it? Contest ends tonight at 10 pm MST!

Beth got a new camera and took photos of Williamsburg that look like postcards. Beautiful! And to prove she doesn't need me anymore, she made herself a watermark for her photos. Are you watermarking your photos? Tsk tsk!

Rachel shares her solution for great iced coffee - at home.

Enjoy!

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To Ad or not to Ad. That is the question.

2009-06-10T06:55:00.000-05:00

I gave a workshop today on blogging at AWI. My last point was: Should you or should you not advertise or accept PR on your blog? Looking around lwm3b you can see which decision I made. But I'll humbly agree it's not for every blog nor every blogger.

Turns out, very few people feel lukewarm about ads. Most are emphatically in support or decidedly against advertising.

The case against ads:
Let me make this very clear. If you are blogging solely to make money on ads, you will fail. You. Will. Fail. Blogging for financial gain is very transparent. Don't insult your readership's intelligence by assuming they won't see right through that.

Ads can be distracting. I particularly get all a buzz by the fast-paced, zippy ones. I am not anti-animated button completely; I just avoid that ones that appear seizure-inducing.

Too many ads can be overwhelming.

The case for ads:
I trust bloggers more than commercials. All commercials say their product is the best. All companies pitch you. If I can relate to a blogger, and particularly if she has earned my respect, I am interested in the products that have made her life easier, better, enriched, more enjoyable. I want the "tried and true" low down on a product not some infomercial.

When you come to lwm3b, you can feel confident that the products I am willing to clutter my pretty sidebars with (you all know how I feel about CLEAN sidebars!) are either products I use myself, or companies I feel you will benefit from. Those partnerships are made judiciously and with respect for your time and interest.

Case in point: I actually think you should drink illy coffee. I'm not just putting that big ol' honkin' thing there because it's pretty. That's my espresso machine, and that's how I start my day - a triple shot illy latte. The world shines brighter shortly thereafter. I think it's magic.

Amazon Prime membership? Free two-day shipping. It's changed my life.

B&H Photo. I recently read that Pioneer Woman made it all the way from Oklahoma to NYC (where sits the real ginormous B&H Photo Store) and somehow willed herself to stay away. I don't know how. I ordered Handy Man's Nikon d200 from there, as well as all our lenses. They have been top notch. And as much as it can sometimes dampen my style, I totally respect that they shut down their website during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and seemingly whenever else I'm last minute shopping for my hubby's gifts. Shalom!

Academic Superstore. Gracious. My wallet thanks them! Yes, as a homeschooler there is a small hoop to jump through to prove you are an educator, but the result is up to 75-80% off software. $99 for Lightroom 2. That's a HUGE discount. I hope the savings you find there allow you to more easily afford the software I talk about on my blog all the stinkin' time - like Photoshop and Lightroom. I purchased my Adobe software through them and not only do I use the software all the time in homeschool projects - the software I purchased there keeps me gainfully employed at home.

And therein lies the difference - if you are a blogger and you have interesting content, post regularly, are mildly entertaining or enlightening and want to share your experiences with companies and products AND you can get a kick back from it? I tip my hat to you and say "You Go, Girl!"

So that's how I feel about ads. How do you feel about ads?

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How to allow bloggers to respond to your comments:

2009-06-08T13:00:00.004-05:00

Has this happened to you?

One of the most frustrating things about blogging is getting a comment or question, then having no way to respond. If you use Blogger and leave comments on blogs... please, please follow these steps to make sure bloggers can respond to you! I did a post not long ago on this, but I can tell from my comments lately that it's time for another reminder!

You should make yourself easy to contact, because blogging is not a one-way street! Your email address will NOT be published on your blog. See? Look around my blog - my email address is not printed on the page.

Follow these steps:

1. Open up a new window. That's Ctrl-N if you're on a PC, Command-N for us Mac girls. Go 'head, I'll wait.

2. Leave one window open to these instructions. Go to your blog on the other window.

3. Click on customize. Click on dashboard in the upper right corner.

4. On the left, next to where your profile picture is, click on Edit Profile.

5. Under Privacy, click "show my email." Under identity, make sure the public email address that you use is there.

6. Save profile.

Now when you leave comments on Blogger, the blog owner is able to contact you.

This is good networking.

What is your blogging frustration? Your comment may inspire the next blog tip on lwm3b!

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Yuuuuummmmmmy. Is it November yet?

2009-06-06T07:47:00.005-05:00

Look, I live in the arctic tundra so I'm not going to wish away the only and fleeting few months of warm and green we have...

but oh. my. stinkin'. heck.

I need a fan.

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Friday Fix-It: My take on photo editing

2009-06-05T00:02:00.003-05:00

I do love mesome Photoshop. ;)

I have a soft spot for little boys. I'm sure moms of girls say that about little girls, but boys are just my thing.

So that cutie's pic started out a little... flat. It's a well-composed pic. Such a darling, mischievous little smile. This photo needs the gray fog lifted to reveal that underneath it's a great photo.

Here is how it started:

See that gray film over the shots? This happens a lot in photos, especially indoors. And not just by new photographers. Some lenses and some cameras tend to shoot foggy - often called a gray fog when all those photography forums. This photo is also slightly out of focus. Sharpening it will help.

So here's a fix using Photoshop CS3:

Always work on a new layer so you can throw it away if it didn't go as you expected. Cmd-J or Cntrl-J.
Open up curves. Using the whitest dropper, click on the lightest part of the photo. Using the darkest dropper click on the blackest black part of the photo. I used the catch lights in his eyes and his shirt. This should help brighten your whites and blacken your blacks.
Adjust the opacity of that layer as needed until it looks right to your eye.
Lighten the photo slightly. Open up Brightness/Contrast. Adjust lightly and sparingly.
Merge layers. Create a new working layer.
Use the heal brush to fix the messy nose.
Dodge the whites of the eyes. Burn the pupil and eye lashes.
Using the magnetic lasso or the quick selection tool, select the eyes - including the pupils, whites, and lashes.
Run unsharp mask on the eye selection until it looks brighter and sharper. If needed, up the brightness and contrast. Do NOT make this sweet boy look like a zombie child, please. I beg you. I am seeing a lot of zombie eyes with heavy-handed photoshopping. You want him to look real, not like Children of the Corn.
Adjust the opacity of that work layer until it looks right and natural.
Merge layers. Create a new working layer.
Using the blur tool, soften the lips. Be careful to color inside the lines.
On a new layer dodge under his eyes and blur the light layer. Reduce the layer a lot - just enough to reduce the dark circles under his eyes. You aren't performing plastic surgery. ;)
Merge layers. Create a new working layer.
Run Unsharp mask on the whole photo.
Run MCP action Powder Your Nose. Lower the opacity as this tends to be too strong for most photos.
Run MCP action Touch of Light. Paint light on his face. Lower the opacity until it looks natural.
Flatten.
Crop the way you like.

Here, again, is the before and after.

What a difference, huh? You can see more Friday Fix-Its (including my Handy Man's edit) at I Heart Faces.

**Clarification: This is not my photo. I didn't take it. The credit for the photographer can be found at I Heart Faces**

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10 Blogging Mistakes

2009-06-04T08:58:00.008-05:00

Are you making any of these blogging blunders?

1. Being totally anonymous.
It isn't necessary to reveal confidential information like your last name or city to establish that you are a real person. But revealing something about yourself lends your blog credibility. As your reader, I want to know what we have in common, what we don't and what I can learn from you. Introduce yourself in a descriptive about me profile, or consider having a page or post that tells a little about you.

2. Never showing your face.
How do I know you're not really a Canadian man? Or a spammer? Adding your photo to your profile or somewhere on your bio where it can be seen is another step in telling your readers that you're real. In a world when 1:4 blogs is manned by a robot, we want to see your smiling face.

3. Always apologizing.
If you start each post with, "I am so sorry, it's been so long since I've blogged, but I promise I will post more regularly..." then we don't hear from you? You've lost us.

4. Nagging on your family.
Unless your niche is the "angry ex-wife niche", posts that insult your spouse, your mother-in-law, your co-workers makes you appear untrustworthy. If you need a place to write and vent, consider making a separate, private blog for those journal entries that are better left unseen. Anything you write on your blog could potentially be seen by your spouse, your mother-in-law, your coworkers or any boss - present or future.

5. Not running spell-check or proof-reading.
You don't have to be a white-hat grammarista to have a well-written blog. But do run spell check and read over your post before hitting publish.

6. Cutesy wootsy posty titles.
Consider your post title carefully. It is the salesman of your writing. If you write a brilliant post and name it something irrelevant, the readers won't click through. Consider the main topic. Be engaging. Remember high school English? Make your post title a twitter-like, 140-character summary of what to expect in your post.

7. Busy, cluttered sidebars.
This isn't the TGIF restaurant. You aren't required to wear 10 pieces of flair. Putting stuff on your sidebars for the sake of stuff is messy, cluttered and makes your readers feel claustrophobic. We don't know where to look if you give us too many choices. Remove anything that doesn't aid navigation, help us find your content, earn you revenue, or promote your networking. Streamline your categories, remove dead links, minimize stuff.

8. Automatic Music.
Fergoodnesssakes, if your blog plays music when I arrive, I'm leaving. I haven't even had a chance to know what you have to say because you've just scared me with unexpected noise. Once upon a time this was new and trendy and very few blogs did it, but what happens when everyone can? The blogosphere becomes a noisy, startling, annoying place. Lose the music. Yesterday.

9. Making comments closed or difficult. Being unreachable.
A blog isn't a one-way street. Allow your readers to engage and respond even if they disagree. Do you have a captcha or word verification on your comments? Why? The purpose of word verification is to limit and filter the number of comments. As a reader, if I see the word verification, I honor her choice to limit feedback and I do not comment. If you prefer comments and open communication, make it easy.

10. Links that don't tell where they are going.
Click here.
Really? How do I know I want to go "here"...? As a reader, I want to know where the link takes me. Used sparingly, and well-placed in context, a clickable 'here' isn't going to break your blog. But the rule of thumb for links is make it obvious where you are taking your readers.

These are 10 very basic things you can do to improve your blog. Easy enough, right?

Would you like to learn more tips and tricks for building a better blog? I am giving a workshop on Tuesday, June 9th at the A Woman Inspired Conference. I've budgeted a good portion of that workshop to QnA! Come ask what you'd like to know. And my little workshop is just the tiny tip of a big ol' iceberg of really great speakers and inspiring workshops! Learn about social media, ministry, blogging, photography... all topics aimed at helping you build a strong online network.

To see the speakers visit the conference page.
Check out the schedule.
To sign up to attend, register here.

I hope to see you there. Come one, come all... YOU are invited. All from the comfort of your home! No need to travel. No hotel expenses, no childcare expenses. You can wear your yoga pants and flip flops. ;)

See ya' there!

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Picasso's Smile

2009-06-02T00:35:00.004-05:00

These weeks of this toothless smile are going so fast. I can hardly stand to think we won't see this smile again. He just looks so adorable, I wanna box him up and keep him forever. Just. Like. This.

What stage do you miss the most?

Don't miss a post! Subscribe to lwm3b. In a reader? Come visit me; it's prettier here.

This month's offers from lwm3b sponsors:

Enjoy the world's finest Italian coffee. Receive a free gift with every coffee machine purchase. Shop illy online.
$100 Rebate on Epson P-3000 Multimedia Storage Viewer, 40GB Stand-Alone Data Storage Unit and Photo/Video/MP3 Player
Homeschoolers! Save 15% On Your Next Alpha Omega Order At www.aophomeschooling.com!

End of the Year: Our School Year in Review

2009-06-01T06:10:00.000-05:00

Judging from the emails I've been getting lately, many of you are wrapping up your school years, too. I have gotten a handful of emails asking what worked for us, what didn't, and what I've got up my sleeve for next year. What?! You all think I have a plan?! ;)

Well, I do. Sorta.

First, you can read my plans for this year back on this post from August 2008. Then you can laugh at me. ;)

So, here's out it really went down:

Einstein, 3rd grade, 8 years old
Math: Einstein finished up Singapore Primary Math 3a and 3b. Then he did Intensive Practice 3a and 3b. We didn't do those concurrently, we did them back-to-back. This provides more review and the IP books are tougher. He did most of Challenging Word Problems 2 along the year. He started Singapore 4a and about 1/3 of the way through we decided to put it down until after summer vacation. So he did Horizons Math Grade 3, book 2 for review. All went well. We intend to continue this next year. Math appears to be his thing.

Language: He finished the Explode the Code series. With little brother, he did Evan Moor's Grammar and Punctuation. We also gently did Emma Serl's Primary Language Lessons - we did this in short bursts. Verdict: Phonics is done and I think he's ready for spelling and writing. He wrote and illustrated a book entitled, "Joe and His Dog," proving that while he still need to work on spelling, his confidence in language has grown exponentially.

Picasso, 1st/2nd grade, 6/7 years old
Math: Picasso finished Singapore Primary Math 2a and 2b. He drilled 12x12 multiplication tables weekly and can now fill out the grid in about 5-10 minutes. He did Challenging Word Problems 1. It was a good fit for him.

Language: He has about 8 pages left in Explode the Code 7. He completed books 4, 5, 6 and 7 this year. We'll pick up with 8 next year. With his big brother, he did Evan Moor's Grammar and Punctuation. He also gently did Emma Serl's Primary Language Lessons - we did this in short bursts. Verdict: He is a natural speller but, as a lefty, is slower on the mechanics of writing. He will catch up with big brother in language this year.

Together
History: We finished up The Story of the World, Vol 2 and started The Story of the World, Vol 3. We matched up chapters chronologically with This Country of Ours. We made it to the colonists and early American life before we wrapped up our school year. So we conquered about 300 years, from 1400- 1700. We'll pick up there. (I feel the need to warn you, that Ms. Marshall's book was written nearly 100 years ago, and some of the racial vernacular is sorely outdated. You'll need to adapt for read alouds. For older children, you'll need to be prepared for a discussion about how this vocabularly and acceptance has changed in 100 years. But overall, it's a gripping narrative and shouldn't be dismissed for these outdated flaws.)

Science: The reading choices were a great fit for us. The boys were able to browse through the fact books, and I saw lots of planets, volcanoes, moons and space appearing in drawings and pictures the boys made. This has always been a sure sign that something is sinking in. They played "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and were astronauts and mars explorers. That's good enough for me!

Reading: Hands down favorite read aloud was Journey to the Center of the Earth (Unabridged Classics), Jules Verne sure knows how to appeal to little boys. And when the vocab got overwhelming, we turned to Rocks & Fossils . That was a serendipitous find - one of those treasures I had no intention of using, but proved its worth this year. The boys did not like In Grandma's Attic; in fact, it was really our only 'thumbs down' of the lot. They thought it was too girly, it broke up too much, and it just wasn't their cuppa.

My favorite unexpected treasure this year was the book A Journey Through Time in Verse and Rhyme, by Heather Thomas. I found this on Amazon when searching for history poems. This turned out the be so much more. There are short basics ones about calendar months, practical ones about math. Grammar poems, holiday poems... everything from the very basics to the entire English monarchy in rhyme. It will last us several years of memorization. It's interesting and varies enough to not get dry. Some are pretty funny. The boys memorized about 6 pieces from this book. It is my favorite find of 2008, and one we'll be using again this year.

Here are links to the products I talk about in the post for easy reference:

I know I am forgetting a lot of stuff. As it comes to me, I'll try and update the post... but it's really hard to put a whole year in a single post. But you asked... and now you have it. I think.

As for what's next? Well, that's a post for another day.

Don't miss a post! Subscribe to lwm3b. In a reader? Come visit me; it's prettier here.

This month's offers from lwm3b sponsors:

Enjoy the world's finest Italian coffee. Receive a free gift with every coffee machine purchase. Shop illy online.
$100 Rebate on Epson P-3000 Multimedia Storage Viewer, 40GB Stand-Alone Data Storage Unit and Photo/Video/MP3 Player
Homeschoolers! Save 15% On Your Next Alpha Omega Order At www.aophomeschooling.com!

Friday Fix It - Take action!

2009-05-29T00:25:00.006-05:00

Note: Jodi totally didn't pay me to write this post. Maybe she should. ;)

It's Friday Fix-It over at I Heart Faces. And I wanted to prove that you can make photos look amazing without really knowing much about Photoshop. So, I only used actions.

More specifically, I only used Jodi's actions from MCP Actions. Well, okay, I cropped it, too. But um, everyone can crop in Photoshop, right? If not - email me. It's seriously so simple.

So, last time I posted the Friday Fix-It instructions I got all sorts of emails saying things like:
"Whoa. Was that post in English?"

"I have no idea what any of that means."

"I am afraid of Photoshop. I can't do any of that stuff you said. I don't know what it means."

Sooooooooo... I hear y'all. This time all I did is press play on the actions and perform whatever things Jodi's actions told me to do. THAT IS IT. I swear.

Would I lie to you?

So, no more self-deprecating emails. You can all do this. But first... you need a few of Jodi's actions.

Go here. Click on 'Try Me'. Download the free ones. Then, save your pennies and buy the following actions, when you can afford them. Preferably out of your cash envelope a la Dave Ramsey. Don't be hatin' and sending me emails that I'm sending you to the poor house.

My favorites:

Touch of Light (free!)
Powder Your Nose (in Magic Skin, under Retouching) - $42
The Quickie Collection - $78

Here is the original:

Then I clicked a bunch of Jodi's actions.

Fix underexpose
Crackle
Fingerpaint - Medium
Light Fog Mixer
Sharp as a Track - Level 2
Powder Your Nose (magic skin) - lower the opacity
Touch of Light - paint the girl

Once I liked it, I saved it. Then for good measure, I made a version in black and white:

Vanilla Ice Cream - to make it a soft black and white

That's it. Nothing complicated. No curves. No layers. No masks. No Photoshop knowledge required at all. Just click PLAY on the actions and follow the instructions.

Actions not in your budget? Fear not. Pioneer Woman has some free ones. Go download them. Fun!

Now it's your turn. Go download the original and take your hand at photo fixing at I Heart Faces.

Don't miss a post! Subscribe to lwm3b. In a reader? Come visit me; it's prettier here.

This month's offers from lwm3b sponsors:

Enjoy the world's finest Italian coffee. Receive a free gift with every coffee machine purchase. Shop illy online.
$100 Rebate on Epson P-3000 Multimedia Storage Viewer, 40GB Stand-Alone Data Storage Unit and Photo/Video/MP3 Player
Homeschoolers! Save 15% On Your Next Alpha Omega Order At www.aophomeschooling.com!

On Turning Nine...

2009-05-27T01:25:00.003-05:00

How is it in the blink of an eye, they can go from that... to such a big, smart boy?

Today, my Einstein turns nine years old. Nine! How in the world did that happen?

And I know all moms are ridiculously biased about their kids. Here are some of the reasons why I am so proud of my guy:

He is growing into such an empathetic big brother. Recently he rode the Easter train at the mall so his baby brother wouldn't have to ride it alone, even though all the other kids his age are much too cool for the train.

He brightens like a light bulb when he catches on to new ideas. He loves science and reading. And, like his daddy, he is so smart. I love to see his enthusiasm for learning.

It's been such a privilege to watch him grow and develop his own interests and personality. He is obstinate but observant. He is smart but open minded. He is curious but mischievous. He is focused and intense - and when he wants to be - the hardest working, sweetest kid on the planet.

So, my little boy, my first born... I love to watch him jam on the ipod and sing along when he thinks no one's listening. I love to see him help his brothers without being told - just 'cause he knows it's the right thing to do.

Happy Birthday, Einstein!

Don't miss a post! Subscribe to lwm3b. In a reader? Come visit me; it's prettier here.

This month's offers from lwm3b sponsors:

Enjoy the world's finest Italian coffee. Receive a free gift with every coffee machine purchase. Shop illy online.
$100 Rebate on Epson P-3000 Multimedia Storage Viewer, 40GB Stand-Alone Data Storage Unit and Photo/Video/MP3 Player
Homeschoolers! Save 15% On Your Next Alpha Omega Order At www.aophomeschooling.com!

Farmers, Photoshop and Giveaways, oh my!

2009-05-20T00:57:00.005-05:00

Doesn't that just make you want to get a green sack and load up on locally-grown goodies at your own farmers' market? This week was asparagus, rhubard, peppers, morels and radishes. My applause to any veggie that has managed to grow locally when we've only had warm weather for about 3 weeks.

The boys' haven't been to a farmer's market before. They moaned and groaned about "going shopping" - until they got there. Then they realized that "farmer's market" means "street party" in boy language. Huge dogs, freshly baked goods, the best cinnamon-roasted cashews ever, homemade peanut butter and salsa - all for pennies on the dollar for what you'd pay for the grocery store stuff (that's full of preservatives!). Picasso was thrilled when he realized, "... you mean they throw this party every week?!"

Do you like Photoshop? Do you own it but don't really know how to work it? C'mon.... fess up! Did you know there is an exclusive website that has >1000 tutorials, brushes, actions, discounts? There is! It's called NAPP which means Nat'l Association of Photoshop Professionals. Don't let the professionals part throw you - it comes with a magazine subscription for photography ideas, product reviews, tutorials aimed at every level. And now they have realized the power of a mom blogger. And my friend Dawn is the new NAPP evangelist for mom bloggers. She has some deals on her site. I joined last fall, and now Dawn is trying to make it easier for you to learn Photoshop. Visit her to learn how.

Hey, guess what? Sandy and I have teamed up for a give-away. I'll give you a hint... it has to do with blogging, decorating, and conferences, and... oh... just go check it out! You won't be sorry!

Inspired Blogging - a Giveaway!

Don't miss a post! Subscribe to lwm3b. In a reader? Come visit me; it's prettier here.

This month's offers from lwm3b sponsors:

Enjoy the world's finest Italian coffee. Receive a free gift with every coffee machine purchase. Shop illy online.
$100 Rebate on Epson P-3000 Multimedia Storage Viewer, 40GB Stand-Alone Data Storage Unit and Photo/Video/MP3 Player
Homeschoolers! Save 15% On Your Next Alpha Omega Order At www.aophomeschooling.com!

We went back in time...

2009-05-18T15:29:00.005-05:00

... to 1875!

Des Moines is home to Living History Farms. It's a blip on the map - a hidden treasure here in the Midwest. If anyone outside of the state of Iowa has heard of it, it's usually because His Holiness Pope John Paul spoke there. It was one place 'round here that could accommodate that kind of mass of people.

It. is. awesome. One of the things I love about homeschool is closing the books and making learning come to life. What better way than to live in 1875 for a day?

The boys did chores, like bringing in wood for the stove.

They attended school. There they had to sit boys on one side, girls on the other. They had to stand to speak. They played marbles at recess.

They measured ingredients for a beauty talc at the pharmacy. Trouble ground powder with a mortar and pestle. They saw real live leaches. (Ew!) They measured zinc with a dram weight on a gold scale.

They swept up the general store with brooms made on the farm with broom corn.

We saw carriages in the carriage house - wheels for summer, rails for winter.

They watched the wood smith make a new handle for a hammer. Seeing the sharp tools, they declined to help.

They rolled a 75lb roller over type-set stamps to print an image on paper at the print shop.

They designed a ladies hat - choosing embellishments and pinning them in.

Most importantly, they experienced homes, costumes and the feel of life 133 years ago.

A game of marbles at recess.

Trouble was fascinated with the school marm (Also a homeschool mom for her "day job"! She was amazing.).

Sit up straight...

... stand when you speak.

Ready to print.

Picasso prints an image of the print shop.

Then, to prove that Trouble lives by his own set of rules... he peed all over the bushes by the exit. He is such a stinker.

How do you bring school to life? Do you have a gem like this near you? What's your best memory of "living education"?

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Homeschoolers! Save 15% On Your Next Alpha Omega Order At www.aophomeschooling.com!

There is life!

2009-05-15T01:40:00.008-05:00

I'm so excited to see things grow that even the weeds look pretty right about now.

Whatcha growin' in your yard?

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This month's offers from lwm3b sponsors:

Enjoy the world's finest Italian coffee. Receive a free gift with every coffee machine purchase. Shop illy online.
$100 Rebate on Epson P-3000 Multimedia Storage Viewer, 40GB Stand-Alone Data Storage Unit and Photo/Video/MP3 Player
Homeschoolers! Save 15% On Your Next Alpha Omega Order At www.aophomeschooling.com!

Sprung a Leak

2009-05-13T01:04:00.005-05:00

Okay, in retrospect, it would have been wiser to use fresh rather than frozen strawberries.

"Mommy? My birfday cake is leaking."

The Lego Power Miners were a hit, though.

In the end, though... he didn't have any cake. Not a single bite.

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Really really really want to win this!

2009-05-12T17:16:00.000-05:00

Did I mention that I want to win this???

"Rosetta Stone is the fastest way to learn a language and has been the #1 foreign language curriculum among homeschoolers for a while — and you can WIN the *all new* version 3 Rosetta Stone Homeschool LATIN program… FOR FREE! This is the first year you can get Latin in the brand new Version III update.

This is a $259 program (and believe me it’s worth every penny!)
This is a computer based curriculum and Rosetta Stone will also include a headset with microphone, and a supplementary “Audio Companion” CD so you can practice lessons in the car, on the go, or where-ever! Students participate in life-like conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program. Rosetta Stone incorporates listening, reading, grammar, vocabulary and writing along with speaking and pronunciation lessons. For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program to allow parents to easily enroll up to ten students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, grade completed work (the program grades the work automatically as the students progress- I love that!), and you can view and print reports for transcripts. Homeschooling a lot of kids at your house? This program is designed to enroll and track up to ten students (five users on two computers) and will work for nearly all ages — from beginning readers up to college students."

And you can get a chance to win here: http://jeneralities.com/

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A Million Tulips

2009-05-10T16:14:00.005-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms, but special wishes to the moms in my life! Love you.

There are entire months that go by when I can't figure out why I live in Iowa. But then there are certain days that are so close to perfection that I can't imagine missing them.

This is the part where I post a billion tulip pics. These are pretty much SOOC shots - all I did was reduce the size so they'd fit on my blog and put on my watermark. The light, the colors... those are not enhanced. I'm telling ya' - if you ever have the urge to see tulips and Holland is out of your budget, the little Dutch settlement of Pella, Iowa sure is a cute budget-friendly substitute. It was worth the road trip.

The pond is shaped like a wooden shoe.

Look closely, you can see the photg (moi!) in the reflection of his glasses! I just love that toothless grin.

And thank you all for response for Trouble's birthday post. You are why the blogosphere is such a grand place!

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Trouble's Story - My Mother's Day Miracle

2009-05-08T00:04:00.000-05:00

Many of you have met other critical babies through their blogs and their stories: Harper. Kayleigh. Stellan. Parker. Maddie.

Trouble in the NICU

Once upon a time, we lived a similar story. I can tell you this: Those parents are lucky to have you all. I have watched the blogosphere rally around these families. I saw the donations made in Maddie's name, and all the purple avatars on twitter. I saw all the orange and notes to Stellan. I have sat at this laptop and cried for Kayleigh and cheered for Parker.

And I know you have, too.

And those parents have gained something from you all. The compassion and prayers that you - the blogosphere - have shown and sent up for these babies has touched me more than I can ever tell you.

Because I was that mom once.

You didn't get to live the day-by-day with me when our own Trouble was born and survived every parent's nightmare. But I know that you would have loved him and cheered him on, just like you do for Harper, Stellan and Parker... and grieved with me on the days we thought we had to say goodbye.

I grieve with Maddie's parents and Kayleigh's parents. And the blogosphere has proven that compassion will never go out of style... that miles don't matter. That those children matter - not just to their families but to thousands who know and love them because of the words their families shared (and continue to share) about them.

Handy Man holds Trouble's tiny foot

Trouble came by his name honestly.

I went into labor with him when I was only 16 weeks pregnant. And in spite of what this Obama administration wants to call a baby like him - I loved him and wanted him fiercely. We tried everything we could think of to buy us more time. Twelve weeks of bedrest. Medication around the clock. It bought us enough to time to reach viability. But it wasn't enough.

He was born via emergency c-section. Silent.

His lungs weren't developed enough for him to cry. So while his face crumpled in pain, no sound came out. We watched as tubes snaked out of his throat, belly button, PICC line, wrists, ankles and for awhile - his scalp. He laid, tiny and naked, under a warming bed with nitric oxide tanks and an IV pole. The world was too much for his underdeveloped nervous system, so his eyes were covered and the sound tampered. We watched as he received blood - and quietly and prayerfully thanked the donors who made it possible. We watched heel pricks and chest x-rays... and got good news and bad.

The NICU is like a roller coaster.

We cheered as his belly was able to digest milk months before he was supposed to ever eat.
We cried as chest x-rays proved that his lungs just weren't up to par.
We cheered as IVs were removed, and medicine doses were lowered.
We crumbled hearing the news that our baby boy's head had bled out. His brain injury was major.

I would have loved to know about the blogosphere back then. Because as I've watched you all rally around the mothers who are aching, your words reach many, many more mothers on the sidelines. And you may not think that you can be healers - but your keyboard and your words really do have the power to comfort and embrace. And I have drawn great comfort knowing that the journey those parents have to make with all of you at their side - is somehow less lonely, less isolating, less paralyzing because you have given them a soft place to land when they crumble.

Trouble's NICU homecoming - length of a ruler.

After Trouble was sent home from the NICU, it wasn't the end of the journey. In fact, that's when the hard part really starts. All of the things a new baby is supposed to mean... they are all there - joy, wonder, happiness, a true miracle - but they can sometimes be overshadowed by fear, guilt, isolation, desperation and loneliness.

Trouble came home on oxygen. He had a heart monitor that strapped to his chest like a belt. He was on all sorts of foul-tasting medicine. And he braved it all. He survived...

Not just a traumatic birth. Not just 3 months in intensive care. Not just the oxygen needs, monitors, medicine, frequent doctor visits and feeding issues... but the whole thing. And he was a really happy baby.

age 4

None of this happened in a bubble. While we didn't have the blogosphere to rally around us, we did have an amazing support system. You may have wondered how we managed to keep a bedside vigil with two older children. My mom and mother-in-law came to the rescue - taking the boys at alternating times for much of that long summer. I had the support of a BFF who happened to be there, miraculously, at all the right times. The Ronald McDonald House was our home away from home for most of the summer. Our families, coworkers, neighbors and friends supported us and helped when they could.

Dr. D. I could write a book about this man. I will suffice to say that if you have to trust the life of your child to a single man, there is no other person I would rather have in the NICU that day, and for the months and years he helped us grow the boy. To our favorite nurse, Diane... we couldn't have survived it without knowing you were a phone call away. Your names will always be legend in our home - revered for the services you provided.

And my Handy Man - I have no idea how he managed to work, commute, spend all evening in the NICU, shuttle the boys and keep me from becoming totally unglued. He was Atlas during those months, bearing the weight of the world as our family faced the hardest thing it has to date.

Handy Man and his boys

3 months in the NICU. 17 months on a monitor. 38 months as an oxygen-dependent child. Years of watching and waiting, slowly allowing him out of the safe bubble we built around him to keep him safe. We are now filled with hope. We know we are the lucky ones. We know that Trouble will grow up to be whatever he wants to be; That he has a tenacity inside him that the rest of us could only imagine. He may be little. He may be scrappy. But that boy loves life.

So every year as Trouble's birthday falls in the same window as Mother's Day I reflect on those early days. The fear has lost its intensity but the gratitude for his life and the chance to be his mother never will.

I hope someday Trouble will write from his perspective what it was like to grow up knowing each breath he takes is a miracle and every moment we've had with him has not been taken for granted. I can only tell his birth story from the perspective of being his mother.

Happy 6th birthday, Trouble. You will always be my Mother's Day Miracle.

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Handy Man has also reflected on Trouble's birth story, here.

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Six Years Ago and Today

2009-05-06T15:37:00.001-05:00

Six years ago today I was admitted to antepartum. I was 28 weeks pregnant. Despite the OBs', perinatologists' and neonatalogists' best efforts, Trouble was born 2 days later. More on his story this week as we celebrate the true miracle of his birth and survival. I cannot believe it's been six years.

Yesterday and today I tried to capture some photos of my 7-year-old wonder boy, Picasso. Aren't kids so stinkin' cute with those two front teeth missing? He lost them both yesterday after a running crash with Trouble's noggin. They were wiggly already but having your 5-year-old brother head butt them certainly speeds up the process.

How old were you or your kids when you/they lost the two front teeth?

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Inspiration from the Blogosphere

2009-05-04T07:06:00.001-05:00

How many of you spend more time surfing blogs than blogging yourselves?

As a blog designer, I spent a ton more time on others' blogs than my own. I always say I would be such a great blogger, if it weren't like bringing the office home. Even still, I love the blogosphere. Not just because it is my livelihood, but because you all have a story. Every single one of you has something valuable and interesting to say.

One of my favorite blogs, Nesting Place has a special treat for you all. She has finally done it:

Nester has published her book!

What are you all still doing here? It's free! Get thee to her blog and download your copy of (what else would she call it?):

It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful.

ps - More garden pics like this, coming soon:

shamelessly lifted from another of my favorite blogs.

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Winner and Spring. Love Spring.

2009-05-03T20:39:00.000-05:00

Every. muscle. aches.

Every single muscle in my body is cursing me in a drunken, lactic-acid stupor. But it will be sooo worth it.

We spent the day getting all the annuals in the ground. I weeded, dug, planted, and repeated ad nauseum. And now, the yard has the making of a baby nursery. Our hostas are peeking up. The tulips are open - at the least the ones the deer spared us. I can see hydrangeas and lilies coming to life. With the addition of our annuals, the yard finally looks like LIFE instead of hibernation. I didn't think I'd survive another month inside. And just when I've all but given up, I see green.

Iowa, you are so pretty. I forgive you for being frozen and inhospitable for 6 stinkin' months.

Einstein found these flowers today. They're called Lilac Spoons. They really look like a circle of little spoons around the flower. Is that not the coolest thing ever?

Oh, and I wouldn't forget about the give-away! Picasso drew names. "rk", you won the draw for Celia Whitler's book & CD. The timing couldn't be better, because rk is a mommy (again!) with a brand new addition to her family. Congrats on your new son, rk. The book is on its way!

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Friday Fix-It @ I heart Faces

2009-05-01T14:50:00.008-05:00

Don't forget to enter my Mother's Day give-away!

It's Friday and I decided to take another stab at Friday Fix-It.

Before Picture:

Photographing children with hats or hoods on is usually a recipe for disaster, and while this photo isn't exactly a disaster, it did render some unfortunate lighting problems on the child's face. Also, probably because he's on a merry-go-round, the photo is slightly out of focus. I am working on Photoshop CS3.

So some basic fixes:

Always work on a new layer for each edit so you can throw it away or adjust the opacity if need be.
Unsharp mask -use your eye on this one.
Lighten the photo using brightness/contrast.
Dodge the whites of the eyes and the teeth.
Burn the pupils and the lashes and creases around the eyes that are missing detail.
Use the healing brush to remove the light patch on his cheek. Adjust opacity on this layer until it looks natural.
Sharpen again slightly.
Select only the skin on the boy's face avoiding his eyes and mouth, run a slight gaussian blur. Adjust opacity.
Increase the contrast to allow the blacks and colors to pop.
Crop the photo so the eyes fall at approx 1/3 the length of the crop.
Run MCP action Powder Your Nose.
Sharpen one last time.

Results:

Again,

You can play along or see others' edits with the same photo over at i heart faces.

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