February 28

Au revoir, February! I'll miss you! NOT!

Today our plans to go out and have fun were foiled. IMAGINE THAT! Owen was up half the night, ended up in my bed rolling around and kicking and fussing and crying and mostly just moving, not sleeping. And keeping me from sleeping. At 5:30 he was up again, wide awake, at which point I nursed him for oh, maybe 2 hrs? Just to get him to be still. It's not like him, but he didn't act like he was in pain so I don't know what was going on. I just know that I'm tired.

However, Grandaddy came and picked up both boys a little after 1, so Sharon and I had a couple of hours for fun. We went shopping, planning on a nice dinner, but other errands got in the way and we still haven't cooked a single blasted thing. I guess I'll have filet tomorrow without her :(

I did get to have a little lapse from reality while I practiced some face painting. Face painting without Owen climbing up in my chair every 3 minutes! Woohooo! It's an exciting time, folks! And I must say, I loved the end result. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and she didn't get to reciprocate the favor. So sad :(

February 27

Happy Friday! So what if I'm typing this on Saturday. I love Fridays. As much as I hate Wednesdays. Friday has all the magic of the coming weekend, it's always been my favorite day.

Sharon came down to have a belated 'girls' weekend' in honor of my birthday. And she even brought me a second birthday present (having been the benefactor of my SD card for the new camera), which was....surprise! A pair of shoes! Maybe she really IS planning on stealing the brown pumps I posted before, and she's giving me the Sketchers as a replacement. I'd have to admit, it would be more than a fair trade.

Before she got here, Zach and I decided to practice with some face paints Grammy gave us a while back. While being before Owen was born. I think it turned out pretty good. Now as for the focus, I totally forgot to change my ISO and it was set at 100 and I could not figure out why the photo was coming out so dark. I had to open the aperture all the way up and slow the shutter down to 1/50 and I was still pushing it. So he's a little burry.


















Later Owen decided to cozy up with Aunt Sharon, she's apparently showing him some finer points of Wii play.












And he's showing her how fast he can wallop someone sitting so close by.

February 26

Today I had an appointment and some errands to run, and dh was off work so we decided to make a morning of it. We packed up Owen and headed out. At the doctor's office, Owen reminded me of his reaction to my LAST appointment when he started screaming and wailing and frantically pointing to the door after I was led into the patient room. I guess he really didn't like his 18 month vaccination. It was so bad that the doc didn't even bother trying to whip out his stethoscope. What can I say, the kid is smart and he KNOWS the smell of a doctor's office. Today he whimpered a little but handled it well, mostly since daddy was there to play with him while I got tortured.

After we finished all we had set out to do, we went to Friday's for lunch. It was iffy, since by then it was pushing naptime. Owen was antsy to say the least, but I found a small Glide floss doohickey and some tiny hair clips. He amused himself pretty well with those. Oh yeah, and the deep fried green beans. Those were interesting.

My photo of the day is one I snapped while we were driving. This car pulled past and I was just WTF? The photo doesn't really do it justice, but hey, we were turning and they were zooming off so this is all I could get.

It's Wednesday

I HATE Wednesdays. It stems from my childhood, more adolescence really. We went to church on Wednesday nights, which in itself wasn't so bad (although I personally didn't enjoy sitting there trying to stay awake). But getting up at 5:30 for school, coming home, doing household chores, working on homework, helping with dinner and/or getting younger kids ready for church, getting home after 9pm, doing dishes, finishing homework and getting to bed again hopefully before midnight...yeah, that sucked. And it has left me with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that "it's WEDNESDAY" just sucks the energy out of me, feeling like the day will be an exhaustive pit sucking me dry.

But today was a good day! I Felt good, and it occurred to me as I was riding home from taking Zach to school this morning that I felt GOOD. Being out in the morning air always helps, as much as I hate crawling out of bed. And it must have been good all around because Owen was an angel. Just a true joy, laughing, playing, giggling, being sillly, walking around hunched over and on tiptoes, making slurping noises with his mouth and finger, playing with the cat, taking a good nap, snuggling, eating a good lunch....all the little things that make staying home absolutely worth every second.

Here are a couple of pics, one of Owen in his jammies on the way home from biking with Zach to school, and a photo of a canal we cross over. It sort of makes me think of being Dutch, remembering the stories of canals and kids ice skating to school. Not much luck of that happening here, though. And then a photo of the afternoon Owen, at the playground after Zach got released from the locked gates of his educational fortress.

February 24

Here is my little spot of paradise in paradise. FL is hot, hot, hot in the summer and I really don't care for it. I was longing for a good old porch swing, be it on an actual porch or hung from a rusty frame under an ancient apple tree, so my brother Caleb built me this 'pergola' a few years back. I don't utilize it as much as I should, but I love looking at it and just knowing it's there. Such a far cry from all the palm trees, sand and fire ants. It's shady and peaceful and perfect for lighting candles and sipping wine at night. I have a bunch of herbs in pots which are actually not dying for a change. We planted a 'snail flower' which my other brother told me was actually a form of pea plant, and it's grown like CRAZY all over the thing. Now that's a plant I can't kill.

I messed all around in photoshop and finally stopped at this adjustment. I have tried this filter before and didn't care for it, but it looks kind of cool here.

I thought I had died

And landed in foodie heaven. I know, I know, this isn't a food blog. But Oh Em Gee...I just had to share this recipe. As I sat down to my plate, or bowl as it were, I could faintly hear harmonious voices singing a beautiful yet mysteriously melancholy chord, as a gentle jasmine scented breeze delicately wafted through my curled locks...But then I snapped out of it and realized that HEY if this is heaven, why is the kitchen dirty? Because surely in any kind of heaven, your knife will pop back into its block, clean and sparklingly sharp, ready for the next go-round. The flour will go "POOF" back into its container, instead of "POOF" in a fine dust all over every imagineable surface. The grease splatters...ok, enough, I think you get the point.

Heaven or not, it was literally the best thing I'd tasted in probably forever. I'm sure it's just because the stars were aligned, the flavors matched my mood, whatever. But it was GOOD. Even though I have an aversion to fatty meats, picking through and separating out the meat from the fatty parts was more than worth it. You must try this. And the bread, too. Go Google "Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day" and check it out from the library or buy it. It has revolutionized my bread making (meaning, now I actually MAKE bread) and it's so nice to have a nice crusty hunk o'bread ready for dinner.

PS - please pardon that rogue tomato. I swear on my gecko's life that I placed him in a more aesthetically pleasing spot, but the little hot headed attention seeker jumped up on that lamb shank just before I pressed the shutter button. I ate him first, as punishment.

February 22

Well, it's Sunday, which means school night and all that jazz. Zach is less than thrilled. But I'm ready to wind it down, even though an appointment tomorrow right in the middle of Owen's nap time has me a little anxious. He's been so incredibly clingy, not eating, not sleeping well, more than just a phase. Even at Grammy's today he did the same thing, wanting nothing but to lie on her shoulder, point at food that he refuses to eat, etc. A few times today he pulled dh/myself into his room and pointed to his crib, or the rocking chair, almost asking to sleep. I rocked him for a bit then he got down and turned on the cd player with his lullabies in it, and back into my lap for more rocking. VERY unorthodox Owen behaviour. It worries me.

However, I have pics. The first one is another 'new' recipe which I'm doing for the message board cooking forum. I don't post them all here, btw. This isn't a food blog, but it sure does come in handy when I don't have any other photo to post. This particular food is a kind of chili, with homemade corn bread. Quite tasty. The other is a pair of shoes I was forced to buy. We are making a diorama for Zach's school project, and we needed a shoe box. Couldn't find any shoes for him, and this was the only pseudo-acceptable pair for me. I have a sneaking suspicion that Sharon will come along and steal them, though, but I guess that's what sisters are for.

And they danced by the light of the

Fire. No, not the moon this time.

We lit a fire in the chiminea and I grabbed the camera, tried a few settings and got some fun shots. I love this one of Zach.


















As for dh, what can I say...we often just call him B....Short for Beelzebub.

Finally, it has happened to me...

Right in front of my face...

Well, not me. But DANG I was getting impatient. Zach finally lost his second top tooth! *clap clap clap* That sucker was hanging in for all it was worth, I swear he must have roots made out of steel cable b/c it was 2 months ago that it started getting loose. And that one he knocked out with his own fist in karate class? Still has no tooth growing in to replace it. This one that he just lost today actually has the adult tooth peeking through the gum just behind the space.

Here you can see his gummy, gory glory. And then he's practicing his vampire pose. Because, you know, he really DOES like blood. So you know it's just a matter of time before those 'fangs' get to be more noticeable.

My wilting Valentine

On Valentine's Day, we exchanged cards, gave a few goodies to the boys (although Zach had gotten a bike in the name of V-day) and that was it. But then Owen started puking and dh ran out to the store before he left for work to pick up the now-known nasty Pedialyte and some other things in hopes of soothing his tummy and general yuckiness. And he also brought home a rose. Now at first I admit, I was miffed that 'well, I never would have a damn rose if Owen hadn't thrown up, necessitating a trip to the store!' but I hope to blame that on my pits of despair depression as I relived the nights when my siblings (9 of us) shared puke buckets and a single bathroom during our childhood tummy bugs. I was terrified of what was to come (and it turns out I was right, but that's neither here nor there).

However, I realized that Hey, he bought me a rose! I know he was hoping it would help me have something nice and sweet and romantic to think about, rather than the sick and miserable toddler screaming and wailing and puking. So anyway, Honey, when you read this, I am sorry for ever feeling irritated, even though I never told you.

So here's my homage. It's looking a little weathered, but it is still a beautiful thing. From the camera perspective, I used my 50mm 1.8 lens, varying the aperture and shutter speed for a few different shots. I don't remember what the settings were on this, but it was really slow as the room was quite dim. I love how it turned out.

Mama feels GOOOOD!

What can I say, a little outpatient surgery is good for what ails ya. I had a lipoma removal scheduled today, which was actually a repeat but the darn thing grew back and was getting fairly big, heading up to my clavicle. I bet it was planning on growing tentacles to wrap around my bone and then head on up toward my jugular. Vicious little fatty thing.

Anyway, I almost canceled it due to the intestinal nastiness and general yuckiness of everyone here. But dh conveniently got sick soon enough that I figured he'd be doing ok today to handle transporting and then 'babysitting' me post procedure. So I kept the appointment and this am we headed to the surgery center.

I have never been so calm for a procedure. My bp was AWESOME and I contribute that to the fact that I was soooo looking forward to taking a nice, deep nap. I was almost salivating at the thought. Although I did have a bad caffeine headache, having been without coffee for 3 days. But the drugs they gave me kicked that on its ass, and I woke up feeling F-I-N-E fine. In fact, I was hungry and had dh take me to a diner around the corner where I scarfed some scrambled eggs and grits swimming in butter with a side of sausage gravy, toast and bacon. I couldn't quite clear my dishes but hey, the tummy's not yet on full functioning capacity. Now I'm chillin' watching TV and waiting on the boys to get home from Grammy's. Oh yeah, Zach's still not doing well, so I warned him that if he doesn't start drinking he'll end up with an IV for fluids. Hopefully he's just a little dehydrated but if he doesn't start taking in food and liquids soon, we'll have to call the doc.

I'm sure this will be sore pretty soon (although it really looks pretty unimpressive--they did have to scrape around on the inside to make sure and get all the sneaky cells), but I have some Vicodin to help me over the hump. The last time I had Vicodin I booked a plane trip to KY to visit some old friends. The last time I had Percocet I ordered stuff from infomercials. We just got new credit cards though, and I don't have the numbers memorized yet so dh says he'll hide my wallet and we should be safe.

February 17

Woohoo! I got a pic! I had high aspirations for today, waking up and not feeling like death. But that euphoric sensation only lasted a short while and the exhaustion set in. I did manage to get some laundry done and steam blast the worst areas of the floors. And I cooked dinner, AND ate part of it. Unfortunately I can't say the same for Zach. He's been lounging on the couch all day, even napping, still with a fever and no appetite. Only a few bites of food today...can't even get him to eat ice cream, for Pete's sake. I guess he really doesn't feel well.

February 15 and 16

Project 365 = FAIL. I did not take photos the last 2 days. Between cleaning up vomit from upholstery, blankets, clothing, boys, myself and contributing my own, life was just too miserable for me to grab the camera and memorialize it. I almost took a pic of the Pedialyte jug. OMG, that stuff is nasty. I don't know how anyone gets kids to drink it. We even got the Pedialyte freezie pops, and I couldn't manage to get a full one down myself. Too salty. Blech.

Owen is finally starting to eat and drink again, and I have never been so happy to see him getting into trouble. Zach is still running a fever and is having a rare nap. Kevin is up and moving and I am finally typing on my new laptop *yay*. You know I was sick if I let a new toy sit in a box on the table for a couple of days haha. Just glad that things are finally settling down and I hope all my extra photos previously make up for my past 2 days. Although my conscience will never let me live it down.

And so it goes...onward and upward. Hope to take pics for Feb. 17!

The official Valentine's Day post

February 14. I'm beginning to hate February, and it used to be my favorite month. I was QUEEN of February, what with my birthday being on the first and all. Well that all goes to shit when you grow up and have to deal with real life.

Not sure if it's a virus (please dear God don't let it be a virus or anything that we all will inevitably contract) or a reaction to his DTaP yesterday, but Owen has puked more nastiness than I thought his poor little stomach could hold. And the other end? Holy hell, the fumes. It's gonna be ugly. I almost didn't take a photo today, figured I could just write a nice depiction of the day, then thought that wouldn't be very nice. So I finally grabbed the camera and took a photo of my tired eyes. No retouching, no digital enhancement, all natural. I swear on the life of my gecko.

Friday the 13th

Nothing scary about today, unless you can see into the future bwahahahaha.

It was Owen's 18 month checkup. 23 lbs, 9oz. He's not grown a lot since 12 months, but that's ok. We aren't big, tall people. I'd be a little concerned about a sperm mixup at the fertility doc if he got too big.

He wasn't very thrilled about getting naked in public, and then being WEIGHED! OMG! The horror! Just wait, baby, you're getting a shot today. Shhhhh.

Relapse

I spent entirely too long in the process required to capture this moment. We had been doing so well, too. *Big sigh* Change is in the air...fighting bedtime, waking up earlier...I did enjoy the month of decent sleep, though.

February 11

I had to run out today for a quick appt. and on the way home I stopped off at the beach for some daylight pics. I found this area that is under 'Dune Reconstruction' warning the area will not be mowed and to stay off the grass. I wonder if the cacti are naturally there or have been planted to help enforce the rule? LOL Oh, and don't worry, there is an actual beach on the other side of the dune.

Not sure how much I like these pics, I'm on the fence b/c I wanted the colors of the flowers to show up more. But they are different than I used to take, so for that I'm happy.

We are supposed to make some Valentines today, so I figured I'd get this post in early since it'll be paper and cutting and glue and who knows what all here soon, I'll likely get buried in it.

February 10

Remember when I said I wasn't a complete idiot? Well, I was wrong. Maybe the transformation just recently finished, but regardless, I proved it yesterday by once again getting in over my head and bottom line I wore myself out. Thus I'm typing this today instead of yesterday.

I didn't really feel like cleaning, or doing laundry, or anything really, and I had 2 new recipes I wanted to try for dinner. I still needed 2 ingredients so I grabbed Owen and after biking to the school and back home we got into the car and drove to two different stores. Never found either item so I got some substitutes and went back home. Still had a messy house and laundry to do. But HEY! The soup needs 'fresh linguine'. Never mind that I BOUGHT some Asian noodles to use, I'll just MAKE some pasta! Yeah! Much more fun that cleaning. Except that I made another insane decision to do the entire recipe instead of halving or quartering it (Hey! I'll have pasta left over for several other dishes!) and Owen getting tired and screaming and climbing up chairs etc etc, so it took forever. And then I had THAT mess to clean up.

Anyway, the day just went downhill b/c after I got Zach from school and did the paperwork shuffle, I had a buttload of veggies to 'chop finely' and phyllo dough to wrestle with and timing to get just.right. for the stuff to be good. But I did it, by golly. It was tasty. I just should have waited for a day when I was actually feeling good and had more time i.e. not a karate day. When I'm not feeling well I try to avoid things that I don't like in favor of more exciting/distracting activities. But more often than not that backfires b/c a new venture often takes more energy than the things you're used to, at least on a mental exhausting scale. So why do I do it? Selective memory, I suppose.

Beautiful skies

February 9 - it's a full moon! I don't know why I have this obsession with the moon, but every time I've seen a big, yellow full moon, I've wanted to capture that image. It's just so beautiful, and serene and magical. Especially when you are near the ocean, or even a river or lake, and you see the reflection in the ripples of the water. It just clears your mind and puts a sort of peaceful spell over you. I love it.

I could tell from last night's moon that tonight it would be full. I planned on getting a shot of it ASAP. If I remember correctly, I started shooting moon pics last night before 6:30 since it was up and visible, and the sky was light. So tonight I headed to the beach around 6 or so to catch it just as it was coming up over the horizon. Only...what? No moon! I was afraid that the clouds gathering to the north were also spread over the east. Bummer. I waited a while and still, no moon. However, I saw the most beautiful colors in the sky to the west. Amazing. Words can't describe. I was sad that all the 'civilization' was unavoidable in the shot, marring the perfection of nature. But c'est la vie. This is our life.












I kept going out to check in case the moon was suddenly visible, but no luck. Then Grammy and Grandaddy brought the boys back from karate (Owen went along for the ride) and OMG! There it was! Big and huge and yellow and just perfect. I left Owen screaming for me, but safe in dh's arms, grabbed the camera and rushed back to the beach. However, I don't yet know enough about this photography business and was not able to get a good shot. It was so nice, though, the moon showing through the clouds in bits and pieces, the reflection on the water, and the moon occasionally coming out of the clouds completely. But it was still low and dark in its immense golden glow and I couldn't figure out the right settings.

So I came home, cuddled Owen, and after he went to sleep I went out in the back yard and took this one. Hopefully by next month I'll have learned how to capture a moonrise.

February 8

Well, guess it's time to start gearing up for another week. I always wish the lazy weekend could last just one more day.

Today everyone was feeling a bit better, so we headed out to the nearby park on bike. Owen LOVES the bike trailer and doesn't mind a bit wearing his helmet or being buckled in. He even tries to do the lap buckle on his own. You should see him in the grocery cart...he gets frantic if you don't buckle him right away.

I played around with the camera and got a few decent shots. I didn't have it set quite right, too much light coming in from the bright sunlight. But it was still nice to get out and get some Vitamin D.

Zach was having fun jumping from the swing. I wasn't having as much fun trying to time his body while aloft LOL. Hard to do. But he liked this one.


















Now Kevin isn't actually TRYING to eat Owen. I did get one or two that weren't so over-lit (I don't know photography terminology) but I liked the feel of this one. It's truly how they are, daddy and his boy.












These seagulls are all over the place, I've given up bringing snacks for the birds because they go crazy flying all around, trying to get the bite before it even hits the ground. Which wouldn't be so bad except for the fact that they don't really have any qualms about taking a dump mid flight. With that many potential poo-bombs headed your way, you realize the fun of feeding the birds is slightly over-rated.












And lastly, I had to show Zach that mom can SO climb trees! Albeit not nearly as well as I did when I was 10 or 12. Sigh. So much more spry and nimble and not so HEAVY! Geez, when did I get to making such a thump when I hit the ground? I was a tiny kid. I've never gotten used to feeling like an adult.

February 7

Another blah day. Zach still has a fever, Owen is still playing his role as the green snot goblin and nothing else has really happened today. Although Zach and Owen had some fun zipping around the house in a box. Zach pushing, Owen sitting. Owen was none too pleased when Zach got tired, though. He did console himself briefly with his sippy cup before the water works started.














I also took a pic of Ozzy, finally. Poor bird :( He has been a good sport, though, and has not complained at all about the delays of his photo shoot.

Ok, so I AM an idiot.

Just not completely. I took some photos of the moon tonight on the old camera, using the same and then similar settings as last night. The results were not quite as sharp. HOWEVER, I think the larger resolution/whatever did make the bigger difference. Being able to take up twice as much space/be twice as large on the computer screen meant more room for details, or at least details that were easier to see. So I still think the camera is better, but largely b/c of the increased resolution. Also, I think it meters its shots/flash, which is a huge bonus, but I need to double check that.

Today we stayed in our jammies all day. Well, mostly. Zach decided to start running a fever around 4am, Owen still has his cold and I've just felt off. My eyes feel weird, sort of blurry. Maybe they are dry. But I did get outside (in my jammies!) and took some pics of Owen playing (in his jammies!) while Zach was playing video games and watching cartoons. And then the moon came up, dh put Owen to bed and I took more moon pics. Fin.

Feb. 5 - Shoot the moon! Again!

I got my new camera! Finally! *doing happy dance* I was a little nervous about buying it, thinking that I was only upgrading the memory/resolution, not affecting the photos per se, since it's the same camera, just a newer model. But either I'm a complete idiot or this camera DOES take better pics. Well, maybe a mild combination of the two. But check it out.

Here's the moon like I was trying to shoot last time. Same lens, new camera. Perhaps I just never hit on this combo of aperture/shutter speed. Maybe the larger moon made it easier. I don't know. But I didn't even use the tripod, I just went out and took a few shots to see what I got. And voila! I got a moon with texture! YEEHAW!















And here it is again, a little bit later, with slightly different settings (I think. I'm tired, I can't remember all the details. Yawn.)

February 4

Nothing crazy today, the insanity has abated somewhat. Now I have the hiccups.

For my photo, I revisited the candle. Knowing a little more about light and shutter speed and aperture, I figured I could get a better shot. It's not stellar, but it IS better than the last one. Hurrah!
*hiccup*

ARRGGGGGGHHH

I hate PMS. I hate PMS. I HATE MOTHER *&#@%!!! PMS!!!!!

Yeah, I'm not a fan of PMS. I used to think it was an excuse that women made up to make people sympathetic to their whiny-assed selves. I had cramps, I dealt. Geez, buck up and move on. Then I got older and I GOT pms. Holy crap. I should be locked away a few days on the bad months. It's really miserable. Being angry and wanting to cry and cry and hate life and want to rip someone's head off for no reason. And knowing it's irrational? That's the worst.

Anway, I'm not really in a happy photo taking mood. But I did get this pic. And I'm not happy with it (surprised?). I had to keep the aperture at a low number (large opening) b/c I was INDOORS again, I was too busy AGAIN to get outside for good light before the sun went down so AGAIN I had a very shallow depth of field. Which I like, dont' get me wrong. Just not in every damn photo. Especially one where it looks totally EFFFFED UP!

I made bread today. I also made some lobster bisque from the lobster we had left from my birthday lunch. And spaghetti with some frozen sauce left over from a few weeks ago. Haha. Lobster Bisque and spaghetti? Now there's a meeting of opposites.

Here's the bread. The front crust isn't blurry in real life. I actually tried to sneak in some whole grain by adding 'white whole wheat' flour to the mix. I prefer the good old white (unbleached!) flour for French bread, I must say. But if the boys eat it, then so be it. Better for them.

February 2

Happy 18 months, Owen! When I was a kid, I heard so many parents refer to their child as 6, or 5 1/2, or 8 or 3 1/2. That 1/2 was always so specified. Once I asked my mom how old I was and after she gave the the number (4?) I said "Am I 4? Or 4 and 1/2?" When she replied that I had achieved the 1/2 status I promptly burst into tears, because I hadn't had a PARTY. To me, it was like a new age marking. Grownups always made it sound so important. So Happy 1 and 1/2, Owen! Sorry you didn't get a party.

Today poor Owen had a cold and thus his nap was not an easy affair. In fact, it was more like a non-existent affair. Then add to that my PMS and finding out from a Google search that one of my online friends (whom I'd actually flown to and met when she was having a rough time w/her preemie baby) was no longer alive. She died last July. I was not prepared to find an obituary, I was hoping for an email b/c it had been a few years since we last had contact. That was rough. I did finally get a brief nap for Owen after 3pm, but I tell you, I am pretty fried.

However, I have my photo. Zach is playing with his Lego 'motion' set, a Klutz book that he was coveting and my aunt and uncle bought it for him for Christmas. He made a sort of zip-line contraption and was zipping these wheel thingamajigs down it. I had to move the camera along to capture them, not easy. The shutter was at 50 and 60 max, not enough speed for a moving object. Lighting was sucky, I had to open the aperture to 2.5. But we got a decent one.

I hope Feb. 2 is better next year.

Happy Birthday! February 1

I didn't post this yesterday b/c I was too busy celebrating my aging process. 37 now...and I still need coffee in the morning. Haven't outgrown that. In fact, I think I need more. Or maybe it's just the recuperation process from my husband's attempts at plying me with beer and wine LOL.

I didn't take any real photos yesterday from an experiment/learning/trying to figure out the camera perspective. I did get one of Zach giving me a goofy 'happy birthday' face. And the other one is actually from the day before, but it applies here--I got out of the shower and caught dh and Owen making me a birthday card. He even washed up all the paint! Gotta love a man who makes an effort, right :)

Ok, I'm out...I think I need some greasy fast food.