++Graduation++

So I am officially done with my photography class. I learned a lot. I also learned I have a long way to go. My wish list of new lenses and software is a mile long. I'm also ready to take a breather for a little bit. I think my kids are ready for me to stop shoving a camera in their faces for a while too. It's also a good thing that I went to real college first and then had kids next. Motherhood has turned this goodie-two-shoes A student into quite a slacker. It's a good thing this class wasn't for a grade. It may have hurt my ego.

Our final assignment was about capturing emotion. Here's a little of what I turned in:
And there you have a little snapshot of life these days. Claire is always running away from us and getting into things. She cries a lot more these days too. I think her teeth are hurting her. That, and she doesn't like not getting her way AT ALL. Wyatt is still is busy old self. In the last photo he was hitting the balls his dad pitched to him rather than using the tee. His request. He was making some pretty solid contact, which made for one proud dad.

++I wonder if he signed up for this?++

Our contractor is too kind to the kids. I bet when he signed on for the job he didn't know he'd have two supervisors every step of the way. (I love love love this photo by the way).

One of whom asks lots of questions (but thinks he is the greatest thing in the world).And two kids happy to test out everything you install before you are really done with it (yes that is an old retractable modem phone cord being fed through the open drain hole in the sink--my kids have toys but old junk is far more appealing).

We're in the home stretch. The cabinets are in and being painted. The noisy days are over. How will we pass our days without all these extra people in our house to keep our kids entertained?

note: usually the kids are not that close to the workers while they are working. I'm not that bad of a mother. We just happened to be walking by with the camera out and I let things happen.

++The good, the bad and the ugly++

We had one ugly, goopy cold run through our house last week. Claire ended up with pink eye and an ear infection. Needless to say no one was saying "what a cute baby" to me last week. We're all better now. One of the hazards of having inch-long eyelashes though is that it's just that much harder to get all the junk out.

++This week's assignment++

We've had a few assignments that have been less than interesting for the masses to look at (although full of good learning for me). But this week's assignment was about taking photos in full noontime sun. Funny because we don't get that a lot here in Seattle. I found it quite stressful to have to watch for the sun. Yesterday, it appeared that the sky was clearing so at 10a in the cold we walked in the rain as a family to take pictures toting a white sheet, foam core and a little red stool. Gotta wonder what the neighbors think of us.

The skies cleared and between clouds (which in most cases are actually preferred for photos) I got a few fun shots:
Gotta love the hat--Grandma made it for her.

This one was in full sun without the help of my other tools. She's a little shadowy but I had to show off how cute (and proud) she is with her walking. She's fast too. I had to keep backing up because she kept catching up to me.

I hade to bribe Wyatt with a new toy to get him to sit still for my photos. He declined candy, my first bribe. I don't get serious smiles and cooperation but in this case his arm did a nice job shading the sun from his face...mission accomplished...accidentally!

I screwed this one up in photoshop somehow and am too lazy to fix it now. He isn't fake tan, I promise. The silly face was all his though.

I did learn my lesson. If you really want to do well--don't use a three-year-old and a one-year-old as your subjects. I wish I had a ten-year-old aspiring model who will sit still for hours.

++In progress++

We've got quite a mess in progress around these parts. This is the biggest project we've ever undertaken. I must admit that on one hand it's kind of fun to make your house a little bit more just how you would want it. On the other hand, it's a total pain. It's all going on right in the middle of our house so it's like having some new friends in the house with us...all...day...long... Naps have been an adventure as well. Thank goodness they did all the framing and plumbing while we were gone on vacation. Since then we've only had a handful of noisy days.

Here was a shot of the dining room before. It's hard to capture in photos. Basically it was open all the way up to the second floor, just like the foyer.

Here was our laundry room before (on a particularly messy day). Very narrow passage and hard to operate our front-loaders.

And ta-dah! Here is the new room. They put the flooring in this week but we are still waiting for cabinets. The shop vac is sitting where the treadmill will rest.

We picked Marmoleum for the floor. It's green, you know. We mainly picked it because it is softer under foot and more noise absorbing than tile and but also water-safe. It also looks pretty cool! We also thought it would help us fit in in Seattle. Just kidding.

So our new hall, which used to have railings on both sides, now looks like this. It's funny, I almost forgot what it used to look like until I pulled up these photos.

The new dining room ceiling now looks like this. No worries, the beams will be painted.

And the former laundry room now looks like this. It's hard to see much but now it's empty with a new tile floor, awaiting "lockers" and cubbies and some other cabinets. I chose this tile because unless I want to, I don't think I will ever have to clean it. Note to visitors: don't eat off the mudroom floor. The blue tape measure was an accessory added by one of my two acessorizers.

Here is the new living room paint. It really shows up green in the pictures. It's a little more gray/taupe than that. We haven't quite gotten around to organizing and filling the bookcases yet.

As much as I am excited to be done with all this, I think Wyatt is going to be heartbroken to say goodbye to his buddy Don and the painter Ron and the other helpers who have been through the house. I still haven't decided if the feeling will be mutual or not.

++In Style++

We did our best to celebrate in style for the little one's big Day. I must admit it was tough for me but we made the call to keep it family. With the construction mess we just didn't feel up to having a big bash. We made it a special day for her anyway.

I have no idea if Claire actually likes ducks but she says "duh" and points out "duhs" and so we went with it and threw her a little duck party. I even made invites. We mailed three.

Wyatt was so surprised to find ducks in the flowers. "Who put those there?"
Aunt Susan made yummy cupcakes. The benefit of a spring birthday is that Easter is approaching and Williams-Sonoma was selling duck marshmallows. (As an aside they taste the same as the white ones from the store and cost about 10x as much. They looked cute though!)

You'd never know from her haul that the party consisted of Grandma and Grandpa and the Buchholz family.

Does this girl look ready to party or what? (note the paper on the floor...the sawdust doesn't show up in the photos.)

This one sure is!

Opening the loot.

Claire was sent a piggy bank from Busha. What a treasure it will be. Wyatt LOVES his that Busha gave him.

Grandpa made Claire a cradle and Grandma made the bedding. Is she a lucky girl or what?

How do you take the party hat that big brother wore on his first birthday and make look a little girly? Duh...you add a pink bow! She can't wear them in her hair so we have to figure out something to do with them! The hat came off at one point and she demanded we put it back on. (note the tired eyes...naptime is near)

I think she was looking for more frosting.

We meant to get a family photo but the day got away from us. We'll have to settle for this shot. Love that girl...