Enjoying the Small Things

Enjoying the Small Things

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Party at the North Pole

December 3, 2011 By Kelle

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It was magical. More than I ever could have imagined. I cried last night watching all these wide-eyed little girls take it all in, and then I cried all over again this morning looking back at it all. Because I’m kind of a crier…and I’m okay with it.

It really felt like the North Pole.

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I took a few pictures during the day before the girls got there…

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…but the magic unfolded about a billion fold once the stars came out.

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And then little girls, dressed in their jammies, began to arrive and the rest was history.
It all started with the Reindeer Food Bar–a buffet of reindeer treats for the girls to choose from to make their own special blends for Christmas Eve (a tradition–you sprinkle it in your driveway Christmas Eve to lure the reindeer, and then they have something to munch on while Santa’s in your house). Oats and raisins, bread crumbs and cocoa…and special ingredients like glitter and flying powder.

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And then a letter from Santa. He told the girls he had lost some things in our neighborhood and needed some help finding them.

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The girls were happy to help, eagerly assembling into a long train. They set out with flashlights, scouring trees and lawns and sidewalks for Santa’s cocoa mug, his pocketwatch, Rudolf’s collar, Mrs. Clause’s cookie sprinkles and a long list of other lost goods. Santa’s so irresponsible.

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Found his cocoa mug!

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And that pocketwatch.

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Somewhere between the end of our driveway and the first lost treasure, the crowd errupted into excited squeals. They spotted an elf, running fast across the street, diving into bushes with a jingle. My cheeks were aching–I laughed, I cried, I couldn’t stand it. I wasn’t sure how the elf would go over–there was the small chance of the Traumatic Christmas Party Bust of 2012 that sent kids screaming and crying back home–but I couldn’t have asked for a better response. They went bananas–the lose-your-breath kind. They smiled, they pointed, they excitedly screamed. I teared up when I saw one of the girls run, beaming, to her mom. “I saw him! I saw him! I saw a real elf! I really did.” I knew they’d probably never forget that moment. We never saw that elf’s face, but he was with us, zig-zagging quickly a couple driveways ahead and suddenly disappearing.

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We returned home for milk & cookies.

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There was music playing, mamas smiling, little girls trading cookies, and the entire time, I kept thinking…today is absolutely my favorite day.

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It’s not a Christmas party until someone reads “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas…” (thank you, Dad, for adding so much magic to our party).

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And the girls each brought a gift to exchange.

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Party favors: Homemade Pillow Spray. I found several recipes online and ended up using water, 12-15 drops each of Spearmint (I liked it better than the peppermint) and Eucalyptus essential oils and a tiny bit of alcohol (vodka works) to keep the water and oil from separating. I found the spritzer bottles in the travel sized toiletries at Walmart.

We finished the night shimmying and shakin’ our groove thang to Christmas carols in the driveway. Past our bedtime, just the way it’s supposed to go.

I’ve been smiling ever since.

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“He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.” ~Albert Einstein
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Friday Photo Dump:

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Chris Schuette CD winners:

#33, Alisha: Oh man, those kissy sisters are too cute! What gorgeous little ladies. I love love love the photos.

#221, Melissa: Never, ever, ever enough kisses in a home. Way to go Hamptons…kiss away, kiss away, kiss away all!

#4, Courtney: Aw, I love that you commented about loving that picture so much your heart hurts. I tell my lidos tht as I’m rocking them to bed some nights . . .’i love you all the way to the moon and back 600 million times, I love you do much my heart hurts so good with love’.

#181, Meredith: Love the bit about the eggs and red glitter…so my world right now!!

#71, Jen: Maybe I’m immature, but your comment when Nella was showing Laynie her food made me laugh out loud. They are SO cute

#267, Sara: Love your blog; have been distracted with life and haven’t read in a while! So refreshing to be back! Love the “sea food” pic 🙂

#153, Kathleen: Reading your blog makes me want to live in Florida. Thanks for sharing.

#11, Katy: This post made me laugh. Thank you it was very much needed today. Love the pictures. 🙂

#241, Susan: What a special treat to be able to savor those moments with your girls! I also love to find new musicians. Thanks!

#43, Michelle: How cute! I love Florida in winter for the simple fact that days like that can still happen. Nothing beats a cold beach day playing in the sand. And the kissing pictures are the cutest!!

Congratulations, Winners. Please e-mail your contact info with subject CD GIVEAWAY WINNER to [email protected].

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Returning sponsor, Every Scrap Countz (maker of those adorable crocheted headbands) has something new in her shop, and we are loving it, especially since it comes at an appropriate time when our temperatures are finally dropping enough to allow cute head wear.

Enter the owl hat.

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Lord have mercy, I love my girls in hats, and this one is especially lovely with its colors, its braided ties and those cute pointy ears.

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Use Code KELLE for 15% off, and one comment will be randomly selected from this post to win a free owl hat, courtesy of Every Scrap Countz.

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Have a great rest of the weekend.

ADDENDUM: Party Details if you’d like to recreate some magic.

Invite—I designed it and had it printed at WHCC. Girls were asked to bring a flashlight and a $10 gift to exchange.

Milk Bottles–Starbucks Bottled Coffee drinks like this one. Available at grocery stores. I just saved the bottles, removed labels (use a little Goof Off), and washed.

Retro Straws–my favorite Etsy party novelty shop, Hey Yo Yo. I order stuff from them for all my parties. Their shop is loaded with inexpensive adorable retro treats.

Christmas Baker’s Twine–It’s actually fine yarn. You can get a huge skein at Joanns that will last for 10 years.

Red labels on Milk Bottles and Reindeer Food Jars: THESE ONES from Martha Stewart Crafts (available at Michaels and Joanns).

Invite, Signs and Food Tags–I designed and printed myself. If anyone can tell me how to share printables and where to put them, I’d be happy to share.

Party Favors–Pillow Mist made with travel size mister bottles I bought at Walmart (in trial sized toiletry section). I mixed water with 10 drops each of spearmint and eucalyptus essential oils, plus about a teaspoon of vodka (to keep the water and oil from separating). I also found peppermint lipgloss in Target dollar section.

Peppermint “Red Carpet” leading into house–one roll of Christmas wrapping paper, secured to cement with duct tape

Christmas decor–Small Christmas village trees (I got mine for 79 cents a piece at Walmart), tealights, wood slabs (Brett cut from a fallen branch), a bag of fake snow, leftover white “fur” fabric from Lainey’s ballet recital costume, paper snowflakes we cut out ourselves (free!). The rest was pulled from Christmas decorations in our attic.

Santa Hats–Oriental Trading.

Reindeer Food–We used disposable bread tins, measuring cups and the following choices: oats, raisins, bread crumbs, crushed potato chips, cocoa, flying powder (flour), red and silver glitter. The girls created their concoctions in Ball jam jars.

Scavenger Hunt–Santa left the following things along a path in our neighborhood: his sleigh key, a cocoa cup, Rudolf’s collar, Mrs. Clause’s cookie sprinkles, a large candy cane, his white glove, his hat, special greens the reindeer eat (a bunch of parsley), an ornament, his driver’s license, his pocket watch

Food: Snickerdoodles, sugar cookies and my favorite candy cane cookies. And milk. Easy and inexpensive.

Elf: Talk to Santa. He controls them, and I have nothing to do with it.

The rest of it? When in doubt, hang more white lights. And then more. And then one more strand.
The key to the ambience at any party lies in a simple recipe: low lighting, candles and music. Crank up those Christmas carols, Baby.

Filed Under: Designer Genes, Favorites, Holiday, Make Stuff, Parties, Photo Dump, Photography

F.A.Q.

April 8, 2011 By Kelle

Last night, we swam at dusk. The sky was blue-gray and the clouds still visible behind the crescent moon that glowed a yellow Cheshire cat smile. Lainey is becoming more confident with her swimming abilities, and her deeper almost-four-year-old breaths now allow her to swim long distances underwater. Sometimes she misjudges what she’s capable of swimming, and the last yards of her course have her kicking faster, reaching farther and finally grabbing the edge of the pool wall and emerging with a deep and desperate inhalation. I know that feeling; I’ve been there both literally and figuratively. But then she smiles–and disappears again underwater, like a fish. A happy blonde-headed fish who wants to try again.

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I am inspired by my girl. And I’m loving our family night swims. They complete my day.

Thank you for kind words and great suggestions last post (I ordered an amber teething necklace! We’ll see if it works). I am forever grateful for amazing readers, for how you helped raise $103,000 for my girl and her friends in this country, and for making something I already love to do even more rewarding. I am interested in and inspired by the way people connect.

Well, it’s Friday and, for something different, I’ll answer a few of your questions.

Photography:

I started out in photography taking a lot of bad pictures that I thought were really good. I look back at my old stuff and am half embarrassed and half excited for what I will learn in the next two years. I like when people jump into something they want to know more about, when they aren’t intimidated by technical stuff or by people who are doing fill-in-the-blank better. Many of you have commented that you just bought your first DSLR camera, but that you are not a photographer. Guess what? You are. If you are taking pictures, you are a photographer; if you are writing, you are a writer; if you are hitting “publish post,” you are a blogger. I am not afraid to take bad pictures, to publish fuzzy ones or to write something I might later regret. And I think this is the best advice I could give. Don’t be scared. If you love doing something, do it. Learn it, stand by it, put yourself out there. You will fail. But you will swim again…like a fish.

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There are two sides to photography–the art and the technical stuff. I have always been intimidated by the technical stuff, but I have learned/am still learning by doing. The art part of it? It’s like oxygen to me.

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I love the challenge of capturing feeling in photos, of finding interesting ways to compose a shot, of taking a picture of a moment that I’ll forever be grateful for capturing. I am not an expert. There are a lot of technically better photographers out there. But I am passionate about people who want to learn. Being intimidated by perfection or someone else’s art should never lessen the value of your own art. And photography is art. I take pictures like how I look at life, and I look at life like how I take pictures. It makes me happy, and if it will make you happy, then I’d love to help.

*My camera is a Canon 50D, and my two favorite lenses are my 50mm, 1.4 and my 16-35mm, 2.8. I only use natural light, and I usually shoot manually, most often between 1.4 and 2.8. Someday I will buy new lenses, maybe upgrade my camera to my 5D dream. But for now, I am content. Good pictures come from the passion and soul in the one who is taking them…not from the equipment.

Proof: I think this picture’s kinda pretty. It was taken with a $2 app phone camera, and it is of the front of a Walmart, Friends. A Walmart parking lot while I stood next to a cart that had a wadded napkin covered in stale ketchup wedged in its plastic lattice. See, you certainly can find beauty in unlikely places.

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*Some days I take 10 pictures, some days I take zero pictures, and some days I take 100 pictures. My camera is not a permanent fixture, and I can bang off 50 shots in about two minutes if I want. I don’t put pressure on myself re: how and when I take pictures, and it is in that freedom that I’ve found a comfortable place where art, creativity, documenting, and real life in our family live harmoniously. If the balance is off, we do what everyone else does. We adjust accordingly.

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*If I’m in a photo, it’s usually either Brett or Heidi who takes it. Plus, I love the look, the art, and the angle of one of those reach-out-and-take-it-yourself pictures.

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I like hiding my smile when Brett picks up the camera and gets all into it–crouching, leaning, contorting his body to get a cool angle and then proudly grinning when he “gets it.” There is an artist within us all.

More humble photography tips to come.

Sponsors:

This post is a great opportunity to explain the presence of sponsors and my attempt at unobtrusively weaving them into our precious family blog. I enjoy writing on this blog but it does require time. It doesn’t always work out in life to get compensated for time, but in this situation it’s a nice bonus. Periodically introducing sponsors is a way I can help support my family, and it’s been very beneficial in helping some stay-at-home moms who make really pretty things amp up their businesses. You will never see ads for car parts or rifles–promise. I choose sponsors who offer things I think you’ll like–things my family likes. I try to keep sponsors and giveaways at the bottom of posts so that when you’re finished reading, you can choose to read on or smile and walk away. I hope you read on for the sake of some excellent businesses trying to stretch their roots. And I wish I could share the story behind a lot of these business owners. I’ve come to know many of them, and the stories of how their businesses got rolling are inspiring.

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Heart banner, Lisa Leonard Designs new decor line.

A quote from a past sponsor, Lilian Eve Designs:

To stay true to myself I sponsored Enjoying the Small Things because it has real readers. Readers with heart, soul, understanding, and passion to appreciate the goodness in others’ lives. For me, I had an outpouring of support for my unrelenting creative mind–a mind that never stops whispering new ideas–and the readers embraced me. I distinctly remember, lugging my laptop in with me the day Kelle ran my ad–sitting in the waiting room while my poor nephew, the “bubble boy”, got his numerous allergy tests and my sleepy-eyed niece wanting to know what ‘Nene’ was doing on the ‘puter’. I had no idea if the sale ticker would move but I was ready:)… and it was off…I sat crying… to be accepted, to be wanted- to make things with my hands and create with my mind- and be this eccentric- teacher by day- longgggggggggggging to be mother by night. My sister still reminds me of that day. Perhaps my dreams will soon come true.

Lilian Eve Designs had over a hundred new sales that weekend, and many of you are still sporting Regina’s beautiful crocheted designs. So, thank you for supporting her.

If there’s one thing I like, it’s finding cool stuff for my home, my kids, myself that isn’t the same thing everyone else has, and through the sponsors, I’ve discovered new unique places for gifts and fun splurges. I hope you have too.

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My Faith:

Someday, when it falls in place naturally, I will expand on my faith. Faith is very present in my life and yet it has evolved over the years to a more encompassing place of respecting everyone’s beliefs and learning from many different walks of life. I have a very faith-heavy past, and there are both treasured traditions and beliefs from the past I keep as well as pains and misconceptions of God I’ve worked to heal. Faith and religion are two very different things. I am religion-less, but faith–the grounding, comforting belief that I am smaller than someone else, that there is more to my life than my breath and body–is a very purposeful part of my life.

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Brett:

There are a lot of beautiful stories from our past together and from how he has embraced both Lainey and Nella’s presence and personalities. The stories will come in due time…promise. (and the boys too! but they are busy teenagers and not always around like the girls are for picnics in the woods and building block towers. It is a moment of personal victory for me when I capture a moment with the boys, and I’m happy to share them when they happen)

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Writing:

I love words. I love the art of finding good words, stringing them together and digging deep within to recall memories with vivid descriptions. I like a variety of writing styles, many that are different from mine, and reading a broad spectrum of writing genres helps me strengthen my own style. Like photography, there are two components of writing–the art and the technical. Again, the technical (grammar, structure, spelling) can be intimidating. The art though–the voice, humor, and emotion of one’s words–is what is most important. Sometimes, my writing isn’t that good. And sometimes, I love how it comes together. But I still keep writing–as freely and true to myself as I can be, because I do not write to be good, but to be happy. And, as with anyone in any endeavor, I get better at writing the more I practice.

If you want to write, I’d suggest reading Brenda Ueland’s If You Want to Write. It is incredibly inspiring and empowering.

One of my favorite excerpts:

“…it is the way you are to feel when you are writing–happy, truthful and free, with that wonderful contented absorption of a child stringing beads in kindergarten. With complete self-trust. Because you are a human being all you have to do is to get out truthfully what is in you and it will be interesting, it will be good.”

If you write, if you journal, if you blog…please keep doing it. It is your art, your style, and no one can tell you that it’s not good…no one but yourself, and you don’t have to listen.

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I leave you with another excerpt from Brenda Ueland’s If You Want to Write:

“…when you write, if it is to be any good at all, you must feel free–free and not anxious. …I hate orthodox criticism. I don’t mean great criticism, like that of Matthew Arnold and others, but the usual small niggling, fussy-mussy criticism, which thinks it can improve people by telling them where they are wrong, and results only in putting them in straightjackets of hesitancy and self-consciousness, and weazening all vision and bravery. I hate it not so much on my own account, for I have learned at last not to let it balk me. But I hate it because of the potentially shining, gentle, gifted people of all ages, that it snuffs out every year. It is a murderer of talent.”

Don’t be snuffed out. Whatever it is you desire to do, find a way to do it. Write, create, take pictures, craft, mother, bake, dance, run…and do it happily, truthfully, and freely.

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Monday’s back to regular posting.

Looking forward to sunshine this weekend.

Filed Under: Favorites, Photography

Thank You…and some Photo Answers

February 13, 2010 By Kelle

Just a quick ‘thank you.’ I can’t quite grasp the love from ‘strangers’ we have received…with comments and e-mails continually pouring in from around the world. I never thought this would happen when I hit ‘publish’ late that night after I tearfully finished the birth story. But it did. And we’ve been blown away by the response. I have a new found belief in goodness in the human race. I wish I could reply to every one of you because you all have played such a role in our ‘glass is half full.’ I like to play the cool and confident role from time to time, but let’s face it…no one is too cool or confident to not be affected in this extremely motivating and beautiful-self-worth way by the incredible things you have given to us in your words. So thank you. And, Hell Yes, I’m writing a book. I don’t care if no one reads it. But it’s gunna be about Life. Not Down Syndrome. Not Motherhood. Just Life.

The daddy called last night and said he had to stay one more week…and that just sucks. I’ll say it. I cried the embarrassing ugly cry, had a beer and considered watching The Hangover for the fifth time. So, if it’s of any consolation…see…I’m not just unicorns and rainbows. In fact, my “Enjoying the @#!*ing Small Things” cape has a gaping hole in it. That’s okay…my mom sews.

In the meantime, we patch it up (and my dad is coming down to stay with us, so yay).

I’ve received several e-mails and comments regarding my camera and editing. So, I’m going to climb up on my homemade soap box for one second and proclaim my love for something I think changed my life.

Taking Pictures and Documenting the Beauty of Life.

I think everyone should do it. I take my camera everywhere. And, when I look through that viewfinder, I see so much more. The clouds are bluer, the sun is brighter, the trees speak. I notice every little strand of Lainey’s blonde heap, the mess of lashes she’s blessed to possess, and the tiny swirls that make up the cowlick of Nella’s wispy brown hair. I photograph something in our life every single day. And because of it, I don’t need a therapist. And, from time to time, I’ll spend a good hour or so going back and reliving it, reminding myself just how blessed we are, where we’ve been, and how far we’ve come. Like today when I revisited our summer road trip and Lainey’s birthday and remembered just how special that was.

And yes, I get paid to take pictures for people, but for me…it’s more of a spiritual experience. I simply love the challenge of capturing little things not everybody notices that make life beautiful whether it’s in our own lives or the ones I’ve been blessed to capture.

So…to answer your questions.

I have a Canon 50D.
I mainly use three lenses, all Canon: 50 mm f/1.4, 24-105 f/4 and 16-35, f/2.8 but I borrow my f.i.l.’s 85 mm f/1.2 from time to time.
I use Lightroom for all my editing and hardly use presets anymore, but I’ve found a few good ones, despite the fact they make me feel like I’m ‘cheating’ when I use them.

For our ‘scrapbook’ pages, I use an old program, Microsoft Digital Image Suite, because it’s fast and easy.

I am fortunate to have a very talented photographer father-in-law and even more blessed that my in-laws gave me the very best (non-human…ha) gift I think I’ve ever been given…the camera I love.

So there. Hope that answers questions. And if I had any say in it, I would change the proverb “Speak softly and carry a big stick” to “Buy a good camera and photograph your life.”

And speaking of photos…it ain’t a post without a few.

So, today’s deliciousness:

Now Go Live.

Filed Under: Photography

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