My favorite day in Morrison is Harvest Hammer and Paint the Town day! The Harvest Hammer is a 5K and duathlon. The Scott family was well-represented this year with Chris, his mom, and me running the 5K and Evan and his grandpa being partners in the team duathlon (Evan ran, Grandpa biked). On my side of the family, my aunt and cousin walked in the 5K, and of course we knew a lot of others in the race. It was great fun!

I won’t bore you with all of our family photos, but here is one shot of Evan finishing his race. Chris was first overall in the 5K, but ran back to run the last mile or so with Evan. To the far left, you can see me in the white tank top. Yes, my 7-year-old beat me! I ran in 29:03 (I was going to blame my slow time on the fact that I just started running in June but honestly I’m just a slow runner). Evan’s time was 6 or 7 seconds faster than mine, which is pretty good for those short legs! He will take after his dad, I guess! He beat his PR by about 30 seconds for the 5K.

I am partial to Dr. Seuss.

Keeping this short in case this post disappears in my website’s transition to its new server like the last two did. A shot of the last full moon:

Obviously I have camera gear capable of taking more than your average snapshot. However, as any of you with an SLR camera know, these cameras are not exactly easy to tote around. Even with my most lightweight lens, my camera still weighs about 400 pounds. Okay maybe 5. But still, when I have the gear of two kids to carry around, the last thing I need is something else that is heavy. Therefore, I own a small point and shoot camera that I got on sale for $90 at Office Max.  It is about the size of my smart phone, and I take it whenever I want to travel simply. I can take pictures with one hand. I can stuff it in my pocket. I can drop it and not cry.

But it takes crappy pictures.  I have actually owned 4 pocket cameras, and I’ve never been happy with any of them. A couple of them cost close to $300, but they still were not great. I guess once you have an SLR camera, nothing else compares.

On the Facebook newsvine (which frankly is about all the news I get lately), I have been seeing several people with really cool i-Phone picture apps like Instagram and Hipstamatic.  I do not own an i-Phone. The service in this area wasn’t good until recently, and I have been happy with my non-iphone-carrying cell service and don’t want to switch. But, I have i-Phone picture app envy. These apps make everyday snapshots look a combination of retro and interesting and artistic and just all-around fun.  Today while reading a blog that I love, I discovered a link to some Instagram actions for Photoshop. I used them to convert some of my crappy point and shoot and cell phone pictures to fantastic pictures. Okay, maybe fantastic is a stretch, but they are better. Much more fun!

Here are a few crappy point and shoot camera pictures (I wrote the name of the action on each image). Several of them have a white border, which doesn’t show up on this white-background blog. Oops.

Cell phone pictures:

I am way behind on blogging client sessions, but I just have to hop on here and tell you about an amazing thing that happened in Morrison today.

As a native to Morrison, I am well aware of how small it is. In high school, I couldn’t wait to get out. In college, ditto. I am not going to lie–I still have the itch to live in the city sometimes. But, now that I have children, especially, I really appreciate a lot of things about little old Morrison. One of them is the sense of community. You just do not find this is larger areas. I know they have neighborhoods and so forth, but it’s not the same as the whole town gathering together for a cause. We’ve had numerous instances in my lifetime where this town has pulled together…off the top of my head, when a 5th-grade boy was struck by lightning on the playground last year, several times when someone has had a life-threatening illness or disease, and most recently, today, when a beloved soldier returned home.

Corporal Joseph Brewer returned home today from a deployment to Afghanistan. They say that nothing spreads faster than gossip, but a viral Facebook posting of the good kind, fliers around town, and the local media all helped to spread the word in just two days and hundreds of people lined the streets to watch Joe and his family parade through town.

Joe’s wife, Chelsea, is Evan’s swim coach, so Evan was excited to be a part of the welcome-home parade and to see “BayLeigh’s dad.” BayLeigh, who is on the swim team with Evan, is the oldest of Joe’s four daughters. Shortly before their anticipated arrival, we set up lawn chairs in the shade of a friend’s yard along the parade route with flags at the ready. We were joined by several other kids and their families.

Shortly after the group photo, sirens announced the arrival of the caravan including firetrucks, the patriot guard, the Brewers, and several cars of friends and family.

I know not everyone believes in the war, but believing in it or not does not diminish the sacrifice this soldier made for YOU. He missed an entire year of his daughters’ lives, the birth of one of his daughters, and other events too numerous to list. Gathering together to cheer and wave flags as he drove through town was a very small deed in comparison to what this man and his family all gave for us in the past year.

Don’t you hate it when people make up cheesy names for every day events? Like Snowtorious BIG or Snowmaggedon or Snowcastrophe? Or Blizzaster or Snownami or HOLY BIG STORM, Batman? Yeah, me too. And I call my daughter Chubbalicious multiple times a day.

I shared several of my midwest blizzard pics on Facebook already, but here are a few more of my kids playing at their grandparents’ house today.

Campbell: “This new snowsuit still smells like Farm and Fleet.”

That is a 6′ fence!

I stopped on the way home from a photo shoot the other day to snap a couple of shots of the covered bridge and a few things in that area.

This is totally non-photography related (except there are some photographs in this post), but I wanted to answer some questions that I get asked all the time.  When Evan was a baby, I made all of his baby food, and I am doing the same for Campbell. I wrote about this a bit on my Project 365 blog earlier this week.  I don’t think people believe me when I say how easy it is. They say they don’t have time. YES YOU DO. Trust me. I am very busy and finding time to cook for my family is difficult some days, but baby food is one of those things that you can make in advance when you have a few spare minutes.

Why do I do it? Well, isn’t anything homemade better? Taste my baby food and then taste some of the jars at the store. I’ll be honest. I’ve only tasted a couple of kinds of store baby food, and I think that was at a baby shower. But, I’ve smelled them. ICK. I can also make sure it’s healthy and doesn’t have added anything. And fresh. I’m also pretty sure it’s cheaper, but honestly I have never done the math on this.  Then, there’s the whole waste thing…all of those little jars… It just makes sense to me to make baby food. Kind of like it makes sense for me to make my son a sandwich for lunch every day and not send him to school with a Lunchable.

One of my favorite blogs to read is The Pioneer Woman. On her blog, she often posts recipes and pictures of each step in making them. I am no chef, but I thought I’d copy her idea and show you just how simple it really is to make a batch of baby food. Specifically, sweet potatoes.  So far, Campbell has had sweet potatoes, avocado, and bananas, and they are all prepared pretty much the same way.  Obviously you don’t have to cook the bananas and avocados first, though.

So, here’s how I made sweet potato baby food the other night. *disclaimer: I am not a chef. Or a nutritionist.

Step one is to find some nice, organic sweet potatoes. Locally, you can find organic sweet potatoes at Kroger in Sterling or HyVee in Clinton. Organic is not a requirement, of course, but I think it’s a good idea. You really don’t want your baby’s first food to be laden with pesticides or chemicals. I started with four, but only ended up cooking three because they are so huge only three would fit in my microwave. Two turned into baby food, and we ate one for dinner. This is another baby-food time saver–if you are making things for dinner that could turn into baby food (avocado, sweet potato, peas, carrots, etc.), cook up some extra and make a batch of baby food while you cook! It just takes a few minutes!

I cooked the sweet potatoes, as I said, in the microwave. One of the potatoes exploded on the glass a bit here.  I promise my microwave is not always that dirty. You also could  peel them and boil them, but that sounds like an awful lot of work to me.

Once they are soft, simply cut them in half and scoop out the good part.

Toss them in the blender with a bit of water. We have a reverse osmosis water system for our house, so I know our water is pure. If you have chlorinated city water, you may want to consider using bottled water. You can also use breast milk, as long as it’s fresh. You do not want to use frozen breast milk, as it should not be thawed and re-frozen. I am not sure if formula can be used or not. You’d have to ask your doctor about that.

Add more water for thinner food and less for thicker. I make it pretty thin in the beginning and then thicker once the baby gets used to eating. Pour the food into ice cube trays. With my two large sweet potatoes, I was able to make two full ice cube trays plus two meals to put in the fridge.

Cover them with foil and freeze overnight.

Pop them out and put them in a labeled bag in the freezer. They are good for 3 months.  In the refrigerator, fresh pureed food lasts 48 hours.

When you are ready to use them, add a few cubes to a bowl and warm them up in the microwave. Be sure to THOROUGHLY stir the food and test it multiple times, as the microwave can unevenly heat food. This is two sweet potato cubes and a banana cube. At home, I use glass bowls, but this is her meal to take to her babysitter’s.

Homemade baby food: YUM.

The most complicated part, honestly, is figuring out which foods your baby can eat at which ages.  My favorite baby-food making book is called Super Baby Food. It is a bit dated, but I can’t find anything I like that is more current.  I write on a calendar the first time Campbell has each food, so I can follow the 4-day wait rule and also keep track of what she’s had. This time around, I’ve been using this website: Wholesome Baby Food.  It has some really nice features like menus, a one-page food chart, freezing chart, recipes, and more!  It’s a little bit easier to follow than Super Baby Food, but I did like having a paper reference with that book.

Do you have a baby? If so, don’t be afraid–make some food at home!

A lot of people ask me questions about photography, specifically about how to use their new digital SLR cameras. I do not discourage this; in fact, I love it. I am a huge camera nerd and I love talking photography. I’m actually a nerd of a few other things, but let’s focus on photography here, shall we? I try to downplay my inner (outer) nerd here on the blog. And in life.

When learning to use their new SLR camera, I often recommend that people photograph toys. Toys are fun for a variety of reasons: they don’t move, they are often relatively colorful and detailed, they can easily be moved into good light, and because of their scale, they fit into an image completely. They are often laying around. They allow you to play with your camera while you are near your kids. It’s fun to practice with different manual settings, to play with depth-of-field (what’s in focus vs. what’s blurred), light direction, etc. These are not images that you are likely to hang up on the wall, but they are fun. Having a camera is all about fun! Here are a few toys shots I’ve taken over at the past few months.

My son and husband have been setting up an HO scale train set in the basement. I have found that I really love photographing model trains. Because they are so long, you can really play with focus points and depth-of-field, and you can play with the shutter speed when they’re moving. Plus, with everything being to scale and so detailed, it’s almost like photographing a real train, but without the noise (and danger of being hit).

Legos are another favorite (both for my son to play with and for me to photograph):

Baby toys are fun, too.

Books are kind of like my “toys”, so they count right?

A group of miscellaneous marbles:

A Mario cake topper:

I had some fun with this cheap plastic top:

Crayons are colorful and fun

More Legos

Even stuffed animals are fun

And board game pieces

I keep my camera out all the time, ready to go. I take pictures every day. Do I print them all? Of course not. In fact, I have very few photographs displayed in my home. However, I have a great time playing with my camera and taking shots of random things, and in the midst, I’ve captured some pretty great shots of my kids. Other things I enjoy photographing (besides my family): flowers, food, feet, and random household objects.  I have already written about feet and now toys…maybe I’ll feature another one of my favorites here shortly!

Thanks to The Pioneer Woman for sharing it!  Of course, I’m sharing a greyhound one, but today’s is HERE.

Visit Draw the Dog to see more Greyhound cartoons.

All of this negative publicity lately about baby carriers is making me sad. So sad, in fact, that I decided to go all off-topic on you all and hop on my baby-carrier soapbox.  The problem is, some manufacturers were not thinking clearly and made some dangerous slings, and those are giving all baby carriers a bad rap. Unjustly so.  This is causing paranoia in some new mommas who aren’t willing to “risk” using a baby carrier. Using a baby carrier is SO much easier than lugging around those big old car seats, and/or a stroller, AND baby will be more comfortable! Even when you have a toddler, it’s easier to carry them in a comfortable baby carrier than have them running around in a store, or even worse, in the germy shopping cart.

*disclaimer: I am not a baby carrying expert. I have, however, tried of many carriers and following are my opinions on the ones I’ve used.

Let me tell you, there’s no “risk” if you use carriers correctly and know what you’re doing (and it’s not hard).  First of all, let’s talk about the baby carriers you need to stay away from.  ”Bag” style slings are bad, bad, bad. For example, the Infantino slings that were recalled.  You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that your baby could get lost in there. Let’s use some common sense here!  Another popular carrier that I am not personally fond of is the Baby Bjorn. I actually owned one of these when my son was a baby. However, since then, I’ve read countless times that the Bjorn-style carriers cause spinal compression, as the baby is basically hanging from their crotch.  Also, for little boys, they can have some problems with their…ah…boy parts, as all of their weight rests there. I did not find a medical study to support this in looking for a link, but the references to this problem were countless.  Now I know you can’t believe everything you read online, but I have read enough negative publicity on the Bjorn to cause me to shop elsewhere. Plus, back when I did use the Bjorn, I found it cut into my shoulders and was uncomfortable.  Since all blog posts are better with images, I will add a few. Here is a snapshot of me wearing Evan in the Bjorn, back in 2004. He was probably about 4 months old.

When he was about 6 months old, I tried a fleece pouch-style sling. I liked that sling very much. Front carry:

Back carry:

Hip carry:

Belly-to-belly:

The pouch slings are very easy to use. VERY. Slip them on, put the baby in. As you can see in the previous images, they are relatively versatile. The baby’s weight is spread across your back and one shoulder, and you can always switch shoulders if you get tired (although I was only able to feel comfortable in this on one shoulder). The one I am wearing there adjusts with snaps, but others adjust by buttons or by twists.

Similar in style are the ring slings. These are very common and also pretty easy to make. So I’ve heard… The ways in which you can wear them are similar to the pouch sling, but they are more adjustable due to the rings. You can tighten just the front, just the back, or the whole thing. Here is my friend Dani wearing her 3-4 month old baby Jackson back in 2005:

Here I am wearing Evan in a mesh ring sling, when he was about 14 months old. The mesh is nice because it is breathable and you can even wear it in the water.

Another shot on the hip:

He’s about one and a half here, and he’s on my back:

Here I am wearing Campbell in the same sling Dani had:

There is another carry for both the ring and pouch slings that I did not show. It’s called the cradle carry, where the baby is laying horizontally across your front. This type of carry CAN be perfectly safe, but it’s the one you have to be careful with. The baby’s chin should never be against their chest, as this can cause them to not be able to breathe. There are good tutorials on how to correctly use slings and pouches here: http://zolowear.com/Wearing.aspx

The next type of baby carrier I purchased when Evan was a baby is called the Ergo. This is not for little babies, but once they are older, it’s amazing!  You can wear them on either your front or back, and unlike the Bjorn, they are actually sitting on a little shelf and not hanging by their crotch. Also, the Ergo is more comfortable for the wearer, too, as the band around your waist holds the bulk of the weight.
Evan and walking downtown Chicago with the Ergo back in 2005:

The best part of the Ergo is my husband will wear it. We actually used to argue over who got to wear him when we’d go places. I think Evan is about 1.5 here.

This is the only picture I can find of one of us wearing Evan on the front with the Ergo:

After all of my baby wearing joys with Evan, I knew it was something I’d do with Campbell, too. I also knew that the ring sling and Ergo I had left from when Evan was a baby were not going to do when she was a tiny newborn. So, I bought the Moby Wrap. I am IN LOVE with the Moby Wrap. It is by far the most comfortable baby carrier I’ve ever tried. I wore her in it for four hours today and she was happy that whole time, and I was not sore. The Moby is basically one huge piece of fabric that you wrap around yourself in a specific way. It sounds complicated, but once you do it once, it’s very easy. The best part of the Moby? It’s the cheapest carrier I own–just $40. It’s infinitely adjustable and very versatile. Baby can also be facing out, and you supposedly can nurse in it, although I have not figured out how to get to that when all wrapped up!  I love it so much that I bought one for her babysitter and also for my mom.

Here, Campbell is less than a month old:

A few weeks ago at Paint the Town:

She sleeps a lot in the Moby, and I can tuck her head under so she doesn’t bob around.

I have one other carrier that I’ve not used a ton yet, and that is the Babyhawk Mei Tai. This is very similar to the Ergo, except the straps are loose and you tie them yourself. So far, I like it just fine, although with the Moby being my favorite, I haven’t used it a ton. I do have to say it’s the most stylish carrier I own.

I have tried a few other carriers, but these are the ones I’ve used the most and know the most about. So, the moral of this very long story is to not be afraid of baby carriers and to try them out! I guarantee you will like them more than lugging that awful car seat in and out of stores.  I use carriers around the house, doing yardwork, on walks, at stores, everywhere!  You will be more comfortable, your baby will be more comfortable, you will feel more bonded with your baby (and vice versa), and you will burn more calories!  Win win win!