April 21, 2010

I'm not sure how I feel about this picture. I might come back and change it. I'm trying to do all of my editing within iPhone applications only. It makes it a little harder sometimes because I can't see as well as I can on a bigger screen. But it's also a challenge and there are so many awesome apps for photo editing. Anyway... I edited this one with the Film Lab and Live FX apps.

One of my kids admitted to me today that a few days ago he vandalized the school slide on the playground. [GASP!] So we went home after school and he dutifully gathered up a sponge and some soapy water and a towel and we headed back to the school grounds. It took a lot of elbow grease but he was able to remove the writing completely. I hope it doesn't happen again... but then again, if this is the worst of the problems I'm up against, I should thank my lucky stars!

Okay... so I'm back to post another shot. I think I like this one a bit better. If anyone is reading this, I'd love to hear which one you like better. This one was edited with Photo Forge and Live FX.

April 20, 2010

I love my tulips!

April 19, 2010

Dash Point Park, Tacoma, WA. On a warm afternoon, we can't help ourselves... we just need to be near the water's edge. Today we got to see a TON of crabs, fish, jelly fish, star fish, and sea stars! Some of the sea stars and star fish were HUGE. We could see them clinging to the pier's pillars. On one pillar was a really big group of crabs. So much fun!

Here are the rest of the photos I took...

April 18, 2010

Our hospital nursery has been temporarily displaced to a patient room while our main nursery undergoes a massive reconstruction project. The bad news: It's a WHOLE lot smaller and more cramped. The good news: I now have this view! This was taken in the early hours of the morning as the sun was first rising. Caught in the reflection is a baby under bilirubin lights. It was a quiet and peaceful night in the nursery with this sweet baby!

April 17, 2010

Insalata Caprese made with leftovers from last night's pizza! SO GOOD!

April 16, 2010

Margherita pizza made with homemade dough and in a pan on the stove! This is some of the best pizza I've ever had and even the kids said it was amazing. I'll definitely be making this again as it was so easy and tasted so wonderful!

April 15, 2010

Puff pancake! My kids LOVE this and it's SO easy to make. It's far easier to make than traditional pancakes, takes a lot less time and effort and... well... it's just more fun! So why not right? We have this about once a week for breakfast!

April 14, 2010

This morning's sunrise...

Artisan Bread

This is an extra set for the day. I have gotten back into making artisan bread again and I'm so glad. It couldn't be easier! I took these this afternoon. I'm having way too much fun with the CameraBag iPhone app. This is an example of the 1974 filter.

April 13, 2010

My baby stayed home from school today...

April 12, 2010

Spring in western WA means it's time for all the rhodies to come out! The rhododendron is the state flower of Washington and I feel lucky to have three of them in my front yard. I wish they bloomed all year. (Incidentally, this isn't one of my own bushes... my rhody bush buds are still tightly closed!)

April 11, 2010

The way to my kids' hearts... chocolate no bake cookies. Had to come up with a fast snack idea for their lunch boxes this week. Unfortunately, they are taking a long time to set. This recipe can be finicky, even if you follow it to a T the same every single time. It's past midnight now but I'll have to stay up and wait for them to set completely before putting them away. I'd leave them out to set but a certain "big" kid who wakes up very early for work may put an end to my school lunch plans!

**Edited: Well it's now 1:30am... no luck on getting these guys to set. Very sad indeed. They'll get eaten, but they won't be very good in lunches. I threw them in the freezer to see what would happen, but I'm not holding my breath. Off to bed... finally... yawn...

April 10, 2010

I absolutely love the Aromatherapy line by Bath & Body Works. This stress relief formula lives up to its name. Eucalyptus and peppermint all in the same breath... heaven. (Incidentally, my other favorites in this line include Jasmine Vanilla, Lavender Vanilla, and Orange Ginger!)

April 9, 2010

I am posting all of my daily shots for the past 8 days. I haven't posted anything since April 2. Fear not, I have been taking pictures, just haven't taken the time to edit or upload. I will try not to make that mistake again! It gets hard to keep track of!

Anyway... here is a picture of my oldest "baby's" feet. He was sitting on the couch looking so darned cute and I thought, "How come we only take pictures of baby feet? Just because he's 8 now, his feet are still cute!" So here they are...

April 8, 2010

What a beautiful spring day! This was taken on the campus of Valley Medical Center in Renton, WA, where I attended a neonatal conference all day. We went outside to eat lunch and drink in the sun (and the chilly wind!) and couldn't help but snap this shot. I LOVE having a camera in my pocket at all times!

April 7, 2010

These are porcelain masks that were given to my husband by a colleague on his recent trip to China. They are beautiful!

April 6, 2010

The boys got hair cuts today. When the lady was done cutting Evan's hair, he asked her if she could "use the gel and make it spiky". So she did!

April 5, 2010

These are my beauties... they are the greatest accomplishment of my life and I am immensely proud of them. I am beyond blessed to have these two handsome gentlemen in my life!

April 4, 2010

I live for potluck weekend at work! We only do this once a month but when do, we do it right! Here we have Melissa and Carol (who have been showcased in this blog before!) about ready to dig in to Melissa's famous coconut cake. It's so good that we call it "Crackonut Cake"! This is honestly heaven on earth. (Note to my readers: If you are ever in the hospital and you want to make your nurses happy, all you need to do is feed them!)

April 3, 2010

My sweet hubby brought me back this cute little jade turtle from his trip to China.

April 2, 2010

Easter is just two days away! While it's nice to celebrate with things like baskets and candy and eggs such as these, let us not forget that Easter is really a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who atoned for us all that we might have eternal life!

March In Pictures

April 1, 2010

I took the boys out today and we met with friends to have a fun day together. On our way home we stopped at a cupcake shop in Tacoma and enjoyed a bite of sweet goodness. This cupcake is named "The Elvis". It's banana, peanut butter, and chocolate! (I wonder if Elvis liked that combo.) This is the cupcake one of my kids got. My other child got a lemon cupcake and mine was cookies and cream. DELISH! (And no, this was no April fool!)

March 31, 2010

This HAD to be my photo of the day! Ethan called me into his room and this is what I found. He had taken his K'Nex pieces and spelled out "I LOVE YOU MOM" on his bed. Have I mentioned lately that I have the best kids on the planet???

March 30, 2010

Took this at Owen Beach today in Tacoma using a new app called Live FX. The possibilities are endless! I'm frustrated because I took quite a few before realizing that you have to direct it to save the image to your photo album. (Another app I use frequently automatically does that.) So I lost all the other pics I took with the app. This is a huge tree that is laying on its side, roots exposed and sticking up.

March 29, 2010

This photo sums up western Washington in the past 48 hours. Torrential downpours! You can't tell, but in this photo, there is hail bouncing off the hood of the car in addition to rain!

March 28, 2010

I LOOOOVE being a mom to boys!!

March 27, 2010

Redondo Beach was looking mighty fine today. Hard to believe that the tide gets so high the water reaches the bottom of the pier! We went to the MaST Aquarium there today and had a lot of fun!

March 26, 2010

Pedicure time! It's been forever since I've indulged, but I really didn't feel as though I had a choice anymore. Since the weather has warmed some, I've been wearing my Scott slippers all over the place, despite the immense embarrassment I've had over the state of my poor feet. This was definitely overdue. It was an indulgence, but one for which I have zero guilt! I hope to make this a monthly experience as long as the weather permits me to go open-toed!

Fun in the sun

I stopped and got a pedicure before meeting up with friends in Tacoma for fun at Hello, Cupcake, a wonderful cupcake shop downtown. My only regret is that I didn't snap a shot of the people that were there! Oh well... so much fun!

March 25, 2010

Mystery photo... what is this? A robot? A UFO? You tell me...

March 24, 2010

Fun at the beach!

March 23, 2010

Playing "Simon Says..." with Aunt R!

March 22, 2010

Got to go to school for a conference for my son. Boy did he make me proud! He's grown and improved SO much over the past school year and I couldn't be happier! This is him, playing teacher with the pointer stick.

March 21, 2010

I know this is a strange picture. No, the baby is not real... I would never consider putting a real baby in a cardboard box! This is a dummy baby that is used in the hospital to practice on. She sits atop a cupboard in the nursery and each time I walk past her, I jump because out of the corner of my eye I spy her and my first gut reaction is always (thought to myself of course), "Why is there a baby up there!?" And then a nanosecond later I realize it's just our little dummy baby! From the corner of your eye, she looks pretty real. She seemed like she wanted her picture taken. (And afterward, I laid her down into the box and closed the lid... no more scaring me each time I walk by!)

March 20, 2010

What a way to usher in spring! My hyacinths are in bloom and aren't they beautiful????

March 19, 2010

Why a picture of my computer screen you ask? Well... because it was the only picture I took! So it's all I have!

March 18, 2010

There are a few hills like this at the elementary school. Guess what? The kids are forbidden to go on them. Isn't that ridiculous? You combine grassy HILLS with active BOYS and you expect them to stay off the hills! Well... it never works... as soon as the school bell rings, I always see kids climbing them. They are just so inviting. There is a reason there was magic when Maria sang, "The hills are aliiiiive with the sound of muuuusic...." Let children be children... let them run and sing and climb the hills of life! So here are my boys... being naughty on the hill while their cool mom snaps a picture of the moment!

March 17, 2010

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Here is the gold at the end of the rainbow! These lovely holiday cupcakes were made by a good friend. She stopped by and surprised us with a bit of holiday cheer. The homemade buttercream frosting on these beauties was out of this world! Needless to say, they didn't last but a minute. I feel so blessed to have such good friends!

March 16, 2010

Rainy Reflections... As I sat, doing some computer charting in the birth center, I noticed how hard it was raining. Because the windows are flush with the outside wall, they get very wet when it rains. And because of the type of window, everything reflects back at night. So the raindrops in this shot are very real... not superimposed by a photo editing program or anything like that. I thought it turned out nicely!

March 15, 2010

Regardless of the season, Puget Sound waters are beautiful and we are blessed to have this immense beauty right in our own neighborhood!

March 14, 2010

Father and son, relaxing together on a Sunday afternoon...

March 13, 2010

This is one of those big, glass prize boxes in which you insert a few coins and then you get the opportunity to grab one with an electronic arm/claw.

March 12, 2010

The kids went exploring and this is what they found on the floor of the pantry in the veeerrry back... they found it quite amusing that potatoes could continue to sprout and grow like this! Guess we need to be more mindful of what's lurking in the pantry...

Evan Makes Popcorn!

This is just a little extra for the day... Evan wanted to make popcorn and I thought it would be a great way to test out some new Hipstamatic lenses and films. These were done with the Roboto Glitter lens and Float film. A little freshly popped popcorn... a little Phineas & Ferb... a little couch time on a Friday afternoon... NICE!

March 11, 2010

This is where my husband will soon be headed... sniff, sniff...

March 10, 2010

This is the view from a patient room on the 7th floor of Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma, WA.