Train yard...

We went OMSI on Friday (pictures to follow). I promised Rowdy I would try to find this place that we have taken him before. It is a real roundhouse. There is a turn table in the back too. If you are Thomas the Tank Engine fans you know what I am talking about.

Here he is standing in front of a train that had 6 Engines doing the work. It was actually moving behind him. I will post more photos of this adventure because his cousin Evan went and there was plenty of excitement involved.

Miss Avery Girl...

So, I am going to try to extend this little 12 of 12 to each of my kids. But the date when I follow them around with my camera is going to be a little bit more loosey goosey. It is a fun task and hard to only keep it to twelve photos...so I did thirteen on this page for Avery.

By the way...if you find typos in my pages...just let it slide...I just found one in this top page...it would be a major pain in my fanny to go fix it...it makes it all that much more fun to figure out what I meant...

Snack time...

I used to give Bodie fruit snacks. He loved them. He called them "Na-nacks". Bodie used to also have really bad diaper rashes. I called those "owie-bums". It took me awhile to figure out that eating Na-nacks = owie-bum. So, while we were in Hawaii I distributed zero Na-nacks. Guess what? No more owie bum! See little triumphs like that make me feel like maybe I am qualified to be a Mom! The saddest part is he sort of went through a withdrawl from them. He kept asking for them months after I stopped giving them to him. And I had to choose my words carefully, because if I said the word "snack" he would beg for them. Poor little guy.

Friends...

I know that Bodie is in his pajamas in both of the album pages that I have posted. What can I say? He is the last one to get up. Getting him dressed is the lowest thing on my priority list because I am busy all morning doing things to get the other two out the door. He usually gets his bath in the afternoon anyway so it works out well somedays to just stay in the old pjs. Don't worry I get him dressed when we go places.

Mr. Helpy Helperton...

It seems like I don't have very many photos of this little boy. So I am going to try to get more of him. This album idea is going to work out great! Here is another layout I worked on last night. I knew I wanted to get some shots of him afterschool. I thought we would be taking some more photos of him on his bike. When Ron asked Rowdy to feed the chickens I followed him in there and just let him do his thing...When I take photos of Rowdy he will pose for me. But the ones that end up being my favorite are the ones I snap when he is talking to me and telling me a story. Today he was talking about the movie Up! and his favorite line when the Dogs get distracted while they are talking and say "Squirrel!" So that has been a little joke around our house right lately.

Princess to Sea Star...

I set a goal of scrapbooking more in 2010. Initially, I wasn't sure how I was going to find another window of time to do that. I already feel like I spend too much time blogging and editing photos.

The truth: When you walk into my home you wouldn't be able to tell I am a photographer. I haven't been good about printing photos since I went digital when Avery was one. Also, my scrapbooking has taken a back seat to the photography. Well, since both go hand in hand I am going to be working on some albums for the kids. I have often felt a little bit bothered by the fact I have all these awesome photos of my kids but no books or prints to show for it...bothered and guilty. So I have a solution! I figured out that I can double dip by doing a blog post and then using that post to put into a book. Therefore, I am not working with the photos two times and spending twice the amount of time. I didn't ever think I would be a digital scrapbooker but it just seems to be the natural progression of things.

I am working on a test album to see how the printing side of it will work out. I hope to have it sent off sometime this week???

The post I did about Bodie playing on the computer will go in his book. And here is one I did for Avery and I added some journaling so that I don't need to type that again when I go to make the book. I'm really looking forward to the finished product. Again, I am so thrilled that my blogging time will be serving two purposes now!

Fisher Price dot com...

Rowdy and Avery like to play on the computer. Bodie hasn't played on it too much yet. There are some good on-line games for kids. Fisher price even has some games for toddlers. The other day while I was cleaning up kid mess in my office (Bodie and Avery had been cutting paper earlier), I introduced Bodie to Fisher Price on-line. He loved it! The toddler games only require the child press the space bar. I put a lady bug sticker on the space bar so he would know what key to press. He thought the sound that the shape game makes was so funny!

January 12 of 12

See the post below to find out what this post is all about.


1. Rowdy eating his breakfast in front of the heater in his nest
2. I do homework with Avery before she goes to school
3. Bodie is excited because he is eating the marshmallows off of Avery’s homework
4. Avery catching the bus
5. It rained

6. Avery loves honey bunches of oats, it is the go to, anytime meal
7. Afterschool snack
8. They were in a really silly mood
9. We are reading a train book that Rowdy looked up and brought home from the library
10. I had to run into town to pay a ticket I got for expired tags…they waived it…yes
11. Burritos for dinner…so easy
12. Bodie at the end of the night snuggled in with “noopy”

*Things not pictured are the kids out in the barn helping Ron (I was making dinner) and he is working on a new workout space for us. It is going to be great. We also went to Wal-Mart, my visiting teachers came and I didn’t get any of Tim today. It is hard to narrow it down. I’m sure some of my extra photos will end up in other blog posts.

The Blog for 2010...

You don't know how good it feels to type a regular blog title and not check to see that I am typing the right number in the title...whew!

So this is the plan for my 2010 blog. I have been inspired by another blogger and my friend Kim to do something different with my blog. The 365 was fun and I know that I took more photos than I would have if I didn't have the challenge.

We got the idea from another blogger who on the 12th of each month takes her camera throughout her day. She takes photos of all the things going on. Then she blogs about 12 of those photos.

I am going to take things one step further and begin with the end in mind. I am going to take these blog posts and turn them into a book at the end of the year.

I am really seriously thinking about doing a seperate 12 of 12 for all my kids too! I would pick a different day of the month and follow only them around with the camera. I am thinking their birthday day would be a good day. Although, Rowdy and Avery are both on the 7th so I need to work out that detail.

Doing something like this will force me to do two things. One, take pictures of things that I normally wouldn't at times of the day I normally wouldn't and I will be forced to take more of me and Ron (and that is a great thing!). We don't tend to be in many of the photos.

If anyone wants to join me it is not to late. I didn't really commit to doing this until yesterday and the 12th was two days ago. So my January 12th was really the 13th...oh well.

Three Hundred and Sixty Five...

Happy New Year from the Shinkle Family
(I might be doing a great big happy dance as I click the publish post button on these last few blog entries)

Three Hundred and Sixty Four...

When I was traveling from Utah to Oregon I took this self portrait. It is something that I will be doing more of in 2010. I am already taking photos for 2010's blog entries. I can't wait to start posting under the new challange.
I hope those of you who stuck with me throughout this year have enjoyed it and maybe I have somehow inspired you to do the same or design your own challange.

Three Hundred and Sixty Three...

So it won't be right to finish up this 365 challange without reviewing my word for the year. Potential! I feel like I did some things this year that I might not have done unless I had this word to focus on. Here is a little list:

• I tried to be more thoughtful and follow through with it. Sometimes I am think of something nice to do for someone and then I don't follow through.


• I tried not to be such a home body. I opened up my home to lots of people throughout the year. At one point this summer we had the boy scouts in our pool tipping canoes.


• I really pushed myself to get better at photography. I was maybe a tad too focused in this area.

I think I could have lived up to my potential more in some areas. I would make steps forward and then fall back on those goals. But that is life, I suppose. I have 2010 right?

Three Hundred and Sixty Two...

I sort of put myself throught photography school this year. I started by reading in books and on-line about photography.

I attended a one day workshop in Utah. Leah Wright taught the workshop. She a super talented photographer. This trip was two fold. I wanted to go to the workshop.

And I really wanted to see my friend Kim. We had not seen each other for almost two years. It was great fun!

In August I hosted workshop here in Oregon taught by Michael Andrew.

My friends joined me there too. Photography is better with friends.

Then my trip to Georgia. Again two fold. Learning and a little R and R. It was great timing I boarded the plane on my birthday. It was an awesome week.

Three Hundred and Sixty One...

As 2009 ends and we start a new decade I thought it would be fun to do 10 random things about me:

1. I like bean burritos but don't eat beans just to eat beans.
2. I am addicted to soda pop.
3. I count stairs when I go up and down them.
4. When I get out of the shower it goes contacts, lotion on my face and then hair product in my hair....if I did it in any other order it would require washing or rinsing my hands in between steps and that just takes too much time.
5. I had a tag fetish when I was a kid...I think Rowdy does too!
6. I feel old.
7. I wish I had better writing skills. I am sure that some of my readers cringe at my sentence structure and lack of commas.
8. I wonder what my life will be like in 10 more years. The thought that I have some control over what it will be like is strange to think about.
9. I miss my Dad.
10. I hope 2010 is a good year!

Three Hundred and Sixty...

BUBBLES 101:
We do something fun during bath time that my Mom did with me. You take a little bit of shampoo and rub it between your hands and then make an ok sign with your fingers (this is your wand). Make sure that you make a film of soap in the "o" part of the ok sign. Then blow a bubble like you normally would when you are blowing bubbles with a wand. Seal the bubble onto your hand by closing the "o" in the ok sign. You might need to turn your palm up to keep the bubble on your hand if you blew a big bubble or it will be too heavy and pop. Then if you wipe some of the soap from your free hand onto your bathing beauty's hand you will be able to transfer the bubble to theirs. We do this before we shampoo hair and when I grab the shampoo Bodie says "Bubbles" without fail every single time. I have found that Johnson's Baby Shampoo makes the best bubbles.

This little game as evolved into me doing other tricks with the bubbles...what can I say, it's one of my talents I suppose.

Another, fun one is to put soap on one side of a wash cloth and blow through the other side. You have to put your mouth on the wash cloth when you blow. It makes a huge waterfall of tiny little bubbles. Try it out, your kids will not be disappointed, but you might be adding a new step to the bathtime routine.

Three Hundred and Fifty Nine...

NOTE: This is long, but if you want to get to know me better read on....

The blogging world is strange. I think a blog will fall into one of three groups:

Fluffy: The ones that make you think, "Is this person's life real?".
TMI: You read them and think "Wow, did they really just post that and put a photo to go with it?".
Keepin' it Real: Then there are the ones that seem to be a balance of both and just seem real.

Sometimes I think mine leans towards the Fluffy side. Not because I go to Europe four times a year and brag about it, buy a new home with all the bells and whistles before the age of thirty, dress my kids in only Gymboree or end all my sentence with "the best ever!!!

The reason I feel like I lean towards fluffy is because I think you will be hard pressed to find a post about what is really going on in my mind. I hope my blog doesn't give the impression that my life is all rainbows, roses and tied up in a pretty bow. It is not! Sometimes I wish I was brave enough to write more openly. But I don't want to be a TMI blog. So I keep writing about the rainbows in my life....So in an effort to post something in the Keepin' it Real blog group I want to write about Motherhood.

It's hard to be a Mom! I really struggle sometimes. When I have good moments I feel really good. But I feel like I mess up on an hourly basis. I wake up thinking this will be the day that I don't mess it all up! Sometimes I get so tied up in the details of being a mother that I feel like I am not stopping to enjoy all the snuggles, quit times, soft teaching moments and telling my kids that I love them. I tell them all the time, but can you say that enough? I know my kids are thriving, smart and are growing up to be great little human beings. But one of my biggest fears is having them look back on their childhood and think that their Mother was one of the most highstrung people in the world. I am terrified that during my impatient moments I am embedding that in their memory and they will just hate me for it in the future. I know I am guilt of not letting them do kids stuff because it doesn't jive with me trying to micro-manage everthing they do. I feel like sometimes the only thing I am telling them is "Stop it", Don't, Quit it!"

Sidenote: This will illustrate what I am talking about with the memory thing. One time when I was about 7 we were out on a sand dune. I was with my Dad and some of my siblings. The vehical that we were driving got stuck and I started to cry because I was scared. My Dad told me to be quite in his mad voice. I remember being so hurt by that. Hurt that he didn't understanding why I was upset and offer my some comfort. As I look back at that incident as a parent, he just wanted me to shut up so that he could concentrate on finding out what was wrong with the car. I get it as adult why my Dad was so mad and needed me to be quite right away. I have other memories like this too. But I get it now as adult why as a kid you think your parents aren't listening to you or don't understand you. But they do.

So return to me and my role as a Mom. Sometimes I look at my kids and think, "Oh, my word there are three of them and they look for me to solve their problems or at least teach them how to solve their problems. And do you know what goes through my mind...."I'm not qualified for this!" Although, I am 37, in sooooo many ways I don't feel like I any more mature than I was when I was 14!

So there it is when you talk about confidence and my ability to handle Motherhood I am about a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10. I'm just talking about my confidence. The product I am producing as a result of my effort being a Mom is of course a 10+ !

Rowdy made my day last night when he said "Mom, I'm never going to forget the promise we made. The promise that I will never be to big or grown up to hold your hand!" I told him, "Me neither, buddy." So, I guess I'm not doing to bad

Three Hundred and Fifty Eight...

Two Sundays ago one of the messages we heard in church was about how love is a verb.

Love is an action word.

In our relationships with our spouses, friends and family

we should be showing our love first and the emotion will follow.

Three Hundred and Fifty Seven...

We were at home on Christmas morning. My Mom was here. In the these photos you will see our oldest son Tim (or Dim as Bodie says). Tim is staying with us and going to school. He is here to learn English and then will go onto college. The kids adore him!

Here is a small peek into our morning:

Bodie opening a present from Tim.

Bodie telling Dim thanks!

Rowdy opening a real cartooning kit from me.

Santa came through with the Hello Kitty loot!

Friends!

Bodie helping Ron open his present from me! I stumped him this year, finally! I didn't ask for any hints and kept it a surprise the whole time...Ron really likes to be surprised!

Three Hundred and Fifty Six...

Since I started with this photography thing I don't do much scrapbooking. Lately I feel like I want to start again. More goals for 2010! As you can see I don't have a shortage of paper.

Three Hundred and Fifty Five...

I had hoped to be done with my 365 by now but my computer was in the shop for about a week. I don't know what I would do without their help...so grateful that people know help when your computer doesn't work.

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Ten more posts and I am done....I am looking forward to using normal titles again!!!