Our Weekend Trip

Last Saturday, we took a day-trip to Gettysburg, (or "Gattysbird", as Siena calls it.) They had "Living History" reenactments throughout the park and we learned a lot, as well as were thoroughly entertained.















And now for my monologue:

It's been quite an experience to live so nearby to places where pivotal national events took place. We get more reminders of the courage and suffering that was required to have the great nation we enjoy today. I was thinking about the issues we are all concerned about today and realized that although it seems like some problems in our nation will never be solved, the task is yet possible. For example, the breaking away from England to be our own nation was a long-shot idea, as well as the notion that all slaves could be free. Fast forward to the late 1920's when women realized they actually had the right to vote, or the 70's when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his poignant "I Have A Dream" speech. As those all were great barriers overcome, I believe there will continue to be progress. Yes, I even think that the issues with health care can be worked into a system that functions well for the whole of the nation. (I'm saying that I think it's possible, but I personally don't see it happening in the near future.)

However, I am extremely worried that this nation is becoming more obsessed about political correctness and is following the whitewash mentality that "if I want it that way, it must be right and everyone should have it that way" (whether it's for the good of the whole or not.) If men and women still preserved the same type of extroverted faith necessary for good change that our predecessors possessed, maybe we wouldn't have so much "politics" as the driving force behind the lobbying on Capital Hill. Instead, the concern for others would generate a wave of thoughtfulness that would provoke, among many things, a higher sense of civic duty and real progress could be made. The whole concept of political "royalty" bowing down in humility to their great responsibility is something that I find comical and inane because we are currently moving further and further away from being a nation comprised of men and women who still uphold solid values and live valiant lives.

How do we get back to being a nation of progress, not politics? That, my friend, is the question I pose. I have my own ideas, but I want to hear your thoughts, dear lone reader.

End monologue.

Lighten the Phone Memory

Latest phone pics...

I believe this pic was taken on Broad Street in North Philly. (Not the prettiest or safest place to be.) This corner bookstore has services I find extremely convenient, which is why I have decided to purchase all of my books there.
This is Siena with her friend, Everest. They have grown to be great friends over the last few years, and now they have to say goodbye to each other. It breaks my heart to think that most of her friends are leaving now that their daddies are done with school (that also means that most of our friends are leaving, too.) We will miss you guys!!!

These girls are the best of friends. Siena loves playing Peek-a-boo with Qeeks and also Leaning Tower of Qiana (kicking her over and watching her fall down... a.k.a The Game that Makes Mommy Mad.) She is quite the mommy for her little sis: she threatens Qiana with a punishment when she cries incessantly, insists on spoon-feeding her at least once a day, and uses her calm mommy voice as she strokes Qiana's face. Qiana bears it all mildly well.

We have some friends that gave us some of their grandkids' cast-off clothes and while most of them are not the sizes or styles my kids wear, I couldn't pass up keeping the bright red, satin with lace church dress. Siena has some new friends that have just introduced her to dress-ups, and it's cute to see her so excited about putting on a dress. So I pulled it out of the closet today for the first time and presented it to her like it was a big surprise. She was beside herself with excitement. Once she had donned the dress, I asked her if she wanted me to fix her hair like Cinderella and she squealed out a "Si!". She is still wearing it, ummm, three hours later and every five minutes runs to mirror to smile shyly at herself and do a twirl. What a silly little girl.

Qiana is crawling like a pro. She gets less frustrated with being on the floor and can now find many ways of entertaining herself. However, we are still in the Separation Anxiety stage and it has flared up again today. This morning, I dropped the girls off at the gym child center and went to my water fitness class. 45 minutes into the class, one of the new girls from the child center comes into the pool area and makes a loud announcement:

"Will the mother of Siena and Qiana come get them? Qiana has been screaming for the last hour."

Was there a more embarrassing way of getting me? I raised my hand and told her that I would be on my way to get them. Then I did what I always do (they have had to get me many times before for this same problem,) and took a two-minute shower just to get rid of the chlorine and started to dry off when the same girl came into the locker area with an exasperated look on her face.

I said, "I'm on my way up right now."

She just looked at me and said quite forcefully, "No, REALLY!... because it's been an hour and she's making all the other kids cry, too."

So rather than make her more mad, I just threw on a layer of clothes and walked up the nasty gym stairs and through the nasty gym hall barefoot, still sopping wet, and with an armful of purse, jacket, wet towel, wet swim suit, and shoes. Qiana was crying really loud and a few other kids were whimpering, too. I felt so bad that they couldn't console her and I'm sure that the noise was so frustrating to everyone in there but I still am a little annoyed at the newbie; I hate being talked to like that because I don't usually have the presence of mind to come back with what I really want to say, like "Why didn't you come get me earlier?" or "Did you try the trick I tell you guys all the time--put her in her carseat, wrap her up, and give her a binkie?" (By the way, they hadn't.) Poor Qiana is about 50 times more sensitive than her sister, so I'm still learning how to be a more reactive and comforting mother. Next time I have to leave the girls there, I am going to try to get Qiana asleep before we walk through those doors so we don't have a repeat of today.

¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Photoshop Actions

How long has it taken me to figure out that these can be useful?!

Has anybody ever tried Photoshop Actions before? I never had until this last week because I always considered it a non-reliable outcome for photos. While that may be the case with some projects, I have discovered they can be really time-saving and fun for others. It is also a good way to be exposed to different styles of image editing.

Here's an example of a one-click outcome. It's not perfect, but it cut out about eight steps and all I have to do is adjust the layers to my liking.

Before:

After:

If you Google search "Photoshop Actions", you can find so many cool edits. I have only used free actions because there are so many out there. So far, my favorite is AM's Vintage Action, and you can download it here. Does anyone else have a favorite Photoshop Action?

Trip...Not Ours, Theirs.

This past week was a blast with my sisters. We did the obligatory Philadelphia tour of Independence Mall and Old City, visited Reading Terminal Market, played at the Smith Family Playhouse, drove through Valley Forge Ntl. Park, and ate at the Shady Maple Smorgasbord in Lancaster County. So FUN! Although Juan, the girls and I didn't get to tag along with them to NYC on Saturday, they tell me they had a good time. That day was jam-packed for us; we had a baptism to go to, a Sesame Street birthday, choir practice and a choral fireside.

Speaking of choir, I have to add this little story in so I can remember it:
I was recently asked to organize and direct a branch choir, which I am really excited about; the only problem is that I am the only person who can play the piano, too. This created a problem when I brought the arrangement to our first practice. I think there are only two people who know how to read music in our choir, so they were relying on my cues to help them. It probably looked pretty funny when I flung my arms away from the piano for half-a-second to enter them into the verses. It eventually evolved into an overly-exaggerated head nod, which probably contributed to the headache later that day. We had two weeks to pull that song together and on Saturday afternoon, I was more than worried about the fireside. First of all, we have at least two women who are completely tone-deaf, bless their hearts. Secondly, there were only two men who were planning on coming that night. Juan jumped in and volunteered to sing, even though he had not ever practiced with us, and I'm so glad he did. It ended up working out really well and we didn't exactly butcher the song. Certainly, this was due to the choir's very earnest prayer beforehand. Glad that's over. Right now, I'm working on an arrangement that was meant to be for the choir, but after playing it last night, I realize it is definitely NOT the choir-type. Back to the drawing board....


Here are the few trip pics I got. (It's a hard thing: I love to document things with pictures, but happen to be photographically-challenged. Now, I know that I can edit these and they would look a million times better, but I have neither the time, nor the patience at this moment.)

Just for fun (when I did have time): I tried doing the CRAZIEST Photoshop blur yet!

Food Revolution

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution finale was last night. In the six-episode series, he was able to bring to the attention of an unhealthy community the detriments of today's run-of-the-mill meals. He focused mainly on schools where unhealthy choices were the only choices for lunch. After feeling increasingly concerned about the way children are eating these days, I am so glad that someone felt so passionate about putting a foot down and saying "No, it's gotta be good, honest food that we make our families, not just frozen dinners."

I am not a perfect mom; there are many areas in which I can improve, even with meals. However, I was raised by a mother who taught me well. We had balanced, nutritious meals and I consider it a huge health advantage even now. We had a large garden and cooked delicious meals with basic ingredients. I can't think of one person in my family who doesn't know how to cook. Is it coincidence that we all have healthy bodies? Watching and learning from my mother was a lifelong blessing because that knowledge has stuck with me and increased my interest in home cooking.

(This next part may offend some people, and that is not what it is meant to do; I'm just writing to vent, and possibly expose myself as a hypocrite on occasion. Maybe if I fire people up to change their eating habits, it will stretch me to improve my own.)

Okay, all you MOMS out there. Listen, it's true... stocking up on chicken nuggets is pathetic. PATHETIC! I have no problem with the occasional meal of chicken nuggets, but REALLY?! EVERY WEEK?! There is so much good food out there that we can expose our kids to that we have NO EXCUSE. We live in such a consumer world that we are obsessing over fast food. We want it when we want it. We live in world that is getting increasingly convenient. The problem is that we are becoming lazy, even to the point that we can't spend 30 minutes to make a decent meal for our families. And there is one more thing: WHY are we repeating the meals we make for our families over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again? Most of those meals are laden with butter, cream cheese, sour cream, salt, cheese, cream of chicken soup, etc. (AND IN CASE YOU ARE LOOKING FOR MY DISCLAIMER, HERE IT IS: I, MYSELF, HAVE BEEN A STRONG SUPPORTER OF USING THOSE INGREDIENTS AT WILL SOMETIMES.) Switch it up. Try adding vegetables! They won't kill your kids, I promise. You are the parent and one of your responsibilities is to raise your kids with healthy habits. They may not like those green beans the first, fourth, or even possibly the fifteenth time they eat them. But try and don't give up. There are different ways to prepare them and also to sneak them in (have you heard of the "Deceptively Delicious" cookbook?)

There is the argument that your kids, husband, or even yourself are picky eaters and you just can't force-feed them. Well, that may be true, but I truly believe that while some "picky-ness" is due to nature, a lot of it has to do with exposure. If the bowl of peas is passed around untouched every time, then nurture is to blame for a pea aversion. Just TRY it! One trick that I've heard of to get your kids to like different foods is to have them help you prepare it. They take pride in their efforts, and are usually more willing to give it a go.

The statistic that was brought up over and over again on the series was that this is the first generation of kids that is expected to live a shorter life than their parents. That is really sad, especially with all the knowledge we have.

People are not unaware of the food guide pyramid. It's everywhere. In doubt, use it. Also, read labels on your food. Also, you may be thinking you're getting something so healthy, when in fact, it's full of fillers and sweeteners. Just the other day, I bought a couple of those Bolthouse Farms juices (similar to Naked Juices, POM, etc.) On the front of the label in bold letters it reads "100% Fruits and Veggies", or something to that effect. I bought it because I love the way they taste and for the pure fruits and veggies. Well, I did a little reading of the label as we were driving home and saw that there were 4 servings per bottle, each serving being around 200 calories. Uh............ oops. I usually drink the whole bottle in about an hour's time. I was shocked to find out that I had been drinking nearly 800 calories from that seemingly perfect little bottle. Check labels. Those portions are tricky, tricky.

Hmmm, what else?

Oh, yes. The argument about the expense of whole, natural foods and that it's just out of the budget. Penny by penny, square inch by square inch, whole foods are generally cheaper. Just saying. And I just have to add in a little tidbit on organic foods. While I was in college, I researched plants and many of my professors had us study crops. The only argument against non-organic crops is the affect they have on soil, not the food. So if you are buying organic food to "Save the Earth", then more power to you; but if you are buying it, thinking that you are helping your body, you're wasting your money. Plain and simple.

I signed the petition. You should sign it to.

Fortune

I cracked a fortune cookie today and this is what it read:

"Hard words break no bones, fine words butter no parsnips."

Any thoughts?

Sistah's in Da Hood

Can I be more excited than when family comes to visit us?! We've been so lucky to have, in the three years we've lived here, my sister, Juan's sister and brother-in-law, Juan's other sister, my mom, Juan's parents, my cousin and her family come to visit. Well, tomorrow we have another visit to add to the list. My two sisters are coming out for the week. Can't wait!

Poladroid

I saw this on Danica's blog and had to try it out. How fun is this? I guess one could tweak a photo in Photoshop long enough to get it to have the "polaroid effect", but this is so much easier.

Girls Are Fun

D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival

While we were visiting the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C., we were able to go to the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum. There was a temporary exhibit there with the Hope diamond as well as the Wittelsbach-Graff diamond. I have to admit that I had pictured that they were both around the size of my fist, which was a vast overestimation. However, they were still absolutely gorgeous; whoever gets to wear those is definitely a walking liability.

Jamie really got into the exhibits

By the end of the day, we were all tired; still, we couldn't justify doing this:

...because there were crazy people around who take pictures of random sleeping people.

Here is Siena with "a Long Lost Relative".

The street food was delicious, however unappetizing at first glance.

It was so crowded; yet, by some stroke of fortune, we never got separated in the swarms of people (and anime look-alikes. Sadly, I never did get a good picture of the human replicas.)

People were standing in line for a LONG time for one of these babies. We just took a picture and imagined what the gelato would taste like.

Overall, we had a Whale of a Time! har har ;^)

Creeping

So, Qiana is not crawling... yet. She sort-of does this creeping, wormy thing. I don't know how much more time we have before she is fully mobile.

• Yikes!

Siena is nearly a pro at using the potty. We still have accidents, but there is definite progress being made, folks.

• Yay!

We're on our way to the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC right now. Yes, I am writing this blog post from the bus. Technology is amazing.

A Mix of Pre-Easter and Easter Activities