Wild times :)

After our first trip to the zoo with Theodore, we made a second. To Tanganika outside of Wichita.

The major differences were: 1) it wasn't 800 degrees outside. In fact, it was cold. 2) Far less exhibits. 3) Far less people. 4) We were closer to the animals, so I think kiddo got to see them a bit better.




Seriously, look at how close we were! I think it helped that it wasn't free day at the zoo. When we were there, throngs of children were pounding on the glass. If I were an animal on exhibit, I'd have gone on strike.


Theodore REALLY liked the kangaroos. The staff let us pet them; they were surprisingly soft. They don't look it, but almost as soft as a kitten.




Aaaaand, the bird house.

PHOTO TIP: This is shot with my point and shoot. We were under a shade, but the birds were in a bright area. Because I wanted to have light on Robin + T, I forced my flash to go off. This means the people in the front have light on them, and I can still see things in the light background.

This tip would be handy in this sort of instance. but also in front of something like a bright window. If you are photographing someone who is standing in front of a bright window and not forcing the flash to go off, they will be all dark and you will see perfectly out of the window. Just be careful about the glare of the flash on a window. You might want to stand at an angle.


Evidently someone forgot to feed the birds that morning. When we walked in, the birds swarmed. I honestly thought Theodore would freak out, but he was a really good sport!

PHOTO TIP: Again, the flash was forced in the above photo. Look at it compared to the one below. You're able to see us a bit better b/c of the flash.




They liked Robin. Despite her avian name, she didn't love them back as much.

Lazy laundry

I was talking with my sister last night, and she said "I'm using your easy way to clean the microwave! It's so easy!"

Which is why I thought I'd share another lazy way to do household tasks (sounds nicer than chores, eh?).*

LAUNDRY:

Let me back up to when we were little. Friday afternoon was when we'd sort laundry. We'd all take our basket into mom and dad's room, dump it on the bed and sort into piles: whites and colors. I'm the oldest of four, and have 2 younger brothers. When I was in high school, I was sick of wading through everyone else's dirty laundry, so I started doing my own. Solution!

This "lazy laundry" way started when we were married. I had a basket or two and Erik has a monster basket (read: it's actually an outdoor trash can that's monster-sized and has been with him since college, but he won't part with it, so I had to find a way to live with it). We had ample baskets, so why not pre-sort?

I have 3 baskets and 1 pile in the laundry area of our closet. It's actually not pictured here, but the very last picture in the post, the laundry baskets sit in a little nook just to the right. So, we have our 3 baskets and 1 pile.

Biggest basket (Erik's essential trash can): colored clothes/jeans
Medium basket: whites. socks/undershirts
Small basket: Karen's colorful socks/undies
Pile: Karen's delicates/nice shirts

This way, if I need something SPECIFIC (I'm out of undies), I don't have to sort through the ENTIRE pile to nab enough for a load. It's all there!

I shared this with Robin a few weeks ago, and I swear, she freaked out in excitement. Which is why I thought I'd share this with you.

Now, I also read in a magazine somewhere (maybe Better Homes & Gardens?) that for families w/ little kids, using those mesh bags for delicates is a great way to launder kids' socks. Just have a little clip or hang it close to their laundry basket and have them throw dirty socks in there. So during/after the laundry process, they're easier to find (read: maybe you'll loose less of them). I've never tried this, but it seems smart to me.


*I'm sure you now think I'm the laziest housekeeper on the planet, but I find if things are simplified/quick and easy, I don't have as many excuses to NOT do them. Which is why I've come up with a few of these things. Use them ... or not. If you're a highly motivated person and don't need my lazy ways, you rock! For the rest of us who might find ourselves in a funk about house tasks, I am happy to help share inspiration! :)

Robin on the job

When we were in Wichita awhile ago, I twisted my sister's arm to show us around her job. She does cool things like fly small airplanes. :)


She brings sexy to a flight suit. No joke.


Erik and I sardened into a cockpit.

Theodore's 1st Birthday Party

I made a brief post last month when our nephew turned 1. I've now had time to sift through the photos and share. There are LOTS, so get cozy.


Check out the crowd!

After he woke up from his nap, it was time for presents.


Check out that grin!


"Auntie Karen, what the heck are you doing???"


Opening.


As with kids, though, the bag or box the gift comes in is almost always better than the gift itself.




He seemed pretty excited!


Leftie. For sure.



"Quit it already, Auntie Karen."


Next up: Cake!


Sans milk.


Getting strapped in & ready. No clue what's coming. Robin's been strict about no sweets until he was 1. So poor kid didn't know what he had to look forward to. ;)


Closer to showtime, but he's not sure what's going on.


Patiently waiting. If he knew how good his cake was, he wouldn't have been so patient.


(left) after; (right) before. :)


Dad is giving him an assist on the candle, but as you can see, Theodore already has his fingers in the frosting. Smart kid.


"Hmm, not sure what this is but I like it."


A little more ....


Aaaand, out comes the candle.


Chow time.


Leftie. All.The.Way.


Cute baby cupcakes.


Eating Auntie Karen's ice cream. This kid loved it. He's smart like that.


I love Theodore in this series. In the top, he's looking for more cake that was caught in his bib (which had a pouch to catch food), then he's looking up, and finally at me. Silly goose.


After, he was banging on the door b/c daddy was outside cooking dinner.

Theodore's 1st trip to the zoo

A week ago, it was free day at the Zoo, so Robin and I decided to take Theodore ....


In the car. NO idea what's coming.


In the stroller. I'm sure he's thinking "what are you two ladies blithering about?"


It was hot and awful, but we made it to see a few exhibits.


I didn't exactly have the right lens on for this photo, but whatever.

It was amusing, because sometimes you could tell he could see the animal, and he'd grab the bars and peer in. But if we took him out of his stroller, he'd look for a minute, then try to climb right back in. (we're guessing he was overwhelmed with the massive volume of people around; the place was, well, a ZOO of visitors). Sometimes we wondered if he really saw the animals ... he seemed pretty distracted by the other visitors.

Swim time! :) pt. 2

OOOOK. As Robin wrote on her blog, we had company over the weekend. Good times were had by all.

I have some photos + videos to share. Actually, I'll break them into 2 posts. Sound good?

First the videos, because they're super cute :)




I think at the point we have kids, I'll want a video camera or something with video that has a higher quality than my little camera has. But for now this is OK (love you, Theo! Not a reflection on my affection, I promise!)


He's got a toofer coming in .... so of course he liked gnawing on the noodle. Pssst, kid, that isn't ours!






I kept switching back and forth from the "automatic" setting on the camera (the 2 above), which used a flash, to the "manual" setting w/o a flash (below). With a flash, kids are more prone to know you're taking their picture. Sans flash, you're more likely to capture them "just being kids" .... but in a low light situation, it's not always a pretty end photo. Sigh, what to do?


Unfortunately, the lifeguards at the Y here in town won't let us go down the big slide together :( but we'll just have to go back to the big city for that!

We "bobbed" and went under water. He did fairly well with that. And even better this time at floating on his back with some assistance (side note: my first job was as a lifeguard, teaching swim lessons. Probably one of my most favorite jobs. Ever.)


I've never seen such wrinkled feet after the pool. (TIP: used macro feature on camera to get this).


After bath time.


:)

Swim time! :)

A few weeks ago, I took my No. 1 nephew swimming in the big pool for the first time! :) Theodore has fun with his wading pool at home, but this was his first foray into the big leagues. :)


I thought this Y was zero-depth entry, but I was wrong. Oh well, good times were still had.


The lifeguard turned on the big slide and told me I could take him down. Mommy Robin agreed, and we hit the action.

Here's a video from the event.


This was his FIRST time down, and I used the sides to slow us down. I didn't know if he'd freak out or anything. Also, at the top, we put our fingers in the moving water to let him experience it. The next few times, we went down more quickly. :)


And here is the water feature. Later on I stood up and we went under it. I think that was smarter. The water is really choppy at the bottom, and is more smooth and "together' up high.



All done! (his "deer in the headlights" look highly amuses me).