All I want for Christmas is…

My son Ian (5 1/2 years old) just lost his first teeth! And as weird as it sounds, I have been waiting for this day for such a long time. The tooth fairy was is big deal to me! See, when I was a kid, I don’t remember finding out the truth about Santa, I remember finding out the truth about Constantina (that was my personal tooth-fairy’s name.) She would leave quarters (of course) but she would also leave me notes with little tiny handwriting about her journeys and her fairy life. It was so magical. But alas, one day I remember exploring my mom’s sock drawer, only to find a very small container full of tiny teeth. When I confronted my mom about this discovery, she said, “Constantina was having a hard time carrying all of your teeth, so she asked me if I would keep them for her.” And I remember wanting so badly to believe her, but well… I was growing up….

So Grant and I have continued the tradition. Constantina is still alive (fairies don’t age like humans, probably because they don’t eat sugar or caffeine, right Karen Hurd?) and she has a brother, Constantony! Grant has been writing the notes, with a bit of input from me. Reading these notes makes me love my guys so much. Grant is hilariously creative in his story-telling, and so sweet to even decorate the notes with tiny stars and moons. Here are the notes that Ian has gotten so far (please don’t miss the part about the three-tooth pick-up for Jorge in Costa Rica):

Baby it’s cold (and dark) outside!

Well, winter is upon us. And although my last post was an “Ode to the Holidays,” this post is more like a “Blech to the Weather.” At least the snow brightens things up a bit, right? Without snow, it is just so darn DREARY!

And is it lame that it is 9pm on a Friday night, and I am blogging? Or maybe in our technological world it is the cool thing to do on a Friday night…

hmm….

I doubt it.

ANYway, here are some photos of another beautiful senior.

Ahh, the Holidays…

Well, I saw my first Christmas commercial of the year early this week while I was home with the flu. And snow has started to fall, and stay on the ground! Part of me feels depressed (the weather, the darkness, the extra work) but part of me is super excited for this time of year! There is so much to look forward to!! Here is my Ode to the Holidays:

I LOVE going to our special place to get our Christmas tree, preferably after a fresh snow.

I love eating supper with nothing but the Christmas lights on.

I love snuggling under blankets with my kids and reading books while there is a blizzard going on outside.

I love walking downtown and eating at my favorite cafe, or grabbing a hot coffee and doing my work.

I love that I no longer work retail!!!

I love that my birthday is so close to Christmas (I never used to when I was a kid, but now I am much older and wiser).

I love going to the employee Christmas party with my husband’s co-workers (who happen to be some of our closest friends!)

I love wearing layers. And hats. And scarves.

I love getting Christmas cards in the mail of friends and family and putting them on my fridge.

I love having an excuse to see my family and friends even more!

I love having a blanket on me at all times.

I even love the sound of my giant hot-water radiators bubbling.

Well, I could go on and on, but I am sure you would rather look at photos than listen to me babble.

It’s all about the Eyes

This senior has such beautiful eyes, that I decided to start posting larger images so that the world could see them!

These last two images are perfect examples of how amazingly different photos can look when certain effects are used in post-processing. Leave me a comment- I would love to know which technique you prefer!