I Heart Faces - We Heart Kisses

So this week's challenge at I Heart Faces is a celebration of Valentines Day! Kisses! I actually shot this picture 4 years ago the day after I got my first dSLR. At that point, I had not clue how to utilize all it's bells and whistles so it's not pro-quality, but I loved catching this moment between my hubby and our little girl. It's still to this day one of my favorites!


Go check out the rest of the entries HERE to check out more smoochies!

Annual Christmas Pictures - Balentine Style

Alas, 'tis the season of Christmas carols and hot cocoa, evergreen trees and tinsel, stockings hung with care and ......the annual Balentine Christmas picture in front of the tree. We have done this year after year and then take the picture and put it in a frame ornament to hang on the tree to commemorate the year. It's always the same procedure: we come home from church, everyone is in a great mood and excited to get their picture taken! We set up the tripod, do a couple of adjustments to the camera and Viola!...A lovely picture...Oh, if it were only that easy.

Me: "OK, guys! Are we set?"

Them: "We are ready. "

Me: "OK. Now remember to sit still and put your best smile on when you see the red light start blinking. Ready?"

Them: "Yes, Mama. Is this gonna take long?"

Me: "Only as long as YOU make it take. Here we go! Smile!!!" (click)

Me: "OK! Not bad. Duglin - maybe sit up a bit and smile a little more!"

Them: sigh.....

ME: "One more time! Smile, everyone!" (click)

Me: "Well, we are getting there. Honey (Duglin)- I still think you have a better smile in there. Can you show it to the camera next time?"

Duglin: "I guess."

Perri: "How is my smile, Mommy? Is it a princess type smile or should I show more teeth?"

Me: "Whatever you were doing before looks fine, sweetie. OK. Now let's try this again. SMILE!!!!!" (click)



Me: "Umm, Duglin. That maybe too much of a smile, honey."

Duglin: "But you SAID to smile bigger. I smiled bigger."

Me: "Yes, you did, but it looks, well, like you are in pain, not smiling. Let's try this ONE MORE TIME! Everybody set? SMIIIIIILE!!"


Me: "Duglin."

Duglin: "Yes, Mommy."

Me: "You look like you are are gritting your teeth, not smiling."

Duglin: "Mommy, I'm trying really hard!"

Me: "I know you are, but I think that might be the problem. Just.....smile. Ahhh! I have an idea. Think of how you might look if Santa Claus were here and how happy you would be! OK?"

Duglin: "OK."

Me: "OK! ONE MORE TIME!!! Everybody say, "Look! There's Santa!"

Everyone: "Look! There's Santa!!!!"

Me: "Wow. Umm (trying not to die laughing). That's an interesting face there, Duglin. OK. I can see this is not working. Let's do this one more time." So I devise a plan to say something funny right before the camera shoots. "Everyone ready?"

Them: "yes.....(moans, rolling eyes, whimpers)"

Me: "OK, camera's counting down. What's something that's funny?"

Daylor: "You mean like Daddy tooting?" (click)

So can you tell by the flare of my nostrils I knew it was over? As the famously, overly used cliche saying goes:

"If you can't beat 'em....."

OK - So, we did finally get a decent one. So what if Duglin looks a little constipated? Life imitating art...or is it art imitating life? Hmmmmm, I need to think about that one!

Merry Christmas!!

Love,

The Balentines

2009

Disney Vacation 2009 - Day 3 - Epcot

So, I feel a little bad. Here's why. I am finding such little time to blog right now. I have a ton to catch up on, but I don't feel like I can post anything until I finish my Disney pictures. Why?Because I am obsessive.

I have this thing that I do to myself. I call it discipline. Others might call it looney. But, whatever. Anyway, I don't allow myself to do things I really want to do until the one thing I really need to do gets done. Even if the thing that I think really "needs" to be done, really doesn't need to be done. For example, I won't eat anything in the morning until all my lamps are turned on and my blinds are open. If I don't do those things I don't allow myself to eat. Or, I don't allow myself to craft in the evenings (unless my crafting circle ladies are at my house) or blog unless all of my 3 clothes hampers are at least half empty and the kitchen is clean. OR, I don't allow myself to sit down during the day unless I am teaching a lesson or until the kids go to bed. Just keepin' it real! At least things get done! I may not have breakfast in the morning, but at least I have a super-duper bright and shining living room to pass out in, doggone it!!

So, I have not allowed myself to blog because I have yet to have time to post all of my pictures from the trip. IT'S SO GOOFY!!!!!!!! But I seriously can't do it because I have ingrained upon myself that it has to get done! I'm the only person I know that grounds herself! So, maybe after I get all my pictures edited and posted I might blog be able to more! But until then. Sigh... Being grounded sucks. :)

Anywho, now that I have shared that little tidbit of info about myself, here is day 3of our trip at Epcot.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

I Heart Disney World!

It's great to be home!!! I'm having a hard time believing we have been back almost a week. We had such an amazing time and it flew by in a blink of an eye. In fact, I have been feeling a bit off kilter because we have been planning and saving and planning and saving for almost two years and now that it's over, I am not sure what to do with myself. But with two birthdays in the next two weeks, Trick-or-Treat, Thanksgiving, and Christmas around the corner, I am sure that feeling won't last long!

I REALLY love Disney World! Everything about it is completely over the top and fabulous. The kids had such a great time, but I think it's the most exhausted they have ever been in their lives.



We were also able to visit Sea World and head to Sarasota to spend some time with some precious friends of ours. It was a wonderful, amazing, and busy trip! I ready to go back!

I took TONS of pictures. As in 1000's. I will try not to bore you with all of them, but I will be posting several as the weeks go by so you can get a taste of all we were able to do and see! It's going to take me awhile to get them up, so I am just going to spread them out over several posts.

So, until I get caught up here are just a few pictures!

I look forward to sharing more with you in the next couple of weeks!

And the Winner is...

Our Little Mikey!! After 1000 votes, our name won first prize by a landslide vote of over 280 votes. Would that mean we had 281 votes? Anywho, thanks to everyone who voted for our name, "Mike Byson." This is a pic of our little guy. He is the oldest of the new babies of the year.

We headed out to the park for the day and had a blast flying kites,

taking pics of all the buffalo - this one's giving me the stink eye....,

playing with the over sized basket and soccer balls,

and posing for the ever popular "We don't want to have my picture taken, but my mom is making us, anyway" shot.


They announced all the winning names. Here's me trying to explain in a VERY squeaky mega phone how we chose the name.

Perri "liberated" one of our prizes very quickly.

Mom and Peepa all came to join in the fun.

We even made the NEWS:

And the PAPER!

Thanks to everyone who voted for our baby!! We had a wonderful time - Wish you could have been there!!

Short and Sweets

Da Hubby came home on Monday after work with a haircut and meeting him at the door, the kidos immediately noticed. Here's how the conversation went:

Kids: "Daddy!! You got a haircut!!"

Da Hubby: "Yep."

Perri: "You look nice, Daddy."

Da Hubby: "Thanks, sweetie."

Duglin: "Looks good, Dad."

Da Hubby: "Thanks, Dugley."

Daylor: "Dad? What's that white stuff in your hair?"

Da Hubby: "That would be gray hair, son."

Daylor: "Oh, it looks weird."

Me: "Daylor!! That's rude!"

Daylor: "Uhhh, no, mom. What I meant is that his hair looks experienced and smart."

Nice.

I ♥ Faces - "Sports in Action" and "Pets" week

This week's theme of I ♥ Faces photography contest is "Sports in Action" and "Pets." I am submitting one for each category.

My sports in action picture is of our kid's team's soccer coach (aka Da Hubby) revving up our very cute and reluctant goalie for the oncoming ball. I shot this at dusk (my favorite part of the day to shoot!) and really like the warm rich tones of that time of evening.

My Pets entry is of my Mom's rotty, "Gracie." I loved the contrast of mom's pallazo floors with her big, sweet eyes. She's one great, big baby girl. We ♥ her, too.


Head over to the action at I ♥ Faces for all the furry and sporty fun and enter your own best shot!

4th Fun!

I'm back! I hope all of you had a wonderful Independence Day weekend! We certainly did!

We started celebrating the fourth a little early this year by taking the kidos to one of the local mega-churches in town the weekend prior to the 4th. They had a night of worship and fireworks there so we met up with my folks and about 15,000 (literally) other people, and had a picnic and some great QT (quality time) with the family.

We sat by the sound booth. (Of course, at the Da Hubby's request. He says it's not because he is a sound man or that he has an uncontrollable attraction for all things blinky, but because it's going to be where the best sound is. It does make sense, but I still think it has to do with the blinky lights of the board. :)

We had a great view of the stage, mega-tron and other things we wished we didn't have a great view of.

We threw out a blanket and made ourselves comfy.

They had some clowns making ballon hats and dogs for the kids. I don't care if he was wearing a "Clown for Christ" button, he still kinda creeped me out.

Perri was willing, however, to suffer through a EXTREMELY long line and the creepiness of Big Red just so she could get herself a purple puppy dog.

Big Daddy Weave (so awesome!!) was the headliner for the evening.

Don't tell anyone, but even though we were on Baptist church property, there some serious dancin' going on on our little picnic blanket! How can there not be when you are listening to a song with the lyrics, "Dancing with my Father God on fields of grace..."?!?!? It was a blast!

After Big Daddy finished singing we all sat back and enjoyed the fireworks show.

A long walk back to the car...

An hour's wait to get out of the parking lot and a VERY late night for the kids was so worth it because of the great time we had with each other!

And because I got this picture...

Garage Sale Mania

Remember this post? Specifically, the part about having a garage sale? As much as I hate hosting them, I LOVE to shop at them. Mom, my fav. shopping partner, and I hit the pavement bright and early last Saturday morning to find some seriously good deals. I thought I would share a few of my finds with you.

Garage sales can be exhausting, I suppose, because you have to be willing to look at a lot of junk to get to the good stuff. I don't mind so much because I typically walk away with a few really kewl items that are worth the hunting. This time around Mom found an great deal on a brand new never used expresso machine for $4.00. We came home and found it on line for $50.00. Saa-weeet!

We literally came home with a backseat full of stuff. Got this cute little night-light lamp for a dollar. Not really sure where I am going to put it yet, but I am positive I needed it. :)

This sweet, little frame - $.10. I have this thing for black frames right now. Since my tastes are subject to change within minutes, I thought I would be safe paying a dime for it and not feel bad tossing it if I hated it tomorrow. But I didn't hate tomorrow - I still think it's cute!

I love this little jobber. I plan in painting the base black, distressing it and putting something nifty in it like lemons or limes in the summer and glass ball ornaments at Christmas. And yes, it does say $.50. Great deal, huh!?!?! HeHe...she gave it to me for quarter. I know!! Seriously!

Here's a great shopping tip for you when garaging sale-ing. When you are ready to purchase something, never offer the seller the price you want to pay first when bargaining. Start by asking the seller if they would give you a deal on the item. Sometimes, they will offer it to you for a lower price than even you would ask for. That way, if the price they offer you is not low enough for your liking, you can counter offer. That's what happened here. I asked her how much of a deal she could give me for it and she quoted me $.25. Woo- Who! Bargains make me happy!

I've got big plans for this little shelf I found. My mom gives Perri a tea cup and saucer set every year for her birthday. We have no place to display them and I have been refusing to buy the cute, white, wall shelves at Target that cost $12-19. (I know, I am cheap.) So, I found this shelf complete with a groove for the saucer to be able to stand upright. It had tacky, country-ish, little pegs that my strong hubby has already pulled out for me. I am going to buy some cute little pulls to replace those with and paint the whole thing-a-majig white (and distress it, of course!). I'll show you the finished product soon! It's going to be adorable in Perri's room. Oh, I paid $1.00 for this.

OK, so I went back and forth on whether to purchase this rod iron candle lantern. I am NOT an interior designer and tend to struggle decorating my home. I am not sure why this is but I tend to buy a lot of candles and candle holders. I have recently looked around my home and realized how many of candle related items I have. I went through a did a big clean out of a lot of that stuff for my own garage sale Goodwill donation. I really am trying to stay away from cluttering up my house with the same types of things again. But after studying it for awhile, I decided that I really liked it's unique shape and I could always put something else on it's base. Besides, it needed me. I heard it say my name when I walked past it it. Yeah. That's it.

Especially since it only cost me $.75.

I know, I know. I just went on and on about how I am trying to get away from candle holders. I couldn't help it on this one. It was too good to pass up. I found her at the bottom of a box completely covered in dust and cobwebs. But it's 2 feet tall. And solid wood. And from Pottery Barn. And completely gorgeous. And perfect for my master bathroom. And only $.75. I'M NOT KIDDING!! I seriously danced all the way down their driveway and nestled this little beauty in my backseat.

This organic-looking, stone urn? Adorable, isn't it? I plan on putting rolled up wash clothes in it and placing it next to my Pottery Barn beauty above. Wanna guess how much I paid fer this little container? Not a cent. Nothing, nada, ner' a thing! It was a free. I asked the lady how much she wanted for it and she just said to take it. I tried to pay her for it and she refused. Best deal of the day!

I am notorious for stopping by random yard and garage sales when I am supposed to be doing something else. About a month ago I came across this loverly table I had found at a yard sale on a Friday afternoon. I bought it for $30.00. A little steep, but I had talked her down from $50.00 and loved the woodwork, so I called Da Hubby to see if I could bring it home. He said yes, with a degree of irritation in his voice.

I tell you that story so that you will understand this one. This past Saturday before I left, Da Hubby made a point to tell me he didn't want any phone calls about anything expensive. In the spirit of saving money for Disney World, I agreed not to buy anything that was to much and went on my merry little way.

We both have been wanting an elliptical machine for a couple of years, but have never been able to find one we could afford. A lady was having a sale that pretty much included a gym full of exercise equipment. She lives in the swanky part of our little town and was having to change over her gym to a mother-in-laws wing to accommodate her ailing mother. She was selling her BRAND NEW elliptical machine for $65.00. I debated and debated calling Da Hubby but knew he would probably hang up on me if I did so I pass it by. (sniff, sniff)

Well, got home and was showing the dear hubs. all my goodies and mentioned the elliptical machine and how good I was at walking away from the deal.

Here's how the conversation went.

Me- "I found this sweet deal on a really great elliptical machine for $65.00. Oh, I wish we had the money. It was a steal!! Babe, you would have been so proud of me - I just walked away!"

Him - "Really? Why didn't you call me? You should have called me."

Oh.Yes.He.Did. I love my husband, but AAAAAARRRRRRGGGG!!! I shot him my best "we-are-going-to-talk-about-this-later-but-I-have-something-more-important-to-do-right-now" look, grabbed my keys, $65.00 that he was hiding somewhere, and RACED through the streets of our little town back to the ladies home. She was closed up and everything was put away.

I took a deep breath and marched up to her door, thinking that I couldn't believe how desperate and pathetic this was going to be. I rang the doorbell. I just knew it was gone. Slipped through my fingers. I was already telling myself the inches I could have lost if I just could have made that phone call to him earlier, would be forever there. No tight tummy. No firm tush. Just flab. Lots and lots of flab. Why? Because SOMEONE told me not to call.

But then I start to think to myself. AM I crazy? I am getting upset because I don't get to work out. What is wrong with me?!?!? This means I have a much better excuse for being squishy. If we get an elliptical machine, people are going to expect me to use it. And sweat. And be sore. Maybe this was a bad idea...

About the time I was about to turn and run back to my truck, chicky answers the door. She meets me around by her garage door. Fortunately/unfortunately, it was still their. So we are the proud owners of a new elliptical machine!

I am pretty pumped about it, though! Trying to do a little toning for the summer! Wanna look hot in my Mickey Mouse tee-shirt down at Disney!

Tomorrow is Saturday, so I am taking my Perri out early and start her training in garage sale etiquette. Should be fun! Looking forward to a day with her and hope to find some incredible deals!