Project 52. Scale/Size Week 2

Hmmmm, late. Surprise, surprise!

I had a hard time coming up with something theme related this week. So I took the easy way out and shot some more origami stars that the toddler ran off with and dismantled. Her hand was not supposed to be part of the photos but it was a wonderful deviation. One regulation sized star, one teeny star and a quarter as well as my lens cap for scale.

Uh, ma'am what do you have in there?

Oh just a drum,




Some maracas,




A tambourine,




And this lethal quira (thank goodness it wasn't in her carry on),




Yes that would be my mom, aka Abuela's doing. Now before each parent cringes in horror at the thought of a grandparent showing up with the equivalent of a percussion section as a gift, I asked for it. I really did ask for it. Promise. See in June when my mom was partying her soon to be 60 year young patooty at my grandfather's birthday party she mentioned she was having trouble coming up with gift ideas to bring back for the boys. I told her that she didn't have to bring anything but if she felt she had to that I would love some instruments for the kids and to use in our homeschooling. No I have no visions of us as the Partridge Family, just wanting to let the kids bang out their preferred rhythm without worrying about expensive gear. One of the markets in DR sells these for a song (ha!) and I remembered how much fun we had as kids with the drums just like that flag painted one on my table.

That would be how my mom found herself explaining away not one but two sets of instruments (for both sets of grandchildren) to a US customs agent. A whole suitcase worth of instruments mind you. She just shrugged her shoulders and said, "it's for my grandkids" and apparently he believed her. Like I said thank goodness the guira picks (3 very pokey metal tines) were not on her carry on or I might have gotten a call from a TSA agent holding my mom for questioning. But thanks to her we now have a rocking family band to which we've added the collection of harmonicas that have somehow made their way to our home over the last couple of years.




And if you come to my house a certain little two year old might treat you to her version of the blues.




Here's a proper use of those instruments and featuring the voice of the Dominican equivalent of John Lennon, Bob Dylan and P Diddy all rolled into one - Juan Luis Guerra. I dare you not to get up and dance.

Size/Scale. Week 1

This week's theme being size and scale you'd think I would have plenty of objects and little subjects to photograph. However when you hand a huge restaurant sized spoon to a toddler they run off to bang the front door. Go figure. Back to the drawing board and inanimate objects.

Et voila! My crochet hooks. Love the colors, love the gaudy sheen and most of all they take direction well.

Legos, Ancient Egypt and Fireman Sam

No, I'm not going to play some funky version of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. Just another homeschooling snapshot.




Around the holidays we were reading up on ancient Egypt, mummies, pyramids and by virtue the Sphinx. At one point we pulled out the legos to build a pyramid. My boys told me there was no way I could build a pyramid at which time I figured out they thought I meant a real pyramid. Doh! I'm sure the puny one we built somehow did not compare to their imagination.




However, my boys in all their attention to detail decided to build the chamber attached to the pyramid where the Pharaoh's body was prepared for burial. Oh yeah and that conversation on mummification? Grossed out momma way more than the kids. The oldest put together the chamber and then I fiddled around with a little lego person to build a loosely interpreted Sphinx. Loosely being the operative word. One of my boys looked at my woebegone Sphinx and said, "here momma, let me try." then proceeded to build a larger Sphinx with paws and a body that actually fit the scale of the lego head. I felt like I was in front of this guy:






After a while I left them to continue playing while I fixed lunch. When I returned to announce lunch was ready I was greeted with this. From our favorite TV show Fireman Sam, the lighthouse from Ponty Pandy. Built right on top of the pyramid, Sphinx and attached chamber. How's that for historically accurate? Can you say, "I love rabbit holes."

Beginnings. Week 2

The second half of the beginnings theme for Project 52. This time it's personal. Back in November I found this nifty little people typing thing that's related to how you dress. So the new photo off to the right? That's my after. The necklace on the book? That's my "type" of jewelry and yes it definitely fits me to a T despite my aversion to accessories for years. The page to which the book is open? Yes it's my type and if you know me in real life you'll chuckle at the inset quote.

My beginning though, was spurred on by the external makeover. I've done quite a bit of introspection since then, both related and unrelated which has peeled off a big 'ol bandaid. I'm hoping this is the year for healing old wounds as well as the beginning of a healed me.

Soap.

Random tip from moi: Unwrap your bars of soap and tuck them in your linen closet, underwear drawer or just put them on a shelf. Not only will they freshen your towels but the bars dry a bit more making them last longer in the shower.



I remember reading this somewhere and want to think it was another Martha tip. What can I say I love Martha for all of the nontraditional reasons. I love that she's picky and yes a little compulsive. I love that the more she lets loose on her shows lately the more real and endearing she becomes. I also love that she goes overboard in her explanations. Watching her shows as a kid (oh yes I did), I loved the mini schoolings I got on fussy and old fashioned norms. They lined right up with some of the ones my mom recalled from her own childhood and shared with me.

Beginnings. Week 1

First, a belated Happy New Year! There have been a host of changes for our family including the very surprising move of my little sister and her mirror image family to NC. Yes, she and her were both crazy enough to have four kids too and with both sets of cousins close in age we parents are anticipating some creative hijinks in the future. It's been pretty neat to have some family around since both Mr. Maricucu and I moved up here 10 years ago on our own. Now we get to inflict *cough* spread our fabulousness on some relatives. Be afraid, be very afraid.

On a different note if you see some cryptic photography posts in my blog it's me messing with the camera again. I've decided to try my hand at Project 52 which is just taking a picture once a week to match a selected theme. With the attention issue doing something like Project 365 would have been a guaranteed failure. Even with the weekly version I'm not making any promises and will feel free to do it the Marielle way. Which means whenever I remember.

For the first two weeks the theme is Beginnings and here's mine. I sewed 27 of these little newborn diapers for my second before he was born. That same baby just turned five years old the other day and I can't believe he ever fit in these (that's a matchbox car for scale). Since then two other siblings have worn these wee diapers and they've been packed away for the last time. See it's the beginning of new stage for our family as we slowly move from the land of babies and toddlers into one with biggish kids who have some pretty interesting personalities.




I will say I've looked forward to this in between stage of big enough to be cool but young enough to still need momma and daddy. I do have an inkling that it's quite fleeting. My mother, my grandmother and many an experienced mom all confirm that in far too short a time they'll be off having babies of their own. But for now I'm freezing time with the shutter and looking at them in awe as they transform.