Just an update:
Caitlin's wrap is GONE! We managed to lose it on a trip to the "stupormarket" on monday the 9th of February. We had been talking heaps about her not having it any more and that big school girls don't have a wrap, so when it came to the crunch she was really fine about it! About 4 weeks later we found it wedged at the back of her car seat. She was thrilled and sucked and snuggled away for all she was worth! It was pretty funny really! As we were going away the next day, we told her that she could have it that night but she wasn't allowed to take it away with her. Since then she has only asked for it a couple of times and when we have said no she has let it alone and gone about her business again. Last week I washed Koala Lou (small pink teady) and Caitlin told me that Koala Lou is now her wrap, and she has slept with her every night since! I think that is really cute.
Callum took two steps by himself on the 15th of March and on the 18th he took 4 steps by himself! YAY - finally we are getting somewhere! Today Craig and I noticed that he often lets go as he is walking around things and takes a few steps unaided. He is getting really steady on his feet and he can walk along when he is holding onto only one of our hands. He can also walk when he is holding onto Caitlin (which is not as stable as if he were holding onto one of our hands). We also noticed that he doesn't often fall over now but lowers himself gently to the floor! Now that he is 18 months he is on a time line! Pushy parents aren't we!
Happy birthday to Neil for last week and Michael, Clare and Craig for this week. I know Craig had a great day and I also hope the remainder had a good time too.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Photo catch-up
I took Callum to be weighed today. He is 10.95kg and 83cm long. He is below average on the graph for weight but given they were made for American bottle fed babies, I am certainly not worried about that!
Cal is so active at the moment. He can spontaneously walk half a dozen steps now, so I think in a few weeks he will be off on his own! He also prefers to walk just holding one hand and doesn't look for support from walls etc now - he actually guides me so that he keeps away from the walls. My camera is on the blink, so if I can get a decent movie of Callum having a toddle, I will post it on the blog.
Caitlin has decided that she loves to get her face painted, so on market day we went to see Candy the Clown. I keps prompting Caitlin about what she might like tohave her face painted as - Princess, fairy, butterfly, flower - NO! she wanted to be a clown just like Candy! I have scrapped this photo with a new technique that I am working on that I cal distress and roll.
We had a lovely family of doves in a nest by the front door. Only 2 days after this photo they had flown the nest.
Mum and I have a new cook book called "Grub" by Jane Lawson. It is all about those old favourites that we used to love and make heaps - french onion dip, corn relish, apricot chicken and home made crumpets! Caitlin and I had a go at the crumpets and I must say that they were super easy. I was really impressed at how they turned out - heaps and heaps better than the bought ones. We will be making them again soon I think.
Last market day Caitlin came along to help with the market stall, which I absolutely love her doing - she is actually a great help. She drew on a heap of our paper bags to decorate them so that people who bought a balm on that day got an original piece of Caitlin's art! Just look at how grown up she looks here manning the stall.
Here is a pic of our little man who can be found anywhere within the perimeter of our fence at the moment. I am sure he would go even further if he could figure out how to get the gates open! He is certainly not afraid to explore! I found him down near the stable only a few days ago! He loves it in the laundry too and I have to check the washing machine before I put anything in there now - today there was a jewellery box in there! I also found him with one of the laundry buckets on his head - testing it out for size. He thought it was a great game.
Caitlin has speach therapy again this afternoon. She is going so well. Craig and I are so very proud of the progress she is making. We have been working on words that start with G and other words that end in S. We have noticed a huge improvement in those words, but also in many other words that she had been having problems with. I am trying to get her to say "the" in the right spot now too, because she has previously replaced it with "a" so breaking that pattern may be a trial.
It is card swap time again (I have only just finished mine - I am so slow with them at the moment). Margie has set the challenge as a baby card. I think it is a great one because we haven't done anything along those lines yet. Good thinking Marg. I may post some cards in a later post.
Cal is so active at the moment. He can spontaneously walk half a dozen steps now, so I think in a few weeks he will be off on his own! He also prefers to walk just holding one hand and doesn't look for support from walls etc now - he actually guides me so that he keeps away from the walls. My camera is on the blink, so if I can get a decent movie of Callum having a toddle, I will post it on the blog.
Caitlin has decided that she loves to get her face painted, so on market day we went to see Candy the Clown. I keps prompting Caitlin about what she might like tohave her face painted as - Princess, fairy, butterfly, flower - NO! she wanted to be a clown just like Candy! I have scrapped this photo with a new technique that I am working on that I cal distress and roll.
We had a lovely family of doves in a nest by the front door. Only 2 days after this photo they had flown the nest.
Mum and I have a new cook book called "Grub" by Jane Lawson. It is all about those old favourites that we used to love and make heaps - french onion dip, corn relish, apricot chicken and home made crumpets! Caitlin and I had a go at the crumpets and I must say that they were super easy. I was really impressed at how they turned out - heaps and heaps better than the bought ones. We will be making them again soon I think.
Last market day Caitlin came along to help with the market stall, which I absolutely love her doing - she is actually a great help. She drew on a heap of our paper bags to decorate them so that people who bought a balm on that day got an original piece of Caitlin's art! Just look at how grown up she looks here manning the stall.
Here is a pic of our little man who can be found anywhere within the perimeter of our fence at the moment. I am sure he would go even further if he could figure out how to get the gates open! He is certainly not afraid to explore! I found him down near the stable only a few days ago! He loves it in the laundry too and I have to check the washing machine before I put anything in there now - today there was a jewellery box in there! I also found him with one of the laundry buckets on his head - testing it out for size. He thought it was a great game.
Caitlin has speach therapy again this afternoon. She is going so well. Craig and I are so very proud of the progress she is making. We have been working on words that start with G and other words that end in S. We have noticed a huge improvement in those words, but also in many other words that she had been having problems with. I am trying to get her to say "the" in the right spot now too, because she has previously replaced it with "a" so breaking that pattern may be a trial.
It is card swap time again (I have only just finished mine - I am so slow with them at the moment). Margie has set the challenge as a baby card. I think it is a great one because we haven't done anything along those lines yet. Good thinking Marg. I may post some cards in a later post.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Photoshop tips
I found these tips on Designer Digitals and thought they would come in handy in the future.
How to Straighten a Photo in Photoshop:
Get the Ruler Tool which is hiding under the Eyedropper Tool in the Tool Palette. Click and hold the mouse on the Eyedropper Tool until the fly-out menu appears, showing the tools hiding under the Eyedropper. Click on the Ruler Tool to select it.
(Note: in earlier versions of Photoshop, select the Tape Measure Tool or Measure Tool which hides under the Eyedropper Tool in the Tool Palette.)
Find something in the photo that should be a straight horizontal or vertical line. A horizon, a piece of furniture, someone’s belt, or anything else that can tell Photoshop what “level” should be (but isn’t!)
Position your cursor on one end of the unlevel line you selected in the last step. Click and hold as you drag out a thin line from end to end, following the unlevel line. The line you are drawing should not be level. When you reach the end, let go of the mouse.
Choose Image > Rotate Canvas > Arbitrary.
Photoshop will automatically calculate the angle of rotation that will make your image level. Click OK in the Rotate Canvas Dialog box and watch as Photoshop automagically uses your line to level the photo.
Finally, select the Crop Tool and crop away the canvas surrounding the straightened photo.
A Text Message
Photoshop and PSE have a handy feature that makes it easy to edit type. With the Text Tool selected, the software detects when you move the cursor close to existing type. Photoshop and PSE are programmed to assume that you want to edit your type, so the software selects the existing type layer. This is helpful most of the time, but if you are trying to add new text close to your existing type, this feature prevents you from being able to perform the task.
When this happens, you can disable the feature by holding the Shift key as you click with the Text Tool. Holding the Shift key allows you to create a new text layer, ignoring the existing type. You can even create a new line of text on top of your existing text this way!
How to Straighten a Photo in Photoshop:
Get the Ruler Tool which is hiding under the Eyedropper Tool in the Tool Palette. Click and hold the mouse on the Eyedropper Tool until the fly-out menu appears, showing the tools hiding under the Eyedropper. Click on the Ruler Tool to select it.
(Note: in earlier versions of Photoshop, select the Tape Measure Tool or Measure Tool which hides under the Eyedropper Tool in the Tool Palette.)
Find something in the photo that should be a straight horizontal or vertical line. A horizon, a piece of furniture, someone’s belt, or anything else that can tell Photoshop what “level” should be (but isn’t!)
Position your cursor on one end of the unlevel line you selected in the last step. Click and hold as you drag out a thin line from end to end, following the unlevel line. The line you are drawing should not be level. When you reach the end, let go of the mouse.
Choose Image > Rotate Canvas > Arbitrary.
Photoshop will automatically calculate the angle of rotation that will make your image level. Click OK in the Rotate Canvas Dialog box and watch as Photoshop automagically uses your line to level the photo.
Finally, select the Crop Tool and crop away the canvas surrounding the straightened photo.
A Text Message
Photoshop and PSE have a handy feature that makes it easy to edit type. With the Text Tool selected, the software detects when you move the cursor close to existing type. Photoshop and PSE are programmed to assume that you want to edit your type, so the software selects the existing type layer. This is helpful most of the time, but if you are trying to add new text close to your existing type, this feature prevents you from being able to perform the task.
When this happens, you can disable the feature by holding the Shift key as you click with the Text Tool. Holding the Shift key allows you to create a new text layer, ignoring the existing type. You can even create a new line of text on top of your existing text this way!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Flutter by butterfly!
I have been super inspired by this great blog by "lolly chops". She is doing some fantastic craft. The butterfly pic above is a project she did as a take on the Ali Edwards butterfly frame, and anyone who has been to my house lately knows that I have been working on a few of these. Finding this puts a whole new spin on the butterfly project!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Turning 4!
We got back last night from a week in Perth. It was a bit of a mamoth trip. We were a bit disorganised in the morning, so didn't get packed up and ready to go until after 11am. Then we had to drop Mitchi's car back, call in to the Naked Butcher for some yummy nitrate free bacon and because it was late, we stopped for lunch in Mundaring. By the time we got home it was nearly 11pm! Needless to say, the kids weren't up until 8.30am.
We had a great time and got out and kept busy because we had a car to get around in. Craig's work colleague, Mitchi, is away at the moment, so the kids and I used his work car. One of the fun things we did was to go to the museum. Caitlin had requested a trip to see some dinosaurs, so off we trecked and had a look. The museum has been renovated since I was there last and it is fantastic - there is even a kids interactive zone! I would highly recommend it if you are passing through Perth.
I also bought myself a new wok. I was fed up with the old one (well, not really that old) and decided that instead of buying mid range pans and having them last 1-2 years, I was going to get a really good one with a guarantee of long life, which would in the end be cheaper. So, I saw a scan pan wok on sale (over $100 off) and got that. It came with a free lid and steamer basket, both of which I will use) so I feel as though I have gotten a great deal. Tonight we are having stirfry for tea!
Caitlin enjoyed her birthday with Nan and Pop Slater in Perth. Some friends and their children also joined us to help make Caitlins day special. We went bowling and then out for pizza and had such a fun time. Caitlin had put in this request weeks ago, so it was great to follow-through so that she felt special. Now my little girl is 4! I must say the cake was probably the worst I have ever made! I didn't have enough butter to make butter creme icing, then didn't have enough icing sugar to make enough icing to decorate it properly, then Caitlin got stuck into the smarties and I ended up with enough to go only 2/3 of the way around the cake, and with the help of a 4 year old to decorate it, the cake ended up looking rather unique! It tasted good though and a cake with candles makes a birthday complete.
Just to catch up on a few pictures, I have added some random ones here.
Caitlin and Callum love the swing set. Callum is enjoying going down the slide now with some assistance.
Callum has started doing what Caitlin used to do - hop into the dishwasher! I am surprised he hasn't broken the door because he is a heavy little thing!
Here is a pic of my gorgeous girl on her first day of school. She is loving school and can't wait to get back there each school day. She has a uniform of bright yellow t-shirt and black skort, which is far too big for her, but better than getting her day clothes stained.
Here is Caitlin in action putting on her name badge in class. Now that they have been going a few weeks, they no longer need them because the teacher has learned all their names.
I have far more photos and will update again soon!
We had a great time and got out and kept busy because we had a car to get around in. Craig's work colleague, Mitchi, is away at the moment, so the kids and I used his work car. One of the fun things we did was to go to the museum. Caitlin had requested a trip to see some dinosaurs, so off we trecked and had a look. The museum has been renovated since I was there last and it is fantastic - there is even a kids interactive zone! I would highly recommend it if you are passing through Perth.
I also bought myself a new wok. I was fed up with the old one (well, not really that old) and decided that instead of buying mid range pans and having them last 1-2 years, I was going to get a really good one with a guarantee of long life, which would in the end be cheaper. So, I saw a scan pan wok on sale (over $100 off) and got that. It came with a free lid and steamer basket, both of which I will use) so I feel as though I have gotten a great deal. Tonight we are having stirfry for tea!
Caitlin enjoyed her birthday with Nan and Pop Slater in Perth. Some friends and their children also joined us to help make Caitlins day special. We went bowling and then out for pizza and had such a fun time. Caitlin had put in this request weeks ago, so it was great to follow-through so that she felt special. Now my little girl is 4! I must say the cake was probably the worst I have ever made! I didn't have enough butter to make butter creme icing, then didn't have enough icing sugar to make enough icing to decorate it properly, then Caitlin got stuck into the smarties and I ended up with enough to go only 2/3 of the way around the cake, and with the help of a 4 year old to decorate it, the cake ended up looking rather unique! It tasted good though and a cake with candles makes a birthday complete.
Just to catch up on a few pictures, I have added some random ones here.
Caitlin and Callum love the swing set. Callum is enjoying going down the slide now with some assistance.
Callum has started doing what Caitlin used to do - hop into the dishwasher! I am surprised he hasn't broken the door because he is a heavy little thing!
Here is a pic of my gorgeous girl on her first day of school. She is loving school and can't wait to get back there each school day. She has a uniform of bright yellow t-shirt and black skort, which is far too big for her, but better than getting her day clothes stained.
Here is Caitlin in action putting on her name badge in class. Now that they have been going a few weeks, they no longer need them because the teacher has learned all their names.
I have far more photos and will update again soon!
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