iPhone Camera vs. DSLR

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars. ~Les Brown

I pretty much have a camera attached to me at all times. If not the DSLR, I take the iPhone everywhere. Sometimes the iPhone is enough. Other times... like when the Super Moon stopped by recently, I was painfully aware of the major differences between the iPhone camera and my Canon 40D.

For example:

The MOON on iPhone...



The MOON on Canon 40D...

(photo by bananaking on flickr)

Big difference, eh? Yeah. So there are some things that you can't do unless you spring for the big guns. Depending on what lenses you add to your big gun, you can do amazing things - awesome things.

I have had a couple of years to learn that even my "big gun" (40D) isn't big enough to do a lot of things I want to do.Renting the 5D Mark II a few times to do professional photography assignments (including the two weeks I used it for my church photo directory) really showed me some limits that I had with my already high end DSLR. I have quite a few photog buddies who already have this camera and have showed me some differences between the Mark II and mine which make what I love doing - conference and portrait photography - a lot easier. Spending time with Mr. Mark II was enough to push me over the edge. And so, I have decided to take my photography to the next level... even as painful as purchasing the next big gun might be (with plastic - and I hate using plastic, trust me; I'm trying to get out of debt).

Because...

Here's the moon on 5D Mark II...

(photo by claytonkaras.com on flickr)

So I'm going to have to sell my Canon 40D. Even though both of my children are sure to whine about it. I have to help pay for this crazy move somehow. [I may be forcing my kids to sell lemonade all summer. #justkidding, #sortof]

You interested in upgrading to a Canon 40D from your fixed lens point and shoot (like the iPhone)? I've got one that's looking for a good home. She'll be coming to you without lenses (keeping those for the Mark II), but with 2 batteries, a cord for computer upload, a box and manual... and a lot of great memories. [You can get a cheap 50 mm Canon lens for 100$ new at your local photography shop.]

Email me if you are interested!

Bluebonnet Time (every Texas spring)

In case you haven't noticed yet, I'm a native Texan... and we Texans have a little crush on our state. Especially lovely are the things we think make Texas wonderful: like bluebonnets, which happen to be the state flower.



This year's bluebonnets were THICK, y'all. Maybe it was the drought last year? That's what we were guessing. I wondered if we would ever see green again after being in the worst drought in Texas history last summer.



Anyway, whatever the reason, we were delighted to get out and enjoy them... and to do a little science and research lesson about our bold, blue floral friends with Lucas Miller's book: Bluebonnet Time



I love a good Texan picturebook... especially one with cute illustrations and lots of fun facts in the margins. This one came with MUSIC, too!



There's a CD that has fun bluebonnet hunting (and photo-taking adventure) music for your drive!



The book is an Evan Wilder science journal - and it includes everything you might want to learn about bluebonnets. Fancy that!



The author of Bluebonnet Time is also a singer-songwriter that goes by the nickname "the Singing Zoologist". In fact, you can listen to his bluebonnet theme song in the little movie above.



Bluebonnets are awesome - who wouldn't want to learn more about them? If you are a Texas educator, a Texas parent, or just a bluebonnet lover, I'd say this book would be a perfect fit for your library.



As good as the book was, though, the flowers are what took the cake on our bluebonnet photo field-trip this year. I thought we might lose a three year old in the deeper spots.



The rain has been awesome this spring... and things are lovely here. Now that these pretty blue flowers are gone, there are fields of yellow in their place.



I'm still remembering the blue. See you next spring, bluebonnets!







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disclosure: I was provided a free copy of this book to review, but the opinions are my own.

Every Day is Mother’s Day

It isn’t too late to thank a good mother just because the national holiday has come and gone. Moms don’t get a day off – and it seems kind of silly to limit the gratitude to one day per year.

Trust me. I know first hand (times 4) how much encouragement a mom needs all year.

Motherhood is hard. Sticky. Gritty. Taxing. Never-ending. [Sometimes painful.]

It’s also wonderful. Amazing. Beautiful. Fulfilling. Fun.

It’s hard to explain.



A blogging friend of mine decided she wanted to capture the “mess and glory” of motherhood. She gathered the thoughts, experiences, and photographs from many mothers and compiled them in an e-book: Mother Letters.

I'm so humbled to be one of the featured mom photographers in the book! She included my little instagram picture of the "bite after bath time" included in this post. Teething is one of those painful moments for both baby and mama!

I wanted to share about it earlier, but I was in the middle of my “10 Days of Accidental Unschooling”, and then I had a homeschool conference to attend out of town this weekend. I’m planning to download Mother Letters to my iPad. It will be my very first book that I’ve downloaded by myself. You have to learn to live with technology - you can't let your teenagers get too far ahead of you!

Right now, if you hurry, you can buy a copy of the ebook PDF and get a second one for free. The Mother's Day sale ended last night, but I asked Squee! to give me a code for my readers to purchase the book. This week only, you have one additional week to get the Mother's Day BOGO deal (Buy 1, Get 1 Free!). Think of a great mom you know – perhaps a good friend who needs some encouragement.

Enter the code SprittiBOGO at checkout and then you'll both have one to read together! Hurry because the deal is over at midnight on May 22nd!

It’s not too late to bless a good mother with a copy of Mother Letters!




Disclosure: I signed up to be a Mother Letters affiliate, so if you purchase the book through my links, I will get a small commission. Thank you for helping support my blog through my affiliate links!


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Christmas 2011 Photo Wrap-Up

1. Grandma Betty and her lovely sisters (who all COOK like Ninjas), 2. Christmas Eve at Grandma's #christmas #holiday #tree, 3. Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Musil, 4. Worm Pie, Frosty, and a Cardinal on the tree #christmas, 5. Good Christmas Eats #holiday #christmas #food, 6. Christmas Day 2011, 7. A child's dream come true. #christmas #toys, 8. Pink December #christmas #nature #plants, 9. My little sugar lump. #cute #instababy, 10. fireplace-crawl, 11. bettytree2011, 12. Frosty #snowman #winter #January #happy #smile

I know it isn't Camera Phone Friday yet, but I wanted to wrap up the Christmas pictures just like I'm wrapping up the Christmas decorations. I'm on the ball this year getting things put away.

We're boxing more than Christmas up, too. We have already taken a load of clothes to good will, a load of old towels to the animal shelter, and soon we'll be taking a load of stuffed animals to the fire station. Oh, and two boxes to the post office.

Then there are the bookshelves that still need to be purged and the closets to go through in the kids' rooms. And the piles of paperwork and procrastination projects to tackle...

So while I'm busy trying to keep my sanity over here... be sure to stop by the Homeschool Post where we have an even busier mama talking about enjoying the journey today. That seems to be a theme lately.

I hope you are enjoying life's little moments as treasures where ever you are and what ever you are doing!









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2011 in Pictures

Saying good bye to a year is hard. Especially one that was so packed full of one-time memories as 2011 was for us. Fourth child, first smile, first words, first steps... teenage tests and two big kids in glasses and braces at once.

Life took center stage as we went from each moment to the next without catching a breath. 2011 was a marathon. We didn't finish first, but we didn't come in last, either.

Forgive me if I go on and on with the photos. These are a few of my favorites from the year:

January



My funny Viking. We cut his curls off after taking this photo for me to make Valentine cards with. Mama cried.

February






We welcomed the littlest of our four in to the family. I had no idea how much laundry four kids would bring. I have yet to find the bottom of the basket.

March





The cilantro grew and grew and grew. Mama searched for her missing homeschool groove (letcha know when I find it) and #3 learned to get away with a lot more dirt while Daddy was on duty. #1 and #4 became good buds.

April



May








I became addicted to Instagram. Loved my snuggly mother's day gift. The cat got used to having a fourth kid in the house... and the big kids played piano with Chickie.

June









Double trouble. Teens and toddlers are not the best combination for a mama's sanity. However, these two are tight. Koko loves his Momo.

July















That was the photo that made me go on a diet. The one at the Apologia Lunch up there with the fat lady and the baby. And Texas was in the worst drought in U.S. History. Jenn and I took photos for the THSC convention together, too (Texas Homeschool Coalition) - and toured a bit of Texas. We took her to the Alamo. I finally tired out of Freddy's burgers - where I had eaten nearly every week while pregnant with the Gladiator.

August







"Not so diet" diet foods, sneaky decoy pillows, and little boy pouts. These are a few of my favorite things.

September







A brave new world - with a fully mobile child on all fours and pulling up. Sweet visits with friends.

October




The first rain in a loooong time.



My bath time boys.

Nap time was golden... but the little bug wouldn't sleep for very long. He's such a light sleeper!











Leavin' on a jet plane! Morgan, the tiny guy and I - took a trip to the Relevant blog conference and visited Hershey Chocolate World.

November













Just being us. Oh, besides the oral surgery thing. We don't usually get 10 teeth pulled in one visit... but unfortunately, Morgan did in November 2011. Poor thing.

December










And just like that, 2011 was over. Sweet dreams to a very busy year. May we embrace 2012 and live with purpose.




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