Sweet Summer

Sweet, sweet summer.  As the last days of summer are slipping through our fingers we are full steam ahead to do some of those fun things that we wanted to do.  From revisiting our blog, to getting artsy, we are doing it with gusto!

Last week, as we contemplated what fun thing to do for the day, the girls and I decided to try our hand at making sidewalk paint.  And guess what?  It worked!

It was actually quite easy.  A little bit of cornstarch, some water and some food coloring and we were good to go.  The boys opted out of joining the girls and I outside in the 1000% humidity so we enjoyed our art time alone.

And, after all of mommy's efforts to do something fun and exciting guess who gets the glory?

Funny, isn't it?  Sometimes you just have to smile :-)

Exciting Times

So it has been a while since I have posted here but it doesn't mean that life hasn't been happening. It has been happening- fast and furious- but good. So , what is it that has brought me back to the good old family blog? Well, it boils down to a little bit of guilt and a whole lot of learning. I have been spending the colder winter weather catching my breath from the busy Christmas season. Before Christmas, I was behind my camera a lot shooting for other people. Once the holiday rush subsided I was able to pick my camera back up for me. I have been taking a few photography courses and shooting my kids for the fun of it. Over the past few months my hard drive has been filling up with oodles of images that melt my heart but I haven't done a thing with them. Just having them has been enough for me. So, in the hopes of preserving some memories for my kids- back to the blog I go!

Out of hibernation and into capturing my family happening again. Tonight we start with the two big events of the day. One event was a milestone while the other is just a quirky little thing that makes one a part of the Reno family.

Let's start with the quirky one! Below you will see images captured while we scarfed down our pizza tonight ( mommy wasn't together enough to pick up from two schools, bake my friend a birthday cake and get Liza to dance AND cook dinner). If you are at all familiar with our family than you know we are pretty wild about basketball. This has long been a favorite time of year for me- March Madness- and I am proud to say all of my kids are getting to be pretty wild about it too.

Today, at dinner, we all made our brackets- and I do mean ALL of us. Even Louisa has a bracket. Although, we aren't too sure about hers since she kept telling us Mickey Mouse was going to win every game. The bigger kids did their best to help her pick winners though. Liza picked her winners by figuring out which mascot would win out over the other. Harrison conferred with is dad for his picks and Ben has been watching enough SportsCenter to do his picks blindfolded! So, all six of our brackets are done. Let the games begin!

This leads us to the second big event of the day. See all those papers down there? Those are registration papers. Liza is now officially registered for "big school". As hard as it is to believe our little girl who wasn't even a year old when we moved here, is now getting ready to follow her big brothers to elementary school. When I see that picture of her walking with her little friend into school I know she is ready. Now, let's just hope mommy is ready when the fall rolls around!

So, those are the big happenings from the Reno crew. No, it isn't anything earth-shattering, but in our corner of the world this is the stuff that life is made of. And it is good stuff.

Summer Fun

I just logged on and I can't believe I haven't posted since April! Yikes! Where has the time gone? Here are a few things that have happened since April:

* Ed and I have both turned 40. ( Yes, we are really that old!)

* Ben has turned into a 4th grader and Harrison is now a 1st grader.

* Liza is getting ready to start her last year of preschool.

* Louisa has become quite the chatter box.

* We enjoyed taking Liza on her first trip to the magical place that is Disney.

* We enjoyed a family reunion and got to introduce all the kids to the farm where my mom grew up.

* Ben played a summer season with the New Bern All Stars again.

* Liza and Harrison got to play on the same t-ball team.

* Harrison conquered his fear of jumping into the pool.

* The kids and I enjoyed a week at Emerald Isle.

* The whole Kurzmann clan gathered for a fun filled week at Kiawah Island.

* Liza participated in her first dance recital.

* Liza got a new hair-do. She now matches her mommy :-)

* We enjoyed a fun week of Vacation Bible School.

We have had a great summer and I am sad to see it come to an end. I like having all my babies at home with me. And yes, they have pushed my buttons a bit. I mean really, four kids at home all summer?? Of course they have had their disagreements and thrown their fits. But, all in all, I just love these little people! They are becoming such interesting people and I love being around them.

Hope you guys have had a great summer too!

Spring Break Photo Share

That photo up there about sums up our spring break. Can't you just hear the giggles and imagine the splashing? We have enjoyed all kinds of fun this break. Most of these images are from our quick trip down to the beach to see my younger sister and her family. That shot up there is my two oldest playing with her two oldest. Don't you just love it?

And here is Sarah's husband with their youngest. I just love it. Don't you just love how little Noah has his arm across his Daddy's shoulder? Too sweet!

And here is my cutie patootie baby. This was her first trip to the beach since she has learned to walk. After a few minutes of getting her feet used to the sand she was good to go. She wandered all over.

And this is a view we have of our little Louisa quite a lot. Seems she isn't scared of leaving us behind.

And this is one of my favorite shots from our little playdate on the beach. See? I told you she wasn't scared of leaving us behind...

Now, in addition to our trip to the beach we enjoyed a trip up to Williamsburg. On the way there we stopped at the "Invisible Swamp" also known as the Great Dismal Swamp. Seems Harrison really liked our rest stop there and he wanted to go to the invisible place on the way home.

We also enjoyed Easter Day in Raleigh where all the Kurzmann girls met up with Mom Mom and Pop Pop. The cousins had a great time running around the yard and eating Mom Mom's good cooking.

Back in New Bern we had playdates with friends, had multiple movie nights, stayed up late and slept in ( as late as a baby will let you) and had good old fun just hanging out. Sadly, spring break is coming to an end but the good memories we made won't.

Spring Trainning

With baseball season getting ready to open up, the Reno boys have been hard at practice. Thanks to the awesome weather we have been enjoying, we have been able to go play in the backyard after dinner on most nights. A few nights ago we all went out in the backyard and the boys showed their momma what they can do.

Harrison is getting pretty good! It will be his last year playing t-ball and I can tell he is ready to move up. He can really whack the ball off the pitch and last night he was giggling away as he kept hitting them over the fence. Way to go my little H man!

Benjamin is also working hard. Last year he played an outfield position but I could tell he kind of wanted to play one of the bases. He has been working on playing first base this year and I think he is excited about it. The picture below just cracks me up. As Ben was getting ready to wing the ball over to Ed, little Miss Louisa came marching up to him yelling his name. I just love the little look on her face as she gazed up at her big brother. And, I love how he actually stopped to enjoy it. Not many 9 year old boys would stop what they are doing but this one is tender hearted when it comes to little sisters.
So, that is all for tonight. I figured it was about time I posted something of the boys, even if it was their backs! Of course, I have a gazillion things I could post about Louisa- her sitting on the table, her learning to blow her nose ( now if we can just teach her to do it with a tissue!), etc. But, I'll save those for another day....

Fourth Time is the Charm- or Not...

Awww, look at that sweet, little toddler. Isn't she the cutest? I do think she is the cutest thing ever BUT I must tell you her looks are deceiving. She is the baby of four so you would think we have this stuff down pat. Right?

Well, little cutie pa-tootie up there seems to be here to show us that we do NOT have it all down. She is our "wild child". Now, I had friends who used to say their kids were high maintenance and I always wondered what they meant. I didn't think babies were so hard. At least my babies weren't so hard. I thought my friends were just exaggerating a bit. Now, I know they weren't. Some kids really are high maintenance and it appears that the last one we ordered up falls into that category.

Last night Louisa thought it would be fun to start climbing on things. Good-bye sitting down for me. Seems I am constantly having to get up to remove her from furniture these days. Remember her big sister Liza who didn't walk until she was 18 months? She never would have thought about climbing on furniture. Come to think of it, she still isn't a big climber.

A while back Louisa discovered how to open our cabinets- the ones where we keep food. So long to keeping food IN the cabinets. Now my counters always look messy because I have to keep things where she can't get them.

With the weather turning nice we have been going outside to play a lot. Smarty pants has discovered that our yard connects to our neighbor's yard. Obviously she likes their lawn much better since she kept running over there today. Sadly, she also pitched a fit each time I ran to bring her back into our yard. I sure will miss you, calm afternoons relaxing outside with the kids.

Smarty pants has also discovered what each door of the house sounds like. If she hears the boys' door open ( it leads to upstairs) she takes off like a flash to try to scramble up the stairs. Or, if she hears a bathroom door open, she quickly tries to find the room with that awesome bowl that holds water. Yes- she is our toilet playing baby! So, we have recently had to adopt a "close all the doors" policy. Good-bye moving freely from room to room.

Now, lest you think that we don't adore our baby Louisa, I can share some things that we just eat up about her:

She clearly, and distinctly has a name for each of us. There is nothing like a baby calling out her sweet names for you or her siblings or her dada. My favorite name that she has adopted- her name for Harrison, "No No". That just cracks me up! I must tell Harrison "no" a lot!

She is our Linus. She has a baby blanket that she cuddles up with. When she gets tired she marches into her room, sticks her chubby little arms through the spokes of the crib and hauls that blankie right out.

When you pick her up ( especially from a nap) she lays her head on your shoulder and pats your back like she is trying to make you feel better.

She laughs a great big belly laugh when you say, "Bumblebee, bumblebee....Buzz!".

So, while I should have this child rearing stuff down, I most obviously do not. But, I do at least have the foresight to know that it won't be long before I am missing her crazy toddler antics. Just as I survived those months of little to no sleep, I will survive Louisa's crazy toddler days. Now, if we can just get the house to survive.....

BLOOMWORKSHOP Birthday Giveaway!

I have been busy doing my homework for Bloom, the online workshop I am taking. That picture up there was one of the shots I took trying to complete the assignment. When I put the camera down and turned on the computer I made the mistake of going on the workshop forum. There is so much info. there you could get lost for a week! That's a good thing though. Good information, great classmates and awesome teachers who could ask for more?

As I was reading the forum I was reminded of the birthday bash going on for this workshop. The workshop's birthday is going on now and, the good part for us is that they are giving away prizes! For a chance to win visit their blog, follow the directions and then leave them a comment about what you did. Easy-peasy :-)

Still Learning

Before I became a stay at home mom, I was a teacher. I LOVED teaching. One of the things I loved was that I was constantly learning. Whether it was learning new curriculum, learning how a student learns best, or learning new teaching techniques, I was always learning.

So, while I am not still teaching in a classroom, I am still learning new things everyday. Photography became my passion a while back and I started learning. The learning just keeps on going and it never ceases to amaze me the amount of information out there.

I am busy learning a lot over these next few weeks while taking an online course. I can't begin to tell you all the things I learned this week but that picture up there shows you a few. From learning how to nail exposure with natural light, to faking a studio look ( that picture up there was actually shot in my bedroom!), to converting images to a great looking black and white- I have been learning! And that makes me happy :-)

Where's My Baby??

My days of babies are dwindling down. I can't believe it. How have all my babies gotten so big? We have been used to watching Louisa "walk" around on her knees for the past few months. Seems she has had absolutely no need to use her feet. And you should see this girl! She is fast- feet or no feet, this girl can move!

But recently, our little Louisa has discovered that she can actually walk on her feet. She is really encouraged to get up on those feet when one of her siblings beckons her. Look at big sis back there cheering her on.

I think Liza may just well be Louisa's biggest cheerleader. I don't know who was happier that she was walking- Louisa or Liza.

And it is so sweet when little sis makes it to big sis. I love that my girls love each other. Look at this hug :-)! I know, as they get older they will have their spats but I do believe that they won't forget these little moments that they share.

I am so thankful that my kiddos have each other to cheer them on. And I am thankful that when these little milestones happen I have some little people around here who share my joy. I just can't believe that my babies are all getting bigger. Now that she is walking I guess she is officially a toddler. Oh my!

Ahead of the Game- Planning Valentines!

I just finished posting these on my photography blog and couldn't resist sharing them here as well. I am so excited about Valentine's Day this year. I have found the cutest card templates. Now if I can just decide which to use!

How Cute Are These Girls?

So, I am playing around with my camera this afternoon and my girls actually cooperated and let me take some pictures while they played. Occasionally, I could get Liza to look at me. You should see the number of pictures I have of her looking down. This one was cuter though.

After a while, these are the looks I got from Liza. Can't you just hear her, "Seriously... M-om."

And here is my littlest cutie. I tell you, I have more blurry shots of this child then any of the others as babies. She is all over the place. Sometimes I managed to catch her, like for this one brief moment.

And here is the little one with one of her favorite toys to steal from her big sister- the Leapster. Thank goodness Leapsters are tough. As you can see Louisa likes the taste of Leapsters :-0!

And finally, this image just cracks me up. Na- nanny-boo-boo!

Not much else to share tonight other than my sweet little girls!

A Few From the Birthday Gathering

Liza's birthday party is not for a few more weekends. The holidays got the best of her mommy and the slacker didn't book her party early enough :-0! Oh well, gives us something to look forward too.

The night was still special though. Our best buddies came over to eat cake with us and a pretty cake it was. Check it out! Liza picked out the colors. ( And no- I didn't make it. )

Liza enjoyed opening presents. She loved her leapster game that got. She inherited the leapster once Harrison got a DS. Now that she has a "girl game" I am thinking it will be pulled out a lot more often. Her favorite thing so far about it? There is a sing along! Now she can sing with the princesses!

This picture just cracks me up. Look at the crowd at her little psuedo party- ALL boys ( except Louisa). How cute is that? My girl is a girly girl. She loves to wear dresses, insists on wearing dresses, loves dolls and makeup BUT she can hang with the boys. She is no push over. On any other day you may catch her wielding a light saber, yelling and chasing these boys. But, for today she was a little birthday princess.

Clapping at the singing. Remember, this girls loves to sing and I guess she loves to be serenaded too.

And a wish!

We had a lot of fun for such an impromptu party. Maybe this birthday planning stuff isn't needed after all. Give us cake and our awesome neighbors and that is party enough!

The Birthday Girl

Liza's 4th birthday was yesterday. Hard to believe, but my big girl is now 4! We let her open one present in the morning- this pretty pink jumper. It had an adorable polka dot cardigan to accompany it. The cheery little cardigan is what made me buy the outfit as a birthday present. It just screamed birthday dress to me. But, 4 year old girls are quite particular about what they wear. So, sorry. Liza wanted the whole dress to show in her picture which meant no cardigan.

Here is my little birthday girl looking like she just might eat that lollipop before I tell her she can.

And this shot made me think she must have been dreaming of her valentine. Such a funny little thing she is!

And this one, I processed a little different with a Florabella Action. I just love the cool and dreamy look of it.

And this one is just my sweet little LuLu.

Happy Birthday my sweet girl. You are mommy's angel girl, sent straight from heaven.

Wow-Za!

I can't stand to post without pictures. And, I have been so busy doing pictures for other people and trying to keep up with my kiddos that I have not been taking many pictures for me. However, yesterday I received a nice little package in the mail. In the package was my "new to me" lens that I have been wanting for a while. I found one for sale on one of my photography forums and had a little money from my business to reinvest so I bought it.

And oh my goodness! I LOVE it! I don't think I will take this lens off for a while. Well, I take that back. I told Ed that we could wrap it up for me for my Christmas present. Sad, I know but hey Christmas is really about the kids.

So, here are few test shots with my new baby:

Check out Liza's dismount from the rings. Lovely, huh?

And look how sharp she is here!

And, not only does this little baby take nice pics outside, it does well inside too. I surprised Louisa. Look at her cute little mouth.

Liza was not so surprised. She knows mommy can be crazy with a camera sometimes. I love how she cut her eyes at me.

And here I cracked the little lady up. I guess mommy taking pictures of you trying to take a bath can be pretty funny.

So, there you have it. A few shots with my new lens. Wow-za it is sharp! I just can't even stand it. Yes, I am a geek. I love a new toy that works well. Perhaps after I unwrap it at Christmas you will see some more pictures!

Fourteen Years

I can't post without a picture so let's just get that part out of the way. Here are a few shots of my kids with their cousins. All the kids had a teacher workday so we met up at Mom Mom and Pop Pop's house for a fun day. No, you can't tell they were having any fun, can you?

So, on to the real topic of the post...

Fourteen years ago Ed and I were married. ( Well, actually 14 years plus one day- I'm up way too late!) Hard to think back to the people we were 14 years ago. It is amazing how much we have each changed and grown.

Tonight, as I was getting the kids ready for the babysitter's arrival, Harrison asked why they were going out with us. As I explained to him that 14 years ago it was just Daddy and Mommy I could see Liza's face show complete amazement. What? Mommy and Daddy without B, H, L and L?? Her response to me, after she processed this idea was, "Poor Mommy". And you know what? I agree. Don't get me wrong. Ed and I were very happy for the five years we were married before the kids came along. We thought we were "living large". We slept in, had fun, went on trips, went to the movies, ate out, etc. Sure, we have traded some of those things in or modified them slightly.

Sleeping in now means 7:00 or 7:30 ( not 10:00 or 10:30), we still have fun but now have more people to share it with.

We still go on trips but really just in between sport seasons these days. Potty breaks are no longer put off "just thirty more minutes" and we actually stop during meal times.

Instead of going to the movies we have family movie nights or watch shows we have DVR'd. And of course, we have popcorn in our individual popcorn buckets- and soda too!

Going out to eat has been transformed into teaching the kids how to cook. They pick what they want to make and I assist. My kids WILL know how to cook!

So, yes, times have changed in 14 years but I know all too soon we will returning to a time when it is just me and Ed. For now I will enjoy the times here and there that Ed and I get to ourselves. Our 14 years together have been so worth every minute of every day. All I have to do to see the value in our past years is to look at the four little faces of my kiddos :-)

Moving at Light Speed These Days

OK, so a while back I thought to myself how I have to get back into the blog thing. When I print this sucker out I don't want huge gaps in it! So, I haven't been the greatest at getting back to it but I have been thinking about it. That counts for something, right?

We continue to be super busy but I am seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. Soccer for Harrison ended this weekend and football will end next weekend. ( Alleluia!!) I will get my Saturdays back for about 5 weeks before basketball starts. And, I will have an extra night a week without having to shuttle the kids from here to there. Yipee! So, now that we will be around a bit more, perhaps I can post a bit more.

So, to get you caught up on everyone:

Ben is doing great. He is in a fantastic class and he is learning to push himself and work his hardest. He is learning there is no substitute for doing what has to be done. He has done really well in football, which I love and hate. I keep hoping he will outgrow his love of the sport. Who wants their boy getting tackled?

Harrison is really taking off in kindergarten. He suffered his first "note home" last week. He had to move his "car" off the green road onto the yellow road :-0! When I asked him why he said he was "just having fun in centers". Well, I guess there could be worse things, huh? He didn't hurt anyone, say anything mean, or be disrespectful. He was simply having too much fun. :-) The first time this happened to Ben, he fell to pieces. Harrison??? Not so much. All I got was the sly little sideways smile that let me know he knew he shouldn't have gotten in trouble.

As for Liza, she is growing like a weed. She keeps reminding us that she will soon be four. Why? Because in our family you get to go to Disney once you turn four. The boys have already told her all about the place and she just wants to go. I'm not sure who wants to go more- her or Ed :-) Liza is also looking forward to her little Christmas dance. She is excited that her daddy will be coming to watch her. I can't wait to see it. Dance for 3 and 4 year olds is so entertaining!

And finally, Louisa! That girl is surely our last baby! I tell you, she is going to do us in. Her favorite room in the house is the bathroom. The toilet brush, the toilet, the toilet paper- all such fun things for a baby. Her favorite place to escape to? The boys' room- upstairs! If she even thinks their door is open she will crawl down the hallway in no time and scurry up those stairs. She is our wild woman. She is our most curious baby by far and baby proofing has to go to a whole new level with this one!

As for Ed and I, we are well. We are getting ready to celebrate our 14th anniversary. Kind of hard to believe 14 years have gone by!

And because I can't post without a picture... There's a shot of Ben up there from today. I was playing around with some settings on my camera, trying to see how I can set the camera up to do the processing that I want rather than having to pull everything into photoshop to get it like I like. I think I may have found some settings that will work for my "around the house" type pics.

Now that things are slowing down, and we might be around the house more, perhaps I will post more. One can always hope ;-)

Jedi Princess

This just cracks me up. My little Jedi princess throwing the force at me. Can you tell she is well versed in all things Star Wars?

May the force be with you!

My Little Beauty

Yes, I know I am biased, but this girl is striking to me. She is fiesty but sweet. She is sweet and tart. She is laid back but intense. She is all about paradox! She is two sides to the same coin.

Mommy loves you sweet girl. Thanks for being my model.