McKinley loves her gymnastics practices (photos here) , but has been a little worried about the whole idea of competing in a meet.  But for some reason Friday night, on the way home from her last practice, her worries turned to excitement and she must have told me more than 10 times how excited she was.  Not just a little, but a LOT.

While she was still super excited Saturday morning, at 8:00 warming up before her first event on floor excercise, I could see she was a little nervous.  Her coach told me she was so nervous her little fanny was shaking when she took the floor.

I was sooooooooooo proud of her and the first thing she said to me afterward was when can I do this again.   She loved it.

She remembered all her routines, didn’t fall, or put her hands down on any event and hit all her skills, which is such an accomplishment.   On Wednesday of this week, she did one of her skills for the first time ever.  She’s been trying to learn it for the past year and a half and yet she was able to add it right in to her routine like she’s been doing it forever.   Good timing kid!

She got 3rd place on the beam and scored a 9.55.  But more than anything, she thinks gymnastics is the   b es t   t h i n g now after having so….much…..fun….. and for me as a Mom, that’s all I care about.

McKinley might have been a little nervous, but so was I, which I found a little obvious later when looking at the blurry photos I kept taking.    I wasn’t nervous about what score she got or where she placed, but concerned about those precious little feelings inside my girl.   How would she feel about taking on such a big challenge and putting herself out in front of so many spectators……

and shortly after, I knew…..she was counting the days until she gets to do it all over again…..(big grin.)

Not the best photos (white balance and clarity issues)

but definitely one of the best days.

has been so busy and I just can’t seem to get to the blog.  But I’ve promised myself that I won’t miss getting to the flashback friday.  So in proving to myself that I can be quick (something I am terrible at,) I opened up my old photos file and opened the “matching dresses” folder.  I was just thinking about the fact this week that I might never have another time where I can get the girls in matching dresses, something I’ve loved doing for the last 10 years.  Delaney as you can imagine is far from eager to go along with that and I know that’s pretty normal of her.

I am sure thankful for the fact that I’ve been a die hard camera addict since I became a mom, even though my pictures have always improved a little each year.  Many of my photos from 8 years ago were far from good and even many of them were yellow, which I still have issues with some times when I’m not on the ball.  So don’t feel like if your photos were not great 5 years ago, that you can’t improve them digitally.  There’s some super easy ways to do that and for a special photo here and there, I take the time to do that.  If you’re on a Mac, the IPhoto software can correct things pretty easy, but there are a wealth of ways to do so, depending on what software you have.  So don’t let your skill level at that time, keep you from tweaking some of your photos from being where you would like them to be today, when you open them and use them.  I think that is the key, going back to them and giving them a little time and love (which is exactly why I like having these Friday’s for that purpose.

One of the things I’ve been doing a lot of, is finding themes in the photos that I’ve taken over the years, like matching dresses and photos that show how much the girls look alike, like this one below.  Both girls had really blue eyes when they were little and they changed a little, but I always tried to capture those things when possible in the photo.  (I actually had McK take her pre-school photo in the exact same outfit as Delaney because I wanted to see just how similar they looked at the same age.  That’s got to be a weird Mom thing, but I thought it would be fun and I still love the photo today.  Of course I’m not sure that my girls love that weird Mom thing…..but that’s ok.)  I need to take a picture of both of those and show you….it’s pretty interesting to see them in the same outfit at school at the same age.

Ok, so unfortunately, that’s all I have time for.  McK has a last practice tonight before her first gymnastics meet tomorrow….(I really hope for her that it all goes well.)  I’ll be sure to take some photos….;)

is officially over.

Delaney has been playing since November, which seems like a long season for a 10 year old, but she loves to play.   Unfortunately she’s fighting shin splints this year and so she didn’t enjoy that part of it at all.  After expensive custom made orthodics for her feet, hopefully we’ll correct this issue before next year.  I also wonder if the amount of growth she’s had this year is compounding the issue.

We spent the day Saturday at a tournament.  Note:  I would have given my left arm to play in a basketball tournament at that age…..how lucky to have that available in our area.

Looking at these photos, still just amazes me how long her legs have gotten.  She’s grown 3 inches in 6 months and I think probably about that much the 6 months before.  Those shoes she’s wearing are size 9.  (I think seeing your baby’s feet get as big as yours is hard to swallow.  I expected it eventually, but I wasn’t ready for it by 10 and everything else that goes along with that.)

the good thing about basketball being over  is that means spring is just around the corner….t h a n k  g o o d n e s s.

and just as March hits, we actually have a bright blue sky today….it is beautiful and I will be sure to get outside to enjoy some of it.

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Stamp Giveaway Note:

I asked Marty for the number for the Stamp giveaway and Trudie, it’s your lucky day.  Send me your mailing address and I’ll send you some purdy new stamps.

and….I am working on a post about my albums and books, as a follow up to this post.  What’s changed and what’s still the same….but it’s taking a while to compile.

I remember these as a child too!
p.s. what teenager book are you reading
that helps?! my 10 year old is already
acting like a typical pre-teen! it’s
funny, my 10 year old looks about like a 7
year old! your 10 year old looks more like
what a 10 year old should to me! my daughter
is just super short & tinY! her 8 year old sister
is the same height as her! tara

I’m reading “Get Out of My Life, but First Could You Drive me & Cheryl to the Mall:  A Parent’s Guide to the New Teenager, by Anthony E. Wolf.

The book’s first chapter for me was so eye opening and so helpful for my emotional sanity.   I now have a much better perspective on things I’m starting to see at our house.  From feeling like a bad mother to wondering just what happened to why so much seems so different.   Not everything in the book is a match but it’s been so helpful for me in interpreting much of what we’re headed for with a blooming teenager.   I am now much more able to translate and understand it all.   I have a couple more books on similar topics too, that I know I’ll probably need to read before long as well….

Hi Danelle,
Thanks for posting this. I’ve bought store-bought popcorn balls but my kids didn’t like them. I wonder if they’d like homemade ones a little better (plus I could make them a little smaller to make it easier for them to eat too). What is your facebook page? I tried searching for Danelle Johnson and got 55 results! And none of them looked like you…

Danelle, why don’t you plan a “stay-cation” for one of those 10 days!

Take some time NOW to plan it, and make it special. That way, you can get your work done, but still honor the time you are off!

Paint pottery together, or paint a canvas, or make something really neat, or camp outside (weather permitting) or….even better, drag the mattresses into the living room and camp in there!!! I think you could make it really cool!

I thought we were turning the corner on winter.   We just melted off the snow that has been here for over 2 months.   Seriously this is killing me!  I am just dreaming of spring in the worst way.

The girls aren’t near as impatient as I am.   This is their answer to a little more snow.

(Delaney and a friend just about died when they asked Dad if they could take the go-cart out and he said yes.)

We have a lot of space to ride….and it’s only a bad thing, when the go-cart stalls on you….

and you have to walk back

in the snow.

they look a little tired huh?  They just dropped and then decided to make snow angels…..;)    which then turned in to a snow ball fight and I RAN!!!

and as for my way of handling yet more snow and more winter….

shopping for spring clothes……here, here, and here.     (Shhhhh, don’t tell Marty, he hates it when I shop.)

Tomorrow, I will answer some of the questions from comments, update about class kits and more.  So if you have any questions, put them in a comment for tomorrow.

the other day I was looking for a photo for something and found this one.

and so I spent several minutes laughing and having a few other Mom emotions.  This was April of 2004, 6 years ago.    McK is sitting in my grandma’s rocker, which she sat in most of her life in her living room.  She passed away that year and we brought her rocker home with us and put it in McKinley’s nursery.

What you don’t see in this photo that I so fondly remember about this moment, is that Delaney is trying to SIT in the rocker and McKinley thinks otherwise.   Even at age 1, McK was such a tough little stink and knew just how to make her way known with her big sister.

and I would given anything to have the chance too take just a few more pictures of my babies in diapers.

If…

you have children in diapers.   Run as fast as you can to your camera and take as many diaper photos as you can…..because tomorrow they will be hanging out at their locker with their friends……

McKinley is addicted to popcorn balls and has been begging me to make these often.  Before I went to Cali in Jan I was up at midnight making these to leave as a surprise, along with a note that said, 1 per day.  I had to laugh when I talked to her on the phone while I was gone, she didn’t tell me she missed me or want to talk about anything, except to say “why only 1 Mommy?”   Listening to that sweet little voice, I caved and said ok, you can have more.  Then Delaney got on the phone and said she’d already been having 2.  She went on to admit that she was just going to say Dad ate the extras if caught.  She was so quick to rat on herself and her planned explanation, and I couldn’t help but just laugh.

So last week for Valentine’s Day I promised Mckinley I would make them for school.  When Delaney heard, she wanted them to, which surprised me since she told me earlier this year that you have to have “permission” to bring snacks to school.  Apparently she forgot that she had fed me that line at some time (you never know what line you might be fed so you have to be on your toes with this budding teenager.)   That’s ok, it’s hard to be 10 and I’m reading a great book that is totally giving me a new understanding for diciphering teenager lingo with a smile.

and I was MORE than happy to make them for both the girls classes.  So 55 popcorn balls later, I was done…phew!   BTW, I probably will not make that many at once, or at least until I forget how long that took.    They were yummy though and I had some requests for the recipe, which I posted on facebook, which made me think, I should put here also.

My mom made these when I was a kid and they it’s still one of my favorite memories. Often she would hide a gumdrop inside as a treat. So sometimes I will put in a gummy bear or gummy lifesavor if we’re making them for a party.

POPCORN BALL RECIPE: I created this recipe from several I have tried and this is my favorite so far. Makes 24 balls My original recipe was 1/2 this, but 12 popcorn balls in never enough.

Need 10 quarts popped white popcorn.

In saucepan on stove, combine the following:

2 cups light corn syrup

2 sticks salted butter

pinch of salt

1 1/3 bag small marshmallows

Melt and mix until smooth.

Remove from heat and add 1 tsp. vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract.

You can add food coloring at this point, if you want colored balls.

In oversized bowl, pour 1/2 of melted sauce over 5 quarts white popcorn. Mix with heavy duty mixing spoon until all mixture covers popcorn. You can spray spoon with Pam to make mixing easier. Mold by hand in to balls using butter on hands to keep from sticking. Squeeze each tight to keep from falling apart. Place on wax paper. Finish by wrapping balls in plastic wrap.

Repeat for remaining sauce and 5 quarts popcorn. Next time I make these I’m going to try to buy pre-popped white popcorn from Sam’s or Wal-mart that doesn’t have as many hulls. But I have been popping my own using white unpopped popcorn.    So gooey and yummy!

you happen to capture a photo that is something special and for me this one is worth a year’s worth of snapping pictures.

Having a budding teenager means much fewer photographic opportunities (it’s that personal space issue that I try to respect.)  But this photo sums up so much of Delaney’s world right now and I’m so thankful to have captured  this on film.   I feel like I’ve won the lottery.

There is so much to this picture that will remind me of this day and the minutes I felt like I stole with a little time in each of the girls classrooms.   The girls are carrying flowers given by secret admirers in school and I just love seeing them all so so happy, enjoying such good friendship.

I needed a little pick me up the other day and so for a little break I went digging in some older photo folders (I have them in 2 different spots on our server.)  Whatever lack of inspiration I was feeling I found in just a little bit of  photo therapy.

It’s like opening a box of treasures in the attic  just uncovered, wondering what goodies are inside.  I’m a little odd that way,  but it doesn’t cost anything and it’s a personal reward that doesn’t involve empty calories, which for me is a great thing, even though I sure like empty calories too.

I  was so reminded how looking at photos is one of the best therapies { in  this  world .}  and I know I have said that before, but each time it seems like such a discovery.

It doesn’t add pounds, doesn’t involve drugs, doesn’t separate marriages, doesn’t break the law AND even better, it doesn’t break the bank (unless that involves printing every photo you love, which I would love to do.)  The one condition that it requires, is that you actually TAKE PICTURES, which thank goodness I have that disease.

After taking pictures and scrapbooking with kids for over 10 years, I have come to realize that January and February are always months of fewer photos, which is totally ok.  It’s winter, we’re inside more which makes the normal photo a bit more challenging and I’m usually tired of my camera after the holidays.  But one thing I notice of the pictures I do have, they are some of my favorite everyday shots of the year.

I remember this day as if it was yesterday, 5 years ago. Call me sappy Mom, but I pulled this exact sweater out of McKinley’s closet today for her to wear to school and you can bet that I will be trying to get her photo later today so I can just enjoy for me, for 1o years down the road when these little precious faces are not so little.

Grandma gave her this doll because she thought it looked like Delaney.  We are not really in to dolls anymore, but we still have this doll.  But we are still in to pink and ribbons, both of which someone wore to school today.  I’m glad some things remain.

and I think we will always be in to cookies and sprinkles and Valentine’s Day parties.

God forgive me for sneaking in this photo before snack at McKinley’s pre-school party.  I’ve only taken a photo 2 times during a prayer and this is one and it was so worth it.

Love the look on her face here.  Not sure who this friend was, but I’m thinking she’s guarding her candy, which makes me laugh.  I miss that look, she was always a little spunky.

I love that this photo is Delaney and one of her friends in the SAME classroom that McKinley is in today.  Same teacher in the same First Grade.   I think I will probably have to visit the first grade party later today maybe, now that I think about it.

They look so little and so sweet.   I might also just have to pop in at the 5th grade party too, although (gasp) I’m sure that’s not cool, but I might just do it anyway.  Note:  I was excited  last night that our big 10 year old wanted my homemade popcorn balls for her whole class today.  It must still be cool to bring treats to school on a whim.  While it took a bit to make 55 homemade pink popcorn balls last night, it was worth it.  I’m sure the day is coming soon that I won’t get to be a part of these special days at school any longer.

Ok, so she’s still a DORK!  somethings never change….lol.

BTW, I didn’t take any time to fix the colors or alter these photos in any way.  I didn’t even resize or nothing special and it was a little hard to do, but I’m just grabbing and sharing them just as they are…for the content and the memories, nothing more.  Ok, honestly, that was HARD to do.

So… I’m going to try,  try being the operative word here, on Fridays to flashback in my photo archives… and reflect… and cry a little… and reflect some more… and grow… from just a few moments of looking back.  Because I have discovered that doing so, gives me a fresher perspective for moving forwarding and living  today.  It helps give me clarity and often a better sense of what matters and that is a boost that I need and want.

Maybe you can join me?  and we can reflect and document and grow together.  If you do, please share a link here or send me a note.