Coming Soon

Hello. My name is wayoutnumbered and I'm a blogaholic. Sound familiar? Are you like me and absolutely obsessed with checking your favorite blogs....like...every 20 seconds? Well, I have help coming. No, I'm not going to make you give them up. I'm really not that cruel. But I have recently stumbled upon a cool little thingy on the internet that makes checking your blogs way quicker. It's probably been around for 13 years but I just found it, love it, and feel the need to share it. But you'll have to wait because I titled this blog Coming Soon, not Right Now.

Princess

She never had a chance really.

The lone daughter born after 3 rowdy boyish boys.

The lone granddaughter to both grandmas.

The baby.

If that isn't a recipe for a Princess then I don't know what is.

Princess is a swirl of rainbows, wonderment and all things pink.

She has a keen sense of fashion.

When Dora the Explorer put on her party dress for Boots' Birthday Bash,

Princess came screaming to tell me about the wonderful dress. I had to

rewind again & again so Princess could examine all the details on the new

dress. Dora did look quite spiffy.

She perceives her everyday events as only a Princess does. I asked her one morning after Sunday School class,

"How was your class?" Simple enough question.

"Mom, it was boo-ti-ful. Olivia wore a red dress and Chloe wore a pink dress. Olivia had a bow in her hair. We need to go to the store and get me a red dress."

I'll never forget that answer.

Although Princess is 32 pounds of pure sweetness, BE WARNED:

Princess is not for the weak at heart.

Men cower and boys flee at the sound of her shriek.

Often times mom is the lone braveheart to enter The Princess Suite

when she bellows for chocolate milk when awakening from her afternoon slumber.

I dutifully obey...everyone obeys a Princess.

A Dog Named Scooter

We've recently acquired a dog.

Here is the tale of A Dog Named Scooter.

Day 1  

Dad is alone with kids in car.  Dad says to kids "We should get a dog named Scooter."

Kids clap and cheer for the raddest dad on earth.  

Dad says to kids "You have to convince mom."

Kids become instantly depressed, realizing they have the only mom in the world who completely, totally and absolutely does not want a dog.

Mom gets home from grocery store, walks in the door and Overachieving Neat Freak proclaims "Dad said we could get a dog and name it Scooter."

Mom says "No" then proceeds to call dad a few names and vows to never leave dad alone with the kids again.

Day 2 & 3

Kids continue to beg mom for a dog.  Mom continues to crush their dream of frolicking in the park with a dog of their very own.  Mom does not even feel guilty about it.  It's an endless chorus of:

Please Mom?

No.

We'll take care of it.

No.

But all our friends have a dog.

No.

Dad is the boss and he said we could have one.

No.

Day 4

Mom promised kids she'd take them to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch.  Mom would rather go to the mall but how do you get 4 kids to go to mall instead of loud & annoying playland?

Mom promises kids if they'll go to the mall instead of CEC she'll take them to look at puppies at mall pet store.  

Kids fall for moms' bribe.

Mom takes kids to mall pet store and even gets one pitiful puppy out to hold.  Not a smart move.

Kids leave without puppy and they're so traumatized mom takes kids to Chuck E. Cheese to ease her guilt.  Not at all how mom pictured her day.

Day 5 & 6

Mom & dad waste hours of precious time on internet looking for the perfect puppy place.  Also waste hours of valuable time visiting pet stores playing with adorable little puppies.  Again, not a smart move.  

One lovely store informs mom and dad they can take home the sweet little puppy the kids are playing with for just $1,800.  Wow.  Didn't see that one coming.

Mom & dad gave sweet little puppy back very quickly to store employee.  

Note:  Never, ever, let 4 kids play with sweet little puppy then assume you can simply go home without it.  They'll need a lot of therapy for that one.

Day 7

After agonizing hours of searching, dad has found the perfect puppy.  Dad calls seller lady and says "We'll be there Saturday for the dog."

Kids clap and cheer for raddest dad on earth.  Mom admits defeat but secretly daydreams of girly names like Ariel or Venus for sweet little puppy.  Definitely not Scooter.

Day 8

Seller lady calls and says "I sold your dog to someone else."  Wow.  Didn't see that one coming either. 

Dad and kids shed lots of tears.  

Day 9

Whole family plus 2 tall nephews take 2 hour road trip to seller lady to see other dogs she has for sale.  Mom & dad are on a mission now, it's no longer about the dog, it's about the challenge of finding the perfect puppy.

Family arrives at lady's house and is greeted by several tiny little dogs jumping at family's feet.  

Kids are playing with dogs when seller lady's mom brings out the dog for sale, a 6 month old gold yorkie. 

Wild Child is sitting on the floor.

Lady sets shaggy haired dog on floor and says "This is Scooter."

Scooter spots Wild Child, sniffs him out, then curls up in his lap all adorable-like and sweet. 

Do you believe in Divine Intervention?

Mom admits defeat and elated family travels home to begin life with a dog named Scooter.

Before and After

I love photography.

I love everything about photography.

I love the equipment....the skill...the capturing of a moment...the digital readouts on my camera I don't understand...I love it all.

One of my favorite things I enjoy when looking at other people's photographs is seeing their Before & After photos.  I'm fascinated with the post-processing techniques that people use.

Post-Processing is ALL THE RAGE right now.

I'm sure you've heard of Photoshop, Lightroom, Aperture, even iPhoto has tons of processing techniques just a click away.  On one hand, it's kind of sad:  you don't have to be a great photographer to get great pictures.  On the other hand, it's exciting:

you don't have to be a great photographer to get great pictures!

I've just started documenting my own Before & After shots.  It's fun.  I've tried to show them to my friends and explain all the profound details in the editing techniques.  They don't even fake interest anymore.  They get that glazed look in their eyes and start staring off into the distance.  Someday when I'm gone they'll wish they had absorbed my wisdom.

So I'll use the blog so show some of my own Before & Afters to my millions of fascinated internet viewers.  A good fantasy life is healthy, right?

Here's a fun one of Rebel from fall soccer.  The straight out of camera (SOOC) shot is pretty good, but I can't help myself.  I must post-process.  So in just a few clicks I added a bit of oomph to #23 kickin' it!  

I may actually post a tutorial soon showing the steps I took to edit the photo.  A tutorial would make me feel so important.

the blog

It's Official.

I've created a blog.

I'm not hip enough for 'myspace' and I'm not friendly enough for 'facebook'.  I figured 

the blog was the fitting solution to feed my addiction.

About the addiciton...I'm compelled almost daily to bombard my family & friends with photographs of all my creatures (aka kids). With my new-found blog I can simply post my photos here and then everyone can look...or not...read...or not...comment...or not.  But please comment, sometimes, please.  Especially if it's something nice.

So here's my first photo post.  I'm so proud.  These are some shots of our recent snow days...as you can see, Princess had a blast with this being her first year of really enjoying all the snow fun.  Then there's all the neighbor kids ready for a full day of sledding.  Never mind the fact that we live in a concrete subdivision...there's one backyard with just enough of a hill to keep this gang busy for days!  And of course there's the newest creature, Scooter, staying warm inside with Wild Child.  The snow was almost as tall as Scooter!