Hubby and I went to our first ever Parent/Teacher conference today.  Since we’d left our kids with a sitter, we went out for a hot date at a local coffee house afterward.  We felt ancient as all the teenagers with too much disposable income strolled in and out with their iced mocha lattes and overpriced slushies.  After realizing this scene was not for us, we headed off to the grocery store.  I know, I’m livin’ large folks.  While we were there, Hubby decides he’s going to start taking vitamins.  I wait patiently as he selects the one he thinks is best for him.  I, in turn, select a wine I think will suit me.  Here is what we picked…

My 37 year old husband (who earlier this year was disturbed to realize he was turning 37 because it’s closer to 40 than 36 which is still mid-thirties in his mind) had picked up Centrum Silver which clearly states on the box it’s meant for the over 50 crowd.  I think the coffee shop got to him on a subliminal level.  I picked up a bottle of Mad Housewife Merlot.  He thought he was funny when he brought it home to me a few weeks ago.  Ah, well.  I think it tastes good so I bought another bottle.  Cheers!  From the Silver Fox and the Mad Housewife.  I’m off to sip wine on this Friday night with my old goat.

Maile from the Daily Relish has started another blog where she plans to offer Photography Tips every Friday.  This week on her new blog she challenges us to find a picture that offers some juxtaposition.  As I looked through my files, this was really the best I could come up with.  Does it count?

Toddler boy with beer in his sandbox?  I will be on the lookout this week to see if I can see a better one to shoot.

Almost a year ago, we hosted a neighborhood party, after which we had a surplus of beer.  Rather than drink it like a normal red blooded American man, my husband decided he would use it as target practice with his pellet gun.  He collected the extra cans in a plastic milk crate in the corner of the yard and would set each can up on a cinder block to take a shot at it.  He and a few of the neighbor men had a fun testosterone-pumpin’ time until they grew bored and went home for dinner.  That was in June of 2006. 

As spring dawned in 2007, I began to pester my husband about the appearance of the cinder block and the milk crate of year old beer in our yard.  I accused him of diminishing the property value of our home and annoying our neighbors.  Our last conversation on the subject was last night when several of the neighbors gathered out front after children were in bed to celebrate the warm weather with a cocktail.

Today, being Earth Day and all, I deployed our children to play in the yard rather than sit in front of the television like zombies.  Good Mommy, right?  Noting how beautiful it is outside, I also thought it would be a good opportunity to get out the camera and practice taking some pictures of the blooms on our trees.  Below you will see some pictures of the blossoms on our apple tree.

Pretty, no?  Such lovely peaceful thoughts I was having about spring and what a beautiful time it is… then I hear it.  Giggle, giggle… whisper, whisper.  I look around and find that my two oldest children are in the corner of the yard.  I peek around the tree with my camera just in time to catch my son cracking open his very first beer.  Oh, what a monumental day.

But where is my precious girl?  Oh, there she is.  She already has hers open and is busy "fertilizing" the lawn.  Lucky me.

Please note the beer dripping down her arm.  Ah, the sweet perfume of youth.  However, I thought it would be about 16 more years before I’d smell that scent on her…

As I continue to pretend to shoot pictures of the tree, these are the next things I see.  He is "watering" the lawn and she is dancing in the foam.

After he is dry, she begins to take over the lawn watering project while Dear Son goes to reload.  Sadly, you can’t see the beautiful lawn ornamentation of the cinder block.  It’s behind the tree.

Now, surely, my sweet baby is not effected by all this nonsense.  Where is that sweet toddler?

And what two things must a manly boy take with him when he leaves the sandbox a few moments later?

His truck and his beer.  Oh, that’s my boy.  After my moment of pride, I look to find my middle baby playing with a mixture of beer and sand in the "trunk" of his Little Tykes tot car.  I’m pretty sure that is not what the designer had in mind.

As with most of the parties I attended in my youth, this is what the scene looked like as the beer supply ran out.

Each picture has about four or five empty beer cans littering the yard.  In addition there are at least four or five more not pictured.  The good news is, Dear Husband has to pick up the beer cans before he mows next!  When the cinder block and the milk crate will disappear are any man’s bet. 

I’m so proud.

Apparently, I lied.  My folks are at least two hours away and I only have a wee bit more to do before the house is acceptable so I thought I’d take a break.  During my break, my three year old boy who is pure sweetness came to find me after his nap.  In his little grip was this kitten he received inside one of his eggs on Easter morning.  Who knew that a little plastic animal he creatively named "Kitty Cat" could bring such delight?  He has carried this thing with him everywhere, only leaving it in the van during preschool for fear of someone else coveting and taking his beloved "Kitty Cat".  He has actually taken this thing to bed with him each night and for every nap since Sunday.  Here is the ugly thing that has captured his heart.

While I was snuggling my older boy who was fresh from his nap and then snapping picture of this "thing" so that I could recall this sweet memory when I’m old and gray (my version of Me Ra’s suggestion), I blissfully assumed that my toddler was playing peacefully upstairs with his older sister.  Nope.  He gleefully toddled into the kitchen to show me his "art" that he’d just created.

Why is this relevant to my photography blog?  Because I’m practicing!  I’m getting better at the no flash rule and posting real size pictures in my blog.  I’ll get the hang of all this yet!