doctor, the tenth

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of teens & magical cameras

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thehobbit has been hard at work on his photo-blog over the past ten days, & i must say that i am quite proud of him. for the most part, it has been a positive experience working together. that said ...

this is the first time in eleven years of homeschooling him that he has struggled with remembering the difference between doing what mama says & listening to what your teacher is telling you. i am not surprised at the struggle, just that it took so long in coming. 

still, in the end he does listen, & finds that he is pleased with the results. i, being the most amazing mama-teacher that ever there was, have refrained from saying i told you so. mostly.

the above image was a collaborative effort. he took the photograph, & i played with it in an online editing program. isn't it fabulous?! i am going to tell people that he took it during the summer break, at hogwarts ;)

that is all, just felt like gushing over my hobbity teen & his magical camera.

~peace.

live!

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bring down the house lights. cue sappy music. enter gushing mama, stage left. spotlight on.

my hobbity teen's photo blog is now live!

A Year With the TARDIS

One teen, one camera, one TARDIS, one year

thank you.

gushing mama exit, stage right. thunderous applause ensue.

photo blogs are cool

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thehobbit is about to begin a year-long photo blog based on one of his most favorite things. the subject of his photo blog? one guess.

~peace.

kids be trippin'

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photo :: property of getty images

as promised, here are the things i have packed in my magic bag of tricks. originally i was going to share only what i have planned to keep elfling occupied on the long trip, but then i thought perhaps those with a teen would appreciate what i have for thehobbit. so, without further ado, i bring you the following:

i spy bottle - see yesterday's post.

window art - the above photo says it all. i know elfling will want to draw on the windows of he sees his brother doing it, so this activity is only to happen when he-who-can-not-yet-reach-windows is alseep.

busy wallet - what toddler doesn't love going through mama's wallet? luckily i had a large passport wallet that i forgot to donate to the thrift shop. old greeting cards were cut into the shape of credit cards, i added a few sheets of not-yet-seen stickers in lieu of dollar bills, & slipped in an old checkbook. 

blue painter's tape - this is a brilliant idea. because it peels off easily, & leaves no residue behind, it is the perfect thing to occupy a stir-crazy toddler. elfling can rip off pieces, & stick it anywhere he can reach! seriously brilliant. a friend also informed me that we could use the tape to cover outlets at the hotels. (note :: my toddler would be lured by the bright blue on the wall, so we'll just leave the outlets naked, & keep an eye on him.)

lap desk - a sturdy surface for writing, drawing, stickering, etc.

luddites, close your eyes.

fifi - my plan is to move my unnecessary apps to the could, & fill fifi with new ones for elfling. i have found some fabulous free ones: a kaleidoscope, veggie tales game, interactive books, etc. thus far the only app i have purchased was this. the typewriter keys are not as large as i thought they would be, but elfling's fingers are tiny, so that's ok.

portable dvd player - ours proved indispensable on that train trip 2 years back, so will definitely accompany us this time around. i hope to only pop in a movie as a last resort, but whatever makes the trip easier for elfing is fine by me. as i said yesterday, he does not enjoy being in the car for more than an hour - two days is asking a lot.

i-touch - thehobbit has filled his with new music - his very own road-trip soundtrack :)

ok luddites, you can open them.

new things - for elfling i bought a few board books ($1 used book shop), drawing pad, gel pens, japanese coloring books, flash light, & hamish. the most expensive thing was hamish at $8.50. everything else was $2 or under. i have split the items into two piles; one for the ride up, the other for the ride back. (note :: no, elfling has not seen brave. he is much too young.)

thehobbit only wanted new music, & a journal. teens are easy to entertain.

audio books - this will be our first road-trip without any. with a teen & a toddler in the same vehicle, finding an appropriate book became too much of a hassle. i thought i'd mention audio books anyway, for those who had never considered them. you'd be amazed at how quickly the miles fly past when you're listening to a book. 

that is all i have planned to entertain & distract. hopefully everything will be a huge success. i'll let you know how it went; shall i?

~peace.

edited to add :: everything was a hit! if i could only choose two things from above, i would go with the dvd player (for obvious reasons), & the painter's tape. every person in the family played with the tape. we made pictures on the lap-desk, wrote words on the windows, stuck pieces wherever we felt like, & manlyman hung long strips all over the backseat's ceiling. when he cracked a window, the  strips went wild! eventually they all came loose, flying everywhere, but that's was fun too. one thing i had not packed to be played with; but was a hit with elfling; was thehobbit's hand-cranked flashlight. that shall definitely accompany us on future trips. 

children are wretched

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change is on the wind.

recently thehobbit filled a mess of bags with things i don't need anymore. in poking through them i discovered nearly every toy he owns. it broke my heart to see all he'd cast aside. this doesn't come as a total surprise; a few months back he gave me his pirate ship, castle, & collection of wooden swords to pack away for elfling. since, there has been a trickle of items added to the pile. but this latest, this was him telling us he is done with a part of his life.

often these days i see him slouching, wearing headphones, his mp3 player stuck in his pocket, a slight scowl on his face. to me that seems such a teen thing, & that is the very thing sucking the air from my lungs: teen. in just 5 short months my firstborn will be one of those walking bewilderments. wow.

lately, at gatherings, i've been watching thehobbit & his friends. their play has taken on a more hanging out feel to it, they are all nearing my height (or have passed it), & all of them only slightly resemble the kids i've known for so many years.

all of this proves what i have always said: children are wretched.

~peace.