Defying Gravity & Drink in My Hand

1.  Defying Gravity - Kristin Chenoweth & Idina Menzel.  Wicked.  Even if you haven't seen the musical, surely you've heard about it in some capacity.  Especially given the recent attention focused on Idina Menzel with Frozen.  This is one of Amy's and my all-time favorite musicals.  We have read the book (radically different but also awesome) and seen it twice.  I love a good show-tune and this is one that never fails to disappoint.  Idina Menzel and her awesomeness aside, I also love this song because of Kristin Chenoweth.  She is amazing.  I was a huge fan of her on Pushing Daisies and then on GCB.  There are times when I'll listen to the entire soundtrack, it's that good.  And yes, I know all the words.  No shame there.

2.  Drink in My Hand - Eric Church.  I wish I looked that badass in a baseball cap and aviators.  Alas, I don't.  But I do love this song.  It's a great song to get pumped up to and leaves you feeling awesome.  One of the best things is the twang his voice has.  Maybe it's because I have a slight one myself (some would argue thicker probably) but I am a sucker for a good Southern accent.  I can't have this song on and not be in a good mood.  

All is well, D down, in Drosche Land.

Amie & Amarillo By Morning

1.  Amie - Pure Prairie League.  I love the fact that I am beginning with this song.  Despite the spelling being different, it should be abundantly clear why I love this song.  It is the ringtone for my Amy.  Whenever the kids hear this, they know she is calling me.  There have been times when I have been playing the actual song and they think she is calling, even if she is sitting right there!  Talk about a Pavlovian response!  Other than bringing to mind my dearest wife, I just enjoy this song and the folksy sound of it.  To be honest I couldn't name you any other song by Pure Prairie League if my life depended on it.  And that's just find by me since none could ever top this.

2.  Amarillo By Morning - George Strait.  Of course he had to make this list.  How could he not?  Love or hate country you know who he is, the King of Country.  This is probably my all-time favorite George Strait song.  Amy knows what I am about to say as she has heard it many times before.  This song reminds me of my childhood.  I distinctly remember hearing it as a small child, on a road trip, passing through Amarillo, in the morning.  Therefore, despite being an awesome song, it holds a special place in my heart for that very reason.  

All is well, A down, in Drosche Land.

Tomorrow

So the A-Z Challenge begins tomorrow.  As you know, I will be spending the next 26 days going through the music on my iPhone and highlighting some of my favorites.  I hope you enjoy it!  I am looking forward to visiting more blogs this year to read and find out more about the world out there.

So, in planning these posts and looking through my music collection, I realized just how hard it was to narrow it down to one song per letter.  So, many of these posts will mention 2 songs due to my inability to decide which is my favorite.  Thank goodness I don't have more music than I do, then the task would have been even harder and I may have been relegated to blogging about 3 songs per post.  Yikes.  

I am by no means an owner of the largest and most prolific library of music.  Not by any stretch of the imagination.  But I do love music of all kinds and I thought that it would be fun to go through it all.  As I mentioned before I loved going through TV shows last year so music seemed the next reasonable topic.

Maybe I'll mention a few here that you enjoy as well, or maybe some that you could go forever without hearing again.  Maybe you'll find something new or remember an old favorite.  Who knows?  Whatever the case may be, I hope it is a fun April!  

All is well, ready to begin, in Drosche Land.

A-Z 2015

Well, it's March.  That time of year again when I decide to join the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  Again.

I've been thinking about it for a while now and I could have signed up long ago, but life (as it tends to do) got in the way and it got put on the back burner.  But tonight I finally decided to sign up again.  This will be my 4th year doing the challenge and it is always a lot of fun.  

I've had a theme in mind for some time, it came easily this year.  I did look back to remind myself of what the themes for the past 3 years were.  2012 - random topics that were accompanied by pictures of said topic.  2013 - Stella and having a new baby.  2014 - TV shows.  I've really enjoyed every year but I think last year's theme was the most fun.  I love TV so to talk about it for 26 days while trying to narrow down my favorites based upon their name was fun.  It kind of inspired my idea for this year's theme, as it is along the same lines.

Music.  Yes, music.  Now, I am by no means a musician by any stretch of the imagination.  But I do love music and have a pretty (for the most part) eclectic taste.  So for April 2015 I will go through my beloved iPhone and pick out my favorite songs for each letter.  It shouldn't be too hard, just taking a couple of thousand songs and choosing 26.  I'm hoping to have as much fun with this as I did with last year's TV show posts.

Also this year I am going to try and schedule all 26 posts ahead of time.  The only reason I think I will be able to do so is the fact that Amy and I have separate Spring Breaks this year.  She is off next week by herself while the kids and I are off the following week.  It's a bummer to have it broken up but we know that for Spring Break 2016 we will be back on the same schedule.  So that makes getting through this year's wonky vacation snafu a little easier.

So, there you have it.  This year's A-Z Challenge Theme.  Just a few more weeks until the blogging fun begins!

All is well, theme revealed, in Drosche Land.      

iNew

So, you know that my birthday was this month. Well maybe you did and maybe you didn't. But it was. My awesome wife got my family members together and got me an iPhone 6 Plus!  Sadly though it was back ordered for a while and I just received it about a week ago. 

But I love it. Love it. It's huge and I love it. You know I love a good Apple product and my iPhone is very near and dear to me, so this gift was perfect. It does many new and awesome things and I am still enjoying the newness of it all as I learn all about the new features available. 

One is the ability to record video in slow mo. Yes, I know this was technically available on the last new one, but it's new to me now. Who doesn't love a good slow motion sequence in a movie. Often it's a high action point in the plot and has some great music to go along with it. Now, my life is far from an action movie but that doesn't mean that my daily adventures cannot be documented in slow motion. Nope, not anymore. 

A trip to the park the other day (oh how I love Thanksgiving Break) was the perfect opportunity for me to try this out. Again, nothing super action packed. Just my little girl playing. But the video itself it cool and the fact that it is in slow motion makes it more fun. It's go me thinking of what I can have the kids do so I can record them in slow motion. Playing, running, jumping, acting silly. The possibilities are endless. 

What about you?  Apple fan?  Have you recorded something in slow motion?  Below is my first attempt!  Nothing fancy, but fun. 

All is well, slow mo and all, in Drosche Land. 

Top Photos of 2013: 13

Okey dokey. 

So my recap by month plan has ended and thus began the search for 8 more photos that I love from 2013.   I'm away from home at a conference, I think I mentioned that yesterday, so I don't have access to all of my photos from 2013. However, thanks to the wonder that is my iPhone and Photostream, I have a good 1,000 pictures to root through so I'm not at a loss. 

But where to start?  How to begin?  I've basically looked through the majority of the photos as I did the monthly posts and some others jumped out at me then. But there are still tons of pictures that I didn't review.  So these next 7 days will involve a lot of visual retrospective action on my part. So here goes. 

This one was obviously taken on the 4th of July. This was a momentous occasion for Braeden because the boys have always both shied away from fireworks. However, I guess the pressure of two older cousins doing it was too much. I was surprised when he asked to hold the Roman candle, but excited as well. This picture makes me laugh though because as brave and grown up as he was being, he's turned his head away from it. Safety first I guess.  Kind of sums up his personality in a nutshell though. Wanting to be older but also still cautious and careful. 

Now, what will #14 be?

All is well, picture perfect, in Drosche Land. 

Top 20 Photos of 2013: 1-5

Hey!
So, before January even arrived, one of the bloggers I follow (Duncan at The Kuantan Blog) posted about a photo-themed blog hop he was planning for January.  I love me a good blog hop and this one was all about pictures.  For the first 20 days of January I would post my 20 favorite photos from 2013.  Sounded great!  I signed right up.  Sadly, I forgot!  YIKES!

But, better late (only 5 days) than never here I am (thanks to a friendly reminder via Facebook!).  I'll do one big catchup post here for the first 5 and then continue with one a day from there.  

I take so many pictures with both my camera and iPhone all the time.  I make great use of Instagram and Facebook but many still never get posted.  To help with organization and time I have decided to make use of Apples Photostream and go through my pictures month by month.  I'll pick my favorite from each month and then 8 more others that I find along the way.  Sounds like a plan right?  Right!  So, here goes.  Hope you enjoy the visual walk back through 2013 with me.  

#1: January

I love this picture of Stella looking at Lucy.  The expression on her face is priceless.  It is what we call her "stink eye".  No one, human or animal, is impervious to it.  It cracks her and all of us up!

#2: February

Amy says I take way too many selfies.  This is one of my favorite pictures I took of myself.  My sister-in-law gave the boys this Stormtrooper helmet that makes a ton of noise.  I have to admit, it was fun to wear!

#3: March

I also take tons of pictures of my kids.  2013 being the year of firsts for Stella I took many of her, but also of all 3 since it was the boys' first time being a big brother to a little sister.  This picture is from Easter and melted my heart immediately.

#4: April

Another thing I take a lot of pictures of is food.  I love to eat.  2013 was the year Amy and I fell in love with food trucks.  We don't visit them nearly as much as we'd like, waistlines and wallets object, but we do like to get to them when we can.  One of our favorites is Bernie's Burger Bus.  This delicious burger was a splurge that Amy and I split.  It's called The Detention.  Instead of buns it has 2 bacon grilled cheeses.  Then there are two patties, more bacon, more cheese, and other delicious toppings.  YUM!  We loved it but definitely something to split, it was huge!  

#5: May

I knew that May's picture would have to be for Jackson.  True, Braeden's birthday is in this month, but with his graduation from Pre-Kindergarten it was a momentous month for Jackson as well.  He looked so grown up and was so proud of himself, as were we.

There you have it.  The first 5 of my 20 favorite pictures of 2013.  So far, so good!  Let's see what the next 15 have to bring!

All is well, picture perfect, in Drosche Land.

  

Sunday Snapshot - Not Quite

Picture it.  Galveston Beach.  Columbus Day weekend.  2013.

(On a side note, are your totally channeling Sofia and one of her stories from Golden Girls, or is it just me?  Anywho, back to the post)

We finally found the time to take the camper out again for a trip!  This time with the cousins.  However, as is usually the case with us, the trip had it's share of crazy drama.  It was warm, not horrible, but warm.  We also had to camp on the bay side of Galveston State Park, not the beach side as we would have liked.  As we originally planned.  See, this trip was rescheduled from a summer trip we'd planned.  Back when Jackson broke his arm and could not get it wet, much less sandy and sweaty.  So we lost our beach side site.  But how bad could the bay side be?  Well, think mosquitoes.  Giant ones.  In swarms.  Yeah, it was that bad.  Stella ended up getting bites all over, leading to an infection.  But that's a post for another time.  Back to the picture.

I'm always taking pictures.  I always have my iPhone handy.  Posting to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, texting them.  I'm always taking pictures.  But the busyness of life that has kept the posts here few and far between as of late also made for very infrequent photo sessions.  Hence the lack of a Sunday Snapshot in a very long while.

But we were at the beach and I of course had my iPhone.  I love beach pictures.  Who doesn't?  The scenery.  The lighting.  The water.  The fun.  You're bound to get a few good shots right?  At least one stunner.  See, that's what I thought.

So, there we are on one of our escapes from a swarm of mosquitoes jaunts down to the beach and I am following Stella around.  It's late afternoon and she is having a blast.  I'm in total Dad/iPhone photographer mode and am kneeling in the sand behind her as she runs around.  I'm calling to her and trying to get her to look at me, smile, laugh, anything.  Just waiting for the perfect shot.

Then, the moment comes.  The sunlight is behind her, the wind is blowing, she turns around and looks at me with a beautiful smile.  Snap!  Got it!  Woo hoo!  I'm feeling pretty good.  I quickly check it and it's stunning.  Ok, enough playing, I've got my shot and we can get back to having beach fun.

Fast forward to when the trip is over.  We're back home.  The camper is backed into the garage (quite easily this time!).  Laundry is started and we're getting ready to settle back in to our usual routine.  I get out my Macbook and pull up my Photo Stream.  There it is.  I can't wait to view it larger.  Edit it.  Play with lighting.  Black & White?  Sepia?  High Contrast?  Oh the possibilities are endless.  However, when I open the photo I notice something I hadn't that day on the beach.  See below for yourself.

Yep.  That's right readers.  There it is.  Smack in the middle of my "perfect shot".  A big line of slobbery drool flying out of her mouth and blowing in the wind.  Nice.  I laughed, how could you not?  Sure I may be able to edit it out if I tried.  Make the photo into the one I thought I'd snapped.  But why?  This one is so much better.  It has all of the elements I mentioned before.  Lighting, wind, the perfect pose.  And right there in the middle of it all - life.  Happening all the time, whether you expect it or not.

So there you have it.  No matter how you plan for and try to orchestrate things, sometimes it just doesn't go off as hitched.  Sometimes it's amazing and better than you'd hoped for, and sometimes it's not.  Sometimes it's a big string of slobber coming from your toddler's mouth in the "perfect shot".  Ahhhhhh, life.

Below is another "nearly perfect shot" very similar to the slobber pic.  It was taken just moments before.  The only flaw was that Stella wasn't looking at the camera.  It's the one I posted on social media.  But the true gem is this slobber picture that I have been saving for this post!  HA!

All is well, picture perfect, in Drosche Land.

Better Late Than Never

Or so the saying goes.  If that's the case, then I don't feel as bad about my absence or the fact that I am just now getting around to posting about Jackson's 6th birthday which, for the record, happened on September 25!  Yikes!

Yeah, so life got busy again.  It seems to have a way of doing that huh?

So Jackson turned 6.  6?!  Seriously?  I mean I can hardly believe it.  Whenever I look at him I still see the little baby that I would wake up and feed several times a night, every night.  That little guy that would cuddle up with me in the recliner and drink his bottle, then we'd both pass out together.  Memories.  

Luckily he is still that little guy.  Still goofy.  Still full of energy.  Still just as cuddly as always.  Only now time has come and gone and suddenly he is 6.  Braeden has always been the mature kid.  Always the one who wanted to be older, never satisfied with being his own age.  I mean, he still jumps at the opportunity to hangout and play with older kids.  But not our Jack-Jack.  Nope, he was the baby for 4 1/2 years.  Now he is a big brother, the middle child.  And, if birth-order studies are credible, he is definitely a middle child!

6.  He started, as he does every year, counting down to his birthday right after Amy's in August.  He knows his is next and he is quick to remind anyone and everyone.  6 is our birthday year.  The year we let the kids have their "big" party and invite all of their friends.  Given the broken arm we didn't know how this would play out.  He originally wanted to have it at Monkey Joe's, one of those indoor playplace/jumpy places that are all the rage now.  But he changed his mind to Chuck E. Cheese, his favorite, his standby.  

We celebrated his actual birthday at home, just the 5 of us.  It was fun, nice, and easy.  Just the way we like it.  Then that weekend (yikes 2 weeks ago already?!) we had the big party.  He had a blast.  Friends came, there was pizza, presents, cookie cake, and tickets.  What more could a new 6-year-old want?  Not much since he, as he always does, claimed it to be the best birthday ever when he went to bed that night.  Melts my heart every time he says it, because it is genuine and honest.

So, wild hare that he may be, my little guy is growing up.  But he has managed to keep his kid-ness and love of childhood and fun ever present.  6.  Wow.  I haven't uploaded all of the pictures I took at his party (I know!  Shame, thy name is Dusty) but I will share them once I do.  But I got some great shots with my iPhone (since it is always handy) so I will share those here.

All is well, one year older, in Drosche Lane.

He loves boardgames and this one looked right up his alley!  He loves it and it is tons of fun!

Love his face!  

Goofball! 

In the Ticket Blaster at Chuck E. Cheese!  He was so cute and I'll admit I think it looks like so much fun too!

We love us some Duck Dynasty around here and Jackson loves his new Si shirt!

He is always so genuinely excited about every gift, this is his reaction to everything he receives!

Finally!  He's been waiting for it!

  

Seriously?!

Disclaimer: No Drosches were harmed in the events of the story I am about to relay.  We are all safe and sound.  So many prayers of thanks to Him for that!

Dude!  So you know how it is when you feel like you can't catch a break?  You know what I mean.  Well, as you can tell from the photo above, I'm having one of those times right now.  You remember the blowout from last Friday.  Well, we're just getting over that.  It seems like a distant memory after the events of last night.

So I'm on my way home with the kids.  I'm totally 30 seconds from turning in to the neighborhood.  Then bam!  Literally, bam.  You know how they (whoever they are) say that most accidents occur near the home?  Well they aren't kidding.  Trust me, it's true.  There I am sitting at a red light, the last light until I turn in to the subdivision.  The light changes to green.  The cars in front of me go.  I go.  The car next to me slams into my car whilst (don't you love that word, makes me feel better to use it) trying to get in front of me.  Seriously?!  Well, after the initial few seconds of shock I floor it after them to get their plate numbers in case they're running.  I mean, I'm all for a good chase, but I've got the kids with me this time.  Luckily they pull in to a parking lot.  I'm already on the phone with Amy, who's at home cooking dinner (by the way she was making phenomenal homemade mac & cheese).  She stops and heads our way.  

I get out of the car, after warning the boys to stay inside the car (you never know).  I walk around and see the damage.  Seriously?!  Ok, so I may have said something a little stronger than that but hey, this is a family friendly blog.  The front panel from the passenger door to the front of the car is dented and scraped and the bumper is cracked in the front.  Crap!  I go back to get my iPhone to start taking pictures.  I took a lot, I want full documentation.

Meanwhile the girl, literally a 19 year-old, is getting her information ready and has mumbled, "Sorry.".  I nod.  I'm still to upset to speak and don't want to get all crazy on some poor stranger, even if they did just open up a whole can of financial drama and craziness in my life.  I decide I'd better get my information out and ready.  I go to open the passenger door and it won't open.  Seriously?!  This time I actually did say that.  The door itself is fine so it must be something jammed or out of line on the inside.  Crap.

Amy shows up and Jackson immediately hangs out the window and yells, "Hey Mom!  We've been in a major accident!"  Leave it to him for some comedic relief!  Then he jumps out of the car to assess the damage in wide-eyed disbelief.  Amy exchanges our info with the other driver as I call 911.

Long story short the sheriff comes and gets it all handled.  She's ticketed for changing lanes at an "improper and unsafe time".  Sad for her, relief for me.  I mean, I knew it wasn't my fault, but now there's proof.  We part ways, this time I answer her "Sorry." with, "It's ok.  Have a good night."  I've calmed.

Later at home, after dinner, I call and make claims on our insurance and hers.  Thus begins the fun of repairs and dealing with the aftermath of an accident.  Fun.  Note:  You were supposed to read the last "Fun" in a sarcastic voice.  Feel free to do so now if you didn't the first time.

This is not my first accident, I was in one in high school.  But that was light years ago and I'm all grown now.  So technically, I've never done all of this.  Fun (yes sarcastic again).  Up first on the agenda is a rental, if possible, and if her insurance will cover our deductible.  Contact with both Adjusters will be able to answer those.  In the meantime we wait.  And pray that our run of bad luck has come to an end.  Especially where it involves drama of the automotive nature.

We shall see.  But again, everyone is safe so it's only material items and money that we need to worry about now.  Not that those things aren't more than enough, but at least we don't have to place and injury cherry on the top of our towering accident sundae!

All is well, seriously, in Drosche Land.   

Sunday Snapshot - A Girl and Her Dog

Amy and I are dog people.  We love them.  Lucky for us, our kids do too.  Also lucky for us, our dogs have always loved the kids.  On a side note, before the post begins, I want to say how much I LOVE the shot above.  Stella is giving Lucy her stink eye.  She's been working on this look lately and I just so happened to catch it!  Today's pictures aren't anything staged or fancy, just taken with my iPhone because it's always handy!  But they're cute so on with the post!

I've always had dogs growing up and Amy did too.  When we got married and moved to New Orleans we got Lucy after our first miscarriage.  She was our baby for quite a while until the kids came.  She's a great dog, albeit opinionated and at times ornery, but an amazing dog.  She has always been very protective of the kids when they were small, often laying near or next to them whenever she could.  Stella adores her and will just stare at her.  Lucy, having been through this baby thing twice before with the boys, obliges Stella with her pats, ear pulls, and fur tugs!

We've only had Rex for a little over 2 years so this baby thing is totally new to him.  But, bless him, he's a great dog too.  Sure he sheds like crazy (a whole other topic for another post) and he's as timid as they come, but he's great.  Being timid and shy the boys aren't his first choice to be around as they are loud and rambunctious, however he does enjoy them, when they're calm.  A noisy baby working on crawling is also a little intimidating for Rex, but he loves Stella anyway.  It's hard to get a picture of the two of them because  he's usually wandering around elsewhere when the kids are playing, but he does come around for the occasional pet from Stella.  

So, between 3 kids and 2 dogs (who are like our kids) there is always someone underfoot somewhere.  Luckily we all manage to get along and not drive each other too crazy.  The newest addition to Drosche Land seems to be a dog lover herself.  Or at least she's pleased to have 2 dogs wrapped around her little finger along with the rest of us!

All is well, picture perfect, in Drosche Land.

  

Pay It Forward

So, the topic of this post happened a while back but I have still been wanting to write about it.  Here goes.

Remember last week, before Thanksgiving, when Amy and I took Stella and headed for the conference in Austin?  i thought you did.  Well, after dropping the dogs and the boys off at their sitters we drove to Starbucks for a little treat to kick start our mini road trip.  Now, you know I love me some coffee, and I love me some Starbucks.  Plus, it's the holiday season which means all of their wonderful holiday flavors are finally available (pumpkin spice latte anyone?)!  For my birthday a few weeks ago I got some gift cards.  I loaded them all onto my main card and have been using Passbook on my iPhone to pay.  Side note - love this!  No more carrying cards around and it's simple!  Awesome.  Back to the post.  So we order our drinks, a salted caramel mocha for Amy and the aforementioned pumpkin spice latte for me.  We also threw in a few edible treats because why not?  We get to the window and I'm all psyched up to show Amy how to use Passbook and finally redeem my free birthday drink.  The barista tells us that the car in front of us had already paid for our order, we were the 8th car in a pay it forward line!  What up!

Now, I have always wanted to do that but have never done so.  Why?  Well, I'm not sure.  I could say I've never had the funds to just blindly pay for something but I'm sure I have.  I could say that I've forgotten, and I'm sure that's true too.  It's probably a combination of the two really.  Anywho.  Amy and I were pleasantly surprised and immediately told him to pay for the order of the person next in line.  I was stoked to keep the chain going and it was fun!

Now, I will admit that Amy and I felt slightly guilty because our order was about 3 times the cost of the one behind us.  What if they only had the money for their order and not a larger order?  Well, I guess they could just always accept the free drink and call it a blessing.  But it did make me wonder how long the chain went on.  Just the car behind us?  A few more?  It's totally not about the amount you didn't have to pay or the amount you ended up paying.  The fact of the matter is that you are in some way part of a larger, positive action.  Something to show that people still do care and show love to strangers for just no reason other than, as we've been told in church and Sunday School, because we love because He first loved us.

So, since that day I've vowed to start my own chain the next time I visit Starbucks.  I haven't been yet but I really do want to do it.  Even if that person accepts it without passing it on, maybe they needed a free coffee.  Maybe they will pass that blessing along to someone else throughout their day in a non-caffeinated way.

So, I just thought I'd share that fun little story with you dear readers.  Maybe it'll make you smile.  Make you think about something nice someone did for you.  Maybe inspire you to do something nice for someone else.  Who knows.  Regardless, I think it was a good story!

All is well, paying it forward, in Drosche Land.

Sunday Snapshot - Instant

Ok so the above picture is a preview of Stella's Halloween costume. I just couldn't resist. I was going to save a picture of her in it for next week's post or a Halloween post, but come on, can you blame me?

Anywho. Things have been busy around here, especially on the weekends. Sports will do that to a family I guess. Thus I've not been as diligent about Sunday Snapshot posts as I'd like to be. But that doesn't mean I'm not taking pictures, not by any means. It just means that actual, planned photo shoots are few and far between. But, thanks to my iPhone and its awesome camera, I'm always ready to snap something.





As you know, in addition to taking pictures, I love me some social media. Hobby/addiction, it's a fine line really. Throw pictures into the mix and you've got Instagram. Not only can I share pictures, but I can crop, add filters and effects. Combine it with other iPhone photo editing apps and the possibilities are endless.





One little Instagram/photography hobby I have is the Photo-A-Day fun from Chantelle over at fatmumslim.com. I'm kind of addicted to it, but not crazy or anything. It's fun. Sometimes I try to be all serious about a prompt, other times I just take a picture of something. I may miss a day here and there, but I try to get it all in each month. But not all of my Instagram shots are part of the challenge, not by any means.





Basically my Instagram pictures fall into 4 categories really: Amy and the Kids, Food, Random, and Artsy. About half are for the challenge and half are just because. Right now I have 620 photos, and yes I checked. Because why not right? It's a fun and easy way to enjoy photography and document life. Maybe one day the kids will look back in wonder at it all, in awe of my photo skills. That or they'll just marvel at what a nut job their Dad is. Either way they'll have something to enjoy right?





So, given the lack of photoshoots recently and my love of taking pictures, I thought I'd share some of my recent Instagram favorites and sing my praises of this fun social network. I'd link up to my account here if I weren't on the iPad and/or I had the energy to figure it out. Plus, I think it might be on the sidebar somewhere? Search me if you want to and follow along for the fun! I could post many more pictures here, 615 actually, and go on but I'll spare you. I think I've gotten my point across. Plus it's late, I'm craving Halloween candy, and I few I've begun to ramble! 😁

Oh and yes, the first picture is Stella in her Halloween costume. I was going to save it for next Sunday's post or a Halloween post but I couldn't resist. I mean, how cute is she?

All is well, picture perfect, in Drosche Land.

Connectivity

Well, wouldn't you know it?  I make a vow to not be gone so long and bam, our Internet goes o n the fritz.  And I totally had a Sunday Snapshot too!  Oh well, I guess it'll have to wait until this coming Sunday. Bummer. 

I mean I could have blogged from my iPhone is 4G but that's an ordeal in itself and leads to numerous grammatical and spelling errors. Both of which drive me bananas when I find them elsewhere, so I truly loath making them myself. But here I am. 

Having the Internet down got me thinking about how much we rely on it, that and technology in general. I mean, I wasn't totally disconnected (Yikes!  I cringe just thinking about it) as I could still use 4G for everything but still. We've taken a break from cable again, a topic for another post, so no Internet connection meant no way to access Netflix of Hulu.  Gasp!  Only network TV?!  

Now you know how addicted I am to technology and media in general, too much I know. So maybe I was affected more than the average person?  Maybe not?  It made me wonder what life will be like for the kids in the future, or in a few years for that matter?  How will minor interruptions in connections affect them?

Speaking of technology, in my already random and rambling post, today the new iPhone 5 was announced at Apple's big event. Woo hoo!  Now I'm not getting one, I don't need one as my 4S is only a year old. But it is still so much fun to see all of the new features and offerings Apple has for us all.  I can dream right? :)

Well, I think that about wraps up my random, stream-of-consciousness post.  Maybe I'm sleep-deprived or suffering the effects of limited connectivity an technology?  Maybe I'm just in a random mood?  Hmmmm?

All is well, connected again, in Drosche Land. 

Day 1

So today was a big day here in Drosche Land.  It was Stella's first day at school!  Granted the school year hasn't begun yet, so that will be another first day, but today was her first day in her classroom.

It was originally supposed to be yesterday but we kept her home one extra day because she had a doctor's appointment.  One which just came up after Amy began to suspect she was suffering from reflux.  She'd been gradually getting fussier over the past week or so during her feedings and she'd been spitting up a lot more (TMI?).  Sure enough, Amy was right (as usual!).  We started her on her medicine and we instantly began noticing a difference.  She was back to herself.  Her calm, laid back, and easy-going self.  Hallelujah!  So that little adventure pushed her first day back to today.

That just gave me one more day to worry about it.  One more day to plan her outfit.  What was I worried about?  Who knows?  Would she be happy (as she usually is)?  Would she cry all day (as both of the boys did)?  Well, turns out I needn't worry at all.  She had a great day and got a great report from her teachers.  Oh, what did she wear?  A super cute grey and lime outfit.

So, Miss Stella continues to surprise us.  Acid reflux?  Yep, another GI issue.  An easy transition to school?  Yep, sweet!  Just another milestone to mark down in her 1st Year Calendar (oh, I need to do that!).  Of course I took pictures with my iPhone.  I had to document it all!  I'll be taking tons more though on the 15th, the actual first day of the 2012/2013 school year.  So you'll see those of her, and the boys as well.  Stay tuned!  Until then, enjoy the ones from today.  I'll be resting easy knowing she had a great first day!

All dressed and ready to head to school!

Jack saying goodbye in her classroom!

Amy signing her in and filling out her paperwork!

There she is, chilling in the bouncy chair (just like the one she has at home) with her new friends!

All is well, schooled, in Drosche Land.

Criss Cross

Will make you jump, jump!

Ok, so that's Kriss Kross, not exactly what this post is about.  But maybe now you've got that song stuck in your head and you're contemplating wearing your clothes backward.  Ahhh, the joys of 1992.  But on with the post.

So, you know how to cross your eyes right?  I mean who doesn't.  To make fun of someone, to make a silly face, to see the tip of your nose.  Whatever the reason, you know how.  Well, turns out I can't!  Say what?!  Trust me, you can't be more surprised by this fact than I am.  I spent 31 years of my life thinking I could.  Imagine my surprise this past week when Amy pointed out that I couldn't.  The shock.  The horror.  I mean, how did I go 31 years without this quasi-valuable piece of knowledge about myself?  Did no one see fit to tell me?  Did they notice and feel bad for the kid who couldn't cross his eyes?  Did they notice and mock my futile attempts to do so, me not realizing the joke was on me?  Regardless, I just found out.

See, you may remember me mentioning that Braeden has a slight strabismus in one of his eyes.  Well, maybe it's genetic?  I've always known that my left eye was a bit of a "lazy eye", although I think strabismus sounds so much more official.  It's barely noticeable unless I'm tired or occasionally in pictures.  It's better now that I have glasses.  Apparently though, it's this little medical tidbit that keeps me from properly crossing my eyes.

I know what you're wondering.  "How did you come to find this out?"  Well, dear readers, I'll tell you.  See, as Stella is working on focusing on things and looking around she often makes silly faces.  One of which includes, you guessed it, crossing her eyes (accidentally of course).  So one day I was doing it back when Amy burst into uncontrollable (but I'm sure totally loving) laughter.  Once she caught her breath she was able to explain to me.  I used the forward facing camera on my ever-present iPhone to snap a picture.  A picture that would prove her correct.

Who knew?  Granted it's not technically life-changing information and my inability to do something so trivial and simple will likely never affect me.  So why post about it?  Well, in my defense this post is labeled as "Random".  But it's also a perfect example of one of those things you find out as an adult and surprises you.  Remember when I found out corn wasn't a vegetable?  That still shocks me!

So yet another surprise that life has thrown my way.  You never stop learning.  Speaking of eyes though, I finally got new glasses and I love them!  I didn't realize how scratched my old glasses were until I put the new ones on!  Ahhh, a new look just in time for the new school year!

What do you think?

All is well, uncrossed, in Drosche Land.

And just in case you can't get the song out of your head, here's the video!  Rock on!  Jump, jump!

Sunday Snapshot - B&W

Yesterday was super busy so I didn't get around to posting this until this morning.  Luckily Little Miss was awake super early (thanks to a lot of napping yesterday) so I am able to get this going before the day totally begins.

Now, I love me some black and white photography, as does Amy.  In fact, our bedroom furniture and bedding is all black and white, with the photos on the wall being in black and white.  See, told you.  When taking pictures I often have an idea of whether or not I want the finished, edited, and polished version to be in black and white.  However, I had never thought about just trying black and white out on random pictures, just to see until I read this post by blogging mentor/idol Stefanie.  

That got me thinking, what would some of my favorite color photos look like in black and white?  So, I sat down with my iPhone since most of my pictures (save the photo shoots/special occasions) are currently taken with that.  Lo and behold, she was right!  Some pictures that I thought would be awesome in black and white were only eh. Some that I never would have guessed would be good, turned out great.  So I thought I'd piggyback on her post to share some of my new favorite black and white photos, obviously my top pic the above of Stella's feet!  What do you think?  How did they turn out?  It has definitely changed the way I think of black and white, and even color, photography!  Awesome, thanks Stefanie!

A beach scene, one of the ones that came as a surprise.  Who knew that it would look good without the blues, whites, and browns of a typical beach pic?

Stella, one of the pictures I thought would look good in black and white.  This one is from her hospital newborn pictures!

Sunrise, another surprise.  Again, all of the colors present in a sunrise and they still are beautiful in black and white.  I like how the houses are silhouetted at the bottom.

Braeden riding a bike, another surprise.  It's all about the shadow for me in this picture.  Amy loves this one.

Sunday Snapshot - Rainy Days

I've always loved the rain.  I don't ever remember being scared by storms; the thunder or the lightning.  Quite the opposite in fact, I find them fascinating.  I enjoy watching the rain fall, the storm gaining intensity, the wind blowing in all directions.  I love falling asleep or waking up to rain.  It's soothing.  I was also the kid who begged to go and play in the rain when I was younger.  Be it a sprinkle or a downpour, I wanted to be in it.  With or without an umbrella.  

Apparently, as the saying goes, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree here in Drosche Land.  Both boys, Jack especially, love to play in the rain.  Maybe for the same reasons I mentioned above.  However, I believe it to be related to their unnatural addiction to umbrellas.  Always wanting to play with them, rainy days are the perfect time.  Mom and Dad can't say now then!

So, when we got home the other day and the deluge had slowed for a bit to a light rain, Jack's first instinct was to head out.  I followed, iPhone in hand (I didn't want to get my camera out in the weather), to hopefully catch the childhood fun that is playing in the rain.

Luckily, as he is most of the time, Jack was obliging.  Allowing me to capture his light-hearted and innocent fun.  Ahhh the joys of rain, and an eager and willing subject to photograph!

All is well, picture perfect, in Drosche Land.

I was lucky to get this one before heading out.  One of my favorites!

Being silly in the rain!

My willing subject, posing for me!

All of these photos were taken with my iPhone 4S.  They were then edited using the Camera+ app.