Anatomy of a Family Photo

The Anatomy of a Family Photo

How long does it take to get one great photo of one large family? Lightyears.

When I was going through the files looking for the best shot, the whole progression of the photos made me smile. It was like remembering an old conversation. To see the full image in large size, click here. To see what photo we ultimately chose (i.e. the one where we’re all looking), click here.

Special thanks to the mysterious Mr. M for taking the photo for us (not sure if his identity can be revealed online…but he deserves credit for a nice shot. And also for his mad Rock Band/Ping Pong/Riding-in-the-Gator with two two-year-olds skills).

Vacation Chronicles – Merry, Merry Thursday

Trying Out the Karekoke Machine

Trying out the kareoke machine….

The Band the Day After

The world famous rock band…the day after their biggest gig ever….

Peters Christmas

A tired crew….

Happy, merry, feliz….today from all of us at casa de loco bananas.

I’m Out

With the holiday upon us I will be taking my leave from this lovely bloggity blog to spend time eating, drinking, drinking, drinking and playing Rock Band 2. I took a WHOLE WEEK off from work, so by Wednesday I just may be legally comatose. Don’t you worry about me.

But you, my lovelies, I will worry about you. What shall you read while I’m away? Well, I may try and post a picture or two of our festivus miracle, or maybe some video of the family talent show that is threatening to eat my brain. But if that’s not enough, here are some options for next week:

Monday: Read this, then watch the video below. If I ever get married again (I mean, renew vows, not get married to someone else, seriously) I would want to do it like this. All brides-to-be should take notice [Mikayla, this one’s for you].

Tuesday: Read the Adventures of RPAZZ. For those Twilight fans who love the books, but think Robert Pattison is a little icky, this site will crack you up. I particularly like this post. Oh, Rob, I will never “stop believin’.”

Wednedsay: Stop freaking out about the decorations and the presents and the family and all of the things that are stressing you out. If you need help, read this article from Real Simple dot come on 5 Reminders to Keep You Balanced this Holiday Season. Also, wish Trent a happy birthday with me!!! HAAAAPPPYYYYY BIIIIRRRRTTHHDAAAAAY!

Thursday: Celebrate the birth of Jesus with some gift giving and drunken family time. Add this song (it will start streaming when the page loads) to your Christmas soundtrack, and maybe it will drown out the sound of your Uncle Joe puking in the bathroom after one too many bourbon and cokes.

Friday: Recover. Sleep. Maybe go see a movie. I may go see this one. Take some of that holiday gift money and make a donation to Kiva dot org. Remember last year when I received Kiva gift certificates for both my birthday and for Christmas (click here to jog your memory)? Well, the fabulous women that I donated to have both repaid huge portions of their loans, giving me money back that I could either take for myself, or redonate. Guess which one I chose?

My goal is to donate to a woman entrepreneur in all of the regions offered, and so far I have donated in Asia and Africa. Yesterday I used my repaid money to give a loan to another woman, this one starting a clothing sales business in Peru.

After all the excess of the holidays, it will feel good to give a little back. Karma, baby. Pure karma.


Kiva - loans that change lives

Who Says I’m Totally Random?

Last week I was on the phone with a good friend and when I mentioned how frazzled I’d been lately, she stated “Yeah, I was wondering. Your posts on Crazybananas have been all over the place lately.” Well, harumph! I’ll prove you wrong, missy!

The theme of this Monday’s post is What I Did on Sunday. See, themed! Totally not random!

First I decided that I wanted to make treats for all of our new neighbors. Since we moved here during the crappiest time of year (today it was NINE degrees when I left the house, NINE DEGREES) we don’t see much of anyone on our street. By the time we get home from work in the evening, it’s dark and I’m crabby, so we hibernate. Weekends have been alternately packed with family stuff and work stuff, so other than a few waves and hellos yelled across the street, we haven’t had much contact with anyone living near us. So I decided to continue my tradition from our old house and make holiday treats for our neighbors to deliver with Lucy.

Cookies

Look homemade cookies!

Kitchen Before

Here is a shot of my fabulous kitchen. Everyone has been asking me for new pictures of the house, so for those of you who care, here it is. The arrows are pointing to some household staples like a.) Open drawers full of crap, b.) Open beer bottles, c.) Stacks of dirty towels, d.) Packages of baby wipes [opened of course], and e.) Wrapper from Costco-sized tube of cookie dough.

Wait, scratch that last one. The cookies were totally homemade, I swear!

Kitchen After

Here is the picture I took of my kitchen after I looked at the first one and realized how gross it was. This is what my kitchen actually looks like on a daily basis.

Speaking of my kitchen, it’s the only part of our new house that is somewhat finished. We’re still missing some things (like curtains), but at least we have a place to eat, right? This is my favorite part of the house so far, the family wall.

Orange Family Wall

Also, Santa, I’d like a new flash for my camera. Mine sucks. Yours, Megan.

Living Room

This is our living room. There is a matress in it. The dogs sleeps on it. We are high class.

Red Clock

This is a clock my friend Inger got me from IKEA because she is totally awesome. I love it. It opens to give you storage for keys, wallets and all of the other random crap I can never find. Now if only I had time to hang it.

Reindeer Treats

This is where we keep our reindeer treats. What are reindeer treats, you ask?

Treats for the Adult Reindeer

Why, Bailey’s and hot chocolate mix, of course! Drunk reindeer are the best!

Hmmm…what else have I been up to? I made these books.

Peters Reunion Blurb Book

They are photo books that I compiled with all of our family’s photos from the Peters Family Reunion this past August. It took FOREVER to put together, but they are great Christmas gifts for everyone.

My Favorite Photo Part 2

My favorite photo has to be a tie between the one above of the boys watching their dad play pinball, and the one below.

My Favorite Picture Part 1

Dorks. [Both photos by Product E.]

This is the extent of my Christmas decorations. It’s all I had the energy to do. And yes, that is the same fake tree that belonged to my friend in college. I didn’t have time to get a new one. Lame, I know. Especially since I use that excuse every year.

Also, any ideas on colors for these walls? I’m stumped, but I hate the beige.

Decorations

I think the decorations look better like this, don’t you?

Abstract Tree

As long as I’m being totally not random, have I mentioned how much I love this measuring spoon? It’s like four measuring spoons in one. Which means I only have to clean one item instead of four. Yipee!

My Favorite Measuring Spoon

And finally, here are the cookies for my neighbors, all wrapped up and ready to go.

Cookie Boxes for Neighbors

See, the most totally not random post ever! Now I’m off to eat some cookies. God knows I need more sugar.

High Brow Literature

This past weekend, while Trent and I were losing horribly at “The Newlywed Game” themed Christmas party (where losing equals drinking massive quantities of wine and laughing too loudly), Lucy got to have a sleepover at my older sister’s house. There were relatively few hiccups, except when they realized she could climb out of their portable crib and open the door of the room she was sleeping in, and found her wandering the halls at 10 p.m. Now, my niece, Sloan, and Lucy are good buds, especially since all poor, sad Sloanie wants in the whole wide world is a little sister. Lucy is like mini-Sloan, following her around everywhere. And at 8-years-old, Sloan is still young enough to find all that attention flattering and not annoying. Let’s wait three years and see what she thinks, shall we?

When we picked up Lu on Sunday, I found several items in her backpack that I had not seen before. Specifically two tubes of princess glitter lipgloss that I keep finding hidden around my house. Everytime I take them away, that kid finds them and stashes them in her room. Unfortunately for her, I can usually tell that she’s hoarding them by the giant, glittery streaks all over her face.

I also found a handmade book, which Sloan made for Lucy. It made me happy.

Front Cover

The front cover of “Lucy: A Novel by Sloan.”

Page 2

Just in case you forgot who this book is all about….

Page 3

Or you needed some help spelling Lucy. L.U.C.Y.

Page 4

OK, here’s where it starts to get good.

Dear Lucy,
I hope you enjoyed playing with us. I enjoyed it too! My favorite thing was when we were rolling on the ottoman. What was your favorite thing to do? I hope you had a great time again.
Your cousin,
Sloan

Page 5

Wait, there’s more!

Hi Lucy,
I really hope you haved a great time! I hope you also had fun playing with me! I had a great time too.
Your cousin,
Sloan
P.S. Tell your mom we need to have our girls night.

I love that the passive agressive nature that runs through my family’s DNA has been passed on to Sloan. I promised her a girls’ night for Christmas last year, and she asks me about it everytime she sees me. And everytime I call her house. And apparently everytime she writes a letter to my two-year-old.

Page 6

Fictional depiction of Sloan and Lucy playing in her backyard. Fictional because it was 2 degrees outside and snowing when Lu was there.

Page 7

The star of this memoir.

Page 8

When I saw this back page, I was all, “Wow, Sloan, you’ve gotten really good at writing your name.” And she was all, “Yeah, I know.” Only later did I realize that this is a drawing I did for her last time I babysat.

Sneaky, that one. Very sneaky.

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