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I pulled out a new house to color today…the old one (bought in August and still going strong) doesn’t have a lot of white space anymore! (I think we’re starting a little community 😉 )
Cheryl over at Twinfatuation hosts this one. Go over and have a look at what others are doing on this sunny Saturday.
I received a gift certificate from my Brother and sister-in-law for Christmas. This made it possible to purchase my Flip. And OHMYGOD, the thing is wonderful.
It’s super light – almost to the point where you might think it’s cheap, except that it’s anything but.
It fits right in a coat pocket for easy access, and is only slightly bigger than my cell phone.
The biggest button is the one you press to record video and then stop the recording. You can zoom (a little).
You can play back the video or delete it.
The thing is called a Flip because the USB connection arm flips out to connect it to your computer – no cords to lose!!
When you plug it in for the first time, it automatically loads the software that it comes with. Then, each time you plug it in after, it recognizes that you’ve connected and automatically pulls up the software.
Here’s where things get easy as well. FlipShare is super, super easy! You indicate the videos you want to save to your computer, or to a “Flip Channel” – where you can share the video with friends and family, or to a place online (Facebook and YouTube are just a drag-n-drop away!). You can edit the video by snipping it from the front or back, and you can string a few videos together. You can create a greeting card or – my favorite part – grab a snapshot from anywhere in the video!
The screen is a bit small, so it takes some getting used to the distance you need to be away from your subject. It’s just slightly different than a regular camera, but easy to get used to with some use. My only complaint is that it doesn’t zoom much at all. But … since I know that, I won’t try to shoot video of things that are far away 🙂
Some samples for your viewing pleasure.
(49 seconds)
And a snapshot from that video
Maggie After Singing
(27 seconds)
And a snapshot from that video
Burke After singing
(39 seconds)
And a snapshot from that video
Hello?
I did not receive this Flip from an outside source to review.
I purchased it on my own with my hard-earned Christmas gift card 😉
So, this isn’t a way-back photo (it’s from November), but it’s a way-back technique…so that counts, right?
We got silhouettes done of the kids as gifts to the grandparents this year. (This is actually a scan of the finished, framed project … I didn’t want to take it out of the frame!)
We went to our local library and each kid sat for about 5 – 10 minutes while Jean snip-snipped away at the paper. She was amazing to watch! She had an adjustable chair set up so she could position the kid to the height she needed and then a portable DVD player (with a fish DVD playing – lots of action) set up so that your child would look in the right direction. And then her hands just flew across the paper. I was quite impressed.
Cheryl over at Twinfatuation hosts this one. Go on over to see who else is playing – and join in too!
Do helicopter parents even know that they hover? I mean…what if *I’M* a helicopter mom? It’s not like my kids’ teachers would tell me…right?
I drop my kids off and pick them up from school. (There is no bus option at this age.) The school does offer a drive-up drop-off option where the teachers will come get your kids out of the car (and at pick-up they’ll bring your kids out to your car), but I prefer to take them in myself. I feel much more connected and like I actually know their teachers (and they know me – which I also think is important). There’s not a lot of individualized communication at this school – no parent/teacher conferences or anything like that. So…I go in, help the kids get settled, chat with a teacher or two – if they’re not too frazzled – and then go. When I go back in to pick the kids up, I sometimes get a quick update. For example, on Tuesday, Maggie didn’t want her picture taken with “Rudolph” at the Holiday party that day … which put her in a funk for the rest of the day. I’m not sure I would have known about that if I hadn’t gone in.
Next year, Burke and Maggie head to Kindergarten where they’ll have the option to take the bus. But I really don’t want them to do that (and luckily, Mike agrees). I think part of it stems from my own hatred of the bus when I was little – well…the 1/4 mile hike to get to the bus stop anyway. That and the fact that my Dad (and then my step-mother) drove us to school. I’m sure that part of it may be that I’m a complete control freak. Part of it is that in MA, there’s a law that kids have to be in booster seats until they’re 8 … are there boosters in buses??
The thing is, I know that I want my kids to have minds of their own (mostly 😉 ) and be able to fight for their own grades and stuff when they get older. (There’s no way I’m going in to argue over grades for one of my kids!) And I want them to be able to make their own decisions – which includes making their own mistakes. I don’t want to “smooth out and mow down all obstacles” for them.
But I don’t want to not be there for them either.
I’m sure there’s a happy medium. I just hope I find it.
The PTO ladies brought snacks to the session last week. One of the treats that disappeared quite quickly (with good reason!) was called “Prolos” – A Rolo sandwiched between two pretzels. HOLY COW, Yu-um. And easy enough to make with your kids!
I lined 3 cookie sheets (mine are stoneware) with parchment paper and put one in front of each kid. Then I put a pile of “heart pretzels” (as Burke calls them) by the cookie sheets and told the kids to spread them out over the cookie sheets.
Placing Pretzels
Once Logan realized he wasn’t supposed to just eat the pretzels, he got in on the fun too.
Then came the Rolos. We unwrapped them and placed one on each pretzel. (Again, Logan had a hard time with the “Don’t eat them yet!” heh)
Rolos on Top
Maggie liked putting them on up-side-down. Not sure why… 🙂 After a few tries, Logan would chant “No eat.” each time I handed him an unwrapped Rolo.
Put them in the oven (at 350) for about 2 minutes. Just enough to get them squishy.
Making the Rolos Squishy
2 Minutes is STILL a Long Time to Wait
Be careful when you take the cookie sheet out – squishy Rolos tend to slide a bit…
Sliding Rolos
While the Rolos are still warm, place another pretzel on top and press down slightly. (I did this while the kids watched … Hot stoneware plus 3 kids makes me nervous!)
Pressed Pretzels
Put in the refrigerator to harden the chocolate. After an hour or so, you can transfer them to an air-tight container.
Store in the Fridge so the chocolate doesn’t melt too much, but be sure to take them out a little while before you want to serve them. (Otherwise the caramel is a tooth hazard…)
The Zimmer Zoo 