Long Time, No Post...but the New Camera is Finally Here!

It's been almost a full two weeks since my old camera got sent out for repairs. I felt strange not having it around for those impromptu shots throughout the day. And I just about panicked not having it for all the great activities we've been doing. It's been quite a pendulum swing I guess- there are hardly any photos from the early years of our marriage- it was such a bother to pick up film, get it printed, and then deal with all the prints afterwards. I remember being apprehensive about the cost of a digital camera when they started becoming more common- would it be worth the cost, especially if we weren't "picture-taking people"? We finally got a digital camera shortly before Munch was born, and of course I feel in love with it- the whole instant gratification of being able to see your photos right away just reeled me in! But as I started keeping my camera on hand more frequently (ok, ALWAYS), then came another concern: was I missing out, not being fully present, because I was busy taking pictures? But that concern was resolved during these last couple of weeks. I'm finding that there isn't a big difference to me "in the moment"- and if anything, I'm MORE aware and involved (me and my short attention span...) when I'm keeping an eye out for those "Kodak moments". And without pics, I was SO uninspired to blog (hence, the long span without a new post). So I was thrilled to get my adorable little replacement camera-it's significantly smaller than my old camera, it's waterproof, and come on, the green is fabulous!
So, what have we been up to?
-Last week, I stumbled across some beautiful zucchini blossoms at the farmer's market. I've always wanted to try stuffed zucchini blossoms, so I grabbed a bunch to try. They were incredibly delicious and so much easier to make than I was expecting. I served them for dinner with some bruschetta (those cherry tomatoes out of my garden) and chunks of watermelon:
The recipe I used came from Taste Buddies and it includes a great step-by-step photo tutorial.
-I finally got myself a proper popover (say that three times!) pan after enjoying them so much lately, but not getting nearly the rise when I baked them in a muffin tin. I was thrilled to see the huge puffy domes coming out of my oven!
We've been making popovers quite frequently ever since!
-Munch and I are continuing our letter of the day activities, but I've also been busy making some other fun things:
I printed out wallet-sized photos of some of our family and friends and hung them in a small pocket chart with name cards so that Munch would start to recognize people's names. I've been so happy to find her comparing beginning sounds, mixing cards up, re-matching them, and even trying to sound them out.
Since she's really been curious about letter sounds, I also ordered her this mini pocket chart from Oriental Trading Company. It was a great deal at $7.99 and Munch can work on it fairly independently, which has given me time to tackle all the cupboards and closets that need cleaning!

Today being T day, I busied myself making some apple counting trees out of felt glued onto poster board.
But my favorite project so far is our Chicka Chicka Boom Boom inspired t-shirt. I painted a tree-trunk onto a shirt and used Munch's handprints for the leaves.
After letting the tree dry overnight, we used alphabet sponges to stamp Munch's name down the tree trunk-
and the finished shirt is just adorable! I'm glad I used a brightly colored shirt- it's much cuter than if I'd used a plain white shirt-

Are you a FOLLOWER yet? Click the Follower button on the sidebar so you don't miss a post!