How did you do the watermark on your photos?
I downloaded Windows Live Writer. I LOVE it. You can add your blog to it, and it lets you change the size of the pictures, you can give the pic an alternate name (instead of jpeg22 etc), put a watermark on, schedule your posts (great for me who falls asleep with my clothes on) and heaps more.Really really easy to use!
What sort of camera and lenses do you use?
I use the Sony Alpha a300. I have 2 lenses at the moment,a 18-70mm and a 55-200mm . Lusting after a macro lens and external flash:)
What's your favourite lens & why??
I love the newer lens, the 55-200mm. It gets those awesome blurred backgrounds, and has a bigger zoom, so I can get pics of the kids without having to be in their faces!
Why did you start blogging, it's not really common here.......??
Well, as Susan pointed out, its not really big here (Australia) . I was trying to create a photography website last year, tried a few, didn't like them, and then I found a blogspot blog one day -I think it was 4littlemen&girlytwins-(after the 50th ‘make my own website’ search) and joined up. Now, its more like an online journal. And I'm so glad I've found it, I have made some awesome friends!
With 5 kids what's your best ideas about dinners?
Um, start at 3.30pm? Seriously, especially in winter, our dinner is well on the way by 4pm. That way ,at 5pm, when everyone starts going “I'm STARVING” I can just go “well, here you go!” I also love making things that will last for 2 nights . The girls help in the kitchen a fair bit too.
Why did you and your beloved wait to get married?
Hmmm good question. I guess we got together so young, we never really had the opportunity. And to be honest, neither of us felt the need.After we had Jai, I just thought ‘Bugger it’ and we planned it all in about 2 months,the whole thing cost us $1200 (about $880 US currency) My dress was rainbow coloured, and we had a one night honeymoon one year later!
Where did you get married?
The ceremony was in a park, and we had the reception in a little Italian restaurant.
Are boys or girls "easier"?
The girls were easier when they were babies, both my boys were demanding mummy's boys, but the girls are getting harder as they get older:) (Cara’s preteen angst anyone?)
HOW do you keep up with laundry with 5 kids??
Ha. I do wash everyday (2- 3 loads a day) but have issues with folding. I usually have at least 2 baskets piled high until I have a cleaning binge and do it all at once. And yes, I have a tumble dryer but we only got one when we moved here about 6 months ago, because of the teeny tiny clothesline,that holds one load of towels and not much else!
When are you coming to visit me? (Kimber)
When I
a) win lotto
b) become an amazingly talented ,highly paid photographer
or c) save for a year or 2
How on earth do you keep your sanity with five kids? :)
Honestly, I can tune most noise out. That's my secret. Deafness. No, really,I don't really know. As I have said before, this is my life, I just do what needs to be done. And it seems normal to me. I don't think people with 1 or 2 kids have it ‘easier’ than me (I'm sure they wash less and buy less food though haha) and when all the kids aren't here, it feels like something is missing:)
How do you shop for five (food, clothes, etc)?
We shop every week, but do a HUGE shop one week, 3 grocery shops( i like to get the bargains) the butcher, and fruit shop. We spend about $250 a week (about $200 in US currency) so i don't think we do too badly. Clothes, i buy whenever we can. If hubby works overtime or there is no bills for the week, we hit the shops,haha. I always have a list in my bag of stuff the kids need (this week i need to get all the back-to-school stuff) and tick it off as I get it. Sounds daggy, but works for me. The kids, honestly, are pretty spoilt, and don't miss out on much, although they may have to wait for it, and the girls (and Jai too, he saved $30 and bought himself the Hotwheels colour change car wash)usually save up for things they want.
What kind of meals do you make?
Lots of meat. I admire vegetarians, but whenever we go away, the first thing i want when we get home is STEAK!! This week we have eaten lasagne (for 2 nights) , a really really nice roast pork with roast vegetables,a big stew, we had scrambled eggs with bacon one night (cos i was lazy), and hubbys awesome homemade pizza (we ate that for lunch too). In summer, its mostly BBQs and salads.
How many times a day do you cook? (dinner only, lunch and dinner, all three meals?)?
I always cook dinner. I cook lunch through winter (its only usually the boys at home) I don't cook breakfast much (unless you count porridge?) But sometimes we do have pancakes, or donuts (healthy right? i said sometimes). I love cooking a dessert too:)
How do you and your husband find time to work on your marriage?
That is a hard one! We rarely get time alone, but usually watch tv or a movie after the kids have gone to bed. And I'm lucky that he works weekend shift, so he is home 4 days of the week. We talk a lot, about everything, he really is my best friend, dorky as that may sound! We were able to get away for a night of decadence for our anniversary last year (mmm, spa suite) and I hope we can do that again this year! Marriage can be hard, but we committed to each other forever, so I guess we are stuck with each other:) Seriously though, I can not even imagine my life without him, even when we argue and i just want to rip his head off get rather agitated, i still can not imagine us not being together.
How long have you been seriously taking pictures?
I always loved taking photos, whenever we had a baby, i would borrow my Nanas really great Konica camera. I only bought myself a half decent camera when Fatboy was 9 days old. I started with a digital Fuji, which I upgraded to another digital Fuji, the 8100( i still have it, great macro!) and finally bought myself a digital SLR ,my baby (Sonny the Sony) in December last year. I really hope I can make it (as a photographer) because its truly become my passion!
What are your religious and political views???
Honestly, we are not that religious. I pray ( more so since I started blogging- the miracle of Stellan! ), and the kids do, sometimes, but a lot of my family i feel are hypocritical in their religious beliefs and have looked down on us for various aspects of our lives (calling my children the ‘b word’ -as Jai says- because hubby and I were not married, for example, did not go down well!) which has turned me off a bit.. There is a few small churches near us, and we may start going,they have lots of kids activities etc. I believe in God, definitely, he looks after my angel babies until I can get to them. And there must be a god, although it sounds corny, I do feel so blessed in so many ways.
Political. Hmmm.(1st time ever someone has asked me about politics haha) Well, i certainly think Kevin Rudd is better for Australia than John Howard! And I would have voted for Obama, had I been an American. I would like the troops to come home too!!
What is your secret to a happy, healthy marriage? You have managed to beat all the odds staying married and having 5 children when starting at such a young age.
Its not always happy,and I think that the secret. Simon and I both know that life is hard, LOVE is hard but we are committed to each other, for ever. Good times and Bad. We fight (lots, haha we are both Leos, stubborn) and I have always taught the kids, that even though we love each other, we will not always get along. And even though we don't always get along, we are a FAMILY and we will ALWAYS be together.
I'd love to know what you "wish you'd known" especially with the oldest.
That you cant stop them growing up. No matter how hard you try.And it is so true that they are growing up faster than ever! I really wish we had not let Cara get a phone so young (but that was my brother , he bought her one for her birthday) and she has to be supervised on the computer AT ALL TIMES!! I wish i had known about the Bumbo, for the babies, and i always wished someone had of told me when Cara was born, “You dont HAVE to bath the baby EVERY single day”
When you're out in public, do people ever ask you if all the kids are yours? and then do they go on to say, "you do know what causes that, don't you?" and then do you think/say, "Uhh, no, I have no CLUE how I ended up w/all of these kids! They just started following me around!"
First of all, I love your response. We were at a party last year and one guy just kept saying “ Don't you own a TV?'” When hubby said, yes we own 2, just bought a huge monstrosity of one, he then switched to “ Lucky you just bought that TV,ha-ha” By the end of the night, I though hubby was going to explode:) My favourite comment, we just got a few weeks ago, a friend we hadn't seen for ages, looked at us all standing there, hubby and me surrounded by kids, laughed and said “Well, at least you know everything works!” It surely does:)
Did you plan your pregnancies?
I say, not planned, but not prevented. Obviously Cara was a shock (at 16),we did plan Dakota, and the others? Welcome surprises. 6, however, is my absolute limit, and hubby will get the snip after that (I'm sure he's thrilled I just blogged that)
How many siblings do you have? Are you close? What is your place?
Im the oldest (28 almost 29) I have one crazy skydiving,divorced,snake-owning,tattooed,child-care working sister, Michelle, but we never call her that, she is ‘Belbie’ to us, who is 26, and one tattooed, harness racing driving, muscled up,dog owning,lolly buying (he goes to this lolly warehouse and brings home giant bags of lollies),Lily Allen loving, baby brother Steven (Stevie) who is 23 almost 24. We weren't really close when we were little, but are pretty close now. I know if I need someone, Belbie and Stevie will be there.
How did y’all decide to get a mini pony for a pet?
Aww, my Frodo. It was Christmas morning 2007, we hauled the kids out to mums, and here is this tiny little bulldoggy looking pony. Mum thought something was wrong with him, but it took a few days to figure out what it was. It was just after the EI (equine influenza) went through , and all of mums ponies and Dads horses had it. A lot of mums mares were pregnant, and Frodo was the only surviving foal of the 3 born so far. Anyway, after copious internet research, mum figured out he was a dwarf. So he cant be sold, as he has so many health issues. Of course, we claimed him! He has had 2 operations so far, to fix a hernia, and to straighten his front legs. He has to wear special shoes, big plastic ones, to help with the straightening.He is adorably chubby, and loving, and we are hoping to bring him to our house next month. At the moment he is at Mums, about 10 minutes down the road,and we visit him as much as we can. He loves to be loved:)
Whew. That was a big job, but I loved it! Thanks for the questions, any more, just ask:) School holidays are coming to an end, so if I have been slack in commenting on your blogs, I promise to catch up next week:)