Hold It Steady!! Please?

I have just spent the day editing a video for a friend who shall remain nameless. Now, I say I spent the day editing, but really, a few edits took all day. After five minutes of trying to cut around shaky zooms and camera moves, I'd get frustrated and needed to take a break. When I was almost ready to call above mentioned friend and say something about their camera work that could end the friendship, I reminded myself why this happens, TO ALL OF US, when we are taking video of our children. We are so focused on what they are doing, and what we want them to do on camera, we forget about the camera work.

Let me offer a little advice for those about to turn on the camera and capture those precious moments.

1. Hold the camera steady for at least 10 seconds. Its a news shooting rule that works for all video camera work. Once you see the shot you want, press record and count to 10 (at least) before you move. Count to 20 or 30 if you can stand to wait that long.

2. I know they put a zoom on the camera, but please don't use it. Okay, you may use it, but then see rule number 1.

3. Get a wide shot. Let us see where you are and what the child is doing. Hold for 10 seconds.

4. Get a close up. Now you can zoom, then hold to see baby's hand movements, or facial expressions. Hold for you know how long.

5. Keep your talking to a minimum. It is tempting to make sounds, especially when you want to get baby to smile or laugh on cue. But what you get on video is your really loud sounds (your right next to the camera) drowning out baby's soft sounds.

Although I am thinking about baby video when I write these rules, they apply to most video work. If you are yelling at junior's soccer game right beside the camera, you will not hear even the loudest cheers of a victorious team.

Bonus Rule: Be patient. If you sit still and wait, you will get the video you want.

Plan "B"

There is nothing wrong with making plans. There isn't. In fact, I am quite a planner, myself. What you start to realize once there are children in the picture is that you must always have a Plan "B".

Case in point. We made some vacation plans for the middle of this summer, and our children were really looking forward to the trip. It turns out those plans have been unavoidably cancelled. Or at least indefinately delayed. So, what to tell a couple of excited little boys about their summer vacation? "We're going to the lake! Again!" In my most excited voice. Plan "B".

One of the things I love about being a Mom is learning from my children. Seriously, they are as excited about going to the same old lake that we go to every summer as they were about going to Disney World. When I asked them in June what they wanted to do for summer vacation, they said they wanted to go to Banff and Paris, with equal enthusiasm. (Lucky for us, because we are NOT taking them to Paris!)

Kids have this ability to be excited about what is, and not dwell on what is not. It doesn't matter how far away or unique the vacation spot is, only that they can do some of their favourite things, stay up a little later, eat Fruit Loops. So I'm packing up the kids, the Fruit Loops and my camera. We're going on vacation, "TO THE LAKE!!!"

Let's Get It Started

Well, my friends, summer has officially begun. I am not talking about the changing of the seasons marked by the solstice. I am talking about that childhood euphoria marked by the end of the school year. Its only been one week, and my mind is dizzy with one hundred and one things I want to do with my children before they go back to school in September. And even though it is only the first week in July, it feels like time is racing by. That could be because much of the summer is already planned out. One week of Drama Camp. One week of Hockey Camp. One week of family vacation. Plus a camping weekend and a lake weekend. Throw in a couple of play dates and one or two family gatherings, and there is barely enough time for an impromptu trip to the zoo. Phew, I am exhausted just thinking about it all.

There will be, after all is said and done, a couple of weeks with no pre-scheduled events. The truth is, those weeks are making me nervous. I have the same disease we all seem to have these days, it is hard to just relax and let things happen. I need to be scheduled. I need my kids to be scheduled. I need us all to have so many fun activities planned that there is no time to have fun! I am fighting the urge to sign us up for summer music classes or soccer lessons. I know I don't want to have any more schedules this summer. I know I want to enjoy letting the boys decide first thing in the morning where we will go and what we will do today. I know I want to create the kind of family memories that are only possible when you relax and let things happen. Wish me luck!

Support Your Local Mompreneur Part 2

Hello everyone! I am shamelessly soliciting your support for Savvymom's Mom Entrepreneur Award. Go to http://www.momentrepreneuraward.ca/MomBio.aspx?momID=120 and vote for me, and feel free to check out all the other great Mom-run businesses and vote for your favourites...after you vote for me, of course.

Oh, and if you are a Mom with a business, nominate yourself. I did!

The "Dining" Table

So, I was looking through some photos the other day, because that's what I do, and I was struck by the number of photos that include my dining table. Let me clarify that the only "dining" table in my house is in the kitchen. Nevertheless, it is a rectangle table with 6 chairs around it, and there is a high chair at one end. And it is intended to be the place where we eat. But it is so much more than that.

It is at this table where pumpkins are carved, and photos of glowing jack-o-lanterns taken, every year. Every video of singing Happy Birthday to little boys (and their parents and some grandparents, aunts and uncles, for that matter) includes this table. Photos of family gatherings, from Christmas dinners to Sunday game nights. Video of first finger paintings, and toddlers learning to climb up on a chair without hitting their heads on the table.

And then I thought about all the things that happen at this table that are not in photos or video. Of course, we eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and more snacks at the table. We also do homework, wrap presents, try out new toys, plan vacations, read the newspaper, decorate Easter eggs and visit with friends and family at this table. And so much more than that.

My point, if I have one, is this. The next time I hear a parenting expert suggest that I gather my family around the table for dinner, I will simply gather my family around the table. After all, dinner or not, it is where the family gathers.

Website!!!

Hello friends. Against all odds, the website is finally finished. Fully revised and quite pretty, I must say. It took a little longer than expected, but it looks almost exactly how I hoped, so it was worth the wait. I must say a giant "Thanks" to my personal webmaster, who solved flash video issues and contact form problems in between reading bedtime stories and emptying the dishwasher, after a full day of fighting his own fires. He is my hero!

I would love to hear what you think of the site. http://www.smallwonder.ca

The Firsts and The Lasts

I have been thinking about these things a lot lately. Babies have so many firsts that we almost lose track. Smiles, giggles, laughs. Rollovers, crawls, steps. Teeth. Words. Foods. The list goes on and on. And then, as our children get a little older they start to have some lasts. The last time they say "mot" instead of "milk". The last time you can pick them up off the floor when they fall. The last time they can ride the boat swings. The question is, which ones are more important to hold onto, the firsts or the lasts?

I recently read a story book that focused on the lasts, and how we should pay more attention to them. When I read it, a tear came to my eye. When my seven year old son read it, he sobbed. He thought about his baby brother growing up, and then he thought about himself leaving home someday, and it made him so sad, he could hardly speak.

The way I look at it, and what I told my son, is that every last leads to another first, and that is exciting. When his baby brother stops saying "Ma ma ma" he will start saying "Mommy". When they can no longer go on the swings, they will be able to go on the big ferris wheel. When they leave home one day, they will have their own place where I can go visit them. I am not saying I am not nostalgic for their early days and years. Time goes so fast and it is so hard to appreciate every moment. Its nice to look back at photos and video and remember those days. I would just rather spend more time thinking about the wonderful moments to come.

I think that focusing on the firsts represents progress and looking to the future of more firsts. Focusing on the lasts, even just the word "last", makes me feel like I'm getting stuck in the past.

I'll tell you one thing for sure. My son and I are never going to read that story again.