Stone Mountain's winter playground was so great last year that we had to go again!
Here is Stone Mountain's Snow Mountain as seen from the cable car. If you've ever been to Stone Mountain in the summer, the sledding hill is the sloped lawn where you watch the nighttime laser show. Across the railroad tracks (at the bottom of the photo) is the tot sledding hill and the snow play area.
I didn't take a camera and my iPhone doesn't do a great job on an overcast winter's day, but my guys cheerfully reenacted their sled runs for me.
Fun in the snow...
Molding snow bricks and throwing snowballs at targets kept Eli busy for quite a while. He worked up an appetite too. S'mores! (How could we resist? The campfire area with its smoky, yummy smells is right next to the snow field.)
And we decorated holiday cookies too. From November 9 through January first, Stone Mountain offers Christmas events and the village is decorated for the season. It was fun to soak up a few more light displays, watch a 4D version of The Polar Express, etc.
Many thanks to Eli's grandparents, who bought us all annual season passes to Stone Mountain. We plan to go back sledding soon, but those passes mean fun all year. Eli and I got passes when we first moved back to Georgia and it was great to always have an inexpensive day trip with lots to do. Pack a picnic and off you go! (The eateries in the park are somewhat pricy but there are more healthy choices than most kid venues.) Eli loves mini golf, the real train ride around the mountain, the cable car, the Great Barn (trampoline, foam ball canon, and game area), etc. In the hot weather, Eli loves the village's wading creek and also Geyser Towers, a multi-story play area with slides, fountains, and sprinklers. This year we're excited because he's now 44 inches tall and can try out the SkyHike treetop adventure course. And there are many other things we didn't get to last year -- plantation, grist mill, history displays, hiking up the mountain, Ride the Ducks, etc.
I know I sound like a commercial, but we really do love Stone Mountain. I have happy memories of visiting as a kid and now I get to share it with my family. Aside from there simply being so much to do, I think my favorite thing about it is that it is easy to spend almost all day being active outside together.
Eli and his papa had fun putting out Christmas lights this year.
I snapped a photo of the results for the family scrapbook, but had to use my tripod to prevent blurring.
Most of the time blurred photos are annoying. Sometimes, though, they are lots of fun. Last night I set my camera for daylight, pointed it towards our Christmas lights, and then moved the camera in different patterns.
My in-laws brought their RV when they came for Christmas. Eli is smitten with this vehicle that is part big rumbly truck, part efficient toy house, and part backyard adventure pup tent. There it is right in our driveway. Not only are the grandparents there, but it is also complete with a doorbell he can ring whenever the whim strikes, a flat screen television that seems to run a continuous loop of PBS cartoons, and a griddle that serves up hot banana pancakes. What’s not to love? As the afternoon darkened each day, the campaigning began. “Mama, can I sleep there again tonight?” All the adults looked at each other, shrugged, and politely said, “It’s up to you….”
For three nights in a row, Brian and I passed our boy out the door into the arms of his granddad. We closed down the garage door feeling a giddy sense of freedom. Woo hoo! We could watch a movie and turn up the volume! We could flip on any light we’d like! Indeed, we hollered loud I-love-yous to each other up the stairs simply because we could. Bedtime didn’t have to be prompt either. There was a sleep-in ahead! And we knew we could sleep without keeping an ear out for a cough, a cry, or shuffling of little feet down the hall.
But then bedtime eventually came. When we headed to bed ourselves, it felt odd not to tiptoe in to re-tuck Little Guy’s covers. There was no tandem goodnight kiss on a slumbering boy’s head. As grateful as we were for a parenting break, I missed him. And I missed knowing he might leave his own bed and show up at ours sometime in the night.
Several times a month Eli will pad into our bedroom in the dark. If a lighter sleep cycle coincides with a tangled dream or he finds himself uncovered and chilly, he’ll seek out company. I open my eyes to find the silhouette of a little head next to me. If he doesn’t seem upset, we usually don’t even say a word. Despite the fact that it is against what I said I would do before I became a parent, I just lean back and lift the covers, giving Eli a tunnel. Grabbing two handfuls of fitted sheet to help him climb, he scoots in.
I’ve always loved hugging and rocking Eli. But rising out of sleep, taking him in my arms, and sinking back down into sleep is a whole other kind of mama bliss. Warm, sweet, soft little guy. He smells good. He smells familiar in a way that tiger cubs must smell just right to their own mama. The sound of his snuffling near my ear. Small hands and arms wrapped around mine. I feel him sigh. The readjusting and wiggling slows. His breathing becomes even. He’s asleep and soon I will be too. Drift. In the daylight hours I am often called on to problem-solve, to be a good provider and fixer and explainer. In the peaceful wee hours, I just have to be. I am warm. I am soft. I provide company and safety simply because I’m his mama. Mutual gratitude becomes a nest. We connect in a different way.
Yes, I know I may wake up an hour later to find I only have a six-inch ribbon of mattress left to sleep on, my child splayed like a starfish beside me. I may be used as an ottoman for little feet during the night. I may get accidentally head-butted or kicked. Because of all of this, I may even feel like a 40 watt bulb in an 100 watt socket the next day, dulled by sleep debt. But the peace of drifting off with my child in the dark is worth it. Even if I'm more tired, there's a part of me that is actually stronger and rejuvinated in the morning. The open response to his need weaves together trust and love. Somehow that is even more true in those quiet hours when words aren't needed. He’s growing up and these night visits won’t happen much longer. They don't happen more often than I can handle, so I let them weave their sleepy webs whenever the opportunity comes. When Grandma says no to an RV stay on the fourth night, I don’t mind an end to the respite.
Rolling on the rug, waiting (oh, waiting!) for the grownups to all arrive, for everybody to get out of the bathroom, for guests to all gather their cinnamon rolls and coffee!
And the aftermath!
Cleaning day today! (But only enough to make the kitchen functional again and make sure none of the new toys get stepped on. There's something cheery about a little post-Christmas chaos.)
An Artic wasteland? A field waiting for a snowball fight?
Nope! A pan of homemade orange marshmallows!
I adore flavored, handcrafted marshmallows. Now that I no longer live near the fabulous treat shop in Oakland, California named Ici, I have to make my own. Once upon a time I tried making peppermint marshmallows, but I sealed them up in a container too soon and they turned into slug cubes. I'm hoping I'll have better luck this try. Since candymaking definitely is a science as well as an art, I turned to scientific-minded television chef Altan Brown for help. He has an episode of Good Eats dedicated to homemade marshmallows, so Eli and I watched that. Then I pulled Brown's recipe off the web.
It starts off quite humble. There's water, corn syrup, and sugar in a pot.
A little heat...
Then pouring a stream of hot syrup into a mixing bowl full of softenened gelatin powder. Soon the mixer's whip is making soft clouds.
At the very last minute, a little finely chopped fresh orange zest goes in. (That isn't in Brown's recipe, but instead an idea swiped from chef Giada De Laurentiis right HERE.)
Ta-dah! Homemade marshmallows resting in their pan for several hours. But I know they are good because I licked the beater. And the spatula. And the mixing bowl.
And the lovely thing about holiday treat-making that involves orange zest is that then you can make fresh-squeezed juice from the leftover fruit!
Ah, goofball Christmas memories from early years...
Know that carol "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"? My parents had that on an old HiFi record from the holiday clearance rack at Sears. My brother and I could never resist singing along with the operatic soaring soprano: "Oh, brrrrrrrring us some fig-gy puuuuuuudding!" As little kids feeling the December pressure of Santa's scrutiny, there was real appeal to declaring loudly that we wanted treats now and wouldn't go until we got some.
The other day that carol came on in the car and I sang along opera-style to make Eli giggle. (Alas, my voice cannot even approach a soar.) Then I got to wondering for the 1,001st time... What in the heck is figgy pudding? And is it worth issuing cheeky commands to get a few bites? So I did a little sleuthing on the web. It turns out that the Christmas carol is about five centuries old and the English usage of the word "pudding" usually refers to a steamed cake. After sifting through various links, it became clear that there are dozens of versions of Figgy Pudding. Some are laced with alcohol while some are not. (Oh, the excitement of a dessert set aflame!) There are "blondes" and "brunettes," pale or dark puddings. Figgy Pudding comes molded into mounds or rings but can also be cooked as a lump inside a linen sack. Figgy Pudding may be packed with various dried fruits while other recipes take the purist approach and include only figs. My curiosity was almost sated when I ran across the positive reviews for a non-alcoholic Figgy Pudding recipe by Chef James Thomas. Hey. Why not try making the stuff?
Soft, seedy, sticky little figs chopped and dropped into a pan, awaiting a bath in hot milk to turn them into mush...
After making a thick batter largely composed of eggs and breadcrumbs, the magic baking process began. The Figgy Pudding bakes in a Bundt pan, but one that is covered in buttered foil and sits in a deep bath of water.
Most of the flavor in the pudding comes from cinnamon, nutmeg, and fresh orange peel. Oh, does it ever make the kitchen smell good during its two-hour cook time!
And then at last I unmolded the very moist cake, fragrant with spices and fresh citrus. It is springy but dense and hides chewy bits of fig. It isn't one of those desserts where you cut yourself a huge, rich hunk. Instead, this is one of those treats you could almost eat with a spoon, savoring each warm bite with some steamy winter beverage. This is a grown up dessert with complex flavors that linger on the palate.
Yes. If I was out Christmas caroling on a chilly night and smelled warm Figgy Pudding wafting out of someone's brightly-lit doorway, I might very well refuse to go until I got some.
Note: Figgy Pudding is often served with hard sauce (a sweet, buttery sauce usually made with brandy or other alcohol). In the recipe reviews, however, someone mentioned making Raspberry Fig Sauce to go with it. Sounded good to me, so that's what I did too. I'm glad I did because it was easy, yummy, and the jewel-like color was lovely alongside the caramel-colored pudding.
This past week not one...not two...but three mom friends contacted me after seeing a camera for kids in a picture of Eli that I posted to Facebook. I know the feeling! Before we bought that camera for Eli for his fifth birthday last week, I contacted some friends for feedback and read lots of reviews too. Since Christmas is coming, seems like it might be handy to post a product review. If anybody wants to add their thoughts or experiences in the comments section, that would be great!
Why buy a camera for a kid? I adore photography, so in part I simply love sharing my hobby with my child. But as someone with a bachelor's and master's in Art Education, I know it is important to give children creative outlets. My son doesn't seem to like drawing very much (at least right now), so a camera of his own invites him to look closely and record things that interest him. Sometimes if I'm looking for a way to coax Eli outside or get him interested in a new place, we'll do a "Camera Walk." We both have our cameras while we wander and then look at our photos when we get home. Sometimes we'll pick a theme together for these walks -- taking pictures that show the season, objects of a certain color, things that move, etc. (Click HERE and HERE to see examples as blog posts.) Another reason to buy a kid a camera is to help with transitions. We got Eli a toddler Fisher-Price camera when we moved from California to Georgia when he was three and a half years old. He loved it and it did seem to help. (Click HERE to see more about that model camera or about using a camera as a "good-bye tool.")
So why did we buy another camera if we had the Fisher-Price already? The photos are fairly grainy from that camera and it is chunky enough that Eli never wants to carry it around. (Frankly, I'm not happy hauling it either.) It also has no zoom and looks more like a young child's camera. It was great when Eli was a toddler. In fact, I'd recommend it for a younger child or one rough on toys. Still, a few months ago Eli started asking for something more and we knew it was time to move on.
Kid Camera vs. "Real" Camera -- I debated about whether to just get Eli a cheap real camera. There are some reasons why cameras for kids are not as good. First, none of the kid cameras I found have a flash, so indoors the pictures are always going to be blurry. To get any kind of indoor image at all, you'll have to teach a kid to stay very still while pushing the shutter button -- hard for them to remember in the moment! Also, kid cameras have fewer megapixels. That allows kids to snap away without taking up too much digital space, but the resulting images are somewhat grainy rather than sharp and clear.
So why chose a camera made specifically for kids?
Sturdiness -- The main benefit of a camera made for kids is that it should last longer. Since my kid is pretty gentle and careful, a grownup camera might be an option. Still, the chances of him (or his buddies) bonking the camera against something, dropping it, or falling down while the camera is in hand are high enough I thought a kid one was a better idea. If we are inside and Eli wants to take some pictures, he can use my point-and-shoot camera for a little while.
Safer Batteries -- The battery compartments of most adult cameras pop open fairly easily and most are on the bottom of the camera, allowing the contents to fall out. You don't want to lose the batteries. More importantly, swallowing batteries (particularly the "button" batteries in some cameras) can kill a child. Kid cameras have child-safe battery compartments.
Designed for Kid-Thinking -- Another big reason to go with a kid camera is ease of use. It can be frustrating to kids if they can't understand their own camera. They may not be able to read the menus or understand some of the vocabulary on regular cameras. Also, many of the buttons on regular cameras have multiple uses, which can be confusing.
Viewfinder Options -- Kid cameras usually have a viewfinder for both eyes. That's handy because closing one eye doesn't come easy for a lot of kids. They can also use the digital screen on the back to compose their images.
Size -- A real camera can be too small for young hands to hold securely.
Eli in Canyonlands National Park last summer...
After talking to some other moms and reading reviews, I settled on the VTech Kidizoom Camera Connect. Why?
Price -- In November I found Eli's camera for $30 online. (It is more than that now.) There are some kid cameras with more features but that cost quite a bit more.
Features -- The VTech Kidizoom has a camera, video/movie camera (with playback), and voice recorder. It also lets kids get a little creative, editing their pictures or using downloads to add fun backgrounds, clip art, or animation. The camera also has three games on it, which I'm not as thrilled about. I hope the camera will increase his interest and interaction with the world around him rather than encourage him to sit on the sofa like a lump playing electronic games. Sigh.
Ease of Use -- The VTech is particularly intuitive, in my opinion. The icons make sense and added sounds give kids cues about what the buttons are doing. Before we even fished the manual out of the box, Eli was doing well with this camera's various features. In particular, Eli seems to like having a zoom. He pushes the button with the large tree on it to bring objects close and the button with the small tree on it for the image to "back up." A thumb toggle (like a gaming console) makes it easy for Eli to scroll through old images or chose more complex features. A multi-step process makes sure he doesn't accidentally erase photos.
Batteries -- This camera uses four AA batteries. For a kid camera, that is helpful because you can either buy regular batteries or use rechargeables; you're not stuck with some dead odd-sized, rechargable-only battery when your kid is suddenly dying to use the camera. (Note: The camera comes with a brief user's manual, hand strap, and USB cable but no batteries, so add batteries if you give this as a gift.)
Size -- Eli's old Fisher-Price camera was so chucky that it was like carrying a small brick around. The size of the VTech is just right. It is admittedly heavy enough that Eli doesn't want it in his hand all the time on long hikes, but he carries it in his small backpack quite easily. I can carry it in my coat pocket or back jeans pocket for him too.
Want to see some pictures from Eli's new VTech? Scroll down past the product links.
Comparing the VTech (top) and the Fisher-Price V2751/V2752 (bottom): (Sorry that the cameras aren't quite flush with the ruler. I had a small person "helping" me take these reference photos.)
The VTech Kidizoom Camera Connect:
Older Model:
Newer Versions of Eli's Old Fisher-Price Camera:
Eli's VTech Photos (Unaltered)...
We're happy with our purchase. We hope to use this camera for a few more years before getting Eli an inexpensive "real" point-and-shoot camera.
JourneyLeaf is a tool to help me appreciate, preserve, and share those raggedy yet shining moments in everyday life. Joy requires practice. (To read more, click above on the word "ABOUT.")
The original words, images, and concepts on this blog are copyrighted. Please do not use them without my permission. Thank you!
My primary camera is a Canon EOS Digital Rebel T5 with a Sigma DC 18-200mm lens (1:3.5-6.3) or Canon EFS 18-55mm lens. On occasion I also use my iPhone 6. For crisper images (when I'm not in a hurry to grab the shot), I use a Dolica Proline B100 tripod. I often tweak my images using Adobe Photoshop Elements 8.
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