le petit poulet

NEW BLOG ADDRESS...Please change your bookmarks!

2008-03-09T16:41:00.000-07:00

So I've done something horrible to my blog? I'm not sure what I did but it erased all of my sidebars and now is in a new html screen abyss that I can't seem to recover from! So I have switched blog addresses.....please change your bookmarks to this....
LE PETIT POULET

I am in the process of setting it up and I'm going to add a quick post so you'll know you're in the right place!

Thanks :)
Susan

SPC Week 4 {BLUE}

2008-02-26T15:16:00.000-08:00

{BLUE}Accents
In my world {BLUE} seems to hide in accents.
Small touches here and there, nothing to overtly screaming "HELLO".
Today I wrapped my wet hair in a towel
Not one that matched the bathroom, they were all in the wash.
Instead it was a big fluffy pale blue towel that was purchased,
along with a mate, one day on a whim.
I'm not sure I would have even noticed its' calming shade of blue
if it wasn't for the SPC
challenge!

Big thanks to JStockwell for choosing my picture last week for one of his
Pictures of the Week. I love
the side by side comparison of mine with Erica's. Different takes on the same
type of day!

Run as fast as you can!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-02-21T12:29:00.000-08:00

Drop what you're doing and run as fast as you can!! It is confirmed we have an evil case of the Flu (strain A) in our home!

This morning G's temps rose into the 104's, she couldn't stop shaking and her fever wouldn't go down despite meds. Little One also woke up in the night with a cough and a fever...when I called the nurse with G's progress she said to bring her in. Sure enough one test later it is confirmed as the flu. The upside is that if it is caught within 48 hours it can be treated, so our awesome Dr. B wrote out prescriptions for both girls and Bri is on his way to the store to fill them as we speak.

Makes my vomit-itis seem not so horrible.

So if you were lucky enough to stay away from us this week you can breathe a sigh of relief. If you were not lucky enough (Cindy I'm so so so so so so sorry) then I will give you a call so the symptoms arise you can get the kids in pronto.

Tuesday and Wednesday in a nutshell

2008-02-20T17:27:00.000-08:00

**There is not a barf bucket big enough to hold the volume of vomit coming out of me. I believe I repeated, in a sobbing voice, about ten times in between heaves "This baby doesn't like me!"

**A very sick husband at home is worse than having your eyelashes pulled out one by one. Especially when he claims he is dying and when you made that similar claim a week ago after being laid out by illness he looked at you with irritation and spewed the words "You're not really dying."

**When your oldest child maintains she has the chills all day long you don't just chalk it up to her repeating what she has heard her father say ad nauseum for the last four days.....you take her freaking temperature. Hmmmmm 103.2......yes I do believe you have the chills.

*sigh*

SPC Week 3 {BLUE}

2008-02-19T10:57:00.000-08:00

"Taking {BLUE} for Granted"
Looking outside today and actually seeing a beautiful shining blue sky
I realized, in the past, how much I have taken that simple sight for granted! Basking in it even if just for a moment I let the sun shine down warming my face
and letting it know even if it is here for just a moment I appreciate you
blue sky!
Enjoy the other "blue" photos here, at SPC.

Sully and Baby Brother!

2008-02-16T13:47:00.000-08:00

So clearly I am missing the creative joy I get from taking pictures!
I showed up to pick up Little One from Sully's and in addition to taking the pics of Little One and Sully, I bullied my way into taking pics of his baby brother too! (Okay, I really didn't have to bully mom into letting me take pics...she even let me have my run of the house which is GORGEOUS!)
I have to say I am really loving the idea of more home shoots in the future!
Thanks "H" for letting me break out the camera and take pics of the kids for fun!

Happy Valentines Day.....do I feel clever?....

2008-02-14T17:51:00.000-08:00

YES I DO!!!!
So the high point for me this Valentines Day has been these clever Valentines Day cards! My friend Jen (who should have a blog but doesn't and therefore is still weak!!) sent me an IM a few weeks ago stating "I want to do this" with a link (I didn't save the link in my excitement apparently). Clicking on the link I was like heck yeah we can do this!
I practiced with depth of field first so we would know where to place the hand in order to hold the sucker just right with enough room top and bottom of the picture. Then I tested it on G first. I love sharp colors and the sharp antique wash seemed to fit just right for this occassion. I also added some great elements from Diginirvana(my new favorite digital scrap book place!)When it was Little One's turn for her picture she threw in her own touch of the fancy jeweled crown! Jen and Audrey stopped by Saturday and we took her picture too and antiqued it, added the elements and they were good to go!
The slicing of the slits for the sucker was a bit time consuming but when I had the brilliant flash to use my scrapbook paper cutter it went much faster. After the suckers were inserted the girls thought they were hilarious (in a good way!) Even my dad was suitably impressed when he saw them this morning and asked to take two home.
Hats off to Jen for helping her pathetic friend out by picking up the suckers and envelopes! And she had a fun idea to add flowers in there (little fake stems) for the grandparents which looked adorable and you could actually do a card like that for other occassions like Mothers Day or Birthdays and put the little flower in.
So thanks for the rockin' idea Jen and allowing me to use some of my much wasted creativity on such an awesome project!

And now on with Valentines!
Since Bri knew he was going to be out of town I was surprised to have this fantastic package arrive yesterday! So bright and fun for the day when snow was gusting outside. The little monkey's heart lights up arond the edges and beats wild drums. The girls LOVED it.
He is such a sweet Valentine and it made me miss him even more :)

Little One's Favorite Valentine!

2008-02-13T15:21:00.000-08:00

This is her "best best buddy" Sully whom she believes to be better than sliced bread! The two met in the same preschool class this year and quickly became buddies. Little One loves his nutty side that matches her craziness so well....Sully's mom paid Little One the ultimate compliment when she said "She just gets Sully." She laughs harder than you've ever seen when he grabs her and does a tuck and roll across the floor. They wrestle and play Star Wars and even access their softer gentler side playing kitchen at school. "Sully was the grandpa and I was the sister." It is so sweet to see the two of them playing and not realizing that hey....are girls and boys supposed to have so much fun together?! And even though she can wrestle with him she can still play damsel in distress at school. When another boy is hugging on her and sitting too close, her Sully will come to the rescue..."Mom, Sully saved me today! He's the strongest."
The thing I love about these pictures is they just fell into place beside each other, doing what they normally do. No posing or me saying a word....it was just Sully and Little One being buddies.

SPC Week 2 {BLUE}

2008-02-12T09:31:00.000-08:00

It's all {BLUE} to me.
A heavy mood that you can't lift off of you.
The color you wish the sky would again one day become.
The sheer delight of learning you are having a baby boy.
Tears splashing in a sink of running water.
A familiar oversized shirt bringing comfort with nothing else will.

I've missed SPC and the beauty of so many people's interpretation of one theme. There are no wrong photos in the world of SPC just inspiration.
And how could I not jump in on a week entitled BLUE. I mean c'mon, who has been more blue than I have....the meanings were too great to ignore this Tuesday morning...right down to my comfy blue shirt :)

This is just getting pathetic!

2008-02-11T18:25:00.000-08:00

Today as I was standing over the sink violently puking to the point where I was sure I was cracking ribs I started crying as I moaned "I can't do this anymore!" My Little One was in the kitchen with me, always interested in the throwing up (hopefully that will mean she will be a doctor someday and not some psycho contestent on Fear Factor)replied "But mom you can't give up. You have to have your baby."
*Sigh*
In addition to the throwing up I have been battling a cold that has stretched on for the last two weeks. It had gotten down to pretty much just the nasty cough when last night I started running a fever and have the chills and sneezing. My ear was hurting my throat was hurting....another cold. You have to be joking?
Is there a sign on my head that says "Don't let her see daylight ever again!"
My girls have been so awesome, today Little One was also battling the cold and I couldn't even fathom getting G ready for school so she opted to stay home too and they played so sweetly together. Even Bri came home early to help out, knowing he would be gone part of the week on a business venture is not helping my morale.
I just feel so sad.
By the time I crawl out from under this whole thing I won't have any friends left but at least I'll have a sweet baby boy....he better be sweet!!

Books Wonderful Books

2008-02-10T11:24:00.001-08:00

I'm really behind in my book reviews and posting of the current book I am reading. I thought I would do one jumbo catch up post!

Point Blank By Catherine Coulter

I received this book from Bri as a Christmas present. I have to admit when I opened it I was puzzled. I do not normally read thriller/FBI type books. It isn't that I have anything against them, I just never seem to get into them. I knew the author, when I worked at Blue Cross quite a few ladies were obsessed with Catherine Coulter and her series of books "The Maze", "The Edge" and I believe "The Cove".
Bri said he got it for me because he thought it would be fun for me to read something different.....which I believe translates into "I saw it on the bargain table while I was shopping for you and grabbed it for an extra gift!". I was a good wife though and did not tell him my translation of his story, instead I thanked him and figured it would most likely end up in my discard pile.
But lo and behold when left with nothing to read I go crazy so one day I picked it up and started reading and actually finished it in about a week. It was an interesting book, there were characters that I figured out she must write about in other novels that she brought back for this particular book. The story itself was insteresting although I'll never figure out why thriller books always have to have creepy sexual deviants in them? If you are a Catherine Coulter fan I would recommend it, or if your husband gives it to you as a gift and you want to make him feel good about his purchase then I also recommend it!

The Husband By Dean Koontz

Now the problem with reading a thriller is that when you go to pick out a normal book it seems dull. So after starting a few books I found myself heading to library and searching out Dean Koontz. One of my favorite thrillers (of the probably ten I've read in my lifetime!) is "Shattered" By Dean Koontz. After reading that book I tried another one of his books which was punctuated with sexual deviants and resulted in the book getting tossed in the trash!
I haven't read a Dean Koontz book since but when I picked this up and read the dust jacket I must say I was intrigued!
This was a good book. Very roller coaster, and quite original in some parts. There were some parts I would have liked to have rewritten myself to make it more exciting. And of course there were the people that were weird pervs that he could have left out and still had a great book. I think I read it in five days which shows you that it rolled along at a pretty good clip. Again recommened if you like a good thriller.

Self Storage By Gayle Bradeis
Oh my gosh I LOVED LOVED LOVED this book. It was gorgeous, the writing was a breath of fresh air and the characters were so beautifully written that I almost felt like they lived in my home with me!
A real gem of a book that is hard to describe, and not a book everyone would appreciate, but I definitely rank it in my top readings and I especially recommend it to VANESSA so VANESSA if you are reading this you must read this book!! Talk about an inspiration to aspiring women writers!

And now to my current book....

Ophelia By Lisa M. Klein.
Anybody who knows me well knows that I ADORE Shakespeare. The mere mention of his name makes me sigh. So when I saw this book that was a retelling of Hamlet from Ophelias point of view I snapped it right up. Ophelia was such a sad and tragic figure, and this author saw her character as something more!
So far I am flying through it!!

I'll give you a hint.......

2008-02-06T07:01:00.000-08:00

Due to extreme vomitting my big news was delayed! Bri was in shock for at least 24 hours after the news. He was 100% positive it was a girl....and whenever he is 100% positive about the sex of our child ALWAYS bet against him!! It makes me giggle to think of this little boy inside of me....I have no idea what you do with a boy! My world has been princesses and dressups and "boyfriends" and primping.
A boy! How totally fun!!
Little One was over the moon excited. All along she has told me the baby was a boy....her sister on the other hand greeted me with a BIG SCOWL at the news. G wanted a sister in the worst way. I think now that she's had a few days to process she is getting more excited. She says "Hello Boy Boy" to my tummy.
Who would guess a baby boy would make you puke until you hurt!!

The Neverending Winter

2008-01-31T17:21:00.000-08:00

"Catch a Snowflake"

"Bleak"

18 1/2 weeks

2008-01-28T12:54:00.000-08:00

So I am trying here, trying not to be negative. Trying to pepper my conversations and emails with lots of exclamation points and smiley faces....but I'm wearing down. Last night I threw up and it was awful, I just feel so depressed! Outside a blizzard rages on, the weather is cold and nasty. In addition to the constant nausea that plagues me I also now have the cold that was circulating around the house. Yes, I know it could be worse. It could be ALOT worse. But sometimes you have to play your own violin, then hopefully at some point the tune you are playing will become less mournful and open up into some hobbit like jig that has even merry old Gandalf dancing away. (Okay no idea where that reference to Hobbits came from! Apparently it is time to pull out the Lord of the Rings triology?!)
I feel the baby moving in there and it makes me smile, next Monday we will be able to see how it is doing in there. Is everything looking okay, does the baby have little devil horns like I am predicting from the misery of the pregnancy (hehehehe) or is it just a sweet little baby wondering why it's mom is a puking blubbering fool! I am excited to see the sex of this one. I go back and forth between thinking it is a girl or a boy. A boy seems so foreign, but foreign seems nice and different....and frankly I think Bri needs some testosterone around to balance out this estrogen heavy house lately. But when I look at my girls I want another little girl! Girls are the best....and the clothes! Ooooh it pains me to think of never using these wonderful buckets of clothing again.
So today was just about the whine....no cheese on the menu just lots and lots of WHINING!!!!!

Adding Pics to Flickr

2008-01-27T18:20:00.001-08:00

I've been adding some new pictures to my FLICKR set. You can click the box over in the right hand column on my blog (the one with the flashing pictures that says flickr badge) if you would like to see some! I think you can also get to them from this link Susan's Flickr Photos. There are some personal ones and also I've added some of my last client shoots in there. I'm going to be uploading more over the next week :)

My New Favorite Blog!

2008-01-27T15:29:00.000-08:00

This is my new favorite blog to stalk...TASTE BUDS
I am already stocking up on these great recipes so that when I can stand the site of food again I can make these! I'm going to try the chicken parmesan strips and red roasted potatoes first.
When I come to this site it actually makes food look yummy!
TASTE BUDS better keep em' coming!!!!

Each One Gets a Happy Reward....

2008-01-23T15:48:00.000-08:00

Here is to you Little One. Yesterday you won the award for being the only person in the house who was not sick or puking because of a baby in their stomach! You were quite proud of yourself for earning such an honor from your mom, as you can tell by the big grin on her face. And for your reward you were shipped off to the grandparents for the afternoon to wreak havoc while G and I commiserated together on the couch and caught a very intense episode of "Injury Hospital" as you called it, or as I like to call it "General Hospital".

After a few days at home with her horrendous cough that my poor G gets with just about every cold she has ever had I know she was just itching to get back to the real world in school. I chose to keep her home today but plans changed when we received an early a.m. call from her teacher.
My girl had been chosen to do the pledge of allegiance over the PA for the whole school this morning! No other kindergarten kids had been chosen to do it, but because G had it memorized she was chosen. I used to love doing the pledge every morning when we arrived at school as children, and to be honest I wasn't sure kids even did the pledge anymore in an effort to keep everybody happy and keep life politically correct.
Her teacher was so excited and told me cough or not send her in because this was a big deal! So we rushed around the house getting her ready, she was so excited and nervous. When I picked her up she told me proudly that she did it and she didn't cough once! I'm so proud of my patriotic girl!!

When life is going sort of "eh" I say hit Etsy and buy yourself a nostalgic vintage set of a wooden Christmas soldier band! When I saw these I grinned from ear to ear and when they showed up I laughed out loud! These little guys are AWESOME. They remind me of childhood and ornaments that we hung on our tree that I was lucky enough to have passed down to me. I'm so excited next year to display this marching band on the tree! I like the little guy with the little guitar the best! When G saw them she ran for them "Can I have them, can I, can I!" to which I replied "No they're mine!!"

Food For Thought This Week

2008-01-20T20:31:00.000-08:00

*No matter what plans I have for the day this baby I'm carrying has other plans

*I adore my children's friends

*I adore my friends

*My children's friends think that I have gotten REAAAAALLLLLY BIG and that I better HAVE THAT BABY SOON!!!

*Even when your husband is sick and feels like garbage, when his unborn child is craving cucumbers at 9:30 on a Sunday night he will get up and go to the store and get them.

*Playing with Highschool Musical Dolls is almost as fun as watching the movie itself....especially when I get to do my own rendition of Coach Bolton!

*Little One can really shake her groove thing!

*The Greenbay Packers are soooooooooooooo frustrating!!!!

*No matter what week of your pregnancy you are in you are NEVER out of the woods where puking is concerned.

*The Amazing Race is AWESOME...even when the team you were cheering for doesn't win!

*February 4th is an EXCELLENT day to find out the sex of your baby!

*Little Chickens are always cute

*G can sleep over at her friends houses and actually SLEEP through the night... but will not sleep through the night at her own home!

*When you seriously suggest that if your child is a boy it should be named "Rex" your husband will laugh until he cries.

*Bunnies and Rottweilers do NOT get along....RIP Luna Fravel.

*Winter SUCKS when it won't go away.

*When left to her own devices Little One will choose cold cheese pizza for breakfast.

*Politics are always interesting if you pay attention.

*The New American Gladiators is just as fantastic as the original!! Gladiators RULE.

*When your childhood home that you love hasn't sold and you have to listen to your parents complain daily about it suddenly said home turns into "that freaking home that isn't selling, that better sell or I'm going to freak out".

Roller Coaster

2008-01-15T08:17:00.000-08:00

Wow, this whole not puking/puking thing is a craaaazy roller coaster. I had a good week, then a had a bad week now I'm having an in between week! Last week wasn't so great, oddly enough I wasn't eating the amount of salsa that I had been consuming the week before. Coincidence? I think not!! Perhaps Tres Hombres salsa has some sort of medicinal value that up until now has been overlooked? I started back on the salsa on Sunday and hmmmmmmm it was a better day. Very strange.
I have actually been getting back some interests other than sitting around and mourning the fact that I don't feel well, it's freaking freezing outside and very bleak etc. I started digi scrapbooking again! I have a wonderful group of gals that I started digiscrapping with once a month starting before I knew I was pregnant. It is so fun because we are all at different levels so we can teach each other things and share ideas and cheer each other on! Once the puking hit I haven't been much into the scrapbooking and sadly I missed last month altogether but I decided that I was going to get going and get some pages done and I have to say I am slightly obsessed right now! I finished 19 pages in the last two weeks! I can't wait to show Angie, Stacy and Liz my progress at next digiscrap night!
There is also this AWESOME site Diginirvana that Liz's cousin has created with fantastic things that are right up my alley! I love the idea that to launch the site they are doing these $1 days where you can buy the item that day for $1. I have gotten some AMAZING digi packs so far. Plus for signing up on the mailing list they sent me a fantastic paper package with the most gorgeous papers!
I'm going to try and upload some of my pages to my flickr account so I can share!
I also found a site that prints the 12X12 layouts for $2.25 per page. It is Pure Print Design.I'm going to try it out first and see what I think. I uploaded 10 pages to start with. I'll let you know the quality outcome. I have used Costco thus far and been very happy with them but it is always fun to try out something new for a better bargain!
I have two appts for photography that I promised to do in Feb but that is all I can do. (Adrienne you and Syd are one, I'll send you some dates!!) I just don't have the energy or puke free promise for long enough to schedule more!
I am definitely going to take on more in March (fingers crossed). I hate missing out on all these great people who have called!! It seems weird to not be pulling the camera out on a daily basis, but it has also been nice. Makes me that much more anxious and excited when I get back to it. And believe me I am looking forward to having that camera attached to me when the baby comes!! This baby will think the camera is its' second mother! HA HA HA HA

Knock Wood....

2008-01-04T19:34:00.001-08:00

Okay, I am hesitant to even say this without having wood close by to knock on, salt to toss over my shoulder, or a monkey to spin around (wait, does that stop bad omens or am I thinking of something else?)The last three days have been fairly decent as far as the barf-o-rama-slip-into-a-sad-depression-lost-all-control-of-my-children-husband-feeding-them-corndogs-for-every-dinner thing goes. I am still taking my meds for the puking but I think I have outsmarted Baby H and have a great pattern going with those. I also have been exsisting on a quart of Tres Hombres' Salsa and a bag of white corn tortilla chips everyday which I'm sure must also be the reason for the upswing!
Honest to pete, I don't know if they mix crack in with that salsa or what but when I need it I need it....and right now I NEED IT. I even had some for breakfast! Baby H seems appeased by this new turn of events....I'm pretty sure he/or/she anticipates the salsa by plopping a sombrero on he/or/shes head when I toss the nutritious meal down my gullet!
I also (stand back for this one) have BEEN SOCIAL! I know!!!! You are sitting there with your jaw down to the ground just staring at the screen. I mean not only did I talk to some friends....I actually sat at their homes (yes, yes I left the house!) and talked with them!!!! Cindy and Vanessa had the girls over to play and when I went to pick them up on both days I stayed to talk and felt HUMAN!!!!
Now I'm not going to get all excited because when I did that two weeks ago and it took a turn for the worse I thought I would never crawl out from under the covers again. I am taking each day as it comes and enjoying each little nano-second.

Thank you so so so much to everyone who commented on the last post! Sweet Jenny my complete and utter blahness was why I didn't contact you sooner. I wanted you to know that I LOVED your Xmas card, I was flabberghasted by how much the twins have grown up!! And please let your sister know that I will contact her. I haven't taken on any new photography appts and feel so bad for anybody I have ignored!

So I think I will go and eat some crack....er I mean salsa....(snicker) and go to bed now.

Oh Baby!

2007-12-31T13:04:00.000-08:00

I realized that I sort of skipped over the whole "I'm pregnant" news rather quickly in the last post!

I'm on my way to fifteen weeks(this Thursday)and so far it has been difficult. It took me over a year to convince Bri that we needed a third child. He hemmed and hawed mostly because as he put it "it's not the baby I'm afraid of, it's your pregnancies that scare me." Oh blah blah blah, I said over and over. If I'm willing to give it a shot and I'm the one carrying the child than you shouldn't be scared!!
My other two pregnancies were not so fun. G was nine months of feeling like garbage. Sitting at the kitchen table everyday trying to choke down a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich so that I could possibly gain weight for that months check. Little One wasn't much better.
I don't ever want to be one of those complainers because I know how lucky I am to even be able to get pregnant and have children. I come from a family of infertile women, I grew up knowing it wasn't that easy to just call forth a human being and boom it happens! I had miscarriages and sadness and feel blessed everyday that I have my girls.
Once I finally convinced Bri that we could do it it took a year and a half with a miscarriage along the way for this pregnancy. I was almost to the point where I was going to give up. A few had faith (Carin you always knew it was going to happen!) and some asked me if maybe I had gone through "the change" (HA HA SO NOT FUNNY!)

In the beginning of the this pregnancy I was nervous, we did the blood levels which looked good and then an ultrasound which showed little baby "H" with a strong heartbeat. I felt pretty good until Novemeber hit and then OH NO.
Yesterday I officially crowned this the worst pregnancy of the three. The throwing up has been trying to say the least. The medications that I've tried either make me so tired I can't get off of the couch or the Zofran works for limited time and then I have to take the other medication which knocks me flat. This last Friday, Saturday and Sunday were so hard I feltl like I just wanted to go into hibernation for the next few months and hopefully crawl out of my cave and feel like a normal person again.

I'm sad that I'm going to give this little baby a complex (Bri says the other two don't have complexes so I shouldn't worry!) I keep thinking of the wonderful outcome of all of this and I know it is worth it, wow is it worth it. But I have days when I feel like a horrible mother to the babies I have, who probably wonder why their mom isn't as fun as she used to be. Why she is always carrying a bucket around to puke in now, and why her full time occupation now seems to be sleeping.
I miss my friends and am so grateful for all of the cheer they have provided. The days they take the girls for fresh air and play, the soups they've made, the telephone calls that help me feel like I'm not so alone. I miss their kids who I love to have over to play. I miss fresh air, and taking pictures, and food! Wow I miss food!!

But I would rather miss all of those things 300 times over than miss out on the blessing of being a mom again.

Hang in there....we can do this Baby "H"

Jazz Square this is Le Petit Poulet...do you read me?

2007-12-17T15:49:00.000-08:00

Okay, is there anything better when you are feeling pukey and pregnant then some High School Musical 2 on DVD??
Of course that was a rhetorical question because the answer is NO WAY DUDE!!
The girls have been bugging me to see the movie after seeing the numerous commercials letting the world know it was coming out on DVD on Dec 11. Well I know that G is going to be getting the DVD for Christmas. So after much back and forth on why we weren't rushing out to buy it as the clock chimed midnight signaling December 11th, I did tell the girls that we would try to rent it so they could at least see it.
My girls (like millions of others) ADORE the first movie. And I have to say I think I adore it just as much!! You better bet I would have had some serious Zac Efron pics adorning my walls as a youth if this movie would have been around in my day.
Plus he looks so much like my beloved Leonard Whiting from Romeo & Juliet (my all time favorite movie!) that it almost proves my dad's theroy that there are only 20 different faces in the world and variations of those 20faces!

Anyway I can't tell you what a laugh I get out of Ryan! He is classic and makes the whole movie for me. I was quite pleased that he brought back the use of the word jazz square in this movie....because let's face it, everybody loves a good jazz square.
It is so fun to have a movie that is not animated that has great music and keeps me entertained that I can watch with the girls and keep my mind off of puking for awhile :)

My Arch Nemisis

2007-12-12T11:14:00.000-08:00

What has two arms, two legs, big blue eyes and is the size of a peanut?

MY ARCH NEMISIS.....LITTLE ONE!!
This childs main goal in life right now is to make sure that I feel like I am losing my mind. I have no doubt that at some point in life when I am elderly and don't have complete control of my thinking she will conjure up some plot to convince me that I am totally insane....and then giggle her mainical giggle.
Lately we don't see eye to eye on anything. The day after she was born I remember telling Bri that despite the fact that she was so quiet and sweet she had a twinkle in her eye that meant trouble!! She may have had others fooled but a mommy knows!
Today Little One is off to see her grandmother, which is the loveliest present for me!!! That means I won't have to wonder if she is taping things up all over the house, or if she is finding the scissors to cut yet more paper into tiny strips all over the floor that she refuses to clean up. Or if she is quietly drawing on her arms with my Sharpie that she has found in my desk, or if she needs a snack for the THREE THOUSANDTH TIME TODAY, or if she can go the whole day making sure every word out of her mouth is said in a whining voice.

And while I like to think I am in complete control of my children I know that Little One also likes to think she is complete control of my children!! Today while she is gone I am going to plot to regain my household....but of course I'm sure that she too is sitting at her grandmothers kitchen table, pen in hand scribbling out her own plan on paper of how she will maintain her own control of her kingdom!!

Winter Images From My Backyard

2007-12-10T15:02:00.000-08:00

"Up on the Housetop Reindeer Pause"

"Little One's Lonely Swing"

Getting to know you Christmas Version!

2007-12-09T16:17:00.000-08:00

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? A little bit-o-both!

2. REAL OR FAKE TREE? Fake. The year we tried to do a real tree after we were married I was so allergic it was not worth the misery!

3. When do you put up the tree? I used to like to do it the day after Thanksgiving but I am just not that fast the last few years. At least by the first Saturday after Thanksgiving.

4. When do you take the tree down? I try to leave it up until the end of the month for the kids. But I start slyly removing other things right after Christmas. I miss my clutter free home.

5. Do you like eggnog? Sometimes. Thinned with milk.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? My dear old dad scoured the SLC Valley for a poster of Rocky Balboa for me (this was before the days of poster stores with your fave celebrities plastered everywhere). He found one just days before Xmas. Xmas morning I came out and there rolled up in my stocking was my Rocky poster. I still have it :)

7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes. My youngest daughter is playing with it now. She made pizza for all of the nativity people who raised their hands.
8. Hardest person to buy for? In-Laws – they don’t need anything!!

9. Easiest person to buy for? G

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever got? Hmmmmm I can't remember. I'm sure my mom could tell you. She lives to rememeber traumatic events of my childhood :)

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Oh gosh, I'm totally old school. Rudolph, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Twas the Night Before Christmas (with the mice), Frosty the Snowman (the head is the most difficult part) and It's A Wonderful Life.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Novemberish

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Christmas morning my dad makes his famous cheese omelettes. (hold the white blubber on mine please!)

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Colored

17. Favorite Christmas song? I love The Little Drummer Boy, O Holy Night, and the one "Outside the snow is falling and friends are calling yoo-hoo. C'mon it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you" (I am singing as I type it!

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home!

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Roudolph

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? A Reindeer

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas Morning. I'm a stickler for the rules.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? It goes way too fast and is hard to enjoy. I'm trying my best to savor each day. I haven't taken my car radio station off of FM 100's Xmas tunes since December 1st.

23. What I love most about Christmas? The warmth and beauty of everything, especially with the gorgeous snow outside and the beautiful lights glowing in all of the houses :)

My Brown Eyed Girl

2007-12-08T16:40:00.000-08:00

Whatever happened
To Tuesday and so slow
Going down the old mine
With a transistor radio
Standing in the sunlight laughing,
Hiding behind a rainbow's wall,
Slipping and sliding
All along the water fall, with you
My brown eyed girl,
You my brown eyed girl.
~Van Morrison

The Most Wonderful Thing My Child Has Ever Said to Me...

2007-12-06T11:40:00.000-08:00

You know when you have those times that you don't feel like the best mother. You feel pulled in a million different directions, you lack energy and creativity. You go to sleep at night wondering "did I spend even ten minutes of quality time with my children today?"
Yesterday G and I had a little time to ourselves while Little One was at a playdate. I picked her up from school and we walked out chit chatting, about what I don't even recall. I said something that made her laugh, not a little laugh but a wonderful laugh with her eyes twinkling. She snuggled into my side and looked up at me and said...."Mom, you make everything fun."
Even typing it right now brings little tears to my eyes.
It was the greatest, most wonderful thing anyone has ever said to me. To have those words come out of her mouth so innocent and sweet because that is how she felt, was a beautiful thing.

And it is exactly how I feel about her. She makes everything fun :)

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

2007-12-03T19:02:00.000-08:00

"In the meadow we can build a snowman,
then pretend he is Parson Brown."
What a gorgeous day. Something about a clean crisp snowfall that makes the whole world seem magical :)

Finishing up

2007-12-01T19:55:00.000-08:00

As I finish up the last of my edits for the year it makes me sad! I don't know what lies ahead for me with photography in 2008. I have days where I wonder what I bring to the field... .You grow fond of your clients and want them to need you when in reality there are so many wonderful photographers that if you aren't there someone else is ready to swoop in and shoot some gorgeous shots! I don't know that I can keep on top of it the way I did in 2007, it can become all consuming. Wanting to shoot better and bigger! Try to stay ahead of each trend and work on trends of your own.
I love the creativity photography has given me, it has opened up doors that I never knew were there and has pushed me to grow in so so so many ways. Ways that I never would have been forced to grow without it! As this year draws to a close and a new chapter in my families life begins I will have to see where photography fits into the grand scheme of things.
But for now I hope everyone will enjoy my last shoots of this year the way I did :)
Beyond the Garden

Tiny Dancers

2007-12-01T18:59:00.000-08:00

"It is not the movements that make a dance beautiful, it is the emotions that inspired the movements that make it beautiful."
~Unknown

Winter

2007-11-29T17:04:00.000-08:00

When the bold branches
Bid farewell to rainbow leaves -
Welcome wool sweaters.
~B. Cybrill

Dancing with the Stars ROCKS

2007-11-29T12:29:00.001-08:00

Wow, who would have guessed that "Dancing with the Stars" could make a house divided! My six year old has been wildly in love with Marie Osmond since the first night she saw her dance. She sat there, mesmerized saying how absolutely beautiful Marie was and what a wonderful dancer she was! It was so cute, how devoted my child was to this woman. I wasn't sure if it was the big hair, the wild makeup with sparkles on the eyelids....the blinding Osmond smile...that had her cheering Marie on? I even liked the fact that despite my cheering for quite a few dancers other than Marie, G still held fast to her devotion to Ms. Osmond, which I think speaks highly of her confidence in herself that she doesn't feel the need to think what the rest of us in the house are thinking!

By the finale though I was really freaking out at the thought that Marie could win this competition. I mean C'MON!! She is a great entertainer, I won't take that away from her. And yes, she overcame many obstacles in the course of the season. But she was not even close to being on par with Helio and Mel B....and I believe my exact words were "If Marie wins this show I am going to FREAK OUT." That doll dance was such a trainwreck that I am still not even sure what to think about it. Sometimes I wake up in the night sweating after a nightmare that I'm being attacked by a giant dancing Marie doll NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

I really had to go with Helio and Julianne. First of all they are so stinkin' cute! I have never seen two happier people. Like little rays of sunshine!! When Mel B. described them as two cute little dolls that danced it was perfect. I loved how driven Helio was to win. If he messed something up he busted his butt to make it better. And while I was a huge fan of Mel and Maks for me it was a clear win for Helio!

And now I am hearing that Helio and Julianne are perhaps an item.....interesting. I give them my blessing to be a cute little couple! :)

G did not find out her beloved Marie had lost until last night when she watched the tape. We heard her yell out "OH NO MARIE WAS ELIMINATED!!!!!" then we heard this "SHE ONLY GOT ONE VOTE AND IT WAS MINE!" Where she got the idea from that Marie only got one vote was freaking funny! And I'll have you know that she did vote for her, and as hard as it was to keep a straight face and not rip the phone out of her hand yelling "SHE CAN'T DANCE FOR HEAVENS SAKE!" we let he proudly cast her vote for her beloved Marie. And we reassured her that despite Marie's loss of the title she still came in third and will always rock the dance floor in our hearts!

ITunes

2007-11-25T19:14:00.000-08:00

So apparently I have very very random taste in music that I purchase on itunes because the other day they had this special grouping of tunes they had put together that they felt I would really go ga-ga over!! I actually had to read over the list multiple times it was so confusing. They had "Just a Spoonful of Sugar" from the original Mary Poppins soundtrack in the same grouping as Ozzy Osbourne and Lita Ford "Close My Eyes Forever" which I vaguely was able to recall the video from the 80's. A video that cracked me up when I was a kid and if I think about it still cracks me up now! So much passion from Ozzy! *HA HA HA HA HA*. These two fine tunes were among eight or nine others, most of which I had never heard of.

This had me looking into my own I Tunes library, songs that I have chosen which I feel make perfect sense! Songs that make me smile and rock out....songs I can put on full blast when the girls aren't here and sing at the top of my lungs....or some songs that I can sway back and forth to while imagining myself, lighter clutched in hand, front and center at a concert, the lead singer filled with angst-y-ness.

I have about 300 songs on there right now so I can't name them all, but I'll just toss some artists out there and see what sticks!
Beyonce'
Death Cab for Cutie
Coldplay
The Pussycat Dolls
Guns N Roses
Gwen Stefani
Lily Allen
The White Stripes
Pink
Sting
Girls Aloud
Seal
Kelly Clarkson
LOTS OF MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE
Highschool Musical Soundtrack (not for myself but I must say occasionally I like to
put on Sharpay and Ryan singing "Always Right Beside Me" and break out in a jazz square)
The Used
Avril Lavigne
Billy Ray Cyrus featuring Miley Cyrus (ummmmmm did I just type that? It's one song alright....and darn if it doesn't just tug at your heartstrings.....)
Damien Rice
Sheryl Crow
Britney Spears Greatest Hits
Music from Riverdance
Black Eyed Peas
Fergie
Moulin Rouge Soundtrack
Yellowcard
Sting

Okay, looking back over my list of artists I can sort of see why itunes isn't sure what to do with me?
The ones I've been running over and over this week are
Seal...."Amazing"
Pink...."Who Knew"
Girls Aloud...."Sexy No No No"
Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus....."Get Ready, Get Set, Don't Go"
The White Stripes...."You Don't Know What Love Is"
Britney Spears and Madonna...."Me Against the Music" (Seriously, you know you twitch to it when you hear it!)
Fergie...."Big Girls Don't Cry"

I can't imagine a day without music. Maybe my random taste comes from the fact that my parents exposed me to a wide variety of music. Everything from Frank Sinatra to Rogers & Hammerstein....Folk music to Instrumental....Keely Smith and Bing Crosby. At some point I branced out on my own (or maybe my brother lead the way?) and took the foray into the wonderful music of the 60's. The Beatles became a constant, and with the wonderful musical collection of a woman I babysat for named Ardis, who would let me borrow everything from Crosby Stills and Nash, Cream and Buffalo Springfield to great old blues singers that she had seen in concert growing up...I found my own musical ground. I feel fortunate to have had the music of the 80's as a background for my youth! C'mon The Thompson Twins, Tears for Fears, Duran Duran, just thinking of these groups brings a smile to my face!!

I always love to keep on top of new artists and still stay in touch with the music that I have always loved. One minute jamming to My Chemical Romance and the next popping in some Dead or Alive to twirl around the room to!

So keep trying itunes, at some point you'll come up with a list that I might bite on. But for now put away the Ozzy and Lita and dig a little deeper for a great set!!

New Colors

2007-11-24T13:21:00.000-08:00

Honestly that blue on the last blog color update was making me want to barf everytime I came online so it was time to change it. I don't know that this one is much better but hey at least the banner cracks me up so that's a plus!

Betty Part Deux

2007-11-20T10:33:00.000-08:00

Betty has been an easy house guest. We talked extensively about her desire to get into modeling, she was anxious to learn from a pro so Erica set an afternoon aside letting Betty borrow one of her sassy Anthropologie jackets and set about teaching her the ropes.

At one point a large bird and a frog jumped into the shoot? They might be from the Ford modeling agency but we couldn't be sure?

Betty got the modeling thing down fast, and the girls were happy to pose with her....

Sadly by Sunday Betty had caught the dreaded cold that was festering in the house, she laid low with some tissues and chicken noodle soup.

Now that she is back on her feet she's ready to catch her flight home. We've sure had fun with Betty and hope she had a good time with us!

Good luck at your next destination our flat sparkly friend :)

Betty's Come to Visit!!

2007-11-18T14:03:00.000-08:00

We have a visitor! She arrived on Friday afternoon with a smile on her face, sporting some snazzy Creative Outlet jeans!
It's Flat Betty!! The girls were quite curious about Betty and excited by this awesome diversion from the days they've spent cooped up and sick in the house.
Betty wasted no time in getting acquainted with the house and everyone inside of it. She even managed to cozy up the mean and vicious Mr. Cody, who was unable to resist her charms and sparkly jewels!
The Barbie clique was in full force when they spotted her strutting around, eyeing her from their spots arond the room Sharpay was the first to approach our new visitor. After a few minutes of girl talk they were fast friends, soon Erica decided to come over and say hello and that was all it took! Betty was soon surrounded by her new BFF's. They all chattered away about fashion and whatnot, and who was dating who and who was getting married and which one of them had just purchased the snazzy new red convertible that was parked at the bottom of the stairs.

Stay tuned for more to come on Betty's visit!!!

Things this week that made me smile....

2007-11-10T20:47:00.000-08:00

*Vince Vaughn filling in as guest host for Regis on Regis and Kelly
*My girls fighting in the backyard like Jerry and Elaine on Seinfeld
*A mish mash of Slurpee flavors in a giant Slurpee cup
*Willie waving to me with a stiff hand Frankenstein wave from the backseat of his mommys car
*Little One working it for my photoshoot with her. Funny what the word "Ice Cream" will get out of a child
*"If you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball".....classic movie
*Little One's first parent teacher conference
*The song "Umbrella" by Rhiannna

*In no particular order

New Client Posts :)

2007-11-09T18:06:00.000-08:00

I have been trying to catch up on posting Octobers clients on my Photography Blog. I just added two new ones and I am going to try and add one more tonight :)

Okay...I'll Catch You!!

2007-11-07T19:52:00.001-08:00

(A little taste of the whacky day we had today! And absolutely no Halloween candy was used in the making of the madness nor were any persons harmed.)
*click to enlarge*

Sure to Become a Classic

2007-11-07T14:17:00.000-08:00

G: Well Lucas, you're going to be my boyfriend now!

Lucas: Oh no! Now two girls want me to be their boyfriend. You and Audrianna.

G: So figure it out Lucas, are you going to marry me or Audrianna?

Lucas: Well G I will marry you!

G: YES!!

Audrianna: I guess I'll go and see if Curtis wants to be my boyfriend.

G: Awwww Audrianna you can have Lucas if you want to.

Audrianna: That's okay, maybe Curtis isn't marrying anyone so I'll take him!

(*Recounting of story as told by G at dinner last night)

Thus far in her young life G has done quite a good job at picking her beau's. The boys seem to always be cute as well as smart! Last year her "true love" was Charlie. Charlie came up to her shoulder and was wise on all things Saturn. When I asked what she and Charlie would do G would tell me in a wistful voice that they would sit together in the reading area and Charlie would tell her all about Saturn.

This year she has already had one boyfriend Victor. Victor is adorable with bright red hair and a cute smile.Then there was drama one day when Victor was calling out his goodbyes to G and ran headfirst into the playground gate, slicing open his face. G quickly called a meeting with the other girls to discuss what would happen. Would he ever come back to school...would he look the same after he had stitches...She promptly announced the following day in school when Victor had indeed returned with stitches that "I hope all of you know Victor is my date!" She made him a drawing and recounted the story for all who would listen of the fateful day his goodbyes to her caused him injury.

Perhaps due to the stitches she has now moved onto Lucas. I told her that I could appreciate that both boys were very smart (as I've worked with them in class on my volunteer day). I asked her today why she moved on Lucas she replied "Well he's very talented. Plus, when I asked him today if he remembered that I was going to marry him he said yes!"

There you go! It's like a little soap opera. Wouldn't it be great if Charlie was suddenly trasferred to the school, sporting a I "heart" Saturn shirt and a smile. Imagine the drama of her having to choose between her "true love" her "date" and her "future husband"!!!!

Happiness Is......

2007-11-04T12:27:00.000-08:00

Is solace anywhere more comforting than in the arms of a sister?
~Alice Walker

Halloween Festivities in a Nutshell!

2007-11-01T19:32:00.000-07:00

Happy Post Halloween Thursday!
I've been reading peoples feelings on Halloween and I tend to fall somewhere in between. I love October, because of fall...not because of the goulish holiday. From the time I was little I remember dreading the Halloween season because I didn't (and still don't) like to be scared. I hated Haunted houses, just thinking of Dracula's castle at Lagoon gives me the shakes. I hate people decked out in costumes that are meant to make me stop in my tracks with my heart pounding for fear of having to walk by them. I don't dress up but I do like to have Halloween decorations around the house and I'm all for some pumpkin carving.
The girls were excited for Halloween this year, especially G who thought long and hard about who she wanted to be. Little One was very confused about this "Halloween" we all spoke to highly of. She wanted to be everything from Barney to a cat.....we wound up this year with...........drum roll please...
Princess Leia and a Sassy Little Red Riding Hood!!!

Pose like Princess Leia would pose....

After a fun filled day at school stuffing their faces with candy and running around the girls came home and our friends Cindy with "K" and "C" joined us to head on down to the Food Bank to celebrate with Auntie "L". Cindy and and "K" were dressed up as Daphne from Scooby Doo complete with sprayed orange hair and some groovy apparel and "C" was a cute little witch.

The girls were excited to see their Aunt! She took them around to all of the office where they shouted trick or treat and were showered with the most amazing Halloween yummies I have ever seen! They also got a fork lift show from the fork lift operator, were able to weigh the four of them with their bags of candy on the giant food scales and participate in a costume contest.

There was an absolute adorable girl there dressed as Snow White, she was so sweet and posed with the girls for a picture.... For Little One it almost made up for the little kid dressed in a horrible skeleton mask with a 3D chest that he was able to pump fake blood through the see through bones while menacingly blocking her path. From that moment on she didn't smile or let me put her down until I suggested we see Snow White for some cheer!

Then it was off to pack up a box for one of the people Cindy delivers to and we headed home.

Let the Halloween Party begin!
The kids played out back with the dads while we got the food ready and chatted inside. We have celebrated Halloween with Carin and Danny and the kids since they lived across the street from us many moons ago. I told Carin last night that this would have to be a tradition even when we had grandchildren...so that means I have her locked in for at least three or four more decades! WOO HOO

This year I made a chilli style soup and purchased a second soup with bread sticks. Carin brought a yummy salad and our new Halloween compadres Rick and Jen with their daughter came and brought fantastic munchies for appetizers as well as a delicious cake!

Joining us as well was Princess Aurora....

Fiona from Shrek.....

A Spooky Little Witch....

A Sweet Angel...

And Edward Scissorhands and her husband!

What a fun night....see you all again next year!!

I want to keep these two!

2007-10-30T21:06:00.000-07:00

So normally I keep my clients on my photo blog but these two were so fantastic I had to share! Honestly I wanted to put them in my pocket and take them home with me. They were so funny and cute with each other and up for anything!! I just shot them yesterday and had a quick chance to proof a few tonight, before I return to editing the other clients, and had to show you why they made me smile :)

Time for Change

2007-10-29T01:20:00.001-07:00

A trip to the end of the world inspired me to change the blog a little this week! I'll be posting more pics from this journey, it was a wonderful day.

The chickens are out of school tomorrow and Little One has been invited to her first playgroup....she's had many playdates but usually they revolve around G's friends. This time she was invited to a playgroup with all of the girls from her preschool class. She is quite excited, and informed her sister tonight that she was more than welcome to come but would not be allowed to play with any of the little girls because they "are my friends". Thankfully Audrey's mom offered up Audrey for a playdate so that G can have some fun of her own.

I'm am dreadfully behind on editing so this weekend was filled with more photo shoots and editing, editing, editing. It is now 2:24 am and I am so keyed up from the day of staring at the computer and when I tried to go to sleep I just lay there twitching. *blink blink*. So I got up to....yes that's right...edit more!! WOO HOO.
Actually it feels good to be accomplishing something that is in the back of my head. I have four discs ready to go out tomorrow and my final photo shoot tomorrow before taking the next few months off!

Okay I'm going to try and go to sleep now....wish me luck!

Random Food for Thought...

2007-10-23T19:09:00.000-07:00

Some randomness that has been in my head this week....

#1: I LOVE Dancing with the Stars. Usually I have a handful of shows I love to dig into when the new fall season starts, but this fall the only two shows I must see are Dancing with the Stars and The Office. Something about DWTS makes me so happy! I love to imitate the liveliness and joy of Helio. Is there anybody happier than that man? I thought for sure I wanted Julianne his partner to be in love with Apollo Ono from last season but now I've decided that Helio would make a mighty fine match with her instead.
Marie Osmond passing out, seriously it freaked me out for the rest of the night! I was so stressed out, and in my mind the passing out was far more dramatic then what was replayed today on every station EVERYWHERE.
In my version she had eyes bugged out and sort of convulsed, maybe her head spun around....I can't remember. Then I saw it today and felt better that it was a very calm passing out.

#2: Today I had a random DOOCE sighting. I wanted to yell out "DOOCE!" but didn't. I wanted to say something, something witty and wonderful, but instead I just kept finding reasons to turn around and look at her as she and a female friend waited to be seated at the restaurant. Of course I had to call my friend Jen who has had numerous DOOCE sigtings in and around the valley. She also has not said anything for fear that she will end up on the blog being berated by the DOOCENESS herself.

#3: Is that I need this camera.

When I say "need" I mean it in a "want" sort of way that feels like a need but isn't. It is more of a drooling, credit card in hand, add to shopping cart and remove sort of need.
Leave it to the White Stripes to come up with such an awesome promotion. A camera to represent both members of the band. This camera above is the "MEG" and the "JACK" is just as amazing....it even comes with a peppermint filter. You can see why I NEED/WANT these camera. AND there are only 200 limited editions of both that are probably already gone.

That's all for now folks :)

It's The Great Pumpkin!!!

2007-10-22T18:30:00.001-07:00

What a fun afternoon at the pumpkin patch! This little patch was adorable and filled with an amazing variety of pumpkins that I had never even seen before! They also did a great job of hiding little Halloween sounds everywhere that drove G insane trying to figure out where they were coming from!! They had the fun little cutouts for them to stick their heads through....Little One particularly liked the witch stirring her bubbling cauldron!
We walked around in the sunshine for quite awhile waiting for G to find the perfect blemish free pumpkin. If Little One would have had her way we would have left with 100 pumpkins just for her, blemishes or not!
Fall is such an amazing time of year I can't imagine missing all of these gorgeous colors and scents all around us.
Bri and I had our first date in the fall, married in the fall. G was born in the fall, and I craved pumpkin seeds with both pregnancies which of course means fall fall fall!! If there was a place on earth where it was fall all year round I would pack up my family and head there with no questions asked :)

Little One: "Look I found my pumpkin!"

Little One: "Hmmmm, so many pumpkins so little time.....maybe I'll look around for another one...or two.

Well, it looks like Little One found the ones she wants!

Look! Daddy found his long lost brother!!

Me: "Did you find a pumpkin?" G: "Nope, not this one....it's too bumpy."

Little One: "Mom, while we're waiting for G to find her pumpkn let's pretend that you walk around the corner and you say 'Look it's a statue' and then you see me!"

Me: "I'll take two of those statues!!"

G:"C'mon Little One, there has to be one over here that I will like?"

G: "Phew I need a break from all this pumpkin hunting."

G:"No scratches, no dents, no funny colors....FINALLY....it's the perfect pumpkin!!!!"

"That's all for now dad, let's hit the road!!"

Run Don't Walk to See This Fantastic Movie!!

2007-10-20T22:46:00.000-07:00

Tonight we went on a couples date to The Dodo for a yummy dinner and then to the movies. We saw a sneak preview of "Dan In Real Life" and oh my gosh it was really really good!!
I adore Steve Carrell, anything "Michael Scott" from The Office does is AOK with me! He was so lovely and this movie was tender and funny and sweet. I went in not quite knowing what to expect. From the commercials it looks like it could possibly be slapstick which it totally wasn't.
If you love Steve Carrell go and see it, if you love Rhode Island scenery go and see it, if you love a great soundtrack go and see it, if you love to laugh go and see it! And if you go and see it and you don't like it then go and see something else *snicker*.

There are quite a few movies I think look interesting right now....Michael Clayton, Rendition, Gone Baby Gone, and the new Elizabeth The Golden Age. We rarely get to the movies so if I go I want it to be something really good, if anybody has any good suggestions I would love to hear them!!

I've Chosen My Next Book

2007-10-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

This months choice is....

Wonderful Tonight By Pattie Boyd
I LOVE books about musicians and bands, I have a lovely collection of books and coffee table books on the Beatles and John Lennon. I have books on The Grateful Dead, Keith Moon, Crosby, Stills and Nash and on and on. Just because I read the book does not mean I have to be a fan of the music or even the person. I am fascinated by the lifestyle....especially the over indulged youthful musicians of the 60's. So knowing this imagine how excited I was to learn that Pattie Boyd herself had written an autobiography!! Pattie Boyd was married at one time or another to George Harrison of Beatles fame and Eric Clapton. She inspired some of the most beautiful love songs ever written and was an amazingly beautiful model.

This is my current book and I have to say I am sailing through it so I might be posting a new choice soon....and I'm pretty sure it will be Clapton the new autobiography by Eric Clapton :)

I Did It !!!! (oh, and a book review!)

2007-10-13T20:45:00.000-07:00

I wasn't sure if I was going to make it but I did....six photo shoots in seven days and I'm alive to tell about it!!
I just took it one day at a time, appreciating each shoot. The days outside enjoying the amazing colors of fall.....the new hidden treasures of nature that I discovered with families in tow......The hikes up the Pipeline with two toddlers in tow, the jaw dropping scenery almost making me forget that I was there to take photographs.....The snuggly newborn with a strawberry hat perched on her head, her adorable mom such a joy to chat with..... And the cousins and their mothers who braved the weather getting in a great shoot just before the rain began to fall!
It almost makes me wish I hadn't made the decision to take November and December off.....almost!
I have five more shoots this month and then it's two months of family time, of course by the time I finish editing this months pictures it will probably be January so I might not get as much free time as I first thought *snicker*
I have added some more shoots to Photography Blog . I know that I have forgotten to add some clients, I hope they don't think it isn't because I didn't love their sessions! I just got a little behind and confused on which ones I had added and which ones I hadn't. When I get it all ironed out I will add their sessions too :)

A belated book reivew on "The Uglies". Hmmmmmm....a very very interesting book. The author has an amazing imagination. I can't say that I have ever read a "futuristic" style book. Somedays I would think "eh, I'm over it" but then I couldn't get the story out of my mind so I would have to go back and see what was going to happen to Tally and Company. This book really made me think about our society now and what we are going to leave for the future generations and how we will be perceived by them. And it was also a great commentary on the perceptions we have of ourselves and what is beautiful and what is ugly. There are two more books to this series which I have not decided if I am going to read or not....but if you're into futuristic books this is definitely a book you should read!

My next book.....I'm not sure! I have three possible choices right now so hopefully I will figure it out in the next day or so :)

Current Ebay Boutique Faves

2007-10-07T09:42:00.000-07:00

I'm sure when I talk about the Ebay Boutiques I confuse people who think that Ebay is just people selling their old stuff! The Ebay Boutiques are AMAZING. The amount of talent in these groups just amazes me, especially considering I can't even thread the needle of a sewing machine. I drool daily and these are some of the current ones I am super drooling over! If I had tons of money I would bid $1000 on all of them just to ensure that I would win! LOL

SKIPPING ROPE APRON (click name link for auction)

RED RIDING HOOD (click name link for auction)

FALL APPLES (click name link for auction)

SANTA XMAS HOODIE AND PANTS (click name link for auction)

For those of you who I have babbled on and on about these groups to, I decided to make a list of some of my favorite groups so that you can search on a regular basis the way I do!
In the Ebay search engine just type the words:
IVYLANE
LILYPLUM
LIMEVINE
THEBLOSSOMS
BOUTIQUE JAYNES
BOUTIQUE BETTIES
STUDIOE

A Case of Fall-itis?

2007-10-05T18:55:00.000-07:00

Fall is in the air.....or at least it was in the air for about a period of 48 hours and then freak winter weather seems to be settling in ruining all the gorgeous fall colors and crisp scents in the air.
I'm wondering if anyone has done any studies on Fall and if children are more likely to become extremely obnoxious when this season sets in? The girls have become blonde balls of obnoxious whining-ness complete with phrases coming out of their mouth such as...

G: (in a tone that only dogs can hear) "Mooooooooom she says that she doesn't like me anymore.
Little One: (in a peppy tone) "Yup that's right, I don't like you!"

and the ever popular

Little One: (just after finishing lunch that she ate three bites of) "I'm hungry"
Me: "You just ate?"
Little One: "I'm hungry."
Me: "Eat your lunch then?"
Little One: "I'm hungry I want a snack."
Me: "Eat your lunch then?"
Little One: "I'm hungry, you get me a snack."
Me: "ARRRRRRRRRRRRRGH"
Little One: "I'm hungry."

Today I informed Bri that I was daydreaming about bursting out the front door and running down the middle of the road with my arms flailing in the air yelling "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH". The best part is when I make a comment like this and he pauses for a second like maybe, just maybe, I am actually contemplating this course of action.

To their credit though they did shape up for dinner. When I made ceaser salads and potato corn chowder they actually thanked me. And both of them ate their salads and asked for more? Then G dug into her soup and said "This soup isn't good.....it's GREAT!" (and no she did not see a Tony the Tiger commercial recently). I just stared at her with my mouth dropped open and then exclaimed "Thank you, thank you so much!!! And when dinner was over Little One didn't ask for a snack. I didn't even mind when they followed me into the bathroom where I was going to take a child free soak in the tub and read my People magazine. They sat sheilded with the shower curtain around them reading their own books, G her "My Twin" catalog which is like crack for six year old girls. And Little One a "Toot and Puddle" story which cracked her up when she kept referring to him as "Tootie".

Now they are both in bed and the house is quiet. I'm sure fall-itis will return tomorrow but at least occassionally the symptoms subside!

Long Ago When Dinosaurs Roamed the Earth....

2007-10-05T18:38:00.000-07:00

Two people fell in love.....I remember the day vividly that we met, in fact I was wearing the same dress, in a lovely shade of pale lilac, that I am wearing in this fantastic smudged Kmart photo booth picture of us! He made me laugh and I knew right away that this was the person I was met to be with. Our first date he took me to T.G.I. Fridays and ate his spaghetti with his face down in his plate so that I wouldn't see him slop it all over his face. We went and saw "Ghost" and he covered my eyes at the sexy pot sculpting scene! When he drove me home and dropped me off he gave me a big hug and I could feel his heart pounding in his chest.
We rode that silly rollercoaster of teenage love, embarassing dramatic moments that you wish you could erase and carefree moments of snuggling up and watching American Gladiators and laughing until we were crying over the dumbest stuff!
Thirteen years ago we were married in a gorgeous wedding surrounded by our family and friends. There have been low times and high times and everything in between. He still makes me laugh harder than anyone and he still frustrates me like no ones else can and even now I look at him with his sparkly eyes and cute squeezeable apple shaped cheeks and am so happy to be married to my best friend and greatest love!

Happy 13!

Feeling Blue

2007-09-24T22:32:00.000-07:00

Do you ever get in one of those moods? The kind where you feel like you just aren't quite up to snuff on.....well, on anything?

So to make myself happy I found these pics of My Chemical Romance....by an AMAZING photographer who i 18 years old!
She has a fantastic eye for composition and her converstions are spot on. She is self taught and has sold her works to magazines etc and will be attending college in the fall to study photography.
Imagine trying to capture moments that have depth when you have people thrashing about on stage in constant motion under bright strobing lights with screaming fans all around you. When I look at these pictures I can't hear the crowd or the music, instead I feel like I'm a fly on the wall and you see the emotion that is put into the show.
Very inspiring work!

Sela the Fish R.I.P.

2007-09-23T22:03:00.000-07:00

(**Yes I am aware that Sela is really a boy but G wanted it to be a girl so there you go!_

Well I have some bad news....Sela the fish has passed on.
It was a painless death, preceeded by five days of floating on her side but still breathing and attempting to swim. Prompting me to come to the conclusion that Sela had had a stroke?
G received Sela from her sister exactly one year ago on September 13th of 2006. She had been BEGGING for a fish for months to which I always replied...ummmmmm no.
Seeing that it was her big day I went with a snap decision to have her sister present her with the fish as her present which made her whole day!

The last year as the caregiver for Sela I realized that the world truly has come full circle and I have become my mom. I found myself actually bonding with the fish the way my mom bonded with my brothers goldfish "Goldie" that he'd won at a birthday party, only to bring home and plop it down for my mom to care for.
I loved coming in G's room in the morning and calling out "Goodmorning Sela" to which she would come swimming out to the front of the glass her fins fanning out in excitement for her breakfast. I bought her a castle which delighted me to no end when I realized that she actually would go in the castle, her head poking out the window for hours on end.
When we had to care give a friends fish I actually found myself saying the words "I don't think their fish is as smart as Sela is."
I really loved that fish.
Exactly one year to the day she arrived in our home we came home from a family dinner, both girls out cold we transfered them to their beds and then as I turned to look at Selas bowl I saw her floating on her side.
"OH NO!" I hissed approaching the bowl. Bri turned, sensing exactly what had happened.

Me: "She can't be dead....that's a jinxer to have her die exactly a year later on G's birthday!"

Bri: "It is?"

Me: "Well I don't know if it actually is a jinxer but it seems like it would be don't you think??"

Bri: *shrugs*

Grabbing the bowl we took our conversation to the kitchen. She was still breathing and moving but it was all being done on her side.

Me: "Okay, we just have to keep her alive for three more hours. Then it won't be
her birthday anymore and it won't be such a jinx."

We made the decision to take the fish downstairs where we would keep watch and do what we needed to do.

Sela lived through the night, and the next night and the next night. I finally decided I had to expalin to G what was happening with her fish. I grew up in a house where my dog was dead for a week before my parents decided to break the news to me.

Me: (flashback) "Hey where's Ben? He isn't coming when I call him?"

Mom: "Sit down, we need to tell you something."

This is only one example of the extreme measures my parents went to to "protect" me from things. Making me a freak when it comes to surprises or secrets of any kind.

I showed G her fish and explained that the fish was sick. She is very sensitive like her Mama. She cried and cried and asked what she had done wrong? After assuring her that it was nothing any of us had done and that the fish had actually had a much better life this past year than its' previous life in a dixie cup at the petstore, she spent the rest of the day in a deep sorrowful state.

I went to the pet store on Friday to ask advice, I'm pretty sure they thought I was insane but I can't say that it wasn't a two way street when the pet store employee told me that Sela most likely had an inner ear infection. I think I just blinked in response to that.
So I bought her a new bowl and some new drops for the water but that night she passed away.

Today G asked about her fish. We had not yet decided how to deal with the death of the fish so it was up to me.

G: "Did Sela die?"
Me: "Yes. She did."
G: "Where did you bury her?"
Me: "We buried her in the backyard."
G: "So dad didn't just throw her in the trash like the dead bird right?"

(Flashback to summer when I told her Bri was going to bury the dead robin in the backyard only to have him come around the corner unaware of my story and tell her he had tossed the bird in the trash. Henceforth we decided that any creature would be "buried" in the yard to avoid further traumatic stress on her part!)

Me: "No way, dad wouldn't do that again!"
G: "Can I see her?"
Me: "No, she's in the ground. Way down deep."
G: "Can I get a guinnea pig now?"
Me: "No."
G: "A hamster?"
Me: "No."
G: "A parrot?"
Me: "No way!"
G: "Why?"
Me: "Because you can't flush a parrot down the toilet!"
G: "I wouldn't flush it down the toilet. I would bury it in the backyard like you buried Sela."
Me: "Ummmmmmm yeah, of course you would. Why would you flush it down the toilet!"

I miss you Sela, may you rest in peace :)

That creepy feeling.....

2007-09-23T13:44:00.000-07:00

I would love to know peoples take on blogging.

I was reading some blogs today that they answered questions about blogging....questions such as...do you post anonymously etc. I know some people who are pretty open about everything. Pictures, their names etc. And then there are people who are careful with pictures they post but are more open with their identities. Then there are people who have privacy settings or have started having privacy settings to control who comes to their sites. So it made me start to question my own blogging habits and what I am going to do in the future.

Thoughts anyone!

Saturday Night Ramblings

2007-09-22T22:29:00.000-07:00

It's late on a Saturday night and I am sick. Just a nasty cold that has had a hold of our home for the last two weeks. First Bri then Little One then G and finally bringing up the tail end, me. Tonight we hunkered down, the sounds of rain outside the weather finally cool and fall like as we watched Star Wars and discussed the more important points of the film.

Little One: Where is Yoda, where did she go?
G: Yoda's not a girl?
Little One: Yes hers is.
G: No. Yoda is a boy, and Yoda isn't in the show anymore. He died and now he is the Holy Ghost.

As the show came to an end G, who it seemed as the day went on was starting up again with the cold we thought she was well over, complained that her ear hurt.

Hmmmmmmmm......ear hurts, cold suddenly starting up again.....temperature taken and running a fever. So off to the instacare Bri and G go and thanks to trusting the mama instinct we now know she has an ear infection and she has already had a dose of antibiotic! Phew.

Tomorrow will be spent indoors snuggling together with a steamer on as we continue to get better. I'm sure that suits Bri just fine as there are numerous football games on tomorrow that will keep him happy for hours and hours on end! :)

Update on my Photography Blog!

2007-09-19T21:13:00.000-07:00

Finally an update on my Photography Blog! I feel bad that my poor little garden has been neglected! I've had some amazing shoots with some great families and have made a vow to get to all updated by this weekend WOO HOO.

Book Review ECLIPSE and new book pick

2007-09-18T12:45:00.000-07:00

Okay, how sad am I that Eclipse is over.....SO SAD!!!!
I never wanted it to end which is probably why I dragged the last quarter of the book out so long! I just have to say that anybody who doesn't choose Jacob as their soulmate is absolutely INSANE and needs to get on heavy doeses of some sort of medication.
What would "New Moon" and "Eclipse" be without Jacob?
In the beginning of the book I was quite put off by Edward and his stalker like behavior. I half expected Bella to come home to a boiling pot of bunny stew and him screaming "I'm not going to be ignored!"
And of course it wouldn't be me if I wasn't somewhat confused by something and in this book I was sort of confused with all the madness of these baby vamps storming the countryside. But I did like the fact that that Edwards crew and Jacobs crew banned together to protect Bella and everyone else.
Jacob and Bella kissing.....FANTASTIC....what a great part that was. Very passionate WOO HOO.
I loved this book and would highly recommend it whether you like vampires or not!

So my new book choice is......

Uglies By Scott Westerfeld.

When I went to pick up "Eclipse" this book was recommended to me by one of the booksellers at the store. She said that she and her friends had moved onto this series after finishing their favorite "Twilight" series so I said "Why not!" Thus far it has been interesting....I'm not a lover of sci fi futuristic stories but I wasn't a fan of vampire stories before "Twlight" so I decided to give it a shot.

Please feel free to read along with me....at the tone turn the page *BEEP*

Little One Out in the Big World!

2007-09-16T19:29:00.000-07:00

Well after much dread and worry (on my part) Little One started preschool last week. People tell me that the dread was because she is my youngest, my baby and that I'm not ready to let her go. I am sure they are right, I was sure by now we would have another little chicken around the house and since that has not been in the cards for us this is my baby, and the thought of her out there without her mama makes me sad. This is a little girl who when her daddy is tickling her and teasing her will shout out "I am mama's baby, don't do that to mama's baby!" I fondly refer to her as the "little barnacle" since she lives to be attached to me, her arms wrapped tightly around me her legs gripping me.

We have talked about school and she seemed fine with it, the week before we headed over the open house to meet her teachers and see her classroom. I'm pretty sure that as we walked into the school I felt my head begin to spin and a near paralysis set in. How could I send her to school....and why three days? Why would I pick three days when I could have chosen two? And these kids, these kids all seem HUGE and she is so small. WHAT AM I DOING!!!!!!!! Upon leaving the open house I began to frantically call my friends that I trust the most, looking for some backup that I had made the wrong decision. To their credit they all were very supportive of the fact that I was freaking out and also supportive of making a move to two day if I needed to.

Then Little One came down with a rotten cold and cough that kept her out of her first day of school last Monday. After being cooped up together day after day her screeching at me like some rabid howler monkey to get her juice or food, or to stop trying to giver her medicine and take her temperature the next day of school (Wednesday) rolled around and she was on the mend. That morning as we got her ready I found myself feeling slightly happy at the prospect that she would be elsewhere for three hours! We both could use a break from one another...right? She looked so cute in her first day of school outfit, her backpack strapped to her back. She stood in the yard for her picture a GIANT grin on her face. Then once we were at school she came out of the car with the same permagrin. We walked into class and I turned around and she was gone, over in the corner at the kitchen area busily cooking up some grub a phone propped on one shoulder as she spoke, imitating me chatting with my friends.

Stopping to tell her goodbye and that I would see her after singing she smiled and said goodbye and went back to her imaginary phone conversation....and that was it. I walked to my car with a bounce in my step and a smile on my face! It hadn't been so hard, it had been pretty easy!! Now that's not to say that this week I won't have a freak out day, but that first day was a beautiful thing for all parties involved. Afterwards we picked up G from Kindergarten and had a special lunch at Nana's and Gramps to celebrate the big day and when she looked at me and said "I want to go back to school tomorrow!" I knew we'd both made the right decision :)

Week #2 Bathroom SPC

2007-09-12T18:37:00.000-07:00

Better late than never with my bathroom post this week at SPC! Sequestering myself from the chaos outside I run the water, sink back and enjoy the ending of a wonderful book. The bathtub has always been a place that I have retreated to to read, something about the sound of the water, the protection of a showercurtain and the comforting lighting that makes it so enjoyable! On the downside sometimes I end up with books that have fumbled from my hands and come out looking like they are close to 3000 pages as they dry but it's totally worth it for the time alone!

He did what!?!?!

2007-09-11T09:06:00.000-07:00

Yes, yes...I know....everybody is wondering what has happened to my regular posts about my imaginary boyfriend Gerard Way from My Chemical Romance. Well, in a sad bit of news Gerard is now a married man. He randomly married a bass player from a somewhat strange band called Mindless Self Indulgence (a most excellent band name by the way!) backstage at a concert in Colorado a few weeks ago.

When I informed G of this news she looked at me while eating her lunch and casually replied "Well, I guess that means you can't marry him now" *shrug*.

And I so know she was looking forward to being little G Way....darn!

First Day of School....First Day of School!

2007-09-05T20:23:00.000-07:00

From the minute I woke up this morning the little Nemo chant of "first day of school, first day of school" was running through my head!
Looking at G sitting on the couch as I stumbled out of the bedroom she somehow seemed older. She smiled at me and gave me a cheery "good morning mom!" with her little toothless grin and it hit me that I actually have a little girl in kindergarten now. The whole time I've been a parent I've stood there with my mouth open wondering how these girls grew up so fast? I don't know what I thought she would be doing at this age, but for some reason it revolved around her still sitting on a blanket in the middle of her bedroom while I made gooney faces at her trying to make her smile. But instead we're having discussions about reading and teachers and the fact that other kids would have Sharpay and Ryan backpacks and hers just had hearts.
For years I've told her that I don't want her to grow up, and for years her all to mature reply has been "but mom I have to?"
I am proud to say I didn't shed a tear today, nor did I grasp her to me shouting "WHY WHYYYYYYYYYY" as she struggled to break free for the door to her classroom. Instead we walked side by side as I watched her spot a preschool buddy and run happily to the little girls side as the two chatted about what their teacher and class would be like. I watched her hang up her backpack and march to the teacher aide with her first day of school homework to turn in. I watched her explore the room and plop an explorer hat on her head while she tried out a pair of binoculars from the "dramatic play center" and then I watched her sit down to a computer, oblivous to the fact that I was still there as she fired it up and asked where the mouse was so she could launch into a game of Magic School Bus. And then I told her goodbye and walked back to my car with a smile.
It's only now that I get a little teary eyed as I recount the day, and I realize she is right....she does have to grow up :)
I love you G

SPC challenge September "Bathroom"

2007-09-04T09:48:00.001-07:00

Here is this months challenge as posted on SPC.
"I thought we needed something a little intimate and personal - and what is more personal than the bathroom. I love a bathroom self portrait - they have been done to great effect by many artists over the years-"

For me the bathroom can be so many things, a place of sanctuary from the chaos outside, a place of congregation where the whole famliy moves in tandem trying to get ready, a place of sadness when one of my girls is sick and hovering over the comode, a place of celebration when someone learns to go potty for the fist time, and a place for the bevvy of beauties to gather after a relaxing soak in the tub! My daughter can't just take one doll in the bath, she has to basically take every single Barbie style doll she owns for a dip in the water, where they giggle and swim and enjoy themselves until the water twirls down the drain. Afterwards with soaking hair they all sit down in the windowsill where they watch the world go by as they dry off. The first time my husband came home to the pile of naked Barbies gossiping on the sil he exclaimed "it looks like there's been some kind of Barbie orgy or something?"

You say you make jewelry?

2007-09-03T21:08:00.000-07:00

Well believe it or not I once made jewelry, it seems like it was a lonnnnnnnnnnnnng time ago....back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and I accessorized with fur pelts and jagged shards of rock. I hob nobbed with the talented gals in the ebay boutique world and loved every minute of it. Then I found myself gravitating more and more to the photography and the jewelry was tossed to the wayside. Some gals have started a group that is going to revolve around holidays and asked me to join and create jewelry for those launches and with that launch coming up I have found my jewelry creative juices flowing! I have really been into vintage buttons lately, I wear them myself and have been collecting some here and there and when the jewelry bug struck I pulled out my buttons and stash of wonderful beads and made these two items:

Fall Apples" is for mom!

and What a Hoot is for girls.

To be honest I'm not even sure that I have the followers anymore that I once had! I was one of the original soldering girls who took it to different levels and tried to be unique and then everybody started jumping on that same bandwagon, not even trying to be unique...just taking other peoples ideas and running with them. It sort of took the fun out of creating to know someone was looking over your shoulder ready to swipe your idea. Some even swiped right down to the way the pieces were photographed which is downright ridiculous! It sucked my passion away for something I once really loved, so today was nice to sit down and create these pieces and really enjoy what I was doing and make something that I would love for me and my girls!

I have some more things up my sleeve for this launch, some collaborations with designers that I really respect and admire so thanks to them for the inspiration to make a few fun pieces and dust off the box of beads!

Urban Funk!

2007-09-02T22:22:00.001-07:00

I love, love, LOVE urban photography! It is one of those things that just makes me drool!! Something about being out there and using the colors of the landscapes of the city that is challenging to me. I added some of my recent shots in my new header, I also changed the page colors and am not quite sure if I like them all or not so they may change around again depending on my mood :)

G picked her outfit as well as the place where she wanted her picture taken. Her special new school outfit that she chose right down to the purse! And some snazzy sneaks that she is convinced make her bounce and run higher than normal. And Little One just wanted her picture taken and FAST. She just wanted to get home and get some freaking fruit snacks that were promised to her if she would cooperate and let me take some shots, so everytime the car slowed down somewhere she piped up "can we just take my picture now?" Thanks to Carin for the fantastic tutu that she handcrafted herself for Little Ones birthday!

I'm really looking forward to some urban photo shoots I have coming up with clients! And I have some more fun shots to post with my girls, trying out some great locations two weeks ago.
I have been neglecting my poor little Photography Blog . I need to get so many clients posted that I have had such a great time photographing! I even had a great wedding on the 23rd that I am going to start editing shortly and hopefully I can start updating that blog.

Like Scarlett O Hara says...."tomorrow is another day!"

Friday Faves on SPC

2007-08-31T22:12:00.001-07:00

Thanks Janet for choosing my self portrait this week as one of your favorites on SPC . This was one of those portraits where you say "Do I really look like that? UGH." But as the week has gone on and I have to scroll past it to add new posts I see beyond myself and smile at the love I have for my rustic wood garage that I refuse to let my husband paint for fear he'll take away the "rustic-ness". And the shadow of the leaves from the little trees we planted that are getting so big as the years go on, trees that will be here after we move on someday.....see, I'm such a sucker for nostalgia!

My parents put my childhood house up for sale last week, the home they have lived in for thirty seven years.....can you imagine the sappy things that go through my mind about this event if I can get this sappy about my garage and trees!!!!

My New Boyfriend Geoffrey

2007-08-30T07:25:00.000-07:00

Geoffrey I think you are fantastic!!!! This gal makes the greatest little felt pals but Geoffrey here takes the cake!!!

The Playgroup Girls are Growing Up!

2007-08-29T21:14:00.000-07:00

I am a nostalgic sucker when it comes to.....well, just about everything! We have clearly established that I have attachment disorder and do not like to say goodbye. I also have some sort of disorder about my girls growing up!! I even have this disorder about other peoples children growing up!! First I hear about sweet Ellie's foray into the land of kindergarten today and then I watch the three little amigos on one of their last official "playgroup dates" before each one heads off to a different Kindergarten next week!!

Where did the time go? These girls have known each other for basically half of their short lives, spending at least three days a week together at school and then Fridays for Friday Playgroup!

For some reason today they seemed older and much wiser, and I wondered how they would each feel walking into their kindergarten classes next week without the familiar site of each other there to greet them!

Audrey our little nut has grown so much, once dubbed "teeny tiny little Audrey" by G she is definitely her own person now. Always stylish and always well versed on the directions to whatever the girls are doing, she keeps everything level between the friends and is the peacemaker!

Kate, our resident diva. She gets everybody spruced up, can work a pair of princess heels like a pro and knows exactly how many brush strokes it takes to get your hair shining for your prince. When told that she would be wearing a uniform at her new school this year her ever so Kate reply was "I don't want to look like everybody else!" She is our drama and has a wonderfully passionate heart!

And my G....a little bit drama a little bit peacemaker...she rides the roller coaster of emotions and gladly brings her friends along with her. Her friends are more than just friends they are her sisters and I hope they will have each other for many many years to come!

And of course we can't forget Little One and Cece (who has already started her new preschool and upon arriving back from school to see a play date commencing without her shouted "Mama why are they playing without me?!?!?!") the two little sisters who have been accepted so wonderfully by these girls! One big family!!

I adore you all my little chickens and thank you for all of the fun and laughter and good luck as you go forth into the world of Kindergarten!

Self Portrait Challenge PATTERNS

2007-08-28T21:30:00.000-07:00

The final week of patterns at SPC and I thought I would end it with myself merged with what I hope is the beginning of fall! The shadow patterns of the aspen leaves against my garage....leaves that will soon begin to change colors before twisting to the ground below. Right now I feel safe with nature all around, it is comforting before the exposure of winter and the cold months ahead.

SPC Self Portrait Challenge "PATTERNS"

2007-08-21T12:20:00.000-07:00

The SPC "Patterns" challenge has been really inspiring for me. I didn't realize how many ways patterns in your everyday life could be interpreted by so many people!
My portrait this week is all about "The Patterns of Routine". For as long as I can remember I have despised the task of doing my hair! Despite this irritation I have always dutifully done my hair, following the routine that suits the particular hairstyle I have at any given time, thinking of all of the other things I could be doing with this chunk of time. I grow tired of the same brush, the way I grasp the hairdryer, the long tedious pulls of the flat iron, the icky feeling of damp hair as it falls across my face.....eyes peeking through the mish mash pattern of hair as it lays across my skin I am reminded how truly obnoxious this routine truly is!

"New Moon" Book Review

2007-08-20T21:06:00.000-07:00

Oooooooooooooh just finished "New Moon" today and I can't wait to start "Eclipse". And before anybody thinks I lost my mind and went and got a tattoo to commenmerate the wrap up of book two, fear not! I decided to have a little fun with the kewl tattoo pack that came inside of my "Special Edition New Moon". It wasn't hard to decide which tattoo I would use for this post....JACOB ROCKS!!!

I absolutely LOVE the way his character came on so full force in this book, what an amazing character. Honestly if I were Bella I would be heading in Jacobs direction so fast it would make Edwards head spin. HA HA HA HA HA. I have to admit when Edward came back into the picture and all of the drama of the Volturri started I got slightly confused. And I missed Jacob. And does anybody else think something is up with Charlie? Maybe I'm way off base but either that guy is totally totally in the dark or something is up. I mean c'mon, who fishes that much??

For a great story on meeting Stephenie Meyer at a book signing you have to read Creative Musings post. I love that there are boys who love her books and I also love that people show up for signings dressed as the characters!! Hmmmmmm who would I dress as.....*snicker*

High School Musical...the Camp!

2007-08-18T23:38:00.000-07:00

This summer G has been doing a little "Musical Theatre Camp" that is taught in her friends neighborhood. I can't tell you how absolutely ADORABLE this camp has been. A cute teenage girl has put together these camps where she teaches the girls the songs and choreography as well as has them decorate folders with the theme for each week and has printed off sheets with the music and their parts highlighted as well as pictures that they color!
The first week was "Annie". The girls did "It's a Hardknock Life" and "Tomorrow". I cannot tell you how much it warmed my heart to see G walking around the house rehearsing her parts and her little solo. For one week they worked on these and then on Friday we would go to the performance. For "Annie" she asked that the girls come dressed as orphans which was hilarious! My friend Jen go the excellent idea to smudge G and Aud's face with black makeup to make them look like disheveled orphans which added to the whole thing!
The second week the theme was "Wizard of Oz"/"Wicked" where they sang the song "Popular" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". Okay now I have to say that I wanted to bawl watching my little one up there belting out "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"....just tore at my heartstrings! And the choreopgraphy to "Popular" was amazing! The thought that Sara put into each number was amazing.
The final week last week was.....drumroll please....."HIGHSCHOOL MUSICAL" the sensation that is sweeping the nation!!
The girls sang "What I've Been Looking For" and "Breaking Free". All week long I was bopping out to "What I've Been Looking For", I even was doing a pretty mean imitation of Sharpay and Ryans dance moves from the movie that would make Grace burst out in giggles!
They were all supposed to dress in red, white and gold...the Highschool colors from the movie and when I saw G in red I wondered why I didn't buy it for her more often!
Tonight I took G on a little mommy daughter date night and we talked about the musical theatre camp. I would have NEVER done something like that as a kid, I remember always being nervous of having to stand up in front of a crowd. I asked her how she felt about it and she shrugged and said "It's great! I just get up there and do it." Yes she does. I'm so proud of her and a big shout out to Jen for hooking us up with such a great summer activity!!

WOW!!

2007-08-17T20:35:00.000-07:00

Okay how fun is it to go onto the Self Portrait Challenge website and see my own picture as a favorite pic of the week! I really appreciate it Rachel! Currently there are three pics posted of me which I'm pretty sure is an error *snicker*. Looking forward to next weeks challenge!

Twilight Book Review!

2007-08-16T20:51:00.000-07:00

Georgia, who commented on my last self portrait challenge reminded me that I haven't given my book review for "Twilight" yet! I can't believe I neglected this seeing as how I am about 80 pages away from finishing the sequel "New Moon"!
I adored this book! I was instantly sucked in when it started talking about the location. We have visited Port Ludlow quite a few times and the scenery and weather reminded me so much of the descriptions of Forks Washington that I immediately could picture what the author was describing!
I loved the simple and believeable dialogue that the characters had with one another, it was written well and flowed so smoothly that I didn't really care how often Bella went to school and came home! And I'm not so far out of highschool that I couldn't relate to those parts.
When my friend dropped off the book for me to read Bri brought it downstairs and said "Does Diane know you at all? It's a book about Vampires!" And now here I am rapidly sailing through the second book wondering what will happen next!

My FAVORITE part about these books that I just discovered yesterday is that one of the musical inspirations for Stephenie Meyer the author is.....yes that's right...... MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE!!!! The whole time I've been reading I think of Gerard as the Edward character......

When I read the acknowledgments in the back of "New Moon" and saw my bands name I said "I knew it!" out loud. Clearly Mrs. Meyer has EXCELLENT taste in music!

So now I will shortly be moving onto a review of "New Moon"! Today I stopped by the local Barnes and Noble to pick up "Eclipse" the third book, only to find they had sold out of every single copy! That was quite disappointing. I may have to do some online ordering!

SPC Self Portrait Challenge "Patterns"

2007-08-15T14:01:00.000-07:00

We continue with this months challenge of patterns on SPC.
As I thought about this week I remembered what my delightful five year old daughter told me a month or so ago....
G: "Great, nobody will ever think I'm beautiful."
Me: "Why would you say that! People think you're beautiful."
G: "Because, everybody says I look like you and you look tired and rusty!"

Ahhhhh, such a loving sweet soul. The reason for her statement mainly focuses around my freckles.....the same freckles that she now has sprinkled lightly over the bridge of her little nose. I wondered if my freckle pattern did somehow resemble the "rustiness" that she spoke of.
And lo and behold there is a continuing pattern between myself as I age away.... and the crackle and speckles of rust as it ages objects slowly away!!

Perhaps I'll have this one blown up to frame in her room as a reminder of what she'll look like someday when she gets tired and rusty!!

Key Ingredients For A Successful Day In The Canyon

2007-08-11T21:14:00.000-07:00

Good friends.....

A good sturdy log to get across a stream.....

Some cute mom's who will bring lunch along.....

Some stones to skip in the water.....

Some twins......

Sticks and a fire for roasting marshmellows....

And your scuba gear!

Very important for keeping the smoke out of your eyes and lungs while making smores...

What a blast, the perfect place to take the kids to explore. I'm pretty sure that G's shorts will never get clean! All the mom's brought yummy food. I'm not really a chip person but for some reason the Lays chips and ranch dip were extra extra good. I love outings like this, it's so fun to socialize and get fresh air and watch the kids enjoy one anothers company. Looking forward to the next canyon outing.

I snapped a quick shot of Little One for the second that she sat quietly on the little bridge that made me smile :)

My Chemical Romance Wednesday

2007-08-08T22:14:00.000-07:00

Frankie! The screensaver on my laptop.
This picture was taken by Andrew Kendall.....he is an amazing photographer, especially concert caputres and conversions. He would be amazing to shadow on a photoshoot!

Feeling creative

2007-08-07T21:54:00.001-07:00

Last night I entered this cute contest from Decor8. You had to pick a card from Fabulous Stationery. Then with that card and colors you had to design your own card taking three favorite bedrooms from anywhere on the web and coordinate them with the color theme card!
I designed the card above with various rooms that I adore and wish were in my home!! I thought it would be fun to pick vibrant colors to go with that particular card. Especially since ones first though might be to do black and white to mesh with the maroon/red. I just thought it was a fun challenge to take it all and mesh it into one coherent card!

Season of Change

2007-08-07T21:23:00.000-07:00

So I've decided that I definitely have attachment disorder. One of my very favorite families has moved, they left last Friday moving about three minutes away....four if I hit the single stop light between us. I don't know how many times I have had to remind myself that they are still so close. It feels weird to know they are not in the cute little house that they have lived in for so long! They had each one of their four wonderful children while living in that house and affected so many people with their presence in this neighborhood. G adores Miss Emma, the two of them are thick as theives and constantly make me laugh with their goofy-ness. Such as last week when they only had one stick horse between them so they rode it together, running through the house giggling loudly as they shouted giddy-up and then came to roaring halts slamming into each other. Josie is an amazing girl, such poise for someone so young. And little Liza, a true peanut with a spit fire personality! And Hebie J....I just want to squeeze him. I can't wait to see how deals with all of these sisters!!!! J has given me more wonderful advice and food for thought in the last few years than anyone I know. I hope he doesn't think he is getting off so easily from our amazing verbal spars over the ins and outs of religion and what lies beyond!! He will always be my spiritual guide whether he wants to be or not! And L I marvel at the person you are. A wonderful heart, so kind and caring. I have learned so much from you that I will continue to learn! I'm thankful to be the one who helped capture this time of your life on film forever as you start your new chapter!!!!
I always told you that there was a reason we chose this house.....we were led here to have people like you in our lives!

Sunday Story Patterns

2007-08-06T21:14:00.001-07:00

I love that my self portrait from last week made it into the "Sunday Story" section of Self Portrait Challenge.
The story was very noir-ish so I was honored to be part of the pictures that inspired it!

Self Portrait Challenge/ PATTERNS II

2007-08-06T21:02:00.000-07:00

Week two of the Self Portrait Challenge .
While last week seemed to be about beating myself up over things not accomplished....this week is going to be about accomplishing those things! As I set out to fold the mountainous pile of laundry with its' lovely mish mash of patterns I suddenly felt like I was becoming one with the stripes and polka dots, the criss crossing weave of the fluffy towels and the itty bitty buds from the florals my girls love to wear.

Best Saturday!

2007-08-05T12:18:00.000-07:00

I had the best Saturday EVER!!! Bri took the kids and G's little pal Emma to the KidsFest. A giant festival just for children.....tons of expensive sugary foods, rides and games with potential for harm and kids making rockets that were launched with hydraulics.
So while all this was going on I got over my idea to clean the house and instead rang up AnneMarie to see if she wanted to shop and get a little lunch! Much to my delight I just discovered that she has a blog and laughed out loud at the excellent post on Sammy. Nothing is better than seeing wee small snails having piggyback rides on their larger friends!
Lucky for me she returned my call and I zipped up to the land of Bountiful to pick her up. Her family is one of my favorite families! In my quest to build the perfect Stepford Family for sure I would make AnneMarie one of my sisters. She would be the sister I would stay up late with, giggling like a mad scientist at her clever mind. She would also be the one to give the best most sound advice that I would put to good use.
Here are a few things that I learned whilst hanging out on Saturday....

1) Wasps swarming a family home doesn't always mean everyone gets stung
2) The Making Memories people SUCK for pulling their outlet store out of Bountiful
3) Heartland Paper Company smells really really good
4) Fry Sauce with its' creamcicle hues, so lovely in the squat plastic container, ROCKS!
5) The only thing to do when visiting Minnesota is THE MALL OF AMERICA
6) Not everybody goes for random car rides with large pieces of furniture stashed in the back of their cars
7) My Chemical Romance might have a song on Radio Disney
8) Dicks grocery store can also be spelled Diks

Some very important things to make me smile :)

After my land-o-Bountiful fun I had to get back to the city for a massage appointment at Breathe Day Spa. So sad more me...I know *snicker*.
I love Breathe Day Spa, if you haven't been I highly recommend going. Whenever I go I feel like a movie star. The perfect setting, and they treat you like you are royalty. I make sure to take advantage of all aspects. Warm neck wrap....YES. Glass of something to drink in the tea room.....YES. Falling into a deep state of relaxation until you snore.....YES.

Hard to feel bad for me after a great day like this! It was much needed and much appreciated by me!

Stuck in a rut?

2007-08-03T12:28:00.000-07:00

Do you ever feel like you're stuck in a rut?
I feel like I'm stuck in a creative rut....am I using my creativity gene to its' full potential? So many things left unfinished or just plain unstarted and it's starting to get me down.
If I had more time would I get to these things....or would they still fall by the wayside? Who knows!

I need a list or some sort of system......a really great system that will make me feel like I'm accomplishing things and smack a smile back on my face!

Opportunities not taken are opportunities lost. Sounds like something I found in a fortune cookie, does that even make sense? Popped into my head as I sit here pondering. An opportunity doesn't always have to be something big that gives a big return, it can be the smallest thing that nets you the gain of a smile on your face when you fall asleep at night.

It's time to make some changes!!

SPC August challenge #1 PATTERNS

2007-08-01T13:09:00.000-07:00

"In the early evening gloom impaled on my wall my eyes can dimly see the pattern of my life and the puzzle which is me."
~Patterns by Simon and Garfunkel

This months current challenge is "Self portrait with pattern - i really think that you can have some fun with theme idea. While on the surface it might seem quite simple - Pattern has a lot of meaning to a persons life. Family history, personal history and cultural history all can be mined to work within this theme.

I want people to really try to be personal with this - use patterns to accentuate your self, to bring added meaning to the image, to tell a story or point to your history."

My Chemical Romance Wednesday

2007-08-01T12:26:00.000-07:00

My Chemical Romance Wednesday....or "Pictures I wish I would have taken"

Love the composition of this picture as well as the conversion. I'm not usually a fan of the pics of the group, they aren't very expressive and tend to lean towards common. But this picture is one of the better pictures I've seen......perhaps they should hire me as their photographer! ;)

Little Models and Back to School fashion

2007-07-31T18:14:00.000-07:00

This week the girls have been asked to model some back to school fashions on a local t.v. program. We went today for their fittings at Gymboree. So many cute and funky things on the walls and racks! As their mother I know their style and personalities so of course I saw certain outfits that I knew they would ROCK! I'm used to my funky fun Ebay boutique fashions like Ivylane, Lilyplum, Limevine and the like...so after those fantastic clothes I have to say Gymboree sort of of pales in comparison but they did have some new fun lines.
Well it was a little chaotic due to other fittings ending when we arrived and we were the last two to be fitted so I'm sure the gals that were in charge of the segment were ready to call it a day! I wanted to add my two cents in on what would look good on the girls but they were the professionals so I had to take a back seat. This is the outfit they chose for G

When I first saw the dress I thought it was adorable, it is from the Equestrian Club line, very Ralph Lauren looking. But on her it just looks sort of eh. I like a longer dress and this style is above the knee which is totally fine but I'm not used to her looking so "school girl" ish!! The whole outfit reminds me of something my mom would have put me in for school in the 70's! And I guess with that retro feel everything has right now it is right in fashion. G wanted desperately to wear the leopard rain slicker and leopard rain boots that they had and she was also begging to wear the rock sweater that was pink with the blinged out crown on the pockets so that tells you a little bit about her flare for fashion!

This is what they choose for Little One

Loving the shoes and the vest, so stinkin' cute!! And she can pull the knickers off although I can't picture me having her wear those to school! Again so retro, I had numerous pairs of regular and courd knickers with the too cool argyle socks. I even had a courd blazer to match the courd knickers in grade school!! I think back and laugh at this little business person outfit with a blazer!
The whole outfit, also from the Equestrian Club line didn't really go together if you ask me? But it had also been a long day and I had to truck from one end of the valley to the other to get them to the fitting and both girls were tired and so maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me? The most hilarious part are these cork screw clips that they are going to put on Little One that are about the furthest thing from anything I would ever stick on my girl!!

This is the kind of hair accessory I would and will buy for my girl! Jen's new hair accessory line is killing me!

Look at
this one!

So much cuter than any corkscrew clippies at Gymboree!!!!

Monday Night and All Is Well

2007-07-23T22:01:00.000-07:00

I just adore browsing on Etsy. If they had an "I heart Etsy" bumper sticker I would....well, I wouldn't put it on my car, but I would hang it in my office to remind me of what an enjoyable site it truly is!
One of my favorite things to look at on Etsy is the art. There are some amazingly talented artists that deserve to be seen. One of my favorite artists is Alicia Block . The things she accomplishes with her camera(s) amaze me.
The colors are lucious, the images so memorable. This particular image of the single light is availabe in her shop as a card only. I own this card! Before purchasing it I found myself coming back to her shop to look at it over and over again. Something about it just struck me. I hope that at some point she will have it available in a print, I would love to frame it and hang it in my home!
Another unique artist is Badbird. With his/her whimsical designs that make you smile.
I adore this one called "Suspicious Bird". Check out that face on that little bird! I love the placement of the characters in Badbird's art. Sometimes there is a large space and this tiny little rabbit or bird sitting just so. This is Badbird piece that I have considered purchasing because it reminds me of Little One. It is called "Bunny Girl". I don't know why it reminds me of my Little One.....she does not have a bunny hat....I think it is the way the child is standing that reminds me of my girl. Or maybe the expression on her sweet little face.
The last two nights Bri has been watching the second movie in the triology of Lord of The Rings. I freaking love those movies! I am soooooooooo not a "middle earth" type of gal. My brother was obsessed with the J.R.R. Tolkein books when we were growing up so of course anything that interested him I wanted nothing to do with i.e. Lionel Richie, Pink Floyd, Watership Down, camoflauge clothing and things of that nature.
But the Lord of the Rings movies are stellar! I could watch those movies over and and over and have watched them over and over. I remember when Little One was a newborn the third movie of the triology had come out on DVD. I actually looked forward to her getting up to eat so that I could watch the movie while I waited to see if she fell asleep. So tonight was fun to remember how great Viggo was and to marvel over the supreme acting skills of Sir Ian Mckellen! I believe at one point tonight I actually said the words "I want to marry Galdalf!"

I have two more wonderful photo shoots edited and three to do and then I'm caught up for this weekend. I'm looking forward to the canyon shoot, it is always nice to get some fresh air....let's just hope I can refrain from complaining about the heat and sweating so profusely that people wonder if I might actually disolve into a puddle right before their eyes!

It's still hot! (and a book review)

2007-07-21T19:19:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is still hot and YES I am still complaining!
Honestly this heat is ridiculous. And the fact that we have a swamp cooler and not yummy A/C doesn't make it much better! I keep hoping that temps will start to drop and then the fantastic ten day outlook flashes across the screen with the triple digits and pulsating sunshine graphics and I just wanna puke. The weatherman on one station was quite excited that we might beat the twenty one day record of triple digits! WOO HOO I'M SO EXCITED TOO!!!!

Summer has been busy with lots of fun photo shoots as well as my #1 job which is being mom to these girls. G has been taking tennis lessons as well as a nature camp and on off weeks from the nature camp she has been doing a musical theatre camp. I'm not sure which one is her favorite, she seems to be an equal opportunity participater in each event and loves them all the same.
Little One has been taking swimming lessons and doing quite well. G is not a fan of swimming, it requires her to put her head under water and she doesn't not think that is such a good idea. A terrible pool experience a few years ago just made the whole situation worse so we just take it slow.
I think I thought that summer would be a time to kick back and relax but it has seemed more hectic than the school year, with all the acitivites and playdates and trying to squeeze work in here and there when I can.

I've been reading quite a bit, finising up "The Tender Bar" which my reivew is "Eh". That is my basically my whole review, just a half hearted "Eh." It was a book that I wanted to love. When I put it down I always wanted to get back to it and see what his life would become. But slightly more than halfway through it just became a chore to finish the book. Here you have this man writing this memoir about his life and he ends up going against the odds of his upbringing to go to Yale and what does he do.....nothing. He just throws away this opportunity because he can. It made me so frustrated. And when he finally did get his act together and do something and start working for the newspaper you just think "you idiot." I guess the moral of the story was you sometimes are doomed to repeat the failures of those around you? I don't know? But the first half of the book is really quite touching and has some lovely characters that this boy had come in and out of his life, although the bar (which was his safe place) was about the least appealing of all the things he clung to to feel safe.

So anyway onward and upward! I started to read "Ninteen Minutes" by Jodi Piccoult but then was sidetracked by a lovely little read that was chosen for my book group.....

"Twilight" By Stephenie Meyer.
People are passionate about this book, it has been so fun to see peoples reaction when I talk about starting to read it. I was more than halfway through when I went to book group and can't wait to finish. It is a young adult read and it is about Vampires which at first I went "Ummmmmmm" but it isn't like your typical Vampire book. It also has a sequel as well as a third one coming out in the next few weeks.

G and I also started the Harry Potter series. Apparently I am the only human being who hasn't read the six books. So together G and I started with book one and so far we are liking it and she is really following along as I read so that makes it fun!

My pal Windsay Benning (wink wink to Windsay from Qusan) has set me up with a sweet new pocket pc for which we had our first training session today. So I'm off to try and edit more pics which I'm loading to the photo blog, complete my assignment that Windsay has given me and read some more chapters of "Twilight".

:)

2007-07-09T10:38:00.000-07:00

Happy 3rd Birthday Little One!

A Barney Birthday fit for a fanatic. Painted fingernails, a birthday dress that twirls and twirls and my Little One growing up.

Hope Everybody Had A Happy 4th!

2007-07-05T19:48:00.000-07:00

G: Mom guess whose birthday it is today!

Me: I don't know, who?

G: Africa!! It's Africa's birthday!!

Bri: Africa?

G: (exasperated) Yeah, you know, Africa.....the city? Audrey told me that on the 4th of July we celebrate Africa's birthday! So Happy Birthday Africa!!

**(Big shout out to the talented Eva of Fresh and Vintage for Little Ones fantastic 4th of July dress!!)

My Chemical Romance Wednesday

2007-07-04T13:32:00.000-07:00

Ooooh I realized that I haven't posted a "My Chemical Romance" picture lately. Since Megan does "Wordless Wednesdays" I decided this week to do "My Chemical Romance" Wednesay *snicker*.

So let's see, I'll post their picture and then say a little about them.....well first off Gerard does not have blonde hair anymore. So here is my updated version of him.

Now, at this point you are asking yourself "does she not have anything better to do with her time?" and the answer is NO! :) For once in a long time I have absolutely nothing better to do with my time! The girls and Bri are taking a nice afternoon nap. The house is fairly clean, my work is all caught up and it's hot! So I'm enjoying digi scrapping, listening to music, surfing the net and cracking myself up doctoring pictures of "My Chemical Romance" for fun!

Well, time is up! The girls are awake so now I have something better to do.

So for My Chemical Romance Wednesday you have learned that Gerard now has black hair!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!

It's too hot!

2007-07-03T20:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, it is waaaaay too hot. The girls and I ventured out for a few hours today and by the time we came home we were all miserable and sweaty and grumpy. Even G finally said "let's just go home to our house where it's cool and watch our library movies!" Which is exactly what we did.

The heat has melted my once thriving garden, now the plants all look yellow and brownish and the blooms have wilted away *sigh* and the world outside my window smells like fireworks.

I don't know if it is the heat or just our fair city but man everywhere I went today the customer service sucked. At the library I wanted to see if they had more Jodi Picoult books availabe. The County and City Libraries are laid out differently and shelf their material in different ways so after trying unsuccessfully to find the author I went to the information desk. The girls and I stood there waiting while the woman behind the desk ignored us and continued stuffing cd's back into their boxes. Even when I said to G "Hang on I just need to ask a question" she continued to ignore us despite the fact that we were standing three feet in front of her? Finally she glanced at us.

Me: "I'm looking for Jodi Picoults books?"

Library Dud: "They're under P." (reply said in a put out annoyed voice."

Okay DUH. As if I didn't check under P! That was the first place I checked. I didn't know if they had their books in sections like mystery, fiction, romance etc. So their system is any book by someone with the last name starting with P are all grouped together?! After letting her know that I had already been smart enough to check P she replied "Well, they must be all gone."

GEEZ THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP!!!! She really takes her job at the INFORMATION desk seriously doesn't she!

Then we go to check out and that gal behind the desk also goes on about her business as if we aren't even there? Were we invisble? Had the sun blazed so brightly today it blinded everybody??

I HATE it when people don't acknowledge you. HATE HATE HATE it. That is one of my pet peeves. Just a polite "One moment I'll be righ with you". Is that too much to ask?? I don't think so considering their jobs are listed in the CUSTOMER SERVICE FIELD!!!!

Finally she stopped whatever she was doing and checked us out and I kid you not when the three of us next walked into Panda to pick up some Chinese to go the lady there did the same thing!!! The three of us stood there hot and irritated as she stirred the vats of food, wiped the counter, shook the vats to mix up the food. We were the only people at the freaking counter, I know she saw us! But she was going to take her own sweet time and not let us know that she saw us, she just didn't want to help us until she felt like it.

ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They should just make everything self serve from now on so that nobody has to actually be in customer service and help anyone. We could just check out our own books, get our own food, ring up our own clothing. Heaven forbid anybody interact anymore. Maybe the next president should run on the platform of every person for themselves!

LAME.

And the new book is.......

2007-07-02T08:55:00.000-07:00

In a place that inspired Scott Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby, young J. R. Moehringer lives with his single mother and mercurial grandfather in a cramped home with a rather-too-colorful cast of strident aunts, down-on-their-luck uncles, and their various offspring. It is 1970s Manhasset, Long Island, and J.R. is lonely and adrift.

Desperate to escape, J.R.'s mother takes him on long drives, where his dreams are fueled by the sight of the deep, plush lawns and dazzling, gated mansions that served as Fitzgerald's East Egg. But it is J.R.'s introduction to the local pub and its vibrant constellation of characters that would have the greatest effect on him. A panoply of discordant human notes, by turns raucous, witty, vulgar, and wise, these men -- who never quite grew up themselves -- became, for the forlorn young J.R., a veritable symphony of human succor and safety. As J.R. becomes a man, however, he realizes that the bar doesn't grant wishes as much as fill needs in a place where accepting the inevitability of failure is a defense against future disappointment.

I have chosen this book to read next simply because I cannot put it down! I started reading it to see if it would cut the mustard as my next book choice and now I must finish!

It's a Perfect Day.....Tubing, scary or not let's discucss....and book review

2007-07-01T19:42:00.000-07:00

"Oh, it's such a perfect day
I'm glad I spend it with you
Oh, such a perfect day"
~Lou Reed

As I was going through these pictures this part of the Lou Reed song "Perfect Day" popped in my head.

What a fun evening with our friends in this gorgeous mountain setting. Carin called to see if we wanted to tag along to take pics. She had created these fantastic tutu's and wanted to try them out with some gorgeous evening sun, now my G is not a fan of the photo shoots. She would rather eat a bucket of squid than have her pictures taken, BUT when I told her she could see E she perked right up. "Okay," I explained "Now if you choose to go you have to let us take pictures because that is why Carin and E are going. Is that okay?" and G replied with a big smile "If E is there I'll just be happy to be with her so, you can take my picture."

Now saying something and doing something are two different things. Needless to say the two little monkeys wanted to run wild, dance and sing and flee as far away from the photographers as they could go! I think my favorite thing of the whole evening was when E and G were talking as they sat together about how much they hated photographers. "I just hate photographers, let's throw stuff at them." Was E's classic line that had me in stitches. Carin and I felt like the paparazzi chasing after Paris and Nicole outside of The Ivy!

These pictures are definitely titled "When Children Attack". This would be at the point they had decided to throw stuff at us!

They danced and chased dragonflies and even turned the cameras on us for a bit, and played a game where they lived in "Tree Hollow" (which I changed to Turkey Hollow for my own enjoyment) a place where they had to shoo the photographers away from them so that they could live peacefully. So all in all despite the annoyance of having their pictures taken both girls were AWESOME and it couldn't have been more fun!

Yesterday we went boating with some friends (don't laugh Carin!) I wish I had some pictures from this adventure but Bri would not let me lug my camera and new lens on the boat where it could get wet or tossed in the lake, which was probably wise. Some others had cameras though so I hope to raz them for the pictures to post! Anyway as I've mentioned before I did not come from a camping or outdoors type family. My parents are not that way and their parents were not that way either (well, my moms dad was a hunter and outdoors sort of guy but clearly she did not get ANY of that from his side of the family!) I knew the girls would be over the moon to be with their friends and the moms and dads that they love so despite Bri needing to get some work done we headed to the lake for the afternoon through evening and did some boating and had fun.

Eight kids and six adults is an awesome load for a boat and I must say everybody did quite well and really there weren't any major freak outs aside from myself when I braved the open waters for some tandem tubing. First up I hit the two seater tube with Lisa. She made me believe I was brave and that I could do it and because I trust her I knew she would call the whole thing off if my life became in danger!

We were laughing so hard that she let out some of her fantastic snorts that made me laugh even harder. Now because Jeremy was behind the wheel of the boat I knew at some point he was going to have to scare me and of course he did. When we started zipping across those wakes I started to get slightly nervous and at one point I was sure Lisa had flown out the tube and I had taken air and was about 30 feet up headed into the clouds....this would be because I wouldn't open my freaking eyes for fear I would actually see the carnage of myself flying off and slamming into the water. My hands were gripped on those handles so tightly that my hands and forearms and upper arms hurt so bad today I feel like I've been lifting weights!! Now of course nothing happened and Lisa was still beside me and after awhile when I could catch my breath I was ready to cut it off and be hauled in before Jeremy decided to snap me like crack the whip up onto the freeway!

It was actually really fun, aside from the fear factor when we hit the wake. I was so proud of G, she even went in the tube with Lisa and her kids and Lyssie Lou. Now G is even more fearful than I am so for me to do it and show her it was okay, and hide my overwhelming fear was a big deal. And for her to go in there for the two minutes she stayed before asking to be brought back in was HUGE. I was so proud of her! I was totally freaked out about her going out there but everyone told me not to show my fear and I knew that my friends wouldn't put her in danger.

Of course that is another story when I went out with Stacy. She was laughing so hard at my freaking out that I thought she would wet her pants!! Of course her hubby made this ride even scarier although she claims not! I had my eyes shut so tightly as we whipped around! She kept saying "aren't you going to open your eyes?!" Ummmm HELLS NO I'm not opening my eyes. When it started to get so frightening to me I could feel my heart in my throat I screamed at her to make them stop!!! Now her version is that I freaked out the minute he even gave the boat any gas but I'm SURE that there was danger involved and had I had my eyes open I could have had cold hard facts to prove my point!

I would also like to point out that EVERYONE assured me that you couldn't tip those boats no matter what and then the next two groups out, due to crazy boat drivers were flipped like there was no tomorrow! I took my job as flag girl very seriously when the bodies hit the water, G still says her favorite part was when "Stacy flew over Jeremy and hit the water!" and then Jim and Josie flew out next! I won't even go into Brians ride on the tube, except to say that rolling five times on top of the water before you hit the deck is not the way to disembark a tube!!

All in all it was really fun and Stacy made such a fantastic dip to nosh on that even if I would have ended up in traction from being thrown to the rocks from a wayward tube it would have been worth it!

While we were away in the woods I finished my book "Vanishing Acts" By Jodi Picoult. Okay I have to say that Sarah was absolutely right when she told me that Jodi Picoults books just leave you drained. After the fantastic "My Sisters Keeper" I couldn't get into another book because I felt like I needed to go back into Jodi Picoults world again, nothing else lived up to roller coaster I had just been on! And "Vanising Acts" was no different. The topic was very interesting and believable in so many ways. I loved the main characters, the fact that the three of them Delia, Eric and Fitz had grown up together and remained as The Three Musketeers their whole lives. I loved the emotions that Delia went through as she learned the truth of her real exsistance and what had happened to her in her early childhood.

Once they headed to Phoenix I felt like the book was slightly disjointed. I didn't really understand the importance of the Ruth storyline and I felt like it kept getting in the way of what was happening with the other characters. I wanted to shoo Ruth out of my way like a pesky fly! I found that whole part of the book to be filler.

Now the jail parts were CRAZY!!!! At first I found myself rolling my eyes at the intense way it was portrayed and whatnot but then I realized hmmmm this is jail and I know it isn't a picnic! It was so interesting to see the way Delias father got through that time and how he had to become what was around him to survive.

I don't know how I felt about Fitz and his feelings for Delia. I understood them definitely, and I could see why she loved Eric. The descriptions of Eric and his personality were perfect, and the flaw that he carried was also wonderfully written. Especially in light of his mothers own battles with alcohol.

Now the end....the way it all wrapped up? Gotta say I was a little like "WHAT?" I had a feeling we were leading up to Victor playing a part in the whole thing but did he or didn't he? That car ride at the end with Delia and her father left me wondering if I had just been played by the author or if it was a case of you figuring out for yourself from the evidence presented if the right decision was made?

I have often wondered how many of our memories of life are actually our memories and how much are things we have heard so many times it is easy to make them our memories?

Really good read, infuriating at times but hey I kept going to the end so that means it kept me interested.

What book will I read next? I don't know! I'm trying to find one so any suggestions I would love to hear :)

Back from the woods!

2007-06-30T10:43:00.000-07:00

Amazing! That is the one word that comes to mind when describing the scenery from our vacation to Wyoming. When we set out on the long drive I was familiar with a good portion of the drive, a much more interesting drive than the drive South when we head out to Vegas. The southern route is tons and tons of NOTHING. Flat, ugly, boring for the most part. But this drive to Wyoming is green and rolling with fields and farms and pastures of cows grazing and swishing their tails.

While we have gone as far as Jackson Hole before and into parts of Yellowstone we had not gone much beyond into the mountains, so this time would be fun for the whole family to see what lie beyond Jackson Hole. My inlaws planned the trip, my father inlaw knew that I was not much of a camper. Having grown up in a family where "camping" was a foreign word and things like "fishing" and "hiking" were also words that made us blink in confusion, my father inlaw didn't want to throw me into shock with tents and outhouses made of a hole in the dirt. But he also wanted the girls to be able to experience fishing and nature, so he made reservations at Togwotee Lodge"> a fantastic place with cute little cabins in the mountains where deer grazed outside of windows early in the morning for breakfast, birds chirped happily in the tops of swaying pine trees and streams and lakes sparkled like they were filled with diamonds.

We had cabins right next to each other so that the girls could navigate the dirt and rocks back and forth to visit Grammie and Poppa, while stopping to practice casting their new little fising rods, before asking gleefully if they could go and play with rocks.

I have never seen the two of them more carefree and dirty and it was wonderful! The mountain air turned Little One into a crazy woods baby. She was bouncing all over the place mud smeared on her cheeks arms waving in the air.

And G took to it like she'd been born to BigFoot and had lived in the mountains her whole life! She built fantastic rock formations, had her Barbies put on an outdoor production of Pirates of Penzance singing at the top of her lungs! She even tried to actually fish until she caught a fish and as she was reeling it in realized that she didn't really want to catch a fish and took off in horror her pole dropped to the dirt.

Fishing was actually really really fun! I have never been fishing before and had always wanted to try it. Not the kind of fishing where you haul the little guy out, beat his head on a rock and then fry him up for dinner. But just some catch and release. It's not that I don't like a good fish dinner, I LOVE fish! But there is just something quite ookey about seeing him flopping around and then knowing soon you'll be adding some seasoning salt to him and digging in with a fork!

I loved the whole process, watching my father in law put the worms on the hook and learning how to cast. That was quite funny, it reminded me of someone lining up to hit the perfect ball in golf. The one that is going to land on the green inches from the hole and then roll in....but instead you whack that ball only to have it barely plop off the tee about a foot in front of you. That is how I would describe my first few times of casting the fishing line. It would basically shoot out and then straight down almost hitting me as it hit the ground at my feet. "Release at 1:00!" My father inlaw would call out....and soon I felt like Norm McClean in "A River Runs Through It" The line sailing out into the water with a beautiful arc. And when I caught a fish well HELLO! That was awesome. G still talks about her favorite part of the trip, "When you caught that big fish mommy and then it fell off the hook and you screamed and took off!" Well you try having the big flopping fish come off the hook spazzing out at your feet....I'm sure even Norm McClean would have run off screaming like a girl!!

In addition to the great fishing day we also got to do a full on chuck wagon dinner evening. Driving further into the gorgeous wilderness we were greeted with three wagons hitched to the most incredible horses and driven by some really nice cowboys. They took the wagons on a gorgeous 30 min trek up into the mountains where the cutest couple awaited us with yummy steak dinners complete with baked potatoes, homemade baked beans, corn muffins, yummy brownies and hot dogs for the kids all cooking in this open canopy area where we ate and listened to the adorable elderly woman of the couple told cute jokes and then the sweet man sang us fantastic songs as he strummed the guitar. When the two of them sang together it was something straight out of the Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash movie! (totally having a mental block on the name of that movie right now argh!)

There was even a fun sing along where they did the chicken dance and the hokey pokey. The girls seriously thought they had died and gone to heaven and it was smack dab in the middle of the Wyoming mountains!

Then the last full day we were there we went on a wonderful boat ride that took us to the base of the tetons where you were able to see the glaciers. The water was incredible, I just wanted to jump out of the boat and swim in it. Perfectly blue and sparkling with boats zipping around and people fishing and milling about. I honestly wished I could have bottled up the scenery there and brought it home to take pictures of 24/7. Clearly you can see I enjoyed using my camera on vacation!!

It was such a fun vacation that our family was really really in need of.

Next week back to work and back to real life again but for now I'm going to enjoy this final weekend and have some fun :)

A Sign That a Good Day Has Gone Horribly Wrong...or How to Stick Your Foot in Your Mouth Without Even Trying

2007-06-15T18:56:00.000-07:00

(A Brady Bunch Rerun is Playing on t.v.)

G: Mom, I wish you weren't my mom and that Mrs. Brady was my mom! *big happy smile*

Me: Well, I wish that Cindy were my daughter and not you.

Later.......

Me: G you have a beautiful heart and that is what everyone loves about you. Always keep your beautiful heart.

G: Oh no *look of horror overtakes face* Well great, no one will think I'm beautiful anymore.

Me: What do you mean? You are so beautiful?

G: Well, everyone says I look like you. And when you wake up in the morning you look all tired and rusty like this *makes a face like someone who has been melted by molten lava*.

Me: You don't think I'm pretty when I wake up in the morning?

G: NO. I mean you look like this *makes same face in case I didn't get the point the first time* And if I look like that no one is going to think I'm beautiful.

Me: You should probably just stop talking now.

I ROCK!

2007-06-12T20:15:00.001-07:00

Nothing like a good trip to the doctor when you think you have scurvy (a few weeks ago) to make you feel like a giant whale. When I had to step on the scale I was quite surprised at the weight on there. I actually thought I was feeling and looking better, so if that is the case than what did I look like a few months ago when I felt like Shamus long lost sister?

I came to the conclusion that I needed to get my butt in gear and do something about it. For years and years I played the weight game, obsessive exercising, dieting, etc to the point where it really played with my body and I felt like it was getting to mental about it. I vowed that I would not do any of the crazy diets or whatnot once I had children. I didn't want to have some massive heart attack just to look good. After I had G my weight snapped right back and I even lost extra weight and felt pretty good about myself. I can't say the same thing after Little One was born! I'm still trying to get in shape from that baby and she is almost three!

I go through periods where I am more healthy than others but I have a hard time getting motivated, plus I have a husband who is tall and thin and can eat a bag of Oreos at 11:00 pm and never change a pound.

Never one for soda pop, I've always been more of a water or Crystal Light or juice fan...this last month all of a sudden I was craving anything and everything that had bubbles in it. I all but abandoned any other form of beverage and started going cukoo for soda pop. After my visit to the doctor I knew one thing I needed to do was cut that soda pop out of my diet!! For the last week especially I have had nothing but water, tons and tons of ice cold water which has been so nice. I crave it! I have also been watching what I am putting in my gut AND I have been going on walks! Tonight I really really didn't want to go but I just got up and threw on my walking shoes and and pair of shorts and tshirt, grabbed my Ipod cranked up the My Chemical Romance and hit the road. I was so proud of myself for doing it. The air was nice and cool and it was so great to just walk along setting my own pace, not having to talk or think. I could just listen to music and enjoy the beautiful neighborhoods. In my mind I framed different scenes I passed the way I would if I would have had my camera with me. There was an enormous tree that was so beautiful I couldn't believe how large the trunk was! The branches were all craggy and stretched far beyond the little house below it. There was a wonderful home with bright red window boxes and bunches of sunny yellow flowers spilling over the edge. I saw a backyard with a fantastic retro slide, the kind you saw in parks when you were a kid. Metal and shapped like an elephant where you slide down the trunk! There was a cheery cantaloupe colored dumpster filled to the brim in front of a house that was being remodled....I didn't know dumpsters could be so bright and fun!

I kept a good swift pace down the tree lined streets making it back just before dark, energized to continue editing another clients photographs.

I am officially on a "Summer Break" from photography, to give myself a rest so that I can continue to be passionate about it when I start back up in July. Once I finish these last few clients pictures I can sit back and relax and enjoy my vacation!!

Business Trips and Sunday in the Park with Bob

2007-06-11T19:35:00.000-07:00

Last week Bri was gone for three days on business.....business being schmoozing and golfing with work associates! The time with the girls alone actually wasn't too horrible. He traveled enough last year that it really got me used to being a single mom for a few days, although I do have to say we had quite a few timeouts! The girls just seemed to be bugging each other. Alot of times Little One antagonizes G, grabbing what she is playing with and taking off in an effort to get her big sister to follow her and actually engage in some sort of activity together.

The above mentioned behavior usually results in Little Ones sister squeezing her. G doesn't hit or shove, she just squeezes. Squeezes Little Ones arm, her cheek and through gritted teeth will inform her sister that she is making her "sooooooo mad!"

A few weeks ago Little One came upstairs after a ruckus between the two of them.

Little One: "Mom, I hit G and G squeezed me."
Me: "Then what happened?"
Little One: "G said she was sorry, and I said I was sorry."
Me: "It sounds like you worked things out?"
Little One: "Yup!"

Well this last week while we were on our own there was no working things out between them. The whining and complaining reached a fevered pitch where I was sure at any moment my ears were going to start oozing blood from the timber of their howler monkey screeches. So off to timeout they went, one after another and then we started over again! By Saturday they had the gist of what would happen if they couldn't work things out so I must say Saturday went much more smoothly!

It's funny when the hubby is out of town how strangely enjoyable the evenings are. It reminds me of being in Jr High or Highschool, after your parents when to bed and you could stay up and watch t.v. or read a book. Or you could put on your headphones and jam out to Depeche Mode or Crosby Stills and Nash if you happened to have a very wide ranging eclectic taste in music! There is no one to tell you that you really should be in bed because you have a full schedule. There is no one tempting you with his 11:00 pm bowl of icecream that he slurps down happily in between handfuls of chips! There is no one to doze off and leave you to check the windows and doors and the girls when you are so stinkin' tired from staying up and editing photos that you just want to fall into bed!

Now I'm not saying I would want this forever! Bri is my best friend, the only person I can imagine being stranded with on desert island with and never running out of things to say and laugh about. But once an awhile it's good to have a little space to just be!

Sunday in the Park with Bob.....actually Bob and T....my mom and dad!

In celebration of his being finished with radiation and the after surgery we went on a picnic! We met at a lovely park, one of the few parks that has a wonderful canyon for off leash dogs. My parents are dog lovers so being able to watch the dogs parade on their way down the canyon, where they would be able to sing "Born Free" as they froliced with their doggie pals, was so fun.

After lunch we walked down to the playground, which we had to ourselves nearly the whole time we were there!

Anybody who knows me knows how much I adore my parents. It isn't this perfect Beaver Clever thing where you want to gag when you hear about my life with them, I just love them plain and simple. And they love me.

My dad is my hero, the man that all other men in my life are measured against. He can do anything and he knows so much. But he has always been very careful about letting me make my own conclusions on things rather than make them for me. He also can get snitty sometimes about weird things and him trying to teach me how to do my homework was like oil and vinegar....always ending in me stomping upstairs and slamming my door. But it is all the things good and bad, funny and sad that make our relationship so wonderful.

And my mom, she is such an example of how to be a good wife and mother. Of course she is also an example of how to be extremely paranoid of everything and anything.....when I was little she taught me that if someone ever pulled a gun on me it was important to flee in a zigzag pattern so that they would have a harder time shooting me! Such important lessons for a gradeschooler! We talk pretty much everyday and just thinking about her now makes me smile.

After our fun park day we stopped for yummy Slurpees, which G replied "Everyday that it is hot we really should totally get Slurpees" and then home!

Last week my dear friend Carin came to visit with her girls so that we could celebrate her daughter Kate-Kates big third birthday! We had so much fun taking pics of the girls and I can't wait to post them and talk about the fun we all had but both of us are dreadfully behind on photo shoots and editing for clients so we haven't had time to go through the birthday photos! Hopefully this week we are going to hang out and play around with pictures so we can post something!!

Signing off for now!!
S

Little One......Her Mama's Girl

2007-06-06T21:15:00.000-07:00

Little One: "Mama is that your tummy" (pats my tummy)

Me: "Yes, that's Mama's tummy. When you were very very small you lived inside of Mama's tummy. Then you grew bigger and came out to be with me."

Little One: *smiles* "Mama, I wanna go back in there."

Me: "If you could I know you would."

Summertime summertime sum sum summertime....

2007-06-04T18:26:00.000-07:00

I defy anybody to listen to LILY ALLEN and not smile.
She is one of the freshest voices to come around in a long time, her lyrics are fantastic and witty and cutting all the while sounding so upbeat! I just absolutely adore her CD ALRIGHT STILL. Now there are two versions, the explicit lyrics and the "clean" version. I opted for the clean version, so that I could rock out with the little chickens and not worry!

Today was what summer is all about! We started off with a playdate with Kate the Great and Sister Ceci. They are ready to embark on a lovely ten day journey so I thought it would be nice for their mom to get a little free time to get things in order! The girls played and played and were able to head out to the pool, I have dubbed the backyard the "Country Club" with the pool and towels for everyone and swimsuits and the playset and other various entertaining things to do. The girls all ate beneath the kids umbrella table under the shade of a tree and it make me laugh how they looked like they were at some posh resort. Towels wrapped around them, sunglasses on, arms stretched over head as they chatted and noshed on mac and cheese and sandwhiches on fun and funky new IKEA plastic childrensware that was purchased for just such an occassion.

After the girls headed home we jetted down the street for another playdate that G was invited on. Ever since I did pictures for this family we have started hooking the girls up to play and they are so fun together. I have to say how really awesome it is when I go into the house of someone I have done pictures for and there is my work displayed in 16X20 format on their wall! She couldn't wait to show me how great the pictures looked framed, and when her son came out and said wide eyed "HEY YOU'RE THE ONE WHO TOOK OUR PICTURES!" I couldn't help feeling a little like a celebrity!! I know, I'm a big dork!!

At some point the playdate moved a block over (with my permission) to another friends house with her own mini water park in her back yard courtesy of her clever husband who rigged up an awesome playland/water park from playground equipment! When Little One woke up we walked over to join the fun and visit and watch the kids be crazy. I love visiting with this friends, she is just one of those people you know is 100% genuine. She is funny and smart and not put on in any way shape or form. She is currently working on my new website which I can't wait to unveil!! I just need to finish giving her pics for the galleries and we'll be good to go!

After her house we moved across the street to visit D and the kids for some laughs and then home. We were supposed to go bowling with my favorite Davis family but alas little Soph was not well so we had to postpone. :( I hope she feels better soon!

Walking home I reflected back on my summer days, the house hopping the sunshine, the smell of suntan lotion. Friends, friends and more friends from morning until night with maybe a pit stop or two inside a nice air conditioned house to break and suck on a popcicle.

These are the days to cherish and the times that we're making memories for our children that will last a lifetime!