Life in Orlando

last Christmas randomness

2011-12-15T20:36:00.000-05:00

I found some random and favorite photos from last Christmas today. I can't believe how little Z was! A little baldy. And, look at all those school projects my girls did that are pasted to the back of our front door. Classy, I know.

I can barely remember last Christmas. It's a big blur. It might have something to do with the fact that I hadn't gotten a full night's sleep in 7 months at that point.

David and I took a stay-cation while my parents kept the girls. We took Z and just slept and ate and watched Harry Potter and slept some more. It was fabulous.

This one was taken on Christmas morning. I think Z has a crazy gleam in his eye because he wants to grab my camera lens. I love this photo and his pajamas (both are keepers!)

How different our lives would be without little Z. I just can not imagine it!

On a more serious and deeper note, this is the week that little baby O. would have been due, had he been carried to full term. It would be so bizarre to have another little baby at this point in my life--so bizarre I can not imagine it! But, there is still sadness at not having met him and not having him here with us. The sadness does not come very often anymore, though there are still occasional tears, but not as many. I do look forward to meeting him one day. I wonder what he looks like?! It's incomprehensible to think of already having a little person waiting for us in heaven. Sigh!

I'll leave you with this one of Z and his drooley face.

gingerbread house.

2011-12-04T16:47:00.001-05:00

Hello, December!

It's a good month. It's the month of festive decorating, fa-la-la-ing, listening to the Charlie Brown Christmas album, sugar cookie baking, Christmas parties, trying to remember the real meaning of Christmas, purchasing gifts, sending out Christmas cards, my birthday... Whew. I feel tired just writing all of that down!

I've decided that Christmas in Florida can be just as festive as Christmas in other places, you just have to know where to go and not expect it to feel cold and snowy. Once you're used to wearing shorts and tank tops all year round, you're much better off. In fact after 5 years, I just may have acclimatized. I no longer find myself cursing under my breath at the lack of seasons. And, I secretly wonder if I'd ever be able to do "cold" again. I'm not saying I wouldn't like a little change of season, but I think I can deal with the weather here now.

So, feeling festive, I let the kiddos decorate a gingerbread house. Little Z is really getting to be a "poser" for the camera. Check out his head-tilt!

Miss A is horrified by Z snatching of a piece of candy off the roof. It was quickly fixed by Miss M.

I can't quite manage to get all 4 of us in the shot anymore. Almost.

Miss A gets her own photo.

three amigos

2011-11-16T20:40:00.000-05:00

It has been an insanely long time since I've posted, and if anyone is still out there reading or checking this blog, I will be highly impressed. The blog has been put on a back burner for now along with my digital photos which are waiting to be edited and screaming at me to download them from my memory cards.

My photo life is in such a pathetic state, in fact, that the photos you see below may just have to suffice for my kids' portraits this year. Seven, 18 months and nine, in no particular order. That would be quite sad, actually. I will have to get on those annual photos--quickly!

What's on the front burner? Schooling at home. We are back to home school this year. It has taken up most of my mental energy. What else? Chasing my toddler. He's a good boy and at such a fun stage. He's got his "cheesey" smile on for the camera now-a-days. And, Jazzercise--it keeps me sane and keeps those good endorphins flowing. I didn't mention cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping. Oh, my, it's quite exciting around here.

Thanks for stopping by, whoever is still out there :)

Oh, the title of my post--that's my favorite part of school at home--that I get to see them all enjoy each other, and that they get to be around each other all day. I guess that can be the worst part too, but most often it's the best part. Until next time! :) K

mr. personality

2011-08-24T14:57:00.000-04:00

Hello, friends! It has been a long, long time since I've sat down to do anything photo or blog related. And, it has felt oh-so-good! Sometimes, it's just nice to unplug from cyber-world. And, that's just what I've been doing this entire summer. But, there is a time for everything, and maybe now it's time to begin blogging again, and processing my photos. That can be therapeutic as well. Here's little Z at the beach. I believe he was enthralled by a dog. Let's just call him Mr. Personality. He's a charmer for sure! Don't you agree?

our butterfly emerges

2011-07-03T07:00:00.000-04:00

It was on Day 8 that the butterfly emerged! At first when I checked on him, he looked like this:

I sent the girls to VBS, started to clean up a bit, and about an hour later came out to find this:

Isn't he beautiful? Yes, I could tell that it was a "he" because his the black veins were on the thinner side, and he also had two distinctive black spots on the lower wings. The spots are special scales that emit pheromones that can detect when a female butterfly is present. Females have thicker veins and no black spots on their lower wings. (I'm sorry I did not specifically photograph this difference to show you! I was just too caught up in how remarkable this creature was!)

He just clung onto the branch for a long time, letting his wings dry. He really didn't seem too interested or rushed to go anywhere. I was happy that he didn't want to hurry away. I kept staring at his body wondering how in the world he became so beautiful? His body was now black and white and furry and his legs were so long!

Here's a crop of the wing so that you can see the detail more clearly. I'm just amazed at how detailed the wings are. They look like tiny pixels all lined up just perfectly.

Here's another close up of the previous wing photo.

A glimpse of his previous home. It's amazing to me that he fit in there!

Here's his face. He kept curling and unfurling his proboscis. It's really fascinating to watch. I was continually struck by how furry his body was. And those white spots are just so pretty!

Here's a cropped in photo of his legs. There are "V's" at the end of each leg making him "sticky" and able to cling onto just about anything. I loved watching him walk around.

There's his little face. Seems like a face that only a mother could love. A little bug-eyed for me! Those little tufts at the top of his head look a bit owl-ish to me too. Maybe that's why his wings are so beautiful--makes up for the lack of beauty in his face.

And, there he is again.

Well, I wish this story had a happy ending, but I'm sorry that it does not. Our butterfly stayed on our bush for a long time, but when he finally took flight, he fell and broke his wing. After that, he could not fly anymore, and seemed really hurt. We tried to rescue him by putting him on some of our nectar flowers, and even giving him some sugar water before bed. But, sadly when we got up the next morning, he was dead. I was so sad that I cried. All the work he did seemed so wasted. We had watched him grow and eat and transform and finally emerge a beautiful creature, and then he just died.

That same day, as I was thinking about all of this, Miss M looked out our window and noticed that a butterfly was visiting our milkweed plant. We ran out to look at it, and it was a male monarch butterfly--just like ours! He was perfectly formed, and seemed so happy. Somehow he gave me hope--that someday all brokenness will be restored and made right. Butterflies won't fall, break their wings and die anymore. Someday.

Here he is, broken wing an all. If you look closely on the lower right wing, you can see the black spot I'm referring to which makes him a male. I decided to keep this guy as a reminder of hope--that even broken wings will be made right someday.

************************************************************

Well, that is officially the end of my butterfly story. I have to tell you since our first butterfly, we have acquired two more milkweed plants. One day a female butterfly came to visit our plants while we were in the yard and we had the privilege of watching her lay eggs an several leaves.

Would you believe that we currently have watched 20 caterpillars grow from tiny eggs into huge caterpillars? We currently have 9 chrysalis and 9 caterpillars in our yard. Yesterday we had our two butterflies emerge successfully from their chrysalis.

Although, this is not really a nature blog, I will be posting some more photos about caterpillars, chrysalis and butterflies. This little blog is about our lives. And, currently, sort of by accident, we're doing a lot of butterfly gardening this summer. Stay tuned for a few more nature posts!

the long wait

2011-06-22T12:34:00.000-04:00

I checked faithfully on the chrysalis everyday. Day 2 was remarkable because of the beautiful gold ornate "bumps." The one around the top is known as "the golden zipper." Even on day 2, I could see the beginnings of the wing pattern starting to form. I couldn't get over how beautiful the chrysalis was.

Day 3 looks pretty similar to Day 2.

On day 4 the wing pattern appears to become more defined.

Day 5: no apparent change.

I have to be honest. By day 6, I was getting tired of waiting--tired of not seeing any real changes. What the heck was going on inside there? And why couldn't I see any more apparent changes on the outside? How many ways can a photographer think to photograph the same little green chrysalis? I was getting impatient.

So much so, that I forgot to take a photo on Day 7. I was no longer so enthralled with the process. I knew something was going on inside the little green package, but I was recording the process more out of duty than true desire. I had better things to do every morning at 10am than photograph a little green chrysalis. My dishes were calling my name. Continuing to photograph this little guy felt like an interruption in my day.

But, on day 8, I discovered a huge change. What in the world? How did this little guy change so fast? What a surprise! When I was least expecting it, all of a sudden, that little green chrysalis was no longer green, but clear. Translucent. And, wow, what a transformation! To think that I had grown impatient, and had almost gotten too busy to keep waiting. I could have completely missed it!

I promise to finish the story, and post butterfly pictures sooner than later!

Again, all photos taken with my 100mm, f/2.8 macro lens. Some photos are cropped in to show more detail.

the caterpillar story

2011-06-09T06:51:00.000-04:00

A few weeks go I was talking to a friend, telling her how I felt like I just had to "sit down" in life. I felt like I had been turned upside down, inside out, around and around so much that nothing made sense anymore. And, I so I found myself just "sitting." Of course, I do have three children, so there are lots of basic things I had to keep doing, but in my spare moments--the precious few that I have--I found myself in a very still and quiet place--internally.

My friend recommended a great book about the process the heart goes through when you have to wait in such moments when nothing makes sense. The author uses very rich language and imagery throughout the book. One of her metaphors is the caterpillar's process of transforming into a butterfly. She calls it the spiritual art of "cocooning." When you enter a dark, quiet place, nothing seems to be happening on the outside, but on the inside, an incredible transformation is taking place. The caterpillar must enter the cocoon in order to transform.

Anyway, this imagery really resonated with me. I feel that God often uses metaphors and imagery to speak to me--make because I'm partly a creative type, partly analytical--they really speak to me.

A few days into the book, while I was shopping for some flowers to plant in my yard, I ran into a nice lady who had two large flowering plants in her shopping cart. Guess what was on the flowers? A large monarch butterfly! I remarked at how incredible her plant was, and she proceeded to tell me all about "butterfly weed" (a.k.a. milkweed) and how monarch butterflies lay their eggs on it. She harvests the eggs to take into her great-grandson's preschool classroom so that the kids can to watch the process of caterpillar-to-butterfly. She regularly checks the store to see if they have "butterfly weed," but it is very popular, and sells out almost instantly. But, there was one plant left that day, and she showed me where it was. I brought home one milkweed plant, thinking that maybe we'd attract some butterflies.

A week or so later, guess who I discovered on our plant?

A monarch caterpillar! Miss M named him "Silky."

Just to give you a sense of scale...

Again, for scale. This is Miss M's hand "petting" the caterpillar. She loves creatures!

Our milkweed plant. Did you know that monarch butterflies only lay their eggs on milkweed? It's called a "host" plant. One monarch butterfly will lay a total of 400 eggs, but they will only lay one egg per milkweed plant because they want to make sure their babies have enough food. Incredible!

Here's "Silky" again. He was so fascinating to watch.

A close up of his "face."

He ate and ate for several days, and then on Monday, he took off. I went out to check on him, and he was gone! I freaked out, and found him on the rim of the milkweed pot, so I carefully put him back on the plant, thinking that he had fallen down somehow. An hour later, when I checked on him again, he was gone! I searched and searched, and found him on our neighboring basil pot, two pots over. I was just about to leave the house for an appointment and didn't want him to escape so I temporarily put him in a glass jar. ( I know, I was a little obsessive.)

When I got home, I tried putting him in the azalea-bush-turned-topiary, but he did not like that at all, so finally I tried my hibiscus bush, which he loved! It was time for him to make his chrysalis.

Look what he did!

They curl and unfurl over and over in order to let air in underneath their skin in order to shed it. This is the final molting and the process by which they become a chrysalis. So, turning into a chrysalis is really a process of shedding their outer skin in order to become who they really are. Isn't that fascinating?

I kept checking on this guy because I didn't want to miss anything. I shot the above two photos, and then came back out to check 40 minutes later, and this is what he looked like! I was a little disappointed to miss the process.

"Silky" has be a chrysalis for less than 40 minutes at this point. It looks almost wet. I just love the incredible detail!

If you look closely, you can even see the wing pattern beginning to take shape.

The above shot is one of my favorites. I love the artsy feel. You can even get a little sun flare action on the chrysalis.

Clearly, I'm obsessed! I'm just so drawn into the transformation process of this little creature. One other interesting factoid: the grown caterpillar was around 2.5 inches long. The chrysalis is only about an inch long. He's in a tight spot for sure!

Okay, these next few shots are such a contrast. It's the caterpillar's shed skin. I found it just directly below the chrysalis.

A little freaky, I admit. but, wow. To think that the skin that was once so perfect was no longer suitable, and that he had to shed that skin in order to become a new creature.

You can even see his old legs. I guess he won't need so many legs when he can fly!

Back to the chrysalis one more time. Look at how he's fastened himself. He's on the underside of a leaf on my hibiscus bush, hanging by some silky thread. There's a proper name for this, but I've forgotten.

This was all from Day 1. You can be sure that I'll keep posting photos of this little guy in the days to come.

In case you are wondering, I shot all of these with my 100mm, f/2.8 marco lens. A few photos are cropped in more closely so that you can see the detail close-up.

it's been 11 years, baby!

2011-05-20T12:00:00.000-04:00

I'm a little late on this post, but when you've been married for 11 years, what's one more week?

Wow, eleven years ago, David and I married each other.

I don't think either of us had any idea what we were getting ourselves into. (insert chuckle)

Seriously, but who does?

Marriage is hard work.

Lots and lots of hard work.

It forcing me to be honest, and to take a long hard look at myself.

But, even after all these years, I would still say "I do."

I really would.

Because without David, I wouldn't be who I am today.

For better or for worse.

But, mostly for better.

I really love that man, faults and all.

And, he really loves me.

I love that we are learning and growing together.

We struggle and fight together.

We laugh and cry together...

And sometimes apart too.

We can have fun together.

We get carded while walking into concerts together.

We love to eat Chinese food together.

We love to go to the beach together.

And, we look good together, don't you think?

Happy Anniversary, David.

Sorry, I never got you a card, but this post is for you.

And, I'm sure it's much better than some cheesy card

I could buy at the store.

dress rehearsal day

2011-05-19T10:19:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was dress rehearsal day. For the fist time in several years, I only had one bun and one face to put makeup on. It was sure a lot less pressure! Miss M has decided that ballet is just not for her--she's a beautiful dancer, but just does not love it. And so now we have one little ballerina in the family.

Presenting our water lilly fairy, Miss A.

Love this expression. It's her truly delighted face. The real smile, the one that only happens when she's filled with joy or tickled pink. Love it!

We took these photos right after we fixed her hair and make-up. I asked her to put her costume on for just a minute so that we could snap some photos. We took, maybe all of 5-10 minutes to snap these.

Twirl, Miss A, twirl!

Notice how the back of her head is in the shadow? I had some nice side-lighting coming in from an open door just to the right. The background is just a bare, unpainted wall. Yes, after 4 years, we still have unpainted walls. But, I've gotten so used to using this wall as a plain backdrop, I can't imagine it any other color than white!

My personal favorite from the bunch.

Except for maybe the photo on the right. It's such a classic Miss A expression. Sort of like her classic "are you serious?!" face.

The real deal is on Friday night. Can't wait to see the performance (again!)

Oh, and if you're wondering, she came up with all these poses on her own. I just asked her to face the open doorway for me so that her face was in the light, and not in the shadow.

a very sad story

2011-05-17T12:37:00.000-04:00

I'm a private person, and tend not to share deeply personal things on this blog. But, this time, it seems appropriate for a few reasons. Maybe someone else will be able to relate to my experience. And, it's just therapeutic for me to write right now.

I'll just start at the beginning.

About three weeks ago, I found out some very shocking news.

I was pregnant. Unexpectedly. I had given away all of my maternity clothes and all of my baby clothes. I was very much done. Done. Done. Done.

And, so to find out I was pregnant was a huge surprise.

I spent the next week feeling completely panicked. How in the world was I going to take care of another baby? I already had a baby! And, how in the world was I going to take care of 4 kids?! Three kids, I have learned to handle, but 4 seemed to stretch me beyond my human limits.

A few weeks passed, though, and I was making space for the baby. I made space in my heart, and in our family. Little Z was going to be a big brother. He was supposed to just be a little brother, but now he was going to be a big brother! Wow, a big brother. I was excited for him to have a little buddy--someone on his level that he could go through life with--a friend. I was making plans for how we were going to fit another little person into our home. I bought a few maternity clothes, and was making plans for things we would need to acquire--like another double stroller since ours was long, long gone.

And, I was excited about the little life growing inside of me. I was looking forward to meeting him, and taking photos of him (of course!), and getting to know him. I was beginning to embrace my reality.

And, then, something very sad happened. We lost the baby. Last week at 9 weeks and 3 days old (in the womb), our little baby died. I have never lost a baby before. And this loss is rather intangible. Because, it feels like losing something you never exactly had. I'm not sure what you believe about the soul, but I believe that this little baby had a soul, and that the little soul is now in heaven.

To me, the loss feels very deep and very sad. I won't get to touch those little fingers and toes. I won't get to see his little face or get to know his little personality. I know I am very blessed to have three beautiful children, but this loss is about this baby. I'm learning I can be grateful and sad all at the same time.

My doctor gave us some great advice. He encouraged us to do something as a family to commemorate the baby. We gave him a name. Since I don't really share out kids' names on this blog, I just tell you his name is baby O. I found a little wooden cross that we could remember him by. On Sunday morning, we had a little ceremony where we each said a few words, and placed the cross in our backyard.

I've taken the week "off." I've got a great group of friends here who are taking good

care of me bringing our family meals each night so that I don't have to cook. Other instructors are teaching my Jazzercise classes for me. It's giving me space. The space I need to just be. To have time to grieve. And time to just sit.

I'm sure the sadness will eventually lessen, and I'll eventually find my new normal--whatever that may be. But, for now, I'm sitting down, and just letting my heart wait.

Z enjoyed playing while we had our little ceremony. Look at that hair sticking straight up!

He loves that little yellow shovel!

For little O. We love you, even though we never knew you!

all I wanted for mother's day...

2011-05-11T16:47:00.000-04:00

...was a nice photo of the kids and I. So, I innocently handed the camera to David and asked him to snap away. I guess I should have hired a professional. We laughed and laughed as we looked through these. To his credit, David did get me a beautiful necklace and earrings to match. I love them!

Hope these give you a good laugh too.

What is little Z looking at??

Now, we've got Z, but where did Miss M go?!

Miss M is officially hiding. Niiiice.

This is the best one of the lot, and the kids' expressions are anything but natural and happy. Forced smiles, shall we say? And utter dilusionment from Z.

Umm, I think we're done here.

The girls stomped off in disguest, "Daddy, why are you taking so LONG?!" So, it was just Z and I. This one's a keeper. Maybe that should have been my strategy. One photo with each kid. Oh well, there's always next year.

Z's one year portraits

2011-05-03T11:12:00.000-04:00

I finally took Little Z's one year photos.

There are so many things that I love about my little guy, but one of my favorites is his crazy hair. It's always sticking straight up, and even though I tried to tame it a bit for these photos with some hair product, it still stuck straight up.

I love that about him!

So grateful for my little man.

Here's my favorites.

one year old

2011-04-25T09:37:00.000-04:00

I have officially gone back to my slacker-blogging ways. I just can't seem to find the energy to keep posting consistently. I still do enjoy it, but I think I'm going to have to be okay with occasional posts. Maybe my new goal should be once a week?

Last week Z turned one! Wow, I can not believe it. We had a very low-key celebration. I made him butternut squash muffins with citrus glaze. I'm no baker, but these were yummy, and I'm still enjoying the leftovers. Here's Z with his muffin-cake. I think he likes it!

Inquisitively looking at the girls, who graciously offered to blow out his candle. Hmm...what's going on?

YUM! He definitely likes it :)

A few personality shots. What's up with all the cameras in my face?!

Miss A giving David the stink eye.

Here's Miss M trying to put on Z's birthday crown. He did not like that one bit!

Happy Birthday, Z! We're so glad you're part of our family.

beach day

2011-04-13T09:17:00.000-04:00

Little Z had his first trip to the beach a few weeks ago and loved it. It was Spring Break week at our house, and since it had rained ALL week, we decided to make a Saturday trip, along with everyone else who lives in central FL! Z did great--he didn't mind the sand at all, was ready to dive into the ocean, and just generally loved being there. He fits in so perfectly with our family!

I'm always little shy to take my nicest camera to the beach, so I took my Rebel XT and one of my cheapest lenses. But, can you believe after two years of not using that camera much, I could barely remember how to focus the thing!? (I have my settings customized to my liking, so it requires fast fingers to get the shot.) Wow, it's crazy how quickly we forget things that we once second nature to us...

Anyway, we made our second trip in 8 days this past Saturday, and I'm just now recovering from the trip. I successfully put sunscreen on everyone but myself and got the WORST burn on my back. I haven't every really gotten a bad burn, so I can now empathize with those who do. I didn't know it would make me feel so yucky for so many days! I'm sure I will get a nice tan out of the deal, but that was not ever my intention, and was totally not worth it to me.

I'm feeling a little beach-shy now. It may take me some time before I'm ready to go back!

Anyway, enough rambling from me. Here's a few of my in-focus snaps.

Oh, and thank you for all of your nice comments--I'm really not used to so much blog-attention, so I'm also feeling a little blog-shy these days....somehow I feel more comfortable with fewer readers. I guess I'm an introvert in the real world and an introvert in the blog world as well!

hangin' out on Friday night

2011-04-07T13:52:00.000-04:00

I love the light in Florida, especially the deliciously beautiful evening light. Here's our little family just hanging out on a random Friday night. It's sort of typical. You see David? He's on his phone. Mr. Z is pushing his walker looking rather spacey. I wonder where he gets that from? It's certainly not me.

Let's zoom in a bit. What a serious face. He must be tired.

There he goes!

And, here comes Miss A zooming by on her scooter. Typical.

There's Miss M. She's playing Angry Birds on my phone. My girls love Angry Birds! I might too, but maybe I don't want to admit it.

She's doing good!

And, now, everyone has gotten tired of being outside except for Miss A and I.

She's been into drawing money on our sidewalk lately. I guess this one has a heart on it. Cute.

Fun times. I like my little family!

that face

2011-03-31T11:32:00.000-04:00

I still just can't get enough of this precious little face.

From Mar 31, 2011

The blank stares. The inquisitive eyebrows.

From Mar 31, 2011

The smiling eyes.

And that tongue?!

What a crazy tongue Little Z has!

I think I've got a little flirt on my hands!

bandwidth and back in time

2011-03-29T15:10:00.000-04:00

Well, we are experiencing some technical difficulties over here. I've used Photobucket to host my photos for a few years now, but apparently I have exceeded my bandwidth of 10GB in a just a few days. (Elsa was just too popular!) I don't really understand how all of this works, but the bottom line is that I can either upgrade to a pro account and pay $25/year so that this will never happen again or I can wait until April 4th at which time my bandwidth will be reset to 0. Neither option sounds very appealing to me...

In the meantime, while I try to sort out what the heck to do and where in the world to start hosting my photos now, I thought I'd go back in time to about 3 years ago. March 2008. To some lovely wildflower fields. Just look how little my girls are!! Here's a link to the original post.

From wildflowers

an amazing day

2011-03-26T21:57:00.003-04:00

One of the most remarkable things about being a photographer is getting to be on the "inside" during some of the most poignant moments in people's lives. Today was one such day. My heart is still a beating with excitement, emotion and joy.

After a long, long, hard wait, my friend Emily's newest daughter, Elsa finally came home. And I got to be there to witness the event along with a huge brigade of friends. The Anderson family is one VERY loved family. It was an amazing day. Wow, just WOW.

Here are a few of my favorite photos:

Pretty much summarizes how we felt about waiting.

Just look at this brigade of friends who showed up to welcome Elsa home!

The first glimpse.

Here she comes.

Milo's welcome. Love the sign in her face!

Meeting her siblings.

What a beautiful face. She would not stop smiling, and just has a sparkle of light and joy in her eyes.

Welcome home, Elsa! We're excited you're home!

EDIT: So sorry for those of you who clicked in yesterday only to find no pictures on this post or anywhere else on my blog! I've resolved the problem now, and I'm hoping that won't happen again.

refresh

2011-03-02T14:44:00.001-05:00

David and I are attending a conference this week. The theme is "Refresh." It's a really great theme. Really great. Be refreshed. Who wouldn't want that? Refreshed in the sense of deep. soul. refreshment. Yes, I'm in need of refreshment. I've heard some really great speakers who have given me much to ponder. My prayer is that what has just hit my brain would make it's way into my heart too.

But, at the moment I'm sitting in my hotel room with a screaming baby who won't fall asleep.... We're in a single room, and so I can't get away from the screaming. That is not so refreshing. But, I know it will stop soon, and Z will fall asleep. Please, Z, fall asleep!!

Back to the theme. There are lots of things that refresh me, what about you? I'm the kind that likes things in small doses--I'm a more moderate personality, and so too much of any one thing is not refreshing. Take too much ice cream, for example. Makes my tummy hurt. Too much exercise makes me too tired. Too much time away from home makes me cranky. But, there is probably one thing that I can't get enough of. Cute photos of my kiddos. I'm addicted to those! So, I'll leave you with these of little Z. He's stuck in a bucket for fun.

{He is still screaming, by the way!}

chores, chores, chores.

2011-02-24T10:16:00.000-05:00

This post and the idea behind it was birthed more out of desperation than inspiration. But, maybe the two go hand in hand. Some of my best ideas come from being stuck and needing a way to move forward. Am I making any sense?

I think my workload has increased by 300% since the birth of #3. Seriously. My house shrunk by at least 50% if not more. All of a sudden not only was it terribly messy, but there was no where to put all the stuff! Ack. How does this happen?

Anyway, I needed some help, major help. Aside from dreaming about having a maid, chef, and personal servant, I was pretty stuck, and feeling very overwhelmed.

It had occurred to me that the girls are at really good ages to begin helping a lot more around the house. I will admit that their school schedule makes this very tough, but I still thought they could be inspired to do a little more than they were.

After chatting with a friend, I decided to implement a new system. The concept is simple. They girls are expected to do certain chores every day and certain other chores every week. They are rewarded for showing initiative.

Most are simple things like pick up after themselves before they go to bed, but others require some training like helping to cook dinner by chopping or peeling some vegetables. If they do their chores without having to be reminded, they get a reward. Usually 5 or 10 cents. On the contrary, if they do not do their chores and I have to do it for them, I get a reward, quite a bit more. Usually 25 cents.

That's a lot to keep track of, so we have three glass jars set out all the time. They all start out with $2 worth of coins in them. Mine is the large one in the middle. The girls are in charge of rewarding themselves, if they show initiative. And, if I do their chores, I'll pay myself as well.

At the end of the week, any extra money they have above $2, they get to keep. But, if they have less than $2, they refill their own jar back up with their own money.

The first week we used this system, the girls were sooo excited to do their chores, they were practically fighting over who go to be my helper. As the weeks have worn on, the novelty has worn off, and I have slacked off too, so we are not quite as diligent. But, in general, we are all working better together. And, I really like that the girls are learning how to contribute to the family too.

What are your best home-running ideas?

b is for bathtime

2011-02-22T11:23:00.000-05:00

Well hello, blog-world! I took a little break from blogging aparently! Life has been full with lots of life lately, and I just haven't been around. I am back today with some of my favorite photos--bathtime!

These photos make me smile, and I'm the mood to smile, so here you go. Hope they make you smile too!

organized living

2011-02-16T10:04:00.000-05:00

I love to organize. I always have. When I was four, my mom let me have a drawer in our built -in cabinets just for my stuff. I have no idea what I used it for, but I can distinctly remember sitting in front of my drawer on our burnt orange shag carpet sorting and organizing my stuff while my mom cooked dinner.

Organizing made me happy! Thirty years later, it still does!

A few years ago, I needed a simple solution for all of my plastic grocery bags. They were piled up on the bottom of my cabinet and seemed to explode out whenever I opened the door. There are lots of containers out there for purchase--IKEA makes a one, but it was just way too large for my space. I needed something small. My solution was simple.

I took an empty kleenex box....

...and put my grocery bags in it.

I have about three of these in around my house for various purposes. One for the kitchen, one for diapers and one for bathroom trash cans. I'm also planning to put one of these in my car because you just never know when you'll need a spare trash bag.

his first kisses

2011-02-15T10:15:00.000-05:00

I ran across these photos while working through my digital files. I'm all the way to September of 2010. Once I have them all organized, I'll get them printed. It's taking awhile because I have so many photos and must tweak one just a bit. Plus, haven't been spending much time at my computer much this past month. But, I am happy to report that all of my photos through April 2010 are happily resting in photo albums. Just the simple slide-in kind. It's so nice for them to have a home. And, now the girls and I can enjoy looking through them while they wait to be made into scrapbook pages....someday!

Here, Z is only one month old. The girls were getting ready for their ballet recital back in May, and had lipstick on. Can you guess which one of my girls planted this kiss on little Z?

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T11:09:00.000-05:00

Little Z is not sure what to think about his first Valentine's day. Why the perplexed face, Z?

The girls, of course, love it because it means getting lots and lots of candy from their friends at school.

Mmmm...M&M's. Who doesn't love M&M's?!

Happy Valentine's Day!

one of my little valentines

2011-02-10T09:33:00.001-05:00

Not much to say today, just want to wish you an early Happy Valentine's Day!

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Note from yesterday's post: my dear friend Kendra has corrected my tree classification from yesterday's post. Oak tree. It's an oak tree. Not an acorn tree. Thanks, horticulture major, for setting me straight!

no more acorns, please?

2011-02-09T09:52:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure why it took me four years to notice this, but we have an acorn tree in our back ally.

It produces lots and lots of acorns every fall.

This year, the girls and their friends decided to start collecting them in order to make necklaces.

I'll be really impressed if they actually complete one! The process is quite lengthy. First you have to remove the ends of the acorn by rubbing for a looonnng time.

Ten minutes later you get something that looks like this:

Next, you use a toothpick to poke out the fleshy part of the nut. It's sort of yellowish and grainy in texture.

Then, you finally end up with a hollow acorn shell.

Just repeat the process about 10 times...and maybe the girls will have a necklace or bracelet.

I wonder what else we could do with these acorns?

the effects of the mamma-razzi

2011-02-08T07:01:00.009-05:00

It's so nice when the girls play together in their room. They just don't have enough time to enjoy each other anymore now that they're in school all day! They were excited for some down time alone when little Z and I thought we should go take a lookey-lookey and find out what was so fun.

Upon knocking and entering, we were not greeted so warmly. I think we were crashing their party.

It must be hard living with the mamma-razzi. I mean, who wants each and every moment of their life documented? Miss M didn't mind letting me know how she felt about me snapping away.

"Leave us alone! We want to play with our ponies in peace!!"

Little Z was of course, fascinated by all the new toys. Miss A was mildly annoyed, but Miss M immediately scrambled up for a piece of paper and began furiously writing something down.

After a few minutes, we were ousted out of the girls' room. Well, technically I was the only one being ousted out, but where I go, little Z follows.

This sign was promptly posted on the door as it was firmly shut behind us.

Hmm...I think they want a break from me and my camera. Or maybe they just miss each other and don't want me crashing their party to take photos of them. Poor girls. They'll have a well documented life to thank me for one day.
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On a side note, thanks for all of your nice FB comments yesterday telling me that you enjoy this blog! They really do make my day. It is a fun way to keep in touch with friends all across the country, get to know new friends and deepen existing relationships. So, thank you for some feedback! It's nice to have a little encouragement every now and then :-)

repurposing a large frame: diy

2011-02-07T07:00:00.001-05:00

I hope you had a good weekend! We took a little family outing to IKEA on Friday night. It's a fun outing for everyone. We eat a cheap, yummy meal of sweedish meatballs and chocolate cake (I'm sure it's very healthy for us!), and then David and I get a little date night while the girls play in Small Land. They're brilliant to provide dinner and childcare and fun shopping all in one location. I love IKEA.

I will share my one little tip that we learned the hard way on Friday night. You must have your kids checked into childcare ONE HOUR before the store closes. I was not aware of that little factoid. So we arrived at Small Land at 7:08, and found out the store closed at 8:00pm, and that childcare was closed. It was a very sad moment for everyone. The girls love playing there, and we were looking forward to a little browsing time with just little Z.

Anyway, we ran into an old friend while shopping with the family. And, she totally made my night telling me that she checked this blog everyday! Really? Everyday? That's encouraging. I love hearing that someone reads this blog and enjoys it! Thanks, Jackie!

On to the subject of this post. Remember when I was stuck in a rut? I'm slowly working my way out of it. I decided to keep that large frame and repurpose it. I liked the size of it, and I didn't want to start from scratch, so I decided to try to work with it. I've been wanting to get more of my photography into my living room, and love how this turned out!

I had to tear off the backside of the frame and remove a bunch of staples and large piece of cardboard. When I took the actual print out, I realized it was glued to the matte board, so I just stuck my photos on top of the print by using the oh-so-high-tech scotch tape. Yes, scotch tape. In order to figure out what sized photos would work best, I took lots of measurements, and realized that I could fit 6 rows and 6 columns of 4x6 sized photos almost perfectly. The last column on the right is very slightly overlapped underneath the column beside it.

I just used photos that I already had on hand. (I have a box full still waiting for me to do something with them!) But, now that I know I love this, I'll probably be more diligent about printing out photos I love in order to put them in this frame.

Still don't love my sconces next to the large frame, but I'm so proud of taking a baby step! I'm thinking something more modern. Maybe some W's? I'm going for the non matchy-matchy look. Any more ideas?

if I could only have one baby "appliance..."

2011-02-03T07:01:00.001-05:00

...it would be our Gymini a.k.a. a baby play gym. We've had this thing for 8 years, and all three kiddos have loved it. From birth to nine months, Z is still enjoys playing on it.

What I love:
it's compact: it folds flat for easy storage.
it's customizeable: you can remove the toys or add more to your liking
it's bright and colorful, and that makes me happy.
it's easily washable: the little arches snap off, so that the flat part can be thrown in the washing maching
it's got a long life: newborns can lie on it and enjoy all the colors. 9 month olds still enjoy sitting on it, pulling the toys off and ummm, eating it?

Need I say more? I think this one's a keeper. I'm going to save it for my kids' kids. It's that good.

And, because I want to play along with Emily today, here are a few favorite "me-Z-and-the- Gymini" shots.

baby legs

2011-02-02T10:07:00.000-05:00

Every cute baby must have a pair of baby legs. I'd been looking on etsy for awhile and had not found any that I loved for a price that I loved (i.e. I'm a little bit cheap sometimes!) But, then, I read this blog post with a link to this DIY tutorial on how to make some.

Wow, they were so easy! I found knee-high socks at Target for just $2 a pair. That is a good price for baby legs, in my opinion.

My little baby model was not so into modeling. As soon as I lay him down for this shot, he rolled over. Again and again.

Oh well, he's off!

I experimented with an over-edge stitch on the first pair, which I do not recommend. Using a straight stitch was much more straight forward. (Pardon the pun!)

I think he likes them no matter what his daddy says!

one little piggy

2011-02-01T10:27:00.000-05:00

I kept Miss A home from school yesterday with a woozey head and a sore throat. It was soooo nice to have her home. I am sooo glad that I sent the girls to school this year, but I really miss having them home with me too.

Even little Z squealed with delight when he woke up from his first nap and realized that Miss A was still home. They played together, watched TV, and folded laundry (well, Miss A and I folded, and Z played peek-a-boo).

In the afternoon when she actually laid down on her bed, covered herself up, and fell asleep, I knew for sure that I had made the right decision.

hanging out on the bricks

2011-01-27T09:37:00.000-05:00

Just hangin' out on the bricks.

I think I'll go exploring.

Hmm...what's that tiny little thing?

Let me just grab it.

I think I'll taste it.

It's actually not very yummy at all.

And now, my hands are all dirty.

Oh well. What's going on over there?

Just a glimpse into little Z's life at 9 months. Everything is fascinating. And everything goes in the mouth.

the elusive three-kid-shot

2011-01-26T07:34:00.000-05:00

Getting a good shot of one kid can be hard enough. Two kids, a bit harder. And, now three, even harder. Of course, the baby factor makes it more challenging--any kid under 3 years is quite challenging. But, I do think that for each kid you add, there must be a x10 factor. So, getting a good shot of three kids=30x harder than getting a good shot of just one kid. Something like that. My math-brain is not working so well at the moment.

My favorite, but not my girls' favorite. I like the "personality" shots the best.

winter centerpiece {DIY}

2011-01-25T07:00:00.002-05:00

It's always bare and boring in January after the Christmas decorations come down. I've struggled to know what to put up after Christmas. I don't want to see red or green or gold anymore, but I'm not quite ready for Valentine's decor in January. I think I finally stumbled upon something that I like.

The idea began with a simple branch. I broke it off of some nearby shrubs--no, not my neighbor's. These were crazy-wild shrubs that grow along a nearby walking path. Trust me. No one will notice their absence. I was looking for a branch that had several off-shoots, and would look sort of tree-like.

I stuck mine in a carafe and used river rocks to support the base so that it would stand upright. At this point, David was seriously doubting my artistic abilities. What in the world are you doing bringing some dead branch into our house?! He didn't actually say those words, but we've been married 10 years, and I can tell you, that's exactly what he was thinking.

Oh, husband of little faith. Just wait. Next, I dug out some pretty little silk flowers. I really like the flowers, but didn't just love how they were arranged on the original stem. So, I pulled them off. There was a perfect little hole in the center of each flower.

They perfectly fit onto the ends of my dead branch. And now, it's not just a dead branch. It's a winter centerpiece! Totally easy, and totally free. I love that.

winter flower

2011-01-24T07:27:00.002-05:00

It's not really a flower, but it's shape reminds me of one! The girls found these on our walk last weekend too. If I ever get around to it, I'm hoping to hang this one on my wall somewhere. Happy Monday!

9 months.

2011-01-22T08:28:00.000-05:00

While we were on our walk last weekend, I thought I'd try a quick photo shoot with litte Z for his 9 month photos. The light was almost perfect, and the weather was beautiful. As soon as we set him down, he was enthralled by the feeling of grass on his feet. Maybe I'm a little slow, but the poor kid had never felt grass on his feet. He was interested in everything...but me and my big black camera.

Our conversation as I imagined it:

Hey Z, look at me!
Umm, I'm kind of busy here, whatchyou want?

Oh, Zeee, (insert best sing-song-y voice) look at maaaamaaa!
This stuff is sooo interesting.

Yo. Z. Look up!
Here's my foot, it feels so nice in this stiff brown stuff.

Okay, well, I do love those piggie toes. Good idea. I'll shoot those.

Go ahead, just ignore me. I'll capture you that way.

Pretty please, let's get just one looking-at-me-smiling shot, pretty, pretty please?
Hey, did I mention that my teeth were starting to hurt again?

Okay, mama, because I love you. I'll give you just one chance. You better be fast!

Well, that was fun, but I'm done now. Bye!

family silhouette

2011-01-20T07:16:00.003-05:00

We've been having some beau-ti-ful weather lately. Balmy. Lovely. Think warm sunshine, flip-flops and open windows kind of weather. I love it! I know you're jealous, but I have to document these things to remind myself that living in Florida is not-so-bad.

Anyway, we took advantage of it, and went for a family walk over the weekend. It was great. I forget how much I love being outside. I have become a hermit since living in Orlando simply because most of the time it's so stinkin' hot I can't stand it. There are many more photos to share, but for now, here's my new favorite of our family: a little silhouette action.

And, I'm just in time to play along with Emily's "Embrace the Camera" game. Well, it's not really a game, but it's sure fun!

it's short: the backstory

2011-01-17T10:13:00.000-05:00

It's interesting what a simple haircut will reveal about your kid's personalities.

I went to the salon on Friday morning with long-ish hair. Hair that desperately needed some style. It's so hard to get to the salon with a baby in your life--I was long overdue! The change was...dramatic to say the least!

It's a little shorter than I expected, but I'm getting used to it, and liking it most of the time.

With my scatterbrain, I ended up locking myself outside of my house, and since it was cold in FL on Friday, I decided to wait in my car in the garage to keep warm.

David had taken little Z to have lunch with the girls at school, but came back to let me in the house. When they pulled up next to me, I looked over and waved and smiled at little Z, who usually smiles back...but this time, he just stared at me. Sort of an open-mouth stare. Confused. Who is that woman smiling and waving at me?!
It took him a few minutes to realize that it was me. The women who gave birth to him and who takes care of him everyday.

When Miss M got home from school, she could not hide her shock. Upon seeing me, she screamed. Literally screamed like she had just seen a ghost. "You look UGLY!" she shouted, and could not contain her horror at my short hair. Nice, M, very nice. She's the dramatic one of the family.

Miss A sort of looked at me with wide-eyes. "Hmmm," she pondered aloud, "that's....interesting. I think it's okay." Very diplomatic and polite.

And, that about sums it up. I do love my children, but sometimes I'd love to pop them on the side of the head. Instead, I'll just blog about them and get it out that way :)

still working...

2011-01-14T14:47:00.000-05:00

...on getting my photos from 2010 ready to print. I've made it to June now! It's slow, but sure progress. I can't help but share some more of little Z. Here he is at one month old. He looks like a grumpy old man to me. A cute, grumpy old man, that is.

So, what do I do with all those photos I print? In theory, I make them into scrapbook pages. In reality, I put them in a box, and they sit on a shelf: some get scrapped, some do not--it's very haphazard. My new plan for this year is to purchase some simple photo albums--the kind that you just slide 4x6 photos into, and put my photos in chronological order into those albums. That way, I can at least admire them all while they are waiting to be made into scrapbook pages. I hope it works!

perfectly imperfect

2011-01-12T13:52:00.000-05:00

Today I'm working through my mass of digital files, trying to print everything from 2010 that I have not yet printed. That would be from May-December. Not bad, I guess, but since I take a lot of photos, and must edit them all before I print them, it's no small task.

And, it sort of reminds me that they don't have to be perfect before I print them. So what if the color is a little off in some of the photos?? I'm sure my kids are not going to be sitting there one day when I'm and dead and gone looking at my photos thinking, "Oh my gosh, can you believe that Mom did not color correct this photo??" Or, "Uh oh, she missed focus on the eyes on this one. The focus fell on the nose instead." Right. They're not going to care in the least!

But, as a photographer, these things are important to me. But, I'm learning to let go...

Little by little. The perfectionist is being rooted out. Motherhood is doing that to me, and lots of other life experiences, big and small.

I should be working on my photos, but I'm blogging instead. Because it's fun. And, I need FUN in my life :)

So I found these, from May 2010. Love the imperfection in them.

As you can see, Z is a very well loved baby. Too well loved, sometimes. It was the extra loving that pushed him over the edge here.

because I just can't get enough...

2011-01-11T07:01:00.005-05:00

...of my baby. Babies are highly addicting little creatures. Take little Z for example. Just when he's done it, and pushed me over the edge of my patience, he'll flash that winning little smile that makes my heart melt. It's impossible to be mad at him! I've tried. Really tried, but I just can not be mad at little Z. My girls find this highly annoying and say things like, "Mommy, how come you're never that nice to us? Were you that nice to me when I was a baby?" I assure them that if they were still as cute and cuddly as little Z, I'd be as nice to them now too.

On this particular day, Z was being totally annoying and it was definitely worth me being mad at him. He'd been learning to pull himself up in his crib, but would get "stuck" there, and want my help getting back down. Naps were non-existent and there was crying. Lots and lots of crying. But, when I finally went in to help him out, he was so happy to see me. How could I be mad at that sweet little face?

the red ball

2011-01-10T10:21:00.000-05:00

Every boy needs a ball. This one was $1 at my least favorite store to shop at. I just loathe Wallyworld, but still set foot in that place every once and a while. I suppose it was worth it that particular day, because we ended up with hours of entertainment, and some fun pictures. And, we all know that's what really matters in life...fun pictures.

In other news, David returns home in less than an hour after being gone for 5 days. The girls were great, and little Z was sort of great, except for the fact that he didn't sleep through the night once while David was gone. I'm kind of gonna crash very soon or have to get out the toothpicks to keep my eyes propped open. Nighty-night!

google reader tutorial

2011-01-07T07:03:00.015-05:00

Do you like reading blogs? Have friends who blog, but, don't have time to check them? Don't want to miss out on a post? Then you've got to start using Google Reader! It's only the next best thing to sliced cheese! Seriously.

First you'll need to have a gmail account. If you don't, you really need, they're great. Sooo great!

Next you, go to www.google.com/reader and sign in with your google account info.

Now, comes the fun part.

You'll see something like this. Go ahead and click on "add subscription." I've put a red star next to it so you can't miss it.

Then, just type in the name of the blog you want to follow. To give you an idea, I'll show you mine. I've signed in with my account, and I'm following my own blog. Umm, yeah, why not? You can add as many blogs as you like. Be careful, though, it can get addicting.

Every time there's a new blog post, it will appear in your Google reader without you doing a thing! Your unread posts will appear like an unread email, in bold. When you've read them, they will un-highlight themselves and go back to normal. And, if you really want, you can organize your subscriptions into folders. At one point I was subscribed to an overwhelming number of blogs, so felt the need to move my personal friends into a separate folder in order to prioritize them.

What if you accidentally enter the wrong blog address, or decide you don't want to follow a particular blog anymore? Just click on this handy drop down menu. You can unsubscribe and manage your blogs from here. This is also where you can organize them into folders.

Pretty nifty, eh?

But, it gets even better. Now, you can customize your own Google homepage. If you haven't ever done this you really need to. It makes life so simple. Everything you use all in one place. So, you should still be logged in to your account. Go back to google.com You should see this: Click on the little iGoogle link. Ready for your world to change?

By using i-Google, you can add your Google reader, and lots of other useful stuff like a calendar, the news the weather.....you get the idea. I use photobucket to host my pictures, and that is even linked up from my homepage. The best part is that you'll never have to click into another blog to read it, because they will be right in front of you when you open your homepage. (Of course, you can always click in to leave a little blog love--bloggers love comments :)

Happy blog reading! I hope this was helpful.

me and my four loves

2011-01-06T08:00:00.004-05:00

A picture says a thousand words. Enjoy!

Thanks to my friend, Emily, for taking these for us! I LOVE them! She hosts a weekly challenge on her blog called "embrace the camera" encouraging moms to get behind the camera themselves. Love it! I thought it would be a great week to join in her fun with these photos.

Happy New Year Resolutions 2011

2011-01-05T12:31:00.000-05:00

One of my New Year's Resolutions this year is to blog more often. I really enjoy it. It's a fun way to document little moments and get to know others as well. Along with that, I'm planning to make a blog book this year using a site called blurb. You can "slurp" you blog into a blurb book. It's great. You can also make photo books there.

So, I should probably get to posting more photos so that my book would actually represent our year and not just snippets here and there. I also want to get back to taking at least a photo a day. It has gotten so hard to do this!

Resolution #2 is to go to bed earlier so that I can work my way out of sleep deprivation. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've gotten to sleep through the night in the past few months. Little Z-man has been up a lot for one reason or another. Mothers of babies, I know you can relate! Sleep deprivation does not do pretty things to one's disposition. Especially mine. Sleep, I need more sleep!

Resolution #3: bring order to chaos. The flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants approach to life was working pretty well for me. And, then baby #3 came along, and life sort of ceased to function very well. Heaps of laundry, piles of stuff everywhere, sporadic trips to the grocery store only to come home and still not have the ingredients for dinner....you get the picture. Life was just getting a bit out-of-control.

So, I'm taking baby steps. First step: make a meal plan and follow it! On the simplest level, it's just writing down what I'm going to make for dinner and make sure I have all the ingredients I need. So far, it's making life much less chaotic. Second step: bring the whole family into doing chores regularly. Third Step: try to clean something & organize a space on a regular/rotating basis.

That's it. We'll see how I do! What are your New Year's resolutions?

bokeh how-to

2010-12-31T11:50:00.000-05:00

It's New Year's Eve Day, and I'm finally posting a Christmas-y photo. Better late than never, I say. Besides getting everyone's fun photos in the mail, another reason I love Christmas is for capturing the lights. This year I didn't get out much, but I did enjoy my own little tree at home.

If you tree is still up, you can try this too. Bokeh is the background blur in an image. It's a made from tiny bits of light that are out-of-focus. In my Christmas tree photo, the bokeh became the subject of my photo. You'll want to shoot at a wide aperture. In the photo below, I used my Tamron 28-75mm at f/2.8, the widest or most open aperture available. Switch to manual focus so that you're actually turning the focusing right yourself, and play around until you get an effect that you like.

It takes just a little practice, but it's a fun effect. Have fun! And, Happy New Year's Eve!

christmas photo album

2010-12-29T15:02:00.000-05:00

Wow, the month just flew by! I've missed blogging, but it was also nice to take a little break, even though it was unintentional. I've been a rather sporadic blogger this past year. Maybe 2011 will be different?

One of my favorite things about Christmas is receiving our friends' family photos. Really. I love photos (no surprise), and it's always nice to get a little glimpse of how kids have grown, even if I can't keep up with everyone throughout the year.

I display our photos here on the wall rather informally.

Several years ago, I decided that it was a real shame to toss everyone's photos after Christmas, so I purchased a cute little photo album. Nothing crafty about it. Just a regular album that you can slide 4x6 photos into and out of.

When it's time to put away Christmas decorations, I take down my photos, and put them into our album. If they're too big (like those long envelope-length cards), I just cut off what doesn't fit, and slide them in. Our album sits on our end table throughout the year so that my girls can look though it and be reminded of who our friends are. Some are long-time friends, some are new friends, but I love how it helps them to know that we are loved and part of a bigger community of people who live all across the country.

bartelt family

2010-12-12T14:46:00.002-05:00

These three boys are just the cutest. They really are. So well behaved and photogenic too. We were all a bit under the weather--coughing and sneezing together during this shoot, but I still think we managed to get some nice images. Enjoy!

photo booth

2010-12-12T13:28:00.000-05:00

How many Christmas parties have you been to this year? Our office party this year was particularly fun because they brought in a Photobooth. You know, the kind you go in, hide behind the curtain, and come out with prints? Real, live, prints? It was so fun. The girls were in school, so it was just David and I with little Z. I loved what we captured. So fun!

the cortez family

2010-12-10T11:40:00.000-05:00

I really enjoy getting glimpses into families lives as I photograph them. It's such a treat for me. I learned that Mike used to be a firefighter in Manhattan during the time of 9/11. He has an incredible story. I also loved photographing their little guy. He is such a cutie! Don't you agree?

hand family

2010-12-02T09:15:00.000-05:00

I'm so lucky to get to take photos for so many of our good family friends. These guys are great! And sooo picture perfect. I joked with them that they couldn't take a bad picture, and it's really true. Shannon told me when their oldest was a baby, she would get her pictures taken for fun because was so entertained by the experience. I can totally see that--she's such a good performer! It must run in the family. They couldn't have made my job any easier. Thanks for a fun, easy session, guys!

thankful

2010-11-30T14:06:00.003-05:00

It's become our tradition every Thanksgiving to make "thankful links."

We've been doing this since Miss A was 15 months old and Miss M was 3. Back then, we asked the girls to tell us something they were thankful for and we wrote it down for them. Now, we each write our own!

I use old scrapbooking paper to cut long 1-1/2 inch strips. This year I used Christmas colors: red, dark red, green and white. We had the parade on in the background as we were doing this. It was really low key. Everyone can write as many or as few as they'd like, and take as long as they want to finish. When everyone is done, we staple the strips together to make a long chain-link. The girls love it, and it's become a fun tradition.

What are your favorite traditions?

ballet hangover & a sad story

2010-11-23T11:00:00.000-05:00

I think I'm almost over it--our ballet hangover, that is. It's what happens to our family twice a year a full week of rehearsals, late nights and ballet buns, tights and leotards. It usually takes us a few days to recover. But, it's worth it.

This year the girls' Nutcracker recital was bumped up a bit, so as to lessen the craziness of the Christmas season. It was so much better in November! And, it sort of launched me into the Christmas spirit. Sort of. As much as one can have the Christmas spirit while living in central Florida.

Now for the sad story. The day after the recital, we actually had a date on the calendar. A real date where you get a babysitter and take a shower and go out with just your spouse. It hasn't happened very often since little Z was born, sadly. So, we were really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, Miss M began to feel ill--on the day of our date!! But, we decided to go for it anyway, leaving our sitter with instructions to call if something bad happened. And, it did. Just as we arrived at our destination, my cell phone rang. Miss M had just thrown up. Lovely. So, there was no date. Now, isn't that a sad story?

technical difficulties

2010-11-18T09:10:00.004-05:00

EDIT:
Thanks to some help from my friend, Lisa, and a little bit of luck, the photos are all straightened out!

So, I like the new layout except for the fact that I'm having technical difficulties and my photos are not showing up anymore. I really have no idea what the problem is. Yesterday I changed so many things on the blog--the layout, the footer, and adding pages--that I'm not sure how to find the problem. The site I use to host my photos, Photobucket, is still hosting all my previous images, so I can't imagine there is a problem there.

Oh, and I've checked the blog using three different browsers. My photos show up using Google Chrome (but the blog is all funky now), but not in Mozarella Firefox (that what the girls call it) or Explorer.

Anyway, if you're a technical sleuth, feel free to give me your input. I'd sure appreciate it. My momma brain is not functioning so well on the little sleep I've been getting lately!

Thanks, friends!

after school

2010-11-17T15:07:00.032-05:00

I'd begun to hate our after school routine. I'd hear myself say things like, "you can do that (whatever, you fill in the blank) AFTER you finish your homework."

The public school schedule is not for the faint of heart! It's a ton of work to just keep up. Papers. Homework. Sign this. Sign that. Return this. Money for that. I get weary just thinking about it.

So, I'd decided to boycott the schedule one day. I mean, they're just first and third graders. Does life have to be so scheduled and serious all the time. Sheesh!

So, we've started playing before we do our homework. Yeah, I know. It's radical, but it had to be done. Play first, then work. That's what I say. Not everyday, but a lot of days.

Miss A took the camera for the first one below. And, Miss M showed us what she thought of that.

Click on in and check out my new layout. It's in progress, but I think I'm really gonna like the larger pictures. I'm working on a few more tabs, so for now, the Archives and Labels are in the footer, waaaayyy at the bottom.

the stephens family

2010-11-16T11:24:00.006-05:00

It's been my treat to photograph this family from the very beginning when Amanda was just pregnant with the twins. Every time we meet up something memorable happens. This time was no exception. Just moments after we started shooting, one of the twins literally flipped head over heels off of a bench and landed head-first in the dirt. Luckily, I was nearby and caught him by the ankle so as to pad his fall.

He is one tough little dude. The fall did not even phase him, and he went right along his merry way.

"Happy Feet." We really needed video to do their little dance justice. Just check out their leg action! They're getting jiggy with it. So cute.

six month portraits

2010-11-12T08:00:00.005-05:00

Since I've been busy taking everyone else's family photos, I thought I'd better take Z's 6 month portraits too.

He wasn't super smiley--we did this right before nap time.

But, he loved all the attention from M & A trying to get him to smile at the big black thing I always stick in his face. David's job was to be the "catcher" just in case Z he fell off the chair...

...which he actually did at the very end of our short 10 minute session. But, David caught him-- just barely--before his head hit the floor. Too bad I didn't get a photo of that!

the kelly family

2010-11-11T13:58:00.011-05:00

It's always a pleasure to meet up with our friends, Pete and Chanin. Not only are their children adorable, but they really know how to work the camera. Now, I'm not gonna lie to you, photographing small children is not an easy job. But in my experience, sometimes the most difficult children are the most interesting to photograph. Because they are real. And, true to themselves.

Everyone's having fun here. Except possibly Pete, who is getting pummeled by his son bouncing up and down on his back.

Here's the grumpy face. "I'm mad. I'm frustrated!" And, quite honestly, he was for most of the session.

I LOVE this one. Possibly my favorite image from our session. He reminds me of a monkey here. And, since I know how much Chanin ~~mocks~~ loves Curious George, it's just perfect.

Isn't she just beautiful? Like mother, like daughter!

You guys did awesome! And, I had fun with you.

playtime

2010-11-09T19:16:00.004-05:00

Now that I'm scooting around so much, my momma has starting putting me in here.

She calls it playtime.

But, I know better.

It's really confinement.

I guess I don't mind it too much.

As long as she doesn't sit in front of that computer-thing all day.

And forget to play with me too.

friday faces

2010-11-05T13:15:00.002-04:00

It's Friday. Time for me to post pics of little Z. He's perked up so much these past two weeks. The poor little guy was just not so energetic previously. Now, he's so active!

This week he...

started army crawling across the floor

in order to eat his sister's math homework

and grab at her binder that he knows he's not supposed to have.

Hmm...I see a mischievous little brother in the making!

Happy Friday!

tis the season...

2010-11-04T14:59:00.005-04:00

...for family photos..fa la la la, la la la laaaaa. Is it Christmas already? What is up with all the holiday decor in all the stores now. Just because it's November, does not mean it's time for Christmas!!

I've gotten rather lazy about posting my favorites from photo sessions. I thought I'd start with the most recent and work my way back....waaayyy back. So, here goes. I had a great time meeting up with this fun family last week. They were perfect--had fun with each other, and were just themselves. The littlest guy totally stole the show. I mean, he was Mr. Personality!

Here he is checking out his toe. Something was wrong with it not sure what.

Then, he totally perked up...

...and was off running....straight to Dad.

Wha-pow! Showing me his hands...what a little cutie! But, there were other members of the family present. And, I got some photos of them too.

The kids loved showing me their hands...

and twirling for me.

And, just to prove that it really was a family session:

Had a great time with you guys!

Can't wait to see which photos you pick :)

update

2010-10-28T13:20:00.002-04:00

Wanted to give you a quick update on little Z-man. His blood work came back looking great. So, he is a very healthy little baby, and is doing just fine. We're so thankful. It was quite an emotional roller coaster for a few days. Thanks for your prayers and for thinking of us!

I've definitely been taking more time to just stop and enjoy him. And my girls. They are such little blessings! Happy Thursday :)

6 months

2010-10-22T13:48:00.003-04:00

It's hard to believe that little Z is already 6 months old! He's definitely the highlight in our lives. Such a happy, mellow baby.

We had a bit of a scare at his 6 month appointment yesterday that caused our doc to request some blood work. I sort of felt like my heart was in my stomach the rest of the day. My emotions are definitely a bit raw at the moment. It's really forced me to continue to entrust my little Z to God, who I believe is good, and who I believe knows all things and will be with me in all things. And, that is my comfort.

But, I have to be honest, I'm a little scared.

The bottom line is simple--rather than continuing to grow at the same fast, rate that he has been, over the last two months, his growth has dropped off quite considerably. Rather than gaining weight over the last two months, he's actually lost weight. We began yesterday to increase his calorie intake dramatically.

We are hopeful that this will solve the problem.

You can say a little prayer for us and for Z in the meantime. We should get the test results back early next week. Thanks, friends!

stuck in a rut

2010-10-15T14:11:00.002-04:00

If you could have been a fly on my wall last week, you might have thought you were spying on a crazy person. Insanity=doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

That was me. Taking pictures off my walls, hanging them in different places expecting it to look different. The result? A lot of the same, and very little change.

I've been staring at my walls for the past year or so feeling rather dissatisfied. Not feeling them anymore, wanting a change. I've outgrown them somehow. At least, they don't feel like they fit me anymore. I hate that. I want to LOVE what I see on the walls of my home. I want them to be an expression of me.

Little by little, small spaces have changed. But, the big ones remain. And, the insanity comes out.

I'm a big fan of re-purposing items. I found another use for a frame that I loved. I'll show you that later. But, for today, here's my dilemma.

Maybe I just need to start from scratch this time? Help?

falling leaves

2010-10-14T14:48:00.005-04:00

Floridians are seriously lacking in the seasons, so we have to make up our own. Down in the town of Celebration, which is very near Disney, they throw a "falling leaves" festival. Or should I say falling pieces of paper? It's pretty remarkable that they turned this idea into an event!

Check 'em out: tissue paper "leaves."

We had a few minutes to spare before the big event, so the girls had some fun of their own, scooping up the "leaves" and tossing them in the air.

Still a few minutes to spare, so we checked out this fountain. More fun, running around, balancing on the edge...and giggling.

Just to prove David and I were there too.

Here I am, why you always sticking that big black thing in my face, Mom?

And, the moment we've all been waiting for: falling "leaves." Yay!

Umm, okay, that was fun. It's over already?

It was festive, at least, and we really did have fun. There was a free hayride too, but somehow we missed this. Next year, maybe!

the pumpkin patch

2010-10-13T13:45:00.002-04:00

We stumbled upon this pumpkin patch by accident on our way to a "falling leaf" event last weekend. Let's just say the pumpkin patch should have been our destination.

Here's a little preview of our night.

friday night black and whites

2010-10-08T19:41:00.003-04:00

Sitting around late in the afternoon by a window provided some dramatic lighting--a perfect opportunity to shoot some silhouettes! As soon as the big black camera comes out, little Z gets his serious face on. He's so curious about everything! A very concentrated little guy. Here he is, serious face and all.

Happy Friday night!

its the mundane that matters

2010-10-01T09:27:00.002-04:00

Life is full of ordinary moments. That's where I live mine. Firmly planted in the mundane. Little Z-man's mundane is so not-mundane to me, though. I love these little moments!

From Z's perspective:

Sucking on my toes. Because they taste sooo good! And, they make a cheap teether. Yes, I'm teething. Everything goes into my mouth. Yum. Why are you taking my picture? Can't a boy just suck his toes in peace? Sheesh.

Laying around on my tummy just playing with blocks.

Sucking on my towel after my bath. Yummy.

I'm loving my rice cereal now too. I don't mind that it tastes like cardboard. I eat it anyway.

Sitting on the potty. What?!? Yeah, my mom is crazy thinking that she can teach me to pee into the potty, but I'm humoring her. And, just to make her happy, I actually peed in it once, but I like my diaper better.

monday morning

2010-09-27T08:45:00.008-04:00

The girls are gone, the Z-man is asleep, and once again, it's eerily quiet at my house. Those first few moments of quiet on Monday are so strange.

Embracing the silence, and moving on...

Now, what to do? Cleaning out and organizing have taken top priority recently.

Let's go into the girls' room.

All of their stuffed animals are supposed to fit into this nifty little pink mesh-thing:

But, upon further inspection, I find, stowed away in an under-the-bed-box, this little guy. (There were quite a few other stowaways with him!)

So, being the ~~mean~~ reasonable mom that I am, I gave the girls a choice to make all the animals fit in the pink-mesh-thing themselves, or to let me take care of it for them (i.e pitch them myself.)

The result was this motley crew, delivered to my room with "ransom" notes around each of their necks. I was informed that I was the cause of splitting up families, that certain daughters would never see their mothers again, and that brothers and sisters were being parted forever.

Seriously? Oh, the drama.

And, yes, I'm sorry, Black Dot, but I'm sure you and the others will find a nice home somewhere else. Good bye!

sunday afternoon

2010-09-26T16:07:00.005-04:00

Sunday afternoon at my house means it's time to get ready for the week.

It's school snack prep time!

Each week is so busy, that I've found it's much easier to prep all the snacks at once at the beginning of the week, so that during the week, the girls can just grab the items they need for their lunch bags.

Our favorite snack is popcorn, popped traditional style. Yum!

Start with one cup of kernels.

Add three kernels to a large pot. The bottom should be covered with thin layer of oil. Turn on high heat and cover. Just wait until those three kernels pop. Then, add the cup of kernels, and your favorite popcorn seasoning. I use some special butter-flavor seasoning.

Shake the covered pot vigorously until all the kernels are finished popping. Be careful when removing the lid. There are usually a few kernels that pop at the very end.

Remove the popcorn to a large bowl, and wait a few minutes for it to cool.

Then comes the fun part: bagging it all up! The girls love to help with this part. We just put these little bags into our pantry, and each day the girls grab one for their lunch bag. Yummy, healthy, and simple!

I also prep a few other things like applesauce. I like to buy a large jar, and dish out individual containers myself. Maybe it's the environmentalist or the frugalista in me, but I'm pretty sure that re-using my own containers is both better for the environment and more economical in the end.

When I'm on a roll, I cut up celery and carrot sticks, cantaloupe and honeydew melon as well. They all keep well pre-cut. Just add a few ice cubes to your celery and carrot stick containers. They make nice, easy sides for meals as well.

You don't need school-aged kids to do this. It really makes life simpler to prep fruit and veggies ahead of time. Happy chopping!

it's officially fall!

2010-09-23T12:47:00.005-04:00

Yay! Four years later, I'm not grumbling quite as much about the apparent lack of season change. I still miss it though. Terribly!

So, to compensate, as SOON as September 1st rolls around, all my fall decorations come out.

This is sort of how I feel about fall in Orlando: it's in black and white, right? And, you can't see any color changes!

Ahhh, now that's better. I can see color again! I make it my personal mission to "search" for fall every year. I'm finally noticing slight changes in certain trees and bushes. Some things actually do die here. I don't know why, but they do.

And, if you look really, really hard, you can actually find some red and orange leaves. Shocking, I know.

My fall theme seems to be pumpkins. They're just so cute! I love them!

Miss M's photo shoot

2010-09-22T14:18:00.011-04:00

I took Miss M out a few days ago to shoot her 8 year old portraits. First, she wanted to do some jumping shots like we did a few years ago for our family portraits.

It was late afternoon, and the sun was still pretty high in the sky, but this location was in the shade, and the lighting was nice.

As we were walking over to our next location, we got waylaid by some small creatures.

Miss M just LOVES searching for bugs in plants.

As we passed by a group of bushes, she discovered some baby caterpillars.

This pretty much sabatoged the rest of our photo shoot.

Out of the thirty minutes we spent together, twenty were spent in the bushes or with the caterpillars. Not exactly what I had in mind, but okay.

I got about five minutes in the field, then it was back to the caterpillars.

The sun was still pretty high in the sky. Not ideal lighting for portraits, but I wanted to try anyway.

I made sure the sun was over my right shoulder, and placed Miss M so that the side of her face was lit, so that she wouldn't be squinting at the camera.

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the effect.

Making an "8" with the rocks was M's idea. She's got a mind of her own. Can you guess what she's looking at on the leaf? Yep, it's a caterpillar.

5 months

2010-09-20T10:05:00.004-04:00

The little Z-man is five months old today.

I love this little guy so much!
He's such a happy and mellow little baby, and very interested in everything.
He's great.

I'm in love, yet so exhausted that I just want to sleep. All. the. time.

It's like a dual existence. Happy and miserable all at once. How is that possible?

(Little Z is napping now, and I hear my bed calling my name.)

8 is great

2010-09-17T08:54:00.004-04:00

It's Miss M's 8th birthday today. Wow, eight!

She's getting so big. I wonder if I'll ever stop saying that?

She's having a small "party" tonight with one friend. They get to eat pizza, have cake and watch a movie. "Return of the Jedi" is the movie of choice. I'm sure there will be some dressing up of their dolls as well.

Doll clothes and Star Wars. Love it! Eight is great!

(Oh, and I'm missing a photo for this year...I guess I've been too busy taking photos of my baby. I'll have to make that right very soon!)

fun friday

2010-09-10T12:02:00.004-04:00

It's been a not-so-fun week at my house.

I've been lying around sick-y most of the week, thus my lack of blogging.
No fun.

But, I did finally get out of the house last weekend, and headed to Target
where I found these cute shoes on the clearance rack for only $10.
Very fun!

That was right before I went to Chili's with some friends and started to feel like I was going to faint.
No fun.

So little Z and I have been lying around together on the floor all week.
He's laughing at us now, playing peek-a-boo, grabbing his feet, and rolling over both ways.
Very fun!

Hope you've had a fun Friday!

happy thoughts.

2010-09-03T10:02:00.005-04:00

It's the little things in life that make me happy.

These photos make me happy.
Three day weekends make me happy.
Jazzercise makes me happy.
8 hours of consecutive sleep makes me happy.
Fridays make me happy.

What makes you happy?

getting organized

2010-09-02T09:57:00.005-04:00

September is here. School has begun. It's time to get organized.

Some of you know I'm a Jazzercise instructor. I know it sounds so 80's-ish, but believe me, if you haven't been to Jazzercise lately, you haven't been to Jazzercise. It's an awesome workout that will kick. your. butt. Seriously. You should check it out.

Anyway, I digress. We have an amazing instructor team this Fall. There are four of us. Four. Wow. I am so excited! With four of us, trying to figure out our teaching schedule was a bit of a mental challenge.

So, I thought a little visual aid might help. I started with some circles, one color per person, and added our initial to make it more fun.

I then arranged them on a little calendar that I made. Here's the artsy shot.

And, voila! It was so much easier to see our options and trade out days to find what would work best. I'm going to make sure the circles are not affixed permanently so that we can make changes as needed.

You can use this idea too. How about a chore chart? Or a school schedule? Just change out the AM/PM for subjects or chores. Be creative!

Oh, and just in case you workout with us, this schedule is not yet finalized. We'll let you know when it is!

mush-aboom

2010-08-31T15:04:00.005-04:00

With all the afternoon rain lately, there has been quite a mush-aboom around here.

A prolific growth of mushrooms, that is.

The girls are fascinated by them, and often stop to pick them off their stems. After a brief lecture on the dangers of poisonous mushrooms and forbidding the girls to ever ingest them, I got off my motherly soapbox, and became quite fascinated myself.

Mushrooms are really quite amazing to look at, don't you think?

i miss them!

2010-08-27T14:37:00.003-04:00

It's been a long week, friends! The first week of school.
After two years of home educating the girls, we're trying something new this year, and sending the girls to public school. It's been a HUGE change.

It felt so strange on Monday when they walked out the door. It was so quiet. Quiet enough that I could actually hear myself think. Very bizarre.

I really miss them being around. But, I really love the silence too. Tasks that have been on my "to do" list for months have finally been accomplished this week. And, I feel like I have space again to just "be."

I think little Z misses them too!

my little beauty

2010-08-26T20:26:00.004-04:00

I took Miss A out a few weeks ago to snap her 6 year portraits. I was really looking forward to it being a special bonding time. But, Orlando in August is so stinkin' hot, muggy and buggy that it wasn't enjoyable at all.

It had just rained, so there were puddles of water everywhere. And, it was so humid that as soon as we stepped out of the car, my lens fogged up. This weather is for the bugs. Not for human beings.

it's a bird...

2010-08-24T09:45:00.002-04:00

...it's a plane

....it's a flying zebra??

Just because I'm 4 months old, does not mean I'm an idiot! C'mon guys, do you really expect me to fall for this??

But, I just can't stop watching. They're soooo mesmerizing.

On a different note, thanks for all your comments a few posts back! It's nice to know who's out there in blog-land with me. And, if you haven't told me yet, you can do it! Just click on in and leave me some blog-love :) Don't be shy now.

i still do

2010-08-20T15:57:00.005-04:00

I met Ashley 16 years ago just after our freshman year of college while participating in a summer project with Campus Crusade for Christ in Myrtle Beach. We've kept in touch over the years, but hadn't seen each other since that summer.

I was so honored when she contacted me about taking photos of her special day. After 13 years of marriage and 5 children later, she and Michael wanted to renew their wedding vows. It was such a touching ceremony, and I'm so glad that I got to capture it for her!

good one.

2010-08-20T07:52:00.005-04:00

It was off to "Meet the Teacher" night last night for the Wood family.

Picture a huge elementary school building large enough to hold 900 students, but that has parking for only about 100 vehicles. Finding a place to park is a real challenge to say the least. I don't know who planned the school, but they get an "F" for thinking through the parking issue.

You'd think that the neighboring property manager would cut the school some slack, right? Wrong. Not even an hour after we parked, our mini-van was towed from outside the school property. We weren't the only ones either. Not one, but two tow-trucks arrived on the scene just shortly before "Meet the Teacher" night was over.

Let's think this through: the HOA dude knows that he's causing not only one, but at least two children to be stranded without a ride home on the night they are inside an elementary school meeting their teachers. Good one, dude. That's real classy.

Here's a photo of our mini-van being hauled off. You can also see the second one in the distance.

Photo credit: David Nagy

hit me up

2010-08-18T19:40:00.005-04:00

I know you're out there, blog readers.
Some of you tell me you read my blog (thank you! :)
And, some of you don't. Maybe you use Google Reader (I do!) and don't often click in to say "hi."

I know you're busy. I know you probably read lots of blogs. Us bloggers tend to be that way.

So, here's what I'd love for you to do. Click in and say "hi." So that I know you're there. And, that I'm not just blowing steam in my little part of the blog-o-sphere for nothin'.

One-two-three, click! And, while you're at it, follow me, if you'd like. I've added that nifty little "Follow Me" button on the right sidebar. I don't have any fabulous prizes to offer you as an incentive.

Just know that you'll make me happy and send a little love my way.

Otherwise, little Z might make his sad face at you, and we wouldn't want that, would we?

math games

2010-08-16T09:27:00.002-04:00

It's the last week of summer vacation at our house. Next week, it's back to school. I thought some review could be good, and found a fun way to review math facts. Shhh...don't tell the girls. I spun this one as a "game."

You can play too, if you like. This one is called "Fifteens." Start by dealing four rows of four cards each. The goal is to remove all the cards into your discard pile. Tens, Kings, Queens, and Jacks of the same suit must be removed all at once. The rest can be removed in any number of cards that add up to 15. You win if all the cards are discarded. Happy adding!

the treasure party

2010-08-15T19:41:00.005-04:00

Miss A's treasure party was a lot of fun.
Lucky for me, the Dollar Tree was selling wooden treasure boxes for $1 each.

Next, Mr. Wood helped lead the kids through a treasure hunt at our neighborhood park. He's quite clever, you see, and came up with four riddles for the kids to solve. Each riddle led to the next riddle. After all four riddles were collected, the reverse side made a puzzle picture of their "treasure." Miss A said this was her favorite part of the party.

La piece de resistance. The treasure cake. I'll be honest. Making cakes like this stress me out. You pretty much have one shot at it, and if it goes badly, it's all over. Thankfully, this bunch of 6-year-olds thought it was great and were quite happy with my feeble attempt. Oh, and they all loved those chocolate coins.

All in all, it was a great time. And now, I'm all partied out.

from a to z

2010-08-12T13:08:00.003-04:00

In honor of Miss A's birthday, here's one of her with little Z.

We now have kids from "A" to "Z."
Get it??
Ha, ha...forgive my cheesiness.

my littlest girl...

2010-08-11T13:46:00.005-04:00

...is not so little anymore. She'll be 6 tomorrow. Six. Wow. How dies this happen?! Enjoy this little walk down memory lane. I've enjoyed reminiscing today while digging up these old digital files. Priceless.

let them eat cake

2010-08-10T15:16:00.003-04:00

It's Miss A's birthday this week, so I have cake on my mind.

This was David's birthday cake. Black Forest. Yummmmm...

Miss A has requested a "treasure" party complete with a treasure cake, and a treasure hunt, and a treasure chest, and a "stick-the-jewel-on-the-treasure-chest" game. Whew! That's a lot of treasuring.

our little getaway

2010-08-08T21:10:00.007-04:00

I've always wanted to do a little beach vacay.
And, so we finally did.
I highly recommend Siesta Key. It's beautiful.

Sadly, I took only about 4 pictures while we were there.
It's much more difficult to play photographer when you're always holding a baby. I love little Z, so it's okay. But, there aren't many photos to share with you.

I loved this vacation so much because we were not wired to anything. We had time to just relax and enjoy each other. Goodbye, Siesta Key! I hope to see you again soon.

Mr. Basil

2010-08-07T20:00:00.003-04:00

Meet Mr. Basil.

Would you believe that this large herb started from a simple seed packet? It's true. Water, soil, seeds and some TLC is all it's taken to grow this massive plant.

It's been Miss M's pride and joy. She's very attentive to Mr. Basil. And, if you'd like some, she's selling it in bunches for $0.50. But, she only delivers locally. My little entrepreneur.

i've got my chub on.

2010-06-24T12:04:00.006-04:00

Well, hello there!
It's been two months since I met you.
And I've been busy.
Putting on some serious chub.

Just check out my belly.
I'm really quite proud of it.
And if you think that's something...

Just look at my legs.
Aren't they impressive?

sisterly love.

2010-06-14T09:50:00.005-04:00

Before little Z was born, I was a bit bored, just sitting around waiting for him to come. I decided it was time to hit the scrapping again.

This one goes back to 2008. I'm not exactly a chronological scrabooker. I'm almost finished with my 2006 album, and am concurrently working on 2007, 2008, 2009, and now 2010. At least I'm fairly organized about the process, just not chronological. I guess I stay motivated that way, working with photos that I love first, and finishing up the odds and ends later.

one month.

2010-05-21T08:48:00.001-04:00

Just one month ago, this little guy entered our world.
We just love him so much!

flower.

2010-05-09T17:37:00.004-04:00

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! And, to all my mom-friends, "Happy Mother's Day" to you too! Thank you, Andrew and Lucy for these beautiful flowers after baby boy's arrival. They brought cheer to my room for many days.

in love.

2010-04-29T20:01:00.002-04:00

first impressions

2010-04-27T10:35:00.004-04:00

Watching the girls meet their baby brother for the first time was amazing. They were so delighted and full of joy and wonder. His tiny little toes were particularly cute to them. These are such precious memories!

our new little man

2010-04-23T17:21:00.001-04:00

He finally arrived Tuesday morning at 3:02am. We're in love!

the nursery

2010-04-17T10:05:00.006-04:00

It's still empty, but here it is, just waiting for a baby boy to come along. Any day now, any day! The picture frames will be much happier once they are filled with the newest little Wood's face.

seniors & {best friends}

2010-04-05T20:58:00.004-04:00

I've been purposefully backing away from taking on any photo shoots lately, but this one was a must-do! Best friends and graduating seniors. What a fun session!