160. Not too shabby.

I started this blog last January 5th. It was meant to be a Project 365 blog, where I post a picture every day. While I believe I've posted at least 365 pictures, it was not even close to being every day. But I did post 160 entries in 2007. Really, that's a little less than every 3 days. I'm not complaining. And yet, I have people telling me, POST MORE!

I'm ashamed to admit that I never posted a post-Christmas wrap-up, regarding our holiday. Mostly because I didn't take a single picture. We shot some video footage, which may never see the light of day... courtesy of Matt being 1. too lazy and 2. not being able to figure out how to edit/load/etc the footage we've shot.

Needless to say, the kids LOVED it. Abbie showed up at 6:30am looking quite bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to inform me that Santa had indeed come. He even left a note and presents!! Can you believe it?!

Abbie received a Lap Harp, which Santa confided he was worried would be to "old" a gift for her. But she LOVES it. Can totally play it, and I have woken up every single morning to the tinkling of her playing. It's wonderful.

Santa brought Anna an easel, even though she's been far from pleasant lately. He did, however, withhold gum from her stocking, due to recent events, while everyone else got some. She was amazed that Santa knew!

Miles ended up getting totally spoiled. I feel so guilty. Next year I'm going to have to tell Santa that Miles doesn't need Trains & Cars & Dinosaurs & ...

But far and away the favorite gift were the two fantastic condition 16" girls' bikes I received from an extremely kind and giving lady off of Freecycle. It was a Christmas Miracle. Now if only I could find training wheels that actually work! Curse you Schwinn!

I actually received my Christmas present early so that I could put it to good use. But Matt surprised me with an Electric Griddle which I've been wanting for years, due to our Sunday tradition of Breakfast for Dinner. Mmm. Bacon.

Santa bought Matt some of the inner workings (4GB of RAM and a 400 GB Hard Drive) for a new computer he has plans to build. But Matt also ended up with a couple other random small surprises.

Overall, we're giving ourselves the gift of organization. Considering that we're expecting our 4th child, and we are already feeling quite cramped in this 1200 square feet, 3 bedroom duplex... we needed to either move to a bigger place or get organized. Also taking into consideration the lack of sufficient pay raise we've received since we were expecting #3... we're not moving. We're pretty sure that's official. We just laid down a bundle at IKEA on shelves, etc to maximize our living space. We relocated my computer/office area from our tiny bedroom, to the dining area we rarely use. Matt FINALLY figured out what was wrong with our wireless network, after two years of trying. So, yay! We're wireless!

And now, 2008 is upon us. Yikes! Just over 3 months till Eng v. 4.0 shows up. Lots to do, so very little time. I really dislike making resolutions, so I'm not gonna. But I will say that my plan is to post here more, play with my family more and worry less.

2007. A Year in Review. A contest.

What you've all been waiting for!

The following images are my favorites from 2007! It was unbelievably difficult to choose since I have loved every session.

The photo that gets the most votes will receive a 11x14 of that image. 2nd & 3rd will each receive an 8x10 of that image!!!

Feel free to forward this contest onto friends and family...ANYONE can vote! Just by visiting my blog and checking things out?...Your vote counts too =)

Just make your choice in the Poll at the end of this post to choose who you want to win. If you can not add your vote to the ballot box, just add a comment to this post with the number you choose.Use the number above each image to make your choice.

Voting will end Jan. 10, 2008. Please...only ONE vote per person. No cheating ;-) I can check the IP addresses of the votes and if there are multiple votes from the same IP address, you will be disqualified.

In Random order......

#1

#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
#10
#11
#12
#13
#14
#15
#16
#17
#18
... Now, simply vote in the Poll below!


Thank you SO MUCH for a fabulous 2007 and now on to an even better 2008!!

IF!

You were a client of mine in the past year, you'll want to keep your eyes on my blog in the next week... I'll be holding a contest of sorts...

One for now.

Had such a blast, but man!

I'm either:
1. getting old
2. fat
3. out of shape
4. pregnant
5. ALL of the above...

I'm so sore today!

Hooray for a new banner!

I have a confession to make.

I'm shooting my very first wedding tomorrow. So, let us all pray for great weather and no camera glitches.

I'll be sure to post some images here, provided they aren't terrible. And NO, this doesn't mean that I shoot weddings. It just means that I'm shooting this one. I am so grateful to have an amazing second shooter on board.

Wish me luck!

Oh, and also, Merry Christmas if I don't come up for air before then. Here's our Christmas Card picture:

Adventures and Musings

Ever wonder what 30 pieces of gum in one sitting will do to the digestive tract of a 4 year old?

We'll find out soon enough!

Top Secret Mom Gift #2

Okay, just kidding.... you can see it.

Here she is, ladies & gents (yes, Stew, even you who are creeped out by dolls...)


I'm sure I'll be crying when they get dirty/torn, etc the first time.

Um. Oops. Bad Wife.

Someone near and dear to me celebrated his 30th birthday yesterday.

We had cake/gifts on Sunday, so I nearly forgot to even wish him a Happy Birthday yesterday. But it's true... Matt is now 30.

And I meant to blog this last night, but I was distracted by about a billion things... one of which being how stinking cold it is here (like 40 degrees overnight!)

Okay, enough excuses! I'm just a bad wife.

However... I am married to the hottest 30 year old, evah!
Yeah, you wish your husband was this hot!

Day Trip.

We don't actually get out all that often... surprising? Meh.

We've been to Disney once. We drove out to Sarasota. We've been to the beach a couple of times... though not since May. We just tend to stick around here. We have lofty goals of going to the Keys... or Miami, so we can be brutally murdered on the street... whatever.

But when guests come to town, you have to entertain. So, we headed to St. Augustine for the day on Saturday. The historic part of the town is really beautiful and totally fascinating!

We went to Castillo de San Marcos where we got the watch them fire off some cannons. We enjoyed listening to one of the Park Rangers give a bunch of information... and got to wander around the fort. We learned a lot of stuff we didn't know and felt that the educational part was totally worth the $12 (total - kids were free) to get in.

Then we walked along old St. George Street. We got to see the Oldest School house and the Cathedral. All in all, it was a great experience.

Matt took a lot of pictures of the Park Rangers, who were dressed in authentic Spanish Soldier garb, and of the old buildings. Somehow, that doesn't appeal to me, AT ALL. I think I'm broken that way. So, I took my usual shots of the kids. If you'd like to check out some of the buildings, etc, you can head on over to Matt's blog. He'll have them up, eventually.

Couldn't be more proud ... also annoyed.

A couple of months ago, I discussed Miles's issues.

Since that time, we've been meeting once/week with a speech therapist. For probably the first month or so, Miles would have NOTHING to do with this woman. Finally, he began to warm up. But in all honesty, by that point, we were already hearing his language blossom.

Before the surgery, Miles had 2 words. "Yeah." and "No." In the time since then, we've stopped counting. Every time he'd use a new word, I would write it down on a little note card. One of his first new words being "shoes," this boy definitely takes after his father.

Today alone, he has used at least 4 words he's never used before. He's putting sentences and thoughts together. Expressing himself as never before. Just before typing this, he brought me the pink superhero cape belonging to one of his sisters and said, "cape, please." I put it on him, and then he said "thank you, mama. kiss!" And then ran off into the living room to the words, "I Soo-pah-man!" repeated over and over. I think it's safe to say that on the language frontier he's doing quite well.

Now, if you had told me 6 months ago that there would be a time when I would be BEGGING him to stop talking, I wouldn't have believed you. I'd have laughed in your face. And I'd now be eating some crow. In the car, it's a constant barrage of "Mama! I see some trees. I see some cars. Buh-bye house. I see some trees..." Over and over and over. It must be time to teach him the "Quiet Game!"
For what it's worth, I did not take this picture. Miles, being introduced to "Mis-muss" aka Santa. He couldn't have cared less about the old man, he just wanted that precious candy cane he's clinging to.

Holiday Baking...

I heard a rumor that not every family has the tradition of insane holiday baking like mine does. I found this hilarious! and absurd! What good is Christmas without stuffing your face with 9 kinds of cookies/treats?! I ask you!

Now, I'm not as ambitious as my mother was/is (still, mom?) She'd make delightful treats like:
Applets & Cotlets (aka Turkish Delight)
Brown Sugar Lollipop Cookies
Sugar Cookies (I loathe them.)
Peanut Brittle
Orange Peel Candy
and about 4 others that I just don't care for.

My holiday baking list includes:
Glazed Almonds (I have 14 cups of blanched almonds to use... better get cracking!)
Muddy Buddies
Meltaways (also called Russian Tea Cakes)
Fudge
Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies

That's about it. Do I give them away to friends? Um. No? Does that make me a bad person?

Perhaps just a fat person...

Top Secret Mom Gift #1

I've been furiously stitching after the kids are in bed...
Some very lucky (Anna) girl is getting this one.

I used the pattern from Wee Wonderfuls. And tomorrow, I'm gonna start Abbie's doll. Also, please ignore my horrendous embroidery. I'm seriously clueless when it comes to making it pretty.

Here we go!

And we're off. The season for the feverish and hurried crafting of gifts, etc begins! Hooray!

I have made the kids handmade ornaments every year since I started having kids... then when they get married/etc, I'll have a bunch of ornaments to give them. This year, I am making stuffed trees a la Little Birds.

I altered her pattern a little. My tree measures about 4 inches tall. It is completely hand-stitched. I did it last night while watching the Biggest Loser. Then I stitched on these seed beads... it was actually extremely therapeutic. I have two more to make... then I'm gonna make a set of three larger ones (the tallest being 8 inches) to put on top of something for decoration.

It's not quite done. It needs a loop for hanging on the tree and a star... which I think I'm gonna make out of some yellow felt. I used wool felt for the green, but I think I'll just use craft felt for the star. If you haven't used wool felt... you should. It's amazing to work with.

I also have plans to make the girls each a doll or all three kids a softie. I'm also making Miles a superhero cape as the only capes we currently have are pink and Matt hates it when he wears them.

So desperate for Fall...

That we travel 2 days by car, only to discover it's actually already winter in Pennsylvania.

IT WAS FLIPPING COLD. It did get mildly warm on Wednesday... which made the trip worth it. If only for these pictures:

Meet Tab. My sister's impossibly cute kid who didn't think much of me.Sheesh... I miss fall. Again, Winter... not so much.
It had rained for like 2 days before this and those leaves were wet and COLD. Needless to say, the kids got VERY DIRTY.
Abbie's getting to this weird age where she doesn't really want me to take her picture, and if she does, it's this lame girly posing. I love this shot, because it shows the kid she still is.
You can kinda get a feel for what a stinker Miles is...
And how much freaking fun they were having.

I have tons more pictures, but I'm gonna stop here. Save some for later, maybe.

Definitely. Most Assuredly. Undoubtedly.

A boy.

We're thrilled beyond belief. And for the first time, my gut was right. I really believed it was a boy!

On to the hardest part.... no, not labor. Name negotiations.

They're Ba-Ack...

You loyal blog readers will recall a harrowing day a couple of months ago, when Abbie nearly died at my hand.

Well, have a looksee-The "curlies" have returned. Need more illustration?
I dunno about you, but we're having a PAR-TAY!

An offer!

So, every year, I somehow acquire some great templates for Christmas cards (I honestly seek them out, I'm addicted).

And I really enjoy sharing them. For 3 years now, I've done it for free. Believe me, I learned my lesson last year when I was inundated with requests. This year, I'm just asking you to make a donation. Whatever you feel it's worth to you? I guess if that means, nothing, then well... what can I do?

What do you do? You email me using the link in my profile. You send me the picture or in some cases, pictures that you would like me to insert into the template (please only send pictures that YOU TOOK, or that you have a copyright release for). You let me know which Sample number you'd like me to use along with any pertinent information (name, alternate message, etc) that you'd like me to include. I can make your pictures black & white, reduce red eye, etc. Be sure to let me know if you'd like 4x6 of 5x7 file dimensions. Then, out of the kindness of your heart, you send a donation (pretty please, but not required) to the same email address.

What do I do? Using my magical photoshop abilities, I do what you ask and make you all look like supermodels (kidding!) I create your file. I send it to you. I put a tiny amount of money into my children's Christmas fund (hopefully?). I'll send the file along with directions and recommendations for consumer print labs that do a great job!

Anyway, here are the templates I'm offering:

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This last card has slots for 5 pictures, but we could do less.

Also, ignore the dates on some of the templates. Easily changed.

Finally, if you're a client and would like to order a picture from a session that I took for you in a template, simply email me for rates!