Day 434

Polish...
My day off. The photographer's day off that is. The maid's day on. I cleaned the master bath all morning with high hopes of getting to our room as well (hasn't happened yet). It is probably one of my favorite rooms in the house although it gets neglected quite a bit since no one every sees it but us. It's supposed to me my oasis with a whirlpool garden tub and candles. The sad part is the five year-old uses the tub more than I do. It turns out his submarines and aquatic creatures are a perfect fit for my bath. Since one entire wall is all mirrors, it was a trick to not get in any of the pics myself!

Day 433

Jackson...
Isn't he precious? He was adopted from Guatemala and finally came home to his mommy and daddy about two months ago just in the knick of time for his birthday earlier this month. I had the pleasure of taking some pictures of him and his family this afternoon with my assistant, M. He had a ball destroying a birthday cake (you can see a few of those on my professional blog) and then had a quick rinse in the tub before heading home.

Day 432

I Tumble 4 Ya...
Totally cheating today. We had a crazy, crazy day with kids going this way and that and all in opposite directions! Add to that, we had friends come over for dinner that it had been far too long since we had seen. After a terrific dinner and conversation, it had already turned 11pm...wow, where does the time go? Just as they were loading up to leave, we got a call from L saying she wanted to come home because she couldn't sleep without hugs & kisses. Awe! So, these are all from different activities yesterday afternoon and I don't feel guilty, not one little bit!

Field of Dreams...C wanted to watch his buddy play his baseball game this evening to see if it might be something he could try too. All the little ones in their uniforms were just too cute. I think C is still on the fence about actually playing, he seems content just to be a spectator for now.

Day 431

You are my sunshine...
Last night we discovered that today was L's spring pictures at school. Great. It's so nice to have notice, right? This is where the kids' wardrobes come in very handy. L picked this outfit and asked for a new bracelet, earrings and hair doo-dad...no problem it's only 8:30pm. By the time 10pm rolled around, I felt paralyzed from the ears down after being hunch-backed on the floor creating her accessories. All was not lost though, we were watching one of the hd discovery channels and now I know more than I ever wanted to about why some tuskless elephants in Africa go "rogue." So this morning, we took some pics of the get-up since we all know I won't be happy with the ones from school. The question is, will I buy them anyway? The answer is yes. I have this whacked out view that if I don't, somehow that will brand me as a bad parent. Paranoid much? LOL.

Day 430

Precious...
I hadn't gotten a new figurine in quite some time so T decided to play "catch-up" this year and bought me four. It may surprise some of you to know how much I love my Precious Moments collection. Here are my newest additions...
from M...
from L...(can't you tell with the blonde hair and purple flowers?)
Yes, they actually have a figurine of two people arguing...only T would buy this for his wife!
from C...unfortunately, all they had were blonde boys and everyone knows my little guy is not a blondie!

Day 429

If you want something done right...
you have to do it yourself. After being told that I had put both the wrong cookies and the wrong Goldfish in his lunch, I informed C he should try to make it on his own. Which he did. The process took about four times longer and the mess left in his wake was impressive, but he was so proud of himself when he was finished.

He shoots; he scores!

Day 428

Testing 1, 2...
Before I take one of my fave drops down, I stuck M in front of it this afternoon for a few shots. I decided I really like using a hairlight (something I go back & forth on) so at least for now, it will stay up. Needed a teensy bit more backdrop lighting, but that's something I flip-flop on too...ha-ha! Oh and guess what! I might be finally recovering from my post-pardum depression with the new baby. I used her on these shots and I was really happy with the white balancing and the overall color and depth. I am determined to love her and today we bonded just a bit. Yipppeee!
A little cross processing just for kicks & giggles.

Day 427

Winding down...
The last day of Spring Break. Officially it was Friday, but the kids all had today off as well. Time to catch up on some lingering homework, change the sheets and get cleaned up. We are all back to reality tomorrow. The real bummer is that M's missing dirtbike part came in today. Now she will have to wait until next weekend to ride it. Ugh! Hopefully the weather will hold out so she can enjoy it...finally. No time for a pic today. I kept thinking I would get to it and I never did. Sorry!

Day 426

The hunt...
You can say it, I am a bad mom. I know it. Did I take pics of them in the mint chocolate ensembles this morning? No. Late service was pushed back to 12:15 to slip a service in the middle for accommodating Easter visitors so it should have been a snap to get there on time, right? Wrong. For those of you who know me well, you know I am never on time for anything in my personal life. My motto "ten minutes late is five minutes early." So, we were on time by my schedule. The kids were desperate to get to Granny & Chippy's for their egg hunt so I blew off formal pictures and let them get comfy! The fun stuff was about to begin!

Winner. Mr. C found his maximum before his sisters did so he was way impressed with himself. Runner Up. She almost gave up in frustration, Chippy had made it more difficult this year, but in the end, M got hers too. FYI...the rockin tee she is wearing is by a local faith-based company. http://www.trutees.com/. I highly recommend them for parents with teens. The videos are fantastic and the shirts are meant to spread the Word!
Last one. Actually we thought that there wasn't an even number so Chippy went and got a "previously located" egg and re-hid it only for Miss Abby to discover the real last egg hours later and devour all the chocolate herself. whooops!
One last indoor egg.
Abby. Is there any need to say more? The picture says it all. You'd never know she was high on caffeine and sugar. Luckily Cotton came with us to help her use up all that energy!

Day 425

Big Day....
My first wedding of 2008 with several more to go. This one was personal. I have known the bride since she was about 14 years old when we were involved in our former church's youth group. She is such a precious, beautiful girl and I am blessed to know her and her family. I know that her new husband is just the man God set aside for her and I am glad she didn't settle for less.

Day 424

Rehearse...
Went to the rehearsal tonight for this lovely couple's wedding tomorrow and normally I politely decline invites to the dinners that follow. I know this time is for family and friends to relax. In this case, this family knew me better than to expect politeness from me and probably wouldn't have accepted a refusal anyway. The bride's aunt made the most incredible salad I have ever had...YUM!

Day 423

Another year, another Manning...
That's right folks, M has another Manning to adore. This time it's Eli. A die hard Patriot, this jersey may be the most painful present Chippy will ever give her. But as he said, anything for Miss M and this is one of the things she really wanted for her bday. She was so exicted that the UPS man had something for her that she opened it right there in the front yard (but not before I grabbed the camera, she knows the "rules").


She's gonna kill me for posting this one, but c'mon, it's so funny! I guess I said something that made her laugh right before I snapped. We encourage our kids to embrace their inner goofballs!

Day 422

Heelies...
Or "ankle brakers" as a few E/R nurses I know call them. L was desperate to get some for Christmas and after scouring the internet for purple ones, we found them. We had to pay an arm and leg to get them in time, but it was for Boo so we spared no expense. Well she wore them Christmas day to Granny & Chippy's and wouldn't you know it, she stepped backwards out of the car onto their sloped curb and fell. How she didn't break her elbow which took the full force, I have no idea. That was the end of the Heelies until yesterday when she was determined to give them another go.