TO SAY OR NOT TO SAY?

My Baby turns 5!

So hard to believe that my little girl just turned 5.  We had her birthday party this past Saturday at the mall at the "build a bear" workshop store.  I think she had a blast and so easy for me.  They have a room, and a worker for 2 hours to play games with them and build the bear.  We just brought pizza and an ice cream cake.  That was it.

Her actual birthday was April 9th, last Monday and we had a quiet party with a cake that I had made and the four of us.  It was a wonderful day, and all she wanted was a new outfit.  So I took her shopping to get one at the mall, and then we had lunch, just her and I at McD's.  A girls day out.  She is such a little girl.  Acts like a teenager one minute and turns around showing her innocence with tears and cuddles the next.  We got her and Keagan mp3 players for Easter, and she loves it.  Along with her new outfit.

Here are some recent pictures of her.  Oh and the tattoos were fun to play with.  She painted some but then would ask me to.

This t-shirt was one I bought her on her birthday.  Mary Jean had said in the car, on the way to the mall that she wanting to wear makeup to cover her freckles!!  Huh?  And no, I don't let her wear makeup but she sees me putting it on and has some play stuff she likes to play with at her beauty center, but it bothered me that she wanted to cover up her gorgeous freckles.  *sigh*.  We talked about how she needs to love herself above all else.  It is a struggle raising a girl.  Such a worry sometimes with all the marketing messages out there that are focusing so much on "looks".  Our society places so much emphasis on it everywhere you look!  It is sickening really.  I want her to have a strong sense of who she is.  All of her, not just the outside and her looks.  We try and balance the message of how pretty she is (because she hears it alot) with telling her how smart she is.  The kid can draw and do crafts like I have never seen.  She has the best sense of humor and her laugh is one of the most contagious laughs.  These things are what I see when I look at her, and what I want her to see and embrace as well.  To see, as I do, just how special she is.  Her smile can light up a room, and her energy is endless.  Her heart is in the right place and she truly cares about others.  It really is what makes her so special.  God just happen to make her beautiful on the outside as well.

Soooo, when I saw this I swear it felt like an oman.  It was the first thing I saw when I walked into the children store.  The FIRST thing!  Do I believe in prayers and God.  Absolutely.  He sends me messages like this each day.  Always there to assist me in this journey on earth.  It is absolutely a perfect t-shirt for her.  Actually we all need one!  Because I truly believe that if we can learn to love ourselves first then to love others simply comes more natural. 

Love these positive messages!

   

And one of Keagan.  He never seems to let me take his picture anymore.  So I am glad I got this one.

Link to her birthday party album pics.  Have a super day!

bear party

Busy Season on the way

I guess I can say that the busy season is on the horizon.  Things are really picking up now that spring is coming and I am quickly booking sessions and filling my limited time slots more and more each day.  I am booked out as far as September, with August completely booked.  There seems to have been a mad dash on maternity/newborn shoots.  I think it is the case of doing a few and those new moms telling all of their pregnant friends about you, and they then call to book.  Perhaps it has something to do with doing maternity photos a bit differently then I have seen around.  I don't think alot of photographers in town do these types of shoots or maybe they are just catching on with new, younger moms who are a bit more confident in showing off their belly's!  Whatever it is they seem to be gaining more popularity around here which is nice to see.

At the moment I only offer maternity shoots as a maternity/newborn combo which is working out nice as i get to see the babies once they arrive.

I just finished two newborn sessions this past week.  Both approx. two weeks old, both boys and both gorgeous.

MJ is turning 5 this Monday and with easter things are going to be busy here I think.  I just ordered a new camera (Canon 5D) today and plan on selling my digital Rebel very soon.  If you are in the market for one feel free to email me.  I used it very lightly before I got my 20D last year.  It is in excellent shape and will be hard to part with as I have really loved using it.

I haven't taken many pictures of the kids lately, but have plans to take MJ out next week as I promised her a new outfit in return for her promising me a photoshoot.  :)

Happy Easter everyone!  God bless.

Vacation FUN!!

We just got back from Vacation on Tuesday and had such a great time.  We went to Mill River Resort on Prince Edward Island.  It is a golf resort but in the winter they open for a few weeks to cater to the winter crowd.  We went with our friends Wendy and Derrick and their two boys. 

We have known Wendy and Derrick since high school, and spent almost every weekend together before we had kids, hanging out, playing cards, eating good food and having a ton of laughs.  Derricks job took them away from here to another town but we still get together whenever we can and it is like we have never been away from each other.  You know those people you just are totally comfortable with and even though time may pass, even years, it is just like you were never away from each other.  Well... that is us.  We just get along so well.  Wendy and I are two peas in a pod.  Literally.  My first friend that never thought I talked too much!  Ha.  Derrick and Jeff are very similar in personality and use to hang out in high school.  Derrick an accountant and Jeff and engineer.  Yeah... hard to believe they are alike right??  Wendy and I both did sociology degrees and we can just sit and chat for hours.

We had a fantastic time at the resort.  It had so much for the kids to do.  Swimming in a great indoor pool with a 90 foot waterslide that twisted a few times.  Sliding on just the perfect size hill that was located just outside the back door of the hotel.  It was a lite hill so you could slide even during the evening.  They had a huge bouncy castle for the kids to play in and a games room with pool and pin ball and video games.  And when the kids went to bed at night we, the adults, got together to play some cards.  We had ajoining rooms so the kids fell asleep in one room while we sat in the other room and played " the big duce".  A card game we use to play years ago.  It was a ball.  Something that we haven't done in years due to the distance between us as well as having little kiddos.

Managed to get a group shot above but I'm not in it.  My camera wasn't working the entire trip.  My 20D!  Uggh.  It is into Canon as I type.  It wouldn't show focus through the viewfinder although it would still take sharp pictures.  So I was impressed that I got so many in focus pictures.  I used my focal points and intuition to take the shots.  Oh and I reviewed the images alot in my LCD screen to determine if I was achieving focus.  It is suppose to be a quick turn around from Canon.  They think one of the mirrors may be out of alignment!  Thank goodness it is still under warranty. 

Anyway.  Thanks guys!!  We had a blast.  Can't wait to see you in a few weeks!

Some pictures from our fab. trip.

Beautiful

Inside and out!

My friend Nicole.  I adore her, her love for life, for God and for family and friends.  She is truly a beautiful person inside and out.  I have had the pleasure of becoming friends with her over the past few years, meeting through some mommy groups.  We figured out we were both from the same town and graduated from the same high school (me of course much sooner then her).  I have borrowed her kids to photograph when I was starting my busines.  But who wouldn't want to take her picture as well?  She is gorgeous inside and out and I have adored having a chance to photographer her maternity pictures, and now her new little addition, Christopher. 

Just wanted to share a few from yesterday. And thanks for the tulips Nicole.  I love them!

 

Nothing Better than Love!

Well the kids had a good valentines day.  I know... a little late to be posting this.  "Late" would be my life it seems.  MJ just got over pneumonia a few weeks ago and it would appear that I am heading into a chest infection.  Anyway... it just seems that life throws you loops every so often and then manages to interfer with what you should be doing.  But then.... I trust that God has a plan and maybe it is telling me to just slow down a bit.

Here are the cards I made for Keagan and MJ this Valentines day.  We attached MJ's cards to bags of candy to take to preschool.  She loved her card.  Keagan seemed to like his as well, but being in Grade two I was a bit worried as it wasn't the typical store bought pokeman, action figure cards that everyone would be giving out.  Sure enough, when I asked him later how the kids liked his cards he began to cry and said one girl said they were "weird".  I felt horrible.  I think back now and shouldn't have suggested it knowing how kids can be so cruel once they get into older grades.  But geese... grade 2!!  He later told me she was the only one who said that and the rest of the kids liked them.  So that was a relief.

I used Erica Hernandez's designes.  Very fun and simple to use.  Printed them on my home computer for them to cut out and take.

My sister Bonnie was down for a short visit.  She lives in Ottawa and I haven't seen her for about 1.5 years.  She was down for work but got to stay with us for a few days. Here are a few pictures I was able to get.  Not many.  My kids adored her.  Especially MJ who sat on her lap the entire time at Pizza Hut. 

Her with my kids.  Quickly taken as I was running out the door to take Keagan to curling. 

Here all 3 sisters together.  Very rare.  Karen had gotten in on a plane from Cuba an hour before Bonnies plane arrived.  Karen is the one with the dread locks (sp?).  She gets them each time she goes somewhere hot.  Which seems like alot.  I'm in the middle.  The cute one!  Ha!  And youngest of course.  And Bonnie on the right.  She is over 40 and took up running in her later 30's.  While at my house she got up early and went for a 9k run!  Yikes.  She looks incredible and I have honestly always looked up to her for her determination. 

Love my sisters!  They were the best to me growing up.  Truly they were!  And still are the best.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!  It is what life is all about.  Finding it, keeping it, sharing it and knowing when you have it so you can never take it for granted.  Never losing site of what is important.

Happiness is....

This came in my inbox.  I get daily quotes.  It is so true!!

Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same. 

Francesca Reigler

I choose happy and strong. 

She makes me happy.  I do have a few of my son coming.  Just managed to get these resized.  I am not scrapbooking lately, but trying to do these storyboards and print them on 5X7' to then put in a small scrapbook to journal with.  This is manageable and doesn't overwhelm me.

   

Weird thing happened today when I was getting my hair done in my salon.  A customer sitting near me asked me if I wanted to look at her scrapbook magazines.  I had foils in and she could see I was wanting something to read.  I said "sure".  Then she asked if I was still scrapbooking and said "you use to be published all the time in these magazines"?  I was shocked she would know who I was. She said she frequented Nicoles store (the store I use to teach at when I was into my scrapbooking).  It was a strange feeling to have someone even know who I was and that I use to be published.  I told her I wasn't scrapbooking any longer.  But I have to say, looking a the magazines made me itch to give it a go. 

Off to take the kids skating.  My sister Bonnie comes to visit tomorrow from Ottawa.  I haven't seen her in 1.5 years.  Can't wait. 

Great food

I am slowly moving back to eating better.  Just over 2 years ago I began following a diet that changed my life.  With my crohns out of control I was facing surgery.  I read a book "The Makers Diet" by Jordan Ruban which changed everything.  With this book and the diet I was able to come down on my steroids to one and control my crohns all the while avoiding surgery.  In the past year I have admittedly slipped away from this strict diet and have really felt the results.  Enough is enough.  I began to move back towards this way of eating over the past week.  Slowly things are coming together and I am feeling better just a few days following.  I am certainly not surprised as I know what it has done for me over the past 2 years.

I thought I would share my latest invention.  One of the best salads I have ever made.  It was totally filling and rewarding.  Too good not to share with others.

Mixe a can of tuna (in water) with a few tablespoons of mayonaise.  Mix in a bowl with mixed green salad of choice.

Toss in some cottage cheese- mix through.

In a frying pan saute 2 TB of butter.  (despite what people think, butter is so much better for you!  it is a natural fat that out body can digest unlike magarine).  Add sliced mushrooms, onions (I used green but you use what you like) and celery thinly sliced. 

Add one tsp of organic sugar or maple syrup.  I won't get into telling you how bad refined sugar is for you as it only take a minute to google it and you will get a huge amount of information.  I don't have it in my diet.  Try organic when something calls for sugar or even better, maple syrup or honey.  Sugar is something I limit severly in my diet. 

Saute veggies until soft.  Add fresh parmesan cheese and feta to the veggies.  Stirfry for a  minute until the cheese combines with the veggies.  Pour over your tuna/cottage cheese salad and mix through. 

This was so good!  The cheeses all melt together and it was divine.  And I never use the word "divine".  Ha!

Try it and let me know what you think.  If you to, take a minute and come back here to let me know what you thought.

Feel free to share your favorite recipe as well.  Eating well does not have to be boring! 

On a side note... I spent the better part of yesterday morning having MJ seen at the Emergency room.  Not due to it being an emergency persay.... rather, the only alternative to the 2 week wait into our family doctor.  Her and her brother both had bronchitis before Christmas and it appeared to have returned.  More like pneumonia this time.  Back on antibiotics for a week.  Crossing finges it is the last of the sickies.

I managed to fall off the deck last week while playing in our backyard with the kids. Hurt my left shoulder, but the upside is I now have a massage for my back and shoulders scheduled later this week.  :)  Always looking for positives in life.  Which wouldn't be the chocolate chip that MJ stuck up her left nostril this morning.  *sigh* what is with that! She apparently didn't learn from the time she stuck her brothers toy up  her nose at age 2 and had to go to the Eyes, Ears Nose specialist to retrieve it.  That long metal thing must feel good inserted way up into your brain!  Uggh.  I managed to get to her before she pushed it up too far and the old "blowing the nose" trick managed to dislodge the sweet choc. morsal!

Hoping Mary Jean learns to develop this part of our "human nature"

Quote of the day:

Good instincts usually tell you what to do long before your head has figured it out.

— Michael Burke

 

Life

It seems that since Mary Jean has been little she has been focused on her looks.  It is bizarre to have a 4 year old want to look into the mirror all the time.  It is often to make funny faces and expressions, but she just loves to look at herself.  Especially after she get's dressed in the mornings.  I can only imagine the teenage years! 

Whenever she would say "Do I look pretty", Jeff and I have always tried to respond with "yes, you are pretty, but also smart".  Balancing the whole, looks vs. brains.  We talk about how it is more important what is inside a persons heart then what is outside. 

Thought I would share this mornings conversation with Mary Jean:

She was saying she was pretty and we had talked about what was in a person's heart. 

Me:   When you pick a husband, it's nice if he is handsome but you want someone that is going to have a good heart and treat you well.

MJ:  I know.... I am going to marry Thomas (boy across street)

Me:  Well you will probably change your mind before then

MJ:  No, I will marry him

Me:  Just make sure it is someone like Daddy.  Handsome and caring.

MJ:  I will

Me:  There will be lots of boys in your life time that will come after you I am sure.

MJ:  *giggle*  no

Me:  Yes, but that is ok

MJ:  well I will just run away

Me:  Yes... run fast and far my little one. 

She makes me laugh.

My two favorite people, and a quote for the day.

Both pictures shot with my 85mm at probably f2.  Love this lense.

Quote for the day:

Perhaps imagination is only intelligence having fun.

— George Scialabra

My "Other" Passion

Decorating.  I love to decorate my home.  If I wasn't doing photography I would have likely pursued interior design.  I just wish I had more money to be able to afford my own taste!  Ha!  However, I find that having less money forces me to be more creative in using what I do have.

I will post a few things that we are doing in my own home in a few days but for now I thought I would share some favorite images and styles that I have right now.  And yes... like most, my style changes often.  Which in itself is expensive.

One of my favorite designers is Canadian.  Sarah Richardson!  Love love her style.  It is so clean, modern and most of all calming.  She seems to be able to do any style and wow... what class she has.  Check out her website.  She has her own line of furniture.  And it is sold in Halifax which is fairly close to me.  Well within driving distance... so that is dangerous.   

Sarah's site

She has her own show "Design Inc." which I try and catch whenever I can.  Very inspirational rooms on the site.  But this is my favorite kitchen and very similar to what we are working towards in my own home.  I find the walls look blue here although on the website they say green.  Very similar to my own walls.  I am going to be doing the same thing with the raised counter in my kitchen and we are going to be getting new countertops, sink and faucet soon.  I plan to paint my cupboards white like these and add new hardware to them.  Instant update.

Like most, I can't yet afford an entirely new kitchen but one can sure get a similar look as this with relatively little money.

My favorite thing to use?  PAINT!  I find it instantly updates a home.  I painted the brick on the front of my house.  A very earthy brown.  We moved here a year ago and I hated that my house looked like five others on the street.  Redish brick, red shutters and a boring white front door.  I painted it.  I will take pictures soon and post those as well.  We painted the brick with a combination of concrete paint and stain.  Two parts stain, one part paint.  Much to my neighbors horror.  The end result?  They loved it and are considering doing it as well.  They said it made the brick look like stone.  The stain allowed the natural brick colors show through and didn't make it appear "solid" which would have looked more like we painted the brick.  Not what I was going for. 

We also painted our front door a nice taupe, updated the hardware to a dark brushed copper and painted our shutters.  This summer it will be onto our landscapping.

Our project right now is our den off of the kitchen.  We took out the woodstove, and Jeff took out the large, evasive hearth that was sticking out into the tiny room taking up space.  He cut the once circular wood floor that shaped the hearth into a square opening and inlayed brown tile into the floor. What a difference.  Then he primed the brick and it is my job to finish painting it today.  We have bought a black electric fireplace to go in the area for now.  Propane wasn't in our budget.  Yesterday I got a huge black mirror to go over the fireplace at Winners.  Fifty dollars and it is huge and gorgeous.  My favorite place to shop.  Winners!

OK enough rambling.  Am I doing good keeping up with this blog?  A few more images I love.  They are totally inspirational to me and the look I am slowly moving towards.

 

I have decided that this is the feel I want for my office.  I already have that wall color.  Now it is to go for the rest.  Hubby will be building me some shelving I think!   

   

Peaceful Reminders

There just isn't enough peace and positive messages out in this world today.  Instead we seem to be bombarded with more negative messages and energy in life.  I typically don't like to watch the news because of this.  It is not to be ignorant of what is going on in the world rather I hate the feeling of being depressed as I am drifting off to sleep after hearing about war torn countries, killings of babies and soldiers.  Just not something that is condusive to sleep! 

So when I found this site and watched these clips, it just resonated with me.  It has a wonderful message and you can even download the beautiful, breathtaking images for screensavers.  I think it is a great way to add more peace and calm in our lives.  We can all benefit from it.

I would recommend setting some time aside before clicking on it.  It will be much nicer if you take the time to sit and enjoy it.  Perhaps a nice warm drink to sip while you watch and read.  I am hoping you feel as I did.  A sense of calm and peace.  I am all for promoting a bit more peace in the world.  The music is wonderful.

Pathways to Peace

And this one.  The interview with God.  I just loved this one.  It made me smile.  The message so true and real.  Not typically the things we like to sit and think about or admit to being the truth.  Strong, powerful, and true.  My feelings on this piece.

Interview with God

Oh, and feel free to pass it on to a friend.

Peace out!