I'm thankful for Red Bucket Photo

I absolutely dread family photos. I get frustrated being cooped up in a 6x6 dimly lit room with five children (who aren't that small anymore) trying to keep everyone's hair and clothing in place while waiting for the perfect pose. Makenna always squints in anticipation of the flash - you have no idea how many photos I have of her with her eyes closed. Luke has the whole "glare on the eye glasses" issue. And I usually have "perma-grin" from gritting my teeth through the whole process.

The last family portrait we had taken was in 2005 when Collin was about 15 months old. He's changed greatly since then. This year I abandoned the little studio and went with a professional photographer - Hi Liz - who took fantastic, painless shots of our family. It was actually kind of fun! Here's a sample. (I should curl my hair more often, huh?) You can see more of Liz's awesome photos at www.RedBucketPhoto.blogspot.com.

I'm thankful for painless, fun family photo shoots to preserve our memories!

No Fun

On Monday Collin was sick with the stomach flu. He had vomited three times in the first hour. This aweful state continued for most of the day. After one episode, I was attending to him and said, "I'm sorry you feel bad. It's no fun being sick huh?" He nodded his head in agreement and weakly replied "but it is fun to have the hiccups." And there you have it.

At about 2:00 I got a phone call from the elementary school that Makenna was sick and needed to be taken home. Lucky me - two sick children.

Thank goodness it ended there. By mid-morning on Tuesday all was well and we went to the Zoo for Veterans' Day.

Advice wanted

We've lived in our house for nine years, and it shows. I wanted to give my kitchen a face-lift without breaking the bank. So granite countertops are out. Actually, I like my cheap formica; it's very functional and easy to maintain. I did replace the sink and faucet (okay - Clark did most of the work), and bought knobs and drawer pulls. I plan to paint the walls...goodbye Swiss Coffee.

So my questions for you...see the two faux drawers under the sink? Should they have drawer pulls or not?

If You Feed Them, They Will Come..

I like to post my scrapbook layouts for y'all to see, but it may be a while before these photos make it to a 12x12 format. So the photos will do for now. We fed these ducks/geese at a park in Scotsdale in October 2008. You can tell these animals are used to people and their loaves of bread. The most awesome way to spend a $1 with your kids!

Here they come...they must be able to smell the Safeway bread.

Balboa Island

I grew up in Southern California near the beaches and Disneyland, and I'm thankful I now live only a few hours away so my kids can experience the things I loved as a child. One of which is Frozen Bananas from Balboa Island near Newport Beach. These tasty treats are dipped in chocolate and a variety of toppings.


Here are my cute kids sharing a banana (they cost about $4 each) this past summer.

The Haircut

Hailey has been wanting her hair cut for about 6 months. The last time she asked to have her hair cut, I successfully talked her out of it. I love my little girls with long hair. But since she brought it up again, I figured she must really want it cut so ... chop-chop. And I LOVE her short hair! Here is the scrapbook page I created to immortalize the event.[All products are from Close To My Heart. visit my website at EzScrapbooks.MyCTMH.com for more details.]

New at this

I went to lunch yesterday with a few girlfriends. Always a fun time (even when I have to take my 4 yo with me). The girls were talking about blogs and it reminded me that "hey, I have a blog." I set this up about five months ago and have neglected it ever since. So I'm going to try to post more often, especially now that I know people are actually looking. LOL.

What have I been doing for the past five months? This summer my three youngest children and I were at the public pool four days a week for swim lessons and competitive swim training. Did I see the next Michael Phelps?....dunno. I was also consumed with creating artwork for Close To My Heart. I was chosen as a presenter for their national convention in Orlando, Florida. Imagine 1,100 women drooling over a new catalog loaded with exciting new products. Many of the products I had already seen due to the fact that the company sent me a giant box of the soon-to-be-unveiled products to create with. I had to quaranteen my scrapbook room so no visitors would peek at the new stuff. I couldn't show off my creations (until now) because I had signed a confidentiality agreement. Needless to say, I am the type who feeds on feedback - hopefully the positive kind - and was lost without any.

I managed to take a quick trip to the beach in California and of course attend CTMH convention in Orlando, Florida in late July. Now the kids are in school and I'm getting back into a routine. The mom shuttle is revving up for dance lessons and piano.

Happy scrappin'