Finley turns six...

That's my girl. Getting so big. Later I will post a Polaroid. :) Happy Birthday Fin!

Happy Birthday to you!

Today is my husband's 46th birthday. This is an adorable image of him at 3 years old.

Happy Birthday!

Thinking back...

Perhaps the first things I should say are these... no I am not currently pregnant. no I was not pregnant with twins. and yes, that was really me, at 37 weeks pregnant.
I was thinking back to what it felt like to be pregnant... all excited about the new baby... girl or boy?... buying baby things... and so I decided to inject myself with a dose of reality. By nature- and genetics I suppose, I happen to get really REALLY large during pregnancy. Even only having gained 40 pounds with my little boy, the weight seemed to hit 3 main spots. Boobs, Belly, and Butt. I was 53 inches around the waist when this was taken. Yeah. NOT COMFY!!
I wouldn't trade my little man for a ticket to all the carnivals in the world, but seriously why couldn't I have been one of those amazingly cute gals with the normal body with a little basketball under their shirts?
Just sayin' ...

Fingernails...

At my daughter's request, I applied these nails for her. I am having serious mixed emotions about my 8 year old wearing these. She swears that all the other girls wear them in school. Is this normal?? My 11 year old chews her nails off, so that isn't an issue. I mean, they look pretty- I guess- but she's 8!!! Any thoughts??

A theme?

I see a theme developing here...

Finley is Five years old today!

My baby girl was born five years ago today at 5:19 am. It was a scary scenario. I actually drove myself to the hospital, thinking it was another false alarm. She wasn't due for almost 4 weeks, and I had a c-section already scheduled for the end of the month! I had been having contractions all evening, but I ignored them. So upon arriving at the hospital, I was set on the idea that they would send me home after a few hours of monitoring. They told me I had to be given a drug to stop the contractions, since the due date was so far off. It didn't work. My water broke. I was calling my husband frantically and he was trying to figure out how to be with me since he had our two other daughters with him. I called my mother, but no answer... So, the nurses came in and said that since my contactions were getting stronger and closer together, that the doctor was rushing in to perform an emergency c-section. (it may be too much information, but for those of you who are wondering, I can't give birth naturally.) I called my husband and said he had to come right away. I was in the operating room before I knew it. While getting the spinal block, I felt a really painful contraction, and the nurse told me to lie down - I was scared- I could tell something was wrong. I wished my husband was with me, but he was in the waiting room with our girls. Everything started happening so fast- much faster than my last c-section, which was completely uneventful. I asked the anesthesiologist what was wrong- and I told him I could feel some pain. He quickly gave me something that rendered me almost incoherent. I hear the doctor say "Here she is!" and I couldn't really open my eyes- but I could hear her. The nurse told me she was fine. I was in and out at that point- not really knowing what was happening.
While in recovery I was told that at the time of the spinal block, there had been a placental abruption, and I started to bleed out. My doctor came in and said that she didn't know what made me drive in to the hospital that night, but that it saved my life. I needed to have a blood transfusion the next day because of the blood loss. I am thankful every day for my life and the life of my lovely little girl.

Time flies...

That is my oldest daughter. She will be 11 next month. I can't believe how fast it all goes by. I hope someday she will thank me for all the times I made her sit still while I photographed her.

{photo by me}

My daughter.

This is the image I mentioned that was one of my favorites from my trip to Colorado.
The film was expired - but I simply love it. I suppose that may be because of the subject.
Happy Wednesday!
ps- to any of my e-course students who may be reading this- Typepad is not functioning properly- at least on my end, so I am unable to post at all. Stick with me!

A post on being open, honest and real. (and my personal quest to end perfectionism)

So, here are some images of my house...

Above, my horrible mess of a foyer.

Above, two images of my kitchen (please pity me for having to deal with honey oak)

Above, my living room.

And above, a bird's eye view from the balcony, which I have taken a minute to label for you.

I am sharing these with you not to cause disgust and horror, but to be real. My house is clean 45% of the time. I spend most of my days trying to stay on top of the mess, mostly failing miserably. The dishes get done, and the laundry gets clean, but it seems that I rarely pick up all the toys or have a mess free flat surface in my house to speak of. Mind you, I have four children. Their ages are 10, 8, 4, and 2 1/2. Now school is out. My house was neat about a week ago. As soon as school let out, it was like an explosion went off. Keeping up with their needs and wants is a hell of a job, let alone keeping the house clean. When I photograph images in my home, I do it in very particular areas. I take the images at angles where you can only see what I want you to see. The white table that I do a lot of my still life images on is rarely ever free of crayons, papers, glue, and a random plate that had cereal, or crackers, or chicken nuggets on it. I wanted to be honest. I have regular responsibilities and a mostly normal existence. I have 5 people to look after besides myself, and 3 cats. I take time in the evenings, or at nap time to do things like crochet, draw, or take photos. I schedule photo shoots on the weekends, and you can usually hear my dryer running at midnight. When I see home tours on my favorite blogs, I can only assume that the owners of the spectacular spaces don't have any kids- and if they do, they have help with cleaning and such-- or, my favorite option, is that they spend a crazy 2 days before the photos were taken cleaning like madwomen (or men) to make their home look perfect.
I would love to have my house in perfect order at all times, but that would mean it wasn't lived in. And that's what are homes are for right?
So there you have it. A humbling, slightly cringe-worthy look into what my house looks like most of the time. The secret's out. I'm not perfect.

Outside with the kids...

I hope everyone had an enjoyable mother's day weekend! I spent mine with my kids -playing outside and taking a bunch of photos. I swear when we all get outside the neighbors must think we're having a party. It can get very loud. : )

Sorting...

Today I got out a box that contains all of my Polaroid photos. I sorted it. I laid them out all over the floor. It was so much fun to look at each one and hold them in my hands. That is one of the things I miss about the days of only having film. Holding the developed photograph in my hands. Now most of my images are stored digitally- in a real, but very intangible thing called an external drive. It's not the same. So I'll probably get these out next month. and sort them. ; )

{photo by me}

Sale in my shop!

Hello everyone! I am having a buy one get one free sale in my shop! The sale will run for the month of September! Have a look!

Babies...

I don't usually blog on a Sunday, but I can't help it. My niece had a new baby boy on 9-11 and he is so sweet. I went to visit at the hospital yesterday and got a couple of nice shots. Ahh, squishy baby goodness.

She turned 10 today.

This is my oldest daughter, Syd. She turned 10 years old today. Let me get a bit personal- it was a difficult labor. I was only 24 and I was scared. It took 32 hours for her to come into this world.
She was beautiful, healthy, and perfect. She didn't sleep a full night until she was 10 months old.
Now she sleeps like a rock! She is charming, sweet, funny, helpful and kind. People used to remark on how lovely she was- and ask me how I did it. I had to say that my parenting had very little to do with her personality. She has been this way since she was born, all on her own. She is a wonderful little soul. Happy birthday Sydney! I love you.

{photograph by me}

Black Cherries make happy photos...

I'm feeling under the weather today- so I thought I'd post a happy photograph. This is my daughter, Finley. She sweetly held the cherries for me so I could "picture" her. (that's what she calls it) She tried the cherry, and decided that she DOES NOT like them.

{photo by me}

VW BUS -May I please have one?

Ever since I was a little girl, I have been in love with this vehicle. I've never owned one, but I swear someday I will. I can picture a glorious road trip to Big Sur, with my kiddos and husband. Maybe even the dog. Picnics, polaroids, quilts and orange sunsets. What is your "dream" car?

Miniature Daisies, a summer favorite.

I was going back through all the photos I've taken this summer- and I noticed a trend. I take tons of photographs of these little weeds. I don't know what they are, but they certainly look like tiny little daisies. I apparently am drawn to them. What flowers, or weeds, are you drawn to?
{photo by me}

Just curious...

I recently had a new logo made for my portrait photography. I haven't really put it out there yet. So I thought I'd get some opinions from you, my dear readers.

Here it is:

I love antique fairs.

I went to an outdoor/indoor antique market with my lovely in-laws on Sunday. I got quite a few great images... but this one is my favorite.

{photo by me}

A bit personal...

Hey everyone! This photo is a bit personal, but I thought I'd share part of what I do here during the day. My daughter and I like to color. We always have tons of fun, and she lets me take a polaroid or two.
I hope everyone is having a terrific Wednesday! What's your favorite color in the crayon box?

{photo by me}