Just Started Kindergarten, But Ready for College.

Stacey was playing dress-up with a bunch of old clothes I have in the closet when she found my old graduation gown. She was walking around the house pretending she was a queen. I decided to see if I could find my cap, and it turns out I was successful!

When I put it on her she said "Look, now I'm ready for college!!"

SpreadHead Toothpaste Heads

I was reading the new posts on my blogroll tonight and I came across a post about SpreadHeads. These things look SOOO cute!! I don't usually have a problem with getting Stacey to brush her teeth, but Brandon on the other hand. I think they would LOVE these.

Angie at 5 Vinez Monkeys is having an awesome giveaway sponsored by SpreadHeads. Stop by before 11:59pm ET on September 7th and enter to win a set of super cool toothpaste heads! Pete and Oscar will quickly become your new best friends.

A Challenge

A challenge was issued by a good friend of mine on Facebook, to take a picture of what made me happy today. I didn't get the message until later in the evening as I had been out all day running errands. So I had to think, what had made me happy that day???

I took my oldest daughter to school this morning and she is still adjusting, so it wasn't really easy to leave her. Then I went in to work for a little bit. I noticed on my way to work what a BEAUTIFUL day it was (I was REALLY wishing that I had the day to just go out and shoot.) I then spent the afternoon with my son, and youngest daughter. We picked Stacey up at 3, and went to visit some friends.

I had a very busy, but very happy, day. SO what to take a photo of? The kids? Too cliche. I was running out of time and options. Well I had one more errand to run, so I decided to take the camera, take a few minutes to myself, and just go somewhere and shoot. I can't remember the last time I was able to do this, and I was starting to have serious camera withdraw! But that is how I got my photo. The thing that made me happy - Being able to spend a few peaceful minutes doing something I love.

1 Down 1 To Go - This Year

Today was Stacey's 1st day of school. Brandon doesn't start until next week.

She was really excited about starting school, but did NOT want her picture taken.
I told her that it's the first day of school it's mandatory!!!!






It's amazing the difference a few hours makes. On the way home she actually asked to have her picture taken!



She got a "Super Star Student" sticker, so after taking her picture I asked her to turn so I could get a shot where you could see it. Of course she had to look at it.



I'm so proud of her!!!

9 Months Already!

I can't believe how big my baby girl is getting!

Madison's 1st Year - So Far

I updated the template that I created the other day, changed the 7 month pic, and added the 9 month. It's so hard to believe that she is 9 months ALREADY!!!!!

Another great giveaway!!! HURRY!!!!!

Angie at 5 Vinez Monkeys is having a great toy giveaway sponsored by All Children’s Furniture who carries everything from bunk beds to toys. Stop by before 11:59pm ET on August 10th and enter to win!

Learned to make a Template

I will be taking her 9 month photos tomorrow, I can't believe she is already 9 months!!!!!!!

Also I'm debating on replacing her 7 month photo, with this one:

Eyes So Blue

We were out at my parent's house yesterday when I got this shot of Maddie. I just can't get over how blue her eyes are.

Wow!

So last night I was searching for some storyboard templates to play around with, when I stumbled across this blog. Moments of Heart

I just LOVE her pictures. She does such a great job of catching the expressions on her kid's faces. And they themselves are quite expressive! :)

It has been a month since she posted, not that I can really say anything, right? LOL But I am looking forward to her next post!

I absolutely got lost going back through her posts looking at the gorgeous pics, and so I did something TOTALLY out of character for me, I sent her an email. Just a short one to say hello and tell her that I love her work, but I do hope that she emails me back! :)

Wordless Wednesday - Calming

Oh _________!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll bet that the answer to that blank isn't what you have in your head! LOL

Lately Brandon has taken to exclaiming "Oh Barnacles!" every time something doesn't go the way he wants.

"Mommy, milk please!" (asking for a 3rd glass in a row)

"Not till dinner"

"Oh Barnacles!"

Wordless Wednesday - "Pbttttttttttttt"

Scott Kelby's World Wide Photo Walk 2009

On Saturday the 18th I participated in the 2nd Annual World Wide Photo Walk! I had such a blast! Our group started at the west end of Sawyer point, walked all the way to the other end of the park, back to the purple people bridge, and ended at the Hofbrauhaus in Newport.

The above is one of my shots from the day. I actually got several shots that I am really happy with.

Interesting tidbit of the day

A friend and I were discussing the spelling of fiance. Is it fiance, or fiancee?

So we did what we always do when we have a question - GOOGLE IT!

fi⋅an⋅cé [fee-ahn-sey, fee-ahn-sey]

– {noun} a man engaged to be married; a man to whom a woman is engaged.

fi⋅an⋅cée /ˌfiɑnˈseɪ, fiˈɑnseɪ/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [fee-ahn-sey, fee-ahn-sey]

  {noun} a woman engaged to be married; a woman to whom a man is engaged.

Yummy!

Summer Safety - Recall on Pool Floats.

NEWS from CPSC

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09261.html

Aqua-Leisure Industries Recalls Inflatable Baby Floats Due to Drowning Hazard

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Inflatable Baby Floats

Units: About 4 Million

Manufacturer: Aqua-Leisure Industries, of Avon, Mass.

Hazard: The leg straps in the seat of the float can tear, causing children to unexpectedly fall into or under the water, posing a risk of drowning.

Incidents/Injuries: There have been 31 reports of float seats tearing, causing children to fall into or under the water. No injuries have been reported.

Description: The recalled inflatable baby floats were sold in a variety of styles and colors. The names and model numbers are located on the packaging. A date between 08/02 and 07/08 is molded on the valves of recalled products. Products not included in the recall can be identified with the lettering “NP” molded on the valve. The following names and model numbers are included in this recall:

Note: by clicking on any of the images below, you can view a larger version.

Picture	Name	Model Numbers	Description
	Baby & Me Combo	ET-9105	Yellow figure-8-shaped inflatable float with turquoise vinyl seat bucket and seat back, plastic ring-and-bar toy.
	Deluxe Baby Boat	ET-9110 ET-9110EU ET-9110KM ET-9110SU ET-9110WG ET-9110WM ET-9110WMUS LT-9110L	Yellow boat-shaped inflatable float with turquoise plastic handles and turquoise vinyl seat bucket and seat back.
	Deluxe Toddler Racer	ET-9215 ET-9215DG ET-9125DOL ET-9215SU LT-9215L	Yellow boat-shaped inflatable float with turquoise plastic handles and steering wheel and turquoise vinyl seat bucket and yellow seat back.
	Cozy Crab Sunshade Float/Crabby Baby Boat	SA-3223 SA-3223/24 SA-3223/24-1B SA-3223/24-2A SA-3223/24TG SA-3223/24WM SA-3223AU SA-3223KR SA-3223LD	Red crab-shaped inflatable float with red vinyl seat bucket and yellow inflatable adjustable sunshade.
	Ticklish Turtle Sunshade Float/Baby Boat	SA-3224 SA-3224AU SA-3224KR SA-3224LD SA-3224WM	Yellow and green turtle-shaped inflatable float with green vinyl seat bucket and green inflatable adjustable sunshade.
	Toddler Race Boat	SA-3225	Automobile décor and yellow boat-shaped inflatable float with green plastic handles and steering wheel and green vinyl seat bucket.
	Aquarium Baby Float	LD-3236 SA-3236	Yellow and purple inflatable float with yellow-background aquarium décor and purple vinyl seat bucket and seat back.
	Baby Adjustable Sunshade Boat Adjustable Canopy Sunshade Float Child’s Baby Boat w/ Canopy	SA-3240 LD-3242 LT-3242L SA-3242 SA-3242/43-1A SA-3242/43TG SA-3242AU SA-3242WM SA-3242WM TG-3242	Blue and white inflatable float with crab-and-beach décor, blue and white inflatable canopy and white plastic handle, blue seat bucket.
	Sunshade Wave Rider Float Child’s Wave Rider	LT-3243L SA-3243 SA-3243DOL SA-3243WM SA-3243WM	White inflatable float with aquatic décor and red seat back, blue and white inflatable canopy and blue seat bucket, red handle bars.
	Sunshade Buggy Sunshade Water Buggy (Girl/Boy)	SA-3244 SA-3244TG SA-3244WM WM-3244	Blue car-shaped inflatable float, yellow steering wheel and car-theme décor, w/ or w/o green accents or Pink car-shaped inflatable float, yellow steering wheel and car-theme décor, w/ or w/o yellow accents.
	Kiddie Cabin Cruiser	LD-3248 SA-3248 SA-3248DG SA-3248DOL	Light blue, purple and clear inflatable float with light blue car cabin-shaped inflatable canopy and décor, light blue vinyl seat bucket and seat back.
	Sing-Along Wave Rider	SA-3252 WM-3252	White inflatable float with aquatic décor and red seat back, blue and white inflatable canopy and red seat bucket, red handle bars. Plays two songs: "Twinkle Twinkle" and "Row Row Row Your Boat."
	Quacker Float	TR-7420	Yellow duck-shaped inflatable float w/ or w/o duck-theme décor, with squeezable noisemaker.
	Squirtin' Tootin' Tugboat	SA-7431	White and red boat-shaped inflatable float with red vinyl seat bucket. Has squirt gun and squeezable noisemaker.

Sold at: Juvenile product and mass merchandise retailers nationwide, including Target, Toys “R” Us, Wal-Mart, Dollar General, Kmart, Walgreens, Ace Hardware, and Bed, Bath & Beyond from December 2002 through June 2009 for between $8 and $15.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using these recalled inflatable baby floats and contact Aqua-Leisure for a full refund.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Aqua-Leisure toll-free at (866) 807-3998 between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s Web site at www.aqualeisure.com

Madison

A Walk in the Woods

I'm a little honeybee.

Brandon singing the song from the Wonder Pets.

Fun in the Sun!

Yesterday was Madison's first time in the pool. Here she is swimming with her Aunt.

Chilling out poolside. She was a bit tired at this point which resulted in the next few photos.

Finally she had had enough.

And after rocking her for a few min she was out like a light.

Summer Nights

*No fireflies were harmed in the making of this picture :)

Sleepyhead.

Maddie just loves her exersaucer.



Playing with actions in Photoshop

Processed using "The Buddy Holly" & "Vintage Killa"

Found here

Capture Cincinnati '09

Its that time of year again! The Capture Cincinnati contest kicks off this weekend! Be sure to register and vote, then look for the book!

Even only hoping to get 1 picture in the book, I got the cover last year! I can't wait to see the outcome this year. Again I'm just hoping that MAYBE one of my pictures will make it - but who knows, its just fun to enter!

Capture Cincinnati '09

Its that time of year again! The Capture Cincinnati contest kicks off this weekend! Be sure to register and vote, then look for the book!

Even only hoping to get 1 picture in the book, I got the cover last year! I can't wait to see the outcome this year. Again I'm just hoping that MAYBE one of my pictures will make it - but who knows, its just fun to enter!