Day 31

WOW! last day of January! Sure has gone by so fast!
So I often scope out killer blogs and websites that have amazing offers on products. My biggest "HIGH" that I can get is saving money on diapers. Stupid diapers! We've been buying them for 6.5 years and I CANNOT WAIT TO BE DONE WITH THEM :)
A few months ago I discovered Amazon Mom's. Not only do they have great deals on a bunch of different products but they offer 30% off diapers. In a few magazines there have been some extra coupons that you can stack making diapers nearly 75+% OFF!!
So I ordered a box of Pampers of 156 on Thursday from Amazon and they came today!
This what kind of deal I got :)
Normally on Amazon without being an Amazon Mom- would be:
$40.88
for signing up to Amazon Mom's you get 30% off.
in my free American baby magazine (I got at BabiesRus) there was a 20% coupon
in my Parenting magazine there was a $10 off amazon order.
Shipping is FREE

So this is what I paid-
Item Subtotal: $40.88
Shipping and handling: $0.00
Subscription Discount: $-12.26
Promotion Applied: $-8.18
Promotion Applied: $-10.00
Amazon clip coupon: $-1.50
Total: $8.95

Ahhhh.... getting a deal like makes me smile :D

Day 30

Oh my Mr. Buzz. Addie and I went to the store together and she picked out Toy Story crackers for her brother! Notice Hudson's jammies and sippy cup are the famous buzz too :)

Day 29

The start of week 5! This weeks themes is the "Rule of the Thirds". For many this will not mean anything to you... :)
It's a Photographers term-
One of the first things almost every photographer is taught early on is the “Rule of Thirds”. This is a very simple rule that will transform your snapshots into works of art.
Basically put, a piece of art, in this case a photo is more interesting when the subject is not centered, but instead off centered 1/3 of the way into the photo.

This is a typical 4×6 photo divided into a “Tic-Tac-Toe” grid. In this case the vertical and horizontal lines divide the photo into “Thirds”. One set, is a left, middle and right thirds, another set is top, middle and bottom. We will refer to these as the Rule of Third’s Lines. The for points where the lines cross each other, we will refer to the Rule of Third’s Points.

So as a rule, your photo will be more interesting if your subject appears at one of the 4 points or uses the lines to divide the photo.

This was just a quick shot of Makenna talking on her play phone to her "other mom" so she informed me! Notice the spacing? Another alternative to dead centered images :)

Day 28

Last day of my repetition week!
buckling in my children is very repetitious :) It's been nice- Addie and Kenna can buckle in most of the time by themselves and we just double check!
So If you know me- I'm a bit of a carseat safety patrol :) I'm extremely anal on carseat safety and read probably too much on carseats etc...
The only thing I do not skimp on is safety for my children. Carseats expire after 6 years- and here's an article to read if your interested.
safetysquad.typepad.com/safety_squad/2007/08/why-do-car-seat.html

InMarch of this year- The seat Makenna is in- was Addie's seat and it will expire then. So it's time for her to get a new one! BabiesRus is having a the Great Trade in right now- where you can bring in your old carseats and get 25% off a new one! We decided on the Britax Frontier 85. I love britax for numerous of reason... but love them even more that they've made a smaller seat vs the Britax Regents (what Addie was using) where we can continue to having Addie 5 point harnessed for another couple years.
Here is just a couple videos that made us decide to keep our kids 5pt harnessed for longer. I've seen a ton... but here's just a few.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2kO8AxKbrM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2LFo8vVi04
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azgBhZfcqaQ

Day 27

Well this is pretty repetitious for me...
after school pick up line! It's been nice living with my parents for the last 2 months- I haven't had to wake up the other 2 from their naps to get sister!

Day 26

Okay... so Hudson is an extremely picky boy. He has a texture issue with food or even with random things too- sand, dirt, rocks etc...
Hudson doesn't eat very healthy- he'll eat a few selection of fruits- no veggies, no rice- some different kind of noodles- but mostly he won't touch it. Oh and cottage cheese- he acts like we're feeding him poison. So needless to say- the boy doesn't eat very healthy. He has never like baby food... but he sure loves these- we call them squeezies. Hudson loves to feed himself and better yet- its packed with no added sugars and has a serving of fruit/veggies. He loves them! They are a bit pricey- so we stock up on sales at target and my brother found them on amazon for a fantastic price too!

Day 25

pretty much sums up what is probably the most repetitious for me. This is a family of 5's laundry for a week. 6 loads to be exact and actually I didn't get to Hudson's hamper today :)
Oh and the basket in the middle is the socks... the dreaded sock sort.

Day 24

"CHOO! CHOO!" We were given a train table from a friend- THANK YOU KIM! and Hudson just loves it! Hopefully Hudson will put down his sisters dolls to play with trains!

Day 23

My new favorite cheerios- Cinnamon buns! 1 cup = 2 weight watchers points! Sadly... a box goes so quickly here, as my kids like it too! :)

Day 22

Start of the 4th week... This theme is "repetition".
My life.- diapers. I've been changing diapers for a straight 6.5 years. The day will come that I will no longer be buying diapers... and I CAN'T WAIT! :)

Day 21

last day of the "winter" theme. This is what Oregon's winter has been for a little while! Where is the cold? where is the snow!?!?

Day 20

So the start of this new year brought many resolutions and one major one for me is to drop all this baby weight! I've added to each kid and my goal is get to what I was when we were married 7.5 years ago! So I've tried some pretty good weight watchers recipes... and I've been so proud of everyone for trying them! Addie is by far my pickiest eater -- and she's thrown quite a few fights at the dinner table. The other day Addie asked Auntie and Grandma when I was going to make a "normal dinner". So tonight I thought we'd eat left overs and made the kids macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets! She was one happy camper tonight :)

Day 19

Pretty typical for Oregon :) blue skies accompanied by dark grey nasty looking sky!

Day 18

Day 17

So today was actually a gorgeous Monday! I just never got outside to take a picture of the delightful "winter"...
So instead... after dinner I went to Gap for-40% off. If you know me... I LOVE gap clothing! They wear so well and fit my kids perfectly! It's hard finding clothes that hang good on all 3 different body types! Mr. Hudson is growing so fast- it's insane! He is in desperate need of clothes- and WOW! did I score! I was able to get Hudson 11 shirts and 4 pair of pants for--- GASP- $41.50!!!
I love good deals :)

Day 16

We stayed home today...
it was another gloomy raining day!

Day 15

Start of the 3rd week of my 365 Project! This weeks theme is winter.
I wasn't going to go follow the theme this week as it isn't near as fun to photograph winter this time of year in Oregon as in other states! A ton of other Photographers have these amazing snow 365's and I love em'! Not here though!

So I had to run to our storage unit to get a few things and on top of the storage unit while finding what I was looking for... the sound of the rain was so intense that I guess this would be a great first winter 365!
Winter in the Great Northwest!

Day 14

The girls had a game night with Aunt Gail and our cousins! What fun!
As my last Resolution for this weeks theme-- I will do my best to spend more time with my Family. My girls just love spending time with everyone!

Day 13

day 13 of my theme Resolutions...
I was going for "don't sweat the small stuff"... but his feet aren't all that small anymore :)

Day 12

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Day 11

7.5 years of marriage 3 kids, Husband working nights, small business to run... needless to say- we lack much of a dating life and sadly in our busy hustle and bustle I tend to put my husband on the back burner. I love you Chris and I promise to make more time for just the two of us from here on out! Wanna go to the movies on your next day off?

Day 10

We are determined to clear away our debt! In order to do so- having a budget is the only way we'll clear away what we got ourselves into.

Day 9

It's Sunday! It's menu and grocery shopping day!
My biggest problem with eating healthy is making meals! :) Chris, Addie and Hudson can be very picky- but I DON'T CARE ANYMORE! We're eating healthier- so deal with it!:)
It's a lot easier to stay on program when I'm cooking with my mom and sister!
We make a menu on Sundays- go grocery shopping and then- go off the menu each day of the week! Last week we tried 3 new weight watchers recipes and they were big hits- especially with our 3 picky eaters- Papa, Chris and Addie!
This week our Menu is:
all weight watcher recipes and 10 pts or LESS meals!
Monday - Chicken teriaki steamed with broccoli, carrots and green beans served with steamed rice for the non brown rice eaters and a tossed salad.
Tuesday - 3 bean and veggie Chili and whole wheat roll
Wednesday - lean steak fajitas, black beans with whole wheat high fiber tortillas fresh salsa Spanish rice and tossed salad.
Thursday - weight watchers chicken Parmesan tossed salad, garlic bread
Friday - lean beef stew with mixed veggies and red potatoes! (this recipe looks sooo good)

Day 8

So... The 2nd week the theme is Resolutions! I generally do not have resolutions as I generally do not finish them- but I'm determined this year! :)

So if you know me- I'm a coffee, flavored creamer and cracker/cereal lover. I could just snack and drink coffee daily instead of eating meals. This is bad- and I know it. I'm not willing to completely stop drinking coffee, but I'm limiting myself to 1- maybe 2 cups of coffee a day and to choose healthier food to snack on instead of the crackers I give my children! Starting this past week I've even gotten Kenna to ask for carrots for a snack instead of the crackers!

Here's to a healthier start of 2011!

Day 7

Last day of music! My dad has so many guitars and basses and this one is my favorite! Love the look! maybe someday I'll learn? eh dad?

Day 6

quick I gotta get this up before 9pm on day 6 :)

My lil' man was rocking the steel guitar with Papa tonight!

Day 5

My kiddos just love listening to Auntie sing and newest thing is learning to strum her guitar!
oh and I had to put in another picture... Hudson is such an Auntie's boy lately! He runs to the door when he knows she's coming home and he'll ask for her! "Auntie wheeeeere RRRRRR UUUUU??"

Day 4

10pm on day 4... so ready to put my 365 off for tomorrow to photograph something I have in mind, but I can't! I have to do one everyday! :) atleast I need to make it to a month- not day 4 to cheat! :)
I had a great session today and I've slacked off on my 365! Tomorrow we'll be taking down the Christmas tree; after I take my kids Christmas pictures :) so I thought I'd snap a picture of a bell- that's music right? :)

Day 3

My Dad is not only an amazing Musician but also has his own fully sound proofed studio where all his *famous cd's are recorded :)
His studio generally doesn't include a full size bed and normally would have a drum set and microphones set up- but...since moving in with my folks... and having my husband and dad working nights- the exact opposite nights might I add... we've had to move some things around so the guys could sleep without the kids waking them up during the day! Having this little "man cave" has been nice so I'm not paranoid with have someone sleeping during the day - everyday- to keep the wild bunch down :)

Day 2

So my Hudson just LOVES Buzz lightyear and boy do his sisters know this! Right before Christmas, Papa took the girls to the Dollar Tree to shop for our family! The girls picked out some great gifts for everyone and they were very thoughtful and purchased exactly what we liked! They picked out this noisy buzz tambourine which Hudson loves banging it on anything that will make it sound louder! Thanks girls and Papa! :)

Day 1

So for the first week of 2011- The theme will be music.
I don't think this week will be difficult with us currently living with my parents and sister who are musicians! :)
Today I've been cleaning up the room where I'm staying in and to keep me from going crazy in this small room with clothes and Christmas presents where I have no idea what to do with- Pandora music is my friend.

A New Year!

My 365 Journey...
2010 has been amazing! My business has taken off and I couldn't be happier! I find so much joy in what I do... in capturing a special time in Families lives; from watching and capturing a brand new newborn being embraced in his Mommy's arms for the first time... to a little 9 month old so proud of herself as she attempts to pull herself up along a chair. I LOVE 1 year old clients who either LOVE diggin' in a cake or how absolutely HATES it and me for being involved into this mess!
My job is such a blessing and feel so lucky that I'm able to stay at home with my 3 children and to schedule sessions around ballet, gymnastics and school activities! I've met so many fantastic families and for them to start off as a stranger and leave has friends and clients for life.... makes my job worth every struggle and stress with what it takes with running a business!

2010 has been an incredibly busy year. We made a huge move where we are currently still on our "adventure" ... waiting for our new house.
Between huge changes for our family and working probably a little more then I should- I've neglected photographing for FUN! I find photographing my own children a chore - and I want to change in 2011. My goal is to have a theme every week and to photograph something around the theme everyday. I also want to photograph my children for fun and not to end a session with one of my kids in tears or with me fuming :) Yes I fume with my children as I think they should know better and behave... but in all reality they are just like my clients and I need to treat them like I do others :) bring on the bribes!

Okay enough with this blogging as I'm not much of a blogger and feel more like I ramble then anything else!
Thank you to all my amazing clients who have kept me one busy lady and for all the referrals! I do not advertise and to have kept so busy from
Happy New Year!