Halloween Confessions!

Happy Halloween to everyone! It's already been a busy day around here! How about you? Well here's my thoughts on some Halloween happenings....

1. Breaking news if you haven't heard, Kim Kardashian is filing for divorce this morning from Kris Humphries. Only 72 days into marriage, I am sure that there are a lot of us that might have had a tough first year of marriage but didn't go that route! Sad for them and it's still proving that money can't buy people happiness!

2. We went to a celebrity themed Halloween party over the weekend. The hubs & I went as individual costumes, he as Steve Jobs and I as Lindsay Lohan, the mugshot version (hence the face in the pic). In this pic we are with the clear winners of the "couple costume" category - they made a fabulous Russell Brand & Katy Perry!

3. We carved our pumpkins with the kids yesterday. I had one of those little pumpkin carving kits which promises "you can make awesome pumpkin like a pro with these cheap little tools" - so not the case! I let Dean choose what I carved so he chose the "spoooky spookies" also known as ghosts :) Matt did the face on the right!

4. I am officially a huge new fan of Pinterest. I totally tried to avoid joining for the last 5 months as the invite sat in my inbox for fear of addiction. It is super easy to get addicted to this online inspiration board! Makes me want to go search for inspirations. If you are on Pinterest, follow me & I will return the favor!

5. Dean has been saying "twick or tweat" to anyone who will listen today in order to get "tandy!" He & Macy will be Woody & Jesse with Max being Bullseye the horse tonight :) Will attempt to post pics!

6. Have you tried the snickers peanut butter squares yet?! I love them, of course I need to hold off on eating too many. What's your favorite candy? Aka, what will you steal from your kids bags of candy after bedtime tonight?!

7. My mom was a sewer and always made my costumes and we used to beg her to "be like normal people and buy our costume at the store." I feel like a bit of a mom failure right now for buying my kids costumes from the store this year but hey, I have three kids under the age of 3! I did wait for the costumes to go half price and I had a coupon on top of that, so I was at least thrifty. One of my most memorable costumes my mom made was a "tube of toothpaste" -sorry don't have a photo to post. What's one of your most memorable costumes?

8. Kids have been sick with colds so we are off to the doctor for a Halloween visit. It's been long enough that I am worried about ear infections. I think that there should be a mom class on how to use one of those ear light thingies to look in your kids ear to diagnose an ear infection :) It's one of those illnesses that can have all different symptoms or no symptoms and still make your kid miserable!

9. I think I need to cut myself off from facebook more. It's just so easy to hop on and see what's going on "out there" but it's way to easy to waste time or to be overly affected by things people post. It could have nothing to do with me but I might start thinking about it or mull it over...I have plenty of things I need to mull over myself and probably don't need to insert myself in other's business. Am I weird? Thoughts?

10. We are in the middle of lots of life decisions. I will share as I see fit but definitely think of us in your prayers (and no I am not pregnant, thankyouverymuch!) :) 

Happy Halloween and have a great Monday!

Autumn Beach Wedding, Dewey Beach, DE

It's a gutsy thing to plan an outdoor wedding in the fall, but it worked out in this bride's favor. The forecast called for major wind but was ohterwise gorgeous. This bride and groom bonded over their love of the beach, so it was a natural perfect spot to hold their ceremony. All the details were great and I had a wonderful time with Rob & Laura on their big day, I will let the images speak for themselves!

Fun details..

Getting Ready...

 A pretty bride on her way to her ceremony...

Great beach setting...

Rob has two beautiful teenage daughters that joined Laura for this photo!

A beautiful new family, including Rob's daughters & Laura's son. 

First dance as husband & wife!

Best wishes to Rob & Laura!

Monday Confessions

First of all, none of you yelled at me for not posting pictures last week! Oh well, it's my fault and not yours :) It's fun to point fingers though isn't it?! Life throws curve balls at us all the time so things don't always go according to plan. Here's what I confess...

1. I have yet to EVER use my Canon 5D for video! Shame on me...I know...but I am just not a video girl.

2. I am currently working on a photojournalism lesson/assignment for my class this week - I was checking out amazing work on the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) website. Check it out if you have a few minutes and want to be inspired or saddened as the case may be. Some amazing work is produced and some very sad stories are all told through the lenses of these photojournalists.

3. I am currently loving listening to Lady Antebellum, can't get enough of them!

4. I enjoyed a free Dunkin' Iced Coffee today, French Vanilla cream & sugar. How do you like yours?

5. I need super nanny. All the books in the world aren't cutting it with my twin two-year olds! I need Jo Jo! I think that everything sounds better in British accent anyway!

6. Someone dropped the cutest bucket-o-fun on our doorstep over the weekend. It's a cute little pumpkin bucket saying "you've been booed." So thanks to whoever "booed" us & we will attempt to return the favor.

7. My daughter is 2 year 3 months and VERY attatched to her pacifier. Dean actually never really wanted one until we had Max, now he is attached to having it in his bed at night as well. Suggestions for getting rid of it?

8. They say that the way Michangelo created a sculpture was he found a great peice of marble and "saw" the figure trying to get out. He would carve the marble into the figure he imagined living within the rock. Why am I telling you this? I keep working out looking at my current self, praying that something beautiful and statuesque will surely appear eventually!

9. I seriously get more magazines right now than I have time to read! I get Parentlng, Real Simple, Us Weekly (freebie that somehow keeps coming?!), and Woman's Day (another freebie). I miss my old interior design mags like Domino and Cottage Living - the economy killed them, among other things.

10. I have taken a new liking to talk radio. Seriously, send my AARP membership now :) I love listening to Dave Ramsey especially, so inspiring! He gives such encouraging advice on how to use our money for our good.

Hope you all had a great Monday! I will attempt to post photo work this week, hold me to it!

Monday confessions

1. I almost forgot about iced coffee Monday! I am hoping to get it on my way to class :)

2. Looking forward to viewing my students projects today about the fall season!

3. My dog barks WITHOUT FAIL as soon as I get all 3 kids sleeping...makes me want to kill him. Seriously...he's barking right now and I just got all 3 down. (But I just checked, not his fault, stray kids running all through people's yards!)

4. Made it to the gym today which is no small feat with 3 kids in tow! I would just like to say to all of you in your cute, matching gym outfits - please don't be jealous of my gym shorts and my husbands XL t-shirt that didn't even match!

5. Photographed a beautiful beach wedding this past Saturday, can't wait to share some images with you soon! Again, hope to be posting more of my fall sessions this week! Hold me to it friends :)

I am really boring today... a regular mom who is tired, has a constant mess to clean up after her kids, a bit of a headache and is tired of her toddlers not listening to a word she says! Pray for my sanity :) Have a great Monday!

Behind the Scenes

"Putting your best foot forward" is an old saying that really means that you show off the best part of yourself. Most photo blogs are all about that, we pick the "best of the best" to show the readers. We certainly don't usually show the out of focus, under exposed, or oddly composed images. Last week I showed you a few new favorite shots of my kids and I often talk about how hard it is for me to get good photos of them! If you think child photography is "easy" because kids are "cute." That is actually far from the truth and honestly, I still don't have a photo that I love with all 3 of my kids in it! Here's an attempt to get a photo of all three...

Hopefully you are laughing by now and realize just how hard it can be to get multiple kiddos in one shot! To get them all looking the same direction, smiling, not drooling, running away, or hurting each other feels like a near impossibility!

Here's another attempt where I felt a  lot like Dean...would rather bang my head on the ground!

So to get this...

 This is my ABSOLUTE new fav of Max!! 

You have to also take a stack of these...

 

 

Hope I made you smile today! Happy Tuesday!

Monday Confessions

Good Morning...

1. Max slept from 9pm to 5:30am, this is huge people! Lets hope it's starting a trend :) Having consecutive hours of sleep makes a mommy much happier.

2. When I walked in the twins room this morning I found both twins and all their blankies/stuffed animals together in Macy' crib :) Dean cannot be contained!

3. I have exactly three loads on laundry washed and dried.....waiting for me to fold it!

4. This weekend kept me busy with a yard sale, photo shoots, etc so my house is looking a little rough this morning, might need to do something about that today!

5. I found the FUNNIEST new show. If you are a young parent, you need to check out NBC's "Up All Night." I was laughing so hard I almost cried. It's the tale of new parents and all the things that go along with having a newborn around; things like living in a "sweatpants purgatory" or realizing that your fancy convertible just won't cut it with a carseat. I think it might be on Wednesdays but I caught it on demand, it's great for a laugh!

6. There are all sorts of online Columbus Day sales going on with free shipping, better hide my laptop from myself today...or maybe start my christmas shopping?! It's only 2 months & 2 weeks away! AHHHHH....

7. Is anyone else tired of the plethora of emails in your inbox each morning?! I do love me a good groupon but I sweat I have to automatically delete at least 10 emails each morning of stuff I don't even look at.

8. We are in the research phase of selling our house... I have had two different realtors not return my calls after talking to them. It's such a bummer because it makes me wonder what kind of agent they would be?! Might have to move on to another!

9. I am not a fan of cutting the kids finger nails but it's something that needs to be done often or they get claws...I mean think about it, that's 60 finger/toe nails I have to trim :)

10. I will have more exciting things to post this week like photo shoots so make sure you check back in later this week!

Have a super week!

A Day in My Life

"You have your hands full" is the most common comment I get out in public. Some people are sweet about it, reminding them of their days as parents of little ones. Others are a little more brash like "You know where babies come from, right?!" I will be the first to admit that many days can be exhausting and down right tough...but I know these moments are fleeting.

A common misconception is that I am a photographer so I must have tons of great pictures of my own kids, right?! Wrong! I am busier being their mom than taking the time to photograph them. I forced a last minute photo session this past weekend with our kids to try to get some pictures of these growing little people! We bribed them with lolly pops and lunch at friendlys to get these images....I am not going to lie, I got choked up while editing. I can't believe how the twins are becoming real little people with opinions and personalities, everything from Dean telling me I need to drive the "other way to dama's [grandma's] house" and "I no like 'dis" about whatever dinner I made.... 

I will have some more of these to post but these are just a few I had time to post tonight!

This is how a lot of trouble starts...

And then there's sweet baby Max who is an angel 99% of the time!

Monday Confessions

1. Max is now a rolling machine and gets annoyed that he can't roll back! He's still just a one-directional roller and it frustrates him. I alos get the job of rolling him back :) Playing in his activity gym!

2. I sometimes wonder if I have bitten off more than I can chew, but that never really seems like an option. My photography business has been booming in great ways, it's a full fall season! In the next couple weeks I have more family and couple sessions, as well as a beautiful beach wedding! I am looking forward to all of it! With this being said though, I am booking for sessions on a limited basis in November. Please still feel free to contact me with your inquiries!

3. Dean has gotten very vocal with his opinion, he has now told me "I no like 'dis" about my music, my tv shows, food I feed him and you name it! OH two-year olds :)

4. The twins love pumpkins and picked out their own this past weekend. They also like to point them out everywhere we go!

5. It's free iced coffee Monday at Dunkin Donuts, if you didn't find the card in your mail last week it's totally worth picking through your recycle bin!

6. Today is the birthday of Luke, one of the twins best little buds, so HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY LUKE! Dean knows it's his birthday & keeps walking around singing "Happy Luke" - super cute!

7. It's going to be a community yard sale in our 'hood this weekend, it's been good motivation to get some "stuff" cleaned out of my house! I think I will set up shop on yard sale day!

8. Speaking of yard sales, I scored an awesome tumbling set for toddlers this weekend at a yard sale! M & D have been LOVING it! It's been everything from a jungle gym to their stage for concerts. I just snapped Macy standing on the block singing into a toy screw :) And notice Dean's tongue...nice

9. Yesterday was a let down for Philly fans, the Eagles and the Phillies had great early leads and then still managed to lose! Sad day..

10. We went to target this morning and it was one of those adventures that I managed to spend $100 on what seemed like nothing...diapers, a few groceries, new toothbrushes... guess that's life!

That's all for now friends! Happy Monday!

Lovely Girls Events!

As as wedding photographer I get to know lots of great people out in the wedding "arena," so to speak. I had the privilege yesterday to guest blog for the Lovely Girls. Check out the post here!

Are you local to DE and need an event or wedding planner? Liza and Nicole are your girls! Nicole attended the University of Delaware while majoring in Fashion Merchandising and recently received her Wedding Planning Certification from the Wedding Planning Institute in the Spring of '09. Liza found her passion in event planning, so she decided to minor in event planning while earning her bachelors degree from Temple University in public relations and journalism. The girls both have a passion for design, fashion, organization, and food! These are good qualities for event planners if you ask me. They also each have their own sense of style that play into their planning process.

The Lovely Girls offer many different planning services,  specializing in full service wedding planning in the Tri-State area. They also offer partial wedding planning as well as month-of wedding planning for those brides and grooms that are further along with their plans.

Here's a snapshot of Nicole hard at work!

 

Happy Friday friends! I hope to have some fun things up my sleeve for next week. I realize that Max is now four months old and that requires a photo session for sure! Hoping that I can get to it this weekend!

Suzi & Charlie Engaged!

  They met when he started frequenting where she worked as a server, just goes to show you never really know when your "forever" might walk through the door! Suzi and Charlie are happily engaged to be married next September. We had a blast out in Fair Hill, MD for this engagement session.

  We also had fun figuring out that we actually all knew each other already. I thought that this was just a simple "internet hookup" but we realized that Charlie and I knew each other for a brief time in college when he wrestled for UD. Suzi and I figured out that she was serving at a country club the same day I was working one of my very "memorable" weddings that included a bar fight! Yes...you read that right, bar fight between grown men... good times :) Enjoy!

Hydrangea Wreath

So once in a while I get to feeling crafty! I saw my beautiful hydrangeas in our front yard changing into their pretty fall greens and reds and it inspired me to do a wreath. It is very simple and homemade! It also only cost me $2, because the foam ring was $1 and the spool of wire was $1 at, you guessed it, the dollar store! I cut the blooms and let them dry for a few days first before creating the wreath. I have to say though that between further drying and gravity it has a little bit of a lumpy shape going on after a week of hanging...oh well, ocassionally it's good to celebrate the imperfect :)

All the goods...

The wreath after a week of hanging on my back door...

Happy Tuesday friends!

Monday Confessions

1. Little man still doesn't sleep through the night and likes to wake up early...I confess I am tired :) But he's cute! I have been slacking on his pictures, you would think once a week would be easy...not so much.

2. Dean can escape his crib very efficiently now and scared me to death at 5am yesterday when he came running into my room saying "blanket on, blanket on" - he needed me to take him back to bed and you guessed it, put his blanket on! Toddler bed here we come...

3. Gas prices apparently dropped wickedly overnight, don't you know we filled the tank yesterday afternoon?!

4. Macy's princess sneakers went missing last Sunday evening and we searched high and low for them all week. We even thought they might be in the diaper pail trash so we took out the bag...jiggled the bag of stinky diapers in a dark room to see if the light-up princess shoes were in there... we finally found them saturday when it was laundry time in the bottom of OUR hamper! Just glad we found them while they still fit her feet :)

5. The hubs came home with Dunkin' Donuts K-Cups this weekend and I totally looked forward to making one this morning. It didn't dissapoint, YUM!

6. We are in the middle of trying to sell off one of my dad's houses, if you are looking for a cute starter house north of Wilmington in DE, check it out!

7. I made a cute wreath from our drying Hydrangeas, will post pics later!

8. REALLY ready for fall weather to come and stay! SO TIRED of sweat!

9. I am reading one of Lauren Conrad's L.A. Candy Novels, it's a huge departure from the amazing true story of Louis Zamperini that I just finished in Laura Hillenbrands Unbroken. Highly recommend reading Unbroken,  it was an amazing story of WWII. There were parts that were hard to get through but I stuck it out and it was worth it! As for LC's novel...I will let you know how it turns out... I haven't read anything of hers yet. The story so far is about as deep as The Hills, so you know it's actuallly pretty shallow. What was I expecting?! :)

10. I put out some fun fall decorations and the kids love to run around and point out "new pumpkins." I am going to attempt to take the kids to an orchard this morning with a friend, we will see how it goes. I hope I come home with my sanity and all 3 kids!

Have a great week friends! Keep an eye on the blog for more posts of photos later this week..

Delaware Bride, Fall/Winter Edition

Once again another great edition of Delaware Bride is out today! In the latest Fall/Winter edition you will find all the usual great wedding ideas and vendors. You will also find a photo from one of my recent weddings. This one is actually special because if you recall this is Matt's Grandmother and her husband who were married earlier this year. For all of you more mature brides out there, there is certainly a place for you too!

Here's the picture that made it in,

emilytroutmanphoto.com

Head over to Delaware Bride online to check it out!

Bobby & Julie

Here's a recent engagement session with a fun couple at Rockwood Mansion in Wilmington! Thanks Bobby & Julie for a fun afternoon! 

A UD Wedding

They met during grad classes at UD. She said hi to him and then he went home to analyze what kind of "hi" was this. They eventually went on a study date to Brew Ha Ha for coffee...the rest was history! I have known Meghan for a long time and absolutely adore her. It was a privelege to capture her wedding day as she joined her life to Eric. I always wondered who would deserve her and Eric definitely does! Their wedding had a very appropriate UD color scheme and even had a surprise guest during the reception. Congrats to you Meghan & Eric and....GO HENS!

Monday Confessions

1. I am sorry that my blog is me neglected child! I am holding myself to posting some photo sessions this week - you can yell at me if I don't. Like I said before, it's not for lack of work, I actually have so much I am having a hard time getting it all posted!

2. Had a great shoot yesterday afternoon out at Fair Hill, MD. Fabulous weather and light...look what a little off roading did to the swagger wagon!

Never say I don't go that extra mile because I will, even in mud :)

3. I fed the twins fluffernutter sandwiches for lunch and was SHOCKED when they didn't really care. It was the first time I was ever going to let them try it and I felt like the coolest mom ever. They didn't really eat them so I guess my kids are telling me they want to be healthy...that or the chants for jello were their main concern. Don't judge me - every day is a survival game with them! haha!

4. Max went for his 4 month appointment today, although it was a little over a week early. He is 18lbs 2 ozs and 25 1/4 inches already! He's the 95 percentile for weight, can we say linkebacker?! He was not a fan of the shots but who would be?! Can't wait to see what he thinks of real baby food.

5. I am dog tired. I run around like I have it all together but really I am pretty worn out today. We are trying to get into the swing of our new Fall schedule and I think that we are getting there. I am like every other working mom that is trying to make it all work! It's a definitely balancing act! I am so thankful for all the friends and family that help me all the time to make it work!

6. Did you hear that they fired a few of the NYC housewives or make that like all of them from the Bravo show?! Jill Zarin, Kelly Bensimon, Alex McCord and the "new girl" Cindy didn't even make it past a season. What the heck kind of show can they have with Ramona and the Countess?! Confess readers - what fall TV shows are you looking forward to?!

7. I attempted to put out all my cute pumpkins and fall stuff this weekend but it didn't happen...maybe this week!

Have a great week everyone!

Monday Confessions.. early edition

1. We are getting less sleep with a 14 week old than when we had a 6 week old! Something is up with this kid and he's keeping us up at night...Matt is my hero though, he took Max last night so that I could get a good stretch of sleep! I think lack of sleep can sometimes be the hardest thing about parenting little ones!

2. I bought my kids the light up sneakers with characters on them...never thought I would be "that mom" but hey, they love them and happily wear them! Never underestimate things that make a 2 yr old compliant!

3. I know my photo blogging has been a little sparce but it's not that I don't have work to blog - it's the opposite! I have been so busy that I need to get to it! Hope to share some wedding work with you this week!

4. My mom got me Pumpkin Spice K cups and they have been a source of morning joy for me over the last week! It really is the small things...

5. Yesterday on my way to a photo shoot I listened to Boston, Lady Antebellum, The Band Perry, Katy Perry...I like to mix it up :) Got there with a smile on my face ready to work!

6. I want the humidity to go away and I see the forecast is calling for some nice fall weather later this week. I am really ready to be done with sweating! Every time I get somewhere with my kids, I am sweating by the time I get them there. Never understimate the workout it is to get 3 kids in and out of the car, car seats, getting the stroller out, etc... I sometimes think about it and change my mind on even going anywhere!

7. I don't get the whole "Dancing with the Stars" thing...never have gotten into it...basically D list celebrities shaking their bon bons for approval!

8. Yesterday (9/11) had me thinking about where I was during the attacks..in college, walking to my classes  and had no idea that the world was falling apart and changing forever. I walked through the student center and learned of the attacks. It was eerily quiet in the student center that day....

9. My son is learning tons of new words and he proudly yelled "shut up" to his baby brother during a crying fit over the weekend. My jaw dropped and I fought the urge to laugh. I asked him where he learned such not nice words but of course I knew it was one of his saintly parents! Humility...

10. I live in fear of potty training our twins..how do you know when they are really ready?! How do you know that you are ready as a mom? Well for now, I live in fear of pee pee in the potty and will still be changing 3 booties all day!

Happy Monday friends!

Bucks County Engagement

This past Labor Day, it felt like a thousand degrees in the shade and kept looking like a storm any minute! What's that you say? A perfect day for an photoshoot?! Exactly! Tyler and Barabara Jo recently got engaged after meeting at Penn State and dating for a few years (sorry for the oversimplication of your relationship :). Tyler got a sweet bulldog girl puppy named Lenni to use as a part of the engagement plan! Barbara Jo had wanted a puppy for some time and really what is cuter than a bulldog?! Tyler is a lifetime friend of my husband so as we hung out on our Labor Day picnic, I surprised them with a visit to the nearby train station for a short engagement session. Tyler, Barbara Jo and Lenni were all good sports even in the heat! Can't wait for fall weather personally... Tyler and Barbara Jo, you are a beautiful couple and we can't wait to celebrate with you on your wedding day next fall!

Max & Confessions!

So I know it's Tuesday but it FEELS like Monday! It definitely helped to wake up to some cool fall weather...

1. We had a long night and I was up a lot. When I am this tired I need to remind myself that it's a privelege to  be a mother!

2. I am reading Organized Simplicity, great concepts for running a home and a good philosophy for living a life free of clutter - both literally and metaphorically. 

3. I am also reading a WWII tale, Unbroken, which is a true story. Sometimes the true story is the hardest part...and maybe I shouldn't reading about Japanese military attacks in the middle of the night, leads to scary dreams - but that is exactly it - the generation of men that lived through is a dying breed and i am sure their dreams were a lot worse. It makes me think often of my Grandfather Frey, who was a WWII veteran and passed away almost a year ago already. So thankful for all those who have served our great country!

4. I got up and baked pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, was in the mood for a yummy treat that the kids might actually eat! 

5. We failed with Max for week 12 so here's week 13...love this sweet kid, even when he doesn't sleep.... he was feeling the animal print and bulldog theme :) And yes, he's wearing 6 to 12 mos clothes at 3 mos old!

 

Happy Tuesday that feels like Monday!

Catastrophic Confessions....

I am only calling the the catastrophic confessions because if you live in my part of the country it's been a crazy weather week! So here goes..

1. Endured my first earthquake while staring at my 2 yr old son, as we both stood frozen and trying to figure out why our house was shaking! Macy cried from her crib, I was in the middle of putting them down for nap. It was a super weird feeling and I am glad it wasn't worse because I didn't react in the right way at all. It was like my feet were stuck to the floor trying to figure out what was going on.

2. We had a little Hurricane this past weekend that resulted in a few things...

• sleeping in our basement for an evening, thank goodness it's a finished basement!
• bailing out a sump-pump manually when the power went out
• praying that trees wouldn't fall on our house
• being stuck in the house for days at a time...all in all not much to complain about!
• dean singing "raining, pouring" for hours on end while begging to go to the pool?!

3. My 2yr twins think that the ice cream man is really the "music truck" :) This is a little mama white lie that saves me from them begging for ice cream everytime we hear him coming. Eventually the cat will be out of the bag and we will have to start saving our quarters for those firecracker ice pops but until then I will enjoy Dean's little song where he sings "music truck, music truck."

4. Matt (the hubs) decided to try to fly our kite in the hurricane winds yesterday...hilarious ending when he lost control and the kite flew away hitting a shed, a playhouse and a few other things before landing about 3 football fields away in someone's tree...how embarassing and hilarious!

5. Max weighs 17lbs at 3 months, NFL anyone?! I will try to post his pics later or tomorrow!

Ta-ta for now friends!