Monday Confession..Chaos as always!

Well friends I don't even really know where to start today! It is winding down finally...just ate my dinner at 7:30 if that tells you anything about this day.

1. Thanksgiving is usually full of feasting and relaxing but ours was full of icky sickies and moving! Kids were all sick (will chat more about this in 2) and we were moving on Black Friday. Moving is certainly a type of upheaval to say the least. Eventhough you take your family and all your cherished posessions with you - you realize you will have no idea where half your stuff is for weeks :) We had WONDERFUL friends that helped us so much on Friday to get to our new house, we can't praise them enough! By Friday night everyone had a place to sleep and we had enough of the kitchen together that we knew we would eat :)

2. I have been at the pediatrician 4 out of the last 5 Mondays. Every Monday since Halloween with the exception of one, I have had a sick kid(s) at the doc if that tells you anything!

3. Today at the Doc, Mr. Dean decided to use his lightning fast feet to run from me in the waiting room, out the door of the practice and into the elevator! He was ready to go down & "push da buddon mommy." Oh you laugh...it happened TWICE! He got away from the nurses station too while we were doing weights and measures. People, I cannot make this stuff up! On moving day he opened a car door while the car was in motion while my mom was watching him..oh yes, doors the were locked, he unlocked them first & then opened the door. Remember, he has lightning speed with all things naughty!

4. Remember how I was talking about getting rid of the pacifiers? Well, we tried a sneaky trick and told the kids they got lost on the way to new house. They only asked for them the first naptime....success!

5. Moving will also show you if you are a good housekeeper or not...I learned that I STINK at dusting. We found dust bunnies bigger than Macy and Dean under a few things...gross...I apparently need to revive my inner domestic goddess and get right on that!

6. Max was 6 months old yesterday. I cannot believe it, but he's just as sweet as he can be. I will be working on a photoshoot this week for him - he deserves it! He does at least now have his very own room :)

7. Christmas decorations just make me happy...except that I have been sweating while putting them up. What's up with the Ca-RAZY weather?! It was like 70 today! Here's what we've got going on at our house...we are so excited to have an actual mantel for our stockings!

8. Yesterday during naptime Matt & I decided to put up some christmas lights on our front bushes to surprise the kids. Matt purchased a timer with remote so you can just click the lights on from inside the house - some say lazy, I say genius! Anyhow, we wanted to pull up to the house & click on the lights at night to surprise the kids. We made the fatal mistake of going to look at the rest of the neighborhood's lights first. Apparently we live in the same type of neighborhood from Christmas with the Kranks because there were some amazing light displays. I am talking large Frosties, Mr. & Mrs. Claus, Mickey & Minnie, Santa in a hot air balloon things.....so when we pulled in our driveway and our little white lights went on, the twins said "oh." LOL, Christmas light FAIL! We know better for next time, show them our boring little light show first and then move on to the rest of the 'hood!

9. I feel like a college kid instead of the instructor...class is winding down and I am ready for winter break! We have our final portfolio's due next week and they had their final projects due today. I have to say, the students came up with some great ideas, very pleased with their creativity today!

10. If you see more gray hair on my head...you know why, I am leading a very full and busy life. One step at a time until the next confessions....

Monday Confessions

Whew...another CRAZY Monday! Where do I begin?!

1. Well yesterday afternoon I had a date with some lovely ladies to see Breaking Dawn: Part 1. It was good I guess, but I read the book so long ago I had forgotten so much of the subtext. I had to keep leaning over to my friends to ask about secret powers, etc. I definitely recommend doing a re-read before you go if it's been a while!  About the wedding dress too - it was so anticipated, I personally loved the back & hated the front!

2. When I got home from the movie I picked up baby boy Max and realized immediately that he was wheezing. He hadn't been feeling well nad had started with a cough. I knew it was serious and it being a Sunday night, we had to head to the local er. Sure enough, he was wheezing and tested postive for RSV. The poor kid could hardly sleep for coughing but we still saw his sweet smile here and there. Took another trip to the doc today to follow up, got another breathing treatment and were sent home..Lets just say its been a long 24 hours but good news is Max just played in his jumpy and is now having a bottle, so I think we are on the up & up! We have another friend tonight who's little baby girl is suffering from the same thing with more severity so please keep them in your prayers as well!

3. To the people that will help us move this friday, please don't judge me for the cobwebs we uncover, the organization (or lack there of) in my house, another dirt we discover or how many pairs of shoes I own. I am working on simplifying, I promise. I confess that I am not super mom, when things get hectic, cleaning can be the first thing to go. You should see the pile of laundry that is waiting for me to finish this post!

4. There will be a Black Friday SALE to all my clients from this year...details will come via your online galleries on Friday!!!!

5. It is indeed Thanksgiving week..so much to be thankful for! Even just living in a place where we have access to clean water and medical care, that's so much more than a lot of the world.  Here are some things to ponder...

• If you woke up this morning healthy ... remember that you are much better off than the million who will not survive this week.

• If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the fear and loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pain of starvation ... you are better off than 500 million people in the world.

• If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep ...you are more comfortable than 75% of the people in this world.

• If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, spare change in a drawer, a pocket or somewhere ...you are among the top 8% of the world's most wealthy people.

• If you can read this, remember that there are over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.
• If you have your own PC at home, you own something that costs more than an average person earns in an entire year in Somalia or Sierra Leone.

Happy Thanksgiving week Friends!

Tuesday Confessions because Monday was nuts!

Ever had a day that felt like 3 days in one?! Well that was yesterday! I won't bore you with details but lets just say it started with a baby cry at 6am and ended with me in the doctor's office at 8pm for evening hours with Dean. Life is an adventure!

1. I am stuck in the middle of One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp,  can't decide if I already got the point or if I need to keep going. It is very flowery writing which sometimes loses me and other times transports me right to the time and place she is speaking of. I also have not had much time to read which probably doesn't help. For those that have read it, should I keep going??

2. If you want to bring me happiness in a cup, just deliver a Grande Skinny Vanilla Latte from Starbucks, it's my favorite right now :) It's warm, sweet, and yummy - all good things!

3. Did you know that credit cards were not prevalent in the US until the 1980's? They are such a part of our everyday lives, that it's hard to imagine them not around. I am not necessarily saying this is a good thing for us to have them. In fact, that's when our debt crisis really started and American families carrying debt became "normal." We are doing our very best as a family to stay out of debt, we are by no means experts but are learning to live within our means. If you want to learn more about great financial strategies, head to Dave Ramsey.  He also has a great talk radio show if you want to check it out :) Yes...I like talk radio.

4. My house is a disaster, besides the usual mess, we are dealing with the moving mess. Any tips from you all out there on moving? I feel like it's a monumental task especially with small kids, but we are so thankful for what lies ahead. (We still need a renter so if you know anyone or are looking, please contact me!)

5. Parenting is flat out hard. I am pretty sure no one ever knows what they are getting into when they begin a family. I feel like I ride a daily roller coaster with the kids with emotions, behavior, etc. Not all the books in the world prepare you for when your a 2 year-old is....

• stripping down naked while holding poopy diaper in hand
• dumping a GALLON of water on your kitchen floor when you are trying to leave the house
• disconnecting the car from the car seat while you are driving 60mph
• opening the fridge and helping himself
• letting himself out the front door
• grabbing your keys (while you are putting other child in carseat) & climbing in front seat, putting keys in ignition and starting car
• spilling an entire cup of juice all down the stairs and wall because he decided to throw it
• running away from you in parking lots
• fighting with you about every food you put on his plate

These are just a few things that have happened in the last week! It's exhausting but there are also other things like....

• saying "thank you mommy" when I do something for them
• singing "jesus loves me" and "frosty the snowman" spontaneously
• saying "happy birthday mommy" at random times throughout the day
• racing to the mailbox and your 2 yr old saying "I win"
• riding the dog and saying "yee-haw'
• playing in the leaves & pointing out every pumpkin that we pass

6. We are looking forward to a fun family weekend to pause and enjoy life in the middle of the chaos. Thomas the Train is coming to Lancaster, PA and Grandma is taking us all this weekend! I might be as excited as the kids :) Looking forward to just enjoying family time in the middle of this busy season for us!

7. Breaking Dawn (Part of the Twilight series) comes out this weekend! Going to see it with some girls on Sunday, excited to see how they bring the book to life! Hope they don't check ID's at the door & kick out the old girls :)

8. I turn 30 in less than 3 months...my weight loss goals are slower than I liked but am taking it one day at a time. At least I did make it to the Y to run yesterday during the chaos of the day, lets hope I get there at least a couple more times this week! We shall see!

I was reminded this week of the old saying, "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!" So one bite at a time we will "eat our elephant!" Have a great week friends!

Monday Confessions with some big news!

People always say "I don't know how you do it." Neither do I most of the time...

1. Here's a glimpse into just one small moment of my day, trying to take the kids to the YMCA. I get a workout on the way to my workout. Imagine having to get two 2yr-olds and a 23 lb 5 month-old into the gym. You have two choices, to pull out the 50 lb double stroller and hook the extra seat to it to make it a triple (this takes at least 5 minutes & then where the heck do you leave that beast during your workout) OR to put the 5 month-old in the snap-n-go while letting the 2yr-olds walk. It sounds simple enough but not if your toddlers like to run away like Dean. I go with option two today and end up carrying Macy while pushing Max and convincing Dean to "help" me push Max, all while weaving through cars. Dean runs when he sees something so I run after him and leave Max in the middle of the parking lot. I round Dean back up & get back to Max.

We finally make it to the door, Dean pushes the button for the automatic door to open and we make it to the check-in desk. I have to let go of Dean's hand and afer a second the guy behind me says "you have a jailbreak!" I look back to see Dean jetting back to the front door to play with the buttons again! I run to get him with Macy still in arms and completely leave Max unattended. I get Dean & we go back to the desk, get all our cards swiped and continue on to the kids classrooms. Drop off involves crying and cajoling but I am determined for a workout! Mind you this is all BEFORE I go run on the treadmill for half an hour. And remember, this crazy process has to be repeated on the way back out the door - all under the comments of old ladies "you have your hands full" or those looks from people like "do you know where babies come from?" Yes friends...this is just a small moment of my usual day and I was just thankful it was sunny (imagine that scenario with rain, excessive wind, etc), crazy right?!

2. Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 1 on November 19th - do you have your tickets yet? I do :) And before you ask, yes, I am an almost 30 year old woman! Don't hate, I am going with friends too!

3. In the same vain, I am kind of excited to listen to Justin Bieber's new Christmas Album, Under the Mistletoe. Hey who doesn't need new Christmas music to jam to?! I realize this puts me into cougar/creeper status but at least I am up front about it! It takes me back to high school when I jammed to 98 Degrees Christmas album on repeat!

4. Not a fan of political propoganda on tv... next year is not going to be fun with a presidential election!

5. Our other BIG NEWS is that we are MOVING!!! Our little townhouse has served us well for just over 5 years but it just can't contain our growing family. Moving out of our first home is a little bittersweet. We absolutely love this place, the location, the neighbors, but it's just too small for our brood! Max has been bunking with us and is ready for his own room! We will be moving to Middletown, it's a whole new town for us but thankfully is still not too far from family and friends or all my wonderful clients. Pictures of the new house will follow at some point in the next month. (We are going to rent the townhouse out, so if you or someone you know is interesting in renting in Bear, DE come January 1st, please shoot me an email! I would love to tell you about the house).

Well those were some long confessions so I will cut myself off for now, have a great week friends!

Great Fall Family Photo Shoot!

I met Kim through MOPS, Mother's of Preschoolers, a great way for moms of young ones to connect! We were in the same group last year and got to know each other. She learned that I was a photographer and connected with my work online. She and her family even came out to support when I had work in the Art Loop in Wilmington, which was a great! It's wonderful to have friends that support your work! We were excited to get together for a fall session. When the weather was done playing tricks on us, we enjoyed a beautiful afternoon shoot with her sweet family! 

Baby J was in his sweet, exploratory, just-learning-to-walk phase! Loved it!

The sweet couple that started it all & we were actually did our shoot in the same location that they got married! 

Happy Friday friends!

Strange Happenings... Halloween!

Snow on pumpkins isn't really a normal occurance for us here in the Mid-Atlantic. It was a little freaky and left most of us wondering about what type of winter is to come. We had to wipe the ice and snow off our pumpkins over the weekend in order to carve them! Just wanted to share with you a photo post about the last few days around our house, enjoy! 

*Side note - some of these are definitely not technically perfect, but they are more about moments. It kind of bummed me out that I didn't have time to get great shots on the fly - but that's life....sometimes the moments are more important than the technicalities!*

Dean admiring the "spooky spookies" - aka ghosts

Halloween 2011 - Enter Woody & Jessie (Poor Max ws sick and we didn't try to wrestle him into the horse costume after all, he happily wore a cute Halloween shirt and slept in his car seat :)

His costume was a little big and the boot thingies only lasted 60 seconds before removal for being too big and in his way of running around!

Can't believe they are both looking & smiling?! What?! That never happens...

They are saying "stick 'em up" in this one!

Can you even tell this sweet girl is sick?

I usually don't go for these type of treatments on photos because I am pretty much a purist but I feel like it's the perfect fit for this photo! "Yee-haw cowboy" as Dean would say while riding his stick horse (which was actually my stick horse as a kid:)

Hope you all had a great Halloween! 

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!