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52Q- weeks 5 & 6

Things have been crazy busy around here and I haven't been able to blog like I would have liked to.
We have all been sick and keep passing it around and around our family. The kids have missed a lot of school and that means I don't get much done. Time sure gets away quickly!

Here are the questions from Em's 52Q challenge for this week as well as last week.

week 5- Q - how do i feel TODAY?

week 6 - Q- If I could do it all again, would I change anything?


We all seem to be on the mend so hopefully I will get back to posting regularly.

minature happiness...

My children have been collecting these cute little Japanese puzzle erasers for awhile now. I would have loved them as a child. They are kind of fun. They come in all sorts of shapes from dim sum to golf sets to frogs and hamsters. My favorite are the little VW beetles. It is always interesting to see what the new little fad is.

our puppy...

A quick shot of my chicklets.

I may be biased by I think Ridgebacks are the most beautiful dogs I have ever seen!
This is our second Ridgeback and I can't really imagine having any other type of dog.
I love BIG dogs!

This is one of my favorites... my 5 year old being pulled by a 110 pound beast. It is funny because she is SO calm on the leash and NEVER pulls... we totally had to set this one up.

One day last week we decided to go over to the park to get out in the fresh air for a bit and took our puppy with us. Well she isn't much of a puppy anymore (she's 7 and a half), but she still acts like one. She is such a sweet dog!

52Q week 4

Em's Question for this week is a fill-in-the-blank!...

Q - When I look into my eyes, I see _________.

ladies night...

Tonight I am going to meet up with some of my girlfriends for our Live Laugh Love Club, which is a part of Once Upon a Family. We have been doing it for the past few years and it has been a nice way to have some girl time and do something for our families. This month is about teaching the value of respect. The kit includes...
3 Anniversary Tradition Ideas
3 "Love Puzzle" Cards & Stickers
1 "Letters From the Heart" Stationery Set
1 "The Stories of My Life" Booklet
1 "My Gift to You" Activity
1 Respect Brochure: "4 Ways to Show Respect"

They have some great ideas on how to connect as a family. I might share some more ideas that we will be doing over the months.

*Check out the Once Upon a Family website to see some of the fun things they offer. If you are interested in ordering something you can contact me and I will get you in touch with a consultant.

52Q week 3

Em's question for week 3...

Q - do you believe in fairies?

I think the idea of fairies is fun... one of those magical little things that a child's imagination can run wild with. As a child I was fascinated with the possibility of little creatures around my house that I couldn't see. I remember reading this book... if I could only think of the title...about a boy that found he had little people living in his room and the adventures they had together. It wasn't " The Borrowers" or "The Littles", although it was similar. It was such a magical story. I used to dream and pretend I had little people living in my room. I made little beds out of match boxes and used other items to make tiny little furniture and hid them in my dresser drawers hoping they would be found and used. Don't think they ever were, but just maybe they were and I just never knew... who knows?


I read about these fairy doors that started mysteriously popping up in Ann Arbor a couple years ago. Such a fun, magical use of imagination. I found a few on etsy. Maybe we will have to install one in our home... I have been wanting to, as well as make a fairy garden for the chicklets.

love this...

I recently had this collage printed for Macaine's room. I LOVE this picture of him! It has been sitting on my computer for a long time begging to be printed. I finally got around to it and am glad I did. It turned out SO nice! I had it printed as a 20x20 but maybe I should have printed it as a 30x30. Oh well. I need to print more pictures for myself, so I can change up some of the prints I have around my home. {A goal of mine for the coming year.} Since I have so many pictures I love it makes it so hard to decide which ones I want to print. I think that is why I put it off. I still need to find a picture ledge to put it on. It has been sitting up on his dresser waiting to be put in it's permanent home. Maybe this week I will put it on my to do list & get it done.

she's baaaaack!

My baby is home!!! I missed her so much!!! Words cannot express how happy I was to see her after she got off the bus. I had to hold back the tears. I think she grew a couple of inches while she was gone... must have been all that great camp food they serve! Sounds like she had lots of fun! Long hikes, star gazing, lots of snow, skit night, songs... good old camp fun. She said that her cabin leader looked just like me. I told her I cloned myself and went up to camp to watch over her. =} It is nice that we have Monday off so I have extra time to catch up with my baby. Plus she looks like she needs some time to recover, she's beat! Here she is sporting some nature.

special things...

I was in the mood to photograph some a few of the special vintage goodies I have... thought I would share a couple. This quilt was made by my Great Grandmother on my Mother's side of our family. It is so special to have things made by her hands. I love how colorful and simple it is. I feel blessed to have this handed down to me by my Grandmother. I also have this cute Sock Monkey made by my Great Grandmother. We love monkeys in our house! Funny how popular they are these days, a vintage classic for sure and fun to boot. I feel so fortunate to have these pieces of our past, they mean so much!

a little quieter...

It has been a little on the quiet side around here this week with one less child in our house. Madie is up at Outdoor Science School near Big Bear with her school. I haven't ever been away from her for this long and I have to say it was hard to let her go. There was a moment the day before she left where she wasn't sure she wanted to go. She had been so excited and gung~ho up until that point, last minute jitters, I guess. I know it is an experience she needs to have to learn and grow. She is growing up and I have to let her, as hard as it is. I remember going to OSS and it was such a fun week. I hope she is having as much fun as I did. She will be home on Friday and I am counting down the hours until I get to pick her up. I sent three cameras with her so hopefully she is using them to document her week. I can't wait to see what she has been up to. I have made it more than half way through the week already, just a couple more days now.

vintage goodness...

I love old things...old jars...cameras...quilts...chairs...well anything vintage for the most part. I love things that have a history. These particular jars were my Grandmother's. I think I can remember them out on her counter or in her pantry when I was a child. I love the blue green glass and the metal tops, they are so pretty. Things from the past have such a simple beauty. It may be silly, but I wish there was a way I could hear the story of where they have been and who has used them. Things used to be made so much better than they are today. They were solid, heavy duty and durable. I wonder if some of the things we use today will still be around when our grandchildren and great grandchildren are grownups. I don't think it will be the same. We live in such a disposable society these days, things aren't made to last. I guess we will see.

52Q week 2

Em's question for this week is...

Am I afraid of change?

{I will be back to share later.}

Touching...

I saw this photographic essay a while ago. I know some of you have seen this before, but I thought I would share it for those of you who haven't. I was so incredibly touched by this by this man's photographs and words documenting the life of his father. Get some tissues.
Days with My Father.

My 52Q...

I made the first few pages of my 52Q journal. I am so excited about this project, I think it will be neat to see what Em comes up with for us to journal about each week. Here are my pages for the first month of my journal. I am using the templates Cathy shared from another project a while back. I can't find the link right now, but will look again and see if I can find it in case you want to use them, too. Curious to see what the question for week #2 will be. I think Em said she would be posting it tomorrow or Monday.
{I will be back tomorrow to share the pictures... it is too dark to take pictures of them tonight.}

Our time...

These are from a couple of months ago...
My little guy and I were hanging out downtown for a little bit enjoying some time together before we had to pick up the girls from school. I love just sitting and watching him play. He has the best imagination and comes up with the craziest things sometimes. It is so neat to see how creative he is! With him in Kinder this year I find myself really missing him, so I cherish these moments we have together. He gets out of school an hour before they do so we have a little time together to play, have a snack or run a quick errand. I can't believe how quickly he is growing up, so I am trying to slowdown and enjoy every bit I can.

We're off to see the Wizard...

My niece got the lead as "Dorothy" in "The Wizard of Oz", so the kids are playing hooky tomorrow to go see her. I never take them out of school except when they are sick... however since this is the only time we will be able to see her, I am making a concession. She is quite the actress... we are so proud of her and all she has accomplished. I can't wait to see her as Dorothy!

eta: My niece was fantastic! I am so glad my kids were able to go. My son was SO excited to tell EVERYONE he saw that his cousin was "Dorthy" in "The Wizard of Oz"! He was singing a song tonight that he made up " ...I saw a witch and she scared me..." The witch did scare him a little... he kept covering his ears when she was on stage. It was kinda sad. = { Good job Brooke! We love you! xoxo

52Q { a year of q & a }

I came across another cool idea for a mini journal on Emily Falconbridge's blog... a fun little project that seems easy enough to keep up with. I think I might add it to my to do list. If you want to embark on this project, too you can visit Em's blog to get the weekly question. I think it will be interesting to see how we change and grow throughout the year.

question 1: what do i wish for this year to bring?


{here are a couple pics from em 's blog to give you an idea how she is putting this together}
I followed along a couple of years ago with her when she did her mini art journal using a deck of playing cards. It was fun to get a new word each week to journal. Em is quite a creative person, I love everything she does.

Trees...

I love trees! I think I am going to put together my own coffee table book of just trees.
I snapped this in San Diego a couple of weeks ago as we were walking back to the Children's Museum after lunch. Love this time of year when the leaves change color, this one was especially beautiful!

Back to the daily grind...

Today we faced reality...
and I wasn't ready for it. I need another week of vacation at least! = }
Scott and I headed out for breakfast at the Orange Circle this morning... it was a nice little date. We don't usually take much time for ourselves. It is hard to make the time sometimes with three kiddos to take care of. We need to make it a priority and do it more often... it is good for us. Then we headed off to face the rest of the day and many things on our to do list! I am beat tonight to say the least. Off to bed soon so I can face tomorrow with a little more sleep under my belt.

Simplify...

I decided this year I am not going to make any New Years resolutions. I know from experience, like so many others, I am no good at keeping them. Instead I have decided to choose a word for 2009... "Simplify". The idea behind the one word concept is to give yourself something to focus on throughout the year. I got the idea from Ali Edward's blog, you can read more about it there if you would like. I think it is a cool concept because it isn't about one specific thing you want to do or change, it is more of a general idea for many aspects of life. I am looking forward to "simplifying" things in my life this coming year and focusing on what matters most.

Back to the real daily grind tomorrow. Not really looking forward to facing real life... can't we have another week of vacation? I hope everyone has had a nice holiday... morning starts early around my house. Goodnight all!

Newport

At first I thought this pelican was a decoration...until he moved... it fit in so perfectly!

We headed down to Newport today... it was FREEZING! I thought it was supposed to be a bit warmer today. Boy was I wrong!! Once the wind died down it wasn't too bad, but still cold for So Cal. We walked on the beach for a bit and then headed to Charlie's Chili for dinner. The food was so good! It is one of those yummy hole in the wall kind of places. It was nice to get out for the afternoon on one of our last vacation days before the kids head back to school Monday. I am so sad that vacation is almost over. I think I am really going to miss them when they are in school. I have really enjoyed the time we have had together over the past couple of weeks. Scott will be off for another week, so we will have a little time together. This will be a first for us... since this is the the first year all of our kiddos are in school. It should be nice. Not sure what we will do with all that time on our hands. Madie goes off to 5th grade camp the next week, so I imagine we will be doing some running around getting things ready for her trip. I haven't ever been away from any of my kids that long before. I think I am going to miss her... a lot! I know she will have tons of fun, but it will be strange not having all my chicklets around. I guess it is good timing in a way... at least we have been able to spend a lot of time together these past two weeks.
Here are some more pictures from today's outing. I love that we can still go to the beach this time of year. My poor brother and his family along with my Aunt and Uncle are dealing with a very cold snowy Winter in Seattle. I guess I shouldn't complain too much about the cold here in California. = } Sending warm thoughts to all of you who actually have to endure TRUE Winter weather.

Valentine Mini Sessions { Orange County Children's Photographer }

~Valentine's Day Mini Session~

Date: January 24th
Time: 9-11am
Cost: $195

Package Includes:
25~ 4x5.5 in Valentine Cards
3 5x7s

You will have a private online gallery with
6-10 proofs to choose from. Additional cards
and portraits may be added if you wish.

*Space is limited. Sessions must be booked and payed for in advance.

Call or email us to book your session.
kathryn@simplysweetphotography.com
562.305.6626

Poladroid... How cool is this?

I came across this today... now I can't remember where. Such a fun thing to play around with! Now that Polaroid has discontinued almost all of its instant film this gives you the opportunity have your own Poladroid camera right on your desktop. Have fun!

Happy New Year!

I am embarking on a new project this year... actually I started Sunday. A picture a day for and entire year... I am looking forward to seeing what this year holds for our family. This kit comes with everything you need to complete the project and is as easy as slipping a photo in, a bit of journaling and you are done. I think I can keep up with that. Becky Higgins designed this kit and they are available here. {eta: the kit is sold out, but Becky put up a link for a digital version of the kit on her blog for those of you who still want to do this project.} I might share a week now and then. I think it will be neat to look back over an entire year to see where we have been, how we have grown and changed.

The last year has been an extremely rough year for our family. We lost my Grandmother to lung cancer this past July on my son's 5th birthday. So needless to say we have been faced with many difficult changes and adjustments. Here is my sweet Grandmother with my son on his 4th birthday exactly one year to the day before we lost her. These two had a very special bond. She was worried about how he would deal with not having her around... he really misses her! I feel so blessed that we had the time we had with her and that my children knew her so well.

I am hoping that the New Year brings a few less difficult times and possibly some new unexpected adventures. We shall see. Happy New Year!