Clients

I just wanted to give a shout out to all my clients out there for being so great to me. I had a wonderful day at the Chop Shop today and it's all because of people like YOU. In May, I was scheming on how I could convince Michael to let me stay home... ASAP. I was heart broken to keep taking Evan to our babysitter (who I loved and she is still very helpful if I was ever to need her but she's not me and I want to hang with my kids, not someone else) when I feel it's possible to make it work with one persons income. So our surprise baby daughter came on June 1st and turned life upside down for the next few weeks. I was off for 5 weeks (wish is more baby girl) and thankfully I was with my California family for 2 of those weeks, which is "Chicken Soup for the Soul" but worried about feeling like quitting again when I went back. I was immediately blessed with the feeling of excitement to return to work. Not only so I could GUSH about our beautiful new baby surprise but to get my hands on some hair again. I do love being a hairstylist, what it does for some people and how happy I feel about how they look when I'm finished. I only work two week days and every other Saturday but I still miss being a mom in those few hours away. I appreciate my clients making it worth my while when I come to work and we exchange our stories and renew our friendships. What a unique job! Thank you for giving me a particularly happy day to blog about. ;) xoxo

Fall is here!

Ok so there's only 2 pictures that have anything to do with "Fall" per se or it showing signs of Autumn but it is significant. The rest are just great excuses to take some freshies of my baby Evan WHO WILL BE 2 IN TWO WEEKS!

We had a hot Hot HOT summer, even up till last week it was pretty hot. Thankfully his weekend there was a rain and it blew in the cool weather, hopefully to stay. I dare say it feels a little like Cali out with the breeze and numbers in the 70's and 80's. I got the kids in the car today after a quick trip to Target and realized I was just sitting there for a minute (what's that about? I don't have time for that junk. ha ha ha). Good thing I was because I was also gazing out the window and caught a glimpse of a piece of trash lifted high in the air chasing what I thought was a butterfly. I watched them seem to dance together only to see that it was actually a leaf and they were caught in a small wind tornado thing. Suddenly I was just smiling and heard myself say, "it's fall!" The cherry on top was the wind picking up and more leaves and light trash joined the dance in quite a sizable 'tornado' but right then a defenseless woman and her cart were caught dead in the center of it! I felt really bad for her and even had the urge to get out and try to help her when I realized it was silly cause it would move on but it followed her for 6 steps and she was in the eye of it. If she was wearing a dress she would have had an involuntary Marilyn Monroe moment. ;) Anyway, she was fine and as the little wind tunnel broke from her and danced on, it warmed my heart in general. It really reminded me of Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin movie and again, I felt a happy grin inside and out. So, I welcome you Fall, bring it on, I can't wait to wear my sweaters and scarves.

"Leaf!"

I could eat this little face up EVERY DAY! I'm so glad Cora was sleeping so we could go have some Mommy and son photography time to capture his fun and cuteness. I assure you, the faces he is making are spontaneous and I was just lucky to have the camera ready. :)

this one, he was actually charging/chasing me! ha ha ha.

The famous "Face" that he made up as a baby. He used to do it all the time when we were feeding him. Not because he didn't want to eat, just randomly between bites. We are in love with it. How about you? :)

BuBye.

photographing baby

portraits

(picked 4 for all other subjects but couldn't dial it down for this example... sorry)

light

spontaneous

outdoors

getting close

I have FINALLY found the physical magazine and article that sparked my true love of photography (it was in Evan's closet, "organized"). It is from "Martha Stewart Baby" Magazine in 2000 (Yes I kept the magazines, he he. I believe they only printed one "Baby" issue that year but later years they did 2 a year). Anyway, it was contributed to by many photographers so hopefully I give them all credit for what I now use as my standard in not just taking pictures of my babies but of kids in general. Above are my efforts to following the rules below. Here is the articles advice:

* photographing baby *


TEXT BY VERONIQUE VIENNE

All their lives your children will cherish their baby pictures. They'll pore over albums of luminous images in awe and disbelief. "Look at me, so tiny, so fat, so cute." When he became a father, John Dolan studied his own family snapshots from the fifties to understand why they seemed so exquisite compared to the color prints of today. "Pictures back then were black-and-white, used available light, and were taken from a low angle because the early cameras, like the Brownie, were held at waist level," he explains. Most professional photographers agree that those portraits of an earlier time still set the best example for getting unique baby pictures. To start, they suggest using simple equipment, without flash, and black-and-white film. Color prints are, well, colorful, but they tend to emphasize unimportant details at the expense of the main subject - your child. Color prints also fade over time. Black and whites can be archivally printed to last for generations. If you follow these suggestions and still get disappointing pictures, you're probably not shooting close enough - so get down on the floor, camera in hand, to capture your kids in their own world. "Never try to direct the action," says William Abranowicz. "Let the children be who they are."

[ get close ]

For parents, a newborns features, from chubby little hands to curling toes, are the source of endless fascination. "When looking at a baby, you soon notice their parts are as beautiful as their faces," says Bastienne Schmidt. "All your senses are overwhelmed. But don't try to take it all in with one picture. Use your camera as you would a notepad, making minute observations." Focus on details, and leave out the surrounding clutter. Shots like these can be easily capture using a small point-and-shoot camera with an automatic zoom lens. (examples are given in article but I tried to use a few of mine through out the post that are inspired by the advice)

[ go outdoors ]

"Children are more relaxed on vacations, "says Abranowicz. "The landscape brightens their moods." But don't expect toddlers to stay still in front of a great vista for that picture-perfect moment. Let them run around at first - eventually they'll slow down and become comfortable with the place, their diminutive size suddenly in harmony with the scale of the landscape. Some photographers record their children over time against the same natural background. "To keep track of the changes in my son," says Victor Schrager, "every year I take a picture of him standing in front of the apple tree I planted when he was a few months old."

[ be spontaneous ]

Pictures that look uncontrived require that you wait for the right moment to come along. Usually you can see a child's thought forming as you observe his or her expression. Watch for a facetious grin, an unexpected pause, a deep sign. "Press the shutter a split second before or after something happens," says Philippe Cheng. You won't know if a child is about to jump up and down, burst into tears, or not off, but if you're ready you can catch what the legendary French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson calls "the decisive moment."

[ notice the light ]

Take advantage of available light instead of relying o flash. "To capture a moment, you want to capture the fleeting quality of the ambient light," says Dolan. He finds the best photo opportunities in Ireland during the summer, when the sun takes forever to sink below the horizon. "My children play outside in the fading light after dinner," he says. "Everybody is relaxed, which makes for pictures with a natural feeling." In contrast, Abranowicz prizes the bright light he finds in Greece for the way it illuminates the faced of his kids. Wherever you are, avoid the midday sun, which cast long dark shadows. Shoot early in the morning or late in the afternoon. And on bright sunny days, try using flash outdoors to soften harsh shadows that can obliterate small features.

[ plan portraits ]

A few framed portraits displayed on the wall preserve the memory of a special day better than a shoebox full of snapshots. "Don't take a lot of pictures unless something really special is going on, " says Christopher Baker. "The event could be the arrival of a new brother or the first day of school." Making eye contact with the lens is something young kids do easily, so start a series of portraits early on, before they become self-conscious. Once or twice a year, for a birthday or a favorite holiday, ask your kids to sit for a formal portrait. Chances are they will rise to the occasion every time. Needless to say, asking babies and toddlers to say "cheese" is out of the question - which explains why the young folk portrayed in this (the articles photos) portfolio have so much presence and poise.

Baby lovin'

So, this is an outfit my friend Kacey passed down to me from her boys and in Lila's Chop Shop it is STILL a leading favorite for clients and friends of Evan wearing it. Now we are in the new generation of cuteness and of course I couldn't pick a favorite. These were taken on September 15th but only going up now.

Thank you, thank you very much. (elvis)

FRIDAY FIVES

1. What's your "comfort food"? Popcorn and Ovaltine because it reminds me of my family.

2. One thing thats on your mind right now? That I am EXHAUSTED!

3. What's the best advice you've ever received? I'm still waiting for it. ha ha. Ok, So far it's the 5 S's for calming your baby: Do one or all of the following at the same time, for best results... 1. Swaddle 2. Side/Stomach 3. Shhh 4. Swinging 5. Suck (breast feed or pacifier). These helped me through many days and nights of sleeplessness with Evan. Here is a link to more explaination: http://www.biausa.org/WVirginia/crying/Calm.htm

4. If you found $10 today, what would you do with it? What anyone would do in my position: go to the strip club. ;) (seriously, what interesting thing can you do with $10.00?... Ok, I'll go race Mike in go carts and Mini golf... hmm... FHE?)

5. What is your least favorite thing to clean in your house? the floor at the end of my bed.

One more thing... wink*

Ok, so.. I don't mean to beat a dead horse BUUUUUUTtt... I'm gonna whip him a little bit. Today I found something new in the Quilted Northern Toilet Paper conspiracy! So, it started out that we noticed they made the rolls shorter. We chewed on that (not the t.p., that would be gross, but yes the idea) for a while until recently when we just saw the quilting was... not so. So today, I was putting the t.p. away when I noticed something NEW! I literally dropped my jaw in disbelief that there was ANOTHER thing going on with this stuff.

They have now made the actual cardboard roll BIGGER. Yes so now they have shortened the roll, stopped quilting it and made the center bigger (hoping you won't notice that they are yet again, taking away some of your t.p.?). Do you think they have dropped the price... NO and as many of my hardcore coupon friends have mentioned, there aren't that many coupons for it out there either. So, I implore you to check out the evidence and tell me what you think. :)

The culprit.

(don't be fooled by the seemingly 'quilted' exterior, it's all an illusion)

Short Stature.

Here we see the 'short changeness' created by said company. If you will notice at the center of the roll, I have placed the center cardboard of the OLD roll in the center of the NEW roll. This is to show the length shortening but in turn also shows the scandalous new offense, the fact that the old roll, fits inside the new one is a hint. (we had it still from "our cat eats t.p." roll.)

Ok, look at the new discovered space ridiculousness!

(giggling about this subject)

This didn't show the example right but here is the original length. It was to show the difference ON the actual roll, IF we were a normal family that could actually put their t.p. on the roll... But we aren't normal. (and neither is our CAT!)

The new roll, shortages and all. Those of you who's house I have graced, have possibly experienced the triangle fold I leave there. I have now added a special 'rose' to the triangle to 'class it up'. Come on people, you know you want me over now :).

the END. he he he.

So little so cute!

I keep wanting the stars to align and my hair to be done, be showered after being sweaty at the zoo all day and some make up on to take some pictures with my cute daughter but it's never happening so this what you get. I just think she's so cute and tiny still but big at the same time. Big personality small body? That's probably it.... Be glad it's no smell-a-post and lets hope I can get it together & take a good picture soon. For posterity.

-- Sent from my Palm Pixi

Weeeeeeeee!

First time swinging today and first trip to the (hot n' sweaty) Nashville Zoo! It was great, more posting later on that. Look how tiny she looks. Oh my goodness :).

-- Sent from my Palm Pixi

I SEEeee you....

For a few days to a week, Evan has been saying, "I... SEE you..." to nobody in particular and nothing specific. He's copying me in his own cute way from when he runs around a corner and won't come back. I pretend I can see him and say either "Where are you?" or "I see you...". So yesterday I woke up to him calling from his crib "I... seeee you..." over and over. cute. Today however, he was around the corner in the kitchen while I attended to Cora Grace when I heard his non stop hopping then... "I... seeeee you.... Chips" :D!!! He said it, hopping the whole time, about 3 or 4 times and when I came into the kitchen he looked at me, hopping, pointed to the top of the fridge and said, "I... see you...chips". :) What can I say, the kid got a bowl of chips for a snack today, wouldn't you have done the same? ha ha ha ha....

It once was lost... but now it's found.

Here is Evan's Jumper I was looking for! My friend Linda saved the day by reminding me she is the one I lent it to. Hallelujah!!! Cora already loves it too (not really but she doesn't hate it, that's for sure). As you will see below, Evan decided to be 'helpful' with her jumping but you will also see below, it was only after getting in it and realizing he doesn't really love it anymore. ;) ha ha ha ha...

GO BIG ORANGE!

Rocky top, you'll always be, home sweet home to me...

-- Sent from my Palm Pixi