Week Two Edit...

SOOC

EDIT

I followed Ashley's advanced editing steps, cropped the shot and adjusted the levels, contrast and brightness to {taste}...  They're yummy, yum, yum!  I finally think I'm starting to understand layering masks thanks to Ashley.    

Looking forward to next weeks Shoot and Edit! 

Week Two Shoot and Edit

I say "Good Morning" with a big ol' smile when fresh muffins are on the menu! This doesn't happen often, but I sure do enjoy it when it does.

I baked these late Sunday night, so everyone in the house went to bed dreaming of yummy pumpkin muffins.  A great {treat} for a cloudy Monday morning!

A bottomless glass of water and just one will do... 

SOOC

Stop by Jill's check out all the creative entries, link up and I'll see you at Ashely's for the edit on Thursday!

Photo Friday Week 2 Breakfast

A shot of my breakfast before I even had a chance to mix it up!  That's the norm for me in the mornings...  This isn't my regular breakfast but it's close {I guess}.  I was out of my Bear Naked Fruit & Nut Granola which is my {fav}.  OMG... I ♡ that stuff and I can't stand to go a day without it.   It's so... yummy.    I have it every morning except this one of course... 

There's nothing like a bowl of yogurt topped off with a little Bear Naked Granola and a glass of water.  Ahhh... maybe tomorrow!

2{52}

Be sure to stop by Trina's and check out all the other entries!

  

Here's the Edit...

SOOC

Edit

I followed Ashley's second edit for this shot...  I kept everything pretty much the same except the BW preset and the last action.  For those I used the scenic landscape preset and a fill layer.  

Thanks for your help Ashley!

Stop by Ashley's and check out all the wonderful edits... 

 

Week One Shoot and Edit

Yikes... I'm cutting this one close but I wanted to enter Ashley and Jill's first "Shoot and Edit" so here it is!

SOOC

The theme is "winter" and my first thought was to post a picture of one of my kiddos playing in the snow but I decided not to since I've already posted a few of them lately.  

So... while I was organizing my laundry room today, I noticed one tiny little rose peekin' at me through the window.  It looked so "wintery" with it's little ice coated, limp, shriveled petals blowing back and forth in the wind that I grabbed my camera, opened the window and took a quick picture of my little "winter".

Be sure to stop by and check out all the wonderful entries...

Organizing...

So I've been thinking about it and taking a stab at it over and over agian for quiet some time with no avail... What is it?  It is {organizing}.  I have this deep inner need to organize my home, my office and my shedule.  I wake up every morning with a plan of how to do this, but somehow it never works out.  It's not a new years resolution for me, it's more like an ongoing resolution!   

I once was a very, very organized person.  Even with three children, I could get it all done quickly and  neatly while still having quality time for myself and the family. What happened to that person?  Where did she go... Why does she now struggle to accoplish any of the above on a daily basis? 

Well, I think she left the schene about the same time Peek-a-Boo was born.  Not because she wanted to, or because she became lazy, it was simply another adjustment period in my life that obviously hasn't completely adjusted.  Hah!  I'm thinking the extra time I once had when I was a very, very organized person was given to Peek-a-Boo.  She needed me, and I needed her.  I didn't mind letting a few things slide here and there just to be able to spend more time with her and the other kiddos.  It was fun, it's still fun and I love the time I spend with them more than anything, but... I've realized recently my lack of time for organizing is making me a little sad and seriously stressed at times.  I want to be able to have both!  I know I can do it, I just need a little help or support that is.  You know, someone to push me in the right direction... someone to organize along side of... someone to guide me when I'm stuck...  Who is this person?  Where might he or she be?  

I don't have an answer to these questions just yet, but I think I've found a {great} starting place!  I've decided to take this...

As soon as a wobbled in to this blog I knew it was the perfect challenge for me! It's the motivation and encouragement I've been looking for a long, long time. With over 200 peeps participating in this challenge the ideas and tools to use for organization are endless!  

Who would've ever thought I'd be so... excited about something that requires work?  Not me, but I so... am!  Though I'm jumping in on day 10 of the challenge I've made a promise to  myself to complete days 1-8 at the end of the challenge.  

Let me know if you want to jump in with me!  If so, we'll continue the link up for days 1-9 here at the end of the 21. 


Today's challenge is the Laundry Room!  Oh boy... I'm a little scared of that room.  I'll post my before and after shots later today. 

Photo Friday Week 1 Cold

Well, I've decided to give Trina's 52 week Photo Friday Project a shot!  Maybe, just maybe this little project will force me to look outside the box more and shoot some fun and maybe even funky stuff.

Stop by Trina's for a visit, stay awhile and link up if you can!

1{52}

So... she thinks it's cold enough to wear her toboggan inside!  Funny...

Don't forget to link join Ambrosia's Pay It Forward movement!  I'm lookin' for 1 more taker!  Read about it here...

My little Pixie...

SOOC

Edit...

Just for fun...

Recipe...

Nikon D40 │35mm 1.8│PSE8│adgusted levels │ added gradient layers and a "little" pixie action... { special thanks to Captivus for pixie tutorial}

Baby Alive Eco Friendly Diapers

Here's a shot of those awesome eco friendly diapers I told you about in my Baby Alive Live post!  It was so... nice of Santa to bring these cute little diapers to Peek-a-Boo.  Now she can feed her baby as much as she wants and mommy doesn't have to worry about running to Target to pick up a pack of disposable Baby Alive diapers!  Yipee... one less thing to add to my shopping list and to our local landfill. 

 

I asked Santa, and he said you can find these awesome diapers on Ebay!  They are made out of a super soft fleece material and come in a variety of playful prints and white.  I wish Ella had a couple of the white diapers, but Santa said he was too tight on time to put in a special order for them.  Oh well... maybe next time!  

These eco friendly diapers are made extremely well.  They are full of thick padding, a moisture barrier that helps prevent those unwanted messes and strong velcro.  Peek-a-Boo has used hers over, over and over again and I've washed them again and again and they've held up great.  They're a hit in our house!

One of the things that sets these handmade eco friendly diapers apart from the others you'll find is their cute little diaper pins and the gracious amount of elastic used around the legs and waist!  I {love} all the extra attention to detail.

Oh... and I almost forgot, baby "Bella" Alive loves how they fit her!  Snug as a bug in a rug...  

So... if you need a few eco friendly diapers for a gift or for your little one's Baby Alive,   just head on over to Ebay or simply click here.

Memories, Dreams and Reflections...

1.Me

Hah!  This is the best I could do... I'm always the one takin' the pictures!  No one ever takes one of me except my Mac.  My Mac sure is a good friend huh?!  :)  So... here's a crazy edit and a noisy image of little ol me.  I had to "artistically" cover up all the noise in the first one and no... I'm not afraid in the second picture I just acidently took a picture of myself stuffing a brownie in my face!  Hah... Make note... don't eat while playing around in photo booth and take more pictures of self in 2011!  

2.I ♡ You

My hubby Brent.  He's the anchor that keeps me grounded, the support that keeps me going and an awesome daddy to our four terrific kids.  Oh... and my best friend of course.

This is a shot of him in Williamsburg VA waiting... for me to {stop} taking pictures of the kiddos.  Hah!  He's always doing that.  Such a good sport!  

3.Still Laughing

This shot makes me laugh everytime I see it!  Peek-a-Boo was so excited to roast marshmallows with us that she wouldn't stop stuffing them in her mouth.  Look at all that marshmallow dust! 

4.Winter Wonderland

I think we saw more snow in December 2010 than we've seen in several years.  Oh... and we also were blessed with a white Christmas!  Beautiful...

5.Birthday

Ella Hope turned 2 Minnie Mouse style!

6.Friends

Hannah wanted me to post this picture!  Isn't that funny... This is a shot from her birthday dinner.  She was so... excited to take McKenzie to the Kanki.  The Kanki is Hannah's absolute favorite place to eat!  She loves, loves, loves Japanese food.  They had lots of good laughs and giggles if you know what I mean!  This is such a fun age.

7.I Was Inspired...

All the beautiful hand knitted "flower" hats on Etsy inspired me to try and make one for Peek-a-Boo.  Here it is!    

8.Spring Fever

I saw these purple pom poms and just had to have them.  It's something about spring and flowers that I just can't get enough of!

9.Travel

We had loads of fun traveling this summer and spending time with our family and friends.  We spent July 4th weekend at Wintergreen Ski Resort and had a blast!  There's nothing like watching fireworks form the top of the ski resort.  Where's the snow Ella?  Hah...  

10.Summer Days

Look what we found in our community pool this summer and every other summer for that matter!  These little guys are swimming in the filters just about every day.  Yuk..O

11.A Day In My Life

This was a hard one for me, but this picture of Ella all sacked out and Jax scratchin' his head pretty much sums up how I often feel throughout the day.  Hehe...

12.All Smiles

He's always all smiles... just normally not quite this BIG!  This is the reaction I got while trying to take a few shots of him at Disney World.  I guess he was a little excited!  Of course he was, we all were!

13.Autumn Harvest

Ethan was enjoying swinging on our rope swing in the backyard on a beautiful fall afternoon.  The weather was perfect...

14.Family

My kiddos, so in love with each other and in love with the day.   

15.Celebrate

We had such a wonderful time celebrating Ethan's sixth birthday during July 4th weekend at Wintergreen.  We were so... blessed to be with family and friends.  All of the kids had such a blast playing with thier cousins at the cabin.  It was definitely a time to clebrate not only Ethan's birthday, but our togetherness...  

16.Let's Do It Again

We visited Universal Studios during our trip to Orlando in December and the kids had an awesome time exploring the new Harry Potter section of the park.  It was absolutely awesome and we can't wait to go back! 

17.I Miss You

I miss her smell, I miss her snorts, I miss the late night snuggles, I miss you my little Puffalump!  She's definitely not this small anymore, but she's still our baby...  Oh... how they grow so... very fast!

18.Beautiful

A sister's love is like no other... 

19.Dress Up

This is Hannah right before her 1st semi formal dance.  She was so excited, as I was, though all I could see was how grown up she had become.  I miss my little Hannah Banana but... I'm so enjoying spending time with her as a "big" girl!  She holds such a special place in my heart. 

20.Macro

Wanna cherry on top!  My kiddos love it when I put a bright red cherry on their cupcakes.  They're eyes light up at the very sight of them!  

21.Holidays

I love the Bokeh during the holidays!  

22.Favorite

For some reason I just love this shot!  It's my favorite of Ethan.  It sums him up perfectly!  He's such a little candy hog and those eyes...  Do I need to say anymore?  Love him!

23.Don't Ever Change...

the way you respect others, the way you love me and your family unconditionaly, the way you show compassion for others who you may not even know, the way you share yourself unselfishly...  Even when you're tired of mommy always wanting to take your picture!  Again, again and again!

You'll always be my little "E"    

24.Just Because

We love her...

25.Hopes and Dreams

Reaching for the stars...

I hope to continue to be the best mama, wife and friend that I can be while working hard everyday to reach my dreams and make {all} the dreams my kiddos have come true!  

Be sure to stop by Ashley's blog and check out all of the beautiful Memories, Dreams and Reflections.  They're amazing...  Oh, and feel free to link up!