Black Friday

I've been so caught up in photography lately, and editing said photography (that takes the most time) that I have completely forgotten to document the fact that my husband actually went with me shopping at midnight on Black Friday.

Side note: For the longest time I wondered why it was called Black Friday. I figured it was because of all the craziness that ensues on these sorts of shopping excursions, thus making it "Black" for some people, especially the ones that got trampled, but alas, I was wrong.

I detest Walmart normally. As a general rule I avoid it, but when they have some stellar deals, well... even I like to save as much money as I can when out spending it. Seems somewhat ironic I suppose. But when I saw what WalMart was selling on Black Friday, we just couldn't pass it up. It's really true that money talks, cause my money was saying, "you'll save yourself over a hundred bucks if you suck it up and shop at WalMart." So we did. We headed over there at midnight, took turns standing in line and shopping until 2am, at which time we got our bracelets to reserve our items. At this point the employee says that we have to be back between 5am and 6am to pick it up or they're going to give them to other people. WELL... that ain't gonna happen. I didn't stand in line for two hours for nothin!! (Yes, my redneck tendencies/grammar pop up now and then.) So Doug and I thought that we'd just go home, sleep for a couple of hours and come back. So that was the plan. Until we got in the car.

The reason I am documenting this is because I have never heard such words coming from his mouth.

EVER.

IN MY LIFE.

He says, "Let's just go shopping. There's got to be a bunch of stores open, then we'll just go back at five and pick up the other stuff."

SWEEEET!!!

So we ran up to Citrus Heights as we knew the Toys R US was open, but first we stopped at Denny's. Um, HELLOOOOO, it was incredibly packed. When has there EVER been a line to eat at Denny's??? But we had time! :) Doug and I had pancakes and hashbrowns. MMMMM...I love me some good pancakes.

But here's the thing that was so surprising. People were actually really nice! Even at WalMart of all places. I was really truly surprised. I thought I was going to have to do some take-downs, ya know? It was almost like being part of this exclusive club that only few people know about. A club where great deals happen, where people talk to perfect strangers as if they've known them for years, where the hustle and bustle is actually quite fun. Who knew?!?

We hit Toys R Us for a couple of items. One of the items was the last one so I was glad we got it. Then I overheard someone say that the mall was opening at 4am. Well why not? We had time! :) We ran over to the mall which opened promptly at four. Lots of teenagers there by the way. Fortunately we made it to Teaghan's favorite store quickly because the table with the $10 hoodies went in a matter of minutes. I grabbed a bunch, Doug grabbed a bunch, and we sorted as we stood in line. Mega deals we got there too, along with some freebies for spending over $100! And we are just having so much fun! There were a couple of times I thought Doug was getting a little green around the gills at the amount of money that was being spent, but he actually did pretty good. The man likes to save too.

After that, we headed back to Wally Mart (yes I did that typo on purpose), picked up our "prizes" and headed home. Got home at 5:30. The kids didn't even get up till 10am so we even got five hours of sleep out of it. The Christmas miracles just keep coming:)

But most importantly, I got to hang with my best friend. And he actually liked shopping this year! Wonders never cease.

Teaghan School Pics

Two kids done, two to go. How come this is taking me so long!? I'm planning on using the kids photos on the christmas cards so I suppose I need to kick this into high gear.


Teaghan and I had so much fun taking these pictures!

McCall Family Photos

This is the cutest little family!! Jessica, who is a friend of my sister in law, asked me to take their family photos. They were such troopers in the 48 degree weather! I was a little concerned that it would be too cold to take photos but Jessica assured me that her children wouldn't even notice. She was so right!!

And WOW...the energy level. These two keep their parents at a run. But what was so great is that Jessica and Jeremy were so calm as they ran after these two. They didn't even seem to be fazed. :)

Jessica and Jeremy, you guys are AMAZING. Your children are beautiful! I hope you enjoy your sneak peak.

Brittnee turns 11!

My ever enthusiastic cheerleader Britt turns 11 today. It's hard to believe that she's getting older, but the proof comes year after year. I will always see my beautiful red headed baby. In fact her hair was so pretty that I had hair stylists telling me that they wish they could bottle the color. She was just a darling baby with a spunky spirit! Even then.

Brittnee has thought for this last week that she was getting Barbies for her birthday gift. Doug and I didn't buy her Barbies, but as we joked about it, she became convinced that that was what she was getting. A day didn't go by without her telling me that she no longer played Barbies and it wasn't a good gift for her. She became progressively paranoid as the days went by. It was so hard to not tell her the truth. We had many good chuckles at her expense:)

Heavens but it was fun. Usually Britt is the one pulling the jokes on us.

Little did she know that she got the motorized scooter that she'd been asking for. Plus, she is a big fan of the Wimpy Kid books. She has all of them and the latest one just came out a week ago so I hurried and snagged that too. (Side note: I got the book for $1.24 because it was 20% off and I had $10 in Borders Bucks. A DOLLAR AND 24 CENTS!! I could hardly believe it. I love love love getting good deals!)

We charged the scooter for 18 hours. Yes, 18 HOURS. But it was worth the wait. She loves it! She picked BJ's for dinner tonight. Then we'll bring home fixings for banana splits. All in all, I think she had a great birthday!

Love you Britt!! Your humor and zest for life never leave us bored. The mold was broke when Heavenly Father created you.









She was even gracious to share her new scooter with her siblings who now want scooters for Christmas. (sigh)



Thanks also to Grandma for going in on the gift!

Stocking Stuffers

I can't believe I just wrote stocking stuffers! Good grief. Is it that time of year already? Didn't we just do this???

I love Christmas. I really do. But ALREADY?!

Another fundraiser came home with the kids. I wasn't even going to look through it. (We did the last one.) But I gave in cause curiosity apparently got the better of me, and I am so glad I did. Because I found this. Yeah!!



What in the world is this selling? I know you're asking. If you look close you can see the model holding a bag. On the bag is a round ball attached to a clip. It's lip balm that clips on to your purse, or for my use, the girls' backpacks. That way they never lose their chapstick! I know, it's genius.

These are just some of the kinds they have.





I was so excited to see that they were in this fundraiser the kids brought home. And the exact two that I wanted even! How crazy is that?? The only problem is that you can only get Twist and Pout in certain stores. Dilliards for instance, and Amazon has some. Twist and Pout doesn't sell off their website so I was going to call my sister in Utah and have her ship me some but now I don't have to. YIPPEEEE!

Good thing the girls don't read my blog:) They'd know I am throwing these in their stockings!

To see more Twist and Pout you can go here.

I just love fun stuff like this! I may have to order myself one for my stocking:)

Serendipity

So this whole photography "thing" comes and goes in spurts. At times I think, "No, I don't think I want to pursue a side job in this business," but then I love it so much to give it up which then makes me think, "Yes, I do think I want to see where this goes." I'm thinking of taking some courses next year when Zak hits first grade. I need some tips on lighting, and staging, and how to REALLY take photos. Just bump up 'my game.' But at times it can be very stressful so I've been back and forth with the inner debate for quite some time. But lately I've had some inquiries about taking photos of different families again, so I'm thinking maybe I SHOULD see where this whole photography thing takes me. Next year that is. I can't take any classes this year:)

So to those of you who have expressed interest and are reading this cause you know my blog address, I will email you:)

I want to share some photos of my "other children." My good friend Tara asked me to take some photos of her kids. We actually have only had time for the smaller two, the other three we'll get to soon. She was such a good sport when I called her spur of the moment and said, "Hey, I'm taking Zak's pictures right now if you want to hurry over and meet me." She said she would and so we knocked out a couple in the 15 minutes that I had. I hurried and edited them a couple of days later. I was somewhat nervous to show her. It's always a little nerve wracking to show the client what you've done with their family, but I'm so glad Tara likes them. Whew! Either that or she was just trying to spare my feelings. :)

Teaghan teases me that I like "weeds." Okay, it's true. I like natural settings, old fence posts, all kinds of roadways whether they be new or broken up, rolling prairies.... though I know I wasn't born in the wrong era, (I know this because I WOULD NOT HAVE MADE A GOOD PIONEER), I just am naturally drawn to these things.

ANYWAY.... these are my favorites of Mia and Ben. Mia, by the way, is GORGEOUS!!!



Oh my gosh I love this face!!! And his cheeks....oh my goodness.













There was just a little drool and a little bugie that needed to be removed. Just one more reason why I love Photoshop.















I just love shoes on little feet! I just love shoes! :)



At the beginning of the post I was thinking of putting a disclaimer that the post will be somewhat lengthy, but since I can look at photography all day (if my time would allow me to do so:) I just figure everyone else is as interested as I am. So if you got all the way to the bottom...nice job. Thanks for being interested. :)

Wait!!

I forgot to post my other favorite photo of Zak!! I can't believe I didn't get this one in the last post. He was being so silly and running around with his arms in the air while I was trying to take his picture, so I was happily surprised when I got one that worked. So I am going to share this one as well cause I absolutely love it. :) This one and another one will probably be the ones I will put on the wall.

FINALLY!! School Pictures- at least for Zak

Yes, I realize it is November and I am just barely getting around to school photos. I don't have my kids pictures taken at school cause there's just something hideous about picking a red or blue background. And not only that, but you get one take, so you better hope that someone combed that stray piece of hair down. Plus, and this is the real reason I take my own photos, the photographer can't possibly catch my child's personality in one shot, on a stool, with a blue or red background. If I'm going to pay 50 buckaroonies I may as well put it towards other photos by a photographer in a session. Make sense? But since taking my own kids' photos was what prompted Doug to get me a nicer camera in the first place, three, or is it four years ago, (really??? has it been that long???) then I better start taking some:)

I had a few minutes to kill in between taking Britt and Andon to school, and the time Zak needed to be there, so I dressed him in some jeans, (cause I like my kids in stuff they'd normally wear), drove out to the Rancho Parkway behind my house, and took some pictures of my awesome 5 year old. He really is awesome. A lot of energy, but a lot of soul:)

He was such a ham! It was easy and hard at the same time to get photos of him. Easy in that he was goofing off, which is SOOOO what Zak does best so we got REAL photos of him, but hard in that I couldn't get him to go where I wanted him to. Just to get him to stick his hands in his pockets was sheer torture. For him and me!

Oh, and the kid did all his own poses! I didn't have to prompt him other than tell him to sit or stand in a particular spot. Except for the last shot. He didn't want to put his hands in his pockets.:)

















Do you see the mischief in those eyes?? Do ya? Cause there's a LOT OF IT! :)



And next, my favorite.



Gosh he's dang cute!! :)

My daughter the Photographer

For more than one reason I'm thrilled that we are in a new school district. Still not sure why some are better than others, but with this new middle school Teaghan is going to, there are more opportunities than at her old school. One such is the electives offered. She is taking digital photography this semester and is loving it. The school "gives" each kid their own camera to use, not to mention that all the computers have photoshop. So not only is she learning how to take pictures, but she's learning to edit too! There are times when I want to go over there myself and learn:) She's just a sponge when it comes to this stuff.

So what prompted this post was this morning when Teaghan was showing me her work. Luckily I have the same Photoshop they are working with at school, just not Bridge. Which is fine really for my uses, though she knows how to use Bridge:)

Daughter has now become the teacher.

Anyway, she stuck her flash drive into the computer so she could upload what she's been working on at school, and I was amazed! For one thing, the teacher is AMAZING. For another, I think this girl may have some photography skills that she never even knew existed. Okay, I'm the mom and I think everything my kids do are amazing. (Okay, not EVERYTHING.) But I was super impressed!! And I want to share just little of what she's done. Granted they're not perfect, but for a 13yr old who's never done any of this, I think it's pretty darn good.





And she doesn't even use actions!! I'm so totally impressed by this. Manual photoshopping:) Hence the reason I need her to give me some little tips!

So here's a photo of a tree. Nothing super amazing other than the fact that I like the perspective from which it is taken. And I like trees in the fall. They're gorgeous! But here's what's so impressive. THIS TREE WAS GREEN IN THE ORIGINAL PICTURE. T took it and made it look like it was taken in the fall when the leaves had already changed color! She manually manipulated it. I just can't believe how much she's learned!! It completely dumbfounds me. But not only that, I wish I was young again and could take advantage of all this technology; soak it up like a sponge. Ya know when you were a kid and everything just seemed to come a little easier?? Not in all things, but most? I sure do. I wish my brain wasn't as convoluted as it is.



This assignment was to create something out of images already captured. So 13 isn't it???





So here's the story behind this one, cause I know you're wondering what in the world a strange woman is doing in Teaghan's photos:) I know, because I said the same thing.
The assignment was to take an already existing picture and age the person using photoshop. I know, SO COOL. I have been trying to figure out how to use these tools FOREVER and my daughter is picking it up like IT'S NOTHING. Makes me sick and proud all at the same time. :)
Nice bags under the eyes eh???
This woman once had blonde hair and was smiling. I can hardly even believe it. So T whitened her hair, turned her eyebrows down, and made her frown.
ISN'T PHOTOSHOP AMAZING!!

I'm trying to subtley hint that maybe she oughtta try to get on the yearbook staff in high school taking pictures. She just rolls her eyes. Okay, so maybe I'm not that subtle:)

Homework- what they do in Hell

Homework is a depressant. I think it was invented to get even with parents who they themselves were awful in school. I was a great student. I really was! I think I'm getting Doug's karma when he was a child. Nough said. My other theory is that homework is designed to let the parent know how important it really is to a child's education when said parent didn't think so when they were a child. Everything seems to take on new meaning and new challenges when one becomes a parent. Perspective and 20/20 have become regular mantra in my life.

So yesterday I spent from 3pm to 9pm, with a soccer break in between that doing HOMEWORK. Yes, perspective is great. I get that homework is necessary, but the five hours spent yesterday doing it was NOT FUN.

NOT FUN. I need to figure out how to blow those words up bigger.

Britt had so much of it, and stuff she needed help with, not to mention the book report that she procrastinated and the project that went with it that hadn't been started either and was due the next day. TODAY. Doug was at a "Meet the Firms" thing for work which left me to handle 4 kids with homework. Luckily Teaghan gets hers done on her own now that she's getting older, but the younger three....it was a lesson in patience is what it was.

I leave Britt with just her book report poster to do as I left for soccer at 5:30. I get home closer to 7pm and she's got the rough draft done, but it needs to be put together. In the midst of that I realize that we haven't done Andon's math flash cards that the teacher just sent home, not to mention his reading books that he has to pass off. I have him reading to me as I'm trying to cook dinner, which I detest doing anyway, and try to manage Britt getting her stuff done.

I was seriously about to lose it.

SERIOUSLY. Some serious wigging out was about to occur. You know that feeling when you feel your temperature rising and you're going to explode? I was sooo there. And then right at that moment when I couldn't take anymore, that very nanosecond, my sweet Andon says, "Mom, you're the best mom in the world." And he said it so sweetly and so lovingly that I just melted. I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Heavenly Father knew what I was experiencing and prompted my son to say that. It brought tears to my eyes and instantly gave me just a little much needed push to just persevere. It was a great moment.

And then this is what I hear: No she's not! She's a stinky mommy."

Yes, my rambunctious 5 year old who I swear is going through the Terrible Five's, stated this with a Just kidding afterward.

Keeps one humble. No one said parenting would ever give you a big ego.

Conversation with Zak

My conversation with Zak the other morning in the car went something like this:

"Mom, why do people have bugars?"

(Really???)

"Well," said I, "It's caused by the air trapped in your nose. All the bad stuff that you breathe in gets trapped in there. That way you stay healthy." I then gave a good plug about using Kleenex and such to get those "bugies" out.

There was a brief pause, and then "Mom, does everybody have bugars in their noses?"

Me, "Yes Zak." Trying not to laugh.

Another brief pause.

"Mom, does Jesus have bugars?" Okay, so this was said with complete earnestness. He really wanted to know. However, I was trying to contain myself.

(I had to take a break in writing this post to get Zak a toilet wipe. He uses the ruse that he can't reach them on the back of the toilet so that I will come and wipe his little touchie. Ummmm....he's five, I don't like to do that anymore. Goes along with this gross post though:) )

Back to the story...

So I thought about whether or not Jesus WOULD have bugars, what with a resurrected body and all, and couldn't come up with anything. Really, this was food for thought for me. So I answered honestly and said, "I don't know."

He seemed to be okay with that answer. Then another brief pause.

"Mom, does Santa have bugars?" I am really trying to hold myself together here. However, I did know the answer to that question.

"Yes Zak, Santa does have bugars."

I'm pretty sure Doug and I have had to blow our noses a time or too. :) I think that qualifies as Santa having bugars!

Fun Finds & Desperate to Find's

This morning as I went downstairs to start making my kids' school lunches, I walked by this on the corner of my island.



I stopped, backed up, and discovered spidey on my flower pitcher. It made me smile.



Since this post is thus titled, guess what I discovered a couple of days ago?



Just so you can get the full scope of how these get lost, this bed post on our bed is level with the top of my EYEBROWS. It's super tall. Our bed is one you have to hoist yourself into. Yes, we love it. It's way cool! However, and I remember this now, I had gone to bed with my rings on, which I hate to do, and had stuck them on the top of the post as I have sometimes done when I am too lazy to get back out of bed. Yes, I am prone to laziness. And since my side of the bed is on the far side of the room and not nearest the door, I don't generally walk over there, until I get into bed at night WITH THE LIGHTS OFF. You can see why I didn't spot them:)



But I am so glad they're found. It's not like I can just go out and get another diamond. It was going to have to be a zirconia, ya know?

And since I didn't get around to posting my kids on the first day of school, here it is. They so love the camera. If one wasn't doing something goofy, then someone else was. This was the best one by a long shot. plus we were in a hurry, but at least it's documented right?