This family of three is wonderfully in sync with each other and I am so happy I got to catch a bit of that in pictures.

Here are a few favorites from our session.

It has been a challenging month. First Trey got the Flu, then I got the Flu. We rarely get sick. It brought me to an enlightening realization, after 3 years of chronic sleep deprivation, that 5.5 hours of sleep (Trey gets between 10-12) is just not enough sleep for me to stay fully functioning and healthy. Trey’s bedtime was also slowly creeping later and later. With it staying lighter later and the nicer weather, we found it hard to call him in before dark. This led to much later dinner and bedtime for him as well. The past week and a half we have been aggressively working on getting everyone to bed much earlier.

Shaving off 2 hrs from my day has been quite the adjustment and I am still trying to figure out the details and my priorities. Hence the quiet blog the past month.

I really enjoy the Across the Room series so today, although Trey was home with a stomach ache, I managed to take out the camera while we were playing Legos this afternoon.

I am looking forward to all of us being healthy and well rested.

* Bottom left is our cat Linus- and he is sprawled out on my huge Calendar. I have a lot of projects going right now and events-so I am using post it notes to plan and organize the next few months. I must say, a lot more Legos than planning got done today. Oh well there is always tomorrow…

I would love it if you would like to join me in taking self portraits of you and your family from across the room, and then shared it with me here or on flickr…

All you need is a camera with a self timer or a remote shutter release. Please email me if you need any help at thea@theacoughlin.com

It is a tantalizing treat to enter into Sarah’s world with my camera. Each space she creates from her studio to the baby changing nook in her home is filled with joyful color, varying textures, books, maps, words, and so many little treasures. The detailed vignettes and arrangements draw me in and make me feel so happy and light inside. How could such an adventure be my job!?

I was giddy  when Sarah contacted me and said she needed updated pictures and wanted to set up a Spirit Session. Sarah has many enriching offerings she is birthing this spring and summer, so I can only share a few of the photographs from our session to keep from spoiling any surprises.

One of Sarah’s newest offerings, An Inspiration Kit,  is being offered exclusively through the Squam Art Workshop store this month. The kit is a jam packed with little collage bits (ephemera) from Sarah’s personal stash and also includes a little journal to collage in!

I fawn over the plethora of little papers, circles, tags, tape, and other bits Sarah has at the ready in her studio. The boxes and tins are their own work of art and collecting and displaying them an expression of her creative abilities. I always leave Sarah’s studio with a burning desire to start a mixed media piece with Trey, but feel limited by my lack of variety of materials. Trey LOVES making mixed media paintings and asks to create them often, so I am personally looking forward to receiving my Inspiration kit so we can dive into our journals with a bounty of materials personally selected by Sarah.

I am even more excited (this post feels like it has a big puppy dog grin all over it – I apologize for my super sticky sweet enthusiasm, but Sarah can have this effect on me) about Sarah’s first ever online painting and mixed media workshop being offered through Squam Art Workshops! I can’t believe Trey and I will be able to work with Sarah, together, right from our own home studio this summer.

What a fun way to start our day together… being creative and playing. I am so excited I am busting out with some pretty funny shimmy moves in my chair as I write this.

You will get to see more of the photos from our session if you take the workshop. In the meanwhile these are a few pictures I can share with you from our recent Spirit Session.

Easter Sunday morning:  103 fever

Monday:  103 fever

Tuesday: 101 fever

Wednesday: fever gone but legs in pain and he couldn’t bear any weight on his legs – not even to stand for a moment at the toilet.

Thursday: couldn’t bear any weight on his legs-again none at all

Friday: he was able to tip toe into my office to give me morning snuggles.  Still has to walk on tip toes and has wicked cough and sniffles but the fever is gone and he is able to walk. Such gratitude.

It was a long week – many plans were foiled but despite worrying and feeling yucky we did enjoy being together and were only bored almost to tears for a couple hours the last 2 days. Not too bad.