{Life} in a nutshell

Why I love what I do

2012-02-06T13:56:00.000-06:00

Getting into photography was one of the best things I've ever done for myself. It is my creative outlet. Luckily, I find that some people are actually willing to pay me to do what I love. Over the weekend I had a shoot with a familiar face and it started off like this. Isn't she cute? She's usually pretty happy and easy to work with.

And then she started to get a bit bored with the whole deal and would occasionally need some down time to snuggle with her mama. You know, she'd kind of look at me like

"I've had enough of you in my face for today you crazy paparazzi lady!"

To which I replied, *click*.

And I'm so happy I did because I looove this photo. I dearly love all the photos I have of my babies when they are happy and sweet, but I also love to have some of those tender in between moments that tug at your heart strings. I hope they tug on her mama's like they do on mine.

And then...after a chance to get some space, she was ready for more. And I got this gem. I almost want to hang it on my own wall. Would that be weird?

Book review - Anansi's Boys

2012-02-05T07:40:00.000-06:00

This was my first Neil Gaiman selection and I was really looking forward to it. Stardust is one of my favorite movies (he wrote the book) and I've heard nothing but raves over his work. Everything was wonderful. What I loved most about the book was actually the writing style. It felt so natural and real that it almost didn't feel like it was a fantasy or that you had to stretch your imagination. Like writing about Anansi and other gods among us was just a regular fiction story. My only disappointment was there was slight lack of excitement in the adventure aspect. Like when they were in these life or death situations I was interested but not quite on the edge of my seat. However, reading this still makes me want to read more from him.

I give it 4/5.

Book review - The Indian Bride

2012-01-29T12:40:00.000-06:00

First off murder mysteries aren't really my favorite genre so that may have influenced my rating. But I just didn't connect with this book at all. A guy decides he wants a wife so goes to India for two weeks and manages to find "the one" and convince her to come back. She arrives on a later flight and he can't be there to pick her up and she is later discovered murdered. The only thing that was drawing me in was the character of the bride. The other characters seemed one dimensional and confusing and the writing wasn't doing much for me. I also found myself wondering what many parts of the book had to do with this story like health problems with the inspectors dog or a girl who develops an unbelievable infatuation. I kept reading and hoping that something was going to peak my interest or the ending would be something I never saw coming...but I was left disappointed there as well.

I give this a 3/5.

Winner Announced

2012-01-22T19:39:00.001-06:00

The winner of any session of their choosing is comment number four...

congratulations Wendy!

Thank you to the rest of you for entering, any of you can book one session this summer for 20% off, just mention this contest.

Book Review - The Name of the Wind

2012-01-19T11:33:00.004-06:00

I'm currently half way through a book called The Wise Man's Fear. Ah, you've noticed that that is not the title of this book review? Right. I'm reading the second book of a trilogy. An awesome, awesome trilogy. The second book in the trilogy is taking up a good chunk of my free time right now and it's one of those where I just want to stay awake all night reading and pick up again first then when I wake up. It's rather large so it'll still be a while until I'm done and can tell you how very good it is so let me tell you about the first one.

If you read the inside of the book jacket you will find this as the introduction:

I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.

You may have heard of me.

Last year sometime the mom's club in town started a book club. One of the suggestions for reading material was The Name of the Wind because it was written by an author right here in town. I thought, "Sure. I'd love to support a local author even lthough I'm not really into fantasy." Turns out I am very much into fantasy if this is what it is. I don't really think of Harry Potter as fantasy but that seems to be one of the collections I keep somewhat comparing it to. The main character, Kvothe (sounds like Quothe), has had some very rough times similar to Harry Potter and attends a school of magic like Harry and also has a rival at school who is rich and full of himself, again similar to Mr. Potter.

One of the things I'm enjoying so much with the trilogy is actually the supporting characters. They are very well developed and believable. I think Simmon is actually my favorite character in the book who is a best friend of Kvothe. Hmm sounds like Harry again with his best friends who are all very fun to get to know as well.

What else do I love about this...Oh yes. The way it's told. It begins with the a man named Kote who is actually Kvothe trying to maintain a life as a simple inn keeper. He is discovered by aan iconic biographer who desperately wants to tell his story and that is how we learn of it. So you get the story of how things actually happened and also how they were exaggerated to make Kvothe a bit more legendary than he is. The writing is very much to my liking and here is one area where it differs from Harry Potter. The book is much more adult. Not so adult that you should be worried about reading anything offensive, but just not all happy kiddy world full of rainbows. Read this quote from one of the opening pages of the second book to get a sense for the way it reads:

The Waystone was his, just as the third silence was his. This was appropriate, as it was the greatest silence of the three, wrapping the others inside itself. It was deep and wide as autumn’s ending. It was heavy as a great river-smooth stone. It was the patient, cut-flower sound of a man who is waiting to die.

This is definitely a new favorite of mine and I give it a 5/5.

MariaLynn Photography Give-away

2012-01-13T08:14:00.002-06:00

Hello everyone :)

The last couple of weeks have been difficult for my family. We lost a hero. But whenever there is tragedy it reminds me again of how much I have to be grateful for. And how precious my time is with the people I love. Photos seem to be one of the things I can never have enough of and offer a way to hold onto people even after they are gone.

So today I am giving away a chance to get some photos for yourself and the people you love to (hopefully) cherish. This is my biggest give-away yet...a free session of your choice.

Yep, any session you'd like. See what I offer here. To enter please leave a comment here on the blog along with a way to get in touch with you if you are the winner. Winner will be announced on Sunday, January 22nd.

*Please note only the session fee will be waived for the winner, any products or prints would need to be purchased. Session must be booked by June 1st and used by September 1st.

Book review - Discovery of Witches

2012-01-11T09:38:00.000-06:00

Goodreads is a site I use to look up reviews about books I'm interested in, keep track of what I've read, and get suggestions for my to-read list. A while back I saw A Discovery of Witches listed as a favorite and added it to my holds list for my library's e-books. After a few months of waiting it was finally my turn last week.

I was pretty excited to start because I love stories about witches and vampires and whatnot. Ever since watching Dark Shadows with my family. I think that show scarred me. But in a good way. When Buffy was on the air it was like Joss Whedon was inside my head making the show just for me. There have been other shows and books that I enjoyed since then like Twilight even though it was a tad annoying.

So I was hoping Discovery of Witches would help with the fact that I don't currently have anything to satiate my vampire love story thing. And it totally did. The author did a great job of pulling me in quickly. The writing is done well and I connected with the characters right away. The main character, Diana, is a witch but has been trying to avoid having anything to do with witchcraft since her parents were killed when she was seven. Now that she's an adult and the past is starting to catch up with her her magic can't be contained. I love that. Probably because I secretly always hoped I was a witch too. I remember actually feeling disappointed when I turned 16 and my mom didn't come to tell me that we were witches and my powers were going to come into effect soon. I had seen it in a movie and was sure that was also my fate.

Anyway. So in the book Diana kind of accidentally uses her magic for something small and draws the attention of a vampire, Matthew, as well as a slew of other creatures trying to unlock the keys to her magic. And things take off from there into a romance between the two of them while they try to make sense of what is happening and fighting for their lives. So in the romance department it does feel a lot like Twilight but just done better. Like when Matthew tries to leave her she doesn't curl up in a ball in the middle of the woods and go into a comatose state.

If you're a guy and thinking the romance bit is steering you completely away from the book, you might want to rethink that. There's actually a good deal of action and a lot of mystery solving type stuff. Kind of like Da Vinci code where there are all these clues in books and throughout history that the two of them need to piece together.

I loved it and I give it a 5/5

Just Dance

2012-01-09T09:13:00.001-06:00

You may not know this about me but I got mad dance skills. I can busta move like nobody's business.

At least that is what it feels like when I'm doing Just Dance on the Wii. You think you're completely rocking it out of the park and then you realize you probably look more like someone having a seizure because you in fact have no skill. I am going to live in denial of my lack of dancing prowess and continue to think I am made of nothing less than awesomeness.

But seriously this game is awesome. The family loves the Wii and I wanted to get a new game for Christmas that we could all do together. It's not easy to find those with a 2 year old and 4 year old who are still working on their dexterity with remotes. This one is a winner. Jack and Bella always get into it and request to turn it on and dance nearly every day.

You'd think I'd be getting better at it with all that practice but I don't think I am. But it's still fun. Watch the kids doing a bit of Jump on it. Never mind the mess under the tv and stuff but focus on the smiles on their faces as they turn around :)

2011

2012-01-02T22:12:00.001-06:00

Welcome to 2012. Am I old for seeing the wisdom in the saying "The days drag but the years fly."? Because they sure do.

I wanted to put together a scrap page for each of the kiddos throughout a year to see how they've grown and all their different expressions and whatnot. Then just as I was about to work on it Sue Cummings from Oscraps.com put out this template for her 52 Projects thing and it is perfect!

If you're interested in checking out the 52 Projects where you get a year of mini projects to inspire you click here.

Book Review - Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

2011-12-28T21:29:00.002-06:00

I love to get lost in a good book. I love to feel like the wonderful new characters are my new best friends and other times I wish some of the characters were real just so I could talk behind their backs. But I hate when I waste time on something that just isn't really worth it. So I'm going to start posting reviews here for any of you looking for some good book recommendations.

I'll start with the most recent book I've read which is "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)" by Mindy Kaling from The Office.

I give this book a 4/5. It started out funny off the bat AND it also felt very real and relate-able. She writes about being bullied in school and the struggle to figure out who you are. I was laughing out loud and highlighting numerous bits. Then she moves on to more current things like becoming a writer and dating and whatnot. I felt like the first half of the book was 5/5 material but then it seemed to lose it's flow in the second half. I still highly recommend it.

Here are some quotes I loved:

"Teenage girls, please don’t worry about being super popular in high school, or being the best actress in high school, or the best athlete. Not only do people not care about any of that the second you graduate, but when you get older, if you reference your successes in high school too much, it actually makes you look kind of pitiful, like some babbling old Tennessee Williams character with nothing else going on in her current life. What I’ve noticed is that almost no one who was a big star in high school is also big star later in life. For us overlooked kids, it’s so wonderfully fair."

agreed :)

"You should know I disagree with a lot of traditional advice. For instance, they say the best revenge is living well. I say it’s acid in the face—who will love them now?"

note to self: do not get on Mindy's bad side

"There Has Ceased to Be a Difference Between My Awake Clothes and My Asleep Clothes"

I'm writing this post in my best designer jeans, a cashmere sweater, heels, and diamonds so I don't know why this was relate-able.

(Ok...I'm wearing yoga pants with a sweatshirt and some pretty ugly slippers at three o'clock in the afternoon.)

and "This book will take you two days to read. Did you even see the cover? It’s mostly pink. If you’re reading this book every night for months, something is not right."

Because it is a quick and fun read and there were many more quotes I would love to fill the page with but just go read the book for yourself.

*Disclaimer*

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to this website.

Which translates to I will be posting links to things on Amazon (but only things I really think you should check out) and if you purchase something through my link here I get a percentage of the sale.

Christmas Day

2011-12-25T22:44:00.002-06:00

I love Christmas. I thought I'd share some insight from our day. Kids opening presents:

Jack carrying Woody on his shoulders around the house, Bella reading her favorite book, and just hanging out before heading out to visit family. I want Bella's entire outfit in my size. Maybe with heels though.

I had to snap a family photo before the carnage of wrapping paper descended onto the house. And I wanted to take a picture of my favorite gift. I had told Casey a while ago about this idea I liked very similar to this necklace and he had it made for me from this shop. Isn't it great to know your man is actually listening to you sometimes and will go out of his way to make you happy?

I love that guy.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and have a Happy New Year!

Unusual gift idea

2011-12-15T19:58:00.004-06:00

I'm sure most of you are finishing up with your holiday shopping but maybe you have a person on your list who has just about everything and insists not to buy them any presents but you feel like you must...I have an idea for you.

An amazing author who lives in my town is currently organizing an extravaganza of goodness. You can "gift" that hard to shop for person a chicken or a goat through Heifer International which will actually go to someone really in need this season.

Plus!...if you donate through his group he will match 50% of your donation!
Double plus!...for every $10 you donate you get entered for a chance to win cool book items. That's what we call win-win.

Head on over to the blog of Patrick Rothfuss to read more about it.

Awesomeness

2011-12-14T10:11:00.000-06:00

Before I get to the awesomeness, let me tell you about what the Marshfield Rotary does with this Winter Wonderland ...over a million lights to walk around or drive through at the zoo. This is the first year we've gone and it was beautiful. Plus it's free. They do ask that you bring a food item or monetary donation for the food pantry. I think it's a small price to pay. Go if you get the chance.

Now...If you follow professional football at all you may know that our Packers are quite the team right now. They won the super bowl last season and are proving to be heading on that path again. Friday afternoon Casey called me and asked if I'd want to go the game with him. I said heck yes. The previous week they had a win putting them at 12-0 which was well celebrated and if they won this game they'd be at 13-0. So we took the (free) tickets of course and eagerly awaited to see if we'd witness a little piece of awesomeness.

I didn't bring a good camera (too many rowdy people with beer in their hands for my camera's liking) so I couldn't zoom as much as I'd have liked. Here is Aaron Rodgers and Donald Driver hanging out right in front of us before the game. Two of my favorite players!

And the guy we sat right behind looked just like Aaron Rodgers from profile. It was scary how much they looked alike. Especially with the eyes. I didn't want him to think I was a weirdo by asking him to turn just right so I could take his photo and put it up on my blog so I just snuck one in as best I could. And now only you guys know that I'm a weirdo ;)

And then I got a great shot of his arm instead of the touchdown that was happening. That seemed to happen every time I tried to anticipate a shot of a touchdown. I'd be all ready and then it would be just about to happen so I'd click the shutter...and then someone would jump and wave their arms. I've got a lot of those.

See the score? There were plenty of amazing shots to be had. Unfortunately I don't have any. But we did get the win so now we join only 8 teams in the NFL to get to 13-0! Whooo!!!

Go Pack Go!

Christmas photos

2011-11-26T21:13:00.001-06:00

I had this great idea late last night that we should do a family photo for a Christmas card when we got up and ready the next morning (today). We were planning on going to a family Thanksgiving so why not get all dressed up and look nice for the photos then be all matchy and cute for the party?! What I hadn't counted on was that the kids were not going to be in the mood to do photos and that it would be totally overcast blocking those beautiful rays I love. But I think they turned out pretty nice. I'll save the family to post near the Christmas time so the folks getting a card can be surprised. I know you're just dying from suspense ;)

Counters!

2011-11-25T11:07:00.001-06:00

We've been remodeling the main level of our home for over a year now. It's a super low stress project that I highly encourage anyone to take on (sarcasm). Here's what my kitchen has looked like for quite a good long while. This isn't even on a bad day. I can tell because there are washed dishes sitting on the clean side of the sink.

We are doing this whole remodel pretty low budget. So when we were looking at counter top choices we were kind of blown away by the prices. Casey wanted granite because you know if we use them several times a day we should invest in something really nice.

Good point, dear, but um...granite is not in our budget.

In walks concrete.

Since we are pretty big do-it-yourselfers concrete counters seemed like they'd be a good fit for us. It was the most economical option and is completely customizable.

Here we go...!

(I said that in a Mario voice if you are interested in how this blog post sounds in my head)

There is plenty o' information online and at the library to find out how to make yourself some counters so after much research on Casey's part we began. We measured once, twice, and thrice then made some molds to pour. Then we made friends with our neighbor across the street who you could say knows a thing or two about concrete and also asked my dad to lend a hand.

And yes I am scooping concrete with my bare hands up there. And no I definitely do not advise that. Your hands will be super dry for the next couple of weeks.

But onto the finished product. Isn't she beautiful? Not quite. But she's getting there. These little holes were all over the place but that's ok. Casey will take care of that in the next step.

Next step. Slurry. The concrete mix we did above had aggregates (rocks) and the slurry does not so it gets in all those little holes and fills em in. Then they get polished and smoothed. It was kind of a long process. At least it looked like it, I didn't have any part of that. I did, however, help with the next phase which is staining (if you so choose - we did). I don't have any photos of that because my hands were usually full of acid stain which is not a good for cameras. So use your imagination. And then there was the waxing/buffing which I also forgot to photograph because it was the day before Thanksgiving when we were having people over and I just had a lot going on.

And now here you don't need your imagination because they are in and they are be-autiful! The photos don't even do them justice. I love them. We also installed these ourselves. Well, that's a lie. The island has to weigh a good 400 pounds so we enlisted the help of some strong men for that piece. But the others we did ourselves a couple nights ago. Wow was that a pleasure. Picture this.

Casey holding up the sink that weighs maybe 150 pounds by himself: "Ok, push that slab in place."

Me trying to push a 100 pound piece of concrete by myself: "Sure....uurrghhhhh. Ugghh. Not gonna happen."

But somehow it all worked out with only minor injuries. Take a peek. The counters along the walls are a deep brown. Like dark chocolate, coffee, or well worn leather. It might look like they are a little bumpy here but they are not it's an illusion from the variation in colors.

And the island is a lighter shade but really highlights how neat the edges turned out. Doesn't that look like granite?! And about a quarter of the price that we would have paid for granite. I'd say it's a job well done.

The kids like it anyway.

I hate it when that happens

2011-11-09T15:21:00.003-06:00

Today is the first snow storm of the season for us here in Wisconsin. That doesn't bother me. I like getting to get bundled up and make snowmen and then come inside and have hot chocolate and snuggle in to watch a movie. So that's what we did. I shoveled the driveway and we had a snowball fight and there were giggles to spare. And since I have a camera that is water-proof, drop-proof, and freeze-proof I brought that out. And in the middle of our snowball fight I decided to take a video to capture how they look when they are winding up to throw and look so pleased when they think they got me good followed by little snickers.

Then I unload the photos to find that after I pushed record I must have pushed it again right away because I only have two seconds of that. Oh well, at least I got some sweet photos. We'll just have to do it again :)

what happens in vegas...

2011-11-08T21:19:00.009-06:00

What happens in Vegas...

goes onto my blog.

How would people expect stuff to stay in Vegas nowadays with everyone having cameras on their phones and being able to immediately upload your embarrassment to youtube? Luckily I don't have a lot of embarrassment. As part of this trip anyway.

I should start this by stating that Casey and I did in fact do some gambling while we were out there. We figured we had to do something adventurous in sin city. And I should warn you that we struck it rich and we are now changed people. Yeah. See those blue chips I'm holding there? Those are ones baby! As in a whole dollar! That's right, we won like tens of dollars. Please don't act differently around us now. We'd like to remain humble and down to earth.

So here's how I liked to spend my days while Casey was doing his work thing.

Shopping was one. There are so many fancy shmancy stores that I was afraid to even peek my head in. See those mannequins in clown wigs? Those were in a very pricey and upscale store. I figure I can get ahead of the fashion curve if I hit up some Halloween clearance. But there was a good mix of upscale boutiques, mid price unique stores like Anthro, and regular folk stores like H&M.

When I wasn't shopping I was people watching, standing in line at Walgreens behind Elvis, grabbing gelato, or taking a bubble bath. (We stayed in the most amazing hotel I've ever been in and I took a bubble bath nearly every day while watching tv on the bathroom tv.)

And while it was wonderful to have some me time, it was really nice to spend spend some quality time with the hubs.

The food was also a highlight. These are just a couple of amazing desserts from our hotel.

The entertainment in Vegas sure is a reason to go. Our first night there we walked the strip and enjoyed the free stuff. The fountains at Bellagio, Sirens of TI, and this strange but cool head that comes out of the water and sings at Wynn.

But if we're talking entertainment...oh. my. god. Phantom of the Opera and Le Reve were two of the greatest experiences of my life. If you ever have the opportunity to go see either of them, please forgo your chance and give me your ticket.

We also had a private concert with Hootie and the Blowfish because someone who works for the company putting this on use to play with the guys in a garage band.

When we had time together to walk around we really enjoyed Caesar's Palace. It's just cool.

I mean look at this. This is all inside.

But the best part really was hanging out with my love so I'll end on that note.

Sisters

2011-10-27T16:09:00.006-05:00

I had the pleasure of getting to photograph these two lovely sisters last weekend. Aren't they sweet?

Two things you should do

2011-10-21T20:19:00.004-05:00

When we moved to our current home three years ago we had to purchase new appliances for it. A few months ago we noticed our dishwasher was leaving residue all over the "clean" dishes. Gritty, gross stuff. I ran the dishwasher empty to clean it and it got better. Then I saw a blog post not long ago about actually cleaning out your dishwasher. Like taking things apart and getting pieces of food out. Well I did it and we have noticed a dramatic difference in the appearance and feel of our dishes. And I did it myself so it's easy enough. Here are links to two different tutorials depending on what your model looks like inside. >Here< and >Here<

Second thing you should do is take pictures of the adorable people you love while they are sleeping and peaceful. The other day Bella was taking her nap and the light was coming in through her curtains a bit and I snapped a photo. I tend to snap at a lot of things ;)

Anyway, I love the photos I have of the kids over the years of them at their most calm and relaxed which may something I don't get to cherish all that often in their crazy, nonstop motion ways. If you have a child or a pet, catch them when they are like this. Even if you end up waking them up you won't regret it.

the minis

2011-10-13T16:49:00.008-05:00

The mini sessions from last week are all done and I think they turned out really well! Here are my favorite family shots from each session in some amazing Organic Bloom frames.

I have a problem

2011-10-07T14:33:00.009-05:00

I recently had a photo session with a beauty who is turning three. She's a cutie, pretty easy to work with, we had perfect weather...the problem now is I can't decide which of the photos I like best. There were SO many good ones!

This was pretty much the first photo I took of her.

But then when I figured which was my favorite, I still had to choose between the color and black and white.

Perfect Day

2011-10-03T20:03:00.005-05:00

I had a perfect day today. It was the first day that I would normally be working but wasn't. (I quit my job to stay home with my favorite people). And it was fantastic! The weather took a pleasant turn with perfect temps, beautiful fall colors, well behaved kids, and a wonderful hubby. Yep, it was good. And when I'm done with this I'm going to get myself a bowl of warm apple crisp :) Try to tell me it wasn't a perfect day.

Before I get to today let me share a couple other things. First, feel your heart melt seeing my favorite little girl and her daddy. They are coloring on the floor. I took a video too. It was special.

Next to share...we went to a water park over the weekend. I got a groupon for one nearby so we thought we'd try it out. It was pretty cheap to get a room overnight and water park passes for the 4 of us for two days. Actually $60 is really cheap for that. And it was totally worth it. It had been cold, rainy, and windy for quite a while before this so we were ready to do something. Jack had the best time of all of us. He must be part fish.

Bella isn't so much of a fish, but usually let's go and has a blast after a bit. She found out that splashing people is a hoot!

And now to today...

Usually I would be at work or rushing to get the kids ready to go to daycare so I could get to work. But not today! Jack got home from school and had lunch and then we went outside! We walked down to the nearby park and played and played and played. Then we walked home for snack and juice and then returned to play and play and play. I brought my camera with me the second time. The kids wanted to take pictures (with my camera) and I actually let them. I hope I don't come across as terribly nervous in these. Jack took the top and Bella took the bottom. All on their own. Well with the camera wrapped around their necks a bit in case they dropped it.

Then it was my turn to be behind the lens. Aren't they cute? The next pic in the series is of Bella holding her shirt way up. Classy one she is.

Our neighbor gave us some apples off his tree as we were walking past.

A perfect prop.

I love days like this. How was yours?

New Category

2011-09-22T21:01:00.002-05:00

I get to add a new category to my portfolio...seniors!

Anybody else want to book? That was so much fun!

Nerdy

2011-09-14T14:14:00.008-05:00

I have always been a nerd. Growing up I had a killer perm with big glasses and neon colored clothes. I loved school. My first grade teacher (who is now 90 and still teaching to this day) would put out extra math worksheets for anyone to take home or do in their spare time. I always took them. I played school with my friends, little brother, or imaginary friends when everyone got sick of me.

When I grew up I still had glasses but my sense of clothing style improved. I still loved school and still wanted to be a teacher. I got my teaching degree (early childhood education) and decided to stay at home and be my kids' teacher during their first years. I am still a nerd and proud of it. I love it when the kids ask me to read a book to them or when they express interest in learning. And I couldn't be prouder of Jack starting school. He is coming home with new stories and creations every day. Bella is jealous that she doesn't get to go so we try to do fun stuff here.

Which leads me to two things. The first has to do with making stuff. I consider myself to be a fairly creative person when it comes to kids' activities. You kinda have to be when teaching little ones. But it I'm not a never-ending pot of awesome ideas. (I know, you're shocked.) So when I saw this deal today I jumped on it. Scholastic (you know the cheap school book order folks) are having a sale on ebooks for teachers. And it's a killer sale. Tons of books to download for $1. Click here to go to the site. And if you didn't think that was good enough. Enter code 10THANKS to get $10 worth of downloads free. That's right, get 10 free ebooks for free. And they are good books too. I wouldn't expect to see them so cheap. But there they are for the snatching. I got my 10 free books before they realized what a ridiculously good offer that was and shut it down and then went back and bought 6 more. So that's 16 ebooks for $6. You would normally expect to buy each of these books for $10-20 so that is a deal people. Sale runs through the 20th so stop by. And be prepared to wait for page uploads as the site has been hammered with other deal seekers.

The second thing I want to share is what I'll need after making all these new projects I've purchased ideas for. The fridge is no longer a viable solution for artwork display. Bella plays with the magnets and then the art falls on the ground and gets ruined and then there is a meltdown over their life's work being trampled. And it is just too plain cluttered for me. So...here's my solution.

I bought a boatload of wooden clothespins at the store. They're pretty cheap. And then grabbed some scrap wood from Casey's pile in the basement and wood glue. And a side kick. And a messy room...which is totally unusual in my home. Right.

Anyway, we got some scrap papers to help see where to place the clothespins and then measured and marked. We couldn't get the cap to open on the glue bottle so we unscrewed the whole thing and poured glue all over the clothespin which was much more messy than anticipated.

And no, Bella does not have an owie where you see the Shrek Donkey band-aid. She just likes to where them. So all we did next was glue the clothespins where we made our pencil marks and waited for them to dry and nailed it to the wall. Now we have another place to display the kids' artwork neatly. And it adds a nice pop of color to that wall. I think we're going to make another to go above it today.

Not my turn

2011-09-10T15:25:00.004-05:00

The kids each seem to go through these cycles where they prefer either me over Casey or Casey over me. You know like they fall and get hurt and only one of us is qualified to apply the band aid and snuggles. Well they are both on a Daddy kick right now. "No, I want Daddy to do it." "I want to go with Daddy, you can stay home."

Today we all went to the store to get some supplies for our diy concrete counter tops and these two were all giggles before hand. Then when we stopped for ice cream after the store Jack was explaining to me how I was crazy and Daddy was laughing at me because Daddy was right and is always right just like him. Ugh.

Oh well. I'm off to a shoot so they can have him all to themselves for the evening. Enjoy your time, babe :)