Sunday, October 31, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Family Portrait Session
One of my biggest problems in life is I always have high expectations, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but when you throw a 2.5 year old and a 15 month old into the equation you are bound to be disappointed.
For example, take our family portrait session this afternoon with Black Thumb Studio. For weeks, I have been staring longingly at our 16x20 framed family portrait that sits mounted on our living room wall and have been imagining how great our new portrait as a family of four will look in that same spot. An hour into our session, I was crossing my fingers that Grace's tears would stop and Jacob would stand still long enough so that he wasn't a blur in every photograph. All in all, I must say that today went much better than I anticipated after the morning we had.
Our day started out pretty nice considering how the afternoon went. I woke up around 8 AM to Jacob jumping on my bed which seems to be how I wake up most mornings these days and we went to get Grace and headed downstairs to change diapers.
We decided today was a we-don't-want-to-make-breakfast day and so we ventured out to Dunkin Donuts where I bought each kid their very own blueberry muffin (or muffs as Jacob calls them).
We came home, ate breakfast, played with mega blocks and then the kids watched 30 minutes of Dora while Mama cleaned the squished blueberries off her kitchen floor. I could hear Gracie in the Living Room yelling "OH, MAN!!!!" when Swiper the Fox crept across the screen.
I decided that even though we had slept in that morning I needed to attempt to put the kids down for early naps so there wouldn't be a meltdown in the middle of pictures so we headed upstairs. As they settled into their beds, I hopped in the shower only to emerge 30 minutes later to a noise that sounded like metal scraping metal. Jacob decided he wasn't tired so he thought he'd dismantle the heater cover in his bedroom. I peeked in Grace's room and she was sitting there happy as a clam shaking her baby doll.
I closed their doors and attempted to blow dry my hair, but apparently the kids had plans of their own and naps was not on the agenda. I brought them downstairs and tried my best to finish getting ready and pack the car with the outfits we had laid out the night before. I was not about to put the kids in their clothes before we got there for fear someone would puke, drool or leak all over their brand new, freshly pressed clothes before a picture had been snapped. I threw some lunch at them, tossed them in the car (still in their pajamas) and we were off.
The kids did finally sleep for an hour in the car and we arrived right on time at 2 PM when the skies became an ominous shade of black. We hurried into the park hoping to beat the rain, but the clouds seemed to scatter and we even had sun shining for a few minutes. We decided to let the kids run around and burn off some energy for a few minutes while Jeff and his Intern, Katie, set up.
Once they were ready to go we sat down on a set of stone steps for the first shot of the day. Jacob lasted 15 seconds before he wanted "DOWN!" and started "the maneuver"... you know the one. That slick, toddler trick where they stick their arms straight up in the air so they can wriggle out of your grasp, which I might add, is very effective. This is where Jeff and Katie save the day. We whipped out Jacob's neck pillow for the car which just so happens to be shaped like a monkey and started singing some silly songs and managed to get a few good shots out of them.
Next, we headed off to see if we could get some shots of the kids in a pile of leaves. Newsflash: Grace is TERRIFIED of leaves. Tears, tears and more tears. Jacob was having a blast and I can't wait to see those pictures, but Grace wanted nothing to do with them AT ALL. The only thing Grace wanted to do was run as fast as possible towards the RIVER and try to hurl herself over the rock wall into the fast moving current. I am pretty sure I owe Jeff and Katie for saving her life once or twice.....
At the end of our session, Jeff and Katie showed us a few of the shots they got and I am happy to say I think these are the best portraits yet! Even though the day didn't go as smoothly as I had it planned out in my head, the foliage was PERFECT! We couldn't have timed the peak better! The weather held off (it started raining as soon as we were packing up the car) and best of all I don't have to worry about this again until this time next year! I seriously needed a nap after we were done! I can't thank Jeff and Katie enough for all of their hard work!
We headed back towards home and stopped for some dinner. Both kids chowed down so I know they were hungry from running around like crazy for two hours non-stop. We also picked up a little treat for dessert at Cupcake Charlie's to take home. Meet my friends (clockwise from top) Pumpkin Spice, Chocolate Overload, Oreo Madness and Peanut Butter Pleasure. I think it is safe to say South Beach Phase 1 is over:
I can't wait to see the proofs from today!! I should be getting them back right before Thanksgiving so I will post as soon as I can with the finished product. Just to tide you over here is last year's result. This was taken in May of 2009 when Jacob was 14 months old (10.5 months adjusted)and I was 28 weeks pregnant with Grace:
For example, take our family portrait session this afternoon with Black Thumb Studio. For weeks, I have been staring longingly at our 16x20 framed family portrait that sits mounted on our living room wall and have been imagining how great our new portrait as a family of four will look in that same spot. An hour into our session, I was crossing my fingers that Grace's tears would stop and Jacob would stand still long enough so that he wasn't a blur in every photograph. All in all, I must say that today went much better than I anticipated after the morning we had.
Our day started out pretty nice considering how the afternoon went. I woke up around 8 AM to Jacob jumping on my bed which seems to be how I wake up most mornings these days and we went to get Grace and headed downstairs to change diapers.
We decided today was a we-don't-want-to-make-breakfast day and so we ventured out to Dunkin Donuts where I bought each kid their very own blueberry muffin (or muffs as Jacob calls them).
We came home, ate breakfast, played with mega blocks and then the kids watched 30 minutes of Dora while Mama cleaned the squished blueberries off her kitchen floor. I could hear Gracie in the Living Room yelling "OH, MAN!!!!" when Swiper the Fox crept across the screen.
I decided that even though we had slept in that morning I needed to attempt to put the kids down for early naps so there wouldn't be a meltdown in the middle of pictures so we headed upstairs. As they settled into their beds, I hopped in the shower only to emerge 30 minutes later to a noise that sounded like metal scraping metal. Jacob decided he wasn't tired so he thought he'd dismantle the heater cover in his bedroom
I closed their doors and attempted to blow dry my hair, but apparently the kids had plans of their own and naps was not on the agenda. I brought them downstairs and tried my best to finish getting ready and pack the car with the outfits we had laid out the night before. I was not about to put the kids in their clothes before we got there for fear someone would puke, drool or leak all over their brand new, freshly pressed clothes before a picture had been snapped. I threw some lunch at them, tossed them in the car (still in their pajamas) and we were off.
The kids did finally sleep for an hour in the car and we arrived right on time at 2 PM when the skies became an ominous shade of black. We hurried into the park hoping to beat the rain, but the clouds seemed to scatter and we even had sun shining for a few minutes. We decided to let the kids run around and burn off some energy for a few minutes while Jeff and his Intern, Katie, set up.
Once they were ready to go we sat down on a set of stone steps for the first shot of the day. Jacob lasted 15 seconds before he wanted "DOWN!" and started "the maneuver"... you know the one. That slick, toddler trick where they stick their arms straight up in the air so they can wriggle out of your grasp, which I might add, is very effective. This is where Jeff and Katie save the day. We whipped out Jacob's neck pillow for the car which just so happens to be shaped like a monkey and started singing some silly songs and managed to get a few good shots out of them.
Next, we headed off to see if we could get some shots of the kids in a pile of leaves. Newsflash: Grace is TERRIFIED of leaves. Tears, tears and more tears. Jacob was having a blast and I can't wait to see those pictures, but Grace wanted nothing to do with them AT ALL. The only thing Grace wanted to do was run as fast as possible towards the RIVER and try to hurl herself over the rock wall into the fast moving current. I am pretty sure I owe Jeff and Katie for saving her life once or twice.....
At the end of our session, Jeff and Katie showed us a few of the shots they got and I am happy to say I think these are the best portraits yet! Even though the day didn't go as smoothly as I had it planned out in my head, the foliage was PERFECT! We couldn't have timed the peak better! The weather held off (it started raining as soon as we were packing up the car) and best of all I don't have to worry about this again until this time next year! I seriously needed a nap after we were done! I can't thank Jeff and Katie enough for all of their hard work!
We headed back towards home and stopped for some dinner. Both kids chowed down so I know they were hungry from running around like crazy for two hours non-stop. We also picked up a little treat for dessert at Cupcake Charlie's to take home. Meet my friends (clockwise from top) Pumpkin Spice, Chocolate Overload, Oreo Madness and Peanut Butter Pleasure. I think it is safe to say South Beach Phase 1 is over:
I can't wait to see the proofs from today!! I should be getting them back right before Thanksgiving so I will post as soon as I can with the finished product. Just to tide you over here is last year's result. This was taken in May of 2009 when Jacob was 14 months old (10.5 months adjusted)and I was 28 weeks pregnant with Grace:
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Catch a Wave Wednesday
I am thrilled to be the featured blog on this week's Catch A Wave Wednesday blog hop!
Check it out and link up!
Check it out and link up!
Grace's Retro Bedroom - Final Plan
I finally have all of the loose ends tied up as far as Grace's bedroom makeover goes. I went to the paint store last week and brought home about 10 paint chips (with 5 colors on each one) and wouldn't you know none of the colors matched when I finally received my fabric swatches in the mail.
It turns out the colors in the pattern I picked out are an eggplant and berry color and not really a pale purple at all. I decided to stick with the fabric I had chosen and went back to the paint store and found a nice raspberry color that works well. I am going to list everything out below, but I assure you even though it may all look purple on your monitor it is definitely more of a raspberry color. I can't believe how different the swatches look on the monitor vs. in person.
To start, I found a great seller on Etsy willing to make Grace's toddler quilt for me for a reasonable price which was quite the task. Let's just say the first private alchemy I sent out resulted in a quote $40 higher than what I am paying. Ridiculous!
I have decided on a reversible quilt in Orchid Round About and Brown Minky Dot:
The mattress sheet, valances and covered lampshade will be in Orchid Lolli Dot:
I found an awesome lamp at Target this week by chance that matches the green in the fabric perfectly and it has a very retro look to it so I think it will work well in the room. It is from their Room Essentials line and I was so happy to discover that this line at Target has a boatload of matching accessories in both this color green and the exact color raspberry that is in the Michael Miller fabric as well. I am probably going to cover the lampshade in the Orchid Lolli Dot to spruce it up a bit:
When I went BACK to the paint store to find new swatches there was only one paint chip that was in the same color family as the fabric swatch so I have it narrowed down to 2 of those colors, Wishing Well and Hydrangea. They both look darker on screen then they do on the swatch, but the color that was slightly lighter than Wishing Well was way too light. They are both from Benjamin Moore.
I am throwing around a few ideas for decor and I am thinking either wall decals from Etsy, 3D butterfly wall decor (also from Etsy) or paper lanterns in different sizes hung in the corner of the room. I think the lanterns might work well since they are round and it will tie in well with the polka dots in the Lolli Dot fabric.
I ordered my two 2 oz sample containers of paint and can't wait for them to get here so I can pick a color and get going!
It turns out the colors in the pattern I picked out are an eggplant and berry color and not really a pale purple at all. I decided to stick with the fabric I had chosen and went back to the paint store and found a nice raspberry color that works well. I am going to list everything out below, but I assure you even though it may all look purple on your monitor it is definitely more of a raspberry color. I can't believe how different the swatches look on the monitor vs. in person.
To start, I found a great seller on Etsy willing to make Grace's toddler quilt for me for a reasonable price which was quite the task. Let's just say the first private alchemy I sent out resulted in a quote $40 higher than what I am paying. Ridiculous!
I have decided on a reversible quilt in Orchid Round About and Brown Minky Dot:
The mattress sheet, valances and covered lampshade will be in Orchid Lolli Dot:
I found an awesome lamp at Target this week by chance that matches the green in the fabric perfectly and it has a very retro look to it so I think it will work well in the room. It is from their Room Essentials line and I was so happy to discover that this line at Target has a boatload of matching accessories in both this color green and the exact color raspberry that is in the Michael Miller fabric as well. I am probably going to cover the lampshade in the Orchid Lolli Dot to spruce it up a bit:
When I went BACK to the paint store to find new swatches there was only one paint chip that was in the same color family as the fabric swatch so I have it narrowed down to 2 of those colors, Wishing Well and Hydrangea. They both look darker on screen then they do on the swatch, but the color that was slightly lighter than Wishing Well was way too light. They are both from Benjamin Moore.
I am throwing around a few ideas for decor and I am thinking either wall decals from Etsy, 3D butterfly wall decor (also from Etsy) or paper lanterns in different sizes hung in the corner of the room. I think the lanterns might work well since they are round and it will tie in well with the polka dots in the Lolli Dot fabric.
I ordered my two 2 oz sample containers of paint and can't wait for them to get here so I can pick a color and get going!
Monday, October 25, 2010
The potty train has left the building.
Well, today was a day for the record books.
Jacob has officially mastered the art of removing his diaper. The first time he took it off was right after dinner. He flung his fresh, dry diaper over the gate and I walked in to the Living Room just in time to see him showering my hardwood floors.
After I cleaned him up and put a new diaper on him, I walked in the living room 15 minutes later to a pants-less (again!) Jacob, only this time when he removed his diaper there was a present inside. Luckily, he had only gotten as far as dipping his fingers in it so I once again cleaned him and my floors up and successfully duct taped his diaper on him. I am hoping when I go to get him in the morning the duct tape will still be intact.
We bought underwear and pull-ups last week in anticipation of potty training and we have had the potty chair for about 6 months so I guess it is time. Wish us luck! We'll need it.....
Good night.
Jacob has officially mastered the art of removing his diaper. The first time he took it off was right after dinner. He flung his fresh, dry diaper over the gate and I walked in to the Living Room just in time to see him showering my hardwood floors.
After I cleaned him up and put a new diaper on him, I walked in the living room 15 minutes later to a pants-less (again!) Jacob, only this time when he removed his diaper there was a present inside. Luckily, he had only gotten as far as dipping his fingers in it so I once again cleaned him and my floors up and successfully duct taped his diaper on him. I am hoping when I go to get him in the morning the duct tape will still be intact.
We bought underwear and pull-ups last week in anticipation of potty training and we have had the potty chair for about 6 months so I guess it is time. Wish us luck! We'll need it.....
Good night.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Friday Follow
It's Friday! I am kicking off the weekend with a fabulous list of Friday Follows.
I love meeting new people and reading new blogs. If you want a follow back just leave a comment with a link to your blog! Happy Friday!
I love meeting new people and reading new blogs. If you want a follow back just leave a comment with a link to your blog! Happy Friday!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Panels, Valances and Sheers, Oh My!
I am having the hardest time picking out window treatments for Grace's room. I have a few ideas, but I am looking for some feedback!
I looked online for blackout panels and was able to find some in a pretty light green color which might work out well seeing as we did finally decide to paint the room purple. I am not sure if I would rather do that or use blackout shades and just make a valance to match the bedding out of coordinating fabric? So far, I have decided that the quilt is going to be Orchid Round About on one side and Brown Minky Dot (not shown here) on the reverse side. I am leaning towards Orchid Lolli Dot for mattress sheets and the walls will be a paler shade of purple with green accents. On a side note, I found the perfect lamp for her room today at Target!
I am listing below all of the coordinating patterns from the Feeling Groovy line and need some suggestions on what pattern of fabric you think would look good as a valance:
Orchid Round About:
Feeling Groovy:
Orchid Lolli Dot:
Lavender Lolli Dot:
Soooo.....which pattern do you like best?
I looked online for blackout panels and was able to find some in a pretty light green color which might work out well seeing as we did finally decide to paint the room purple. I am not sure if I would rather do that or use blackout shades and just make a valance to match the bedding out of coordinating fabric? So far, I have decided that the quilt is going to be Orchid Round About on one side and Brown Minky Dot (not shown here) on the reverse side. I am leaning towards Orchid Lolli Dot for mattress sheets and the walls will be a paler shade of purple with green accents. On a side note, I found the perfect lamp for her room today at Target!
I am listing below all of the coordinating patterns from the Feeling Groovy line and need some suggestions on what pattern of fabric you think would look good as a valance:
Orchid Round About:
Feeling Groovy:
Orchid Lolli Dot:
Lavender Lolli Dot:
Soooo.....which pattern do you like best?
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