It’s That Kind of Day

It’s beautiful outside but all I wanna do is lay on the couch… it’s that kind of day.

It’s 1:00 pm and I’m still in my jammies… it’s that kind of day.

Reality TV is plentiful on this TV… it’s that kind of day.

McDonalds for lunch… it’s that kind of day.

J is crabby and throwing dirty looks at me… it’s that kind of day.

L slept till 7:30 am and then climbed into bed with us where she fell asleep until 9:20 am… it’s that kind of day.

Planned on going to the zoo or park today but nothing sounds fun… it’s that kind of day.

Need to clean J’s room but have the attitude that “I don’t have to go in there so why should I clean it”… it’s that kind of day.

Maternity Session

I had my first maternity session on Monday. Here’s a slideshow with some of my favorite pictures.
You can check out more at http://www.hollajanephotography.com

Make a Smilebox photo slideshow

A fantastic day

Jodie Allen and Kim Weiss of Fresh Art Photography did a blog post earlier this week looking for someone to assist them with a triplet newborn shoot. I picked my jaw up off the ground, because who wouldn’t want to accompany two extremely nice women to a newborn shoot?! I e-mailed Jodie right away and said YES, please. They had more than 30 people e-mail them so I didn’t make the first cut (how hard to pick from people you know and don’t know) BUT I did make the second :). The lady they originally asked is a mom to triplets herself and so they thought it would be perfect for her to attend the shoot with them but she canceled this morning at 6:00 am. I was still sleeping when Jodie e-mailed me at 6:30 am to see if I could meet them at a QT at 8:30 am and accompany them, well when I woke up it was 8:00 so there was no way I was going to make it, I was bummed!!!

I called Jodie and told her that there was no way I was going to make it by 8:30 but I could meet them at the client’s house. Jodie said yeah not a problem and to take my time. Awesome. I hurried and got cleaned up and headed out without breakfast or coffee. The house was over 30 minutes away and it was pouring rain but I made it right on time (or at least when I said I would be there). I was so excited. Right away I walked in and everyone was super friendly and the babies… OH so cute.

I had never worked with a sleepy newborn, only wide awake ones so it was fun to watch them work and place the babies perfectly. By the end of the day I was tired, hungry and I had been peed and pooped on but it was WONDERFUL!!!

Thank you Kim and Jodie, it was an awesome experience. Here’s a pic of them working with my iPhone.

Tomorrow I have my first maternity shoot. So psyched about that too. Can’t wait to share.

If I Had A Million Dollars

… and if I owned a house ;). I took a quiz in my Real Simple magazine (a subscription gift from JT) and it gave you an idea of your decorating style. It basically was a page with different pictures and you just circled the things that made you happy without thinking about it. My result comes as no surprise I was labeled as cozy casual. Defined by them, “You’re about comfort and warmth”. Um, yeah pretty much. Here are some rooms that I really liked while looking online for comfort and warmth.

Living Rooms

(click on picture for source) I have a thing for bookcases like these

Kitchens

(click on picture for source) Very cool kitchen I love the light wood

Dining Rooms

(click on picture for source) Just looks like a simple classic room

(click on picture for source) Love that the room looks round

Libraries/Media Rooms

(click on picture for source) Love the cottage feel

(click on the picture for source) like the cozy feel of this room and the slanted ceiling

(click on picture for source) This is the type of room we would spend all of our time in, you could lay on the couch and see two of my favorite things. TV and books.

(click on picture for source) The last room was cozy and comfy and not that this one isn’t, it’s just more open and light and airy. I like it but I still think the one above is my fave.

Craft Rooms – My favorite group

(click on picture for source) Very functional and not just specified for crafting

(click on picture for source) Who wouldn’t want a room like this…. I said drooling.

(click on picture for source) Heather Bailey is an amazing designer and this is her craft room, it’s heaven.

(click on picture for source) This room is crazy big, it doesn’t feel as cozy as I would want but it’s very functional.

Okay that’s it, sorry to bore you with my decorating wishes… someday when my ship comes in 😉

Our Anniversary/Valentines Weekend

It’s always a busy weekend for us. We are never at a loss for plans. Here’s what we did this year for our big weekend.

Friday the 12th

JT took the day off because the kids were off for a teacher conference, so we went out to see my dad and his wife. They wanted to order some Girl Scout cookies from our lil Daisy, L. We had lunch at CiCi’s Pizza and then ran a few errands. We came home and relaxed for a couple hours. Got ready about 4:30, took the kids to my moms (where she was having a birthday party for my grandma), stayed for about a half hour at mom’s, wished my grandmother a happy birthday and headed out to dinner. Ate a yummy dinner with my BFF and her hubby (you can see pictures here) I think I laughed the whole night. Then my brother met us at the restaurant where we sat and had a couple of drinks. It was a GREAT DAY!!!

Saturday the 13th

Our actual anniversary!!! 11 years!! We were kicking ourselves for not planning a vow renewal on Saturday. It isn’t often that Mardi Gras falls on your anniversary again. We were married on Mardi Gras originally. I just don’t tend to think romantically like that, maybe someday. Anyway, we laid around the house most of the day, just enjoying being together. At 5:00 we headed to our friends house and had dinner with them for the second weekend in a row. We’ve really been enjoying their company and they adore our kids as much as L and J adore them. We talked baby stuff and nursery decor since they are expecting their first in June. A little girl. I couldn’t be more thrilled for them.

Sunday the 14th

At 3:00 we had a Valentines Party at my mom’s house. My mom, grandmother and my family sat around enjoying each others company. We talked, drank and ate a yummy appetizer. I helped my mom then cook dinner which consisted of lobster tails, linguine with clam sauce, a salad with cranraisins and chocolate (YUM), broccolini and then chocolate pudding with whipped cream and raspberries. I could have eaten all night. We had fun watching it snow on Valentines Day, with the windows all open so we could enjoy the view.

All in all it was a busy weekend but I loved every second of it. JT and I had talked and agreed that we weren’t going to do the whole card thing or gifts, so imagine my surprise when I received a card for V-Day and for our anniversary… plus a box of candy. Such a sneak!! Poor guy had nothing from me but he said my blog post about our anniversary was a digital card and it meant a lot to him. 🙂

Sewing the days away

My sewing machine still isn’t working, luckily I am able to use my moms. Here are some of my latest projects:

First I made a sundress for L

Two closeups…

Then I made L a shirt for Valentine’s Day. I took a plain long sleeve shirt of hers and cut the bottom off. I then took some pink gingham and sewed it to the bottom. Added some appliqued hearts and buttons to the sleeves. SO cute. Plus it’s not just for V-Day she can wear it anytime.

(Blurry) Closeups…

Then I saw a template for my next project at a really cool blog called Happy Together. I decided to try out my friend’s girls names and a special addition for an upcoming photo shoot. I think they turned out really great.

and… closeups.

I’m having so much fun creating things. Up next, another dress for L, a tie shirt for J, a monkey doll for a friend and on and on and on….

My cup runneth over

Today is my 11th wedding anniversary and I’m completely happy with where I am in life. Married to the man of my dreams, two gorgeous kids and the best family and friends anyone could ask for. I couldn’t imagine life being lived any other way. In the past 11 years we have so many memories and life events, good and bad, of course. Some of us are lucky enough to find the man we want to spend the rest of our lives with and I’m one of them.

We are best friends and enjoy spending time together.

We laugh together, all the time.

We’ve cried together during sad times in life.

We’ve shared the happiest of memories, like our wedding and the birth of our children.

We aren’t romantic but we show each other our love in small gestures.

Our marriage isn’t perfect in everyone’s eyes but it is in mine. I love you JT you are the best part of me.

Winner!!! Winner!!!

We have a winner for the 4 tickets to Disney Live! Kayce you are the BIG winner. I emailed you some details a short time ago. Please let me know if you didn’t receive it.

Thanks to the 4 ladies that entered the contest. I wrote all of your names on separate pieces of paper and had my daughter randomly draw a winner. Thanks again. Kayce I hope you enjoy the show.

Works for Me Wednesday – Waiting Room Distraction

Oh-my-lanta has it been a long time since I took part in WFMW. By my BFF‘s urging I thought I would share something that has recently worked for me.

One of the best Christmas presents my kids received was the Tag Reader by LeapFrog. We have several of the character books and the learning to read series. My kids play with it all the time and this toy has endless possibilities. I have to say I was skeptical at first but after I read many reviews I decided to tell my mom and grandmother who in turn bought the system plus a book for my kids.

They spend hours reading the books and playing the games, which gives me a little quiet time, but also I know they are learning something. So there is the background information now onto my WFMW….

I had to go to the doctor last week because I had a horrible sinus infection and felt like a was breathing through a straw. I unfortunately had to take J with me and I knew he wouldn’t appreciate the long wait we might have. So I packed a little bag full of stuff like suckers, star wars guys and the tag reader. Last minute I grabbed his headphones to take along because who in an adult waiting room wants to hear J click the same word over and over and over again. Probably no one there.

It was a godsend. He sat quietly for 30 minutes with his headphones on and read two books. Heaven. He loved using the headphones too, he felt like a big boy. I am so glad I had one of those brilliant mommy moments and remembered that the pen had a headphone jack. I know the people in the waiting room appreciated it too. I even took a picture, because it’s what I do.

If you have any WFMW tips feel free to share them at We Are That Family.

My new camera strap

I am so excited to show you what I’ve been working on for two days. My new camera strap.

I love it!!! It’s bold and bright and beautiful…. I’m going to make another one for a couple friends but I’m glad I had the opportunity to make mine first. I was able to test drive the process. I found the idea on a blog called Lil Blue Boo. She is awesome. I could spend all day lost in her archives. Anyway here is my process… just so you know I lost interest in taking photos about 1/3 of the way through.

For complete directions you have to visit Lil Blue Boo’s post because she is a real genius at explaining it all. Me, not so much.

Here are my ribbon scraps… where did I get them? It was all of my scrapbooking ribbon and it was all nice and neat on spools until my darling daughter or DD to the internet world… unrolled all those spools and left them on the ground. So now their new home is this basket

Okay more pics of the final product….

IN LOVE!!! Could seriously sit and look at it all night. I cannot wait to use my camera for work purposes and show it off.