Some Spooky Decor

My husband loves to decorate the house for Halloween. I think for him it's a good time of making thing messy, scary, and dark. Of course that's the opposite of what I like but for Halloween I will make the exception. So, we are ready for the doorbell to ring, have little trick-or-treaters, and pass out tons of candy that we don't want to eat for the next month. Here's a little show of what's going on around our house.


Okay, so the pumpkins and gourds aren't so spooky but I liked them anyways.

Fix It Friday #34

It's so neat to see how other people edit photos. I Heart Faces gives me the opportunity to play around with other people's pictures and come up with something all my own. I feel like I do the same thing all the time. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing.
Here is the original photo:

Here are my edits:

The first one I added a bit of a sun flare, I think it looks neat.

The second is more of my basic edit, playing around with curves and touching up here and there.

The last one is a sepia toned one.

If you want to play along too, go to I Heart Faces and download the photo. Let's see what you can do!!

Sleepy

Right now I am sleepy. When I get up at 5am to get ready for work I tend to not be able to stay awake much past 10pm. The girls are all asleep, it is peaceful and quiet in our house. I will share a few bits of news from our household.

-McKenna lost another tooth tonight. I think that makes the count up to either 7 or 8. I am almost to the point where I am going to stop counting. She was very excited though because when she goes to school tomorrow the teacher will put her name on the tooth fairy's bag in class. I guess whatever gets her to let us help her pull a tooth is worth it.
-My husband survived the Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday. His finish time was 4:08. He did almost 40 minutes better than last time he ran it but is a little bummed because he was hoping to finish in under 4 hours. I think he said that the last 5 miles he started cramping really bad. I am still super proud of him because it takes a lot to be able to run 26.2 miles in one day all at one time. So congrats to him!!!
-Aislynn is talking so much more. I keep saying I am going to get some of it on video but I keep forgetting. Maybe writing this post will remind me. At night, she says, "Night, Night" and gives kisses to everyone. It's really cute. She tries to copy almost everything you say. I was taking the girls to get Popeye's Chicken on Saturday and I really thought I heard her say the word "popeye" when we were talking about it.

I can't think of any other new news right now but I am sure I can come up with some funny stories for another post. I can't believe that it's already the end of October. Before we know it Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here. I love the holidays. Have a great week everyone!

I Heart Faces "Halloween Dress Up"

Halloween is quickly approaching. This past weekend we went to a little Halloween party at my hubby's work. While we were there we took a "hay ride" (hay on a trailer) to a grass patch to "pick" a pumpkin for the kids. I snapped this photo and I just love it. I am not quite sure what it is that I love. Maybe the fact that my 14 month old daughter is sitting in the middle of a military base on an area of dead grass, not quite surrounded by baby pumpkins, more interested in eating her pizza crust than looking at me. I will have to say she is the cutest little lady bug baby! To see more photos this week, head over to I Heart Faces and play along.

A Little Halloween Fun

After the girls soccer games this morning we headed out with a friend from down the street to a Halloween Party at my hubby's work. The girls had sooo much fun. I think as long as there is a bouncy house they will say it was the best time ever! They could seriously bounce for hours. I liked getting them all dressed up in their costumes so I could finally see what the finished product looked like. We got to trick or treat in a C 130, the girls got their faces painted, we did a "hay ride" to the pick out a pumpkin, the girls got to bounce their hearts out, and we got to eat yummy treats. We were so tuckered out that we all came home a took a nap. Too bad mine only lasted about 30 minutes. Oh well, I guess that's motherhood at it's finest.

First Day of the Fair

The Fair has come to town and we decided to give it a try on the first day. As soon as I got home from work we loaded up and had high hopes of having a dry and fun evening. I should have known better since we had pretty good chances of rain. We let the girls rides some kiddie rides, ate some food that was way too bad for us and ended up getting all wet. It was still a good time and we plan to make one more trip before it's all over. Here are a few pics from before the rain started.

30 and Counting

Well, you guessed it. Today I turned 30 years old. I know that is not old by any means but to someone who has lived the last ten years in the 20's it's a big awakening. I am no longer a twenty year old, I am now a thirty year old. But then I look back at the past 30 years and realized what I have accomplished. I graduated from college, married a wonderful man, have a great job, and have three beautiful girls that I love very much. My life has been filled with wonderful things and opportunities. I wouldn't change it for the world.
This is how my day went:
I woke up early to get Kenna off to school. Today was "crazy hair day" so I had to fix her hair. She was so excited about that it was all she could think about.

Of course then Kambry had to have "crazy hair" too. And Aislynn was just happy to sit there and look pretty.

After getting Kenna off to school I got ready to meet my friend and go dress shopping for a ball gown for the Marine Corps Ball coming up soon. We looked and looked and didn't have any luck at all. Later on in the evening we all went out to dinner at the Olive Garden and it was very yummy as usual. When we got home we had a delicious cake my hubby got me from a cake shop in town. It had raspberry filling and was so good. I even had an extra piece. It was a good day, other than the fact that I still have this yucky cold. That's right, as soon as I was over the stomach bug I got a cold and it's just no fun being sick. I am ready to be better again, to breathe normally and feel like doing more during the day. I guess this weekend when I am alone with the girls because my husband will being running the Marine Corps Marathon I can try to get back into the swing of things. Until next time...

I Heart Faces "Pink"

Everyone knows that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. In honor of that, I Heart Faces is having a "pink" week. This photo is one of my favorites of my oldest daughter. I added a pink frame and a breast cancer sticker to add to the theme this week. I hope that everyone has a great time coming up with "pink" photos to submit this week. Please remember those we have lost and support others going through treatment or those that are survivors!

Creature of Habit

Aren't we all creatures of habit at least at one time or another? Well, I have found out that Aislynn is now too. Just in past week she has found herself a "poopin' spot" in our house. It is under a side table we have in our office. She crawls under it, sits and plays a while, and then I can hear her start grunting. I think it's so funny because she is only 13 months and already has started "hiding" too poop. Hopefully that will mean that she is potty trained faster. I was hoping to get a picture but haven't grabbed the camera when she's in her spot...one day I will, for the record book.
I haven't blogged much in the past few days because I have been a little under the weather. I guess you could say I have a new relationship with our toilet. Yes, what McKenna started with on Sunday moved on to Kambry on Friday and then Dadda on Friday night and then it hit me on Saturday evening. While I am not 100% yet, I am on the road to recovery. Let's just hope all this sickness is all behind us. No one likes to feel pookie.

Little Preview

Here are a few photos from the shoot I did on Sunday with a friend from work. She was a little nervous because she hadn't had her picture taken before like these but I think she did great. When it was all done I think she would do it again sometime. Thank you, K, for being such a great subject!!

All Night Long

So you are probably wondering what I did all night long. It was not fun, it was not exciting. I was awake almost every hour on Sunday night due to a 5 year old that was constantly sick and a 13 month old that decided to keep waking.
It all started around 12:30 am. Aislynn woke up first. I went into her room and got her back to sleep after some rocking and a quick nursing session. Then in my sleep I felt a tap on my arm. It was McKenna. She said that she got sick and threw up in her bed. I was very tired at this point because I think I had just gotten back to sleep. As I go into her room to survey the damage I could smell what was coming. I stepped on wet spots as I entered the room. I turned on a small light, trying to let Kambry sleep and I could see it all over her rug. I stepped up on Kambry's bed so I could see on Kenna's(note to self: bunkbeds are not good for sick kids). As I peeked over the edge I saw throw up all over McKenna's sheets and all over her side rails. I guess we were being kinda loud because then I heard Kambry waking. I am glad she did because then I noticed that McKenna had gone overboard and poor Kambry almost got thrown up on. Luckily, it was just lower than her legs so I preceded to strip both beds and set the girls up on the couch. I put a load in the laundry and went back to bed. About an hour and a half later I hear McKenna coughing in the living room. I jumped out of bed as quick as I could but it was too late. She threw up on the couch. What was I thinking putting her on the couch? Now I know, any sick kid should be on the floor. So, that's what I did. I made her a palate on my floor next to my bed. It worked much better. An hour and a half after getting back to sleep once again McKenna woke up coughing. We went to the kitchen to get some water and then once more the kitchen floor got a present. Yes, the dose of pepto bismol I gave her ended up on our floor. Another change of clothes and we were finally back to bed.
Out of all the years I have had the girls I have never had such a long night of throwing up and cleaning up. I hope it never happens again. McKenna is feeling better now. We could never determine what caused all that sickness but it seems to have passed.
On another note, I will post some pictures I took of a girl I work with soon. They turned out really cute. Sorry for the long story but I think I will want to look back at that night in case I have to deal with that again.

I Heart Faces "Excited"

How fun is this week? The theme for I Heart Faces is "Excited." I know that this is not the best photo of a face but boy this little girl was so excited as she was jumping off the steps. I love this shot because you can see the pure joy she is having. For more entries stop on over at I Heart Faces.

What I Use..What I Want

Before I go knee deep into this post let me start with a little disclaimer. Everything I am about to say is simply from my own experience and from the little knowledge I have gained through reading lots of blogs and posts about photography. This is merely my opinion and I will leave it at that.
I have had many people ask me what camera I use or what lens I use. As much as I would love to say I have a Canon 5D Mark II, I don't. My first DSLR I purchased in late April. It is a Canon Rebel T1i. It has served me good. I will probably use this camera for a while. I would highly recommend it for someone who is getting into photography buy doesn't have the money to get a $2000 or more camera. The T1i runs around $800-$900. Of course the camera came with the stock lens, but I rarely use it. I know it's a 18-55mm but that's all I know about it. It is an okay lens, but if you want to bump up your photo quality you need a better lens. I have rented a few different ones to see what I like. I was really happy with the Canon 50mm 1.4 and will be purchasing it the next time I buy a lens. I like the clarity and bokeh it gave me. I tried out the Canon 24-70mm 2.8 and liked it okay, but I think I got a bad lens. It kept back focusing on me and drove me nuts. Then, I found out about the Tamron 28-75mm 2.8 and have really grown to love it. True, it isn't a Canon brand but for the price you can't beat it. It is very comparable to the Canon 24-70mm 2.8 but is lighter and WAY cheaper. If I had $1200 to spend on a lens right now I might get the Canon one but I am just as happy if not happier with the Tamron for a fraction of the cost. The last 4 or 5 photo shoots I have done with the Tamron lens and I think it worked well. I have yet to try an 85mm or larger lens. For now, I am happy with what I have.
I will talk about editing in another post. There is just so much to go into about that. For those of you that are wondering...yes, I still use Picnik. No, I don't have any versions of photoshop at all. I am happy with my editing and for now will continue to use Picnik.
If anyone has any specific questions for me about photography please ask away. I will try to address each question in a future post. I hope this helps some of you with your questions. Have a great weekend, I am off to do another photo shoot this evening. Wish me luck that the weather holds out!!

My First Boy Baby

I have three girls. So far, all the babies photos I have done have been of girls...until now. This six week old chubby cheeked baby boy came over to do a quick session that turned a little longer because he didn't want to fall asleep. He was such a little angel once his mommy rocked him off to dream land. Here are my favorites from the day.

Fix It Friday: I Heart Faces

I love Fridays because the weekend is just around the corner. I also love Fridays because I usually don't do much housework which gives me more time to play around on the computer. It's kind of an addiction. I decided to play along this week again with Fix It Friday over at I Heart Faces. It's just so much fun. I wish all my photos turned out this good. I guess just keep practicing.
Here is the original:

And here are my fixes:

Another Beachy Session

Here in Florida, we love our beaches. They are also a great place to take family photos. Here are a few from this past weekend. The weather was wonderful and this sweet family had the cutest kids. The little girl loved running and jumping and splashing in the water. Ahh, to be young again.







I am still in the process of editing. Hoping to be done soon.

Is it Wrong?

Is it totally wrong of me to use my baby's photo an example to try out Picnik's new Halloween themed effects? I kinda like it even though it's a bit over the top.

Babies, Babies, Babies

So this is just one baby, but she is growing up right before my eyes. I took her photos when she was just 10 days old and then again when she was a month old. Here she is now at 4 months old. She is really starting to change. She is holding her head up and wiggling around much more. I even got a smile or two from her. Next time I hope to take her outside and get some cute shots.