I guess...

you could start calling this *Photo of the week*. LOL. Getting the final things done so I can officially say I am portfolio building again, so in the mean time, I am slowly collecting fun things.

Found some pettiskirts cheap and bought a few. I attempted to make one last year...it just got to be too time consuming. I would love to finish it...someday.

Just a quick shot of Charley modeling it. We are tearing apart our living room, dining room and kitchen sooo the background isn't the greatest. AH well

Sunflare Challenge..

Took this around 7:30 this morning on my back upper deck. Ummm yeh next time I will wear sunglasses. DOH! *seriously I am embarrassed*

Strawberry (shortcake) Fields!

Alison gets a monthly subscription to the *Strawberry Shortcake bookclub*. (I have a book fetish) It is pretty cool. Every month along with a new book, she gets a craft that goes with the theme of the book. This month was "Honey Pie Pony's Book". So, she got a bunch of cutout cardboard shapes that stand on their own. Along with some fences links to keep them in. What impressed me the most was while I was doing dishes earlier, she decided to draw a background for them all! The big red box is a barn and the rest is the pasture. How cool is that?? She gave her ponies a nice home! I just love her bunches. '

Hope everyone is having a great night.

Life can take an unexpected turn!

Another beautiful day today!!

I am loving it. 70 degree weather can stick around for as long as it wants! Unfortunately, after tomorrow the weather is going to drop back down into the 50s with rain and will pretty much stay there til mid-week. BLECH! So, we are enjoying the beauteous weather while it lasts!!

Charlotte and I hung out on my bench swing (the one I thought broke after our tree fell on it) for a little bit. She was enjoying it so much. He chomped on her fingers a little bit and chatted with her toes...LOL..then went ahead and chomped on them to. BWAHAH. I just thought this was a cute photo. This is sooo her...always has her tonue hanging out with a smile on top of it all. HAH. A shame the background is so messy, darn cushions! BUT I still love it!

I have to get more pics of the kids and other things up here. Charlotte is dominating my blog. LOL! I cant' help it, it is mostly me and her, the other kids are off playing on their own. I gotta make a point to snatch them up...and they will do it kicking and screaming. HAHA HA.

Could I have a possible redhead?

Oh I so hope so! LOL. My great grandmother was a redhead..auburn to be exact. All my kids had a reddish tint to their hair when they were born but it got lighter the older they got. Charlotte's hair doesn't seem to be changing at all. So I am hoping it stays...I love it! Of course if it changes, you still gotta love her :) Nothing exciting about the photo, just my sweet little Charley and I just cant' believe how reddish her hair is!

I woke up early today to hang out with the kids outside because it was just too gorgeous NOT TOO! So I let Charley hang out on the blanket, she was in awe of it all. I let her free. LOL!! I go back in to work tonight but only work til 1am so I hope I can catch up on some sleep!

have a great night everyone!

Baseball Dreams...

I bought this wooden baseball glove at a local craft show when I was pregnant with Chase. I was going to do a sports theme in his room and it was perfect! It holds a glove, a ball and a bat. It is really cute and just recently we put it up on his room. Of course the bat is put up because Chase brings new meaning to the phrase "beat you with a baseball bat" LOL!! He has expressed a huge interest in baseball and I am so super excited because I LOVE baseball! I can't wait to see him play and just go out and have fun. The weather is going to be nice the next few days (I unfortunately will be working a few of them) so he will be out there having fun!! I just had a vision in my head when I was in his room earlier...me just dreaming about seeing him play! It was weird and silly but I had to take a picture and journal up my thoughts and emotions! As you can see the ball gets much use already! I think it is awesome!!

It was early in the day, not much light coming in so I cranked up the ISO, opened up the aperature and slowed the shutter. LOL...made for a great effect I think :) I want to play with it some more and maybe antique it up a little bit more.

Have a great day!

Goodness, it has been a long time!

I am so disappointed in myself. It was a busy weekend with Chase's party and all, which was BLAST by the way! I really enjoyed myself, dont' know about everyone else. LOL! It was great because we ordered pizza instead of us cooking and well WHAT a difference! I could actually enjoy the party. NICE! Here are the pics if anyone wants to see them :)


As always, click the picture to see a bigger, clearer version!
Todays pic is of Charlotte. She is 7 months and 1 days today. I can hardly believe. She is so long and slender! She faught me taking these pix so I really only got one shot of her! I am gonna try again and while I am at it, I have got to practice working on CWB with my D200 because I have been getting no so friendly casts on my photographs lately. No fun!!

Hope you are all having a great week. I work tomorrow and the next night so I might not be able to post, but I really want to..soooo.
Heather

If I have managed to cling on to any readers...

I just want to apologize for not posting anything lately. Charlotte--my sweet little baby Charlotte has turned into a nighttime demon! She went from sleeping 12 hours straight to getting up non stop. Not sure what is up...possibly a growth spurt or just normal 6-7 month regression..THE STINKER! NO clue! So, understandably, I am exhausted. I want nothing more to do then just sit on my lazy butt...LOL and veg!! Unfortunately, I have a fiesty almost 2 year old who keeps me moving. I worked the last few nights so I have had very little sleep on top of it all *CUE THE VIOLINS* now please! LOL. I am really not complaining just making up an excuse as to why i haven't touched my pretty camera lately. BUT--i have a whole week off AND Chase's birthday party is Saturday so I have NO excuses!!

Oh yeh so what am I still doing up, now that the kids have gone to bed? WELLLL, working night shift plays lovely tricks on you sometimes.

Heather :)

Chase

Cats Eye!

UGh I get so disgruntled when I miss days! Just my kittie's eye :)

Birdie on the branch :)

The birdies were enjoying a nice afternoon in my backyard trees. It WAS nice and warm and the sun was peaking through the clouds. An hour later, the gray has taken over and the temps dropped some. BAH! Can't wait for Spring to really make it's presence!! Working tonight so I had to post early. Have a good night.

Heather

Face in the tree!

Kinda creepy eh?? We took a walk earlier this afternoon and we seem to spot a few of these faces in the tree. Holly is always fascinated by them. This one is making a face at us!!

The sun was extra harsh today, but it was still chilly out! The kids had fun and it ws nice to get outside for a little bit. :)

Pea Cubes!

Started to stock up on some babyfood for Charlotte. Made some peas (you may know are my most favorite :) ) and thought I would snap some pics before I put them away. :) She is finally starting to get use to the whole eating solids deal and is actually turning into a little piggy. LOL!!

Have a good night!

Heather

The greatest slide EVER!

Hope everyone had a beautiful, blessed day!

Eggies!

Happy Easter everyone! Hope you all have a beautiful holiday!

Dirty face :0)

Here is my buddy! Mr. C :) Dirty face and all! The kids played outside almost all day today, hubby was doing some much needed yard work.

I am in such a photography rut right now. I really need to break out of it! The weather seriously isn't helping matters any! I wish the real Spring would make an appearance. BLAH!!

Focus is soo totally off here too! My biggest pet peeve...LOL but I don't get many photos of his actual face (most of the time I get the back of his head...LOL) so I will take what I can get! and I love it :)

Mr. Seahorse!

We read this book before bed tonight and for some reason, it got me thinking a little bit more. The book, titled "Mr. Seahorse" by Eric Carle, tells a story about a seahorse (Mr. Seahorse) and other (MALE) sea creatures he meets along his journey in the sea, who take care and carry the eggs around until they hatch.

Would I want to trade places with my hubby? Would I like to be the one who lays the eggs and have him carry the babies around until they "hatched". Despite all the pain and uncomfortable times I had during pregnancy, the experiences are ones that I am not sure I could trade up. Would you trade?

The book is really cute and Alison always asks why the Daddy's carry the babies...LOL. But the book teaches the kids other lessons along the way.

*I have missed so many days, I am such a slacker!*

Let's get sewing!

I skipped another day. BOO! But for good reason, I am having a baby shower for my sister on Sunday, so I am just tying up loose ends and cleaning, cleaning, cleaning.

Just a snapshot for today! Hubby put together my sewing table today because I have been dying to get my sewing stuff in working order again! Summer is coming and I can't miss out on making cute little Summer dresses for the girls and fun stuff for Chase too! :) We came across this table at IKEA (I am a huge IKEA junky). Hubby thought it would make a perfect table for my sewing machines (which were set up on my deep freezer)! UMM YEH why didn't I think of that? Doh!! Seriously, it is perfect. My machines fit on there perfectly and the best part is this HUGE drawer with sections inside. Everything at my fingertips! I can't wait to use it!! We set it up in the garage...which is the reason for the ugly rug and nasty walls and such. it will do for now. :)

Avacado...

Charlotte tasted her first taste of avacado today. I figured I would try it because they don't stay fresh very long and mine were starting to over ripen. She could have cared less about it though. AHH well.

Just playing with non animate objects today :) Desaturated it a little bit and added a little bit more contrast to it!

Have a good night!

Fallen Tree

So, yeh after I posted my blog post yesterday of my pretty budding tree...a horrible wind and hail storm came blowing through. It was sunny and pretty one minute and the next minute, downpour and massive windgusts. And just to prove how fierce he could be, the wind decided to uproot our already dying pine tree! Luckily, the only thing it smashed was my swing the hubby and kids got me for Mother's Day last year, I am so going to miss it! Luckily, it didn't land on the house! I am so thankful! There are still so many areas without power and heat. It sucks!! A roof even collapsed at a local high school! Scary!

The strangest thing IS we had plans to cut down that tree TODAY!! Ummmm yeh, just a little bit eerie!

Have a great Sunday. It is still pretty windy and horribly cold!

Sign of Spring...

It downpoured all day today, great sleeping weather! I woke up this afternoon to sunshine through my window and a view of the tree in the backyard starting to bud. YAY!! I love this time of year. Just snapped this really quick. I zoomed in really close and I can see the focus is off..bah!

have a good night.

Happy 1/2 birthday Sweet Charley!!

15lbs, 10oz and 27 inches long...a tall skinny lady she is!!
Was just playing with my EF only for a little bit...just wanted to post something to for the halfway mark! Off to work tonight and tomorrow. Have a great weekend.

Playing with my new toys!

It was such a beautiful day today, we couldn't resist going outside. So I took the kids to Red Bank Battlefield to walk along the Delaware River. The kids love watching the boats and seeing the planes land.

I brought my 55-200mm lens with me and I AM LOVING THIS LENS!! AHH I love getting so much closer to the subject without physically getting closer. I felt like I had binoculars. It was awesome!! I just know I am gonna love this lens in Florida!! WEEEEE! LOL!

Anyways, these are photographs of a statue of Colonel Count Carl Von Donop from 2 different angles. You can see the sun flare on one of them..>I NEVER had sun flare before. LOL...so cool. It isn't much but it is there!! And yes I was looking up his *jacket* HAHAH...I was actually just playing with focal lengths, because I am just loving getting this close!!!

Picture of my baby with my new baby!

My new baby has arrived!! She is large and in charge. HA!! I actually went with a Nikon D200 instead of the D80. I just played really quick today, the new lenses didn't come until later in the day and by that time we were rushing out the door to hit up Target. Tomorrow will be a full day of play! YAY.

:)
Heather

Drains to Waterways...

This is a picture of one of many road drains on our street! The kids always get a kick out of the fishy! Just did some fun actions on it to funk it up a bit!

Have a great night!! I get my goodies tomorrow, I am so super excited!! :)

Noisy Ladybug...a lesson learned!

I am a HUGE ladybug fan and found this little *lady* roaming around the tiles in my foyer. Chase and Holly were fascinated by *her*. The weird thing is *she* had no spots.

I have to go get ready for work but tomorrow I want to explain my lesson learned...really it is my ditzyness that came out...LOL!!

Puzzle!

Miss H has always loved puzzles. Puzzle activity has been off and on, and just recently she has started an interest in them again. She starts it in the morning and will work on them throughout the day or she will finish it in one sitting. Depends on how distractive the siblings can be! I am just amazed that at 3.5 she can put a 100+ piece puzzle together!--Without help even!!

She started this one this morning. Thought I would take a picture since none of the kids were up for getting their pictures done. BOO to them!

Tomorrow is suppose to a little on the warm side, we might just get to venture out. YIPPEE!

Have a good night.
Heather

Day #60--Happy Leap Year!!

Thought I would have a little crazy leap year fun and play with a picture of a picture that I took...what is it you ask? WELLLLLL----it is my new toy!! Actually, it isn't mine YET! It is sitting in my shopping cart waiting for me to hit purchase! I can't wait to hit that button!

Just ran an action (starting to get into them more) on this and then did a negative image...thought it was cool :)

Day #55--Tick Tock...a slow clock!

They say a broken clock is right 2 times a day...well what about a clock that is SLOOOWW??? LOL. This clocks battery has been running low for (embarssing) months. The problem is it is mounted in our foyer that is really really high and not accessible without a tall ladder. I don't dare attempt this...not for a second (no pun intended). The time was about 9:10pm when I took this photo. (just a little off ;) )

Day #53--Eyelashes!

I actually took this yesterday, but I had to work and had a massive migraine and nausea all day so I wasn't up to posting anything. I was suppose to work tonight but the migraine seems to be lingering and I don't think I could handle another night. It sucks!

So anyways...this is Holly's eyelashes. I am not big into actions but I fell in love with this action and was dying to take something to use it on. This photograph is everything I envisioned the second I took it! :) YAY! I just with I had a better lens..I love nothing more then a nice crisp, sharp photograph! ahhh...

Have a great night :)

Day #51--Bananas! Yuck!

Today, I gave Charley her first taste of solid foods--I mashed up a piece of banana for her. On top of NOT liking them, she isn't ready for solids either. She had no idea what she was doing...LOL...she just kept spitting it out and after a few tries she actually kept her tongue out. She was tasting it just fine and she didn't like it one bit! I am sure it was all foreign to her anyways. Ah well, I just thought I would try. I will try in a few more days/weeks....see how she does. I guess breastmilk is filling her up just fine for now.

This isn't the worst face she made, it is just the one that I caught on camera. HAH!

Day #50--Leaning Tower of Blocks

We are still working on converting our garage into a play area for the kids. The kids still play in there while the work is being done. The area is really small right now but the kids seem to enjoy it anyways. Daddy and the kids built a tower out of Chase's Cars blocks tonight. They had a blast. I didn't snap any of the actual construction...but got some of the finished product :) It is as tall as Chasey is!

Poor lighting, didn't want to use flash so horrible grain and just yuckies all around. Not to mention the disastrous play area in the background! LOL.

Off Topic (updated this from earlier...kinda messed up the blog post...)
I had the pleasure of speaking to a very unfriendly IRS rep. today and I seriously hope that she isn't as unfriendly in real life as she is doing her job. One of the numbers in Charley's SS# was off so our return was rejected--we filed on the 6th through our accountant. I knew something was wrong because we weren't getting any information on the IRS website. So, while on hold (for forever), I went through our taxes to see if I could find something and noticed the number was wrong--IRS lady confirmed after I twisted her arm to get that tiny bit of info out of her. I seriously felt I had to walk her through the entire phone call and her personality was so cold. Sorry--this is more of a vent then anything. Just had to ger her baddies out of my system. AHHHHHH :)

Day #47--Aquarium

Took the kids to the aquarium today, along with my sister, her boyfriend and his daughter. The kids had a blast! I just wish I could have let Chase enjoy it a little bit more. It was way over crowded. Another day we will go back when the crowds aren't so large and he can run a little more. I seriously feel so bad when I look back at the pictures and see how excited he was to see the fish. (it was just so hard with him, I didnt' want to have to risk leaving Charlotte sleeping behind in the stroller if he ran off somewhere, I tear up thinking about it. Next time, he has full reighn...LOL!! :) He thought it was the coolest thing ever though. We have a small tank here at home and he is always playing with it...so he was in awe at the big fellers! Because there were so many people there, it was so hard to get in there and get a picture of everything. I did manage to get a good amount though there is very few of the kids...they were just enjoying it too much!

Oh and guess what? I GOT MY Philly skyline picture. HA!! We were right across the river from it...literally! It was great :) I love city skylines, for some reason. I have always loved cities, especially ones with old buildings. Just something about it...





Here are some more...



I think Jellyfish are the coolest things...





Finding Nemo..



You can see how big some of the tanks were...look at the people on the bottom!



Hip-pop-anonymous ;)



Shark attack...

Day #46--Silly Head!

Day #45--Red Roses!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone. Hope everyone is having a beautiful day!

Sniffles, shivers and snotties...OH MY!

I have skipped numerous days (obviously). The problem is I am sick, sick, sick. I haven't even touched my camera. BOO. Yesterday we had a HUGE ice storm that soon melted away to warmer temps and yucky rain that continued on all day today. ON top of being sick a dreary rainy day isn't what I needed!!

The girls started dance class today and I unfortunately missed it because I don't think I would have survived 2 hours there. Missed a photography moment there.

Then Alison needs 100 things for the 100th day of school tomorrow. She came up with 100 kisses to go with the theme of Valentine's Day. I bet it would have been a cute photo op there too...but nope...not once did I think of that camera. Poor thing!

So, I am sitting here in my office with the space heater on full blast and just feeling so toasty!! I don't want to leave. LOL!! But I must go to bed and get some rest. I know as soon as I get up, i am going to get the chills. ILK.

I have a new template. Not sure I like it but my head is fuzzy so I will try again another day when I feel a little more clear headed!!

Good night and Happy Valentine's Day everyone!
Heather

Day #42--Sweet little feet!

I was looking at old photographs yesterday and could not believe how much my kids have changed in 1 year! I am soo thankful we have photographs to remind us because they just grow so fast. I took this one of Chase when I was doing his 1 year portraits. I just love it! :) An oldie but goodie in my heart :)

Have a great night.
Heather

Day #41--Driving down the highway...

I made it out to the store without the kiddies in tow. I wanted to stop on the way home and get some pictures of the river because the sky is wicked today! However, I spent more time in the store then I wanted so I never made it to the river. I have to work tonight so I needed to get home to the midgees and for some relaxation before I head out! So, I snapped some pics while I was driving down the highway. Nothing great but it gives you an idea of just how freaky the sky was!! It was snowing a little bit AND the sun was out...LOL....it was cool!!

There is nothing good about this photo...LOL..I know but I wanted to put something up to represent today. :) Today is a sloppy snappy kinda day!!

Have a great night~
Heather

Day #40--Calibration!

WOW, my monitor calibration was overdue 319 day!! HAHA...shows you how much I pay attention. I just kept ignoring the reminders and even at one point turned off the reminders. I don't notice a change so it must not have slipped away that bad. But, I can definitely say that what a difference from a when my monitor wasn't even calibrated at all.

I worked last night, so you know the drill, I slept the day away...blah blah. Actually, I didn't ahahah...I only slept until about 11:30 (hubby had to work overtime) so I had to get up to watch the midgees. So, I was lazy all day. Then hubby decided to take me out to dinner (with Chase and Charley in tow but it was nice). Ali and Holly went and hung out with their Grammy for the day. So, I didnt' really take any pictures except for my Spyder doing his thang. LOL!!

It is thunderstorming (if only you could photograph noise ;) ) right now...what an odd Winter we have had so far!!

OH and YEH!! I am officially UNCLOGGED! LOL. I feel so much better!

Hope everyone is having good weekend. :)
Heather