Congrats Hubby!

My awesome hubby just got a promotion at the fire department... I'm so proud of him. He was promoted to Sergeant pretty quickly & now LIEUTENANT!!! (I keep thinking of Lieutenant Dan from Forrest Gump, ha!)


And a sidenote.... loving the warm weather & sunshine combined with this new lens! I'm growing partial to black & white, what's wrong with me? :)

New lens

I can't believe I'm so bad that I've fallen down on the job!!! You guys know I'm a color FREAK but I really think her eyes stand out in this BW. :) I was playing around with the camera in the yard yesterday.

Oh & by the way... diet update. UGH. I bought an exercise tape, some dancing CRAP. Anyway, I decide I'm gonna do it, so I pop it in. What feels like an hour later, I'm sweating, huffing & puffing, and the woman says "Now that you're done with your warm up...."

WHAT THE @#$*($%!????:????? WARM UP?!?!? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lady In Waiting

Okay I've heard that before but I have no clue what it refers to. Anyway, I'm so excited, I've ordered the Canon 24-75 L!!! YES, L GLASS BABYYYYY! I'm so excited. It's supposed to arrive tomorrow, I can't wait to get that beautiful, expensive little lens in my hands.
In the meantime, I'll share some random photos with you!

Most of you have seen this one, but oh goodness, HOW CUTE IS SHE?!?


And I'm sharing these, only because I took them as my husband was driving down the road & yelling at me for taking pictures! So pretty good if you ask me... HA!

Okay, I have no idea who this guy is, but he must be important to Anniston since they made a statue in his likeness.


Right as you turn into my subdivision- ha! You'd never believe there was a huge subdivision with this view across the road :)

Don't get this pic? Neither do I, but I thought the sky was cool, so I'm posting it. IT'S MY BLOG, I call the shots :)

Happy Birthday, Tucker

A little late - his actual birthday was March 8th - but I can't believe my baby turned seven. SEVEN! That sounds soooo much older than six. Silly I know. But I cried that morning when I watched him get on the school bus. He's growing up soooo fast.

I always buy the kids a birthday cake on their birthday for them to have at the house, then another for their birthday party. This year we're doing a pirate-themed party at the bowling alley. Ahoy matey! Never heard of a bowling pirate? Me neither! hee hee!

Redemption, Maybe?

Okay, okay, I'm a horrible mother. Can I redeem myself today??? Here's 2 of Tucker! He's all into reading to Jackson (who's taking the whole thing SO seriously!)... He's doing so good in school, it's amazing to me how quick kids learn. He's so stinking smart! (takes after his mom of course!)

Horsie

I just realized this morning that I haven't posted *any* pics of Tucker lately. So.... here's a couple of Cassidy. :D Took these yesterday in my dining room. I'm sure I've said this a million times, but I will be so glad when spring gets here, I've had enough of the DRAB winter colors. I'm thinking I like the BW better here. I just don't know about my green walls as a backdrop??

Clavicle Smash

So Tucker & Jackson were playing on the furniture again... they do it everyday, despite the death threats from their parents. Last night, they were sword fighting (with lollipops, no less) and Jackson climbs on the armrest of the recliner. Kaboom! One wrong move, and he falls right onto the HARDwood (keyword: HARD) floors. He protected his lollipop from getting smashed, but his shoulder took the hit for him. He's holding his left shoulder & crying, so we decided to go ahead & get him ready for the ER, because this kid is tough. He rarely ever cries if he gets hurt. So we went & picked up Nanny & off we went. Several hours & a couple X-rays later, we find out he's broken his clavicle (collar bone). Great. (P.S. Is it wrong that I was sad I didn't bring my camera to take pics in the ER? HA!)





Off to the orthopaedic doc this morning, who informs me, "Don't let him run or jump or climb". Say what? "He doesn't need to re-injure the bone, or it may not heal properly." Yessir, I'm most aware, but how do you recommend I do that? "Just keep him calm." I couldn't hold back. I *CRACKED* up. Keep him calm? A 2 year old? Seriously???

Well.... they say a picture is worth a thousand words....

Hats off!

I love my kids in hats! Sad to say, they hate wearing them... Still can't keep myself from snatching them up if I see a cute one - *sigh* - I have high hopes. :)

and more from yesterday's shoot... can't get enough of this stinking green hat!


And I'm sorry, but I can't keep from posting the silly shots, this one made me laugh out loud when I saw it..... what must she be thinking???? She's so animated & funny!

Fickle Pickle!

Okay, so I can never make up my mind, call me fickle. :)

But I changed my logo, so naturally the blog must follow suit right?

Here's some shots of Cass from today. Love this hat, Nanny bought it :)



And this one cracks me up... Cassidy's impression of an old lady. Isn't she talented?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Yeah, a little late, but hey... better late than, well, later. :)




Me: "Tucker, why don't you pretend your giving the rose to Mama?"
Tucker:



Me: "No, baby. Pretend your giving the rose to Mama. Hold it with both hands."
Tucker:

BOYS.

Then naturally Jackson gets a little jealous of the attention brother is getting-




Can't decide if I like it better in bw or color... and I know Tucker looks like he's ready to bail on me (HE IS!) but I like it anyway ;)~

Comments, pretty please!

So I've been a bad blogger. (Woah, deja vu, I think I've posted that before!)

I've been a little busy making some changes to my website. Brenda shared a great tip with me for customizing my template, so naturally, I had to play. I'm never satisfied! :o) I'm in the process of updating the galleries, so it's still not complete, but I'd love to hear your comments & constructive criticism. Go ahead, I have my hard hat on!! (Link at the right!)

What do you think about my new logo??



P.S. - I know the dots are crooked, I hated it at first but now I'm kinda liking it, what do you think? (Can you tell I'm trying to make this an interactive post - HA! - I wanna see how many comments I can get!) Please take a sec & leave your name & where you are from, don't make me beg, it could get ugly! :)

Babythoven

Embracing the grain....



I'm in such a photography slump. I miss warm, sunny days & LIGHT!!!

Frosty the Snow-(wo)man

Okay, I've already posted today, but I can't resist sharing this picture! Makes me smile :o) She's so stinkin' cute it's pathetic... doesn't matter that she's mine :o)

I've been tagged!

Alright, already! I've been tagged by Julie to list 6 things that make me happy & by Marla & Lyndsay to list 6 weird things about myself (that was tough, ha!)

6 things that make me HAPPY...
1. Getting that *perfect* photo. Wish it happened more often!
2. Watching my husband with our kids. I especially enjoy watching him with Cassidy... his face literally LIGHTS UP when she gives him sugar (she doesn't often!)
3. Teaching. Anything. I love being able to explain something SOOO complex, in a way that a person can understand.
4. Getting comments on my blog. Isn't that silly?
5. The way Cassidy pats my back when I pick her up.
6. Being the middle part of a hug sandwich from my 2 boys :o)

Now for the weird things... I have to say, it was rather hard to narrow it down but here they are...

1. I would NEVER wear a sleeveless shirt in public. EVER.
2. I'm always shopping online... gymboree, old navy, gap, you name it - I'll fill up the shopping cart, then when I'm done, I feel too guilty to actually complete the purchase. I do it *AT LEAST* 3 times a week. (I always tell myself I'm "really" gonna buy it today, LOLOLOL!!!)
3. I won't spend $50 on a pair of jeans that I'd probably wear for 2-3 years, but I'll spend $50 on a toy for my kids that they play with for about 5 minutes.
4. Before me & my husband started dating, I tried to fix him up with another girl that I worked with.
5. Puke, poop, blood, guts - I can deal with. But snot grosses me out.
6. People think I'm sort-of psychic. (Can you be sort-of psychic?) I've had dreams before that were actually true. I've also dreamed about a friend's mother talking to me, asking me to give her son a message (she's dead) - after I told him about it, he freaked out, because it was true!!! (Okay I must confess, it freaked me out, too!!) To this day, I don't know why I had dreams about her, because I only met her 1 time. WEIRD.

Okay.... now I've got to tag 6 other people, which is going to be tough, because there are so many that have already participated... Kari, Joanna, Julie B., Amanda - okay, there is NOONE else to tag in all of blog land. I have looked. :o) 4 will have to suffice!

BAD Blogger!

Ok, ok, so I've been a bad blogger. Sorry.

I've just been a little busy with my hubby being out of town for a week, deciding on whether or not to make some career changes, Cassidy's birthday party, working 50 hrs a week - hey I didn't name it Stephanie, Overloaded for nothing. :o)

Wanted to share a couple recent pics... they aren't really much my style, but I've been in a funk since the cold weather hit, I long for ample natural light again - will it ever come????

Jackson playing outside... naturally 2 seconds after I snapped this picture, he collided with a mud puddle so we had to go inside. I feel sure it was an accident.


Little Miss Ashley (1 mo) having a grand old time in dreamland...


And last but certainly not LEAST! My little 2 month old neice, Leighton... my how she has changed!

Happy 1st Birthday, Cassidy!

I can't believe it... my baby girl has turned ONE YEAR OLD!!!

**sniff sniff**

Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday that I found out I was pregnant. Boy was that a shock! I don't think that Eric or I ever thought that we would have 3 children... but now, we can't imagine our lives without her! She brings so much joy to our lives... not to mention, I was WAYYYY out-numbered, but now the girls have a fighting chance :) I love watching her Daddy with her - I don't know why I was always skeptical about Eric raising a daughter, I just thought - he's such a "man's man" that he wouldn't know how to handle a girl. Every time I see them together I can't help but smile. I love how he calls her "Sweet Pea" & tells her that she's "Daddy's little princess".... it just makes me melt!

The sad part about it is, I know that I'm not having any more children - and don't get me wrong, I don't WANT any more - BUT, this is the *LAST* first birthday I'll ever experience. The last one. :( BOO HOO.

Okay enough of the sappy stuff.... tell me, what did this cake ever do to her?!?






Is she the CUTEST or what?!?

Three Sisters

I took some pics of three sisters back in October.... for some reason, I didn't finish editing the session since it was practice. Last night, trying to free up some room on my hard drive, I came across this session- there were so many pictures that blew me away! Had to process & share a few :)

Baby Sister Brooke



Middle Sister Brianna - Is it just me, or does this kid scream Abercrombie model?!?


And last, but certainly not least, big sister Jessica.


And P.S. - Lori - you do know it's not normal to have 3 girls *this* beautiful, don't you?!? Just checking :)

How many have your name?

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 336 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Tucker's Take

Tucker brought a paper home from school today that he did in class this week. It reads: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream to make our world a better place. What can you do to help make the world a better place?

Tucker's answer: "I would love god for all day long. I will love him so much and Jesus to. I love god and Jesus. I love them for all. The end."

Awwwwwww, my sweet baby :)

15 Pounds Gone!

Okay, I'm not going to get too excited here. I know the weight loss is about to slow down, but I'm thoroughly enjoying seeing a difference on the scale almost every morning! I think one of my biggest helpers with this diet has been the bite-size candy bars or mini reese cups. I was craving chocolate SO OFTEN - eating candy bars daily (ugh). I know it isn't feasible for me to ever actually quit eating chocolate, so I when I get the craving, I eat one of the bite size snickers or mini reese cups & I'm done! I'm totally over the craving with one bite! How cool is that? I'm SOOOOO hoping I can keep this up so that I can feel comfortable on the cruise. If I'm heavy, I know I won't enjoy it, I'll be paranoid the entire time.

Yes, I have issues. And yes, I'm aware of it. :o)