Monthly Archives October 2008

Thanks to Joe the Photographer

Sunday afternoon we went on an adventure. It was finally time to do NHL’s five year portraits. For those counting, that would make it over two months since his fifth birthday. We decided to head back to the popular portrait studio that we used in the past. JL and I just were not impressed with the other place that we had his four year portraits done at and JSL’s first birthday.

When we arrived we were all dressed in red with our jeans on. Talk about getting looks from people later on in the day – LOL!

We were told to head into the first studio as soon as we arrived. When we went in a very friendly photographer came into the room. We learned his name thanks to NHL. He asked and Joe told him. NHL quickly told him that he knew another Joe, you know, the one in Blues Clues. Of course all that went through my mind . . . . Joe the Plumber!

We decided to start with family photos since JSL had not napped earlier in the day (our session time was 2:00). Needless to say, it is quite tricky to get a decent shot with all four family members looking at the camera at the same time. I kept blinking, NHL kept talking/smiling funny, and JSL wanted to walk away. If you have done family portraits you know exactly what happened. We managed to get one that was not too bad.

October '08 Portraits - 2    October '08 Portraits - 3

Then it was time to get the much anticipated photos of NHL with the giant number five, dinosaurs and his camera. Joe did a great job working with NHL. NHL definitely played it up. As you can see we switched his red shirt and I really like the ones with the short sleeved blue on more.

October '08 Portraits - 10

 October '08 Portraits - 16    October '08 Portraits -  14

Once NHL was done Joe asked to try some with both of the boys alone. That did not work out too well. The overtired 17 month old kept walking out of the frame. We did manage to get one cute one before we switched gears. 

October '08 Portraits - 13

Before calling it quits I asked Joe to try one of all of my boys. This time both of the little guys were getting tired.

October '08 Portraits - 19    October '08 Portraits - 20

We bought a package that included the portraid CD so we own the photos and can print them whenever we want. JL was quite happy about this. That would be why I was able to post this so quickly.

The rest of the photos from the photo shoot by Joe can be seen on my Flickr photostream.

TheAngelForever

Share:
Share on Facebok
Share on Pinterest
Share on Google+



Giant pizza and chopping time

For several weeks we have been looking for one item that will be needed for NHL’s Halloween costume. You would think that it had to be something horribly complicated since it has taken us so long to find. The sad truth is that it was only a plain white turtleneck shirt. Who knew that this would be so difficult to find here?

Yesterday we were on a mission. We opted to go to the more "quiet" of the malls to see if Sears had the pesky white turtleneck that we desired. On the way there we stopped for lunch. We have been curious for a while about a pizza place that had opened on the route there back in the summer. We finally went in. They have what they call "The Big Mama" pizza. This pizza is HUGE by any standard. It is a 30" pizza and the slices are larger than our heads. The boys ordered some slices and I just had to take a photo of these monster slices. 

Big Mama Slice eating time

We really enjoyed the food there and the owners were extremely nice. We will definitely be going back  again.

After lunch we went to the mall. Our first shop was Sears. Once we made our way to the boys section we almost gave up. Then out of the corner of his eye, JL saw turtleneck shirts. We purchased a white, red and pattern one for NHL to stay warm this fall and winter. Next we wanted to head to one other store in the mall. NHL was exhausted. We think the pizza must have made him sleepy. Luckily JSL was antsy and wanted out of his stroller. So I decided to stuff NHL into the stroller and he was willing to go for the ride. 

One tired 5 year old

On our way back to the car we stopped at the Sears Portrait studio to make an appointment for NHL’s 5 year portraits on Sunday. Last week we had to cancel them thanks to his pinkeye. The appointment was made and I decided that I wanted to finally go through with something I had been thinking about.

What was that you ask?

I have been toying with getting my hair cut again for quite some time. I knew pretty much what I wanted to do, but I could not decide where to go to have it done. With the budget being smaller these days, I opted to go where the boys get their hair done. There is just something about not spending more than $15 for a simple hair cut.

When I went in I asked the hair stylist to take a photo of my hair before. I had not had it cut since I had 12 inches taken off for my third hair donation after JSL was born. Now my hair is finally bad to the thickness it was before the pregnancy and is quite long again. Thanks to this it is hard to work with and quite heavy on my poor head. 

Hair before

Please ignore the frizz, it is the story of my life (even with products made specifically to combat that issue). I simply asked to have my hair cut to about shoulder length so that I could still get it back and out of my face if I wanted to. She worked and worked and worked on it. You should have seen the pile of hair on the ground. I must have had at least 7-8 inches cut off thanks to the curl factor.

When it was done I felt so free. We went home and I immediately found my headbands to push it back (wearing the one that Airing Dirty Laundry gave me in our Swaparooni last year) . Here is what it looks like after. Please note I did not have my hair colored. The lighting in our dining room is that bad that it made my hair look really dark. The photo above is pretty accurate. 

After the chopping

So today we will have NHL’s portraits done and try for our first real family portrait. All of our red shirts and jeans are ready to go!

TheAngelForever

Share:
Share on Facebok
Share on Pinterest
Share on Google+



A tough week ahead


Dear Kid Saturdays at Cutest Kid Ever

Dear NHL and JSL,

This week is going to be a challenging one for the three of us when Daddy goes away to the wedding. With help from the two of you (and of course Nana and Papa) I know I will be able to make it. Both of you will be sad and miss Daddy, but we will be strong together. I promise that we will have extra special fun, especially on Halloween. We can also call Daddy every day/night so he can talk to both of you.

Both of you are quite attached to your Daddy. NHL, you got so close to Daddy when you went to daycare with him every day. JSL, you go to the door every morning crying for Dada, wishing he would come back in the door before the end of the day. Hopefully you will understand in your own way that Mommy will miss Daddy too. The only other times we have been apart is when each of you were born. This is very new to me too.

Hopefully with lots of hugs we will make the time go by quickly and then run to Daddy when we pick him up at the airport. Now we just need to spend lots of time with him before he goes.

I love you both so very much,

Mommy

 

Share:
Share on Facebok
Share on Pinterest
Share on Google+



New baking toy (Aloha 19)

Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the Mr. Linky there if you are participating.

 Aloha Friday by Kailani at An Island Life

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

My question for this week is inspired by something new we bought for baking:

Do you have a new "toy" that you like to use to cook or bake with? What is it that you like about this item?

May I present you with our new favorite baking item:

These are the BEST!

Since the boys are really into muffins we thought it was finally time to try the silicone baking cups. I was hesitant for the longest time, but thanks to a 50% off coupon at Michaels I figured it was well worth the experiment.

We opted to fill the cups, use cooking spray to help things slide after baking, and put them into a traditional muffin tray to steady them. I was too afraid to put them on a cookie sheet in case they were bumped. I could just see muffin batter all over the kitchen floor.

Ready for the oven

Check out how easy it was to get them out of the muffin cup:

Coming out of their shells

And when they were all finished there was not a lot of mess to clean up. The little cups are dishwasher safe or I just cleaned them in soapy water and they were all set.

All done

We have used the silicone muffin cups at least 3-4 times now and love them. The 24 that we now have were well worth the money and we will only use the paper liners for special occasions when we want to decorate.

 TheAngelForever

Share:
Share on Facebok
Share on Pinterest
Share on Google+



Tiny toe troubles

As previously mentioned, the cold weather is definitely here. I know how to bundle the boys up to head outside to stay warm. The trouble I am having is keeping some of the items on JSL once we are out and about. I will not even imagine the fun we will have with hats this year. Of course with the limited mobility from a winter coat that may not be a huge issue.

Right now my problem is best illustrated with the following photo from yesterday: 

So proud of his accomplishment

Do you notice the twinkle in his eyes, and the smirk on his face? Yes, even at 17 months old he knows to do this! Typically he yanks off his shoes and socks upon getting into the car. If I can stop him for a few minutes with a Wiggles song on it may take 3-5 additional minutes. Then I hear him fidgeting around in his seat. This is followed by a giggle and sweet little voice pronouncing "sock" and "shoe" as they come flying around the car with a big THUD! 

Mr. Serious

He is beyond stubborn and determined. No matter how I try to stop him his mission is always accomplished. I try not to make a huge deal out of it because that only encourages the situation. Still I am getting quite sick of being greeted with tiny little toes when I get JSL out of the car. Trying to find two socks and shoes launched in a van is tricky at best. 

Cold feet anyone?

I worry about his feet getting so very cold this time of year. My hope is that once we switch to boots he may have a little more of a challenge getting them off. I am sure he will be able to toss those (at my head probably), but I will worry about that later.

So do you have any tricks that may help us out? If you do I would greatly appreciate any suggestions.

TheAngelForever

Share:
Share on Facebok
Share on Pinterest
Share on Google+