Family Picture day!

It is decided, family picture day is officially the worst day of the year for me.  So much stress and hoopla in hopes that you get at least one wall worthy photo.
Fortunately Lindsey was amazing and made process as painless as possible.  Plus the pictures turned out great!  All that stress for nothing.

Note:  Do not wear a black blousy shirt in hopes of hiding your "problem area" - it could quite possibly backfire.

She captured some great photos of the kids.  I was dancing behind the camera thinking I was making the kids laugh - I didn't realize Zac was mimicking my antics behind me and that's what was really making them laugh.

I love Colby's face here.  Not sure what to do with himself surrounded by all of these sassy girls.

Someone tell me how my sweet little eight year old looks like a teenager in this photo???  She's growing up too fast!

Colby finally lost one of his front teeth a week before the photos.  Part of me likes it and part of me wishes it could've just held on for a couple more weeks.  Does that make me awful?

Ahhh, the boots.  The stinky, stinky boots.  They're practically an extension of this little girl - we had to include them.  They're so bad, she's not allowed to take them off in the car because EVERYONE can smell them.  Any successful ways to get rid of that?

This last picture of the kids is a preview (I cropped it in half) of the photo I chose for our Christmas cards and it's the one what will go up on the wall.  It's my absolute favorite.  None of us are looking at the camera and we're all laughing.  I feel like it's the shot that truly captures our family.  Can't wait to show you, but I don't want to kill the Christmas card surprise. :)

Lindsey did an amazing job!  She's a popular one, so she might already be booked for Christmas.  She specializes in family, engagement, senior and newborn photography (she has a separate website for that).  Come check her out!

Lindsey Bennett Photography blog
Baby Love Photography blog
Her Facebook

blogs are kind of a funny thing...

Blogs are kind of a funny thing - social media in general, I guess - we share the best parts of our lives and not always the REAL parts of our lives.  Most try to stay upbeat because no one wants to read a blog that's a downer.  The funny thing is, no one really wants to read a blog where this unrealistic perfect life is portrayed either… at least I don't.  It's not good for this non-perfect self.  :)

I shared bits and pieces about losing our baby, but I didn't tell you Zac was out of work for the whole thing.
There, I said it… Ten months of being unemployed has been rough.

We both strongly believe there was a reason.  And that reason was that I needed him home during a difficult time.  The timeline was too perfect to be coincidental.
I will say, ten months of being a pretend middle aged retired couple while still in the prime our lives has been pretty darn fun, though.  Zac's back to work now and traveling like crazy.  We've gone from Zac all the time, to Zac very little of the time.

The exciting new development is that what started as a "job" for me (and at times this last year has been very heavy) has now turned into the coolest hobby with a pay check…and requires that I file monthly taxes.  Eh.

The impulsive, over-night decision to sell furniture was planned as temporary.  The original plan was to bring in a little each month until the pocket book went back to being less "tight".  Now that we're there, I've had to stop and think about priorities.  Do I want to continue painting?  Do I want to go back to being exclusively a stay-at-home mom?  What's best for my family?

I've given it much thought and the answer is yes to the first and no to the second.  My little side business makes me happy.  I love my "nap time" job.  It's perfect for me.

Camping trip

We took the kids camping over President's Day weekend.  You have to know that Zac and I loathe camping.  It's dirty, it's way too much work and when you get home everything including your car smells like campfire.  However, our kids love it and I grew up with an avid backpacker/camper for a father.  The combination of these two things make me feel obligated to take my kids on an overnighter a couple times a year.

Our favorite "camping" spot is twenty minutes away, has electricity, running water and the cleanest bathroom/showers you've ever seen.  Unfortunately for us, they were full so we had to head to a more primitive spot a little further away.  No showers, no electricity and no running water.

Our camping trip ended up being one of those camping trips.  There was no moon, which means total darkness at night, it was freezing, we hadn't packed enough firewood, Zac and I had to sleep in different tents and I ended up with the air mattress with a small leak.  An hour after we all headed to bed, my mattress was completely deflated and I was officially sleeping on gravel.  Then to top it all off, I woke up with a stomach bug.

My kids have seen me puke so many times with this pregnancy that they don't even flinch.  They all yelled, "Daaaad.  Mom's throwing up," and then they were off to the park like it was no biggie.

Needless to say, it will be a good while before I plan another overnighter…unless it's in the backyard…and doesn't include me.

Afternoon delights

Today was such a beautiful day that the two little girls and I lounged out front with a bag of Cheetos  (our favorite) to wait for the big kids to get home from school.

I love lazy afternoons.  Especially the sunny ones. :)

Anniversary and potty training

Last night Zac and I went out in celebration of our 9th anniversary!  Nine years feels like our first "wow, we've been married for a long time" anniversary.

(photo at Zac's graduation almost five years ago when I was pregnant with Isabelle!)

I spent today, our actual anniversary, potty-training my 2 1/2 year old.  In the past, I've been the mom who refuses to think about potty training until my child's third birthday comes and passes, but I was at Costco Monday and couldn't square myself with picking up another pricey box of diapers.  So potty training it is.  Charlotte has been through a half a dozen pairs of pants today and I've heard, "I no go ba-froom!" over a dozen.  Any tips or techniques would be greatly appreciated.  If you don't have any tips and tricks other than to "wing it" like I do, than please send positive thoughts my direction.  I could sure use them!

The weekend

Anything exciting planned for the weekend?

We just inherited a playset from my parents but it's too tall for our HOA restrictions and is in need of a new roof.  Tonight we're all headed to Home Depot to pick up some wood so Zac can spend his Saturday building a new one :)

Storm Chasers

I can count on one hand how many times I threw-up yesterday….that's progress people!  I feel kind of like I'm living in the movie Groundhog Day: I wake up sick, I "help" Zac get the older kids off to school and I sit, then I clean up the breakfast mess and I sit, then if I'm feeling up to it, the girls and I run errands and I sit.  You get the picture.  It feels like the same thing day in, day out.  Bleh.

Anyway, something you may not know about the desert is that we have the most amazing thunder storms.  Quite often they come out of nowhere.  We'll have blue skies all day and then, BAM, torrential rain and flash flood warnings.  I love it.  

This particular night, I had just bathed the kiddos and helped get their jammies on.  I suggested that we head to the front porch to watch the storm.  Of course, you can't expect kids to just watch. 

So they played…in the gutter.  I try not to overanalyze how dirty it is because I have so many fond memories as a kid running through the gutter.  For some reason, wearing a black trash bag instead of a rain coat.

They played and then we headed straight back to the bath tub.  Good times.

I've been keeping a secret

I like to be real with you - I don't like fake.  But for the last five weeks, I've been completely fake here on the blog.  For good reason though.

We're having a baby!  Yes, it was planned (that seems to be everyone's first question).  :)

We're so so excited, but I've been so so sick for the last five weeks.  I thought I could fake it all the way through the first trimester, but then I ran out of prewritten posts and every time I put together another lame one, I feel bad.  At least now you know why my posts have been lame.  I'm finally starting to feel a little more functional during the day, but once 5 o'clock hits, if I move, I puke.  It's been rough going.  I'm not exactly sure how I did this four times before….

Anyway, did I mention we're excited?  My kids have been talking about a new baby for over a year, so they're jazzed that it's finally come.  They're always asking me to look up what the baby is growing or doing this week and they've proudly displayed ultrasound photos to anyone who comes to the door.  Everyone is really hoping for a boy this time around - most especially Zac and Colby, but, of course, we'll be happy if it's a girl too.  Colby asks my belly on a daily basis, "If you're a boy, can we share a room?"  Oh, how he wants a little brother to share his bunk bed with!

Even with all the sickness, we feel so blessed and are beyond thrilled to be adding a new little one to our brood.  I'm hoping to be back up and working in a couple more weeks and thank you in advance for putting up with my lackluster posting until then.

Natalie

Learning Photoshop

We don't buy school photos.  I'm cheap - they're a waste of money.  This year the kids got all dolled up so we could take our own before they left for school.  I just got Photoshop CS5 and I couldn't wait to try out some fancy shmacy editing.  I'm moving over from iphoto/Elements so the full blown Photoshop seems a tad bit complicated, but there are so many great tutorials out there that make it doable for the beginners.

Madeline: straight out of the camera (SOOC).

Edit 1.

Edit 2.

Edit 3.

Colby: SOOC

Slight edit.

Isabelle (my secret favorite child right now): SOOC

Edited.

 In my next life, I'd like to be a photographer.  Now to learn to photoshop myself thin….

Happy November and a Halloween Recap

It's November.  Wow.  How is it that every year this happens?  October comfortably feels like a Fall month, then overnight November hits and it's the end of the year.  We listened to Christmas music on the way home from my parents' last night, which reminded me that THIS year, I WILL get ALL my Christmas shopping done by November so that I can actually breathe and enjoy December.

I'm getting ahead of myself.  I just barely uploaded the Halloween photos.

My sister and her family are visiting from San Francisco, so last night we headed to my parents' to carve pumpkins, have dinner and head out trick-or-treating (my favorite).

Colby was the cutest nerd I have ever laid eyes on.  No, I'm not the least bit biased.

Miss Isabelle went as Mulan.

Madeline was…Madeline, the French version.

And both Charlotte and my sister, Amy, were Dorothy.

These two cousins rode in the lap of luxury last night.  Pulled out at each doorstep, then put back in for some candy tasting while on their way to the next.

I hope you all had a great Halloween!  Now that all the costumes are put away, I'm off to write a Christmas to-do list for this month.

Carmel Apples

It's Fall!  As I say this, it's 98 degrees outside, but it's Fall nonetheless.  Us desert dwellers have to ignore the weather and put out our Fall decor anyway.  I wish we could ignore the weather and put on sweaters!  I'm dying to put away my flip flops and shorts and don closed toe shoes, skinny jeans and a comfy knit sweater.

For a few days last week we had some cooler weather and to celebrate we made carmel apples.  Mmmmm.  

We were a little scarce on the carmel because someone, I'm not naming names, forgot how much she LOVES caramels and snuck half the bag.  This is why 99.9% of the time there is no junk food to be found in my home.  I have zero self-control with the goodies.

What are you doing to celebrate this wonderful season?

A Lunch Date

My mom took the two younger girls for the day so I could be "extra" productive.  But since my goal for the week is to focus on more quality time with the kids, I peeled myself from the computer to take the older two on a surprise lunch date.  I love the look on their faces as they see me waiting by the office and it dawns on them what's going on…Happy Meals!

These two are twelve months and two days apart and are the best of friends.  In fact, Colby brought home an "about me" book he'd written the other day that said his favorite thing to do is play with Madeline.  Nope, not the Wii, his sister.  She is the overly dramatic and bossy one and he's the pleaser.  Hmmm…sounds like their parents.

I thought I'd share a photo of these two as babies, but then I got all nostalgic going through our old photos and decided to share a few more.

We laugh at this photo because it looks like they're singing to each other. 

Just out of the bath.

At the zoo.

I did the math, and it's very likely that they've taken over a thousand baths together.

Playing at the beach.

And now they look like this.  Oh, how time flies.

Thanks for indulging me :)