Excuse me, is my crazy showing???

I have a friend and she wanted to get a family pictures taken. Seemed like a good idea but did you ever notice that sometimes what seems simple can grow out of control???

So my friend, she has a girlfriend who is a photographer. Now I’ve seen these pictures and she’s really good. She just has a special knack. She’s a natural. So I can see why my friend really wanted this woman to take her family pictures.

Now these pictures are not the kind in a little room with a painted backdrop hanging behind you. They’re the kind where everyone is outside and there are real trees and grass and rocks and maybe a creek. The kinds of pictures that make you look like this beautiful playful family out being one with nature. You know where you get an image in your head then you have to start going through hoops to live up to that image.

(I know this is where it almost starts to get, hmm, just a little close to the edge).


Ok, back to the story of my friend. She needed clothes for her family of five. Something for herself, her husband and their three children. Now this would be simple but sometimes she’s got to go that extra step to be different. So there was no way she was going to put them all in white shirts and jeans or all in black. And nothing too matchy matchy either. Noooooo. They had to have a color scheme and one that would look good in her living room. Yep that’s right, couldn’t take picture of her family and then have them clash with the decorations. (See, there’s another step closer to going right over the edge). She wanted clothes that made them look like they all belonged together but that they didn’t all have the same shirt on in different sizes. (She did them in pastels one year and they looked like a bowl of sherbert so I know she wanted to do better this time).

After several trips and quite a few stores she found a color pallet that she really liked and that would look good on little girls, a toddler boy and a Mom and Dad. Now she was ready to schedule something with her friend the photographer. So a few e-mails to get some ideas tossed around and to pencil in a few possible dates. Then she got a phone call from her friend explaining that due to reasons beyond her control they would not be able to do this photo shoot for another 6 to 8 months.

(insert pout lip here)

After getting this news, she thought to go to her husband to process the information and consider their options. Should they throw in the towel or try to use another photographer?? She had these clothes that she liked and worked hard to find and was so worried that her husband would tell her to return them. Anyway she sent a quick e-mail to him at work to get his feedback and maybe a little “Awe honey, it’ll be ok” from him. However, in her haste, she sent it to the wrong e-mail address. Not just any address either. It went out on an e-mail loop…to 20 plus people…to her photographer friend…and ALL of their friends.

(GASP)

NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

(“Idiot” hits self in head)

So a little damage control and she did her best to move on and forget about her stupidity.

So her dear sweet friend moved on past the blip and sent her a list of photographers that might be able to do the same thing for her. Hmm, ok. She looked at the different web sites to get a feel for each one; She picked her favorite from the list and then made a phone call. The one she called had just had a major computer malfunction and lost hundreds of photos. After a good 20 minutes on the phone and some female bonding and a few tears from the other photographer (still trying to absorb what she was dealing with) they said goodbye and my friend moved on.

Checking out a few other photographers but not feeling it she was getting so frustrated and disappointed and worried (she tends to obsess about things). So through another friend she found a photographer and scheduled a date for outdoor picture in a nearby park.

As the days passed she realized that the weather was not looking good. Now her obsession became the weather channel and the Internet radar. She watched the 10-day then the 5-day forecast like a 1950s Father pacing in a delivery waiting room.

Her husband was making (in his mind) attempts to calm her. He had the idea of bundling the kids up in their coats staging the photo area and pulling them out of the car quickly to get a few quick pictures then pushing them back into a warm car before they got too cold. Clearly he did not know what was going on in her head. A photo shoot does not work like that. She wanted a good hour or more of different areas of the park and various setting/poses. Casual shots not plastic smiles that make a feeble attempt to hide how cold everyone feels.

The morning of the photo shoot with an expected high of 45 degrees, she called the photographer and rescheduled. (Here comes the step that may have sent her over the edge) The day that the weather and the photographer could work was a weekday…at 2:00 in the afternoon. Not just nap time for the toddler but also one of her kids would need to be pulled out of school and her husband was going to have to take a half a day vacation to accommodate this new schedule. (Luckily for him he new this was not the time to get in her way or make any complaints) It wasn’t until afterwards that I think she started to see how crazy she was getting over this idea.

The day of, the weather was perfect! Her husband quietly grumbled while he unloaded all the props from their van. Oh yes, she had props. Some had been worked on months ago. There was a wagon, a wicker chair, three kid sized chairs, a blanket, some hats and two very large frames. You know, to hold up and stick your head through for a playful photo. She bought those frames in August for these pictures and spent hours scraping and sanding and painting them to get just the right look.

So now after months of planning, obsessing, praying for good weather, holding her breath that the kids would not fall down at school and get a scrap and a brief wrestling match with the toddler to get the marker out of hands so he didn’t end up with a pink mustache. (Can’t wait see if you’ll be able to see the pink dot by his ear)

After all that, now she waits to see the end result. I wonder if anyone will ever tell her how crazy she gets over little things. Does she know???? Will she ever get a grip???


Naaaaaa.

Time to move on...

Flip the page on the calendar. It’s November. Time to get ready for Thanksgiving. As much as I love Halloween, I also hold a pretty soft spot in my heart for Thanksgiving.

It’s a no pressure holiday. You don’t need to buy a special outfit or get a gift that someone will only return or stick in a drawer to be forgotten. You come together with friends and family and share a meal. You spend time thinking about what is important to you and the things that you are grateful for.

Some good food. A little wine. A slice of pumpkin pie.

Better start getting ready.




The big spider has been taken down.




The little spiders have been chased away.

All the bones have been collected.

Jack-o-lanterns and sculls are accounted for.

No more haunted house. The ghosts will have to go away until next year.

It’s turkey time.

It’s time to pull on a sweater and heat up some cider.

It’s time to pull out the cookbooks and gather the recipe cards.

Can you smell all the yummy food??

Gobble gobble

Carving Party…Ready

Things are coming together for the annual Pumpkin Carving Party.
A few nights ago I emptied out the recycle bin and the kids and I sat around the table making a can toss game.

We had so much fun talking and planning the festivities. With a few sheets of construction paper, a little creativity and the can game came to life.

Every year I put some orange light bulbs in the front porch lights to add to the mood. I pain them myself which is probably horrible and I’m sure they sell colored bulbs but I can’t let go of the DIY. I think they look like candy corn after they have been lit for a few hours. I just add another coat of paint each year.

The Pumpkins are ready and waiting.

I have tons of patterns to choose from.

The carving tools are sorted.

Lots of candles available for the group lighting

The slow cookers are on and I’ll be making a rice crispy spider soon.
The garage is getting cleaned out now and things are coming together.

I hope you all have a fun and safe Trick or Treat!!!!!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Fun

I love it!!!
I love the fall to begin with then you toss in things like Halloween (dress up) and Thanksgiving (food) and what more could a girl want????

I’ve always loved Halloween. I’m not fond of being scared but I do like the dressing up thing and then the candy is just icing on the cake. You get to be whatever/whoever you want. You can let your alter ego out and no one thinks twice about how you look. This was always great for those of us with sub par self-confidence. I remember being out trick-or-treating and thinking about what kind of costume I would make for the following year as I went door to door.

Even now I like to get creative and express my inner gypsy. Or maybe it’ll be biker chick this year. Hmmm, could do the witch …or ????? Hmmm, what will it be????

Well, costume or not, I love to see all the kids running from house to house bags open wide. Their energy is palpable. This neighborhood is great for the event too. The local police and fire companies drive slowly thru the streets and flash their lights tossing candy out and waving to the kids.

In anticipation each year we host a pumpkin carving party. I think of it as one of the high lights to my year. The house is full of friends and the kiddos play and run and scream and giggle all evening long. Everyone is laughing, eating and having such a good time. It fills my house with joy.

At the end of the evening we line up pumpkins on the front steps for a photo shoot.
Here’s some from previous years.

What do you do for Halloween???

Flavored Popcorn

I had an impromptu play date a week ago and needed some quick, fun snacks for the kids.
So why not let them “spice up” their popcorn?
This is also a fun thing to do for family movie night.

You can usually find most items already in your pantry.

Microwave popcorn
Paper bags
Spray butter (helps the flavor to stick)
Dry ranch or Italian dressing mix
Parmesan cheese
Packet of hot chocolate


After the popcorn is popped, pour it into paper bags for each flavor or for each person. Dump one flavor into each bag, close the bag and give it a good shake. (Kids love this part) You may need to use a little spray on butter to help the flavor stick to the popcorn. (I ran out of hot chocolate once and tried to use coco instead. If you need to do this, you must also add a little sugar)

If you like spicy, taco seasoning works good too.
Can you think of another way to flavor popcorn?
What do you like for a fun snack?

S'more this, S'more that...S'mortini

I love S’mores and I don’t know too many people that don’t like them.
You can check out my frozen S’mores here. And now they even have S’more goldfish crackers.


I guess you can S’more just about anything.

This S’more post is for the over 21 crowd only.

A few weeks ago we had some friends over for the evening. While the men got the kiddos into their PJs, us Ladies sat out on the back patio for a nightcap.

I made us a couple of S’mortinis.

I like this drink in a chilled glass so while you’re getting your ingredients ready fill your glass with ice water and set it aside.

In a baggie crush up some graham crackers and dump them on a dish.
Dump the ice water out of your glass. Use your finger and a drop of chocolate syrup to make the rim of the glass sticky. Then press the rim of the glass into the graham crackers.

Drizzle some more chocolate syrup along the insides of the glass.

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice pour…
2 oz chocolate liquor
2 oz vanilla vodka (or regular vodka and a few drops of vanilla extract)

Shake well and pour into glasses then garnish with a few marshmallows.

CHEERS!

Wow, Monday must not be going well for me if I’m starting the week with a cocktail.
I hope you’re having a good start to your week.

Ten-Minute Project

It really did take just about ten minutes to make. Thank goodness too because that’s about all the time I had to work on something. It’s go, go, go over here. I keep thinking that I’ll have time to get bigger projects done or that I can sit down a put together a nice blog post. Funny thing about time, the more you think you’re going to get the less that you really end up with.

Anyway, in my continued effort to organize and to help increase the independence level of my girly girls, I made this hair clip organizer.


I had some extra wood tags in my craft drawer and some old ribbon. (The tags come in a sheet and you pop out the size and shape you want. They’re nice to add to special gifts or for little craft projects.)

I painted the tag and then added a decorative flower to the front.

With some hot glue I attached a strip of ribbon to the back of the tag.
I slipped a small ribbon through the hole to use as a hanger.

Since my sewing machine was already out for another project I just changed the thread color quick and stitched a hem on the bottom of the big ribbon to give it a more finished look.

Now all their fancy hair clips have a place of their own. The girls have been wearing their fancy hair clips a lot more now that they can see and find them so easily.

Yep, I made most of those hair clips too. They needed them for different outfits. What can I say, I love to accessorize.

This organizer hangs on the wall behind the bathroom door. It's low enough that the girls can reach their clips but high enough that little man can't reach.