Putting my hobby to good use!

I know I've been MIA for a while now, but I wanted to give you an update to what I've been doing.

Recently I signed on to do the Milwaukee Muscle Walk to benefit MDA. The Muscular Dystrophy Assoc has always been near and dear to me and I've been volunteering at their summer camp for 18 years. Now I'm trying to raise money by taking photos!

If you want to know more, please visit my new blog! I'm sure I'll still be posting here as well, but I know this exciting new adventure is going to take up a lot of my time!

http://clickinawayformda.blogspot.com/

And if you know anyone in the Milwaukee WI area who would like to schedule a photo shoot please send them the link!

I also want to thank all of my blog readers who have been so supportive of this hobby. I love getting all of your comments and it really has inspired me to want to do more! Feel free to follow me over at the new blog as well if you want to see previews from all of my shoots!

It's Gap Casting Time again!

Honestly, I don't know why I enter this thing, and yet every year since my girls were born I've felt compelled to send in their pictures. Of couse every mommy thinks their child is the most beautiful child in the world! And what mommy wouldn't want to see their kids picture blown up big as life in the front window of Baby Gap? And truth be told I would have no problem spending that $1000 gap card! But every year Gap finds new ways to make this process less appealing. The size of the image you upload means that every photo in their gallery is terribly distorted. They have some sort of "Viewer Favorite" which, who are we kidding, is just a glorified popularity contest. And then this year they added a stipulation that your child should be in jeans if possible. All good reasons to just say forget about it!

And yet I enter. Because I am a proud mommy. Because I do think I have the most beautiful girls in the world. And because I can't even imagine seeing my daughters face in the window at Baby Gap!

Chalk!!!

Last week at a garage sale we bought a box full of artist pastel chalks. Needless to say we'll never be buying that sad sidewalk chalk again. This stuff is awesome!

Our trip to the Harvest Festival

This past weekend the girls and I headed out with friends to a local Fall Festival. The girls had so much fun playing in giant bales of hay, riding ponies, feeding goats, eating hot dogs and going down the giant pig slide. The sun was really harsh so the photos could have been better but I know my girls could not have had more fun!


























And will all of this hay, how could I not put this in for Mellow Yellow Monday?

Cool Cats!

First off, I have to admit that I don't like cats. It may have to do with the fact that I am very allergic but cats and I just do not get along. Cool Cats, on the other hand, I totally love. Especially when it's my girls who think they are the cats meow!

Cake

My little sister got married last Oct. For her bridal shower I made tiny hamburger cupcakes with cookie french fries. They were a big hit. I've always wanted to make them again, but I just haven't found the time.



For more pictures to make that sweet tooth tingle, visit Trendy Treehouse!

Dance Baby Dance!

I have a lot of respect for those people who can capture the movement and grace of dance in a still photo. It's a moment in time that is over in a blink of an eye. It's the difference between looking like you are lost in a moment of the movement and just looking like you got caught in an awkward position.

This is Sophie dancing at the farmers market this summer. I pulled this photo from a series of 4 which actually looked more like dancing but I love the movement of her hair in this one.

My Nana and Papa.

I just stumbled upon a new photo challenge over at Happy Monday. This week there is no specific theme. Just something that makes you happy.

These are my grandparents. They make me happy. I'm happy that at 33 I still have 3 of my 4 grandparents. I'm happy that I still get to see my Nana and Papa almost every week. I'm happy that my girls have been able to spend time with their great grandparents. I'm happy that I have the family I do.

Finger Prints

The photo challenge this week over at Paper Mama is fingerprints. I posted really cool sandy hands pictures last week but I wanted to try to find something new. Isabelle was playing with her window gels this afternoon when I got this shot from the other side of the door. It's no wonder everything in my house is covered in fingerprints!

Smirky McSmirkerson

Sophie's Smirk!
(Some photos don't need any words!)



For other sassy smirks, visit I heart faces!

Fall is just around the corner!

Fall is my favorite time of year. And now that the air is getting a little crisper and the days a little cooler, I thought I would pull out a few of my favorites from last fall. Please keep in mind this is well before I knew anything about my camera and was shooting in full auto! But it just goes to show that sometimes it's not about your equipement or your skills. It's just about capturing a moment.

Bounce!

I love these pictures of Isabelle bouncing on her bed. This was right after we got home from her first day at preschool last year. I can't believe how much bigger she's gotten in the last year!



Have a bouncy Monday everyone!

Sisters, Sisters...

I've been meaning for weeks to participate in Flashback Fridays over at Christopher and Tia. After all, I see all my other cool photography friends doing it and I'm all about what the cool kids are doing. But Fridays are usually a busy day around here, so I'm going to try my best to post them on Thur nights.

I took this photo almost 12 months ago. My girls were enjoying throwing every stuffed animal they had into Isabelle's bed. (I'm ashamed to admit that since I took this last October the number of stuffed animals in our house has most likely tripled. I'm fairly certain they are getting busy while we sleep!) I somehow talked the girls into getting in the bed with all their animals for a picture or two.



It was only after I put the photos on my camera that I realized I had seen this picture before. I dug through my baby book and there it was. My baby sister and I some 27 years earlier.



All I can say is that I'm glad I have my sister. And I'm glad my girls have each other.

Happy Friday!




Hosted by Cecily and ???

Hands Hands Fingers Thumb...

Every day I seem to find a new fabulous photo challenge that I just can't resist. This is a new one from 2babycakes and the challenge is hands. So here are a few of my favorite little hands!











Thanks for visiting! I love reading your comments and visiting your blogs!

All sorts of brown...

The photo challenge over at The Paper Mama this week is the color brown. And since there are at least 4 or 5 different shades of brown in this photo I thought it was a good choice. I also happen to love this photo for how sweetly she is looking at that cow.

Thanks for visiting!



For more creamy browns visit the Paper Mama!

A model who knows how to stay still!

I love taking pictures of my girls. After all, they are the main reason I've really gotten into photography. But lets face it, at 2 and 3, sitting still is not their strong point. They also have a thing about looking at the camera which makes it really hard for me to work on skills like focus and catch lights. Luckily my cousin Jennifer was nice enough to do a little photo shoot with me. She follows directions like a champ and we had fun playing around with different light and different poses. Here are a few of my favorites (and hers) from our shoot!













Thanks for Visiting!