9 more Sleeps till Santa

Yeah we are counting down till the big happy guy comes. This is Maddies facial response when I told her how many days were left. She looks giddy in the photo and she was...lol!! Gotta love this age when they are totally into it Santa and you get to go along for the ride like your a kid again. Notice her new million dollar smile? Well it didn't cost a million but around 6 grand in dental work. They pulled out four teeth and did a bunch of work on the rest of her teeth. This is our reward for having a child who was very sick at birth. Illness and tons of medication effected her teeth. Yeah I know...with Maddie everything is always 10 times harder but YIKES!!

My Turkey Man!!!

For all who have been to our place for Thanksgiving you KNOW my Husband cooks up on heck of a turkey! It was so delicious and juicy...so good in fact that there were ZERO left overs. Not even some scrap for a sandwich. I wanted to share some pics from our turkey day!

A peek from my last shoot!

Love this little girls eyes. She reminds me of Brooke Shields when she was little...what a cutie!!!

Turkey Day is coming!!!!

Yes Turkey day is coming and we are gearing up for all the guests coming to our home. So far it will be a party of 13. It is about half the number from last year due to babies being born and Michael's family all living so far away. My Michael has his turkey fryer ready and I am creating my Gooey good Pumpkin Cake!! YUMMMY!!!!! Here is a shot of my baby girl Lauren looking very "fall"! She is quit the bowl of sunshine right now and keeps me laughing constantly!! For those of you who have had not tasted the delicious gooey pumpkin cake here is the link to the recipe. However my secret is to cut the sugar in half. It makes it not so rich and lets you taste the pumpkin more. click here........Gooey Pumpkin Cake!

Gotta Love this face!!!

This is Ms. Emma and she is quite the little thing. She is extremely shy and doesn't make much eye contact with the camera. At the same time "very firm" about what she wanted to do and didn't want to do. Also Ms. Emma was unwilling to give into the pleas and demands of her parents to "smile"........lol! I admire that she is her own person and has a strong personality. I love how this shot turned out. She chose the spot and I guided her to relax where she was. She is looking at me (finally) being all herself and doing the pictures on her own terms. Gotta love a strong lil woman!

My New favorite!!

Did a shoot recently with one my foxycropper friends Colleen and her beautiful daughter. This ones is my favorite so I had to share!!! Isn't she just stunning!!!

Its Fall y'all

OK OK I know it only feels like fall one day out of the week. But I try to enjoy it anyway. If you're like me you've got your summer stuff and winter stuff in the front of your closet. Anyway on one those "fall-ish" days I took the kids to the park to enjoy the leaves and cool weather. Maddie was willing to let me get a few shots of her playing. lauren...not so willing!! lol

Bed of Roses

Just gotta share this amazingly sweet baby sleeping on a bed of roses. Did her photos the other week and she was just perfect. At 4 days old she is already set to be a supermodel.

A little rain must fall!!

Yes we had the first rain of fall 2007 and I must say it was nice. It went from 80 degrees and clear blue skies to ...a cool 70 with thunder storms and heavy pour down. The kids were in heaven. How long have the waited to play in the rain again......um somewhere around over six months. Yeah I think it was March the last time it rained here ..lol So I let them loose in rain coats with a umbrella to play. It may be hard to see in the picture but it is coming down in buckets and the girls are getting ready to run out into it.

Flight of the Conchords- Business Time

Little Angel!!!!

This is picture from a recent shoot. This adorable little girl, Riley, has such beautiful eyes!!!!

This shot is part of the tutu collection and will be shown on my new website!!

Dog days of Summer!

Well I just wanted to share a sweet picture of our puppy. This is "Mr Itchy" our younger basset hound ( you can sort of see Mr Valentine behind him) taking a nap on the porch...very basset-like behavior. I love his eyes ...he is sucha sad puppy huh? I just love him!

Check out my Slide Show!

Butterflies Alive!!!

OMG what a amazing sight! Imagine your self in a garden filled with 800 butterflies!!! Yes that's what we found on our trip to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History this last weekend. Their incredible exhibit called Butterflies Alive lets you get up close to this enchanting little creature. 70 different species... all brightly colored... fluttering around you....so much fun! If you held very still you were sure to find a beautiful Monarch butterfly sitting on your shoulder. The garden was so full of butterflies it looked like the flowers were dancing. We were all having a great time and I wish we could have stayed longer. Check it out for yourself and click the bolded names that are links above!

Summer Lovin

Yeah summer is crazy and fun! My kids are lovin the kiddie pool and slide we got them. I love seeing them play and laugh for hours. They will take a quick Popsicle break but other than that its pure adrenaline. Then they spread their pruned skinned little selves across a towel to dry. Its at that moment when they are quiet from the shear exhaustion of playing that I love most. The look so content laying in the grass and warming themselves in the sunshine. Inside we go and for an afternoon movie and snack. Just a another sweet memory in their summer vacation.

I think I'll keep them!

Summer is always hard for me. Trying to keep the girls entertained and free from boredom. Sometimes I want to "sell them to the Gypsies" ( as my grandmama would say) from the constant bickering and complaining that goes on. But then those days happen that change your mind those days when they are sweet and loving to each other. Those days like today and then you say...yeah I think I'll keep them a little longer!

Slide Show of my latest shoot!

Chic a La Tutu style!!!

Heres another beauty from my tutu collection shoots!

I love how this turned out!! Delany's facial expression and dimple are just too cute! I will be putting them on my website soon!

I just had to share my favorite image from my photo shoot yesterday. Isn't this a beautiful picture! I just love how sweet that pregnant belly silhouette looks!! I have a bunch of new stuff on the website so feel free to check it out!!! I will be posting my Tutu Collection stuff here soon. But the promotion is already on the website click here to take a peek. http://www.thinkpinkincphotography.com/

Shes gotta Ticket to Ride!!!

Yes that's my Maddie with her Fourth place ribbon riding her horse Carosel!!!

What an amazing day at the CALNET horseback riding competition. We have been training for only a few weeks but Miss Maddie rode into the ring like it was no big deal. She turned to wave to Mom and Dad and the took the competition by storm. The judges later told us that if they were judging by cuteness alone Maddie took first place...lol You never saw a more proud lil girl that day. She stopped everyone she new and didn't know to show them her ribbon. All and all an AMAZING Day!!!!

The Easter Gang!!!

This my picture of the big group photo at my Aunt Judy's house. As you see its a large group and this is a yearly tradition. For those family members wanting to have this picture for yourself you can "right click" (this one here and the ones on flicker) and save it into your computer. I have more pictures from the day on my flicker account feel free to check them out and keep them my Easter gift to my family! HUGS!!! As you all know I have my Photography business up and running and the link is down to the right...Think Pink Inc Photography. Let me knowif you want a portrait done. And finally here is the flicker link........ http://www.flickr.com/photos/kidzrn/

After Close Egg Examination...

Madison realized the eggs she had hunted were all brought by the same person and contained all the same non- chocolate candy!! Also every single egg was sealed shut with tape and becuase of this she couldn't get them open. My Poor Maddie was such a champion egg hunter I'm sure she thought she had hit the mother load in chocolate ...lol....which was not the case. But Fear not ! She has plenty of chocolate at home.

Color me Happy!!!

Happy Easter!! Yes my Lauren just loved coloring Eggs. She jumped in like a little pro and actually did a great job on her first try. Maddie had fun too but she was much calmer. However Lauren is still asking me to do it again..lol

"Miss Nosy"

Walking home from the park the other day we heard a puppy barking on the other side of this fence. Madison insisting on finding a peep hole to see what kind of puppy it was. Geez it just might be a Dalmatian puppy. I love the look of this photo... cool huh!!

Blue Eyes

Did some pictures this weekend at Topanga Cyn Park. Its just breath taking there lately. I love how the soft light filters through the trees and how the fog gently falls back into the meadows. There are deer and other wildlife peeking out of every corner. I loved this picture of Madison... I played with the color so her eyes just popped out. I think it looks just beautiful!

The Color RED!!!

I did this color code quiz today at : http://www.thecolorcode.com/index.html Before I took it I thought to myself "I bet I'm a red". I don't know why but I have always liked pink and red as colors go. Anyway I take the quiz and wala...I'm a red ..surprise... surprise...lol There are pros and cons to being a red but I must say that if I wasn't a red I wouldn't have survived my life this far. A weaker color wouldn't have lasted this long...lol But it was interesting anyway to look at yourself in a different way. Color Codes : REDS are motivated by POWER. They seek productivity and need to look good to others. Simply stated, REDS want their own way. They like to be in the driver's seat and willingly pay the price to be in a leadership role. REDS value whatever gets them ahead in life, whether it be in their careers, school endeavors, or personal life. What REDS value, they get done. They are often workaholics. They will, however, resist doing anything that doesn't interest them. REDS like to be right. They value approval from others for their intelligence and practical approach to life, and want to be respected for it. REDS are confident, proactive, and visionary; but can also be arrogant, selfish, and insensitive. When others interact with you, as a RED you respond to them best if they are precise, factual, direct, AND show no fear!

Wicked Popular!

Yes I finally saw WICKED the musical the other night and i'm still dancing and laughing. What a great show and an AMAZING cast!! I just loved Eden Esponosa and Megan Hilty..they both have incredible voices and are both so pretty. I higly recommend it to anyone and everyone. Its just a great evening all around.

http://www.wickedthemusical.com/LA/

Recent Photoshoot Images

Happy "HEART" Day!!!!

Hey everyone Happy Valentines day!!!! I want to share a picture of one of my little Valentines today....its a picture I took yesterday at the park. Lauren was already in the spirit of Heart Day with her pink and red sweater and heart barrettes. She looks so stinkin cute here i could eat her up!! As always she has "Brown Bear" in tow..too sweet huh! You may also notice her hair has some purple in it...she was painting at school and did a little dye job on herself...lol! My handsome hubby and I have a romantic dinner planned at "Roy Yamaguchi's" in the valley this evening...just LOVE their food...its to die for!

A Disney Birthday!

We took Lauren to Disneyland for her 3rd birthday. Nana, Poppy, and Kali came along and we were happy to have them with us.....it makes it more fun You could not have asked for three more well behaved children....all 3 were sweet and good! We went on every ride we planned and it was a blast. My little Lauren looked like a pro as we made our way through the park. She kept her "brown bear" by her side as always. We checked out the new Princess Faire Attraction and Maddie took some princess lessons...too cute! It was a long day but tons of fun. We filled our bags with Disney stuffed animals and headed home.

Its real snow!!!!!

We took the kids to the snow for the first time this last weekend. Its was an absolute blast!!! We had a great weather and we're barely cold We had a fee snowball fights while there. Maddie is just ruthless and aims for your face while Lauren is more gentle and shocked when she gets hit. We did some sleding at the mountain high tubing park and it s was sucha wild ride. The kids loved it ...see this link to check it out http://www.mthigh.com/pages/tubing.html

Happy Happy Birthday Baby!!!

Yes.... my baby Lauren turned three and my world is just not the same. She is becoming so grown up and starting "real" preschool not just mommy and me stuff. We had a little party at home for her and the big present is going to Disneyland. She is such a Strong willed child and yet has such a great personality. I love her so much!! Happy birthday Baby love!!!

Think Pink Inc Photography

Yes ..my business launch has started and things are moving faster than I had expected. It seems with the slightest mention of my photography business starting and I have a new client waiting. This is great...i have no complaints...lol ....But its keeping me on my toes. So for those out of the loop I will tell you the story. I have been taking pictures as a hobby for years. Many family and friends have asked for me to take pictures for them. My father was a photographer and influenced me. I have always done photography just for the "fun of it"!! Now that I'm staying home with the kids I would love for it to be a more business based thing. Its funny because I think anyone can take a class and learn how to take a picture. I have many friends who have done that. Yes there exposure it correct but the image has no feeling or emotion or its flat no fun ! I know I have an eye for photography! I see a picture in my mind before I even take it. I can take a picture and grab your emotion at the same time. That is art...that is what I want to sell people! The above pictures is over pregnant woman making a heart with her fingers atop of her unborn child. I love how the light falls across her fingers ...its just beautiful!

My website is up feel free to check it out

www.thinkpinkincphotography.com

the limp that stole Christmas!!

Yes I know I haven't posted in like .....FOREVER. But honestly I have a good excuse. I have a kid with a broken ankle. Yes the first day of Christmas vacation I dropped off Madison to visit Nana for an hour. She lets her play on the trampoline (which I had said was not safe and that I didn't want Maddie on it) and she broke her ankle. So after hours in the ER this is where we end up... a hot pink cast. Maddie has missed out on so much fun..no horseback riding, no recess at school, no playing outside at home. Now the countdown has begun...we have five day until it is off!!!!!

Need a little Chirstmas?

Yes the weather has been quite wacky. One day its hot and the next its freezing or raining. You can't plan anything for fear of wacko weather. But don't the cold nights make it feel a little more like Christmas? We light a fire and enjoy the glow and warmth. We did take the kids to Candy Cane Lane last week. They enjoyed all the lights while we blasted Christmas carols on the radio. Working on having my own photography business next year and I'm really excited about it. It does make you realize who your "closer" friends or family are...lol They are ones who jump on the bad wagon to support you and help you out. Then there are those who have only negative things to say and i cannot waste my time on that. This business is to feed my passion and maybe put a little money in my pocket..tee hee. For those of you interested the link to the right "THINK PINK INC" will be the future home of my photography site. Watch for details!!

Mommy is it christmas yet?

So the daily questioning by Madison has begun. I get asked about 20 times a day it seem. Its starts out like this...

(Maddie) Mommy is today Christmas?

(Me) No Maddie its just a school day.

(Maddie) Is Christmas tomarrow?

(Me) No Maddie Christmas its lotsa days away.

(Maddie) But no Mooommmm I don't want that!!! (she is starting to get sad and tearful)

(Me) well how about five more days till Christmas? ( gotta outsmart her here)

(Maddie) Okay mommy five more days!! (she is happy once again)

(Me ) Okay Maddie!! (wow I dodged that bullet easy how long can I keep this up)

Say Cheese!!!

I did a photo shoot this week for Alex and her fiance' Michael. They are such an adorable couple...always laughing and teasing each other. It was really fun to do this for them and get to hang out at the same time. We headed down to Santa Monica and the Adamson's House in Malibu....got some really great shots. This Shot is by a shed at the Adamson's House....the light was really soft and beautiful. The best surprise was the yummy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies that they brought me...thanks guys!! However I only got one cookie. You see I left them on the kitchen counter so my darling husband could have one for a snack later. But instead two sneaky little girls ( named Madddie and Lauren) took them and scarfed them down in seconds. I returned from putting laundry away to only find crumbs and chocolate fingerprints....lol At least they were enjoyed!

My baby can ride!!!

We had our second lesson the

other day and I was so proud

of Madison I had to blog about it

again. This is my sweet Maddie

riding "Carosel"!!!! YES...Thats

my baby horseback riding all by

herself without the trainer

leading the horse. She looks so

grown up doesn't she? Not to

mention she is quite the stylish

rider in that bright pink shirt...tee

hee. You've come a long way baby

...............and the sky is the limit!

Anticipation!!!!!

Yes this is the face of Anticipation. This is Madison waiting to have her first horseback riding lesson. You can see it in her eyes...you can see excitment! She got up on the horse and rode like she was born in the saddle. She turned "Cinnimon" the horse left and she turned him right. She made him ride all over the corral. She looked so grown up and her head was high with pride. I was blown away at how beautifully graceful she was on a horse...I'm proud of you baby!!! Ride-On!

Little did she know......

Little did she know .....that as Mommy was taking these cute Halloween pictures she was hours away from an Emergency room visit! Yes after a great trick or treat fest with the kids..(they were so well behaved and polite) we headed home for a relaxing evening! However I came home feel just crappy. It had all started with Maddie's classmates birthday party (at a extremely filthy house!!) the day before and steam rolled from there. On Halloween night I woke up at 11pm with my eyes and lips swelling shut and hives from head to top. Michael stayed with the kids and I had my mom drive me to the E.R. There I got a lovely shot of Epi, a dose of IV steroids, and a topping of IV Benadryl. Its been two weeks of medications that make me feel so sick and ya know I still don't feel better. I have plans to see an Acupuncturist on Monday...lets see if holistic medicine can heal me!

Five more days till Halloween!!!!!!

The count down has begun and Madison asks daily "Is it Halloween yet?" She practices trick or treating with her bucket and tries on her costume every other day...lol !!! Never was a child more excited about collecting candy...you would think she never got any....geez! So the other day I decide to try to take some picture of the two them in their costumes. Maddie was more than happy to put on her costume...and so was Lauren. However one of my children was NOT HAPPY about posing for a photo...can you guess which one??? After this one I have another with her eyes closed and another with a hand over her face. Oh the tortured life of a scrapbooker's child!!! Oh well we will have to try again...muuuuwwaaha..ha.

I know I'm evil that way!

Here is a fun site for the kids to practice carving a pumpkin: http://www.cubpack81.com/images/carve_pumpkin.swf

Mi Vida Loca!!!

My life has been CRAZY lately!!! I feel exhausted and I just cant "catch up" with life. I try to do my best but lately its pooping me out! I did a great scraping day with Alex on Friday. I was nice to relax and do some pages while gabbing. We even had lunch and shopped...a full girls day indeed. I took some great pictures of the girls the other day and thought I would share one of them. This is Madison making her "Mean Face" as she calls it...lol She may think she looks mean but I think she looks adorable!! She is quite tough though ...I must admit!! Last week she accidentally spilt open my lip and hit me in the head with a shovel....tee hee! I 'm fine really ....but I thought I had a brain tumor or concussion afterwards.... No worries I'm back to normal....or am I??? lol

Someone to hold my hand...

Looking over my shoulder this morning I noticed my two daughters holding hands. We were on our way to school just like any other day. The sight of the two of them together was a sweet surprise that brought a tear to my eye. I realized they had to stretch across the seat to reach each other and how they so gently cradled the others hand. It was their secret little way...their way of showing the other sister how much she loves her. Someone to hold their hand on the way to school and let the other sister know "I'm here for you". How wonderful...how lucky...how special to have someone as loving as your sister to hold your hand through life.

Pumpkin Hunting!!

Today we took the kidlets to Underwood Farms Harvest Festival. The kids had a great time feeding all the animals and riding the ponies. We tried to do the corn maze but were afraid we would lose Lauren (shes a dare devil lately) and would never be able to find her. We went out into the pumpkin patch and picked out some nice plump pumpkins. As the day went on it got warmer and more crowded. We headed home and decorated the house in cob webs and Halloween monsters. Madison was really into the decorating and was trying to direct her Daddy on how things should go....lol!! Lauren was a bit wary of the scary decorations but she jumped into putting her touch on the house with plastic spiders and bats... too cute!

Making Meatballs

Whats for dinner at your house?

Well at our place its meatballs!!! Yes we recently found this TO DIE FOR recipe and since then this has become my number one requested meal in the house. Its from the joy of cooking and I got it from Cathy Z. blog but either way I will share it with you. My secret ingredient is really good red wine. We are loving Wolf Blass Cabernet (Australian) right now. It tastes amazing in the meatballs and fabulous in a glass....I highly recommend it.

CLASSIC MEATBALLS

ingredients

1 clove garlic, peeled

1/2 cup packed fresh flat-leaf parsley

4 ounces good quality Parmesan reggiano, cut into coarse chunks

1 medium onion, halved

1 lb lean ground beef

1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs (make from white bread slices, crusts removed, in food processor)

1 large egg, lightly beaten

3 tablespoons dry red wine, plus more for deglazing pan, and for drinking

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper Also:olive oil (for pan)1 can beef broth

how to make

1. Combine garlic, parsley, and Parmesan in the food processor. Process until finely grated. Add onion, process until finely grated. Put into mixing bowl.

2. Add remaining ingredients through pepper, to bowl. Knead well, but do not over knead (a fine line, I know.) Form two- to -three-inch meatballs, and lightly dredge in flour.

3. Heat oil in large, skillet. Add meatballs, and brown on all sides over med-hi heat. Drain off fat.

4. Deglaze pan with a cup or so of red wine, or a bit more. Should boil and sizzle nicely. When half has cooked off, add a cup to a cup and a half of the beef broth. Return to boil. Lower temp to simmer, and cover.

A DIY weekend

This weekend was more work than play. Michael and I decided to finally put up crown molding in the downstairs of our home. I decided that we should put a splash of color on the walls as well. Michael hates to paint but with the two of us working at it we painted the entire downstairs in one day. Sunday we worked on the crown moldings and we finished the dining room and family room. We still have the living room to do but you can see from the picture Michael was getting a little goofy.....lol. We took a break and took the kids to the movies but Simi had a huge power outage that put a damper on that plan. Thank god the mall was open!!