Firsts

As a mom I get to experience lots of firsts. On Saturday night Grace and I had a first, her first pig tails! I was pretty excited to put her hair up and she actually did not try and take them out. I thought that she looked quite adorable. Franklin kept telling me that she looked like a girl! How cute.

They are both growing up so fast. It's hard to believe all of the firsts that I have already witnessed and all of the ones yet to come. I love all of the firsts that I get to be there for, those are the moments that make this hard job called motherhood even more rewarding.

I hope that you all had a great weekend and that you have a great week and get to experience some firsts of your own.

Here is a picture of Grace's first pig tails!

It's been a bit since my last post

I feel so guilty for not posting in a week. A lot has been going on. I did make it out to Myakka last week and the pictures are amazing. I was inspired by Clyde Butcher. I tried to see things the way he does. He is famous for photographing the Real Florida, like Myakka. I can't wait until I can get the negatives scanned next week and posted on the blog so that you all can see them.

I have managed to hurt myself on a daily basis it seems this week. First I cut my hand open with a bread knife. Then I went to the dentist for a toothache and ended up with a filling for no reason. I have sealants on my back teeth from when I was a kid and they thought my tooth was cracked so they had to drill into the tooth to check. No crack, but had to put a filling in the tooth. Sliced three toes open today trying to move an entertainment center by myself. I have decided no more cleaning up around the house for the next several days. Maybe then I can avoid some more injuires!

Filic is leaving town tomorrow for Las Vegas. He won't be home until Monday night. I am trying to figure out what I am going to do with the kids this weekend. I will probably just stay close to home and do a lot of playing in the front yard. If anyone wants to get together, just email me.

I hope you are all having a great week and have a great weekend.

New Inspiration...

So yesterday I spent the afternoon with my old photography professor, Drew to learn how to use a twin lens medium format camera. It is completely manual. After a brief demonstration, we headed outside and I gave it a shot (literally). I took some pictures of Drew while we were chatting because I like to take natural photos, not posed ones. Then it was off to the dark room to develop the film. Mind you, I haven't done this since I first found out I was pregnant with Franklin. Actually, that is one of the ways I knew I was pregnant. I was developing film one day and was blown away by the smell of the chemicals. It had never bothered me before. Anyway, it took me a bit to get back into the hang of it but I managed to get the film developed. The shots I took were actually good. I had not planned on getting anything good from this since it was my test roll to learn how to use the camera and try developing the film. I am thrilled that it came so easy to me.

This morning I am off to Myakka State Park to shoot some more film. I have found a new inspiration in this camera and can't wait to see what comes of it.

Here are some pictures of what the camera looks like and a picture of the contact sheet I made of the roll I shot yesterday.

My favorite shot is on the bottom left of his hands.

Have a great day, and take some pictures!

Cathy

Natural Highs

I received this list in an email from a friend, read through it and see if any of these give you a "natural high". I have added some of my own thoughts in parentheses.

Falling in love
Laughing so hard your face hurts
A hot shower
No lines at Publix
A special glance
Getting mail (or email!)
Taking a drive on a pretty road
Hearing your favorite song on the radio
Lying in bed and listening to the rain outside
Hot towels fresh out of the dryer
Chocolate, vanilla or strawberry milkshakes
A bubble bath
Giggling
A good conversation
The beach
Finding a $20 bill in your coat from last winter (or your jeans from last week!)
Laughing at yourself
Looking into someones eyes and knowing they love you
Running through sprinklers
Laughing for absolutely no reason at all
Having someone tell you you are beautiful
Laughing at an inside joke with friends
Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you
Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep
Your first kiss, either the very first one or the first one with a new partner
Making new friends or spending time with old ones
Playing with a new puppy
Having someone play with your hair
Sweet dreams
Hot Chocolate
Road trip with friends
Swinging on swings
Making eye contact with a cute stranger
Making chocolate chip cookies
Holding hands with someone you care about
Running into an old friend and realizing that some things (good or bad) never change
Watching the expression on someones face as they open a much desired present from you
Watching the sunrise
Getting out of bed every morning and being grateful for another beautiful day
Knowing that somebody misses you
Getting a hug from someone you care about deeply
Knowing you have done the right thing no matter what other people think


So here is my challenge for today and this weekend, let's add to this list.

Here is what I would add:

The smell of a newborn baby
Seeing your baby for the very first time
A good cup of coffee
Having someone admire something you have made
Having your child tell you they love you

I am anxious to see what all of you will add to this list.
Cathy

Happy Birthday, Kelli!

Happy Birthday to Kelli! Today is my "sister" Kelli's birthday. We are not related by blood but we are sisters all the same. She is the person that I love to hang out with, is the person I turn to when things are not that great and also the person that I turn to when something awesome happens to me. I am bummed that I can not be there to help her celebrate tonight, but I know that the next time we get together that we will make up for it.

Kel, you are my rock. I am so lucky to have you in my life. I love you. I hope that you get a chance to make a wish tonight and that it comes true. Happy Birthday.

Love,
Cathy

This is a picture of the two of us in New York City at our favorite sushi place, Haru.

Buttons galore!

Whenever I scrapbook with Nikki at K2, I am envious of her button collection. I had been looking all over town to find some buttons to start my collection, and was not happy with what was out there. I decided to try eBay, and I found the best deal ever.

The seller said that there were about 800 buttons in assorted colors. I paid $11 with shipping. The buttons arrived last night and my nieces Maya (she is 9) and Nina, and I decided to make predictions and then count the buttons together to give my younger niece, Nina (she is 6) some extra credit for her math packet. We found out there were 1,257 buttons in the bag! We could not believe the number of buttons we were looking at. Nina asked if she could keep some buttons as her "prize" for helping to count. I was more than happy to give up a few. Nina decided to make a bracelet out of her new buttons. Here are some pictures of the buttons, Nina's bracelet and Nina.

Today Franklin came up to me and asked to play the button game again. He had watched us counting the buttons last night and was fascinated by the whole thing. We let him play with a handful of buttons and he sorted them by size and then sorted them by color. Who knew a bag of buttons would provide such entertainment for three children!

I am already planning out some pages in my head to start using all of these buttons. If anyone is in need of some buttons, just let me know!

Inspired by Nikki

This is a LO that I created about a thank you note from my good friend Nikki. I loved how she used a lacy doily to give it a homemade, old-fashion feel. I was cleaning up my desk in my scrapbooking area and came across the note the other day and reread it. At that point I knew that I did not want to lose it again. I was immediately inspired to create a LO around it.

I had been wanting to do something with this paper from K2, and knew this was it. I cut the woman out of the paper, because it was too busy otherwise. I doodled in two of the corners and added the thank you note.

Thanks for being such a great friend Nikki. And thanks for sending such great notes!

Tattoo???

Yes, that is right, I said tattoo. On Monday night, Filic and I had a meeting to go to and the kids went to our friends house to play with their kids. When we picked them up, Franklin had this huge dragon temporary tattoo on his tummy. I thought it would be at least a few more years before I had to deal with the whole temporary tattoo thing. Here is another "first" to add to his list.

I ran over to K2 to buy the new extreme boy papers and embellishments to do a LO on him and his "first" tattoo. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Enjoy the photos of him.