Lots of Irons in the Fire

I know I haven't been posting as much as I used to but I really do have a good reason. For two years I have been working on building my doula and photography business. For the past six months I have been really ramping things up to get my name out there.



If you aren't familiar with birth photography you should check out the 2011 Birth photography contest, featuring photographers from all across the country. My entry is #40 and captures the moment the mom first pulled her baby through her legs and saw her for the first time. So crazy that I get to do this for a living!

You should go check them out and vote for your favorite, which I hope is #40...

Snow Day

We woke up this morning to 8-12 inches of snow. My son told me that snow days were the days you should make cookies, so we did. 

 

We made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with coconut shreds instead of walnuts (yes Mom, oatmeal cookies can be good with chocolate chips).  Since they came out of the oven they have been the only thing I am surviving on today.

 

My daughter isn't a fan of playing in the snow so once we finally got her to take a nap (sweet relief) M and I made our way outside to clear the sidewalks, throw snow balls and plan how much hot chocolate we would drink once inside.

 

There is something about a snow day, even if your kids aren't in school, that makes you slow down and enjoy getting bundled up in blankets and eating warm cookies. 

Rocketship Birthday Party

Yesterday we celebrated my son's birthday with a rocketship/space theme. 

 We made these cute little alien masks.

 Tried to set off some rockets but it was so cold and muddy that once we set off the two big rockets with actual engines we opted for the Stomp rocket, which was a big hit Aunt Jeanette!

 

 I love his expression when he saw these little dart guns.

We had a great time and thank you to everyone that was able to be there to help us celebrate.

Side note: this party was mostly possible because of Pinterest. Make sure to check out Pin Do Review to see my reviews, but give me a day or two to recover from the party.

A Letter To My Son On His Fourth Birthday

Dear M,
Happy fourth birthday little man! Sorry your birthday is so close to Christmas, but it really wasn't my fault that you were ready to be born at 37 weeks. Did you know there was a big snow storm the morning you were born?

We are so lucky to have such a sweet and kind son. You take such good care of your sister and are always watching out for her. She is lucky to have such a great brother!

You love learning and can already read some books by yourself. You really want to go to school and since we didn't do preschool this year you have been busy working on school work from home. Your favorite thing to do is mazes and painting.

You have your own way of expressing your ideas that always make me smile. You have stories not dreams, you patiently wait for your pet crab to make his way back home and you are realistic about the lifespan of a pet chicken. You know Daddy can build anything and think the garage is his "house."

Here is a little more about you:

• Your favorite color is green.
• Your favorite food is spaghetti.
• Your favorite book is any dinosaur book.
• Your favorite show is Kipper the Dog.
• You like orange trains, riding your bike and ice skating.
• You drove your dirt bike for the first time by yourself on Thanksgiving.
• Your favorite animal is the cheetah.
• You often don't like doing something until we are done and then that is all you can talk about doing again - like camping.  
• You have big feet and no behind.

Thank you for helping me become the person I am today. We can't imagine a world without you.

Love,
Mom

Raviolis

Today my Mother-in-law and I made raviolis for Christmas dinner. This is a 3 hour project that is best handled by a team. At the end of the process my daughter was up from her nap and my son was back from him bike ride with Grandpa and they were ready to help!

Child labor at its best!

Over 200 raviolis made, kitchen cleaned, floor mopped and take-out pizza for dinner on speed dial!

Blogging Question

I received an error message when I tried to upload my new header saying I was out of storage space. Has anyone else experienced this and what are my options?

Chain of Service

Yesterday we made a paper chain as part of our "holiday decorating with what we have." I want my kids to know that this time of year shouldn't just be about receiving cool gifts but is also about helping others, so written inside each chain is a small service they can help with.

It was a challenge to come up with 25 different services they could help with but we managed. Some of my favorites are:

• Spend the morning at the local old folks home
• Give the dog a bath
• Write Great-Grandma a letter
• Donate toys to children who need them more than we do
• Bring food to the local food pantry
• Help with dishes

Fingers-crossed that this is a small step in character building.