Friday Five is Back!

Sorry for the absence last week, I gave myself a bit of a Mother's Day vacation! :)

Twitter
This site is a stalker's dream.. completely addictive and utterly pointless, but darnit if it isn't fun! :) Twitter is almost like an instant messenger to the world, you create an account and then log on either by the website or your phone and give random updates throughout your day. Updates to whom? Well, anyone! Friends with twitter accounts can "follow" you, and get a play by play of your day when they log on, or you can download the widget into your blog, as I have done (see right). I've seen this on a few blogs i visit and tried really hard to resist... but it's so fun! Plus, I read this and thought for my own safety it was a good idea. :)

Google Trends
Another version of stalking, but instead of your friends you can stalk the masses on the internet. Another totally pointless addiction of mine.. google trends is just a constantly updated list of the most "googled" words and phrases at that very moment in time. They even break it down by regions of the country or world, and show graphs of that phrase's popularity in recent time. I love it both as a quick glimpse of the state of pop culture and just another awesome example of the genius that is google, how just a few keystrokes can analyze all this data and spit it right out. These computers are amazing stuff! :)

Kristen Andrews Jewelry
Okay, I promise after this I will stop posting cool jewelry.. but I have a good reason! My darling husband conspired with my darling BFF to get me a GORGEOUS custom necklace from this designer for Mother's Day, and I just can't say enough great things about it! Mine is similar to the "follow your dreams" style with the circle and dangling star, but instead the words stamped are "Peace, Love, Joy," which many of you know is a very special and symbolic phrase to me. (More on that soon!) And of course the star replaces the star necklace I have been wearing for um.. almost 11 years?? and while I was sad to see it go, I am so completely head over heels in love with its replacement! (and the giver, I might add!) Pictures of my original creation to come soon.. for now, check out her site and buy yourself something pretty.. you deserve it!

Cuteable
Yeah, the title pretty much says it all. Cute stuff! Mostly homemade, pretty random between clothes, kids stuff, house stuff, and beyond.. but all... well... cute!!

Found Magazine
This one was passed on to me by a fellow reader (thanks, Eryn!) after I recommended PostSecret.. same basic "peek into another's life" idea but on a more surface level. People send in scans or pictures of completely random items they find out & about. A discarded to-do list, an old faded photograph, pretty much anything and everything. Interesting and thought provoking, you'll find yourself intrigued by the scribbles of a stranger and curious about the mysterious smiling faces. A neat way to both spark your imagination and look at everything in the world a little differently. Just look around your desk and imagine any of the papers or items on it lost.. what would they say about you?

Okay, that's my list for the week... hope everyone has a wonderful (sunny!!) weekend... lots to share come Monday, so get ready!

Kids and Animals

What is it they say about not working with either? Lucky for me they were all a dream!

One of my favorite families at one of my favorite places.. the Ft Worth Zoo! I always love doing sessions at nontraditional venues.. you get some really interesting shots and some fun interaction. And I'm not sure the kids even knew we were even taking pictures!

All grown up

Well, not completely.. but certainly a big rite of passage! This adorable family has been documenting their little guy's first year with a series of sessions with me, and for the final session they invited me to come to his very first haircut, just hours before his very first birthday party! This is one of my favorite reasons to do the "Year in the Life" plan, we get to go beyond traditional portraits and really capture special moments.

This little man was more than ready, and was as happy as could be as we grabbed a few quick "before" shots of his baby mop.



Once we arrived at the barber shop, he was curious to say the least, both at the man chopping his little wisps off and the paparazzi watching the whole circus.






He was so brave, not a tear to be found! Well, except for his mommy, who was having a hard time watching her baby become a little boy.





Lucky for both of them, he's even cuter now...



Hope you had a Happy Birthday little man! :)

Happy Mother's Day!

To all the moms in my life... have a great one! Here's an often-circulated essay by Anna Quindlan, one of my favorite authors, an excerpt from her book Loud and Clear. I'm not to this point yet, but I think every mom can appreciate the fleetingness of childhood, and get caught up in the daily grind and forget to appreciate the big picture.



"All my babies are gone now. I say this not in sorrow, but in disbelief.
I take great satisfaction in what I have today: three almost-adults,
two taller than I am, one closing in fast. Three people who read the same
books I do and have learned not to be afraid of disagreeing with me in
their opinion of them, who sometimes tell vulgar jokes that make me
laugh until I choke and cry, who need razor blades and shower gel and
privacy, who want to keep their doors closed more than I like. Who,
miraculously, go to the bathroom, zip up their jackets and move food
from plate to mouth all by themselves. Like the trick soap I bought
for the bathroom with a rubber ducky at its center, the baby is buried deep within each, barely discernible except through the unreliable haze of the past."



"Everything in all the books I once pored over is finished for me now.
Penelope Leach, T. Berry Brazelton, Dr. Spock. The ones on sibling
rivalry and sleeping through the night and early-childhood education --
all grown obsolete. Along with Goodnight Moon and Where the Wild Things Are, they are battered, spotted, well used. But I suspect that if you flipped the pages dust would rise like memories. What those books taught me, finally, and what the women on the playground taught me, and the well-meaning relations -- what they taught me, was that they couldn't really teach me very much at all."



"Raising children is presented at first as a true-false test, then
becomes multiple choice, until finally, far along, you realize that it
is an endless essay. No one knows anything. One child responds well to
positive reinforcement, another can be managed only with a stern voice
and a timeout. One child is toilet trained at 3, his sibling at 2.

When my first child was born, parents were told to put baby to bed on
his belly so that he would not choke on his own spit-up. By the time my
last arrived, babies were put down on their backs because of research
on sudden infant death syndrome. To a new parent this ever-shifting
certainty is terrifying, and then soothing. Eventually you must learn
to trust yourself. Eventually the research will follow. I remember 15
years ago poring over one of Dr. Brazelton's wonderful books on child
development, in which he describes three different sorts of infants:
average, quiet, and active. I was looking for a sub-quiet codicil for an 18-month old who did not walk. Was there something wrong with his fat little legs? Was there something wrong with his tiny little mind? Was he developmentally delayed, physically challenged? Was I insane? Last year he went to China. Next year he goes to college. He can talk just fine. He can walk, too."



"Every part of raising children is humbling. Believe me, mistakes were
made. They have all been enshrined in the "Remember-When-Mom-Did" Hall of Fame. The outbursts, the temper tantrums, the bad language -- mine, not theirs. The times the baby fell off the bed. The times I arrived late for preschool pickup. The nightmare sleepover. The horrible summer camp. The day when the youngest came barreling out of the classroom with a 98 on her geography test, and I responded, "What did you get wrong?" (She insisted I include that here.) The time I ordered food at the McDonald's drive-through speaker and then drove away without picking it up from the window. (They all insisted I include that.) I did not allow them to watch the Simpsons for the first two seasons. What was I thinking?"



"But the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while
doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly
clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There
is one picture of the three of them, sitting in the grass on a quilt
in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4 and 1. And I
wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how
they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night."



"I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing:
dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more
and the getting it done a little less."



"Even today I'm not sure what worked and what didn't, what was me and
what was simply life. When they were very small, I suppose I thought
someday they would become who they were because of what I'd done. Now I suspect they simply grew into their true selves because they demanded in a thousand ways that I back off and let them be. The books said to be relaxed and I was often tense, matter-of-fact and I was sometimes over the top. And look how it all turned out. I wound up with the three people I like best in the world, who have done more than anyone to excavate my essential humanity. That's what the books never told me. I
was bound and determined to learn from the experts. It just took me a while to figure out who the experts were."

Friday Five

Happy May! Sorry for the slight delay in the post today, which will be coming on Saturday for you email subscribers. Our server issues are *almost* resolved... bear with us!

This week our theme for the five is blogs! Clearly, I am a blog fan, and absolutely adore the time I get to spend *chatting* with all of you! But I'm also a big blog reader, and have an entire bookmark folder on my computer devoted to different blogs I keep up with. I thought it would be fun to share a few with you guys, and please send me any you have, as I'm always on the lookout for more stops on the information superhighway! (by the way.. does anyone use that phrase anymore? I think I might try bringing it back!) :) Without further ado, the list!

Grey Matter
Besides blogs, tv is probably my favorite guilty pleasure. Grey's Anatomy ranks right up there in my absolute favs, primarily because of how *smart* the writing is, how interesting the story lines and characters are, and how complex yet natural the dialog can be. All thanks to the fabulous writers, who keep their own blog! Yea! Every week they write a post-show recap, that gets deep into the behind the scenes stories and the thought process behind each episode. They also drop some serious hints as to their ultimate plans for the characters, it's a must-read for any super fan!

Post Secret
Quick warning.. this one is NOT kid or family friendly.. at least PG-13 but sometimes R.. so PLEASE don't click if you are easily offended or if there are kids in the room. That said, this is a fascinating read.. average strangers around the world write their deepest, darkest secrets on a postcard and send them in to the site, where they are scanned and posted for all the world to read. It's a way to get it off your chest without naming names, and it's so eye opening to see the things people are living with and dealing with everyday. Sometimes you see a secret you share, sometimes one you'd never imagine. And sometimes they are silly, sometimes very sad. But it's all very interesting. Secrets are updated every Sunday, so check it out when you get a chance!

Jinky Art
My all-time favorite photographer, straight from Australia no less! She's got an amazing eye, and her work all has a very editorial, modern look. A different style and a different look from me, but that makes it all the more interesting... it's like candy for my eyes! Hope you enjoy!

The Soup
Okay, back to my tv obsession... a second show in the top three.. The Soup on E! And I happen to know of at least ONE other client who shares my pleasure.. we actually watched an episode during a session while waiting for their sweet baby to wake up! It's a hilarious recap of the funniest moments on tv for the week.. and it's completely addictive! The blog just features behind the scenes news and extra funnies to keep you going from week to week!

FW Child: Mommy Bloggers
How could I end a blog post without a story about blogging? Ft Worth Child Magazine took an interesting look at the trend of mommy blogging.. where regular moms like you and me have their own personal blogs, to share photos of the kiddos and talk "shop" with other moms. Sort of an online diary/scrapbook/quilting bee all in one! I know many of my clients have blogs themselves, and would love to do a five dedicated to them.. so if you want yours added let me know! :)

That's it for this week... happy blogging! :)