Red Barn Farm

Towards the beginning of October my work had a little get together at a place called Red Barn Farm.  It is this cute little place that has animals and a pumpkin patch.

Lauren decided that the pumpkins looked so good that she would try and eat one!

We went on a hay ride.  This is Lauren sitting on her Daddy's lap completely mesmirized. 

Here is a look at the pumpkin patch as we drove by on the hayride.  We didn't actually pick any pumpkins. 

Once we got back from the hayride it was time to roast hotdogs and marshmallows for S'Mores.  These are the largest marshmallows that I have ever seen!  They were HUGE.

Lauren got her first taste of S'Mores and she loved it!  It was difficult to eat because of the large marshmallow but she did her best. 

Happy Halloween

I know it is a day early but Kelly, over at Kelly's Korner Blog, is hosting a Show Us Where You Live today and the theme is Halloween Costumes.  So I wanted to share some pictures of Lauren from last year and from this year.

This is Lauren's 9 month picture. {I know, hard to tell that one!}

Lauren on Halloween morning.  Her onsie says "my first Halloween"

And Lauren in her costume.  She was a monkey and in my opinion the cutest little monkey ever!!!

And then we come to this year.  Look how much she has grown!  She is going to be a horse or "neigh, neigh" as she calls it.  I will post pictures of that after we go trick or treating.  In our town all of the businesses do a trick or treating event and we are doing that this afternoon. I can't wait to put her costume on her and see how she likes it! {or not}

Engagement Session - Jen and Corey - Part 2

For your viewing pleasure here are more photos from Jen and Corey's engagement session.  I had such a fun time shooting them.  We went all over town to lots of neat locations and I took almost 500 photos of them.  Of course not all of those turned out how I wanted but that is OK because I ended up with over 100 GREAT shots. 

Daycare Update #2

Brian and I had a meeting with Lauren's daycare yesterday and for the most part it went well.  As long as they do what we agreed upon in the meeting then all will be well.

I told them how unhappy that I was with the way that the entire situation was handled.  I told them that I was thinking twice about my choice in childcare.  I told them that I felt like Lauren was not being made a priority and that I understand that things happen, that people get sick, that there are other children in Lauren's daycare however if it was so important to bring this issue to my attention then a solution should also be a priority.

They are going to be observing Lauren very closely for the next week to see if they can identify her triggers.  They are going to continue with the time outs because, frankly that is all that they are allowed to do.  After the week of observations they are going to follow up with us and discuss any "ah hah" moments or patterns.  Then the following Monday she will be tranisitioning to the TWO year old class, almost three months early.  We all believe that she is bored and needs to be stimulated and challenged more that what she is being now.  We have set up another meeting for November 16th {which also happens to be my first pre-natal visit} So I will keep you updated with how things are going.

Thanks for all your help and nice comments!


This is a picture of my nephew Garrett, his big sister Lillian and Lauren at my Grandma's this summer. 
Aren't they so cute!

A Walk Down Memory Lane

Have you ever been in a job interview where they ask you, Where do you see yourself in 5 years?  I often ponder that question.  5 years is such a long time ago.  5 years ago Brian and I were just newlyweds, living in our first {not so nice} apartment.  We were just starting out, living our life together and kids weren't even on our minds.

Then I think of 2010 approaching and how weird that that sounds.  I think think back to 1999 when we were welcoming Y2K and I think of how much has happened in the last 10 years.

2001 I graduated from High School

2002 I started my job with the credit union and then shortly after met Brian

2003 my brother Paul died

2004 Brian and I got married
2006 we bought our first house
2007 found out I was pregnant with our first child
2008 our first child, a beautful baby girl, was born

2009 found out that I am pregnant with our second child who will be born in 2010!!!

I know that it is a little early to be telling the world, but I just can't help it.  Lauren is going to be a big sister!!

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.




Yesterday while I was doing laundry I did not let Lauren take an entire package of Kleenex and "blow" her nose on each individual one once, just so that she wouldn't knock the stacks of clothes over. She was not being really good and after she was done blowing her nose she did not then pick up each kleenex and throw them in the trash! I was not very proud! Her Daddy and I have not trained her very well!

I was not very happy that the sun came out for a few days then to be followed by CRAZY cold and rain and then the very next day it was not sunny and 60.  Crazy weather we have hear in Missouri.  But I did not take advantage of the one nice day we had and do a family photo shoot with a very cute 4 year old. She was not one of the cutest little things I had ever seen.  She would not pose every time she heard the camera click and I was not laughing and enjoying her immensly!

I do not have more news that happened last week that I want to share, that I am not going to save for another post.......so stay tuned!

Jen and Corey

I would like for you all to meet Jen and Corey.  Jen is a really good friend of mine and she and Corey are getting married next June. These are the start of their engagement pictures.  I will be posting more as I finish editing them.  Jen has just started a blog and it would be great if you would go check her out. 

Money Saving and Managing Sites

In this day and age we are all trying to save money, cut costs and live by a budget.  I have came accross several sites that help you do just that and I have listed them for you! {how nice of me is that}

Feed The Pig
This is a helpful website even though the talking pig creeps me out!!! You can sign up to get tips in your email.

Practical Money Skills
This site is great for education.  It has lots of information, calculators and games.

Freecycle

Restaurants.com

Mint.Com

BeCentsable.net

Money Saving Mom


I subscribe to the feeds on these sites so that I get their emails with all the great freebies, right in my inbox.

freebies4mom

Free Sample Freak

The Krazy Coupon Lady

Coupon Cravings

Common Sense With Money


Do you have any favorite sites to manage your money or sites that help you save money?  I would love to hear about them!!

Whatever your doing

Stop! Collaborate and Listen...... I feel like I have been missing for a while. I haven't been keeping up on blogging because I have been so busy with editing pictures from all of my photo shoots! WOOT WOOT!!! How exciting. I have another this afternoon. A maternity shoot. I just love pregnant bellies. Then this weekend I have a family shoot for a friend of mine.

Plus I have had a lot of things on my mind lately. Trying to sort out all the stuff that happened with Lauren's day care and my emotions that go along with that. I am going to let you all in on a little secret......I hate taking Lauren to daycare every day. Some days I even cry. I know she likes it there and the social interaction is good for her. BUT I would love to be a stay at home mommy and when all the stuff was said I may have taken it a little personally and I may have blamed myself for all of it. OK I will admit it I did…..I know that it is unreasonable as Lauren has a mind of her own but I just feel that if I were at home with her more then she wouldn't act like this.


I really really really badly want to lose some weight but I have no motivation whatsoever to do so. I choose to eat bad foods and drink soda {although I have cut back on that} I hate exercise and have no willpower to make myself do it. I am unhappy with my weight, with the way that I look and Brian and I would like to have another baby and I am so afraid that my weight will hurt our chances. I am heavier now than I ever have been, with the exception of when I was pregnant with Lauren. I am over 30 pounds heavier than when I got pregnant with her. What is it going to take to motivate me? I thought my brother’s wedding would help but I procrastinated and actually gained weight. I was then in a mad dash the last couple of weeks to drop a few pounds, and I did, but I am pretty sure I gained those back. What works for you? What motivates you?

Oh yeah, I almost forgot.
Brian's car was on the fritz last week.  Cost us close to $200 to fix it.  Thank goodness that was all.  Yesterday as I was driving to work a rock flew up and hit my windshield causing it to crack a bit. 

{who can tell me what song I started at the very beginning of this post?}

The S Family

I had the chance to photograph an old coworker of mine and her family, last Sunday.

This is her little girl that was born in July.

This little cutie is her nephew who was born in May.

And this is the big brother to the little boy above.  He is almost 3 and boy did he give me a run for my money!  I thought shooting newborns was hard but he did not want to sit still.  I had about 3 shots each time we switched poses that he was happy and then he would start getting upset. 

This is K and her family.  They just got married last year and then welcomed that cute little bundle less than a year later.

All three of the younger babies are each one month apart.  L {bottom center} was born in May and then H {right} was born in June and then K {left} was born in July.  And as I said earlier A is L's older brother.  Aren't they a bunch of cuties?

Harvest of Friends Blog Party

I came across this blog, Dancing Barefoot on Weathered Ground, and Lynette is hosting this pretty cool blog party.  The theme is about getting to know each other so I thought I would play along. 

 

What is your favorite thing to snack on while you're blogging?
I usually just drink water. I try not to snack.
What is one thing you wouldn't want to live without?
Wow this is a tough question but I would probably say my family. I love them all dearly no matter how much they get on my nerves. My husband is my rock and I never want to know what it is like to live without him.
Beach, Mountains or Farm? Where would you live if you had a choice?
Mountains. I have lived in the country pretty much my whole life and while I wouldn’t want to live in a big city I would love to be near the mountains. And not the Ozark mountains, since I already live in Missouri. More like the Rocky Mountains!
What's your least favorite chore/household duty?
All of them. Just ask my husband. Thankfully he likes to clean and spares me the household chores. But if I had to pick my absolute least favorite I would say the dishes. Something about nasty soggy food just turns me off completely!!!
Who do people say you remind them of?

I have only really had a few people tell me I look like someone famous but they all said Maggie Gyllhenhaal.  I only wish I saw the resemblance myself.  She is gorgeous.
Prefer parties and socializing or staying at home with the fam?
Staying at home with the family. Even before I had Lauren my favorite thing was to be with my husband at home.
What's your all time favorite movie?

I really like the Wizard of Oz. I guess that would be my all time favorite since it is the only one that comes to mind. I do have others that I could watch over and over though like:
Beaches
Harry Potter {all of them}
Because I Said So
A Walk to Remember
10 Things I Hate About You
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
Knocked Up
{ok I will stop listing now. I could go on and on}
Do you sleep in your make up or remove it like a good girl every night?
Sleep in it! I hardly ever take my makeup off.
Do you have a hidden talent or a deep desire to learn something that you've never had a chance to learn? What is it?
I would love to know how to sew. When I was younger I had no desire to learn and I am really regretting that. I now want to make all of these things and outfits for Lauren but I have NO clue how.
What's one strange thing you're really good at?
I don’t think that I am really over the top good at any one thing. I do really well at remembering things but not like I have a photographic memory or anything.
What first attracted you to your spouse?
His looks. I had been admiring him from a far for a few days and the day that I met him he was so nervous, almost embarrassed, his cheeks were all red and he just had the biggest smile on his face.
What is something you love to smell?
Fresh baked bread or cookies. I also love the smell of snow on its way! And Lauren. I smell her blanky sometimes when she is not at home with me.
Tell something about you that you know irritates people.
Probably my laugh. I can’t help it. Sometimes it is just a nervous response and it really is stupid sounding. One thing that irritates my husband is my lack of being able to put my shoes away when I take them off! You should see my pile of shoes, in the living room, in the kitchen, in our bedroom! It is BAD.  Or that I sneeze about a million times in a row!
When you have extra money (HA!) what's the first thing you think to do with it?
Pay bills
Are you a silent laugher or a loud laugher? What makes you laugh the hardest?
I don’t laugh exceptionally loud but I have a bad habit of doing this short, almost fake sounding laugh. If I am laughing really hard I snort!
Where is your favorite place to shop?
Target! I love that place. I go there way too often. :)
What's one thing you'd do more often if you had more time?
Read. I have a bunch of books on my nightstand and my reading list but I can never seem to make it through them.
I would also love to take more photography classes. I can’t seem to justify taking more time away from my family though. I work all day and the last thing that I want to do is be away at classes. BUT this is something that I eventually will do for myself.
Are you a big spender or frugal?
I am in the middle. I don’t usually spend wastefully but I do make impulse purchases. I am not one of those people that buys things and return them though. Everything I buy I use, I probably just could have waited a little while to buy it.  I am trying to get better at saving for things that I really want instead of reaching for the credit card.
Who is your favorite character of all time (from a movie or book)? (Can't be real)
I love Lorelai Gilmore from Gilmore girls. She is pretty, classy and witty. In fact I wanted to name Lauren, Lorelai, but Brian threw a fit. I joked around with him before she was born telling him that I was the one that would fill out her birth certificate and social security papers so I could name her whatever that I wanted!

Would you want to be famous?
Yes and no but probably mostly no. I wouldn’t want people to dig so deep into my life that it would be hard to separate truth from the lies. I do think it would be fun to be in Hollywood or something like that but I see what the tabloids do to those people. I would love to be famous for a work of art or photography though.