Holiday Photos and Some Cheese

Family cheese

The holidays seem to be the time for family photos. Whether taking them for your Christmas cards or just an annual photo opportunity, photographers get booked up in preparation for some season’s greetings. I was never a picture person until we had Stella. Once we had our first child I realized it was important to share how our family has grown. So, in 2010, the holiday season family photos became a tradition.

I am not a very traditional person so I really wanted to capture our family in a way that was different than most family photos. I wanted to find a place that represented us in some way, without being too cookie cutter in location and pose.

I called a photographer who had actually taken a random picture of Stella at the beginning of the year; one that turned out beautifully. He was immediately my first choice for this year’s pictures, especially since we had our newest addition, Carter, to include.



And a little fun

His idea was to go to Disneyland and have a little fun while taking pictures. Being that we are there basically on a weekly basis, I thought this was a great idea.

Our family photos were a great success and I learned some things along the way.

Let them be natural! Our best shots were those caught off guard. Have fun!

Family photos can be stressful! I had extra outfits for both kids in addition to snacks, diapers, and all the other essentials that you pack on a trip to the Magic Kingdom. I was hot, sweaty and irritated until I realized that we were supposed to be having some fun. If hair was out of place or a bit of Disneyland goodness was caught on Stella’s shirt then so be it.

Photos are important. They can be expensive and a lot of work but I can’t think of anything more priceless then being able to look back at all the pictures of our growing family. Yes, if you are anything like every other parent, you take pictures all the time. But, someone (usually mom or dad) is left behind the camera. A complete family photo is a must, at least one a year.

So smile, and enjoy the “cheese”, with your family.

I've Got the Bah Humbugs

There has always been some pressure when it comes to the holidays. The pressure to decorate, find a perfect tree, send out Christmas cards, and buy the right gifts. I used to LIVE for this time of year; the holiday music, the lights, the endless shopping bags and crowded malls. Not so much anymore.

Being that this is my second Christmas as a mom, I'm feeling a different kind of pressure. The pressure to have lights up, photos with Santa taken, starting some of our own Christmas traditions. To be honest, between work, more work, training for my half marathon and just being tired, I have failed miserably. With just 5 days until Christmas, I am nowhere to being close to that partridge in a pear tree. And I am not so sure I care.

I keep telling myself that,looking back, Stella will not remember whether or not we had a tree, or what she got for Christmas this year. I can start building the memories of being loved, having family around, and being an overall exciting time without all the Christmas bells and whistles, can't I?

I read the story about all the "secret Santas" going to the Kmarts and paying off other peoples' layaways the other day. I was sobbing. Sobbing. The hubby came home and asked what had happened and I could barely choke out the story. This is what Christmas is. It is a time of giving, helping those less fortunate, being with loved ones, and spreading joy whenever possible. When did we lose sight of this? Can I bring the spirit of Christmas to my own family and teach Stella that Christmas is more than what Santa has brought her for Christmas? Or am I the true Grinch this year?

May the Christmas spirit visit me tonight...

Tis the Season

Four weeks ago I made the decision to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society by running the Tinker Bell Half Marathon with Team in Training.  The decision was not an easy one but was prompted when a close friend, Adam, of our was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma at the early ago of 29.

Originally, I had planned on running the 5K event on the last weekend in January.  When I received news of the diagnosis, it immediately hit home, not only did I think of Adam as a brother, but having a very close relationship to my own brother, I could only imagine the impact it was having on his family.  Adam has just completed his second of six to eight chemo treatments this past week and remains in great spirits.

I am a mom, I work two jobs, and lately, I have had the majoirty of my days not end until 7 p.m. at night.  Was I crazy for trying to take on fundraising and training for a marathon in addition to all of this? After a long discussion with the hubby, we knew it was the right thing to do.  I showed up to sign-up on the very first day of training, almost a month after the rest of the participants.

The support that I have received in the past month has been amazing. People have been overly generous, and some that have supported me were a delightful surprise.  It has made me proud to be surrounded by so many caring people that are willing to step in for a wonderful cause. As I make small sacrifices to fit in my training (getting up before 5 a.m., being away from Stella even more than I already am) I know that this is truly a part of giving back and others would do the same for me.  This year, the holiday sprirt is in full force.

For more information and progress on my training and Adam's condition, please click here.



Me, Adam, and his sister Heather at an ugly Xmas sweater party
over the weekend.



Merry Christmas!

Just a quick post to wish all of you a Merry Christmas!  After a long road trip from Southern to Northern California with Stella, our dog, and my brother we made a slower than usual drive up to my parents.  The hubby had to stay back to work at our store.  It is always nice to be home in the house you grew up in, no matter what anti-anxiety meds you must take to be under the same roof with your parents again.  Stella was a trooper all the way here and she was already getting spoiled the moment we walked through the door.

I was bummed that my hubby would not be flying in until late on Christmas Eve but I sucked it up and went to a Christmas Eve dinner with the rest of my family.  To my surprise, my brother walked in about a half hour later with hubby in tow.  He had surprised me and taken an early flight!  It meant the world to me that he was here in time to kick off the Christmas Eve festivities.  The night ended with hubby sleeping on the floor and me and Stella in bed sound asleep to counteract her new teething, sleep issues. Aaaahh, life with a baby.

This morning has been a whirlwind, like all Christmas mornings are.  I have my elastic waist leggings on with a tunic to keep up my haute mom appearnace while I bid all dieting instincts farewell until tomorrow. I hope all of you are making the Blissini's from Sunday's post like we are!  Happy holidays to all of you and wishing you the joyous of times on this very special holiday. 

Thrifty Thursday

I have a great deal for this week's post, especially this close to the holidays. My favorite nursing cover company, Udder Covers has a promotion on their Nursing Cover Gift Sets right now!

Go to http://www.uddercovers.com/ , click on "Shop Now", scroll down to the gift sets, select the one you would like and you will automatically be repositioned to the center of the page where you can enter in the

promo code “Christmas”! Type in Christmas and it will bring your product total to $5!

We are not sure how long this promotion can last. You can use the code more than once - you just have to open a new browser/window to do so.

This promotion gives you 1 gift set for $5 + S&H! This promotion code is valid once per transaction, so you can order as many times as you would like! Even if you aren't nursing, we all know someone who is or who will be!

Happy Holidays!

Haute Mom Dilemma #24 ~Bah Humbug!

One of my fondest memories is going to a department store to pick out my annual Christmas ornament.  My mom used to take us to the Home section of the department store where they would have endless trees and buckets with tons of ornaments just waiting to be taken home.  Our tradition was that we could each get a new ornament each year; a tradition that I still continue to do every year for my own tree.

This year, I have been looking extra hard at ornaments, especially for a "Baby's 1st Christmas" one.  I have my own first Christmas ornament still.  It is a metal angel with my name engraved on one side and the year I was born on the other.  It even has my birth weight and height.  I have wanted something like this for my own baby and now that I have the baby, I am missing the ornament.

Seriously, all you stores that want to rip me off and take advantage of me during the holidays, I am ready.  I will pay whatever you want me to for a special Christmas ornament to mark Stella's first Christmas.  There are no takers.  Literally....none. There are cheap ornaments, wooden ornaments, ceramic, plastic, I even saw ones that were made from plastic spoons today but I can't find a quality "Baby's 1st Christmas" ornament anywhere.   And in the department stores...don't even get me started.  The only chain store that I have seen any ornaments in is Target.  Cute and trendy but not what I am looking for this year.  What happened to the beautiful, quality ornaments that used to so much be a part of Christmas?  Since when did ornaments become a thing of Christmas past.  Argh.

On a brighter note, Stella had her first meeting with Santa and she didn't even bat an eye...or shed a tear which is what we really thought was going to happen.  We are still exploring the notion that Stella had no idea that Santa was human since he didn't say a word and barely moved but it's alright with me...the pictures are darling!

A special thanks to the Sinks ladies for Stella's Santa Baby dress!