My daughters aren't the only ones who enjoy creating.
Here I am helping them make pirate hats out of newspaper.
Argggh, Matey.
Have a great weekend.
What I love: Photography
Today I'm very thankful for a beautiful girl who posed for HOURS without complaining once.
I was able to practice many different techniques with my camera and got some really cool shots.
She was so happy with the results, she asked me to shoot her upcoming wedding. I of course jumped at the opportunity and can't wait to see how those pics turn out.
I love photography, I always have.
I love living in a country full of beautiful, friendly people who are willing to take a chance with my photography.
Three of her co-workers want to do an in-love shoot as well...one problem...they don't have a guy! :)
Harvest Loaf
I realize that Thanksgiving has come and gone, but this recipe is good anytime of the year.
I had never eaten chocolate with pumpkin...turns out it's a perfect combo.
Plus: Orange batter looks really cool.
7:32 AM
7:32 AM starts off with cries of, "Mommy! Your babies are awake!"
Then there are diapers to change, sippie cups to fill and squeezes to give.
The Abster asks for a hug first thing in the morning.
The Fripits asks if she can watch Silly Man (Her name for Bill Cosby on the Cosby Show. It's her favorite right now) She always asks, and I always say no.
We have breakfast, we sing songs, we eat Fruit Loops or maybe scrambled eggs, or maybe oatmeal.
We talk about our dreams from the night before, we talk about what chores need to be done.
We hug Daddy and give him kisses.
And that is how we start our days.
First In Love Shoot
I recently finished my first "in love" shoot for a young, Paraguayan couple. There are 351 GREAT shots, some of which I now need to edit and deliver to them before their upcoming wedding. All of my free internet time (aka. blogging time) is being put on hold so I can finish the editing process.
I'm taking a short blogging break, because the bride is a friend of mine and I want these pictures to be perfect for her.
I'll be back to blogging again shortly!
Afternoon Rest
{I've been experimenting with self portraits lately. I plan on doing many more, so bear with me as you will be seeing many photos of the back of my head, my hands, maybe even my toes. Sorry.}
Every afternoon I drink coffee. I usually take my coffee cup to a favorite corner of my house and just absorb the naptime quietness. Sometimes I read, sometimes I blog, but usually I just sit.
Sit.
Sip.
Sigh.
Quiet is beautiful, but I'm glad it's not an all day thing.
That would just be boring.
Play Dough Sculptures
A muffin tin full of pantry goods (corn kernels, dried spaghetti noodles, rice, etc.)
A blob of playdough.
Easy.
Seconds of entertainment.
Grilled Pizza
Husband loves pizza.
Husband loves making pizza.
I love letting him make pizza once a week.
Especially if its on the grill.
Tips:
Have all the toppings ready to go, by the grill. Cheese shredded, pizza sauce hot, sasauge cooked, onions and peppers sauteed.
Place your favorite pizza dough (raw) on the grill, allow the bottom side to cook for about 5 minutes or till nice brown grill marks show.
Flip over the dough, and quickly (QUICKLY NOW!) spread all toppings on.
Let cook for another five mintues or so, till lightly browned on the bottom and cheese is all melty.
Hmmmmmm.
I wish every day was Pizza Day...
Face Paint
Sometimes make-up isn't enough.
Sometimes you have to paint your face.
It's a jungle thing.
My Dad's Birthday
My Dad recently had a birthday -FORTY SEVEN YEARS OLD! (But you didn't hear it from me!) The girls and I made him a cake which he wrote about on his Facebook. Here's what he wrote, and some pictures (of course!) below.
"When you get older (I am not old, my Dad is old) there are things that bring you happiness that used to seem trite. On my birthday, my oldest daughter, Jackie, said she would bring my birthday cake. She had purchased an imported cake mix at the grocery store along with the prie made Pillbury Cake Iciing. Some of you might think, those of you in the states, "that is not special" Well here it is because it comes only once a year and at over twice the pirce you find in the US. They brought the cake, they, because along with my daughter fixing the cake, my granddaughters also had their hands in the preparation. (LITERALLY) The youngest had decided to massage the icing into the cake with her own two little hands to give it a more refined delicate texture. The cake was beautiful. Jackie had sorta pushed the cake back together before putting in the 47 candles (The cake would have been illegal in California during fire season!!!!) Elena and Abby were so excited to eat the cake with me, they wanted to do the cake first. But they were patient and waited for the firetrucks to leave after we lit the candles and blew them out.
1 Imported Duncan Heinz chocolate cake mix $8.00
1 Imported Pillbury Chocolate Icing $5.00
4 boxes of Birthday candles $5.00
Imagining Abbey's little hands masaging the finished cakePRICELESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and the taste EXQISITE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for a wonderful Birthday!
Happy (belated) Anniversary to me!
Last Saturday (Valentines Day) was our FIFTH wedding anniversary. Five years? Time flies when you're having fun. And let me tell you, we've had fun. I love being married (to Brian!) and wouldn't trade it for the world. The weekend before last Husband had to go on an overnight trip. My sister came to stay with me and help with the girls, but still...the house made very funny noises that night. Why does the house "talk" to me when he's gone?
We spent the day watching the girls and blowing each other kisses. Life with him just gets better and better each and every day.
(And just so you know, I plan on being his for a very long time.)
New Look.
We women know that getting a haircut can be a little nerve wracking. 
But hearing how good you look from Your Man helps a lot.
So does a trip to Burger King. (Make sure you get french fries and chocolate shakes.)
My Purse and it's contents.
Brenda tagged me for this purse meme....cute!
Rules:
1) "Post a picture of whatever bag you are carrying as of late. No, you cannot go up to your closet and pull out that cute little purse you used back before you had kids. I want to know what you carried today or the last time you left the house."
There's my large yellow purse with lots of pastel colors. I carry it around the most because it's BIG and it can take all my camera equipment with me everywhere. It totally clashed with what I wore today, but whatever. That's how I roll. My camera is a priority.
In my bag:
- A Nikon D70 with the 55mm lense on
- A Nikkor 18-55mm zoom lense
- My wallet (empty)
- My flipflop key ring with house keys.
- Two crumpled up lollipop wrappers
- One small plastic bag with a piece of leftover chipa in it.
- My celphone in it's cute Croc carrying case.
- My Blackberry (used for scheduling, appointments, etc.)
- And, very weird, a piece of "Happy Birthday!!" wrapping paper. (Don't look at me, I have no idea how it got in there.)
2) " I want to know how much it cost:) And this is not to judge. This is for entertainment purposes only. So spill it. And if there is a story to go along with how you obtained it, I’d love to hear it."
I think it cost about $8.00 or so. I bought it at HiperSeis, a grocery store here in Paraguay. No cute story, just saw it, and wanted it.
3) "Tag some chicks. And link back to this post so people know why you’re showing everyone your diaper bag/non-diaper bag."
I tag:
MAF Brownies
MAF flew us in and out of our village all the time. We knew all the pilots, their wives, and the kids. One of the pilots, Bruce, was a redhead who made really good brownies. He passed this recipe onto my mother and we knew it would be good. Redheads know their chocolate. It's just a fact.
It's one of those ooey-gooey-eat-with-a-spoon recipes, which is just the way I like them.
MAF Brownies
1 2/3 cups of sugar
3/4 cup of unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. of water
2 eggs
2 tsp. of vanilla
1 1/3 cups of flour
3/4 cup of cocoa (psst...when it's Princess Must Scream time, just make it a whole cup.)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. of salt
Stir together sugar, butter, and water. Stir in eggs, vanilla, flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Mix. Pour into greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake in 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.
(And for the love of Pete [Bruce?] DO NOT OVERBAKE. It will become cake-y, and not gooe-y. And that might make me cry.)
Maybe.
Maybe, I let my daughter pile all my pillows at the foot of my bed.
Maybe, I let her jump on the bed.
Maybe, I let her jump off the bed and land on the mountain of pillows.
Maybe, instead of telling her to stop because she might get hurt, I run and get my camera.
Just maybe.
{And the Best Mother Of The Year Award goes to.....not me!!}
{But we did have fun!}
Precious Zip top bags.
Anyone else out there wash their ziplocs to re-use? I use them till are covered with holes and leaking like crazy.
Then I call my mother-in-law and beg for some more.
It's just one of those things for me.
True Story
Once upon a time, there was a little girl who ate three chocolate chip cookies at snack time.
Little girl asked for more.
Mommy said, "No."
The End.
Sweet moves.
The Fripits likes to twirl to her Baby Einstein music.
And the baby does this:
Funny kid.
Makings of our days.
Dirty dishes.
Baking. (That explains the dirty dishes)
"Cooking" little people. (Apparently, we're becoming cannibals.)
"Reading" to each other.
Disciplship class with Daddy. (Best Husband and Daddy of the World. No doubt about it.)
Lots of snacks.
Skype
We love Skype. It helps us keep in touch with family (when it works).
The girls are getting used to using ear phones, although the Baby only stands there. She gets a little startled when she hears the voice on the other end.
I don't think her Grandmother minds just hearing her breath.
The Fripits, however, likes to sing, tell family about her daily activities or count to 10.
Yup.We like Skype.
Too cute for words.
{Allow the proud Auntie to gush for a moment please.}
My sister-in-law sent me this picture of my little niece.
I'm not sure whether to thank her or scold her.
I mean really...! Do you send a picture of someone this sweet and cute to an Auntie who can't touch that yummy little bundle of baby goodness for another FIVE months??!!??
I just can't wait to get my hands on her.
Easy aprons
I made two of these little aprons using this very simple idea. It was a quick project and the girls have a renewed interest in their toy kitchen.
[Sorry for the bad picture! I had no time to mess with settings!]
Fix it!
Today I fixed a flower that Abster had torn into two pieces. She asked me to fix it and I used Scotch tape.
Very silly.
But! One day she will realize that I can't fix everything. I can't fix a broken heart, a broken economy, a war torn country, the pain of childbirth, or hurtful words.
Until that day comes, I fix things.
No matter what.
She'll learn the truth soon enough.
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