What makes us click

Feb 13 2015

Love Day, 2015

I’ll be honest with you. This Valentine’s day post almost never happened. Sigh.

Photo shoot 1 — I had unrealistic expectations of my boys. I forgot they never sit still….ever!

Photo shoot 2 — They were in a mood. We allllll had epic meltdowns.

Photo shoot 3 — I had technical difficulties. sigh. Lighting…

Photo shoot 4 — Armed with realistic expectations of my boys, a better lens and lots of M+M’s to bribe my boys with…this is our result!

Happy LOVE day everyone!!! XOXO

Seems Valentine’s Day bloopers are becoming our thing….

Tagged cars, child photography, feb 14, February, hotrod valentines, Legos, love, momlife, mommy meltdowns, Photoshoot, revved up, toddler meltdowns, Toddler valentines, valentine legos, valentines day

Feb 09 2015

1 Comment

about us, smashin' fashion

Things go better together in 3’s

Yoga mat, Yogi tea and some sweet printed leggings. These 3 make me smile.

First my yoga mat…anyone who practices yoga on a regular basis will understand what I mean when I say that my mat knows a lot about me…physically and mentally.

The yogi tea…how can you not enjoy a tea that includes nice little sentiments like, “Your greatness is not what you have, but what you give” and “an attitude of gratitude brings opportunities”?

And finally these printed leggings…I mean, they are just FUN!…and I like to think they give me yoga super powers;)

-Jenn

There are some must-haves when one moves to the PNW. Being warned about all the rain I was about to experience (‘366 days a year’ or ‘more than a rainforest’) I rushed out to buy new rain boots and an umbrella that didn’t boast the name of a hospital on it. I was moving from California were we had been in the middle of a drought for several years and our umbrellas and rain boots were collecting dust. My third purchase was an adorable poncho that can be spotted miles away. Perfect for hikes, as I’m known to lag behind a little;)

I soon found out from the natives that only tourists carry around an umbrella. With an umbrella this cute, I don’t mind being a labelled tourist! Besides, seven months in and I have barely scratched the surface of our new location. I love that feeling!

-Melissa

If I really posted 3 things that went really well together in the Saskatchewan winters it would be…remote start, my CAA card and my much wanted and needed personal chauffeur Julio. But since I haven’t quite yet acquired said chauffeur I thought I’d use the next best thing. Winter gear.

My toque, to cover up all that static-y hair…yikes. My oversized scarf to channel my inner Lenny Kravitz. (If you haven’t googled imaged “Lenny Kravitz scarf” I suggest you do now.) Lastly, my fingerless mittens. My dad thinks they are senseless but clearly he doesn’t understand the importance of snapchat!

-Vanessa

Tagged Canadian style, H & M, Hunter rain boots, jade, jade yoga mat, Kate Spade poncho, Kate Spade umbrella, leggings, PNW, printed leggings, sisters, things go together better in 3's, tribal print, winter gear, yoga, Yoga mat, yogi tea

Jan 22 2015

4 Comments

food

Orange Baked Alaska

Our mom always talked about Orange Baked Alaska. Keywords…talked about. Nope, she never made them for us kids. This was a dessert for only her and dad when us kids weren’t around. And now I understand why. I don’t want to share it with my kids either!

Orange Baked Alaska

1 pint vanilla ice cream

3 large oranges

3 egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar

Scoop ice cream into 6 balls; freeze until very firm, at least 5 hours. (Be sure the ice cream balls are frozen solid so they won’t melt in the oven) Cut oranges crosswise in half; cut thin slice from bottom of each half. Cut around edges and membrane; remove fruit and membrane with fruit. Refrigerate.

Heat oven to 500 F. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. Beat in sugar, 1 Tbsp at a time. Continue beating until stiff and glossy. Do not underbeat. Place orange cups on ungreased baking sheet; fill each cup with an ice cream balls. Completely cover ice cream with meringue, sealing it to edges of shells. Bake 2-3 minutes or until meringue is light brown. Serve immediately. 6 servings

Tagged dessert, orange baked alaska

Jan 06 2015

3 Comments

about us, child's play, portraiture

Simon turns 7

I just gotta say…I hate writing. A simple post like this takes me forever. A day when I was struggling with words and memories, Simon and I looked up his previous birthday posts. After having a good laugh I realized how important this collection of memories were to the boys and I. Sooooo…here goes…

Excited about running and chess club, Simon adjusted well to the move here in Seattle. Having his own room and a 9:00am start time on school mornings, that’s not much to complain about! Especially since he typically wakes up on the couch in our room… Yes, you read right, he’s turning 7 not 2, but he’s my leetle bebe;)

He’s just as random as ever, and continues to keep us entertained. Serious comments like “So basically I can do ‘O’s and zero’s but I can’t draw circles.” or “We have to wait until the spring before we can get spring water for our fish?” have us shaking our heads. As much as he LOVES to run, he thinks hiking is exhausting. His favorite number is 40 and his favorite color, pink. He spent his birthday money on 30 fake snowballs and that night he fell asleep with all 30 snowballs stuffed into his pajamas. I’ve loved the increased hand holding and hugs. The words ‘I love you’ still have not surfaced (except once on accident) but as someone recently reminded me, actions speak louder than words.

A lot of changes over the last few months and this mama was not up for the extravagant birthday party challenge! So Simon and I settled on having a few friends over with games, food and cake. Big fancy party or not, this boy was happy at the end of the day:)

simon1

simon2

What’s your favorite color? Pink

What’s your favorite food? French fries and veggies

Favorite restaurant? McDonald’s and I order 4 piece chicken nuggets

What’s your favorite number? 40 and 9

What’s your favorite thing about Seattle so far? The Duck tour

Who is your best friend? Well, remember my friend Brian in Preschool? He only spoke Spanish.

What’s your favorite subject at school? Story time and math

Where is your favorite place to go? Somewhere I can buy toys

What’s your favorite song? I have a lot of favorite songs. All About That Bass, is one and Animals, by Maroon 5

What makes you happy? Getting presents

What is your favorite thing to do? Play Minecraft

You love to play board games. What is your favorite one? Monopoly

What do you like about being a kid? You can fit under stuff

If you were the president for the day, what would you do? Well, I wouldn’t hurt anyone but I would take all the money from the bank…because…I looooooove money!!

How would you spend one million dollars? I would spend it on Pokemon cards

How do you know we love you? Because you’re my family!

Do you wish there were more people in your family? Yes, a little sister. But not a baby, about 5 years old.

Tagged 7 year old, birthday questionnaire

Oct 14 2014

2 Comments

portraiture

Baby ‘I’ {newborn}

This sweet baby girl is loved by so many already whether they’ve met her yet or not. I did not get to meet Baby ‘I’ until she was 3 weeks old, so by the time Week 3 rolled around I was chomping at the bit! She did not disappoint. From her chubby little cheeks right down to her little itty bitty toes, she was perfection.

I couldn’t wait to photograph Baby ‘I’ in her new place of residence. With her mother having a flair for design, especially nursery design, I knew how much preparation must have went into this particular nursery. Pretty much everything had been custom/handmade to some extent. Both Mom and Dad worked hard to add little touches that would make the new little nest unique. The hard work won’t stop there as little ones require a lot of work, but I trust they’ll do just fine;)