You know how when you get behind with the laundry or the dishes or, let’s get real, cleaning the entire house? And then it’s just so much to do, so overwhelming, that you don’t know where to start? That’s kinda what I feel like when I think about my blog. I am so behind.

I want to share, I promise, but I don’t know what to talk about first. (It’s a good thing catching up on blogging’s not like doing laundry, right? Where you don’t mind folding it, but you HATE, HATE, HATE (!!!) putting it all away.)

So, anyway. The beginning? That’ll work, right?

July 22-25: Time off, Stay-cation, Paris

I miss being a stay-at-home mom sometimes, especially in the summer when the children are out of school and spending the warm summer days in the care of someone else. While we love her, summer is my favorite season and I want to spend it with my favorite little people. I wish we could splash around on the beach, like I used to do when I was younger, but being land-locked kinda puts a damper on that.

I took a couple of days off in July and on Thursday, July 22, the kids and I hung out, more or less. The day before I’d found out someone had stolen my debit card number, so we spent some time at the bank getting a few things straightened out, withdrawing money and depositing Jaiden’s birthday money into her account (oh what a thrill – and she enjoys getting her bank statements because they make her feel like a grown-up!). We had lunch at Subway, then storytime at the library where I had the pleasure of reading “Pirate Jim” to the four dozen or so children in attendance.

They also made pirate hats or mermaid crowns and Jenna, in her four-year-old wisdom, glued a piece of CHALK to hers. Because she thought it was decoration. Wish I had a picture of that. lol.

Is it ridiculous that I remember the kids and I wanted to make breakfast and fruit for dinner, so we went to the farmer’s market and came home to make something yummy? At least that’s how I remember it. That was the first night the book club I have with Dara and Christa met, which we did at Marlo’s, so I can’t say for certain.

And having a dinner date with two awesome ladies mid-week? Fantastic! I can’t wait until we meet again (which was supposed to be this week, but we’ve had to postpone it because life is calling, but I’m very eager for it).

The following day, Darin was also off of work, so we packed the children up and took them to Memphis for a little sight-seeing. We’ve been planning on visiting Mud Island River Park and riding the trolley for a couple of years and finally did it.

The River Walk is awesome! We weren’t expecting it because all we’d searched for was pricing. We knew there was a park, some sort of river park. And when you get there … wow. It’s installation art, my art nerd friends. A 3-D topographical concrete representation of the Mississippi River from start to finish. And more. We walked from the beginning all the way to the end, which is the Gulf of Mexico (minus the oil spill) and a large splash park area. We rode paddle boats and had a picnic and took pictures with the Memphis skyline behind us.

When the kids were good and hot, cranky, wet and ready for a nap, we got in the truck and crossed the bridge from Mud Island over to Memphis proper. And, like little tourists, we got on the trolley. This was always so much fun to do in Nebraska City when I was a kid that I thought our kids would enjoy it, too.

Really, I was there. The problem with being the person with the camera is that you usually aren’t in pictures. Darin has a picture of me, Jaiden & Jenna on the paddle boats, but it’s on his phone. Phooey. Nevermind, I added it!

Anyway, so we rode until we saw the National Civil Rights Museum. I didn’t know where it was, but we saw it was right next to a stop so we hopped off about 30 seconds later. And it took my breath away.

(“Hello, we are cranky and tired and hot!” they say.)

Jenna is a big MLK fan. HUGE. (He is second to Obama for her – she’s a big Obama fan. And yes, she’s 4.) It was awesome to show her that this wreath marks the spot where he was shot and killed. We didn’t take the (expensive as all get out!) tour, but we did venture inside and look around the bookstore. The children each picked out rubber bracelets that say things like Hope and Change. I cried as I read the back of almost every book about the struggle for a group of people to be treated equally, to have the same rights as the white people who for so many years oppressed them. And when I say I cried, I mean I bawled huge alligator tears.

It was embarrassing, but I decided I wasn’t going to be ashamed of myself. Being there, in the very place where Martin Luther King Jr. and thousands of Memphis workers carried signs saying “I AM A MAN” was humbling and something I will never, ever forget. And we shouldn’t forget.

After the Civil Rights Museum, we loaded back into the trolley, then into the truck and headed back home. We dropped Emma off with her mother, then traveled from the Mississippi-Tennessee line up to the Tennessee-Kentucky line to Paris. On the way we stopped in Humboldt at a little mom and pop restaurant and I had a DELICIOUS chicken-artichoke pizza that was like HEAVEN. Mmm.

We stayed in a cabin just outside of Paris, on the Tennessee River. On Saturday, July 24, we went to Fort Donelson, the site of a Civil War battle. We were there with Darin’s best friend, his teenaged nephew and two of his nephew’s friends. It was super, super hot out (97 plus humidity) and I wasn’t feeling well, so after our picnic and eagle-watching when the guys all went hiking in the woods, the girls and I sat in the truck. They watched a movie while I read more of To Kill a Mockingbird.

To make a long story short, later that day we ended up at the river, swimming. And I don’t like swimming in rivers, so I read about another 100 or so pages in my book (which was super fantastic, by the way). The next morning, the boys all went fishing in a pontoon boat, then the girls and I and one of the teenagers joined the rest of the group. They all had a blast jumping off of the boat and into the lake.

And then? The weekend was done. We made the three-hour trek back home, I finished my book (and shed a little tear) and reality began again. So sad.

I feel like I am living for the weekends right now. Work has become just that: work. Not fun, not thrilling, not something I’m passionate about any longer. So the weekends are what I’m after (which is a horrible way to live because we should savor each and every day).

The next weekend we celebrated three birthdays (my sister-in-law Katie and both of my parents) and my parents’ anniversary. Katie and Tyrel had a housewarming/birthday party, my dad turned 60 and a few days later my mom turned 51. We had a cookout and swimming at their place the day after the housewarming.

On Saturday, July 31, I met up with some people from church and we packed meals for Haitians with the Stop Hunger Now campaign. It was incredible and a great bonding experience for us as a church family. And beyond that, it was a wonderful experience as a Christian, and humbling to pack small little meals that would serve six people. One cup of rice, one cup of soy, one scoop of dried veggies, a seasoning packet. We throw more than that away every single day. I will never forget it and plan to do it again. More pictures are up on the church’s Facebook page.

Here are Christa and I enjoying the wind in our hair nets. When we were posing for this I thought she was doing some sort of gangsta pose with her plastic-gloved hands. When we were done I asked what sign she was doing, “I was just showing my gloves off!” Oh. My bad! It’s a good thing I didn’t bust out with a sign myself, right? Ha.

That night was the housewarming/birthday party at my brother and sister-in-law’s house. My mom requested pictures of some of her other grandchildren in white clothes and in a field of sorts as her birthday present, so that night I took some. And Darin helped.

We had the boys (Caiden and Caleb) dress up in Jaylen’s baptismal outfit, Khloe wore the dress Jaiden wore in my first wedding and Emma and Jenna wore Jaiden’s baptismal dress. They turned out pretty cute, despite the fact that it was 95 degrees out, we were losing daylight (it was about 7:30 p.m. or so in this one) and we were in an itchy field. Oh, and they’re all between 18 months and 4.5 years old (blah – I’m not a fan of child photography lol).

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So I kept going and going and going with the update and realized it was getting entirely too long to read in one sitting, so come back tomorrow and we’ll talk all about the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year and why I was furious with the school system and whatever else I come up with!

PS – It has been RIDICULOUSLY hot here this summer with heat advisories every day for about three weeks or so. We haven’t had much relief until this week. It’s amazing how WONDERFUL it feels when it’s only 90 degrees out, right? The humidity is so crazy, basically stealing the air from your lungs when you walk outside (even in the mornings). It’s been exhausting, that’s for certain, but autumn is on the horizon again, so that’s making everyone happy. I think this is the second hottest summer on record here.

Thanks for reading and always know you can keep up with me on a day-to-day (or up-to-the-minute) basis on Twitter and Facebook (if we’re friends). Hasta manana!

Today started off a little slow and a little rocky. We slept in, ate a late and lazy breakfast (frozen waffles) and were all a bit tired of being cooped up in the house and around each other for so long. But it got better.

After lunch we suited up and planned to head down to our friends’ house, but in the middle of that my brother and nephew showed up and shoveled our driveway. And when they were done, Darin still couldn’t get out, so Tyrel had to pull him out.  You can see that our Durango is not in such a great position here and Tyrel is skidding over the ice. Both Tyrel and Darin are like bulls in a china shop, so I figured this would end pretty badly.

Like, axles broken. Trucks in the woods or laying on their sides in the yard. Just your run of the mill snow and ice chaos. Thankfully, none of those things happened.

While the men were doing that, the kids played and I ran around and took their picture. I am nothing if not predictable.

And then we took a walk. Our friends’ house is a quarter mile down the road from us, so we thought it’d be a piece of cake. It wasn’t too bad, but keeping an eye on four kids and a dog on a snow- and ice-covered road that has hills is not exactly a cakewalk. Just so you know.

See? No asphalt. ‘Treacherous’ is the word the news channels are using to describe the roads; they are all of that and thensome.

It took about 20 minutes or so, but we finally made it. I fell once, the kids never did. And just as we got to their driveway, Tyrel and Darin show up in the truck asking what took so long. Ahem.

Caiden’s thumb would not stay in its place inside his mitten. And that really bothered him. And Jenna’s pants kept falling down a little bit, revealing her little bum. This is not good when it’s below freezing outside.

But it’s nice of them to show up, right.

Jaiden had a blast pulling Jaylen and Jenna around in the sled. Caiden would have no part of the sled, though.

When we arrived at our friends’ house, we chatted for a bit before going outside and sledding. Sara, whom I didn’t explain so well the other day, sits next to me at work. She, Gwen and I are pretty close. Sara lives an hour away and stayed with Gwen on Thursday night just in case we had to work Friday; she’s been stranded down here since. The roads are too awful. But who cares, right? I love that she’s right down the road too!

Darin and I decided tonight that while we don’t exactly love our house, we love living this close to TJ and Gwen. And not only because TJ always pulls Darin out when he gets stuck in our yard, but because they’re pretty great (and Sara is too).

We had a great time sledding down the hill near their house and sledding behind the four-wheeler. It was a blast! I even braved the sled and fell several times (into the ice too, which hurt). This is another good reason to live in the country: none of my neighbors in the city ever had a four-wheeler. Here most of our neighbors do.

We hoped to have a snowball fight, but the snow doesn’t want to cooperate. No snowmen, either.

Oh well, the sled will just have to do. (Not that it’s a consolation prize, it’s probably more fun than being pelted with snow and ice.)

I was sitting on the back of the four-wheeler when I took the top two photos (the above photo was taken by Sara); I’m surprised they came out as clear as they did, because it is very bumpy back there, but I’m happy. This was in sports/action mode. Gwen & TJ’s neighbors were also sledding down a large hill and we went over there to take photos for the paper; I forgot to change it to sports mode at first, then when I remembered I got such a great shot. We’re planning to use it for our feature photo this week.

Anyway!

Jenna, Jaiden and Tyler (Gwen’s son) were getting cold and cranky, so we decided to call it a night. But not before taking more photos.

I absolutely love this shot of the five of us and Maddi. The only downside? Emma wasn’t there (and neither was Pippa). We’re supposed to go back over tomorrow, so I’m hoping to try again with the entire family. TJ snapped it and Gwen and Sara set us up. Yay for teamwork!

TJ took his family and Sara up to the house, then came back to get us and take us all home on the four-wheeler. AWESOME. We did not have to walk home in the dark! While we waited, I steadied my camera on our sled, which was standing upright in the snow, and experimented more with exposure. And I shot a beautiful sunset.

It was a great way to end time spent with great friends! (For more on photographing sunsets, see my photography blog.)

Then, we changed our wet socks and braved the roads. We were out of milk. And we missed Emma. The roads were almost completely covered in snow, but we did okay. A little convenience/grocery store in Brighton was open, so we stopped and I stocked up on milk, a bunch of frozen junk food crap (jalapeno poppers and crinkle cut fries among other things), Diet Coke for Darin (he was losing his mind without it) and broccoli cheddar soup mix. Then, we picked up Emma, drove to McDonald’s in Munford, then came home. Because by now it was only a few minutes from bedtime; it took us more than an hour for a trip that would normally take 20-25 minutes.

Also, while we were headed to Munford all of the snow and ice from the top of the truck suddenly fell down over the windshield. On a narrow road. And we were meeting another vehicle coming from the opposite direction! That? WAS NOT FUN. It was terrifying. We stopped and Darin took care of it.

Emma is so excited to play in the snow; her baby brother is not a fan of the white stuff (I don’t blame him!), so she hasn’t had much face time with it. When I tucked her in she said, “Can I go play in the snow when I wake up? I love you!” Ha. I told her we had to eat breakfast first, then she could. If we can locate her gloves (or mintens, as she says), that is.

Temperatures are falling into the teens and will likely stay there tomorrow. Churches all over the area have canceled services. Our main road was only half-accessible (meaning half was still covered in ice in most places) tonight and our secondary and minor roads are still completely covered in snow. It will not melt tomorrow and I have already predicted schools will be closed on Monday. Maybe even Tuesday. We’ll see what happens.

Well, maybe not actual sea shells. Just the seashore. And other things.

This week I opened Echo Day Photography & Design, an Etsy shop for all of those pointless photos my family says I take. My favorite memories by the sea, delicate blooms, beacons and anything else still enough, grand enough to be captured through my lenses.

My grandmother painted, my dad draws, I take photos and write. This is my art. It’s what I do. It’s what I love to do.

I currently have ten items listed – my paperwhites, garden roses, the beach at Duck, Sausalito and the first photos in my lighthouse series (Corolla). In the coming weeks, I will add photos of the Bodie and Hatteras Island lighthouses. (Have I ever mentioned Darin and I want to see as many lighthouses as we possibly can?)

Today I bought my first showcase spot, which meant my works were at the top of the art/photography section all day. How exciting, even though it cost me! AND! I made my first sale! I was surprised that the first photo sold was one I didn’t think would sell at all. Amazing.

In the future I hope to offer my meal planning printables, canvas prints and other items for sale. All in due time, though.

So there ya go. Shop’s open. From here I open my windows, whip up wonderful things and let the scent waft … (aggravated assault with matte board has been threatened if I sell on my Twitter feed lol).

In my former life, I had a graphic design business and sold quite a few birth announcements and holiday cards. My customers always asked for photography tips and this is what I whipped up for them. I thought I would bring it out of it’s hiding place and share it again; it’s been five years – for the Internet, this is vintage!

Let’s face it, photographing babies and children is tough! Here are 21 tips to ensure you get the perfect snapshot of your child.

General Photography Tips

1. Use a tripod to steady the camera. This also helps in making sure your photos are in focus.

2. If you are using a digital camera, make sure it is on the highest resolution setting.

3. If you are using a 35mm camera, use 200 speed film. Film that is 400 or 800 speed tends to produce grainy photos.

4. Use natural light, if possible. If you can’t take your photos outside, try to photograph your baby near a window that lets in a lot of sunlight. You can use a mirror to reflect the light if you wish. If these things are not options for you, make sure you have a good flash so your pictures aren’t dark.

5. Get as close as you can, while still keeping the photo in focus.

6. Be as quick as possible. Keep your photo shoot short so you don’t exhaust your baby (or your nerves). Set things up before you put the baby in the photo.

7. Use solid-colored backgrounds or blankets when possible. Remember to keep things simple.

8. Take lots of photos! The perfect photo probably won’t happen immediately.

9. Start by photographing your baby at eye level, then try a few different angles to see what you like best.

10. Make sure your batteries are charged!

11. Keep your camera on you at all times. You never know when the right photo opportunity will arise!

Photographing Your Baby

1. Make your baby comfortable. Make sure the baby isn’t hungry, has a clean diaper, and comfortable clothing. Uncomfortable babies generally take lousy photos.

2. Capture your baby’s personality if you can. If she smiles or lifts her head, try to photograph her doing these things.

3. Sleeping babies are precious, and pictures of them make lovely announcements!

4. If there are older children in the house, photograph their interaction with the baby. Don’t force them to participate, however, as you might end up with unhappy children throwing tantrums.

5. Remember, it’s not important that your baby is smiling. If you can get a smile, great.

Photographing Toddlers and Older Children

1. Let them rule the shoot and do what they are comfortable doing. Most children get frustrated with sitting still. More often than not, the candid photos are better than posed studio portraits.

2. Use props and/or toys for your child to hold.

3. Make silly noises and faces if you want your child to laugh, smile, and look at the camera. Use a toy to show them which direction they should look.

4. Use your outside environment to your advantage. Is it raining? Dress your child up in rain gear and let him splash in the puddles or gather raindrops on his tongue. If it’s nice out, take him to feed the ducks or to the park to play.

5. If all else fails, bribe them!

Have I mentioned yet that my husband is fantastic? I mean, except for the fact that he pronounces “LOL” like it is an actual word, he completely is.

And we all already know that I’m full of myself and so, naturally, I wanted to print some of my work out as large as we could get it and hang it on our walls. I love many of the photos we took on our honeymoon, not just because we were at my favorite vacation spot but because we were there together. And we had a fabulous time, so much so that it has influenced our overall design scheme in our house (except for in our kids’ rooms).

We have – or want to have, if all of the seashells and back issues of Coastal Living are any indication – a coastal-inspired home. Which is a little ridiculous because we are landlocked and in the middle of farm country, but whatever.

A few months ago I decided I’d like some canvas prints of our wedding rings in the sand (which is also the wallpaper on my cell phone) and a shot of a lone seagull in the shore, watching the waves crash on the beach. I was going to just order them, but Darin said he could do it for a fraction of a fraction of the cost.

We chose 22×28″ for the ring photo, which is in the master bedroom, and 24×36″ for our little seagull friend. Husband had the canvas printed and purchased frames at Hobby Lobby for like, $1.69 each.

Last night, we had a little excitement as Darin, who used to be a framer, hooked his favorite wife up with two canvas prints. I shot the photos, he printed and stretched them. Go Team Day!

Forgive the poor quality of this photo. I was shooting with my old camera, minus the speedlite, and our lighting pretty much sucks when the sun goes down. I was trying to hurry because he didn’t want to wait for me to stage a photo. (Stretching canvas – ur doin it too fast, Mr. Day!)

Also, I was in the bathtub reading when I found out he what he was doing, so I drained the million gallons of scalding water, grabbed a towel, went to my car to get my cameras (I forgot to get them out! Eek!) and started snapping away.

And then, voila!

A canvas was born! I love how the shadow from our chandelier formed a heart on our little work of art! Or perhaps that is Darin’s heart beating out of his chest, all large and swirly, because he loves me so much? Yeah, that sounds good.

And this is BOB! Our little seagull friend. (He totally had to have a name!) We introduced him to the kids (or I did, because Darin would never introduce the kids to a photo, they have pills and straightjackets for that kinda thing, ya know?) at breakfast and Jenna goes, “Bob? Bob Seagull?” Her accent made it sound like she said Bob Seger. Ha! And when he is in trouble for like, pooping on my mantle or something, I will call him Robert Clark Seagull and he will sing me sweet blue-eyed soul melodies. I heart Bob. He was also my desktop wallpaper at work for months.

Did you also see my new boat? And my message in a bottle? We’re also rockin’ the sea oats on the mantle.

Opposite the fireplace, we have art! From Shanee! Plus shells we picked up on the beach at Duck, North Carolina (stored in Mason jars that came from my grandmother’s cellar), Bob’s stiff as a statue buddy (he needs a name!) and some little bud vases we got as honeymoon gifts. Bonus points if you know why we have those colors there. We’re Navy brats, what can we say?

We’ve actually had most of that there since August, I just never shared for whatever reason. (Probably because I’m lame.)

Since we moved in, we’ve had family photos on the mantle – an 11×14 family portrait from 2008, one of our engagement photos and the Easter portrait of the four kids. But Bob is now bogarting the mantle, so we are moving those to another wall. Well, the frames are being moved. Today I ordered our 2009 family portrait, a 5×7 of us kissing on the beach and an 8×10 of the kids from Hot Springs for the wall. I can’t wait to hang them because, drumroll please, it will look like we actually live in this house.

While I was ordering the photos, I realized that, aside from today when all I did was clean my daughter’s room and make meals my son hates, we really do have a good time as a family.

And the rings? Master bedroom, of course.

I adore this shot.

We actually worked together to produce the shot, too. (By the way, we used to have a collection of circular mirrors there.)

It’s hanging here, above our bed, as a reminder. Our fabulous honeymoon in North Carolina. Our vows, our commitment, our love and respect for one another. And the fact that we aren’t too shabby.

The rings are huge, though. I kinda want to take a pair of scissors to it, cut out Darin’s ring, and wear it around like a hat. And Emma could probably live inside the shell. LOL! (And no, that is not lowell, Darin, it’s LOL.)

The whole project set us back $4 – well, $16 if you count the staple gun and staples! See? I told you my husband rocks!

Yesterday I mentioned having booked another wedding, making two this year so far. The first I will shoot solo, the second will be with a friend. And I am terribly excited for both.

While I didn’t particularly enjoy planning it, I loved our wedding. And I like to see people happy and I like to capture couples on what is billed as the best, most important day of their lives together. I love the details – the delicate blooms, the color palette, the importance they place on certain traditions. I love capturing their first kiss, their first dance as husband and wife, the bride’s drunk grandmother boogying on the dance floor.

I shot photos at my brother’s courthouse wedding in 2007, my cousin’s church wedding in 2008 and worked with a local photographer in 2008 as a second shooter. In November I had the pleasure of shooting a wedding with my co-worker friend. I love weddings and I want more of them.

But until that happens, you can find me happily digging through dusty Linotype chests, oogling at the metal type slugs and the thick wooden letter blocks. Or perhaps you’ll find me on the side of the road, photographing the clouds as they roll in, saturated with precipitation and waiting to empty, standing in awe of Mother Nature.

Since I was 10, I’ve loved clicking a shutter release and capturing moments now lost to time or creating art through a viewfinder.

And I don’t believe it’s an accident to suddenly find myself with leads for wedding photography, this year where I am concentrating on self-discovery.

I’m not the best there is, but I’m pretty good. There’s no reason to be ashamed to admit that. It’s just who I am and I am proud of that. I’m the person God intended me to be.

I know I already mentioned it, but last year was a wonderful year filled with friends, family and a whole lotta love!

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December